Chapter 375: Heavenly Dao and Human Path, The Path of Self-Slash, Crossing Tribulations, The Future Is Not Despair!
“I can help you reach the perfect Void Self Realm, but the condition is that you must help me fulfill a wish.”
The Holy King looked at Zhou Tong, his gaze intense.
“In the future you see, did I help you fulfill your wish?”
Zhou Tong asked with a smile, causing the other party to fall silent.
“Not at all? If that’s the case, why are you waiting for me!”
“I’ve always wanted to give it a try; after all, the future can be changed.”
The Holy King said stubbornly, his eyes fixed on Zhou Tong.
“You are very strange and special. Clearly, you haven’t reached the perfect Void Self Realm, yet you can see a future truer than mine. How exactly did you do it?”
Zhou Tong smiled slightly, not willing to disclose that he possessed Imperial-level spiritual power.
“This is a secret. You might as well tell me first why your spiritual power is only at the Holy King level, yet you can comprehend the Void Self Realm?”
This was what he cared about most. Ordinary people seeking to comprehend the Six Noes Imperial Realm must cultivate their spiritual power to the quasi-Imperial level.
Yet this Holy King in front of him was ordinary to the extreme, nowhere near special.
“Because the world has changed!”
The other party said openly, “In our era, there were no limitations of spiritual power to break through the Six Noes Imperial Realm.”
These words made Zhou Tong’s eyes widen.
He realized he had overlooked a fact.
“Dao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Dao!”
The current laws of heaven and earth may not apply to the future and certainly are not equivalent to the past.
“How long ago were you from?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“I’ve already said, I can’t remember!”
The Holy King shook his head, a unique aura radiating from him, surrounding Zhou Tong.
“The six components forming the Void Self Realm, Self-Slash is the simplest yet the most difficult.”
“To truly step into it, one must perform a Self-Slash, giving up an important part of oneself.”
“Some people easily step in, simply because they cultivate the Heartless Dao; aside from themselves, there is nothing they cannot give up.”
“But others regard it like a tiger; they want to keep everything, and in the end, nothing remains!”
Listening to the other party speak freely, Zhou Tong’s expression gradually became serious.
“What is considered the important thing?”
“Cultivation, emotions, memories, loved ones… whatever you wish to protect can be consumed!”
“Hmph… it’s simply ridiculous!”
Zhou Tong scoffed, shadows of familiar faces flashing before him—Mu Ran Ya, Zhang Chuqiao, the Little Demoness, Li Mu… and even his own parents and adoptive father he had only met once!
To make him cast these aside, he wouldn’t be able to do it even at the cost of his life.
“The reason I strive to become stronger is to protect these important things; if I cannot even protect them, what is the point of becoming stronger?”
“If you don’t become stronger, you won’t be able to protect them either!”
The Holy King shook his head, as if trapped in a magical paradox that no one could break.
For a moment, the atmosphere between the two grew deathly silent, becoming maddeningly quiet.
“I don’t believe it!”
Zhou Tong was the first to break the deadlock, speaking firmly, burning with irrefutable belief.
“Another fool, I see your future failure!”
“The future can be changed!”
Hearing these words, the Holy King was slightly taken aback.
He had just said the same thing, but their mindsets were vastly different.
The former chose acceptance, while the latter basked in hope.
“Enough, saying anything now is meaningless. I can tell you the method to break through ‘Self-Slash,’ but before that, you must be prepared to choose what to cast aside.”
“There’s no need for that!”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong entered a sitting position, preparing to meditate.
“I’ve already touched the threshold and can attempt to break through; you might as well tell me what you cast aside back then. I’m very curious!”
The Holy King’s expression froze for a moment, followed by a faint trace of pain on his face.
“Fine, if you don’t want to say, then forget it, but I will soon meet you whole again. This is the future I see—wanna bet?”
As his words fell, Zhou Tong closed his eyes.
He could feel his spiritual power and spiritual energy melding together, starting to strike an invisible barrier.
“No need to bet; I’ve already won. To seek the Great Dao requires a price, and you are destined to fail!”
The Holy King stepped aside, watching Zhou Tong intently, not willing to miss a single detail.
“Crack, crack…”
Subtle cracking sounds emerged from Zhou Tong’s Spirit World, echoing in his ears like a thunderclap.
This was indeed the sound of shackles breaking, yet Zhou Tong felt unprecedented resistance.
The final barrier of the Void Self Realm was indeed extraordinary; familiar figures passed by him, then became blurred.
This was Heavenly Dao helping him make choices, forcing him to give up certain things.
“Even if the Celestial King came, he could not make decisions for me!”
With a loud bang!
The Imperial-level spiritual power erupted suddenly, resisting the wear of Heavenly Dao, making the soon-to-be-blurred outlines become clear once more.
Yet this was not enough; after all, he was still merely a cultivator not even touching the Sage level, unable to contend with it for long.
“I see the perfect flicker!”
In an instant, Zhou Tong exerted strength again, actively merging with the Authority of Law.
To resist Heavenly Dao, he ultimately still needed to leverage Human Dao Power!
“Boom!!”
At that moment, his Spirit World trembled, surging with endless waves, threatening to destroy the place entirely.
Even if Heavenly Dao had fallen asleep, its majesty remained unapproachable. Zhou Tong dared to confront it, finally triggering the Three Calamities and Four Trials!
And this time, not a few of them descended, but all of them appeared.
Body-destroying Calamity, Soul-reversing Calamity, Dao-breaking Calamity…
Unwarranted Calamity, Fateful Calamity, Loneliness Calamity, Abandonment Calamity…
These tribulations no longer remained formless but transformed into entities, pressing down on Zhou Tong.
“Zhou Tong, do you acknowledge your guilt…”
The figure of Mo Liushu appeared before him, just like in the Judgment Hall, seeking to engulf him.
“I know you’re a fool!”
Zhou Tong sneered, throwing a punch to obliterate it.
However, this was merely an appetizer; the past, like a torrent, surged forth, and with a palm, it split open, transforming into a terrifying grinding wheel.
The grinding wheel spun, wearing down heaven and earth, spirit and flesh, with nothing in the world able to stop it!
The pressure from Tang Qi, the death of the Little Demoness from his previous life, his parents whose whereabouts were unknown, and an unpredictable future… all became part of the grinding wheel, intending to crush Zhou Tong!
“Get out of my way!”
Zhou Tong struck out with all his strength, only to cause his own blood and flesh to fly, enduring unprecedented suffering, his blood-soaked palm revealing ghastly white bones.
Yet even so, his eyes remained clear, unwavering!
Then, he perfectly fused with the Formless Realm, transforming into a chaos that swallowed the grinding wheel, radiating an unfathomable formidable power!
“Crack, crack!”
Finally, the grinding wheel could take no more, shattering into pieces amidst the haze.
Following that, a more obscure aura emerged, and those fragments did not dissipate; instead, they formed another Zhou Tong, standing in front of him, exuding unprecedented hostility!
“I understand now…”
Zhou Tong, the true self, smiled.
“To fight oneself, slashing away the imperfect parts of oneself, this is also an alternative path.”
“No, wait!”
He murmured to himself, “Perhaps this is the most correct way…”
