The turmoil in the Three-City Conglomerate has subsided.

Though the Three Giants intentionally allowed it, under Durga’s overwhelming pressure, the Asuras and Rakshasas were brought to the table. They greeted each other with hearty laughter, as if they were long-lost brothers.

Even Indra, who had nearly been sacrificed and whose once substantial bulk had melted away to leave him painfully gaunt like a dry reed, sat amongst the Demon Lords like Bacchus, engaged in animated and cheerful conversation. Due to the awe inspired by Durga’s fearsome might, the Three-City Conglomerate regained its due serenity.

Subsequently, the Three Giants, led by Mahabrahma, appeared and convened a council of the leaders of all the heavenly hosts to discuss the next course of action.

Without question, the assembled celestials ratified the plan as originally devised. They swiftly dismissed the bloodshed of the previous few days from their minds; whether they were sanctimonious deities or vicious fiends, their focus shifted entirely to a new target. What shocked the Corpse Emperor and his retinue immensely was what happened next.

After the Dharma Protectors made minor repairs to the thoroughly disordered Three-City Conglomerate, the Goddess Shri assumed control of its core. The vast magical array system of the immense city activated its unbelievable power. The innate divine abilities of the Goddess Shri were imprinted upon the Three-City Conglomerate; the colossal city merged into a part of her very being. This gigantic metropolis tore a hole through the void and arrived before the entrance to the Nine Heavens and Nine Hells.

The Dharma Protectors launched their assault against the immortals and sacred beings dwelling throughout the Nine Heavens and Nine Hells. Bearing an ingrained hatred for Buddhism, they naturally set their primary target upon the Tuṣita Heaven of Joyful Non-Attachment (Pāramitāniṣprabhava-rāja-deva). The magnificent Three-City Conglomerate hurtled into the Tuṣita Heaven, slowly making its way toward the Vulture Peak Great Snow Mountain, the stronghold of the monks.

The Corpse Emperor and his entourage watched the ensuing chaos among the monks with amused detachment, content merely to observe the spectacle.

Over the past century, all immortals who had pledged allegiance to the Nine Nether Path had secretly returned to the Nine Heavens and Nine Hells via the Nine Dragons Celestial Ladder, taking all their disciples and subordinates with them. The immortals and sacred beings remaining in the Nine Heavens and Nine Hells were either former allies of the Dharma Protectors who had helped them gather materials, or else beings wholly unconnected to either faction—individuals whose very demise would go unnoticed.

Only Gu Wuchen paid absolutely no heed to external affairs; his entire focus was dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the projection world he was exploring.

In secluded cultivation within the Three-City Conglomerate, Gu Wuchen had become certain: that colossal world, as vast as the mortal realm, was the projection of his own cosmic universe existing within the Chaos Space—a place where the laws of nature and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth were diametrically opposed to those of a normal universe. Such is the rule of the Heavenly Dao: where there is light, there is darkness; where an object exists, its shadow must also exist.

The cosmic space inhabited by Gu Xiachen and others had such a projection world existing within the Chaos. This world differed from the normal cosmos; it was hollow, desolate, a void devoid of color, savor, luster, or any discernible presence.

It was like the shadow cast by a vibrant red apple on a concrete floor. The shadow exists, but can that shadow possess any distinct luster or taste? Not to mention objective qualities like fragrance.

However, some immense power seemed to have modified this projection world, causing it to become rich and abundant. It was as if a thin shadow had suddenly inflated, as if someone had pumped air into it and added other components within. The space containing that colossal, perfectly formed body was precisely such a situation.

The surroundings were empty, containing nothing besides that indescribably vast body—no stars, no air, no flora or fauna. Yet, it was filled with abundant spiritual energy, an energy fundamentally different from that of the normal cosmos.

This spiritual energy had clearly originated from the Chaos Spiritual Energy, differentiated from it. But it differed from all the spiritual energy and power Gu Wuchen had ever known; it was a novel force possessing myriad inconceivable profundities.

Gu Xiachen controlled the energies of Taiyin and Taiyang (Primordial Yin and Sun/Yang), but the new energy generated when these two combined was invisibly and colorlessly an antithesis to the formless, colorless energy saturating this void.

