Chapter 922 - 357: Chronicle of All Living Beings
Fan Wubing and Baili Yao Yue stood suspended at the peak of the sky.
Thirty-three innate supreme treasures slowly rotated around them, dragging light like comet tails.
Fan Wubing’s gaze was serene, as if peering through the ages.
He was simultaneously feeling the twenty-two once Ascension Platforms, now Fallen Immortal Lands. After the foundation of this Small Thousand World was completely shaped, they regained vitality, and a sense of eternity from time kept emerging.
All these everlasting meanings pointed to the same place.
And there, was the collapsed Path to Immortality.
Baili Yao Yue suddenly thought of something, then said,
"There’s a place that’s been overlooked."
Fan Wubing asked,
"Where?"
"The Underworld. The Underworld of this Small Thousand World seems not to have been rebuilt. Was it overlooked?"
Fan Wubing shook his head, "No, I deliberately did not rebuild the Underworld."
"Why?"
Fan Wubing said,
"The cycle of life and death should be a natural Dao, driven simply by the three Great Daos of life, death, and reincarnation, which is the best way. If we return to the previous rules where the yin souls cross the River of Forgetfulness, traverse the Yellow Springs, and enter reincarnation, it would be no different than placing shackles upon the necks of all beings. The same applies to the Celestial Court. The beings of the world do not need the so-called Celestial Court to manage them, nor do they need the Underworld to manipulate the cycle of life and death."
His gaze was distant,
"I cannot control the rules of the mundane world, but as the lord of beings, I consider only from the perspective of all beings, and the premise of their freedom is equality among beings."
Baili Yao Yue thought for a moment, then said,
"Is relying on the three Great Daos of life, death, and reincarnation to drive the cycle unwise? If someone controls one of these Daos, they could interfere with reincarnation, and if all are controlled, wouldn’t the reincarnation of all beings be held by others?"
Fan Wubing laughed, "You’ve actually learned to think about these issues."
Baili Yao Yue raised an eyebrow, "What, was I very stupid before?"
Fan Wubing smiled but didn’t answer, and said, "I’ve thought about this too. My plan is, once the Heavenly Dao is born, I will unite it with this world."
"Unite it?"
"Yes. Excluding the Destiny Dao, I will combine the remaining eight Supreme Daos into one, transforming it into a source. Use the source to operate this Small Thousand World, eliminating the influence that personal will might cause."
"Source."
Fan Wubing said, "Rebuilding the Path to Immortality doesn’t mean following the old ways, proper reform is very necessary. Times are different, cognition is different, and the challenges this world faces are different too. I think perhaps it’s better to let future Cultivators seek their own Dao. This is the true meaning of pursuing Dao."
Baili Yao Yue tried to envision such a scene,
"This is a huge project, can you bear it?"
Fan Wubing laughed, "That’s why you’re doing it with me, aren’t you?"
"Ha!" Baili Yao Yue saw through him, "I’m just a substitute for your senior sister."
Fan Wubing scratched his head awkwardly. This was indeed true,
"The term ’substitute’ is too exaggerated."
Baili Yao Yue pinched his cheek, "It’s just that I don’t mind such things anymore. You better treat me well in the future."
"Mm."
"But if you combine the Supreme Daos into the source... we can’t guarantee that there won’t be future contact with the source."
"I’ve thought about this before too, but there’s no good solution. I can’t just seal the source and prevent people from feeling it, that would mean interfering with the world using my personal will." Fan Wubing laughed and said to Baili Yao Yue, "So, I have to thank you for this."
"Thank me? Why?"
"You taught me balance, and balance helped me find a way. Linking the Heavenly Dao with the source is my solution. Allowing the Heavenly Dao to have the ability to correct the source, and also letting the source have the ability to correct the Heavenly Dao."
Baili Yao Yue thought for a moment and then nodded, "That works! I think it’s better to do it all in one step: let the will of beings correct the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao correct the source, and the source correct the will of beings."
Fan Wubing’s eyes lit up, and he vigorously rubbed her head,
"You really are clever!"
Reactions to having your head rubbed vary among different people.
For Fu Manman, it would feel like her hair was messed up and she’d be annoyed.
Luo Qingyao would look as if she was enjoying it.
Gu Lan would be too embarrassed to speak.
Pei Weiyi would definitely think it was a signal for a big fight.
As for Jiang Ran and Si Jiuyou... Fan Wubing wouldn’t dare to do it.
As for Baili Yao Yue, she chose to repay him double, rubbing Fan Wubing’s head into a bird’s nest before being satisfied.
Let’s get to work!
Fan Wubing and Baili Yao Yue followed the eternal intent flowing out of each of the twenty-two Ascension Platforms to the ruins of the Path to Immortality.
The Path to Immortality was in a destruction space independent of the outside world.
The so-called destruction space is a land of nothingness; no Dao, no qi, no life.
The reason the Path to Immortality was separated from the outside world is because the Small Thousand World and the Great Thousand Worlds are two different worlds. Suddenly entering the Great Thousand World from the Small Thousand World usually results in explosive body phenomena due to controlless rapidly expanding cultivation, severely impacting the soul.
Thus, the Path to Immortality essentially serves as a transition for Ascenders.
Fan Wubing and Baili Yao Yue passed through the space wall separating the dimensions. They were very careful to avoid causing a snowball-like collapse.
The two looked far ahead.
Countless remnants and ruins, like discarded trash, were frozen in mid-air, completely still. Here, neither time flowed nor did space show any rhythm. Like a frozen world, it fell into absolute silence. From these remnants alone, one couldn’t even tell that this place was meant for Ascenders to shed their Small Thousand forms and forge their Great Thousand forms.