The peerless black hand that covers the sky

Chapter 1176 Bewitching, Heart-Fluttering

"Oh?"

Chu Feng's spirits lifted. "Someone? A setup?"

"As far as I know, that realm recently suffered a tragedy and a bloodbath, with more than one Immortal Emperor falling and perishing in the Nine Heavens..."

"So many powerful figures have died, could there still be experts left?"

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are they under the command of the Desolate Heavenly Emperor?"

“No, that’s not right…” Chu Feng thought for a moment and then rejected the conjecture.

After all, it is the followers of that Desolate Heavenly Emperor who are guarding the Boundary Sea beyond these heavens... If it belongs to this force, why bother with all this?
Moreover, the dragon horse beside him also highly praised this Desolate Emperor, and didn't seem like a ruthless character who could tolerate such a "great sacrifice".

'By the way, why is Ryoma so quiet?'

Chu Feng sensed something was wrong. This rogue horse was usually the most unruly, so why was it acting differently today?
He looked left and right, then finally turned around and was utterly speechless.

But the dragon-horse hid behind him, eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought, as if detached from worldly affairs.

But beneath its feet, step by step, like the footsteps of a devil, it moved inching forward, as if this were some kind of fiery pit!
"..."

Chu Feng couldn't hold back any longer.

Isn't this selling him out?!
Although he knew that their relationship wasn't one of sharing life and death... but why was they abandoning him so decisively and running away at any moment?
However, Chu Feng thought for a moment and seemed to understand something. His expression changed slightly, and he lowered one hand, hiding it in his sleeve, where a powerful weapon was ready to be unleashed.

At this moment, Jiang Feng seemed to sense something, glanced at Chu Feng's right hand, and smiled slightly, "Naturally, it has nothing to do with that Desolate Heaven Emperor... My father once said that in all the worlds of the mortal realm, killing all the experts at the Sacrifice Dao level might be a mistake."

"However, if we kill every other one, there will likely be big fish that slip through the net, which is irresponsible to the masses."

"As for the transcendent beings above the sacrificial path, the problem seems even more serious. Perhaps nine out of ten transcendent beings are somewhat ill, with questionable moral standards... The only one who can single-handedly raise the average moral standard of everyone is perhaps the Desolate Heavenly Emperor!"

Hearing these words, Chu Feng's lips twitched uncontrollably.

Good guy!
Is this something he can listen to?
What if some kind of club, brick, or sack falls from the sky at any moment?
Chu Feng couldn't help but look up at the sky.

everything is fine.

"call!"

He let out a long breath and put away the deadly weapon hidden in his sleeve.

After all, that might not be of much use.

"Since it has nothing to do with the Desolate Heaven Emperor, then who is this expert?" Chu Feng calmed down, like a salted fish lying flat, not caring what anyone did.

"Actually, it can't be said that it has absolutely nothing to do with the Desolate Heavenly Emperor..."

Shi Fan spoke, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he had some unspeakable secret, but in the end he still said: "Strictly speaking, the relationship between that being and the Heavenly Emperor can be barely described as both enemy and teacher."

"The foundation that the Heavenly Emperor laid on his path of cultivation, to be precise, was forged from the legacy of that being."

"Given this cause and effect, even if he is not a direct disciple, he can't escape being a nominal disciple."

"But later, due to their opposing stances, they became enemies, even to the point of killing each other... In the end, in the final battle, the Heavenly Emperor slew that being, and both his body and soul were destroyed!"

Shi Fan's tone was calm, but Chu Feng's heart was far from at ease.

The teacher of an unparalleled Heavenly Emperor?

This is incredible!

"They've been completely destroyed, how can they come back to life?" Chu Feng took a deep breath.

"Yes, because that being was not truly evil after all. It should be said that he was not in control of his own destiny... He once had a heart full of light, fought in all directions, quelled the chaos, and protected all races. He can be called a Celestial Emperor."

"But later, he was betrayed and plotted against by an unparalleled powerhouse, who made him a pioneer on a special path... uh, a trailblazer, struggling between light and darkness, which led to his grave mistake."

"..." Chu Feng's expression was subtle.

—Pathfinders?
—I have a feeling you were originally going to talk about lab rats?!
"That is why, not long after the Desolate Emperor killed him, he pardoned him and gave him a chance to come back to life," Shi Fan said. "At that time, he was already an Immortal Emperor, and his achievements were considered to be extraordinary. As long as a being of this level leaves a thought in the world and someone remembers him, he can reappear in the river of time."

