Chapter 283: Chapter 281: Calm
A cerulean moon hung high in the sky, its sacred radiance shining down upon all living things.
Deep within Qingyang Palace, upon the Ten Thousand Dao Altar, divine and immortal light swirled in dense layers.
As a bell tolled, the divine and immortal light contracted and condensed.
The next moment, gestated by the divine and immortal light, an illusory being clad in a hemp Daoist robe with a blurry face appeared on the altar.
This was the tutelary spirit of the Ten Thousand Dao Altar, a being formed from the condensed essence of countless Daoist scriptures and true teachings, worshiped day and night by all with incense and reverence.
The "Wish Power of Ten Thousand People" technique that Sen Yue had once used was inspired by this very being.
Of course, the one whom the masses worshiped was the Eternal Life Daoist Venerable, not it.
It merely existed by the grace of the Eternal Life Daoist Venerable, barely clinging to its existence.
Most of the time, it remained in a state of slumber.
Only on rare occasions did it awaken, let alone manifest a divine body from the incense and worship.
One could only imagine how seriously it was taking Su Dao’s request.
At this moment, it was calmly gazing at Su Dao.
"The Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon?"
A calm voice emerged from its mouth—ancient, weathered, and compelling, making even Su Dao shudder.
As it spoke, a mystic tortoise and a spirit serpent erupted forth, evolving into the Dharma Aspect of the Great Emperor Zhenwu.
The Dharma Aspect of the Great Emperor Zhenwu hummed, wisps of a terrifying aura spilling out and transforming into the phantoms of ancient great sages.
These ancient sages seemed to have stepped out of the river of time, all of them scrutinizing Su Dao to judge if he was worthy of inheriting the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon.
Gradually, the figures dissipated one by one.
In the end, only a single graceful silhouette remained.
Qing Rushang!
Qing Rushang wore a simple Daoist robe, her expression resolute, her gaze cold and sharp.
Gazing at the phantom of Qing Rushang, Su Dao’s heart trembled.
’So the secret rumors circulating within the clan were true. The Qing Rushang of old truly did obtain the inheritance of the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon.’
At that moment, Su Dao decisively performed a deep bow and declared his great vows:
"If I am granted the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon, let Heaven and Earth bear witness to my words, and let the ages remember them."
"First, to purge the world of demonic influence."
"Second, to champion righteousness and suppress evil."
"Third, to ensure the people have peace, clothing, food, shelter, and passage..."
As Su Dao spoke, the spiritual light surrounding the body of the Ten Thousand Dao Altar’s tutelary spirit grew ever more brilliant.
Following that, the Ten Thousand Dao Altar itself began to rumble violently, and a hint of joy flickered deep in Su Dao’s eyes.
’Success.’
’He succeeded.’
’With the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon, he would have the chance to dominate the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life, gather great fortune, and become a Young Venerable.’
’He once again had the potential to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Sen Yue and rival the Great Sun Dragon Lady.’
Su Dao exhaled, straightening his back, his gaze profound. "I’ve made such great vows. It seems I will have to establish a Daoist Kingdom on earth to fulfill them one by one."
Because of this, a grand ambition took root in his heart.
He would shatter the Demon Race and, upon the former lands of the Red Flame Demon Country, establish his own Daoist Kingdom on earth!
The Azure Ram reared its hooves, and Heaven and Earth resounded.
Purple clouds stretched for a thousand miles.
The Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon—that legendary, supreme Daoist inheritance—had truly appeared in the world.
At this very moment, countless people looked up at the sky, stunned into silence.
Some rejoiced, while others despaired.
Many in the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life believed that Su Dao’s success would inevitably arouse Jiuzhe’s apprehension.
This was because the factions within the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life were complex.
Currently, there were two major factions within the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life.
One was the native faction from the Celestial Domain, led by Jiuzhe. The other was the outsider faction from beyond the Celestial Domain, led by Su Dao.
Due to Daoist doctrines and regulations, they had all admittedly renounced their secular identities to become one with the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life.
But the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life was vast—far too vast.
As with any organization so large, factions were inevitable.
Thus, they ultimately formed their own factions based on factors like blood ties, origins, and so on.
However...
"Hahaha!"
Contrary to all expectations, when Jiuzhe learned of Su Dao’s success, he burst into hearty laughter. "If we can truly purge the world of demonic influence, I’ll gladly serve as the vanguard! What’s wrong with being his herald?"
WHOOSH! The [Demon-Burning Lamp] in his hand flared brightly, dispelling the darkness of the night.
As a member of the Celestial Domain’s native faction, he came from humble beginnings. If not for the fortune of being rescued by an old Daoist master, he would have likely died on some cold, rainy night long ago.
But no matter what he had been through, he had never forgotten the dream of his youth.
To purge the world of demonic influence!
......
The emergence of the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon’s inheritance drew the attention of nearly the entire world.
This was especially true because the inheritor was Su Dao, a man with a special status.
Su Dao—a member of the Changkong clan, the former arch-nemesis of Sen Yue, the secular leader of the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life...
The ripples from this event even reached back to the Thunder Saint Academy.
