The origin vibrated, and the high heavens of Confucianism vanished, causing distortions and changes in the existence of countless Confucian cultivators.
It was like a brilliance that surpassed all ages, blooming when the high heavens of Confucianism suddenly disappeared. By the time the Heavenly Heart experts realized that billions of past and future events were being twisted simultaneously, the emanating Jade Purity light had already permeated every corner of the Inner Mountains and Rivers.
Without awareness, without providing a response or preparation for thought, even past memories had been altered.
Only experts at the Heavenly Heart realm could retain their memories.
Within the vast sea, waves surged, and the Longevity Heavenly Palace spanned the sky above. As the Jade Purity radiance reached here, the Demon Heavenly Master's eyes reflected the modified past.
He suddenly turned his head, looking at the disciples within the Heavenly Palace. Among them, any cultivator who had previously practiced in Confucianism, or emerged from Confucianism, their attire, their speech and demeanor, the classics and famous quotes they recited, and the magical treasures they held or possessed, were no longer from Confucianism.
And they themselves were unaware. Even in their previous lives, they were saying "How great is our Confucianism," and in their next lives, their words changed to "How great is our Jade Purity."
"This! The origin has changed, the origin of the foremost of the Three Teachings has changed!"
The Demon Heavenly Master was greatly shaken, and a profound fear surged within him.
Since Ji Xiang entered the Qingcheng Ghost Capital, the Great Luo Giant Moon Seal had lost its perception, and he could not ascertain the situation within. But now, such a terrifying event that shocked all the great sages of the world had suddenly occurred. He suddenly had a vague feeling that it was inextricably linked to Qingcheng.
How could this be?
That golden Heavenly Heart should be a Confucian cultivator. Was it related to him?
But within it was only Zhang Xiu's ghost book. He had merely asked Ji Xiang to find a Ling Shu Jing.
The Demon Heavenly Master turned his gaze again, sweeping across the entire Inner Mountains and Rivers, the Ten Continents, Three Islands, Four Great Divisions, and Eight Vast Seas.
Confucianism no longer existed.
They had become cultivators under another origin, and even all their past circumstances had been modified. Under that origin, they had been born with various experiences that they might or might not have had.
In this world, nothing was truly real.
But now, the Demon Heavenly Master felt a chill down his spine. The ability to change the entire origin of Confucianism, the foremost of the Three Teachings, and replace it, surpassed the imagination of the Heavenly Heart realm. No cultivator of any realm could achieve this, not even the yet-unproven "True Realm of Heavenly Dao"!
This was absolutely impossible!
He flew out of the Longevity Heavenly Palace and headed towards the highest point of the Inner Mountains and Rivers, where countless Heavenly Heart experts had already manifested.
They were all looking towards the high heavens that originally belonged to Confucianism.
"The origin has changed, as if everything has turned into a bubble."
A Heavenly Heart expert looked at the Demon Heavenly Master: "You are not too late. Come, let's watch together."
The Demon Heavenly Master did not understand. At this moment, all the gathered Heavenly Heart experts had no inclination to discuss their past grievances and entanglements.
"Look!"
A Heavenly Heart expert pointed at the original Confucian cultivators. He displayed the great technique of reversing cause and effect, but the original Confucian cultivators had no cause and effect, nor karma and dharma, on their bodies.
"The absence of causal change proves that their origin has been established and cannot be altered."
"This is absolutely impossible," a Heavenly Heart expert exclaimed in terror.
"Past, future, karma, dharma – these are the four constant 'phenomena,' the 'great phenomena' of the world. All dharma and our Dao are achieved based on the 'Four Phenomena'!"
"These Four Phenomena give birth to all phenomena, the universe, the torrent of time, the twelve causal links, all connections between beings and beings, and even all the illusory forms that constitute our existence and our most fundamental spirituality are also composed of these Four Phenomena."
"How powerful was Confucianism, the foremost of the Three Teachings? Their Heavenly Heart realm also disappeared, ceasing to exist. Yet their disciples and cultivators have become the 'Jade Purity cultivators' spoken of!"
