“The Burial Path Great Plain has expanded outward,” Mo Wuji said, looking at the sprawling Burial Path Great Plain ahead, where the Burial Path principles crisscrossed chaotically. His tone was heavy.
Lan Xiaobu nodded. “Indeed, it’s expanded, and not just by a little. It’s growing constantly.”
Neither voiced the unspoken thought: at this rate of expansion, it seemed entirely possible that the entire Land of Eternal Life could one day become the Burial Path Great Plain.
Thunder Sage finally shifted his attention to the Burial Path Great Plain. He stared, somewhat dazed, at the expanse before him. Though he hadn’t yet entered, the Burial Path principles his divine sense brushed against sent chills through him. These principles were so formidable that even at his peak, he wouldn’t dare venture in carelessly. His divine sense hadn’t even reached the Great Plain before it was buried by the principles.
“This… I suspect this wasn’t caused by me or Fellow Qi,” Thunder Sage said, struggling to explain. “It must have been like this before. It’s just… just…”
Lan Xiaobu interjected, “It likely has something to do with you. Oddly, a hundred years ago, the Burial Path principles here were already impenetrable, yet you and Qi Manwei roamed inside for a century. I suspect that Creation Sages like you have a significant effect on the Burial Path Great Tomb. After drawing you and Qi Manwei in, the Burial Path principles suddenly intensified, but only at the periphery. That’s why peripheral cultivators could only flee, while you could press forward to the Burial Path Great Tomb.”
Thunder Sage felt Lan Xiaobu’s reasoning made sense. If the Burial Path Great Plain’s interior had been filled with such terrifying principles, he wouldn’t have lasted a hundred years.
“Fellow Mo, Fellow Lan, how do we enter the Burial Path Great Plain? I suspect if I step inside, my Great Path will be buried,” Thunder Sage said, knowing this wasn’t the time to act tough. He had to admit the truth, even if it meant losing face.
Lan Xiaobu looked at Thunder Sage. “How did you get injured?”
Thunder Sage was startled by the question. Yes, how had he been injured? Why hadn’t he thought about it until now?
Seeing Thunder Sage’s bewildered expression, Mo Wuji felt a chill. For a Creation Sage to be so gravely injured and yet unable to recall how it happened when asked was deeply unsettling.
Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other’s eyes.
Lan Xiaobu hadn’t expected his casual question to uncover such a critical issue.
“Thunder Sage, if I’m not mistaken, after you emerged, your first instinct wasn’t to find me but to seek out the other Creation Sages. Your reasoning was that reaching the Burial Path Great Tomb offered a chance to ascend to the Fourth Step of the Great Path. Yet, deep down, you knew the other Creation Sages had already left the Land of Eternal Life. Because of your oath to Qi Manwei, you had no choice but to come to me, correct?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
Thunder Sage snapped back to reality, nodding subconsciously. “Yes, I was absolutely certain I could achieve the Fourth Step at the Burial Path Great Tomb.”
“And does everything I say seem reasonable to you?” Lan Xiaobu pressed.
Thunder Sage was stunned. It was true—everything Lan Xiaobu said felt convincing.
“The Fourth Step of the Great Path? After Creation Sage?” Mo Wuji asked, looking at Lan Xiaobu with puzzlement.
Lan Xiaobu nodded. “Yes, the Fourth Step is likely tied to the Heavenly Mechanism Bone we obtained, which is also one reason Thunder Sage ventured to the Burial Path Great Plain.”
Mo Wuji turned to Thunder Sage, his tone grave. “Thunder Sage, logically, after being injured, your first priority should have been healing. Yet, you haven’t treated your wounds, and your mind has been preoccupied with other thoughts. That’s not normal. Second, you haven’t even figured out how you were injured, which is even more abnormal. Your mind is often in a state of confusion, making you inclined to agree with what others say.
“If I’m not mistaken, your mind or soul has been affected, subtly and imperceptibly. Based on my experience, you can’t dispel this influence on your own. I can help, but in doing so, your Great Path will be an open book to me.”
Even if Thunder Sage was slow, he vaguely understood what was happening. He bowed deeply to Mo Wuji. “Please, Fellow Mo, lend me your aid.”