These two formless, colorless forces—imperceptible to the eye, untouchable by the hand, only detectable by divine sense—were evidently superior even to the innate Taiyin and Taiyang energies. Gu Wuchen dimly perceived that when the chaotic energy of the Chaos Space differentiates, it first splits into these two opposing yet unified energies, and only then does one of these energies separate to form the Taiyin and Taiyang energies.

Chaotic Energy is One; the nascent power within Gu Wuchen’s body and the power permeating this projection world is Two; and the Taiyin/Taiyang energies are merely separated portions of Two, perhaps equivalent to half of Four!

Since antiquity, cultivators believed that the Yin and Yang energies were the Two Lines (Liangyi) of the Taiji. In reality, the Taiyin and Taiyang energies are only half of the Four Images (Sixiang) within the Taiji and Liangyi. This is the secret hidden within the Heavenly Dao, concealed at the core of the universe. Thus, Gu Wuchen renamed these two forces.

The nascent power within his body, he named ‘Source Yang’ (Yuanyang)—the origin of all power in the normal cosmic space. This power could drive all the divine abilities and magical powers he was familiar with. To use an analogy, these divine abilities tend toward the violently aggressive form of cultivation known to Gu Xiachen, utilizing the power of heaven and earth to directly assault enemies.

The opposing force to ‘Source Yang’ found in this projection world, he named ‘Source Yin’ (Yuanyin). Source Yin and the powers it manifests, for instance, lean more toward the application of the spiritual primordial spirit. Examples include the (thought-force) weapons of the Dharma Protectors, the offerings infused with their essence, their illusionary arts, and their various inexplicable esoteric methods—all fell under this category of application.

Furthermore, among the disciples of Patriarch Hongjun, the Three Pure Ones emphasized the power of Source Yang, and Patriarch Hongjun himself clearly favored it. Therefore, the Three Pure Ones were his direct disciples, his core lineage. The profound pathways of the Two Buddhist Sages, however, leaned slightly toward the manifestation of Source Yin, which is why they were merely nominal disciples of Patriarch Hongjun—though disciples in name, they were effectively established as their own distinct school.

Thus, the divine abilities and methods of the Dharma Protectors and the Two Buddhist Sages actually stemmed from the same origin. This is why the Two Buddhist Sages expended every conceivable effort to ensure the Dharma Protectors became their guardians, keeping them firmly under control. The intent behind this maneuver was indeed worthy of deep contemplation.

The mystery of Source Yin and Source Yang was profoundly hidden, yet it was clear that Patriarch Hongjun and the host of Saints had grasped this secret.

Besides them, others also understood this ultimate truth of the universe.

This explains why this projection world was filled with Source Yin Qi and why such a perfect body was left within it.

Gu Xiachen’s divine sense cautiously approached this body. This body, pure white like jade and emitting a faint radiance, remained motionless in the void, yet other lights flickered subtly across its surface.

Just outside the little finger of the body approached by Gu Xiachen’s divine sense, thirty-three layers of light wheel phantoms encircled it, stacked nine levels deep, both externally and internally. The complexity of these light wheels rivaled that of the Balance Wheel residing within Gu Xiachen’s own body. The light wheels, entirely pale purple, rotated slowly. Within them, countless ancient runes flowed silently as the wheels turned, occasionally allowing wisps of purple smoke to drift out from the inscriptions. The Balance Wheel turned slowly, its rotational speed gradually synchronizing with the massive, complex light wheel.

Gu Xiachen’s divine thought tentatively extended a threadlike tendril and gently touched the enormous pale purple light wheel.

An indescribable sensation arose spontaneously. Gu Xiachen felt the frequency of the divine sense fluctuations from his true body and his Three Corpses Primordial Spirits increase rapidly, soaring tens of thousands of times in an instant. Under this high-frequency mental fluctuation state, Gu Xiachen experienced a fleeting illusion that his divine sense could cover and encompass the entire myriad world. His acuity of thought increased tens of thousands of times; he suddenly merged with the Heavenly Dao rules surrounding him.

The wondrous sensation experienced while observing the battle between the Corpse Emperor and the gods reappeared: everything before him was digitized. With a mere glance, the cause-and-effect and all interconnections of every existing thing floated clearly before his eyes.

