Chapter 1623 - 925: Breaking Free from Those of the Heart towards Immortal Dao, the Most Dangerous Layer

The giant corpse sighed once, then continued, "To an Immortal Emperor, there is simply no one in this world he can truly trust."

"Anyone can become an obstacle to their upward pursuit of growth, or else an opponent."

"What you feel right now as enemies on all sides, an impossibly difficult situation— to an Immortal Emperor... it’s nothing more than a daily routine."

The giant corpse sighed ruefully. "All beings long to climb to the peak, but whether it’s the road of the Immortal Path or the development of a sect— as long as you want to keep going upward, want to pour your own Will into the world, the farther you go the harder it becomes, the more perilous, with more and more enemies..."

Listening to the giant corpse’s narration, Zhang Yu thought of all the pressure he’d been under from every direction during this period.

He mused inwardly, "The higher you climb, the more you become a solitary figure, the more you become the enemy of all living beings, is that it?"

"But that’s just because Immortal Emperors are too selfish and self-serving. If I can climb up there in the future, if I become an Immortal Emperor, I definitely won’t be like them."

"At the very least there will be Azhen, Yu Xinghan, Sis, and Magnetic Pole Teacher, Teacher Gao... people I can trust."

The God of Reporting thought, "Hard to say."

Zhang Yu shook his head, temporarily pressing down the stray thoughts in his heart, and raised another question: "So even Immortal Emperors, strong as they are, are still bound by the Heart towards Immortal Dao, still unable to stop?"

"Bound?" The giant corpse couldn’t help but laugh when he heard that. "You think at the realm of Immortal Emperor, he still can’t rid himself of the influence of the Heart towards Immortal Dao? How could that be possible?"

A trace of recollection flashed across the giant corpse’s eyes. He said, "The Ten Thousand Laws Immortal Emperor... long before he ascended, he could already, without relying on any external force, sever the influence of the Heart towards Immortal Dao upon himself."

Hearing this, Zhan Xian exclaimed in Zhang Yu’s mind, "Before Ascension, he could already break free of the Taoist Inheritance? Sever the influence of the Heart towards Immortal Dao?"

The Wild Bull, who hadn’t spoken for a long while, also spat out four words at this moment: "Unbelievable."

The Kao Sect Avatar laughed loudly. "That’s our Immortal Emperor! That’s Kunxu’s number one Immortal Emperor of our sect!"

Zhang Yu asked curiously, "Then the Ten Thousand Laws Immortal Emperor... after he broke free of the Heart towards Immortal Dao, what changed? What did it feel like?"

Beside him, Su Lingyou and Kuang Tianqing were also hearing such secret lore about the Ten Thousand Laws Immortal Emperor for the first time. Both pricked up their ears in curiosity, unwilling to miss a single word the giant corpse said next.

Old memories flashed through the giant corpse’s mind.

...

"I don’t want to be controlled by the Heart towards Immortal Dao anymore."

"The situation has grown ever more dangerous, and the sacrifices have grown ever more numerous. This is a road with no end..."

"I want to obtain true free will, to take control of my own fate."

...

The giant corpse spoke. "Heh... he originally thought that once he broke free of the Heart towards Immortal Dao, he’d be spared countless troubles, able to walk this world with a more autonomous consciousness, and use his true Will to implement his own destiny."

"And after he successfully rid himself of the Heart towards Immortal Dao, I once asked him what it felt like."

"He said... there was no difference."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu said in surprise, "No difference? Could it be that long-term control by the Heart towards Immortal Dao had already turned him into someone who single-mindedly pursued the Immortal Path? That with or without the influence of the Taoist Inheritance he’d be the same?"

Su Lingyou, at the side, added, "Or... is the Ten Thousand Laws Immortal Emperor’s true nature one of endless pursuit of the Immortal Path?"

The giant corpse said blandly, "Neither of your interpretations is exactly wrong. But whether it was the Heart towards Immortal Dao that turned him into this, or whether this was his true nature all along, no one can know anymore."

"Only, back then, he also told me one more thing..."

"After he broke free of the Heart towards Immortal Dao, he discovered that beneath the Heart towards Immortal Dao... there was an even more fundamental Taoist Inheritance."

"Human desire, humanity’s longing for growth... that never-ending yearning."

"The foundations of human society, the advancement of technology, the growth of wealth... all originate from this."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu was greatly shocked. "Even the most fundamental desires in people’s hearts... also originate from the Taoist Inheritance? Then what about the desires in my heart? Are they also triggered by the Taoist Inheritance?"

The giant corpse continued, "To a true powerhouse, this doesn’t really count as some new discovery. It’s just that I never expected back then that he could perceive this before he even became an immortal. This person truly is the most heaven-defying genius of the Immortal Path I have seen in my life."

Zhan Xian once again marveled in Zhang Yu’s mind. "Before becoming immortal, he had already researched the Taoist Inheritance to such a degree? Does this conform to the Immortal Dao Laws?"

The Wild Bull said, "Hard to imagine, hard to believe, beyond comprehension, shocking the world..."

"Quit reciting idioms." The Kao Sect Avatar said smugly, "That’s our Immortal Emperor. His Immortal Dao Technology is number one in Kunxu!"

"Anyone who didn’t know better would think the Immortal Emperor really acknowledged you as his godson." Fu Ji silently griped in her heart. "But this Ten Thousand Laws Immortal Emperor... the more I learn about him, the more terrifying he is. If Zhang Yu keeps climbing upward, will he really end up as an enemy to that man? Wouldn’t that be courting death?"

At this moment, Fu Ji made up her mind: she absolutely had to talk Zhang Yu into it properly. What’s so bad about serving as our Immortal Emperor’s dog?

Meanwhile, after sighing once more, the giant corpse continued, "From that point on, the Ten Thousand Laws Immortal Emperor understood that the pursuit of growth— whether in humans, companies, cities, or sects— is the foundational reason all these exist, the foundational Taoist Inheritance that sustains human existence."

"If he were to cast off even that Taoist Inheritance, then he himself would lose the meaning of existence and, like some ancient beings who once tried this... directly sit down and pass away."

Kuang Tianqing, at the side, was also shocked. "If even the most fundamental desires in our hearts originate from the Taoist Inheritance, does that mean that in eras before this Taoist Inheritance existed, people had no desires in their hearts? Then how did they survive?"