Investigation, how to investigate?

Simply go there?

Definitely not.

Although this world is special, with Seventh Realm cultivators possessing the ability to transcend realms, theoretically they could ascend to the Immortal Realm, or travel to other domains, theory is just theory; reality involves many other considerations.

First of all, there’s the danger.

Putting aside the process of breaking through a realm, let’s talk about what comes after that.

What’s the situation in that world, what kinds of forces are present, what sorts of creatures, what kind of culture, what is the attitude toward outsiders, ascenders, and are there any relevant mechanisms…

These are all issues that need to be considered.

If this is the case even for ordinary ascenders, as the master of the Wandao School, a revered Taoist Monarch of this era, Xu Yang has even more to consider.

He must take responsibility for this world, for the Wandao School, and for the hundreds of millions of people under his governance.

Therefore, while he must discover the situation and intentions of this “Demon World” and confirm whether they pose a threat to the World of Dao and Law, he cannot personally venture there, as his presence is the foundation of the Wandao School.

Without his Skill Traits and Earth Deity Mystical Skills, relying only on using talismans to feign cultivation and mana to cultivate crops, the productivity could not possibly meet the survival needs of thirty billion people.

No one can live on thin air, and if the necessities for survival are not met, the system established by the Wandao School will inevitably collapse. Under the ensuing chain reaction, a massacre and doomsday scenario will surely arise in this prosperous age of Daoism.

Xu Yang cannot take this risk; his “Taoist Monarch” must not suffer any loss at the moment; he cannot even leave the World of Dao and Law.

If the true body cannot act, then the avatar must step in.

Xu Yang, leading the Four Great Celestial Masters, stepped into the Heaven Injury Demon Scar and arrived at a sealed area.

The seal bore nine talismans, each formed from condensed lightning, like the imprint of heaven and earth, sealing a flaw in the void.

It was precisely the space-time anomaly formed by the collapse at that time.

Xu Yang raised his hand, and an object emitted light; it was a Spiritual Pearl.

Within the Spiritual Pearl, one could vaguely see a person, a young man, in a deep slumber.

This was… Xu Yang’s avatar.

The Method of Avatar is also an Art of Divine Abilities.

In the real world, within the Cultivation system, there is the “Second Nascent Soul” technique, which can split a cultivator in two, and then refine a piece of spiritual object or a fourth-tier Spiritual Treasure to obtain a Nascent Soul avatar.

This body has infinite uses, nearly equivalent to another self. Whether it is in cultivation and enlightenment, in practicing spells or battling, it provides significant aid, and when necessary, can be thrown out to take the hit, or serve as a foundation for rebuilding life after death.

Xu Yang, having destroyed the practitioners of the Tianshu Sect, though he did not obtain the most precious Big Dipper Immortal Legend, the Tianshu Mystical Skills, did find a few Second Nascent Soul cultivation methods among the storage bags of those few unlucky ones.

If the Cultivation system has the Second Nascent Soul, the World of Dao and Law also has its own unique techniques; Taoist Yin God, which can leave the body and snatch others, manipulate ghosts and spirits, Yang God Gold Core, Daoist Celestial Masters can even “Hold the Way of Heaven!”

Xu Yang combined the two, according to his own situation and needs, took the essence and discarded the dregs, and after ten years, finally innovated, creating a special Method of Avatar, or rather… Body Snatching Skill.

Yang God Spirit Divorce and Splitting Method!

Utilizing the Nascent Soul separation technique, he split his Yang God Taoism into two, injecting one into a fleshly body, controlling it much like operating a Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor.

Compared to the second Nascent Soul, this Yang God Spirit Divorce and Splitting Method may still be in its early stages, but it possesses immense advantages.

First is the quantity. The second Nascent Soul involves splitting the Nascent Soul, the cultivator’s foundation of life, therefore the quantity naturally isn’t high. To split once is already the limit; any more would damage the foundation of life, and the benefits would not outweigh the loss even if successful.

The Yang God Taoism is different. Although it also constitutes the foundation of a cultivator’s training, after separation, the Divine Soul will be injured, but this damage can be repaired—at least Xu Yang can do so.

According to his calculations, as long as he recuperates for a hundred years, he can split off a Yang God without any loss.

