A journey of survival starting from Zhetian

Chapter 717 One look and it's about to explode

Jian Keng surveyed the empty summit of the sacred mountain, listening to the serene and profound Daoist sounds, and using his own cultivation and knowledge to perceive everything around him.

Then, with a hint of regret, he said, "I thought there would be some special treasures in the Six Desires Heaven that suited me, but when I climbed to the top of the Holy Mountain, all I found was the purest Six Desires Daoist essence."

"In the novels, these sacred mountains, divine mountains, and heavenly mountains are said to have 'secret realms' where powerful beings leave behind divine weapons or techniques of great supernatural powers."

"It seems I was being a bit delusional."

With a sigh, Jian Keng would sit down at Baiwei Restaurant when it wasn't too busy, brew a pot of fragrant tea, grab a plate of pastries, and start reading novels or listening to the storyteller from the restaurant tell a fascinating story from the past.

The protagonist is very familiar with the various opportunities he encounters, such as the old man passing on his skills, surviving a fall from a cliff and gaining good fortune, and venturing into secret realms to obtain divine weapons. He is just waiting to prove himself as a legend and embark on a protagonist-style adventure.

After truly proving his legend, his first "adventure" was quite thrilling. He directly encountered the Celestial Venerable and entered the place of near-perfect enlightenment. So far, his gains have been extraordinary. His own legend has been perfected. He only needs to enrich his own foundation and thoroughly refine the Way of the Cooking Stove before he can sail across the sea of ​​suffering.

However, this result clearly did not meet his expectations for "adventure".

Xiong Mo glanced back at the steps he had climbed and the blooming golden lotuses, his expression slightly subtle. "Actually, the Kitchen God wasn't just being delusional. The Six Desires Heaven Realm does indeed contain many rare opportunities, including not only divine weapons left behind by powerful beings, but also supernatural powers and techniques left behind by them."

Jian Keng was taken aback for a moment, then followed the Taoist's gaze and shifted his own eyes to the golden lotuses that had been accompanying him.

"Are they treasures?"

"Aren't these golden lotuses and pure qi illusions formed from the laws of the Six Desire Realms?"

Xiong Mo nodded, then shook his head.

"It depends on the perspective from which the Kitchen God thinks and what level of viewpoint he uses to examine things."

"In my view, the substantial is part of the 'Tao,' and the illusory is also part of the 'Tao.'"

Xiong Mo's divine consciousness, high above the heavens, once again broke free from the river of time and destiny, elevating his "existence" to the highest and deepest point of the structure of all the heavens and myriad worlds.

In an instant, within his vision, the golden lotuses blooming in the Six Desires Heaven and the boundless pure Qi flowing within began to shrink, transforming into a bright yellow flag that was both infinitely large and infinitely small, standing quietly in every inch of void and every moment of time in this place close to the Dao.

When this wisp of divine thought, which had broken free from the long river of time and fate, vanished, a look of understanding appeared in Xiong Mo's eyes.

Turning around and waving his sleeve, golden lotuses and the clear Qi filling the sky were all stirred up. He unleashed the "Earth Seal," sending out strands of central earth element divine intent that enveloped the entire nearby place.

A Tai Chi Bagua formation quietly rose, with eight kinds of innate runes arranged in the void, vibrating invisibly, gathering countless golden lotuses and pure Qi that had drifted on the long river of time and destiny, and condensing into a banner that was neither silk nor cloth.

With a gentle wave of his hand, Xiong Mo revealed the full form of a noble bright yellow flag, exuding a sense of flawlessness and splendor. As it moved in the wind, the principles of the Earth element danced within it, forming a sublime mark.

Jian Keng stared in disbelief, his tone tinged with hesitation, "This is the Yuanshi Tianzun's Other Shore Divine Weapon, the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner?"

Xiong Mo nodded, slightly shaking the flag and scattering a golden lotus entirely composed of the Qi of Earth. "Indeed, this is the Divine Weapon of the Other Shore of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag."

Xiong Mo gently tossed the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag in his hand, sending this divine weapon from the other shore into Jian Keng's hands. He then manipulated the golden lotuses to evolve into a grand array of the other shore, covering the figure of the Kitchen God.

This action directly shocked Jian Keng.

Jian Keng kept stroking the Wuji apricot-yellow flag in his palm, his eyes gleaming.

"Hehe, this power is truly unfathomable. No wonder it has become a topic of conversation for many legendary figures to gain the recognition of a projection of another self from a supreme treasure of the other shore."

"Heavenly Venerable, have you bestowed this divine weapon from the other shore upon me?"

Before Xiong Mo could respond, the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag began to tremble, almost breaking free from the Kitchen God's grasp and plunging into the river of time and destiny.

