Chapter 3102 - Strange Movements

When the Threelives Buddha saw the entrance to the Abyss of Endless Tribulations in the distance, his eyes narrowed.

“I finally found it,” he whispered, ruefully.

“It really is an unbelievable place,” Hong Ling said, a hint of eagerness in her voice.

Long ago, in the early days of the Primordial Era, the Abyss of Endless Tribulations was known as the source of all the world’s calamities. It was full of the most unbelievable, calamitous power of the natural order of destiny!

There was no end to the tribulations of destiny, and all had their strange and terrifying qualities, but they all came from the same place: the Abyss of Endless Tribulations!

According to Sovereign Venerate Yi, when the calamitous power of the abyss erupted in full, a true cataclysm would descend upon the entire Eternal Heavens Domain. None would escape unscathed!

Su Yi flipped his right hand, and a dreamlike, resplendent bundle of light floated into the air. This was the Key to Endless Tribulations, the only way to enter the abyss.

“Let’s go,” said Su Yi, leading the way in. Hong Ling and the Threelives Buddha followed.

As they drew near, both peered into the abyss, which resembled a black hole. Time and space contorted and collapsed inside, and countless terrifying, calamitous powers of the Laws churned like raging waves. It was a shocking sight!

Its aura alone made the Threelives Buddha and Hong Ling as solemn as could be.

The Threelives Buddha took out a black alms bowl carved with strange, intricate Sanskrit text and the outline of an eight-tiered pagoda.

Su Yi’s eyelids twitched imperceptibly. The Book of Destiny, Cauldron of Fate, and Contented Heart Scepter reacted to the alms bowl, just as they had to Hong Ling’s Mirror of Mysteries.

There was no doubt about it. The black alms bowl was a taboo treasure!

Those who carried such treasures were to be the most dangerous enemies in his pursuit of the Grand Dao!

Hong Ling glanced at the Threelives Buddha in surprise, too. “That alms bowl of yours isn’t simple!”

She’d obviously noticed, too.

The Threelives Buddha shook his head. “It’s but a trinket. Not even worth mentioning.”

Su Yi said suddenly, “I heard that Spirit Mountain Buddhist Court has a Secret Heart Treasure called the Nine-Colored Lotus Platform. Do you perhaps have it on you?”

On the River of Destiny, Secret Heart Treasures were so rare that they were practically legends. Almost no one had ever seen one.

The Threelives Buddha shook his head. “That’s one of the most important treasures of the Spirit Mountain Buddhist Court, and it’s maintained our fortune throughout the ages. We wouldn’t let it leave the sect lightly.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi.

As they conversed, the three of them drew near the entrance. At the rim of the abyss, the calamitous aura was so terrifying that even Heavenly Sovereigns would shrink back in terror.

Su Yi couldn’t help but recall something. Back in the Primordial Era, River Ancestor Lu Shu had disregarded his own survival and leaped boldly into the Abyss of Endless Tribulations in search of good fortune, only to meet with disaster.

But for all his misfortune, he’d been lucky. The ruler of the Abyss of Endless Tribulations intervened on his behalf, helping Lu Shu become a Harbinger of Tribulations.

“Fellow Daoist Su, we can’t afford to let anything go wrong at this juncture,” the Threelives Buddha said suddenly. “A moment’s inattention will lead to our doom.”

Hong Ling glanced at Su Yi. “I trust you won’t play games with your own life.”

She, too, sensed that the calamitous aura emanating from the abyss was enough to threaten even a Heavenly Sovereign like her!

Su Yi heard the implied threat, but disregarded it and continued ahead.

An unbelievable scene followed. Su Yi held the Key to Endless Tribulations, so wherever he went, an invisible wall seemed to follow. It staved off all of the encroaching calamitous power.

Thus, neither he nor his two companions were affected in any way.

Even so, neither the Threelives Buddha nor Hong Ling got complacent. They watched Su Yi’s every move, ready to react the instant he tried something.

Fortunately, Su Yi did nothing out of the ordinary.

When the group reached the entrance, the scenery shifted around them. Time and space contorted, and lights and shadows flowed past, as if they’d been transported somewhere else entirely.

Just a few blinks of the eye later, the world came back into focus. They now stood in a strange new world.

Heaven and earth were endlessly vast, yet desolate, with an uncultivated, primeval air.

The most terrifying part was that the sky was covered in dense chaos clouds churning with taboo, calamitous Laws.

Even the air itself was permeated with traces of impending calamity.

They could see clearly that, for all the vastness of this landscape, nothing grew here, not even an inch of grass. The place was utterly devoid of life. Even the ground was dry and barren.

It was as if they’d come to a dead world, a place none could live!

“This is the Realm of Endless Tribulations?” Hong Ling’s eyes shone with strange light.

A strange world existed within the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. It was known as the Realm of Endless Tribulations, and according to rumors, this was where all the world’s calamities arose. It hid innumerable strange, unbelievable secrets.

Hong Ling had come here to search for a taboo treasure born of the source of all calamities.

