On the Path to the Great Dao

Daocheng launched an aerial ambush at Little Duan Immortal and Chen Shi, but even while carrying someone, Little Duan Immortal's speed was far beyond his reach, and she quickly vanished beyond his line of sight.

Daocheng roared in fury, not a trace of a cultivator's tranquil detachment remaining—he was instead utterly irascible.

After a moment, he regained his composure. The vast sea of flesh and blood flowed noisily back into his body, and soon, it all burrowed inside him.

Daocheng's split skull fused back together, his skin stitching itself seamlessly, returning to its original state.

The Confucian scholar and the monk arrived. Daocheng looked at the Confucian scholar and said, "Brother Song, aren't you going to explain yourself?"

The monk also looked at the Confucian scholar. Both men's expressions turned unpleasant, and they subtly positioned themselves front and back, hemming him in.

The Confucian scholar said, "You two fellow daoists should know that I have an ancient origin. To be honest, I am a descendant of the Shang people."

Daocheng and the monk said nothing. They had long known that the Confucian scholar was a descendant of a prehistoric civilization, wielding a portion of its ancient culture and possessing immense power. They had come into contact back then, but it was more about probing, assassinations, and devouring each other.

It wasn't until Chen Shi arrived, subdued them, and pushed them together that they finally cooperated.

The Confucian scholar said, "'Confucian' means shaman, historian, diviner, and oracle—also called 'wu.' During the Great Shang period, Confucians were divided into son-Confucians, human-Confucians, Confucian masters, and Confucian emperor-sons. The Confucian emperor-son was the shaman responsible for teaching and guiding the emperor-son. My Founding Ancestor was the Confucian emperor-son of the Great Shang's Black Bird Celestial Court, passed down through bloodline. By my generation, I am the current Confucian emperor-son. That woman just now was the daughter of the Black Bird Celestial Court's Heavenly Emperor, so I had to kneel."

Daocheng said, "Brother Song, the Black Bird Celestial Court was long overthrown by the Great Zhou. The Shang remnants that rebuilt on the Western Ox New Continent are far from their former glory. Now it's even long destroyed. You have already transcended to sainthood—why kneel to her?"

The Confucian scholar Song Yi shook his head. "The reason I am so powerful is due to my bloodline talent, which comes from my Song family's founding ancestor during the Great Shang. The Shang emperor appointed my ancestor as Confucian emperor-son, and with the shamanic rituals, the Confucian emperor-son's shamanic dao patterns were etched deep into the bloodline. As long as this bloodline talent remains, encountering royal blood will still suppress me."

Daocheng and the monk frowned.

The monk said, "These outdated customs and bad habits should have been abolished long ago."

The Confucian scholar Song Yi said, "But this bloodline talent preserved my lineage's life."

Daocheng looked toward the direction Little Duan Immortal had fled and sighed. "Even if it preserved life, it's still hard to become an immortal."

The monk walked to his side. "That's why His Majesty is so crucial. If not for him, we'd probably still be killing each other, still thinking about how to stop the evil transformation, how to return to being human. Back then, we couldn't see through this stinking bag of skin."

The Confucian scholar Song Yi said, "Indeed. We never considered that evil transformation might not be evil transformation—it might just be the dao itself changing. Since we can't change heaven and earth, we should actively adapt to the evil transformation and become a new race, the immortals of the new race."

Daocheng laughed. "After I deepened my evil transformation, I felt much more normal."

"I'm the same."

They exchanged a smile.

The monk said, "Despair Slope intends to let the True God rule the world, unchanging for eternity, but that method is outdated. Only by actively embracing evil transformation can we endure in this world."

Daocheng laughed. "What is evil, what is righteous? Is what Despair Slope upholds truly righteous? Is evil transformation truly evil? I believe evil transformation might well be the righteous path of heaven and earth, might well be the Celestial Way. We are the true Celestial Way Walkers!"

The Confucian scholar Song Yi said, "Talking more is pointless. The Heavenly Maiden has taken His Majesty. We need to find them as soon as possible. I'm worried the Heavenly Maiden might harm His Majesty."

