Becoming a god starts from planting a Bodhi tree.

Chapter 529 It was you! It was you!
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, and then they were shocked. The World Honored One had already quietly awakened.
Wan Qianqiu glanced at his disciples and then looked away:
"It seems that person did not inform you."

The disciples were either thoughtful, embarrassed, or innocent; since that person hadn't informed them, they naturally had no reason to know.

Kongming respectfully asked, "Grandmaster, would you like to review the major and minor events that have occurred over the years?"

“No need.” Wan Qianqiu waved his hand. “After we set foot in the Boundary Sea, we have already sorted out the major events that have occurred in the last thousand years.”

Ancestor Zhou Tian looked at his disciples and said solemnly, "In the past hundred years, what have you gained from comprehending the Great Dao of True Spirit? Soon, I will personally test your progress in the Dao over these epochs."

The disciples and followers hurriedly and respectfully agreed.

"I'll test your cultivation as soon as you get back." The Mysterious Sword Immortal shook his head, looked at his disciples, put his hands on his hips, and said boldly, "Don't worry, I'm not like your Uncle Zhou Tian. I'm too lazy to test you. Anyway, you're not very promising."

Kongming and his disciples: "..."

Kongming suddenly apologized, saying, "Ancestor, in the battle with the Heavenly Court more than a hundred years ago, I failed to lead properly, resulting in losses for all the branches. I beg the Ancestor to punish me."

"Oh, Kongming has even become a leader of the Dao lineage? As expected of my disciple, he didn't let me down!" Miaofa Sword Immortal said with a look of surprise.

Among those present, many of the new disciples who were seeing the three patriarchs for the first time were in a daze, while the senior disciples all had smiles in their eyes, some of them looking at Kongming with a mischievous grin.

"This matter is indeed somewhat tricky..."

Wan Qianqiu fell into a rare, brief silence.

This scene immediately made Kong Ming and the others feel gloomy.

Although they were mentally prepared, the return of the three patriarchs still presented a difficult situation, making it hard to undo the past.

Zhou Tian explained, "This matter involves a wide range of issues, not only Doumu Yuanjun and the Heavenly Court, but also the enlightenment history of the World Honored One and the Dream Goddess Hela. According to the convention, we usually do not interfere with the enlightenment history of those who have transcended."

Kongming sighed. As expected, even the Ancestor, being the Great Dao Ancestor, couldn't make an exception?
Wan Qianqiu suddenly spoke up: "Those disciples who died in battle have all entered the cycle of reincarnation. Kongming, you hold my Dharma seal and you will be able to sense their whereabouts. Go and guide them back to the [Void Realm]."

Kongming suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Was it that World Honored One who made the move?!"

Zhou Tian looked at him strangely and asked, "Who rebuilt the reincarnation system of the former Lord of the Underworld?"

Wan Qianqiu nodded: "You's legacy should all have fallen into his hands. It seems that this person's descent is also inextricably linked to You. The seven people in the Federation who represent the seven souls may just be You's smokescreen."

Zhou Tian said in disbelief, "Is it really that mysterious? You has been dead for so long."

Wan Qianqiu sighed: "To be honest, the more this is the case, the more I doubt whether You's actions back then were out of helplessness or whether he deliberately put himself in the game."

"You suspect that he deliberately went to his death back then?" Zhou Tian said in a deep voice, proposing a hypothesis, "Is it possible that Fellow Daoist Ji is the reincarnation of the Twin Souls of the Netherworld Lord?"

Wan Qianqiu remained silent for a moment, as if calculating something, and finally shook his head and said, "There is no such possibility, otherwise he would not have been able to attain the other shore of the true spirit returning to oneness."

Zhou Tian reminded him, "According to the signs in the River of Time, when the true spirit of the World Honored One returned to one, He Donghuang, who had gathered the seven souls of the Lord of the Netherworld, had already disappeared."

Wan Qianqiu said calmly, "He didn't just achieve true spiritual unity and attain the other shore at this time."

Zhou Tian was taken aback: "When was that?"

“From the very beginning, he was born that way,” Wan Qianqiu said calmly. “All beings in this world go to the other shore but cannot reach it, but this person went against the grain and took the initiative to walk from the other shore into the sea of ​​suffering. He forcefully pulled the True Spirit Heavenly Steps for the world, as if he was lifting the world up to the other shore... So he could never be the same person as You.”

Zhou Tian was speechless for a moment.

Even though they have attained the Great Freedom Dao Realm, they still find it difficult to glimpse the other shore, let alone step into the other shore and then voluntarily step out.

