Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Who Dares to Look Down on Others?

Fomozone!

　　A moment later, Ye Tianming had gained some understanding of this Fomozone. It was a major sect in the True World, once incomparably glorious — as for now… the monk didn’t know about the present, because he had already been gone for over a thousand years.

　　In other words, Fomozone had gone without a sect master for over a thousand years.

　　Ye Tianming voiced his concern, “Senior, you have been gone for three thousand years. Might Fomozone have already chosen a new sect master? If they’ve selected someone new, wouldn’t I just be causing trouble by going back?”

　　The monk smiled, “There will be no new sect master.”

　　Ye Tianming was puzzled, “Why?”

　　The monk explained, “The Three Halls and Seventy-Two Courtyards each govern themselves and only revere the ‘Buddha-Demon Divine Seal.’ Without the ‘Buddha-Demon Divine Seal,’ none of them can become sect master. Most importantly, without the ‘Buddha-Demon Divine Seal,’ they cannot open the ‘Buddha-Demon Path,’ and without the ‘Buddha-Demon Path,’ they cannot attain ‘True Intent’ to elevate themselves to the pinnacle. Therefore, when you return, in all likelihood they will recognize you as sect master.”

　　Ye Tianming said in a low voice, “In all likelihood…….”

　　As he spoke, he nodded, “I understand what you mean, Senior. Whether I can truly make them submit still depends on myself, right?”

　　The monk smiled, “Yes.”

　　Ye Tianming asked, “Won’t you come back with me, Senior?”

　　The monk shook his head, “I can no longer go back.”

　　Ye Tianming was somewhat puzzled.

　　The monk said nothing more, but instead looked toward Zhantai Zhan at the side and smiled, “Since he is now a member of my Fomozone, I ask that you no longer set your sights on him, miss.”

　　Zhantai Zhan watched him calmly without speaking.

　　The monk then turned to look at Ye Tianming, “Little one, do you think your meeting with her was a coincidence?”

　　After a moment of silence, Ye Tianming said, “This senior has helped me quite a bit.”

　　The monk looked at Ye Tianming, “Although I don’t know her true identity, she is at the very least at the level of one who has established the Dao and proclaimed themselves an Ancestor. For someone like that to appear here and be with you — this is absolutely no coincidence. She has deliberately come bearing cause and effect, intending to make use of you.”

　　Zhantai Zhan’s expression remained calm.

　　Ye Tianming smiled, “Senior, it doesn’t matter.”

　　The monk was somewhat puzzled.

　　Ye Tianming said, “I know that my meeting with this senior was no coincidence, but what does it matter? Right now I have nothing to my name. Even if someone wants to use me, that’s a matter for the future — and whether I can even survive to see that future is still an open question……”

　　As he spoke, he grinned, “So being of use to someone right now isn’t necessarily a bad thing for me.”

　　Zhantai Zhan glanced at Ye Tianming and said nothing.

　　After a moment of silence, the monk let out a quiet sigh, “So be it. These matters — I won’t get involved.”

　　Ye Tianming said, “Senior, there are some questions about cultivation I’d like to ask you about.”

　　The monk smiled, “Ask away. However, you only have one year.”

　　Ye Tianming was puzzled, “Why only one year?”

　　The monk glanced outside at the blood moon and said nothing.

　　In the time that followed, Ye Tianming cultivated inside the temple under the monk’s guidance, as the monk began teaching him how to devour the power of time.

　　In front of the temple, Ye Tianming sat facing the monk. The monk opened his palm, and the space before him suddenly rippled like the surface of water. The next moment, he gently reached out with his right hand, and a cluster of peculiar power appeared in his palm.

　　Ye Tianming said, “The power of space?”

　　The monk nodded, “Yes. You are now at the Supreme Immortal Realm, but I can see you are not yet very familiar with this level. Let me tell you — upon reaching the Supreme Immortal Realm, one must master the power of space, and to master the power of space, one must merge with space…….”

　　Ye Tianming suddenly extended his hand. The space before him also rippled like the surface of water, and the next moment he gently reached out, and a cluster of peculiar power appeared in his palm.

　　Ye Tianming looked at the monk, “Senior, is this right?”

　　The monk’s expression froze.

　　What the hell!

　　Did this guy already know how to do this?

　　Soon, Ye Tianming began devouring the power of space. His cultivation technique was already capable of devouring energy, so devouring the power of space was almost trivially easy for him. But compared to devouring the power of space, he was even more interested in the Dao of Space itself.

　　Space!

　　In truth, upon reaching the Supreme Immortal Realm, one could traverse space at will, crossing a thousand li in an instant, and could also master some extraordinarily mysterious spatial divine abilities — such as sending a flying sword through space to sever someone’s head from a thousand li away.

　　And the Dao of Space was itself vast and boundless.

