Chapter 575: Devouring True Scripture, Choosing a Research Topic

Chapter 575: Devouring the True Scripture, Choosing a Topic

“Beyond the Dao?” Qi Yuan was puzzled.

The Qingfeng Realm Lord explained.

“Within any Dao lineage, whether living beings know it or not, they have already stepped into the cycle.

But if a universe has not yet given birth to a Dao Lord, it can be called ‘beyond the Dao.’

However, any place beyond the Dao without a Dao Lord to guard it is fragile and weak, always at risk of being covered by the fourth layer of the Yang Spirit.”

The first stage of the fourth layer of the Yang Spirit possessed various traits.

These traits were eerie, mysterious, and revolved around destruction, devouring, and annihilation.

Even the Radiant Lord of the Only Hall, who cut the future with his sword and turned himself into a divine artifact for later generations to wield, could not prevent the Linya Molts that had occurred over countless epochs, causing Yang Spirits to fall and transform into aberrant spirits.

“The Void Realm of the Cosmos is different from ordinary places beyond the Dao. The tendrils of the fourth layer of the Yang Spirit cannot reach into it, nor can the Dao lineages of the fifth layer descend here,” Qingfeng said. “This place is very special. Among all the research topics of our Myriad Transformations Society, one of them is to study the origin and principles of the Void Realm of the Cosmos.”

Qi Yuan had always been a good listener, paying close attention.

“If you complete these research topics or make breakthroughs in their progress, you will earn a considerable number of points, and you might even become the Master of the Myriad Transformations Society.

In this epoch, the Witch Dao Lord presides over the Myriad Transformations Society. If you become the Master, you might have the opportunity to meet the Witch Dao Lord.” When Qingfeng mentioned the Dao Lord, reverence filled his eyes.

Such beings stood at the end of the path of cultivation, the ultimate pursuit of almost all cultivators.

To have the chance to meet a Dao Lord was immensely beneficial for any cultivator.

After all, a Dao Lord was almost draped in the rules of ten thousand paths.

To behold them, to speak with them, might bring enlightenment—a great boon for powerful beings like themselves.

“I also have some doubts. Can I find answers to them in the Myriad Transformations Society?” Qi Yuan asked.

“Of course. As long as you pay the price or have the merit, you can get any answer you seek,” Qingfeng Realm Lord said confidently.

The research topics of the Myriad Transformations Society were all extremely difficult, some even stumping Dao Lords.

Generally, the requests or questions of those at the third layer of the Yang Spirit could be satisfied by a Dao Lord.

“Take out your golden jade pendant and send out your questions.

If they are simple, other members can see them and help answer them at any time,” Qingfeng said.

“Really? That good? Any question at all?” Qi Yuan beamed with joy.

“Of course!” Qingfeng Realm Lord was full of confidence.

The Myriad Transformations Society had existed for countless epochs, and its research topics were all lofty and profound, solving countless difficult problems.

“Alright, I’ll go in and ask now,” Qi Yuan said, sending his consciousness into the golden jade pendant.

Soon, he perceived something akin to a forum or a chat group.

“A newcomer? And with a golden jade pendant?”

“In this epoch, not many with golden jade pendants have joined the Myriad Transformations Society.”

“You’ve come to the Inquiry Palace. Do you have a question?

Newcomers can ask one question for free. Go ahead and ask.”

In this place called the Inquiry Palace, there was a flower that looked like a tripod, chattering endlessly.

“The Nine-Tripod Flower is the spirit of the Inquiry Palace, holding nearly ninety percent of the forbidden knowledge of the Myriad Transformations Society. If you have a question, it can find the answer in the information stored here,” Qingfeng Realm Lord said from the side.

“So, it’s an artificial idiot?” Qi Yuan said, somewhat disdainfully.

Wasn’t this similar to those AIs on Blue Star, gathering data from the internet to answer questions?

“Hey, you newcomer, that’s rude! You’re looking down on this flower?” the Nine-Tripod Flower said haughtily. “Go ahead, throw out a question, and see if this flower can solve it easily!”

“I’m not looking down on you,” Qi Yuan quickly said.

As the saying went, all are equal—he never discriminated against anyone, or any flower.

He thought for a moment and asked seriously, “Nine-Tripod Flower, I want to know: is there a kind of Yang Spirit in this world that far surpasses the Dao Lord?”

The Nine-Tripod Flower fell silent.

“I’ve hit a bottleneck in my cultivation. If I take another step forward, I might match the fourth or fifth layer of the Yang Spirit.

But the fourth layer is too weak, and Dao Lords are too restricted everywhere. I really can’t be bothered with them.

I have some talent, and I’ve worked hard for so many years, enduring countless dangers. If I only end up with combat power comparable to a Dao Lord, I can’t even bring glory to my ancestors—I’d be letting down my mother, my father, and all the ancestors of the Qi family.” Qi Yuan spoke earnestly, playing the pitiful card.

As the saying went, the crying child gets the milk.

Of course, the prerequisite was that one had to be good-looking.

