Chapter 14

The closer a Dao Seeker came to the Dao, the more they had to learn to make choices and give things up."

It had once followed Yue Jianshi and witnessed the rise and fall of countless Primordial Era Dao Seekers, so it knew deeply how most Dao Seekers became lost and confused in the later stages of their journeys.

Sometimes, that emotional insistence on remaining true to one's original aspirations could guide one along the path ahead.

Whether Tai Ming could preserve his sense of self remained unknown.

Time and space turned. A hundred thousand years later.

At the point where the Netherworld Blood Sea met the Netherworld, two figures radiating divine light stood in the void.

One of them said, "Boy, the great responsibility of perfecting the Netherworld has been placed in your hands. Can your incarnation withstand the test?"

After a long silence, the other replied calmly, "Jiang Chen has emerged. The most crucial piece is now in place."

He continued, "With the protection of our predecessor and the will of the Netherworld, the time has come.

"Next, we'll see to what extent Ming He and Huang Quan, evolved from the Netherworld Blood Sea, can perfect the Netherworld."

They were discussing Tai Ming's Netherworld-Huang Quan plan.

With the emergence of Jiang Chen's Corpse Dao and Tai Ming's breakthrough, the plan to perfect the Netherworld had finally begun.

The core of the plan was whether Tai Ming's Corpse Dao incarnation could successfully resolve the Netherworld Blood Sea's negative erosion of the Netherworld.

By a fortunate coincidence, Jiang Chen, an Innate Divine Being born from the Netherworld Blood Sea, might be able to complete this task even better.

After that, they would only need to proceed step by step. The plan to perfect the Netherworld would soon be within reach.

Tai Ming and the Heart of the Earthly Path were both filled with confidence.

Following Tai Ming's words, the Heart of the Earthly Path began acting together with the Netherworld.

An invisible, mysterious force began to circulate, and the Netherworld's world barrier shone with divine light.

A mighty force like a giant ax splitting apart the heavens and earth cleaved open an eternal blood-sea abyss in the Netherworld Blood Sea.

In an instant, the entire Netherworld Blood Sea seemed to be overturned. Towering waves surged into the sky, assimilating the void and the sea of realms.

The invisible laws of Great Dao order shattered at that moment.

In the blink of an eye, the blood sea receded, revealing endless, terrifying blood-colored ravines stretching without limit.

The Netherworld's world barrier activated. It was as if a terrifying creature were constantly expanding and eroding, swallowing an immeasurable expanse of blood-sea ravines.

At the same time, a powerful force began assimilating this stretch of blood sea, transforming it into a dark land modeled after the Nether Land.

At that moment, Tai Ming truly felt the supreme might at the very pinnacle of the Primordial Wilderness.

He exclaimed, "Is this the power Yue Jianshi left behind in the past?"

As the Netherworld rapidly expanded, Tai Ming witnessed its astonishing speed and efficiency. With nearly every breath, countless spaces were assimilated.

When the Netherworld's world barrier came to a halt, a blood-colored wall appeared before them. The Netherworld Blood Sea, which had receded, was surging back once again.

The Heart of the Earthly Path said to Tai Ming, "Next, it depends on your incarnation."

Tai Ming took a deep breath and decided to enter the fray personally.

He shifted to Jiang Chen's perspective, experiencing the terror of the Netherworld Blood Sea firsthand.

The Netherworld Blood Sea was known as a forbidden land of the Primordial Wilderness. Every layer was filled with unimaginable power of negative erosion.

Though Jiang Chen was powerful, he could only remain on the sixth layer. Apart from Jiang Chen himself, no living being or substance could exist there. There was only a blood-red world, without any concept of direction or time.

Jiang Chen felt that he was about to sink into eternal ruin.

Fortunately, as an incarnation formed from a divided soul, he could still sense the location of Tai Ming's main body, allowing him to avoid truly becoming lost.

As the Netherworld Blood Sea flowed back, Jiang Chen took advantage of the momentum to return, following the blood-colored waves back to their starting point.

When Tai Ming's consciousness shifted, the Netherworld's world barrier was already close before him.

Jiang Chen began unleashing his power.

A thunderous roar like a clap of lightning rang out, and his Corpse Dao true body manifested.

This body was incomparably enormous, its head reaching the heavens and its feet planted on the earth. It was covered in ferocious blood-red scales, as if clad in a blood-colored divine helm.

A Great Dao Divine Talisman sharing the same origin as the Netherworld Blood Sea radiated from his body. Wherever he passed, blood-colored divine chains condensed in the void.

