Heavenly Demon Tablet

Although the Ancient Sea was at the other corner of the world, at Hou Hui's speed, it wouldn't take him more than a few breaths to reach destination.

And upon arrival, he respectfully bowed toward the Ancient Sea.

"Senior, I have fulfilled your request. I now hope you can uphold your end of the bargain."

A brief silence followed, after which the now familiar ancient voice resounded.

"You have not only fulfilled my request but also allowed me to vent my anger. Therefore, I will not only give you the four stones, but I will also offer you some help."

"Rebuilding the Heavenly Demon Tablet is simple. Obtaining the true inheritance of Tian Mo, however, is nigh impossible. Even if you can grasp the thirty-six different demonic arts, as an immortal, it's unlikely that you can reconstruct the original cultivation method they stem from. Unless…"

"Senior please freely speak."

"Unless you receive the guidance of Tian Mo himself!"

Hearing this, Hou Hui frowned. Quickly, however, his frown was replaced by a confident smile.

"Since senior is here, I suppose that will not be a problem."

Following that, the Ancient Sea turned silent for a brief moment.

"You already know?"

"Not only do I know, but I believe that many ancient gods had already come to that conclusion. Beside Tian Mo, who can with just a strand of divine sense create such a powerful god repelling seal? Beside Tian Mo, who can with a strand of divine sense so easily see through my concealed cultivation base? If that wasn't suspicion enough, the power of extermination you've used against Si Wang She clearly marked you as a demon god. What demon god would be willing to protect a Celestial Realm's mortal world postmortem? The answer to all those questions can only be Tian Mo!"

Hou Hui serenely replied.

"Indeed. But those who knew dared not say. Thus, the truth was lost to the ages, leaving arrogant new gods such as that Si Wang She to believe they could act unruly in my presence."

"There is still one thing I do not understand, and I hope the senior can help dispel my doubts."

"Ask and I might answer."

"I learned from ancient records that the senior's death was due to rashly attempting and failing to cross the seventh cosmic tribulation. However, that doesn't make sense. Past the sixth, gods are no longer subjected to the ordained cosmic tribulations and can live for eons should they wish to. Why then would you as the master of an era rush unprepared toward something that would very likely end your life?"

Not only was Hou Hui puzzled, but this question had puzzled many immortals and deities throughout the ages. Tian Mo's era was the only one in which the Demonic Realm reigned supreme above all others. Even the Heavenly Emperor of that time could only kneel in front of him. If he wished to, he could have conquered the three realms and become the supreme ruler, but he didn't.

Worse, only a few decades after the sixth, he hastily challenged his seventh cosmic tribulation and was obliterated. The only clue as to why was the calamity of the Ancient Sea World which closely preceded his demise.

Once again there was a brief silence, after which Tian Mo replied.

"Your cultivation base is too low to comprehend the detailed answer. But it all boils down to the heart of a woman."

Naturally, this answer did nothing to dispel Hou Hui's doubts. Why would a woman force him to cross the seventh tribulation? What was there to gain by doing so? He was already unparalleled in that era. In fact, across all eras, it would be hard to find anyone that could rival him. Anyone except…

"Enough. Once you reconstruct it, I will awaken the divine will left within the tablet and urge it to acknowledge you. That will be my thanks for saving the descendants of the Ancient Sea Country."

Four light orbs flew from the Ancient Sea and appeared in front of Hou Hui. Each contained an ordinary-looking stone engraved with peculiar carvings. Seeing them, Hou Hui beamed.

"Finally, It's time."

Thirty-two light orbs flew from Hou Hui's sea of consciousness and hovered around the four stones. Each contained a similar stone but with wildly different carvings.

"MERGE!"

Hou Hui excitedly roared, and in an explosion of holy light, the hovering thirty-six light orbs fused into a single form. It was a three meters tall stone tablet engraved with thirty-six different carvings ranging from strange animalistic shapes to strange depictions of the elements and even some forms of eldritch forces.

It didn't emit any powerful force, but Hou Hui knew it was a divine artifact in its own right that could in the right (or wrong) hands obliterate a world!

"My turn."

Tian Mo's strand of divine sense released a purple ray which dived into the Heavenly Demon stone and caused the thirty-six carvings to shine with blinding purple light.

Without warning, the purple light enveloped Hou Hui and swallowed him within the tablet!

"Aaaaaargh!"

"How much you gain depends on your talent, disposition, and good fortune."

After leaving those words, the Ancient Sea once again fell silent.

In an instant, Hou Hui was pulled into a new world.

"Hateful!"

He spat while his body crashed onto new ground. An attempt to stop his fall quickly showed that in this world, all abilities of flight were canceled. However, while that shouldn't have been able to stop him from readjusting his posture, he didn't manage to. And so, in a loud thud, he fell face-first.

"Truly unpardonably wicked!"

