Chapter 324: The Golden Finger Comes with Risk

Two days later.

Chengming Mountain, Yunhai Shrine.

This was not a very large shrine, where a tall, sturdy Taoist was teaching a half-grown boy and a young girl to read.

Deep, resonant voices mixed with childish ones.

He was Jiang Lin's senior disciple, and if nothing went awry, he would be the next abbot of Yunhai Shrine.

The sturdy Taoist occasionally glanced inside, his eyes filled with worry.

Since returning from that demon-slaying mission, Master had behaved strangely.

It deeply troubled him.

At this moment, Jiang Lin sat in meditation within the quiet chamber, yet a faint line of sorrow remained on his face, revealing his agitated inner state.

After an indeterminate length of time.

Jiang Lin slowly opened his eyes, his gaze bloodshot and dim.

Since returning from that ruined temple, he had not absorbed a single breath of spiritual energy—after consuming extra spiritual energy and killing Xiong Shen, he dared not set up an altar to petition the Spirit Ministry's deities.

The Divine Summoning Method, the Divine Command Method, the Divine Subjugation Method, the Divine Devouring Method…

Unable to resist, he reread those four peerless methods, then let out a bitter laugh: "Ah~ Who would have thought that at my age, I'd receive such a blessing."

Because in this world the Spirit Path flourished, cultivators' lifespans were affected—even Golden Core cultivators lived no more than two hundred and forty years.

Jiang Lin was now one hundred and eighty-six.

Added to that, he had been injured in his youth…

He had barely any years left to live.

Yet his merit was sufficient—he was certain to be granted a divine title.

In fact, he had already been waiting to become a god after death!

Ah~

Jiang Lin sighed again.

Over the years, he had dealt with practitioners of the 【Thieving Spirit Path】, and most of them practiced methods far cruder than Yunhai Shrine's inherited teachings.

Not to mention these four methods capable of overturning the Spirit Path.

They weren't even fit to carry their shoes!

If not for his attachment to his disciples and to Yunhai Shrine, passed down through generations to his hands, he would have joined the 【Thieving Spirit Path】 using these methods!

"Master, I've left your meal outside—don't forget to eat." The voice came from outside, laced with concern.

It was Jiang Lin's second disciple.

He had been rescued by Jiang Lin from a demonic calamity years ago; with Heaven's permission, he had since established his Dao foundation and traveled with him, slaying countless demons and evils.

"Enough…"

A Golden Core cultivator had no need for mortal grains—his disciple was merely using it as an excuse to care for him.

With a soft sigh, Jiang Lin activated the Divine Command Method, layer by layer sealing the divine title he had taken from Xiong Shen, then rose and walked out of the quiet chamber.

If it were only himself, it might be different—but he could not harm his disciples.

He had lived nearly two hundred years…

He had lived a full life!

…

…

Yunhai Shrine stood halfway up the mountain.

Beyond that, the terrain grew treacherous, and the higher clouds carried a strange power that confused the mind—even cultivators struggled to resist it, while ordinary people would collapse upon even a touch, so few ever ventured there.

The reason Yunhai Shrine was built here was partly to prevent these strange clouds from spreading and endangering the world.

Yet now, atop the cloud-woven peak…

A circular stone table, as if grown from the mountain, stood with two stone benches; one was occupied by a Taoist clad in black-and-white robes, while the seat opposite remained empty.

Hong Zun gazed down at the shrine on the mountainside.

Two days ago, after parting from Xu Xing and the others, he visited He Yunqi in Fuming County, who had received the Dao Yan Da Qian Lu.

Then he wandered through the imperial palace of the Da Li Dynasty, the Nine Heavens' Nine Palaces, and even the secluded realms of some transcendental cultivators.

He had been confined to the Tai Shang Dao Sect's territory for so long—it had driven him mad.

During this time, he encountered many "catalysts" of the Immortal Dao's great age.

The majority were those who had received the Immortal Dao's legacy from the previous cycle, followed by those who believed themselves "reborn," then those who had obtained various "miraculous artifacts"…

Only yesterday had he arrived at Jiang Lin's Yunhai Shrine.

Among all the "catalysts," Jiang Lin was the luckiest—he had received Hong Zun's methods.

Yet look at him now…

He seemed prepared to sacrifice himself to protect his disciples.

It made sense—born in an age where the Spirit Path flourished, his thinking had its limits.

Added to that, Yunhai Shrine, passed down through generations, and his disciples who had shared life and death with him…

A man willing to forsake a divine title for two disciples would never abandon all this for four methods.

"Good." A faint smile appeared on Hong Zun's face.

Precisely because Jiang Lin was this kind of man, Hong Zun had transmitted those four methods.

Suddenly, Hong Zun withdrew his gaze and turned to the seat opposite him.

A faint shadow was solidifying, as if stepping from illusion into reality…

"Is this the one you chose, Hong Zun?"

As the voice sounded, that faint shadow solidified into the form of Xu Xing.