Beneath the blood clouds filling the sky, his pupils resembled two blood-colored suns. One look at them was enough to make a person sink into oblivion.

This was Jiang Chen's Corpse Dao true body—powerful and imposing.

With his appearance, the Netherworld Blood Sea, which had been flowing back, began forming a terrifying vortex around him. Its grinding force was powerful enough to shatter stars.

Yet Jiang Chen stood at the center of the vortex without being affected at all, merely being pushed toward the Netherworld's world barrier.

For a time, even his Grand Unity Venerable God body was pushed back again and again.

Time passed, and Jiang Chen's figure gradually drew closer to the Netherworld's world barrier.

He acted once more, deciding to purify the Negative Energy in the Netherworld Blood Sea with all his strength, while leaving the Netherworld's evolution to the will of the Netherworld.

His enormous figure was like a bridge connecting the Netherworld and the Netherworld Blood Sea.

On one side was the Netherworld Blood Sea filled with Negative Energy; on the other was the Netherworld Blood Sea after being purified by him.

As time passed, the purified Netherworld Blood Sea began gathering before the world barrier.

At that moment, the Heart of the Earthly Path and the Netherworld began to act.

A Netherworld vortex appeared. The evolved blood sea passed through the Netherworld without obstruction and began circulating under the support of the Netherworld's will.

As time passed, an endless dark river gradually formed behind Jiang Chen.

Even without the Netherworld Blood Sea's erosive power, its darkness was still enough to make one sink into oblivion.

Seeing this scene, it and Jiang Chen both breathed a sigh of relief.

The River Styx Land had begun to take shape. The next step was simply to perfect it carefully.

They were curious about how far the Netherworld would be perfected as a result.

At the same time, inside the Netherworld, the Eye of the Netherworld Dao appeared as Jiang Chen acted. As the blood sea flowed, the power of the Netherworld began sweeping through it, opening up a new blood sea—the River Styx.

The River Styx was the river of ghosts that received living beings after their deaths. With it, the Netherworld could maintain its connection to the deathly veins of the Primordial World, greatly improving the efficiency of receiving ghosts.

"By the name of the Netherworld Earthly Dao, I hereby confer the River Styx Land and charge it with receiving the ghosts of all living beings."

Invisibly, a supreme edict echoed through the Primordial Wilderness, drawing the gazes of countless Innate Divine Beings.

The various major factions began discussing it. Even powerful forces such as the Five Directions Divine Lords were affected and hurriedly took countermeasures.

However, these reactions did not affect the Netherworld's evolution.

With the conferral of the River Styx Land, the number of ghosts in the Netherworld began to increase rapidly, and the Nether Land started to seem crowded.

The Netherworld's Transformation

Within the River Styx, the Eye of the Netherworld's will activated once more. Invisible ripples spread, and the Nether Veins gradually emerged.

The Netherworld Nether Land took on an entirely new appearance, as if it had undergone rebirth.

At that moment, a new edict echoed within the Netherworld, conferring the Netherworld's water veins with the name Huang Quan, whose purpose was to baptize ghosts.

Success meant shedding their delusions; failure meant sinking into eternal ruin.

Under the two edicts, the Netherworld underwent unprecedented changes. Its spatial environment became filled with vitality and vigor.

The Netherworld's distinct character became even more prominent. It could even be said to possess supreme elegance.

The Yin-Yang Ghost Clan was born and evolved within the Nether Land, but previously, it had seemed somewhat lifeless.

However, with the emergence of the River Styx and Huang Quan, the number of ghosts surged, and the strength of the Yin-Yang Ghost Clan grew explosively, like oil added to a blazing fire.

The baptism of the River Styx and Huang Quan perfected the Ghost Clan's reproductive deficiency. Every reincarnation became a member of the Ghost Clan, with no other choice.

In a short time, the Yin-Yang Ghost Clan's numbers had increased more than a hundredfold, growing from millions to tens of billions.

This change was a great surprise to Tai Ming. His Ghost Dao Authority and fortune also continued to grow.

At that moment, Tai Ming began considering his next move.

With the Netherworld's transformation, he needed to broaden his horizons.

Although the Netherworld was safer, it was too isolated. Compared with the Innate Divine Beings of the true Primordial Wilderness, he needed more interaction and learning.

He realized that if he remained in the Netherworld, his foundation in the Ghost Dao would grow increasingly narrow, and he would eventually encounter a bottleneck.

Therefore, he hoped to find fellow Daoists with whom he could exchange insights and discuss the Dao, ensuring that his path remained unobstructed.

