Humans are shrouded in mist, projecting their image across countless worlds.

Chapter 65 Slaying My Enlightenment (×), Subtracting to Seek Emptiness (√)
Just as He Lang was cultivating in the projection of his first life, in the timeline of the Journey to the West world that was extracted by the Celestial Venerable of Morality, the Demon Buddha Ananda on Mount Ling once again cast his gaze down, watching He Lang's every move in his cultivation.

"The birth and death of the Dao are both within a single thought. To sever the self to understand the Dao and become the Great Dao, to sever the Dao to understand the self and build the true self—what a grand ambition! Is this to place oneself outside the Dao?"

Ananda looked at the ever-changing Dao principles within He Lang's inner world and saw a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Within the inner landscape of He Lang's projection, amidst the constant self-destruction and rebirth of true energy and martial arts realms, Ananda vaguely seemed to see the shadow of seeking emptiness through subtraction. This caused him to concentrate, and illusory timelines continuously appeared in his eyes. On each of those timelines, there was a He Lang who was breaking through and cultivating the Self-Slaying Enlightenment Technique.

Some He Langs perished when they broke through to the Outer Realm, while others perished after cultivating to the Dharma Body or Legendary Realm. However, there was no He Lang in any timeline who broke through to the Creation Realm.

They all vanished into the sea of ​​suffering on the path of constantly cutting off the path and cutting off the self.

"If the Way does not exist, what will become of 'I'? In the end, there still needs to be an object that can bear everything."

Ananda watched as countless illusory timelines collapsed, and he glanced at He Lang, who was cultivating, with a hint of regret.

The scene of He Lang lending his merit to Meng Qi and the others reappeared in his mind, as well as the scene of him using the Sword Technique of Slaying the Dao to cut off the power of the Heart-Stealing Pill that had invaded the bodies of the poisonous people in the Hidden Emperor Fortress, and the scene of the Lord of the Hidden Emperor Fortress being pinned down by the sword energy generated from the void.

"Slaying the Dao to reveal myself, and all things becoming the Dao—these two sword techniques were mastered to the Great Perfection realm so quickly? Could they be Zhenwu's backup plan? Or Daozun's backup plan?"

"During the final tribulation, dragons and snakes rise from the land. I wonder how far you can go and whether you can escape the sea of ​​suffering."

"Fine, we can make some plans with these kinds of people, and perhaps give them a surprise when they return. But I can't let you and my 'fish' stay together anymore."

On Mount Ling, the Demon Buddha Ananda used the Reincarnation Seal to manipulate the causal threads belonging to He Lang, altering part of the cause and effect. Then, looking at the Buddha's seal sealing the summit of Mount Ling and the contingency plan left by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, he smiled coldly and fell into a deep sleep.

……

"The Demon Buddha's gaze has shifted away; it seems this path is not a viable route."

In the real world, when the gaze of the Demon Buddha Ananda disappeared, He Lang, within the projection of his first life, spoke.

"My Lord, why are you so insistent on me cultivating the 'Slaying Myself and Enlightening the Dao Technique'? Although it's something we comprehended from the Seven Swords of Heaven-Slaying and is quite suitable for us, shouldn't we just exchange it for a 'Other Shore Technique' and take off directly? Wouldn't that be more cost-effective?"

Upon hearing He Lang's words, the projection of the first life asked with some confusion.

"Don't you think Dao Zun's process of reducing and seeking emptiness is too troublesome? Look, apart from Dao Zun who transcended because the Three Pure Ones deliberately let him pass, how many eras have the other powerful beings of the Other Shore world of the One World Venerable been dragged along, and even now the Three Pure Ones have not yet transcended."

"To achieve emptiness through reduction, one must start from the fundamentals. If one can achieve emptiness through reduction on the other shore, why can't one achieve it in the realm of enlightenment?"
Of course, I'll also take this opportunity to see if I can discover the Dao of Sacrifice in the world of Shrouding the Heavens from you, so as to avoid trouble later!
This transcendent state is too contrary to one's will and too uncontrollable. Can you, with your cheat-like abilities, really tolerate it?

One Life Projection: "The last sentence is what you really think!"

