“The existences beyond the Grand Heavenly Immortal Realm were holding each other back, thus making them unable to make a move.”

“Those in the Grand Heavenly Immortal Realm and below would only end up being massacred by me, or that coward. Only then would the Humanly Essence Stone fragment remain on the spot without returning to the Plains of Nuwa.” The monkey’s expression was a little furious.

Yan Zhaoge and Feng Yunsheng both looked at each other.

While the things that happened in the past had surprised them, they were currently focusing on another matter.

“Heavenly Essence Stone…” Feng Yunsheng remained silent, but Yan Zhaoge could read her lips.

After calming himself down, Yan Zhaoge softly asked, “Great Sage, you mentioned that the Plains of Nuwa had issued a decree for various Sages and Saints to lay down the formation. Was that the Nuwa Sovereign’s own words?”

Beneath the Thirty-three Heavens, the Grand Plainness Heaven’s Plains of Nuwa’s Nuwa Sovereign Palace was where the Nuwa Sovereign resided.

Upon hearing her name, many sorts of guesses popped up within Yan Zhaoge’s mind.

However, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven shook his head.

“Of course not. The Nuwa Sovereign had already transcended long ago.” The monkey gritted his teeth, “If the Nuwa Sovereign hadn’t transcended yet, how would I be birthed from the Earthly Essence Stone?”

“The one that held authority over the Plains of Nuwa during that time was Eastern Sovereign.”

Yan Zhaoge gently rubbed his temples, “Eastern Sovereign, huh…”

The so-called Eastern Sovereign was the legendary Eastern Sovereign Taiyi!

He was listed among the Ancient Three Sovereigns along with the Nuwa Sovereign. In fact, he was on par with the Daoism’s Three Clear Grand Masters, the Buddhism’s Western Second Patriarch, and even the Nine Underworld’s Primordial Heavenly Devil. He was the oldest and the strongest existence in the universe.

However, the period where the Ancient Three Sovereigns were active had already passed a long time ago. From then until now, information related to them was already extremely scarce. It was practically impossible to locate their whereabouts.

Although there were various kinds of rumors about it, they were still rumors after all. Now, Yan Zhaoge had finally acquired a trustable intel regarding them from the Great Sage Equalling Heaven – Sun Wukong.

Nuwa Sovereign, also known as Mother Goddess Nuwa, had already transcended, just like how the Daoism’s Three Clear Grand Master and the Mystical Mountain’s Tathagata Buddha had.

Moreover, if what the Great Sage Equalling Heaven said was true, the Nuwa Sovereign had transcended even earlier than the Tathagata Buddha.

Only, he wasn’t aware of where the other two of the Ancient Three Sovereigns were at. Was the Eastern Sovereign still presiding over the Demon Race’s Astro Mountains Starry Sea?

“The Eastern Sovereign had instructed various other races to fight against Buddhism,” said Yan Zhaoge with a sigh. “In the end, Buddhism illuminated… Traveling Monk Sun had protected monk Sanzang on his pilgrimage. With the Great Thunderclap Monastery’s Buddhism bigwigs’ assistance, the huge formation prepared by the Plains of Nuwa was cleared away to allow Buddhism to descend upon the East once again.”

“The Western Buddhas descended upon the East and forced the group of Great Sages and Small Saints into retreat. At the same time, they spread Buddhism’s teachings throughout the entire world and enlightened the myriad of lifeforms, causing them to achieve an insurmountable accomplishment. It built the foundations for the Blessed Lands of Saha’s flourishment, and ultimately allowed the Mystical Mountain’s Tathagata Buddha to transcend.”

He thought in his heart, “What role did the Western Pure Lands, Daoism, and the Nine Underworlds play in these turns of events?”

While thinking about it, he looked towards Sun Wukong, “Great Sage, according to the myths, our Daoism’s Grand Clear Grand Master had made an appearance during the Middle era. However, the Three Clear Grand Masters should have transcended together during the end of the Ancient era. Then, the Elder Lord that appeared during the Middle era…”

The Great Sage Equalling Heaven remained silent and stared at Yan Zhaoge.

His dazzling bronze mirror-like eyes made Yan Zhaoge uncomfortable, “Great Sage, is this some sort of taboo?”

After staring at Yan Zhaoge for a while, the monkey chuckled, “What kind of taboo would there be?”

“The Lord of Dao and Virtue is the Supreme Elder Lord. If not, who did you assume he was?”

