"Second Brother, what do you mean? Why is the world in chaos?"
"And what do you mean, send me away?"
Facing his sister's questions, Yang Jian looked at her and said, "Because I ran into Guanyin and offended Lingshan. To protect you, I can only send you away."
"I won't go. Father and Eldest Brother are both gone. If I leave, who will take care of you?"
Yang Chan's eyes were already rimmed with red; tears kept gathering until her face was wet.
"Don't worry. Once your second brother has pacified this world, I'll come to the God Realm to find you."
Thud.
The edge of a palm chopped down against Yang Chan's neck.
At the same time, divine power sealed her spiritual platform.
"Second… Brother…"
Her eyelids drooped shut. Half-conscious, Yang Chan murmured to him.
"Second Lord, why did you stun the Third Lady?"
The Howling Celestial Hound padded in from outside. Seeing the scene, it frowned and asked. The two siblings had argued before, yes—but never like this.
Yang Jian lifted his gaze to his companion. "Call the Meishan brothers. Build an altar at Guanjiangkou. I intend to make offerings to the God of Eternity."
"Huh? God of Eternity? What is that bir—"
He didn't get the last word out.
The Howling Celestial Hound flew backward under a kick.
"Mind your tongue," Yang Jian said, face cold. "A god's name isn't something you may insult."
"Whine…" The single kick sent the hound tumbling more than ten meters. Yang Jian hadn't used much strength, but the pain was real, and the hound dared not complain.
Watching the dog disappear down the steps, Yang Jian sighed inwardly. Solanum's words had struck him hard.
One mustn't fear ten thousand possibilities—only that single one.
If anything happened to his younger sister—
There is no medicine for regret in this world; if there were, one would swallow it oneself.
Immortals build altars quickly; it's nothing like refining a magic treasure.
Two hours later, an altar stood before Yang Jian.
The Meishan brothers whispered amongst themselves.
"What's wrong with Second Lord? To hold a public sacrifice to some strange god… who would dare let him?"
"Hard to say. Perhaps an ancient god."
"I heard the Howling Celestial Hound say Second Lord knocked out the Third Lady and claimed the world is about to change. It likely has to do with whatever he encountered on this last trip."
"None of that's our concern. We do our own tasks with steady hearts. No matter whom Second Lord believes in, we won't change until death."
"Well said."
…
A short while passed.
Yang Jian emerged from within, holding his sister, carrying several immortal tools and the Lotus Lantern their mother had left to his sister.
With these, the offerings were sufficient.
"Second Lord, what are your orders?"
"Just stand by and watch carefully."
Yang Jian walked up to the altar and laid his sister upon it, a flash of reluctance in his eyes.
Then he sank to his knees.
He spoke with profound piety:
"Great God of Eternity, I, your believer Yang Jian, present here the Lotus Lantern and several immortal treasures, and my sister Yang Chan as a living offering. I pray for your descent…"
"May your divine light cleanse this world, now steeped in filth…"
The Six Monsters of Meishan were stunned.
What did that mean?
Had the Erlang True Lord actually offered his dearest sister as a sacrifice?
"Second Lord, wake up! That is the Third Lady—your own sister!"
"Second Lord, have you taken the wrong medicine? Don't do anything foolish!"
…
Amid their accusations, the Erlang True Lord remained unmoved.
He continued to pray.
Because only this way could Yang Chan come to no harm. Of course, he could have prayed directly—but he knew his sister too well. If she were awake, she would fight shoulder-to-shoulder with him to the very end.
"I'm sorry, Sister… all the pain, let me bear it."
"One day, you'll forgive me."
…
At this very moment, in Lingshan—
Brilliance everywhere; Buddha-light suffused all.
Two dragons coiled along the eaves of the main gate; look closely, and one could see their eyes blinking.
To be born a dragon, yet serve as watchdogs at Lingshan's gate—
One could see how terrifying Lingshan's authority was in the Journey to the West world.
"Bodhisattva."
"Mm."
After the formalities, Guanyin Bodhisattva came before the Tathagata.
Before she could speak, the Tathagata said first: "No need to say more. I already know what has happened."
"Then, Tathagata Buddha, what should be done?"
"Send Venerable Kāśyapa to check on his younger sister—if I remember, she's called Yang Chan. After the Pilgrimage to the West concluded, we were making adjustments. The Jade Emperor has already sent word as well: do not let Yang Jian stir up trouble again."
Just a few lives.
And mere mortals at that.
Yang Jian truly took a chicken feather for an arrow.
Hearing the Tathagata's tone of disdain, the answer had clearly been decided beforehand.
It left Guanyin—who had prepared so many words—suddenly at a loss.
In truth, she wanted to ask if Lingshan had erred. Yang Jian was overbearing, yes, but he had been correct.
Every sentence of his had struck home.
Had they truly done wrong?
Some things demanded reflection.
But the Tathagata looked impatient—he likely wouldn't listen.
Guanyin did not linger; she turned to leave.
On the way back, she suddenly felt something terrifying stir into being, inexplicably.
A premonition.
She tried a divination—fingers pinched—but nothing came.
Guanyin frowned. "What is it? Why can't I read it?"
