Some enjoyed peaceful years; someone had to bear the burden and press onward.
So why couldn't that someone be Ye Fan?
Master Ye could suffer a little more.
In the eyes of Lin Xian, a seasoned wage slave, the Immortal Elixir Bodhi Seed was not a treasure, but an enormous Causality.
Taking the Bodhi Seed meant shouldering the heavy burden of protecting universal peace, attaining the Great Emperor Dao, and fighting the Dark Supremes.
"Suddenly, a madman sharpens his blade at night; the Imperial Star sways high above Mars."
Lin Xian recited a fitting poem, then could not help sneering. "But I'm more afraid that a Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar might fall from the sky."
"Then what about your cultivation?"
After a long silence, System 10086 said coldly, "Cultivation through the Shrouding Method differs from other systems. It is destined to involve slaughter and conflict, fighting for the Emperor Path of a lifetime and bloody battles against the prodigies of countless ages. If you keep loafing around, aren't you afraid of becoming a pile of bones on the Emperor Path?"
"Why do the living beings of the Shrouding the Heavens Universe fight over the Emperor Path of a lifetime?"
Unhurriedly, Lin Xian asked and answered his own question. "Because heaven and earth turn, time presses on, ten thousand years are too long—we must seize every moment!"
"During the Ancient Immortal Era, Immortal Two Great Powers could ascend to the Immortal Realm. Immortal Four Saints were said to be imperishable through ten thousand calamities. Yet after the great battle at the End of the Chaotic Ancient Era, the Great Universe was damaged and shattered. Although the Desolate Heaven Emperor restored the Myriad Dao of heaven and earth, Longevity Substance was insufficient, spiritual essence remained sparse, and cultivators' lifespans plummeted."
"In this age, even a Human Dao Supreme, a Great Emperor of a generation, could live for only a little over ten thousand years in a lifetime. How could anyone accept that?"
"Thus, everything has always been urgent!"
"Resources are scarce, so cultivators of all races fight for a single Emperor Path. There is no road ahead, so all living beings must carve out a bloody road through slaughter."
"But I am different. I know there is a road ahead. I know there are immortals ahead."
"Immortals exist in this world, and one can become immortal even amid the red dust. I have already uncovered the greatest secret of the Shrouding the Heavens Universe and grasped the ultimate truth. Why should I be in a hurry?"
"That is the foundation of my right to loaf around. There is no need to raise gu; I only need to climb the steps."
System 10086 fell silent for a long time before slowly asking, "Then how will you solve the matter of your Dao Heart? In the Shrouding the Heavens Universe's cultivation, one defeat is enough to shatter the Dao Heart. Do you want to imitate the Chaotic Ancient Emperor and become emperor after a hundred defeats? There has been only one such example throughout the ages."
"Simple. I'll become venerable."
Lin Xian's eyes were profound, as if he held all wisdom in his grasp. "There are barriers between realms. One step forward is 'immortal,' one step back is 'mortal.' The higher realm absolutely suppresses the lower."
"No matter how peerless your talent is, if there is a vast gap in realms, it is like a heavenly chasm lying between you. It is simply impossible to 'fight immortals by going against the flow.'"
"Even figures at the level of an Emperor's Son, before entering the Divine Forbidden Realm, possess only the Eight Forbidden and can at most fight across eight minor realms."
"If I can't beat Emperor's Sons, holy maidens, prodigies, or outstanding geniuses, then I'll suppress them with my realm!"
"I'll use the Immortal Platform Realm to fight Sea of Bitterness cultivators, and use Great Saint Realm cultivation to suppress Saints."
"As long as I don't lose, I won't be defeated."
System 10086: "..."
Truly, hearing your words was like hearing words.
"And what about combat power?" System 10086 continued its dying struggle, raising its final crucial question. "What will you do when you reach the later stages of cultivation with your watered-down strength?"
"I'll cut away my cultivation and start over."
Lin Xian revealed a mouthful of pearly-white teeth and smiled brilliantly. "If I can cultivate to the peak of the Great Saint Realm, then with such a watered-down realm, I will be destined to fail at breaking through to Quasi-Emperor. I might as well cut away my cultivation and begin anew, rebuilding my foundation from a Great Saint's perspective and making it stable."
