Man is in the heavens, parasites are born

Chapter 249 The Path to Transcendence
"Today's exchange is truly more valuable than three hundred million years of enlightenment. The path to enlightenment is full of mysteries, and Zichuan has indeed broadened his horizons considerably." Jiang Nan cupped his hands and said, "The two fellow Daoists are both very open-minded, which Zichuan truly admires."

These two not only had no intention of keeping anything to themselves, but they had even planned out their own escape routes.

If these people die in the annihilation, they will be resurrected without their knowledge or awareness.

If it were him, he might not have the mindset to help strangers.

He is a god, and in most cases he only protects those who worship him.

Ye Lin also bowed and thanked him. For him, this was an unimaginable blessing of being taught, which allowed him to break out of his original perspective and see a completely different world.

He had absolutely no idea how to repay such a kindness!
Fang Ming and Ye Fan smiled but said nothing.

Opening the gates to the various realms and befriending those with potential was one of Fang Ming's goals.

At this moment, Ye Fan took the initiative to speak, saying, "In fact, in my hometown, there was also an Immortal Emperor who walked a path somewhat similar to that of the two fellow Daoists. He attained the 'Primordial' Dao Fruit and was revered by the world as the Primordial Immortal Emperor."

"I'm afraid the 'original' you speak of is quite different from our understanding of the Primordial Beginning!" Jiang Nan said to Ye Fan with great certainty.

Surprisingly, they spoke the same language, a fact that Ye Fan couldn't quite deduce.

Not only language, but many things are similar, such as culture, vocabulary, and so on.

“That’s right!” Ye Fan nodded and said, “His originality can be understood as the only Dao in the initial, original, and primordial state.”

"The process is indeed somewhat similar, and it's even somewhat similar to the Primordial Dao of the Celestial Venerable." Ye Lin said, looking at Jiang Nan, "If the Celestial Venerable is the end of the Dao, then perhaps that Primordial Immortal Emperor is the beginning of the Dao?"

"I really want to have a chat with this Primordial Immortal Emperor!" Jiang Nan's eyes lit up.

In a daze, he seemed to see another brother of his.

The concepts of "original" and "primordial"—one a starting point, the other an end point—overlap considerably. It's foreseeable that once these two meet, they'll have endless things to talk about!
Ye Fan smiled and said, "That Immortal Emperor is currently in seclusion healing his injuries. Fellow Daoist, it may be several thousand years before you can see him again."

Hearing Ye Fan's words, Ye Lin was stunned for a moment and said, "Having cultivated to such a transcendent realm, you are still accompanied by struggle and fighting?"

This is somewhat different from what I imagined. I originally thought that after reaching this point, one has already transcended existence, and nothing can threaten such an existence. I thought there wouldn't be any major conflicts.

"Where there are people, there will be fighting and strife. I thought that once I became the Primordial One, there would be eternal peace. But it seems I was overthinking it," Jiang Nan thought to himself.

"Everything is relative." Ye Fan shook his head and said, "Some people treat countless living beings as grains of wheat and endless worlds as rice paddies. They harvest when they are ripe and then wait for the next harvest, repeating the cycle again and again. How can we stand by and watch?"

Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Jiang Nan and Ye Lin were speechless. This was a kind of terror completely different from the current Annihilation Tribulation.

Just like in the past, when the Daoist of Nirvana manipulated the Nirvana Calamity to destroy one era after another, the terror of that kind of human control was truly chilling.

If the Daoist of Nirvana were still alive and able to control the nascent form of the final Nirvana Tribulation, then neither of them would come to suppress the calamity; they would inevitably drag the other Heavenly Venerables along with them.

“I understand now.” At this moment, Jiang Nan showed a look of enlightenment and said, “I suppose you have come from your hometown to seek a way to further break through your current limitations!”

Although he felt that once he reached the Immortal Emperor realm, which was equivalent to the True Primordial Beginning realm, it was theoretically impossible to make any further breakthroughs, this was just his own opinion.

In his view, the purpose of this Emperor Ye and this Taoist Xuantian should be the same as that of Ye Lin and the Azure Lotus Immortal.

Of course, the difference lies in their driving force: one comes for the sake of all living beings, while the other comes for the sake of breaking through one's own realm.

"It's a pity, we're already struggling to survive here, and we still need you to pass on your teachings," Jiang Nan said with a regretful expression.

In his view, this was a great regret. For such a person, time may be very tight, and it is necessary to make the most of it.

“That’s not entirely true. We did come here seeking a breakthrough.” Ye Fan shook his head and said calmly, “But we already know the method for a breakthrough, and we’ve already taken a step. In fact, when I saw you two fellow Daoists, I already obtained something that would allow me to continue my breakthrough.”

"What!? Not only is there a way to break through, but we've even taken a step forward?"

Jiang Nan and Ye Lin looked at Ye Fan in shock. The cultivation civilization of this Heavenly Emperor's hometown had actually developed to such a level, which horrified them!
Jiang Nan looked at Ye Fan curiously: "Above the Immortal Emperor? What realm is that?"

Normally, he wouldn't have asked that question, since they were strangers and he had no obligation to answer.

But now he also vaguely sees that this Heavenly Emperor is intentionally spreading his teachings, and he is encouraging more people to try to achieve greater things.

Ye Lin also noticed this, and if Jiang Nan hadn't asked, he would have spoken up.

This Heavenly Emperor is different from me. I have no enemies in my homeland, but this Heavenly Emperor has a great enemy in his homeland. Who knows how long I can stay here?

Now that someone is willing to spread their teachings, I should humbly seek their guidance.

