144: Chapter 144 My Path Lies Beneath My Feet

In the days that followed, Xiao Nannan went to visit her brother every day.

A month passed quietly in the Undying Mountain.

For a Mortal, a month is enough to change many things; for a Cultivator, it is but a snap of the fingers. But for Chu Tianjiao, this month was incomparably precious.

He sat cross-legged under the ancient tea tree of enlightenment, closing his eyes to concentrate.

The fragrance of tea curled around him, and the rhythm of the Dao flowed. Leaves of enlightenment tea swayed gently in the night breeze, scattering specks of Great Dao radiance. These specks fell upon him, merging into his Law and helping him deduce the path ahead.

Immortal King Titan.

That was his current goal.

Between a Peak Immortal King and an Immortal King Titan, there seems to be only a step's distance, but in reality, they are worlds apart. A Peak Immortal King is the ticket to ascending to an Immortal King Titan, while an Immortal King Titan is one of the very few Immortal Kings who has truly touched the threshold of a higher level.

Willow Deity is an Immortal King Titan.

Although she was heavily injured in the Boundary Sea and almost annihilated in body and spirit after self-detonating, her foundation, her Dao Laws, and her understanding of the Great Dao were far above Chu Tianjiao's. That was the accumulation of countless years, the precipitation of countless life-and-death battles.

Chu Tianjiao needed time.

He needed to comprehend the Dao.

He needed to find his own path.

His Dao, at the very beginning, was the Dao of Hegemony.

Starting from his enlightenment at eight hundred years old, he had swept across everything, tearing Supremes apart with his bare hands, suppressing restricted areas, and living life after life. His blade, his fist, and his will were the purest and most direct form of hegemony.

But hegemony also has an end.

Blindly pursuing rigid strength would eventually reach a limit.

He needed to incorporate more things into that hegemony.

Such as—

Protection.

Such as—

Karma.

Such as—

Those eight hundred thousand years of waiting and watching.

Chu Tianjiao opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the Lingxu Cave-Heaven.

There, he had his Disciple, there was her brother, and there was the future that countless people looked forward to.

A faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"No rush."

He said softly.

"Take it slow."

---

Lingxu Cave-Heaven.

Xiao Nannan was still sitting on the branch of that big tree, hidden among the lush leaves, quietly watching the thatched cottage below.

It had been a month.

She had watched like this for a month.

Watching by day, watching by night, through wind and rain.

For her, this month had passed in a flash. Every day, watching Ye Fan walk out of the thatched cottage, watching him move about in the courtyard, watching him sit and Cultivate, watching his Qi grow stronger day by day—

This was the happiest time she had known in eight hundred thousand years.

Although she could not reveal herself, although she could not get close, although she could only watch from afar.

But it was enough.

Truly enough.

As long as her brother was well, it was enough.

On this day, Xiao Nannan was leaning against the tree trunk, her gaze fixed on the figure sitting cross-legged in the thatched cottage, when she suddenly felt something.

She tilted her head slightly and looked at the Void Realm beside her.

There, a familiar figure quietly emerged.

Black hair and black eyes, a handsome face, and a faint smile playing on the corners of his mouth.

Chu Tianjiao.

"Teacher!"

Xiao Nannan's eyes lit up instantly, and a brilliant smile bloomed on her face. She instinctively wanted to get up, but was gently pressed down by Chu Tianjiao.

"Don't move."

Chu Tianjiao said softly, sitting down beside her.

The two sat side by side on the thick branch, looking through the dense leaves at the simple thatched cottage below.

Xiao Nannan leaned on his shoulder, her eyes full of tenderness.

"Why is Teacher here?"

She asked softly.

Chu Tianjiao smiled.

"I came to see you. And to see him."

His gaze fell on the figure sitting cross-legged in the thatched cottage, a hint of complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

Ye Fan was Cultivating.

He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his Qi flowing around him, and a golden Wheel Sea churning within his body. Those golden waves were becoming more and more turbulent, more and more surging, as if they would break through some boundary at any moment.

Chu Tianjiao's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Oh?"

He gave a soft exclamation, his gaze becoming focused.

Xiao Nannan also noticed that something was wrong.

"Teacher, brother he..."

Her voice carried a hint of surprise and uncertainty.

"Isn't he building the Divine Bridge? Why is his Qi..."

Chu Tianjiao did not answer immediately.

He just watched quietly, light flickering in his eyes.

---

Inside the thatched cottage, Ye Fan was in a mysterious state.

His consciousness was immersed in that golden Wheel Sea, surrounded by boundless golden waves, with a similarly golden sky overhead. He could not distinguish direction, and he could not see the end.

This was his inner world.

It was a necessary place on his path of cultivation.

Divine Bridge Realm.

The third stage of the Wheel Sea Secret Realm required one to build a Divine Bridge with will and power above one's own Wheel Sea, crossing that vast ocean to reach the other shore.

Ye Fan had already tried countless times above the Wheel Sea.

He had tried to build a bridge using the techniques from the Dao Scripture, but the bridge would be shattered by a giant wave as soon as it formed.

He had tried to condense a Divine Bridge with his own will, but the Divine Bridge hung in mid-air, unable to reach the other shore.

He had tried countless methods, countless possibilities.

All failed.

The golden Wheel Sea was too vast, boundless. No matter how long a bridge he built, he could not see the shadow of the other shore.

"Why..."

Ye Fan stood above the Wheel Sea, looking at the churning golden ocean beneath his feet, his brows furrowed tightly.

He did not know how many times he had tried.

Perhaps ten times, perhaps a hundred times, perhaps a thousand times.

Each time ended in failure.

But he did not give up.

He sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, closed his eyes, and began to think.

The Dao Scripture says that the Divine Bridge is the necessary path to the other shore. Only by building a Divine Bridge that is strong enough and long enough can one cross the Wheel Sea and reach the other shore.

But what if—

What if the Wheel Sea has no other shore at all?

What if the so-called other shore does not exist?

As soon as this thought appeared, Ye Fan was stunned.

He opened his eyes, looked at the boundless golden ocean beneath his feet, and fell into deep thought.

What is the other shore?

It is the other side of the Wheel Sea, the end of the Wheel Sea Realm, the necessary path to the next Secret Realm.

But what if the other shore does not exist?

What if the Wheel Sea itself is everything?

He stood up and looked into the distance.

There, it was still golden waves, still boundless.

No other shore.

Nothing at all.

Ye Fan took a deep breath, and a bold thought emerged in his mind.

Why must he build a Divine Bridge?

This Wheel Sea was his own.

It was created by him, nurtured by him, and he had walked here step by step.

Since it is himself, why can't he just walk on it?

Why must he build some bridge in the air?

He took a step.

His foot landed on the golden surface of the sea.

It did not sink.

He stood on the Wheel Sea just like that, the golden waves churning beneath his feet, yet they did not swallow him.

Ye Fan was stunned.

He looked down at his feet, looked at the golden sea surface beneath his feet, and a flash of realization crossed his eyes.

So that's how it is.

The so-called Wheel Sea, the so-called other shore, the so-called bridge—

All were delusions.

The real path has never been in the sky.

But beneath one's feet.