Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

1106 Spiritual Transcendence

Wang Wei's brow furrowed as he watched the result of Feng Heng's battle; he had caught an idea and was trying to extrapolate from it before it left his mind.

'Enlightenment...Spiritual Practice...Buddhism, Taoism, or any religion or philosophical ideals or pursue,' he thought. 'Is it possible to achieve transcendence through spiritual practice alone, without cultivating shenanigans? Would a monk who has achieved Nirvana or a Taoist Priest who became one with the Dao escape the shackles of the universe and achieve transcendence?'

Those questions appeared simple but were more complex than they appeared on the surface. For example, could someone like Maitreya be said to have achieved Nirvana in her spiritual practice?

"Not necessarily,' thought Wang Wei. 'She achieved the part about escaping the shackles of Samsara and even death entirely, but what about the part of achieving ultimate peace and freedom? Has she transcended suffering or attachment?

'It's obvious that her state of mind has come close to these ideals, but she is still tethered by the state of Buddhism as a religion and the intricate relationship of the cultivation world, which often involves endless struggle, death, and suffering. I could argue her achievement of Nirvana is flawed, and she needs the cultivation aspect of Buddhism to make up for it.'

Many thoughts flashed in Wang Wei's mind.

'Feng Heng might be right. The true path of Buddhism and Taosin in the cultivation world might be to use cultivation as secondary to spiritual practice. They use their longevity to pursue their spiritual practice, and the endzone of this path might be transcendence.'

Wang Wei had many more thoughts. For example, Buddhism's spiritual practice seemed linked to Mind or Soul Dao, but that was untrue. If their main focus is to practice from inward instead of starting from outward, spiritual practice might be similar to the True Power Dao Realm, where there is no need to understand any law or Dao but purely focus on the mind to reach height on par with any cultivators. In other words, their practice is a path of power and transcendence that is not very much affected by foreign aid or Grand Dao, just like body refining.

'Their situation might be even better as Grand Dao has not interfered with the Spiritual Practice Path, as it did with Body Refining Path,' deduced Wang Wei, who suddenly paused: 'Unless it did and I just did not know about it.' He considered the possibility that most monks and Taoist priests in the Chaos Universes followed the same path as Maitreya and Supreme Unity instead of Feng Heng because of Grand Dao's scheme.

'It's also possible that Grand Dao has also regulated the Spiritual Practice Path, just like the Flesh Tribulations of the True Power Dao Realm,' analyzed Wang Wei.

'Regardless if this is true, Feng Heng might have unknowingly begun his journey toward transcendence with these thoughts, but he doesn't know it yet,' concluded Wang Wei. He smirked, 'I should tell him to see how things go.' He wanted to summon Feng Heng to talk immediately but stopped himself.

'It might be best to be prudent.' Feng Heng had these thoughts but has not acted on them. He must also consider the ramifications of revealing such information, as it could trigger Grand Dao or some other entity's gaze.

'The best option is to wait until I've determined whether Maitreya is trustworthy, run this idea by her, and then tell Feng Heng. After all, I am a novice in Buddhism, and my idea might just be nonsense.'

Wang Wei calmed down, deciding not to rush. Then, another thought flashed in his mind: 'Assuming my thoughts are correct, what would happen to Gautama, the creator of Buddhism, who achieved True Nirvana without cultivation on Earth? Not just him, but any monks who succeeded in a place like the Prehistoric World?'

Any normal thing becomes complicated once it occurs in the Prehistoric World because of their strange relationship with the rest of the Chaos Universe and Grand Dao. Wang Wei shook his head as he had too little information to make any decent theories or conjectures.

"It might be a good idea to be more involved in Buddhism: study and learn from it," he muttered. The Buddhist Path of Spiritual Practice did not suit him in achieving transcendence. The idea of following one doctrine or school of thought ran counter to his way of life and goal. However, Buddhism does wish to achieve freedom, just not in the same way as him. As such, he could learn from them to help with his goals and ambitions. So, Wang Wei decided to take his title of Honorary Buddha more seriously. Of course, he will also study Taoism and other religions and practices to learn from all of them.