　　But he had followed the Tower Ancestor… and the Tower Ancestor had never taught him any of this. So he had the cultivation level but remained completely ignorant of the abilities that came with it.

　　Under the monk’s guidance, Ye Tianming took less than half an hour to skillfully master the power of space, and after doing so, the speed of his flying sword immediately increased by more than fivefold.

　　Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

　　In front of the temple, Ye Tianming stood there with his eyes closed, yet throughout heaven and earth, countless flying swords continuously streaked through space, dense and innumerable.

　　The monk stood at the doorway watching this scene and said softly, “Worthy of a mortal body indeed — this talent is truly monstrous.”

　　Not far from the monk, Zhantai Zhan was also watching Ye Tianming, her gaze calm and undisturbed, for she had seen even more monstrous talent before — her own, for instance.

　　The monk suddenly turned to look at Zhantai Zhan and smiled, “Miss, what exactly are you after?”

　　Zhantai Zhan’s face was expressionless, “None of your damn business.”

　　The monk’s expression froze, “What the… you can’t just talk to people like that.”

　　Zhantai Zhan ignored him outright.

　　The monk was thoroughly baffled — when on earth had he managed to offend this lady?

　　Under the monk’s guidance, Ye Tianming’s mastery of space grew ever greater. His speed traversing space on his sword was at least five times faster than that of an ordinary immortal. Not only that, he also used the power of space to condense a spatial dharma form!

　　Earth Vein Dharma Form, Sword Dao Dharma Form, Shadow Dharma Form, Bloodline Dharma Form, Stellar Dharma Form, Spatial Dharma Form.

　　The sixth dharma form!

　　One day, Ye Tianming sat facing the monk and raised a question, “Senior, there is more than one kind of space in this world, correct?”

　　The monk nodded, “Yes. Space is layered upon layer, with countless varieties, each different from the last. However, with your current strength, you cannot yet come into contact with other spaces. You must not rush — do you understand?”

　　He naturally acknowledged Ye Tianming’s talent, but at the same time he was somewhat worried, fearing that Ye Tianming was advancing too quickly.

　　Ye Tianming gave a slight nod, “I understand what you mean, Senior. One cannot walk the path too quickly — it must be walked step by step. My teacher once said that sometimes walking slowly is the fastest way.”

　　A flicker of complex emotion passed through the monk’s eyes. This fellow not only had unrivaled talent, but even his temperament was unrivaled……. it just went to show what good judgment he himself had! He really was something!

　　Thinking this, the monk couldn’t help but smile.

　　In the year that followed, Ye Tianming spent every day merging his six dharma forms, having them execute the Heaven-Severing Sword Draw and the One Sword Decides Life and Death. Beyond that, he also voraciously read through the various Buddhist and Demonic scriptures the monk had collected — he was utterly absorbed in these texts, forgetting to eat and sleep.

　　At the same time, he found himself somewhat influenced by these scriptures, for he discovered that the Buddhist scriptures and the Demonic scriptures were vastly, vastly different — the philosophies they represented could be said to be two polar extremes. The Buddhist scriptures, for instance, emphasized: awakening and liberation, illuminating the mind and perceiving one’s true nature, purity that shatters illusion, the notion that all things are like dreams and bubbles, and seeing one’s nature to realize the Dao.

　　The Demonic scriptures, on the other hand, emphasized: seeing one’s true self, seeing one’s demonic nature, supreme self-sovereignty, doing whatever one pleases, and not suppressing human nature.

　　Fomozone!

　　Ye Tianming had never imagined that these two extreme philosophies could come from the same sect. So he went to consult the monk.

　　Seeing Ye Tianming come to him with a question, the monk was quite pleased — finally, something this little fellow didn’t know.

　　He pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, “Whether Buddhist or Demonic, all are sentient beings, and all of this is surface appearance. What we must do is penetrate to the essence……”

　　”I understand!”

　　Ye Tianming suddenly said with excitement, “Surface and essence, Senior — do you mean: at the beginning of learning, it is like youth — one possesses the most direct intuition, yet remains at the surface. You see things as they are, unable to perceive the underlying essence and patterns. To observe and navigate the world this way is inevitably simple and naive……. this is the surface. Am I right?”

　　The monk’s expression froze. He was just about to speak when Ye Tianming excitedly continued, “And what is the essence? As learning deepens and one enters the world, it is like growing older. The more one observes, the more questions arise — right and wrong become muddled, and all things grow complex. We no longer take surface information at face value, but begin to question the things around us, trying to discover the deeper principles behind them. The myriad phenomena of the world — everything begins to blur together……”

　　He paused here, then continued, “This is the process of seeking knowledge and learning, and also the inevitable process of a person’s growth. Only by going through this process can people come to see the true essence of all things and all origins…….”

　　The monk’s expression remained frozen, his mouth hanging wide open.

