Elder He had more or less regained his composure. After a moment of shock, he took a deep breath and asked: "Young Master Jiang Chen, if that is the case, then this 'Supreme Heavenly Dao'—could it mean..."
Jiang Chen nodded without hesitation: "Yes. That senior said that if this text can be fully comprehended, one could at least cultivate to the peak of the Heaven-rank. Those with sufficient destiny might even be able to break through the Material Plane and ascend to a higher plane of existence, achieving a greater state of life."
Even someone like Elder He trembled at these words, his eyes blazing with intensity as he pressed further: "That senior... did he say what lies beyond the Heaven-rank?"
"Above the Heaven-rank is the Divine Path. The Divine Path means cultivating both the soul and the body to a state of communion with the divine. Upon entering the Divine Path, aside from the Three Calamities and Six Tribulations, there is virtually no limit to one's lifespan. One can be said to share the longevity of heaven and earth, to shine alongside the sun and moon."
In truth, all of this was common knowledge to Jiang Chen from his previous life. He had been the son of the Heavenly Emperor of the Myriad Heavens Grand Plane—a position of supreme authority, second to none. Everything he had seen and heard was a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times beyond what this Divine Abyss Continent could offer.
So whenever Jiang Chen casually drew upon knowledge from his past life, it was more than enough to awe these reclusive powerhouses of the human domain.
Sure enough, upon hearing his words, every one of them quickened their breathing, their expressions shifting unnaturally. In that moment, apart from Elder He, every Heaven-rank powerhouse before Jiang Chen suddenly felt a pang of inadequacy.
They suddenly realized that the young man speaking so eloquently before them could truly stand as their equal—or even above them.
Setting aside everything else, the way they felt in that very moment placed them firmly in the weaker position. They were the ones craving for Jiang Chen to share the "Supreme Heavenly Dao" with them.
Wasn't that, to some extent, exactly how young cultivators felt when they yearned for guidance from their seniors?
At this level, they were already at a disadvantage.
And this was precisely the effect Jiang Chen had wanted to achieve.
He knew that trying to subdue these people through raw power or martial force, forcing them into obedient submission, would not be easy.
But leveraging his knowledge, his experience, and that fictitious "senior expert" as borrowed prestige—that carried tremendous deterrent power. A senior who could casually produce a technique like the "Supreme Heavenly Dao"—how could his strength be lacking? Could he possibly be weaker than ordinary Heaven-rank cultivators?
Elder He sighed: "The Divine Path... As expected, the Heavenly Dao is boundless. Beyond the Heaven-rank lies the ethereal Divine Path. It is said that gods are immortal and deathless, dwelling in eternal worlds, enjoying the endless pleasures of immortality. Speaking of it, it truly is envy-inducing. That is the perfect state of life."
Heaven-rank powerhouses were already formidable.
But even they were subject to the limits of lifespan. When the appointed time came, even a Heaven-rank powerhouse would die, no matter what.
To mortals, Heaven-rank powerhouses seemed practically immortal. But in truth, they were far from achieving true immortality.
Jiang Chen smiled: "Nothing is truly immortal and deathless. Gods face the Three Calamities and Six Tribulations as well. Their mortality rate is equally high—no lower than that of mortal martial artists, in fact."
"Oh?"
Everyone grew curious. If gods were already immortal and deathless, how could they have such a high mortality rate? Were the Three Calamities and Six Tribulations really that powerful?
Jiang Chen chuckled: "Of course, this is all what that senior told me. When I was young, I was curious too—I asked him whether gods were truly ageless and undying."
"What did the old gentleman say?" Elder He asked with interest.
"He said that the Heavenly Dao operates on cycles of rise and fall, and between life and death, there are natural laws. There is no absolute immortality. Of course, if a god successfully survives the Three Calamities and Six Tribulations, then yes, they can truly share the longevity of heaven and earth and shine alongside the sun and moon. However, the world of gods also has wars, conflicts, and slaughter. The death rate in battles between gods is not low either. Otherwise, no matter how vast the Myriad Heavens worlds might be, they could not possibly contain an endless number of immortal gods."
Everyone listened with their mouths agape, utterly dumbfounded by Jiang Chen's account, like frogs at the bottom of a well.
Elder He sighed: "Matters of the gods... this old man dares not speak carelessly. However, I am now rather curious—that senior who guided you, I wonder what his cultivation level might be..."
"His cultivation is far beyond all of you. I can be certain of that. His aura, his bearing—clearly, he existed on an entirely different plane from me and from all of you. The gap was unmistakable. As for his exact level of cultivation, I never dared to ask. And I am afraid there will be no opportunity to ask now."
None of them felt any resentment at these words.
A figure capable of producing a technique like the "Supreme Heavenly Dao"—of course he would be stronger than them. They half-suspected that the mysterious expert might be a being approaching the realm of the gods themselves.
Otherwise, how could he have nurtured a monster like Jiang Chen in such a short time?
Only gods possessed such transformative, heaven-defying abilities. Ordinary people simply didn't have that kind of power.
Even Elder He admitted to himself that if he were tasked with cultivating a young mortal, in such a short time he wouldn't even reach a third of what Jiang Chen had achieved.