Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 557 For a New Life
Chapter 565

Tyranny transformed into peace, resentment into compassion, and destruction into...rebirth!
In the blink of an eye, that demonic blade aura, powerful enough to slaughter an entire area, transformed into a... auspicious golden light, brimming with vitality and purifying power!
laugh!
The golden light flew back in the opposite direction, more than ten times faster than it had come, and instantly entered the one-eyed giant's body.

"Ah—No!!!"

The one-eyed giant let out a bloodcurdling scream, yet it also carried a strange sense of relief.

His body was enveloped in auspicious golden light, and the accumulated karma, sins, and malevolent energy of countless years were forcibly purified! His heart, which had long been twisted by chaos and slaughter, also seemed to be cleansed. Images of countless lives he had cruelly murdered flashed through his mind, bringing not pain, but a kind of... profound enlightenment!
"I...I was wrong..."

The one-eyed giant was in tears. His serrated sword clattered to the ground, and he knelt in the void, kowtowing repeatedly to the ethereal souls in repentance.

His cultivation was not destroyed.

However, his... Dao heart was completely... converted by Xu Ran's move!

For a villain who has survived to this day in the ruins of the myriad realms by being ruthless, this is a thousand times more painful than killing him!
"Big...brother?"

His henchmen were all dumbfounded.

They had roamed this star field for hundreds of years, killing countless people, but had they ever seen such a bizarre and strange sight?
"Sorcery...Sorcery! This is sorcery!"

One of the henchmen, realizing what was happening, screamed in terror and turned to try and escape on the Void Ship.

"Attack him together! Kill him!"

Other, more ruthless desperados unleashed their inherent ferocity, unleashing their magical weapons and unleashing a variety of vicious supernatural powers towards Xu Ran.

In an instant, dozens of different attacks came crashing down from the sky, including poisonous fire, cursed light, spatial rift blades, and soul-devouring demonic sounds!

Xu Ran stood still, without moving.

The void around him seemed to transform into an invisible mirror.

The raging poisonous fire reversed its properties the moment it approached him, transforming into Netherworld Ice capable of freezing souls, and shot back towards another enemy.

The blade that could tear through space, when it flew in front of him, strangely began to... repair space, smoothing out all the spatial folds along its path, and then disappeared silently.

The vicious, soul-devouring demonic sound entered his ears, but instead of harming his soul, it was reversed into a heavenly chant that purified his mind. The cultivators who had used the demonic sound screamed in agony, feeling that their demonic foundation was about to be destroyed by the chant!
All the attacks were reversed, turned upside down, and even had their effects reversed on their own people in a more bizarre and unbelievable way!
The entire battlefield instantly descended into chaos!

"puff!"

A cultivator was struck by the curse light he himself emitted, and his body instantly began to rot, emitting a shrill scream.

"My hands! How did my hands turn to stone?!"

Another cultivator, skilled in petrification, stared in horror at his ever-petrifying body, his eyes filled with despair.

This is no longer a battle.

This is... an absurd farce!

Xu Ran, from beginning to end, simply stood there quietly, like an outsider, coldly watching these clowns reap what they sowed.

"Demon...devil! Who...who are you?!"

Finally, some of the henchmen completely broke down, looking at Xu Ran as if he were some indescribable, terrifying being.

This method of killing without shedding blood and manipulating the law at will is more effective at breaking their will than any bloody massacre.

"Now, can we have a proper talk?"

Xu Ran's voice rang out calmly, yet it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

He took a step forward, and his figure instantly appeared on the largest void ship, standing in front of the group of trembling "Black Sand Vultures".

His gaze swept across the crowd, and no one dared to meet his eyes.

Finally, his gaze fell on the one-eyed giant who was still kowtowing and repenting.

Xu Ran flicked his finger, and a beam of clear light entered his body, temporarily suppressing the surge of "enlightenment" and restoring a sliver of clarity to him.

"What's your name?" Xu Ran asked.

“I…I am called Tu Feng…” The one-eyed giant, no, he should be called Tu Feng now, looked at Xu Ran with an extremely complicated expression, which contained both fear and…a trace of indescribable awe.

