Aspiring to the Immortal Path

“The Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art?” Tang Zixi cried out.

The monk froze, an eerie light appearing in his eyes.

He seemed to fall into his memories, his body starting to shudder…

Tang Zixi looked at him in shock, seemingly paralyzed, but in reality, she had linked her Divine Will to the Dao book.

She definitely had something to do with this Buddhist text becoming a Dao armament. Just by gripping it, Tang Zixi felt an immense sense of familiarity, a sign that she had some kind of mental connection with it. This kind of connection normally developed between a treasure and its owner over a long period of time. That this connection had formed on first contact could only mean that Tang Zixi herself was its creator.

Perhaps the Time Dao Runes on the text came from Tang Zixi herself.

But what was important right now was that Tang Zixi couldn’t use Time Dao Arts at the moment, so this Dao book was her only way to get out of danger.

She didn’t know what would happen if she used the Dao book while the Time Dao power within her was still raging, but she had no other choice.

While that monk seemed to be confused, she sent her Divine Will deep into the book, but just when she was about to activate it, the monk suddenly trembled in shock and shouted, “I remember now! I am Nine Disaster!”

With this shout, the monk’s demonic energy retreated like the tide, and that savage demon monk was suddenly bathed in holy light, his twisted face turning compassionate and warm.

Tang Zixi was dumbfounded as that monk became a dignified and divine being.

The barrier keeping out the temple’s monks disappeared, and they rushed in. When they saw the sight, they prostrated and shouted, “The virtuous one has returned! The virtuous one has returned!”

Tang Zixi turned to this Nine Disaster in surprise, upon which she found his face to be somewhat familiar, quite like the Nine Disaster she had seen in the book.

And then a realization came to her. “You are Nine Disaster? The Nine Disaster who was reciting scriptures in the hall?”

The monk chanted some mantras before giving a sigh and nodded. “I am ashamed, ashamed. Miss, I offer you my gratitude for freeing me from my suffering. While my mind was being deceived by demons, I almost hurt you. Fortunately, thanks to you, this old monk was able to remember his past life, dispel that demonic thought, and return to my body.”

“‘Return to your body’?” Tang Zixi inspected the monk. “In other words, you are the real Nine Disaster, but because of the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art, you entered the cycle of Reincarnation? Then who is that Nine Disaster of the demon plane?”

The monk shook his head. “That is another me.”

“‘Another you’?” Tang Zixi was taken aback. “You’re saying that you are Nine Disaster, and the monk of the Primordial Fog Domain is also Nine Disaster. You’re the same person? Is he your avatar?”

“‘Avatar’?” The monk considered the idea before shaking his head. “No, he is not my avatar. If we really wanted to define us, it would be better to say that I was his avatar, though this is not entirely correct.”

Tang Zixi was completely confused.

She had no idea what was going on.

Nine Disaster placed his palms together and said, “In truth, this old monk is a seed of kindness that Nine Disaster left behind before becoming a demon, sent into the cycle of Reincarnation through the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art.”

“‘A seed of kindness Nine Disaster left behind’?” Tang Zixi was no less mystified.

What exactly did he mean by “seed of kindness”? And why could this seed be contaminated by demonic energy and produce a devil? And why did Nine Disaster know the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art?

Tang Zixi had no answer to any of these questions.

That Nine Disaster said, “It was understandable for Benefactor to be confused. You do not understand because you do not know the truth of this world, which is no surprise. Do you know why Nine Disaster became a demon?”

Tang Zixi froze for a moment before saying, “In the book, I saw his past. He was seemingly summoned by something one day, like… he was being tempted by a demon.”

Tang Zixi took a while to give her answer.

“‘The temptations of a demon’?” The Nine Disaster before her chuckled. “That’s a good way of putting it. Benefactor is truly wise. But does Benefactor know why a demon would try to tempt him? And why Nine Disaster would fall for its temptations?”

Tang Zixi blankly shook her head.

She really had no idea what Nine Disaster was getting at.

The monk took a moment to collect his thoughts before saying, “Many people know that Monk Nine Disaster was a high monk famed for his virtue in the Western Heaven Buddha Kingdom. Though his cultivation was ordinary, his understanding of the Buddha’s wisdom was incredibly profound. But very few people understood why Nine Disaster could comprehend so well yet possess such poor cultivation. Most thought that Nine Disaster simply disdained cultivation and preferred to study the words of the Buddha. But outsiders are unaware that Buddhism also emphasizes mighty methods for executing evil. In this era where Immortal Arts are revered, how could the words of the Buddha be revered if they couldn’t also be put into practice?”

“Then why was his cultivation slow?” Tang Zixi could only ask, temporarily suppressing her confusion.

The monk asked back, “Do you know of this theory in the cultivator world, that the higher one cultivates, the more difficult it is to comprehend the Dao?”

“Of course.”

It had long ago been understood that the higher one’s cultivation level was, the more difficult it was to comprehend a Dao. Some said that it was because the heavens became jealous when one cultivated too high, while others said that it was because those who cultivated too high became set in their ways and found it more difficult to accept new ideas. Whichever explanation was true, it was the truth that the higher one cultivated, the more difficult it was to comprehend Daos. This was why Yu Cheng, despite his incredible talent, was only able to comprehend six Daos, and only by sacrificing himself and entering the cycle of Reincarnation was he able to comprehend all Twelve Great Daos through Tang Jie.

Tang Zixi seemed to understand what the monk was getting at. “In other words, Monk Nine Disaster didn’t increase his cultivation level because he wanted to comprehend the Dao? But what does that have to do with what happened to him later on?”

