On the Path to the Great Dao

The battle came and went in the blink of an eye. From the moment Feng Ruotong raised the Yin Yang Qi Bottle to trap the Celestial Venerable, to the moment the Celestial Venerable slaughtered everyone, only a few breaths had passed.

In fact, the shockwaves from the Celestial Way Immortals' assault on the Celestial Venerable failed to escape the sea of fire, causing little impact on Tiandao City.

The citizens of Tiandao City at most felt that the sea of fire that suddenly appeared in the sky was somewhat strange, but the flames dissipated quickly. Only the Celestial Venerable's heart-wrenching scream had knocked unconscious several people of weak constitution.

The Celestial Venerable staggered to his feet. The power of the Yin Yang Qi Bottle was indeed formidable. Though it had only burned him for a brief moment, it had nearly melted his physical body away, leaving him shaken.

"Had I been sucked into that bottle, even Feng Ruotong could have refined me to death. The magic treasures of the Divine Continent are truly fearsome."

He couldn't help but feel lingering dread.

He had suffered losses to two magic treasures in his life—one was the Yin Yang Qi Bottle, and the other was the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade. Both of these treasures originated from the Divine Continent.

"Qingyuan, that bastard..."

The Celestial Venerable steadied his emotions and glanced around. The Qingyuan Daoist was nowhere to be seen. He must have slipped away while they were locked in fierce combat.

"That man is as slippery as an eel."

Wreathed in divine light, the Celestial Venerable entered Despair Slope. Several Celestial Way Walkers were flying outward, roused by the commotion from moments ago.

"We pay our respects to the Celestial Venerable." They hastily greeted him with formal salutes.

The Celestial Venerable paid them no heed, striding past hurriedly. He passed through the Welcome Immortal Building and made straight for the True God Dao Field.

As he passed the altar, he cast a distant glance toward it. Qiu Ning the fairy maiden stood guard there, monitoring the movements between the Yin and Yang realms.

"Tiandao City lies outside the Bronze Mirror's surveillance range, so Qiu Ning has no knowledge of what happened in the city."

The Celestial Venerable paid it no mind. When he passed by the Qianyuan Courtyard, he looked from afar and saw Gong Wanqing and the other Celestial Way Immortals pouring their full power into the Recreate Heaven-and-Earth Furnace. The colossal divine furnace floated in the air, containing within it the mysteries of creation, evolving with arcane wonder. Waves of formidable auras, nearly on par with immortals, emanated from within the furnace.

"The day when the furnace opens and we harvest the heavenly soldiers is not far off."

The Celestial Venerable hurried past, heading straight for Tianyuan Palace, thinking to himself, "Once this batch of heavenly soldiers matures, I can sweep away everything. As for Gong Wanqing, Qiu Ning, and the others... it's better to replace them with a more obedient group. Once this realm is refined, my mission will finally be complete."

He let out a long sigh. For these sixteen thousand years, he had been treading on thin ice, trembling with caution, terrified of making a single mistake.

But now, quite a few problems had been resolved instead, greatly easing his burden.

"The Demon Emperor has been eliminated, and the traitor Feng Ruotong as well. Now only the Empress of Earth remains."

The Celestial Venerable murmured softly, "Once I refine my original body back, I'll activate the True God to send Her Ladyship away. If the True God cannot subdue Her Ladyship, then I'll have no choice but to awaken it."

He suddenly shuddered, clearly unwilling to awaken that thing.

"We haven't reached the point of awakening it yet. Besides the True God, I still have the Recreate Heaven-and-Earth Furnace."

He thought to himself, "Though the Yin Yang Qi Bottle is the most powerful magic treasure from the Divine Continent, the Recreate Heaven-and-Earth Furnace's might surpasses it by far!"

In the Imperial Capital of Xinxiang.

Chen Shi convened all officials of the Ministry of Rites, along with the True King's Consort, Wu Qi, and others, to study the various classics from the Heavenly Pool Kingdom.

The Heavenly Pool Kingdom was now under the rule of the skeleton Chen Shi. The cultivation techniques treasured by the various tribes had already been deciphered by Chen Shi. Now, the Ministry of Rites' task was to decode the shamanic ritual markings within these techniques and transform them into cultivation methods that practitioners could use.