"That's not above the Immortal Emperor level, nor does it surpass the Immortal Emperor at an unimaginable height. It's merely a step further after reaching perfection, barely reaching the 'Sacrifice Dao' realm," Ye Fan said. "Sacrifice Dao?"

Jiang Nan looked at Ye Fan with a puzzled expression, pondering the meaning of the word, while a thought that even he found impossible sprouted in his mind.

"Burning all of one's own origins and sacrificing all of one's own Great Dao is the only way to take another small step forward." As soon as this thought arose, Ye Fan's voice rang out.

Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Jiang Nan and Ye Lin felt that the person sitting in front of them was not a powerful being at the pinnacle of cultivation, but a madman.

Isn't this method of cultivation something created by someone who reached the pinnacle of cultivation and then didn't want to live anymore?
"Is this really not suicide? Or is the Immortal Emperor at the end of the road beyond my imagination, sacrificing all his Dao and origin not only not dying, but becoming stronger!" No matter how Ye Lin thought about it, he felt that this was something that went against his understanding of cultivation.

However, he only thought about it in his heart. The fact that the Emperor Ye in front of him succeeded meant that it was not suicide, but the right path.

Even Jiang Nan felt that this was somewhat challenging to his understanding. Although he believed that he was definitely no weaker than the Immortal Emperor after becoming a Primordial Being, he felt that burning all his Great Dao and Origin in an instant was suicide!

At the same time, he also understood why he could not sense any 'Dao' aura from this Emperor Ye, because the man had already performed the ritual of offering sacrifices to the Dao and no longer possessed the Dao.

“Sometimes I would fantasize about what it would be like to become bored after I attain the Primordial Beginning, with nothing to do and no more secrets to me.” Jiang Nan took a sip of tea and sighed, “Now it seems that I underestimated this world after all. The Primordial Beginning is not the end.”

He had made up his mind to become the Primordial One first, and then jump out, so that he could make up for all his past regrets!
Upon hearing the Jiangnan dialect, Ye Lin inwardly scoffed. This Primordial Celestial Venerable, whose Dao Lord realm was not even perfected, was already dreaming.

Admittedly, his concept of the Primordial Dao is lofty, and he has achieved the Primordial Realm, but he has given it up. Now that the final annihilation tribulation is coming, it is uncertain whether he can continue to achieve it!

Just as his thoughts were turning, Jiangnan's curious voice rang out: "I wonder what is here that allows you to continue breaking through?"

In his understanding, once he reached this level, nothing external could possibly help him break through.

"Naturally, it is because the Dao of the two fellow Daoists is completely different from the supreme Dao that the Immortal Emperor was able to cultivate the second Dao Fruit, and also allowed us to perform the second Dao sacrifice." Ye Fan said, looking towards the direction of the Immortal Gate, his gaze seemingly passing through the Immortal Gate and seeing the universe in the midst of the Annihilation Tribulation.

Instantly, Jiang Nan and Ye Lin's expressions changed drastically, their bodies radiating immense brilliance. They became extremely vigilant, looking at Ye Fan and Fang Ming opposite them with extreme caution.

The implication in their words was that this person was going to sacrifice the supreme Dao that they constantly comprehended, which gave birth to all things and flowed forth from countless great Daos.

"Don't overthink it, you two." Seeing their expressions, Ye Fan immediately realized they had misunderstood.

He explained, “I am not that kind of person, nor are my friends. For us, it is enough to extract the information of the Supreme Dao from any living being in the place where you two are located.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nan and Ye Lin were still somewhat surprised and uncertain, but they no longer seemed ready to explode at any moment.

They all understood that if this person truly harbored any ill intentions, even if all the Celestial Venerables joined forces, they would not be able to stop him.

Based on the previous instances of spreading the Dharma, this person was indeed not maliciously manipulating people's hearts.

"We misunderstood just now, please don't take it to heart, Fellow Daoist Xuantian and His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor," Ye Lin said with a sigh of relief and apology.

"It's only human nature," Ye Fan said calmly, completely unconcerned.

“According to the Heavenly Emperor’s words, could it be that the Heavenly Emperor’s homeland is another foreign land, completely different from the place we live in, and possesses a different ‘Dao’?” Jiang Nan looked at Ye Fan and asked.

If that's the case, then this Heavenly Emperor and this Fellow Daoist Xuantian are the real outsiders, while Ye Lin and Qinglian were merely fellow villagers from a distant place.

At this moment, Fang Ming nodded and said, "We said at the beginning that we came from other places."

"At that time, I thought that the two fellow Daoists had the same background as me. Although they came from a distant place, they were still under the same path. I never expected..." Ye Lin shook his head.

"Perhaps this is also the path for my continued growth after I have cultivated to the Primordial Beginning!" Jiang Nan's eyes shone with Dao light, clearly indicating that he had also come up with an idea.

However, his current level of cultivation is not high enough to suppress the information of heretical sects and thus evolve them; he can only think about it.

“This is indeed the path of continued growth,” Ye Fan nodded and said, “However, if we want a true qualitative change and to completely transcend this level, we believe we still need to embark on the path of sacrificial rituals.”

“A ritual to the Tao…” Jiangnan murmured.

Suddenly he laughed and said, "I am still far from that level. Even if you just demonstrated the profound mysteries of the Great Dao for me and made me almost a Dao Lord, it will still take a long time to achieve the Primordial Beginning."

"It's too early to think about this now," Jiang Nan shook his head.

Then, he looked at Ye Lin and said, "Your Majesty, it's time to go. It's time to suppress the nascent form of the Annihilation Tribulation. With the guidance of this Heavenly Emperor, Your Majesty will surely be able to prove the ultimate Dao soon!"

Although it is not the true end of the road, it is still quite significant.

(End of this chapter)