Chapter 22

Upon reaching Great Luo, past, present, and future are all within sight; you will find that Honghuang is even more vast and magnificent.

That river of time flows slowly; each moment Honghuang's heaven and earth advance, a parallel spacetime is forged in the void, projecting the universe…… This is illusory, yet also real!

Dreamy and illusory, the innumerable Myriad Heavens…… this is the true face of Honghuang!

Di Jiang Zu Wu spoke softly, causing Fengxi's heart to surge, unable to control himself.

What a magnificent world!

Of course.

The greater its magnificence, the more ferocious the beings active on this stage.

Fengxi recalled the legendary ferocious figures who shouted about destroying the world and reestablishing earth, water, fire, and wind, for example——

Demon Ancestor Luo Hou.

Lingbao Heavenly Venerable.

He then silently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"'Fortunately, their world-destroying journey has been halted……'"

"'Justice has triumphed over evil.'"

"'Reason has prevailed over madness.'"

"'But aside from these, what other great upheavals could shake all of Honghuang?'"

Wu-Yao War, Zhou Tian Star Dou War to Heaven!

Gong Gong roared in anger, ramming and breaking the heaven-earth pillar!

……

The passionate enactment of peak powerhouses can put even the supreme universe of Honghuang, which contains the innumerable Myriad Heavens, at risk of overthrow!

So……

"'Just how powerful must they become?'"

Fengxi's heart raced with longing, yet at the same time he felt some confusion—lacking a comparable standard, it is hard to measure this.

Who can be provoked?

Who cannot be provoked?

When out and about, how can one act without confidence?

He thought for a moment, then earnestly asked Di Jiang, 'Honghuang is this vast and magnificent, yet the Luo Hou Demon Ancestor of the previous era possessed the power to destroy the world…… At what level is his realm?'

"'The Wu Clan's internal records clearly state that Great Luo is the ultimate achievement of the Great Dao.'"

"'But I have heard some unreliable rumors—above Great Luo there are the levels of Quasi-Saint and Saint.'"

"'What about Hongmeng Purple Qi, what about the Heavenly Dao Six Saints…… I don't know if they're real or not.'"

"'Great Luo, is it truly the ultimate?'"

"'Moreover, Orthodox Xuanmen, Heterodox Paths…… why is there superiority or inferiority between orthodoxy and heterodoxy?'"

Fengxi had many doubts.

Perhaps only a Wu Ancestor, a peak powerhouse of Honghuang, could clearly answer his doubts.

"'Great Luo is the ultimate of the Great Dao, no doubt.' Di Jiang said slowly, 'Luo Hou is actually just a Great Luo.'"

"'Even Pangu is merely a Great Luo!'"

"'The limit of cultivation is Great Luo as the endpoint.'"

"'Great Luo is the endpoint, yet the paths to this endpoint are countless—Honghuang's world is so vast that the number of primordial divine sages born alone reaches thousands, not to mention the heroic geniuses that emerge over the ages, whose talents and wisdom are supreme; each is a pioneer who forges a bridge to eternity.'"

"'However, due to influences of environment, region, opportunity, etc., the systems developed under the guidance of cultivation principles also differ greatly, and even the division of realms varies, leading some to stir up so-called orthodox-heterodox conflicts.' Di Jiang chuckled lightly, 'In fact, this is merely the meddling of those who fail to grasp the essence of cultivation.'"

"'To create a reasonable and self-consistent cultivation system, it cannot come from nothing…… it must be adapted to local conditions and the times.'"

"'After all, the auxiliary resources in the cultivation process must be gathered from the surroundings.'"

"'If the created system does not match the environment…… the path will be very difficult.'"

Fengxi listened, nodding repeatedly.

Like in the Age of Dharma Decline, if you were given a cultivation method that consumes enormous resources—requiring thousand-year ginseng, ten-thousand-year lingzhi, myriad-year marrow in abundance…… but there are no spiritual medicines outside, what kind of ghost could you cultivate?

To develop human potential, emphasizing the exploration of the spiritual realm, only then can great achievements be made.

Cultivation, too, must adhere to fundamental laws!

Emulating heaven and earth, opening paths, ultimately must be influenced by surrounding conditions.

"'Your cultivation knowledge is solid; you should still remember the arrangement of the Five Directions and Five Elements, right?' Di Jiang asked."

"'Of course I remember.' Fengxi said, 'East governs wood, West governs metal, South governs fire, North governs water, Center governs earth.'"

"'In the eastern lands, wood qi is most abundant; in the western lands, metal qi is most abundant……'"

"'Just remember that.' Di Jiang nodded, 'But merely memorizing isn't enough; one must apply knowledge.'"

