Immortal Creation.

Chapter 664 Path

Sun Lingtong said unwillingly, "Is it really impossible for me to obtain the Divination Method Sect?"

Zeng Jide gave him a deep look and said, "Under normal circumstances, you can ask someone to perform divination. Just like this time, Lord Wangchuan asked the Old Man of Gray Bones for help."

"But if you can actually get your hands on the divination method, then that means..."

Sun Lingtong: "What does that mean?"

"This means you occupy a very important role in God's script. Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon you, and even Heaven and Earth think you are not strong enough. They are willing to risk becoming too powerful in the future to strengthen you as much as possible so that you can complete a specific mission!"

Sun Lingtong felt a chill run down her spine and was speechless for a moment.

After a long silence, he frowned and said, "Even if the divination method isn't my destiny, I still want to try my best and fight with all my might!"

"I really want to steal other people's destiny; it must be amazing!"

Zeng Jide laughed heartily again and patted Sun Lingtong on the shoulder: "Little brat, what ambition!"

"If you want to do it, then do it."

"Perhaps this is your path. Heaven needs the art of thievery to innovate in terms of destiny, and has entrusted this important task to your shoulders."

Sun Lingtong's heart stirred, and she extracted a key word: "Path of the Dao?"

Zeng Jide stroked his beard: "This involves the Nascent Soul stage and subsequent cultivation."

"After the Nascent Soul stage, the Nascent Soul grows into the Divine Spirit, and naturally, one must choose a direction for cultivation."

“Just like Lord Wangchuan, he is at the Nascent Soul level. His main body cultivates water, but his avatar cultivates earth. Water and earth are two different paths.”

"You can temporarily understand the path as the direction of cultivation. Of course, this is easy for you to understand, but it is not comprehensive."

Sun Lingtong, however, thought of the conflict between the Gray Bone Elder and the Lord of the River of Oblivion, and her heart was suddenly moved: "Could it be that the path of cultivation is not just about what we practice, but also about different life philosophies? Some people follow the will of Heaven, while others want to defy the will of Heaven and change their fate?"

Zeng Jide exclaimed, "It's unexpected that you could comprehend this level."

He laughed and said, "Geniuses like you and me still can't be judged by common sense."

"Sword cultivators are often unyielding, martial artists are often brave and diligent, demonic paths can be filled with deep emotions, while others are cruel and indifferent. Taoism can be characterized by non-action, self-transformation, tranquility, and self-correction, or by a unified approach, simplification of customs, and leniency in punishment and administration. Buddhism is divided into Mahayana and Hinayana, with the primary focus on helping others or helping oneself."

"Although Confucianism is relatively young, it has many branches. There are those who advocate virtuous governance and benevolent rule, those who believe the people are more important than the ruler, and those who believe human nature is inherently good or evil, etc."

"These are all paths."

Sun Lingtong felt as if he were hearing a wonderful melody! Such insightful and profound words were something he could never access.

If his master hadn't passed away, perhaps he could have been taught in the same way.

Such guidance is invaluable, every single word is worth a fortune!
Sun Lingtong pondered carefully, having forgotten that he was in the Immortal City of Oblivion and stealing, and asked to himself, "Then, senior, how should I determine my path of cultivation?"

Zeng Jide didn't hide anything and directly instructed: "First, we need to see your talent for cultivation."

"If you have talent, that is the expectation that God has given you. Starting from your talent will inevitably lead to greater success than other directions."

"Secondly, it depends on your resources for spiritual practice. Do you understand the four words: Dharma, Land, Companions, and Wealth?"

Sun Lingtong nodded.

"Fa" refers to techniques, spells, and so on. "Di" refers to blessed lands and grotto-heavens, places for cultivation. "Lu" refers to fellow practitioners, like-minded individuals. "Cai" refers to spiritual stones and other valuables.

Seeing that Sun Lingtong already knew, Zeng Jide didn't go into detail about the second point, but continued, "Finally, there's personal temperament and aspirations."

"The path you want to take and the path you don't want to take feel different when you walk them. Those who act spontaneously often have clear minds. At the very least, they won't suffer too much internal conflict or even inner demons when they are cultivating themselves."

Sun Lingtong then understood: "So, the reason why you asked me to persistently seek the mysteries of destiny and divination was simply because it is my ambition?"

Zeng Jide: "I am your senior fellow disciple, skilled in thievery, and naturally adept at reading people's expressions."

"The way your eyes lit up when you talked about stealing other people's destiny told me that this is what you yearn for."

"This is actually quite important for you, so make the most of it and don't give up easily!"

"Just like Lord Wangchuan this time, he planned for a hundred years for his own path, knowing full well how many obstacles he would encounter, yet he remained steadfast."

