"Hahahaha....."
The laughter of the Heavenly Heart realm expert echoed unreservedly in this dream of the dead, as if even the dense stone coffins filling the heavens and earth were about to awaken, stirring up dust from their surfaces.
He did not communicate directly with his mind, but truly laughed out loud.
"Is the Heavenly Heart realm so powerful?"
The black-clothed Ji Xiang attempted to see through the true form of the golden-hued figure before him, but the latter's voice once again resounded through this world:
"Is the Heavenly Heart realm not powerful?"
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert retorted directly to the black-clothed Ji Xiang, and with the most direct actions, he told Ji Xiang to stop wasting his efforts.
What manifested as the Dao, which ancient Yuqing cultivators called evil spirits, had a truly immense origin. Yet, they still could not see through the deliberate concealment of the Heavenly Heart realm expert.
This alone indicated the disparity in their strength, with the victor clearly established.
"Heavenly Heart, what is Heavenly Heart?"
"What does origin and lineage matter?"
"Upon reaching the Heavenly Heart realm, whatever origin I desire, that is the origin I shall have. I say I am a reincarnation of an ancient sage, a star descending from the heavens, an avatar of a great emperor of the heavens in the mortal realm, an ancient immortal unseen for thousands of years in the tracing back of the mortal world."
"Who am I? I am whoever I want to be, whoever I wish to become, whose lineage I desire, that is the lineage I shall possess. What legend I wish to attain, it has already been circulating in the world for millennia!"
"Do you want the world to spread my name for thousands of years? One thousand, or three thousand, or five thousand, or ten thousand years? Since the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, or even more ancient times, my reputation has been in circulation."
The voice of the golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert was filled with undisguised mockery.
Do not discuss lineage with Heavenly Heart realm experts.
Even if your own background is truly immense, in the face of a Heavenly Heart realm expert, while you cannot truly trace your past like the Yuqing cultivators, modifying your lineage is not a difficult task.
"You have not reached the end of the Dao. You merely have a great origin, but that is useless. That is the source, determining the height of your talent, not displaying your current achievements."
"You will never reach the end of the Dao, because you are always complacent about being the 'Dao One'."
The black-clothed Ji Xiang's expression suddenly turned grim: "A Great Perfection Heavenly Heart realm cultivator is so arrogant even before the 'Dao One'."
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert said, "You have come here for these Corpse-Shed Immortals, haven't you? I thought so. As the 'Dao One', something that exists in the Source World. Yet, in the dream realm of the Source World, there is an Yin City that buries countless Corpse-Shed Immortals, trapped in eternal death dreams. Who is dependent on whom?"
"You exist in this world because of their dreams. It is said that worldly things have no origin. The Buddha, by proving the twelve causal links, states that all phenomena in the world have no beginning, because every point is a beginning. But does this apply to you?"
"Are you a worldly thing?"
"Are they your origin?"
The voice of the black-clothed Ji Xiang became distant: "Corpse-Shed Immortals... these dead people dreaming death dreams have created Yuqing. I must thank them, but at the same time, I must reclaim the Yuqing intent they possess. It is not my return to the origin, nor is it mutual dependence."
"Only by shattering the dreams of the dead can I return to the true form of the Dao, trace back to more ancient eras, and become the sole 'Dao One'!"
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert let out a laugh: "Tracing back even further, to that past era that later generations will sing of? But more likely, you will cease to exist. If you cease to exist, you will be replaced by another."
"Since I can stand here, something that other Heavenly Heart realm cultivators cannot do, then there are things that only I know. You, the 'Dao One', are Qing Yang. But Qing Yang's origin only extends to the Zhou Dynasty. How do you know if there are other 'Dao Ones' above Zhou?"
"To travel to the true past from legends, have you truly prepared for such a price?"
Are there other 'Dao Ones' above Zhou?
At least during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were. The Fangshi had the Five-Colored Heavenly Auspice, the various states had heavenly spirits and gods, the Immortalists had the Taiyi God, the Zhou Dynasty had the Haotian Shangdi, Confucianism had the Huangtian Shangdi, and in even more ancient times, perhaps the Shang Dynasty's Shang Shangdi.
