A journey of survival starting from Zhetian

Chapter 720 "Shortcut"

As time goes by, the future becomes clearer.

When a certain future possibility occupies most of the evolution of time and destiny, all the great supernatural beings at the level of perfect creation, as well as some of the great supernatural beings with a deep understanding of "peeking into the future," have deduced and integrated a heavenly secret.

[Future opportunities will arise in the Six Desire Realms, related to the six desires symbolized by the Kitchen God, and also related to one's own spiritual cultivation.]
[The Real World], the palace where the Fire Emperor resides.

A human being with naturally dark skin, a great supernatural being, entered this orderly, magnificent, and spacious hall filled with flames and the essence of the sun, and looked at the figure meditating with eyes closed on the throne, as well as the projection that served as some kind of special anchor point.

The human race's great supernatural being, in this other self, bowed respectfully to the Fire Emperor's other self in front of him and said, "Your Majesty, I wish to compete for that future opportunity."

The Fire Emperor opened his eyes, projecting wisps of firelight imbued with the true meaning of time.

After a few moments of silence, He asked softly, "Are you really sure?"

The great human being, He Wo, bowed forward, displaying his resolute intent.

The Fire Emperor rose to his feet, gazing into the distance towards Crimson Flame City. "Now that you've set aside the human race, are you intending to entrust them to the Kitchen God?"

“This fellow Daoist has quite a few problems. It’s not only related to the Xuanhuang Heavenly Venerable of Nanshan, but also has an unclear connection with the vanished Moral Heavenly Venerable.”

A celestial being who has reached the pinnacle of enlightenment can ascend to the level of perfect creation in less than a year, with the potential to cross the sea of ​​suffering and reach the other shore. Only a true being on the other shore can intervene in this process.

This also means that there exists a profound scheme that even a perfect being with pseudo-otherworldly power, aided by external forces, cannot fathom.

"The future is inherently illusory and ethereal. Although some aspects may have been anchored by the Celestial Venerable who emerged from [Nanshan] and thus possessed a real aspect, this Weak Other Shore simultaneously concealed most of the details, making it hazy and confusing between truth and falsehood."

"If it weren't for the calculations that vaguely pointed to the various shortcuts, allowing us to possess the perfect creation of pseudo-otherworld power through these special places, we would only realize the problem once this future truly arrives, and then be swept away by the overwhelming force, unable to control our own destiny."

"Perhaps, this Kitchen God, who is now 'born with perfect fortune,' is once again a pawn destined to be sacrificed."

Hearing the Fire Emperor's words, which carried a hint of persuasion, the great human being sighed softly.

He cupped his hands again, "Your Majesty, at the end of the previous era, I became a being of great destiny, taking over the responsibility of humanity from my dying ancestors, leading humanity to completely submit to your command and accept your protection."

"Currently, the human race has dozens of legendary powerful beings, three of whom have reached the pinnacle of their legendary status and are expected to achieve greatness in this era. Then, unexpectedly, a new one appeared who was not part of the plan. He has now achieved greatness and is expected to cross the sea of ​​suffering and reach the other shore: the Kitchen God."

“An entire era has passed, and apart from having a few more divine weapons of creation with me, I have long since stagnated on the illusory path.”

He knew he was selfish, extremely selfish, wanting to abandon the heavy burden his ancestors had placed in him.

However, the illusory path of cultivation, which he focused on, could not be advanced, and he was burdened by various responsibilities that he could not extricate himself from. Even opening up a path of acquired knowledge was extremely difficult.

Those like the Great Shaman of Fire and the Great Sage of Winged Fire, who sought to comprehend other great paths through roundabout means, accumulating foundations for a breakthrough, also faced immense difficulties.
It's so depressing, so agonizing; I'm not in control of my own body, and my mind is even less in control of my own mind.

Now, a Kitchen God who is "born with perfect destiny" has appeared. He is of human origin and still identifies as human, retaining an exceptionally strong sense of "humanity".
Furthermore, almost all those with great supernatural powers now know that the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable who emerged from Nanshan possesses a relatively greater degree of "humanity" compared to the three Celestial Venerables of the past.

The Kitchen God may be destined to sacrifice himself, but with the support of this weak other shore, he should not perish completely. At least he will not die completely before the end of this era and before attaining the other shore.

This is an excuse for him to abandon his responsibilities as a great creator of humankind and pursue his own path.

"In the existing records of human history, before my birth, there were only four great supernatural beings at the Creation Realm. None of them, including myself, were at the Perfect Creation Realm. Now, the history of human history records six great supernatural beings of our own race at the Creation Realm. Among them, the Kitchen God is a great supernatural being at the Perfect Creation Realm."

