Volume One: Turmoil in Yan and Yun Chapter 119: The Fall of the Beacon Fire (Part Six)

The Shore of the Azure, the Cloud Tomb.

In the Daoyuan Continent, there is a legend that the souls of the deceased transform into clouds. Those who performed virtuous deeds become white clouds, while the wicked turn into dark clouds. The Cloud Tomb is the final resting place for all these clouds—in other words, the final resting place for souls.

Dou Xiaotong had always known this saying to be false, but now that he stood before the Cloud Tomb with his own eyes, he found himself involuntarily starting to believe the legend.

"The Heavenly Dao Scrolls state that one must reach the Void Path stage to condense a divine soul. So, how does one explain this place?" Li Jinxing chuckled softly. "If you combined the divine souls of every expert in the Dao Realm across the entire world, would they even amount to one-tenth of what is here?"

Dou Xiaotong frowned. "The Heavenly Dao Scrolls were not written by human hands; they cannot be wrong."

Though he did not know the truth of the situation here, he instinctively defended his convictions. Not everything in the myriad volumes of books was correct—he had spent years curating their contents precisely for this reason. Books were written by people, and people were prone to error. But some things could not be wrong, for they were written by Heaven itself. Take the Heavenly Dao Scrolls, for example: eighty or ninety percent of the human race's cultivation methods originated from them, and the few in history who had successfully ascended had all drawn upon the scrolls' descriptions of the Immortal Realm. How could they possibly be wrong?

Li Jinxing arched an eyebrow. "Then how do you explain the existence of the Cloud Tomb?"

Dou Xiaotong replied, "Perhaps the Cloud Tomb... is a life form similar to us?"

Only after the Void Path could one possess a divine soul. If the Cloud Tomb were also a life form, it would indeed be a logical explanation. After all, the world was not populated solely by humans; if there could be Demon and Underworld races, why not a Cloud race?

Li Jinxing nodded, accepting Dou Xiaotong's hypothesis, then countered, "If that is the case, then what realm must the Cloud Tomb be in?"

Dou Xiaotong turned pale with horror. If the Cloud Tomb were truly a life form, a being possessing such a divine soul would surely have already become an immortal, or perhaps even something beyond.

Li Jinxing wore a look of nostalgia as he spoke softly, "Years ago, the Palace Master and I discussed whether the strongest in the world could only reach the Dao Fusion realm because of our own lack of talent, or because the heavens had set a threshold."

Dou Xiaotong said, "What is there to discuss? At the beginning, the limit for humanity was Dao Fusion; then the first Snow-Cloud Sword Saint broke through to Spirit Concealment; later, Emperor Taizong reached Heaven-Sovereign status... who knows when a realm beyond Heaven-Sovereign will emerge."

Viewed in this light, it was indeed a matter of limited talent, always struggling to reach the threshold for the next step. If someone were to have an epiphany, the upper limit of cultivation would be refreshed once more. Before the first cultivator absorbed vital energy, who could have imagined that this would eventually become an era where cultivators reigned supreme and geniuses emerged in droves?

Li Jinxing nodded, then asked, "In that case, what exactly is an 'Immortal'? Is it a realm? A title? Or something else entirely?"

Dou Xiaotong sighed. "Aren't you considered an immortal in the mortal world yourself? Do you not know whether 'Immortal' can be considered a realm? And what an immortal actually is... those who ascend cannot return, so how could we know what they are?"

Li Jinxing smiled. "Indeed, it is not... Let me ask another question: why can one only attempt to become an immortal after reaching the Spirit Concealment stage?"

Dou Xiaotong frowned. "Without becoming an immortal, there is life and death. To achieve immortality, one naturally strives for the Immortal Path."

Li Jinxing shook his head. "I mean, why must one reach Spirit Concealment before they can become an immortal?" Why not at the start of Dao Fusion? Why not after breaking through to Heaven-Sovereign? Where did this Spirit Concealment threshold come from? What does it signify?

Dou Xiaotong pondered for a long time, his expression growing increasingly grim. "Why did you suddenly start thinking about these things?"

Li Jinxing replied, "Survival of the fittest. Like everyone else, I had no particular thoughts on cultivation realms or ascension, until I arrived at the Cloud Tomb."

"What is in the Cloud Tomb?" Dou Xiaotong asked, his gaze sharpening.

"Many things," Li Jinxing said. "Some of which even I could not fathom."

"So that is another reason why you invited me here," Dou Xiaotong remarked. If one person could not see through it, and the Heavenly Calculations could not see through it, what about the Heart of Heaven? Was it possible to see through it? Or rather, could the combination of Heavenly Calculation and the Heart of Heaven succeed?

Li Jinxing said, "One of the reasons, yes. But bringing you here was also largely to share the burden." He smiled. "Having shouldered this world alone for so many years, I naturally hope someone can help. Since we divided the Heavenly Fortune of the Ji Palace and stole the powers of the Heart of Heaven and Heavenly Calculation, I cannot let myself bear it all alone."

Dou Xiaotong was silent for a moment before saying, "Let us see it first."

Li Jinxing nodded. "The opening of the Cloud Tomb is determined by fate. We still have some time; shall we return to the beginning of our conversation?"

