Chapter 283: All Matters Settled

Deep within the spiritual world.

Countless black and white light points formed a hazy divine radiance that stood here, lofty and vast, yet without a concrete shape.

It would sometimes evolve into the shape of the Eight Trigrams formed by the arrangement and combination of yin-yang lines, sometimes take the form of a treasure resembling a turtle-shell book, and sometimes transform into a river of fate woven from countless black and white light points, exhausting the changes of the principle of the Yi Dao in the world.

Even though Feng Yi now combined the power of his Immortal Emperor and Other Shore systems, making him comparable to an Ancient One, he still could not truly see through the essence of this Yi Dao supreme treasure; he could only feel that as his cultivation increased, his connection with it grew ever tighter.

"'This is a supreme treasure that has at least reached the level above Dao Fruit and Sacrificial Dao.'"

"'No wonder this Yi Dao supreme treasure lets me freely traverse the myriad worlds!'"

This thought arose in his mind, and Feng Yi united his mind and spirit with it, wishing to investigate its essence.

After a moment, his mind and spirit trembled slightly, instantly returned, and a thought arose in his heart: 'Indeed, it is so.'

Merely being at the Immortal Emperor realm is still insufficient to forcibly refine this Yi Dao supreme treasure.

"'It seems one must reach the realm above Sacrificial Dao, or achieve the position of Dao Fruit, to truly refine this Yi Dao supreme treasure and comprehend the profound secrets hidden within.'"

Thinking this, Feng Yi withdrew his mind and spirit from within and looked once more at Nüwa beside him.

Nüwa seemed to have sensed something just now, did not disturb Feng Yi, and simply waited quietly.

Seeing him open his eyes and feeling his aura shift, Nüwa showed a concerned expression: 'Elder brother, there is actually no need to worry excessively; as our realms rise together, we will naturally come to know who that unspeakable existence is.'

"'I understand.'"

Feng Yi nodded, indicating that Nüwa need not worry.

Afterward, he looked at Nüwa and asked: 'How is your condition now? Will you still be affected by the Divine Emperor's divine will?'

She shook her head, her eyes flashing with a hint of divine light, and spoke arrogantly like an empress: 'Now my humanity and divinity have united; I have not only fully assimilated the Demon Emperor's cultivation, but this has also caused a more profound change. Soon I will be able to break through my current limits, tracing my time back to the void before the beginning of the primordial era, becoming a Primordial Ancient One like Amitabha Buddha.'

"'Primordial Ancient One.'"

Sensing the change in Nüwa's internal qi at this moment, Feng Yi's eyes flashed with a hint of realization.

In these heavens, both the Primordial Ancient One and the Ancient One are considered embryonic forms of Dao Fruit; if solely competing for the Dao Fruit path, the two realms differ little.

Once the practice of seeking emptiness through reduction is completed, whether Primordial Ancient One or Ancient One, both can draw upon the primordial era's cyclic power, letting their Dao Fruit mature, achieving the Dao Fruit position, and transcending.

The advantage of the Primordial Ancient One over the Ancient One lies in the fact that the Primordial Ancient One has already traced his time back to the void before the beginning of the primordial era, granting him the ability to overturn the table.

If only a single Primordial Ancient One existed in all the heavens, he could directly trace back to the void before the beginning of the primordial era, no longer creating heaven and earth, and preventing the myriad worlds from truly coming into being.

In that case, spacetime would not yet have derived, and the remaining Other Shore beings would be equivalent to an unborn state, effectively annihilating all Other Shore beings.

Moreover, Other Shore beings who have not reached the Primordial Ancient One level cannot even prevent this, for they have not traced their time back to the void before the beginning of the primordial era and thus cannot truly reach that temporal node.

Even if they joined forces to block every timeline after the creation of heaven and earth, they could not affect the Primordial Ancient One dwelling in the void before the creation of heaven and earth.

This is also a characteristic of the cultivation system in these heavens: a hair's breadth makes the difference between heaven and earth.

This gap is not even a direct combat disparity; the two fundamentally exist in different dimensions, and no amount of numbers can compensate.

Of course, this is the most extreme scenario, and it basically cannot happen.

