Chapter 258: with translation of chapter title

His gaze was lofty and far-reaching, seeming to stand above all worlds and heavens, shrouded by endless time and space, so that only vaguely could he feel that it contained all beauty and all possibility.

Although both pairs of eyes faintly embraced all the myriad paths of the world, the Dao they manifested was utterly different.

One is filled with eternal, unchanging stillness, as if it were both the original home of all living beings and their final refuge.

The other overflows with endless creative vitality, where barbarism and civilization coexist, imbued with boundless imperial majesty.

As the two pairs of eyes fixed on him, Feng Yi's spiritual awareness quivered slightly, resonating with the machinations of heaven and fate, and a sudden clarity dawned in his mind.

The vacuum homeland!

Golden Emperor!

the Demon Race's fortune and the Human Dao's radiance!

Indeed, it's the Demon Emperor!

The names of these two ancient beings surfaced in his mind, and a hint of realization appeared in Fengyi's eyes.

Perhaps this avatar of his had already been perceived by the Golden Emperor and the Demon Emperor, these two other-shore heavenly wills.

Or perhaps the reason the Demon Sage's heir and Gu Xiaosang appeared here, forming a standoff, is that they were instructed by these two heavenly wills, aiming to confirm the true origin of his avatar.

"Demon Emperor. Golden Emperor"

His mind continually recalled the information of these two heavenly wills; Fengyi's expression did not change much, merely calmly gazing at the unknown height, meeting the two pairs of lofty, profound eyes.

Even when facing these two ancient beings, his heart gave rise to no fear.

Anyway, what appears here is not his true self, but merely an avatar derived from his Human Emperor status at this point in time.

Protected by the supreme treasure of the Yi Dao within his own spiritual world, even these ancient beings could not influence his true self through Fengyi's avatar.

Furthermore, when he crossed into these heavens this time, for his own safety he had opened many avatars; even if this Human Emperor avatar failed, other avatars could still attain the Dao, such as the Qingdi Taihao avatar, the Shakyamuni avatar, etc.

Thus, although Fengyi tried to avoid showing too many abnormalities, when it was truly time to act, he would not shrink back because of that.

Try not to expose; even if exposed, it's fine.

At worst, abandon this avatar.

At this moment, Fengyi was instead greatly surprised by the Demon Emperor's reappearance in the world.

The myriad heavens are countless, and their Great Dao laws differ; not all worlds have Fuxi and Nüwa as siblings.

For example, the Immortal Sword world, the Barbarian Wilds Chronicle world, etc.

In these heavens, the Demon Emperor and the Fuxi Emperor have no significant relation either.

Although both are innate divinities, the Demon Emperor attained the Dao earlier, being both the sovereign of the Demon Race and the ancestor of humanity.

Meanwhile, the Fuxi Emperor has little relation to humanity; he attained the Dao in the primordial ancient era, and together with Donghuang Taiyi and Haotian Shangdi is known as one of the Three Primordial Sovereigns.

Precisely for this reason, when the Fuxi Emperor was schemed against by Amitabha Buddha in early antiquity, the Demon Emperor did not intervene to stop it.

First, the Demon Emperor and Fuxi Emperor in these heavens have little relation; second, for the Demon Emperor, only the path to the Dao fruition is real, everything else is illusory.

This is also the mindset and conception of these innately divine other-shore heavenly wills in these heavens.

In the eyes of these other-shore beings, aside from fellow other-shore Dao companions, all the myriad heavens and myriad beings are but illusory phantoms.

A single thought of theirs can cause these beings to arise, and a single thought can cause them to vanish completely.

The cognition and conception of these other-shore heavenly wills are somewhat similar to the sovereigns of the Longevity Realm, the innate gods and demons of the Human Dao Supreme Universe, and the supremes of the Shrouding Heaven Universe who only possess the obsession to become immortals.

Among these other-shore beings, only the Human Emperor, who ascended to the other shore step by step from weakness, is different.

After the Human Emperor attained the Dao, it was precisely because he refused to compromise and abandoned the illusory phantoms that those other-shore beings deemed real, that he was cast aside by the Virtuous Heavenly Lord and the Demon Emperor and other other-shore beings, ultimately ending up surrounded on all sides, attacked from front and rear, becoming the other-shore being with the shortest existence.