His gaze pierced the thick walls of his quiet cultivation chamber and landed upon the dwelling of a neighboring ascetic immortal. This elder, as ancient as a dried tree stump, was passionately rolling on his bed with his young, beautiful wife, who resembled a dewy narcissus blossom. Several maidservants, each as lovely as a crescent moon, carefully attended to wiping the sweat from the old immortal’s brow beside the bed.

Gu Wuchen’s gaze passed through the old immortal’s physical body and looked deep inside, toward his soul imprint.

The Balance Wheel began to rotate slowly. The Taiyin and Taiyang energies within Gu Wuchen continuously fused and transformed, gradually merging into a more potent and purer Source Yang force. Meanwhile, guided by the Balance Wheel, a sliver of Source Yin Qi was carefully extracted by the portion of Gu Xiachen’s divine sense within the projection world, and slowly transmitted through the void directly into Gu Wuchen’s body.

The Source Yin Qi entered the body. The Balance Wheel rapidly harmonized the Source Yang and Source Yin energies, fusing them into a wisp of spiritual energy so subtle it was nearly undetectable. In terms of appearance and energy fluctuation, this wisp of spiritual energy was virtually identical to the Chaos Spiritual Energy in the Chaos Space.

But unlike Chaos Spiritual Energy, which is raw jade, a broken stone encased in thick layers of black rock, this wisp, woven from Source Yin and Source Yang, was finely carved, exquisite jade, currently being refined into an even more perfect and delicate artifact. It was fundamentally the same substance, yet its nature had undergone an absolute transformation.

Gu Xiachen suddenly realized: this was the true Great Dao cultivated by Patriarch Hongjun, including the Three Pure Saints.

‘Combining Yin and Yang’—Source Yin and Source Yang—returning to the source, using the self as a crucible to forge the two energies, refining them into the final product: this supreme power could be named Chaos Saint Force. This Chaos Saint Force was the strongest power the cosmic space could possess. Ordinary cultivators could only sense the energies of water and fire, sense the Five Elements spiritual energies. Ordinary immortals could sense the Yin and Yang energies, sense the four base powers of Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind.

Beings at the level of a Great Golden Immortal could perceive the difference between innate and acquired qi, grasp the rudimentary secrets of Taiyin and Taiyang energies, and then delve into studying their applications. But only top-tier Great Golden Immortals might grasp even a sliver of the profundities of Taiyin and Taiyang energies.

Only those at the Primordial Chaos level could begin from the innate Yin-Yang signatures like Taiyin and Taiyang, directly target the essence of the Yin and Yang energies, comprehend the Great Dao of heaven and earth, and begin fusing the Taiyin and Taiyang energies to return to the source and derive a wisp of Source Yang Qi.

At the Saint level, they were already subtly established within the Heavenly Dao; only then were they qualified to perceive the existence of the projection world, only then could they contact the Source Yin Qi, thus achieving Yin-Yang harmonization, incorporating Source Yin and Source Yang into their bodies, and forging the supreme Chaos Saint Force.

Therefore, the difference between immortals was not merely in cultivation level or magical power, but also in their perception and grasp of the ultimate forces of heaven and earth. This predetermined the importance of lectures given by high-level immortals to lower-level ones.

This determined how much higher the starting point was for the disciples of Saints compared to other immortals. While other immortals were still vaguely refining the Five Elements spiritual energies to temper their bodies and artifacts, the disciples of the Saints directly began studying the innate and acquired mysteries of Taiyin and Taiyang, directly confronting the profundities of the Taiji and Liangyi. How could other immortals possibly keep pace?

Ordinary immortals might never come into contact with the Taiyin and Taiyang energies in their entire lives, or they might be annihilated by the profound ice or heavenly fire evolved from these energies the moment they make contact, resulting in their souls scattering forever beyond reincarnation. But the disciples of Saints, protected by their patrons, might even play with the Sun Fire and Primordial Yin Ice as toys when they are still at the Golden Immortal stage. With day and night spent in contemplation, how could their cultivation and power not advance rapidly? This is why the immortals in the Nine Heavens and Nine Hells were merely pseudo-Great Overlords!

