The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 369 The Shattering of Guangcheng, and the Reflections of the Crowd
"Is there anyone here?"

Suddenly, Wanwan stared intently at the stone wall inscribed with "Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs," and said in surprise.

There were only so many people who entered the Temple of War, but there was an extra figure there.

Su Ming and the others looked around and saw a person sitting cross-legged facing the wall behind the stone wall. He had a solemn face, a tall and imposing figure, and ancient clothes. There was still a peaceful smile on his lips, as if he had just fallen asleep and was no different from a living person.

Upon seeing that person, a slight change appeared in his eyes. The person appeared to be sitting calmly, but in reality, he was completely lifeless and beyond dead. If he wasn't mistaken, he should be the legendary Guang Chengzi.

Seeing that the man made no move, Kou Zhong boldly stepped forward. The moment his fingers touched the man's body, his clothes immediately turned to ashes and fell to the ground.

"this?"

Kou Zhong was shocked. He had only encountered ancient books that were very old before, but this person's clothes were so fragile? When his fingers touched the person's body, he felt that the touch was stiff and cold. He pressed hard and found that the body was very hard, as if it were not made of flesh and blood.

He looked the man up and down, and then made a new discovery: the man's left hand was hanging down, and where his fingertips touched, there was a sentence clearly left on the ground:

"Guang Chengzi testifies to the Broken Vajra here!"

The characters were written in seal script. If Xu Ziling had not changed so much, he would not have been able to recognize them at all. The characters were written with vigorous strokes, and when combined with the vast energy on his body, they were strange and unrestrained, flowing and swirling, with a dynamic and unrestrained posture.

"Is he Guang Chengzi?"

Xu Ziling stared at the writing on the ground, speechless with surprise. He had seen this name many times in books, but he never expected to see it in the Temple of the God of War.

Su Ming walked closer and looked at the large characters on the stone wall, feeling a sense of vastness and grandeur.

"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs!!"

The cross, spanning from beginning to end, is about ten feet square, covered in dust and gray. It is just an ordinary character, yet it exudes a mysterious charm that cannot be clearly explained in words. It cannot be seen with the eyes, but can only be felt with the heart.

He "saw" a kind of Tao in this handwriting.

Seeing Su Ming stop and look at the words, the others also came over to look at the words. They had all seen them when they first entered, but no one paid any attention to them, only thinking that the words were a bit special.

But who is Daoist Yu? The things he cares about must be extraordinary. When they finally managed to grasp the meaning of the words on them, they were instantly overwhelmed by the vast and profound Daoist aura emanating from them.

"Pfft!"

With a single sound, everyone except Su Ming and his two companions was shaken to their core by the Daoist aura. They couldn't help but kneel down, their eyes brimming with tears, a mixture of emotion, awe, and joy.

"What kind of path is this?"

Xu Ziling wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and asked softly.

This is?

Shi Zhixuan and Song Que also sensed the Daoist charm in the handwriting, and were deeply shocked. This was because the Daoist charm between the lines was something they had never seen before in their lives. They had never seen it before, and they were afraid they would never have the chance to see it again. To see it once in their lives was enough.

In an instant, Song Que murmured to himself, "The Way of Heaven, this is the Way of Heaven!"

The way of the sword that he comprehended was the way of observing the heavens, acting in accordance with the heavens, and replacing the heavens' will with his own. His understanding of the way of the heavens was second to none among the crowd, and therefore his understanding was the deepest.

Especially after becoming emperor, his mind was no longer confined to one family or clan, but rather he stood more from the perspective of public interest. The so-called emperor, who was in power, was acting on behalf of Heaven to govern the people, which was also a manifestation of the will of Heaven.

“Is this the way of heaven?”

Xu Ziling's gaze fell on the seal script again, his clear eyes filled with confusion. The closer he got to the Heavenly Dao, the more he felt his own insignificance.

Immediately, he too was drawn into a state of enlightenment.

The others did not possess Xu Ziling's level of comprehension. They only sensed the extraordinary nature of this Daoist charm but were unable to glean any insights from it. They could only leave regretfully to study the carving of the War God's Manual.

After a while, Su Ming withdrew his gaze, suppressed his various insights, and continued to visit the reliefs of the God of War's Catalogue.

These reliefs depict demons clad in armor, deities with masks covering their faces, dragons swallowing the sky, fiery clouds burning the world, and images of the nine heavens, worshipped by all living beings. They are fantastic, magnificent, and masterpieces of craftsmanship, making one feel as if transported to an ancient wilderness, leaving one in awe.

The simple reliefs exude a sense of vastness and wilderness, making you feel as if you are there. After thousands of years, they still retain their original appearance, lifelike, as if they are about to come to life at any moment.

