Aspiring to the Immortal Path

The Rosecloud Domain, the Hall of Divine Conference.

Seated on his floating throne, Tang Jie rested his head on his arm as he pondered weighty matters.

He suddenly looked up at the sky.

A few moments later, he dropped his head again and muttered, “Why was Yu Cheng able to detect it? The Heavenly Dao… Do domain cores really have some connection to the Heavenly Dao? In other words, my theory is right. The Heavenly Dao Law Wheel is the Great Dao Core of the entire Great Stellar Chiliocosm. But I’m still missing something… something!”

Tang Jie fell back into thought.

At his level of cultivation, resources were no longer enough to grow stronger. Comprehending the Daos of the world was the real key to growing stronger.

Dao-Proving Saint Immortal!

Previously, cultivation was not directly related to the Great Daos, but at this level, not entering the Dao would make progress extremely difficult.

As Tang Jie was thinking, he suddenly raised an eyebrow and said, “Attend me.”

A cultivator appeared on the steps and got down on one knee. “Domain Lord!”

“There is a guest from the Primordial Fog. Go and receive them.”

“Yes!”

The cultivator departed.

A few moments later, he returned followed by a person covered entirely in a black cloud that concealed their appearance.

Only when they arrived before Tang Jie did that person disperse the black cloud, revealing themself to be a demon.

This was a fog demon, possessing an amorphous body that could change into anything. It had no combat power, but it was skilled in disguise and escape, which made it the perfect emissary.

The fog demon said, “Demon Emissary Mimei pays respects to His Majesty the Domain Lord. I come in the name of Demon Lord God Phoenix to report that she has defeated 14,600 demons and requests Your Majesty to dispatch someone to collect them.”

With a voice as melodious as an oriole, the fog demon transformed into a beautiful woman, all the demonic energy vanishing. She seemed like a real human, even occasionally shooting Tang Jie a seductive gaze.

Unmoved, Tang Jie said, “Only around ten thousand? It seems that fewer and fewer demons have been coming lately.”

Mimei chuckled, “This is all because there is no decent force to be found in the Demon Region of Confusionem. Under the might of my lord God Phoenix, all of the demons in the region have either submitted or perished. There are few stubborn ones who persist in their resistance.”

“But she has yet to become the Lord of Confusionem, correct?”

Mimei happily chuckled. “Domain Lord is correct. This is my lord’s constant concern. The Primordial Fog Domain has 99 Greater Demon Regions, and only by becoming the lord of one of these regions can one become an Archdemon Lord. Right now, while my lord rules over Confusionem, she has yet to become Lord of Confusionem…”

“Because of Demon Lord Libido, right?”

“Domain Lord is wise. In the past few years, my lord has been protecting the human border, not only killing many demons but also sending over valuable information. Whenever the demons attack, my lord will provide valuable intelligence to Domain Lord. While Domain Lord possesses heavenly might that could wipe out these demons even without this information, this information saves time and lives, no?”

Tang Jie waved his hand. “I know all that she has done. You don’t need to remind me. But I still will not help her deal with Libido.”

The fog demon’s face fell. “Domain Lord, Demon Lord Libido has already come to find us several times over the past three years. After failing to bait us into attacking the human plane, he has started to attack us, and he has already killed many demons under my lord. Even several people of the human alliance have fallen to his hand.”

Tang Jie still shook his head. “This is precisely why I can’t help you. You are still too weak, so weak that you can’t even exterminate a defeated dog like Libido. Think about it. If you were to replace Libido in this state, what would be the result?”

The fog demon froze.

Tang Jie continued, “I’ve exchanged blows with Libido, so I am well aware of his strength. He is an Archdemon Lord, one that got his position through pure strength. So long as he lives, the Demon Lords of the other Demon Regions won’t pay any attention to you, only to him. Thus, he is a problem for you, but he’s also your shield. If he dies, all the pressure will be on you, and believe me when I say that you won’t be able to endure it.”

“Domain Lord does not need to worry about this. So long as Domain Lord agrees to help us take care of Libido, my lord has the means of stabilizing the situation…”

“Is it Immortal Ji Yao?” Tang Jie coolly asked.

The fog demon froze again, staring at Tang Jie in speechless shock.

Tang Jie smiled. “This isn’t anything surprising. Her master is Immortal Ji Yao, and it was Immortal Ji Yao who made her into a demon. When she wanted to use the Eight Ocean Mountains to grow stronger and insisted that I didn’t need to worry about the stability of her cultivation, I knew that she had another backer. Given her current situation, I can’t think of anyone else besides Immortal Ji Yao that would fit. In the last three years, she’s been able to live out quite the easy life in the Primordial Fog Domain despite being only an ordinary Earth Immortal devil chief, and while my help has played some role, I’m sure her master also put in a lot of work, no? Which is why she’s so impatient to become an Archdemon Lord, right?”

The fog demon didn’t dare to reply.