“Tu Feng.” Xu Ran nodded. “I need a star map of the Myriad Domains Ruins, the more detailed the better. Also, tell me, which are the largest powers here? And what noteworthy events have occurred recently?”

He knew that for a newcomer, intelligence was always the most important thing.

Tu Feng trembled, a fear that came from the depths of his soul. The young man before him was as calm as an ancient, unmoving abyss, yet that very calmness was more terrifying than any ferocious demon god. His methods of distorting right and wrong and reversing the law had completely destroyed Tu Feng's entire understanding and dignity as a villain from the ruins.

"Senior... what do you want to know? I will answer whatever I know!" Tu Feng's voice was hoarse, without a trace of his previous arrogance. He didn't even dare to look Xu Ran in the eye.

Xu Ran remained indifferent, ignoring the change in his address, and calmly asked, "Star map." "Yes! Yes!" Tu Feng was overjoyed and hurriedly took out an ancient animal hide from his storage magic treasure. The hide was made from the skin of some kind of celestial beast, and it was covered with densely packed light spots and lines, forming an incredibly complex star map.

He respectfully handed over the animal hide and explained, “Senior, this is the ‘Black Sand Starfield Map’ that we Black Sand Vultures rely on for our livelihood. This area is known as the ‘Black Sand Belt’ in the ruins of the myriad realms, named for the black dust that floats in the void year-round, capable of obliterating divine sense. We usually make our living in this area by… plundering, no, by making a living.”

Xu Ran took the star map and scanned it with his divine sense, a vast amount of information flooding into his mind. This star map was indeed detailed, not only marking various safe routes and dangerous wastelands, but also indicating some resource points.

His gaze moved quickly across the star map, and he soon found several areas that were highlighted.

"Shattered Star City? Burial God Star Abyss? Blood Prison Star Sea?" Xu Ran's fingertips lightly traced across the animal hide, each name exuding an aura of desolation and bloodshed.

Tu Feng's body trembled involuntarily, and he quickly replied, "Replying to Senior, Shattered Star City is the only... city in this Black Sand Belt, or rather, a huge black market. It is built on a huge world remnant and controlled by the 'Myriad Realms Merchant Alliance.' There, as long as you have enough 'Dao Source Fragments,' you can buy anything, including intelligence, slaves, and even... broken Dao Ancestor artifacts!"

“Dao Source Fragment Crystal?” Xu Ran caught this new term.

“Yes, it’s the hard currency of the Myriad Realms Ruins,” Tu Feng explained. “After the world collapses, its fundamental Dao will condense into a crystal containing pure law power, which is Dao Source Fragment Crystal. This thing can not only be used for cultivation, but is also an essential item for activating the Void Boat and setting up a great array. What we… what we just mined was a small Dao Source Fragment Crystal mine.”

Xu Ran understood. These were the "immortal stones" or "spiritual stones" found in the ruins, but their essence was higher, directly linked to the origin of the Great Dao.

"What about the Burial God Star Abyss and the Blood Prison Star Sea?" Xu Ran continued to ask.

Mentioning these two names, Tu Feng's single eye revealed deep apprehension, and his voice lowered considerably: "Senior, those two places are absolute forbidden zones in the Black Sand Belt! The Burial God Star Abyss is said to be a battlefield of ancient divine war, where more than one true god-level being perished. Even today, it is still permeated with the lingering resentment of the gods and the laws of slaughter. Even a Dao Ancestor-level expert who ventures in may become lost within it and assimilated into a 'divine abomination' who only knows how to kill!"

"And the Blood Prison Star Sea... is the territory of the local tyrant of the Black Sand Belt, the 'Lord of Blood Prison'! No one knows the origin of the Lord of Blood Prison, only that he has been famous for several eras, his methods are cruel, and his cultivation is unfathomable. It is rumored that he is already a top existence among the Dao Ancestors, only one step away from the legendary 'immortality'. His Blood Prison Star Sea is composed of 999 world fragments that he has refined into demon stars, and it is full of his Blood Prison Demon Army. In the Black Sand Belt, it is better to venture into the Burial God Star Abyss than to provoke the Lord of Blood Prison's people!"

