Shi Feiyang had a complete treasure acquisition plan for this trip to Central Earth, and Yan Lake's Yu Ding was just the first stop. Originally with limited Dao Level, he hadn't expected to encounter so many unforeseen issues, which had delayed him greatly.

After acquiring "Inner View Primordial Sect", he compared it with the previously obtained Heavenly Book and Golden Talisman, and realized many of the true teachings from the era of the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns; he then saw that his original plan was too narrow in scope.

Initially, after obtaining treasures from Central Earth, he planned to go back to Geng Kun's place to secretly cultivate and borrow strength, waiting to become a True Dragon after passing the last tribulation of "skin-shedding" at Roc Bay, before setting up his Immortal Mansion elsewhere. In gratitude for Geng Kun's protection, he intended to give Geng Kun the Red Cloud Scattering Flower Needle that he had obtained from the North Sea to help him escape his tribulation when the time came.

However, as his Dao Level increased, he discerned from the Gua Xiang that Geng Kun had other designs on him.

After his last "skin-shedding" at the age of three thousand, his two inner cores had merged into a Dragon Ball through the harmony of water and fire. Through his diligent cultivation, this Dragon Ball was different from others, containing many mysteries. Geng Kun had harbored covetous intentions since Shi Feiyang arrived on the island, and after Shi Feiyang had finished off Wu Qiming, Geng Kun's yearning only intensified.

Geng Kun only knew that Shi Feiyang possessed one Divine Fire Inner Core, and just that alone had made him determined to possess it!

Shi Feiyang made another plan for himself: to go to the Little Antarctic Bright Realm before his last "skin-shedding", calculating the period when the Aurora Fire weakened, and there he would take care of the Cold Centipede and Yu Ding, looking for a safe place to transcend the tribulation.

In the Bright Realm's Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, where eternal daytime prevailed, countless demons prospered. Shi Feiyang's initial plan was to subdue these demons and establish a Demon Kingdom as a foundation for his existence.

Animals, acting on instinct, naturally followed jungle law, survival of the fittest. Those that could survive were demons with at least a few hundred years of cultivation. In the Little Antarctic Bright Realm, there were millennia-old Great Demons everywhere, missing only someone to guide and teach them. If he could select a few potential leaders from among them and gather them together, he would form a force that no one would dare to slaughter easily.

However, this was of great consequence. Demons were bestowed with beastly nature, barely understood human ethics, and knew nothing of virtue, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, integrity, and honor, only relying on their strength to bully and fight fiercely. Very few were able to cultivate the Dao, but if well taught, animals could be far more reliable than humans. In short, the variables were immense, with a thousand threads and ten thousand entanglements, impossible to succeed without great perseverance and wisdom.

Shi Feiyang hadn't dared to make such a grand vow until recently he had gained enlightenment, comprehending many matters from the Ancients through the Tadpole Script.

Not to mention the even more distant eras of the Empress Wa and Heavenly Emperor, since Emperor Xuanyuan's time down to Yu King, they all possessed supreme Technique Divine Power and were sovereigns of humanity. Beneath these Human Kings, a multitude of ministers could command the wind and summon the rain. When Emperor Xuanyuan first sought the Dao from Guang Chengzi, he spoke of harvesting the essence of heaven and earth to nourish the five grains and support the people, employing Yin Yang to prosper all living beings. He used Daoist Skill to control the climate for crop growth to feed the populace, and Yu the Great used Divine Power to cut through mountains and tame waters. These ancient monarchs governed the world with Daoist Skill and protected humanity with Divine Power.

But starting with Xia Qi, Human Kings had become commoners, not only ignorant of the great Dao, unable to wield spells, but often their wisdom was not even equivalent to that of an ordinary citizen!

Shi Feiyang surmised this was a result of dynastic rule, where kingship was inherited by bloodline. Whatever the quality of the offspring, they were destined to become kings, and growing up in the depths of palaces and gardens, they enjoyed the nourishment of the world without effort, naturally becoming increasingly useless.

Nevertheless, the Daoist lineage from ancient times should have been passed down. Monarchs of successive generations, branches of their families, and ministers in charge of the archives should have been able to consult and study these records, which is why, during the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, many powerful monarchs and ministers arose.

