Chapter 908: Ten Great Venerable Seals

Time, space, thunder.

Three exquisite, half-transparent seals floated in Wu Tie's sea of consciousness, their finished character forms encircling a point of innate spiritual light the size of a wine jar at the center.

What is innate spiritual light?

Discard the physical body, abandon the soul, humanity, or rather all living beings between heaven and earth, in this heaven and earth, in this reincarnation, is a trace.

The physical body is merely an outer barrier, the soul merely a middle-layer shell; only this point of innate spiritual light records everything of a living being, it is the beginning of everything, the source of everything.

Destroy the physical body, and the soul can seize another.

Destroy the soul, and the spiritual light can reincarnate.

Destroy the spiritual light, and it vanishes completely.

This point of spiritual light is the true nature, the true spirit, the imprint, profound and profound, of utmost importance.

From body tempering, to perceiving the profound, to double tower, to life pool, to womb storage, to divine… all the prior grinding work was to forge this point of innate spiritual light; the ultimate goal is to let it condense, refine, and finally break out of its shell.

From now on, the body, divine abilities, and mana are merely means.

The ultimate goal is to strengthen and make extraordinary this point of innate spiritual light, to strengthen this imprint and trace between heaven and earth.

When this imprint and trace become strong enough, strong enough to leave one's deep mark in the original consciousness of the heaven-earth universe, that is, in the Great Dao, then it is called 'entrusted to heaven and earth', henceforth 'eternal', henceforth 'immortal'.

Henceforth 'living as long as heaven and earth, shining as bright as sun and moon'.

Moreover, the legendary heaven-defying mighty ones, with their own point of innate spiritual light, erode the Great Dao, annex the Great Dao, and ultimately surpass the Great Dao.

Thus, when heaven and earth collapse, the self remains carefree; when sun and moon extinguish, the original self enjoys longevity.

True longevity and eternal vision, unstained by a speck of dust, is such a realm, is such that it lets one's imagination run endless.

But these are still too distant for Wu Tie.

Originally a strong, perfect body of sixteen chi, with the condensation of three Dao seals, it has become somewhat emaciated. The essence, energy, and spirit within have been consumed by over thirty percent; Wu Tie even feels waves of weakness coming from his five viscera and six bowels.

Not only is the body weak, but even these three newly condensed Dao seals give Wu Tie a sense of unreality.

The Dao seals just condensed can already directly draw upon the boundless power of the heaven-earth Great Dao.

However, making an inappropriate analogy, this Dao seal is like an official seal of a secular court.

First rank, second rank, third rank… different official titles, unequal authority.

Newly born Dao seals are void and empty, requiring continual refinement, extracting the essence of the Great Dao from the corresponding heaven-earth Great Dao to constantly strengthen that point of innate spiritual light.

Dao seals also have levels.

A first-layer Dao seal can only mobilize one-tenth of heavenly Dao's power.

A second-layer Dao seal can mobilize two-tenths of heavenly Dao's power.

By this analogy, Venerable Grand Venerables likewise have differences in strength.

Wu Tie's internal mana has just been exhausted as well; every cell in his body is crying out in anxious emptiness.

Wu Tie activated the Space Dao Seal.

In the next instant, taking the gate of Qinglian Temple as the core, in the void ten million li away in the four directions east, south, west, north, within the four three-dimensional spaces each one million li on a side, all heaven-earth elemental energy instantly disappeared.

In the next instant, those heaven-earth elemental energies simultaneously appeared within Wu Tie's body.

In the past, Wu Tie would have to circulate his cultivation method, converting those heaven-earth elemental energies into his own mana, only then could he store them in his body.

But now the three Dao seals directly emit boundless heavenly Dao pressure; all heaven-earth elemental energy, without the slightest disturbance or resistance, directly transforms into mana that best fits Wu Tie's body, merging with his body like water and milk blending.

The sense of emptiness within lessened somewhat, and his mana was replenished to about thirty percent.

Wu Tie acted according to the law; in just a single breath, his mana was completely replenished.

Wu Tie gave rise to a sudden realization.

Upon reaching the Venerable level, although the domineering collision of heavenly Dao power is the main means of dealing with enemies, divine abilities and secret techniques remain indispensable.

Among Venerables of the same rank, in the same tier of techniques, the amount of mana attached still determines which Venerable is higher or lower and stronger or weaker.

This is likewise an not-so-appropriate analogy.

Likewise, two seventh-rank officials take out their official seals to compare authority; one seventh-rank official has dozens of clerks and constables behind him, while another seventh-rank official, inexplicably, has a hundred thousand clerks and constables behind him.

One may ask which seventh-rank minor official has more confidence? Whose words carry more power?

A seventh-rank official youth commanding a hundred thousand troops even dares to —?

