Chapter 1449: The Unique Nature of the Mortal World

This discovery filled Xiao Dongxu with worry.

Ever since he first began looking into the Taotie, its very existence had baffled him—a mystery that remained unsolved to this day.

If this world had no gods, ghosts, immortals, or Buddhas, no Spiritual Energy, and none of these countless rules, would it truly become a better place?

This question had always haunted him.

It tied directly to the very meaning of a cultivator's existence.

Such profound uncertainty was something Xiao Dongxu had never entertained throughout his long years of life.

Seeing him lost in thought, Kong Ru asked, "Do you know about this?"

Xiao Dongxu snapped out of his thoughts. He shook his head and said, "It is the first I've heard of it."

Kong Ru's gaze fell upon the books resting on his desk. "I heard that for the past two years, you have been investigating an ancient ferocious beast named Taotie."

Xiao Dongxu nodded. "I have."

"What makes the Taotie so different?"

"The Taotie..."

Xiao Dongxu thought for a moment. After some hesitation, he finally told him everything he knew.

Kong Ru frowned slightly at the explanation. He glanced at Xiao Dongxu, finally understanding why the man had been so distracted.

"I have been wondering about the Heavenly Dao's reasoning for doing this," Xiao Dongxu said.

"In truth, I have also been questioning the meaning behind the existence of cultivators."

Those words plunged Kong Ru into deep thought.

"What are your thoughts on it?" Xiao Dongxu asked.

Kong Ru collected himself. "Me...?"

"When it comes to the Literary Dao, the last thing one should do is make absolute assumptions about the unknown. I have never seen what this world would look like once the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth dissipates."

Xiao Dongxu asked, "Have you ever been to the Mortal World?"

Kong Ru paused, then shook his head.

"You should go take a look. Perhaps—and I only say perhaps—"

"—you might gain a different perspective. It is precisely because I have seen it that I am so hesitant and perplexed now."

Taking Xiao Dongxu's words to heart, Kong Ru set off for the Mortal World just a few days later.

The Half-Saint who watched over the Literary Dao stepped out of his familiar realm and entered the Mortal World.

For him, perhaps a new journey of cultivation awaited in the Mortal World.

This was his Dao. He would search high and low, for only by truly seeing and knowing it for himself could he understand the final outcome.

Over the next few days, Xiao Dongxu did not see Kong Ru again. It was only when Ning Bufan arrived that he learned Kong Ru had already left.

"He went to the Mortal World."

"What did you say to him?" Ning Bufan demanded. "At such a critical time, how could he act so recklessly? With him gone from his post, aren't you afraid something will go wrong with the Literary Dao?"

Xiao Dongxu paused before replying. "He chose to go on his own. As a Half-Saint of the Literary Dao, he must keep moving forward instead of resting on his laurels and waiting for opportunities. Opportunities are never simply handed out to those who wait."

Ning Bufan raised an eyebrow. "The Mysterious Gate and the demonic path are locked in an endless struggle—it has already reached a point of life and death. With him gone, who is supposed to handle the many affairs of the Literary Dao? Furthermore, from what I can see of the Demon Gate, they are about to turn their sights on us to make things difficult."

Xiao Dongxu let out a slow breath. "If the path of Literary Qi relies solely on one person to keep it standing, then it deserves to fall."

Ning Bufan exhaled sharply, unable to hide his irritation.

He truly could never see eye to eye with Xiao Dongxu. He found his own mindset completely out of sync with theirs. To these people, this was never just a simple struggle for qi destiny, but a deep-seated obsession akin to the Dao itself.

Because their mentalities were fundamentally different, their perspectives were always worlds apart.

Ning Bufan shook his head slightly, deciding to say no more.

He could only hope that the Literary Dao would not decline any further. If it sank again, it would likely never get a chance to recover.

...

Kong Ru walked through the Mortal World.

As he lifted his gaze to look upon a land that had rarely been ravaged by cultivators, a unique feeling blossomed in his heart.

The mortals living under mortal dynasties harbored ambitions far different from those of cultivators. Some kept to themselves and lived honest lives; others committed countless evils. Seeing all walks of life unfold before his eyes, Kong Ru could not help but feel a profound sense of reality.

His immediate thought was that this place was truly an ideal land to preach the Dao.

But as he observed more deeply, he finally discovered the true brilliance of the Mortal World.

It possessed a better sense of order, allowing laws and regulations to be smoothly implemented. The Local Government and the ruling dynasty governed every region and prefecture, upholding the law of the land.

Yet, alongside the good, there was also the bad.

Treating human life like worthless grass and aiding tyrants in their cruelty were common occurrences. The harsher and more impoverished the times, the more frequently such atrocities happened. Mortal lives were fragile. Under these strict rules, some people were stripped of the right to stand tall the very moment they were born.

Kong Ru watched all of this play out. Between the good and the bad, he found it difficult to pass simple judgment.

He wondered—if he could change the mindset of the world and guide this dynasty toward universal harmony, would all these dark aspects finally disappear?

He fell into a long, deep contemplation.

He sat on that mountain, remaining there for who knew how many years.

...

Another year of Huaixu arrived.

Chen Changsheng could no longer remember how many times he had searched through the Desolate Sea.

Slowly, he managed to find the missing arm, hidden deep within the lightless depths of the Desolate Sea.

However, he still had not found any trace of the remaining head and torso.

This struck Chen Changsheng as rather strange, considering he had scoured nearly every inch of the Desolate Sea.

Over the years, Zhao Yuqing had collected quite a bit of Sea Spirit Gold. Piled together, it was enough to fill a wooden barrel. He had scarcely left a single spot unchecked.

The two of them sat on the sandy shore, drinking wine.

Chen Changsheng let out a sigh as he brought up his recent lack of success.

Zhao Yuqing said, "Perhaps you should go look in the Mortal World. That is one realm you have not yet searched."

"The Mortal World?"

Chen Changsheng paused. Now that he thought about it, he truly had overlooked that place.

Perhaps because he remembered exactly what its mountains and rivers looked like, he had dismissed it from the very beginning.

Zhao Yuqing said, "I have always felt that the Mortal World is an exceptionally unique place. It is practically a land untouched by spiritual laws. If what you say is true, perhaps the Mortal World was the very first place to have its Spiritual Veins severed. You might just find some traces of the ancient era there."

After deep contemplation, Chen Changsheng set off for the Mortal World.

This time, his search was far more thorough than ever before.

He began investigating the Spiritual Veins of the Mortal World.

He found that its Spiritual Veins were impossibly barren. Subterranean channels remained, but the Spiritual Veins within them had long since dried up. Even so, he could still find traces of spiritual liquid in a few obscure corners.

Tracing these veins upwards to the realms positioned directly above the Mortal World, he discovered that those regions were rich in Spiritual Energy. To some cultivators, those locations brimming with spiritual liquid would be regarded as heavenly paradises and blessed grottos.

"From the looks of it, the Mortal World truly is connected to the Taotie."