　　At the doorway, Zhantai Zhan had appeared at some unknown moment, watching Ye Tianming with a calm gaze.

　　Just then, Ye Tianming suddenly said again, “Senior, you must have another meaning as well — simple, then complex, and after complexity, we should return to simplicity again. To make complex problems clear and straightforward, to bring order and clarity to the tangled myriad phenomena — that is: the Great Dao returns to simplicity!”

　　As he said this, he suddenly stood up, eyes blazing with light, “I should come to understand this heaven and earth anew, come to understand this world anew……. I know now how to perfect my teacher’s Law of All Beings.”

　　With that, he turned and ran.

　　The monk stood there in a daze. After a long moment, he swallowed hard, “I……. am useless.”

　　Zhantai Zhan glanced at the monk, “Correct.”

　　With that, she turned and left.

　　The monk: “…….”

　　Zhantai Zhan came to the doorway of Ye Tianming’s room. Ye Tianming had taken out his teacher Mu Guanchen’s Law of All Beings, picked up a brush, and begun to write. The moment he started writing, in an instant, countless strange forces suddenly appeared throughout heaven and earth —

　　The Great Dao stirred!

　　Zhantai Zhan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

　　Ye Tianming’s brush moved faster and faster as he murmured while writing, “The essence of the Law of All Beings is all beings, the essence of the Great Dao is also all beings and everything, and everything is all beings — I too am a sentient being, I too am the Great Dao……”

　　As Ye Tianming’s brush moved, all manner of strange Great Daos suddenly appeared throughout heaven and earth.

　　Outside, the monk stared at those Great Daos, his face filled with disbelief, “These……. are the Heavenly Dao will of the Great Daos of the True World…….”

　　Zhantai Zhan fixed her gaze on those strange Great Dao forces, “The world above will not permit a law this heaven-defying to appear in this realm. Stop it.”

　　The monk was startled, “What the hell, you want me to stop it?”

　　Zhantai Zhan turned to look at the monk, “You’re the only one here with cultivation. If not you, then who?”

　　The monk swallowed hard, “Miss, this is the Heavenly Dao will of the True World……. Even though its true form hasn’t descended, this still represents the Heavenly Dao of the True World!! You want me to stop it? I……. I……. my power is sealed away seven or eight parts over, I can’t hold it off! I……”

　　Zhantai Zhan stared hard at him, “If you hold this back, you will carve out an invincible future for your Fomozone.”

　　The monk’s expression turned somewhat grim……. Although he didn’t know what Ye Tianming was doing, what the hell — to draw even the Great Daos of the True World here……. this was absolutely something incredibly extraordinary being done.

　　Just then, a blood-red pillar of lightning suddenly came crashing straight down from the sky, wrapped in a terrifying Heavenly Dao might —

　　The monk gritted his teeth and directly transformed into a ray of Buddha light that shot into the sky, slamming hard into that blood-red pillar of lightning.

　　BOOM!

　　”Aah!”

　　A thunderous explosion and a piercing cry of agony rang out from the sky simultaneously.

　　Not far away, Ye Tianming’s brush moved faster and faster, but suddenly,He stopped, slowly closing his eyes, and said in a trembling voice: “Although Teacher’s Law of All Beings has given all beings the ability to cross tier boundaries, it is not enough, because if the tier gap is too large, even dealing fifty percent damage to the opponent, the masses still cannot defeat them, therefore……”

　　As he spoke, he suddenly snapped his eyes open, “We must also suppress the opponent’s ‘tier’.”

　　With that, he brought his brush down, yet no matter what he did, the stroke would not land, as though some force was blocking it.

　　Not only that, his body also began to rapidly grow translucent.

　　Zhantai Zhan stared fixedly at Ye Tianming, “You are doing something that defies the heavens in the extreme, and such a thing cannot come without a price……just like your teacher, he did something so heaven-defying, and so he had to pay the price…….”

　　To seek benefit for all beings, there is a price to be paid!

　　That is reality!

　　Ye Tianming gripped the brush, his entire body trembling, and moreover, his body and soul were growing more and more translucent.

　　Zhantai Zhan slowly clenched both hands into fists, “Give up quickly……otherwise your body and soul will be destroyed.”

　　Ye Tianming said in a fierce, grating voice: “We who are born as people, who dares to stand above all others?”

　　With that, he drew a deep breath, “Teacher……lend me your strength.”

　　At his waist, the jade pendant gifted to him by Mu Guanchen suddenly trembled faintly, and in the next moment—

　　Ye Tianming’s brush stroke came down.

　　Boom!

　　The Second Law of the Law of All Beings was complete: All Beings Are Equal!

　　The moment this law emerged, it disregarded everything, forcibly suppressing the opponent’s realm to the same level as one’s own.

　　All Beings Are Equal!