I will use the differences between east and west to explain a bit to you." He continued, "In the eastern territories of the Honghuang lands, qi refiners are predominant, accumulating magical power, researching divine abilities, and tempering their primordial spirits… Among them, the dharma-method designs of the three Daoist Heavenly Lords of Kunlun Mountain are the most splendid, implicitly making them the mainstream here.

Why?

That is because in the eastern Honghuang, the wood element is most prosperous.

With wood as the dominant element, vitality is strongest, immortal herbs and spiritual medicines are most abundant, and cultivators will inevitably focus their efforts here.

Gathering spiritual medicines, refining spiritual pills, ingesting them to practice qi, accumulating vast magical power. In the four major domains of body, qi, spirit, and mind, cultivation of the qi way is especially outstanding.

Fengxi fell into thought.

"And, what about the west?" Di Jiang chuckled, "I roughly know what you think—that the west is barren and sparsely populated… right?"

Fengxi said embarrassedly, "I heard that in the previous era, the Demonic Ancestor Luo Hou ran rampant, and before his death he self-detonated, destroying much of the west's flora and fauna, leaving it utterly destitute… Is there something wrong with that?"

"Luo Hou's self-detonation…" Di Jiang was speechless, his face a little strange, as if recalling something amusing, "It's true that the western lands are sparsely populated, but it's not because of Luo Hou."

But rather because the nature of that land itself leans toward the metal element!

"Metal is stern and killing, it overcomes wood."

"Therefore, although it is not to the point of no grass growing, the vegetation cover is indeed much less than in the east... Consequently, the living beings that can be sustained are also fewer."

"From the standpoint of many low-level cultivators in the east, the western land is indeed desolate and barren."

"But do you know?" Di Jiang said playfully, "The western Dao lineage sects, like the Buddhist line founded by Jieyin and Zhunti... each of them is rolling in wealth."

"Let's not mention the Seven Treasures teachings they propagate there for now."

"Just look at those Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats and the like— their golden bodies run rampant. On those golden bodies, they have many arms, each holding various magical treasures, as if they wanted to be armed to the teeth!"

"You say, such a Buddhist sect... poor?"

Fengxi had no words to reply.

"Who would dare say they are poor when they can produce resources to equip dozens or even hundreds of magical treasures!"

"Excluding the special case of innate spiritual treasures, which cannot be equipped on low-level cultivators, from other perspectives the Buddhist sect can indeed be considered very wealthy."

Fengxi pondered Di Jiang's words, refreshed his own worldview, and stood from an objective standpoint to examine the issue.

Suddenly he had an realization: "I understand, the west governs metal, so there are underground mines!"

"Their production of spiritual medicines is low, but their output of immortal gold and divine iron is high!"

"Only then can they equip so many magical treasures— just like the prevalent pill refining in the eastern lands."

"That's correct." Di Jiang Zu Wu approved Fengxi's answer, "The east has medicine, the west has ore."

"Even if one follows the qi path, in the end they will still cultivate a Dharma-form golden body... a single 'gold' character explains everything."

"The east has medicine, the west has ore!"

"The east has medicine, the west has ore!"

"To find immortal herbs and spiritual medicines, go east; if you need divine iron and immortal gold to forge magical treasures, go west— that's best."

"Likewise, under the influence of such a great environment, the low-level cultivators of both sides therefore tread somewhat different paths."

"Of course, if a cultivator who practices qi and refines the primordial spirit goes to the west, they will inevitably complain a bit about the scarcity of vegetation... but since it's not their specialty, they can't blame the western land."

"It's just like going out to sea and complaining— why isn't there grass growing on the ocean surface?"

"No grass grows— too poor, too poor!"

"The aquatic monstrous beings— for example, the dragon clan— mostly deserve to be looked upon with an affectionate gaze toward the mentally disabled."

"Who hasn't heard of the Dragon Palace's many treasures!"

"......"

"Every region of the Honghuang land has its own thematic characteristic."

"One land and water nurtures one people; one mountain and river nurtures one Dao."

"There is no strongest Dao, no so-called orthodox or unorthodox, only suitability or unsuitability."

"Of course, if one insists on speaking of an orthodoxy... then it depends on whose fist is the biggest." Di Jiang said, "The one with the biggest fist— his path is the orthodoxy!"

"Who could not submit? Who dares not submit!"

"Unconvinced?"

"Come, let's duel!"

"I'll smash your head to pieces!"

Fengxi's mouth twitched; he didn't know what to say.

"Orthodox disputes are actually just like that..."

"As for the so-called Hongmeng purple qi?" Di Jiang Zu Wu shook his head, "You little fellows always have some strange ideas."

"Want to mix into the Zixiao Palace and occupy a futon there... little do they know, the water there is deep as heck— who knows how many could drown."