Since their understanding only touched upon the levels of Yin and Yang energies or the four base powers of Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind, how could they be considered true Great Golden Immortals? The importance of cultivation scriptures is thus self-evident.

Gu Xiachen’s eyes flashed with electric light, continuously emitting a faint spiritual glow. All the secrets of the old immortal’s body appeared before him. The countless layers of prohibitions and concealments the old immortal had placed upon his physical body and soul vanished under the gaze of his divine light.

This old fellow’s body appeared extremely decayed and ancient, but its essence was a robust physique comparable to that of an eighteen-year-old youth. His soul flame was incredibly potent, brimming with vast amounts of magical knowledge; he possessed deep attainments in Buddhist scriptures, Brahmanical demonic arts, and the miraculous methods of Eastern Daoism.

At this moment, Gu Wuchen had grasped the ultimate truth of this universe and the projection world. His divine sense was ascending limitlessly; his speed of thought was akin to upgrading from a single-chip microcomputer to a galactic supercomputer, making his perception and analysis of everything in the world incredibly swift. With a single glance, everything about this old immortal was laid bare. Even the old immortal’s past and future lives unfolded before Gu Wuchen.

This old immortal had been reincarnated thirty-six times within the Dharma Protectors, only achieving great divine powers and magical abilities in this current life, even taking several Kshatriya princesses as his wives to enjoy boundless fortune.

But before his thirty-sixth life, this old immortal had spent twelve lifetimes as a disciple of Eastern Immortals, diligently visiting friends and mentors, ceaselessly learning the mysteries of Eastern Immortal Arts. If anyone were to use the technique of reincarnation to forcibly probe this old immortal’s past lives, they could trace back at most forty-eight lives, after which the karma accumulated through his repeated cycles of reincarnation would prevent further investigation. But under Gu Wuchen’s current Dharma Eye, the old man’s life even before those forty-eight cycles was clearly visible.

Prior to his forty-eighth reincarnation, he was a disciple under the Western Venerable Piphava Buddha, having already achieved the Bodhisattva fruit of unsullied and undying existence. However, when the Two Buddhist Sages forcibly claimed the Dharma Protectors as their guardians, fearing rebellion, this old immortal abandoned his Bodhisattva fruit and entered the cycle of reincarnation. Following a meticulously arranged plan by the Buddhist sect, he finally became a key figure in the ascetic immortal lineage of the Dharma Protectors in this life.

The old immortal did not remember events before his reincarnation, but judging by the Buddhist imprint deep within his soul, if any Buddhist figure recited a Rebirth Guidance Mantra before him, he would instantly revert to the form of a golden-bodied Buddhist Bodhisattva from forty-eight lives ago, possessing power comparable to a Buddha.

Moreover, the magical power accumulated over his forty-eight reincarnations would return simultaneously, potentially allowing him to achieve the Golden Buddha Body directly through that power.

Given his current cultivation and status, if he were to regain the memories from forty-eight lives ago and return to Buddhism, the ascetic immortal lineage of the Dharma Protectors would undoubtedly suffer an extremely severe blow... If this old immortal merely made subtle adjustments among the ascetic immortals, the entire ascetic lineage would face drastic upheaval. Seeing through everything about this old immortal, a bead of cold sweat slowly traced down Gu Wuchen’s forehead.

The immense growth in his divine abilities was a joyous thing, but the tactics and schemes of the Buddhist sect—willing to use forty-eight lifetimes spanning several eons of reincarnation to plant this old immortal as a time bomb within the very heart of the Dharma Protectors—that level of planning was terrifying.

Slowly raising his head, Gu Wuchen swept his Dharma Eye across the surrounding void. All the myriad beings within the Three-City Conglomerate revealed their secrets under his gaze.

He gasped sharply, cold sweat pouring in sheets from his body.

Within the Three-City Conglomerate, how many hidden pawns of the Two Buddhist Sages and numerous ancient Buddhas were embedded among the Dharma Protectors? More than trillions? With one glance, on average, for every one hundred Dharma Protectors, there was one true body formed after dozens of cycles of reincarnation by a devout disciple of Buddhism.

