"It's over..."

The war between Jie Sect and the Buddhist Sect that started since the Divine Enthronement finally drew to a close.

After the great war, as the dust settled, the scene within the Heavenly Court appeared particularly bleak.

The once magnificent and spectacular palaces of the Immortal Palace were now but a heap of ruins.

The bustling Immortal Island had fallen to the Human World, and the grandiose jade pillars collapsed to the ground, becoming one with the shattered rocks and tiles, like a broken puzzle.

Dust and the smell of scorched earth pervaded throughout the Heavenly Court, even the Imperial Garden not far from the Palace of the Polestar had turned into ruins. The flowers and trees within were withered and bare—dry branches and fallen leaves hanging drearily.

Despite the war being over, an oppressive atmosphere still lingered in the Heavenly Court.

Many Heavenly Soldiers and Generals perished in the battle.

And many Immortal Gods were gravely injured, lying among the broken rubble, awaiting rescue and treatment.

With the Buddhist Sect's defeat, those controlling the armies, such as Li Jing's faction, either died or fled. Some who didn't manage to escape were captured on the spot and thrown into the Heavenly Prison to await severe punishment.

The Jade Emperor began organizing the cleanup of the battlefield and the treatment of the injured, while also busily purging the chess pieces the Western Buddhist Sect had planted within the Heavenly Court.

After years of laying low, he had already largely investigated the Buddhist Sect's schemes, and now he decisively and resolutely reformed the Heavenly Court—with swift and sharp actions like cutting through tangled hemp, reducing many Immortal Gods loyal to him, like Li Changgeng, to tears of joy as they exclaimed, "The Emperor of old has returned!"

After the battle, Duobao Taoist had Zhao Gongming and other Jie Sect disciples assist the Jade Emperor in organizing the Heavenly Court and repairing the palaces.

This was also an overture of goodwill.

Times had changed.

Jie Sect now needed to rely on the Heavenly Court as its backbone.

And for the Jade Emperor, if these Jie Sect disciples were willing to serve him, he would certainly welcome them with open arms!

Therefore, very courteously, the Jade Emperor invited Duobao Taoist, Golden Spirit Saint Mother, and Yu Yuan to the Palace of the Polestar to discuss cooperation. Joining them were Xuan Du Daoist and Fairy Miao Yuan, who had come at a crucial time to help.

Sun Wukong, after the conclusion of the fight, bade farewell to Yu Yuan and left.

Yu Yuan did want to ask him some questions, but Sun Wukong professed ignorance and could not answer anything.

Obviously, this was the doing of his teacher on purpose.

Bodhi seemed to avoid Yu Yuan at all cost yet offered help at critical moments.

It was really baffling.

Upon arriving at the Palace of the Polestar, Duobao Taoist and Golden Spirit Saint Mother thanked the Jade Emperor and his consort with respectful salutations.

Yu Yuan followed suit with a bow.

He was indeed very grateful that the Jade Emperor and his consort had timely lent their aid.

The Jade Emperor waved his hand and smiled at Yu Yuan, saying, "Your return to the Primordial World, and solving the big trouble of the Buddhist Sect as soon as you came back, truly gladdens my heart!"

"Return to the Primordial World..." Yu Yuan pondered for a moment, unsure whether to tell the truth.

At that moment, however, he heard the voice of the Golden Spirit Saint Mother in his heart, cautioning him not to say too much.

Yu Yuan recognized the voice as that of the Golden Spirit Saint Mother who had attained the status of a Quasi-Saint in this era.

Although he had many questions, he chose to trust her and brushed things off with a few casual remarks before falling silent.

At the opportune time, Duobao Taoist brought up the aftermath matters, successfully drawing the Jade Emperor's attention.

Before long, the two reached an agreement.

The listed disciples of Jie Sect would dedicate themselves to serving the Jade Emperor, who in turn, would grant them due respect and treatment.

For both parties, it was a mutually beneficial situation.

But from their conversation, Yu Yuan could discern that this seemed to be a condition they had already agreed upon before.

In other words, this battle against the Buddhist Sect had been prepared in advance!

Including the help provided by the Jade Emperor and Golden Mother, it was all pre-arranged.

This raised even greater doubts in Yu Yuan's mind.

Considering the vast disparity in strength between Jie Sect and the Buddhist Sect, even with the aid of the Jade Emperor and his consort, it was unlikely for them to win.

The victory this time was all because of the Six Soul Banner cursing and killing five Buddhas of the Buddhist Sect in one breath.

But without him, no one could have possibly withstood the backlash of the Six Soul Banner!

Why were Duobao Taoist and Golden Spirit Saint Mother so bold to plot such a battle?

Unless... they were certain of victory!

While pondering, he heard Golden Spirit Saint Mother excusing herself to the Jade Emperor and others, then signaling him to leave with her.

