The Dao Path Lay Only in the Present, Not in Longevity

Everyone exchanged courtesies and said a great deal of empty pleasantries.

Of course, though those words were empty, they were not meaningless.

Others might not need to care, but who among those seated here was not an exceptionally powerful expert?

Wan Hong, a peak expert famous for two thousand years, represented the pinnacle of Immortal Cultivators here.

Dragon Princess, a True Dragon who had reappeared after vanishing for a hundred thousand years. Though she had not completed the final step of Dragon Transformation, her strength had long reached the peak of Half-step Entering Dao.

Wu Wei Zheng, a stowaway from the previous era, an ancient and powerful existence.

Zhongli Xiayi, a newly advanced Entering the Dao expert. She had taken a shortcut, but Duobao True Monarch had spent two thousand years preparing that shortcut for her. It was a shortcut for her, but not for the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch, a true Sword Dao genius. He had risen from humble beginnings and, with the help of a Relic Formation left behind by the Sun True Sect, grown into a sword immortal-like existence.

Moreover, he had crossed the limits of his Lifespan, undergone Body Snatching, and taken another step forward.

Body Snatching was a very unfair thing, but no one would quibble over it.

Immortal Cultivators had never spoken of fairness. If they did, they would not be Immortal Cultivators, but mortals.

These five Entering the Dao experts could now represent the entire Myriad Flower Domain.

However, they were not familiar with one another, such as Zhongli Xiayi and Heavenly Sword True Monarch. Thus, a little courtesy was still necessary. At the very least, it could bring them closer and allow them to forge a better alliance.

"Are there others?" Heavenly Sword True Monarch softly asked as he looked at the three empty chairs.

"The others probably will not be coming!" Wan Hong said, stroking his graying beard.

"What about Yang Zhengshan?" Wu Wei Zheng asked.

Everyone's gaze fell upon Wu Wei Zheng, but after considering the Myriad Beast Sect's stronghold, they understood that Wu Wei Zheng had quite a few ties with Yang Zhengshan.

"Fellow Daoist Yang is still in seclusion!" Wan Hong explained.

Dragon Princess looked toward Ao Xuan beside her. Ao Xuan explained, "Yang Zhengshan is the ancestor of the Yunxiao Yang Family. It is said that over ten years ago, he drove back Chang Buzai in the Wanhua Mountain Range."

Yang Zhengshan could no longer be considered an unknown figure. Perhaps ordinary Rogue Cultivators did not know his name, but the major powers still understood something about him.

Only Dragon Princess had just completed Dragon Transformation and had not had time to learn about such matters.

Dragon Princess gave a slight nod, not taking it to heart.

"Since everyone is here, let us first discuss the matter of eliminating the Demon Evils!" Wan Hong said.

Dragon Princess shook her head. "There is no need. They have already arrived!"

"They have come?" Wan Hong was not surprised either. He merely raised his head and looked into the Void.

They had gathered here today precisely to deal with the Demon Evils. This place was not far from the Land of Reincarnation. As long as those Demon Evils paid the slightest attention, they would discover their presence.

Therefore, it was not unexpected for the Demon Evils to arrive now.

Both Wan Hong and Dragon Princess had actually anticipated that this great battle would begin today.

The atmosphere abruptly became grave, and everyone turned their eyes toward the Great Void.

At this moment, nearly a hundred Demon Evils densely filled the Great Void. Each one emitted a dense Qi Mechanism. Their Qi Mechanisms differed from those of cultivators and Demon Kings; they were exceedingly strange. Death Qi revealed sinister evil, while their vitality contained dense Sha Qi.

White Bone and Jade Crown were both present. They had surrounded this place.

"Hehe, what are you all doing here?" Jade Crown knowingly asked. Its voice remained as grating as ever, drifting from the Great Void into reality.

Wan Hong slowly rose to his feet. "The Land of Reincarnation has not emerged for a million years. We have always kept to our own waters without offending one another. Why are you attacking the various powers now?"