The techniques of the Heavenly Pool Kingdom were methods handed down from the Great Shang Era, of exceptionally high quality, often reaching the level of immortal techniques. The Blood Lake Sutra that Chen Shi's skeleton body cultivated had been derived from one of these methods.

Deciphering the Great Shang techniques was of paramount importance, as it could greatly enrich the immortal techniques available to the court and the common folk.

Little Duan Immortal herself originated from Great Shang, and Wu Qi was none other than Great Shang's foremost grand shaman, responsible for inheritance and transmission. They were the most adept at cracking these codes.

Chen Shi entrusted these matters to the others and left the Imperial Capital alone, arriving at Qianyang Mountain before the mulberry tree. Grandpa Chen Yindu had built a cottage here, with a modest courtyard where a few chickens were raised.

When Chen Shi arrived, Grandpa was crafting himself a new wooden cart, working the carpentry with great care.

Chen Shi walked up to him, and only then did Grandpa notice his presence. He glanced at Chen Shi and said, "Aren't you supposed to be playing emperor in the city? What are you doing out in the countryside?"

Chen Shi came to his side, helping him pull the ink line and snapping it against the wood, chuckling, "I don't enjoy being the True King. Being the True King comes with too many responsibilities. I'd rather run out here."

Chen Yindu said, "If you don't act as the True King, what will your subordinates do? These people followed you through life-and-death struggles, charging across the land, raising rebellions and killing enemies. What for? Isn't it for wealth and glory, for rising to prominence? If you don't act as the True King, how will they attain their wealth and glory?"

Chen Shi thought it over and realized his grandfather had a point. He smiled and said, "Grandpa, why are you building a wooden cart? Let me just buy you one."

Chen Yindu shook his head and said, "I'm a talisman master. I have no use for those ornate royal carriages. If I ride one of those through the fields and villages, it would frighten the villagers."

Chen Shi hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Grandpa, don't you want wealth and glory?"

"I have no ambition for such things. Had I wanted them, I could have obtained them long ago."

Chen Yindu said, "I am but a freeholder by nature. There's no point in tying myself down in the court. I know exactly why you've come to see me. Everything is prepared, just sitting over there."

Chen Shi followed the direction of his finger and saw a thick stack of books on the table.

He walked over and opened the first volume. Written on it was the Heavenly Heart Righteousness Technique. Chen Shi skimmed through it—it covered the Foundation Establishment methods of the Heavenly Heart Righteousness Technique, encompassing the four realms of Qi Gathering, Foundation Establishment, Miniature Shrine, and Divine Embryo, along with the supporting Ziwu Evil-Slaying Sword spells.

He set down that volume and picked up the second. It was also the Heavenly Heart Righteousness Technique, but it recorded the methods for cultivating the Golden Core, including the essential techniques of Seven Returns, Eight Transformations, and Nine Reversions. This method was extremely simple, very easy to grasp in practice, and gave a strong sense of returning to simplicity!

As for the supporting spells, they encompassed several foundational systems including sword, spell, formation, and thunder techniques.

Chen Shi opened the third volume. Still the Heavenly Heart Righteousness Technique, it recorded the cultivation methods for the Nascent Soul stage. This technique was also extremely easy to get started with, but as one cultivated further along, it gradually became more difficult.

The supporting spells also grew more complex.

Chen Shi opened the fourth volume, which recorded the cultivation methods for the Primordial Spirit. It likewise progressed from simple to complex, from easy to difficult, advancing step by step.

The supporting spells here served more of an inspirational purpose, guiding practitioners to develop new spells rather than clinging to rigid conventions.

The fifth volume covered Return to Emptiness, the method for cultivating the Realm of Emptiness, also progressing from simple to complex, from easy to difficult.

By this stage, there were no more supporting spells, presumably intended for the practitioner to comprehend on their own.

Chen Shi closed the Heavenly Heart Righteousness Technique, stroking the book cover, and fell silent for a long moment before saying, "Grandpa, did you write these back then?"