One every hundred years, ten in a thousand years, a hundred in ten thousand years.

Though during this time, his cultivation speed would be hampered, with most of his energy dedicated to nurturing the Divine Soul, before the Divinity Transformation method and higher-level Great Rituals are derived, there isn’t much room for advancement in his cultivation anyway, so cultivating or not wouldn’t make a big difference.

As a Daoist Celestial Master and an Earth Deity God Monarch, lifespan and time are no longer constraints to him; he could fully afford to spend a few thousand years to refine dozens of Yang God avatars, essentially working for himself.

This represents the advantage in quantity.

Moreover, there’s an advantage in materials.

For the second Nascent Soul, the choice of materials is crucial, as it determines future development and the potential limit. At the very least, it requires fourth-tier Spiritual Objects or Spiritual Treasures if possible.

Although there are secret techniques that can refine the Nascent Soul, Golden Core, or even the physical body of other cultivators into a second Nascent Soul, most of them are of poor quality, with limited potential, not to mention numerous hidden dangers.

For the second Nascent Soul, which can only be split once, a cultivator’s choice would naturally be the best of the best, using Spiritual Treasures if possible, or at the very least a fourth-tier Spiritual Object.

But Xu Yang doesn’t need to. He has many, even countless opportunities to lower his standards in choosing materials, even starting from scratch by snatching the body of an ordinary person to serve as the vessel for the Yang God.

These are the advantages of his Yang God Spirit Divorce and Splitting Method over the second Nascent Soul in the world of cultivation.

But with advantages come disadvantages.

And that is… hidden dangers!

The new method has not been tested and is bound to have hidden flaws or even fatal defects.

Furthermore, the method of the second Nascent Soul and the art of spirit-mind division inherently carry a certain risk.

Second Nascent Souls rebelling or causing trouble, betraying their original selves or even bringing them down, are not uncommon in the Cultivation World.

But Xu Yang doesn’t care, because he never intended for his real-world true self to practice this immature method.

If the true self doesn’t cultivate it, all other avatars are but Zhuangzi’s dream of a butterfly, divinely traveling through worlds. Even if some problems arise, it’s nothing more than the dissipation of the Dao and the death of the body. He could simply start over.

Xu Yang doesn’t believe that his newly created avatar technique could outweigh Zhuangzi’s dream, affect the true self of the real world, or inherit his Attribute Panel or Skill Traits to create another self.

As long as the true self remains intact, all problems are nothing more than a new beginning. What’s there to fear?

Therefore, Xu Yang decisively began his practice and successfully refined a Yang God avatar, which is now the young man within the Spiritual Pearl.

This body, this physical form, is that of a living flesh and blood being.

Indeed, Xu Yang refined a living person into his own Yang God avatar.

But he doesn’t feel any burden, because this is the utilization of waste.

Although his teacher skill comes with the “Moral Cultivation” trait, and the Wandao School places exceptional importance on the cultivators’ moral conduct—cultivating it from a young age, even establishing behavior credits and professional moral evaluations—one has to admit, some scoundrels are just born bad!

Moreover, Xu Yang was conducting research on the Cultivation system and had introduced the Yuan Spirit Cultivation method, which did not strictly limit moral character. Inevitably, there emerged some law-breaking Cultivators who committed evil deeds and acted violently.

Although there were no external enemies in the World of Dao and Law at the moment, Xu Yang did not indulge such individuals. He captured each one that emerged and took them to conduct experiments.

According to the judgment of the Wandao School, such people could no longer be considered human; they belonged to the Demon race.

Since they were considered Demons, they could be used for live experiments, and there were no ethical issues involved.

While not restricting the materials, Xu Yang still meticulously selected candidates for his first Yang God avatar.

In selecting, he only looked at potential, not cultivation.

Because regardless of their level of Cultivation, Xu Yang intended to refine it into nothingness.

After all, he planned to “deploy” this avatar to the Demon World.

Breaking the realm was like diving; the larger the size, the greater the disturbance.

A hundred years ago, the spatial anomalies in the East Sea originated from a Deity Transformation level demon.

A Deity Transformation level demon caused only an extramundane disturbance without truly breaking through the realm.

