Chapter 14

"The closer a Dao Seeker draws to the Dao, the more they must learn to let go."

Having once followed Yue Jianshi, it had witnessed the rise and fall of countless Primordial Era Dao Seekers, and knew well the confusion that clouded most seekers' hearts in their later stages.

Sometimes, that emotional attachment to one's original aspiration could light the path forward.

Whether Tai Ming could preserve his true self remained to be seen.

Time and space flowed on. A hundred thousand years later.

At the convergence of the Netherworld Blood Sea and the Netherworld, two figures shimmering with divine radiance stood in the void.

One spoke: "Youngster, the task of perfecting the Netherworld has been placed in your hands. Can your incarnation withstand the trial?"

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

He continued, "With the blessings of the senior and the Netherworld's will, the time has come.

Next, we shall see how far Ming He and Huang Quan, born from the Netherworld Blood Sea, can perfect the Netherworld."

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

With Jiang Chen's Corpse Dao emerging and Tai Ming's breakthrough, the plan to perfect the Netherworld had finally been set in motion.

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

By a stroke of fortune, Jiang Chen, as a primordial sacred being of the Netherworld Blood Sea, might accomplish this task even more brilliantly.

From there, it was merely a matter of following the steps; the plan to perfect the Netherworld was within reach.

Tai Ming and the Heart of the Earthly Path were both confident.

As Tai Ming spoke, the Heart of the Earthly Path began to act in concert with the Netherworld.

An invisible, mysterious force started to churn. The world barrier of the Netherworld blazed with divine light.

A mighty power, like a great axe cleaving Heaven and Earth, struck once and carved an eternal abyss within the Netherworld Blood Sea.

In an instant, the entire Netherworld Blood Sea seemed overturned, waves surging skyward, assimilating the void itself.

The intangible order of the Great Dao shattered in that moment.

In the blink of an eye, the blood sea receded, revealing endless, terrifying crimson ravines stretching without bound.

The Netherworld's world barrier activated, like some fearsome creature expanding and devouring, drawing an infinite expanse of blood-red chasms into itself.

At the same time, a tremendous power began to assimilate this blood sea, transforming it into a Nether Land of dark gloom.

Tai Ming now truly felt the supreme, unmatched might of the Primordial Era.

He marveled: "Is this the power left behind by Yue Jianshi?"

As the Netherworld expanded at a breathtaking pace, Tai Ming witnessed its astonishing speed and efficiency—countless spaces were assimilated with every breath.

When the Netherworld's world barrier halted, a wall of blood appeared before him—the receding Netherworld Blood Sea surging back.

The Heart of the Earthly Path said to Tai Ming: "Now it falls to your incarnation."

Tai Ming took a deep breath and decided to take the field himself.

He shifted his perspective to that of his incarnation Jiang Chen, experiencing the terror of the Netherworld Blood Sea firsthand.

The Netherworld Blood Sea was known as a forbidden land of the Primordial Era, each layer brimming with unimaginable negative erosion.

Though Jiang Chen was powerful, he could only remain on the sixth layer. Here, nothing but Jiang Chen himself could exist—only a world of crimson, with no sense of direction or time.

Jiang Chen felt himself on the verge of eternal sinking.

Fortunately, as a split-soul incarnation, he could still sense the location of Tai Ming's main body, thus avoiding true oblivion.

As the Netherworld Blood Sea flowed back, Jiang Chen rode the tide, returning to the starting point with the blood-red waves.

When Tai Ming's consciousness shifted, the Netherworld's boundary wall was already within sight.

Jiang Chen began to exert his power.

A thunderous roar erupted as his Corpse Dao true form manifested.

This body was colossal, head touching the heavens, feet planted on the earth, covered in blood-red, ferocious scales like a suit of crimson divine armor.

Great Dao Divine Talismans, of the same origin as the Netherworld Blood Sea, radiated from his body, and wherever he passed, blood-red divine chains coalesced in the void.

Beneath a sky thick with blood clouds, his pupils blazed like two blood-red suns—one glance and one would sink into oblivion.

This was Jiang Chen's Corpse Dao true form, fierce and mighty.

With his appearance, the receding Netherworld Blood Sea began to form a terrifying blood-sea vortex around him, its grinding force enough to shatter stars.

Yet Jiang Chen, at the vortex's center, remained unaffected, merely being pushed toward the Netherworld's world barrier.

For a time, even his Grand Unity Venerable God body was forced back step by step.

As time passed, Jiang Chen's figure gradually neared the Netherworld's world barrier.

He acted again, resolving to fully purify the Negative Energy within the Netherworld Blood Sea, leaving the Netherworld's evolution to its will.

His colossal form stood like a bridge, connecting the Netherworld and the Netherworld Blood Sea.

On one side lay the Netherworld Blood Sea, choked with Negative Energy; on the other, the Netherworld Blood Sea after his purification.

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

At this moment, the Heart of the Earthly Path and the Netherworld itself started to act.

A Netherworld vortex appeared, and the evolved blood sea crossed the Netherworld without obstruction, flowing with the blessing of the Netherworld's will.

Over time, an endless, shadowy river gradually formed behind Jiang Chen.

Even without the corrosive power of the Netherworld Blood Sea, its darkness alone could make one sink into despair.

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

The River Styx Land had taken initial shape; the next step was merely careful refinement.

They wondered just how much the Netherworld would be perfected as a result.

Meanwhile, within the Netherworld, the Eye of the Netherworld Dao manifested as Jiang Chen acted. As the blood sea flowed, the Netherworld's power swept through, carving out a new blood sea—the Styx.

The Styx was a river that guided the souls of perished beings. With it, the Netherworld could continuously connect to the death veins of the Primordial World, greatly improving the efficiency of soul guidance.

