On the Path to the Great Dao

Purple Heaven looked like a fairy realm. On the leaves of the purple vine sat floating immortal mountains of various shapes, their peaks rolling and stretching. Between the branches and leaves were many villages and towns, where people lived like bugs on a gourd vine, cultivating fertile fields, planting crops, and multiplying.

Chen Shi flew closer for a look. These people weren't truly human. They had human heads and human bodies, but they had the bellies and wings of bee insects. The villages and towns they built were also beehive-shaped.

They were about the size of adults. After coming out of their houses, they would often spread their wings and take flight, gathering nectar from the immortal mountains.

Besides these bee-people, there were also ant-people—human heads on ant bodies with four legs and two arms, moving at a fairly quick pace.

Chen Shi also saw ant-people's carts and carriages traveling on roads carved out between vine leaves and branches. These were merchant caravans traveling between different villages and towns. The beasts pulling the carts had human heads and ox bodies, quite large in size.

These roads were wide enough for five or six carriages to travel side by side. When they reached the main vine trunk, the road wrapped around it, spiraling upward in circles.

Every few circles, there would be a large platform spanning over ten acres, allowing livestock to rest. On the platforms were tea and pastry stalls, whose owners were often rat-people—rat heads on human bodies.

"What a strange world."

Suddenly, waves of scorching heat rolled in, growing hotter and hotter. Chen Shi looked up and saw a massive sun slowly revolving around this purple vine, gradually descending from the sky.

"It looks like the sun from a Realm of Emptiness."

Chen Shi moved out of the sun's way as it slowly flew past about a hundred li away, bringing with it waves of heat.

The sunlight was intense, radiating pure yang Dao power, containing vigorous life force that nurtured all things. It was far more advanced than the great sun formed from the Celestial True God's eyes!

"Weak in cultivation, but pure yang Dao power—far superior to the True God!"

Chen Shi thought to himself, "The master of this place has very high Dao attainment."

That sun was about eight hundred li in size, composed of pure yang true energy. Strangely enough, as the sun revolved around the purple vine, wisps of purple energy flew out from the vine and were refined into the sun.

Closely following the sun was a moon, not as massive as the sun, but still about three or four hundred li in size.

This moon was composed of pure yin true energy, a mass of true energy reflecting sunlight, but its radiance was cold and desolate.

"This should be an immortal's Dao Realm—in other words, a heaven."

Chen Shi's heart stirred. The Dao Realm was the next level after the Realm of Emptiness, its essence being a Dao Field.

A cultivator would cultivate a Primordial Spirit, forge a Dao Field, and then advance further, opening up a Realm of Emptiness at the Return to Emptiness realm.

After that, if the cultivator achieved Dao Unification, they would become an immortal, called a Celestial Immortal. But at this stage, the Realm of Emptiness couldn't yet be called a Dao Realm. Only after reaching the True Immortal Realm could they transform their Realm of Emptiness into a great Dao world, called a Dao Realm. Only at this step could it be called a heaven.

Chen Shi had just opened his Realm of Emptiness, forging sun and moon with pure yang and pure yin, and had only just begun to understand it. His skeletal body's cultivation level was higher, already surpassing Great Completion and entering the Ascension realm, but he hadn't achieved Dao Unification and knew nothing about the Dao Realm.

This was his first time entering an immortal's Dao Realm, and he couldn't help but stop and observe.

"This immortal has a very deep understanding of yin-yang principles!"

Chen Shi watched the sun and moon's operation, sincere admiration rising in his heart. "He has already comprehended the principle of yin and yin giving birth to transformation. Pure yang becomes the sun, giving birth to all things; pure yin becomes the moon, nourishing all things. Impressive! Truly impressive! If he goes one step further, he can comprehend the principle of yin and yang supporting each other, water and fire merging together, and then he'll be on par with me."

He flew upward, continuing to observe.

Aside from yin and yang, this immortal had also used some methods from the Way of Earthly Spirits. For example, in the villages and towns on the purple vine's leaves, various deities were worshipped. These deities were responsible for favorable weather and rewarding good while punishing evil.

As for the creatures in this Dao Realm, their births, aging, illnesses, and deaths were handled by a unique underworld system here.

The underworld was also built on the purple vine's leaves. Chen Shi activated his Primordial Spirit, mingling among the ghosts for a rough look. This place's underworld operated on a reincarnation system. After death, the deceased would be judged in the underworld. If they had sins, they would suffer to eliminate them. Once their sins were cleansed, they could reincarnate according to their past life's merits into different kinds of creatures.

Those with high merits could reincarnate as beast-people, those with lower merits as insect-people, even lower as livestock or plant-people, and the lowest as insects, birds, fish, or grass.

Chen Shi gained some insight and thought to himself, "In the Purple Heaven world, the number of souls must be fixed, circulating through reincarnation in Purple Heaven to form a cyclic system—neither increasing nor decreasing. This place can already be called a complete world. The Empress could send me here, perhaps because this place also has reincarnation. But why does a complete immortal's Dao Realm still need a purple vine to support heaven and earth?"

