# Chapter 2598: Traveling with Tai Shang
Zhang Ruochen sent Ji Fanxin off, then set out with Yunshen Daozhu on the path to the place where Xumi Saint Monk had entered nirvana.
The Dragon Lord and Qiangu Nüdi had already returned to Kunlun Realm first.
Yunshen Daozhu did not display any great divine power. Instead, like an ordinary old man, he slowly walked through the void with Zhang Ruochen, while asking about his sacred intent and thoughts.
Zhang Ruochen knew that someone as powerful as Yunshen Daozhu was someone even gods longed to receive guidance from, so he cherished this rare opportunity.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen asked many questions about cultivation, and Yunshen Daozhu patiently answered each one. Every word was exquisitely profound, leaving Zhang Ruochen with sudden enlightenment.
"Grandmaster, is it really true that no cultivator in history has ever cultivated a first-rank sacred intent?" Zhang Ruochen asked, somewhat incredulous.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "Perhaps there have been, but as far as I know, there have not. In history, there have been some legendary figures whom the world claimed cultivated a first-rank sacred intent in the Great Saint Realm, but upon careful investigation, the result was only a top-tier second-rank sacred intent. It was only because they possessed ancient rare treasures that they created the illusion of being misunderstood."
Even from Yunshen Daozhu's height, saying this showed that first-rank sacred intent was truly illusory and elusive, likely unprecedented.
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. "Perhaps first-rank sacred intent really is just my wishful thinking."
Yunshen Daozhu shook his head, his expression serious. "Ruochen, why are you so self-deprecating? Do you know that even those Heavenly Venerable-level figures from three hundred thousand years ago, when they were Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints, were inferior to you as you are now?"
"Being able to cultivate a third-rank sword dao sacred intent is already unprecedented. Based on this alone, you have the opportunity to contend for the position of All Heavens in the future."
Yunshen Daozhu's words were like a sudden blow to the head, jolting Zhang Ruochen's spirit and restoring a dazzling light to his eyes.
What was wrong with him lately?
Why had his mentality been so negative and low?
Having cultivated a third-rank sword dao sacred intent, he should have been "full of sharpness, sword piercing the nine heavens," so why was he instead so lacking in confidence in himself?
Yunshen Daozhu seemed to see some clue and asked, "You obtained the Sword Ancestor's sword soul in the Origin Divine Temple. This is indeed a great blessing, greatly helping you condense a third-rank sword dao sacred intent, and will bring you endless benefits in the future, even after becoming a god."
"However, a person who can leave behind their own courage and boldness has already lost their sharpness within that courage."
"The Sword Ancestor's sword soul should represent the spirit of the sword dao. But can a sword soul that has lost its sharpness still represent the spirit of the sword dao? If a sword has no sharpness, what difference is there between it and a scabbard?"
"From ancient times to the present, the Sword Ancestor has been considered a very powerful existence. But the Sword Ancestor who arrived at Kunlun Realm was different. By then, he had lost his heart for struggle and only had a heart for transmitting the dao."
"Ruochen, do you understand the difference between a heart for struggle and a heart for transmitting the dao?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered deeply and said, "If a sword does not contend, it should not leave its scabbard. The dao transmitted by the Sword Ancestor is the dao of the sword within the scabbard. To cultivate a complete sword dao, one must personally comprehend the sword dao after it leaves the scabbard."
Yunshen Daozhu laughed heartily and nodded with satisfaction. "The Sword Ancestor transmitted the dao, but to achieve the dao depends on later cultivators themselves. You obtained his sword soul, which is a great thing, but you were also affected by the emotions he left behind when he bequeathed his sword soul."
Zhang Ruochen supported the coughing Yunshen Daozhu and asked, "How can I remove this influence?"
"The reason you are affected is that your seven souls are too weak, and you have not cultivated your own sword soul."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up. "I understand. I truly need to cultivate my own sword soul. The Sword Ancestor is only responsible for transmitting the dao; achieving the dao depends on myself. I must have a heart for struggle and let the sword leave its scabbard."
"Struggle against heaven, struggle against earth, struggle against gods, buddhas, demons, and monsters. Contend for life, contend for the dao, contend and battle against the All Heavens..." Yunshen Daozhu, who had been smiling and spirited, suddenly stopped.
Zhang Ruochen pressed on. "Contend and battle against the All Heavens what?"
Yunshen Daozhu smiled and shook his head. "Nothing, just contend and battle against the All Heavens. The All Heavens refers to the Twenty Heavens. These were words spoken by Wen Tianjun back then."
"There really were Twenty Heavens?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Yunshen Daozhu nodded, somewhat emotional. "Three hundred thousand years ago, the Twenty Heavens became history, became the past. The world only had Hao Tian left, no longer any All Heavens. The Four Heavens of the Hell Realm were also erased from history by the Destiny Temple. Wen Tianjun ultimately could not fulfill his dream of contending and battling against the All Heavens."
It was "contend and battle," not "wage war."
In the era three hundred thousand years ago, becoming one of the All Heavens was the greatest dream of all cultivators, the highest honor, the goal pursued by all gods.
Twenty positions, eternally unchanging.
To become one of them, one had to defeat one of them.
The character "contend" represented everything.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "Three hundred thousand years have passed, and the influence of the All Heavens has completely disappeared. The Heavenly Palace and the Destiny Temple have replaced the influence and authority of the former Twenty Heavens. History is always changing."