Yu Yuan felt a stirring in his heart and without a word, followed her.

Before leaving, however, he saw Fairy Miao Yuan with a slight frown on her brow, seemingly quite displeased.

Yu Yuan had no time to care about that at the moment.

He was urgently seeking answers.

Upon exiting the Palace of the Polestar, Golden Spirit Saint Mother waved her hand and tore directly through the fabric of space, creating a dimension rift that led right to the heart of the Ancient Star Domain. They arrived within a grand and glorious palace.

This was the abode known as Doumu Palace, belonging to Golden Spirit Saint Mother.

Despite the grand scale and opulence of the entire palace, it felt eerily quiet and lifeless, as if it had been uninhabited for a very long time.

After entering the main hall, Golden Spirit Saint Mother looked at him and said, "Whatever questions you have, you may ask them now."

After a brief contemplation with a solemn expression, Yu Yuan asked, "Why does Uncle Master Zhao Gongming and the others have no memory of me?"

Golden Spirit Saint Mother answered without hesitation, "After Taoist Ancestor expelled you from the Primordial realms, he erased all traces of you. Only Quasi-Saints who have realized the Primordial Dao Fruit remain unaffected."

"So it was the Taoist Ancestor..." Yu Yuan murmured thoughtfully, "So the words of Dingguang Tathagata before his death weren't nonsensical ramblings?"

Golden Spirit Saint Mother did not respond but instead looked at him and said, "Only a few Saints know what truly happened in Zixiao Palace... Your master has always kept silent about this matter until he left the Primordial realms, and only then did he reveal it to your teacher.

However, your master did not say you were a disaster, but rather the greatest variable since the Creation of Heaven and Earth!

And only you have the power to seize a sliver of hope for all beings!"

Yu Yuan was speechless; did these words not sound like settling affairs before passing away?

Could it be that at that time, the Sect Hierarch Tongtian had already ingested the Fallen Saint Pill?

At this moment, Golden Spirit Saint Mother looked at Yu Yuan and said, "You came through time and space from before the Divine Enthronement, right?"

"Yes."

Yu Yuan was not surprised and simply nodded his head in agreement.

Just as transformation skills cannot deceive those close to the transformer, in the eyes of those truly close, like the Golden Spirit Saint Mother, even different versions of him from various points in time would inevitably have some subtle differences.

Golden Spirit Saint Mother slightly nodded, "Then there's no mistake. Your master's predictions were not off."

Yu Yuan's heart stirred, "So does that mean my master knew I would arrive in this era after the Divine Enthronement?"

"Indeed." Golden Spirit Saint Mother said with implied meaning, "Precisely because your master predicted that you would appear at this time, your teacher and your uncle devised a plan in advance, seizing the opportunity to reclaim the Six Soul Banner and severely wound the Buddhist Sect… After all, apart from you, no one else could withstand that backlash."

That made sense.

Yu Yuan nodded.

At last, the confusion that had troubled him was resolved.

Sect Hierarch Tongtian had left the Primordial realms after the close of the Calamity, by which time the Calamity Qi had mostly dissipated, and the Saints should have regained their power to see into the past and the future.

It was only natural for them to lay some contingency plans.

It was just unknown whether the other Saints had also left behind similar schemes.

Yu Yuan kept vigilant in his heart, then looked at Golden Spirit Saint Mother and asked, "Since my master predicted my time-space traversal, did he leave any clues on how I can return?"

"Hm?"

Golden Spirit Saint Mother looked at him in surprise, "Didn't you use the power of the Chaos Bell for your time-space travel?"

"No."

Yu Yuan recounted the entire plot he had fallen for.

Even facing his own master, there were some details he found hard to say.

After all, even after having been warned by the Moon God, he had still blundered into the trap.

It was really quite embarrassing!

After Golden Spirit Saint Mother listened, her eyebrows knitted slightly, "So you mean to say you cannot go back now?"

Yu Yuan gave a wry smile and nodded, then added, "I did have a thought before—If I could capture the Time Erosion Demon, I should be able to travel freely through time and space.

However, I had heard from Patriarch Bodhi about the origin of this Time Erosion Demon, saying that this Exotic Beast is not within the Three Realms, not among the Five Elements, and is particularly adept in the ways of time. In the rivers of time, it's like a fish in water, nearly impossible to capture!"

Golden Spirit Saint Mother nodded and reminded, "Catching the Time Erosion Demon is indeed unlikely. Instead of wasting time on that, you might as well go find Bai Ze!

This creature has been skulking around in the Northern Continent for years, plotting something.

Perhaps you can find some clues from him."

Yu Yuan's eyes brightened.

That made sense!

As the saying goes, the person who bound the bell must be the one to untie it. Right now, what he needed to do first was to head to the Northern Continent and look for that Demon Emperor Hall!

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