Chapter 560: The Land Beyond the Dao

The Land Beyond the Dao.

Crack!

A leather whip dipped in water lashed across his body, searing with pain.

How dare you hit me?

Fang Xing had just awakened from stupor and instinctively tried to summon the power of the Dao.

But instantly, his heart sank halfway.

The power of the Dao did not respond. Is this another world like the Driver's? The body my soul has inhabited is exhausted, weak… too weak…

He winced and looked around, seeing several ragged teenagers, some with cruel smirks on their lips, though most were filled with fear.

Directly before him stood a man clad in a blood-red robe, dressed like an ancient Eastern noble, holding the whip and glaring fiercely: "You 'paper slaves' remember—once a month, you must deliver ten sheets of 'blood paper.' Miss one, and you get one lash. Miss five or more, Heihei, you might as well not live."

This original body's fate is grim… seems like a slave?

Must complete a quota—right now, there's a shortfall, and I'm being punished?

Fang Xing's mind stirred: Wrong… where's my true body?

Boom!

At that moment, a flood of memories surged forth, darkening his vision and knocking him unconscious.

When he awoke again, he found himself lying inside a small wooden hut.

The hut was built of planks, drafty on all sides, with straw beneath him.

Beside him, someone seemed to be cutting his clothes.

This time, the task was short by three sheets of 'blood paper,' so the boy received three lashes—three bloody welts now marked his back.

The key problem: fabric fibers were mixed with flesh and blood, making it extremely hard to clean.

Cutting the clothes off directly would be simpler.

He shifted his gaze and saw a girl.

She wore a blue cotton dress, her chest full, cheeks rosy, eyes almond-shaped, with a single flirtatious mole at the corner of her mouth—she looked older than her actual age.

A flood of memories surfaced, revealing her name: "Tao Hong… thank you…"

"Hmph, this is my family's precious wound salve… I don't have much left."

Tao Hong worked swiftly, her tongue faster still: "Remember, I saved you and used medicine on you—next time, you owe me two sheets of 'blood paper.'"

"Two sheets, fine. Can I have some water?"

Fang Xing felt his lips parched, nearly split, his throat burning.

Of all his reincarnations, none had been worse than this.

"Hmm… seems like a few lashes actually made you feel better than before."

Tao Hong smiled, stood up, and soon returned with a chipped clay bowl, placing it before Fang Xing: "Young Master Fang, enjoy your meal… I'm off!"

The wooden door slammed shut.

Fang Xing slowly sipped the water, wincing with every movement, then quietly closed his eyes, recalling the original body's memories.

The Land Beyond the Dao… the Zhou Shenchao…

This body is also named 'Fang Xing,' born to a poor family, later captured by demons of the Blood Shadow Sect and enslaved…

This is the Land Beyond the Dao, where immortals ride the wind on swords and demons spread evil; farther north lies the Zhou Shenchao, a land countless mortals yearn for…

"The Land Beyond the Dao is chaotic, ruled by ten major sects of orthodox and demonic paths. Here, cultivators exist too—but their methods differ."

"Orthodox sects can draw talismans, forge flying swords, perform exorcisms, refine pills… demonic sects specialize in animating corpses, shadow puppetry, paper folding, and summoning spirits…"

"Both orthodox and demonic sects are targets of the Zhou Shenchao—or rather, they fled here because they couldn't survive in the Zhou Shenchao."

"The original family lived under the Blood Shadow Sect's rule, worse than death. This time, it seems taxes weren't paid on time, and many were reduced to slavery…"

"Being a slave isn't the worst—if you end up with the Corpse Manipulation Sect, you're turned into a zombie."

"Within the Blood Shadow Sect, there are paper slaves, medicine slaves, beast slaves… mortality rates are high. The original body has lasted longer than most—he's now a Tian Sha Gu Xing, his entire family dead, his own life ebbing… and then my soul fragment took over?"

After sorting out the facts, Fang Xing's expression turned grim: "If things continue like this, I'll die soon… unless I can successfully cultivate and become one of them."

When first captured, the Blood Shadow Sect tested him and issued a beginner cultivation method—but the original body achieved nothing.

Fang Xing recalled silently: "To enter cultivation here, one needs a certain bodily 'talent'—first sense a peculiar energy, then absorb and cultivate it… enter the 'Qi Sensing Realm,' then lay the Dao foundation: 'Qi Sensing Nine Stages, Dao Foundation Three Tiers.'"

"The original body couldn't even pass the first stage. What about me?"

Fang Xing sensed his own body and shook his head: "Seems about the same… I'm truly going to die."

Though only sixteen, the original body had been a 'paper slave' for over half a year.

'Blood paper' requires one's own essence and blood to forge; each sheet consumed considerable lifespan.

