Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-716

The voice traveled along a thread of Karma into Tang Jie's mind.

Fate was a web that covered the entire Great Stellar Chiliocosm.

Any person who could pull on this web could use the countless threads of Karma to transmit their will, even power!

All that was needed was the coordinates.

Tang Jie was able to communicate with the Rosecloud Domain thanks to the point of Fate light and the thread of Karma in Little Three's body.

As for the current situation, this was clearly possible because Tang Jie had become a core of the Verdant Cloud Domain's Web of Fate.

There were few such cores, so a new one popping up would undoubtedly draw attention and have someone try to communicate.

As the threads of Fate vibrated, a wise and elderly consciousness resounded within Tang Jie's mind.

Tang Jie froze for a moment, and then he said in realization, "Reverend Seer?"

In the Verdant Cloud Domain, perhaps the only person who understood how to use the Dao of Fate to such a profound level was the legendary third Violet Palace cultivator of humanity, Reverend Seer.

But Tang Jie hadn't expected that he had taken the path of Fate Entanglement.

The elderly voice chuckled. "That it is. What should I call you, young friend?"

After some thought, Tang Jie replied, "Tang Jie."

"Oh, so it's Young Friend Tang Jie." Reverend Seer had clearly heard of Tang Jie before. "It's no wonder I haven't heard about you in the last few decades. It turns out that you were experiencing mortal life in all its flavors. Mm, it seems like fifty-some years have passed since your disappearance. Young friend, I didn't think that you would get this far in such little time. Truly, you are overflowing with talent. Back then, it took me 150 years of traveling, being everything from a street peddler to a wealthy merchant, performing countless good deeds and accumulating endless virtue. Only then was I able to be entangled by Fate and receive the protection of the Heavenly Dao."

Tang Jie wasn't surprised to hear this. The existence of the Fate Standard had allowed him to avoid many wrong paths. The Fate Standard had made the mysterious Dao of Fate less mysterious, turning it into something he could research and comprehend. In addition, he had entered the Dao of Wisdom. The Web of Fate, with all of its complex interactions, made it difficult for many people to know where to start, even if they had comprehended Fate. They wanted to pull on the Web of Fate to reach their goal, but they didn't even know where to begin. It was like putting a piano in front of someone who didn't know how to play it. But thanks to Wisdom, Tang Jie could rapidly calculate the route, making him far more efficient than others. Finally, his act of upgrading farming tools to make life better for the people seemed simple, but it had enormous effects, enough to match all of the good deeds of Reverend Seer.

What he truly found strange was that Reverend Seer didn't seem to know that there were other paths on which Fate could develop. From the very start, he was standing on the path of being entangled by Fate and protected by the Heavenly Dao.

After giving this some thought, Tang Jie cautiously said, "This junior didn't have an easy time getting here. Exploring the path of Fate is fraught with dangers and detours. This junior almost took the wrong path several times, for which there would be no turning back."

Reverend Seer immediately agreed, "Indeed, indeed! Fate is number one of the 12 Great Daos, a reflection of the secrets of the heavens and beyond all estimation. This old man also went astray several times. Fortunately, I managed to get back on the right path and finally get to this point."

Tang Jie frowned even more.

Whether it was weaving the Web of Fate, choosing a Child of Fate, or entangling oneself in the Web of Fate, they were all different methods of understanding and using the Dao of Fate, none of them above or below the others.

But if one had to insist on it, then weaving the Web of Fate and establishing one's own world was of the highest level, for it was essentially transcending the world and creating a new Fate. At its utmost, one could even simulate the Heavenly Dao. Of course, this was the most difficult. Tang Jie had spent twenty years on the Hulunta Grasslands to establish a Web of Fate, but the world's Fate had only needed ten days to assimilate it.

Entangling with Fate would definitely be the lowest level. As a person in the web, even if they were protected by Fate, they were also limited by Fate. Fortune was made by the heavens while belief came from the people. Neither of them relied on the self.

So why was Reverend Seer focused only on this point?

Tang Jie respectfully asked, "This junior is ignorant and was able to get this far thanks mostly to luck. But how did Reverend know which direction to go in?"

"Eh?" Reverend Seer sounded surprised. "Did you not heed the guidance of Fate to come this far?"

"'The guidance of Fate'?" Tang Jie was startled.

What the hell was that?

Tang Jie carefully replied, "When this junior was cultivating, he would occasionally get a strange feeling, as if something was reminding me, calling me, telling me what I should do. But I only took this for a misperception. Are you saying…"

Reverend Seer laughed. "That was it! This is the guidance of Fate. Those who comprehend Fate have only two paths that they can walk: to obey the heavens and comply with Fate, or to go against the heavens and change Fate. The guidance of Fate is the will of the heavens, the Heavenly Dao. To comply with it is to obey the heavens, earning its protection. As for other paths, they are all incorrect, going against the heavens, which will incur celestial punishment and should be avoided at all costs. Fortunately, young friend, you understood what was right and stopped yourself from stepping on the wrong path."