Xu Ran silently memorized this information, his understanding of this Myriad Realms Ruins becoming clearer. This place was indeed a melting pot of all sorts of powerful figures, a land where hidden dragons and crouching tigers roamed freely. If a mere local tyrant in a star region could be a top-tier Dao Ancestor, then how magnificent and turbulent must the entire Boundary Sea be?

"What major events have happened recently?" Xu Ran asked the last question.

"Yes!" Tu Feng's spirits lifted, and he quickly said, "Senior, you've come at just the right time! The once-in-a-decade 'Shattered Star City Grand Auction' will be held in three months! At that time, powerful figures and forces from the entire Black Sand Belt, and even several surrounding star belts, will gather in Shattered Star City. It is said that one of the most anticipated treasures of this auction is a... incomplete map of the 'Ancient Shipping Route'!"

"Ancient waterway map?" For the first time, a glint of light flashed in Xu Ran's eyes.

This is exactly what the tomb keeper sent him here to find!
"Yes! It's the ancient waterway leading to the depths of the Boundary Sea!" Tu Feng said with certainty. "That thing is a treasure that all the powerful individuals trapped in the shallows of the ruins dream of! Every time it appears, it causes a bloodbath!"

Xu Ran made up his mind. He had to go to Shattered Star City. He was also determined to get his hands on the ancient navigation map.

He glanced at Tu Feng and the terrified henchmen behind him, and said calmly, "I have requisitioned your Void Ship. You will guide me to Shattered Star City."

"Huh?" Tu Feng was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.

Serving such an unfathomable and powerful figure, even if it's just guiding them, or even being their slave, is a million times better than being a bandit in this precarious Black Sand Belt! It means they have a huge backer!

"Yes! Senior! We are willing to serve you faithfully, even unto death!" Tu Feng knelt down again in excitement. His henchmen behind him also reacted and knelt down in unison, creating a deafening roar.

Xu Ran remained noncommittal. With a swift movement, he appeared on the deck of the largest void ship.

"Departure."

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the direction of Shattered Star City on the star map, his eyes deep, as if he could already see that lawless city where chaos and opportunity coexisted.

……

Boom!

The void ship, pieced together from countless world remnants, transformed into a dark red streak of light under Tu Feng's control and sailed into the depths of the vast black sand belt.

This void was even more desolate and dangerous than Xu Ran had seen when he first arrived.

The turbulent currents of spacetime, like a monstrous beast lurking in the shadows, could tear the course apart at any moment. Enormous, long-dead stellar skeletons, like tombstones, float silently in the darkness, exuding an ominous aura. Occasionally, grotesque void creatures can be seen flitting by in groups; they possess no intelligence, only the most primal instinct to devour.

Along the way, they also encountered several groups of foolish space pirates.

However, they didn't even need Xu Ran to take action.

As they aggressively surrounded us, unleashing all sorts of vicious magical powers and treasures, an invisible "reverse" domain enveloped the entire area.

The next moment, the space pirates were horrified to discover that the destructive divine light they had unleashed had transformed into healing holy light mid-air, giving their opponents a much-needed boost; the spatial rifts they had created had not only failed to harm anyone, but had instead swallowed the void ship beneath their feet; and the highly toxic smoke they had released had even been reversed into invigorating immortal energy, leaving Tu Feng and the others feeling incredibly refreshed…

After several attempts, before Xu Ran's Void Ship could even get close, the space pirates cried out in despair, abandoned their armor, and fled in a sorry state.

"Senior...you are truly a divine being!"

Tu Feng and the others had gone from initial shock to utter numbness and awe. They had never witnessed such an unbelievable fighting style—killing without bloodshed, destroying the spirit without a trace. Before this senior, all laws and order seemed like toys that could be molded at will.

Xu Ran didn't pay any attention to this. He spent most of his time sitting cross-legged in meditation, trying to comprehend the chaotic laws of this place.

The laws of the Myriad Realms Ruins, though broken and violent, have precisely broken free from the strict control of "Heavenly Principles," exhibiting a wild and untamed growth. For Xu Ran, who cultivates the "Reverse" Dao, this is like fertile ground. Here, he can clearly see the birth, collision, and annihilation of various "principles," which subtly deepens his understanding of his own Dao.

And so, after sailing for about two months, a dazzling band of light finally appeared at the end of the desolate void.

(End of this chapter)