"In the name of the Netherworld Earthly Path, I decree the River Styx Land to guide the souls of All Beings."

Invisibly, a supreme decree echoed through the Primordial World, drawing the gaze of countless Innate Divine Beings.

Major powers discussed it among themselves, and even strong forces like the Five Directions Divine Lords were affected, responding urgently.

Yet these reactions did not hinder the evolution of the Netherworld.

With the decree of the River Styx Land, the number of souls in the Netherworld began to surge, and the Nether Land started to feel crowded.

The Transformation of the Netherworld

Within the Styx, the Eye of the Netherworld Will activated once more. An invisible ripple spread, and Nether Veins gradually emerged.

The Nether Land was renewed, as if reborn.

At that moment, a new decree echoed within the Netherworld, ordaining the water veins of the Netherworld as Huang Quan, whose purpose was to baptize souls.

Success would remove their delusions; failure would mean eternal damnation.

Under these two decrees, the Netherworld underwent unprecedented change, its spatial environment brimming with vitality and energy.

The Netherworld's unique character became even more pronounced, even attaining an unparalleled splendor.

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

However, with the emergence of the Styx and Huang Quan, the number of souls skyrocketed, and the strength of the Yin-Yang Ghost Clan surged like fire fueled by oil.

The baptism of the Styx and Huang Quan perfected the reproductive flaws of the Ghost Clan; all reincarnations became ghosts, with no other choice.

In a short time, the population of the Yin-Yang Ghost Clan exploded a hundredfold, growing from millions to billions.

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

Now, Tai Ming began to contemplate his next move.

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

Though the Netherworld was safer, it was too isolated. Compared to the Innate Divine Beings on the true Primordial Land, he needed more exchange and learning.

He realized that if he stayed in the Netherworld forever, the foundation of the Ghost Dao would grow increasingly narrow, eventually hitting a bottleneck.

Thus, he hoped to find Dao companions to discuss and exchange insights, ensuring his path remained unobstructed.

So, he decided to travel the Primordial World.

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

Tai Ming's heart stirred, and the Heart of the Earthly Path sensed it.

The soul attached to him spoke: "Kid, just go ahead."

It continued to encourage him: "Even the mighty Yue Jian and Cang Li of the past climbed to the peak step by step."

Given that the commotion the Netherworld was about to cause would draw many eyes, your presence or absence no longer mattered.

In the end, your cultivation is still too weak. The coming storms are beyond your reach.

The Primordial World, with the towering Buzhou Divine Mountain.

Far to the northwest of the Buzhou Mountain Range, in an unknown location.

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

"Primordial World, here I come!"

Originally, Tai Ming had planned to travel the Primordial World as Jiang Chen, enjoying the power of an undying body and a Grand Unity Venerable God.

But things took an unexpected turn. The perfection of the Netherworld gave birth to a new embryo of an Innate Divine Being, and Jiang Chen was bound to stay and guard the new life.

Even Shen Ji, who shared the same origin, was immersed in a deep-level transformation of his essence due to the Netherworld's evolution.

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

When Shen Ji would awaken next was unknown.

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

It advised him: "You have become an Immortal Venerable God. There's no need to be so overly careful."

The Primordial World is dangerous, but not as terrifying as you imagine.

On the path of the Great Dao, if you do not advance, you will retreat. If fear takes root in your heart, perhaps you should reconsider your own path.

Tai Ming's misunderstanding, born from the powerful beings he encountered in the Netherworld, led the Heart of the Earthly Path to believe he might think Grand Unity Venerable Gods were everywhere and Immortal Venerable Gods commonplace.

In truth, however, the vast majority of beings in the Primordial World had yet to reach the realm of Immortal Venerable God.

This final piece of advice came from the Heart of the Earthly Path, who merely offered a gentle nudge to Tai Ming.

As Tai Ming walked across the lands of the Primordial World, the confusion of the past gradually faded away.

This was the main reason the Heart of the Earthly Path had allowed him to venture deep into the Primordial World.

Deep within his heart, the voice of the Heart of the Earthly Path made him reveal an awkward expression.

Though he had already attained the status of an Innate Divine Being, he still clung to the habit of hiding his strength and concealing his trump cards, failing to fully grasp the uniqueness of this Primordial World.

He replied to the Heart of the Earthly Path: "Senior speaks truly.

I have already resolved to walk the path of a Dao Seeker, and I will waver no more."

He understood that a Dao Seeker must be willing to face death upon hearing the Dao, without regret.

Tai Ming thought long and hard. He was not afraid of death, only somewhat hesitant.

Once he had worked through it, a wondrous transformation took place within him, stemming from the mortal mindset of his past.

This transformation made him feel all the more keenly the difficulty of the path of seeking the Dao. Even someone like him, who had the inheritance of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation and the guidance of the Heart of the Earthly Path, had nearly fallen into a spiritual trap—let alone ordinary Primordial Beings.

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

From now on, simply focus on moving forward, heading toward Buzhou Mountain.

Establish the Dao by first establishing the heart. Cultivation can be taught, but the comprehension of the heart can only be achieved by oneself.

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

The Heart of the Earthly Path had arranged Tai Ming's next steps, hoping he would come to understand his own true inner needs.

Compared to Tai Ming's establishment of the Dao and the heart, all other plans were temporarily set aside.

One could say the guidance of the Heart of the Earthly Path was meticulous in every way.

Time flowed on. Tai Ming, having set his goal, remained unwavering and set out on his journey to Buzhou Mountain.

Like an ascetic, Tai Ming began his journey, devoting himself entirely to that vast and sacred land—Buzhou Mountain.

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