Su Ming sat cross-legged in front of the first relief of the War God's Record, his eyes closed, entering a state of complete absorption, his spirit and will slowly emanating and merging into the relief.

In a daze, everything before his eyes changed, and he found himself on a vast battlefield where a god dressed in strange armor and with a mask on his face was fighting.

Su Ming recognized it at a glance; it was the deity on the relief. His opponents were not only strange and grotesque demons, but also all sorts of rare and exotic beasts that devoured the heavens and the earth, exuding a captivating aura.

Here, the air is thick with the spirit of battle, and corpses litter the ground. All living beings are fighting desperately, risking their lives without hesitation.

The deity fought against heaven and earth, constantly battling and killing countless enemies. His body was severely wounded, and golden blood flowed, but his fighting spirit did not diminish; instead, he became even more ferocious.

At this moment, Su Ming felt as if he were witnessing a battle of gods. The war god, with his divine blood flowing everywhere, his body shattered and his arms broken, did not retreat even half a step. In the end, he killed all the enemies with this powerful fighting spirit.

It seemed as if only that deity and the dragon-like monster he rode remained in the world. However, as he fought to the last man, he suddenly turned around and seemed to glance at Su Ming.

Immediately afterwards, the scene shifted abruptly, and the deity flew down from the upper left corner through nine split thick clouds, heading straight for a large, blood-red fireball in the lower right corner.

Finally, the ancient god rode that dragon-like monster through the nine layers of clouds and soared straight into the sky!

Su Ming opened his eyes, his gaze filled with bewilderment. Even with his level of cultivation, he was still shocked by what he had just witnessed. It was a battle of gods, and even if it was just an illusion, the earth-shattering power it possessed left a deep impression on him.

He stood up, took a deep look at the masked supreme figure, then walked to the side and sat down on the ground, gazing at the star map above his head, gradually becoming lost in thought.

Everyone except him was immersed in this rare opportunity, seizing the time to comprehend it. At this moment, he raised his head, gazing thoughtfully at the star map on the ceiling, calming his mind and focusing his attention, his vision constantly zooming in.

Until the entire star map filled his field of vision, his mind became calm and empty, and he extended his spiritual thoughts and energy outwards, connecting with the surrounding energy.

Suddenly, Su Ming's breath caught in his throat, his pupils dilated violently, and the star map in his eyes was directly reflected in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The fragment of the Kunlun Mirror, which had remained unchanged for a long time, suddenly emitted a faint fluorescence. The light from the round stone on the ceiling of the main hall, which emitted a bluish-yellow glow, fell on him and was absorbed by the fragment of the Kunlun Mirror.

In an instant, the light in Su Ming's eyes became brighter than ever before, like the sun and moon illuminating the world. A wisp of inexplicable energy overflowed from the fragment of the Kunlun Mirror, flowing through his limbs and bones, cleansing his body.

……

Outside the hall, the earth raged with fire; underwater, strange fish and shrimp devoured the demonic dragon's flesh and blood like madmen; inside the hall, everyone seemed to be meditating old monks, their auras shifting unpredictably.

I don't know how much time passed, but finally someone woke up.

In the silent stone hall, someone exhaled a long breath. This breath was long and endless, like a rushing river, vast and mighty, lasting for almost a hundred breaths for an ordinary person. It condensed into a wisp of mist, like a cloud dragon rolling and swimming between the mouth and nose.

Only after exhaling completely did the person take the white breath into their mouth and swallow it. Immediately, a divine radiance emanated from their entire body, making their skin and flesh translucent and their bones glow, as if they had transcended the mortal body.

And this person was actually Xu Ziling. At some point, he had finished comprehending the Heavenly Dao contained in the seal script and had even comprehended the War God Record.

Su Ming released a wisp of consciousness and noticed the changes in Xu Ziling. He nodded in satisfaction. With the War God's Manual, his path to becoming a Grandmaster was secure, and even breaking through the void was not impossible.

Following Xu Ziling, Shi Zhixuan also began to comprehend the War God's Manual, and strange phenomena appeared on his body. The demonic energy within him surged and flowed around him, finally condensing on his face, but only half of his face was visible. One face was pitch black and sinister, while the other was holy and compassionate.

The expanding demonic energy gradually contracted, even staining his graying hair, half of it pitch black and half deathly white, a stark contrast.

As time passed, the demonic energy on his body gradually faded, and his dark face and long, white hair slowly returned to normal, revealing his original appearance.

At this moment, Shi Zhixuan slowly opened his eyes. His aura changed drastically, becoming less sinister and more compassionate and holy. Yin and Yang shifted, life and death cycled, and Buddha and demon transformed.