This was what he found hardest to understand. The Land of Reincarnation had existed for a million years, yet throughout the history of the Myriad Flower Domain, there had never been any record of Demon Evils leaving the Land of Reincarnation.

"Who said we have not emerged for a million years? Three hundred thousand years ago, we swept across the entire Myriad Flower Domain. A hundred thousand years ago, we also destroyed most of the powers in the Myriad Flower Domain!"

"It is not that we never emerged, but that you do not know the suffering of longevity!"

What was the suffering of longevity?

Time could grind away everything: traces once left behind, things that had once existed, everything you liked, hated, cherished, despised—everything, everything.

Wan Hong being unable to find records of Demon Evils leaving the Land of Reincarnation did not mean they had never left before. It only meant that the river of time had erased those records, leaving behind merely vague and dubious legends.

Wan Hong fell silent for a moment, a trace of inexplicable astonishment appearing in his weathered eyes.

Three hundred thousand years ago?

The time was simply too distant. Nothing could be verified.

There were still some traces of events from a hundred thousand years ago.

For instance, the era from a hundred thousand years ago was called Remote Antiquity, while the era after that was called the Ancient Era.

The distinction between Remote Antiquity and the Ancient Era had not arisen only now. It had existed long ago.

Why had they been divided that way?

Because a hundred thousand years ago, there had been a Dragon Emperor—a True Dragon.

That True Dragon represented not only the dragon race, but also the last Dao Master-level existence in the Myriad Flower Domain. Not a Lord of Authority, but a true Dao Master.

The fall of the True Dragon marked the end of an era. Since then, no true Dao Master had appeared in the Myriad Flower Domain.

If the Demon Evils had emerged a hundred thousand years ago, then was the True Dragon's fall related to these Demon Evils?

Dragon Princess narrowed her eyes. Golden brilliance, sharp as swords, pierced through the barriers of space. Wan Hong could think of the possibility that the True Dragon's fall was related to the Demon Evils; naturally, she could as well.

As a descendant of the True Dragon, she felt this conjecture even more deeply.

Anger, hatred, and enmity.

Jade Crown paid no heed whatsoever to their changing expressions and continued with a chuckle, "Do not blame us for slaughtering wantonly. You must understand that we are protecting the Myriad Flower Domain, while all of you are Myriad Flower Domain Parasites!"

"What do you mean by that?" Wan Hong calmly asked.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle~~ Have you not noticed that the spiritual energy of the Myriad Flower Domain is growing thinner and thinner?"

"You caused all of this!"

Its voice suddenly became shrill. "It is you parasites who constantly consume the spiritual energy of the Myriad Flower Domain! It is you parasites who constantly squander the spiritual energy of the Myriad Flower Domain!"

"A million years ago, every corner of the Myriad Flower Domain was an Immortal Realm, every corner a Spiritually Auspicious Land!"

"And now?"

"More than half of the Myriad Flower Domain has fallen into Spirit Desolation Land!"

"Hahaha~~"

"After today, even this place may become a Spirit Desolation Land!"

"You are all sinners of the Myriad Flower Domain!"

Everyone was stunned. They were all sinners?

They looked at each other.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch lowered his head in thought. It seemed he had never considered this question.

The spiritual energy of the Myriad Flower Domain was indeed becoming thinner and thinner. At present, only the Central Region could still be called a Spiritually Auspicious Land. Most of the other four domains had sparse spiritual energy, insufficient even for the cultivation needs of Qi Refining Stage Cultivators.

However, after merely considering it, he slowly shook his head.

What were Immortal Cultivators?

They were people!

People only looked at what lay before them; they would not look so far ahead.

What did the future of the Myriad Flower Domain have to do with them now?

This was not to say Immortal Cultivators were shortsighted. Rather, the disaster was simply too far away from them.

