Transmigrating over ten thousand years late, I was forced to become a mighty presence

Chapter 356: Chapter 166 Stars_2

“Baseless accusations, this is slander!”

Although Bai Zhao was a reincarnation of the Demon Saint, his foundations were weak, and without vested interests, the various Demon Realms might give him some face.

But if interests were involved, nobody would care about any reincarnation of the Demon Saint.

The matter at hand was connected to several Demon Realms and the inheritance from the Supreme Taoist; Bai Zhao was well aware that he absolutely must not shoulder this blame.

“The stone box has been in your hands from start to finish, if you say I secretly swapped the inheritance, you must provide evidence!”

Moreover, I had an agreement with the Ancient Demon Hall long ago, the inheritance of the Supreme Taoist should have had my share—why would I bother to covertly swap it?”

The Withered Wood Demon was not sure if Bai Zhao had tampered with things, but wanted to live in this situation, the only option was to cast the blame on Bai Zhao.

The Withered Wood Demon’s aged face sneered and uttered:

“Evidence? It’s precisely because there is no evidence that I suspect you’re the one causing trouble.”

“You possess the Natural Divine Power of the Demon Saint Bai Ze, wielding the propelling forces from cause and effect. By inciting disputes, you can absorb those forces and recover your powers.

The failed schemes at River Ji Dragon Palace have damaged your foundation, and even ascending to the Spirit Transmutation Stage is still not enough to compensate for your deficiencies.

The cooperative effort of us great demons to acquire the inheritance of the Supreme Taoist presents an excellent opportunity for you. By secretly switching the inheritance, you can easily provoke conflict among the major Demon Realms.

At that time, with your manipulative techniques involving the propelling forces from cause and effect, creating a few accidents could potentially escalate the dispute. When the entire monster tribe falls into chaos, we will all become your nutrients for restoring your power!”

As these words from the Withered Wood Demon came out, the faces of the great demons from all Demon Realms changed suddenly.

Bai Ze was one of the widely known auspicious creatures among the monster tribe.

However, following the turmoil ten thousand years ago, Bai Ze transformed into a calamitous demon god, instigating countless disputes, including infighting within the monster tribe.

If what the Withered Wood Demon said was true, Bai Zhao indeed had a motive for stealing the Supreme Taoist’s inheritance.

Thinking this, all the great Spirit Transmutation demons looked at Bai Zhao with caution.

The Withered Wood Demon’s twisting of right and wrong nearly made Bai Zhao spit blood. If it weren’t for the fact that the Withered Wood Demon did not possess the divine power of propelling forces from cause and effect, he might even suspect that the Withered Wood Demon was the actual reincarnation of the demon god.

Sensing the many suspicious gazes, Bai Zhao knew that unless he could find the Supreme Taoist’s inheritance, he was certain to be saddled with this false charge.

The many great Spirit Transmutation demons present subtly connected their auras, sealing all escape routes as they pressed in on him.

Seeing this, Bai Zhao had no choice but to grit his teeth and speak loudly:

“I did not scheme from the shadows in this matter. To show my sincerity, I am willing to trace the Supreme Taoist’s inheritance through the propelling forces from cause and effect!”

Upon these words, the steps of the many great demons paused slightly, and Bai Zhao took this opportunity to take out a pale golden compass from his Storage Ring.

The compass bore the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, with layers of interlocking circles in constant rotation, weaving the intricate trajectories of fate.

As the golden compass appeared, many demons fixed their gazes on it, exclaiming:

“The Heaven-choosing Compass!”

The Heaven-choosing Compass was also famous among the monster tribe, once wielded by the Demon Saint Bai Ze as a Taoist artifact.

But with the depletion of Spirit Energy over tens of thousands of years, the Heaven-choosing Compass had fallen from a mid-grade Taoist artifact to a supreme grade spirit treasure, no longer as powerful as it once was.

The Heaven-choosing Compass was not notable for its offensive capabilities, but it was a top-notch treasure for deduction and divination.

Bai Zhao, holding the Heaven-choosing Compass, formed Taoist hand signs, his gaze toward the stone box in the hands of the Withered Wood Demon.

“This stone box has held the items of the Supreme Taoist’s inheritance for thousands of years; it must have a causal connection with that treasured item. Using the box for divination should allow us to find a thread of causal clues.”

As his words fell, the propelling forces from cause and effect surged within Bai Zhao, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches on the Heaven-choosing Compass spun, and a multitude of formation patterns emerged within the desolate mountain.

Behind Bai Zhao, the phantom of a divine creature with antlers and a pure white body slowly became visible, its eyes seemingly containing all the wisdom of the world.

Stars continually fell from the firmament, converging on the Heaven-choosing Compass to create a blurry image, as if an intangible mist was preventing the Heaven-choosing Compass from probing further.