Clearly, Jian Keng was abandoned by the Wu Ji Xing Huang Banner. If we add one more thing, perhaps this divine weapon from the other shore will turn into a dream and vanish on the spot.

"How could you possibly have such a beautiful idea?"

“Divine weapons from the other shore are extremely important to ordinary people who have reached the other shore. How could I possibly give this divine weapon to you?”

"This is to lend you protection for a period of time, so that you can safely weather the upcoming turmoil."

Xiong Mo's lips twitched slightly. He had only known him for less than half a day, but it seemed that this Kitchen God had already started to let himself go.

Isn't this lying down a bit too fast?

Jian Keng's eyes widened slightly. "Unrest?"

What other turmoil might occur next? What other turmoil could arise?

"You, Celestial Venerable, have already graced this place of near-path with your presence. Is there any other being with such great supernatural powers who would be so stubborn as to deliver this to us?"

It is truly incredible that this Celestial Venerable, having emerged from the Southern Mountain, could still maintain such terrifying power, almost reaching the other shore.

Other powerful beings emerge from their respective shortcuts, and without the blessing of those shortcuts, the color of time will definitely fade from their bodies, and they will no longer possess the power of the pseudo-other shore.

To think that one, with only perfect creation, can contend with the power of the other shore level is like an egg hitting a rock—it's suicidal.

"Could it be that the Celestial Venerable is preparing to refine the Six Desires Heaven?"

"This will indeed cause a shock to the corresponding laws, but all I need to do is leave the Six Desires Realm, and there's no need for the protection of the divine weapons of the other shore."

Jian Keng didn't believe that this Celestial Venerable, who possessed the basic characteristics of the other shore, would do anything superfluous; there must be a deeper reason behind it.

Xiong Mo stretched out his hands and intercepted a wisp of the Kitchen God's smoke from Jian Keng, using it to begin controlling the entire Six Desires Heaven. He explained calmly, "I need to comprehend the place close to the Dao, so you must protect yourself. If you perish before I finish comprehending it, and I retrieve you from the river of time and fate, you, the Kitchen God, will also suffer a not-so-small punishment."

"The authority over the Way of the Kitchen has spread throughout the myriad realms. If you wish to cultivate the Great Way of the Kitchen to the point of perfect creation in the future, it will be a long and uncertain time."

Jian Keng looked confused, but subconsciously felt a strange panic and gripped the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag tightly in his hand.

A few breaths later, the Kitchen God, whose legend had just come to fruition, began to clearly sense that something was wrong. The entire shortcut seemed to be being lifted up!

At the same time, Jian Keng witnessed the figure of this Celestial Venerable gradually becoming blurred, as if it had turned into wisps of abstract concepts, indescribable logic, and no substantial essence!
A bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. "Heavenly Venerable, what are you trying to do?"

"Is this a place to comprehend the Dao? It doesn't seem like it at all!"

The Taoist priest had vanished without a trace, but the Kitchen God could clearly sense the omnipresent presence of this Heavenly Venerable.

Every strand of hair that is blown by the wind carries the six desires of the divine, that is him; every golden lotus that blooms all around him, that is him; every inch of the void of heaven and earth, that is him; every passing moment, that is also him.

Suddenly, Jian Keng felt a chill run down his spine. He swallowed hard, and following the connection between the Six Desires Heaven and himself, he slowly raised his head and looked towards the infinite heights where his true nature resided.

The layers of haze gradually dissipated, revealing a pair of eyes that seemed to be composed of countless vast universes, silently overlooking everything.

Jian Keng was stunned. Those eyes, which had seen through him, were filled with indifference and vastness, devoid of any emotion or "humanity." Even this Kitchen God, who had only recently achieved a perfect life, couldn't help but tremble, and his thinking almost came to a standstill.

At the same time, Jian Keng's otherworldly characteristics were touched, and he felt that he was "seeing the Tao".

He could see in those eyes all the principles of the world that he could find, and he could also truly perceive one "Kitchen God" after another who was in the "future" time, as if they were his different possibilities in the long river of time and destiny.

Some "Kitchen Gods" perished in various accidents, and were retrieved from the long river of time and fate by a giant hand, and thrown into the beginning of the creation of the world. They occupied one of the five elements of heaven and earth, called themselves "Black Emperor", completely abandoned the way of the kitchen stove, and cultivated the true meaning of Xuanwu. In the birth and death of the Tao, they evolved the two polarities of Yin and Yang.