Therefore, Wu Tie's vast, boundless mana cultivation, even if he has stepped into the Venerable realm, he still enjoys a tremendous advantage, a tremendous convenience.

After a glance at the now empty underground palace of Qinglian Temple, Wu Tie let out a faint sigh, reached out and slapped the Grand Dao Forge.

The Grand Dao Forge's cracks, pressed out by the recent destructive aura, quickly healed; his speed of refining those ancient treasures, spirit weapons, spirit treasures, and divine weapons inside the furnace suddenly increased by a hundredfold or more.

One after another, spirit weapons, spirit treasures, and divine weapons emitted mournful, despairing wails, continuously being melted and absorbed by the Grand Dao Forge.

The aura of the Grand Dao Forge grew ever more deep and terrifying, even faintly making Wu Tie feel palpitations at this moment.

In the Grand Dao Forge, those nine ancient treasures of comparable rank to the Canghai Divine Pearl likewise emitted despairing wails. Moreover, strand after strand of strange soul fluctuations continuously contacted Wu Tie; they simultaneously directed thoughts of submission toward Wu Tie.

"Even if there were hundreds of millions of divine weapons… I, the king, am not born in the Year of the Spider; what need do I have for so many of you?"

Wu Tie let out a cold snort, also throwing the Black Sword and the Primordial Crown into the Grand Dao Forge.

The chaotic essence formed from those just-refined spirit weapons, spirit treasures, and divine weapons is continuously absorbed by the Black Sword and the Primordial Crown, enhancing their power from the source.

Wu Tie again glanced around, shook his head, his body flickered, and he vanished directly.

Having condensed the Space Dao Seal, for Wu Tie the void is like a major thoroughfare; ordinary evasion techniques and arts are already useless to him. Wherever he wants to go, with a turn of thought, he can directly break through the void and shift there.

Together with the condensed Time Dao Seal, Wu Tie can now be called the hardest person to kill in the world.

You cannot possibly capture the location of his true self; you don't know where he is, you don't know when he is—how can you attack him? How can you injure him?

Even if they are fellow Venerable beings, trying to deal with Wu Tie would likely rack their brains.

All the way teleporting while rushing, his figure flickering, a silhouette appeared in the void, and the next moment he was hundreds of millions of li away.

What great peng spreading its wings, rising on the wind ninety thousand li, flying a million li with a single flap—such astonishing speed, before Wu Tie at this moment, is entirely a joke.

Not long after, Wu Tie went from Qinglian Temple straight to Honglian Temple.

Just like the Azure Lotus Observatory, beneath the Red Lotus Temple, the great monks likewise constructed a splendid and dazzling, mighty and vigorous underground palace.

Compared to the Azure Lotus Observatory, the number of great monks who have sealed themselves underground in the Red Lotus Temple is only about thirty thousand.

But just like those elderly Daoists of the Azure Lotus Observatory, these great monks who have sealed themselves for who knows how many years now all bristle with killing intent reaching the heavens, eagerly discussing how to take advantage of this turmoil to break through to the venerable level.

According to seniority, the great monks ranked by qualifications have worked out the order for breaking through to the venerable level.

All preparations are complete; only the east wind is lacking.

The great monks began to fantasize about how much lifespan they could gain and how strong they could become after breaking through to the venerable level.

They even boasted and talked passionately about the possibility that, in the future, they might get a glimpse of the legendary Buddha fruit of the primordial mythic era.

Wu Tie stood quietly among those great monks, listening silently for a while.

Then he gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

Regardless of whether these great monks were good or bad before.

Regardless of whether they were affected by external forces, regardless of whether, as the Mist said, essence-blood avatars of other divine spirits of the Wisdom Divine Clan appeared beside these great monks, and whether it was because of their bewitching that caused these great monks to lose their Buddha-heart and utterly degenerate.

In short, they can no longer be considered good people.

They are the backers of the three kings supported by the Red Lotus Temple, the foundation of the chaos in the Su Dynasty, and their source of confidence.

Therefore, when the altar appeared again, Wu Tie acted without mercy according to the law, turning those thirty‑odd thousand great monks into nothing at once.

What surprised Wu Tie was that, perhaps because of the Buddhist practice of cultivating life and destiny together, these great monks had tempered their bodies to be like indestructible vajra, and the thirty‑odd thousand great monks actually enabled him to smoothly condense two Dao seals.

These two Dao seals, Wu Tie chose the Yin and Yang Grand Dao.

In his mind, the innate spiritual light expanded to the size of a water tank; Wu Tie increasingly felt that he could see this world more clearly, like a fish in water, utterly free, utterly at ease, utterly agile, utterly content.

He could also feel that, with just a flip of his hand, he could stir up heaven‑shaking waves in this world, capable of destroying everything and also of creating everything.