"Immortal Emperor..." Chu Feng's pupils shrank. "You mean 'back then'... Could it be that this extraordinary being has broken through and is no longer an Immortal Emperor, but a Dao Sacrifice?"

"Perhaps," Shi Fan said. "The realms above Immortal Emperor are viewed differently by different people."

"If you burn away all rules and order, sacrifice the supreme Dao, and thereby achieve ultimate sublimation, becoming invincible above all... the 'sacrifice to the Dao' achievement is only a certain level of mainstream understanding and cannot represent everyone."

"After all, the Immortal Emperor has already reached the 'end of the road.' Going forward depends entirely on one's own wisdom and ability; there is no standard answer."

"Some believe that 'sacrifice' is the only truth in the world, while others believe that 'transformation' is the irrefutable mystery..."

"You have to do one match before you can barely define whether you're at that level."

"If we judge by this standard, that being can be considered a practitioner of the sacrificial path, possessing strength that is unparalleled throughout history."

Shi Fan sighed, "And in the realm of sacrificial arts, he is not weak either... His special experience is both hardship and foundation. Once he breaks through, he will leap forward."

Upon hearing this, Chu Feng could hardly keep his composure.

Good heavens, are there still such formidable figures in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?

"Why would someone like that need to plot or resort to grand sacrifices?" Chu Feng said quietly.

“Normally, it’s unnecessary,” Jiang Feng said. “However, although this era is abstract and mad, it has also cultivated many quasi-Immortal Emperors…”

"A Quasi-Immortal Emperor is no ordinary being... Although people consider him to be a life form of the level of the myriad realms, compared to the myriad realms, a Quasi-Immortal Emperor possesses boundless dynamism and is the blossoming of the humanity of sentient beings."

"There were no Quasi-Immortal Emperors in this world, only Dao Ancestors... What are Dao Ancestors? They opened up paths of evolution, refining the false into the true, thus affecting the original rules and laws of the Great Heaven and Earth!"

"The Dao is the original face of Heaven and Earth, while the path is what living beings create after birth... But it is this acquired path that influences and even suppresses the innate Dao, to the point that it becomes indistinguishable from the Dao in the end." "The Dao is the inherent order of Heaven and Earth, vast and boundless, but what is it that allows the path to reach such heights?"

"It is precisely because of the spiritual will of sentient beings that, by substituting my heart for the heart of Heaven, I can substitut my way for the way of Heaven!"

"The Dao Ancestor demonstrated this perfectly, but the Quasi-Immortal Emperor is no less capable. As long as one overcomes the barrier of that realm, one will not be weak in terms of spiritual and mental achievements."

"Beyond the realm of quasi-immortal emperors, their personal Dao fruits influence and interfere with the rules of the heavens, allowing them to stand on equal footing with the heavens, thus granting them the ability to freely roam through time."

"Innerly, it is the start of a brand new journey. One must constantly transform one's own Dao fruit, constantly baptize oneself with one's own cultivation 'path,' refine and replace the traces of the Dao of the Great World, like a fetus being conceived in the womb, absorbing nutrients, and building one's own 'world,' until one day one can achieve perfection without seeking anything from outside, then one's path will be complete, and one can be called an Immortal Emperor."

Jiang Feng spoke eloquently, revealing his profound understanding of cultivation, which greatly moved Chu Feng.

However, these are not the main points. What is truly terrifying is the secret he is about to reveal.

“Quasi-Immortal Emperors are in a special state…” Jiang Feng said slowly, “They are like a seed that has fallen, about to sprout, and have a clear understanding of their own situation.”

"But they haven't completely broken free from the inherent order of the universe..."

“Seed… fetus… to finally dissecting the mother body of the Dao, becoming level with the Dao, reaching the peak of the path, thus becoming an independent adult.”

"Within their bodies, in that special state, the most unique celestial marks can be nurtured..."

"Such markings are the most spiritual and dynamic; they can be used to forge a bridge between heaven and earth..."

“These marks are connected to a mysterious creation. One or two may not mean much, but when the number increases, even the existence of the sacrificial path will find them useful.”

"After all, although the Dao of Sacrifice is transcendent and seems even more powerful and terrifying than the Immortal Emperor, it even sacrifices the Great Dao..."

"But to be precise, this is merely reaching the pinnacle in the realms of Nirvana, Nirvana, and life and death, dying in an instant and being born in a moment... If one can carefully comprehend the process of 'gestation,' coming from the Great Dao and returning to the Great Dao, it is also a rare kind of understanding."

Jiang Feng sighed.

As he listened, Chu Feng's expression became increasingly... strained.