“I am not as good as him.” Zhou Tian sighed softly. “If it is him in the end, I think there will be no problem.”

"All Buddhas and World Honored Ones descended to this world to enable all sentient beings to awaken to the Buddha's wisdom and knowledge..." the Mystic Sword Immortal murmured, then joked, "Fellow Daoist Ji, are you really here to save the world?"

Zhou Tian scratched his head.

Wan Qianqiu remained silent.

The Mystic Sword Immortal glared at Wan Qianqiu and said, "Why aren't you saying anything? Could it be that I was right?"

Wan Qianqiu shook his head helplessly and said, "I am observing the Dao of the Boundary Sea."

"Is it the True Spirit Immortal Dao?" The Mystic Sword Immortal stepped forward. "What have you gained? Tell me about it."

"In summary, it can be summed up in four words: True Nature." Wan Qianqiu's eyes began to ripple. "It seems that this fellow Daoist Ji's path involves a significant proportion of myriad dharmas."

Zhou Tian, ​​also curious, leaned closer: "Wasn't that going up against you? Is this person now considered a Great Dao Ancestor?"

"The Great Dao may take many paths, but they all lead to the same destination. There's no such thing as colliding or not colliding. Doesn't your entire universe involve the Dao of all laws?" Wan Qianqiu laughed. "As for the Great Dao Ancestor..."

He pondered and said, "It's hard to say. If he truly enters the Realm of Returning to Truth, given his current condition, he would probably start with the combat power of a Great Dao Ancestor."

"What do you mean?" Miaofa asked, his eyes showing a strange light. "Is it about accumulating merit or cultivating one's state of mind?"

Wan Qianqiu said in a low voice, "If I'm not mistaken, the newly ascended transcendent being in this era is a part of his Dao foundation."

Miaofa exclaimed in shock, "What did you say?!"

“I’m just guessing,” Wan Qianqiu explained. “I’ve carefully observed the flow of time from that battle a hundred years ago. There are some things that are hard to explain, but if that Dream God has already become part of Ji Jingqiu’s cultivation, then it makes sense.”

"Does the World Honored One possess such extraordinary abilities that he can make a True Immortal willingly become the foundation of his Great Dao?" Miaofa murmured, then suddenly asked, "Qianqiu, if you were to fight him, who would have a greater chance of winning?"

Wan Qianqiu shook his head: "I haven't even met this person yet, so how can I make a judgment? However, I am very much looking forward to discussing the Dao with this person."

Wan Qianqiu formed a mudra with both hands in the void and handed it to Kongming, instructing him to receive his disciples upon their return.

Miao Fa pondered: "Are these disciples unlucky or lucky? If you had intervened, they would have returned in full strength by now, at most suffering some loss in their cultivation, which they could make up for in the future. But now that they have entered reincarnation, their cultivation will have to start all over again."

Wan Qianqiu said calmly, "Perfect. Walking the path again might allow you to make two more progress than in the previous life. The reincarnation system created by this person ensures that the three souls and seven spirits are not scattered, and all past achievements and karma are destroyed. This provides a brand new path for some high-ranking individuals who went astray in their early years."

"Oh?" Miaofa asked in surprise, "After reincarnation, can all the connections with the previous life's status be completely severed?"

Wan Qianqiu nodded.

Once you reach the seventh or eighth realm, your status is already established. The biggest fear is going astray. Even if you give up everything and reincarnate to start over, you may not be able to make up for everything.

But the one who created the cycle of reincarnation can start all over again, which is tantamount to a second chance.

After the disciples had dispersed, Kongming found a private place and approached his master, the Myriad Law Sword Immortal, and asked in a low voice:
"Master, has that person already passed the great test of the ancestors?"

"The Grand Examination?" The female sword immortal tilted her head slightly, looking at her disciple who had aged considerably, and felt a pang of nostalgia for the past.

So she gently touched Kong Ming's brow with her finger, forcibly reverting Kong Ming's appearance and physique to his youth, and then nodded in satisfaction.

The young Kongming was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said helplessly, "Master, I am currently serving as the temporary leader of the Dao lineage. How can I convince the masses with this appearance?"

“Little Kongming has grown up.” Miaofa patted the boy’s head and sighed, “He has begun to serve as the leader of the Dao lineage. He is even more promising than his master.”

Kong Ming's face flushed red, and he was speechless for a long time. Based on his understanding of his master, this was just the beginning. If he dared to respond, even more sarcastic remarks were yet to come.