"This means that history has been rewritten, and there is no longer anything like Confucianism within the Four Phenomena. Therefore, no matter how we invert cause and effect, we cannot restore Confucianism! The origin no longer exists!"
The Heavenly Hearts of Buddhism looked at the Heavenly Hearts of Taoism:
"Taiqing, Yuqing, Shangqing! The cultivators of the Three Pure Ones originated from Taoism. Even though Jade Purity cultivators are rarely seen, you must know something. What does this matter have to do with Jade Purity cultivators?"
"We don't know," the few Heavenly Hearts of Taoism answered curtly.
"The inheritance of the Three Pure Ones cultivators is not the same, especially Jade Purity. Shangqing was born only when the Heavenly Venerable passed down the dharma a second time, and Taiqing is unrelated. That Jade Purity dharma directly follows the . path, above Shangqing, and outside Taiqing. We truly do not know."
It seemed that Taoism had benefited, yet the experts of Taiqing and Shangqing also felt their scalps tingle.
If the entire Confucianism could perish today due to an inexplicable disaster.
Then Taiqing and Shangqing would suffer the same fate tomorrow.
"The divine position of Lao Jun has not yet been recovered, and the origin of our Taiqing is difficult to stabilize."
A Taiqing expert spoke, but the Heavenly Hearts of the alchemists, Buddhism, and solitary individuals like the Demon Heavenly Master looked at this Taiqing cultivator in horror.
"You say that Jade Purity cultivators originated from whom?"
"Which Heavenly Venerable?"
The eyes of that Taiqing Heavenly Heart showed confusion.
"It was a Heavenly Venerable."
"Which Heavenly Venerable? You, you don't know?"
He gradually became somewhat terrified, and the other Heavenly Heart experts desperately recalled. However, they only remembered that the dharma seemed to have been passed down by a Heavenly Venerable, but they could not recall his name or his holy title.
"Jade Purity, speaking of which, how did Jade Purity cultivators come about? Why are they called Jade Purity?"
"No! No, we've forgotten something. I must invert cause and effect!"
A Heavenly Heart expert directly used the technique of reversing cause and effect on himself, reversing all his existence, yet he still could not recall.
"Jade Purity has seized the origin of Confucianism, but where did the origin of Jade Purity come from!"
The Demon Heavenly Master watched the scene before him. Most of the Heavenly Heart experts from the Three Teachings were gathered here, and there were even existences at the Hunyuan realm. Yet, their expressions were contorted, and their minds were on the verge of collapse.
Along with them, the "great future" that they could guide their "fellow disciples" towards also began to crumble and undergo various mutations. The mist of time around them began to dissipate, signifying the demise of the future they were guiding.
"Everyone, please cease your thoughts for now! Otherwise, the Three Teachings will be annihilated today!"
Although the Demon Heavenly Master was not on good terms with them, he thought that his disciples were defectors from the disciples of these people. If they had not recruited and trained them incorrectly, how could the Longevity Heavenly Palace have grown? Thus, he promptly issued a reminder.
This caused the Heavenly Hearts who had fallen into obsession and delirium to stop abruptly. Their thoughts ceased, their karma froze, and then their states began to reverse and reset.
"Thank you."
The faces of many Heavenly Heart experts were pale to varying degrees. However, even though their thoughts were withdrawn, they remained uneasy.
The Heavenly Hearts of Taoism were even more so.
They felt they had forgotten something important, but they could not find it in the past or the future.
At this moment, the mountains and rivers were in chaos.
"The Great Sun Tathagata suddenly disappeared earlier, and no matter how we searched, we could not find any trace. Now, the entire Confucianism has changed its origin. The Way of Man and Heaven has completely vanished and no longer exists. What great events are about to occur in this world and all realms!"
"What other great events are there that we, the Heavenly Hearts, cannot see in the past or the future!"