Yan Zhaoge replied frankly, “It’s not based on who I assumed he was. Only, various sorts of guesses and legends had been made since the Middle era until now. Other than a few existences, no one else knew about the truth behind this.

There were indeed many sorts of rumors regarding the Elder Lord. In fact, there were some extravagant theories as well.

Relatively speaking, there are three widely spread theories.

The first theory was that he was indeed the Grand Clear Grand Master – the Lord of Dao and Virtue. While he should have transcended long ago, he continued to remain in this world. Otherwise, although he had already transcended long ago, he returned to this world for some unknown reasons.

Second, that wasn’t the real Grand Clear Lord of Dao and Virtue. Instead, the Supreme Heavenly Devil had taken his form!

Before the establishment of heavens and earth, within the Early Heaven’s primordial gulf, the Grand Clear Lord of Dao and Virtue had taken over an Ancestral Devil’s position. There, he manifested himself into a Supreme Heavenly Devil and cleaved the vitality of the Devils.

The one that accompanied him in doing so was the Western Pure Land’s owner – Amitabha. He manifested into a Faceless Heavenly Devil and occupied another Ancestral Devil’s position.

Upon being affected by the two, the Devils had suffered a significant loss. Afterward, other people joined forces together and continuously targeted the Devils. As a result, the dao flourished, while the Devils diminished most of the time.

When the Lord of Dao and Virtue manifested himself into the Supreme Heavenly Devil, and the Amitabha Buddha manifested himself into the Faceless Heavenly Devil, they had undergone an actual manifestation. It wasn’t just a clone or something.

However, as the Lord of Dao and Virtue had transcended, whether the Supreme Heavenly Devil had indeed become an entity of its own was unknown to the mass.

As such, when the Lord of Dao and Virtue appeared in the world in the form of the Supreme Elder Lord during the Middle era, most people had guessed that he was merely a transformation of the Supreme Heavenly Devil.

As for the third theory, others guessed that he was the Lord of Plentiful Treasures.

During the ancient Investitures of the Gods era’s great war, the Prime Clear’s first disciple – Lord of Plentiful Treasures was brought away by the Lord of Dao and Virtue, never to be heard from again.

There were many sorts of rumors about him.

One of them was Old Man Hua Hu.

In this legend, the Lord of Plentiful Treasure was the monarch of the Blessed Lands of Saha during the Middle era – the Mystical Mountain’s Tathagata Buddha, Gautama Buddha!

The other rumor was that the Elder Lord appearing during the Middle era was contradictory to the Ancient era’s Three Clear Grand Masters transcendence. Most people guessed that the Middle era’s Elder Lord was the Lord of Plentiful Treasures.

In this rumor, the Prime Clear’s first disciple had also inherited the Jade Clear and Grand Clear’s lineage and successfully ascended to the realm beyond the Grand Heavenly Immortal Realm.

Nobody knew why he transformed into the Supreme elder Lord and appeared in the world as the Lord of Dao and Virtue.

The existence of those beyond the Grand Heavenly Immortal Realm was too mysterious for ordinary citizens. As such, all sorts of rumors and guesses were widely spread around.

“The Lord of Dao and Virtue is the Supreme Elder Lord…” The monkey repeated. He suddenly said, “However, the Supreme Elder Lord isn’t the Lord of Dao and Virtue.”

Yan Zhaoge nodded after studying the monkey’s words, “I see. The Jade Clear Grand Master symbolized the birth of all objects from nothingness. The Prime Clear Grand Master symbolizes going from being to unbeing, while the Grand Clear Grand Master existed between nothingness and creation. Only he would leave his shadow behind in this world even if he had transcended. It’s not his main body, nor is it a clone or a manifestation.”

“Heh, that’s it,” said the monkey impatiently.

Feng Yunsheng asked, “I’d like to ask you something. Among those existences beyond the Grand Heavenly Immortal Realm in your era, do you know anyone who’s still alive within this world? Daoist Zhunti, Amitabha Buddha, the Vast Freedom Heavenly Devil, the other person among the Ancient Three Sovereigns other than the Nuwa Sovereign and the Eastern Sovereign – Fuxi Sovereign. How are they now?”

“Daoist Zhunti?” The monkey suddenly went silent. Then, he chuckled weirdly. His laughter was filled with complex emotions, capable of making one shudder.

Anger, unresigned, sadness, bleakness…

“He’s already transcended!” The Great Sage Equalling Heaven laughed fanatically while raising his head, “You guys were the one that told me that!”