Becoming a Deity from Planting the Bodhi Tree

The pathway of the Divine surpasses the martial artists of the same realm in combat power, not only because it is nourished by all spirits but also due to the words "Divine Country".

The Divine Country of a god is equivalent to the Heaven and Earth Dojo of a martial artist, yet in terms of dominance and completeness, a Divine Country of the same rank is stronger.

Within the Divine Country lies a truly complete world, where the Dao presides over victory, and the heavens and earth exert suppression. Even if a martial artist carries a Heaven and Earth Dojo, they can only barely guard themselves.

Of course, though the Divine Country is strong, there are indeed few martial artists who look favorably upon such a "prison within drawn boundaries".

Martial artists across the realms understand a simple truth: avoid those drawn-in boundary prisons of gods; if you dare, come out and fight.

Thus Red Lotus fell into despair instantly. Having become a god halfway, the Divine Country he forged is entirely unqualified to oppose this towering, even if only a phantom, Divine Country.

In the midst of heaven and earth, that phantom with a human head and snake body casually grabbed the last remaining Spiritual Holy Embryo, which was still struggling to escape, and stuffed it into its mouth.

Without even a scream, it was crushed into countless spirit fragments, swallowed into the belly, refining its memory.

And at this moment.

Ji Jingqiu turned around and walked back to the Divine Temple, passing through rows of kneeling and kowtowing, weeping with joy Dream God followers.

In the temple's pond, the young girl still knelt there dumbfounded, her emerald eyes full of confusion and bewilderment, still not understanding what had happened, yet her eyes couldn't hide a hint of joy. It was because her clan records stated that only genuine people could be chosen as Divine Servants, ascending to the Mother Goddess's realm after death!

Upon seeing Ji Jingqiu enter the Divine Temple, the girl gasped, hurriedly getting up to welcome the Divine Envoy.

Though everyone chatted joyfully before, this is still the Divine Country, and she's just entered it. When working...

Tinkle—

The girl was astonished to find her necklace had somehow returned, causing a flutter in her heart, wondering if the Divine Envoy's necklace was lost...

Ji Jingqiu approached, suddenly ruffling the girl's hair, asking:

"What's your name?"

The girl instantly blushed, realizing she hadn't told the Divine Envoy her name, and stammered, "I... I'm Bai Lan!"

Ji Jingqiu nodded, placing a hand on her head, earnestly saying, "Bai Lan, the Mother Goddess is very dissatisfied with your performance. She wants you all to remember, next time you encounter trouble, remember that crying children get candy, and the prayerful followers can usher in the Mother Goddess's redemption."

"Y-yes!"

Looking at the tense, wide-eyed girl, Ji Jingqiu lowered his gaze.

Earlier, a voice had said no one would die today.

But what truly enraged Ji Jingqiu was far beyond the girl's death.

In the Inner World, having digested the pseudo-god Red Lotus's spirit memory, Hel spoke coldly:

"It's Ji Tianxing. This scoundrel must be plotting against us!"

"Who do you speak of?"

Ji Jingqiu recalled the voice echoing in his mind earlier, his expression solemn.

Was the source of that earlier voice Marshal Ji?

Was Ji Tianxing the one orchestrating the events in this Divine Travel across realms?

Ji Jingqiu took a deep breath, something he had never anticipated, not even imagining this possibility.

Yet, as he recalled the earlier words in his mind, he fell silent.

Was everything aimed at him usurping Hel's divine authority?

He turned back to look outside the temple, gazing into the void.

After another "get out" echoed, the voice in his mind vanished.

Perhaps today, another figure had entered the fray—was it the Four Directions God, or... Marshal Mu?

Ji Jingqiu guessed in this manner because the white lotus, an embodiment of the Dao that once existed in the heavens and earth, had disappeared without a trace.

It was rumored that Marshal Mu still retained a spiritual thought in the world, yet no one knew where he was.

It seemed to respond to his thoughts.

The wind blew through the temple's large doors.

Ji Jingqiu suddenly rose and turned back, seeing the girl like a startled doe, warily looking towards the door, but seeing nothing, she rubbed her eyes but still saw nothing.

In Ji Jingqiu's vision, a seemingly ordinary figure stood before him, smiling warmly.

This was also Ji Jingqiu's first time seeing Marshal Mu, seeing the World Venerable!

The man stopped Ji Jingqiu's bow, speaking kindly, "I have severed the karmic line between that person and you, so he can no longer meddle in your karmic line through the River of Destiny for a while."

Ji Jingqiu's gaze sharpened, whispering, "Was that Marshal Ji?"

The man nodded slightly.

Ji Jingqiu remained silent.

After a long while, he raised his head, asking, "In the eyes of the senior, was today's decision by the disciple right or wrong?"

To Ji Jingqiu's choice, the man saw no issue, even finding it perfectly natural.