What kind of talk is this from the Demonic Cultivation sect?!
Why do I feel that this is not only something that the great figure, who is both the teacher and the enemy of the Desolate Heaven Emperor, wants to do, but also something you want to do as well?
"...Indeed, this is not an easy thing. After all, even with the special environment of this era, it is not an easy thing for someone to cultivate to the level of a quasi-immortal emperor."

Jiang Feng smiled, "However, with the fall of the Emperor in front and the clash between the old and new among the main gods behind, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths have been pushed to the forefront of the storm..."

“Even if those quasi-immortal emperors don’t come in person… they can create special avatars using various means, possessing their realm and Dao fruit. If the original body were to come in person, they would still be useful.”

"In such a situation, some people will inevitably take advantage of the situation and prepare a big surprise."

"Especially that Heavenly Emperor, that Primordial Heavenly Emperor, the path he walks is very special and extraordinary, making it difficult to resist such temptation... That's why we remind Fellow Daoist Chu to be extremely careful and not to mistakenly enter the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!"

Jiang Feng seemed to be referring to something.

"Oh? What kind of path is so special that it requires the sacrifice of Quasi-Immortal Emperors from all ages?" Chu Feng took a deep breath and asked.

He felt that the true intentions had now been revealed!

“That is… the Way of Runes.”

Shi Fan continued, "Reaching the pinnacle, shaking the ages!"

"The ordinary path of runes is something that even a novice cultivator in the mortal world can dabble in; it's nothing special."

"But in the hands of this primordial Heavenly Emperor, it defied the heavens and transcended the world!"

"The runes that ordinary cultivators comprehend are only on one plane, which is extremely one-sided."

"But the runes that have entered the inner sanctum have been elevated on this basis. They are three-dimensional and all-encompassing. A single rune is like an independent little world, like the heavens and the Tao, capable of encompassing everything."

"With just a few simple runes, one can sketch out a battlefield, depict a great battle, and dissect all the essences, allowing one to look down from a high vantage point and have a sudden realization."

"But this is not the ultimate... That Primordial Heavenly Emperor further sublimated it, causing the runes to leap to an ultimate level. It was not just two-dimensional, not just three-dimensional, but he also added the passage of time, making it the key to a qualitative change!"

"At this point, for him, a single rune represents the entire life of a living being, or even a world. The cycle of formation, existence, decay, and emptiness are all encompassed within it. The rules of heaven and earth, the order of the universe, and the creation of living beings can all be interpreted within such runes, deconstructed and reconstructed using just a few runes!"

"He is trying to describe all the worlds of humanity with runes... not just matter and laws, but also the true spirits and selves of sentient beings, and so on!"

"If he really succeeds, then all the worlds in the human realm will live on forever in his heart, and will be subject to so-called 'symbol culture' and 'digitalization'... Under such circumstances, every living being can obtain the greatest satisfaction."

As Shi Fan spoke, he sighed, seemingly with mixed feelings. "After all, it's all about 'datafication,' so aren't all resources and materials just a simple copy and paste of a string of data?"

"Besides these creations of nothingness, creating people out of thin air is also effortless. With the power of 'datafication,' a creature with a long history and wisdom can be created in the blink of an eye, seamlessly integrated into the changes of time, and no one will find anything wrong with it..."

"The true spirit is weak, but data is immortal!"

"This is the slogan that the Primordial Heavenly Emperor once shouted!"

Shi Fan said.

Chu Feng was moved!

From Shi Fan's words and descriptions, Chu Feng actually felt like he had found a "soulmate"!
Although, that was the ultimate expression of the Way of Runes.

His field method is still in its early stages.

However, there seem to be many points of overlap!
"Unfortunately, this path is not easy... Transforming the great laws of heaven and earth into 'symbol culture' is not a difficult task for that Primordial Heavenly Emperor."

"But when it comes to the soul, self, and true spirit of living beings... it becomes very difficult."

"Although the vast majority of living beings in this world are very weak... even the weakest living beings have infinite potential and, in theory, all of them have the potential to transcend."

"This is difficult... but it's not impossible to find a way to achieve it," Jiang Feng murmured. "A Quasi-Immortal Emperor is an excellent remedy, situated at a crucial juncture where change is imminent. They are the perfect vessel for the integration of all living beings in the mortal realm with the rules of all worlds. They are neither merely drifting along like those below the Quasi-Immortal Emperor, nor do they possess the overly distinct personal characteristics of an Immortal Emperor..."

It sounds like a demon chanting a spell.

At that moment, Chu Feng understood... he was moved.