Dou Xiaotong asked, "Do you know how the Five Poisons Cult refines Gu?"

Li Jinxing became interested. "Do you believe all living beings are mere Gu insects?" If this world were viewed as a Gu-breeding jar, then every cultivator was a Gu insect. If they were not striving to be the ultimate Gu, these insects would form collectives based on relationships of mutual restriction. These collectives would prioritize resources for the stronger insects and set a threshold for strength; only those above the threshold would be selected to reach another world, while those below were left to propagate as they pleased. It sounded plausible.

But one thing did not add up: the Demon race. Both Demon Lords were Heaven-Sovereign experts, and the upper three seats of the Demon Senate—the Prime Minister, the Demon Marshal, and the top six Demon Generals—were all at the Spirit Concealment stage. If one could ascend at Spirit Concealment, why had not a single one of these many powerful demons chosen to do so?

Li Jinxing posed the question.

Dou Xiaotong replied, "The Gu-breeding jar is sealed. Generally, the followers of the Five Poisons Cult introduce successful Gu insects into the jar to monitor the birth and death of the others within."

Li Jinxing remained silent for a long while, then smiled. "Inviting you here was truly the right choice." After a few moments, he sighed, "If that is the case, I feel a bit sorry for Dugu Feiyun. Who knows what kind of hellish place he has gone to."

"He will be fine," Dou Xiaotong said.

Li Jinxing chuckled. "True. Even I must admit that he has his own unique merits; the chance of him running into trouble is very low."

The chance of trouble was low, which meant it was still possible. Dou Xiaotong narrowed his eyes. "Because of the Underworld?"

Li Jinxing nodded. "If a threshold truly exists, the only possibility I can imagine is that they are selecting strong enough individuals to combat the Underworld."

Dou Xiaotong could not help but ask, "Is the Underworld that strong?"

Li Jinxing looked at him. "Do you remember the Yama we encountered that day?"

Dou Xiaotong nodded. "He crossed the boundary, and his strength was severely diminished, yet he could still wound me at will. If you hadn't possessed so many treasures, you might not have been his match."

Li Jinxing said softly, "There are ten such Hall Masters in the Underworld. Above them are the Five Directional Ghost Emperors and the three Lords of the Underworld."

Dou Xiaotong frowned. If the Ghost Emperors and the Lords were counted as Heaven-Sovereign, that would only be ten Spirit Concealment and eight Heaven-Sovereign entities. If all the races of the Daoyuan Continent worked together, they might be able to muster such power.

Perhaps guessing his thoughts, Li Jinxing added, "The Yama who crossed over was severely wounded, and his realm was forcibly reduced. According to the records of the Cloud Tomb, each of the ten halls of the Underworld is led by a Heaven-Sovereign."

Dou Xiaotong's pupils contracted.

Perhaps thinking this was not shocking enough, Li Jinxing continued, "As for the Five Directional Ghost Emperors and the three Lords, while there are no explicit records, they are certainly above the Heaven-Sovereign realm."

Dou Xiaotong felt his throat go dry. What was the concept of ten Heaven-Sovereigns? Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty had fought his way through the Underworld alone, even facing experts like the Underworld Emperor who were at the Spirit Concealment stage. Every time the Demon Lord moved south, it required several of humanity's top experts to fight to the death just to reach a stalemate. And now, there were eight more experts above the Heaven-Sovereign realm beyond the ten? How were they supposed to fight that?

"It is not yet our concern," Li Jinxing said. "The Underworld has not invaded the Daoyuan Continent yet, which means they are being held back."

"Perhaps not held back, but hidden," Dou Xiaotong countered. If things were as Li Jinxing suggested, the Underworld would have no reason to let a Yama cross the boundary alone. Unless they were unaware of the specific situation of the Daoyuan Continent—its location or its strength. Thus, the Yama chose to descend the moment he sensed the summoning of the Soul Formless, not knowing how long that summons would last or what level of power it could sustain. Seen this way, even in the Immortal Realm, Heaven-Sovereign should be considered a top-tier combat power; otherwise, the Yama could not have been so confident.

Li Jinxing mused, "That makes sense. Perhaps the Daoyuan Continent has been hidden by someone with ulterior motives." He paused and asked, "Could it be that Heaven truly has a will?"

Dou Xiaotong looked expressionless. "Who knows if it has a will? But these coincidences, one after another, prove that the so-called Heavenly Dao may not be as pure as we think."

Li Jinxing wondered why Dou Xiaotong used the word "pure."

Dou Xiaotong said coldly, "It was you who proposed that the world has an end."

Just then, a rumbling thunder echoed across the heavens. The Cloud Tomb slowly began to churn, revealing a rift as deep as an abyss. It was Dou Xiaotong's first time seeing such a scene, and he felt it even more acutely. He clearly perceived that the divine soul of the Cloud Tomb was also slowly tearing open along with the flowing clouds, revealing a gap.

At the end of the gap... the Great Formation of Ten Thousand Heavens and Ten Seals!

He turned to look at Li Jinxing and roared, "Did you do this?"

The thunder was too loud, and the divine soul too powerful for telepathy; he had to shout.

Li Jinxing shouted back, "Indeed! If not for this, the Underworld would have descended long ago!"