"Bodhi Heart" is wisdom inherently possessed by self-nature and the cause of becoming a Buddha, while "compassion" is the foundation of becoming a Buddha.

The latter is the key to nurturing various merits, just like the relationship between roots and branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit.

Cherishing the small beauties found along the way is very good.

"You are not wrong; the wrong one is him. He is still the same as before."

Mu Shitian sighed softly.

Then, led by Marshal Mu, the two walked out of the Divine Temple, strolling along a street leading to an unknown destination.

Along the way, Mu Shitian spoke with Ji Jingqiu about many things, such as the root and origin of today's situation.

And some things they truly cared about, such as—the consensus of civilization.

In their eyes, maintaining "consensus" is a thousand times more important than temporary gains or losses.

When a civilization is faced with sacrificing one person to gain many benefits, some people may find it "worthwhile," but often they won't say it aloud, and most will subconsciously choose silence, even if they think the same.

Because they know, either clearly or vaguely, that this should not be taken for granted.

So when someone stands up, many will sincerely consider him a hero,

but if everyone considers the idea of "sacrificing one for the whole" as natural, then the sacrifice loses its praise-worthy meaning.

This is the so-called "consensus."

Just like studying hard, being filial to parents, and being loyal to partners.

Even if you don't necessarily practice it, you understand from the bottom of your heart what is right, what is wrong, what is great, and what is worth celebrating.

This is a set of ideas that isn't a hundred percent, but is definitely mainstream, and is the bond that ensures human emotions tend toward stability and avoids decline.

When the consensus of a civilization has a problem or collapses, and the public loses a unified standard of measure, leading to many issues being difficult to distinguish right from wrong... everything built upon the consensus will begin to head towards destruction,

ultimately leading to everything going to extremes, people's hearts sinking, and social order disintegrating.

And in the current moment when the Spirit Ocean appears, the collective sinking of people's hearts, restlessly turbulent... will inevitably attract the "gaze" of the Spirit Ocean.

The appearance of the Spirit Ocean magnifies the existence of all beings infinitely, even in this era where the strong dominate everything, like some invisible chains of the Heaven and Earth Universe.

For any civilization, the stability of social order and the peace of people's hearts is the first moat of civilization's continuation.

To maintain this "moat," they made many efforts ten thousand years ago, proposing various ideas.

The World Venerable Lineage proposed that "all beings inherently possess Buddha nature."

Qin Tianfeng advocated "following the heavens and mending the gaps."

Ke Xuming believed "the heart merges with the void, thoughts clear and melded."

Yang Qingshan firmly believed that as long as there is a trace of heroic spirit in the world, even if the world deteriorates, there is still hope for redemption because someone is trying to do the right thing.

Li Shoucheng felt that "inheritance of fire, fire spreading like flame," as long as predecessors set the right example, no matter how errant future generations may be, they will not stray too far.

When it came to He Donghuang, it was "I ascend alone, all spirits and beings learn from me," wanting to single-handedly pull society's mindset upward.

As for not learning?

Try it.

These seven individuals are seven veins, and adding to the hundred veins makes it even more complex and chaotic.

Ji Tianxing was not oblivious to the importance of "consensus."

On the contrary, he understood this better than anyone else, and knew where the bottom line lay. It is precisely because of this that he was always so "reckless."

But in their view, some things are immeasurable.

The human heart is not like a reflection of the moon in water; once disturbed, it doesn't return to its serene state once the ripples fade.

Once the human heart falls, it is extremely difficult to raise it again.

In the eyes of Mu Shitian and the Four Directions God, the Federation already has a Ji Tianxing; it doesn't need another Ji Tianxing.

As he recalled many events from ten thousand years ago, Mu Shitian sighed softly.

In the past ten thousand years, no one has had it easy.

Some willingly threw themselves into the cage, some silently bore burdens for millennia, some walked alone in the darkness, for a long, long time...

Fortunately, there are always stars in the world to comfort the heart.

Looking at the young man in front of him, Mu Shitian was a bit sentimental; he wanted to tell Ji Jingqiu that they had witnessed his journey.

They were glad to see Ji Jingqiu, when confronting the Sixth Limit, give the last strike to Zhuang Butong, who had wrestled with himself and Dream God for over thirty years.

They were also glad to see Ji Jingqiu reach the top of the White Jade City Tower, his youthful spirit reminiscent of their younger days.

Even more so to see Ji Jingqiu build torches in the west, willing to be a pillar for those patching the world...

Finally.

A thousand words converged into a single sentence.

Mu Shitian smiled and said:

"Ji Jingqiu, continue this arduous journey, and you will reach the Morning Star."

Then, someone paused, hinting:

"I heard that in this generation, the Ji Family has produced another Martial Artist who mastered the 'Heavenly Person Swordsmanship.'

Ji Jingqiu was enlightened.

If you can't deal with the old ones, then deal with the young ones.