Tang Jie sighed. “She’s wrong. The Archdemon Lords of the Primordial Fog do divide up their territory according to Demon Region, but what really gets them to this status is their strength, not influence. Ice Phoenix is too obsessed with authority and schemes, heading down the wrong path.”

“But didn’t you take the same path?” the fog demon couldn’t help but ask.

These words exposed her, and Tang Jie looked at her and smiled. “I knew it… Ice Phoenix! You attached your will to this fog demon, right? Yes, that is the path I took, and even now, I’m still an expert in schemes. Don’t forget that I defeated Libido by colluding with the demons, and you yourself are a product of my plots. But, Ice Phoenix, have you ever seen me go for schemes purely for their own sake?”

The fog demon said nothing.

Tang Jie sighed. “All of those are simply methods, not goals. Power, cultivation, and the Heavenly Dao are the real goals. Immersing yourself in scheming will only make you lose your sense of direction.”

The fog demon finally snorted, “My master has their own plans.”

Tang Jie knew that she refused to listen, so rather than insist, he said, “I can help you with Libido, but I advise you to wait for two years.”

“‘Two years’?”

“Yes, ‘two years’! After two years, I will send you reinforcements that should be enough for you to deal with Libido.”

After the departure of Cai Junyang’s group, Tang Jie had not stopped passing down the Jailing Demon Embryo, and in these three years, he had cultivated many more human cultivators who could now go in and out of the Primordial Fog.

This answer let the fog demon depart in satisfaction.

After a few moments of silence, Tang Jie said, “Attend me!”

A cultivator appeared, and he ordered, “Have all Immortal Platform cultivators come here.”

“Yes!”

Yun Tianlan and the others soon appeared in the Hall of Divine Conference.

There were many more new faces here since the last battle. In three short years, another group of cultivators had advanced to Immortal Platform.

This was entirely thanks to the Eight Ocean Mountains, four hundred years of accumulation, and countless demon lives. Not only had Tang Jie achieved Boundless, many cultivators with potential had also grown much stronger.

There were now 52 Earth Immortals in the Hall of Divine Conference, seven True Immortals—Ji Wenzhang having finally recovered—and one Boundless Gold Immortal, for sixty Immortals in all. Of these, five were newly added. For there to be five new Earth Immortals in only three years was an incredible accomplishment.

Tang Jie looked around at the Immortals and casually said, “I have summoned everyone to inform you of an important matter.”

Everyone looked at Tang Jie.

“I plan to restart the path of the stars.”

‘Restart the path of the stars’?

The Hall of Divine Conference instantly dissolved into an uproar.

These Immortal Platform Titans who should have been left unmoved by all the rises and falls of the world were in consternation.

“‘Restarting the path of the stars’? How could this be? Isn’t that looking for trouble?”

“Right, right. The Primordial Fog Calamity is ongoing, and while we managed to attain victory, the demons have never stopped their invasions. New demons will invade from time to time, and defending this place is hard enough. If we restart the path of the stars…”

“Yes, restarting the path of the stars is too unwise, only creating more enemies!”

“That’s no guarantee. Right now, almost every domain is being invaded by Primordial Fog demons. One advantage of restarting the path of the stars right now is that we don’t need to play the role of the invader, but of the savior, the liberator.”

Some people had seen what Tang Jie was aiming for and offered their support.

The other Immortals also realized what Tang Jie was getting at.

“That’s right. The demons are a calamity for all. That we can push back the demons doesn’t mean that others can. Some domains might be under the oppression of demons right now.”

“Restarting the path of stars right now is the perfect opportunity to play the role of tyrant slayer and righteous liberator. I would even say that if we go, those domains would welcome us.”

“That’s right. After all, we’re all humans, all part of the positive plane. Even if we unite their domain with ours, we won’t treat anyone poorly.”

Without Tang Jie needing to say anything, everyone began to argue the advantages of setting off on the path of the stars.

“Most importantly, the humans of other domains really do need saving,” a compassionate Immortal solemnly said.

Not everything needed to be considered solely through profit motive. Simply saving other humans was an excuse to not give up on other domains.

The Immortals all nodded in approval. “Agreed! Strongly agreed!”

Someone even said, “Holding up the world and saving humanity is the duty of a Domain Lord! This act of restarting the path of the stars is one of great daring and wisdom, in alignment with the Heavenly Dao!”

Tang Jie chuckled. “I don’t know if it’s in alignment with the Heavenly Dao, only that there are some things that need to be done.”

Those who attained high positions could not think solely for themselves. One had to look beyond, taking in the entire world.

Tang Jie had realized this when he was pondering the Heavenly Dao, which was why he had made this decision. As for the advantages of this approach, he only realized them in hindsight.

“But, Domain Lord, restarting the path of the stars means having to deal with the demons of other places. What of the demons of our own domain?” Fairy Gu Ye asked.

“There is no need to be concerned about this matter,” Tang Jie answered. “Two years from now, a civil war will erupt in the Primordial Fog’s Confusionem Region. All the demons will be too busy looking out for themselves to invade our domain.”