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Chapter 868: Taking That Step (Part 2)
Chapter 868: Taking That Step (Part 2)
These were the founding emperor of the Duyi Dynasty, whose fate was so heavy that it could shake the heavens and earth. Yet, they had been executed by the Governor of Pest Suppression?
And with a dog-headed guillotine, no less!
...
On Great Sorrow Mountain, the ten incense sticks that the National Teacher had lit earlier suddenly went out, the last two extinguishing at this moment.
Old Abacus stared in disbelief, his eyes wide.
The massive Nether Palace suddenly became empty and quiet, and the indescribable purple aura that had been present a moment ago was now being reclaimed by Hu Ma, returning to Great Sorrow Mountain. In an instant, it dispersed with the mountain breeze, transforming into countless petals representing the return to the mortal realm, spreading throughout the world.
"Did he really cut them down?"
Er Guotou's eyes snapped open, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened, his palms trembling slightly.
The Wang Clan members on Great Sorrow Mountain stared at the unfinished pills and the endless purple aura rising from them, their expressions frozen in shock.
Amidst the silence that enveloped this realm, the National Teacher's voice suddenly boomed behind Hu Ma: "Governor of Pest Suppression, return at once! Achieve your homecoming, and it will be now!"
...
"Achieve your homecoming, and it will be now!"
These eight words echoed within the Nether Palace, their weight reverberating through the palace and the Underworld, and then back to the mortal realm.
On Great Sorrow Mountain, Old Abacus, who had been staring at Hu Ma with wide eyes, cried out in delight, "He can return home?"
"If he returns home, what will he become?"
...
At this moment, the National Teacher's mind was focused on the Bridge of Forgetfulness, reminding Hu Ma, leaving no room for a response.
Beside him, the Wang Clan's head, having heard and witnessed much, replied with a bitter tone, "Old Heavenly Father!"
In various parts of the world, Zhou Zhiming, the Zhou Family Head, the Unfleshed Master Li Family, the Mountain Watching Zhu Family, the Mountain Lord, the Capital City Ancestral Temple, and countless others heard these eight words, their hearts trembling: "In this world, will the very first true homecoming be witnessed?"
"And it falls upon the Hu Family, the Hu Family..."
...
Words could not describe the envy they felt at this moment. This was the homecoming of the Eight Scenic Views, a true return to the mortal realm, where one would hold the power of heaven and earth in their hands. Even if the Earth Deity were to be expelled, it would not affect them in the slightest.
The Ten Clans, by possessing just one of the Eight Scenic Views, could live as immortal gods for generations, feeling content and fulfilled in all aspects.
But now, the Hu Family...
Their hearts were filled with complex emotions. They thought back to the sacrifices the Hu Family had made over the past two decades, no, since the rise of the Ten Clans. They remembered the Hu Family's patience, their endurance, and the deeds they had carried out...
Their hearts felt at ease, and they sighed softly, "Heh, it seems only the Hu Family could have such a fate..."
"Who else but them would be so ruthless..."
"Blame it on that old thing from the Zhou Family, who saw through a reckless man's true wisdom and gave away his daughter, exchanging this cause and effect..."
"There are many daughters in our clan, why didn't we think of this?"
In the Hall of Shadows, the Emperor Ghosts were defeated, and the evil spirits were subdued. Hu Ma, in his ghostly form, stood at the Gate of Ghosts, and even the spirits in the Underworld were sent to the Bridge of Forgetfulness by him.
Hu Ma stood alone at the end of the Bridge of Forgetfulness, before him, only the empty and desolate Hall of Shadows, and the endless darkness and emptiness. He could vaguely sense that in the depths of the darkness, there seemed to be countless tentacles gently swaying.
It was as if everything had suddenly become incredibly quiet, only the National Teacher's voice could be heard from behind.
At this moment, he had become the person with the heaviest fate in the world, the one closest to the Earth Deity, and the highest person, cloaked in the imperial mandate, holding the Eight Scenic Views, protected by the Pond Deity, and standing at the peak.
He had already reached the Beyond Divine Realm and was about to enter the realm of becoming one with the heavens and earth. However, due to the presence of the two Emperor Ghosts in the Hall of Shadows, there were still some obstacles. Now that the obstacles had been removed, his realm advanced even further.
He felt his thoughts becoming clear, and he gently placed the golden mace down, then slowly formed the Immovable Seal of Heaven and Earth in front of him.
As this seal appeared, the corpses in the mortal realm began to sink slowly. The traces of the Underworld, like a scorching sun, followed the Bridge of Forgetfulness, and the three bodies became one. The aura was vast, golden light shone, and his entire body was surrounded by swirling incense smoke, rotating around him.
