The Fifth Path to Enlightenment

The Lord of the Divine Realm left, and unlike his spirited arrival in the Immortal Realm, he now walked with a stooped posture, truly resembling an elderly man nearing the end of his days.

"This journey to the Immortal Realm has shattered the supreme dreams of many old fogeys," Daoist Suppressing Heaven suddenly remarked.

"So it was just a dream," Chen Xia replied, rising from his stool. He tidied his attire, looking more formal, then faced Daoist Suppressing Heaven directly. For the first time in history, he clasped his hands together and spoke to Daoist Suppressing Heaven with utmost seriousness.

"I have a request."

"You want me to send them all to the Blue Sky Sword Sea, right?" Daoist Suppressing Heaven inquired, as if he had already foreseen this.

"Is that possible?" Chen Xia asked, his voice heavy with doubt, a rarity for him.

"It can be done, but not immediately. They are your inescapable karma from the beginning. Their presence is essential for your comprehension of the fifth dao. Once you've mastered the fifth dao, I will send them all to the Blue Sky Sword Sea and seal it off. This will allow you to move freely within the Immortal Realm without any pressure."

"Thank you," Chen Xia nodded solemnly.

"No need. It's rather unsettling to see such words and expressions on you." Daoist Suppressing Heaven said softly.

Chen Xia shook his head and asked, "What is the fifth dao I'm supposed to comprehend next?"

"You already know," Daoist Suppressing Heaven replied, manipulating his puppet body as he slowly walked forward. He reached the outer perimeter, paused, and then pointed towards the entire sky, and said again.

You want to be this.

Daoist Suppressing Heaven controlled his puppet body as it slowly walked forward, stopped at the periphery, then pointed towards the entire sky and said, "You are meant to become this."

"Indeed, I am." Chen Xia also nodded.

So, what is the fifth dao?

In fact, Chen Xia had already grasped a hint of it, but because this dao involves too much, he had yet to fully comprehend it.

The fifth dao is the False Heaven Dao.

"What about my Chess Dao?" Chen Xia suddenly asked.

Daoist Suppressing Heaven paused, his hands behind his back, remaining silent for a moment before shaking his head, "It's evident that you really love playing chess."

"Can I comprehend the Chess Dao as the sixth dao?" Chen Xia suddenly inquired.

"Not ideal," Daoist Suppressing Heaven shook his head, then replied, "If you were to comprehend the False Heavenly Dao for your fifth Dao, then these five Daos would be considered the most top-tier Daos. The False Heavenly Dao would be the most supreme Dao of all. With such a configuration, for your sixth Dao to be the Dao of Chess, no matter how you look at it, it feels somewhat out of place."

Daoist Suppressing Heaven shook his head and replied, "If you master the False Heaven Dao as your fifth dao, then all five daos are the most supreme paths. The False Heaven Dao is the ultimate of all. With such a configuration, adding the Chess Dao as the sixth dao would feel out of place no matter how you look at it."

"I understand," Chen Xia nodded lightly, deciding not to overthink it for now and focus on fully comprehending the False Heaven Dao first.

Daoist Suppressing Heaven then offered more advice, "Since the Lord of the Divine Realm is willing to cede the Treasure Ring Scale State, that will undoubtedly accelerate your progress. You can use your injured body to sense and fuse with the Treasure Ring Scale State while recovering. Once you've completed the sensing, your injuries should also be healed. Then you can move on to other major states. When you truly fuse with the entire Immortal Realm, the False Heaven Dao will naturally be complete."

This was Daoist Suppressing Heaven's plan, with the key being how long it would take Chen Xia to comprehend the dao.

With time being critical, Chen Xia didn't hesitate. Once his injuries slightly improved, he entered the Treasure Ring Scale State and took control of the central mountain range to begin sensing and fusing.

With the East Jia State's support, Chen Xia's fusion with the Treasure Ring Scale State would naturally be faster than the Lord of the Divine Realm's. If everything went smoothly, it would take around two to three thousand years to complete.

Meanwhile, Daoist Suppressing Heaven wasn't idle. He aimed to make use of the red thread on Qiu Yi's hand.

This was a fated karmic thread forcibly tied by the Martial Emperor, containing not only the karma between Chen Xia and Qiu Yi but also a faint trace of the Martial Emperor's own karma. However, this trace was extremely weak and barely recognized by the current Heaven Dao. Extracting it would be extraordinarily difficult.

Yet, Daoist Suppressing Heaven could extract this weak and faint karma, though the process was extremely complex and involved many elements. He might even have to sacrifice some of his own lifespan. But if successful, this karma could become the best weapon against the Martial Emperor.

After Chen Xia's battle with the Emperor Witch, the shattered Immortal Realm entered a long-awaited period of peace. The fractured sky that hovered over every practitioner's head still served as a reminder of the terrifying battle that had taken place.

Practitioners with connections had already used star gates to leave the Immortal Realm, fleeing to other realms to avoid the aftermath. Thus, the Immortal Realm experienced its greatest decline in history, with the number of practitioners rapidly decreasing.

The Master of the Nine Mountains sometimes surveyed the entire Immortal Realm's map, growing more and more taciturn and showing signs of frustration. It seemed he had never imagined the Immortal Realm would turn into such a state. His hundreds of thousands of years of efforts seemed on the verge of being destroyed.

Yet, he had not achieved the supreme status, and the Martial Emperor had seemingly played a cruel joke on him.

The Master of the Nine Mountains suddenly sighed, his eyes filled with determination as he gazed towards the East Jia State and declared, "In that case, I shall seek out a savior!"

In the Great Heaven.

A figure flitted across various star realms with incredible speed, as if searching for something. This figure had been wandering in the Great Heaven for over a thousand years.

This figure was the Martial Emperor. His journey through the Great Heaven suddenly halted as his gaze fell upon the lifeless void below. The golden martial energy in his eyes grew increasingly radiant, sparking like flames. Gazing intently, he extended a finger and gently pulled.

Boom!

The entire void was instantly filled with dense martial energy flames, exploding violently.

Countless waves of martial energy rolled.

From within, a shadowy figure emerged, wearing a pure blackDaoist robe adorned with stars and constellations. With the vast void as his backdrop, he spoke calmly to the Martial Emperor.

"I have been waiting for you for a long time."