Because these heavens are not home to a single Primordial Ancient One, but rather have four of them, and the other Primordial Ancient Ones would not allow such a thing to occur.

After all, they wish to complete the practice of seeking emptiness through reduction, draw upon the primordial era's cyclic power, and achieve the Dao Fruit position; they must create heaven and earth, let the heavens be born, and let the primordial era arise.

For the many Other Shore beings whose hearts hold only the Great Dao, they would not choose such a mutually destructive approach.

Except for certain individuals.

For example, the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable.

During the ancient Gods' War, the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable's so-called reforging of earth, water, wind, and fire gave rise to this idea of overturning the table, causing the entirety of the heavens to cease being born, and everyone would just finish playing.

The final result was that Yuanshi Tianzun, Morality Heavenly Venerable, and others joined forces to stop his mad actions, and they split the Zhu Xian Sword Formation, causing the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable to lose this set of Other Shore treasures symbolizing the end of the primordial era.

Originally, the Demon Emperor was an Ancient One, an embryonic form of Dao Fruit, and moreover had completed his exploration of the Dao Fruit path, realizing how to complete his own seeking emptiness through reduction path, making him half a step superior to an Ancient One like the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi who had not yet realized his own Dao Fruit path.

And now, Nüwa and the Demon Emperor have truly united in body and essence, undergoing a fundamental transformation, thereby taking a half-step forward; attaining the realm of the Primordial Ancient One is thus quite normal.

Thinking this, a hint of joy appeared on Feng Yi's face as he smiled and said: 'Congratulations, sister!'

Having said this, Feng Yi pondered a moment, then suddenly said: 'Sister, does your path of seeking emptiness through reduction still require you to protect the human and demon races through the final calamity, surviving into the next primordial era?'

"'Mm.'"

Nüwa nodded, her eyes flashing with a hint of emotion: 'Having fully assimilated the divinity within the Demon Emperor's consciousness, I am now like the Demon Emperor, my ties to the human and demon races are extremely close; I am both the ancestor of humanity and the sovereign of demons, and I must safeguard both races through the final calamity before I can truly be said to have completed my own seeking emptiness through reduction.'

Hearing these words, Feng Yi's brows furrowed slightly as he fell into thought.

After a while, he turned his gaze to Nüwa and said: 'My Human Emperor's form now governs the two paths of heaven and humanity, and has also incorporated the human and demon races into the human path. When I later seize the Nine Netherworlds and fully master the authority of heaven, earth, and humanity, causing the human and demon races to flourish, perhaps without needing the final calamity, I could help you, sister, complete your seeking emptiness through reduction ahead of time, allowing you to draw upon this primordial era's cyclic power and achieve the Dao Fruit position.'

Feng Yi's true self follows the Sacrificial Dao path; for now he has no ideas about the Dao Fruit path, so naturally he must plot more for his younger sister.

If he could help his younger sister achieve the Dao Fruit position, then at that time the two siblings—one cultivating the upper Sacrificial Dao, the other the Dao Fruit—would, upon yin-yang union, certainly produce an effect greater than the sum of their parts, and they could thereby comprehend the mysteries of the supreme realms of two different systems, making cultivation of the other system easier.

Seeing Feng Yi's earnest expression, Nüwa's face showed a hint of a smile, she shook her head and said: 'Elder brother, there's no need for this; for me, I never planned to achieve the Dao Fruit position in this primordial era.'

"'Moreover, for me, it is not that the Dao Fruit path is the only option available.'"

The moment her words fell, Nüwa's internal qi shifted, becoming pure and vast, actually somewhat similar to Feng Yi's aura.

"'Immortal Emperor?'"

Feng Yi's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise: 'Is this the entirely new path you, sister, have pioneered?'

"'Exactly.'"

Nüwa nodded: 'This is the entirely new path I forged by basing myself on the original system of cultivating the self as a seed, integrating the cultivation systems of several worlds, and this is also why I have been able to contend with the Demon Emperor for so long.'

"'I see!'"

Feng Yi nodded, his heart not feeling overly surprised.

Given Nüwa's talent, completing this path of creating a Dao is not at all a difficult matter.

Thinking this, Feng Yi no longer insisted.

