Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 1208: Future Path (2)
High in the clouds, Tang Jie sat beside Xu Miaoran, his arm around her, his two children standing respectfully behind.
Tang Jie said, “In this successful ascension, I was able to understand many things. I realized how fortunate I was, what sort of mistakes I made, and where the future path lies.”
Xu Miaoran quietly listened.
Tang Jie continued, “First of all, I understood the mindset of the pioneer that first reached the tier of Boundless Gold Immortal. At that time, True Immortal was the highest level, with no level above it, no path forward to be found in all the cosmos. The peak Titans of that time must have felt rather bitter and unsatisfied. They didn’t know where to go, so they could only explore on their own. In this process, they found that surpassing their current level of cultivation actually meant surpassing the world.”
Tang Jie briefly paused before continuing. “This is why it is said that the focused man will overcome the heavens. In the outside world, the heavens are to be defeated, to be surpassed. Remember, this is the key! You can’t truly understand this right now, but you’ll get there eventually. When you do, you’ll discover that when you hoped for a greater heavens, hoped for more development, you were actually hoping for a bigger cage. In the end, this cage will bind you. Only by jumping out of it can you overcome the heavens. And our first cage is this domain under our feet,” Tang Jie said, pointing down below.
Mother and children turned pensive.
“Thus, it is true that Supreme True Immortal is the highest level within a domain. Gold Immortal is actually another starting point. This was my first realization.
“My second realization is with regards to the domain core. ‘The core’ actually refers to the energy at the heart of the world, that vast and grandiose energy that maintains the entire cycle. Linking to the core is linking to the core’s will, the will of the domain.”
“Does the domain have a mind?” Tang Xuanyu couldn’t help but interrupt.
Tang Zixi glared at her brother, but Tang Jie didn’t mind, saying with a shake of his head, “It does, and it doesn’t.”
“What do you mean by that?” Xu Miaoran asked.
“The domain core is just pure energy, so it cannot have a mind. But… this is a world with fiends, sprites, ghosts, and monsters. Birds and beasts can be enlightened by spiritual energy and become fiends, the plants become sprites, living beings that refuse to enter Reincarnation become ghosts, and metals and stone that are enlightened by spiritual energy become monsters!”
Tang Xuanyu’s eyes lit up. “I get it! Since metal and stone can become monsters by being enlightened through spiritual energy, the same can be true for the domain core!”
“Incorrect.” Tang Jie shook his head. “The spiritual energy of the world comes from core energy. The core already has spiritual energy, so how can it be enlightened by it?”
Tang Xuanyu was rendered speechless.
Tang Jie added, “But it is not completely incorrect. The core is the source of spiritual energy, so it does not need it. Instead, what it needs is life, a will… it is the exact opposite of all other living beings.”
These words were rather profound, and Tang Zixi was the first to understand. “Father, are you saying that the core’s path is completely different from all other beings, that while all other beings require spirit to gain life and possess a will, the core requires all things to produce a will?”
“Close.” Tang Jie smiled. “The core has no will. It is the source of the world and the source of spiritual energy. But over the eons, as countless living creatures used spiritual energy to grow stronger, they were actually developing a relationship with the core. It’s just that being able to use this energy doesn’t mean being able to sense its existence. As spiritual energy cycles back and forth, going from the bodies of cultivators and then back to the earth through Returned Remnants, the core is going through the same experience. As the very apex of the spiritual, it only lacks the mechanism to produce life. But as it absorbs tens of millions of wills over the years, it finally forms a will of its own.
“That is the most fundamental kind of will, which I call the Simple Mind!
“Because it is so basic, it is confused and muddled. It is forever unable to complete itself, for it is dissipating and declining at every moment. It is an endless cycle, never able to come together, and because it is always incomplete, it does not have independent thought.
“But it can be communicated with!
“When you communicate with it, if your Divine Will is strong enough, you can influence it. And then…”
Tang Jie chuckled.
He didn’t continue, but everyone knew what he was talking about.
This was why Tang Jie’s power could influence the entire domain. When Tang Jie linked to the core, it meant his will had supplanted the world’s will. Through the domain core, he could cast his power to any corner of the world, so it was not wrong to say that the Rosecloud Domain had become Tang Jie’s small world.
But this supplantation had a limit.
Having one’s Divine Will travel to the heart of a domain and communicate with the core was no easy task. Tang Jie was only barely able to do it at his current level of power, which was why that light had quickly receded.
“The third realization,” Tang Jie continued. “Communicating with the core requires more than just domineering strength. It also requires an understanding of the world and the core, and not just a surface-level understanding. As one’s understanding deepens, communication becomes easier and easier. In other words, even if I made no more progress in cultivation, so long as I continued to communicate with the core and understand the world, my ability to communicate with the core would grow stronger and stronger. As they say, the more you work at something, the more of an expert at it you become.”
