Becoming a Deity from Planting the Bodhi Tree-Chapter 997 - 360: Three Battlefields, All Reaching Their End

"Entering the 'True' realm of transcendence, my thoughts and wishes become reality. With a single thought, time can be reversed. No matter the sacrifices, the bloodshed, the regrets—all are but a joke."

"If you, my Taoist friend, believe that the sacrifices of the Federation are too great, I can promise that, besides the seven of you, all citizens of the Federation can live, including those who died ten thousand years ago."

Mu Shitian whispered, "That is the crux of the matter. We have never feared death."

Wuzhou's gaze was deep, and he chuckled, "You only wish for my death?"

"Wrong." Mu Shitian said flatly, "What we desire today is not just you, Wuzhou, but also the Four Demons."

Until this moment.

Wuzhou finally realized that what Mu Shitian sought today was not merely to leave him behind but to include Yan and even Taiyi, who had vanished into who knows where!

"This is a joke."

Wuzhou shook his head, trod on the Black Lotus, and began devouring Mu Shitian's Spirit God particles.

They fought to a stalemate, neither able to claim victory. Yet, in this part of the battlefield, he had won.

"Taoist Friend Shitian, I have devoured 1,387,850,000 of your Divine Split particles. Is this Dao Struggle merely this?"

Wuzhou's words abruptly stopped.

His gaze turned toward the other two battlefields outside the realm, and he opened his mouth to praise:

"Today, the Yanhuang Federation has indeed made a grand showing."

"Among the older generation, four Pseudo-Saints have blocked Brother Yan, whose killing power has soared once more to the First Layer Heaven, and a dozen Heavenly Venerables have returned."

"Among the young generation, your excellent disciple has unexpectedly touched the legendary 'Heavenly Human Mysterious Gate', with Dao Power perfectly unified, and favored by Heavenly Will. The future is boundless."

"With such a disciple, even if you were to ascend to immortality here and now, you would have no regrets."

It was at this moment.

Wuzhou felt a sense of incredulity; he surprisingly sensed an emotion within the ripples of Mu Shitian's Spirit God that shouldn't be there.

That was anger.

That World Venerable who transcends all living beings revealed a true form of fury.

But where did this anger come from?

Wuzhou squinted slightly, a faint smile playing across his lips, and continued, "Today's events prove that we did not make the wrong choice all those years ago."

"Taoist Friend Wuzhou." Mu Shitian suddenly asked, "What is truly the most satisfying thing in this world?"

Wuzhou seized upon the flaw Mu Shitian exposed, following that spirit ripple straight to its source, attempting to breach Mu Shitian's mental defenses.

Upon hearing Mu Shitian's question, Wuzhou laughed heartily:

"Taoist friend, you truly asked the right person. Naturally, it's freedom! Purely following one's heart is the most satisfying thing in this world!"

"All beings are in anguish. Only freedom can soothe the heart!"

What in this world can bring more satisfaction than the ultimate freedom to do as one pleases?

Reckless, lawless, acting on whim...

This was Wuzhou's attitude both before and after attaining the Tao.

Rationale? Rules? Restraints?

Wuzhou's actions disregarded right and wrong, good and evil, all those man-made boundaries, driven solely by pure freedom of body and mind, unrestrained by anything.

He would even allow the countless fleeting thoughts born of a wandering mind to develop into new Wuzhous, each doing whatever they wished.

In their cultivation, what practitioners fear most at the end is for their mental realm to be like a leaf adrift on the water, scattered like willow catkins, but Wuzhou delights in it.

Who can say this kind of "freedom" does not make Wuzhou a romantic?

Thus, in past years, when he had yet to attain the Tao, the world called him "the most romantic in the human world," with his actions and style akin to an eccentric.

Most remarkably, despite the myriad karma he entangled himself with, none could pursue him through these karmic ties to trouble him, which is the true key to his concept of freedom.

Until he encountered Mu Shitian.

With white hair billowing, Wuzhou's gaze was deep, his tone calm as he spoke:

"Taoist friend, your Federation is far too constrained. Had you been willing to leave this place ten thousand years ago and seek a treasured land, in millennia, you could sever karmic ties. Even if our four joined forces, crossing realms, you would remain unbothered. Why come to this?"

Upon saying this.

Wuzhou shook his head, stepped forward again, and cracks appeared on Mu Shitian's Golden Body Dharma Form in this Pure Land World, showing signs of defeat.

Riding on the momentum of a great victory, Wuzhou let out a long, exuberant howl, expressing his core belief with words:

"The Dao is solitary; my heart is the heart of heaven. What can heaven and earth impose upon me?!"

"If He Donghuang had had seven parts of my vigor ten thousand years ago, even if unable to break through Taiyi's shackle, he would not have died on the spot!"

"Taoist friend, you seem to think that you and I are very much alike?" Mu Shitian's demeanor remained calm, "But in my view, of the seven, the one most like you should actually be Donghuang."

On hearing this, Wuzhou raised an eyebrow, "Why say this?"

Mu Shitian answered, "Freedom. Among us, Donghuang represents a freedom similar but not identical to yours."

At first, it was as if Wuzhou had heard a cosmic joke.

The He Donghuang, who was entangled by Ji Tianxing's countless schemes and constantly lived under the shadow and oppression of the four of them—could he be the one among the seven most like him?

Yet soon after.

Wuzhou's expression suddenly changed.

If He Donghuang was the most constrained of the seven in his early years due to his background and character,

then could Ji Tianxing's calculations be seen as a scheme to force him down a path to Great Freedom?

"He was waiting for me?!"

Wuzhou suddenly realized.

That He Donghuang indeed hadn't truly perished, leaving behind preparations specifically for him!

Yet shortly after, Mu Shitian shook his head, denying this theory.

Oddly enough, Wuzhou could see, regardless of anything else, that in this matter alone, Mu Shitian was not speaking falsehoods.

He said—

"Today, to suppress Wuzhou, only Mu Shitian is needed."

"But those wishing to kill Wuzhou today are not limited to just our Federation's Martial Artists."

Those wanting to kill him, beyond the Yanhuang Federation?

Who else? All Real Saints? Isn't it laughable?

For once, a ripple stirred in Wuzhou's heart, his gaze shifting between light and dark, tightly focusing on Mu Shitian.

To speak of it, this Spirit God clone had already been thoroughly assimilated by him, so why did it still retain such complete self-awareness?

At this moment.

Mu Shitian looked beyond the Pure Land.

He was looking at old friends, the past Real Saints, his own disciple, and the millennia-old history of the Federation...

All beings are in agony.

So does one choose not to live?

He quietly guarded his heart, murmuring:

"That which is most satisfying today shall be where the blade strikes."

As Wuzhou continued to search along the mental threads Mu Shitian had exposed.

Heaven and earth turned upside down.

大小颠倒.

主次颠倒.

Originally decaying Golden Body Mu Shitian, suddenly towering as high as all the mountains in the Human World combined, massive as Sumeru, looked down upon Wuzhou, voice booming like thunder, speaking with Heaven's decree, words creating law:

"Taoist Friend Wuzhou, it's time to enter the urn."

At the same moment.

The 1,387,850,000 "Wuzhous" raised their heads, one hand pointing to the sky, the other to the ground, speaking softly:

"The one who unifies all things, how could they not understand transforming one into ten thousand?"