Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 336 The Battle Against Heaven Begins

The Peach Tree took root in the Dream Realm, and beneath its roots lay a pool of multicolored black.

This is a pool formed by the convergence of dark source power, just like Zhao Yifu scooped up a pool of darkness from the dark river in the outer void.

But no one would have imagined that this pool of dark source water would actually be the most suitable nutrient for the growth of the mother peach tree.

Meanwhile, on the branches that were lush but devoid of fruit, some green-skinned fruits quietly began to form.

It turns out that the mother tree wasn't incapable of bearing fruit, but rather it hadn't been properly watered.

Zhao Yifu had already realized that the original spiritual energy environment of the mother peach tree was simply insufficient to produce fruit.

That's why Mr. and Mrs. Zhang cut off the branches and planted them separately, thus creating the 3,600-tree peach orchard.

The peach trees in the Peach Garden are essentially branches that branch off from the mother tree, but unlike the mother tree, they do not require the nourishment of dark energy to bear fruit.

This made Zhao Yifu curious: were all those legendary innate spiritual roots like this?

Among the famous ones are the ginseng fruit tree of the immortal Zhen Yuanzi, the Fusang tree which has long since disappeared, and the Huangzhong plum that is said to be located in front of the Yuxu Palace in Kunlun Mountain.

Leaving aside the fact that the Fusang tree doesn't bear fruit, the Ginseng Fruit takes three thousand years to flower, three thousand years to bear fruit, and three thousand years to mature. This nine-thousand-year maturation of a single tree's fruit is comparable to that of the ancient peach trees in the Immortal Peach Garden. In terms of efficacy, eating one grants lifespan of forty-seven thousand years, which seems slightly less than the immortal lifespan of the ancient Immortal Peach trees.

More importantly, there are 1,200 old peach trees, but only one ginseng fruit tree.

In comparison, the legendary effect of Huangzhong plum, which supposedly grants one the power to instantly become a golden immortal, seems rather unbelievable.

Therefore, Zhao Yifu judged that the mother peach tree and the Huangzhong plum tree should be spiritual roots of the same grade.

In comparison, the ginseng fruit tree is inferior.

This made Zhao Yifu quite looking forward to it.

The reason why Huangzhongli can bear fruit is because there are still remnants of chaos on Kunlun Mountain.

Now that this peach mother tree possesses a darker source of power than chaos itself, who knows what kind of fruit it will bear?
Regardless of what kind of peaches the mother peach tree can produce, at least its existence in the dream world has completed a large part of the dream world's evolution for Zhao Yifu.

It is like the 'World Tree', becoming the source of spiritual energy for the entire dream world.

It also brings a more authentic experience to the souls residing in the dream world.

This mother peach tree, rooted in the Dream Realm, has actually made the Dream Realm more real.

At the same time, the pressure on Zhao Yifu's primordial spirit was also relieved.

This peach tree was actually able to support him against the pressures of fate!
The intensity of fate he could feel hadn't decreased; only the oppressive feeling from the same amount had lessened.

For this one thing alone, he was grateful for the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Zhang.

The great calamity that is about to befall the world, I wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Zhang will be able to escape it.

Zhao Yifu had already made up his mind: as long as the Zhang couple hadn't been completely destroyed, he would definitely help them.

At the same time, he let out a long sigh of relief and then said to Consort Pingxin, "Your Majesty, I can now continue to collect the souls of the dead, no matter how many come."

Lady Pingxin seemed to understand his change and said happily, "Very well, then we will guide more souls away."

As she spoke, she opened the doors of her Pingxin Palace, and countless more souls drifted in.

These are all souls who have been lingering in Fengdu Ghost City for a long time and have not even entered the queue for reincarnation.

A steady stream of souls entered the dream world. Zhao Yifu felt that his fate in the dream world was still increasing, but the oppressive feeling from before was gone.

He was overjoyed, as it meant he could now accommodate more souls.

At that moment, he felt a joy that welled up from within, and he found it hard to contain himself, which even affected his understanding of fate.

Having learned from his previous experience, Zhao Yifu immediately understood what he needed to do.

He took out the killing knife again and brought it down on his own neck...

The next moment, a benevolent corpse was cut down.

The benevolent corpse, in place of the original body, opens a dream in the Pingxin Hall to receive souls, while Zhao Yifu himself, while being liberated, also returns to inner peace.

This is the effect of severing the three corpses.

Zhao Yifu dismembered the two corpses.

Logically speaking, there should still be one self-existing corpse.

But Zhao Yifu clearly sensed that something was wrong.

The corpse seems to have been severed... yet it also seems not to have been severed.

Or rather, he suddenly realized that his true form was actually a 'self-corpse'!
Having severed the distinction between good and evil and the self, theoretically, only the true nature of the Tao should remain.