In the eyes of cultivators below the Heavenly Heart realm, Heavenly Heart experts had no distinction between past and future. They could reflect the past and also exist in the future, with the past and future continuously connected. However, all the Heavenly Hearts could not understand why such terrifying events were happening one after another, and why they were powerless to see their source!
"I see a light. Wherever it reaches, everything changes. Can the source of that light not be found?"
The Demon Heavenly Master voiced his question. A Heavenly Heart expert shook his head:
"That is the light of Jade Purity, spreading directly from the high heavens of Confucianism. But even after we enter the high heavens, we still cannot find the source."
"The past is unseen, the future is untraceable."
"Perhaps it is not that the future is untraceable. Rather, the future we see, or the future we can exist in, is too short."
"Buddha!" Suddenly, someone thought of something. They exchanged glances, and all the Heavenly Heart experts understood where they had to go next.
In the current Inner Mountains and Rivers, or rather, the Inner and Outer Human World, and the various Heavenly Realms, only the most supremely cultivated Buddha could provide guidance to all the Heavenly Hearts.
The Pure Land of Bliss.
However, as the Heavenly Hearts' next thought turned, when they appeared outside the Pure Land, the realm was filled with the chirping of birds, the fragrance of flowers, golden light, and clear skies. But the Buddha was nowhere to be seen.
"The Buddha is still here!" The Heavenly Hearts of Buddhism were slightly frightened, but after carefully recalling and sensing, they found that the history of Buddhism had not changed, meaning the Buddha still existed and had not disappeared like Confucianism.
At the same time, the Buddha's voice echoed through heaven and earth.
"There are still people in the human world who are favored by 'Heaven's Mandate.' Various great religions have left behind such people. They may be able to recover the lost origins and re-establish the connection between the origin and the past and future. Where the heart cannot illuminate, and where thought cannot reach, one can only rely on 'fate'."
"This old monk is not in the Pure Land and cannot act for you."
A Buddhist Heavenly Heart spoke: "This is the voice left by the Buddha. He foresaw today's future, yet none of us saw it!"
"My Buddha! My Buddha!"
They were so excited that they wept with joy, believing that the Buddha would surely protect Buddhism from having its origin changed, and even the entire Inner Mountains and Rivers and the human world would not be harmed.
But the next voice left by the Buddha shattered their hopes.
"Fate is not life. Heaven's Mandate, Great Fate, Fixed Fate – its meaning is borrowed and given."
"Nothing in the world is eternal and unchanging. Buddhas may also transform into demons, compassion may become slaughter, our definitions may be altered, or our origins may change, becoming something else even more unspeakable. In the past, some people have tried to do this, but they failed."
"But now, I think someone has succeeded. We often speak of the Dharma-ending age and the end of the kalpa. This end of the kalpa does not refer to the demise of dharma and Dao, or their non-interference. It refers to the disappearance of our origin, the absence of us in the past and future. We clearly came, yet we never came."
"This is the Dharma-ending age and the end of the kalpa. I think it is about to arrive."
"It is a pity that the true supreme realm and the true Dharma-ending age and end of the kalpa arrive together, or perhaps they are the same thing, or one and the same. If we cross over, then that is truly great liberation."
The Buddha's voice completely disappeared, but it pointed two paths for the saints.
There were still people in the human world who were favored by Heaven's Mandate.
Yuan Miao Great Sage Lin Ling Su and Great Enlightenment Golden Immortal. The former had not attained the Heavenly Heart, and in the past, he did not possess the power to change origins.
But now, it seemed he knew something!
The Heavenly Hearts of Buddhism became high-spirited.
"Search! Find Lin Ling Su. We must search. Great Thunder Sound Temple must search, Spirit Vulture Mountain must search, Sumeru Mountain must search. In the past, in the future, within time, in the human realm, in all Heavenly Realms! We must mobilize all Bodhisattvas and Arhats to search every inch of the ground!"
"He, a mere Flying Immortal, cannot escape our Dharma eyes!"
(End of this chapter)