Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

"This scroll is imbued with the breath of the Demon King, hence it is extremely mystical and adept at stirring human desires. However, if someone has deep Buddha Nature, they will naturally comprehend the Supreme Buddhist Dharma from it. Should there be demonic intent within a heart, it is inevitable to stray into the wrong path.

I saw Xiao Yao bewildered by hatred, which is why I never let her see this painting. Little did I expect that she would take it and leave for distant lands while I was recuperating, and now her whereabouts are unknown." After Golden Cicada finished speaking, he sighed deeply.

"In vain have I always boasted of myself, that I deliver all beings, yet I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to save even Xiao Yao alone." At this moment, Golden Cicada seemed to Lu Yu as if he were carrying a great mountain on his back.

"Since Xiao Yao has taken the scroll, it is possible that she has already understood the Technique within it. I only hope she does not sink deeper into it, lest she falls into the sea of suffering, unable to transcend." Lu Yu also sighed.

He had heard that tragedy is like showing the shattered pieces of beautiful things in the world, and now he had a profound understanding of it. Thinking of the fiery red-clothed woman becoming a Demon Lord, Lu Yu's heart was filled with mixed emotions, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

Thereafter, Golden Cicada began to grow silent and reticent. He wandered around Changan City like a true ascetic, begging alms, preaching Buddhism, and silently building Jinshan Temple.

The endless Fortune and Destiny of the Human Path kept flowing into his body, leaving Lu Yu dumbfounded. The current Golden Cicada was like a Fortune and Destiny bomb; if someone were to rupture his body, they would likely be crushed to ashes by the boundless Fortune and Destiny of the Human Path instantly.

Meanwhile, Lu Yu looked up at the sky, frowning slightly at the diminishing Human Path Fortune and Destiny due to Golden Cicada. If this continued, the power of the Kyushu seal might greatly diminish.

Most directly, the reduction of Kyushu's Fortune and Destiny would surely trigger a chain reaction, with the Fortune and Destiny of foreign tribes pressuring Kyushu, leading to carnage across the Central Plains.

"The invasion of the five barbarians!" Lu Yu muttered to himself, seeming to have glimpsed the future direction of the world, suddenly guessing in his heart.

This was for a better integration of foreign tribes' Fortune and Destiny. While it may seem like an invasion by foreign tribes, over time, these foreign tribes' Fortune and Destiny will inevitably be assimilated, forming a stronger Human Path Fortune and Destiny.

He also understood why the opportune moment would be during the Tang Dynasty, for only then would the Fortune and Destiny of these tribes be completely assimilated, marking the start of Journey to the West.

"Alas! It's a pity for these countless beings who will suffer agonizingly in hell." Yet what use is seeing through the future, when these powerful beings drive the world's fate? Those who try to stop them are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, facing inevitable destruction.

Perhaps to them, death is merely a part of Reincarnation, a brief sacrifice for the prosperity of the Human Path, even the Holy Emperors would probably not object.

As time passed, Jinshan Temple gradually took shape, and Golden Cicada himself became increasingly thin. His body, gleaming with a glaze-like hue, surged with the Human Path Fortune and Destiny accumulated over thousands of years in Kyushu. However, Lu Yu surmised that it wouldn't be long before Golden Cicada reached his limit.

When that time came, it would be inevitable that he would shed his golden cicada shell and re-enter Reincarnation. Only through Nine Reincarnations could this vast Human Path Fortune and Destiny be absorbed.

"This is truly ruthless." Lu Yu couldn't help being stunned. Nine Reincarnations were only for the purpose of creating a perfect vessel for the Human Path, to kickstart the grand scheme of Journey to the West. The pain involved was unimaginable, and it was only rightfully so that Tang Monk would be able to sit on a lotus throne and achieve the fruit of Buddha.

One day, they received news that Bai Xiaoyao, who had been missing for a long time, had appeared in the Fief of King Qi, slaughtering every inhabitant, sparing neither the old nor the young, women nor children.

"Amitabha, Xiao Yao has still taken this path after all." Golden Cicada sighed lightly. Even though he had been prepared, hearing this news still deepened his sorrow.

"It is hard to know what Technique Xiao Yao might have comprehended from that painting, for her to attain such power in such a short time." Lu Yu also lamented, knowing that this was Kyushu, the place with the densest Fortune and Destiny of the Human Path. Even Immortal Gods descending to earth had to behave cautiously.

"The demonic intent in that painting comes from the Path of the Heavenly Demon, which is adept at manipulating the human heart, cunning and hard to guard against. Having such power is to be expected."

However, at this time, Heaven's Secret was in chaos and Lu Yu still could not deduce Bai Xiaoyao's whereabouts, leaving him with nothing to do but sigh in resignation.

When Lu Yu saw Bai Xiaoyao again, it was when Jinshan Temple was almost completed. The once-owned Bai Residence had become a property with no master. A wealthy merchant, after pulling some strings, finally managed to buy the Bai Residence without caring that the house was an infamous murder site, and he moved in with his family.

Unexpectedly, the next day a woman came to the door, set fire to the estate, and was ready to slaughter the merchant's entire family with an unrestrained killing intent.

Just then, a monk stepped in front of the woman filled with murderous rage and chanted the name of Buddha, "Amitabha, Xiao Yao, the sea of suffering is boundless, turn back to the shore, do not commit further killings."

The monk was none other than Golden Cicada who had rushed over after noticing the sky over Bai Residence light up with fire, guessing that Bai Xiaoyao had arrived, and thus persuaded Lu Yu to swiftly bring him there.

It was just that, because of his profound Human Path Fortune and Destiny, even this short distance had put Lu Yu through a tough time as if he was carrying Mount Tai in flight. Thankfully, Golden Cicada was at the beginning of harboring Fortune and Destiny; had it been after Nine Reincarnations, even a Great Luo Immortal would not be able to move his mortal body.

"Golden Cicada, get out of my way," said Bai Xiaoyao, who was no longer the infatuated woman she once was, speaking with a face as cold as frost and full of murderous intent.
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"These people are innocent. You would put them to death merely because they bought your ancestral home. You intend to silence them by killing?"

"Humph, taking without permission is stealing, and since they are thieves, what's wrong with killing them? Don't block my way, or I'll take care of you as well," said Bai Xiaoyao, her eyes devoid of the joy and kindness of the past, replaced by dead silence and coldness.

"Do not stray onto the wrong path; harboring demoniac thoughts will only cause you to sink deeper. When you eventually drown in the sea of suffering, it will be too late for regrets," Golden Cicada persisted earnestly, hoping to persuade Bai Xiaoyao to change her mind.

However, Bai Xiaoyao, who had already deeply succumbed to her demonic nature, was not someone Golden Cicada could persuade. With a wave of her hand, white bones grew from her fingertips like flying knives, and in an instant, they shot towards the merchant's family.

Seeing this, Lu Yu let out a slight sigh and with a casual flick of his sleeve, deflected the bones.

"Mr. Lu, are you also trying to stop me?" Bai Xiaoyao raised her eyebrows and said coldly.

"Xiao Yao, put yourself in their place. Your family was innocently slaughtered, and now, could you bear to see the same happen again?" Lu Yu said with a light sigh.

"What a joke. If my family died, should theirs not? There is no sense in that. Today, you won't stop me. Otherwise, I'll show no mercy and take care of you all together," black Demonic Qi seemed to emanate from Bai Xiaoyao's face, her expression growing even more frenzied.