The Dharma form solidified, and he took the form of a three-headed, six-armed deity, each hand holding an object.
In his left hand was a precious seal, in his right, the golden mace, and in another, a calamity object. He wore a Dharma robe, and green mist swirled around him. The sound of barking dogs could be heard within, and he stood atop a sea of blood, with three heads: one looking towards the Platform of Returning Home, one observing the mortal realm, and the third, focused forward.
Shouldering the weight of heaven and earth, holding the Eight Scenic Views, and possessing all the skills and methods of the Tao, he had the authority to borrow the power of heaven and earth, and it was all within his grasp.
"It's done. The human body ascends the bridge, and heaven and earth rest on his shoulders..."
On the Bridge of Forgetfulness, the National Teacher's eyes revealed indescribable joy. This was the realm he had longed for, the achievement he had dreamed of day and night. It was a grand feat with no precedent in the past and no successor in the future.
He had once desperately wanted to reach this realm, but unfortunately, he had taken the wrong path from the start. Now, witnessing this realm about to manifest, he felt genuine joy within, knowing that he had made it possible.
But there was one more step. He was afraid that this guy might make a mistake, so he shouted, "Why aren't you turning back? Become one with heaven and earth!"
At this moment, Hu Ma stood at the end of the Bridge of Forgetfulness, feeling as if the endless mist before him had been swept away.
Sometimes, it wasn't about seeing through the mist to reach the realm, but rather, upon reaching the realm, one gained the ability to see through all mist.
He could naturally sense the National Teacher's anxiety and even more so, the removal of the final obstacle between the Underworld and the mortal realm after the defeat of the Emperor Ghosts. The Grand Trend had been set in motion, and it was time to hold the Grand Ritual of the Lofty Heaven to expel the Earth Deity from this world...
As the main officiant of the Great Dharmic Religion, he should have returned to the mortal realm to preside over the ritual.
So, as the National Teacher said, he needed to retreat.
With this step back, he merged with heaven and earth with the Eight Scenic Views in his grasp, becoming the "only one" between heaven and earth.
With the Eight Scenic Views in hand, he would become a living god between heaven and earth, immortal for countless lifetimes, never to die.
He would be a god, the living god that the Great Dharmic Religion spoke of. Countless cultivators, emperors, and the Ten Clans had all dreamed of and yearned for, was now within his grasp. All he had to do was take this one step back.
Retreat this step, and he could return home.
Returning home meant directly reaching the origin.
And now, having already become one with heaven and earth, holding the Eight Scenic Views, taking this one step back, he would become the origin of heaven and earth. What difficulty could there be in this homecoming?
But...
Hearing the National Teacher's urging and calls from behind, Hu Ma stood quietly at the end of the Bridge of Forgetfulness, silent for a long time.
He slowly raised his head and looked towards the endless darkness ahead.
There, at the end of the darkness, was the Earth Deity. At this moment, he was just one step away from becoming one with heaven and earth, from achieving the realm that no one had ever reached before or would ever reach again. But...
...Returning to the mortal realm and becoming that living god, what meaning would it hold?
...
Suddenly, Hu Ma smiled. He turned his head to take one last look at the mortal realm and then gently shook his head.
The Immovable Seal of Heaven and Earth in his hand underwent a subtle change, and his body once again dispersed. His physical body returned to the mortal realm, leaving his karmic ties in the Underworld, and he stood at the end of the bridge as a dazzling true spirit.
Without taking a step back, he slowly moved forward.
"What are you doing?"
At the end of the Bridge of Forgetfulness, the National Teacher's initial anxiety had turned into fear, and his entire body trembled.
He considered countless possibilities, fearing that this young Hu Clan descendant might not be able to bear the weight of becoming a living god, and wondering what changes the presence of a living god between heaven and earth would bring.
But he never imagined that at this moment, instead of taking a step back, Hu Ma would move forward.
"The Grand Trend between heaven and earth has been set in motion. The Grand Ritual of the Lofty Heaven only requires a gentle push to succeed, and it doesn't need a living god like me!"
Hu Ma's voice echoed from the front of the bridge, reaching the National Teacher's ears like the sound of a grand bell and drum: "The Hu Clan intends to sever fate and give the common people a chance to stand up. We certainly don't need, at the last moment, for a Hu Clan member to become the one with the heaviest fate."
"So, I will not return to this homeland!"
"...”
As he spoke lightly and took that step forward, a slight thought appeared in his mind.
Why did the original Reincarnates name this realm "Returning Home"?