Though the spiritual energy of the Myriad Flower Domain was indeed becoming increasingly thin, the span of time involved would be at least tens of thousands of years, perhaps even over a hundred thousand years.

Ordinary people would consider matters a hundred years from now, but they would absolutely not consider matters a thousand years from now, because that was simply too distant.

A hundred years was for the sake of one's descendants.

A thousand years was something one's descendants ought to consider.

By the same logic, even Golden Core cultivators would at most consider matters a few thousand years ahead—for their families, their sects, and their inheritances. But ten thousand years from now was still far too distant for them.

Even if the Myriad Flower Domain were to become entirely Spirit Desolation Land in the future, that was not something they should consider now.

Immortal Cultivators fought only for the present.

If they did not fight for the present, then a thousand years or ten thousand years would all be empty illusions.

They contended for the position of Lord of Authority not for ten thousand years hence, but for now.

Because if they failed to contend for it, they would be ground away by the river of time and vanish between Heaven and Earth.

In comparison, White Bone and Jade Crown considered matters ten thousand years, even a hundred thousand years, into the future, because what happened then concerned themselves.

They had already existed for a million years and would continue to exist for a very, very long time.

Their existence required spiritual energy. The richer the spiritual energy of the Myriad Flower Domain, the more beneficial it was to them.

They did not know what changes would occur after the spiritual energy of the Myriad Flower Domain was exhausted, but they knew that once it ran dry, they too would lose all their power.

That was why they had left the Land of Reincarnation. They wanted to kill those powerful experts and destroy those powers trapped in conflict.

Thus, Tianxian Dao Master was merely their collaborator, not their master.

They needed Tianxian Dao Master's power to leave the Land of Reincarnation. Without Tianxian Dao Master, they could not leave it.

"You parasites all deserve to die!"

Jade Crown shrieked.

"Ah~~ The depletion of spiritual energy is not what I desire. We merely wish to endure in this world!" Wan Hong sighed softly.

The Dao Path lay only in the present, not in longevity.

Longevity was merely a deluded thought.

"Hehe, I knew it was impossible to make you obediently offer up your lives, so we can only kill you!" Jade Crown did not feel disappointed, because it knew that everything stemmed from deluded thoughts.

The battle began. More than a hundred Demon Evils emerged from the Great Void and descended into a chaotic melee with several dozen Golden Core cultivators.

This had always been a battle to the death, with no room for reconciliation.

From the moment the Demon Evils left the Land of Reincarnation, this battle had already been destined.

These Demon Evils were very powerful. Every one of them possessed the strength of the Golden Core Late Stage, while White Bone and Jade Crown were both stronger than Half-step Entering Dao.

They could not Enter the Dao, but White Bone Jade Crown had granted them the trait of immortality. So long as White Bone Jade Crown was not destroyed, they would not die.

White Bone Jade Crown was the Land of Reincarnation itself. Trying to destroy the Land of Reincarnation was also an impossible matter.

White Bone Jade Crown was a Spirit Treasure, a Spirit Treasure that had existed for a million years. No, it should have existed far longer than a million years. Before arriving in the Myriad Flower Domain, no one knew how many years it had already existed.

Unfortunately, White Bone Jade Crown was only a Spirit Treasure, while White Bone and Jade Crown were only Spirit Artifacts. They could not break through the limitations of Spirit Artifacts or become Dao Masters, and could only remain trapped within the Land of Reincarnation.

It was a kind of sorrow, as well as helplessness.

Dragon Might surged grandly. Even borrowing the power of Heaven and Earth, it still could not suppress White Bone and Jade Crown.

Sword Intent towered into the heavens, bearing supreme sharpness, yet it could not sever the vitality of White Bone and Jade Crown.

Spirit Treasures formed a formation, suppressing them with vast power, yet they could only restrain White Bone and Jade Crown for a moment.

Wu Wei was indestructible, yet he could only launch hidden sneak attacks, unable to confront White Bone and Jade Crown head-on.