Star Beast World Community:

As soon as the battle started, everyone had an opponent. Ji Lanfang calmly looked at the five people before him: two Eternals and three pseudos. He sipped his wine one last time before putting it away. Glancing at these people, he noticed something.

'They've all been blessed with talismans to increase their reflexes and defense. Were they created to counter my speed?'

"What do I call you?" asked Ji Lanfang.

"Void Mirror Emperor."

"Red Bolt Emperor."

"Blue Streak Emperor."

"Mountain Fist Emperor."

"Iron Skin Emperor."

'So, one for instant movement, one for distant attack, one for speed, one for close combat, and one for defense,' thought Ji Lanfang, realizing that whoever chose these individuals as his opponent did so thoughtfully. He wondered whether everyone in Wang Wei's alliance was similar.

'Given the Commerce Hub's information gathering ability, it should be expected,' Ji Lanfang. The hub was probably preparing for this attack for a while, given how fast they mobilized their troops after Wang Wei's supposed disappearance.

"Well, I am⌜€“"

"We know who you are," said Void Mirror, a young man with eyes that resembled glasses. Despite his humanoid appearance, he was a spirit race, a mirror who gained sentience, to be specific. That's why he can use such Dao as Space despite it being an Outlaw in his world.

"I know, but I did not want to appear arrogant," replied Ji Lanfang casually.

"Who knew swordsmen could be funny," said Iron Skin.

"That's right. You guys are usually fucking your swords or preparing them to be fucked," added Blue Streak, making the others (except Void Mirror) laugh or chuckle. Ji Lanfang's lips twitched. "Just so you know, you'll be the first to die because of those words."

"You think I'm scared of you?"

"Enough with this nonsense," said Vod Mirror, the obvious leader. "We came here for a task-not to chitchat. Remember the plan and execute it like your life depended on it." They nodded before Blue Streak rushed forward. He lived up to his name, leaving a blue streak in his path and moving with unmatched speed toward his opponent.

Blue Streak's cruel smile made his small, beady eyes even tinier as if he had closed them. All he thought about was how much he would play with his opponent before finishing him.

'Huh? Why am I looking at my own body?' thought the Blue Streak Emperor. 'No, that can't be my body since it's missing a head.' Then, something dawned on him. 'Impossible. I have a top-tier Speed Emperor Talisman that perfectly fits my Speed Dao. How could someone be faster than me?'

He tested it, and his speed reached an unbelievable level, so how could he die so quickly? And without even realizing he was cut? Those thoughts became Blue Streak's last one as his soul dissipated between Heaven and Earth.

"Damn it," cursed the Void Mirror Emperor. The Commerce Hub specifically granted him a pair of Heavenly Eyes so he could one day deal with Ji Lanfang. However, even with their powers, he barely saw that sword, let alone react to save Blue Streak.

"Use your passive domain ability," ordered Void Mirror.

"It's pointless," said Ji Lanfang in a calm voice that seemed passive-aggressive. However, he was just telling the truth. Unless these people were close to him in strength, had a unique Dao, and knew how to utilize it, this technique was useless to him.

"Damn you bastard," roared Iron Skin. His body turned metallic before he rushed forward. He saw a flash of light, and like Blue Streak, he saw his headless body as his head floated in the empty void. Then, his soul scattered between Heaven and Earth.

"How is that possible?" asked Mountain Fist with gritted teeth. According to their investigation and calculations, Ji Lanfang should be one of their greatest threats after Wang Wei; he's labeled above Xu Shi and everyone else. (They don't know much about Li Jun, Yan Liling, and Yu Yan.) Ji Lanfang looked at him. He would not tell these people he had improved drastically while training in the Swordsmanship World after incorporating the essence of all these unparalleled swordsmen into his Sword Dao.

"You're next," he declared. A mirror suddenly appeared before Mountain Fist to reflect or counter the attack. However, it was still not fast enough as the latter's body split into millions of parts, including his soul.