The problem is, it seems he unknowingly severed his true nature, which was inclined towards the Dao, a step ahead of time...

The Dao-oriented hearts he severed were the dream avatars that spread throughout the Three Realms. They silently observed the changes in the Three Realms, learning and exploring from the perspective of complete bystanders.

The largest of these is the being that observes the Three Realms from the void beyond the heavens.

Zhao Yifu felt that there might be something wrong with how he dismembered the corpse.

Thinking back carefully, it's possible that Zhao Yifu accomplished this at some point in his early years when he was frequently entering and leaving the Demon Realm.

After all, isn't the so-called enlightened one one who has awakened to their true nature? Otherwise, how can one escape the interference of the seven emotions and six desires in the demon realm?

After figuring out the cause and effect, Zhao Yifu felt that his unusual behavior was nothing serious.

Others prioritize true nature, while he insists on prioritizing the ego. After all, if even the ego is severed, wouldn't that be 'no-self'?
In any case, Zhao Yifu felt that he still needed 'self', and that the true nature of being without good or evil and without self was something he could figure out for himself.

Zhao Yifu burst into laughter, looking extremely carefree.

He bowed to Consort Pingxin and said, "Your Majesty, I am leaving now. I entrust this incarnation to your care."

Empress Pingxin nodded and said, "Go then. I hope that you can achieve the unity of the three corpses and attain the Primordial Chaos Realm as soon as possible."

Zhao Yifu simply responded calmly, and then his true form departed.

He doesn't have any thoughts about attaining Hunyuan (primordial state); he's just happy that he can do more now.

He had witnessed all the changes in the mortal realm. After so many years of chaos, the mortal population had decreased by 30%.

And it is visibly going to continue to be cut.

Because it's not just food; even the plants, animals, and insects of the entire world are decreasing. Humanity will not be spared from this trend.

And the moment his true form left his body was precisely when the Netherworld Army launched its attack on Heaven!
……

The entire celestial realm was filled with a strong atmosphere of killing intent. A massive army appeared out of thin air and charged into the sky under the command of a golden-armored deity.

This army is awe-inspiring.

Because they were so silent, and even their movements were perfectly synchronized, it was as if they had no thoughts of their own.

When this army rushed into the sky, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, who had no pagoda outside the South Heavenly Gate, commanded 100,000 heavenly soldiers to meet the enemy head-on.

One hundred thousand heavenly soldiers formed a battle formation and faced the Youquan army head-on.

The Heavenly Court's battle formation remains invincible, because Zhao Yifu was able to lead the Heavenly Prison troops to defeat 100,000 heavenly soldiers using the Heavenly Court's battle formation.

Even when the two sides were evenly matched in the direct battle, it was Zhao Yifu who set up a stalemate in the center and tricked Li Jing into smashing his pagoda, which led to the victory in the great battle.

So how will the Netherworld Army break through the Heavenly Court's battle formation?

Zhao Yifu was very curious, and so were his friends.

Several of them huddled together on White Cloud Mountain, using secret methods to observe this grand battle against the heavens. Then, as they watched, they gasped in astonishment…

Despite the constant deaths of soldiers in Youquan's army, this army remained completely fearless, charging forward recklessly and ignoring the deaths of their comrades.

The golden-armored general in the center of the command was naturally Chen Xiang. He had learned many military skills and even used the Heavenly Court's battle formation.

However, his battle formation was clearly much less refined than Li Jing's, so he suffered heavy casualties.

The problem is that no matter how many casualties the Youquan army suffers, they can be replaced immediately.

The army of 100,000 from Youquan seemed to always be the same 100,000 men; no matter how many died in front, an identical number would immediately emerge from the ground and return to the battle formation.

This situation is as if the army of ghostly springs is endless.

"how so?!"

Nezha stared wide-eyed, somewhat incredulous.

Zhao Yifu pondered for a moment, then said, "I understand. This must be an army that Youquan created with his supreme divine power, capable of infinite regeneration."

"But their bodies were still scattered all over the ground..."

Pigsy asked, puzzled.

At this moment, Yang Jian opened his third eye between his eyebrows, and the monkey also had fiery eyes.

Yang Jian said, "Junior nephew, you are talking about rebirth, not immortality."

The monkey said in astonishment, "After these Netherworld Army soldiers died in battle, their souls immediately returned to the underground, and when they reappeared, they had a completely new body... It's as if they were reincarnated and reborn very quickly."

Zhao Yifu said, "This is because Venerable Youquan has a creative power that is unimaginable in the Three Realms. He can even create the Dharma bodies of saints at will, let alone these."

Nezha said with a serious expression, "Then the only way to break this is to penetrate deep into enemy territory and kill the enemy leader!"

