Aspiring to the Immortal Path

On the plain of phantoms, Tang Jie began to laugh like a child.

“A lord is a ruler. The Martial Lord ruled the Weapon Dao! I’m such a fool! The Martial Lord told me how to advance from the very beginning, but I never truly understood it. Yes, yes, no wonder Immortal Ji Yao was able to beat him black and blue but then he was later able to singlehandedly destroy the Court of Myriad Domains. Because he had absolute authority over his Dao, the Weapon Dao!

“In this Dao, he is the ruler, akin to the Heavenly Dao, holding a grip over all in the Dao. Thus, with a single shout, he could shatter all weapons, and with a single swing, he could shake the heavens and earth! Because he was the ruler of the Weapon Dao, master of all weapons. Even Dao armaments would have to obey his orders! If he wanted them to shatter, they would shatter! And only the ruler of the Weapon Dao could create the Sovereign Blade, which can simulate all weapons, is unshatterable and able to shatter all!”

Tang Jie threw his head back and laughed.

He finally understood the real meaning behind the Martial Lord’s name, and he also understood how Li Jiuyang had managed to exceed the limit and become so powerful.

He walked the path of betraying the Dao, of the rebel army facing off against the government. Thus, he never could have comprehended the Dao, for that was his enemy. But from the moment he started his “rebellion”, he had his own Dao. In this Dao, he was the master of all!

At first, this Dao was very weak, like a rebel army occupying only a small village. It was no threat to the emperor and perhaps not even on his list of problems.

As the rebels grew stronger, the Martial Lord finally had a region to call his own. In this region, his will was the law.

The region he controlled was the Weapon Dao.

…Because it was his Dao, his art, his will!

As Tang Jie finally grasped this principle, he felt a new energy being born within him.

It was a special energy, not spiritual energy or a spell art, but the power of a Dao, yet it was completely different from the traditional Dao powers. It did not belong to any of the Twelve Great Daos or the will of the heavens, but to Tang Jie’s own will.

Tang Jie felt it.

He felt that he had become the Heavenly Dao. That new power was radiating out from him, and from it, countless Dao Runes were being created and destroyed.

Tang Jie exhaled.

He understood that he needed to give this Dao a form.

Only when it was fixed could it possess its unique powers and form his absolute realm.

But he knew that if he did this, he was bound to become the enemy of the Heavenly Dao. Like the Immortal Emperor, he would be resented by the Heavenly Dao and be targeted by countless powerful foes.

“Tsk! Isn’t that even more exciting?” Tang Jie snorted.

The threat of the Heavenly Dao had no effect on him as he cast his gaze around.

His shout just now had alarmed the Pale Phantoms, and many of them were now searching for the source of the noise, some of them already looking at him.

Tang Jie didn’t care, continuing to think about what he should do next.

Follow the Martial Lord’s path?

Take the Weapon Dao as his absolute domain?

Tang Jie shook his head.

The path of the Martial Lord was ultimately rather narrow, giving up everything else for authority over all weapons. This was like the leader of the army choosing only to lead the vanguard.

But it was understandable. A rebel army organized in haste was bound to be the product of many compromises.

The Martial Lord’s betrayal of the Dao was unprecedented, so it was inevitable that he would make many mistakes and compromises.

Thus, even though he had betrayed the Dao, he had been unable to expand his authority and was stuck with leading the vanguard. For a pioneer like him, this was his limit.

But Tang Jie was different!

With the Martial Lord as his example, standing on the shoulder of this giant, he could see further and climb higher!

Countless thoughts worked their way through his mind.

Perhaps because he was so lost in thought, his aura became more and more exposed.

Finally, a Pale Phantom sensed something wrong and let out a shriek.

This alarmed the entire plain, and countless Pale Phantoms converged on Tang Jie.

Though they only had Mortal Shedding strength, there were thousands of them, more than enough to choke a Violet Palace True Lord to death with sheer numbers. Most importantly, if the battle reached a certain level of intensity, it was bound to alarm the other defense lines, at which point the beast Ghost Kings and the four Nether Emperors would all sally forth.

But Tang Jie was still lost in thought, apparently not realizing the danger he was in.

The ocean of Pale Phantoms rushed toward Tang Jie, whose body instinctively activated layers of barriers that fended off the ghosts while he remained deep in thought. The barrier was like a turtle shell, staving off all attacks, but even the strongest barrier would eventually run out of energy.

The Pale Phantoms relentlessly scratched at the barrier, the corrosive energy imbued in their claws creating a hiss. For a Violet Palace True Lord, this was a drop in the ocean, but as tens of thousands of Pale Phantoms attacked in wave after wave, Tang Jie’s energy began to flood out to sustain the barrier.

