Chapter 659: After a Thousand Calamities, Eternal Freedom

King Li brought over the Ni Li Sacred Tree. Its roots were truly spectacular. Even bound by a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, its roots were still astonishingly long, far too large for the tower ship to hold.

King Li was not an immortal, but a deity. Aside from the exquisite golden pagoda in his hands, he had no immortal artifact capable of holding the Ni Li Sacred Tree.

Fortunately, his Primordial Spirit was powerful enough. It manifested at a height of tens of thousands of zhang and bore the tree aloft, while divine beings followed all around, prepared to deal with the demonic beasts in the Dark Sea.

His cultivation of the divine path was exceptionally formidable. Carrying the tree with his Primordial Spirit was no trouble at all.

Chen Shi stood at the bow, gazing up at the Ni Li Sacred Tree. He could not help being stunned by its sheer size. “The Dark Sea truly has everything under the sun. Who would have thought that all the living beings in the great Ni Li World were actually controlled by this thing, at the command of a powerful demonic cultivator?”

Just then, his thoughts stirred, and he suddenly remembered the culprit behind the Calamities that had struck the Western Ox New Continent for sixteen thousand years: the primordial insect.

The master of the Immortal Court had ordered Xun Jiangmu to herd primordial insects in the Dark Sea, devouring world after world. Could the primordial insect also be an earthly treasure and spiritual root at the Great Luo Gold Immortal level?

The master of the Immortal Court needed the primordial insect to survive Opening the Calamity. Did that mean he, too, was a Great Luo Gold Immortal?

“Can earthly treasures and spiritual roots really help Great Luo Gold Immortals survive Opening the Calamity?” he murmured, gazing at the Ni Li Sacred Tree.

“They should be able to.”

King Li’s voice reached him. Chen Shi turned toward it and saw King Li’s true body boarding the tower ship to travel alongside them.

He still held the exquisite golden pagoda in his hand, not daring to relax even a little.

Chen Shi had seen many powerful figures on the divine path, but none of them kept their magic treasures in their hands at all times. King Li was the only one.

“It seems King Li is very afraid of his son, probably because he’s done too many bad things. But then again, King Li’s son must be incredibly powerful, or he wouldn’t make King Li so wary,” Chen Shi thought to himself.

King Li had no idea what Chen Shi was thinking. He said, “The calamity of a Great Luo Gold Immortal is terrifying. Death is practically a foregone conclusion. It has been three hundred and sixty thousand years since the Three Purities moved the Celestial Court. In that time, countless geniuses have appeared, and quite a few have even cultivated into Great Luo Gold Immortals. But fewer than fifty have survived to this day. The rest all perished in Opening the Calamity.”

He paused, then continued, “Some have used secret methods in combination with the external Dao to evade the calamity, but the external Dao eroded them, turning them into things neither human nor ghost. I imagine Fellow Daoist Chen has already encountered Great Luo Gold Immortals of that sort.”

Chen Shi did not deny it.

King Li had given Chen Shi the Dao Realm, so he naturally knew that Great Luo Gold Immortals were hiding within it.

“Please have the Celestial Way Divine Beings board the ship and join forces to obscure the workings of fate,” King Li said solemnly.

The thirty-two Celestial Way Divine Beings boarded the tower ship one after another. When Niu Jingjing saw Chen Shi, she looked as if she wanted to speak, but in the end, only tears slid down her cheeks.

Many divine generals boarded as well. They continued offering incense to Niu Jingjing and the others, while a divine official who looked like a Chief Clerk instructed them on how to draw upon their Celestial Way imprints.

“With these Celestial Way Divine Beings obscuring the workings of fate, even a Great Luo Gold Immortal won’t be able to calculate that this earthly treasure and spiritual root has emerged.”

King Li said, “The immortal path and the divine path originally came from the same source. Later, they split apart, each developing its own strengths and weaknesses. Once an immortal cultivates into a True Immortal and comprehends a Dao Realm, they automatically gain insight into all sorts of extraordinary Great Dao Phenomena. Among them are several powerful phenomena whose functions resemble those of the Celestial Strategy. With a simple calculation, one can learn of the past and discern all kinds of future possibilities. This is the art of divination.”

Chen Shi’s thoughts stirred. He had cultivated into a True Immortal, and the first heaven of his Dao Realm contained the Great Dao Phenomenon of the Celestial Strategy.

