Emperor Xi finally approached thirty thousand years ago.
He simulated Jiang Li's opportunity, borrowed the guidance of the Three Pure Ones, and directly crossed the length of thirty thousand years of river to reach his destination.
The surrounding environnt... let's call it environnt for now.
What he saw was an incredibly broad river, as if he were in a huge lake. Under the "water surface" lay the universe of all things, and above the "water surface" was a peculiar scene where one couldn't tell whether it was existent or nonexistent.
In perception, it was a place of darkness and void, illuminated by the brilliance emanating from heaven and earth.
Heaven and ti changed according to the observer's cognition, transforming into the river with Emperor Xi's perception, and combined with the thoughts of others, turned into the current appearance.
The Three Pure Ones appeared in the three stages of life: old, middle-aged, and young, sitting cross-legged on the "water surface," with their hanging sleeves and hems continuously washed by the "river water," representing that they had not completely detached from the world and were still connected, or rather bound, to it.
Behind the Three Pure Ones, a massive void like a mirror showed the spectacle of rising pure qi and ascendant Buddha light, with divination symbols evolving within.
The scene of the Three Pure Ones' Heaven thirty thousand years ago appeared behind them, evidently the breach broken open by the Three Pure Ones.
Although this breach was not located on the "water surface" but was suspended in mid-air, appearing rather strange, in a scene based on cognition, anything was possible.
But one thing was supposed to be impossible.
Not far ahead of the Three Pure Ones, between Emperor Xi and them, stood a figure with hands behind his back, contending with the Three Pure Ones who cut across the long river.
"Jiang... Li!"
Emperor Xi suddenly felt his throat a bit dry, the words he uttered rough and heavy.
Jiang Li, he actually appeared here, even arriving ahead of him.
"Long ti no see, Emperor Xi." Jiang Li turned to look at Emperor Xi and said with a leisurely smile.
He was still wearing the sa clothes from the battle with Emperor Xi, even his hairstyle hadn't changed, yet he brought an indescribable heaviness to Emperor Xi.
Now, Jiang Li seed to have undergone great changes compared to before.
Emperor Xi's face was solemn as he looked at Jiang Li and gravely said, "Seeing you like this, it seems like you followed after the fight with Shakyamuni Tathagata, hardly a long ti."
He was probing when Jiang Li set out, how long after that battle.
With Jiang Li's Taiyi Dao, the longer ti passed, the more powerful he would beco.
"Emperor Xi, your perception is sharp as a torch."
Jiang Li peacefully replied, "Indeed, I set out right after dealing with Shakyamuni Tathagata, unlike you. I didn't arrive by breaking through the world but by traveling upstream through ti. To you, not much ti has passed since that battle, but to ..."
"It was already a matter of thirty thousand years ago."
He looked just as before, even his aura and ntal state remained unchanged, with no trace of the years on Jiang Li's body and mind, yet the experiences and insight of the past were real.
Unlike Emperor Xi, Jiang Li traveled step by step from thirty thousand years later to the present, enduring as much ti as he traversed.
And what kind of change in strength would thirty thousand years bring to Jiang Li?
Even for a Heavenly Venerate level being, strength was no longer the sole determinant of everything, but it remained one of the main deciding factors for victory.
After three thousand years of ti, even if Jiang Li was just a passerby, his strength would have vastly advanced.
Emperor Xi's mind grew increasingly heavy.
When the ti of Jiang Li's departure was revealed, a new question erged.
Not the change in strength, but why did he do it?
Why start traversing ti imdiately after defeating Shakyamuni Tathagata, didn't he need ti to find a way?
Unless...
"From the beginning, you intended to climb upstream and arrive in this era by your own strength." Emperor Xi looked deeply at Jiang Li.
From the start, Jiang Li had his plan, so he never intended to return to the past in the sa way as Emperor Xi.
Therefore, Emperor Xi's precautions were all in vain.
