Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Chapter 99 The Nine Lineages of Taoism, The World of Mind and Image.

Above the Dao Fruit, light and shadow flowed.

Scenes that did not belong to Gu Changjin's memory appeared one after another before his eyes.

The Nine Lineages of Taoism, the Heart Image, the Twisted Pillar, the Collapse of the Blue Star Federation, a sacrifice to this world, an ascension and blessing...

Countless fragmented images, like shattered pieces of glass, were rapidly pieced together in the light.

Gu Changjin watched quietly, and soon, a complete line of fate appeared before him.

This world is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

The Blue Star Federation appears to be technologically advanced and has already entered the interstellar age.

A lunar base, a near-Earth orbit city, an interstellar mining group—they've even begun preparations for the first manned exploration of an outer planet.

However, beneath this prosperous technological civilization, there has always been a hidden, extraordinary power unknown to ordinary people.

The power of mind and perception.

The so-called "spiritual image" does not rely on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation.

Practitioners use special methods to observe their own minds and condense the fears, obsessions, and desires hidden deep within their hearts into their own "forms".

Some people fear fire, and their mental image may be that of a burning fireman.

Some people are afraid of their reflection in the mirror from a young age, and what eventually emerges is a faceless shadow that can walk on the surface of the mirror.

The mental image can be a physical entity or an intangible one.

The greater the fear, the more real it becomes.

The more you understand your fears, the stronger you become.

This power is controlled by the nine branches of the Daoist sect.

Xuanzhen Temple belongs to the Cunsi lineage, one of the nine lineages.

They hide among the people, continuing the tradition under the guise of Taoist temples, cultural institutions, and ancient book research institutes, while also suppressing disasters caused by the loss of control over the mind on behalf of the Blue Star Federation.

But where there is good, there is also the opposite.

Opposite to the nine branches of Taoism is an organization called the "Rebel Truth Society".

The Reverse Truth Society believes that the Nine Lineages of Taoism have been suppressing humanity's true potential.

Fear should not be controlled, but released.

Humans should not use reason to bind their minds, but should completely merge with their minds and break the limits of the human species.

The current leader of the Anti-True Society is named Xie Wuwang.

This person is the most terrifyingly gifted being in the field of mental perception in hundreds of years.

His mental image is called "Invisible Heaven".

It has no fixed form, yet it can devour and merge the minds of others, constantly replenishing itself.

He has already reached the pinnacle of this world's psychological system.

But it was only when we reached the top that we realized there was no way forward.

Xie Wuwang was unwilling to accept this.

He searched through ancient Taoist texts and finally found a record of "celestial phenomena" in a forbidden ancient book.

It cannot be observed, cannot be thought of, cannot be named; merely knowing of its existence can distort the minds of mortals.

That ancient book also records a method of ascension involving sacrificing the world to receive blessings from beyond the heavens.

Xie Wuwang believed it and began to act.

He began secretly planting pillars of distortion at specific points throughout the planet Earth.

The Twisted Pillars take root in people's hearts, drawing upon the fears of millions in the city to give birth to twisted seeds.

In the Fate Line.

A year later, the first twisted pillar matured.

A federal city with a population of 20 million was dragged into the world of illusion overnight.

Then came the second one, and the third one.

The Twisted Seeds erupted one after another, starports crashed, orbital cities went out of control, and the Federation army's weapons were simply unable to attack those monsters that existed between reality and illusion.

The Blue Star Federation, which had just embarked on its interstellar journey, collapsed.

With the collapse of order, human civilization entered a decade-long dark age.

And within this thread of fate, there are also protagonists belonging to this era.

Zhou Jingming.

A descendant of the previous abbot of Xuanzhen Temple.

He awakens his ancestral spiritual vision amidst the disaster, inherits the long-lost "Tai Xu Zhao Xin Jing" from the Cun Si lineage, makes friends along the way, gathers the remaining power of the nine Taoist lineages, and ultimately embarks on the path of stopping Xie Wuwang from sacrificing the world.

The screen kept flashing.

Gu Changjin saw the so-called main character team.

Zhou Jingming, a girl who can turn fear into reality, and a lame young man whose heart is the city of mechanisms.

Finally, there was a young woman wearing a white Taoist robe with a dot of cinnabar between her eyebrows.

