Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1489 - 992 Zhu Zi System_2

Chapter 1489: 992 Zhu Zi System_2

Or perhaps it could be said that what the Underworld dislikes most are precisely these kind of meritorious individuals—they can neither be dealt with through violence nor through scolding, one can only venerate them like ancestral spirits, and ensure that they do not suffer any grievances.

"Those who bear Merit, if they choose reincarnation, may enjoy wealth and honor."

"If they do not wish for reincarnation, they can also proceed to the Heaven Court, transform into an immortal body in the Flying Immortal Pool, join a great Immortal Dao sect, and study the path of everlasting life."

"It can be said, for these spirits bearing Merit, Heaven and Earth take extreme care of them. However, regardless of which option they choose, there is no reason for them to linger in the mortal realm for years on end."

Jiang Chen’s eyes slightly hazed over as he swept a glance over all the spirits lingering in the mortal realm.

The living have the world of the living, the dead have the world of the dead—just like the opposing forces of Yin and Yang, they are a relationship of mutual restraint and interdependence.

After death, the soul enters the Netherworld—this is the natural law. Ghosts like these, for various reasons, refuse to go to the Netherworld and insist on staying in the mortal world. This undoubtedly disrupts the order of Yin and Yang and violates natural law.

Those who have Merit may indeed receive preferential treatment, but this is not an excuse for their unruly behavior. Spirits lingering forcefully in the mortal realm is an act against natural law, and they will inevitably be met with backlash from Heaven and Earth.

Therefore, spirits who are unwilling to proceed to the Underworld will, as time goes by, continuously generate Sha Qi and resentment, gradually turning them into fierce ghosts step by step.

Even those bearing Merit are no exception. However, Merit is profound and can delay this process. Ordinary spirits staying longer than seven days in the mortal realm will show signs of turning into fierce ghosts.

But spirits with Merit can extend this time based on the amount of Merit they possess, possibly up to seven years, seventy years or even seven hundred, seven thousand years...

"These are all spirits who have existed for hundreds of years!"

Jiang Chen discovered that these Merit-bearing spirits mostly hailed from the Pre-Qin era, with at least a history of hundreds of years. Even thousand-year and ten-thousand-year-old specters were not few in number.

Only an extremely small number of spirits were born within these last few hundred years.

"Pre-Qin, the Hundred Schools of Thought, huh?"

"If I’m not mistaken, these spirits should all be elites from the Hundred Schools."

After some reflection, Jiang Chen approximately guessed the origins of these spirits—they were elites from the Hundred Schools.

Pre-Qin, during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, can be referred to as the last splendor of the Human Race.

It was an incredibly brilliant era. As the Human Race’s role as the protagonist of Heaven and Earth was established, Great Divine Transcendents thronged to the Human Race one after another, reincarnating to use their teachings as weapons, engaging in an intangible struggle for the Tao.

Of course, to avoid karmic entanglement, these Great Divine Transcendents did not reincarnate in their original forms, but rather through Divine Thought. Once they joined the Human Race, they belonged to the Human Race, and all achievements they garnered during this period also belonged to the Human Race.

They came cleanly and left cleanly, this was the choice of those Great Divine Transcendents.

Thanks to them, after the Human Race absorbed the knowledge they passed down, civilization became ever more resplendent, giving birth to countless magnificent figures.

The Human Race, having shown signs of decline, even experienced a brief revival, creating a new glory. But all these were just the final afterglow; this brilliance did not last long. As the Hundred Schools disappeared, the Human Race irreversibly headed towards decline.

"Descendants of the Hundred Schools, solely devoted to learning, neither cultivating Spiritual Energy nor practicing Divine Abilities. Hence, they do not achieve immortality, their Lifespan comparable to ordinary people. Even with knowledge reaching the heavens, they cannot escape the fate of aging and death."

"However, their profound knowledge permeates deeply into the soul, the True Spirit bathed in the wisdom of their studies, clearing all dust, like a Bright Mirror high above, radiating myriad glows."

"This is why, though they have perished, their souls do not extinguish. Surrounded by Innate Divine Light, it’s not about whether it’s a Yin Spirit—ordinary immortals cannot penetrate their being either."