He couldn't figure it out.

"The master of Purple Heaven has vast divine abilities, with a depth of attainment beyond my reach. Using the purple vine to connect heaven and earth must have a purpose. I'd better go pick the gourd."

He flew swiftly, searching as he ascended along the purple vine.

There were also many cultivators here. From time to time, sword lights darted and flew among the vine leaves, not slow at all. Seeing this, Chen Shi quickly restrained himself, mobilized his primordial energy, formed an invisibility talisman, concealed his tracks, and quietly approached those sword lights.

Within the sword lights were the cultivators' true bodies, each flying upward. When they reached an extremely high point, the sword lights descended one by one, scattered, and the cultivators revealed themselves, walking toward the palace ahead.

Ahead was a stretch of immortal palaces. Inside these palaces were massive magical treasures—cauldrons and vessels taller than the palaces themselves, extremely imposing.

The most eye-catching was a giant purple gourd hanging down from the sky. All the immortal palaces and halls were built around this purple gourd.

"Is this the Purple Gourd that Godmother wants me to find?"

Chen Shi's eyes went wide. The purple gourd was like a mountain of purple jade, its surface occasionally revealing extremely profound patterns, like natural Dao patterns.

Chen Shi hesitated. This treasure was too big. Could it really be picked and taken away?

A cultivator beside him said, "The balsam flower's blooming period is too short. We must collect the honey quickly, or it won't be useful anymore. This harvest's honey yield is too low. At this rate, we might only get fifty or sixty percent before the blooming period ends. We need to make these slaves speed up the honey collection."

A female cultivator beside him looked somewhat unwilling and said, "In the past two days, several thousand bee-people have already died from exhaustion. Brother Luo, if we speed things up again, even more will die."

Brother Luo laughed and said, "They're just the oxen and horses we raise in Purple Heaven. After they die of exhaustion, they'll reincarnate once and come back as oxen and horses in their next life. Sister Shuang, there's no need to pity them. In Purple Heaven, these oxen and horses live and die endlessly, never running out. It doesn't matter how many die of exhaustion. If we delay harvesting the honey, Master will punish us severely!"

Chen Shi heard this and thought to himself, "These bee insects are truly pitiful."

The female cultivator, Sister Shuang, became serious and quickly said, "What you say, Junior Brother, is right. No matter how many people die, it doesn't matter. We can't delay Master's important business."

"Master wants to use this honey to refine the Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill as a tribute to an important figure. It can't be delayed."

Brother Luo led them toward an immortal hall to deliver the immortal honey. Just then, the sky split open, and many cultivators flew out from the crack, heading this way. Sister Shuang quickly stopped, smiling, "It's Senior Brother He! They're back from outside!"

Chen Shi looked up, his heart skipping a beat. He quickly moved away from these people and headed toward the purple gourd.

The leader's cultivation was extremely deep, far surpassing Chen Shi's. He should be a master at the Great Perfection of the Ascension realm, with an extremely powerful aura. Chen Shi worried that if he encountered this man, his invisibility talisman would be seen through.

"Senior Brother He!"

Everyone greeted him. Chen Shi had just entered another immortal hall when he felt as if a pair of eyes had swept over him. His heart tightened. "This man's cultivation is formidable!"

Senior Brother He withdrew his gaze, a hint of surprise in his heart. "Who was that back figure?"

Dao patterns swirled in his pupils, gradually fading. This was an immortal's eye technique, capable of seeing through transformations and discerning yin and yang. But he had only glimpsed unintentionally and hadn't seen clearly.

"Senior Brother, you've returned from outside. How many living souls did you bring back?" Sister Shuang asked.

Senior Brother He took out a large gourd, about as tall as a person, and laughed. "Two countries in the mortal world are at war. I sat above the battlefield and opened this treasure gourd. The living souls of fallen soldiers flew into the gourd automatically. I didn't count them deliberately, but there should be about a hundred thousand or so."

"A hundred thousand!"

The crowd was both surprised and delighted, laughing. "That's enough!"

"Senior Brother has made another great contribution!"

Senior Brother He was also quite pleased with himself and said, "In the mortal world, people compete for profit—seizing food supplies, grabbing land, plundering civilians, holding grudges across generations, shifting contradictions, or acting on a ruler's anger. They often take up arms and slaughter each other, with countless casualties. When we cultivators collect living souls to refine treasures, we only need to wait quietly for them to go to war, hang our soul-collecting treasures in the air, and they'll butcher each other on their own, without us incurring any karmic consequences."

Junior Brother Luo said, "Senior Brother, why wait? Why not enter a mortal kingdom's court, become a state preceptor, incite two countries to war, fight to the death—we could collect even more living souls."

Senior Brother He's expression turned cold, and he said sternly, "Luo Hanlin, you've nearly fallen into the demonic path!"

Junior Brother Luo's heart tightened, and he quickly bowed. "Please punish me, Senior Brother!"