Some "Kitchen Gods" were adept at navigating social situations. After achieving enlightenment, they maintained relative independence and, in the later stages of this era, occupied and refined a place called the "Origin of Life and Death," a place of near-path attainment. They sublimated their own Great Dao, evolved the Tai Chi of Life and Death, perfected their creation, and became one of the top factions under the other shore.

Some "Kitchen Gods" persevered through various calamities, struggling to survive amidst terrifying struggles. With auspicious clouds of creation above their heads, filled with the spirit of humanity, and holding the apricot-yellow flag of Wuji, they made a final leap before the end of this era, attempting to cross the sea of ​​suffering and reach the other shore.

Countless futures converge into threads, and countless "Kitchen Gods" are born and die on these threads. The endless laws and principles gradually merge and converge to form a vast universe.

And this is just the smallest corner of those eyes.

Even more immense and terrifying were the figures that traversed endless chaos, shattered countless realms, and destroyed all the laws and principles of the Great Dao.

Time is turned upside down in their hands, and fate is nothing more than a product of their mutual compromise. All things in the world are nothing more than a dream to them, like a flower that is constantly reincarnated, withering and blooming, flourishing and then dying.

These existences themselves are aspects of the "Tao," one of the most fundamental rules and logics of all the heavens and myriad realms. All things in the world revolve around them. The only thing stronger and higher than them is the "Tao," which can only be named.

Jian Keng's lips trembled, as if his innate nature was being forcibly filled with one indescribable thing after another. A tearing pain erupted within his true spirit, and countless projections of himself and others in the fragments of cosmic light exploded one after another, turning into a series of dreamlike bubbles.

He wanted to open his mouth and howl in pain, to struggle and survive as much as possible, but he could no longer even operate the most basic magic.

"crash"

The power of the Other Shore Grand Array was fully unleashed under the power of the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner. Golden lotuses surged forth at this moment, their leaves and petals blooming to their fullest extent, layer upon layer, covering the sky and the sun, obscuring the shaking laws, and severing the time and destiny of this world.

A phantom of countless worlds, almost entirely separate from the present world, looms in the sky. Illusory time and the long river of fate overlap, forming a loop and becoming a self-contained whole.

Under the tightest blockade of the Wuji Xinghuang Banner, Jian Keng gasped for breath, his pupils almost empty, only the phantom images of golden lotus flowers remained, the blockade partially obscuring his memories and perceptions, and blurring certain terrifying figures.

In the blink of an eye, he had never felt that being unable to perceive the laws of the outside world was such a blissful thing.

"No wonder. The Celestial Venerable lent me the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag and told me to protect myself."

"Gone. The projection of his own inner power, which remained amidst countless fragments of cosmic light, along with the vast majority of mortal projections, were all burst apart."

Jian Keng mumbled intermittently, his life force dropping to a freezing point.

If he had not already completed the legend, the legend of the "Kitchen God" would spontaneously generate in various fragments of cosmic light. He is immortal and his own existence is indestructible. Only then could the cenotaph erected by his own projection in a certain fragment of cosmic light be officially used.

Is this the other shore?
Jian Keng understood.

This terrifying being, whose mere glance could cause my projections to explode, must be avoided as much as possible before one has achieved perfect enlightenment.

Stay as far away as you can.

However, aside from almost losing everything, the gains from this glance were quite substantial.

Legend has it that the three conditions for ascending to the Creation Realm are, firstly, the genuine perception of the erosion of the river of time. Jian Keng, who possesses the ability to project the consciousness of the "present" to the other side of the "past," has already fulfilled this condition after proving the legend himself. Being able to travel through time to "return" to the past, to alter past history to a limited extent, and to experience the erosion of the river of time are the most basic requirements.

Secondly, it is about truly experiencing the existence of the Sea of ​​Bitterness. Jian Keng, who possesses most of the characteristics of creation, already met the conditions when he proved the legend. Being able to mobilize the weak power of the Sea of ​​Bitterness and thus create things from the void to a limited extent means that he can perceive the existence of the Sea of ​​Bitterness at all times.

Thirdly, it is to refine and elevate one's own cultivation and learning, and develop in the direction of "Tao".

Having witnessed countless future "Kitchen Gods," he has gained a profound understanding of both the "kitchen stove" he already possesses and the principles of "water," "life and death," "yin and yang," and "Tai Chi" that he gradually came to control in a certain "future."

These profound insights were all innate, infused into the true self by the "Kitchen God," who, having already attained perfect enlightenment and whose "future" might exist, was forcibly inserted into the present moment.

If given just a little time, Jian Keng can integrate and thoroughly digest the various insights that the "future Kitchen Gods" have about the "Tao".

He was 98% certain that he could master several illusory paths, sail the sea of ​​suffering, and achieve great things.

(End of this chapter)