"This is what it means to have a clear goal and to focus wholeheartedly on the direction you want to go."

Sun Lingtong's attention was immediately drawn: "Judging from your words, senior, it seems you are quite familiar with the purpose of Lord Wangchuan this time?"

Zeng Jide: "In order to steal the vortex of the River of Oblivion, I will naturally do a lot of work in advance. The cost of the information I paid in the early stage alone is more than half of what you have in front of you."

"Therefore, I am quite familiar with the movements and situation of Lord Wangchuan."

"He possesses a natural talent for being unable to leave, able to immerse himself in the River of Oblivion, peruse all kinds of memories, and experience endless emotions."

"However, this talent is only of the upper class, not as good as a celestial talent. Therefore, it has a major drawback, namely—forgetfulness."

“Once he becomes immersed in these memories and emotions and forgets to return to them in time, he will drown in the River of Oblivion and die from overdoing it.”

"Therefore, he went to great lengths and painstakingly planned for a hundred years in order to obtain a special talent from the skull of the Heavenly Demon in order to make up for his own defects."

"Talent, talent, is a gift from heaven, bestowed upon you."

"Any talent that is acquired through human effort is almost always defying the will of Heaven. Therefore, Lord Wangchuan faced enormous difficulties and had to accumulate for a hundred years and prepare painstakingly before he had the strength to fight this time."

Sun Lingtong listened until her mouth went dry and her heart raced.

For a moment, he wanted to follow up on the current topic and directly explain to Zeng Jide the purpose of his trip—to cause trouble in Wangchuan Immortal City and cooperate with the other group of brothers to stop the Lord of Wangchuan!

But Sun Lingtong ultimately held back.

Because, through his recent conversation with Zeng Jide, he had come to understand that the latter, though seemingly flamboyant, was actually very cautious. He had chosen an excellent time and conducted extensive reconnaissance beforehand. He was using Buddhist cultivation methods to elevate Zeng's thieving skills. Although risky, the significant boost to his cultivation and resources made it a highly profitable venture!
Zeng Jide's purpose was solely for his own spiritual practice.

If he were to help me deal with the Lord of the River of Oblivion, that would be hindering the Lord's path to enlightenment, which are two completely different things.

Even if Zeng Jide stole some items like the vortex of the River of Oblivion, it would only be like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth. A tiger has so many teeth; losing one or two is no big deal.

However, if Zeng Jide were to help Sun Lingtong, he would be forging a deadly enmity with the Lord of Wangchuan. This level of severity goes far beyond simply pulling a tooth; it's about killing the tiger!

Will Zeng Jide help?
Sun Lingtong believes that the chances are extremely slim.

Would you risk your life to help someone you've just met, risking offending a powerful ruler or a cultivation kingdom in the underworld?
Zeng Jide was able to offer guidance to Sun Lingtong because he admired the latter as a junior member of the same sect. However, allowing Zeng Jide to help in this way would only offend this senior member of the thieves' sect and ruin this opportunity; it would be too reckless and lacking in discretion.

"Let nature take its course, let nature take its course." Sun Lingtong kept the Buddhist physician Meng Yaoyin's advice firmly in mind. In the end, she did not mention any such request, not even a little bit.

After Zeng Jide took the three precious materials from the secret room, his expression immediately changed.

"Be careful!" In the next instant, he unleashed his aura and, disregarding the risk of being exposed, released his natal magic weapon.

It was a Buddha statue with a monkey face, the monkey painted golden, making faces, and wearing a black robe. From the opening in the robe at the chest, a hairy monkey hand protruded. But clearly, the monkey statue's left and right hands extended from the sides of the robe and converged at the lower dantian.

This is a three-armed monkey statue!

The moment the Buddha statue was released, it pierced through the roof, rose into the sky, and transformed from dead to alive, from real to illusory. In an instant, it became a phantom image of a Buddha monkey several meters tall.

The phantom figure clasped its hands together, while its third hand, positioned at its chest, stretched upwards forcefully.

It stretched out longer and longer, its palm growing larger and larger, like dark clouds covering the sky, casting a large shadow over the city lord's mansion.

boom!
A deafening roar, like a thunderclap, erupted.

What followed was a hurricane-like shockwave that swept around, causing countless buildings to light up their defensive arrays.

A beam of black light shot back and was absorbed back into Zeng Jide's dantian.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, then swept it away with his hand, his face pale, and pulled Sun Lingtong away.

Theft Technique - Shadow Escape!
The two transformed back into shadows, stepped across the threshold, and swiftly moved through the crack in the door.

Soon after, countless patrolling monks flocked to the scene.

"it's here!"

"I never expected the Painted Skin Rakshasa to have accomplices!!"

"The C-grade warehouse is empty; there are no more treasures left!"

