193: Ancient Path of Sages

Ancient era.

Every ancient land harbored Divine Intent. After generally understanding the simulated world of the Third Game, Qin Jin began to explore its content.

He practiced martial arts on a spiritual level, continuously solidifying himself, and at the same time, he attempted to cultivate using the Heavenly Azure Method and the martial path.

However, it was impossible.

In this era, perhaps because the human race’s cultivation methods had not yet emerged, Qin Jin was completely unable to cultivate the Heavenly Azure Method in this simulated world, and the same was true for the martial path, as if his own cultivation methods were restricted by some rule.

In this era, everything was far more chaotic than in the Great Wilderness. Different species battled endlessly. Even within the Tribe, Qin Jin often saw giant beasts with wings spread, covering the sky and sun, soaring overhead, causing fear and trepidation.

The Tribe was a vassal of an ancient beast. The only fortunate thing was that this ancient beast was not bloodthirsty and cruel. Under its command, there were other smaller Tribes attached, living a hard life, but manageable, with fewer bloody incidents.

Time passed.

Although he could not cultivate, because his spirit nourished his body, Qin Jin was undoubtedly an outstanding figure among the young generation in the Tribe, with high hopes placed on him by other tribesmen.

The human race of today, although without a formally established cultivation method, did possess some means to strengthen themselves, but the upper limit was extremely low, only slightly better than nothing.

Until this day.

Guests arrived at the Tribe.

The newcomers were a team of over a hundred people, all travel-worn, appearing to have been on the road for a long time. They received a warm welcome from the Tribe.

Because of their weakness, human Tribes at this time were even more united. Even if they had never met, they would treat each other kindly. In this era of rising myriad races, one's own race was trustworthy.

The Tribe held a bonfire feast for this team.

However, halfway through the bonfire feast, the two sides parted on bad terms. After the Tribe’s chief and the leader of this team had an argument, the team left in the night.

Qin Jin chose to follow them.

He wanted to understand the detailed content of the Third Game. Faced with sudden variables, he naturally wouldn't miss it.

Without concealing his figure, Qin Jin was noticed by people in the team. This hundred-person team actively stopped and waited. Their leader, specifically, came from the front of the team to the back, meeting Qin Jin.

His face was firm, he looked middle-aged and weathered. Upon seeing Qin Jin, he spoke, “Young man, your chief mentioned you to me.”

“He said you are the most outstanding young person in the Tribe.”

“Why are you following us?”

Hearing this, Qin Jin spoke frankly, looking at the entire team, his gaze finally settling on the middle-aged man: “What are you planning to do?”

“Us?”

The man’s eyes flickered upon hearing this, his voice firm: “We are looking for a path.”

“A path that will allow the human race to no longer be weak, and no longer need to depend on others.”

He looked at Qin Jin: “I spoke to your chief about this, but he refused, unwilling to let his tribesmen join us.”

“Young man, you have your answer, go back.”

“Looking for a path, huh…”

Qin Jin took a deep breath.

After the other party uttered these words, he realized that these people were none other than the human race’s predecessors Ji Lianxing spoke of?

The word 'predecessor' carried immense significance.

These were the beings who truly cleared the path for the human race.

He vaguely gained some new understanding of the Third Game. A thought flashed, and Qin Jin said without hesitation: “Can I join you?”

“Of course.”

The man’s eyes brightened: “We welcome any fellow tribesmen who wish to join. Everyone in this team originally comes from different places.”

“Besides us, in this vast Heavenly Vault, there are other human compatriots, just like us, working towards this goal.”

“My name is [Yuan].”

“What about you, young man, what’s your name?”

Qin Jin was silent for a moment.

Then he said: “You can call me Jin.”

…Qin Jin joined the team and, together with them, began their trek across this vast Heavenly Vault.

He clearly knew everything about this cultivation path, but when he tried to explain related information, he couldn't reveal a single bit. He tried various methods, but none worked.

Evidently, this was like his inability to cultivate directly, both being rules within this Third Game.

Not only the Heavenly Azure Method, but the martial path too; the participants' own cultivation routes could not be revealed.

Unable to reveal anything, Qin Jin joined them, trekking, exploring, and communicating together.