His audience of three silently pondered these words.
It was Tang Zixi who spoke up first. “So Father is saying that the more part of a domain one is, the more familiar one is with the domain. In other words…”
“Correct!” Tang Jie clapped his hands with a smile. “This is the terrain advantage of a Boundless Gold Immortal. All formations below Gold Immortal manifested through formations are useless against a Gold Immortal. For them, the one with a greater understanding of the domain core is the stronger one.”
According to Tang Jie’s explanation, if one domain had a Boundless Gold Immortal who lived on this domain and was constantly communicating with the domain will to develop an understanding of it, then another Gold Immortal arrived and the two both tried to use the energy of the core, it would be the native Gold Immortal who had the advantage.
And this advantage could very easily be magnified. The enemy Immortal might not be able to use a single sliver of core energy, which made them no better than a slightly more powerful True Immortal.
If the native Gold Immortal spent long enough and developed a deep enough understanding, they could even go toe-to-toe with a Saint Immortal.
This was the power of the landlord.
“I see. Only when we have our own Boundless Gold Immortal can this world be considered to have its own guardian god,” Xu Miaoran muttered.
Tang Zixi agreed, “That’s right. This is actually the real meaning of ‘Domain Lord’. The Domain Lord is the master of the domain, but they are also its protector. Wonderful! With Father, the Rosecloud Domain is truly safe.”
Tang Jie bitterly smiled and shook his head. “Do you remember what I just said? It takes time! I’m a fresh Gold Immortal, so any Gold Immortal who came over would have the power to seize the communication link to the domain core from me.”
At this point, Tang Zixi suddenly asked, “Since the power of a Gold Immortal depends on the core, is a domain’s power dependent on its size?”
Tang Jie chuckled. “As expected, you realized. This is my fourth realization. As we know, domains are of different sizes, so their core energies also differ. The larger the domain, the more difficult it is to communicate with it.”
The siblings shared a glance and then said in unison, “The Vast Wilderness Continent!”
The Vast Wilderness Continent was countless times larger than the Rosecloud Domain, so it naturally had to be countless times more difficult to communicate with.
Tang Jie nodded. “I’ve pondered this problem a long time. When Yu Cheng returned to reestablish his court, I was able to witness the battle through my avatar’s will. I have to admit that, as veteran Boundless Gold Immortals, they are truly very strong, and even my current self wouldn’t dare to speak of victory against them. But I wouldn’t say that they’re dozens of times stronger than me. Thus, I can think of three explanations. The first is that they didn’t become Gold Immortals on the Vast Wilderness Continent, and they didn’t communicate with the core of the Vast Wilderness Continent. The second is that they have a way to communicate with only part of the core or else decrease the difficulty of communication. The third is that for reasons particular to the Vast Wilderness Continent, it is not difficult to communicate with. Alas, that Immortal Emperor is constantly on guard against me, opening up an isolated area in his mind where he considers all important matters. Now, I can’t get anything worthwhile from his thoughts and can only observe his actions and try to speculate from there.”
“But is this something very important?” Tang Xuanyu asked in curiosity.
“Yes, it’s extremely important!” Tang Jie sternly said.
The three looked at him in unison.
“Do you still remember me saying that I knew what the future path was?”
The three nodded.
“This is the future path!” Tang Jie declared.
Confusion appeared on the faces of the siblings, and only Xu Miaoran seemed to understand.
Tang Jie sighed. “My silly children, do you still not get it? When going from True Immortal to Gold Immortal, you transcend your own domain. But the domain we live in is only a tiny part of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm. So what is the Heavenly Dao? And what is the future path?”
Tang Zixi cried out, “The domain core… I get it now! The Heavenly Dao Law Wheel is the core of the chiliocosm!”
Tang Jie nodded. “That’s my theory. There’s still a lot missing and still many questions needing to be answered, but I firmly believe that comprehending the Heavenly Dao is communicating with the core of the chiliocosm. Of course, what the core of the chiliocosm emanates is not spiritual energy, but the Dao! The day you communicate with it and control it is the day you rule over the entire cosmos. First one rules over the small world that they create, and then they reach Gold Immortal and rule over the world that they grew up in, and finally, they transcend everything and rule over the entire chiliocosm!
“As for the Vast Wilderness Continent, it is the most important milestone in this process. Perhaps that place is the ideal place to prove one’s Dao,” Tang Jie said.
“And after Vast Wilderness is the Heavenly Dao?” Tang Xuanyu excitedly asked.
“No!” Tang Jie shook his head. “After Vast Wilderness is the Primordial Fog!”
