Chapter 411 - 410: People First, Then Heaven
The three of them had been in contact with the immortal since they were young. The immortal had always had the appearance of an old man who seemed like he could pass away at any moment. However now that he had found hope, his demeanor and appearance had changed accordingly.
The immortal finally put his mind at ease.
In the past, he believed that the ruin of Jiuzhou was merely a matter of time and all he could do was delay it. But today, the news brought by Jiang Li gives him hope.
Although he could not turn back time to nine thousand years ago, he did seem a lot younger.
“I’m sorry you had to see me like this.” After crying, the immortal calmed down. The thought of crying in front of his juniors made him feel embarrassed.
Bai Hongtu suddenly asked, “I know that Jiang Li is very powerful, but how can he be stronger than the Dao Ancestor?”
“Isn’t Jiang Li in the Mahayana Realm? Mahayana Realm corresponds to Earth Immortal, no matter how exaggerated, it shouldn’t reach the level of the Dao Ancestor, right?”
Jiang Li watched the immortal, noticing his discomfort.
“Immortal, tell us what really happened in the Mahayana Realm. You should know better than I would.”
The immortal explained everything about the Mahayana Realm.
“So the Mahayana Realm was something you made up?” Bai Hongtu was astounded. He thought he was good at deception, but evidently, there was someone even better.
Jiang Li stood in awe of his own lies in comparison to the immortal.
The immortal is indeed worthy of his title.
The immortal remembered being dumbfounded when he found out that Jiang Li had broken through to the Mahayana Realm, thinking he had not entirely woken from his sleep.
Did someone actually cultivate the realm he had made up?
There were always people doubting the existence of the Mahayana Realm, but Jiang Li’s success silenced all skepticism.
While others don’t have doubts, it’s the immortal’s turn to question.
If he were to make up a few more realms, could Jiang Li cultivate in them as well?
The immortal also reflected for a while, wondering if he had unknowingly cultivated by speaking his mind.
“After Jiang Li broke through to the Mahayana Realm, why didn’t you tell him the truth?” Yu Yin asked, puzzled.
The immortal glanced at Yu Yin, “Would telling him the truth help? Could he clearly explain to you how to cultivate into the Mahayana Realm?”
He left out one sentence.
He had already imagined the power of the Mahayana Realm as much as he could. However, Jiang Li’s Mahayana Realm was even more absurd. He was too ashamed to tell the truth.
Yu Yin was speechless. Indeed, after listening to Jiang Li’s lecture, all he could think was – Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing? How could a blink of an eye bring so much information?
Reading arcane text was easier than listening to Jiang Li’s lectures.
Creating spiritual energy out of nothing, using unlimited spiritual energy to break through the realm, and naturally cultivating into the Mahayana Realm. What the hell was he talking about?
“So, all the things you said before about the extraterritorial demons cultivating negative emotions, the various theories about the origins of the extraterritorial demons in the Immortal Realm, how easy it is for the Immortal Realm to deal with the extraterritorial demons, how hard it is to find the lair of the extraterritorial demons, and that the extraterritorial demons have their own god, also about the Earth Immortal level and Celestial level extraterritorial demons…”
With an expressionless face, the immortal said, “I made it all up.”
“Luckily, Jiang Li broke the news today. You don’t know what kind of hustle it was for me every time this kid asked me about new intelligence on extraterritorial demons. I had to improvise on the spot and ensure consistency.”
The immortal suddenly became excited, “Even when my master was testing me on the Dao, I wasn’t this nervous.”
Today, the immortal has decided to come clean.
Damn the extraterritorial demons. I knew nothing about them and finally, I don’t have to fabricate any more information about them anymore.
If he kept going, he would start believing in extraterritorial demons himself.
“This Mahayana Realm of Jiang Li, rather than be called a new realm, should be called a new species.”
Bai Hongtu analyzed, “Look, it is said that there is an eternal divide between mortals and immortals, they are two different species.”
“Mortals can be divided into ordinary people to the Transcendence Tribulation Stage. The realm of immortals includes Earth Immortals, Heavenly Immortals, and so on.”
“Mahayana Realm corresponds to Immortals, the lower limit is Earth Immortals, and the upper limit is Dao Ancestor, oh, even stronger than Dao Ancestor.”
“So Jiang Li is neither a human nor an immortal.”
Bai Hongtu continued to agitate, “Since you’re the only one in the Mahayana Realm, it’s still not too late to rename the Mahayana Realm. I think calling it the Jiang Li Realm would not be bad.”
“You could subdivide the Mahayana Realm and add our names to it.”
“For example, the early stage of Jiang Li’s Realm could be called the Bai Hongtu Realm, the middle stage could be called the Yu Yin Realm, the later stage could be called the Pure Heart Realm, and the peak of Jiang Li’s Realm…oh, we need to leave a place for you, so the peak of Jiang Li’s Realm can be called the peak of Jiang Li’s Realm.”
“What a mess.” Jiang Li slammed the Immortal Pill on the table, and Bai Hongtu quickly shut up.
Jiang Li turned his head and asked, “The supposed fear of living beings before death has often been mentioned as a deterrent for extraterritorial demons, but in fact, it’s the Immortals who fear it. Why would the immortals be afraid?”
Bai Hongtu and Yu Yin were also drawn to this question.
With the strength of the Immortal Realm, it would be easy to destroy the Ten Thousand Realms. Why go through all this trouble?
“At first, I didn’t understand why, but recently, you’ve received information from the martial arts Ring Universe.”
Bai Hongtu reminded, “It has been ten years since the Ring Universe.”
The immortal glared at Bai Hongtu.
“Do you think people were first, or Heavenly Dao was first?”
“Of course, Heavenly Dao was first.”
The immortal shook his head, “Wrong, people were first. Heavenly Dao is a collective manifestation of the will of all living beings. There is no Heavenly Dao without people. People come before the heavens, this is what Master said.”
“The more worlds Heavenly Dao governs, the more beings there are, the stronger it is. Heavenly Ladder is a tool to strengthen governance.”
“When Master destroyed the Heavenly Ladder, it was not only to make it difficult for the Immortal Realm to find the Ten Thousand Realms but also to weaken the governance of Heavenly Dao over the Ten Thousand Realms.”
“Realms that cannot be fully controlled are very likely to give birth to a new Heavenly Dao.”
“I suspect that the immortals’ desire for the Ten Thousand Realms to die a slow death is because they fear the emergence of a new Heavenly Dao.”
“The Heavenly Dao of the Immortal Realm cannot tolerate the emergence of a new Heavenly Dao.”
“What really puzzles me is why, after gaining consciousness, Heavenly Dao became obsessed with the destruction of all beings. What does it gain from this? Does it benefit at all?”
“Heavenly Dao should aspire to govern more living beings rather than fewer.”
“Moreover, Heavenly Dao is the embodiment of the will of all beings. Since all beings do not wish to die, Heavenly Dao should follow the will.”
“The actions of the Heavenly Dao are bizarre, and I can’t explain it.”
“Instead of that, I’m more curious about how Heavenly Dao acquired consciousness. Is it really just because there’s too much spiritual energy?”
The immortal looked peculiar, “You should know that the master has done a lot of research on consciousness. Yin Yang Heaven Seal is the best example.”
“Of course, we know about that.”
“So the next thing my master said was not a joke but a reasonable guess.”
“Master said that the reason Heavenly Dao developed consciousness was that there were too many people pointing upwards, shouting ‘Oh Heaven, open your eyes.’ Heavenly Dao, following the desires of the living beings, awakens consciousness.”
“…If you hadn’t said it in advance, I would really think that the Dao Ancestor was joking.”