Zhang Ruochen said, "In that case, I shall struggle against heaven, struggle against earth, struggle against gods, buddhas, demons, and monsters. Contend for life, contend for the dao, contend and battle against the Heavenly Palace and Destiny."
Yunshen Daozhu laughed heartily and gently patted his shoulder. "Don't say such things carelessly."
Suddenly, his expression turned serious. "Of course, if you can truly achieve your own sword dao with such a heart, then in the future, your sword soul can replace the Sword Ancestor's sword soul and become the spirit of the sword dao. But contending and battling against the Heavenly Palace and Destiny means you must surpass the Heavenly Palace and the Destiny Temple. That is no small vision."
"How does it compare to 'embracing all rivers, encompassing all things'?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Yunshen Daozhu was slightly startled, then laughed again. "Your ambition is far higher than your father's. Only with a heart like yours can you charge toward first-rank sacred intent. He is far from capable. But you must hold fast to this heart. Never let it become like the Sword Ancestor's one day, leaving behind your courage and finding yourself a retreat. Once the vision is set, you cannot retreat!"
Zhang Ruochen was greatly shocked, thinking of the thought that had suddenly emerged in his mind at the stone altar—the idea of retreating with beauties into seclusion. He asked, "What if I do retreat?"
"If the vision is unfulfilled, retreating one step may be either losing the path or falling into an abyss. If it is losing the path, you will return to mediocrity, never again having the possibility of becoming the strongest in the world. If it is falling into an abyss, the consequences are even more dire—you may die from inner demons." Yunshen Daozhu said gravely.
Zhang Ruochen was already drenched in cold sweat, filled with lingering fear. Recalling that day, if Chi Yao had not suddenly appeared, perhaps he truly would have strayed from the path.
But after thinking it over, Zhang Ruochen recovered.
At that time, he had only been moved by the scene, a momentary emotional release. Even if Chi Yao had not appeared, he would not have truly fallen into it. He was just scaring himself.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen and Yunshen Daozhu stopped walking, looking toward the distant starry sky.
From the starry sky surged a gray cloud of death qi.
Within the death qi cloud were countless ghost clan soldiers, some holding yin banners, some riding undead mounts, some driving ghost chariots, numbering as many as a million.
In the cloud, they were also escorting a large number of living souls.
These living souls were beings from Kunlun Realm who had just been killed, their bodies almost transparent, driven by rows of yin banners, emitting heart-rending wails.
Yunshen Daozhu's gaze was deep and profound. "The Hell Realm has begun to withdraw its troops."
...
"Where are we going?"
"To the Hell Realm, of course."
"Can we reincarnate in the Hell Realm?"
"Hehe, reincarnate? No, you are to be offered as food to Lord Ghost Lord."
"I don't want to go to the Hell Realm, I don't want to... I want to go back... Ah..."
...
Zhang Ruochen saw that young human-shaped living soul being swallowed into the belly of a ghost clan cultivator. His killing intent surged, and sword qi leaked out.
Yunshen Daozhu held him back.
"Grandmaster, do you not pity them? These living souls were living humans not long ago. Does Grandmaster not feel anger?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "I very much want to strike all the evil ghosts in the sky into divine form annihilation, but evil ghosts have always been in people's hearts. How can they be killed to the last? Should we kill the evil ghosts, or should we kill the people who harbor evil ghosts in their hearts? These were words spoken by Xumi back then."
"His buddhist realm is too high, but I do not cultivate buddhism. I cultivate the sword." Zhang Ruochen said.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "I also want to kill all evil ghosts, but now we must wait and endure. Kunlun Realm cannot again become the target of everyone. There was a great dark conspiracy one hundred thousand years ago. Our enemies may not be limited to the Paradise Realm and the Hell Realm."
Zhang Ruochen was greatly shocked. He thought he already understood the dark conspiracy well enough, but from Grandmaster's words, the dark conspiracy was deeper than he imagined, forcing even someone like Grandmaster to temporarily choose restraint.
"Grandmaster only has such a guess. Don't think too much about it. Besides, you are just a small Hundred Shackles Realm cultivator. Why think about so much? This is what Grandmaster should be thinking about. For now, you just need to cultivate well."
The ghost clan army gradually faded into the distance.
Yunshen Daozhu gazed at a certain direction in the void. "How long have we been walking?"
"One and a half days." Zhang Ruochen said.
"How far have we gone?"
Zhang Ruochen looked back at the Chaos Myriad Worlds Mountain, which was still close at hand. "About one hundred and twenty li."
"Too slow."
"Indeed, too slow."
Yunshen Daozhu gently stroked his beard. "What is the fastest speed you can achieve now?"
"Wearing the Flowing Light Merit Armor, I can reach ten thousand times the speed of sound."
"Too slow."
"Indeed, too slow."
Zhang Ruochen was telling the truth. If fighting an enemy or traveling within a major world, this speed was not slow. But if traveling through the starry sky or fleeing for one's life, this speed was not fast enough.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen could choose to set up a Space Teleportation Array.
But when truly fleeing for one's life, when was there time to set up an array? Moreover, setting up an array would reveal the spatial coordinates of one's destination.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "Speed is very important! If speed is not fast enough, when encountering a powerful enemy or being surrounded and attacked, it is easy to be killed or captured. Being captured is a very painful thing, and... it also loses face."
"Yes! So, Grandmaster, what life-saving ultimate technique do you plan to teach your disciple?" Zhang Ruochen asked, full of anticipation.