"In this way, even if I perish on my path to enlightenment, humanity will still have one last surviving master of great creation to rely on. If the Kitchen God were to meet with an accident, Your Majesty, as a master of great creation with perfected abilities, would surely step forward to provide a final safety net for humanity and thus settle some karmic debts."

"As long as humanity has a great supernatural being to rely on, even if it cannot become powerful, it will never completely decline and become extinct before the end of this era."

This powerful human cultivator explained his thoughts in detail to the elder in front of him who had practically watched him grow up.

A slight emotional fluctuation flashed across the Fire Emperor's eyes. He said softly, "In essence, I am merely a being who has reached the pinnacle of creation. Although I am in this place near the Dao and possess pseudo-otherworldly power, it is ultimately 'pseudo'. When a true otherworldly being makes a move, I cannot stop or defend against it. I am left with only the power to protect myself."

A smile appeared on the face of the human race's great supernatural being. "Your Majesty, that's enough!"

"The three Celestial Venerables who were born on the other shore have disappeared from the world. The only one in the world who is recognized by the ancient creation and can be called the Celestial Venerable of the other shore is the one who came from [Nanshan]!"

"Although He is a born legend who was perfect from birth, and is considered a divine being along with His Majesty and many others, judging from His actions as a projection of Hisself in all the heavens and myriad worlds, His attitude towards humanity is relatively mild. It is highly unlikely that He would commit such an act of extermination, and that is enough!"

I sighed softly, closed my eyes, sat upright on the throne, and said nothing more.

The projection of the human race's great creator, who was present here, vanished like a dream, and the magnificent hall, filled with a certain order and imbued with the Dao essence of flames and the sun, returned to its desolate state.
-
Ten thousand years have passed once again, tracing the pupils of many beings with extraordinary abilities, whose innate talents are filled with indifference and "divinity."

Suddenly, the projection of another self remained in the Sea of ​​Bitterness, using the power of the Sea of ​​Bitterness to focus on the Six Desires Heaven Realm, watching the Golden Emperor who had entered a certain "constant" state at an infinite height. With a slight change of expression, the projection of another self silently transformed into the true self.

Not only the Golden Emperor, but other ancient beings who had reached the pinnacle of creation also mobilized their own power, gazing at the infinite heights, watching as the myriad paths of heaven and earth, the laws of all realms, and the rules of the great universe trembled silently. "The time has come."

As the words of an ancient being fell, an abstract figure of a Taoist began to materialize out of thin air outside the Six Desires Heaven, which was in a special state.

The heavy, dark yellow is His base color, the golden merit is the pattern on the edge of His Taoist robe, the chaos full of disorder and error is the crown that binds His hair, time and fate have formed a circle around Him, quietly floating around His body, and countless illusory Great Daos converge to form a clear halo behind this sacred head.

Anyone who has witnessed the ancient creations of the three beings who have been born on the other side of the world, upon seeing this figure, will instantly recall that kind of fear that makes all things in the world feel utterly powerless, even if they try their best.

The Taoist's silhouette was like a mirror, allowing all those with great supernatural powers to see "themselves" within it, witness the hazy illusion, glimpse the empty void, and perceive the non-existent essence!
"This is... the Celestial Venerable of the Other Shore!?"

A newly ascended master of creation in this era, watching the Taoist's retreating figure, felt a strong sense of dreamlike illusion resonate deep within his soul.

He knew that the Realm of Creation was also known as the "Realm of Bitter Sea," and he also learned about the past of the three Celestial Venerables from the mouths of other seniors of the same realm. But that was all in the past, and the traces of the three Celestial Venerables in the world had almost disappeared.

However, after seeing the back of this Celestial Venerable, I truly realized how painful it was to be a mere dream, an illusion. That emptiness was like an abstract, twisted, foolish, and indescribable creature frantically gnawing at my own Dao heart.

This newly ascended master of creation and great supernatural powers in this era closed his eyes. He dared not look any longer. If he continued to look, his own Dao heart would collapse, and transformation into the Dao would become inevitable.

"The Path of Dreams... So this is the foundation of cultivation for the Celestial Venerable Xuanhuang." A person who had achieved perfect creation and occupied a place close to the Dao that suited him gazed at the Daoist's back and murmured to himself.

"This is unexpected. I thought His fundamental path was the Xuanhuang Path, the End Path, the Cause and Effect Path, etc., which were similar to, or even the same as, the paths cultivated by the three Heavenly Venerables of the Other Shore."