Of course, this is merely an illusion brought on by the surge of power.

Given Wu Tie's current cultivation, he still does not know how many hundred‑thousand‑mile distances away he is from the realm where a single thought brings forth all things and a single thought annihilates all things.

Late at night, Wu Tie came to the forbidden grounds of the White Lotus Palace.

Perhaps it was out of mutual sympathy, or perhaps he wanted to find a little companion in the coffin to talk with?

The elderly Daoists of the Azure Lotus Observatory chose to gather together in one hall; the elderly monks of the Red Lotus Temple also happily gathered in one room; and in the forbidden grounds of the White Lotus Palace, the great host of elderly gentlemen all laughed and congregated in one place.

What surprised Wu Tie was that the number of these elderly gentlemen of the White Lotus Palace could exceed that of the Azure Lotus Observatory and the Red Lotus Temple by a large margin.

Their number was more than double the combined total of the elderly antiquities of the Azure Lotus Observatory and the Red Lotus Temple.

It is evident that these elderly gentlemen, who usually embody righteous vigor, are most afraid of death.

No wonder the disciples of the White Lotus Palace decline generation after generation; in this generation, Bai Su Xin, even the righteous vigor cultivated by the venerable mountain chief has gone astray, completely becoming mere superficial show.

Likewise, he stood among those elderly gentlemen and listened for a while.

Wu Tie couldn't help but shake his head.

Just like the Azure Lotus Observatory and the Red Lotus Temple.

Perhaps it is the desire accumulated over long years, which after prolonged brewing, has fully erupted due to some triggers.

Perhaps it is despair, perhaps hope, or perhaps it is due to some other strange and bizarre thought.

In short, the madness of these elderly gentlemen of the White Lotus Palace surpasses that of the Azure Lotus Observatory and the Red Lotus Temple, falling short in no way.

Especially, scholars have many schemes and quick minds; they fervently discuss how each could dominate the Su Dynasty, then, starting from the Su Dynasty, bring all attainable land masses under their rule, and then turn the world into a 'hunting ground' in their grand plan.

They have even worked out concrete plans on how to overthrow the Azure Lotus Observatory and how to overturn the Red Lotus Temple.

Moreover, Wu Tie actually felt that their proposal had a fair chance of success; if it weren't for Wu Tie's intervention, letting the turmoil of the Nine Kings continue, the ultimate victor might well indeed be this group of elderly gentlemen of the White Lotus Palace.

After listening for a long time, Wu Tie shook his head.

Not one of them retains even a trace of compassion, nor any semblance of a moral bottom line.

These elderly gentlemen have become like divine spirits such as the Secluded and the Mist, completely treating all the common people of the world as sacrificial offerings for life and death.

Perhaps because they have lived too long, they have completely forgotten that they are human.

They have already regarded themselves as gods towering over all beings.

If it were not for the entanglements of the sect still present here, if it were not for the sect's precepts still present here, if it were not for the various factions of the White Lotus Palace still entangled and balanced here.

Wu Tie even suspected that the White Lotus Palace had already produced many venerable-level cultivators.

Because their words inside and out often hinted at this meaning—they had even seriously considered the feasibility of using White Lotus Palace disciples as sacrificial offerings.

It is merely because of their mutual entanglements and restrictions that they had this plan for a long time in the past, but simply never got around to carrying it out.

"I have killed, and my heart is at peace."

Wu Tie lowered his head to look at his own hands, and murmured softly: "My hands are bloody…… but……"

Five Dao seals hovered beside the innate spiritual light, which shot up to the heavens, and countless memory scenes flashed again.

One after another warm and tender scenes made Wu Tie feel a little restless, a little confused, a little twisted in heart, gradually calming down.

"Hmm, Lao Tie…… in your database, that railroad worker paradox…… I think I'm relatively fortunate, I can answer this question."

"Those who sacrifice little are guilty; those who survive many are innocent."

"Of course, I admit I am looking for excuses for my actions, but being able to find an excuse is good."

"At least, because of these feeble and powerless excuses, I am like a wretched soul clinging to a cliff, grasping a lifeless vine that saves my life, preventing me from completely falling into demonhood."

"I hope I can remember those warm and kind things in my heart."

"I hope I can remember that what I have done today are merely means…… I must, must, must not make the means the ultimate end."

"I hope that if I truly one day completely lose my original aspiration, then before Wu Tie brings chaos to the world, someone could kill me."

"I hope so, hope so……"

"Hope truly is humanity's finest virtue. I hope that my actions will ultimately have a good outcome."

Not long after, accompanied by the angry roars and curses of the White Lotus Palace's elderly gentlemen, together with despairing howls, the Five Elements Dao seals condensed.

All together ten great Dao seals shone, illuminating Wu Tie's innate spiritual light, a zhang in size, with brilliant radiance.