The step from nothing to something is always the most difficult.

Their team roamed the land, and along the way, it was extremely perilous. Some sacrificed, some fell behind, and new people joined.

They encountered other teams, exchanged ideas, made various conceptual attempts, and tried them out. Some paths led nowhere, some started smoothly but then became dead ends.

Gradually.

The team’s original leader, [Yuan], grew old.

In a beautiful place, he completed the last journey of his life, without regretting it, only hoping that future generations would succeed.

[Jin] became the new leader of this team.

Knowing the true path, yet unable to tell others, was distressing. Qin Jin was a participant, but more like a witness and an experiencer.

Everything that happened here seemed to align with what Senior Zhu said in the ancient scene, that the present cannot speak of the past.

He led the team, searching for and exploring unique and strange places in the world, and like [Yuan] before him, visited human Tribes to find new [fellow travelers].

In some Tribes, many people responded, but in others, they were content with the status quo and unwilling to take risks.

Along the way, some gave up, some persevered. This was destined to be an incredibly long and arduous journey.

Gradually.

Qin Jin also “grew old.”

This was an extremely subtle feeling. His spirit remained strong, but his physical body, unable to embark on the cultivation path, began to gradually decline and age.

This was the first time Qin Jin experienced the feeling of “old.”

It was extremely unique; for him, it was also a novel experience.

The time spent in this Third Game simulated world was much longer than his actual age. After perceiving aging, Qin Jin felt a doubt in his heart.

“When his body in the simulated world dies, will the Third Game end?”

He didn’t know the answer.

But having experienced so much here, and spending day and night with his fellow companions exploring the human race's future path, Qin Jin had long since integrated into it. He thought for a moment, no matter the outcome, he had to bring this journey to an end.

So… he established a new leader for this pioneer team.

The other party was named [Huo].

An extremely fervent and magnificent name.

This was a young man who was very meticulous and serious in his dealings.

Subsequently.

Just like the original Yuan, in a strange place they had explored, Qin Jin met his end.

His physical body weakened until it withered away, showing no signs of life.

In his spiritual perception, Qin Jin saw that Huo, leading the team that had grown stronger under Qin Jin's command, bowed respectfully and then resolutely departed.

Old friends were gone, the path ahead was unclear.

They still had more important things to do.

The next moment, the spiritual perception darkened.

When it brightened again, the sound of crying came, just as it had when he first entered the Third Game.

“I’m back again?”

Qin Jin felt a doubt in his heart.

But immediately, everything he perceived spiritually confirmed that he was no longer born into the original Tribe.

This time, the Tribe he was born into had a harsh environment, relying on foreign races for survival, with many bloody incidents.

When Qin Jin grew up again and became a young man, the Tribe welcomed visitors.

The visitors and the Tribe chief conversed happily. The young men who usually performed well in the Tribe were gathered, and Qin Jin was among them.

It was here that Qin Jin clearly saw the visitors.

That was… [Huo].

He was no longer the young man Qin Jin had entrusted with responsibility; he had entered middle age. The moment he saw Qin Jin, he seemed to be in a trance and asked, “Are you willing to join us?”

“Of course.”

Qin Jin nodded, then added, “My name is Jin.”

“Jin.”

[Huo] repeated the name, a smile appearing on his weathered face: “That’s the same name as a very kind elder who treated me extremely well.”

Qin Jin embarked on a new journey… the Green Wood Temple.

On the peak of the mountain.

At the center of the chessboard, a towering divine tree stood. In the surrounding chessboard squares, figures stood, with leaves flickering with faint light before them.

From above the divine tree, streams of light shot out, forming threads connecting the divine tree and the golden leaves.

Just then.

In a corner of the chessboard, within a square, a golden leaf suddenly trembled, as if a thread was pulled. The golden leaf, carrying the person within it, abruptly detached from the chessboard and swept to the side.

Inside, it was a disciple of Green Wood Temple.

Dressed in a Daoist robe, he opened his eyes and gasped for air after detaching from the chessboard. He finally looked at the figures of the two Grandmasters at both ends of the chessboard, a hint of shame rising on his face: “This disciple has failed to live up to the Grandmasters’ expectations.”