It was clear that a certain force was playing tricks on him. However, even if he felt wronged, he still had to behave himself and first assess the situation. His eyes quickly swept the perimeter, but he was surprised to see that as far as the eyes could see, there was only grass. Verdant light green grass gently fluttering under a soft breeze. He then tried to use his spiritual sense to scout, but it was suppressed to less than a hundred meters in diameter. Still, while he had never before encountered such suppression, he didn't lose his composure. And instead of wandering aimlessly, sat cross-legged in meditation.

"There is absolutely no qi in this world. Cultivating is impossible."

He quickly remarked. Still, he wasn't discouraged. In any case, he had already reached the peak of his realm in terms of qi accumulation. The only progress he could still make before breaking through the Great Dao Immortal realm was in his understanding of the ancient paths.

He could feel the thick concentration of six ancient paths within the atmosphere; yin, yang, life, death, truth, and darkness. As well as several other forms of power that most likely belonged to the holy path.

"I have reached the wielding threshold in the life and yin paths. However, I have yet to breakthrough due to some minor flaws in my understanding of them. Once I correct those flaws, I will achieve wielding in my four paths and become a true Four Path Immortal. This is an opportunity."

He muttered, then took a deep breath and cleansed his mind of all distractions. For him, only those who achieved law wielding could truly be called path immortals. Before wielding, it was only praise used to bolster prestige and self-esteem.

Dazzling green light gushed from Hou Hui's body and turned into a plethora of green light petals which swirled around his form.

"What is life?"

"Life is growth."

"Life is change."

"Life is breath."

"A cycle, the span of existence, emotions, and sensations. All these constitute life."

"Immortals and saints alike seek life everlasting, yet none can live forever. A beginning and an end. That is life. But can there be life without breath? Are existence, growth, change, beginning, and end enough to define life? What is life…?"

Quickly, Hou Hui fell into an inner debate on the definition of life. But while he answered and countered himself, the green light leaves grew in abundance until they covered a ninety-nine-meter radius. However, they could not cross the last meter to reach a hundred.

"The Smith ruthlessly wields his hammer, unaware of its woes. With time it erodes and ultimately shall flake away into the atmosphere. It is not capable of growth but does change under the whims of time and events. Is it life?"

The green light leaves kept multiplying and pushing until finally, they shattered the barrier preventing their growth and reached a full hundred-meter radius.

"In my Dao, let life be the collection of changes and events experienced between a beginning and an end. I shall control those events, wield those changes and decide the beginning and end!"

The plethora of green light leaves merged into a green leaf crown which softly fell around his head before dissipating into light particles. Hou Hui opened his eyes and orchids, roses, peonies, lilies, all kinds of flowers rose and bloomed in a hundred-meter radius.

"Not bad."

A mild voice echoed within his head. Then in front of him, the shadow of a human form began forming out of thin air until it solidified in the shape of a cross-legged grey robed handsome middle-aged man with long jet-black hairs and a gaze as deep and consuming as a sea of stars.

Upon seeing him, Hou Hui didn't hesitate, clasped his hands, and bowed in greeting.

"Greetings Senior."

"I was wondering why the strand of divine sense left within the Ancient Sea deemed you worthy of receiving my complete inheritance. Your talent is truly remarkable. Unfortunately, even if it is a hundred times higher unless you solve the problems within your bloodline and soul, your future is worrying."

That Tian Mo's divine will could so easily see through his core problems didn't surprise Hou Hui in the slightest. Unlike strands of divine sense which only contained a thin part of the owner's true power, divine wills were the complete inheritance of gods sealed within key artifacts. Within those artifacts, they could exercise power equal to the god's full cultivation base.

"I'm well aware of that. However, if I can complete five paths, even if I never breakthrough the Great Dao Immortal realm, I can fight gods. With six, I can defeat gods. And the senior's inheritance is an opportunity toward that level."

"Oh? Just an opportunity? Does that mean that without my inheritance you're still confident in your ability to master six ancient paths?"

"Absolutely. However, it would take a tremendous amount of time. An amount I'm not willing to spend."

Hearing this, Tian Mo sneered.

"Confidence or arrogance? It is not that I look down on you. But if mastering six paths was something a mere "tremendous amount of time" could solve, I wouldn't be the only one in the history of the three realms to have done so."

"That may be true for others, but for me that doesn't apply. Also, I'm afraid you're no longer the only one."

"In fact, in this era, we probably have two."

Hou Hui indifferently replied.

"Interesting. Very well, allow me to give you two options. If you want my inheritance that is."

"That is why I'm here."

"You can cultivate here until you master six ancient paths or choose to undergo a trial of my making. Worry not, the time here fluctuates differently from the exterior. Ten thousand years in here are only equal to one outside year."

Hou Hui was amazed. Although there was no form of qi within this world, he could still cultivate the ancient paths without having to worry about the loss of time.

"However, you will still age at the same pace and cannot avoid ordained tribulations."

That wasn't surprising. Otherwise, this artifact would simply be too heaven-defying. Still, he had no interest in ten thousand years of secluded cultivation.

"What would the trial be?"

"An experience of my life! The choices you make shall determine success and failure. If they match mines, I shall let you inherit my Immortal Demon Art! If they don't, you'll most likely die!"