Redemption of a Born Demon

"You say he has achieved the status of a True Spirit? What proof do you have?"

The Lady of the Three Yins asked in a low voice.

"Perhaps we can no longer call him Fu Yaozi. He abandoned his past lives to live only this final one, taking the codename ’Wandering Immortal’ and the true name Hong Datong. The fracturing of All the Sons had a great deal to do with him."

"As for the proof that he became a True Spirit..."

At this, Lotus couldn’t help but recall the bizarre scene he had experienced not long ago.

That day, he was in a standoff with Beretta in the Human Dao River. He had held the absolute upper hand, but at the critical moment, the Human Dao River suddenly surged and crashed into him. This caused his Divine Sense to stagnate, giving Beretta time to break free from his restraints.

And in a fleeting glimpse, he thought he saw a "little fish" dive into the Human Dao River.

He didn’t think much of it at the time, but upon careful reflection, he grew more and more convinced that the one who helped Beretta escape was very likely Hong Datong.

He had already found Hong Datong’s body and had personally conducted a detailed examination.

For someone who had abandoned his past lives, reincarnating again was nearly impossible. It would be tantamount to spiritual insanity and would likely trigger a backlash, causing him to Fall into Demon. Therefore, Hong Datong was truly dead.

If the one who helped Beretta escape that day was indeed Hong Datong, then a dead man whose soul should have dissipated was still alive and capable of roaming and manipulating the Human Dao River.

Faced with such an inconceivable matter, coupled with the various other suspicions surrounding Hong Datong, Lotus could only think of one possibility.

That he had become a True Spirit.

To be free from the shackles of the flesh, to exist in the world purely as a magnetic field of thought, retaining self-awareness... it was a state that transcended all mortal understanding of life.

So, Lotus concealed the parts about Beretta and told the Lady of the Three Yins only his speculation regarding Hong Datong.

"In the end, you have no real proof. It’s just speculation."

the Lady of the Three Yins said, her face devoid of expression.

"Isn’t well-reasoned speculation enough? At our level, there is no further path to advance. A plausible theory is enough to make us risk everything, isn’t it?"

"Even if this person hasn’t truly become a True Spirit, he is likely not far from it."

Lotus said calmly.

"So, you told me all this for more than just sharing a theory, didn’t you? Assuming this person has, to some extent, set foot upon the great path of the True Spirit, you must have already guessed at some of the methods and routes, haven’t you?"

the Lady of the Three Yins asked coolly.

"Of course. After all, we are both seekers of the True Spirit. We even journeyed together for a lifetime once, so we know each other very well. I have thoroughly investigated all his movements and have arrived at a possible direction."

"My Lady should be aware that the Divine Sealers have something called the ’Ancestor Realm,’ correct?"

Lotus said with a smile.

"The Ancestor Realm? Of course, I know of it. At our level, we can travel spiritually through all the heavens and void realms. We can come and go as we please even from wondrous places like Heaven, the Sumeru Realm, and the Nine Heavens. Only this Ancestor Realm is different. It’s difficult for Yin Spirits to enter, and it contains immense terror. It is also the source of the Divine Sealer lineage’s secrets."

"Your clue couldn’t be related to the Ancestor Realm, could it? Did Fu Yaozi enter the Ancestor Realm? You have to understand, back then, Shakyamuni pursued the path of the True Spirit, using the Wish Power of all living beings to forge his Tathagata True Body and create the Sumeru Realm, all in an attempt to attain the True Spirit. But in the end, he failed."

"But there’s no denying his power at the time. He was arguably the strongest Spirit Cultivator ever recorded. Before he completely lost his self-awareness, he once used the power of the Sumeru Realm to attack an Ancestor Realm, hoping to glimpse its secrets and grasp one last chance at life. Not only did he fail, but the last shred of his true self was utterly annihilated in the process."

"A figure of that caliber couldn’t succeed, yet Fu Yaozi did?"

Disbelief filled the Lady of the Three Yins’s eyes.

The Ancestor Realm was the foundation of the Divine Sealer lineage. Most Ancient Ones had no precise knowledge of it, but for peak Spirit Cultivators like Lotus and the Lady of the Three Yins, the name was thunderously familiar.

With their power, they could freely enter, exit, and roam the many wondrous realms of the Void. A place like the Sumeru Realm, which Ding Huiyuan had entered before, couldn’t stop them in the slightest.

Only the Ancestor Realm of the Divine Sealers was a forbidden land for all Spirit Cultivators.