Shi Feiyang remembered that in the original work, although the techniques of Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing had been passed down through the ages, the names of the three deities—Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Lingbao Taoist Venerate—had never appeared. Not even the two characters for "Lord Lao" were mentioned. Moreover, beyond the Three Pure Ones, there was an additional Shaqing. There had also never been mention of the Jade Emperor or Heavenly Emperor, only the Heavenly Emperor who stayed in the Spiritual Space Immortal Realm, always indifferent to the affairs of the Human World, and there was no Underworld...

He thought a lot, a lot, and had many bold conjectures in his mind, but he still couldn't be certain.

This is why the second stop, originally planned to be at Qinling to retrieve the Three Yangs One Qi Sword and the Azure Clam Bottle, had now changed to Beijing. He needed to make a trip to the Forbidden City. Firstly, to confirm some of his own ideas, secondly, to send Geng Peng's soul off for reincarnation, and to find him a wealthy family in the Capital, and thirdly, to inquire about the whereabouts of "Rhythm Sage" Zhu Zaiyu and seek his guidance on the inheritance of Huaxia's music, to understand more secrets of Ancient Times.

There was also a fourth reason. It was mentioned at the beginning of Shu Mountain that after the turmoil caused by Zhang Xianzhong, Sichuan had become desolate—ninety out of a hundred homes were empty, with hundreds of miles without a human in sight, turning a land of plenty into a scarily somber place, akin to a Ghost Market.

Not just in Sichuan, but in the future there would be Lu'an, Wuchang, the Wuguan of Li Zicheng, Kaifeng of the Qing Dynasty, and Zhaozhou, Yangzhou, Jiading, Kunshan, Jiangyin, Changshu, Sichuan, Jinhua, Nanchang, Xiangtan, Nanxiong, Fen Zhou, Datong, Guangzhou, Chaozhou...

If we talk about good deeds, there were countless to be done here!

If others did not undertake these tasks, there must be a reason for their reluctance. Currently, Shi Feiyang could only deduce individual karma, and could not involve himself in overly complex affairs. He was still unable to influence the national fate involving millions of people, so this time he wanted to make contact and comprehend more. The more he understood, the broader the scope of his deductions would be.

Once he had made up his mind, he came out and summoned his disciples in front of him, giving them instructions one by one, telling them to continue their cultivation within Bu Xu Mountain. He warned, "Man Niang is not allowed to leave Bu Xu Mountain. Han Er can return home for family visits on the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month each year and must come back after the fifteenth of the first lunar month to continue cultivating. Yuan elder brother will escort you to and fro; you must not come down from the mountain alone. Yuan Hua, you too must not return to Damao Mountain in Fujian and must not associate with those you knew in the past. Wait for my return if there's anything."

After he had given his instructions, he left Bu Xu Mountain and first went to Dinghu Peak. There was a spring at the base of the peak, filled with living water. Shi Feiyang had previously taken the water from the whole spring, and it had refilled in the meantime. He had already drawn from it many times, and now it was the ninth time, drawing it all out again, then he cast the technique "Art of Shrinking Miles to Inches Within a Pouch" and headed straight for Beijing in the north.

He moved with incredible speed, and soon arrived in Beijing. This place was more prosperous than any other, with bustling streets filled with heavy traffic, and a constant flow of people and carriages. Left a street and right an alley, shops lined up on both sides of the roads, an exceptionally lively scene.

Shi Feiyang, from above the clouds, surveyed the entire city with a bird's eye view, and his Dragon Eyes absorbed every detail. Prominently, he should have noticed the Forbidden City first, but at this moment in his eyes, there was something even more conspicuous!

A tall monk, clad in sea-blue robes, with a beard and eyebrows both snow white, holding a string of beads on his left wrist, and supporting a large bowl with his right hand, walked with a steady gait, his face adorned with a kindly smile.

The reason he stood out more than the Emperor's Forbidden City was the faint golden light circling above his head!

Shi Feiyang looked intently and sure enough, he saw two sculptures—one black, one white—on a small hill to the west. The white sculpture stood atop a large maple tree, meditating with its eyes closed, while the black sculpture flew in circles above it, looking quite impatient.

Bai Mei Monk!

In the Buddhist realm of Shu Mountain, there were five incredibly powerful beings, collectively known as three monks and two nuns. This Bai Mei Monk was one of them, with Technique Divine Power at the pinnacle. He had three disciples, each more formidable than the last. As for who was more powerful between him and Ying Mu of Dongting Mountain, it was hard to say. But they were on the same level, capable of flattening fifty miles with a slap, exterminating all life in the area.

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