Begin immortality by slaying demons.

Chapter 829 A New Path to Transcendence
Sometimes, a single object can speak volumes.

The Celestial Mirror was a spiritual treasure of the Crimson Cloud Cave. It was taken away by Mao Feng and the others, and disappeared after their deaths.

Now, when they meet again, it's in Shen Yi's hands.

Chi Yunzi could, of course, continue to deceive himself, claiming that the mirror was confiscated from the monk by the other party, but such self-deception seemed pointless.

As a Golden Immortal, after witnessing so many things, it's impossible for him not to have any doubts... More likely, he simply didn't want to think about it that way.

His eyes twitched slightly as he vigorously rubbed the handle of the mirror, reflecting a lifeless face in the smooth surface.

Is this considered an insult?

Chi Yunzi gradually revealed a bitter smile. He had once said to many of his fellow disciples, "Do those who are straightforward deserve to be bullied?"

Back then, he felt that Shen Yi was the same kind of person as himself. He faced You Yao alone without backing down, dared to speak frankly to Ling Xuzi about the unavenged revenge for his former master, and even took the initiative to stand up for Chu Xi's disciple.

This led to the full support from Chiyun Cave later on.

Is the other party trying to show off that he's completely outmaneuvered him from beginning to end?

"You decide how you want to calculate it."

Shen Yi didn't argue. She simply threw down the blood-stained stone stick, casually sat down next to Chi Yunzi, lazily crossed her legs, propped her elbows on the ground, and gazed at the sky in a daze.

"What I think..."

Chi Yunzi stopped smiling and closed his eyes.

The most infuriating thing is that even now, he doesn't think Shen Yi is the kind of person he described.

The other person is still the same emotional person; it's just that their positions are different.

"But why?" He opened his eyes and turned his head to look, puzzled.

"Why what?" Shen Yi asked calmly.

“Positions aren’t something that can’t be changed. You could have gotten something better…” Chi Yunzi’s lips moved, but he didn’t say many things clearly. Everyone understood.

With Shen Yi's temperament and strength, he could have chosen a better path. Even if the two sects originally intended to choose a puppet Immortal Emperor, if that Immortal Emperor truly possessed the ability to make all the sect members submit, this matter could be changed.

How did things come to this point, where they are rejected by both religions and have to live a terrifying life constantly on guard against the leader of the Transcendental Sect coming to their door?

"Tsk."

Shen Yi sighed softly, glancing sideways at the old Golden Immortal: "Is it possible that what you consider precious, I genuinely find utterly boring?"

The Immortal Emperor is the ruler of heaven and earth, possessing immense power.

If others said they looked down on this thing, they would only be met with mocking glances, but at this point, the young man seemed to have no reason to lie.

"..."

Chi Yunzi stared blankly at that handsome face, but instead of getting an answer, he became even more confused.

If even the position of Immortal Emperor seems boring, then what is interesting?

"Look."

Shen Yi pointed to the blue sky: "If I kill this group of Golden Immortals today, the Jade Purity Sect Master will come forward to avenge them. If I kill the Joyful Buddha in the Imperial City, the Buddha of the Present World will not ignore it. Even those righteous gods, after being bullied by you, know to invite the Ancestral God."

The young man's fingertips slowly descended, pointing towards the human world.

"What about them? What will happen to them?"

The calm question left Chi Yunzi speechless. He followed the fingertip's gaze and thought, as a Golden Immortal with an infinite lifespan, who would care what a group of mayflies, who live only a day and die at night, thought?

This is not indifference or heartlessness, but rather the inevitable result of the passage of time.

When you first witness life and death, you will naturally be moved. But what if you have witnessed it countless times? Every time you wake up from seclusion, everything has changed, and people are no longer the same.

In this situation, only those beings with similar lifespans, who can at least accompany him for a period of time, can truly be held in his heart.

This is why neither religion is afraid of the Human Emperor's transcendence.

Once that step is taken, that ambitious man will always know who his true friends are for the rest of his life.

"What you're saying really doesn't sound like something a cultivator would say," Chi Yunzi said helplessly, lowering his eyes.

"I have only been practicing Taoism for a little over twenty years, so it's normal that I don't look like one."

Shen Yi's words caused the old Golden Immortal to look up in astonishment, his face filled with a horror many times greater than when he saw Shen Yi crush the immortals with a single palm strike.

He tried to swallow hard, but he couldn't suppress the fear and shock in his heart.