Master Lanwen stroked his white beard. "I didn’t expect Su Dao to actually succeed. However, if he truly wants to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Sen Yue, he’ll have to cross the hurdle that is Jiuzhe first."
Bai Zhi the Medicine Saint had a complex expression. "The Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon inheritance... If I recall correctly, the previous inheritor was Qing Rushang, wasn’t it?"
Layman Shuqing picked up the conversation:
"There are faint rumors that before her death, Qing Rushang reflected a portion of this inheritance’s true essence onto Fang Nian."
"Whether Fang Nian comprehended the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon from this has never been definitively concluded."
"However, the Pill Cauldron inheritance of the Fang Clan does indeed bear traces of the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life’s Pill Cauldron faction."
In truth, Layman Shuqing had more to say but kept it to himself.
Due to his origins in the Changkong clan, he had once heard of some even more secret matters.
Namely, that Huanwu the Great Saint had once reverse-engineered the trail of ’Fang Nian the Carp Eagle’ and faintly sensed that the path to forging a Kunpeng Spirit Body was likely related to the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon.
As everyone knew, a Sacred Artifact was unique.
And phenomena were much the same.
Basically, once a person possessed a phenomenon, no one else could.
Throughout history, aside from the anomaly that was the Ultimate Bliss Demon Venerable who broke this taboo, there had never been an exception.
Now, Layman Shuqing was rather curious about what Fang Yang’s choice would be if he learned of this.
Would Fang Yang continue down the path of the Kunpeng Spirit Body, or would he wait for the Dream Dao to flourish and switch back to the path of the Great Sun Golden Crow Spirit Body?
’Kunpeng, Great Sun Golden Crow, or will you forge a new path entirely?’
A faint smile touched Layman Shuqing’s lips, his heart filled with immense curiosity.
If possible, he truly wanted to see just what the limits of Fang Yang’s peerless talent were.
......
"The Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon... it has appeared."
Atop a peak in the Wind Peng Dojo, Fang Yang’s Daoist robe fluttered in the wind.
His gaze was calm as he looked out toward the Celestial Domain.
For some reason, upon learning this news, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
In fact, he was also aware of the age-old taboo that phenomena were nearly unique.
He had thought that after learning Su Dao had obtained the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon, he would be anxious and restless.
He had even thought he might scheme to kill Su Dao and seize the Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram phenomenon’s inheritance for himself.
But in the end, he only found a profound calm within his heart.
This was because, long ago, he had already prepared a backup plan for the possibility of failing to forge the Kunpeng Spirit Body.
Furthermore, his Quasi-Mount Tai, Huanwu the Great Saint, had also been advising him.
Huanwu the Great Saint had told him that the world was on the verge of a great change, and if the path of the Kunpeng was blocked to him, he might as well change his thinking and return to the path of the Great Sun Golden Crow.
The hidden implication was that Huanwu the Great Saint had the connections to help him switch to cultivating the path of the Great Sun Golden Crow, but the price he would have to pay would be enormous...
But regardless, he still felt that his current emotional state was quite peculiar.
’Why am I so calm?’ Fang Yang asked himself.
’He had struggled so hard to come this far on the path of the Kunpeng, only to face the collapse of his entire situation.’
’Why didn’t he feel a sense of failure?’
’It didn’t make any sense.’
After a moment of deep thought, he slowly turned his focus to his second Ethereal Aperture.
Within the second Ethereal Aperture, the phantom of the Dream Emperor sat cross-legged.
The Dream Emperor phantom’s face was illusory and calm. Its imperial robes were simple and worn, yet it possessed an aura that could suppress all creation.
Fang Yang suddenly understood. Aside from the [Seek Fortune, Avoid Calamity] ball of light, this was his other great source of confidence!
Because if he were pushed to the brink, he could directly switch his second Ethereal Aperture into his primary one and focus on the school of the Dream Dao.
If he did that, as long as he constantly ventured into and devoured dream realms, the phantom of the Dream Emperor would gradually grow stronger.
Through his own efforts, he could make the Dream Emperor phantom ascend to a perfect Spirit Body, a perfect Sacred Body, and even a perfect Immortal Body.
Now, with the changing situation, a new idea sprouted in his mind.
Once he obtained the [Golden Sun Wind Roc’s Wings] Sacred Material, if the opportunity arose, he would also head to the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life, to the dream realm cluster of Burying Moon Mountain.
Because if the Ultimate Bliss Demon Venerable could break the taboo of phenomena being nearly unique, then perhaps he could too.
After all, the inheritance of the Ultimate Bliss Demon Venerable’s Profound Realm was still in his possession.
Besides that, he had two other considerations.
On one hand, unless it was a last resort, he was truly unwilling to abandon the path of forging the Kunpeng Spirit Body and start over on a new path.
On the other hand, he had to raise the rank of the Dream Emperor phantom and increase the cultivation of his second Ethereal Aperture.
In short, he wanted both paths, and he was fully prepared for either.
At this moment, the sea breeze blew in, growing more and more violent.
Fang Yang’s gaze was calm. With his hands behind his back, he said softly, "The winds and waves... are getting stronger."
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