Thus, he decided to travel throughout the Primordial World.

Tai Ming's growth and transformation would unfold in a greater world.

Tai Ming's emotions fluctuated, and the Heart of the Earthly Path sensed them.

The soul's voice attached to it said to him, "Boy, go ahead and do it."

It continued encouraging him, "Even Yue Jianshi and Cang Li, who were once so powerful, climbed step by step to the peak."

Considering that the commotion the Netherworld was about to cause would attract countless gazes, whether you stayed or left was no longer important.

Ultimately, your cultivation was still too weak. The changes and turmoil to come were already beyond your ability to take part in.

In the Primordial World, the divine mountain of Buzhou towered majestically.

In a certain unknown place, far to the northwest of the Buzhou Mountain Range.

Suddenly, a streak of Netherworld Divine Light tore through the void, and Tai Ming's figure appeared leisurely.

"Primordial Wilderness, I'm here!"

Originally, Tai Ming had planned to travel through the Primordial Wilderness under Jiang Chen's identity, enjoying the power of an undying and indestructible body and a Grand Unity Venerable God.

However, the world was unpredictable. The perfection of the Netherworld had given birth to a new Innate Divine Being embryo, and Jiang Chen had become bound here to protect the new life.

Even Shen Ji, who shared his origin, had sunk into a deep transformation of his source due to the Netherworld's evolution.

The inheritance of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation had already been transferred into Tai Ming's Innate Ancestral Qi of the Ghost Dao.

No one knew when Shen Ji would awaken again.

Faced with this, the Heart of the Earthly Path laughed at Tai Ming's cautious attitude.

It advised him, "You have already become an Immortal Venerable God. There is no need to be overly cautious.

"Although the Primordial Wilderness is dangerous, it is not as terrifying as you imagine.

"On the Path of the Great Dao, one either advances or retreats. If you grow timid, perhaps you should reconsider your own path."

Tai Ming's misunderstanding had come from the powerful beings he had encountered in the Netherworld. The Heart of the Earthly Path believed he might have mistaken Grand Unity Venerable Gods for common sights and assumed Immortal Venerable Gods were everywhere.

In reality, the vast majority of living beings in the Primordial Wilderness had yet to reach the realm of an Immortal Venerable God.

The final advice came from the Heart of the Earthly Path. It had merely given Tai Ming a slight reminder.

As Tai Ming walked across the Primordial Wilderness, the confusion of the past gradually dissipated.

That was the main reason the Heart of the Earthly Path allowed him to venture deeper into the Primordial Wilderness.

Deep within him, the voice of the Heart of the Earthly Path made him reveal an embarrassed expression.

Although he had become an Innate Divine Being, he was still accustomed to concealing his abilities and trump cards, and had not fully recognized the uniqueness of this Primordial World.

He replied to the Heart of the Earthly Path, "Your words are very true, senior.

"I have decided to embark on the path of seeking the Dao. I will not waver again."

He understood that a Dao Seeker had to be willing to die upon hearing the Dao, without regret.

Tai Ming thought it over carefully. He was not afraid of death; he was merely somewhat hesitant.

After he saw through it, a wondrous transformation occurred within him, originating from the mentality he had possessed as a mortal in the past.

This transformation made him feel even more deeply how difficult the path of seeking the Dao was. Even someone like him, who possessed the inheritance of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation and the guidance of the Heart of the Earthly Path, had nearly fallen into a mental delusion, let alone ordinary Primordial Beings.

The Heart of the Earthly Path instructed him, "Boy, your enlightenment is still insufficient.

"From now on, you need only move forward wholeheartedly and head to Buzhou Mountain.

"To establish one's Dao, one must first establish one's heart. Cultivation can be taught, but understanding the heart can only come from oneself.

"If the heart is misaligned, how can the Dao be correct? Accept the baptism of the will of the Pangu Clan!"

The Heart of the Earthly Path arranged Tai Ming's journey ahead, hoping he would understand his true inner needs.

Compared with Tai Ming establishing his Dao and his heart, all other plans would temporarily take second place.

It could be said that the guidance of the Heart of the Earthly Path was meticulous.

Time passed. After Tai Ming established his goal, he remained resolute and embarked on the journey to Buzhou Mountain.

Like an ascetic, Tai Ming set out with his whole heart devoted to that majestic and boundless sacred land—Buzhou Mountain.

Buzhou Mountain was magnificent and grand, the embodiment of the Pangu Clan's unyielding spine, bearing the stability of the Primordial World.