Senior Brother He said with a dark face, "I collect living souls on the battlefield without interfering in the war and without staining myself with karma. How many people die has nothing to do with me. But if you manipulate people's hearts, inciting two countries to war, you involve yourself in it. In the future, you will face calamity and lose your life! Our Purple Heaven is, after all, a reputable righteous sect. How renowned is Master's name in the Earth Immortal Realm? It doesn't matter if you face calamity and lose your life—but don't ruin the sect's reputation!"

Junior Brother Luo stammered his apologies repeatedly.

Senior Brother He handed him the gourd and said, "Take the living souls in this gourd and send them into reincarnation. Let them suffer in the underworld first, undergo torment, then reincarnate as bees and ants to labor for us."

Junior Brother Luo, Sister Shuang, and the others acknowledged the order, took the gourd, and headed to the underworld.

Senior Brother He's eyes flickered, and he walked toward the immortal hall Chen Shi had entered.

By now, Chen Shi had passed through that immortal hall and arrived before the purple gourd.

He looked up and still found it hard to believe. This gourd was simply too big. Standing here looking up, he couldn't see the gourd's mouth—only a faint purple vine descending from the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

He had no idea how heavy or massive this gourd was. Its power was also heart-stopping. Before Chen Shi even got close, he found that his invisibility talisman had been shattered by the gourd's might, rendered useless.

He looked around and saw triangular flags inserted all around the gourd, their surfaces flowing with incomprehensible Dao patterns.

When the flags fluttered, the Dao patterns fell like lightning, turning into electrified plasma connecting to the other flags' Dao patterns, forming webs that trapped the gourd.

The gourd would occasionally tremble, as if trying to escape, but when it encountered the webs formed by these flags, it was beaten back down.

Chen Shi's heart stirred. He looked at the gourd vine and saw an immortal sword hovering in the air, circling the gourd vine. It should be trying to cut the vine.

But the gourd vine was extremely tough. No matter how much the immortal sword cut, it healed just as fast, never able to sever this gourd.

"This is truly a marvelous treasure! Unbelievable!"

Chen Shi found it hard to believe. As the True King, he had seen many treasures, even quite a few immortal artifacts, but this was the first time he had seen a naturally formed magical treasure.

This gourd was a natural-born treasure. Even the vine could resist an immortal artifact!

"Is this what they call a heavenly treasure from earthly blessings? No wonder Godmother said the Western Ox New Continent was a place even gods and immortals didn't go. Our Western Ox New Continent is truly too barren."

Chen Shi felt a pang of regret, but then he thought, precisely because the Western Ox New Continent was barren that it bred such outstanding people and gave birth to such pure and kind-hearted folk.

As he thought this, he moved his feet, quietly approaching.

Suddenly, the Purple Gourd vibrated, expanding outward and distorting the Dao patterns of the immortal flags. The gourd shot into the air, countless lightning bolts interlacing, immortal might surging!

At the same moment, Chen Shi's body rapidly shrank, squeezing through the gaps between the Dao patterns' electric light of the immortal flags. His left hand pressed onto the Purple Gourd!

The power of this Purple Gourd and the immortal flag array was terrifying beyond measure. Any single treasure or wisp of immortal might could shatter him to dust. But precisely when the two were locked in struggle, their defenses were at their weakest.

The immortal flag array was only meant to trap the Purple Gourd, not to prevent outsiders from entering. Chen Shi seized that instant to charge into the immortal formation!

Just as he charged in, Senior Brother He also came out of the immortal hall. Seeing this, he instantly pushed his cultivation to its peak, shouting sternly, "Which thief dares to steal in the Purple Heaven Palace?"

In an instant, he raised his cultivation to the extreme, his aura overwhelmingly domineering. Both his Primordial Spirit and physical body had been cultivated to the immortal realm, only one step away from Dao Unification with heaven and earth!

He activated immortal techniques, Dao patterns intertwining and interweaving to form a surging divine ability—something Chen Shi had never seen before!

"This man is so strong!" Just as Chen Shi thought this, he saw the immortal flag formation beginning to contract, about to tear him apart!

And at that very moment, his left hand happened to press against the Purple Gourd. The golden talisman left in his palm by the Empress of Earth reappeared, radiating light, connecting with the strange patterns on the gourd's surface.

"Crack!"

A thunderous boom came from above. The immortal sword, which had been unable to cut the gourd vine all this time, had now severed it. Or rather, the gourd vine had severed itself upon sensing the sword, not from the sword's power!

Countless natural Dao patterns on the gourd's surface interweaved, all surfacing at once. In an instant, they burst outward.

"Whoosh!"

The triangular immortal flags were sent flying in all directions. Even Senior Brother He was sent flying backward.

Chen Shi lifted the Purple Gourd with one hand, feeling as if he were lifting a massive mountain. Without a second thought, he leaped into the air, supporting this huge gourd as he raced back the way he came!

"Got it!" His heart pounded violently. Blood rushed to his head, and his eardrums buzzed.

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