“It really is unbelievable...” murmured the Threelives Buddha as he examined his surroundings. He could clearly sense that the natural order of the Realm of Endless Tribulations consisted entirely of Laws of Calamity!

Any cultivator who entered this place was effectively throwing themselves into a lightning pool. Here, they’d be beset by calamity at all times!

Calamities came in all different kinds. Some targeted the body, others the soul, the heart, or the Laws of the Grand Dao.

Some even targeted one’s destiny itself!

The Realm of Endless Tribulations was surely home to all manner of unbelievable cataclysms.

“You two, now that we’ve reached the Realm of Endless Tribulations, let’s go our separate ways and take responsibility for our own life and death.”

With that, Su Yi turned to walk away.

“Wait!” The Threelives Buddha smiled. “You came here to save my master and the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. I’m here for the same reason, so why not travel together?”

As he spoke, he locked firmly onto Su Yi.

Hong Ling’s eyes flashed. She silently locked onto Su Yi, too. “I’ll go with you two.”

Su Yi’s gaze was calm and unflappable. “In that case, why not just end things between us here and now?”

The atmosphere was instantly tense.

The Threelives Buddha sighed. “You still don’t trust me, do you, Fellow Daoist? Very well. Let’s each go our own separate ways.”

Hong Ling blinked in apparent surprise.

Su Yi gazed intently at the Threelives Buddha, but said no more. He just turned to leave.

Hong Ling was just about to say something when the Threelives Buddha stopped her. “Fellow Daoist Su has urgent business to resolve. Let’s not create trouble for him.”

He stood there, watching quietly as Su Yi faded into the distance. Even after Su Yi vanished from sight, he made no effort to stop him.

“Why did you change your mind, Fellow Daoist?” Hong Ling couldn’t help but ask.

According to the plan they’d discussed earlier, they’d join forces and capture Su Yi once they’d successfully entered the Realm of Endless Tribulations.

But now, he’d obviously changed his strategy.

“There’s no rush,” the Threelives Buddha said calmly. “He’s already a beast in a cage. There’s no way he can escape disaster this time. The Confucianists have a saying I rather admire. The cultivated gentleman doesn’t stand beneath a crumbling wall. If we cast aside all pretenses of cordiality now, it’s highly likely that something will go wrong.”

Hong Ling frowned. “Do you think Su Yi has means of fighting us?”

The Threelives Buddha nodded without hesitation. “I’m sure of it! I understand him far too well. He wouldn’t have dared to come here alone without having made ample preparations beforehand.”

Hong Ling gazed intently at the Threelives Buddha. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

The Threelives Buddha said, “As I told you earlier, with Chu Shanke and Sovereign Venerate Yi backing you, there’s no way I’ll harm you.”

Hong Ling instantly fell silent. She was now certain that the Threelives Buddha was hiding a lot of details about this expedition.

“Let’s go. I still need your Mirror of Mysteries as a guide. Without it, we might well run into unpredictable peril at any moment.” The Threelives Buddha gazed into the dome of heaven.

This was his first time here, and his first time realizing that the natural order of this forbidden zone consisted entirely of Laws of Calamity.

Fortunately, with the Mirror of Mysteries to guide them, they could perceive the shifting of tribulations with ease, avoiding danger and approaching good fortune. They could see and predict all unknown dangers and cataclysms in their path.

This was the reason he was willing to bring Hong Ling with him.

“Where are we going?” Hong Ling couldn’t help but ask.

“We just need to follow Su Yi.” The Threelives Buddha laughed. “Don’t you think he’s the perfect trailblazer for us?”

Hong Ling couldn’t bring herself to smile. She just felt that the Threelives Buddha had hidden far too many secrets, and that was far too dangerous!

Without another word, she activated the Mirror of Mysteries and led the way.

......

They seriously didn’t attack me? Su Yi walked alone through the barren landscape, brow furrowed. What the hell is the Threelives Buddha playing at?

He couldn’t even begin to guess.

In the end, Su Yi just shook his head and took out the Book of Destiny.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Buddha of Non-Existence both had clones in the Book of Destiny. They’d been in the Destiny Prison of the first page for years now.

Now that he’d arrived in the Realm of Endless Tribulations, it was naturally time to invite them out.

But just as he was about to open the first page, he sensed a strange energy fluctuation emanating from the Book of Destiny, as if it had sensed something. It scattered a rain of inscrutable light.

Moments later, it struggled in a bid to break free of Su Yi’s grasp!

This was the first time the Book of Destiny had done this since he’d first acquired it.

Without hesitation, Su Yi used his Natal Heart Lamp to lock down on the Book of Destiny and seal it. Only then did its struggles cease.

A lot occurred to Su Yi at once. For instance, Xiao Jian had told him that he’d acquired the Book of Destiny deep in the Abyss of Endless Tribulations!

It was through Xiao Jian that Su Yi had learned of the connection between the book and the abyss.

Su Yi had come to the Abyss of Endless Tribulations in part to see if he could learn more about the Book of Destiny’s background.

Now, the book’s strange movements were unquestionable proof that Xiao Jian had been telling the truth!