Back then, this Celestial Venerable projected countless illusory Great Daos on the [South Mountain], forming a "half-piece foundation for existence" to suppress the [Real World], and once used the Dream Dao.

However, no one with great supernatural powers believed that this was the foundation of the Celestial Venerable's cultivation.

In the past, three Celestial Venerables suppressed all the heavens and myriad realms, focusing their cultivation on the illusory Dao and taking it as the foundation for their own enlightenment. There was not much of a problem with this, and many legends even made the same choice when they achieved perfect enlightenment and advanced to the Creation Realm.

However, for those with extraordinary abilities who possessed such power, which were already like a dream or a bubble, the reality had become somewhat unstable after the disappearance of the three Celestial Venerables. Furthermore, in the myriad worlds without a next era, it was impossible to focus on cultivating an extremely illusory Great Dao and take it as the foundation of one's cultivation.
The vast majority of those who had achieved perfect fortune immediately frowned, feeling a sense of disbelief.

Compared to those on the other shore, they themselves are illusory, and even more so when the era is unstable. To take an illusory path as the foundation of cultivation is to cultivate falsehood within falsehood, illusion within illusion, and dream within dream, bringing their own existence close to absolute "nothingness".

This is practically suicide!

“This is indeed a ‘shortcut,’ a ‘real shortcut’ for cultivation in this era.” The Golden Emperor’s eyes held a thoughtful glint.

Not only Him, but the other eleven great supernatural beings who had seen this Celestial Venerable at the level of perfect creation before [Nanshan] also vaguely understood everything.

With his hands behind his back, the Fire Emperor thought to himself, "If there truly is a Great Dao that perfectly matches the environment of an era, the Path of Dreams must be one of them."

"I've also figured out why this Celestial Venerable was able to possess all the basic characteristics of the Other Shore, becoming a weaker Other Shore that is even slightly superior to the pseudo-Other Shore in terms of freedom, power, and essence."

A highly skilled practitioner who focuses on the path of life and death and regards it as the foundation of their cultivation, if they enter the "Origin of Life and Death," a place that is perfectly suited to their own path, will receive the blessing of the place when they occupy, refine, and reside within it, thus elevating their power to a higher level.

Therefore, a person with great supernatural powers who is close to the perfection of creation can become a true person of perfect creation after receiving the blessing of the place of near-perfection, while a person with great supernatural powers who has already achieved perfection becomes a pseudo-other shore.

At this moment, the being who is essentially a great being of perfect creation can also play a role in consolidating the time within the place of near the Dao, connecting all the past "selves" within the place of near the Dao into a line within the long river of time.

By doing so, the pseudo-other side can rewind to the past within the near path and thus possess a portion of the future within that near path.

The pseudo-other shore, in terms of power, is also the other shore.

However, "everything" is confined to the place of near-path, while the self that exists outside of the place of near-path, belonging to the "past," has no power to resist the true other shore.

So, what if there existed a "near-the-path place" that was so vast that it could cover all the heavens and myriad worlds, encompass all the lands that were not near-the-path places, and even include all the near-the-path places?
The Fire Emperor was unsure whether the Primordial Celestial Venerable had created such an extremely special place of access to the Dao when the world was created.

However, in this era, where the three beings who were born on the other side have disappeared and whose true nature is unstable, such a "place" has actually appeared, a "spot of near-the-path" that even great supernatural beings of the normal level of perfect creation are blinded by a single leaf.

"Without the three Celestial Venerables, the myriad realms whose authenticity has been affected are, in a broad sense, 'a place' filled with all sorts of illusory side paths to the Great Dao."

"A Xuanjun who takes the Path of Dreams as the foundation of cultivation and cultivates his realm to the perfection of creation only needs to refine [Nanshan]. The blessing of the 'Place Near the Dao' will naturally fall upon him, connecting all the 'selves' that existed in the past into a line within the true river of time, thus creating a pseudo-other shore."

"No, with the blessing of such a vast and boundless 'nearby,' He has connected all 'selves' within the river of time into a line. In this respect, He may no longer be any different from the normal Other Shore."

"It was only natural that this Xuanhuang Heavenly Venerable, having reached the Perfect Creation Realm, possessed all the characteristics of the Other Shore Heavenly Venerable and became a Weak Other Shore in one step."

"Some of our past assumptions may have been wrong."

Not only the Fire Emperor, but also a small number of powerful beings at the Perfect Creation level gradually figured out the "key" to it.

(End of this chapter)