Wuji Did Not Dare Take Risks, Nor Did He Intend To

In truth, this was a coordinated performance between master and disciple. Outsiders only thought Golden Cicada had slept too deeply and delayed matters.

In reality, Golden Cicada had been summoned the previous day, and this act had long been arranged.

Golden Cicada knew full well how significant this journey was, which was why he willingly accepted the punishment.

He then arrived at the Underworld and, with Lady Pingxin’s permission, drank Meng Po Soup before stepping into the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

However, the instant he entered reincarnation, a mysterious glint flashed through his eyes. It appeared ordinary, yet concealed something profound.

Once Golden Cicada had completely merged into reincarnation, the Eighteen Arhats swiftly departed.

By then, all of Buddhism already knew that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had fallen and become the Ksitigarbha Demon Buddha. The Underworld had certainly played a role behind this matter.

The Eighteen Arhats feared following in his footsteps and did not dare linger.

After everyone left, Wuji appeared and stared gravely at the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

As one of the controllers of the Underworld, his control over reincarnation far surpassed Houtu’s.

Golden Cicada’s earlier abnormality had not escaped his notice.

"Interesting. Golden Cicada’s origins are extraordinary. Was this deliberately arranged by Buddhism, or is there another secret behind him? I need to keep a close watch on him." A sharp gleam flashed in Wuji’s eyes before vanishing.

Over the next few years, Wuji focused on observing Golden Cicada’s reincarnation—Tang Sanzang.

As expected, he quickly detected something unusual.

After three years of reincarnation, Golden Cicada was successfully born into the mortal world.

At first, Wuji noticed nothing special. Tang Sanzang was merely an ordinary infant, secretly protected by an Arhat at the level of a Grand Yi Golden Immortal.

Everything appeared normal.

Yet before long, Wuji noticed several strange phenomena.

Whenever the guardian Arhat relaxed even slightly, infant Tang Sanzang would release a familiar, sinister aura.

What shocked him even more was that this infant had begun cultivating. Both his soul and ** were quietly growing stronger.

The moment the guardian Arhat turned his attention back to him, Tang Sanzang immediately stopped cultivating and concealed his aura.

To a Grand Yi Golden Immortal, none of this appeared abnormal.

This further confirmed Wuji’s judgment: there was another secret behind this Journey to the West.

"Congratulations, Host. You have triggered a side quest. Please make your choice:

1. Discover an enemy from another world lurking within Tang Sanzang and completely erase him. Reward: ten billion Origin Essence.

2. Allow the powerhouse from another world to deal with Western Buddhism and reap the benefits. Reward: ten billion Origin Essence.

3. Capture the powerhouse from another world alive, examine his memories, and travel to his world in search of greater opportunities. Reward: twenty billion Great Dao Origin, Chaos Three Thousand Great Daos."

Upon hearing the system prompt, Wuji was greatly startled.

He had not expected that, without his realizing it, the Primordial Wilderness had once again been invaded by a powerhouse from another world.

Wuji should have anticipated this. Back when the Divine Dao World had joined forces with Wuji, Yang Mei, and Heaven and Earth to scheme against the Primordial Wilderness, other worlds could likewise have set their sights on the Primordial Wilderness.

Had Wuji failed to notice, this foreign powerhouse might truly have succeeded.

Now, matters had likely exceeded his expectations.

As for the system options, there was no need to say more. Wuji would certainly choose option three.

The enormous reward offered by option three greatly tempted Wuji. Option one was also viable, but its reward was vastly inferior by comparison.

As for option two, Wuji did not think much of it at all.

Why make things so complicated when dealing with the weak? The strong could simply crush them with their strength.

In Wuji’s eyes, Western Buddhism was not worth mentioning.

What truly concerned him was the Heavenly Dao, Dao Ancestor Hongjun, and the even more mysterious Pangu.

To distinguish friend from foe, he still needed to observe further.