They took flight.

At Despair Slope, steam rose from the Li Dao Spring. Legend had it that this spring was a pool of dao-infused water, drawing the righteous energy of heaven and earth with no demonic energy whatsoever. Drinking it granted immortality.

Zhong Wuwang sat naked in the dao spring, his injuries largely healed.

The wounds from the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade had caused him immense damage. When he returned to Despair Slope, a Celestial Way Immortal came upon hearing the news and suppressed his injuries. However, the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade was truly fearsome—anyone who hadn't transcended yin and yang would die from blood transformation. But even Despair Slope had no immortals who had transcended yin and yang.

Fortunately, Despair Slope possessed a magic treasure that had transcended yin and yang.

It was a small bottle, palm-high, pure white jade and semi-transparent. Through it, one could vaguely see a Taiji pattern swirling at the bottom.

Feng Ruotong raised this treasure and suspended it over Zhong Wuwang's head. After absorbing for four or five days, it drew out half a bottle of foul blood. Thus, Zhong Wuwang survived.

"Your injury is no longer critical, but there's something I must tell you. Your master, Wei Luo, Wei Daoren's fate lamp has gone out."

Feng Ruotong put away the Yin Yang Qi Bottle. "This time he descended the mountain because he heard those foreign gods were like centipedes—dead but not stiff. Taking advantage of the True God's closed eyes, they appeared everywhere, and he went to eradicate them. But he encountered Chen Shi gravely wounding you. To save your life, he took the initiative to block Chen Shi, leading to this calamity."

Zhong Wuwang closed his eyes, two streaks of clear tears flowing down his cheeks.

Feng Ruotong said, "I know you two had an excellent relationship, but the dead cannot return to life. There's nothing you can do."

Zhong Wuwang said, "Disciple begs Uncle-Master not to kill Chen Shi yourself. Disciple wants to do it with his own hands."

Feng Ruotong nodded gently. "Focus on recuperating. Cultivate and break through to Mahayana, cultivate and become a new-method immortal."

Holding the treasure bottle, he rose and departed.

Zhong Wuwang concentrated on drawing water from the Li Dao Spring to heal his injuries.

Feng Ruotong arrived at the Eternal Immortal Pavilion to return the Yin Yang Qi Bottle. A Celestial Way Immortal asked, "Brother Feng, when will the True God open his eyes again? The Upper Realm has been destroyed. Can sacrificing the gods of the Thirteen Great Clans make the True God light the sun again?"

"No rush."

Feng Ruotong said, "The common folk can still hold on for a few more years. We cannot be hasty. We must wait until the enemies emerge one by one before awakening the True God."

He said unhurriedly, "The foreign gods and evil spirits are both making moves. In the past, finding them wasn't easy—they were always hiding and skulking. But now they're gradually becoming active. This is the perfect time to eradicate them and eliminate future trouble!"

"Can the True God truly be awakened again?"

"Of course. Didn't we do it over six thousand years ago?"

Feng Ruotong's expression was leisurely. "In the past, we could manage it; now, we can manage it even more!"

In the Divine Capital, Grandpa Chen Yindu saw someone who should have been dead for a long time, and his expression turned to shock. This man was named Jing Yushu, a senior who had led him into the freeholder organization. Back then, Jing Yushu was already ancient, with only a few years of life left, and then he vanished without a trace.

Some said Jing Yushu had died long ago. His lifespan had reached its limit—he couldn't possibly still be in this world.

Yet here in the Divine Capital, Jing Yushu appeared before him, impossible not to be shocked.

"Chen Yindu, long time no see." Jing Yushu smiled.

Moments later, the two sat down in a tea house, bought a pot of tea, and looked outward at this strange city composed of fiends and calamities.

Though it was called the Divine Capital, none of its inhabitants were divine.

They were fiends, evil spirits.

Chen Yindu even saw a fiend transformed into a lovely young girl, parading through the streets with a monk.

"What happened to you? Why are you here?" Chen Yindu asked.