Seeing that his disciple didn't respond, Miaofa sighed, finding him utterly unlovable.

"A big exam? What big exam is there?"

Miaofa turned around, gazing at the "Heavenly Stairs" that could be seen at a glance no matter where he was in the Boundary Sea, and squinted, saying,
"Even if it really is a major test, it is just a test of that World Honored One by a few people. Passing it only proves that he has gained their initial approval. And then what?"

Kongming stammered, "That unity of heaven and earth..."

Miaofa was speechless and said, "You really dare to think that the unity of heaven and earth, which has kept us in check for dozens of epochs, is being handed over to someone just because that person pacified the Heavenly Court?"

“This is not what you left in the classics…” Kongming muttered softly.

The Mystic Sword Immortal glanced sideways at her.

The familiar squinting gaze made Kong Ming subconsciously fall silent, a long-lost feeling of longing.

"What did I say?" the Mystic Sword Immortal retorted. "Master didn't say anything; this disciple misunderstood."

The Mystic Sword Immortal snorted coldly, but a smile appeared on his face:

"These kinds of things should be dealt with after the fight!"

Kong Ming's pupils contracted sharply, and he couldn't help but breathe rapidly as he asked, "Have the ancestors already decided to determine who is 'superior' in this lifetime?"

“It’s not our decision,” Miaofa shook his head. “It’s that time waits for no one. This Boundary Sea is about to face a great calamity. We must decide a winner, or we will all wait to die.”

Kong Ming's expression changed drastically: "Master, what does this mean? What exactly did you see on your journey to the Land of Return to Truth?"

Just now.

A rumbling sound emanating from the lower reaches of the Boundary Sea reached Kongming's ears.

In a daze, the legendary Mother River of Time and Destiny, which encompasses all the heavens and earth, surged forth at this moment!

Miaofa looked at it with great interest and said meaningfully, "You see, even if Fellow Daoist Ji passes the great test you mentioned, there are still people who are not convinced by him. In the end, they still have to fight first."

Kongming whispered, "Master, is someone touching upon the timeline from a hundred years ago?"

Miaofa nodded and said calmly, "Some people have just returned and can't wait to make a move. It seems they're trying to force this person to show himself."

Kongming tentatively asked, "Master, which patriarch made the move?"

Miao Fa smiled knowingly: "It's those supreme gods. It seems they've set their sights on the power of the Heavenly Court and the Investiture of the Gods. If they were to obtain the Investiture of the Gods, they might be able to step into the realm of the Great Dao Ancestor in one fell swoop, or even glimpse a higher realm. So it's understandable that they couldn't resist."

A higher realm… Kong Ming took a deep breath and tentatively asked, “Master, won’t you intervene?”

"Me?" Miaofa shook his head and said, "Taixu hasn't made a move, and the Sword Master hasn't moved either, so it's not my turn."

Kongming stopped asking questions and stood behind his master to look at the scene.

The few transcendent gods in the Boundary Sea who had attained enlightenment through divine power actually joined forces at this moment to shake the Mother River of the Boundary Sea, attempting to interfere with the war a hundred years ago in order to force Ji Jingqiu to appear in the world!
To everyone's surprise, the World Honored One never showed up, and most importantly, no trace of him could be found in the River of Destiny and the River of Time!
Some inexplicable force interfered with the attempts of several transcendent deities to spy on the Mother River of the Boundary Sea!

……

……

The illusory flow of time and destiny emerges in the void, flowing silently towards the boundless sea of ​​emptiness beyond the boundary.

Two figures walked side by side, following a faint causal line, traversing numerous spacetime barriers resembling crystal walls, and finally entering an unknown land.

Gazing at the azure planet so close at hand, Ji Jingqiu let out a soft breath.

After many years away from home, the wanderer has returned today.

Is this your homeland?

Standing beside him, Hela looked on curiously. Today, she had lost her snake tail, her legs were long and slender, and she was tall. She held a lazy, dozing tiger cub in her arms, and a black dragon earring hung from her right ear.

“This world’s suppression of any divine power or Dao power has reached its limit.” Hela wrinkled her nose. “It’s similar to what Wu Zhou asked. Your homeland seems to be the legendary ancient realm, the earliest place where all worlds were unified… a remnant that has long since entered an era where all laws have disappeared.”

Over the years, Wu Zhou has lived up to expectations, extracting all the information Hong Lian knew from her. Combining this with the information previously revealed by Doumu Yuanjun, Wu Zhou can easily deduce some complete secrets.