But Tang Jie kept thinking.

He had reached a new level of understanding in the Dao, and a choice that would decide his future lay in his hand.

His eyes gradually cleared, and the Dao Runes flashing around him stabilized.

Finally, he made his decision.

It was bold and decisive.

With a laugh, Tang Jie said, “With the precedent of the Martial Lord before me, as the junior, I should follow closely behind. If I become the enemy of the Heavenly Dao, so be it. Yu Cheng is already its enemy, so why not add one more? There is no eternal dynasty in the world, both among humans and in the heavens. If there exists a will behind the Heavenly Dao, it’s time for a changing of the guard.”

The attacks of the Pale Phantoms intensified.

Tang Jie continued to monologue, “While the vanguard is a powerful force, it lacks ambition and daring, its leader remaining only a general, not a king. I desire to inherit the heavens, so I should have the grandeur of an emperor. I seek not a single Dao, but all the world as my own, so my Dao is the Heavenly Dao… I am my Dao, I am the Heavenly Dao!”

At this declaration, a bolt of lightning cracked down from the heavens.

With a thunderous boom, it made straight for Tang Jie.

Tang Jie was unmoved, his body erupting with a white light that created a barrier around him.

This barrier seemed to be made of spiritual energy, but in reality, it was made purely from Dao Runes. These were not Dao Runes that belonged to any known Dao in the world, but were all created by Tang Jie. Despite this, they were more complex and numerous than any other Dao, and even now, they were still increasing in number and combining.

This barrier of light replaced his cracked barrier in stopping the attacks of the Pale Phantoms and that bolt from the heavens.

As the lightning bolt crashed into the white barrier, there was a burst of white light, a terrifying wave of energy.

Tang Jie had not released this energy. It was simply the energy contained in the lightning bolt exploding outward, instantly wiping out everything within fifty kilometers, vaporizing all the Pale Phantoms.

As the lightning bolt disappeared, so did Tang Jie’s white barrier.

He looked up at the sky and smiled. “Is this the start? Good, good, wonderful!”

He heartily laughed.

He knew that starting from now, he, just like Yu Cheng, had become an enemy of the heavens.

How could a betrayer of the Dao be tolerated by the Heavenly Dao?

When learning the Parting Classic, he had never progressed beyond the surface level to the essence. Only now had he managed to enrage the Heavenly Dao, which had sent down heavenly punishment, proving that he had grasped the essence of the Martial Lord’s betrayal of the Dao.

No, perhaps one could say that his grasp was even stronger.

The betrayal of the Martial Lord was only in the Weapon Dao.

But he was going to become the Heavenly Dao.

From now on, wherever he was, the laws of the heavens no longer held sway. In his absolute domain, only his will held sway.

And once he started on this path, there was no going back.

The uniter of the Dao could still serve in the court, appearing humble on the surface, but the betrayer of the Dao could only suffer the ceaseless wrath of the heavens. This was why the Heavenly Dao used the hands of others to kill Yu Cheng whereas Tang Jie got a taste of divine lightning.

With one punishment delivered, there would be no more punishment for a short time, but it wouldn’t be long before a new punishment would be delivered, and Tang Jie had to grow stronger before then.

He would either die or reach the end of the path!

This was the path of the Dao betrayer.

This was why the Martial Lord had swung his axe at the Heavenly Dao Law Wheel.

He had taken this path, so he had no other choice.

Now, Tang Jie had taken the same path.

So long as he lived, he would have to constantly clash with the heavens. This was his destiny.

Tang Jie didn’t mind at all.

He heartily laughed and strode forward, making his way toward that dark forest.

Several ghost beasts heard the activity and rushed over, seeking to devour this invader.

The light around Tang Jie pulsed, and the King-level ghost beasts entering this absolute region all froze and prostrated.

Within this absolute region, Tang Jie was the emperor, the Heavenly Dao.

All existences had to follow his will.

A moment later, these ghost beasts turned and charged at the other ghost beasts. These ghost beasts were about to strike back, but they suddenly found themselves helpless and immobile, only able to watch as the rebellious ghost beasts devoured them.

In this absolute region, he could convert enemies to friends, so he could naturally restrict their movements. As the Heavenly Dao of this region, Tang Jie could do anything he wanted. There were only two limits.

The first was Dao power, and the second was range.

One of the ghost beasts under his control accidentally ran out of the region, and a moment later, it seemed to realize something and turned around, snarling, toward Tang Jie.

Tang Jie took a step forward, and the ghost beast fell under his control once more.

This time, he didn’t convert it, as this required too much Dao power. He simply befuddled its mind, causing that ghost beast to go berserk and bite at a ghost beast next to it.

It could no longer distinguish between friends and enemies.

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