It can be said that these other-shore beings are existences where divinity outweighs humanity, their minds holding only the Dao fruition.

And after the Dao Sovereign, by completing the path of reduction to emptiness, drew upon the power of the eon cycle, matured his Dao fruition, attained the position of Dao fruition, and transcended, the other other-shore heavenly wills also each derived, according to this path, a suitable Dao fruition path for themselves.

The Demon Emperor's Dao fruition path is to let the Demon Sage Fengxi take his place, causing himself to disappear from the world, existing in a special state.

As the ancestor of humanity and the sovereign of the Demon Race in these heavens, as long as he protects the human and demon races through the final calamity, the Demon Emperor's own reduction-to-emptiness path is basically half completed; he can then, in the next eon, draw upon the eon cycle's power to mature his Dao fruition, attain the Dao fruition position, and fully transcend.

Of course, because in these heavens the eon cycle's power of one eon can only fully mature the Dao fruition prototype of a single ancient being, thus only one ancient being per eon can transcend and attain the Dao fruition position.

Specifically, who will ultimately obtain the eon cycle's power and truly transcend still needs to be decided through a contest.

However, regardless of whether one ultimately obtains the eon cycle's power, one must first complete the reduction-to-emptiness path in order to truly draw upon the eon cycle's power and mature one's Dao fruition.

Otherwise, one does not even have the qualification to contend for the eon cycle's power.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, to avoid staining himself with too much karma and affecting his reduction-to-emptiness path, the Demon Emperor has everything borne by the Demon Sage Fengxi; he remains in a special state of non-existence in the world until the final moment, when he will emerge.

Just like the Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun, whose karma is too heavy, they have now completely vanished from the world, minimizing their sense of existence.

But at this moment, Fengyi could clearly perceive that those lofty eyes, containing endless imperial Dao majesty, indeed originated from the Demon Emperor, the true Demon Emperor, not the one substituted by the Demon Sage Fengxi.

"What change has occurred?"

A hint of doubt arose in Fengyi's mind, vaguely feeling that the Demon Emperor's change might be related to himself.

But since arriving in these heavens, due to the incident involving his sister Nüwa, he has deliberately avoided the Demon Emperor and has not had much interaction with him!

Fengyi originally intended to wait until he himself attained the Dao, truly gaining the strength to oppose the Demon Emperor, then seek out the Demon Emperor, investigate the connection between his sister and the Demon Emperor, and help his sister return to the world.

But looking at it now, perhaps everything is not as he originally thought.

Hum

The image of his sister appeared in his mind; Fengyi's innate spiritual light shuddered, his gaze deepened, and he vaguely felt that the Demon Emperor's eyes had changed.

Originally, His pupils were filled with endless imperial Dao majesty, barbarism and civilization coexisting, bearing a hint of indifference and loftiness.

But now, that indifference and loftiness have dissipated somewhat, vaguely carrying a hint of gentleness, causing Fengyi to feel his heart and spirit throbbing uncontrollably.

"Sister."

Sensing the change in the Demon Emperor's gaze, Fengyi's heart gave rise to an inexplicable feeling, vaguely as if he understood something.

"Looking at it now, the connection between the Demon Emperor and my sister is far more complicated than I originally thought."

Hum

As thoughts turned in Fengyi's mind, the Demon Emperor's gaze returned to its original state, becoming lofty and indifferent.

At this moment, He seemed to have obtained the answer he sought, gave Fengyi a deep glance, exchanged a look with another pair of indifferent, lofty eyes, and vanished into the endless spacetime beyond.

From beginning to end, He never spoke.

Fengyi gazed at this scene with unfathomable eyes, myriad thoughts surging in his mind, ever more eager to reach the other shore and complete his own transformation.

Only by truly achieving the other shore, even reaching the level of the Yao Emperor, could he truly investigate the Yao Emperor's changes and understand his sister's current condition.

"The other shore. The pace of the body of the Azure Emperor Taihao must quicken."

After a moment, Fengyi temporarily restrained his emotions, gazing at another pair of tranquil eyes standing loftily at an unknown height, like the ultimate destination's indifferent gaze.

Golden Emperor!