Jing Yushu smiled. "What happens to everyone happened to me. I grew old and was about to die, so before my end, I made the same choice as my predecessors—I came here to survive."

Chen Yindu fell silent, glanced at him, and said, "You've evil-transformed."

Jing Yushu laughed. "What do you mean, 'evil transformation'? Isn't cultivation just following heaven's will? Since the great dao of heaven and earth is changing, since the righteous energy of heaven and earth is turning into demonic energy, then we should adapt to the dao's transformation."

Chen Yindu said, "But you haven't fully evil-transformed. You're only half-evil."

Jing Yushu said helplessly, "The great dao of heaven and earth hasn't fully evil-transformed either, so I can only be half-evil. Others in the Divine Capital are the same. Half-evil is the upper limit. But this situation is improving because the demonic energy is growing heavier. Sooner or later, the great dao of the Western Ox New Continent will completely evil-transform. Then I will be a true immortal, eternal and undying!"

Chen Yindu looked him up and down, as if he could see through everything about him. "Right now, you're neither righteous nor evil. You're like a cross between a wolf and a dog."

Jing Yushu grew angry. "You still speak as woundingly as ever!"

Back when he was ancient and decrepit, he had wanted to choose someone to inherit his mantle and happened upon Chen Yindu. He had intended to take Chen Yindu as a disciple, but after testing him, he found that his own knowledge wasn't worth a few days of the other's study, so he gave up the idea.

The two became friends across generations, and Jing Yushu introduced Chen Yindu to the freeholders, taking him to a Wanderer Gathering.

Chen Yindu smiled. "Seeing that you're not dead makes me happy."

Jing Yushu laughed and cursed, then said, "I came to tell you that you don't need to be so guarded. The Divine Capital has no ill intent toward you, toward your people, or toward Chen Shi."

Chen Yindu said nothing.

Jing Yushu laughed. "You still don't believe me, right? Actually, the freeholder organization was established by the Divine Capital."

Chen Yindu's heart stirred. "Is that true?"

Jing Yushu smiled. "Of course it's true. The freeholder organization was founded after the True King's Era ended, over six thousand years ago. Many freeholders have multiple identities—some are from the Thirteen Great Clans, some are wandering cultivators from the martial world, and some are masters from various sacred lands. Even many sect masters of the sacred lands are among them. Becoming a freeholder is no easy feat; they all have to be exceptionally intelligent. But after becoming a freeholder, entering the Divine Capital is even harder."

He looked at Chen Yindu and smiled. "But Chen Yindu, you are absolutely the most sought-after talent the Divine Capital wants! After His Majesty ascends the throne, you will be the Emperor Father."

Chen Yindu didn't take his bait and asked, "The freeholders aim to study dao techniques and divine abilities, uncover the lost truths of the True King's Era and prehistoric times, and search for various dao methods to advance the times. So what is the Divine Capital's purpose? Evil transformation? Immortality?"

"Wrong!"

Jing Yushu shook his head. "The Divine Capital's purpose is far nobler—to completely evil-transform the entire world and end all present suffering! Then the underworld will become the mortal world! Everyone will become a new race, and cultivators like you and me will become new immortals!"

Chen Yindu was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "You're worse than the freeholders. Jing Yushu, I'm ashamed to be associated with you."

Jing Yushu stopped persuading and smiled. "Chen Yindu, do you have a better solution? You've explored the mortal world and searched the underworld. After all these years, you've found no way to resolve cultivators' evil transformation, let alone the world's evil transformation."

He laughed. "But your grandson, he solved it. He said, if we all evil-transform, if everyone becomes an evil spirit, then there won't be any evil spirits anymore."

—Bonus chapter. Thanks to Touch the Dog's Head and Worry Not, Royal Tree Chopping Squad, Heng Wu, Ruo Yue Lin Chun, Jiu Jiu Jiu Er Qi, Crystal Angel, Book Sea Stray Deer, Hateful Dragon, and Qi Bei Hong Yuan, esteemed Alliance Leaders for their patronage. Much appreciated!