Did that mean he, too, could learn the art of divination?

King Li said, “Great Luo True Immortals have an even greater grasp of this sort of divination, especially when it comes to tracing cause and effect related to themselves. For example, if a certain treasure would benefit them, they can calculate its whereabouts. If someone means them harm, they can calculate that as well. This is a talent deities can only envy.”

He shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

Although the immortal path and divine path both originated from shamanic ritual markings, the immortal path had long since surpassed the limitations of those markings. The divine path, on the other hand, was still stagnating, with little progress.

The tower ship shuddered slightly and slowly sailed into the Dark Sea. King Li followed it, carrying the Ni Li Sacred Tree with his Primordial Spirit.

“As soon as the Ni Li Sacred Tree leaves the Dark Sea, it will immediately trigger a causal response in the Great Luo Gold Immortals. If they calculate it carefully, they’ll discover how useful the tree is to them.”

King Li said, “But the Celestial Way Divine Beings can obscure the workings of fate. Even if the Great Luo Gold Immortals sense something, they won’t be able to calculate it accurately. If we return to the Celestial Court safely, our chances will improve. This is the first earthly treasure and spiritual root at the Great Luo Gold Immortal level ever discovered in the Earth Immortal Realm. We must act with the utmost caution.”

Chen Shi asked, “If this is the first time a Great Luo Gold Immortal-level earthly treasure and spiritual root has been discovered, how did the Great Luo Gold Immortals survive Opening the Calamity before?”

“They relied on the legacy left by the Three Purities.”

The tower ship gradually picked up speed, sailing through the Dark Sea toward the mysterious yellow sea.

The divine might radiating from King Li’s Primordial Spirit as it carried the Ni Li Sacred Tree was truly boundless. Its divine light illuminated the sea for thousands of li in every direction, making it as bright as day. The demonic beasts in the sea did not dare approach.

“While the Three Purities were still in the Earth Immortal Realm, they discovered how terrifying Opening the Calamity was. That’s why they established the rule of Opening the Calamity to Ferry People Across.”

King Li said, “Each of the Three Purities left behind their supreme Dao Realm, known as the Jade Purity Heaven, the Great Clarity Heaven, and the Supreme Clarity Heaven. Opening the Calamity has no effect within those three Dao Realms. That is why Great Luo Gold Immortals of the Three Purities’ lineages survived. The Western Heaven’s foundations were not as strong as the Three Purities’, but it created something similar and could just barely evade Opening the Calamity. As for the other Great Luo Gold Immortals, when faced with Opening the Calamity, they either died or were injured.”

He recalled the past and sighed with some emotion. “The calamities faced by Celestial Immortals, True Immortals, and Gold Immortals are not yet that powerful. There is still a glimmer of hope, and some immortals can even survive through their own cultivation and strength without earthly treasures and spiritual roots. But Great Luo Gold Immortals have no hope of surviving the calamity at all. Their deaths are all but certain. So back then, to deal with Opening the Calamity, those Great Luo Gold Immortals committed quite a few atrocities.”

Chen Shi’s thoughts stirred. “What sort of atrocities?”

“Too many to count. Those who manage to cultivate into Great Luo Gold Immortals are often exceptionally clever. Some created cultivation techniques and passed them down, taking disciples and turning them into tools for transferring the calamity’s fate. The most famous of these was the Scripture of Eternal Freedom Through a Thousand Calamities. It was said to have been created by a Great Luo Gold Immortal. Since it was a Great Luo Gold Immortal’s cultivation technique, it contained countless mysteries. It even spread into the mortal world and had an enormous influence.”

Chen Shi’s heart gave a sudden jolt. “Did this Scripture of Eternal Freedom help that Great Luo Gold Immortal avoid the calamity?”

“When Opening the Calamity erupted, every one of that Great Luo Gold Immortal’s disciples died in an instant. The Scripture of Eternal Freedom Through a Thousand Calamities spread far and wide. He had hundreds of thousands, even millions, of disciples. In the myriad heavens and worlds, countless cultivators and immortals practiced it. Heh, every last one of them died. The matter shocked the Celestial Court. In the end, they traced it back to that Great Luo Gold Immortal, but he had already transcended the Three Realms, escaped the Five Elements, and left the cycle of reincarnation. The Celestial Court ultimately couldn’t do a thing to him.”