However, he had already secretly committed this to heart, planning to study in the future how to help Nüwa accomplish the seeking emptiness through reduction.

"'Looks like I need to quickly seize the Nine Netherworlds with my Human Emperor's form!'"

Right.

At this moment, Nüwa restrained her own aura, a hint of concern in her eyes: "How is the situation in the Nine Provinces?"

Hehe.

Feng Yi gave a light chuckle, his expression relaxed as he said: "You can rest easy about this sister; I have completely settled the affairs of the Nine Provinces, and all those sovereigns have been utterly wiped out."

Speaking of this, Feng Yi lightly moved his finger, and a series of trigrams appeared before him, evolving into many scenes that had once occurred in the heavens of the Longevity Realm.

Watching the scene where Feng Yi suppressed many sovereigns and refined the manifestation of the Sole True Realm, Nüwa's eyes showed a faint smile: "As expected of an elder brother, many Dao friends of the Nine Provinces have also survived!"

Speaking of this, Nüwa looked at Feng Yi with a beaming smile: "Elder brother, are you curious about the embryonic form of the Dao fruit that comes from mastering all the mysteries and all the information of these heavens?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Yi gave a slight start.

Seeing his expression change, Nüwa smiled faintly, and divine light of creation flowed around her, directly revealing her innate form of a human body with a serpent's tail; behind her hung a flawless treasure-light, containing all the Great Daos and all the profundities of these heavens' myriad worlds.

Under her influence, Feng Yi's aura shifted, likewise revealing his innate form, and a special fruit appeared above his head, containing many different Dao fruits.

This fruit is not perfect, yet the aura it faintly emits approximates Nüwa's flawless embryonic Dao fruit.

Hum

Between the two fruits there seemed to be some deep connection; the moment they appeared, they attracted each other, and countless Dao resonances flowed around, from which resounded grand Dao sounds.

Endless heaven-and-earth phenomena appeared, as if the two's Great Daos were merging, continuously generating resonance between them.

Heaven rained flowers, earth sprang golden lotuses, and in the void blossomed endless Dao flowers, turning the place where they stood directly into a land of the Dao.

Feng Yi and Nüwa instinctively closed their eyes, mutually sensing each other's Great Dao, taking strengths to offset weaknesses, continually increasing their own Dao accumulation.

Slowly, a massive yin-yang Taiji diagram appeared between heaven and earth, encompassing both of their Great Daos, making their Daos seem to become a single whole.

Within the Demon Emperor's Hall, silence fell, leaving only a massive yin-yang Taiji diagram constantly rotating, as if it were the complete embodiment of the primordial Dao.

As Feng Yi's true self entered cultivation, the myriad heavens and worlds also returned to tranquility.

The Human Emperor's form began to completely govern the two Dao of Heaven and Humanity; throughout the myriad heavens and worlds, aside from the Nine Abysses, each world, each universe, was successively drawn into the embrace of the Human Dao.

In the starry expanse beyond the realm, mighty adept after mighty adept recognized the situation and began choosing to join the Human Dao dynasty, making the Human Dao dynasty's rule over the myriad heavens and worlds ever more stable.

The myriad heavens and worlds presented a picture of prosperity and flourishing; under the shroud of sage-virtue qi, even the aura of the apocalyptic calamity began to gradually dissipate.

Conversely, the accumulated intent of ending doom in the Nine Abysses grew ever more mighty, and began to gradually permeate each universe, secretly eroding them, bringing about the doom of one world after another.

In this process, countless demons and cultivators of the Human Dao dynasty fought in each universe, causing the myriad heavens to be almost split into two opposing realms.

One side is the many universes ruled by the Human Dao dynasty, shrouded in sage-virtue power, with Human Dao radiance shining, bearing an eternal intent.

The other side is the many universes eroded by the Nine Abysses, filled with killing intent, thick with the aura of doom.

Because the end of the era is a great trend of heaven and earth, the Nine Abysses, having received support from that trend, are actually able to stand against the Human Dao dynasty that governs the two Dao of Heaven and Humanity.

The two sides constantly engage in a tug-of-war; at times sage-virtue power dispels the doom aura, restoring peace to the universes; at times the doom aura rolls back, re-invading those universes.