When Gu Changjin saw her, his eyebrows slowly rose.

Shen Qingyan.

The original owner's gentle and considerate girlfriend.

It was also the person who made him chant incantations every day, and ultimately used him as a sacrifice.

"Oh no, isn't this my perfect Daoist partner?"

Gu Changjin smiled.

Shen Qingyan in the storyline is nothing like the weak and delicate person Gu Changjin remembers.

She is a spy planted by the Reverse True Society to infiltrate the protagonist's inner circle.

In the early stages, he used Zhou Jingming to search for the Nine Meridians Inheritance; in the middle stages, he betrayed the Reverse True Society; and in the later stages, he was redeemed and became one of the key figures in saving the world.

As for Gu Changjin?

She was merely a sacrifice needed for her to awaken her inner self.

An ordinary boy with special spiritual qualities who happens to be favored by the old Taoist priest of Xuanzhen Temple.

If you're dead, you're dead.

Not even a single name was left in the thread of fate.

Gu Changjin watched all the images and slowly opened his eyes.

"Heart's Image".

"Born from the heart, transforming the abstract into the concrete."

"It can also move from the real to the virtual, residing in the heart."

Isn't this exactly what he needs?

The Xuanming Guixu Cave Heaven in the main world is already realistic enough.

But how to penetrate the void, how to transform the grotto into reality and illusion, he could never quite grasp the threshold.

The method of mental imagery, however, first condenses real power from non-existent mental concepts.

This path is different from the path of returning to emptiness.

But it could just provide him with another direction.

If he could collect the classic texts of the nine branches of Taoism and comprehend the complete mental cultivation system, he might be able to deduce his own method of returning to emptiness.

Moreover, the ancient Taoist sects in this world even have methods for sacrificing the world and communicating with extraterrestrial beings.

Were the people who wrote these classic works really just ordinary people?

No one has ever seen it with their own eyes or actually tried it, so how could they possibly remember the steps in such detail?

"Interesting. The waters of this world are deeper than I imagined."

Gu Changjin did not go out immediately.

With his current physical condition, if he were to encounter a cultivator specializing in spiritual cultivation, he would likely be easily sent away again.

First, one must have the ability to protect oneself.

He sat down cross-legged and began to circulate the "Tai Xuan Ba Zu Tun Tian Jue".

This technique was developed by him in the Nine Provinces world by combining and deducing the "Mysterious Serpent Devouring the Moon Scripture" and the "Mysterious Dark Devouring Heaven Scripture".

It was originally the cultivation method of the Devouring Heaven Serpent.

We can't simply copy it now.

Using the Dao Fruit as a foundation, Gu Changjin quickly extracted the body-refining part that was most suitable for the human body.

Breathing, circulating blood, strengthening bones, and fortifying muscles.

He had barely started operating it when he noticed something was wrong.

This world has no spiritual energy.

It is surprisingly beneficial for physical cultivation.

There was no spiritual energy in the air, but there was an extremely active life energy.

It cannot be absorbed by cultivators or used to perform spells, but it can naturally integrate into the blood and qi during physical training.

Gu Changjin was stunned for a moment.

"broken."

"It seems like everyone in this world has gone down the wrong path."

"This should clearly be a world of body cultivation."

The remaining Dao Yuan then surged into the body.

The previously weak blood and qi were quickly replenished.

The muscles and bones vibrate, the blood surges, and the skin, muscles, and bone marrow are strengthened layer by layer.

In just half an hour.

Gu Changjin's body, which had been suffering from long hours of sleep deprivation and had just developed a hole in its skull, was forcibly pushed to the Foundation Establishment level.

Gu Changjin opened his eyes.

The last wisp of the Dao Yuan was also exhausted.

He clenched his fist.

A muffled sound emanated from the air, conveying the immense power of the physical body.

Now, there are two things to consider.

First, go to Xuanzhen Temple.

Let's see what that old Taoist priest who once took a liking to Gu Changjin saw.

While I'm at it, I'll try to infiltrate the nine branches of Taoism and obtain the complete Heart Sutra inheritance.

As for the second thing.

Gu Changjin glanced down at his phone.

On the screen, Shen Qingyan had sent a message half an hour ago.

"Do you like the gift?"