So It Turns Out, All Living Beings Are Me!

The moment the assimilation method appeared, it surfaced within the minds of all the ancient gods. This method was modeled after the evil gods' assimilation technique. By cultivating it, they would assimilate into becoming a part of Origin Celestial Venerable. Just like puppets. Everything they possessed would become the foundation of Origin Celestial Venerable, bolstering Qi Yuan's strength and aiding him in stepping into the Yang God realm. Upon receiving the method, some ancient gods hesitated, while others looked wistful. Yet not a single one wavered. "In the past, the Celestial Venerable brought me to fruition; today, I repay the Celestial Venerable!" Great Venerable Huanghun spoke, his face filled with resolve. With Great Venerable Huanghun's words, those who had visualized the water god Gonggong detonated with a boom at this very moment, turning into a single droplet of water that merged into Qi Yuan's Divine Domain. Village Chief Yulei cast the assimilation method, a serene smile appearing in his eyes. "This old man can no longer help the Celestial Venerable guard the Netherworld!" His body also exploded at this moment, resolutely being assimilated without turning back to become a part of Qi Yuan. "The spring breeze pities me; so the youth that I, Dong Jianghe, was to become was actually the Celestial Venerable!" Dong Jianghe had long been unable to hold on. Channeling his final sliver of divine spiritual power, he activated the assimilation method. "Willing to die for the Celestial Venerable!" "Willing to die for the Celestial Venerable!" Voices roared one after another. One ancient god after another chose to sacrifice themselves at this moment. Perhaps they knew that even if they sacrificed themselves, Origin Celestial Venerable might still be unable to bridge the chasm to the Yang God realm. Yet they still chose death without hesitation! Within the Grand Stellar Array of All the Heavens, star after star dimmed. The night sky that was once densely dotted with stars lost all its brilliance in this instant. Great Venerable Shenlei let out a loud roar: "Qi Yuan, after this old man dies, the widely acclaimed title of 'old geezer' belongs to you!" Great Venerable Shenlei also chose assimilation, his body detonating with a thunderous roar. The blood spilled across the Grand Stellar Array of All the Heavens by the gods who had fallen earlier in battle was also assimilated at this moment, becoming a part of Qi Yuan. His former subjects, all the ancient gods—Qi Qi, Shi Chongshan, Shentu, Venerable Shenmiao, Great Venerable Lishan... Familiar figures, one by one, chose assimilation behind Qi Yuan, passing away one after another. At this moment, a familiar silhouette appeared near Qi Yuan. This figure wore a crimson robe, ethereal as an immortal maiden. It was none other than the Holy Mother of Inedia. After these ancient gods who had used supreme treasures to step into the rank of Venerable perished, the projection of the Holy Mother of Inedia emerged. She glanced at Qi Yuan, her gaze as complicated as it had ever been. She smiled brilliantly: "I finally see you." With a boom, the peerless woman's figure exploded. She, too, had chosen to execute the assimilation method, becoming a part of Qi Yuan. At this moment, Qi Yuan's strength skyrocketed crazily. Within his Divine Domain, floodwaters surged, heavenly thunder rolled, and the earth was overturned... In this instant, he was far more than ten or a hundred times stronger than before! The divine spiritual power of all the Great Venerables, including the God Visualization Art, poured into his mind all at once. Inside his body, it felt as though a million heavenly gods were concealed. A smile appeared in Great Sage Blood Sun's eyes: "What a stirring, tragic sacrifice. A pity... it is nothing more than a futile effort!" "Die!" Qi Yuan raised his greatsword with both hands. His colossal form leaped abruptly, descending from the sea of stars! The fragile celestial bodies in the star sea were shattered into dust by the aftershocks of this peerless strike, scattering down like dandruff. The gigantic sword strike stood in place of all the fallen ancient gods. This single slash was more than ten or a hundred times stronger than the one before! This god-astounding strike cleaved Great Sage Blood Sun's body clean in half. Her massive form severed, a faint line of blood also appeared upon Great Sage Blood Sun's brow. "Not bad. To be capable of wounding my dharma idol body is quite impressive." Accompanied by her voice, her celestial-sized body healed once again. It was as though Great Sage Blood Sun had suffered no injury whatsoever. The smile in her eyes broadened: "Unfortunately, without becoming a Yang God, you cannot touch my origin in the slightest!" To her, this sort of damage did not even count as an injury. The disparity between a Yang God and a Yin God was far, far too great. The two were simply not beings of the same life tier. No matter how powerful Qi Yuan's sword was, he could not truly harm her. It was like a brute who could crush a piece of gold to powder, yet could never erase the element of gold itself. Qi Yuan held his greatsword in silence. Presently, he was powerful to the extreme. He even had a feeling that, given enough time, he could completely cleave a star to pieces. And yet, his formidable sword strike could not truly injure a Yang God. "The current you is very, very strong, surpassing all Mythological beings. "The