The title of this ancient one surfaced in his mind; Fengyi's spirit stirred slightly, and the Human Emperor's stature he contained emitted a faint special ripple, merging with heaven and earth, stirring the spacetime changes of past and future.

In an instant, countless trigrams flowed through Fengyi's eyes; his spiritual sense merged with heavenly secrets and fate, revealing numerous illusory yet brilliant causal star-lines.

Among them, an immensely vast causal star-line emerged from the glabella of Fengyi's other-self body, which had been derived from his containment of the Human Emperor's stature, extending directly into the void, faintly connecting with that pair of indifferent eyes beyond the endless spacetime.

In a daze, Fengyi felt an absurd sensation:

He seemed to have become the creditor of the master of those indifferent eyes.

Or put another way, it seems the Golden Emperor has incurred an enormous karmic debt of his own.

"The Golden Emperor owes me karmic debt?"

Fengyi's expression turned slightly bewildered; for a moment he didn't know where the problem lay.

If anyone owed karmic debt, it should be me owing the Golden Emperor!

After all, if not for the Golden Emperor's intervention, I might not have been able to preserve the Fu Emperor's body.

Just as Fengyi felt doubtful, his spiritual sense twitched slightly, and a mysterious feeling rose from his heart.

"No, it's that the Golden Emperor owes the Human Emperor's karmic debt, because my other-self body, after occupying the Human Emperor's stature in this realm's heavens and deriving from it, is virtually a reincarnation of the Human Emperor, thereby bearing this karmic debt and becoming the Golden Emperor's creditor!"

After sorting out this information, even with Fengyi's state of mind, he could hardly hold back, momentarily unsure how to retort.

At this moment, his mind held only one thought:

"Even this is possible?"

In this realm's heavens, the Golden Emperor's ability to transcend the sea of suffering and reach the other shore stems from having obtained a portion of the Human Emperor's Dao fruit, completing his own accumulation, and thus incurring karmic debt to the Human Emperor.

However, the original Human Emperor has already fallen.

As one who has reached the other shore, unique across all realms, and unique across all past and future timelines, once fallen, past and future become void, all spacetime turns to emptiness, and karmic ties naturally cease to exist.

This is also a way of handling karma: as long as the source of karma is gone, this karmic bond naturally dissipates.

But because of Fengyi, the Human Emperor has returned, giving this karmic bond a source and causing it to reappear.

Nowadays, the Golden Emperor wishes to fully accomplish the path of reduction to emptiness; he must first settle the favor of Fengyi's body toward his attainment of the Dao, just as the benefaction left by Yuanshi Tianzun's Boundless Seal.

Otherwise, karmic ties would be hard to sever, the debt of favor would burden him, and the Golden Emperor could at most reach the extreme of the embryonic Dao fruit, forever unable to fully accomplish the path of reduction to emptiness and transcend.

Of course, the Golden Emperor also has a simpler, cruder method: physically annihilating Fengyi's other-self body, thereby completely wearing away the Human Emperor's stature he contains.

In that case, with no source, the karma would dissipate on its own.

Otherwise, the favor of attaining the Dao would likely only allow him to help Fengyi's other-self body reach the other shore, thereby thoroughly ending this karmic bond.

Thinking this over, Fengyi felt no joy, only a slight headache.

This is not his intention at all!

A great favor turns into great enmity!

Being owed such a massive karmic debt by an ancient one is hardly a good thing for Fengyi, whose strength currently lies on the weaker side.

Gazing at those indifferent, lofty eyes, Fengyi always felt that in the next second a jade-white finger would fall from the river of spacetime, reducing his other-self body bearing the Human Emperor's stature to ashes.

"No, no, it shouldn't be that simple."

After careful consideration, Fengyi again faintly felt something was off.

Logically, merely relying on his own Yi Dao Supreme Treasure's power to occupy the Human Emperor's stature in this realm's heavens, and thereby deriving an other-self body at this temporal juncture, he should not be qualified to bear the Golden Emperor's favor of attaining the Dao.

Fengyi always felt that the karma between him and the Golden Emperor was not simply due to the Human Emperor's stature; there must be other reasons, and their combination formed the present situation.

"Karma. Favor of attaining the Dao. The Golden Emperor's Lingbao Tianzun inheritance. The transformation of the Three Pure Ones."