He laughed, but his voice was filled with helplessness.

Deities existed to maintain order among heaven, earth, humans, spirits, and ghosts. They regulated wind and rain, rewarded good and punished evil, distributed wealth, and governed fortune and calamity, striving to uphold fairness and justice. But immortals were born from humans and had transcended the jurisdiction of the deities. Even when they committed evil, the deities could do nothing about it.

“The matter caused such an uproar that the Great Celestial Venerable joined the Four Sovereigns, Five Elders, and Nine Celestials in visiting the Western Heaven and Jade Purity Heaven to discuss it with the leaders of the immortals. In the end, the Western Heaven suppressed that Great Luo Gold Immortal. But the incident set a dangerous precedent.”

King Li said, “Before long, others drew lessons from it and modified the Scripture of Eternal Freedom Through a Thousand Calamities. By cultivating inwardly, they could achieve the effect of transferring the calamity’s fate without needing to take disciples and spread their cultivation techniques. That was how the worlds of Sanyuan and Tailai, among others, were later destroyed. If you’re interested, Fellow Daoist Chen, you can visit those worlds and investigate this calamity caused by immortals.”

Chen Shi asked, “What happened to those worlds?”

“Every living thing in them was wiped out overnight,” King Li said.

Chen Shi’s heart pounded violently. His throat was a little dry. “Could this method really let them survive Opening the Calamity?”

“It could.”

King Li shook his head. “The Celestial Way is powerful, but it isn’t omnipotent. It can’t pass judgment on conduct like this. When these immortals commit evil, the Celestial Court is helpless. Even Celestial Way magic treasures are forged by immortals like the Three Purities, using the Dao Phenomena within their Dao Realms as a reference. To think a Celestial Way magic treasure could punish immortals is a fool’s dream.”

He looked at Chen Shi with fervent eyes, then changed the subject, his voice brimming with passion. “That’s why the Celestial Court must take control of its own Celestial Way divine artifacts! Those Celestial Way divine artifacts are you, Fellow Daoist Chen! You will take control of the Celestial Way and become exalted Celestial Way Divine Beings, held in the highest esteem! You will have the power to punish these lawless immortals and restore justice to the world! Fellow Daoist Chen, become a Celestial Way Divine Being!”

Chen Shi rolled his eyes twice and ignored him.

King Li continued to persuade him, coaxing him patiently. “You think becoming a Celestial Way Divine Being means abandoning your flesh and blood and using extraordinary power to reshape a Golden Body. But what’s so enjoyable about the seven emotions and six desires? The righteous path of the human world is what you should pursue for your whole life. Besides, you immortals have already severed the Three Corpses. Why care about this stinking bag of skin?”

Chen Shi lazily summoned his Three Corpses Gods. Seeing this, King Li fell silent.

Chen Shi recalled the Three Corpses Gods.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, do you have any descendants?”

King Li was enthusiastic again. “You’ve got children, right? If not, hurry up and have one to carry on the Chen family line. Or should I find someone to adopt a child for you?”

Chen Shi paid him no attention.

The tower ship sailed onward. After several months, it finally reached the edge of the Dark Sea. Light shone ahead: the mysterious yellow sea had come into view.

King Li rallied his spirits and called out to the Chief Clerk, “Can we obscure the workings of fate now?”

The Chief Clerk replied, “We have a ninety percent chance of success.”

King Li drew a long breath and said solemnly, “Fellow Daoists, please use your abilities to obscure the workings of fate and confuse the cause-and-effect senses of the Great Luo Gold Immortals!”

Niu Jingjing, Xiahou Feng, and the other Celestial Way Divine Beings each performed their arts, unleashing one Celestial Way divine ability after another to confuse cause and effect, and disrupt the workings of fate. Chen Shi even felt a little dazed for a time, probably because their Celestial Way divine abilities were affecting him.

He held the imprint of the Celestial Strategy. When everyone obscured the workings of fate, they were disrupting the Celestial Strategy in his Dao Realm and affecting his judgment.

Once everyone had finished their arts, King Li finally ordered the tower ship forward and out of the Dark Sea.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, I’ll trouble you,” King Li said, bowing.

Chen Shi activated the Primordial Chaos Infinite Innate Art and sensed the Dao Field of his Dao Ruins. In the next moment, space twisted above them, and the Dao Field of the Dao Ruins appeared!