Thus, Blood Shadow Sect's official disciples never made it—they left it to the paper slaves.

That's why all these paper slaves looked so depleted, unlikely to live past twenty-five.

"My true immortal body was destroyed; only a faint soul imprint remains, weakened to the extreme… I cannot sense the strange energies in the void either…"

Suddenly.

Fang Xing's expression changed.

Not being able to cultivate was one thing—but another matter was critical: "I'm just a fragment. Where's my true body? Where's my massive true body?"

If a cultivation fragment dies, it's nothing—but if the true body dies, the problem is grave.

"I can sense… my true body is indeed within this great world, but its state is strange—as if in deep slumber. Could it be… because it's suppressing that transcendent inheritance?" Fang Xing's face turned icy.

"It seems my cultivation fragment can't afford to die easily—otherwise, I can't awaken the true body, and things will get messy…"

"Power—I need power as soon as possible!"

Not being a Fourteenth Realm Dao Lord has its awkwardness.

The Dao is eternal, but the laws vary by world. In a world where law fluctuations are sealed, you're blind as a bat.

…

After resting several hours, Fang Xing stepped out of his hut.

Before him stretched a valley veiled in thin mist.

Around him stood over a hundred wooden huts, all equally dilapidated.

A river flowed through it, murky and foul-smelling.

Above the river loomed a grand structure: the Paper Mill.

Please... you... collect_(!)

"Blood paper is essential for Blood Shadow Sect cultivators to practice Paper Folding Art. Made from bark and coarse hemp… processed through nineteen steps—pulping, settling, bleaching—until it becomes a vat of 'raw pulp.' Paper slaves' task: use 'paper-lifting nets' to scoop sheets and dry them… during this, they must feed their own essence and blood to produce finished 'blood paper.'"

"Estimating from this body's condition, this demonic method drains vitality too severely—roughly ten years of lifespan consumed per month."

"I've been here over half a year, and I still failed last quota—I'm clearly in the group slated for elimination."

Grrrr!

As Fang Xing pondered, his stomach growled uncooperatively.

"Hunger? How long since I last felt this?"

"No matter how strong the will, without a strong body to support it, it will gradually decay…"

"Mortal bodies are such a burden—yet I cannot discard them. I must feed them fine food, clothe them warmly, provide comfort, lest they fall ill or rebel…"

Fang Xing sighed softly and looked toward the dining hall.

The Blood Shadow Sect at least provided three meals a day to keep these paper slaves alive.

But he looked up and saw it was night—only scattered stars visible.

Clearly, the dining hall staff wouldn't wait this late.

He took a few steps and heard muffled male gasps and female sobs from nearby huts.

"Alright, seems everyone's occupied… I'll have to fend for myself."

Fang Xing observed—the valley was vast.

He reached the riverbank, frowned, and stared at the Paper Mill.

He walked farther, arriving upstream of the mill.

Here, the water was much clearer; beneath the surface, shadows flickered—fish, perhaps.

Fang Xing held a sharpened branch, waiting silently.

Plop!

Suddenly, his eyes sharpened—he thrust the stick into the water!

As he struck, he sighed inwardly: "Mistake… this body is truly terrible… the back wounds pulled, disrupting my strength."

Indeed, the stick plunged into water but caught nothing—only startled a fish away.

"The valley entrance is guarded by cultivators, possibly with arrays…"

"To escape, perhaps the riverbed? But mortal breath-holding is severely limited…"

Fang Xing moved to another spot, his gaze drifting aimlessly.

Suddenly!

Plop!

He thrust his stick into the water and speared a black-backed carp.

Slap! Slap!

The carp landed on the ground, still alive, thrashing.

Fang Xing stepped forward, picked up a stone, and casually smashed the spot between the two eyes.

That was the fish's brain. One strike—and it stopped moving.

"We can make grilled fish later…"

"The weak are eaten by the strong—this is also the Dao of nature…"

As Fang Xing pondered this, BOOM!

Before his eyes, the shadow of a black horn with golden runes appeared, then dissolved into streams of data:

【Name: Fang Xing】

【Age: 16/25】

【Discovered Class: Druid! Do you wish to take this class? Yes/No?】

…

"This… is an attribute panel? No… I'm only a split, I can't control an attribute panel—it's just the new power manifesting in the form I'm most familiar with…"

"So this is actually a transcendent inheritance? After my true self suppressed that inheritance, it transmitted the parts I had already understood… and by taking the Druid class and leveling up, I'm gradually digesting this inheritance?"

Fang Xing instantly grasped the full chain of cause and effect, then glanced at the age: "This body is sixteen—meant to live only until twenty-five? So my essence and blood are severely depleted, my lifespan has been cut short by a great deal…"

"What I need now is power—take the class!"

(End of Chapter)