The Chan Sect are the agents of Heaven's will. With Heaven's will currently unstable, they have switched the living and the dead.
The immortals of the Chan Sect are now the ones destined to face tribulation, as ordained by the Investiture of the Gods. This is Laozi's feeling, and also the coldness of Heaven's will. Thus, the Heavenly Dao cannot replace the Human Dao, lacking its warmth.
Just then, golden light blazes from the West, lotuses bloom, and Buddhist chants resonate. The Two Saints of the West have arrived!
"Greetings, two fellow Daoists!"
Zhunti smiles, while Jieyin bows his head.
Laozi nods, "We still need the help of the two Daoists!"
Tongtian says coldly, "Why must you two interfere in the rise and fall of my East? The sword in my hand speaks no reason."
Zhunti clasps his hands together and smiles, "Then my mouth is here to speak reason."
Tongtian steps back, and hundreds of spiritual treasures swirl around him, rising into the air. The Qingping Sword's edge spits forth sword intent, encompassing all sword dao under heaven. "Today, I will block you all, no matter the cost."
At this moment, within the Myriad Immortals Formation, streams of true spirits have already ascended, flying directly towards the Investiture of the Gods platform in Xiqi. There are disciples of the Jie Sect, but more are from the Chan Sect.
The expressions of the Saints change, and they all wish to enter the formation and break it.
But once these four make a move, no one can possibly suppress heaven and earth.
"Wait, everyone!"
A clear voice echoes from afar. A Daoist stands in the air outside the heavens, treading flowers as he descends, as if arriving from amidst fire and blood.
The Saints freeze for a moment upon seeing him. None expected him to come.
But Qing Ling has, after all, arrived.
Tongtian snorts, "Fellow Daoist Qing Ling, are you also here to stop me?"
Qing Ling shakes his head with a smile, "Just by you calling me 'fellow Daoist,' I won't stop you."
Laozi raises an eyebrow, "Then are you here to stop us?"
Qing Ling shakes his head again and smiles, "Fellow Daoist Nuwa, you've been watching for so long, it's time to come and have a chat."
Rainbows stretch across the sky as Nuwa arrives on crimson clouds, "Fellow Daoist has finally emerged from seclusion."
Qing Ling glances at the Saints before speaking, "Everyone, the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation cannot be broken today, for it is the root of the Jie Sect's destiny. But the Chan Sect cannot be annihilated either, for these disciples are all disciples of the Three Schools of Daoism!"
Tongtian falls silent for a moment, "The Chan and Jie Sects are in opposition, how can this cease?"
Qing Ling says, "If you all continue to fight, heaven and earth will shatter. Who among the disciples of the Chan and Jie Sects can bear the immense karmic forces that will descend? The only outcome will be the decline of both sects."
Laozi says gravely, "Are you trying to mediate peace, fellow Daoist?"
Qing Ling smiles, "Not at all. I am here today to conclude this Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth!"
As he speaks, Qing Ling waves his sleeve. The Myriad Stars of the Zhou Tian revolve, and Primordial Heavenly Lord is suddenly teleported out.
The Saints' pupils constrict upon seeing this, their hearts filled with shock.
Primordial is even more astonished. For a moment, facing Qing Ling, all the Saints feel a sense of facing Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
Qing Ling smiles, "Fellow Daoist Tongtian, you can stop the Myriad Immortals Formation now. Do not break your elder brother's heart."
Tongtian pauses for a moment before raising his hand, and the Myriad Immortals Formation Diagram falls into his grasp. The Myriad Immortals Formation disperses, and the disciples of the Chan Sect are all injured by the residual power of the formation and sent flying backward.
The immortals are in a pitiful state. Primordial Heavenly Lord grieves for his disciples. The Twelve Golden Immortals, wounded and bleeding, kneel and say in unison, "We pay respects to our Master (Grand Master)!"
Primordial reaches out to help the immortals up, his heart full of sorrow, "It is my fault, for letting you suffer."
The immortals bow, "Your disciple regrets nothing!"
Qing Ling watches this scene and asks, "Fellow Daoist Nuwa, do you still wish for them to fight?"
Nuwa shakes her head, her voice slightly cold, "Why should I bear the brunt of their tantrums? This world was mended with my tears and blood. If they wish to shatter the world, they must first ask the twin blades in my hand."
The Saints fall silent.
Qing Ling nods, "Fellow Daoist Nuwa speaks the truth! In truth, the conflict between the Chan and Jie Sects is merely due to the tribulation. If the Great Tribulation has ended, there is no longer any need to fight."
Tongtian says coldly, "But how is the karma of my tragically deceased disciples to be resolved?"
"I can request the Earthly Dao to intervene, to not enter reincarnation, not enter the Investiture of the Gods, and to be reborn anew!" Qing Ling looks at Tongtian and says word by word.
The Saints are startled, but then they feel that this might indeed be possible. They might not be able to do it, but Qing Ling is different. He is the original master of the Earthly Dao, the Underworld Lord who led the Earthly Dao out of the ancient era!