Since he had already made up his mind, Wuji could not allow the foreign powerhouse hidden within Tang Sanzang to remain concealed.

Anyone capable of using such methods before the Heavenly Dao was no ordinary figure. In the future, he might become a key figure in the destruction of the Primordial Wilderness.

Wuji did not dare take risks, nor did he intend to.

With a thought, his body transformed into a streak of light and entered Tang Sanzang’s body, following that sinister aura.

"Who is it?!" A startled voice rang out.

With a slight movement of Wuji’s thoughts, a void space immediately isolated him and that mysterious aura.

Once the space stabilized, Wuji’s figure appeared.

At the same time, not far away, that mysterious aura revealed its true form—a refined man in blue robes. His aura was incredibly powerful, having reached the late stage of the Primal Unity Golden Immortal realm, far surpassing Laozi among the Saints.

No wonder neither Dao Ancestor Hongjun nor the Heavenly Dao had detected his origins.

Had it not been for the abnormal change in the Six Paths of Reincarnation back then, even Wuji would have been unable to see through his identity.

Unfortunately, he could only blame his bad luck now.

"Who are you? Hmm… if I am not mistaken, you must be the most mysterious powerhouse in the Primordial World, Wuji Heavenly Venerable!"

Seeing Wuji arrive and sensing his whereabouts, the man showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, he calmly smiled and spoke.

"I truly did not expect someone from another world to intrude upon our Primordial Wilderness.

"You have quite the nerve! Was that person who once impersonated King Zhou of the Human Race in our Primordial World one of your companions?"

Wuji seemed to recall something and slowly asked.

"Hahaha, how could that trash possibly deserve my attention?

"Still, that trash did have some ability. If not for him, I would never have discovered such a marvelous world.

"Haha, as long as I obtain this world and completely refine it, I will surely be able to break through to the Saint realm and advance toward even greater power!"

Upon hearing Wuji mention "King Zhou," the newcomer did not conceal anything. Instead, he spoke with disdain.

"Oh? A Saint?"

Wuji asked in surprise.

"That’s right. In your Primordial World, both Saints and Primal Unity Golden Immortals belong to the Saint tier.

"Unfortunately, this Primordial World possesses tremendous potential, yet it has produced only a few Saints. Not even a single Saint King has appeared.

"Falling into the hands of natives like you is truly a waste! Only I can develop this world to its greatest peak!"

This fellow was indeed arrogant, but Wuji was not angered in the slightest.

Why would Wuji waste too much emotion on someone about to die? Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly as memories of King Zhou surfaced in his mind.

Originally, he had planned to visit that world after the Journey to the West affair ended. It seemed that plan would have to be moved forward.

Furthermore, Saint and Saint King were likely new realm classifications that had emerged during the Chaos incident.

"Isn’t that a little too highly of yourself?"

Wuji said mockingly.

"No one in the Primordial World can match me. Even Hongjun, who claims to be a supreme existence, is merely at the peak of the Saint realm and has not even touched the Saint King realm.

"You speak to me of Saints? In my eyes, they are nothing but insignificant beings.

"You, Wuji Heavenly Venerable, possess passable combat strength, but you are merely in the early Saint realm. You are simply not worth considering.

"If I had not wished to save effort, this Primordial Wilderness would have long since been destroyed. But why would I allow my future territory to suffer needless damage?"

The other party sneered. "Who exactly are you? You possess such strength, yet engage in such underhanded acts."

"Just call me Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao. I merely wish to achieve my goal at the smallest possible cost.

"As for you, Wuji, today’s battle will determine the outcome."

Before his words had even faded, Wuji had already struck first.

Lin Hao smiled disdainfully and instantly met him head-on.

Facing Lin Hao’s contempt, Wuji’s offensive was fierce, his sword qi driving straight for Lin Hao’s vital points.

Caught off guard, Lin Hao was utterly terrified. He had believed he could win easily, only to discover that he had completely lost even the ability to resist.

In the end, Wuji’s sword pierced through his body, and Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao perished.