Chen Yindu, while shaping a wheel spoke, replied, "I wrote part of them back then, but the officials of the Thirteen Great Clans reprimanded me, accusing me of harboring ulterior motives and plotting to plunge the world into chaos. So I stopped writing and resigned from office. The rest I completed just a few days ago. Perhaps they'll be of use to you."

Chen Shi put away the Heavenly Heart Righteousness Technique and said, "These books will help me become a better True King. Grandpa, why did you name this technique the Heavenly Heart Righteousness Technique?"

Chen Yindu set down the wheel spoke and said, "The Heavenly Heart is the people's heart. The sage accumulates utmost sincerity, uniting with the Heavenly Heart—this is great virtue. To win the people's heart is to win the Heavenly Heart, and that is what makes a sage. Heavenly Heart Righteousness is the righteousness of the people's heart."

"Righteousness of the people's heart?" Chen Shi murmured.

Just then, the sound of a piercing whoosh came from outside, hurtling toward him.

Chen Shi's heart stirred. He raised his palm, and a jade bottle over a foot tall flew in, landing gently in his grasp.

The Yin Yang Qi Bottle.

Its surface was stained with mottled traces of blood.

Chen Shi stared at the bloodstains, falling silent.

He peered into the bottle. Inside was a small pile of incense ash—the incense he had offered to this immortal artifact.

"Your Majesty's stick of incense could be called its very first offering. From this moment on, this treasure shall be bound to your blood and breath."

It seemed as though Feng Ruotong's voice echoed in his ears.

But now that the Yin Yang Qi Bottle had returned to his side, where were Feng Ruotong and the other immortals who had wielded it? Where were they?

Chen Shi offered a stick of incense to the Yin Yang Qi Bottle. The incense smoke curled upward, and that sensation of breathing in unison with the jade bottle washed over him once more.

Chen Shi hesitated, then lit another stick of incense for Feng Ruotong, thinking to himself, "If Feng Ruotong is still alive, if his Primordial Spirit or soul still remains, this incense smoke will drift toward him..."

The energy of the incense offerings rose straight upward.

Chen Shi watched the energy of the incense offerings, then held the incense and bowed toward the empty air.

The man was already gone. Even this stick of incense could not reach him.

"Grandpa, you've been to Despair Slope before, so you must have seen the Celestial Venerable. Tell me, if one wanted to kill an existence like the Celestial Venerable, how would one go about it?" Chen Shi asked.

Chen Yindu looked up, his gaze distant, lost in thought. After a long pause, he shook his head and said, "I can't find any opportunity to kill the Celestial Venerable. He commands the Celestial True God, possesses the Recreate Heaven-and-Earth Furnace, and has that unfathomable flesh of ghost gods. I can't think of any way to kill him. He has no weaknesses at all."

Chen Shi said, "He does have a weakness. His weakness lies in his physical body. His body is of the Rushou bloodline, and its corresponding shamanic ritual markings are the Autumn Officer's Heavenly Punishment Art. Little Duan and I have already figured out how to break through his physical body."

Chen Yindu's eyes lit up. "That plan could work. Once the Celestial Venerable's physical body is broken, you can use the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade and this Yin Yang Qi Bottle to suppress his physical power. But his greatest strength lies in his Primordial Spirit and his place of Dao Unification. Breaking through his Primordial Spirit would be extremely difficult—his spirit's flaws leave no trace to be found. The other key lies in his place of Dao Unification. He will surely hide it well, giving no one any chance to destroy it."

Chen Shi's heart stirred. "He has been lurking in Despair Slope all this time. Could his place of Dao Unification be Despair Slope itself?"

Chen Yindu shook his head. "Absolutely impossible. He could easily hide his small world of Dao Unification within the void, where it would be far safer. There is one way to find his place of Dao Unification—when he fights with everything he has, the power of his Dao Unification realm will be drawn upon. At that moment, the location could be discovered. But where would you find such an expert to force him?"

Chen Shi's eyes lit up. "I have one."

Chen Yindu said, "Such an expert would surely lose his life."

Chen Shi said slowly, "He owes me a debt of gratitude—a debt that can never be fully repaid. I need to equip him with plenty of magic treasures. He will risk his life in one desperate gambit, forcing the Celestial Venerable to unleash his full power!"