"By then, Heavenly Emperor Ye will definitely be in the late stages as well. It won't be a problem for him to protect me while I cultivate again."
"If a Great Saint rebuilds his cultivation, then barring accidents, he will certainly establish an invincible Dao Heart and charge into the Quasi-Emperor Realm."
"Once I become a Quasi-Emperor, things will be easy. Whether I use an Immortal Elixir to live another lifetime and explore the Red-Dust Immortal Path—"
"Or enter the Heavenly Court, seal myself in Divine Origin, take a nap, and coast my way into the Immortal Realm."
"There is only one word for it: win!"
System 10086 was numb. It had never seen anyone so shameless, someone who truly had no desire whatsoever to strive or work hard.
"System, since you're out anyway."
Smiling warmly, Lin Xian pointed at the Small Bronze Coffin. "Hurry up and comprehend this Bronze Coffin. It's a good thing—far more precious than an Immortal Elixir."
"If you comprehend anything, remember to carry me to victory."
System 10086: ???
The order of heaven and earth had been turned upside down!!! Who exactly was the host here?!
"Host, didn't you say you couldn't take things because you were afraid of becoming entangled in Causality?" System 10086 demanded furiously. How could this man have two completely different faces? Even its crackling electric voice could no longer stay composed, exposing its true emotions.
"Foolish system."
Lin Xian laughed. "Things like scriptures are not unique. Naturally, you can take as many as you want. The Desolate Heaven Emperor left this Immortal Scripture behind for the living beings of this Great Universe to read."
"Don't just look at me as a transmigrator. I have long been one of the people of Shrouding the Heavens."
System 10086 fell silent. Once again, it was shocked by its host's shamelessness.
But in the end, it gave in.
Because the Immortal Scripture within the coffin was highly compatible with the system.
The Bronze Coffin belonged to the Lord of the Plateau, but the scripture inside it had been left behind by the Desolate Heaven Emperor.
Among the several hundred ancient imperial characters, half were interwoven and arranged in intricate patterns, jointly evolving into a mysterious world filled with flowing immortal radiance. If one jumped inside, one would sense its vastness and boundlessness.
This was precisely a method of World-Creation and Immortal Realm Evolution.
The system carefully experienced this intent of creation. Although it caught a certain Dao rhythm, it ultimately could not grasp the method and could only speculate bitterly.
Meanwhile, Lin Xian strolled leisurely through the Bronze Coffin. Using the light streaming in from outside, he once again examined the patterns on the walls. The faint glow rippling from those bronze engravings protected the people in the coffin, preventing them from being shaken to death along the way.
"Where am I...?"
Liu Yunzhi and the others, who had been knocked unconscious, slowly awakened under the light. Their eyes swept around blankly before immediately becoming alert.
"Y-you... what exactly are you trying to do?!" Liu Yunzhi cried in terror, recalling what had happened before.
"Stay put and don't court death. I have no time to deal with you."
Lin Xian replied indifferently, then turned back to continue exploring the mysteries of the Bronze Coffin.
"Stay here?"
A vicious glint flashed through Liu Yunzhi's eyes. He was not that foolish. This monster before him clearly bore ill will toward him. Was he supposed to stay here and wait for death?
Looking at the slivers of light outside the Bronze Coffin, hope rose in Liu Yunzhi's heart. He shouted, "Come out with me! It'll be safer if we leave together!"
Compared with the unfamiliar Lin Xian, the others trusted their classmate Liu Yunzhi more.
So they followed Liu Yunzhi and rushed out, only for countless screams to abruptly ring out.
"If you don't court death, you won't die." Lin Xian narrowed his eyes and looked outside the coffin. He instinctively sensed danger, as if some primordial beast were attacking.
"Celestial Master?!"
Just then, Zhou Yi rushed in holding a Buddhist artifact, anxiety written across his face. "Celestial Master, evil demons killed Liu Yunzhi and the others!"
"A single thought makes a Buddha; a single thought makes a demon."
Lin Xian looked at the returning group and sighed. "It is only natural for Buddhas to suppress demons. None of you are hurt, are you?"
"We're fine. Everyone has Buddhist artifacts protecting them!"