"Those things are not worthy of being called 'Dao Ones'. They are merely primordial legends possessing some Dao nature. When I return to the past, I can naturally replace them, just as you said earlier. I can be the Five-Colored Heavenly Auspice, heavenly spirits and gods, the Taiyi God, Huangtian Di, Haotian Di, Shang Shangdi."
"As history changes, their stories have been assimilated. The origins converge. Huangtian, Haotian, and Shang Shangdi, these three eventually degenerated into something like the Jade Emperor. I return to the past to prevent their Dao nature from being lost in vain, but rather to become my titles."
"My Dao nature is inherently stronger than theirs."
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert suddenly burst into laughter and asked with a deafening voice, "Do you truly know what Dao nature is! Qing Yang!"
"As the One, you do not know that 'existence' precedes the Dao, that it is not something 'integrated' after the fact!"
The black-clothed Ji Xiang opened his sleeves: "It seems our views differ! That which exists inherently represents vagueness and lack of clarity, while that which is integrated after the fact represents clarity and visibility. All phenomena in the world are moving from ignorance to knowledge, from vagueness to clarity. The integration after the fact is collected from the ambiguity of the inherent. That is the visible and provable aspect of Dao nature, from which the path of cultivation opens, and all techniques are created."
"Even you are an integrated entity of the later stage, a heaven thief who replaces the heart of man by comprehending the heart of heaven. Yet you believe that things integrated after the fact are inferior to inherent existence. Then, by your own logic, you should not be the Heavenly Heart now, because the path of the later stage can never comprehend the meaning of the inherent. The one who can never attain the Dao is not me, but you and all the Heavenly Heart realm cultivators."
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert was momentarily lost in thought by this statement, but he still firmly stated:
"The purpose of stealing from heaven is to seize heaven. To steal from heaven, one must know heaven. Hence, the Heavenly Heart emerges. But our ultimate goal is to obtain the inherent Dao. I do not wish to replace it with the Dao of the later stage, nor do I wish to become the 'Dao One', but merely to 'borrow strength'."
The black-clothed Ji Xiang's expression was extremely cold:
"Is that so? For the remains of Yuqing and the Primordial Venerable position, and also to borrow strength?"
"It seems you have quite a lot of strength to borrow."
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert chuckled: "More means better. More means, more strength borrowed. When the time comes, heaven and earth will lend their strength."
"It's just that I haven't found these two things yet. I've searched the Yin City thoroughly. Perhaps they are in some past era of this world. Hidden extremely well."
Neither side gained the upper hand in their verbal exchange, but the discussion on the inherent and the acquired allowed Dong Hua Xian Nu to feel a tremor within her heart, absorbing much knowledge. However, she also heard something even more astonishing. She looked at the black-clothed Ji Xiang, clearly hearing the Heavenly Heart realm expert before her address Ji Xiang as "Qing Yang"!
Wasn't the Qing Qiang Sacrifice already closed? And the Horn-Broken Qing Yang had died outside... Qing Yang is the 'Dao One', and Ji Xiang is Qing Yang?
Dong Hua Xian Nu sensed something was amiss, but the realm of both individuals before her was beyond her ability to contend with. She could also sense that inexplicable changes were occurring within Ji Xiang. As they spoke, that Dao韵 had begun to spread outwards, even causing the surrounding Yin-Nether environment to change.
In the dream of the dead, which represented Taiyin, darkness was the dominant tone. But now, colors began to appear, climbing towards all the dark surroundings, constantly spreading.
The black-clothed Ji Xiang narrowed his eyes and looked at the unusually-acting Dong Hua Xian Nu:
"You think there's something wrong with me?"
Dong Hua Xian Nu did not respond. The black-clothed Ji Xiang said, "I have merely obtained the 'Dao One'. I am Ji Xiang, and now I am also Qing Yang. There is no need for fear. Protect the connection of the dream, this is important for both you and me."
Dong Hua remained silent. She was now certain that Ji Xiang was not right. Connecting their words, a fearful thought arose in her heart, but she immediately suppressed it.