Without Mo Wuji’s help, he might eventually forget who he was, wandering back to the Burial Path Great Plain and becoming lost within it.
“Alright, open your primordial spirit,” Mo Wuji said, pressing a finger to Thunder Sage’s brow. The Fifth Finger of the Seven Realms Finger, the Myriad Things, surged forth.
The Fifth Finger, Myriad Things, wasn’t a destructive divine ability on a grand scale. It instantly halted any divine ability’s damage to the Great Path, even restoring what had been destroyed, as long as the finger’s momentum wasn’t interrupted.
Thunder Sage felt a resistance within, but a faint instinct told him this resistance wasn’t his own. Gritting his teeth, he tore at his soul and forcibly opened his primordial spirit.
Lan Xiaobu watched in awe. He’d seen powerful divine abilities before, but Mo Wuji’s technique—transforming all things with a single finger, dissolving old principles and birthing new ones—was unprecedented.
Lan Xiaobu clearly sensed certain principles on Thunder Sage being shattered, followed by a resurgence of vitality. As faint thunderous charm enveloped Thunder Sage, Lan Xiaobu knew his Great Path foundation was steadily recovering.
Mo Wuji withdrew his hand, exhaling slightly. “You were indeed invaded by foreign principles, which I’ve eliminated. You’ll recover quickly now.”
Thunder Sage, more than anyone, felt the change. Before, he’d been in a haze; now, he was truly reborn. His Great Path foundation was rapidly restoring, and his injuries were vanishing swiftly.
Everything was no longer a blur, nor was he aimlessly drifting in confusion.
Thunder Sage bowed sincerely to Mo Wuji. “Thank you, Fellow Mo, for saving my life. Without your help, I might have ended up returning to the Burial Path Great Plain, becoming a skeleton for the Great Tomb.”
Lan Xiaobu chuckled. “I was wondering why you were so kind as to bring news to me in the Eternal Life City. Turns out, you were just influenced by the Burial Path principles.”
Thunder Sage gave an awkward smile. Had his Great Path not been eroded, leaving him in a muddled state with a subconscious urge to lure other Creation Sages to the Burial Path Great Plain, he wouldn’t have gone to the Eternal Life City to inform Lan Xiaobu, let alone brought him here. Not even if Qi Manwei had saved him ten times, risking her life, would he have done so.
Mo Wuji said, “It seems Thunder Sage was allowed to leave, likely by the Burial Path Great Tomb itself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the chance to escape.”
Thunder Sage nodded. “That must be it. My injuries were caused by the Burial Path principles of the Great Tomb. I had a moment of clarity and fought desperately against the erosion…”
Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu didn’t need him to continue. They understood his injuries stemmed from the Burial Path principles’ invasion.
“Xiaobu, I have an idea,” Mo Wuji said. “You know my Seven Realms Finger includes a move called Mortal Realm, which can construct a mortal world. I could use the Seven Realms Stone to create an independent mortal world to resist the Burial Path principles’ erosion. As long as my Mortal Realm divine ability holds, you can control the Seven Realms Stone to charge towards the Burial Path Great Tomb. The only issue is, I don’t know how long I can sustain it.”
Lan Xiaobu pondered briefly. “No problem. I’ll use my Cutting Divine Ability to sever all Burial Path principles outside your mortal world. With our combined strength, we should be able to hold out for a year or two.”
Lan Xiaobu wasn’t boasting. For healing, he’d sustained the Great Cutting Technique for a century. Though applying it in the Burial Path Great Plain was different from using it on himself, the principle was the same.
“You know the Great Cutting Technique? That’s perfect. Let’s go—quickly,” Mo Wuji said, elated.
Thunder Sage, listening, sighed inwardly. He was a Creation Sage, yet he couldn’t construct a mortal world with the Seven Realms Stone, nor could he use the Great Cutting Technique to sever the Burial Path principles.
No wonder the Eternal Life Sage and Heavenly Mechanism Sage couldn’t tolerate Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji’s growth. These two were too heaven-defying. If they fully matured, there’d be no place for others. Even now, still growing, they were already beyond his reach.