Even among Ravana’s most favored sons and grandsons, there were over thirty reincarnated individuals from the Buddhist sect. Among Indra’s most cherished concubines over the years, eighteen Buddhist nuns were hidden. A vast, all-encompassing net had tightly wrapped itself around the Dharma Protectors.

Gu Xiachen was stunned to discover why the Dharma Protectors had escaped Buddhist control through feigned death and escape—it turned out that Buddhism hadn't reacted because they had prepared so many feasts for the Dharma Protectors since countless eons ago, waiting to savor them all together in the end.

Most inconceivable was that Gu Xiachen also discovered figures from the Buddhist sect among the avatars of the gods and demon kings belonging to the Dharma Protectors.

For example, among the thirty-six demonic king avatars of the great demon king Ravana, seven displayed the golden light of Buddhism, clearly being Buddhist Bodhisattvas who had attained fruition—not the Asura demons engaged in murder and arson!

Heaven knew what kind of Dharma the Two Buddhist Sages used to make these avatars of the demon kings into chess pieces for Buddhism, while these demon kings remained completely unaware!

Cold sweat continued to stream down. Gu Wuchen’s heart hammered violently. For the first time in his life, he truly understood the horror of these ancient Saints. Once targeted by them, it was like a curse clinging to the flesh—a genuine entanglement from which escape was nearly impossible for a lifetime!

Fortunately, he had merged with the Great Evolution Fierce Blade and obtained the Balance Wheel. Fortunately, his sole focus had been on stealing the mysteries of the Brahmanical sacrifice. Coincidentally, Durga had opened that mysterious passage communicating between the two worlds, allowing him to discover the existence of this body. Fortunately, the Balance Wheel and that purple light wheel generated a mysterious resonance, causing Gu Xiachen’s divine sense to grow rapidly, granting him sufficient divine power to see through everything.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Wuchen coldly uttered, "What formidable calculation, what ruthless calculation... However, I fear you no longer! Holding the Balance Wheel in hand, unless you strike directly before me, then—!"

He clenched his fist forcefully and glared maliciously at the old immortal next door. A gentle, formless, colorless, wondrous force probed outward and struck hard against the old immortal’s external essence. The old immortal, who had been panting heavily while wrestling with his beautiful wife, suddenly spasmed. Instantly, he experienced an outpouring, ejecting one-tenth of his hard-cultivated profound magical power. The old immortal stared blankly at his wife, but she was ecstatic, quickly circulating the Demonic Art of the Maiden to collect the essence and power leaking from the old immortal. She gazed tenderly at the old immortal, her exquisitely beautiful face filled with tenderness. "Esteemed Master, you are truly too generous!"

The old immortal’s face crumpled. He scrambled up and cautiously examined his body. It was fine, normal—no traces of assassination or curse. Why was he so unreliable today, defeated so swiftly?

Gu Xiachen laughed three times loudly, ceasing his torment of the unfortunate old immortal, and devoted his entire mind to communicating with the purple light wheel.

The Wheel of Balance and that violet halo were slowly resonating with each other. Inspired by this violet halo, Gu Xichen’s spiritual resonance frequency rapidly ascended, the intensity of his divine sense surged in a straight line, and his comprehension and judgment were enhanced to an inconceivable degree.

While this supremely marvelous state remained, Gu Xichen focused all his attention on the violet halo.

In that boundless projected world, a brilliant burst of radiance erupted. The tendrils of divine sense released by Gu Wuchen channeled a pure stream of spiritual energy into the violet halo. The violet halo swallowed the spiritual power Gu Wuchen sent in, and then fed back a thread of information to him. He suddenly understood what this violet halo represented.

In the ancient past, three hundred and sixty million Primordial Demon Gods were born on the Earth Source Star. Among them was the Wheel of Balance, composed of the Forty-Nine Great Calamity Blades, and also the Wheel of Sagacity, formed by the Sixty-Three Heart-Devouring Celestial Demons.

The Sixty-Three Heart-Devouring Celestial Demons were fiends whose cruelty was no less than that of the Great Calamity Blades. Their specialty was deploying all manner of illusions to mesmerize the world, consuming the heart's blood of those they deluded to advance their own cultivation.