Pang Bo and Ye Fan were the last two to rush in. Though they looked utterly bedraggled, neither was bleeding or injured. One held an ancient lamp that illuminated all directions, while the other wielded a Vajra Pestle with imposing majesty, spreading Buddhist light to prevent the Divine Crocodiles from advancing.
After sweeping his gaze around, Lin Xian discovered that everyone held a Buddhist artifact. Perhaps because Liu Yunzhi and the others were gone and there was no competition, each person who had gone out to explore had returned with at least one Dharma artifact.
Incense burners, Vajra Pestles, bronze bells, wooden fish drums... numerous Buddhist artifacts bloomed with the radiance of Divine Spirits at that moment, protecting every explorer who had gone outside. No casualties had occurred.
But the crisis was not over!
Outside the Five-Colored Altar, the ground was densely covered in scales. Thousands upon thousands of Divine Crocodiles relentlessly battered the light barrier, while more cracking sounds rang out. In only a short time, over a hundred little crocodiles had successfully broken through.
"Crack, crack."
These seemingly tiny yet exceedingly savage creatures were terrifying. They could fly through the sky and burrow through the earth, and every Divine Crocodile was like a sharp sword with extraordinary piercing power.
A female student held a Buddhist artifact but did not know how to use it. She could only watch helplessly as a Divine Crocodile charged at her, and she cried in despair, "Did we recklessly touch the Buddha's artifacts and earn punishment?"
"The Amitabha Buddha Emperor never killed anyone in his life, and Sakyamuni was not so petty either."
"This is not your fault. Time has washed away all great power."
"Before the passage of time, nothing in the Human World is immortal."
"The seal of the Great Thunderclap Temple has weakened with the passing years, and the demons within have broken through a corner of it."
Lin Xian rose to his feet and shouted, "Hold steady! Everyone gather together! Ye Fan, give me your lamp!"
After the groundwork he had laid earlier, Lin Xian had become the group's pillar and possessed a certain degree of authority.
At his command, everyone still standing obeyed without hesitation. Holding their Buddhist artifacts, they gathered together. Though the range of the light barrier shrank, it became increasingly sturdy and dazzling, withstanding one impact after another.
Ye Fan also decisively handed over the Ancient Bronze Lamp from the Great Thunderclap Temple—the only one that was spotless, intact, and eternally burning. If their lives were gone, what use were treasures?
Standing within the light barrier, Lin Xian directed the radiance of the Buddhist artifacts and gathered it onto the Ancient Bronze Lamp. Then he circulated all the divine power in his body. The flame swayed, scattering divine brilliance as resplendent as the sun and as pure as the moon, making him seem like a sacred being beyond the mortal world.
"Perish!"
Streams of sacred rainbow light shot forth, illuminating the entire Five-Colored Altar. It was as though the sun had descended upon the earth, its dazzling radiance blinding the eye. The next instant, countless screams rang out.
Blood dyed the altar red, and the stench of blood filled the air, turning it into a slaughterhouse.
"Urgh..."
How could people raised in the city have ever witnessed such a scene? They vomited instinctively, their grips on the Buddhist artifacts becoming unsteady. The light barrier weakened by several degrees, exposing many gaps that the Divine Crocodiles took advantage of to rush inside.
"Hold steady! Move toward me!"
Lin Xian shouted again. The remaining dozen or so people tensed and moved toward him, forming a circle with their Buddhist artifacts.
Radiance flowed. With Lin Xian, a cultivator, present, the Buddhist artifacts' effects were brought to their utmost limit. A bright lamp illuminated the myriad worlds, killing one Divine Crocodile after another. Blood filled with divine power splashed across the Five-Colored Altar.
At that moment, everyone else worked together as one. Even the foreigner Kade rushed over, babbling wildly, "God bless us, Buddha have mercy!!! Let me transform into a Transformer and suppress these demons!"
Lin Xian could not help glancing sideways at him. Sir, were you Father Wang Laba, the chief priest of the Shaolin Temple's Vatican office?
Countless Divine Crocodiles were slain and turned into blood sacrifices, becoming the energy that activated the interstellar train.
The Eight Trigrams Tai Chi diagram in the Void gradually solidified.
"Roar..."