divine spiritual power within your body even exceeds my own. "Yet what of it? "The divide between a Yang God and a Yin God has never been about divine spiritual power!" "Not enough?" Qi Yuan's gaze was profound. Was the divine spiritual power inside him still not enough? "What use is more divine spiritual power?" Great Sage Blood Sun spoke. "If you do not become a Yang God, you are ultimately a fleeting spark of fireworks. How could you ever compare to the eternal stars?" "I understand. My divine spiritual power is still not enough!" Qi Yuan's voice was indifferent. He swung his sword once more while silently digesting the divine spiritual power of those ancient gods. "What is the use of more divine spiritual power? "They sacrificed themselves and assimilated into a part of you! "Yet assimilation is merely assimilation in the end. Their divine spiritual power is still not yours! "When your divine spiritual power cannot even become unified, how can you speak of fighting me!" Great Sage Blood Sun looked at Qi Yuan with a face full of greed. Inside Qi Yuan's Divine Domain, everything was a chaotic mess, and the same was true of his divine spiritual power. Compared to when she was at the Mythological rank, Qi Yuan's Divine Domain was more than a hundred times stronger. Yet what did that matter! Without unified divine spiritual power, in such disarray, how could he condense a past body? And even if he did condense a past body, so what? Without entering a grand realm, one could not break through to the Yang God realm and condense a present body at all! Therefore, the Origin Celestial Venerable before her posed no threat to her whatsoever. Great Sage Blood Sun opened her bloody, cavernous maw, her gaze greedy, yet carrying a trace of reluctance to part with it. "Can you only reach this extent? "Is this your limit? "Far too weak!" Great Sage Blood Sun wore a mocking look, though it was overshadowed by avarice. To her, Qi Yuan was ten thousand times more delectable than the Heavenly Dao of an innate world. As long as she devoured all of Qi Yuan's accumulations, she believed that one day, when she was in the Upper Realm, she, Great Sage Blood Sun, would reign supreme across heaven and earth! She looked toward Qi Yuan, a flicker of reluctance passing through her eyes. "Devouring you will bring me to fruition!" Her previously untouched origin was unleashed at this moment. Her immense, bloody maw opened once more, just like her past body had done in the Mortal Heart Realm, seeking to swallow Qi Yuan whole. And this time, Qi Yuan did not slice her past body apart using only the phantoms of the Three Pure Ones like he had back in the Mortal Heart Realm. At this moment, Qi Yuan stood amidst endless darkness, or rather... an endless void. Before his eyes, there was no light and no color—not even blackness. "Become a part of me!" A vast voice echoed within Qi Yuan's heart. Qi Yuan stood in the void. A profound glint flashed within his enormous eyes. Memories were being stripped away; everything seemed to be departing from Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan stood quietly without resisting, terrifyingly still. It felt like an instant, yet also like ages had passed. Qi Yuan suddenly chuckled: "Great Sage Blood Sun, you were originally me to begin with, so why try to devour me?" Great Sage Blood Sun froze for a moment, paying no heed to Qi Yuan. She assumed Qi Yuan was merely stalling for time. At this moment, the corners of Qi Yuan's eyes crinkled with laughter. He murmured under his breath. "Unified divine spiritual power?" "The escaped One?" "The Dao produces One; One produces Two; Two produces Three; Three produces all things!" In this instant, Qi Yuan recalled his past conversation with Great Venerable Shenlei. Back then, he had asked Great Venerable Shenlei if there was a possibility that Great Venerable Shenlei was him, the stars in the sky were him, and all living beings were him. At that time, Great Venerable Shenlei had thought he was mad. Qi Yuan, however, had felt that his own cognitive perception had simply been lacking. Much like a cat looking in a mirror without realizing that the reflection was itself. Now, having obtained the Devouring Primordial Physique, his cognitive perception had been made whole. "Haha, I get it now!" "This Daoist has attained enlightenment!" "Haha, Great Venerable Shenlei is me, and I am Great Venerable Shenlei!" "Qi Qi is me, and I am Houtu!" "Shi Chongshan is me, and I am True Monarch Erlang!" "I am the Youthful Heavenly Emperor Dong Jianghe!" Upon Qi Yuan's face, countless human faces surfaced. Among these faces were the long-deceased Venerable Tianbao, the fair and lovely Qi Qi, the weather-beaten Yulei, and the towering Lingbao Celestial Venerable. "So it turns out, all of this is me!" All living beings were him! Everything in the world was him! Qi Yuan had achieved enlightenment. The divine spiritual power within his body underwent a colossal transformation at this moment... His originally disorderly Divine Domain grew even more chaotic. The divine spiritual power in his body became unified. Yet this One turned into Two, Two turned into Three, and Three turned into all things. "All living beings are me! "I am all living beings! "I finally understand the *Daodejing*! "'The Dao produces One; One produces Two; Two produces Three; Three produces all things!' "So Laozi was me, and I wrote the *Daodejing*!" Qi Yuan understood. So plagiarism had never been plagiarism. The Blue Star did not