The Nature of the Creator

Muzhou.

Beside a cliff overlooking dozens of miles.

This place was originally a well-known scenic spot in Muzhou, but the chaos caused by Demonic Beasts did not completely destroy it.

At this moment, Gu Jinlai and Zhou Yi were sitting at a stone table, exchanging ideas.

Hongye, Zhang Liefeng, and Yunling stood aside, listening quietly.

"The Xuanji Sect has a history of three thousand years. During this time, it has experienced countless storms. At its lowest point, only a few Primordial Spirit True Lord remained. At its peak, three Land True Immortals lived in the same era, governing an area of 30,000 li and 600 million people."

At this moment, Zhou Yi was recounting the history of the Xuanji Sect: "Starting two thousand years ago, the Celestial Masters sect gradually rose to prominence, and our Xuanji Sect concealed its power. When the Holy Domain was established and the world was divided into twelve regions such as Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, etc. according to the twelve earthly branches, our Xuanji Sect also temporarily avoided the limelight and moved away as a whole sect at that time."

"The Twelve Domains".

This saying has been heard in the scriptures of the Dainichi Tensei sect Gu Jinlai.

This should be the earliest twelve time zone.

However, the Holy Domain divided the entire world, including the Underworld, the Mountain of Gods, and the Temple of the Sea God, into the twelve regions under its jurisdiction, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the three forces.

They do not approve of this division of the Sanctuary.

In this case, the twelve districts, after their evolution, shrank in scope, becoming limited to the area under the jurisdiction of the Sanctuary, and changed from time zones to regions.

Just like the thirty-nine provinces of the Qian Heaven.

Because the Holy Domain was supreme and powerful at that time, the twelve time domains, which were divided by the twelve earthly branches with the Holy Domain as the main one, also became the center of the world, attracting countless celestial masters from all over the world.

This includes the founder of the Daiichi Tensei sect.

"The dragon that soars too high will regret it, and fullness cannot last. Since the civil war broke out in the Holy Domain a thousand years ago, it has declined after reaching its peak. After countless forces survived the most difficult period of survival, they occupied the twelve time domains of the Holy Domain and began a long struggle, intending to replace the Holy Domain and become the world's overlord. This almost endless war lasted for hundreds of years, until..."

Zhou Yi sighed, "The Demonic Beasts have arrived."

"So... the Twelve Domains have also completely fallen?"

His expression was somewhat solemn Gu Jinlai.

He knew the situation outside Qiantian was dire, but he never imagined it would be this bad.

"I was unaware of this matter."

Zhou Yi said, "As the center of the world, the twelve regions are the main targets of the Demon Realm Demonic Beasts and Demonic Spirit of the demon realm, and they are facing unprecedented pressure. Although they are powerful, the internal strife that has lasted for hundreds of years has made it impossible for them to truly cooperate sincerely and unite as one. More than forty years ago, the news from the twelve regions began to come intermittently. More than ten years later, the information between the two places was gradually cut off. Twenty-six years ago, a celestial being from the caves arrived at our Xuanji Sect, saying that he wanted to gather the power of the holy lands and caves of humanity that were willing to put aside their prejudices and build a new holy land to use as a foundation to resist the invasion of Demonic Beasts."

At this point, his expression darkened somewhat. "This... should prove something."

The most prestigious grottoes and sacred sites of humankind are to be rebuilt into a new holy land.

To put it nicely, this so-called new holy land is for concentrating all forces for resistance; to put it bluntly...

A refuge for surviving humans.

"Nine years ago, Demonic Beasts began to scatter. According to the sect's higher-ups, these Demonic Beasts should have come from the Twelve Domains. After destroying the resistance forces of the Twelve Domains, these Demonic Beasts began to spread in all directions..."

Zhou Yi paused slightly, then continued, "Of course, it's also possible that the forces of the Twelve Domains have united and are holding out tenaciously. The Demonic Beasts feel they can't overcome this tough nut to crack, so they want to first spread to the surrounding areas to strengthen themselves before using a 'wildfire' tactic to completely incinerate the resistance forces of the Twelve Domains..."

He stopped there.

Because even he himself felt that the possibility was slim.

If there is still a powerful force in the Twelve Realms that leaves Demonic Beasts helpless, how could it be that not a single sound could be heard?

"Nine years ago, Demonic Beasts swept into our Xuanji Sect. Although our Xuanji Sect armed everyone and passed down top-notch techniques, we were ultimately unable to withstand the overwhelming Demonic Beasts army... A year ago, realizing that the situation was hopeless, the sect leader ordered us to each carry relatively complete sect scriptures, divide into teams, and break out in different directions to ensure the sect's heritage was not lost..."

As Zhou Yi spoke, his expression darkened.

It seems she was thinking about unpleasant memories from that time.

"Since we were able to escape, the sect leader and senior uncles will surely be able to escape to a safe place as well. They will be fine."

Yunling comforted her.

"A safe place..."

As Zhou Yi spoke, he looked at Gu Jinlai: "We fled all the way for a year. During that year, we went to four holy lands and two dynasties, but without exception, all those holy lands and dynasties fell. A few months ago, we even felt despair... If it weren't for the belief that the human race would not be easily defeated, and the belief that our 'holy land' must exist, and that finding the 'holy land' would reignite the flame of our sect's inheritance, we probably wouldn't have been able to hold out until we reached the Qian Tian Realm."

Gu Jinlai, those who have studied the Book of Changes have come to know what it is thinking and what it wants to say.

He nodded solemnly. "I don't know what the real 'Holy Land' looks like, nor do I know why the once brilliant Holy Domain ended its civilization due to civil war. But I will do my best and use every means to build the area south of the Milky Way and the Qian Heaven Realm into a new Holy Domain, a new Holy Land."