Perhaps sensing Jiang Chen’s gaze, the radiance around those spirits became even more dazzling, with several illuminated by a halo of clear light, as if the Great Sun hung high, its Power almost distorting the divide between reality and illusion, shining upon the mortal world first.

"Impressive!"

Witnessing this scene, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but exclaim; this Power was already approaching the level of an Innate Dao Sovereign.

This shows what? It shows that he is truly a great scholar, whose mere pursuit of knowledge has elevated his realm close to that of an Innate Dao Sovereign.

The Innate Dao Sovereign here does not refer to a great Confucian who only emits boundless righteous energy, but a true Innate Dao Sovereign, who has stepped out of the River of Destiny, remains eternal with heaven, and exists forever with the dao.

However, even with a realm approaching that of an Innate Dao Sovereign, they still lack the power to match it, which is the special characteristic of the cultivation system created by the Hundred Schools of Thought.

The cultivation system passed down by the Hundred Schools focuses solely on scholarly pursuit, without practicing anything else, leading to their disciples having terrifyingly high realms but hardly any more power than mortals.

To demonstrate their unique abilities, one must step into the realm of an Innate Dao Sovereign. Upon entering the realm of a Dao Sovereign, Divine Abilities will immediately appear.

This means, before reaching the realm of an Innate Dao Sovereign, the descendants of the Hundred Schools, no matter how profound their knowledge, possess neither magical powers nor Divine Abilities.

It sounds incredible, but in fact, it’s quite normal because the cultivation system passed down by the Hundred Schools is created based on the Ancient Martial Arts of the Human Race, only it’s more extreme.

The essence of Ancient Martial Arts lies in sacrificing endless lifespan in exchange for great strength and rapid advancement in realm.

The system of the Hundred Schools is even more extreme, not only giving up endless lifespan but also all power and Divine Abilities to gain an unimaginable speed in cultivation.

According to the deductions of the Hundred Schools, cultivators who practice their system, by solely pursuing knowledge, can step into the realm of an Innate Dao Sovereign in just a hundred years—not the Dao Sovereign of a great Confucian, but a complete and flawless Innate Dao Sovereign.

To become a complete Innate Dao Sovereign in a hundred years, the speed of cultivation is indescribable, it’s simply defying the heavens.

Sadly, the Hundred Schools’ thoughts were good, but in practice, it is extremely difficult. Theoretically, as long as one’s scholarly pursuit is deep enough, reaching the realm of an Innate Dao Sovereign is not difficult.

But theory is, after all, just theory, and reality is that in a mere hundred years, no one has been able to cultivate knowledge to a sufficient extent to reach the realm of an Innate Dao Sovereign.

Even the Hundred Schools themselves, the creators of this cultivation system, failed to achieve this. Likewise, generation after generation, despite the countless prodigies from the Hundred Schools, no one has managed to do so.

It is a cultivation system that exists only in theory, with no one capable of achieving it.

However, the fact that no one could achieve it does not mean that this cultivation system is worthless. It was from the system of the Hundred Schools that the Sage of Confucianism was inspired to create the Confucian Dao.

The Sage of Confucianism couldn’t have created something out of nothing; his creation of the Confucian Dao was also a result of drawing on the essence of his predecessors’ works.

"Amazing!"

"It’s truly defying the heavens!"

"Just by pursuing scholarly knowledge, they have reached this stage. If they had pursued the Immortal Dao, then almost one hundred percent of them could have become Innate Dao Sovereigns."

Looking at them, Jiang Chen couldn’t hide his amazement. Life is but a hundred years, and just by pursuing scholarly knowledge, they have reached a realm close to that of an Innate Dao Sovereign—what terrifying talent is this?

They almost succeeded in traversing a path that was deemed impossible, their talent is self-evident. It can be said that throughout the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, their aptitude is of the top tier, representing the essence of the Hundred Schools.

It’s just a pity that they took a wrong path, embarking on a journey that was doomed to fail. If not for this, at least they would now be at the realm of Innate Dao Monarchs.

"Is it the Human King?"

Someone spoke, the voice was old yet spirited.

"It’s me!"

Jiang Chen replied, his figure vanished on the spot and appeared before a cluster of pure light. This was an old man wearing a tall crown and dressed in green robes.

That brilliant pure light emanated from his spiritual platform, the most pristine Innate Divine Light, without any impurities, clean and bright like a Bright Mirror.