Beneath the Great Thunderclap Temple, Crocodile Ancestor let out a roar. Blood-red eyes the size of lanterns opened, like two bloody moons—scarlet and terrifying.
Lin Xian's expression changed drastically. This was Crocodile Ancestor, whom Sakyamuni had suppressed. It was said to possess the Great Saint Realm. Even after thousands of years of sealing, with less than one percent of its strength remaining, it was still a Saint capable of destroying stars. Its might was incomparable.
Fortunately, the Tai Chi Eight Trigrams diagram in the sky finally took complete form. It had been completed by the divine power contained within the Divine Crocodiles' blood. The symbols of all eight trigrams shone simultaneously, emitting a dazzling radiance as the gate to the starry sky reappeared.
"Get into the coffin!"
Lin Xian shouted, shielding everyone before him.
Boom!
With a dull tremor, the Tai Chi Eight Trigrams diagram opened completely like a gateway, revealing a mysterious and enormous passage. Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin had activated!
Everyone hurriedly hid in the coffin. Then a huge crash sounded, and the giant Bronze Coffin trembled.
"It won't kill its way in here, will it?"
Someone asked in a trembling voice, Crocodile Ancestor's heart-rending roars echoing in their ears. It was clearly enraged beyond measure.
But Lin Xian remained calm. Let alone a Great Saint, even if a Great Emperor came, he might not be able to destroy the Bronze Coffin.
Crocodile Ancestor was no longer a threat. The only question was whether the Divine Thought of the Great Accomplished Saint Physique had slipped inside.
Still, even if it had entered, it would seek out a Sacred Body to possess. What did that have to do with an ordinary cultivator like him, one without any special bloodline?
"Here, take this back."
Lin Xian handed the Ancient Bronze Lamp back without the slightest reluctance.
Ye Fan was somewhat surprised, but he still refused. "Celestial Master, you saved all of us. We can never repay such life-saving grace. What does one lamp matter?"
"This is useless to me."
Lin Xian looked at Ye Fan's pocket and said quietly, "However, I smell the aura of a Bodhi Seed. Could you lend it to me?"
Without a trace of hesitation, Ye Fan directly took out the Bodhi Seed.
"So decisive?" Lin Xian was somewhat surprised. He carefully examined the Bodhi Seed. The natural patterns on its surface connected together to form a compassionate Buddha. It was ancient and natural, faintly emitting a Zen-like aura.
"Host, didn't you say you didn't want the Bodhi Seed?"
The system's quiet voice sounded again.
"Not wanting it does not mean I cannot use it. That inequality has been instantly solved."
Lin Xian chuckled and accepted the Bodhi Seed.
The instant it entered his hand, his thoughts became livelier. Problems he had not understood in the past were suddenly clear in an instant.
He could not help praising it. "What a divine item."
Ye Fan's expression was calm as he earnestly explained, "What does a Bodhi Seed matter? People are the foundation of all things. No matter how precious a divine item is, it is not more important than human life."
"Good! You have spirit!"
Lin Xian praised him. "Young man, I think you have the makings of a Great Emperor."
"Celestial Master, are you going to accept me as your disciple?" Ye Fan's eyes lit up. Displaying his shameless and scheming nature, he immediately seized the opportunity and refused to let it go.
"There is no master-disciple fate between us, but I can tell you about the essence of cultivation."
Lin Xian smiled faintly. Sensing the eager gazes around him, he nodded. "Come and listen together."
The group was overjoyed and sat cross-legged in a circle around Lin Xian.
Lin Xian temporarily uploaded the Bodhi Seed to the system so it could comprehend the Dao, while he began chatting nonsense with the others and imparting some basic knowledge of the cultivation world.
"This time, we are heading to the cultivation world of Big Dipper. Away from home, people are easy prey. If you want to survive in Big Dipper, you need to learn four skills: cheating, bluffing, theft, and swindling."
"Today, we'll first talk about how to bluff."
"Actually, you are lay disciples of an ancient temple in the Western Desert, cultivation reserves. During an entrance trial, you accidentally fell into a teleportation formation and arrived in the Eastern Wasteland."
"The Buddhist artifacts in our hands are proof, as is our short hair. It is only because we have gone too long without shaving our heads."
"We are outer disciples who have not yet truly begun cultivation, so the rules are not too strict."
"..."