"Don't worry about these minor details! Think big! Let's deduce it again and see where exactly the problem lies with the 'Slay Myself and Enlighten My Way Technique' that it failed to work."

Ananda was unaware that He Lang was using him as a future simulator to verify his own path.

Upon hearing this, the projection of the first life did not take it too seriously and joined in the deduction. After a while, they made a discovery.

"I understand. Since it's about imitating the process of subtraction to seek emptiness, perhaps we should also sever this part of our cultivation memories at the end, when we sever our true energy and realm, so that 'my' 'thoughts' can bear it. That way, no matter how we sever ourselves or our path, we can return with a single thought, instead of having to start over again and again like this." With the blessing of extraordinary wisdom, the projection of one lifetime flashed with spiritual light and pointed out the missing part of the Self-Slaying Enlightenment Technique.

Upon hearing this, He Lang also showed a look of sudden realization.

"It truly lacks the 'thought' to carry it!"

The "thought" they mentioned is the foundation of the "self" existence. This "self" is constantly changing, just as yesterday's "self" is not today's "self". It may seem unchanged, but in reality, it has undergone new changes due to the change of "thought".

After Yi Shi Yang and He Lang deduced the "Slay Myself and Understand the Dao" technique again, they changed part of the cultivation route and added mental changes. They then used the "Slay Myself and Understand the Dao" technique again to strike. With this strike, Yi Shi Yang's indestructible realm, true qi, and the cultivation memories related to this part in his mind were all destroyed.

He seemed to have transformed into a mortal, his inner vision vanished, and his true energy disappeared without a trace, as if he had never cultivated martial arts. Upon seeing this, the projection of his past life laughed.

Because the moment these foundations were severed, the severed realms, true energy, and cultivation insights reappeared in his body, neither increasing nor decreasing.

This is more like a return to simplicity, where true nature is immortal amidst life and death.

"That should be right now."

He Lang sensed this change and knew that the missing element had been fulfilled.

"If I hadn't come into contact with the key between the thoughts of all living beings and the birth of the Heavenly Dao in the world of the God's Tomb, this path would have been impossible to traverse."

Looking at the perfected "Slay Myself and Enlighten My Way Technique," He Lang thought of the Heavenly Dao and all living beings in the Tomb of the Gods world.

The Heavenly Dao of the God's Tomb world was born from the sacrifices of all living beings. The process of the Heavenly Dao being born from the sacrifices of all living beings is the process of the thoughts of all living beings 'offering sacrifices to the Dao', allowing the Heavenly Dao to be born from nothing. It uses its own 'thoughts' to offer sacrifices to its own 'Dao', and indeed everything is brought back to life.

The martial arts realm of the projection of the first lifetime also directly crossed the half-step outer realm, ascending to the heavens in one step and breaking through to the outer realm.

Upon arriving at the outdoor location, his true energy surged like a vast ocean, and his physique became even harder than refined gold.

"Breaking through the Outer Realm, my cultivation path has begun to undergo a qualitative change in the World of Supreme Being. This realm allows me to invoke the laws of heaven and earth to bless myself, and every move I make has immense power. It's time for me to make a name for myself throughout the world."

After finishing his cultivation, the projection of the first lifetime extended his spiritual power outside his body, invoking the laws of heaven and earth. The grass, trees, rocks, land, clouds, and mist around him emitted streaks of sword light, slashing through the void. Black cracks appeared in the void, and then the projection of the first lifetime disappeared from the mountain peak.

……

At the foot of Shaohua Mountain, people have been coming and going lately. Various sects have gathered at Shaolin, making the small town at the foot of the mountain full of martial arts practitioners. From time to time, you can see martial arts practitioners carrying swords walking on the streets and sitting in restaurants, talking loudly.

"Did you see that? The Earth Ranking has been updated! He Lang, a strange man who had a slight reputation in the martial arts world decades ago, has now entered the Earth Ranking. It is said that he killed the Crying Old Man with a single sword and replaced him in the ranking."

"Of course I saw it. The Earth Ranking says that he somehow obtained a profound cultivation method and broke through to the Outer Realm. In recent days, he has been constantly challenging well-known evil masters in the martial arts world."

(End of this chapter)