Even so, it awoke Xu Yang, who had been submerged in reality and focused on the present. Without even opening the “Admiring Eye of Heaven,” he perceived the secrets of the heavens and rushed to the scene, discovering the spatial rift.

One can imagine the scale of that commotion.

This was also why Xu Yang’s true body could not personally go.

He might not fully understand the situation of this Demon World, but the source of the Demonic Qi he had drawn from was at least a Deity Transformation level Demon Head.

If there were beings at the level of Deity Transformation, could there be those at the Return to Void level?

Above Return to Void, might there be Integration?

And above Integration, could there be Mahayana?

And possibly, above Mahayana, Demon Gods comparable to Immortal Gods…

If his true body were to go, the commotion it would cause would definitely alert the great powers of the Demon World.

The moment he appeared, he’d likely be met with a direct and severe attack. After all, the “Escaping One” could only mask things on the level of heavenly secrets, unable to eliminate other traces. The significant disturbance caused by breaking through the realm could not possibly deceive the heavens.

Therefore, the true body could not go; only an avatar could be sent—an avatar without the slightest bit of Cultivation could minimize the noise of breaking through the realm.

When Pudu Cihang first came to this world, it probably was just a small centipede, average in Cultivation, or even without any Cultivation at all.

Cultivation wasn’t important; potential was what mattered.

The person Xu Yang had chosen was not some high-grade Heavenly Spirit or Saintly Immortal Fetus, but he suited Xu Yang’s desires perfectly, just right for an experiment.

So…

With a wave of Xu Yang’s sleeve, the thunder startled away, and nine Thunder Electric Talismans instantly unveiled, revealing a spatial rift akin to a black hole.

Upper Realm!

Outside World!

Immortal Realm!

In the current world, a decade passes, but in dreams, a thousand years go by. The Wandao School had again sent nearly a thousand Seventh Realm Cultivators to ascend to the legendary Immortal Gods’ Upper Realm.

Yet, it was like casting clay oxen into the sea, with no news returning.

No messages came back, and not a single person returned.

Therefore, what the Upper Realm was like, Xu Yang and the Wandao School still did not understand to this day; they only vaguely grasped the process of ascension and the circumstances beyond the realm.

To ascend, one must shatter the void, which is the spatial boundary.

And outside the spatial boundary lies the void, much like chaos itself.

Although not the true Chaos, it was still perilous, and one needed to be protected by mana to navigate and roam freely.

Within the void, the different realms stand separate, like stars in the universe, countless as the grains of sand.

With enough power to break through their barriers or be guided from within, you can enter these realms.

It is said that Ancient Immortal Gods left their marks beyond the worlds. If Cultivators of this world connect with them, they can receive the guidance of immortal power and directly ascend to the Immortal Realm.

This is the ordinary process of world traversal.

But occasionally, there are accidents.

Like when two worlds are adjacent, connected, or overlapping.

In such cases, one doesn’t need to exert energy to move through chaos. They can directly cross the space between two worlds.

Currently, due to the spatial disruption a hundred years ago, the World of Dao and Law became neighbors with the Demon World.

The two worlds clung closely together, and based on current trends, there was even a possibility for them to connect, overlap, and fuse together.

What might happen then, Xu Yang could not predict.

But one thing he was certain of: Demons are not friendly to humans, and the billions of beings under the care of his Wandao School were even less safe.

He must take preemptive action!

Thus, without hesitation, Xu Yang unleashed a bolt of lightning, wrapped around a Spiritual Pearl, and cast it into the black hole.

The lightning-protected Spiritual Pearl was just an outer layer of defense, shielding the avatar during its passage. Though it held a certain amount of power, compared to the true body’s commotion, it was tens of millions of times smaller, so there was still a chance of successful passage without detection.

Of course, there was also a chance of failure, falling into the hands of Demons, leaving no choice but to go back and retrain an avatar and make another attempt a hundred years later.

As the lightning-protected Spiritual Pearl was sent forth, Xu Yang concentrated, sensing the position of his avatar.

In just an instant, he felt everything overturned, space and time in disarray and chaos.

In the midst of inversion, a colossal force shattered the lightning-protected Spiritual Pearl.

A mortal body, entering within, perceiving the energies of heaven and earth, came to realize…

“This world… has been tainted!”