Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

Shen Lian had been caught in countless difficult situations. However, he had never been in a place as dangerous as now, where death was slowly creeping up on him. His self-divine aura even saw a clear scene flashing by – his physical body would collapse, and his Primordial Spirit would be torn apart by the force of the void. His Five Elements Sword Gleam would not receive any replenishment and would disappear along with this time and space.

He held the Five Elements magical sword as the essence of everything that he had learned surfaced in his heart. He wanted to make his last swing with the sword. In fact, he had been going through all the possibilities, and he thought, ‘Perfection does not seem flawless, but it can be used for long. What is full still has a vacancy, but it can be used endlessly.’ It was only at extreme moments as such that he could operate his last hint of aura against all odds.

The world was birthed from existence, and existence was birthed from non-existence; hence, only when one was ‘non-existent’ that one could finally be free. This was also the essence of Dazizai Shapeless Sword Aura.

If his spirit and his body were still in existence, how could he turn into ‘non-existent’? However, to go from being ‘existent’ to ‘non-existent’ was against the laws of nature, and it was almost impossible to achieve. Even if one were to do it, there would be a hefty price to pay. Hence, the deficiency of Shen Lian’s body was the main deterrent that held him back.

If he were to consume Chen Jinchan, he would be able to overcome the deficiency. However, to do so would be to go against his moral principle. At least he still saw himself as a human being; even after he became a Celestial, at least half of him was still human. Moreover, what was the point of forcing oneself to act against one’s will? That would be an outright rejection of what one stood for.

The frozen space-time started to shake due to Chen Beidou’s supersonic intense battle.

The Five Elements Sword Gleam started to dim, and the Five Elements magical sword that he was holding wailed.

Shen Lian caressed it gently and whispered, “Your owner has never been particularly afraid of anything in his life, and today will not be an exception.”

He flicked his finger against the magical sword. Sparks flew immediately and it was burning in a raging white flame. The flame enveloped Shen Lian along with the sword. Amidst the flame, the cries of phoenix could be heard.

Back at Qing Xuan, Qianmo started flying and soared into the Nine Heavens. Green flames shrouded its body and it was flapping its wings with all its might. The spiritual tides of heaven and earth flooded the surroundings, and everyone in Qing Xuan found it impossible to continue with their cultivation.

On top of Zifu Peak, Ziling stared at the north without saying anything.

Lingguang followed behind Ziling and whispered, “This is nirvana?”

Ziling sighed, “It is not nirvana. It is turning from existent to non-existent and becoming one with Dao.”

Lingguang was taken aback, “I might not know as much as you all do, but even I know that becoming one with Dao is a serious matter that not even those in the state of Tian Xian would carelessly attempt. It only takes one mistake for one to be doomed eternally.”

The strongest power in the world was ‘Dao’. ‘Dao’ ensured that everything in the Universe, from as big as stars to as small as dust, travel on their designated tracks. Even the rogue movements embodied some sort of unchanged laws within it. Everything was an embodiment of Dao, and everything would take place in accordance with Dao.

To become one with Dao was the final pursuit of every cultivator. In fact, a person who could become one with Dao whenever he wanted to was often thought to have reached the end of his cultivation process.

As for something more advanced, such as being a Daoist Master or Buddha, these were not achievable through cultivation.

Even though Shen Lian was exceptional, but his current state was nowhere close to the step that he was about to take. This was something that only the best from the state of Tian Xian could attempt.

What he was trying to do, it was beyond going on a long journey with a heavy burden. In fact, it was comparable to a mortal crossing the Northern Sea with Mount Kun on his back.

He might even perish in the process of becoming non-existent from existent.

Beyond Mount Zhong, above Ruo Shui, Huanzhen held the Imperial Seal and sighed, “I should have befriended him back then.”

The ice on the river was starting to melt, and there was a strong undercurrent at the bottom of the river. A giant beast was lurking beneath.

Shen Lian had no time to care about his surroundings. He visualized the supreme deity from The Mastery of Senses.

His mind and spirit seemed to have entered a point in time where the Universe was not created yet. Everything was non-existent, there was no crystal, no light, no channel, and no dimension.

‘Of non-existence, the root of birth, the essence of deities, the vitality of the heaven and earth, all creatures were birthed from it, the Five Elements were derived from it’, a paragraph of dry Dao words flowed through his heart. From this paragraph, he understood clearly the meaning of ‘Dao’.

Yin and Yang, Five Elements, and all creatures; all of them came from Dao. To revert them back to their original form, to turn existence into non-existence, that would be Dao.

Hence, the deity that he visualized was neither Yin nor Yang. It was an impressive being who knew about everything, a being who transcended the mortal realm.

Daluo Lingbao Tianzun, Shangqing Great Emperor, Tongtian Order Master, he could be addressed with any of these names. Yet, none of them was him. In fact, he only existed in the galaxy universe as part of the Dao, and he no longer existed in the void universe anymore. From past, present to future, traces of him could be found. However, there were no substantive marks left behind by his existence.

Shen Lian thought about Dream Heart Sutra that was handed over to Ruoxi by Old Daoist. There was a line that stuck with him, ‘The heaven and earth are but a dream, so is life too. When you finally wake up from the dream, you will truly be freed.’

This might not be absolutely accurate because being truly free was not something that could be put down into words. One would only know how it feels like when one had been freed.

Shen Lian was turning ‘existence’ into ‘non-existence’, and he was not trying to become one with Dao in the strictest sense. After all, he knew all too well that he was not well-equipped to do that for now. Even though he had activated the True Fire of Nirvana, it remained impossible for him to turn his body into non-existence.

His true purpose was something that even Chen Beidou, who was in the midst of completely extinguishing Five Elements Sword Gleam could not understand. This was because he did not know that Shen Lian had cultivated ‘The Mastery of Senses’ before. This was Shen Lian’s trump card.

Even though the deity that he visualized might have been freed since, even if he had broken through the past, present, and future, it was impossible for the traces left behind by him in the galaxy universe to be completely wiped out.

Otherwise, it would not be possible for Shen Lian to visualize him now.

Even now, Shen Lian still could not fully comprehend how terrifying the great being and its supreme existence once was. However, he did have some clues.

The deity that he visualized was definitely not an imaginary existence. On the contrary, the deity had severed a part of the eternal ‘Dao’ from the galaxy universe, and he had become an existence independent of heaven and earth now.

This was why Zhang Ruoxu said that ‘The Mastery of Senses’ had imposed a Dao restriction – he was absolutely right.

It was a part of Dao, to begin with, and it was extracted by some sort of great being. This was why it was impossible to find something similar to it in the galaxy universe.

Dao birthed all creatures, and all creatures could return to their origin. However, if ‘Dao’ had been extracted, those that derived from this particular ‘Dao’ would cease to exist.

Shen Lian was trying to shut off all distractions, as he was determined to merge himself with the deity that he visualized. He would then become the ‘non-existent’ Dao.

When the fire died out, Shen Lian ceased to exist. The Five Elements magical sword was all that was left in the soundless void.

Chen Beidou had since taken care of the troublesome sword gleam. He looked towards the Five Elements magical sword, and he suddenly felt a hint of inaction that transcended the vital force of heaven and earth.

A deity whom face could not be made out appeared, and he held a magical sword. He spoke, “This is ‘Sever’.”

That was Shen Lian’s voice. ‘Sever’ represented the part that was severed from Dao.