His departure, in fact, unlocked Jiang Li's final chains.
"That's correct." Jiang Li candidly admitted.
"So, you allowed to leave?"
"You overestimate ," Jiang Li chuckled lightly and said, "I truly was a move behind and couldn't stop you, Emperor Xi. In my opinion, if I could have directly defeated you, Emperor Xi, that would have been ideal. You indeed won over , Emperor Xi."
If he could take down Emperor Xi, that naturally would be best, avoiding variables. Jiang Li detested variables the most.
Thus, back then, he indeed gave it his all, just short of retrieving the Three Pure Dao Artifacts to carry the Three Pure Ones' Dao.
But from Emperor Xi's look, he didn't seem pleased by this victory.
After all, this victory led to a poor outco.
At this mont, among the three Daoists on the other side, the elder suddenly spoke, "Fellow Daoist Jiang was bound to arrive here and et with us."
"Because we had already predestined Fellow Daoist Jiang's arrival here." The middle-aged Daoist said calmly.
"And regardless of whether it was for the protection of the world or for the cultivation path, Fellow Daoist Jiang would return to the past."
The young Daoist looked at Jiang Li with a profound gaze, "His Innate Five Great Dao must witness the spectacle of the world's creation to achieve perfection, and obviously, there is no such environnt in the future."
Jiang Li's Innate Five Great Dao was entirely based on the Three Tombs and his own research of Heaven and Earth. Although it drew upon the wisdom of Emperor Xi and the Human Path, having never witnessed the true Innate Five Great Dao, it was ultimately lacking in completeness.
Therefore, he was bound to return to the past.
As a matter of fact, Emperor Xi was also aware of this, but unfortunately, Emperor Xi misjudged the way Jiang Li would return to the past.
However, looking at it now, it seems that the Three Pure Ones had a hand in this too.
"All Causes Fruit, Fruit of all Causes, Foundation of All Things...."
Jiang Li turned his gaze to the three Daoists, "Is that so?"
"Indeed," the old Daoist nodded and said, "Once the Three Pure Ones unite, our will becos destiny. The future is uncertain, even the Heavenly Venerate Realm can only see the endless changes of the future, proceeding according to circumstances. However, by combining our power as the Three Pure Ones, we can lock the future's variables, transforming it into a singularity."
"Thus, we can usher in the 'End of Dharma' from the future..." Jiang Li's mind raced, understanding imdiately.
The future held infinite variables, including futures where Jiang Li did not achieve the Heavenly Venerate Realm. In such a case, ushering in the "End of Dharma" would be impossible to speak of.
Thus, the Three Pure Ones joined hands to lock in the future beforehand.
"It's not just that," Emperor Xi interjected coldly, "To eliminate the future, you even targeted the remaining Heavenly Venerables, attempting to eradicate all Heavenly Venerable Great Powers outside the Three Pure Ones."
"If there were other Heavenly Venerables still in the world, we couldn't possibly lock in that future."
The middle-aged Daoist said blandly, "Moreover, the 'End of Dharma' itself can only appear in a world that has been destroyed."
If nurous Heavenly Venerable Great Powers were still around, there would be no room for the ergence of other Heavenly Venerate Level existences.
The cake of this world had long been divided cleanly, and the space at the top could no longer accommodate others.
Therefore, a completely new world was needed.
The world after the End of Dharma was indeed new, it was even incapable of birthing experts above Second Grade due to the Five Turbid Evil World.
Even a Great Heavenly Venerate could only enter the world through reincarnation, and even then, they would not dare to reach Second Grade until the Five Turbid Evil World weakened for them to return to their original Realm.
Everything over the past thirty thousand years seed to be in the Three Pure Ones' grasp.
"It sounds like the three of you have truly grasped Heaven's will."
Jiang Li couldn't help but applaud, admiring their thods.
But judging from his expression, it seed more like sarcasm.