Seeing this, Bai Zhao inwardly cursed his luck.

“`

Although the Heaven-choosing Compass had fallen to the status of a supreme grade spirit treasure, activating this treasure still required a great deal of propelling forces from cause and effect. At the moment, images were materializing on the Heaven-choosing Compass, yet they were not clear, obviously hindered by some obstacles in retracing cause and effect.

To obtain clearer clues, an even greater input of propelling forces from cause and effect was necessary.

Feeling the gaze of the great Spirit Transmutation demons around him, Bai Zhao gritted his teeth and continued to pour in the propelling forces from cause and effect.

The scene atop the Heaven-choosing Compass began to clarify, with a magnificent starry sky faintly visible within the image.

The gathering of great Spirit Transmutation demons showed astonishment, somewhat puzzled by such a scene.

“Could there be an issue with the Heaven-choosing Compass?”

A Great Demon voiced its skepticism.

Just then, a Great Demon suddenly spoke out:

“Wait a moment, does not that starry sky resemble a colossal Bodhi Tree?”

All the Great Demons immediately concentrated their attention on the image above the Heaven-choosing Compass. The twinkling starlit sky, with stars fading in and out, traced routes through the stars, faintly outlining patterns.

In a moment of near delusion, it seemed as if a gigantic Bodhi Tree with the starry sky as its crown stretched out its branches and leaves, enveloping all the stars of the heavens within.

“We need a clearer image.”

The tiger demon said solemnly to Bai Zhao.

At this moment, Bai Zhao’s complexion was unmistakably pale, as the consumption required to trace the cause and effect with the Heaven-choosing Compass was far beyond his expectations.

However, at this point with the arrow on the string, he was no longer in control, and as he accelerated the injection of the propelling forces from cause and effect into the Heaven-choosing Compass, Bai Zhao’s aura began to fluctuate.

With more propelling forces from cause and effect converging, all the Great Demons were finally able to see the scene within the starry sky clearly.

Countless stars followed a profound regularity in their cosmic dance. Twinkling stars transformed into Bodhi seeds dotted upon the Bodhi Tree, where converging starlight nurtured lifelike bodhi leaves.

Even from the ethereal image, the Great Demons could feel the infinite light of wisdom gestating within the starlight-formed bodhi leaves.

“These bodhi leaves, they are identical to the item from the Supreme Taoist lineage within that stone box!”

An exclamation echoed from a Great Spirit Transmutation demon, and all the Great Demons at this moment fell into a stupor, disbelief filling their eyes.

“How is this possible?”

It was known that the starlight bodhi leaves in that stone box were treasures that had persisted to the modern age from ten thousand years ago. The goal of cause and effect retrieval by the Heaven-choosing Compass was contemporary cause and effect, and it should not display scenes from history.

If the starlight bodhi leaves truly originated from this starry sky Bodhi in the image, it meant that this extraordinary Bodhi Tree had surpassed the Spirit Energy Exhaustion era to survive until now!

Spirit Plants are born from the energies of heaven and earth, and the more powerful a Spirit Plant, the closer its connection to the entire world. Spirit Energy depletion is an unspeakable catastrophe for any Spirit Plant.

In the absence of Spirit Energy and with incomplete laws of the world, even those precious Immortal Artifacts would not withstand the ravages of ten thousand years, let alone a Spirit Plant.

Even that which was known as the number one Spiritual Root of the Primal Chaos Realm, the towering tall tree, had already collapsed thousands of years ago; it was impossible for any Spirit Plant to transcend such vast swaths of time.

And now, the Bodhi Tree from which the Supreme Taoist had plucked the starlight bodhi leaves managing to survive until today, this completely overturned the understanding of all the great Spirit Transmutation demons.

“Could it be that this is not a Bodhi Tree, but the evolution of a starry sky?”

This thought arose in the mind of a Great Demon, but in the very next moment, he was startled awake by a painful wail.

All turned towards the sound, only to see Bai Zhao, the reincarnation of Demon Saint Bai Ze, with a face full of terror, clutching the Heaven-choosing Compass and desperately trying to throw it away.

Yet the Heaven-choosing Compass seemed fused with his hand, ceaselessly drawing out the propelling forces from cause and effect within him.

With an unreserved extraction, Bai Zhao’s cultivation achieved through the propelling forces from cause and effect began to rapidly decline.

Spirit Transmutation Middle Stage, Spirit Transmutation Early Stage, Qi Training Peak…

The image on the Heaven-choosing Compass became even clearer with the ongoing extraction of the propelling forces from cause and effect.

As the image displayed on the Heaven-choosing Compass slowly shattered, an invisible fluctuation spread through heaven and earth, and all the Demons saw a sight they would never forget in their lifetime.

Above the night sky, the brilliant stars quietly returned to their positions, transforming into a giant Eyes of Stars gazing down upon all beings.

“`