畅想听

When the concept of the 8.5th Heavenly Axiom was brought up, the room fell silent.

“The seat of the Heavenly Dao is no trifling matter, and it’s not something we can decide or reserve. Even Brother Daozi, who once claimed he wanted to compete for the position, did not have absolute confidence in proving his Dao and surpassing the other Immortals in the myriad worlds. So, how do you intend to manage this 8.5-generation Heavenly Dao? What criteria will be used to determine the position?” asked the master of the Titanium Temple calmly.

With his obsession broken, he entered a temporary state of serenity, making him the calmest in this discussion.

The Heavenly Axiom wasn’t their personal playground. No one could just claim it.

Daozi also questioned, “Moreover, why is it a ‘transition Wielder of the Will’ instead of directly becoming the 9th Wielder of the Will? The Heavenly Dao is eternal. How do you make the Immortal Heavenly Dao ‘temporary’? As long as one becomes the Wielder of the Will and it’s not controlled by personal will, there’s no such thing as ‘temporary’ in theory, right?”

“And the battle for the ninth Wielder of the Will is ongoing; the ninth Wielder of the Will could emerge at any moment. Why then create an 8.5 Heavenly Dao now? Never mind that; I just want to know if this 8.5 Wielder of the Will can lift the curse on my clansmen’s bodies?” inquired the Eight-Armed Ancient Demon Venerable.

It was the only otherworldly demon in the myriad worlds that retained its consciousness. The curse it sought to break caused the otherworldly demons to lose their intelligence and become wild bosses for the universe’s practitioners.

“Do I have to pay a huge price to become the 8.5 Wielder of the Will?” Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven asked while stroking his sword. “And what is your aim? What do you want the 8.5th Wielder of the Will to help you with? What challenges lie ahead?”

Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven’s question was direct and insightful.

With the ninth Wielder of the Will on the verge of being born, the reason for creating the 8.5th Wielder of the Will had to be that something crucial needed handling between the eighth and ninth Wielders.

“Fellow Daoists, please, allow me to explain,” began the illusory figure, which soon solidified into the form of a fairy the ‘Fairy of the Dead’ Cheng Goudan.

“First, the ‘8.5 Wielder of the Will’ I mentioned is not the true Wielder of the Will. There are extreme restrictions on his authority and ‘immortality.’ Therefore, he cannot become the Ninth Wielder of the Will. He can only act as a temporary Heavenly Dao until the Ninth Heavenly Dao takes office, executing part of the Heavenly Dao’s authority. Once the Ninth Wielder of the Will vindicates the Dao, the 8.5 Wielder of the Will will retire,” explained Fairy Cheng Goudan.

“How?” Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven asked slowly.

“The Dao of the Ancient Heavenly City… and the authority of the Heavenly Emperor,” Fairy Cheng Goudan replied.

“Why is this tied to the Ancient Heavenly City?” asked the Great Northern Emperor.

“Scarlet Heaven, my inner demon is gone! I’m going to meet little friend Song Shuhang,” Scarlet Heaven Sword suddenly interrupted.

Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven gently patted Scarlet Heaven Sword to quiet it.

Fairy Cheng Lin smiled and continued, “The perfect Dao of the ancient Heavenly City is a Dao completed by the deceased Heavenly Dao. After the battle between the Eighth Wielder of the Will and the Scholarly Sage, it had a flaw. Thus, the ‘Ancient Heavenly City Plan’ was created to mend it. This is how we influence the Heavenly Dao.”

Back then, if they hadn’t interfered with the Ancient Heavenly City’s grand plan, the Heavenly Dao Ball might have repaired itself.

“Is that so?” The Eight-Armed Immemorial Demon Venerable asked in surprise.

“Our 8.5-term Heavenly Axiom Plan leverages this. The grand plan was a way for the Eighth Wielder of the Will to mend itself. Triggering conditions were set so that once met, the perfect Dao of the Ancient Heavenly City and the Heavenly Emperor would be absorbed into the Heavenly Dao, fixing its flaws.”

Everyone understood at this point. If the Eighth Wielder of the Will hadn’t collapsed, the perfect combination of the Dao of the Ancient Heavenly City and the Celestial Thearch would have been its missing part.

But now, the Heavenly Dao Ball had collapsed, and the Heavenly Dao was without a master.

If they could create the perfect combination of the Dao of the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Emperor and trigger the conditions left by the Heavenly Dao Ball, the Heavenly Emperor and the Dao of the Ancient Heavenly City would be absorbed and become part of the Heavenly Dao.

In theory, this would grant a portion of the Heavenly Dao’s authority and possibly some of its eternal nature, making it fitting to call it the 8.5-generation Heavenly Dao.

“But it’s too risky,” Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven said slowly.

No one could guarantee that they wouldn’t lose their will after being absorbed by the Heavenly Dao Ball’s backup plan. If everything were erased and they became part of the Wielder of the Will, the so-called 8.5 Wielder of the Will would be a futile endeavor.

“Therefore, we need to use some methods left by the Scholarly Sage to assist in this mission,” Fairy Cheng Goudan said, looking at Daozi.

“The method left by the Teacher?” Daozi pondered. “You want to use the Teacher’s method of ‘swallowing a portion of an existence?’”

Using the Scholarly Sage’s method to leave a portion of himself before becoming the 8.5 Wielder of the Will could work. The remaining part would be absorbed and become part of the Heavenly Dao.

This way, even if his consciousness was wiped away, he could still control the 8.5 Wielder of the Will with the remaining part of his existence.

The Scholarly Sage’s method of ‘devouring a portion of an existence’ was highly unconventional. After swallowing it, even after the Heavenly Dao Ball advanced to the Heavenly Dao, it couldn’t directly retrieve the missing part and had to continue proving its immortality with the missing part.

“However, the Teacher’s ability was personal talent. Before the final battle with the previous Wielder of the Will, no one knew of this talent,” Daozi added.

No one had forced the Scholarly Sage to use this talent before. Usually, challengers were easily defeated by the Scholarly Sage. Once the Dimension Portal was opened and the enemy’s tracks locked, the iron fist of knowledge would eliminate over 60% of the enemies.

In the main world, Song Shuhang’s refinement of the ‘Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber’ had reached a crucial stage. The rank nine dao pattern was already 90% complete.

At that moment, a message came from the cultivation chat.

[Zhiyin·Pathogen] Frice Reckless Mad Saber:

“Yes, Senior Thrice Reckless. What’s the matter?” Song Shuhang asked. It was rare for Senior Thrice Reckless to reach out.

“I want to borrow a book from you,” Frice Reckless Mad Saber replied.

“A book? What book?” Song Shuhang was puzzled. What kind of books could he have?

Song Shuhang knew he didn’t have many books on cultivation. Moreover, his collection was not particularly impressive.

Most of what he had, the seniors of the Nine Provinces Number One Group had as well, and they were better stocked.

Could it be that he wanted to borrow the ‘5-Year College Entrance Examination and 3-Year Simulation’ from him?