"I always believe in one principle: if you can speak with strength, never utter nonsense. One should excel in utilizing one's strengths rather than resorting to scheming when in an advantageous position."
Jiang Li clapped as he said, "In other words, only when one lacks advantage will other ans be used. For example, now, disrupting hearts with words."
"In your arrangents, Jiang Li was supposed to be like , after detaching from Heaven and Earth, brought by you, wasn't he?" Emperor Xi followed up.
Even faced with a scene completely contrary to expectations, this person did not lose rationality, instead directly addressing the loopholes in the Three Pure Ones' words through Jiang Li's remarks.
If the Three Pure Ones truly had control over everything, today's mistake would not have occurred.
Jiang Li, traveling against the current, Emperor Xi could not see his terrifying power now, and the Three Pure Ones might not be able to see it either.
In terms of strength, Emperor Xi was inferior to the Three Pure Ones, but when it ca to grasping changes, regarding Yi Dao's acun, Emperor Xi could definitely rival the Three Pure Ones.
Hearing these words, the Three Pure Ones fell into a slight silence.
Then, the young Daoist chuckled softly, "Indeed, as you say, we also have made mistakes. We intended to usher the 'End of Dharma' from the future, then use him to transcend, and also employ him to bring down the End of Dharma to cleanse Heaven and Earth. Then after thirty thousand years, when the 'End of Dharma' reappears, achieving Dao, we will be able to sever the final thread of Cause and Effect."
In this way, the loop of Karma was ford.
"Unfortunately, the 'End of Dharma' is not obedient at our disposal," the elder continued, "when he struck down the Three Pure Ones Dao, he seized part of the Primordial Dao, and rged it with himself. We intended not to deepen our ties of Cause and Effect with Heaven and Earth, thus borrowing his hand to bring down the 'End of Dharma', yet instead, it ended up connecting the Three Pure Ones Dao with him, ensuring the Three Pure Ones Dao could only be inherited by him."
The two across were no fools, and by this point in the conversation, they had perceived the inner truth, so the Three Pure Ones did not obfuscate, avoiding further dishonor.
The old Daoist's words certified Jiang Li and Emperor Xi's deduction.
The Three Pure Ones originally intended to stay clean of direct action, even cleansing Heaven and Earth required an interdiary, to avoid deepening causal connections.
Instead, this allowed the "End of Dharma" to counter-calculate, seizing part of the Primordial Dao, integrating it with his Innate Five Great Dao and the compatibility with the Three Pure Ones Dao.
Wishing to avoid getting hands dirty? Forced into getting them dirty.
The Path of the End of Dharma, perating from thirty thousand years hence, finally reached its peak; the "End of Dharma" pushed the Three Pure Ones Dao back to the Tai Chu, and the Three Pure Ones fell afterward. However, they failed to sever the connection, only partly transcending.
Furthermore, originally just needing to discard the Three Pure Ones Dao to flee, now not only must the Three Pure Ones Dao be discarded, it must be succeeded by Jiang Li.
Or rather, only letting Jiang Li take over can discard the Three Pure Ones Dao, because that portion of the stolen Primordial Dao resides with Jiang Li.
The conditions of the Karma loop had changed, even if Jiang Li achieved the Heavenly Venerate Realm thirty thousand years later, the Three Pure Ones could not transcend.
'So it turns out, the source of Dao pursuing originates with myself.' Jiang Li couldn't help but think to himself.
Imagining himself to be so appealing that the Three Pure Ones Dao was chasing him like a dog, not realizing it was he who took a bite of flesh from the dog first.
Moreover, Jiang Li could not imagine himself to have such an inspirational aspect.
The seized Primordial Dao mingled with the End of Dharma's Karma ultimately ford the Karma Collection, returning to Jiang Li himself.
That is to say, Jiang Li still has the potential to achieve the Heavenly Venerate without relying on a Golden Finger.
This ti truly everything I have achieved today is all thanks to myself.
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