Coming from the Origin, and pointing directly at it, holding the power, it seems that the word "home" can indeed be used to describe it.
But within it, is there not a lot of attachment, and that longing, yet unattainable desire?
"I have the opportunity to take this step, I can enter the heavens and earth, becoming a living deity in this world, and from then on, be free and unfettered. But I hope that with this step, I can point to the Grand Age, and find a way home for you all..."
"This step can merge with the heavens, so how can it not merge with the Grand Age?"
"..."
Returning Home is just a realm, referring to the end of the Beyond Divine Realm, the end of the Bridge, and the step to the other shore.
Therefore, Returning Home only requires contact with the Origin, only needs to touch the place of origin.
In theory, this home can be the heavens, or it can be the Grand Age.
In his mind, he had thought over countless possibilities from the moment he entered the Nether Palace.
The path of cultivation is to return to the essence, to control the essence, and so, when discussing Returning Home, the Reincarnates and the Natives have different paths.
The Natives' Returning Home is to enter the Eight Sceneries of the Yellow Springs, thereby controlling the Eight Sceneries of the Yellow Springs, and then becoming a living deity in this world.
The Reincarnates cannot return home because when they do, they enter the Grand Age and are controlled by it.
But he is an exception...
In his laughter, his divine soul peeled away, revealing his Life Spirit Temple. This Life Spirit Temple, which was once dilapidated, had been washed by the purple aura as his cultivation increased, becoming extremely sacred and stable, even more so than Er Guotou's.
And within the Life Spirit Temple, that statue had long since transformed into him, belonging solely to him, belonging to the Grand Age, yet existing independently.
"This step can both retreat into the heavens and enter the Grand Age to glimpse the Origin..."
"..."
Lao Jun Mei once gave this Life Spirit Temple as a gift to him, and now, this is the seed of hope.
With increasing determination, the Life Spirit Temple headed straight for the endless darkness and strangeness, blocking the countless tentacles and strangeness, moving forward, and charging into the boundless darkness. Then, the divine soul merged with the statue and walked out...
In the distance, on the Bridge of Forgetfulness, the National Teacher roared, raged, and finally, helplessly slumped to the ground, laughing bitterly.
But Hu Ma's heart was filled with determination.
Retreating this step is to enter the heavens, to become an immortal, and to achieve everything.
But taking this step towards the Grand Age is to enter nothingness, an unseen entity, something unimaginable, and perhaps even despair, an eternal punishment. Yet, he was determined to take this step.
Only because, with this step, he would become a living deity, and this world would be filled with merit and virtue. Those Reincarnates, however, would be buried in a desolate place.
The opportunity to enter Returning Home is rare, perhaps the only one since the creation of the heavens. And he didn't have much hope of using the Grand Age to achieve Returning Home, even though it was theoretically possible. The Grand Age was too mysterious and bizarre.
If we're talking about success rate, it's probably less than one percent.
But it's enough. After all, if he didn't take this step, those Reincarnates wouldn't even have this one percent chance...
As Hu Ma thought about his decision, he didn't feel panic or confusion about stepping into the unknown, only determination, and even a smile on his face.
"Chila!"
Endless darkness approached.
In the darkness, there seemed to be countless tentacles, strangeness, and despair.
Hu Ma prepared for death, for his soul to fly away, ready for the endless darkness that would forever envelop him.
But even he hadn't anticipated...
As he took this step, suddenly, he saw what he had never imagined.
He saw countless Life Spirit Temples, like candles in the darkness, appearing around him.
Some were near, some were far, and within these Life Spirit Temples, one by one, figures with golden auras, familiar and unfamiliar, appeared beside him. They followed him, emerging from the mortal realm, arriving at the boundary between the heavens and the Grand Age.
As far as the eye could see, Hu Ma saw familiar faces: Tie Guan Yin, White Wine Miss, Miss Curious Sweet Potato Liquor, Hua Diao Jiu, Old Millet Wine, Red Wine Lady, Bamboo Leaf Green, Jade Ice Burn. All the Reincarnates still alive in this world were here.
Like stars in the night sky, one by one, their eyes met his, their faces filled with smiles.
"In the end, it's still the boldest, Old Bai Gan..."
"You dare to take this step."
"Only you dare to take this step..."
"Since you have the courage to take this step, we won't hold back our strength, and we'll accompany you on this journey."
"..."
Faces filled with anticipation and smiles appeared before him, and hands reached out towards Hu Ma.
The light from their bodies was faint, but in this moment, it illuminated the boundless darkness, paving a path towards the Grand Age.
(End of Chapter)
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