"The titles of quasi-saint and saint hide another mystery; they are the layout of a supreme powerhouse."

"It concerns the permission granted by heaven and earth, not the strength of one's realm."

"However, the greater the permission, the easier it is to cultivate the Dao and become a stronger Luo." Di Jiang glanced at Fengxi, "You must know, one Luo differs from another Luo; the strength gap could be as vast as heaven and earth— some Luo are called Pangu, while some Luo are just cats and dogs, fundamentally not fit for the table."

"Thus some Luo can open heaven and destroy worlds, while some Luo— like the three thousand demon gods in Chaos— can only be slaughtered one-sidedly, their names not even cared about."

"Just like now, there is a cat and dog using its tiny life to verify this principle."

"Di Jiang Zu Wu's tone was very calm."

"???"

"!!!"

Fengxi first stared blankly, his mind not turning.

Then his face changed drastically— he understood the meaning of the last sentence.

"Enemy incoming!"

"At the moment this thought flickered, a sudden change occurred."

"Woo!"

"A strange wind wailed, the dimensions of the void trembled, and the ancestral witch's procession was suddenly attacked."

"Roar!!"

"Cry!"

"Chirp!"

"Countless ferocious birds and beasts formed a vast, mighty army, bursting out from the rifts torn in the void, charging here to kill!"

"Without a doubt, this is an elite army of monstrous beings, lying in ambush here, having waited for a long time!"

"Those ferocious birds and beasts— some are as tiny as dust, moving stealthily, intending to kill and wound the soldiers in formation; some are as vast as mountains and rivers, at the slightest movement they stir up a region of void, spewing gales, blazing flames and other innate divine abilities; through exquisite coordination, they are governed by formations, their power amplified several-fold or even tenfold, and in an instant they will inundate this place, damaging the ancestral witch's retinue."

"The strength of these monstrous beings varies greatly. The weak are merely at the level of a true immortal first stage, while the powerful have even reached the Taiyi level... In their movements, each seems like a real universe striking, burning their all, blossoming with the stunning brilliance of a universe's birth and the lament of its demise."

"Like a suicide squad, the soldiers launch a death-defying charge without regard for cost!"

It's easy to imagine that if they succeed, should the Wu Clan's force suffer casualties or sacrifice shortly after the start of a visit, it would deal a huge blow to the morale of the entire Wu Clan and its upcoming diplomatic actions?!

The Wu Clan cannot tolerate or accept anything less than a complete victory.

Form up to the north, command Xuanwu!

The great witch guarding the Houtu ritual guard coldly orders; a battle flag is raised, and instantly ten thousand elite lesser witches shift formation, blood-killing vital energy surges upward, communing with the Zhou Tian stars' Xuanwu Seven Mansions, commanding the northern terrestrial laws, evolving into the extreme cold of winter's four seasons—momentarily a colossal Xuanwu phantom forms, enveloping the area and bearing all divine attacks.

Countless beast and monster spirits charge, yet are all repelled by a boundlessly overbearing yet yin-cold and eerie force, causing their bodies to burst, flesh and blood turning into icy spray that flies sideways.

But this is not the end.

Form up to the east, command the Qinglong!

Form up to the south, command the Zhuque!

Form up to the west, command the Baihu!

Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, Xuanwu—the Four Symbols battle formation sweeps clean the eight directions!

Starlight shines and pours forth, the seasons turn in cycles… the mysteries of time and space are enacted within; it is one of the slaughter formations devised by the ancestral witches for the Wu Clan.

As soon as the formation turns, it achieves merit; four hundred thousand Golden Immortals arrayed within it crush any number of monster spirit armies to dust.

Even Taiyi essence monsters, once trapped in the formation, cannot escape… those four battle flags are no ordinary items; combined into a formation, they are ferociously terrifying.

Even the great witch powerhouses need not lift a hand; these essence monsters are outright refined to death—skin stripped, bones pulled apart in an automatic process; their Dao-fruit primordial spirit is drawn onto the battle flag, their entire flesh, blood, and vital energy refined into pure vital energy, which is then distributed to each Wu Clan soldier, enhancing their cultivation.

The killing Great Dao of slaying monsters to level up makes the Wu Clan's iron army grow stronger with every battle!

Kill!

Weapons flash with cold light, slaying countless attackers; using their bones, the Wu Clan displays its might!

Some essence monsters grew fearful, afraid, wanting to flee… like that demonic bird, a single fierce flap of its wings tore through layers of void, seeking to escape within.

But it was of no use.

The great witch—Yi's commanded army of ten thousand elite Wu Clan, their breaths communicating, linking as one, forms a colossal phantom divine bow!

Sunlight, moonlight, starlight… countless rays are condensed into light arrows, nocked upon the string.

Then —

Shoot!

(End of chapter)