"So that's what was happening." Tang Jie understood.

Putting aside the question of what exactly the guidance of Fate was, Reverend Seer was right that being entangled by Fate was complying with the will of the heavens.

One was already wrapped up tightly in the web, so how could one possibly resist the arrangements of Fate?

As someone blessed by Fate, one was bound to be ensnared by Fate. Any attempt to escape the Web of Fate would earn the displeasure of Fate.

It was no wonder Reverend Seer had said that this path was correct. When he was researching Fate, he had been influenced by Fate.

But why hadn't Tang Jie felt the guidance of Fate?

Tang Jie racked his mind and came up with a reason: he wasn't a native of the Verdant Cloud Domain.

But that still didn't make sense.

The Web of Fate covered all of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm, and while each domain would be somewhat different, they were generally all the same. For example, they all had humans and had the same kind of cultivation system. This was all the work of the Web of Fate. The different domains might differ in language, specialties, and lifeforms, and other small details, but nothing that influenced the greater picture.

If the guidance of Fate actually existed, it should have been found throughout the Great Stellar Chiliocosm, not just the Verdant Cloud Domain.

Thus, there was no reason for him to be unaffected just because he was an outsider.

Then, what was the actual reason?

Tang Jie didn't know.

He didn't know if this was a problem with him or a problem with the Verdant Cloud Domain.

Reverend Seer remained excited and began to discuss Fate with Tang Jie. While Reverend Seer had entered the Dao of Fate and successfully become entangled by Fate, he had never found anyone in the Web of Fate that he could converse with before now.

The others, like Feng Wuxiang or the Aurora Fiend Emperor, had not entered the Dao of Fate. Although they were entangled by Fate and were protected by it, they could not pull on the threads of Fate and speak with him in the web. As for those people in other domains of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm who had entered the Dao of Fate, they were too far, so it was difficult to establish their exact coordinates.

Finally, a second person who could walk the Web of Fate had appeared in the Verdant Cloud Domain, so how could Reverend Seer not be excited? He was reluctant to let Tang Jie leave.

Starting from this day, Tang Jie would discuss the Dao with Reverend Seer whenever he was free.

The Dao of Fate was profound and abstruse, difficult to explain. Even after sixty years of experiencing human life, Tang Jie found it difficult to describe its principles. Reverend Seer had cultivated for a thousand years. He had comprehended the Dao seven hundred years ago and entered the Dao four hundred and fifty years ago, experiencing all sorts of life and comprehending countless things. Conversing with him was very beneficial to Tang Jie. Of course, Reverend Seer also gained from Tang Jie the sort of spirit and daring unique to youth. There were many things which Reverend Seer didn't dare to attempt that Tang Jie did. While Reverend Seer gave Tang Jie abundant experience and a fruitful past, Tang Jie gave Reverend Seer an unconventional imagination and a limitless future.

Another ten years passed like this.

Tang Jie's farming tools had spread throughout Fengshan.

Besides this, through his research, he managed to invent glass, improve papermaking, and invent the movable type printing press. In short, so long as it wasn't anything too complex, he could develop it and bring it to the masses to enrich their lives.

The living standards of the Verdant Cloud Domain began to rise, and more and more Fates became entangled with Tang Jie. As they wrapped around him more tightly, they became more difficult to escape, but at the same time, Tang Jie was able to get a clearer and clearer picture of the Verdant Cloud Domain's Web of Fate.

But Tang Jie felt like something strange was influencing him.

Inexplicably, he felt like he was starting to take a liking to the Verdant Cloud Domain and becoming reluctant to return home.

Fortunately, he realized in time and speculated that this was probably the will of the Verdant Cloud Domain.

To bear the Verdant Cloud Domain's Web of Fate was also to play host to the will of the Verdant Cloud Domain. This will wasn't the will of the land, but the aggregated will of its countless inhabitants, a vast and immane will which subtly influenced him.

Just like the assimilation of the Web of Fate, this will was assimilating Tang Jie.

This was the disadvantage to being entangled by the Web of Fate. While one was protected by Fate, one had to comply with its arrangements.

It was like how Tang Jie had influenced Li Yan and Yue Yan.

The only difference was that Li Yan and Yue Yan had been influenced by Tang Jie's singular will while Tang Jie was being influenced by the collective will of the Verdant Cloud Domain.

Fortunately, Tang Jie wasn't in too deep and was able to sense it.

But he didn't stop entangling himself in the Web of Fate. Even if he didn't plan to take this path to the end, he wanted to see how far he could walk.

Of course, as a preventative measure, he silently began to guide some threads of Fate to others.

Today, Tang Jie was wandering the Web of Fate, searching for other light nodes so that he could experience their lives.

Suddenly, a point of light appeared in the distance—one that gave Tang Jie a familiar feeling.

Looking over at that light, he saw a figure within.

"Er Hu!"

He cried out.