Many Those Who Have Reached the Other Shore merely watched the changes in the myriad heavens and worlds in silence, without intending to intervene much.

Everyone knows that as the Human Emperor's control over the myriad heavens and worlds grows firmer, one day he will reach for the Nine Abysses, thereby completing his own eternal path of Human Dao.

Only then will it be the time of the true decisive battle.

In the Demon Emperor's Hall.

Hum

A hum resonated through heaven and earth, all phenomena withdrew, and the figures of Feng Yi and Nüwa reappeared.

"No."

Feng Yi lightly shook his head and calmly said: "The Dao Offering Realm is indeed completely different from the Ancient Ones' Realm; one could even say it's heading south while aiming north."

The half-step Dao fruit condensed upon reaching the Other Shore contains the Dao one has comprehended, a facet of the Great Dao; to achieve the embryonic Dao fruit, one must master all the mysteries and all the information of the heavens—a process of going from a few Dao to the Three Thousand Great Daos, or from one to myriad.

Whereas aspiring to enter the Dao Offering Realm places little demand on the quantity of Dao; it depends on one's accumulation, requiring the depth of one's Great Dao and the final ultimate leap.

The two are entirely different paths.

In their Dao discussion with Nüwa, Feng Yi's gains far surpassed hers.

After all, relatively speaking, his realm still falls short of hers by a slight margin.

Nowadays, he has gone far within the Sovereign Immortal Realm, having basically mastered the mysteries of the Other Shore Realm, yet he still lacks confidence in advancing to the Dao Offering Realm.

Thinking that everything in the Trilogy World originates from that one who wished to burn his copper coffin, Feng Yi feels that to truly comprehend the mysteries of the Dao Offering Realm, he probably still needs to return to the Trilogy once.

A glance at Feng Yi, Nüwa instantly understood his thought, a flash of realization in her eyes: "Elder brother, do you want to return to the world where we first began?"

"Not bad."

Feng Yi nodded and said: "It's also time to go back."

Seeing this, Nüwa laughed and said: "Perfect; I'll go together with elder brother, and I also want to return to that world to see what secrets lie hidden beyond that universe!"

"Good."

Feng Yi did not refuse; this is also a powerful assistance.

After all, upon the high plateau there exist a host of Dao Offering progenitors.

Speaking of this, Feng Yi turned his gaze toward the distance.

We still need to find a few more helpers!

In the Void Homeland.

The bright, round, pure moon swayed slightly, endless white lotuses bloomed around it, scattering specks of light.

In soundless silence, the seated figure there seemed to vanish from the spot, leaving only a lofty, pure moon hanging high.

In the Tushita Palace.

The Venerable Lord of Morality's eyes twitched slightly, and a figure emerged from within his body, transforming into a black-and-white yin-yang fish that merged into the river of time and space.

Jade Emperor Mountain.

Before the Heavenly Emperor's statue, water-like ripples flowed, and a solemn, sacred, vague silhouette vanished without trace.

The True Realm, Divine Capital.

Above the Divine Capital now loom endless Heavenly Dao regulations and Human Dao radiance, unified by sage-virtue power into a supreme heavenly pillar that pierces all heavens and worlds, suppressing everything.

In the hall.

The Human Emperor's body gazed at Meng Qi before him, waved a hand, and Meng Qi's figure directly merged into the River of Time and Space, vanishing.

The Human Emperor's body silently watched this scene, yet itself did not move.

Inside the Shaolin Temple.

Shakyamuni's body slightly changed expression, as if sensing something.

"Buddha."

Western Pure Land World.

The perfect golden-body Buddha slightly furrowed his brows, gazing toward the River of Time and Space.

"Strange!"

Bodhi Pure Land World.

The azure-gold Buddha beneath the Bodhi tree likewise furrowed his brows, yet still detected nothing unusual.

Deepest part of the Nine Netherworlds.

Demonic Buddha Ananda sat cross-legged at the base of the Nine Netherworlds, a hint of madness in his eyes, gazing toward the origin of the Nine Netherworlds.

"Soon, soon."

A slightly mad voice sounded from His mouth, causing the entire deepest part of the Nine Netherworlds to be suffused with a hint of eeriness and madness.

(End of chapter)