In just a few moments, Lin Hao was covered in wounds and collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

"You…" Wuji looked disdainfully at the frail Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

This man’s strength was roughly comparable to Daoist Heaven and Earth and Daoist Yang Mei, whom Wuji had encountered in Chaos back then.

Before the current Wuji, what did he amount to? *Hmm… I should first take this fellow out of Tang Sanzang’s body.

But the real Golden Cicada is already gone. Without Tang Sanzang, wouldn’t the Journey to the West become a joke? Wouldn’t all his subsequent arrangements be ruined?* As Wuji pondered inwardly, an idea suddenly emerged.

After smiling, he waved his right hand and effortlessly collected the completely helpless Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao into his palm.

He then separated a strand of his primordial spirit into Tang Sanzang’s body, while his true body flew toward Wuji Mountain.

The changes that had occurred to Tang Sanzang went entirely unnoticed by the Three Realms’ experts who had been constantly watching him. Even Receiver and Cundi, the two Saints of the West, discovered nothing.

Not long after Wuji left, Tang Sanzang slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.

Afterward, "Tang Sanzang" continued onward according to the script Buddhism had given him, without any abnormal behavior…

Elsewhere, Wuji brought the imprisoned Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao directly into the Wuji World.

Perhaps this was the safest place. After all, no one knew whether the Primordial World still contained accomplices from other worlds.

Within the Wuji World, Wuji did not immediately seek out Nüwa or Houtu. Instead, he casually found a place and released Lin Hao.

Without saying much, he destroyed Lin Hao’s body with a single strike, leaving behind only his shattered primordial spirit.

There was no need for the other party to beg or resist. Wuji’s self-created soul-searching technique once again displayed its power, and Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao’s vast memories flooded into his mind.

An hour later, Wuji opened his eyes, which were filled with delight.

He had not expected to catch such a big fish this time.

Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao was also considered a top powerhouse in his own world. Even among Saints, he stood at the highest level.

During the Deification Calamity, the False King Zhou whom Wuji had slain had once mentioned that his world contained nearly a hundred Primal Unity Golden Immortals and more than ten Heavenly Dao Realm experts.

However, from Heavenly Venerable Lin Hao’s memories, Wuji learned that this world was far more powerful than he had imagined.

The False King Zhou’s strength had been limited, and the information he provided was not comprehensive enough.

In Lin Hao’s memories, that world alone had hundreds of Saint-level experts, while Saint Kings numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

Even more shocking was that above Divine Kings, there existed experts at the level of Saint Emperors.

Lin Hao himself did not fully understand what kind of beings these Saint Emperor-level experts were.

But one thing was certain: there was definitely more than one of them.

Sensing the immense power of this world, Wuji not only felt no fear, but instead became filled with fighting spirit.

He desperately wished to leave the Primordial Wilderness, for cultivation here progressed exceedingly slowly, and system missions were becoming increasingly scarce.

If this continued, when would he break through to the Primal Unity Golden Immortal realm and then reach the Heavenly Dao Realm?

Glancing at Lin Hao’s primordial spirit, which was about to dissipate, Wuji decisively struck and completely destroyed it.

This Primal Unity Golden Immortal-level powerhouse had thus fallen.

Thinking of this, Wuji realized that his actions were rather similar to what he had done in the Divine Dao World back then, only the outcome was entirely different.

Failure meant losing one’s life. Now, he had already taken the two Xiantian Supreme Treasures left behind by Lin Hao for himself.

After sorting everything out, Wuji set off toward where Nüwa and Houtu were.

His most urgent task now was to travel to that unknown world as soon as possible, while the affairs of the Primordial Wilderness would be left to his clone.

However, Wuji hesitated over whether he should bring Nüwa, Houtu, Xihe, and Changxi with him on this journey into Chaos.

Traveling together might strengthen them, but it would also greatly increase the risks.

Wuji could not guarantee that he would be able to fully protect their safety.