Upon hearing this, Tongtian summons the Immortal Slaying Formation Diagram into his hand, and the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation disperses.
Primordial Heavenly Lord asks, "But Heaven's will has been set, and my Chan Sect's killing tribulation is not yet complete. How can the Great Tribulation end?"
Qing Ling smiles and looks up at the heavens, "I will intervene to complete the Great Tribulation!"
Primordial says no more, "Very well! I believe you."
Zhunti can no longer smile, "But the opportunity for the prosperity of my West..."
Qing Ling turns back, "I will grant you an opportunity for the prosperity of the West!"
Jieyin clasps his hands, "Good, good!"
Laozi speaks, "What about the many divine positions in the Heavenly Court?"
"Naturally, they will be bestowed upon the worthy. Within the myriad worlds, there are immeasurable gods and immortals. Will there be a lack of divine positions? Will there be worry that the unworthy and incompetent will occupy them?"
Laozi nods in agreement.
Qing Ling asks, "Does anyone have any further objections? If not, let this Great Tribulation end here!"
All the Saints declare, "Excellent!"
Qing Ling smiles, "Then please, everyone, witness the end of this Great Tribulation together."
Qing Ling sweeps his sleeve across the East and West, and a thousand blossoms bloom in an instant. Beyond the thirty-third heaven, infinite Luo Sheng flowers bloom. The true spirits of the disciples of the Chan and Jie Sects gather in the void. The Luo Sheng flowers bloom, flesh and bone reconnect, the Dao bodies are reborn, and the long river of time flows by. The silent Earthly Dao of reincarnation. Zhao Gongming, Bi Xiao, Qiong Xiao, and many others who should have been on the Investiture of the Gods are reborn.
They all bow. Having been reborn, they pay respects to their masters. Primordial and Tongtian are each overjoyed and reaffirm their master-disciple bond.
Within the cycle of the Earthly Dao, Di Ting asks confusedly, "Empress, why did you not intervene? The Saints are acting against the Earth. In the future, who will abide by reincarnation?"
Hou Tu points at Di Ting's beastly head and scolds with a laugh, "You still have a beast's brain, you don't understand the benefits. You are crossing the Earthly Dao. Do you think these disciples of the Three Schools could have been reborn without the Earthly Dao's consent? Qing Ling used the Earthly Dao's authority, the very last of it, for the last time. From now on, the Earthly Dao will have nothing to do with him. I am then the complete master of the Earthly Dao.
In the future, anyone who does not abide by the rules of reincarnation will be shown the will of the Earthly Dao, not just the so-called will of Heaven. From now on, the Earthly Dao will truly rise!"
Qing Ling again summons forth the phantom image of an incomparably vast and prosperous Verdant Lotus. Infinite vitality and hope gather and take root, devouring the karmic fortunes and growing vigorously. The world is filled with a surging tide of death, countless killing intents, and an abyss-like sea of tribulation energy.
Yet, it is only because someone has planted a lotus in the sky. The lotus blooms and scatters, cleansing the world, and all tribulations vanish. The karmic fortunes of heaven, earth, and man associated with the Investiture of the Gods fade away. The Earthly Dao unifies, the Heavenly Dao becomes divine, and the Human Dao returns to the East and West.
This phantom image of the Verdant Lotus is the phantom image of the twenty-four-petal Creation Verdant Lotus evolved by Qing Ling. It can absorb the myriad energies of heaven and earth, grow at the edge of the world, and only this lotus can channel the infinite killing intent of the Primordial Great Tribulation into the Chaos, purifying the killing tribulation.
Among the Saints observing from below, Zhunti says in disbelief, "When did Fellow Daoist Qing Ling become so terrifying? He is probably not much different from Dao Ancestor!"
Nuwa says, "Indeed! No matter how great our fortune and merit, we are still missing something. Even with Daoist Taiqing's supreme Dao foundation, he unfortunately took the wrong path."
Laozi remains silent.
Tongtian asks, "Are you saying our path of severing three corpses?"
"Precisely!" Nuwa laments, "No matter how supreme our Dao foundation, the first to successfully sever the three corpses was Dao Ancestor. Dao Ancestor took away the greatest Dao power from this path. How can we, his successors, possibly catch up?
Fellow Daoist Qing Ling emerged an era earlier, but fortunately, he forged his own path to Hunyuan in an era when the Heavenly and Earthly Daos were not yet manifest. He and Dao Ancestor are both pioneers, and we are merely followers."
Saying this, Nuwa smiles lightly, "Do you all wish to take another step forward and become pioneers of the Dao?"
Laozi's expression stirs, "What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Nuwa?"
Jieyin, who has been silent, ponders, "Fellow Daoist Qing Ling borrowing the phantom image of the Creation Verdant Lotus to channel tribulation energy into the Chaos will bring a greater tribulation to Primordial in the future!"
Nuwa smiles, "It is a tribulation, but it is also an opportunity for the Great Dao, an opportunity for all beings in Primordial!"