Legend of the Great Sage

"Good luck!"

In the depths of hell, between the glaciers, a blessing severed their final connection, utterly plunging into hell.

In that instant, much of the pain vanished. His mind broke free from the stalemate of numbness, allowing him to reconsider his current circumstances.

To regular cultivators, Yang Souls were basically transformed from souls, coupled with everything they had achieved throughout their lives in terms of cultivation.

Everyone had souls. Through practising qi and cultivation, after successfully establishing a foundation, they could condense it into a golden core, then a soul nascence, followed by a Yin Soul, a Yang Soul, an Origin Soul… until they became a True Immortal.

Cultivation had always placed more emphasis on the soul than the body. Buddhism even called the body a "vile skinbag".

If the body were destroyed, the soul could still undergo rebirth. Cultivators with Yin Soul and Yang Souls could even be reborn through possessing the bodies of others. Once they reached the realm of Origin Souls, it was fine even if they did not have a body. Their status would just be lower than Human Immortals. However, if their souls were destroyed, then it would all be over.

Because Li Qingshan practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, particularly after condensing the small world in his body, it was fine even if his Yang Soul was completely destroyed. His soul would naturally condense in the small world. All of his life experiences were stored in the small world, so he only needed to make another copy of it, and it would be fine.

The connection between the two of him had been severed, but they possessed the same experiences, emotions, thought processes, and fate, so the "information" they possessed was completely identical.

That was why identity crises would not occur. He was Li Qingshan. It did not matter who was real or fake. It was just an issue of who was stronger.

I have Ox-headed A'pang as a guide, which was brother ox's arrangements. At the very least, it's proof that this path might lead somewhere. I can't be too sure about Ruin's End. That nine-tailed fox Su Mirao is basically the worst guide you could ever get. It might even be a dead end!

So I need to prepare for the worst. If "I" don't return from Ruin's End, I need to practise the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine from scratch again and continue on my path to beyond the Nine Heavens! No, that's not even the worst possible situation. "I" might be a good-looking, likable fellow, but "I" might just commit betrayal. Once that happens, I need to destroy "me" myself!

Constantly destroyed and rebirthed in the ice and fire, his thoughts were just as brutal and resolute as the ice and fire. Even if the enemy in his way was himself, he would cut him down!

I hope "I" won't disappoint myself!

Li Qingshan slowed down and continued towards the glacier in the distance. His footsteps became even firmer than before.

He never invested his hopes in another, even if it was another one of himself. Perhaps his self-destructive will had never vanished completely, just so he could live to his own will.

The blue ghost gazed over from afar and shivered inside. He felt something indescribable happen to his body. Upon a closer glance, he suddenly discovered in surprise that he was approaching the glacier in the distance. He did not move quickly, but he was approaching it step by step.

"What's happened?"

Before he knew it, divergence had already occurred. They were both Li Qingshan, but no longer the same Li Qingshan.

Different environments had a tremendous impact on people. Ruin's End and hell were two polar opposites, and even if they were in similar environments, the same divergence would still occur.

Whether it was a Yin Soul or a Yang Soul, they would be influenced by the body to a certain degree, just like how mortals would be influenced by their various desires.

The body was both a shackle and a form of maintenance. It was easiest for ghosts to be twisted, and it was no different for powerful cultivators. If Chao Tianjiao lost her body, she definitely would have been devoured and assimilated by the power of xuanwu. She would have never been able to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation.

The advantages and disadvantages involved could not be explained so easily, but there was one thing that everyone could be certain about. The stronger the body, the deeper the influence.

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Li Qingshan possessed multiple demonic and divine bloodlines. Every single bloodline possessed a powerful will of its own. Although they formed some kind of balance with one another, they still had an extremely deep influence on his Yang Soul.

Now, this influence was gradually vanishing, dimming like the setting sun at dusk. When he looked back, it was already night.

If they practised the same cultivation method and walked the same path, perhaps this divergence could still be amended, but he just happened to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, two vastly different cultivation methods. Even he himself struggled to predict the outcome it would lead to.

Under this situation, the divergence would grow wider and wider for regular cultivators, and they would definitely fragment, leading to completely different paths.

Since Li Qingshan had already begun treating himself as an imaginary opponent, preparing for the worst, he obviously did not care about any fragmentation. Instead, he felt very free. He even had the spare effort to admire the magnificent glaciers and gorgeous dead fire.

He was still unable to use any of his powers, but the glacier in the distance was no longer so distant.

As he advanced, he thought about the reason for this and came up with a vague guess…

During the two decades he spent in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, he read everything there. In particular, he carried out an in-depth analysis and study of the knowledge regarding the Heavenly Tome of Liberty through the Spirit Turtle Transformation. He had plenty of discussions with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance at the same time.

The old turtle was still very diligent when it came to matters regarding the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. He was the first person to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so he did not have the experiences of those who came before him to refer to. He had to verify everything himself.

According to the two turtles' research, perhaps the Heavenly Tome of Liberty's path of cultivation was different from the other heavenly tomes, even leading off in the opposite direction. It required abandoning the body when it mattered and proactively choosing corpse liberation, breaking free from this "vile skinbag", or it would be impossible to achieve true "liberation".

He had reached an extremely high level of comprehension towards the path of great liberation many years ago, even before the battle in the Demon domain.

However, after recondensing his Yang Soul, he spent many years without making any progress, perhaps exactly because of this.

However, it was just a theory at the end of the day. There was no cultivator who would proactively abandon his body. It was very easy for them to become deranged and suffer from cultivation deviation once they lost their body.

Even after the sixth heavenly tribulation, the status of Corpse Liberated Immortals were far lower than Human Immortals. If Chao Tianjiao had failed to preserve her body back then, let alone becoming the leader of the Six Ding, she probably would not have even been able to join the Six Ding.

It was even less likely for him to abandon his body. The significance of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was far greater than the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. He had spent all his time focusing on the Spirit Turtle Transformation too, so he had no spare effort to test out this theory.

However, life was always unpredictable. His current state was no different from corpse liberation. There was not the slightest connection between his Yang Soul and his body.

Curses and blessings came hand in hand. This separated journey was also an opportunity.

"I'm" far stronger than me. If "I" decide to betray the revolution, I really won't be "my" opponent. But if I can condense an Origin Soul and reach Human Immortal, I'll be able to fend off "me". Hehe, not bad!

ps: 今天是愚人节啊，赠送大家一首元曲吧!南亩田，东山窝。世态人情经历多，现将往事思量过，贤的是他愚的是我，争什么?