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The Country of the Eastern Ocean has always been a nation that reveres strength.

In their hearts, Old Liu is the strongest War God.

For many people in Japan, they may have felt indignation when they were forcibly annexed into the Central Union back in the day, but when it comes to Old Liu, most of them are in awe.

She herself is no exception...

She was trained by the military among the earliest batch of experimental subjects. When she learned that she was serving Old Liu, it was an indescribable honor.

Three Eras of divergent worlds, nearly a billion years of time, shifting seas and crumbling cliffs. Even stone and steel may vaporize under such epochs; human hearts, twisted and reshaped by countless events, have long since changed.

But her admiration for Old Liu never wavered.

People say she is the future of the Buddha Kingdom, the one capable of succeeding Old Liu in time. She has always taken pride in this notion, particularly because it was implicitly acknowledged by Old Liu. She truly believed she was... the future.

But when she first sensed the fall of the Past Buddha, she understood everything had merely been her own illusions...

Tianji gazed at the woman before him, her eyes now hollow, revealing a hint of complex emotion in his own.

Even if one is not sentient, even if one were to raise a mere dog, there will always be traces of emotion in the heart.

To have someone follow you for billions of years, unwavering in loyalty, always standing by you immediately—despite possessing a power capable of challenging you long ago, yet never using it even once...

"I’m sorry..." Tianji spoke in Old Liu’s voice. Perhaps, in billions of years, this was the first time he apologized to the girl.

The girl lifted her head, her once-empty eyes now holding faint glimmers of light. She looked at Old Liu, silent for a long time.

The two simply remained quiet, watching as lotus blossoms in the surroundings wilted one by one until the entire realm decayed.

"Buddha Lord need not apologize." The girl ultimately raised a smile, gentle to the utmost degree. Even someone as emotionally unaffected as Old Liu couldn’t help but feel a pang of vulnerability.

Though he had schemed against his own grandson, his own beloved son, his own wife—none of these had ever moved him like this.

The faith of the person before him in him had never faltered, not even now!

"All that I am is your gift, whenever you wish—you need only let me know directly."

Tianji opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing further, merely watching her in silence, waiting for something unspoken.

With a faint smile, the girl clad in white suddenly began changing, fading like the surrounding lotus flowers. Her exquisitely beautiful face began to age rapidly... withering, like fallen leaves turning yellow and brittle.

"My lord, Kagura departs now, unable to accompany you until the end. Kagura is powerless. In the final moments..." A peculiar gleam flashed through the girl’s eyes before she said decisively: "That child is different from me. If you find her to be a threat, please act sooner rather than later."

Tianji gazed silently at her before nodding at last. "On account of you, I will spare her once."

What she referred to, naturally, was the incarnation that had already become a demon.

"Then... I shall thank you on the child’s behalf." The girl smiled one last time, her face frozen in its withered state before disintegrating into dust.

The domain fell utterly lifeless, a mournful chant echoing throughout the Future Buddha’s realm.

Many Buddhas under the Future Buddha sat cross-legged, palms pressed together, chanting sutras.

None resisted—their Buddha Lord’s final command was absolute.

Within this domain, none could oppose the Future Buddha.

Amid expressions of resignation, anger, and even serenity, all Buddhas eventually perished alongside the domain, disintegrating into ashes.

As the Future Buddha’s domain withered away, its last trace of power was reclaimed.

A pillar of Buddha Light erupted from Tianji’s form, illuminating the entire world.

The brilliance was so striking it drew the attention of even the Outer Space Demon Statues.

In the distant void, countless gazes were fixated on this place. Even separated by innumerable worlds, those abyssal stares made the ancient hidden beings retreat.

Yet only Old Liu stood openly, meeting those eyes with composure.

"Come forth!" Old Liu looked up at the sky, piercing through wave upon wave of heavenly veils, confronting the eyes that gazed directly at him.

After countless years of hiding, he was done running!

If there was to be war this time, let it be fought without reservation!

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Within the Demon Realm, Demon Masters from the seventy-two domains opened their eyes, but none dared intervene in the standoff between Old Liu and those monsters of Outer Space.

"Has he gone insane?" A deep, angry voice filled with indignation rang out.

Of all the great forces, the Demon Masters of the Demon Realm were now acting the most conservatively, second only to the Past Buddha.

Having been the ones who actively promoted digital life in the past, they had grown deeply conservative after enduring countless years. In the Demon Realm, hardly anyone was willing to risk anything, even once.

The Past Buddha dared to openly resist Old Liu because the Demon Realm’s people fully supported his philosophy.

Even if the Past Buddha’s methods failed, they hoped for stability—to survive another Era, to absorb even a sliver more power.

They couldn’t understand what Liu was so impatient about. What’s the rush?

Wasn’t it better to live through one more Era, to amass power for another Era?

Why take such a dangerous gamble?

Central Union people—completely insane!

"If he’s mad, you go face him!" A mocking female voice interjected.

"He’ll pay for his actions sooner or later!" The enraged voice bellowed in frustration.

Yet no one dared to confront Old Liu now. Even with the full resurgence of Spiritual Energy, nobody would try, at least for now.

Back then, Old Liu was already among the strongest combatants.

With Kagura under his command, he held the utmost advantage.

Now, Liu has absorbed the powers of the three Buddha Lords, recovered the Space-Time Jade, and united the Wish Powers of past, future, and present Buddhas.

Combined with the capabilities of the Space-Time Jade, who could fathom the extent of his strength?

He very well could be the first Sacred being to fully possess the Innate Dao Fruit. At present, Old Liu... could quite possibly be unmatched in existence!

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"Such brazen arrogance..." At the heart of Heaven’s Court, resting deep within the Divine Palace’s most central chamber, the slumbering Emperor of Heaven finally awoke.

As his most trusted daughter delivered the report, Elder Long’s golden eyes flickered with complex emotions.

Elder Long, now incredibly young again, possessed eyes shimmering with the glow of stellar constellations, encompassing full stretches of the starry skies.

In his revived state, he ruled as the master of these countless stars. Yet, for the first time, he felt mounting pressure coming from the Mortal World.

He understood that Old Liu had already transcended his level.

If Elder Long didn’t take action, encountering Old Liu would yield devastating consequences; not even resistance seemed likely.

"How cunning... how ruthless."

The Emperor of Heaven sneered coldly. History painted Old Liu as a righteous figure, but in reality, none who ascended to such heights could truly remain so virtuous.

He was a madman—someone willing to gamble anything, even the world itself. A lunatic so deranged, he wouldn’t spare himself from making bets.

Chen Qing dared to collaborate with such a person—it’s truly shortsighted.

"Issue orders: Initiate full activation of the Heavenly Pond. In ten days, launch an attack on the Mortal World!!"