The righteous path punishes Heaven

Chapter 41 World

Meanwhile, in a mysterious canyon deep within the distant peaks of Flaming Mountain, Zhang Yunling struggled to control the turmoil in his heart, sitting cross-legged to begin recovering his spiritual energy. Strangely, within this canyon, his cultivation recovery speed seemed to be enhanced; spiritual energy that would normally take half an hour to fully recover now only required a few moments.

With his breathing calming down, Zhang Yunling flew forward and carefully examined the paintings on the rock wall. It seemed that due to the passage of time, some of the edges of these murals were damaged and blurred, but the overall content was still discernible; the murals told a story.

Legend has it that countless years ago, the world was shrouded in darkness and chaos. A giant wielding a giant axe cleaved the chaos in two, and what slowly rose became the sky, while what slowly descended became the earth.

But this chaos was originally one, and even if it was separated by external forces, it would eventually slowly come back together. The giant knew this as well, so he used his body as a pillar, supporting the sky with his head and hands, and stepping on the earth with his feet, forcibly separating the sky and the earth, and preventing them from coming back together.

Countless years passed, and the giant, who had once been strong, gradually grew old and eventually met his end. His hands and head merged into the sky, and his ten fingers clearly defined the layers of the sky. His body fell and became nourishment for the earth, giving birth to all living things on the ground.

But the giant's head contained something powerful. With this power, after many years of development, beings higher than those on earth were gradually born in the sky. These beings were collectively called "immortals" by the creatures on earth.

The immortals established the Heavenly Court: Lingxiao Palace, using their powerful supernatural abilities to benefit the living beings on earth and reconnect the heaven and earth that had been separated.

The power of the heavens could also be transmitted to the earth through this connection, and gradually, some mortals on earth became immortals.

But one day, a being born on earth, who became an immortal through his own efforts, broke the separation between heaven and earth.

Legend has it that in the northern part of the Five Regions, there exists a mysterious race whose strange powers can...

He obtained this power, comprehended it, and used it to become the strongest in the Five Realms.

By chance, he discovered that each heaven had an entity that carried the origin of that heaven, but on the ground, only a huge tree could be seen carrying the first heaven, which we call the Fusang Tree.

He cut down the Fusang tree and rushed up to the second heaven, the third heaven...

He shattered all the heavens, the Lingxiao Palace vanished into nothingness, and all the immortals were slaughtered. The power of the heavens overflowed, giving mortal beings on earth the ability to become immortals.

But such actions seemed to have provoked... the combined will of beings, who suppressed him, and...

We were unaware of all this at first, but gradually we became aware that his aura, which enveloped the earth, was growing weaker and weaker, and that the heavens he had once shattered...

In this process, we discovered that other things, things that did not belong to our world, had descended upon us.

These visitors from other worlds are called "Outsiders," and the many things they bring from the outside world are constantly influencing our five domains, ultimately shaping the world as it is today.

The heavens have changed; we can all feel it. Cultivators can more easily increase their power, and more people can ascend to the heavens, as if a new will is at play...

We began to question the purpose and reason for our existence. Did we want to gain greater power? To replace the immortals? Or something else...?

I leave these paintings here. I cannot understand all of this now, so let future generations explore the truth.

......

The murals end here. Some information has been lost in the damaged parts due to the passage of time, but overall it is still understandable that this series of murals tells the history of the Five Realms and Nine Heavens.

The world was created by giants, who then died, their bodies transforming into power that nourished heaven and earth, giving birth to cultivators. One cultivator later became an immortal, but instead of remaining an ordinary celestial being, he ripped open the heavens, leading to the arrival of beings from beyond the realm, such as Sun Jie.

But who is the will depicted in the painting? And who is the new will that followed?

Zhang Yunling couldn't help but recall his experience as a scholar in his previous life. Back then, he had read several popular novels about cultivating immortality, which mentioned a similar existence called the Will of Heaven.

Clearly, fate would not allow this mortal cultivator to shatter the Nine Heavens after becoming an immortal, but the cultivator's practice defied the heavens, and fate could not be defied, yet he insisted on doing it anyway.

But why is this happening? What in the heavens could possibly drive him to recklessly shatter the heavens? The Heavenly Court must expend an immense amount of power to suppress him; if he continues on this path, he might even shatter the very will of heaven.

What kind of world lies beyond the heavens?

Zhang Yunling gazed at the murals repeatedly, then sat cross-legged, closing his eyes in deep thought. The impact of this information on him was overwhelming. This was something most people would never encounter—a glimpse into the original state of their world.

After a long while, Zhang Yunling finally stood up. The turbidity and confusion in his eyes had lessened considerably. He then turned his gaze to the three statues standing in the center of the canyon.

It was quite obvious that they were three old men. The first one was in the middle, wearing a long robe, with an air of otherworldly wisdom. He held a whisk in his right hand and a gourd engraved with a yin-yang symbol in his left.

The second person is on the left, also dressed in a long robe, but holding a book in his hand, his lips slightly parted, as if he is talking about the contents of the book.

Zhang Yunling stepped forward and carefully examined the book. She saw three neatly carved characters on the cover: Tao Te Ching.

The third one, unlike the first two, depicts an old man with a stern face, holding a long sword in each hand. Coupled with his Taoist robe, he exudes an imposing aura.

These three statues together represent both civil and military aspects, with the one in the center being a balance between the two. Although the passage of time has worn down the statue's edges, one can still see the brilliance of these three statues from that era in some details.

Gazing at all the sights around him, whether murals or statues, he realized that this was something he might only experience once in his life. He needed to figure it out, to understand how he should interpret everything.

Legend has it that the world was created by a giant, but these three statues are obviously not included. So who is this giant, and who are these three old men?

However, the mural's creator also said that the giants creating the world is a legend, so those three should have a closer connection to the origin of the world.

Zhang Yunling stared intently at the three statues, imprinting their images into his memory.

What exactly do cultivators cultivate? Zhang Yunling and the artist of the mural shared the same question. They cultivated in the mortal realm to gain immense power, all in preparation for ascending to immortality. But what should they do after becoming immortals?

Does ascension only mean going to heaven? No.

Once one truly becomes a powerful immortal, one will no longer be bound by the heavens, and will be able to transcend all of this and see the entire world.

If that person from countless years ago could do it, why can't I?

Blood began to flow from Zhang Yunling's seven orifices. He was working at high speed, constantly thinking about one thing after another, trying to find his future path and the meaning of becoming a cultivator.

His ultimate goal used to be to become an immortal and to take revenge, but now he has gained new insights and understands some of the truth about the world.

"I must avenge my father's death, but after that, there is only one path I must take: everything else is illusory, ascension is the only true path."