King Li’s Primordial Spirit immediately flew up, carrying the Ni Li Sacred Tree toward the Dao Field of the Dao Ruins.

The Ni Li Sacred Tree was incomparably huge. Chen Shi’s Dao Field of the Dao Ruins was already vast, yet it still seemed barely large enough to contain the tree.

It took King Li’s Primordial Spirit nearly half an hour to carry the entire Ni Li Sacred Tree into the Dao Ruins.

King Li said solemnly, “All warriors, hear my command. Take the Celestial Way Divine Beings back to the great Ni Li World and offer them worship. Do not leave the Dark Sea!”

The assembled divine generals answered in unison.

King Li said, “Fellow Daoist Chen, let us enter the Dao Ruins together.”

Chen Shi agreed.

Chu Xiangxiu quietly shook his head, signaling that King Li had already decided to kill him and that he should flee at once.

Chen Shi waved him off.

Chu Xiangxiu had no choice but to return to the Dark Sea with the tower ship.

Chen Shi and King Li flew up together and entered the Dao Realm of the Dao Ruins.

They had barely left when powerful divine senses crossed layer upon layer of space and appeared over that stretch of sea, sweeping in every direction.

Although the thirty-two Celestial Way Divine Beings had obscured the workings of fate, the appearance of the Ni Li Sacred Tree still stirred the senses of one Great Luo Gold Immortal after another. They could not calculate what had caused their sudden premonitions, but they did pinpoint where they came from.

However, when their divine senses swept over the area, they found nothing unusual and withdrew one after another.

The Dao Ruins.

Chen Shi descended slowly. His eyes flickered as he thought to himself, “Now that King Li is in my Dao Realm, he’s practically walked into a trap. He wants to attack me and take my life, so I’ll take his first.”

Fulong Village lay within his Dao Realm. The villagers should have already been startled by the Ni Li Sacred Tree.

Not far outside the Dao Realm were Changchun Emperor and Lady Niangpo, two Great Luo Gold Immortals who should also have noticed the Ni Li Sacred Tree.

Chen Shi had done them a favor. They would surely come to see what was happening.

King Li was ruthless and had always obeyed the Jade Emperor and Great Celestial Venerable without question. He would certainly attack Chen Shi. Chen Shi also knew that in the great Ni Li World, he would be unable to protect himself and had no chance of survival.

His only chance to survive was in this Dao Realm!

Only inside his Dao Realm would he have a chance to kill King Li!

Chen Shi drew in a breath and was about to call for Changchun Emperor and the others when King Li’s voice came from behind him. “Fellow Daoist Chen, leave. Get out of the Celestial Court, and don’t let me see you again.”

Chen Shi froze slightly and turned around. Confused, he asked, “Heavenly King, you’re not going to kill me? The Jade Emperor and Great Celestial Venerable ordered us six Celestial Way Divine Beings to serve under you. At the time, we weren’t Celestial Way Divine Beings yet. Only the dead could become Celestial Way Divine Beings. The Jade Emperor and Great Celestial Venerable hinted that you should act, and that you must not spare a single one of us. Do you dare disobey the Great Celestial Venerable’s orders?”

“Li was forced to attach himself to this world, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know right from wrong. Fellow Daoist Chen and I may often fight each other, but when I asked for your help, you didn’t hesitate for even a moment. How could I repay such a heroic man’s kindness by killing him? The Jade Emperor and Great Celestial Venerable will never allow the Celestial Strategy to remain beyond their control. Leave now and get out of the Celestial Court!”

He lifted the Ni Li Sacred Tree and flew toward the edge of the Dao Ruins, saying in a grave voice, “As long as you leave the Celestial Court, the Jade Emperor and Great Celestial Venerable will have to worry about Houtu Huangdiqi’s power. They’ll have some reservations and won’t dare act too openly!”

Chen Shi called out, “How will you answer to the Great Celestial Venerable?”

“Answer to him?”

King Li’s laughter came from afar. “I’ll worry about that after I’ve safely delivered the Ni Li Sacred Tree to the Celestial Court! Fellow Daoist Chen, you ought to visit the worlds of Sanyuan and Tailai!”

His voice grew farther and farther away.

Chen Shi hesitated for a moment but did not ask Changchun Emperor and Lady Niangpo to help kill King Li.