CHAPTER 791: CHAPTER 014: JOURNEY WEST TO PERFORM ANCESTOR WORSHIP

Zhou Yan had already reached a point where he was untouched by causality, so after sensing the enormous force of fate and karma, the Six-Eared Macaque Sword Soul trembled, waking Zhou Yan from his potential sudden enlightenment, preventing him from being tainted by right and wrong within it.

Moreover, Zhou Yan also knew that this scene closely resembled the legendary episode where The Buddha suppressed Sun Wukong. However, the specifics were not quite the same.

Upon returning to Earth, Zhou Yan’s soul, while scanning in all directions, also scanned some ancient books that recorded similar legendary stories.

Additionally, the original earth-dwelling owner of Zhou Yan’s body had deeply read into these ancient knowledge systems, and now that Zhou Yan’s soul had reclaimed its proper place, inheriting all, he had his own opinions about ancient myths.

Myths were not unfounded, but their origins could no longer be verified; therefore, inferring through Dao Patterns and Dao Traces from Tai Chu was a reasonable method.

"If we calculate it like this, the cultivation world before us doesn’t really qualify as a true world. This should be..."

Zhou Yan began to deduce.

In just a moment, based on a series of subtle clues, Zhou Yan conjectured a close-to-the-inside story of suppression on Earth.

"The path of Ancestor Worship, is it the journey West? Starting from the First Layer Heaven, following the trajectory westward, stepping onto Earth’s Thirty-Three Heavens?"

"Ancestor Worship... is it to worship Buddha, to worship ancestors?"

Zhou Yan vaguely discovered some clues, but they were not clear.

Whether it was exactly like this, he couldn’t judge.

But it was certain that the cultivation world at hand was merely a small world, which could only be considered the lowest level of the Cultivation World.

"If The Buddha really suppressed Sun Wukong, then there must have been a group of four powerful Cultivators who embarked on the path of Ancestor Worship, accompanied by an Ancient Divine Beast Dragon Horse, braving all hardships, leaving behind some delightful anecdotes, though not the so-called eighty-one tribulations."

"So there were instances of the path of Ancestor Worship on ancient Earth."

"And it was not only those four who journeyed West."

"Laozi, Li Er, becoming a sage after exiting Hangu Pass to the West."

"Peng Zu journeyed West to seek the Dao."

"Zhuangzi traveled to the Northern Ocean in the West, free roaming, seeing the Kunpeng stirring the waters three thousand li, soaring to ninety thousand li."

"Kua Fu chased the sun, all the way to the West."

"Jingwei filled the sea, and the sea she filled was the West Sea."

"The information string of Pre-Qin Qi Refiners also appeared in the West and disappeared in the West."

"Even in modern times, the West is referred to as ’Ultimate Bliss’, ’Heaven’. Is this West the path of Ancestor Worship? Does any Cultivator who steps on this road leave behind ancient legends and become deified?"

"The meaning behind ancient Dao Traces is that the Three Worlds are filled with all manner of suffering such as birth, aging, sickness, and death, pressuring the body and mind like a house on fire, with no place to rest comfortably. Thus, all sentient beings can only diligently cultivate to seek liberation from the Three Worlds, and through such efforts, realize Nirvana—the ultimate emancipation. But does this not make this world even more enigmatic?"

"Cultivators, Buddhists, and Taoists have cut this world off, or have turned a plane into a planet, but what is the significance behind this?"

Zhou Yan pondered, arriving at a conclusion that even he found hard to believe.

But the Dao Traces here truly pointed to a pathway, a path of Ancestor Worship that was no illusion.

"Regardless of the situation, take it one step at a time and see how it goes."

"If this is just the lowest world among the Thirty-Three Heavens, then this Earth, the world of ordinary people, might just be a Bodhi Small World. The real world might be the Thirty-Three Heavens, the so-called ’Earth Immortal Realm’."

"Emperor Blood, perhaps the blood of Heavenly Emperor. It is said that the Thirty-Three Heavens are atop Sumeru Mountain, about thirty thousand li above this world. The beings of these heavens are forty li tall, live for a thousand years, with a hundred Earth years equal to one of their days and nights.

