Chapter 2719: Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm
“Overlord? Easier said than done.” Xue Jue War God said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “The nine eternal paths, the seventy-two supreme sacred paths, the three thousand great paths, and the one hundred thousand minor paths. This includes the thirty-six heavenly paths of the ten clans of hell.”
“Eternal, supreme, heavenly—becoming an overlord might be incredibly difficult.”
“But among the three thousand great paths and one hundred thousand minor paths, there should always be a chance to master more than half of the esoterica, right?”
Xue Jue War God shook his head and said, “Have you ever seen a Great Saint who primarily cultivates the sacred intent of the one hundred thousand minor paths? Even those who focus on the three thousand great paths are extremely rare, aren’t they?”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred as he understood.
He had just fallen into a cognitive blind spot of cultivators in the Saint realm.
For cultivators pursuing the sacred path, focusing on one of the three thousand great paths offered a chance to step into the Saint realm.
However, cultivating the three thousand great paths and the one hundred thousand minor paths made becoming a god as difficult as reaching the heavens.
If one couldn’t even become a god, how could they talk about wielding esoterica after becoming one?
How could they talk about becoming the main god or overlord of a path?
Cultivating toward godhood raised the requirements far, far higher than cultivating toward sainthood.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Doesn’t that mean the struggle for esoterica mainly occurs among the nine eternal paths, the seventy-two supreme sacred paths, and the thirty-six heavenly paths of hell?”
Xue Jue War God nodded and said, “The three thousand great paths are hard to cultivate, and the seventy-two supreme sacred paths and thirty-six heavenly paths are hard to contend for. You’ll understand all this once you step into the God realm. As for the struggle over the esoterica of the nine eternal paths, that’s a conflict at an even higher level.”
“Please, Grandfather, explain more.” Zhang Ruochen still found it quite difficult to grasp.
Xue Jue War God thought for a moment before speaking again, “Actually, the hardest paths to cultivate in heaven and earth are the nine eternal paths. They demand extremely high talent from cultivators, and whether one is a controller of an eternal path is even more crucial. How many controllers of eternal paths can be born in one eon?”
“Why did the Truth Temple scatter the Truth Esoterica? A big reason was to use the esoterica to help cultivators train in the Way of Truth.”
“Beyond that, mastering the esoterica of an eternal path is also an extremely difficult task.”
“All the paths under heaven—the seventy-two supreme sacred paths, the thirty-six heavenly paths of hell, the three thousand great paths, and the one hundred thousand minor paths—all originate from the nine eternal paths.”
“The nine eternal paths evolved into the three thousand great paths.”
“The three thousand great paths evolved into the one hundred thousand minor paths.”
“As for the seventy-two supreme sacred paths and the thirty-six heavenly paths, most of them were not born naturally. Instead, cultivators created them by fusing the three thousand great paths and the one hundred thousand minor paths through cultivation.”
“For example, the Sword Dao, Palm Dao, Fist Dao, and Demon Dao—these didn’t exist in heaven and earth originally; they were created by cultivators. As more and more cultivators trained in them, the Sword Dao rules, Palm Dao rules, Fist Dao rules, and Demon Dao rules in heaven and earth also increased.”
“Because these rules were cultivated by sages of the past and now drift freely in heaven and earth, they are easier to mobilize than the three thousand great paths and one hundred thousand minor paths. Hence, they can become supreme paths.”
“Of course, among the three thousand great paths, some were also created by cultivators in later generations. But they can only be classified as great paths because they must have shortcomings. Why cultivate them? It’s better to train in the seventy-two supreme sacred paths and the thirty-six heavenly paths.”
Zhang Ruochen keenly seized on a point and said, “Doesn’t that mean the more prosperous the Sword Dao becomes, the more Sword Dao rules exist in heaven and earth? And the stronger the power unleashed by Sword Dao Esoterica?”
“When Sword Dao rules increase to a certain extent, could it disrupt the inherent balance of rules in heaven and earth?”
“The same should apply to other paths.”
Xue Jue War God stared at Zhang Ruochen for a long time, his expression complex and profound.
“No one can answer that question. Any path created by living beings, once it flourishes to a certain degree, will inevitably decline after reaching its peak.”
“Take the already fallen Witch Dao, for example.”