"I know, it's that despicable Zeng Jide!"

"He had previously sent out invitations to steal the Eye of Oblivion, but I didn't expect him to actually succeed."

"Quickly, chase them! They can't have gone far."

In an instant, all sorts of detection spells were activated one after another, and various defensive formations were put into use. The entire city lord's mansion was like a lion that had been awakened, showing the true majesty of a national capital!

Zeng Jide scanned the area with his divine sense and saw all sorts of spells and formations, which made him shudder with fear.

The city lord's mansion, now fully operational, has become dozens of times more difficult to infiltrate, a completely different level from before.

If Zeng Jide were alone, it would be alright, but with Sun Lingtong by his side, it would be a bit of a dilemma.

He did not abandon his fellow disciple. He took Sun Lingtong with him and used the Shadow Escape Technique to its fullest extent. At the same time, he used more than a dozen different methods to resist various detection spells and defensive formations.

Many defensive formations resembled fortresses, preventing him from moving freely and forcing him to temporarily avoid their attacks.

Zeng Jide led Sun Lingtong through many twists and turns, found a loophole, and slipped inside.

This is a mezzanine within a formation space.

Zeng Jide, having lost his shadowy form, knelt on the ground, panting heavily, his body almost completely soaked in sweat.

He was completely exhausted, a stark contrast to when he was instructing the younger generation.

Sun Lingtong also returned to human form. She first showed concern for Zeng Jide, who waved to her twice before sitting down cross-legged and closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Sun Lingtong was in excellent condition. He had been dragged along by Zeng Jide the whole way, so he hadn't expended much energy, let alone his magical power.

Sun Lingtong carefully observed his surroundings and discovered a patch of emerald green light behind him, with figures hurrying by from time to time. In front of him, however, was a cloud of mist.

From the mist, the sounds of fierce fighting and the delicate shouts of female cultivators could be heard from time to time.

Several voices suddenly came from behind.

"We can't find that scoundrel Zeng anywhere!"

"Do you think he might be hiding here?"

"This is the Binding Formation that trapped the Painted Skin Rakshasa. If the two of them were to reunite, it would be quite dangerous."

"Yes, the cultivators of the Unempty Gate are best at breaking formations and infiltrating. If Zeng Quede helps the Painted Skin Rakshasa escape, it will be difficult to trap this demonic cultivator again!"

Sun Lingtong looked back and saw a group of cultivators approaching from outside the emerald green light membrane.

Ripples spread across the green membrane, and the group of cultivators drew closer, their figures and appearances becoming increasingly clear.

Sun Lingtong felt a chill run down her spine, and her heart leaped into her throat.

Zeng Jide closed his eyes to recuperate, seemingly unable to pay attention to his surroundings, but the group of cultivators was about to discover them.

What should I do?
Sun Lingtong gritted her teeth, about to use her thieving skills to conceal herself, when she received a divine message from Zeng Jide, telling her to calm down and not to act rashly.

"Kid, it's because you recklessly used these thieving techniques that they discovered us!"

Sun Lingtong immediately stopped.

The group of cultivators brushed past him, and even though they were so close, there was always a green membrane separating them.

The monks filed in and entered the mist.

Soon, the sounds of fierce fighting in the mist grew louder, and the Painted Skin Rakshasa giggled, "Hehehe, so many people are here to take care of me? Then come on, let me take good care of my brothers!"

Screams of agony rang out one after another.

Clearly, the new cultivators suffered a great loss.

Some of them roared angrily: "That cunning witch deserves to die a horrible death!"

The Painted Skin Rakshasa laughed, "Whether I live or die, I don't know, but some of you are already dead!"

One of the cultivators suppressed his anger and threatened, "You won't be smug for long! Struggle in this Binding Formation until you've exhausted all your strength and mana. Then we'll capture you alive, skin you alive, and avenge our fallen comrades!"

Painted Skin Rakshasa: "That's hard to say. Perhaps your lord is already dead outside. You should know that this time, it's not just me who's going to deal with him. Your lord would have a hard time dealing with Lord Yin Jiuzhu alone. Not to mention the Silent Ghost Monk and the Sorrowful Bone Lady."

The cultivators exclaimed, "You vixen! Stop spreading your lies! We'll see!"

They retreated in a sorry state, brushing past Sun Lingtong once again, never noticing the old man and the child from the Non-Empty Sect.

"Let nature take its course, let nature take its course... Brother's mother is amazing!" Sun Lingtong sighed as she looked at the mist in front of her.

Then, he took the opportunity to transmit his thoughts to Zeng Jide: "Senior, I have a good idea!"

"Why don't we release the Painted Skin Rakshasa to distract us and make it easier for us to escape?"

(End of this chapter)