The Thirty-Three Heavens has a city at the peak of Sumeru called Shanjian City, spanning eighty thousand li, in which Heavenly Emperor Shitian resides. Around Shanjian City, there are four peaks, each fifty thousand li, each peak with eight heavens, totaling thirty-two heavens in all four directions. Including the central Shanjian City, that makes Thirty-Three Heavens."

"According to the ’Sutra of Right Mindfulness’, the names of the heavenly kingdoms in the Thirty-Three Heavens are as follows: 1. Good Dharma Hall Heaven, 2. Mountain Peak Heaven, 3. Mountain Top Heaven, 4. Shanjian City Heaven, 5. Bo Sitatian, 6. Juzha Heaven, 7. Mixed Hall Heaven, 8. Joyful Garden Heaven, 9. Light Heaven, 10. Polymanytatian, 11. Li Xian’an Heaven, 12. Valley Cliff Heaven, 13. Mo Ni Cangtian, 14. Practice Heaven, 15. Golden Palace Heaven, 16. Manxing Heaven, 17. Soft Heaven, 18. Mixed Adorned Heaven, 19. Wish-fulfilling Heaven, 20. Subtle Action Heaven, 21. Song Music Heaven, 22. Mighty Virtue Wheel Heaven, 23. Sun Traveling Heaven, 24. Yama Narsotian, 25. Lianxing Heaven, 26. Shadow Heaven, 27. Wisdom Heaven, 28. Zhongfen Heaven, 29. Mandala Heaven, 30. Upper Traveling Heaven, 31. Mighty Beauty Heaven, 32. Mighty Virtue Flame Wheel Light Heaven, 33. Pure Heaven."

"Could it be that stepping into the Thirty-Three Heavens, seeing Heavenly Emperor Shitian, is the true itinerary of the path of Ancestor Worship?"

Zhou Yan thoughtfully felt as if in that instant, he saw through the past’s prosperity and glimpsed the future’s emptiness.

It wasn’t that this realm was too insignificant, but rather that the stronger ones were all in the higher heavens.

The path to ascend to the heavens would unfold in this realm.

The Xuanyuan Ancestor’s intention might be to help them open a path to ascend to the higher heavens and find the itinerary of the path of Ancestor Worship.

At the same time, to provide them with the missing Dao, to rectify their errors, to teach them the true Dao, and to deliver salvation.

Because of his insight into the Dao Traces, Zhou Yan suddenly understood his true responsibility through the sensing of his bloodline.

At the same time, this was also the path of Ancestor Worship that he, Zhou Yan, had to undertake, opening the Thirty-Three Heavens’ Western journey.

If this Cultivation World could not maintain stability, then the path above would be difficult to travel.

If the heart is constrained, the Dao does not advance. This doesn’t just refer to oneself, but to the entire world as an entity.

With such sudden enlightenment, Zhou Yan suddenly felt a harmonious sensation in his bloodline, as if the soul that returned from the Outer Domain suddenly integrated more perfectly with this body.

It was an indescribable feeling, but it brought Zhou Yan immense comfort and pleasure.

He felt an urge to burst into song, and his previous disappointment with the Cultivators here had completely vanished.

If the Earth Ancestral Land was merely as it appeared, Zhou Yan would naturally be disappointed, but the vast scale that the Ancestral Land revealed far exceeded Zhou Yan’s imagination and even surpassed the existence of various planes.

A single world, Thirty-Three Heavens, all within a single planet—such a planet must be terrifyingly powerful!

Zhou Yan, whenever he thought of this, felt his blood boil with excitement.

Following this path, he might be able to meet the ancients, discuss the Dao with them, understand everything about the past space-time, and even...find news about his brother.

Zhou Yan was now certain that his brother, having left Earth, must have embarked on the Ancestor Worship path and even succeeded.

Otherwise, his brother wouldn’t have been so formidable.

In this realization, Zhou Yan swiftly comprehended many things, came to understand many things, and some of his doubts gradually found answers. As for the things he didn’t understand, he no longer felt anxious; the path of Ancestor Worship no longer seemed as insurmountable as before.

...