“How glorious the Witch Dao once was! But heaven and earth wouldn’t let it continue to thrive, so the rules of heaven and earth changed, and the Witch Dao suffered a catastrophic disaster.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “But as time goes on, the paths created by humans will only increase. The Sword Dao rules, Palm Dao rules, Fist Dao rules in heaven and earth… they grow every moment.”
“One eon, ten eons, even a thousand eons, ten thousand eons—if this continues, heaven and earth’s capacity to bear it will eventually…”
“Let’s stop here for today!”
Xue Jue War God clearly didn’t want to continue discussing this issue with Zhang Ruochen. He said, “For you, breaking through to the God realm is the urgent priority. As for esoterica, take your time to ponder it; there’s no rush. After all, for gods, if their cultivation isn’t strong enough, they can’t unleash the power of esoterica.”
“No matter what, cultivation is the foundation—the most important thing.”
Leaving the Divine Realm World, Zhang Ruochen’s thoughts remained unsettled. He felt that Xue Jue War God was deliberately hiding something, not wanting him to know.
Or rather, not wanting him to know now.
With a flicker of thought, Zhang Ruochen secretly mobilized the Sword Dao rules in heaven and earth.
Many Sword Dao rules converged toward him, flowing around him, transforming the space within dozens of zhang into a sword domain. Within the domain, countless sword qi was born, flying with a swishing sound.
But these Sword Dao rules weren’t summoned through Sword Dao Esoterica; they were summoned through the Heavenly Sword Soul.
The quantity was quite limited.
“Why can’t I use the Sword Dao Esoterica again? It seems I need to ponder it more.”
Zhang Ruochen temporarily set aside his distracting thoughts and decided to focus on cultivating the rules of the sacred path for now, not thinking about esoterica. After all, esoterica was something only gods could grasp.
For now, he would understand as much as he could.
…
The Tianluo Divine Kingdom was the foremost of the seven divine kingdoms of the Rakshasa Clan.
Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm was the most dangerous place in the Rakshasa Clan, located within the star domain ruled by the Tianluo Divine Kingdom.
Legend had it that Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm was a world formed when the Demon Ancestor Luo Hou fell and his body collapsed.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t believe this legend at first, but after seeing the outline of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm in the starry sky, he believed it a little more, feeling an indescribable shock.
Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm looked like a person standing in the void, the size of an ordinary human body. But this was the size seen from tens of millions of li away.
As the divine ship flew closer, it became a giant.
Then a planetary giant.
Finally, a cosmic giant.
A true human-shaped world unfolded before Zhang Ruochen. The world was riddled with holes, filled with demonic qi, and the crimson atmospheric layer even carried a bloody smell.
“The universe is vast, full of wonders.”
“Why is Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm called the most dangerous place in the Rakshasa Clan?”
Zhang Ruochen remained vigilant toward Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, fastening the War God Belt around his waist. If they tried to seize the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription and kill him, Xue Jue War God could sense it immediately.
Luo Sha accompanied him, smiling, “Because most of the time, Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm is in a sealed state, even hidden in the starry sky, invisible to cultivators.”
“But once someone accidentally enters Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, even Rakshasa Clan cultivators will die without exception.”
Gu Ye Jing, dressed in a plain robe with her long hair tied up, said coldly, “Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm has strict rules and countless deadly places. Once you cross the realm gate, you must follow me closely. If you get lost and die here, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
“If I die in Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, it will definitely be because you coveted the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription and murdered me. My grandfather and mother will surely avenge me.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Gu Ye Jing snorted coldly, “Does Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm fear Xue Jue War God?”
“Oh? So you really have ill intentions. In that case, I won’t go to such a dangerous place. If you want to study the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, come find me at the Great Luo Divine Palace in the Tianluo Divine Kingdom. And bring Mu Lingxi with you.” Zhang Ruochen’s expression was stern, as if he wasn’t joking.
Gu Ye Jing’s full chest heaved violently with anger, her eyes flashing with cold light.
Just then, the realm gate of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm opened.
From the realm gate to the starry sky, a long path of demonic qi and light spread out. A group of Rakshasa in blood-red robes spread their demon wings and flew into the starry sky.
Some Rakshasa also spotted Gu Ye Jing and the others and immediately came over.
…
In the past two days, I’ve been writing the detailed outline for the next part. Since one plot arc has ended, a new one needs to begin. The new arc isn’t easy to write. Many settings and ideas need to be worked out first, which takes a lot of energy, so the updates have been slow.
There’s no way around it—I can’t just open Word and start writing without a plan! I can’t force it!