This was a rather interesting conversation. Nine Disaster was clearly right in front of her, but she was talking to him like he wasn’t Nine Disaster at all. Meanwhile, the monks outside simply kept their heads bowed in silence, as if all of this had been expected.

The monk smiled. “That is because you don’t know what Dao he was comprehending.”

‘What Dao’?

What could it be besides the Twelve Great Daos, or the countless minor Daos beneath them?

Suddenly, she thought of something and shouted, “The Demon Dao! He comprehended the Demon Dao!”

That novice Pureheart had once said that Nine Disaster might have become a demon because he comprehended the Demon Dao.

The monk heaved a sigh, neither agreeing nor rejecting her answer. “The Demon Dao… perhaps. But in the heart of Nine Disaster, what he was comprehending was the Heavenly Dao.”

————————————

The Heavenly Dao could not be comprehended.

The fact that it could not be comprehended had produced countless theories.

Those who believed in Fate and Destiny considered comprehending the Heavenly Dao a blasphemy, and those who attempted it criminals to be executed. Those who believed in the Great Dao Unity theory believed that as minor Daos were all under the Great Daos and the Great Daos were all under the Heavenly Dao, if one comprehended all Twelve Great Daos, one would be able to comprehend the Heavenly Dao and thus achieve new heights. And there were still others who believed that the core of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm was pure and unadorned, that the Heavenly Dao was unique and transcended all things. Thus, to comprehend the Heavenly Dao, one could not divide their attention but instead should focus purely on the Heavenly Dao.

Monk Nine Disaster supported this theory.

Perhaps one could say that everyone in the Buddha Kingdom from the Buddha Ancestor down upheld this line of thought.

It was said that the Buddha Ancestor had achieved Buddhahood by completely emptying his mind, so his theory became the theory of all the people of his world. Meanwhile, Yu Cheng had supported the second theory, so the Court of Myriad Domains and the rest of the chiliocosm supported his view.

As for the very first one, that was the Three Sages Ancestor’s Dao. His Dao was to uphold the will of the heavens, never thinking of surpassing it.

Thus, one could say that this cultivator war was actually a war of theories, the ultimate war over the most profound secret of the world!

But this was a digression. Back then, Nine Disaster, believing in the purity theory, had focused all his energy into studying the ways of the Buddha and comprehending the Heavenly Dao. His cultivation was slow because he did not wish for a high cultivation level to hinder his research.

Perhaps because of his piety and persistence, Nine Disaster finally managed to comprehend it.

At that moment, he felt a summons.

This summons was what Tang Zixi had called “demonic temptations”.

“What sort of demon could cause a high monk to fall?” Tang Zixi couldn’t help but ask.

The monk said in an unhurried fashion, “Do you know, Nine Disaster has never once considered himself fallen. In his eyes, everything he has done is the will of the Heavenly Dao, the most righteous of causes, the most holy of sacrifices. Mortals like us cannot understand it. He is… purifying this world.”

“WHAT?”

“Yes, that was not the temptation of some demon, but the call of the Heavenly Dao. Nine Disaster sensed it, and he chose to answer the call.”

“The Heavenly Dao is the Demon Dao… How can that be?” Tang Zixi wondered if her ears were working.

“It is a fact,” the monk sorrowfully said. “Now do you understand why no person has ever comprehended the Heavenly Dao?”

Tang Zixi shivered. “Because everyone who comprehends the Heavenly Dao becomes a demon? That’s impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible,” the monk calmly said. “When the Buddha was comprehending the Heavenly Dao under the bodhi tree, he ultimately realized that this path would eventually cause him to fall into demonhood. Thus, he chose to give up on the Heavenly Dao, establish the Buddha Kingdom, and create his own Dao.”

Tang Zixi slowly started to understand what had happened.

The book had showed her the summons of the Heavenly Dao.

Upon receiving this summons, Nine Disaster believed that he had successfully comprehended the Heavenly Dao and that becoming a demon was his duty. If he did not venture into hell, who would? Thus, he sacrificed himself and became a demon. But Nine Disaster was a high monk of the Buddha Kingdom, with a benevolent nature, which was at odds with demonic ways. Thus, even after becoming a demon, he still had a trace of kindness that he could not dispel. For his righteous cause, he chose to strip away this kindness, creating a seed of kindness that he hid deep in his heart, after which he officially began his life as a demon. Later on, when he was exposed and heavily injured by a Vidyaraja, he left behind this seed of kindness while making his escape, causing it to fall into the hands of the Buddha Kingdom.

But this seed of kindness was so thickly contaminated with demonic energy that no one could cleanse it.

There was no other choice but to send the seed of kindness into the cycle of Reincarnation through the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art with the hopes that a hundred lives would neutralize the demonic energy.

Even then, the seed of kindness had almost turned into a demon upon awakening.

Thankfully, the last bit of Nine Disaster’s consciousness remained and was able to overcome this demonic energy.

This Nine Disaster was none other than the high monk who had yet to become a demon.

“I get it now,” Tang Zixi muttered.

She had never imagined that this would be Nine Disaster’s story. Even though it had happened ten thousand years ago, it still left her greatly unnerved.

Realizing something, Tang Zixi shouted, “Wait a second. By that time, Yu Cheng had already used the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art to enter his own cycle of a hundred lives. How could you use the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art without him?”

The monk shook his head. “This old monk never said that it was Yu Cheng who had used the Fake Sky, False Sun Immortal Art.”

“Huh? Who else could it be?”

“Who else?” The monk smiled. “Naturally, another mighty existence like Yu Cheng that this world cannot tolerate.”

Tang Zixi froze for a moment, and then she shivered.

She cried out in shock:

“The Buddha Ancestor!”