When the Sixty-Three Heart-Devouring Celestial Demons merged into a single entity, what was generated was this Wheel of Sagacity—a structure as complex as the Wheel of Balance, representing a certain law of wisdom inherent in heaven and earth.

What is sagacity? High intelligence does not equate to sagacity; high intelligence is, at best, a very fast computer.

Sagacity is a state of cultivation, a realm attained when massive amounts of life experience, practical knowledge, and one’s own IQ combine, leading to lateral insights and the fusion of all worldly phenomena—it is a 'Dao.' A sagacious person is certainly an intelligent person, but out of a hundred thousand intelligent people, one might not find a single sagacious one.

Just like an electronic lifeform such as Xiao Xiao, it is undoubtedly a computer, but even among one hundred thousand, ten million, or a hundred million giant computers, one might not give birth to a Xiao Xiao. This is the Dao; this is the Law.

The Wheel of Sagacity could not grant Gu Xichen the ability to suddenly comprehend everything and become a sagacious person, but it could vastly enhance his analytical and dissecting abilities. When all external conditions were laid bare before him, any decision he made that was the most rational and reasonable would be a sagacious one.

The Wheel of Sagacity, also known as the 'Wheel of Insight,' was, in a certain sense, a more terrifying entity than the killing-infused Wheel of Balance.

Slowly, rune by rune, Gu Xichen began to decipher all the runes inscribed on the Wheel of Sagacity.

It took the slowly flying Sanlian City three years to finally reach the Returning Goose Great Snow Mountain, by which time he had completely parsed all the law power contained within the Wheel of Sagacity.

Yin Source Qi continuously poured into Gu Xichen’s body from the projection space, while Yang Source Qi continuously generated naturally within him. The Wheel of Balance gradually harmonized the Yin and Yang Sources, constantly forging Chaos Holy Power within his body.

Under the control of Gu Xichen’s vast divine sense, the formless, colorless Chaos Holy Power suddenly transformed into wisps of fine silk, constructing a halo within him that mirrored the Wheel of Sagacity on that perfect physical body—thirty-three layers top and bottom, ninety-nine layers inside and out.

The moment the Wheel of Sagacity was formed, it abruptly emitted a faint purple glow, corresponding with the variegated bronze color of the Wheel of Balance.

The purple light and the bronze radiance became intertwined, and gradually, the Wheel of Balance and the Wheel of Sagacity moved ever closer, positioning themselves like two interlocking gears.

As the Wheel of Sagacity materialized, Gu Wuchen felt his mind suddenly clear. His Three Corpse Primordial Spirits experienced a feeling akin to being awakened by a divine elixir; a chilling sensation shot down from the top of his head, so cold that the Three Corpse Spirits shivered in unison.

In that very moment of shivering, the divine sense Gu Xichen had continuously nurtured and boosted over the past three years suddenly stabilized. A flash of clear, translucent light swept through his eyes; he no longer needed the aura emitted by the Wheel of Sagacity on his body. Gu Xichen had mastered that profound ability to see through and scrutinize everything himself.

Of course, the Wheel of Sagacity within his body was still weak, and this ability was not yet powerful, but given enough time, no cloud bank in the Three Realms would be able to obscure his sight.

Taking a deep breath, completely immersed in this marvelous feeling, Gu Wuchen couldn't be bothered with the conflict between the Sanlian City Guardian Heavens and the monks. He cautiously projected his divine sense towards a faint blue halo situated next to the Wheel of Sagacity, resting on an unnamed finger. This halo had only three layers vertically, but three hundred and sixty layers horizontally.

Each layer of the halo was shaped like a five-pointed star, constantly shrinking and expanding; in this flux, infinite profundities subtly appeared. As his divine sense penetrated it, this halo also imparted a thread of information to Gu Wuchen. This faint blue halo represented: Devout Faith. Today's total is probably eighteen thousand characters, which is sufficient... Well, everyone should be satisfied! The first chapter exceeded one hundred and eight thousand characters, the second chapter over seven thousand, totaling over one hundred and eighteen thousand, hehe! Pig Head is working hard on the manuscript, please show your support! Hehe, going to rest now!