If a wild boar were to play pitiful here, it might just make people sick.

The Nine-Tripod Flower was silent again. After a long while, it said, “I understand your situation. This question of yours… is also the ultimate topic that the Myriad Transformations Society has been researching all along. For now, there is no answer. You can… ask something related to your daily life.”

The Nine-Tripod Flower felt that this newcomer had a problem with his head.

Who asks a question like that?

If someone in the Myriad Transformations Society knew the answer, wouldn’t everyone have surpassed the Dao Lord?

Hearing this, Qi Yuan felt disappointed.

Sure enough, it was just an artificial idiot, unable to answer even such a question.

“Daily life?” Qi Yuan pondered.

“Yes, daily life,” the Nine-Tripod Flower said confidently.

Questions about surpassing the Dao Lord—there was no need to think; they definitely couldn’t be solved.

But daily life was different.

The Nine-Tripod Flower considered itself to have lived for a very long time.

Such questions would be easy to handle.

“I have a wife. I’ve been unable to find her, and I can’t see her either,” Qi Yuan asked seriously, a hint of anxiety in his expression.

“Finding someone—this flower is best at that,” the Nine-Tripod Flower said, a smile blooming on its floral face.

“Her name is Ruan Yixi.”

“I’ve noted the name. Any other characteristics?”

“She exists in the past and the future, but not in the present. Is there any way for me to see her?”

“…” The Nine-Tripod Flower was stunned for a moment. “Your wife is at the fourth layer of the Yang Spirit?”

“As expected of the Nine-Tripod Flower, so clever! Yes, she is at the fourth layer of the Yang Spirit.”

The Nine-Tripod Flower was completely speechless. After a moment, it said reluctantly, “You have… unique tastes.”

“Hey, don’t slander me! Although Ruan Yixi is my master, this isn’t feudal times anymore. It’s not a crime to defy my master!” Qi Yuan protested.

Is it not perfectly normal for a disciple to adore their master?

All people are drawn to strength.

Jiudinghua watched the dissatisfied Qi Yuan, a flicker of pity in its eyes.

It already had a picture in its mind.

Qi Yuan and that Ruan Yixi must have been a pair of master and disciple, as well as lovers.

Then, when Ruan Yixi broke through to the fourth layer of Yang Spirit, her True Spirit vanished.

Her disciple, Qi Yuan, had been searching tirelessly for his master.

But the fourth layer of Yang Spirit simply does not exist in the present world—how could he find it?

Even one as mighty as a Dao Lord cannot share the same timeline as the fourth layer of Yang Spirit.

So… this Qi Yuan, consumed by longing for his master, had gone mad, his mind unhinged.

“I cannot help you find this person, but… you may join the ‘Summoning Spirit’ research project of the Society of Myriad Changes.

The purpose of this research project is to reawaken the True Spirits of the fourth layer of Yang Spirit.” Perhaps out of pity for Qi Yuan, Jiudinghua’s tone softened.

Of course, it did not say the rest.

The difficulty of the “Summoning Spirit” research project ranked among the top three of all projects in the Society of Myriad Changes.

Second only to… how to break through to the fifth layer of Yang Spirit and above; and how a Dao Lord might break the cycle unscathed.

Such projects were nearly impossible.

“This… doesn’t seem to help me,” Qi Yuan said.

“Summoning Spirit”—he could do it himself.

As long as he, through his superpower related to “speech,” made contact with those on the fourth layer of Yang Spirit. Then, with his extraordinary eloquence, talking a fourth-layer Yang Spirit back to life would be no problem.

Wasn’t his master Ruan Yixi brought back to life that very way?

“It is indeed hard to help you, but it’s still a chance, isn’t it?” Jiudinghua consoled.

It thought Qi Yuan understood the difficulty of Summoning Spirit.

“So this… can’t be done either?” Qi Yuan had already determined that this Jiudinghua was a true artificial imbecile.

Though its tone was gentle, it remained an imbecile.

“Sorry, no.”

“Alright, let me ask a simple one.” Qi Yuan thought for a moment, then spoke quickly, “When I was at the Primordial Elixir stage, I once set a Golden Elixir Great Path—the Stellar Golden Elixir Path.

Refine stars into golden elixirs, devour endlessly, but I ran into a problem: there are too many stars in the sky, as numerous as grains of sand…”

As numerous as grains of sand?

Is that human speech?

And refining stars into golden elixirs—this kid really has a broken mind.

Jiudinghua thought to itself.

“Though I can swallow tens of thousands of stars a day, the speed is still too slow. I wonder if there’s a way to make me devour faster?” Qi Yuan asked.

“This…” Jiudinghua pondered a moment, “When it comes to devouring, the Black Heaven Dao Lord is supreme, and the ‘True Scripture of Devouring’ He created is unmatched across the cosmos.”

“Black Heaven Dao Lord?” Hearing that name, Qi Yuan felt a bad premonition, “I know there is a fourth-layer Yang Spirit in this world named Black Heaven—is there any connection with this Black Heaven Dao Lord?”