He served as a monk in Buddhism for decades, possessing profound Buddhist knowledge that surpassed that of many eminent monks. He finally gained insight into the duality of Buddhism and demonic nature, taking a further step on the path of life and death.

Anyone who studies the War God's Manual will gain something; this is truly one of the Four Great Books. Compared to it, the Cihang Sword Manual is utterly worthless.

At that moment, Song Que stood quietly before the seal script, but gradually exuded an aura of indifference and transcendence, as if he were growing taller and more boundless, giving off a sense of the Dao.

In the next instant, Song Que's aura changed again, transforming into a sharp blade. This blade was ruthless and merciless, treating every creature beneath it equally, like a punishment imposed by the heavens.

Even Su Ming sensed danger from him, something he hadn't felt before, which meant that Song Que's Heavenly Blade had finally been completed.

For mortals to comprehend the Dao is like the blind men touching an elephant; they can only see one side of it. After Song Que became emperor, his realm reached a higher level, but the Dao was simply too high and too far away, and he could only grasp a few superficial aspects of it.

Now, within this Temple of the God of War, he has touched upon the essence of the Heavenly Dao, even if it is only a tiny wisp, it is enough to bring about a qualitative change.

At this moment, Su Ming began to ponder the path to breaking through the void.

In the world of Huang-style martial arts, once a martial artist reaches a state similar to the Great Perfection of Refining the Spirit and Returning to Emptiness, their state of mind and cultivation are perfected, and they can attempt to "Break the Void," open the gate to immortality, and leave their original world.

However, breaking through the void requires not only strength but also opportunity, and there are roughly three ways to do so.

The first type involves two evenly matched opponents battling, undergoing a transformation of their spirit and energy during the fight, and gradually ascending to higher levels. For example, Yan Fei helped Sun En open the "Immortal Gate" through the clash and stimulation of two completely opposite primordial energies, Yin and Yang, which opened the gate. Another example is the battle between Pang Ban and Lang Fanyun, in which both were shattered.

The second type is to enter the broken gates of Cihang Jingzhai alone, the death of Bashiba with his hands forming the lotus mudra, the quiet passing of Meng Chixing, the unsurpassed master Ling Donglai quietly disappearing in the Ten Deadly Gates, and Chuan Ying leaping across the sky on horseback.

The third type is characterized by a slight anomaly when the object shatters. For example, Pang Ban was struck by a burst of lightning that silently shot out from his body, after which he disappeared.

Now, Su Ming has a vague feeling that his martial arts have reached the end of the Grandmaster level. As long as he has a big battle with Song Que, the two of them will be shattered and leave.

This is not a guess, but rather a martial artist's intuition.

However, he would not rashly attempt to enter the "Immortal Gate," for that would surely be a one-way trip, and might even destroy his physical body.

He dared not gamble. Even someone like Guang Chengzi left behind his golden remains. Moreover, no one knew what was behind the Immortal Sect. What if someone had set up an ambush to capture the world's most outstanding talents? Wouldn't that be the end of them?

Just like the "Spider Emperor" and the "Frog Prodigy".

Seeing that the others were still trying to understand, Su Ming went outside the Temple of War and walked down the steps.

At the end of the steps, there is a large stone tortoise, more than ten feet long and eight feet tall, lying at the bottom of the steps, as if it is about to leave the water and go ashore. Its hind legs are still immersed in the water, and its head is raised towards the high main gate. The shape is majestic and powerful, and it is a masterpiece of nature.

The stone tortoise's back is covered with intricate and complex symbols and patterns.

Su Ming climbed onto the turtle's back, sat down cross-legged, and stared intently at the runes. However, the runes kept changing and shifting before his eyes, and his mind was buzzing. In a daze, he saw a huge light screen shaped like a turtle shell.

Countless intricate and strange symbols, flashing with an eerie power, swept through his mind.

It seemed like a long time, yet also like a fleeting moment, but the next instant he found himself in a dream.

When a cultivator achieves great success in refining their spirit, they can enter a state of deep meditation and are not deluded by material things. As long as their Daoist heart does not regress or fail, they will basically remain in a state of preserving their divine nature and will no longer dream!
The runes on the tortoise shell possess a magical power that allows Su Ming's primordial spirit to merge with them, working together and naturally capturing the information conveyed by the runes.

In such a dream, his primordial spirit's sensory abilities would be amplified exponentially, and these runes would gradually reveal a mysterious pattern, constantly changing and unpredictable, like the ever-changing secrets of heaven, difficult to comprehend.

Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun—various strange phenomena constantly appeared in his mind, eventually intertwining into primitive symbols.

A sudden realization dawned on Su Ming's mind: wasn't this the Primordial Eight Trigrams? Could this be the legendary Hetu Luoshu?
(End of this chapter)