"Although the hope is slim, I believe that day will come."

The Book of Changes (Zhouyi) is full of profound principles.

He looked at Gu Jinlai, "When I came here, I saw the Myriad Spirits Array covering the military workshop Lingxiao City. The Ancient Palace Master has indeed reached the third step of the Heavenly Monarch, but... there is still some uncertainty about his contact with the real spirit world, right?"

"That's true."

Gu Jinlai nodded.

He wants to enter the real spirit world, which does require certain conditions.

At least, when fierce battles are raging outside, it's impossible to immediately judge or discern anything through the real spirit world.

Of course, using the "Clear Light" state doesn't count.

"The fastest and most stable way to enter the true spirit world is the cultivation method of the third step of the Heavenly Monarch. When the Ancient Palace Master can enter the true spirit world at any time, he will reach the peak in terms of compatibility with the spirit world. Next, the True Spirit will be nurtured to the extreme and the spiritual consciousness will expand to perfection. After meeting these three conditions, the cultivator will be able to touch the spirit world and even invoke the power of the spirit world."

Zhou Yi paused slightly as he spoke, "Of course, after making contact with the real spirit world, it is also possible to invoke the power of the spirit world by using some other methods."

Gu Jinlai recalled the process of refining the Qiankun Ring.

If the quality isn't good enough, make up for it with quantity.

That's the point.

"We call a Heavenly Ruler who meets these three conditions a Great Heavenly Ruler, meaning the one who has mastered the way of Heavenly Rulers."

"The Great Heavenly Lord?"

Some Gu Jinlai surprised. "He can invoke the power of the true spirit world, yet he's still not the creator?"

"The Creator?"

Zhou Yi shook his head. "There is a fundamental difference between the Creator and the Heavenly Ruler."

While this might seem surprising to Gu Jinlai, it makes one think of the difference in status and power between the Creator and the Heavenly Ruler...

It also seems to make sense.

"The True Spirit of mankind is ultimately a consciousness formed by the spirituality projected from the soul. In other words, it is equivalent to our thinking, but it is a special existence that is controllable and, to some extent, accessible. But the Creator... has already transcended the shackles of human life and entered a completely new realm."

As I spoke of the Book of Changes, I felt a sense of longing.

"A completely new field?"

"Yes, the True Spirit is like a boat, and the spirit world is like the sea. No matter how good the boat is for sailing the spirit sea, it can't compare to a real fish."

Zhou Yi's expression was solemn. "The biggest difference between the Creator and the Heavenly Lord is that the Creator transforms himself into a fish, becoming a true spiritual being."

"Transform yourself into a spirit world life form!?"

Gu Jinlai, the pupils have shrunk.

"That's right, to transform into a spirit world life, or to become a part of the spirit world, is like transforming into a fish in water, or even... becoming part of the water."

Looking at the Gu Jinlai, "No matter how powerful the True Spirit or how sturdy the boat, how can it compare to being able to transform into a fish or even into water and swim freely in the ocean of the spirit world?"

"This is the Creator?"

"Indeed, this is the Creator."

The Book of Changes says, "When the Heavenly Sovereign sails in the Sea of Spirits, he at least has a boat to travel on. Ordinary people in the Sea of Spirits are like swimmers without any support, while Demonic Spirit are like monsters in the sea..."

"What about the Void Beast?"

A question suddenly arose from Gu Jinlai.

Zhou Yi looked at him and knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

"Legend has it that the Void Beasts are spirit beasts created by the creators based on the characteristics of Demonic Spirit; one could even say they are powerful Demonic Spirit that have been completely tamed and controlled..."

He nodded. "It's true. The Void Beast is a monster among monsters. It devours demons and spirits, and it will devour anything."

He paused, then continued, "So, a thousand years ago, the creators were able to use these monsters among monsters to force the immortals who stood at the pinnacle of the cultivation world to bow their heads. In fact, because they had transformed themselves into spirit beings similar to seawater... they were even regarded as monsters by the Demonic Spirit..."

Gu Jinlai, people have heard the teachings of the Book of Changes and gradually gained a clearer understanding of the true concept of the Creator and the powerful forces of destruction they created.

However, one question remained in his mind.

"If the Creator has already transformed the form of life, then why... is the lifespan still only two hundred years? Far less than that of a mortal immortal?"

This Gu Jinlai.

Zhou Yi did not reply immediately, but pondered something.

After a long while, he looked at Gu Jinlai and asked, "Do you know what the most difficult thing was for the Heavenly Emperor to become the Creator?"

Before Gu Jinlai reply, he immediately said, "It's the Spirit Realm! The Heavenly Lord is going to transform himself into a Spirit Realm life form. His thoughts and consciousness will be shared and interconnected with the Spirit Realm. And what is the Spirit Realm?! It is all living beings! It is all things! It is everything! At that moment, ninety-nine percent of the Heavenly Lords will be swept away by everything contained in the Spirit Realm, losing themselves and becoming lost within it, until... they become a part of the Spirit Realm."

He paused, then continued, "It's like when a person dies, their body is buried in the ground and turns into fertilizer..."

A chill ran through my heart, from Gu Jinlai.

"Although the Creators have transformed into spirit beings and possess the power to control the spirit realm, the deeper they delve into the spirit realm and the more they utilize its power, the more they will succumb, coming into contact with more and more information about the spirit realm, until..."

Zhou Yi sighed as he finished speaking, "Yearning for the spirit world, touching the spirit world, integrating into the spirit world, revering the spirit world, and finally... losing oneself in the spirit world, and perishing in the spirit world."