Above the Great Dao

He returned to his residence, pondered for a moment, and prepared the Azure Cloud carriage to depart the Upper Realm. Not long after, the carriage arrived at Huangpo Village.

Chen Shi saw Yang Bi alight from the Azure Cloud carriage, slightly stunned, and went forward to greet him.

He had struggled to find a way to the Upper Realm, not expecting Yang Bi to come to Huangpo Village.

Yang Bi stepped off the carriage and saluted him.

Chen Shi returned the salute.

Yang Bi recounted his conversation with the thirteen ancestors word-for-word, saying, "What I know is only this much. After telling you this, I must prepare to deal with Despair Slope. After today, who knows if we will meet again."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I really want to see you again, but next time we meet, you might be the one to kill me."

Yang Bi nodded lightly and said, "If we meet again, it means I've resolved the issues with Despair Slope, with no future troubles. By then, you won't be my confidant, but a major threat to the Thirteen Families, so I'll have to eliminate you first."

Chen Shi laughed heartily and said, "I hope you die at Despair Slope, yet I don't hope you die."

He earnestly said, "But I will always say this: for us cultivators, all great powers return to oneself."

Yang Bi smiled and said, "I've thought about what you said seriously. I find it infeasible. The pinnacle of the cultivation realm now is the Mahayana Realm, and there's no further progression. However strong my personal power is, it can't compare to the strength of the Thirteen Families. Only by concentrating the power of the Thirteen Families can I level Despair Slope!"

Chen Shi asked, "Haven't you thought about breaking through to Mahayana, ascending to immortality? If you possess the power of Harmonization..."

Yang Bi interrupted him, "Even if it is a new path, Harmonization will still turn evil. Brother Chen, the new path's evil turns just come later than the old path."

He made a long bow in farewell and turned to board the Azure Cloud carriage.

Suddenly, Chen Shi called, "Yang Bi!"

Yang Bi turned back.

"If you can't win, run!" Chen Shi shouted loudly.

Yang Bi was slightly stunned, then laughed, "I understand. Thank you."

Chen Shi waved and watched as the Azure Cloud carriage faded into the distance.

He composed himself again and went back to the Yellow Earth Slope to see Scholar Zhu, telling him about the True King's second attempt at Despair Slope and subsequent death, saying, "The True King was killed in battle at Despair Slope, not assassinated or driven to despair and suicide."

Scholar Zhu looked into the distance, stunned for a long time before finally saying, "At the critical moment, the True King would definitely shoulder the burden of protecting the common people, not a coward who would commit suicide to escape a heavenly disaster. He was extraordinarily talented, proactively reforming the old methods, creating new ones, sealing the immortals of the world. How could such a ruler die at the hands of the ancestors of the Thirteen Families? My ancestors did not disgrace the Zhu family name."

"But his descendants were hung and died here," Chen Shi said.

Scholar Zhu snorted.

Chen Shi continued, "In the battle of Despair Slope, not only did the True King die, but even my foster mother was buried under the Yellow Earth Slope, along with the clones of the Divine from Huaxia Divine Continent, all buried beneath the mountains and rivers. Their divine statues were smashed, their images slaughtered, their temples destroyed. This is no less tragic than the True King's death."

His passions surged, the Qianyang Mountain Lord Temple, this temple sank with the mountains into the depths of the earth, hidden and unseen, until a few years ago, it suddenly emerged from underground.

The statue and divine image of the Qianyang Mountain Lord also vanished to nothing, only through his second divine enthronement did he revive the Qianyang Mountain Lord from death, to again become the Mountain God of Qianyang Mountain.

Likewise, the Mazu Temple of Gongzhou was hidden within the mountains, guarding the sea domain.

The Guan Sheng Emperor Temple in Qing Province, the divine statue shattered, the temple deeply buried underground.

...

The divine beings that once guarded the West Bull New Continent, either were slaughtered, or voluntarily hid away, vanishing without a trace.

This matter had an immense impact, comparable to the True King sealing immortals, new methods replacing old ones, the True King's death, this series of significant events!

Chen Shi looked at the stele of the foster mother, murmuring, "What exactly happened at that time? And why was the foster mother buried under the Yellow Earth Slope?"

Scholar Zhu hung from the noose, swaying, "I don't know. I was born too late in that era. Back then, I was facing a court already decadent, rotten to the core."

At that time, he was full of ideals, wanting to save this court, change this world, explore the secrets of the decline of the True King Era, wished to be a savior, wished to recreate the flourishing era of the True King!

However, in front of reality, he ran headfirst into bloodied walls.

Desperate, he could only come to the True King's Tomb and hang himself on the old willow tree.

Even with all manners of divine skills, he couldn't help but feel as disheartened as ash.

Chen Shi sarcastically compared him unfavorably to the True King, and he acknowledged it.

The True King faced apocalyptic scenes, still dared to charge into Despair Slope, while he faced the pressure of the Thirteen Families, and could only despair and hang himself here.

Thinking now, indeed he shamed the True King's reputation.

"This damn world!" Scholar Zhu suddenly cursed angrily.

The Black Pot perked up its ears, cautiously glancing at him.

At this moment, Chen Tang's voice came, "Little Ten, Little Ten! Come back quickly!"

Chen Shi walked down the Yellow Earth Slope, back to Huangpo Village, only to see Situ Wen's massive magical treasure mechanism parked outside Huangpo Village, comprising several towers. Chen Tang, Li Tianqing, Situ Wen, Yu Lingzi, County Magistrate Hu, and others were surrounding the mechanism, busy with various tasks.

They conjured the Heavenly Court Token, opened a portal to the Little Heavenly Realms, going in and out, transporting many magical treasure components from within.

The people from the Ministry of Industry were assembling these magical treasures.

"The instructor is here!" Situ Wen came forward, beaming with joy.

Chen Shi observed the busy crowd, seeing huge furnaces gradually taking shape under their hands, and asked, "What are you doing?"

He felt these furnaces seemed somewhat familiar.