Standing in the void, Zhou Yan, having suddenly understood the truth, manifested the ethereal shadows of the Xingyi Twelve Sword Souls behind him. It was as if a peerless great Buddha had revealed its spirit, with twelve resplendent rays of Divine Light shining from behind.

This scene shocked all the cultivators, who had sensed something was amiss.

They all stared dumbfounded at Zhou Yan, speechless with astonishment.

After a long while, a cultivator, moved, suddenly came to his senses and instantly "plop" fell to his knees before Zhou Yan.

As one kneeled, many cultivators promptly and spontaneously knelt in worship.

Fang Yunyin, whose face on the platform was ashen, also paused, suddenly her demeanor brightened with spirit, and she too awoke and knelt without delay.

She had always thought she was defeated by Xu Yingxia of the Pure Yang sect, who was of a lower realm. Now she realized she was actually defeated by a "peerless great Buddha."

Therefore, she felt not failure but honor instead—a recognition, a test from the Ancestor!

This thought, indeed, matched the mindset of most cultivators.

Even Xu Yingxia was completely stunned and then bent down to kneel in worship.

Cultivators, unlike ordinary people, truly believed in the existence of ghosts and gods, demonstrating sincere piety in their nature.

"Pay respects to the senior!"

Suddenly, in the void, a great figure from an older generation appeared. He was an old man with white hair and a beard, skin as wrinkled as tree bark, and power enough to have reached the pinnacle of the Refining God and Returning Void Realm, comparable to the Sword Void Six Transformation Realm.

Such a realm was nowhere near a match for Zhou Yan, so with one glance, he recognized the highest level of current cultivators and understood fully.

This old man was a Taoist. When Zhou Yan noticed him, the Taoist noticed Zhou Yan too.

The Taoist had a venerable aura of Cang Yu and dense Merit Power, Original Soul Power that was profound enough to astonish.

He was a kind, upright, and just old man, pure in Origin—someone truly responsible and courageous, who never wantonly killed the innocent and had accumulated Original Soul Power to such a level through Merit—a person worthy of respect!

Even if Zhou Yan held little regard for this world, seeing such an old Taoist instantaneously filled his heart with respect and acceptance for all the cultivators here.

It turns out, not every cultivator was as ignoble; the old generation of cultivators commanded such deep reverence.

Zhou Yan didn’t allow him to kneel but instead reached out, sustaining him with an open hand to prevent him from doing so.

He couldn’t bear the weight of such a gesture; he truly couldn’t.

Here before him was a great person, someone commanded awe.

From the old man’s face, Zhou Yan saw excitement, reverence, joy, and a myriad of complex emotions, but joy was predominant.

It seemed that, at last, their ancestors had not abandoned their world but had finally returned, come back to see their descendants.

"Elder, I am Zhou Yan, formerly known as Lee Yi, and the younger brother of Lee Ran. I have returned from the Outer Star Domain carrying the Ancestor’s last wishes, aiming to spread the Tao, teach, and resolve doubts within the Cultivation World."

Zhou Yan said with respect.

His demeanor was utterly sincere, exuding a warm presence.

As he spoke, a surge of Original Soul Power spread from Zhou Yan, rejuvenating the old man as if spring had come to withered wood, like Nirvana rebirth, causing his faded white hair to become instantly black and glossy.

In an instant, the old man was no longer stooped or hunched but transformed into a robust, elegant, and handsome middle-aged scholar.

This act was miraculous, defying the natural order, astonishing to all.

Even the old man surveyed himself in amazement. He touched his own face and conjured a mirror of energy to observe his reflection, still in shock for a long while.

"Senior..."

The old man was beside himself with excitement, even his voice trembling.

His voice was no longer hoarse, but instead, soothing and rich with attractive timbre.

This sight left Fang Yunyin, Xu Yingxia, and all the cultivators utterly stunned.

Such a miraculous feat had never been seen before, even among cultivators; the ability to reverse aging was tremendously shocking.

No one in the Cultivation World had achieved this before!

Even more terrifying was how Fang Yunyin, who had nearly perished, sprang to life under that sliver of energy, bouncing around with vigor, her injuries not only healed but also vaguely improved.

"Elder, we cultivators are of the same root and origin, no need for such formality."

Zhou Yan said with a smile, his gaze resting respectfully upon the old man.