need to have its traces wiped out, because all the creators were himself. At this moment, he finally understood the One, and he understood the Dao. He also understood that Great Venerable Shenlei was him. The Three Pure Ones and the Six Imperial Sovereigns he had visualized were all, in truth, him. Only with unified divine spiritual power could one form a past body. And unified divine spiritual power, tempered by a grand realm, became supremely unified divine spiritual power, achieving the present body and attaining the Yang God realm. Yet at this moment, One was all things. His divine spiritual power was truly unified, truly supremely one. "So it turns out, I too am a Yang God!" In this instant, revelation dawned upon Qi Yuan. His body shrank at this moment. His aura completely retracted inward. Upon the face of the terrifying Great Sage Blood Sun, an expression of utter bafflement appeared, accompanied by deep-seated terror. "What on earth... happened to you?" For reasons unknown, facing Origin Celestial Venerable, an inexplicable dread welled up within her heart. "I want to say that the path you took was wrong," Qi Yuan spoke, his voice vast and resonant. "How could the path of the Yang God be about becoming unified? "It is clearly... transforming into me! "I, Qi Yuan, am the sole existence in the heavens! "You never truly existed; you are merely one of the myriad things I transformed into." "You are mad!" A heavy sense of impending doom rose in Great Sage Blood Sun's heart. She genuinely felt that Qi Yuan had gone insane. Otherwise, how could he utter such words? In the past, she had once seen a Yang God similar to Qi Yuan, whose path bore an uncanny resemblance to his. At this moment, she hesitated no longer and attacked directly. A chilling look surfaced in Qi Yuan's eyes: "You are the me that I despise. Die!" He struck, lightly swinging his blood-red greatsword. A crack instantly appeared across Great Sage Blood Sun's celestial-sized form. Had it been before, Great Sage Blood Sun would not have cared about such a fracture in the slightest. Yet right now, goosebumps broke out across her entire being. Because her true body was melting and being assimilated at an astonishing speed. This was something she had never encountered before. She could not help but shudder: "What are you doing?" "I am... reclaiming myself!" Qi Yuan's blood-colored greatsword seemed to have acquired the Devouring Primordial Physique, chewing away at Great Sage Blood Sun. In the distance, Great Sage Blood God could no longer maintain his composure. A terrifying strike surged toward Qi Yuan. At this moment, Qi Yuan was incomparably calm. "An innate world represents infinite possibilities. "So this is an innate... Yang God!" As he spoke, he swung the greatsword in his hand. Instantly, behind him appeared over a million heavenly soldiers and generals, all holding suonas and blowing them in unison. Desolate notes of suonas rang out as Qi Yuan's seemingly featherlight sword slash fell upon Great Sage Blood God's body. "We were originally one body, so why make things difficult for yourself?" He sighed softly. At this moment, he was more powerful than ever before. A look of sheer horror emerged in Great Sage Blood God's eyes: "You... what on earth are you?" The two Yang Gods looked at Qi Yuan in utter terror, just like those extraterrestrial demons in Dijue. Because their cognitive perception simply could not comprehend Qi Yuan's existence. "I am... you!" Qi Yuan smiled brilliantly. The bodies of the two terrifying Yang Gods turned cold. They wanted to flee, but their bodies refused to obey their commands. In truth, if another Yang God faced Qi Yuan's strike and found themselves unable to block it, they could still choose to run. However... these two Yang Gods could not. Because their bodies had long been tainted by the innate qi of the innate world. An innate world represented infinite possibilities. Hence, the God Visualization Art could forge gods. Hence, the God Visualization Art that Qi Yuan imagined out of thin air could also become reality. Hence, Qi Yuan could claim that he was Shenlei, that he was Qi Qi, and that he was the Holy Mother of Inedia. Because they were all influenced by the innate world. Because Qi Yuan possessed the Devouring Primordial Physique. Because Qi Yuan possessed the *Qi Yuan Scripture*. Not one of these three things could be missing. Only with all three gathered could the Qi Yuan of 'all living beings are me' be forged! Otherwise, even if Great Venerable Shenlei and the gods chose to assimilate into Qi Yuan, Qi Yuan would never have been able to truly become them. "Tainted by innate qi... you are me!" His gaze grew profound. The two Yang Gods were completely immobilized. Great Sage Blood Sun's delicate face morphed frantically, gradually turning into Qi Yuan's appearance, while her headlights, each larger than a planet, shrank straight down. Upon Great Sage Blood God's face, it morphed into the likeness of a star. Both Yang Gods, at this very moment... became Qi Yuan. An enraged expression appeared on Qi Yuan's face. "To dare impersonate me—you court death!" Qi Yuan declared, unleashing his mighty sword strike. At this moment, he stepped into the Yang God realm. A single sword unleashed, and stars were extinguished. The two colossal forms dissipated in this instant. Amidst the boundless starry expanse, two blood-red celestial bodies detonated with a boom, turning into endless fragments. The heavens were thrown into turmoil.