And as the black-clothed Ji Xiang said, protecting the connection of the dreams was the only thing she could do.
"Assimilation by Qing Yang..."
Christ had done something similar to Ji Xiang before. Dong Hua remembered it very clearly. Her heart gradually filled with dread, thinking that Ji Xiang had not been taken over by Christ last time, but by some 'Dao One' instead...
Dong Hua Xian Nu's gaze involuntarily shifted towards the coffins of the Corpse-Shed Immortals.
As for the black-clothed Ji Xiang, even if Dong Hua harbored doubts, it was not important. Now they were in the same boat. If they didn't want to be trapped in the dream of the dead forever, they had to cooperate with him.
He was now assimilating this dream of the dead, but the golden-hued figure before him showed no reaction?
The black-clothed Ji Xiang's heart was filled with great doubt, but at this moment, a sigh sounded within this ten-thousand-zhang Yin City.
Instantly, the spread of colors stopped, and at an even faster speed, the occupied heaven and earth were returned to the dream world of the dead. And that sigh was more like a long exhale.
Between the heaven and earth of the great city, three colossal dark figures suddenly appeared.
"Taiyin, Netherworld, Ghost Dao. In the early days of Taoism, what was discovered was the Ghost Dao. What were the three origins of sacrifice born from it?"
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert asked with a smile.
The black-clothed Ji Xiang looked at the three giant dark figures. Each one seemed to be an embodiment of the Dao. Dao nature emanated from them, not the 'Dao One', but the "Dao Three"!
Heaven, Earth, Water. Three gives birth to all things!
"The Three Officials Ancient Emperors!"
"Zhang Xiu!"
The true founder of the Five-Pecks-of-Rice Sect, Zhang Xiu, possessed the Three Officials' handwritten scriptures and was one of the earliest batches of cultivators to come into contact with Dao nature. The black-clothed Ji Xiang looked at the Three Officials Great Emperors, his voice ethereal:
"Divided into three, one body transformed into the 'Dao Three'. When reunited, it will be the 'Dao One'. The Three Officials are Zhang Xiu, but now only form, shadow, and spirit remain."
"This is the Ghost Capital..." the golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert said, "Zhang Xiu is also a Corpse-Shedder, and one of the earliest Corpse-Shedders. He is the great master of the Ghost Dao. Therefore, I have come here to restore five people from the past. The first is Zhang Xiu."
"Select five founding ancestors of the Dao."
The colors in the heavens and earth were reduced to five, as if vast swathes were painted onto the world, allowing no other colors, fixed in position.
White, red, black, yellow, blue. The five colors flowed, constructing all things in the world. These were the five colors worshipped since the era of Yu the Great, and later generations divided them into the Five-Colored Emperors.
"These five people are the Five Directional Emperors."
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert pointed at the black-clothed Ji Xiang, and the phantom image of the Black Emperor appeared on the latter.
"The Black Emperor is something that must be retrieved. So, if it were the Arctic True Person who came, it would be much easier to deal with. But since it is you, then more effort will be required."
The black-clothed Ji Xiang was slightly taken aback: "Using Taoist methods to revive the Confucian Five Directional Emperors? The Dao is Corpse-Shedding, but you want to substitute the peach for the plum?"
"How can this be called substituting the peach for the plum?"
The golden-hued Heavenly Heart realm expert's laughter shook the surroundings:
"The Five Directional Emperors are resurrected, enshrined with Huangtian, and all sages are restored to their positions. This is called 'Restoring the Rivers and Mountains'!"
"The Primordial Venerable position and the remains of Yuqing are merely vessels used to revive Huangtian Shangdi. If they cannot be found."
"Using you is the same."
The black-clothed Ji Xiang spoke no more, only raising the Demon-Slaying Great Sword.
Behind him, the Four Saints of the Arctic, Xuanwu and Zhenwu, King Qian Guang Tathagata, the Ten Directional Divine Kings, the Four Great Heavenly Venerables, the Six Netherworld Lords, the Ghost-Slaying General, the Primordial Demon King, and others appeared.