…
At Guanjiangkou—
A column of light fell from the sky, illuminating the entire continent.
Every creature in the Journey to the West world felt their souls tremble; for a heartbeat, their minds went blank.
Then—a voice sounded, reaching the depths of all souls:
"Before chaos was born, I was already present—older even than time…"
If it had been just a voice, perhaps it would have mattered less.
But the mystery within those words was profound.
And with the voice, an image blossomed in every mind:
Pangu cleaving the heavens and sundering the earth!
This was the oldest tale of the Chinese pantheon.
Only Great God Pangu had been born within chaos—so what did it mean to be older than time itself?
Could it be that this being was even more terrifying than Pangu?!
Within Lingshan, the Tathagata roared with wrath:
"What heretical influence from beyond the realm—bewitching the world!"
A colossal Buddha-power surged forth with the cry, spearing straight through the nine heavens.
Force tore the sky wide open.
And all sentient beings saw that towering figure.
An existence beyond the ninth heaven.
Higher than the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Its eyes shone brighter than the stars.
The Long River of Time coiled around that form.
Among the stars, the gods dwelling in the constellations, seeing the God of Eternity descend, felt their souls quake in terror.
One by one, they fled their own natal stars.
Chang'e, on the Lunar Star, fainted where she stood.
Even as the Tathagata's attack shot forth, he regretted it.
An existence of this level—surely a strength on par with Great God Pangu.
Casual—as a breath!
Ding—
The seemingly apocalyptic force finally reached that figure—
And failed to stir a single ripple.
A single glance fell.
The Tathagata convulsed as if struck by lightning, blood geysering from his lips.
His golden body shattered instantly.
All of Lingshan wailed.
Buddhas of weaker cultivation exploded into blood-flower mist under a mere look.
In the Lingxiao Hall—
The Jade Emperor collapsed to the floor, his spirit nearly torn from his body.
How terrifying was this power?
He could not resist in the slightest.
Clairvoyance's eyes went dark, blind.
Fairwind Ears went deaf.
The Haotian Domain cracked apart.
They could not bear to look, much less comprehend.
But fortunately, that god delivered only one strike—and did not continue.
The Tathagata, drenched in blood, smiled strangely.
"Hahaha… No matter how strong you are, you dare not kill me. Heaven will stop you. This world belongs to Buddhism!"
But quickly, he realized his tragedy.
For with his golden body shattered, his Dao cultivation had been completely wiped clean.
This meant the Tathagata had become a cripple!
Liu Che sneered inwardly. Jump now—let me see how you jump without cultivation.
Some people court death.
As for me—perhaps I cannot kill you—but I can abolish your cultivation and ensure you never become the Buddha of the ages.
After all, humankind is the protagonist between heaven and earth!
As long as Yang Jian gathers fortune in the days to come, the rise of Buddhism is nothing but empty talk.
The divine gaze swung toward Yang Jian.
The other man was fever-bright with excitement.
Especially after the god's appearance—his entire body trembled.
But aren't you, Yang Jian, a madman who dotes on his sister?
Why would you offer Yang Chan?
He couldn't quite puzzle it out, and didn't bother trying.
He had, after all, accepted the offering.
"Yang Jian."
"Your believer answers."
Feeling divine light pour down, Yang Jian suppressed his inner thrill and gazed up into the heavens, his face composed.
Neither servile nor arrogant.
Worthy indeed of the God of Justice—the Erlang True Lord.
"For merits rendered near at hand, I bestow on you one law of bestowed might, one Shinto weapon, and the rank of a Three-Star Emissary. Do not grow proud. Strive to develop the faith…"
"Thank you for your gifts, Great God. But may your believer ask one question?"
"Speak."
"Are you Pangu?"
"Pangu does not exist. I am the Creator. You can see it in the Long River of Time and Space. But that time lies too far behind; all beings have forgotten me."
Yang Jian understood.
In ancient days, because the forebears could not describe a god like this, falsehoods had propagated; thus the name "Pangu" had been handed down.
"You must keep your heart steady, and do not forget your name. There is justice in the world—hold fast to that measure."
"Yes. I, Yang Jian, will remember it."
The Erlang True Lord clasped his fists and kowtowed.
He watched as his unconscious sister was carried off into the sky.
Only long after the Eternal God vanished did the Three Realms return to their former aspect.
The movements of the Heavenly Dao slowly resumed.
Within Yang Jian's body, shards of the Law of Force knit themselves to him, one after another.
Yang Jian—originally at a Bodhisattva-level realm—leapt forward by bounds, until his terrible howl shook the nine heavens.
Across the world, cultivators awakened to realization—
What they had heard earlier had not been a dream,
But the most solid of realities.
When Yang Jian's breakthrough concluded, his power was more terrifying than what the Jade Emperor could cultivate in ten thousand years.
"True Lord… True Lord…"
Just as Yang Jian was lost in the tide of his new power, Taibai Jinxing's voice sounded from outside.
Yang Jian opened his eyes.
A terrible glimmer streaked through them.
Frightened, Old Man Taibai hunched his neck and sank straight to his knees, chanting.
"Speak. What does he want from me?"
"This—I—the… the Jade Emperor… he says he misses you very much…"