Rosy light stretched ten thousand zhang, illuminating Heaven and Earth, yet it seemed illusory, appearing so fragile.

It was not that they were not strong enough. White Bone and Jade Crown were simply too heaven-defying.

They had existed for a million years. How could a few Half-step Entering Dao experts possibly destroy them?

If they had been so fragile, then in the era hundreds of thousands of years ago, when Dao Masters roamed freely, they would have long since been wiped away.

They had endured until now because even Dao Masters had been unable to do anything to them.

Of course, their power had not reached the point of being invincible.

Their strength was limited to being undying and indestructible, not suppressing everything.

Though Wan Hong, Dragon Princess, Wu Wei Zheng, Heavenly Sword True Monarch, and Zhongli Xiayi could not suppress them, they could still contend against them.

With the five joining hands, they could barely hold their own against them.

The others, however, did not possess such strength.

Those Demon Evils were exceedingly troublesome. Not only were they quite powerful, they also possessed the traits of immortality and indestructibility.

Immortality and indestructibility did not mean they truly could not be eliminated. It only meant eliminating them was extremely difficult.

Their bodies were incomparably tough. Not only could they withstand Spirit Artifacts head-on, they also possessed powerful regenerative abilities. Unless they were completely pulverized, they would recover in an extremely short time.

At first, everyone could still contend against these Demon Evils. They could even fight two or three alone. But as time passed, they gradually fell into a passive position and were increasingly suppressed by the Demon Evils.

Second by second, time passed. The battle spread from the nameless island in all directions, spreading into the East Sea, spreading into the Eastern Domain, spreading into the boundless Great Void.

Life Realm Immortal Palace, Longevity Palace.

Yang Zhengshan slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of ordinary yet profound eyes.

They were ordinary, no different from a mortal's. Their depth came only from the vicissitudes of having experienced the world.

He rose to his feet, stretched heavily, then exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"Ah~~"

The next moment, a brilliant smile appeared on his face. "Longevity, longevity—it lies not in longevity, but in the Dao Extreme Realm."

"The Dao Extreme Realm, hahaha~~"

See One Spot and Know the Whole Leopard!

He had glimpsed the Dao Extreme Realm.

What was the Dao Extreme Realm?

It could not be spoken, could not be measured, could not be named. It was boundless and endless!

The Dao Extreme Realm meant that the Dao had no end.

Entering the Dao was merely a beginning.

Entering the Dao meant only that one had just stepped into the Dao Realm. The so-called Dao Realm was the boundless Dao; thus, the extreme of the Dao was boundlessness.

After savoring this insight and sensing the changes within himself, Yang Zhengshan smiled faintly and slowly stepped out of the Quiet Room.

He did not open the door and walk out of the Quiet Room. Instead, he passed directly through the stone door as if it were formless.

The Way of Void and Reality: all things were void, all things were real. I could be real, and I could also be void. Void and reality lay only within a single thought.

When he arrived at the main hall, however, he found quite a few people there.

Yu Qingyi, Su Mei, Yunxiao, Lin Xiqiu, Yang Mingcheng, Yang Jizhen, and the others—more than half the Golden Core cultivators of the Life Realm Immortal Palace were present.

He had arrived without a sound, and no one else noticed him. Only Yu Qingyi, seated in the place of honor, saw him.

"Husband!" Yu Qingyi smiled as brilliantly as a lotus flower.

Only then did everyone notice Yang Zhengshan. They hurriedly rose and bowed. "Greetings, Venerable!"

Yang Zhengshan looked at Yu Qingyi, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes. Yu Qingyi had changed greatly. Not only had her cultivation advanced to the Golden Core Mid Stage, even her Divine Path Intent seemed to have improved tremendously. In only twenty or thirty years, she had actually cultivated to the Golden Core Mid Stage. It was clear that Hua Qingzhu had benefited her enormously.