The monkey, Yang Jian, and Pigsy quickly exchanged glances, then swiftly surrounded Nezha in the Three Talents Formation.

Nezha was stunned and almost unleashed his three-headed, six-armed supernatural power.

He asked, somewhat bewildered, "Second Brother, Monkey, what's going on?"

He didn't ask about Pigsy, after all, this hot-tempered boy probably wouldn't even look down on Pigsy.

The monkey sneered, "Nezha, don't you know that the commander of the Youquan Army is my disciple?"

Yang Jian added casually, "That's my nephew too."

Nezha said irritably, "My dad is the one leading the heavenly army!"

Pigsy chuckled and said, "Don't say that. Everyone knows you've wanted to kill your father for a long time."

Nezha's eyes widened, but he couldn't say anything for a moment.

At this moment, Zhao Yifu stepped forward and spoke up: "Don't make things difficult for Nezha. After all, he is his biological father. Although he had already returned his flesh and bones to his parents, how can one easily abandon kinship?"

Nezha, however, glared at him and said, "I have no familial ties with that guy!"

Zhao Yifu chuckled and said, "Yes, with the Investiture of the Gods, the true gods of Heaven will never truly die, but a god who has died once can only remain a god."

Yang Jian's expression softened upon hearing this, and he sighed, "That's right. If Li Tianwang dies in battle, the Li Tianwang who returns to the Investiture of the Gods will only be the God of War of the Heavenly Court."

In other words, Nezha has no father!
"Humph!"

Nezha turned his head away, looking very awkward.

However, everyone else understood this attitude.

They couldn't help but show a hint of hesitation.

The monkey said, "If that's the case, what should we do? This old man Li Jing doesn't seem like someone who will give up easily."

Just as everyone was discussing, the battle formation of the Heavenly Soldiers showed signs of collapse.

On the one hand, the endless offensive of the Youquan Army had an effect; on the other hand, their act of seizing the Heavenly Court's armory finally began to show its impact.

The heavenly soldiers' supplies are running out!
Anxiety showed in Nezha's eyes.

Zhao Yifu then placed his hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't be impatient. Even if you go there, it won't change anything. The Heavenly Army is already showing signs of defeat, and since this place is backed by the South Heavenly Gate, I'm afraid Li Tianwang will not back down no matter what."

Nezha felt the pressure on his shoulders and felt utterly powerless.

Only then did he realize that three out of the five people here could actually overpower him.

Zhao Yifu had already beaten him twice, and he knew he was no match for him.

Only at this time could he calmly listen to orders.

He said, "Then tell me, what good ideas do you have?"

Okay, he's not pretending anymore.

Zhao Yifu said, "Li Tianwang is a true soldier, so his determination to defend to the death comes from his military integrity."

"The fact that the Youquan army attacked the Heavenly Court was the result of many calculations, so his desperate defense was tantamount to a futile sacrifice."

"If we want to save him, then we must first break his determination to hold on."

Nezha began to think seriously for once, which was rare for him.

His first thought was, "Let's launch a full-scale attack on the Lingxiao Palace together, and that old man Li Jing will surely have to retreat in a panic!"

This Nezha is indeed so clever that he's outrageous.

Yang Jian coughed lightly and said, "He is, after all, my uncle. I can only refrain from taking action."

The monkey said with a sigh, "I, Old Sun, am now the Victorious Fighting Buddha. I'm afraid I can no longer openly attack the Heavenly Court."

Old Pig nodded repeatedly, saying, "I am also a Clean Altar Messenger now..."

Before it could finish speaking, Nezha coldly interrupted, "I don't need you guys, I can do it all myself!"

He could certainly do it himself, but he just lacked confidence.

Zhao Yifu smiled reassuringly and said, "The Marshal of the Central Altar is not a single person. Don't forget the Heavenly Prison troops!"

Nezha's eyes lit up instantly; he suddenly understood something.

Zhao Yifu said, "Marshal Zhongtan can now mobilize all the troops of Tianyu and launch a large-scale attack on Dongtianmen."

"But don't move too fast. We need to give Li Tianwang some time to react, right?"

Nezha finally understood, and he laughed heartily as he asked, "But what if we encounter the people of Youquan?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Then let's not engage in battle and charge straight for the Lingxiao Palace. We can surround the Lingxiao Palace first."

"I will have Xiao Zhao accompany the army to offer advice, while I will stay in Tianyu to support you. What do you think?"

He's preparing to increase the difficulty for Youquan, so it won't be too easy for it. If it easily seizes control of the Heavenly Court and gains legitimacy, wouldn't it fail to cherish it?

Yang Jian nodded secretly, feeling relieved that Zhao Yifu was going.

The monkey, its eyes darting around, asked, "Could I get a temporary job among your prison guards?"

Goodness, they're really enjoying the drama!

(End of this chapter)