This involved a past event that had caused a major stir in the Hidden Realm back then.

A powerful, ancient Spirit Cultivator reincarnated as a prince. He sought to establish a religion, gather the Wish Power of all living beings, and forcibly sublimate his own consciousness to achieve the true fruition of a True Spirit.

He succeeded, and yet he failed.

He used a concentration of Wish Power rarely seen in history to ascend to the Void, create the Sumeru Realm, and achieve a Dharma Body that was immortal as long as the Wish Power remained. In a sense, this was no different from a True Spirit.

This person was Buddha Shakyamuni.

But Wish Power was both his success and his downfall. Every shred of Wish Power was filled with the various thoughts and emotions of its owner. The Wish Power of hundreds of millions of beings was more than even the strongest Spirit Cultivator in history could bear. In the end, he was eroded by it, lost his sense of self, and became a "Deity."

This was no different in essence from the natural Deities that Yi Beidou had encountered. Many of these Deities were also formed from coalesced Wish Power. Their "actions" and "personalities" were derived entirely from the collected "impressions" of their believers.

This also proved that the path of using Wish Power to become a True Spirit was not viable, and no later Spirit Cultivators tried to emulate it.

However, before losing consciousness, Shakyamuni had wielded the immense power of the Sumeru Realm to attack the Ancestor Realm, yet he still failed. This was what truly established the Ancestor Realm as a forbidden land for Spirit Cultivators.

"The more dangerous a place is, the greater the secrets it hides. And the greater the secrets, the richer the rewards, isn’t that right?"

"This is a perfect opportunity. The Five Divine Sealing Veins have been in decline, and this time, they hold the most Spiritual Talismans, making them a public target. Many factions have their eyes on them. What I’m proposing is that perhaps we can join forces. On one hand, to fight for the Spiritual Talismans and control of the final ruin; on the other, if we can capture a leader from one of the Divine Sealing Veins alive, we might be able to use them to uncover the secrets of the Ancestor Realm. We can cooperate on both fronts."

Lotus said.

"Capture a leader of the Sealing God Lineage alive? Do you think that’s possible? If those fellows fight for their lives and condense their Celestial Monarch True Body, it’s said they can unleash an attack comparable to that of a true Earth Immortal. Have you ever seen a leader of the Sealing God Lineage captured in all of history?"

"Back when Shakyamuni threw himself at the Ancestor Realm, he triggered an uproar in the God-Sealing Alliance, which led to the ’Battle of Godhood.’ Many of the Five Divine Sect Leaders died, but not a single one was captured."

the Lady of the Three Yins said coldly.

"Just because it has never been done, does that mean it’s impossible? Our path has always been one of clearing thorns and brambles. I’ve made sufficient preparations this time. Several fellow Daoists have already agreed to cooperate. If we take advantage of the chaos, it might not be impossible."

Lotus said.

"Others? Who are they?"

the Lady of the Three Yins asked.

"The King of the Wheel of Reincarnation from Pusuo. You should know of his ’Grinding Wheel of the World,’ which can stir the waves of the Human Dao River. There is also Fellow Daoist Hua Qing, who also comes from All the Sons; his ’Heaven-Reaching Yang Spirit’ is enough to stabilize the universe. Fellow Daoist Dong Wang has also agreed to cooperate. Although he lost to a mortal, his Penglai Daluo Body is still not to be underestimated and is sufficient to physically suppress and entangle a Celestial Monarch."

"If we add my Lotus World to temporarily resist the pressure from the Ancestor Realm, plus Your Ladyship’s ’Soul-Attracting Bell,’ then all our bases would be covered. How could we fail in such a grand endeavor?"

"When we contend for the Spiritual Talismans, we can explore the ruin together. As for what we gain, that will be up to our own abilities. For the secrets of the Ancestor Realm, we can share them. It’s killing two birds with one stone. This opportunity must not be lost, for it will not come again."

Lotus said slowly.

"The King of the Wheel of Reincarnation! Huaqing Immortal! I didn’t expect those two to have awakened and emerged in the world as well."

Upon hearing this, the Lady of the Three Yins’s expression changed slightly. She said no more, her face becoming uncertain and clouded.

If Lotus wasn’t lying, then the waters of this struggle for the ruin were even deeper than she had imagined.

If she didn’t seek cooperation, she would likely gain nothing on her own.

"Fine. I agree to cooperate with you. I hope everything you’ve said is true. Otherwise..."

The Lady of the Three Yins stared at Lotus with sharp eyes.