Upon hearing this,

Axe-Wielding Ancestor and White-Eyebrow Ancestor at both ends of the chessboard shook their heads simultaneously. There was no disappointment in their expressions; instead, there was a hint of reminiscence, as if they were recalling something.

Among them,

White-Eyebrow Ancestor bowed his head, looked at the figures on the chessboard, and asked in a flat voice: “Among these people, has anyone ever passed the Third Game?”

“Yes,”

Axe-Wielding Ancestor replied, “There are disciples from our Green Wood Temple, and there are also other Human Race Heaven’s Chosen.”

“After all, the Human Race was prosperous enough at that time.”

“However, exactly who it was is a bit blurry. That was too long ago, and I never specifically recalled it.”

“Those past events are no longer important.”

“Indeed.”

White-Eyebrow Ancestor agreed, “No longer important.”

His gaze fell on a certain spot on the chessboard: “Let’s just see if, after countless years, with the Third Game restarting and the Longevity Game restarting, these new juniors who have entered the monastery can pass it.”

...Inside the Chessboard World.

Everything continued.

Qin Jin embarked on his journey once again.

Year after year, the attempts of the ancient sages continued.

They, with their weak bodies, climbed high mountains and explored deep seas.

And with their Human Race bodies, they imitated the cultivation of other races.

Extremely perilous.

The exploration of the unknown was destined for sacrifice.

New directions constantly emerged, but after investigation, they had to be abandoned for various reasons, as they were not suitable paths for the Human Race.

Until the end of the second life, a true cultivation path had still not been established.

Among the Human Race, different cultivation methods appeared, but they were far from flourishing, either because the path ahead was flawed, with an extremely low upper limit, or because there were great hidden dangers, making it impossible to guarantee one’s life during cultivation.

Qin Jin welcomed his third life.

Three lives and three generations, yet it represented a long period of time far exceeding his actual age. It was in this life that Qin Jin finally saw the prototype of the Heavenly Azure Method.

The origin of the prototype was not from the team Qin Jin was in, but from another group of Human Race ancient sages who were constantly exploring.

Based on the Human Race’s long-established methods of self-refinement, using the rare and divine objects born from heaven and earth as fuel, they melted down the fundamental and core power.

Which is... Dao Foundation!

After an exchange, when he finally learned the relevant information from the other party, Qin Jin clearly sensed that the long-standing rule restriction had loosened a bit, and he was able to cultivate.

Leading the others in the team, they embarked on this path.

Compared to the first life, this team had undergone countless blood changes, but some things were preserved, which were the gains from exploring strange lands in the past.

[Dao Foundation Realm Cultivator]

This was the first realm of the Human Race’s ancient method, but for the ancient Human Race, it was an unimaginably huge improvement.

After establishing the Dao Foundation Realm, Qin Jin made a new decision.

Continue to explore strange and unusual lands.

He could not articulate everything about cultivation in this simulated world, but in his memory, he clearly remembered the origin of the second realm’s cultivation.

There is a treasure land in the world called the Spirit Ruins. The ancient sages traveled hundreds of millions of miles to find the Spirit Ruins, to glimpse the Spirit Ruins, to compare with the Spirit Ruins, and thus, using it as a source, opened up the second great realm.

Spirit Void Realm.

This was everything that had been established.

The team embarked on their journey again.

Heaven and earth are vast, with no end in sight.

One life after another.

After an unknown period of time, the Human Race ancient sages found the Spirit Ruins, and after diligent study, gradually established the second realm.

More and more people saw the extraordinary nature of this path and joined it.

At first, Qin Jin’s spirit was strong, and he always remembered that he was in the simulated world of the Third Game. But as time passed, the long years of life after life made his spirit seem to be covered in dust, gradually integrating into it.

He knew his name was [Jin], and he knew he was exploring the path ahead for the Human Race. His other memories began to gradually fade.

Time will make everything vanish.

Until.

When he [reincarnated] again, and the Human Race’s ancient method broke through another realm, amidst the celebration, he, in a trance, saw a mysterious existence.

It was a golden-armored Divine General, over ten meters tall, majestic and extraordinary. But at this moment, his body was already illusory, his armor dim, but his face remained resolute, reflected in Qin Jin’s heart, meeting Qin Jin’s gaze.