"Indeed." Hong Zun took out tea and set out melons and fruits. "I thought Brother Dao wouldn't come see me for several more days." "Xiang Xiang Yuanjun was preparing to regain contact before the link was severed, so Sister took her to find a secluded place for cultivation." Xu Xing explained.

These days, he and his sister and Xiang Xiang Yuanjun visited temple fairs and toured some of this world's most scenic spots.

You could say they went everywhere they needed to go.

"..." Hong Zun paused. "True enough—Little Sister's condition really isn't good."

"But Brother Dao arrived just in time—this young one is preparing to sacrifice himself to protect his disciples."

"Is that so..."

Xu Xing gazed down at the temple on the mountain slope.

Jiang Lin the old Taoist was gathering his disciples to set up a ritual altar, his words filled with the tone of settling final affairs.

Of course, the four cultivation methods Hong Zun had passed to Jiang Lin the old Taoist couldn't hide from him.

Summoning the Gods, Controlling the Gods, Enslaving the Gods, Swallowing the Gods...

!. Read

You could say these four methods were entirely created for this great era of divine and immortal transition.

Recalling the several "triggers" he had seen earlier, a title suddenly flashed into his mind.

"Ancient Inheritance vs. External Inheritance: Who Will Emerge Victorious?"

In truth, there was little point in comparing them—Jiang Lin the old Taoist's fortune was the largest among all the "triggers."

Originating from Hong Zun's hands, and coinciding with the flourishing of the Divine Path just as the Immortal Path was about to rise...

It was simply perfect for cultivating these four methods.

Xu Xing withdrew his gaze and turned to face the other: "By the way, you mentioned earlier—the small thing you obtained from that divination artifact—what was it?"

He had come specifically for this matter.

Yet Hong Zun smiled without speaking, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it toward Xu Xing.

The tea's fragrance drifted, making the mist-shrouded mountain peak seem even more hazy.

Through that haze, the surface of the tea reflected the rising steam, the drifting clouds, and beyond the clouds—the sky, or rather...

It reflected this entire world!

"This is... this world?"

Within it, the cosmos, the heavens and earth, human dynasties, the Nine Heavens' palaces—all were identical to this world.

The only difference was that there were no living beings within it.

It could truly be called the embryonic form of this world!

If Hong Zun lifted his suppression, it would likely grow into a "new world" identical to this one in mere moments.

"The divination artifact's predictive power touched you, and thus this world was generated."

Seeing this "world in a cup," Xu Xing quickly understood the reason.

"Correct." Hong Zun clapped his hands and sighed. "I encountered that divination artifact—called the Dao Yan Da Qian Lu—which foresees the future by creating false 'possibilities.'"

Creating false 'possibilities' to foresee the future...

Isn't that just a simulator?

"I see." Xu Xing nodded slightly.

Simulator... Dao Yan Da Qian Lu—creates false possibilities to deduce the future, then destroys those possibilities after deduction.

But this time, the "possibility" somehow involved Hong Zun.

So something went wrong.

The "Immortal" is an entity of extremely high status—even slight contact, without understanding its meaning or origin...

But Hong Zun's existence is like a "foundation"—nothing in this world is more "real" than he is.

Using him as the "base," what was originally a false "possibility" became "real" due to this anomaly.

Had Hong Zun not restrained it, this world—which should have had no excess possibilities—might have, like those "multiverse" worlds, drawn upon the original world's primordial essence and spawned new timelines—

The "Yanjie" timeline!

And because this "Yanjie" timeline is a replica of the original world, its living beings would be identical to those in the original world.

Of course, the "Yanjie" timeline is merely an appendage of the original world.

But if someone in the "Yanjie" timeline ascends to the Union with Dao realm, while the "original" in the original world does not...

Heh.

Then who is the master and who is the copy becomes a question.

Moreover, for the world itself, this situation brings no harm at all—only benefits. Perhaps, upon sensing this, the world might even evolve toward a "multiverse" direction.

"Cheating has risks," Hong Zun sighed.

Xu Xing gave him a strange look—he felt this line should have come from him.

But it wasn't wrong.

The Dao Yan Da Qian Lu, with its simulator-like ability, was utterly cheating.

But when it involved a great being like Hong Zun, it became extremely dangerous.

One day, another "you" might jump out from a different timeline and take you out.

"How do you plan to handle this embryonic world?" Xu Xing pushed the teacup back toward Hong Zun.

"This matter arose from me—I'll merely contain it slightly. When we leave, I'll return it."

As for who gets it... whoever is suitable later will do.

If all else fails, shatter it into primordial essence and let it return to the world on its own.

As the two spoke, on the mountain's mid-slope, within the Cloud Sea Temple, Jiang Lin the old Taoist and his disciples had already set up the ritual altar.

"Disciple Jiang Lin, forty-seventh-generation successor of Yunhai Pavilion on Chengming Mountain, disciple of True Person Lingjing…" (End of chapter)