More than twenty years, which, before the great calamity, wouldn't even be enough for a single debate among immortals, has now given birth to a monstrous talent above the Six Emperors!

"So... you want to be someone who stands behind humanity, someone who can hold up the sky for all living beings?"

After much effort, Chi Yunzi tried to process the matter and interpret the young man's thoughts from a "human" perspective. Just when he thought he had finally figured out the reason, he looked up and met the young man's strange gaze.

"What do you take me for, a saint?"

Shen Yi rolled her eyes at the old Golden Immortal, lazily stretched her arms, and said casually, "It's tiring to hold up the sky for others. I just want to mingle among them, get married, have children, and then live a life of leisure and waiting to die."

"Of course, in order to avoid the city being inexplicably destroyed by demons while you're just waiting to die, or to avoid being caught in some terrible drought with the wailing and lamenting around you that annoys you."

"So I have to kick you all out first."

Shen Yi gently clenched her fist, her languidness gradually fading away, and her gaze turned seriously to Chi Yunzi: "Leave no one alive."

Listening to the young man's nonsense, Chi Yunzi's brain was already like mush, but he still vaguely understood what the other party meant.

"Leave human affairs to humankind itself..."

Chi Yunzi sighed deeply. Among so many people from both sects, not a single one had imagined that what Shen Yi sought would be something like this.

Now that his doubts have been resolved, he finally understands why the other party refused to discuss the matter with the immortals and Buddhas.

Where do you plan to send us?

"I haven't thought about it too clearly yet."

Shen Yi slowly stood up. The Human Emperor's idea was to use the imperial aura of the mortal realm, which represented turbidity, to obscure the Heavenly Dao. But now that imperial aura was gone, so they had to find another way.

Since the original Heavenly Way cannot be concealed, perhaps establishing a new "Heavenly Way" and bringing all these immortals and Buddhas under it is a feasible path.

Of course, before that, we still need to shake those two mountains that suppress heaven and earth.

Only by transcending these two religions can one truly challenge them.

"Go away, far away from the world, and never come back."

Shen Yi took a step forward. Chi Yunzi was probably the most human-like cultivator in the great sect. He was still affected by the seven emotions and six desires, rather than being blinded by profit. Since he was furious about his disciple's death, he could understand the joys and sorrows of the common people.

"I'd like to trouble you with one last thing."

Chi Yunzi gently raised his arm, blocking Shen Yi's path. He pondered for a long time before forcing a smile: "Why don't you send me to see them? Just as you said, I am out of place in the human world. After a while, I will feel a little lonely."

Although it also implies a fear of loneliness.

But just as the Human Emperor feared transcendence, Chi Yunzi also worried that if one day he faced an empty mortal world devoid of immortals and Buddhas, would he be able to suppress his greed for enjoying the mortal world alone?

“Since everything is fake, our friendship is also fake. There’s no need to hold back. You’ve already gone this far for this matter, so you should do it cleanly.” Fearing that the young man would feel guilty, Chi Yunzi even smiled and offered a word of advice.

"..."

Shen Yi pursed her lips, reached out and stroked the old Golden Immortal's face, and said calmly, "Everything else is fake, but our friendship is real."

As the fingertips fell, the life force in Chi Yunzi's body also dissipated.

At this point, apart from those who slumbered in the Heavenly Dao and the likes of sect leaders and emperors, all the immortals of the world entered the hall.

"call."

In the distant sky, Houtu Niangniang overheard the entire conversation, and only when Chiyunzi's body floated to the ground did she slightly clench her five fingers.

Just after she broke through the bell with all her might, she was anxious to help Shen Yi, but when she turned around, what came into view was the pitch-black giant hand that leveled everything.

It turns out that even the difference between those of the highest rank can be terrifying when one transcends all limitations.

What's even more alarming is that when they last met, the other party was just a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal, who had to evade the pursuit of the Joyful True Buddha.

But none of this is as shocking as those words just spoken.

"..."

After a long silence, Houtu Niangniang skipped the words of gratitude and landed directly behind Shen Yi, gently following him.

Even if the other party just said "not a single one will be left," that included himself.

But that really is a very good path.

The mortal world is not necessarily peaceful. As time goes by, wars and killings will still break out. But human affairs are governed by human beings themselves, and there is no need for immortals or Buddhas to interfere.

If it's for this outcome, she's still willing to follow even if the future is uncertain.