Numerous thoughts continually flowed through his mind; Fengyi faintly felt he had grasped something, yet could not fully connect it at once.

As Fengyi's thoughts turned, the indifferent eyes loftily positioned at an unknown height seemed to change, and their gaze toward him also became different.

Seeing this, Fengyi instantly gathered his spirit, wanting to see how the Golden Emperor planned to sever this karma—whether he would directly annihilate Fengyi's karma source, letting everything return to emptiness and the karma dissipate.

But just then, an obscure fluctuation flowed between heaven and earth, making the myriad realms seem illusory, and the Golden Emperor's indifferent eyes vanished directly into the endless spacetime beyond.

Hum

The river of spacetime surged, as if two mighty beings were clashing across it, their vibrations spreading across every node of past and future.

One by one, the Heavenly Wills of the Other Shore were awakened, gazing toward the river of spacetime.

But upon discovering the two individuals engaged in combat, many of the Other Shore's eyes showed a strange expression.

However, these two mighty beings seemed merely to be probing.

In an instant, the battle ceased, the vibrations dissipated, and the river of spacetime returned to calm.

Before the Human Emperor's ancient path.

Fengyi's spirit instantly returned, his face showing a hint of bewilderment.

Just now, it should have been the Yao Emperor and the Golden Emperor clashing, right?

What's going on?

How did they suddenly start fighting?

Could it be that the Golden Emperor intended to annihilate my Human Emperor's body, and the Yao Emperor stopped him?

A hint of doubt appeared in Fengyi's eyes.

This Human Emperor's body lacks sufficient cultivation, and it is not his true self; for a moment he could not truly perceive the battle's details.

【Still need to reach the other shore as soon as possible!】

In these heavens, if one does not become the other shore, one can never truly become a player; in the eyes of those who have reached the other shore, one is merely an illusory bubble, not even qualified to communicate with them.

Ah!

After a long while, Feng Yi took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing all distracting thoughts, and looked toward the Human Emperor Ancient Path before him.

No matter what changes occur to the Demon Emperor and the Golden Emperor, his plan for this Human Emperor incarnation will not change.

Obtain the Human Emperor Sword, walk the Human Emperor's path, use the Human Way to govern the heavens, and with the power of the Human Way reach the other shore as quickly as possible.

Thinking of this, Feng Yi's mind conjured the state of his several other incarnations.

【Blue Emperor Taihao's incarnation is only one step away from the other shore; it only needs to complete the adjustment and sorting of its own system, fully integrate everything within itself, and then it can attempt to reach the other shore; Shakyamuni's incarnation cultivates the Tathagata Divine Palm, and after attaining the Tathagata Golden Body in the future, it can go to Spirit Mountain to devour the residual object of the Supreme True Buddha, that Buddha ancestor, thereby achieving its own path as the Ancestor of All Buddhas; Hongjun's incarnation needs to preside over the Purple Cloud Palace and cannot truly manifest in the world; Fu Emperor's incarnation has temporarily become the battlefield of the three ancient ones, and only after the remaining several incarnations all attain the Dao can it possibly break free from control; for now it is essentially impossible for anything to change; Tongtian Jiaozhu's incarnation】

Thoughts flowed one after another in his mind, Feng Yi slowly sorted out the paths of his several incarnations, secretly deducing future possibilities.

At that moment, the two girls before the Human Emperor Ancient Path also came to Feng Yi's side, letting him temporarily set aside his thoughts and look at the two of them.

He was now quite curious what surprise these two girls, who came bearing the will of the other shore's heavenly intent, would bring him.

It is quite obvious that the current plot has completely diverged from the original.

As for this, Feng Yi's heart did not experience any major emotional fluctuation.

In these heavens, the will of those who have reached the other shore is the true plot; the so-called original work is merely one among countless future derivations, from which one can glimpse some hidden information of the other shore beings, but there is no need to take it as a canon.

The girl wielding the phoenix-wing black gold spear stepped forward first, a faint firelight flickering in the depths of her eyes; her original alluring demeanor vanished, replaced by a fiery, cold and proud bearing.

She looked at Feng Yi with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice: 'Human Emperor, may I ask what the Human Way is in your heart?'

(End of Chapter)