For example, in the earliest times, all sentient beings were on the other shore. However, an indescribable catastrophe caused sentient beings to fall from their original place into the Heavenly Realm of True Spirits, reflecting all the heavens and myriad beings. From then on, the True Spirits scattered into the stars throughout the sky.

The reason why Ji Jingqiu, despite being just an ordinary person, was able to be born on the other shore is very likely because his homeland is the remnant of this legendary land, and he himself is an ancient survivor!
Ji Jingqiu closed his eyes and carefully comprehended the laws and principles of the world he was in. This place was indeed a land of absolute law, where the suppression of the Great Dao was like a curtain falling from the sky. Even with his current state of mind that was faintly beyond the other shore, he had to spend a lot of effort to sense the traces of the River of Time.

He suddenly opened his eyes, took a step forward, and waves surged beneath his feet, connecting with the illusory river of time, finding the point before his "death".

Subsequently, Ji Jingqiu led Hela to finally set foot on this long-lost homeland, returning to the timeline of his death.

He looked up, his gaze piercing through time and space, and saw his parents in this life. His expression was slightly complicated.

This was shortly after my death. My parents had just held my funeral and found my hidden medical records. The phrase "white-haired people sending off black-haired people" perfectly encapsulates the deepest human pain.

Hela is receiving and experiencing the various cultures and histories of this world, gaining an understanding in a very short time that rivals that of seasoned scholars.

“Now I understand why you knew Doumu’s true name,” Hela murmured. “Although this world has lost all magic, it is like a mirror, constantly reflecting fragments of light and shadow from beyond. Because heaven and earth do not tolerate the Dao, that information can only ultimately be transformed into folk tales, legends, operas, films, or orally transmitted supernatural tales, rituals, and beliefs…”

Ji Jingqiu nodded slightly: "After on-site investigation, I found that the special features of Earth exceeded my expectations. My interference with the Mother River of Time has already provoked the suppression of Heaven and Earth. Be careful from now on and do not make any moves."

As soon as he gave that reminder, Hela took action and changed their clothes to be more suitable for the times.

In a short time, her understanding of the local customs and etiquette surpassed that of the local natives.

"How did you die? Did you sacrifice yourself while saving someone?" Hela suddenly asked.

“Even if I hadn’t saved anyone back then, my body wouldn’t have lasted much longer.” Ji Jingqiu walked forward. “I hope this trip can resolve some of my doubts.”

Although the battle with Doumu Yuanjun has ended, many questions remain unanswered to this day.

And just then.

Someone suddenly bumped into his calf, or rather... pounced on his calf!
Ji Jingqiu looked down at his feet and saw a boy, about three or four years old, innocent and cute, staring at him with his big, dark eyes.

“You…you?!”

The woman who rushed over from behind seemed to be the boy's mother. The moment she saw Ji Jingqiu's face, she couldn't help but gasp in surprise, her eyes filled with a mixture of shock and delight. She beckoned her husband over.
"Honey, honey, look at this young man, isn't he..."

The man who arrived also looked shocked when he saw Ji Jingqiu's face. He grabbed his wife's outstretched hand, and the two intertwined their fingers, feeling the shock in each other's hearts. This shock was no less than seeing a dead person standing in front of them again.

They didn't even have time to think about their own child who was clinging to Ji Jingqiu's leg.

And this moment.

Ji Jingqiu looked down at the boy at her feet, stunned for a long time, before finally a look of relief appeared in her eyes.

That moment of enlightenment transcended everything, like the greatest confusion in life finally being answered, leaving no more bewilderment or anxiety.

An unprecedented sense of relief welled up within me.

From then on, Ji Jingqiu filled the last remaining flaw in his heart!
He picked up the jubilant boy in his arms, and surprisingly, burst into loud laughter, repeating four words:
"Oh it's you!"

"Oh it's you!"

"Oh it's you!"

In his past life, the river water was very cold. When his muscles weakened, he slowly sank to the bottom of the river. The child who was pulled ashore did not cry, but just stared at him blankly.

And now that child is right in front of him, dancing and gesturing in his hands as if he's flying, giggling happily.

The root of all cause and effect has returned to its starting point at this moment.

Life is like a book, and all the people and events we encounter are foreshadowing elements already left in the book.

Those seemingly unintentional beginnings will all meet their destined endings at some turning point in the future.

As the saying goes, nothing is more true than a coincidence.

Some connections are simply wonderful.

Ji Jingqiu spoke gently in a voice only a boy could hear:

Hello, Senior You.

Perhaps I should also call you...

Teacher He.

(End of this chapter)