"What should we do next?" Despite being an emperor, this emperor adopted an attitude of being at everyone's beck and call.

"Is he here?"

Shen Yi did not rush to respond, but instead looked at Master Zhikong, who was waiting quietly in the distance.

He did need a casual chat to ease his anxiety, but at the same time, he was also waiting for someone.

Aside from taking the opportunity to test the other party's attitude, with the help of Houtu Huangdizhi, the probability of killing a sect leader would be much greater. Even if he was no match for him, he could easily extricate himself. This was an excellent opportunity.

"They probably won't be coming."

The monk Zhikong scratched his head. The only response he received after releasing the golden cicada was a loud snoring sound.

He wasn't sure whether Buddha needed to sleep, but this whole thing seemed a bit contrived.

"He actually trusts you so much."

Houtu Niangniang sighed softly. In the past, when the Future Buddha made some small moves, the other sect leaders were too lazy to pay attention to him. But now that Shen Yi had annihilated the immortals and killed three first-rank cultivators in succession, the situation was very different from before.

In this situation, the future Buddha still dared to harbor selfish motives. If the matter were exposed, his best outcome would be the same as his own, being suppressed in the desolate land by the leaders.

Greed and detachment are one thing, but the fact that Shen Yi has gained the trust of this future Buddha is enough to demonstrate his extraordinary nature.

"I see."

Shen Yi nodded slightly. In truth, he wasn't very confident about whether he could bring the Future Buddha into the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons; he could only give it a try.

After all, unlike other cultivators, the Three Pure Ones and the three Buddhas of the past, present and future all seem to have achieved transcendence through the method of having three bodies.

The Trinity may also have entanglements between life and death.

Although the future Buddha has not yet appeared, he has made his stance clear. At least this Buddha is potentially to be won over, which is a good thing.

"Your Majesty, is there a way to transcend this?"

Shen Yi composed himself and bowed to the woman.

These emperors have been immersed in the highest ranks for many years. What the Eastern Emperor is unaware of, another emperor may have some thoughts about.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Houtu Niangniang pursed her red lips. Of course, she knew that this child now only had one path left to take.

However, the three universally acknowledged methods of transcendence have indeed been exhausted.

But she was unwilling to shatter the other party's hopes. After closing her eyes and pondering for a long time, she said uncertainly, "I have observed that the leaders of the sects all achieved transcendence by combining the power of three people. Buddha controls the river of time, and the sect leaders have taken away the purity of the world. Apart from these... I saw that you just used the supreme treasures of both the immortals and the Buddhas at the same time?"

"Shen Yi cultivates both Dao Fruit and Fruit Rank, achieving the first rank." Now, Shen Yi no longer intends to hide it.

"Immortals and Buddhas are one..." Houtu Niangniang confirmed her guess and slightly raised her eyes: "Otherwise, let's go and seek out the true gods to see if we can find a new path to transcendence?"

"..."

Shen Yi was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what the other party meant.

The past, present, and future together constitute the river of time, which is the path of transcendence in the Bodhi School.

One's own body of immortals and Buddhas, if combined with righteous gods, can also form a single entity.

The Great Way is forty-nine, but one of them is hidden away.

From the birth of all things, all laws of the world are derived, including the path of immortals and practitioners, as well as the countless righteous gods.

If one can cultivate the three paths simultaneously, then one will complete the "one".

"Of course, I'm just guessing."

Houtu Niangniang wanted to give the child hope, but she was also unwilling to let the child go astray. She smiled helplessly and said, "We cultivators are just imitating the true gods. At most, we can only go this far. To cultivate in multiple ways is not an easy thing."

"..."

Shen Yi looked up into the distance, lost in thought.

Do you also practice Shintoism?
It feels like I embarked on that path a long time ago.

……

at the same time.

Nanzhou, in Mount Xumi.

A hundred Buddhist cliffs stand together, their wooden fish drums creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

But the monks striking the wooden fish, though their expressions were calm and devout, had a cold glint in their eyes.

Sweat rolled down their foreheads, and their monks' robes were already soaked.

On the highest cliff, an enormous figure sat cross-legged proudly, radiating a scorching aura that turned the entire Southern Sumeru into a sweltering inferno.

One by one, the gods stood around this majestic figure.

The increasingly scorching temperature revealed that the future Buddha's avoidance had pushed the ancestral god's anger to its peak.

(End of this chapter)