Both are Black Heaven, and… both are related to devouring.

“Fourth-layer Yang Spirit? Black Heaven? I have not heard of it,” Jiudinghua replied directly.

The Black Heaven Dao Lord is the true pinnacle of the Devouring Path, and takes Black Heaven as His Dao title.

Thus, that title is His alone.

Other fourth-layer Yang Spirits, and fifth-layer ones, cannot obtain this “Dao title.”

Of course, third-layer Yang Spirits and below are not subject to this restriction.

None?

Qi Yuan pondered.

Perhaps… the multiverse is too vast, and that so-called Black Heaven is too far from here.

Jiudinghua did not know either.

“What about the Yaoguang Dao Lord?” Qi Yuan asked again.

“Never heard of him,” Jiudinghua shook its head.

“Chun?”

“Never.”

Hearing this, Qi Yuan asked no more.

Perhaps it was all too distant.

“This is the ‘True Scripture of Devouring.’ Given your current achievements and status, you would normally be unable to obtain this true scripture directly, but this flower, pitying your plight, gives it to you directly.”

As Jiudinghua spoke, information about the “True Scripture of Devouring” flowed into Qi Yuan’s consciousness.

The information streamed endlessly, profound and mysterious.

“The ‘True Scripture of Devouring’ is very difficult. Among the Society of Myriad Changes, fifteen members have studied it, but only three have entered its gate, and… it took them tens of thousands of years just to barely enter,” Jiudinghua informed.

A Dao scripture like the “True Scripture of Devouring” cannot be ground through by time alone.

Without talent, even spending an entire cosmic epoch, or more, one cannot enter its gate.

But with the relevant talent, the time required may be very short—merely tens of thousands of years.

“That slow?” Qi Yuan was somewhat disappointed.

He considered himself a man of ordinary disbelief.

“That slow?” Jiudinghua was speechless.

This was already extremely fast.

And for such powerful beings, spending hundreds of millions of years to cultivate a Dao scripture was not unusual.

“Alright, now that the benefit is given to you, you may choose… which research project to join?”

Jiudinghua inquired.

Every member of the Society of Myriad Changes must join a research project team.

As it spoke, a stream of information flooded into Qi Yuan’s mind.

“Project Code: Transcendence… Transcending Beyond Yang Spirit.”

“Project Code: Seeking Change… Breaking the Dao Lord Cycle.”

“Project Code: Summoning Spirit… Reviving or Summoning the Consciousness of the Fourth Layer of Yang Spirit.”

“Project Code: Reforging Wu… Transforming the Wu Path, Forging a New Great Way.”

"Project Code: Four-Five... Fusion of Yang God Fourth and Fifth Layers."

...

"Project Code: Open Void... Searching for a New Unknown World Universe."

"Project Code: Time Machine... Build a Time Machine to Return to the Past of the Yang God Fourth Layer."

Gazing at this information, Qi Yuan felt nothing but dizziness.

Most of these research topics were actually his own questions.

For instance, transcending the Yang God.

Or the time machine, which reminded him of the lost glow stick he found in the ancestral land of the Mortal Heart Realm.

That glow stick could help him return to the past.

Through it, Qi Yuan had taken those villagers back in time, helping them observe the gods and enhance their strength.

Later, he had also encountered the Merciless Saintess three times.

The function of that lost glow stick was extremely unique.

Qi Yuan couldn’t be sure if, by obtaining it, he could go back to the past and meet his master.

This kind of time travel was not the so-called Dao Lord’s return to the past along the dimensional river of cosmic time.

“Can I participate in two projects?” Qi Yuan asked.

“Yes.”

“Then... I’ll join ‘Soul Summoning’ and the Time Machine,” Qi Yuan said earnestly.

This Ever-Changing Society was quite formidable.

He needed to accumulate more merits.

For Soul Summoning and the Time Machine, he had some confidence in earning merits.

As for Transcendence, he had no ideas yet.

Better not join.

After all, his mind was still clear, unpolluted.

If he joined and got led astray by those people, that would be truly unfortunate.

“Alright, from now on you are a research member of these two projects,” Nine Tripod Flower said, its gaze toward Qi Yuan growing even gentler.

Clearly, it believed Qi Yuan chose these projects to meet his master, Ruan Yixi.

After another exchange with Nine Tripod Flower, Qi Yuan decided to temporarily exit the Cosmic Void Realm and cultivate the *Devouring True Scripture*.

Once he finished cultivation, he would report to the internal records of the Ever-Changing Society.

The *Devouring True Scripture* was crucial to the number of his golden cores.

Every second of delay meant potentially tens of thousands fewer stellar golden cores.

And that was all strength.

After Qi Yuan left, Nine Tripod Flower posted a thread in the Inquiry Palace.

“Exclusive Secret Story of a Newcomer to the Ever-Changing Society: My Female Master and Lover Is Actually the Yang God Fourth Layer!”

(End of this chapter)