The moment he looked at him, it was as if a thunderclap exploded in his heart. Qin Jin suddenly regained consciousness, and his spirit, which had been clouded by the long passage of time, returned to normal.

“I am Qin Jin.”

“I am participating in the Third Game of the Great Desolate Ancient Land.”

“Could it be that this is the true test of the Third Game?”

“Life after life, an incredibly long period of time, which can even cause one to lose oneself.”

“Martial Divine Intent, when I was about to lose myself, when my self was damaged, it issued a warning.”

The Third Game had not ended. After he regained consciousness, the illusory state around the Divine Intent returned to normal, and it even seemed to have grown.

Qin Jin took a deep breath, warned himself, and continued to participate in it... Outside.

As time passed, more and more figures left the chessboard. On the chessboard, only a few figures remained.

The gazes of the two Grandmasters were both focused on one spot.

That was where Qin Jin was located.

At this moment, the golden leaf in front of him trembled, but after a moment, it did not undergo further changes and actually stabilized again.

“He did not get lost.”

Axe-Wielding Ancestor’s voice sounded, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Qin Jin: “A very subtle method.”

“When he was on the verge of losing himself and being eliminated, he actually had his own intent to warn him.”

“Soul and flesh, there will always be times of confusion, unable to be immortal. Only intent can last forever, truly subtle.”

Across the chessboard.

White-Eyebrow Ancestor’s eyes showed a hint of appreciation: “To be able to awaken from being lost, and with the help of [Intent], this Longevity Game will only be a smooth path for him from now on.”

“In that case, let’s speed up the process. Once he has accumulated enough, we will end this game.”

“Agreed.”

In response, the two Grandmasters reached out and pointed at the void.

With a single point, lines emerged on the golden leaf in front of Qin Jin.

Qin Jin was unaware of this scene, but within the Third Game, he was continuing life after life, witnessing the establishment of the Human Race’s cultivation method.

Time passed.

At a certain moment, the golden leaf shone brightly, and Qin Jin himself was enveloped in light, leaving the chessboard square and arriving at the center of the chessboard, standing beneath the divine tree.

His eyelids fluttered a few times, then opened.

There was no ripple in his eyes.

At this moment, Qin Jin seemed to have a sense of purity, as if washed clean of all superficiality.

At the same time.

In his mental space, the Divine Intent stood tall and majestic. Amidst the fluctuations of its aura, it actually began to grow.

This Third Game indirectly promoted the improvement of his Divine Intent.

The improvement of the Divine Intent continued. In Qin Jin’s mind, the memories of witnessing the birth of the Human Race’s cultivation method over countless lives were somewhat illusory. With a sense of awareness, he raised his hand, palm upwards.

The golden leaf fell and landed in his hand.

The patterns on it were dense and extremely complex.

Qin Jin’s gaze lingered on the leaf.

He could sense that his memories from the Third Game were engraved on this leaf.

“You are still young.”

Above, Axe-Wielding Ancestor’s rough voice sounded: “These memories stored in the Third Game will have a certain impact on you. I have engraved them on this leaf. If you need them, you can browse them at any time and use them as nourishment to improve yourself.”

Qin Jin nodded.

Everything was like a dream, but his own improvement, and the spirit of the Human Race ancient sages in the dream who never gave up and explored the path ahead, could not be faked.

“Little friend.”

White-Eyebrow Ancestor’s voice sounded at this moment: “Congratulations, you have successfully passed the Longevity Game.”

“Longevity Game?”

Qin Jin’s gaze sharpened.

His memories were already illusory, but the impression was deep. Thinking of those lives after lives, this indeed could be called an alternative form of longevity.

He looked up, the branches of the divine tree hanging by his side.

Looking at the two Grandmasters, Qin Jin was about to ask a question when his voice stopped.

Under his gaze,

the two vast figures of Axe-Wielding Ancestor and White-Eyebrow Ancestor at both ends of the chessboard actually swept towards the center at this moment. Under Qin Jin’s gaze, they... merged into one.

Perhaps.

These two Grandmasters were originally the same person!