Chapter 1570: Smells So Good

Under a single sword strike, every ghost and demon scattered like smoke.

Now, beneath the Heavenly Being, there were few things left that the Great Sun Sword Master still cared about.

This was not just the case in one world-cluster — across the boundless universe and starry sky, such beings were also few in number, all of them countable.

"These boring tricks…"

Jiang Ding sighed.

He paid no more attention to the battlefield and continued lecturing to all the Void Refinement cultivators of the Immortal Gate, using the Dao Merging heavenly tribulation happening in real time as a case study, combining it with each cultivator's own situation to explain everything in meticulous detail.

No one knew how long had passed.

Boom!

As the final net of heavenly tribulation descended, the unending thunder finally ceased.

The thick, ink-like dark clouds also began to scatter, revealing the quiet starry sky, the eight major planets and Pluto still spinning, and the Shenmu Shenmu Futianrong rooted throughout the star domain — everything returned to life.

In the sky, a thin, transcendent Daoist rose to his feet; the aura around him had already undergone a qualitative leap, its might pressing in all four directions.

"We pay respects—"

Jiang Ding began, speaking softly.

"We pay respects!"

The several billion people of the Immortal Gate rejoiced in their hearts and said in unison.

"We pay respects—"

"Divine Lord Yuan!"

"Congratulations, Divine Lord, on the completion of your Great Dao, extending your lifespan by a hundred thousand years! Congratulations on achieving Dao Merging, advancing further along the Immortal Dao, with hope of longevity in sight!"

The congratulatory voices of the several billion citizen cultivators shook the cosmic star river; the collective will of the fleet surged straight into the clouds, dimming the stars, diverting the asteroid belts, making the light waver unsteadily.

"Hahaha…"

"Hahaha…"

Yuan felt exhilarated and could not help but laugh heartily.

"Thank you, everyone."

"Thank you. I have only taken one step ahead; from now on, each of you should become like a dragon, so that I am not left to walk this road alone."

"In this advancement to Dao Merging, I have many new insights to share with everyone…"

After the crowd had made merry for a while, Yuan steadied himself and began lecturing the people of the Immortal Gate, recounting the various comprehensions and gains he had obtained after advancing to Dao Merging.

This was an old tradition of the Immortal Gate.

A newly advanced cultivator must lecture and share their gains.

This time, Jiang Ding sat up straight and listened carefully, unwilling to miss a single word, a single fluctuation of divine sense.

"The cultivation of the Dao Merging stage lies in expanding one's own net of Heaven's Dao…"

"The strength of a Dao Merging cultivator lies in who can better align with Heaven and Earth, better understand the rules between Heaven and Earth, and wield their divine soul with ease…"

Yuan spoke at length, unhurried.

As Jiang Ding listened, his expression gradually grew solemn.

He discovered that Yuan's lecture was useful to him.

It even caused his second Nirvana to begin showing faint changes, growing by an extremely subtle margin; many entirely new inspirations surfaced in his heart, and he wished he could rush straight to the Dayang Dayang Tianchi laboratory to work them through.

This was truly somewhat hard to believe.

He was merely a cultivator at the early stage of Dao Merging, his strength as weak as an ant, yet his wisdom could exert an influence on a Dao Child of an Upper Realm Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong.

It was as if—

It was as if…

A certain familiar feeling arose in Jiang Ding, yet still vague, impossible to confirm. After carefully dissecting his inner heart for a long time, he finally arrived at a somewhat stunned answer.

'It is as if—

'I am in the middle of beating to death a Dao Child of an Upper Realm Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong!!!'

Such a thought surfaced in Jiang Ding's mind.

In an instant, he drew a sharp cold breath inwardly.

Although in his heart he held much respect for this revivalist ruler of the Immortal Gate, admiring his character, his wisdom, his virtue, he truly had never imagined that after Yuan advanced to the Dao Merging stage, he would actually display some of the characteristics of a Dao Child of an Upper Realm Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong.

No!

To be precise, it was when Yuan was together with the Immortal Gate collective that he displayed, in combat power, creativity, research capability, and foundation, some of the characteristics of a Dao Child of an Upper Realm Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong — all of it so beyond reason, so full of vitality, so boundless in potential.

It made one…

Feel that it smelled so good…

Really want to beat it to death.

Jiang Ding's heart stirred.

A sliver of extremely faint greed, a sliver of extremely faint longing and killing intent, were uncontrollably appearing in the deepest depths of his divine soul, buried dead by reason, sealed layer upon layer by the Six Paths of Reincarnation, not revealing even a trace.

The Great Sun blood-drinking instinct!

This was one with the divine soul of the Great Sun Sword Master, as natural to a person as hands, feet, mouth, nose, and ears; it had to exist, as much a genetic instinct as living beings needing to breathe, needing food.

Jiang Ding's heart trembled somewhat.

In the past, he had thought he could already fully control the instinct — after all, so many times before, he had never lost control, at least not within the Immortal Gate — and he believed he had tamed this beast of an instinct.

But when a very fragrant existence, similar to a Dao Child of an Upper Realm Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong, was born and appeared before him, he was horrified.

Because he discovered that the reason an instinct is called an instinct is that it cannot be eradicated.

It could only be suppressed, delayed, postponed forever, but never fully controlled, because this was the deepest longing within a cultivator's heart for the Great Dao and longevity.

All these thoughts were buried deep.

Even Yuan, at present, could not detect the slightest trace, and remained within the lecture.

"This matter needs to be resolved."

"Either self-"

"exile to the Endless Starry Sky, or…"

Jiang Ding thought silently to himself.

……

After the lecture ended, Jiang Ding returned military authority at the first opportunity and hurried to the Dayang Dayang Tianchi laboratory.

Yuan once again took command of the Immortal Gate's Central Army Group, and in an instant caused this military formation to undergo a violent qualitative change.

Clearly it was still the same soldiers and fleet, but in his hands it was completely different — lighter, more agile, and the gathered power was far more terrifying, entirely unlike the domineering command style of the Dayang Sword Master.

"He… seems to be losing control again…"

After Yuan took command of the military formation, his divine soul merged with the collective will of the fleet, and with the support of the Central Array Spirit Computer, his divine soul's computing power instantly increased countless times over. After calculating for a long time, he arrived at this answer.

"This…"

Zhenjun Shenji Zhen Zun and the others felt a chill in their hearts and cried out involuntarily.

The Dayang Sword Master, losing control.

These two terms appearing together were enough to make one shudder.

"No, it's only a possibility."

"A slim possibility…"

Yuan calculated once more, then shook his head slightly: "No need to worry too much. Even if he completely loses control, he will only Zi Wo Feng Yin, or self-exile, or charge at the Ancient God Ancestor — he won't do anything to the Immortal Gate."

"But such an outcome should not appear."

"The Immortal Gate's development must accelerate once more, and again, striving for breakthroughs in the Eighth-Order military formation and Eighth-Order Central Array Spirit Computer before he completely loses control, to help him complete the Third Nirvana one step ahead…"

Yuan murmured to himself.

The Immortal Gate will absolutely not abandon any single Immortal Gate citizen.

And now, after Yuan broke through to the Dao Merging Realm, this peerless prodigy of the world-cluster, who excelled at organization, would inevitably bring earth-shattering changes to the Immortal Gate's Dao research capability, productivity, and combat power — everything would no longer be as it once was.

This civilization known as the Immortal Gate was about to develop at flying speed.