Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2570  Secrets Of The Celestial Realm

Lin Mu reflected on these distinctions as he continued to explore the Withered Spirit Daoistʼs memories.

”Itʼs fascinating how the lines blur between these factions, yet the Devil Path remains the one clear enemy of all,” Lin Mu thought.

Through these revelations, Lin Mu gained not only knowledge of the cultivation worldʼs complex politics but also a better understanding of the dangers that lay ahead.

The Devil Path had been at loggerheads with the Immortal Court since time immemorial and had technically been their very first opponent. In fact, it was the conflict between the Orthodox Path and the Devil Path that actually led to the birth of the Unorthodox Path.

The Unorthodox Path consisted of individuals who thought that some of the methods of the Righteous Path werenʼt suitable for achieving victory over the Devil Path. They believed that extreme wit and cunningness were needed to defeat the Devil Path and that pure righteousness was the cause of repeated failures.

Broadly, they thought the Righteous Path was naive and too simplistic, which led to the clever devils defeating them time and time again. There had been no shortage of battles lost due to the stubbornness of the Righteous Pathʼs experts.

This frustration fueled the anger of countless experts of various standings, eventually leading to the great division that caused the birth of the Unorthodox faction.

This was where the Right Arm of the Skull Godʼs Commandery fell.

Lin Mu learned about various operations and missions that the Withered Spirit Daoist had undertaken. While these missions were certainly dangerous and oppressive, they were not outright evil. The actions were undeniably selfish and greedy, but in the cultivation world, power was supreme.

Even Lin Mu couldnʼt fault them for serving their own interests. After all, power was the ultimate currency in this realm. Sure, they had killed many people, but Lin Mu himself was no saint. He knew better than to judge them with an idealistic lens.

Of course, he was also aware that what he saw was from a single personʼs perspective. Even if these were actual memories witnessed by the Withered Spirit Daoist, her perspective could skew how events were recorded. Memories, after all, were shaped by emotion and experience.

”It is highly possible that this is simply the favorable impression of the Withered Spirit Daoist towards her faction and master,” Lin Mu thought.

He took all this information with a grain of salt. He knew how biased records and books could be and how critical thinking was needed to analyze them. Similarly, he doubted that memories were exempt from such biases. Thus, he didnʼt fully accept them as gospel. The only parts he could trust were the objective facts: names, locations, techniques, and the like.

These were pieces of information that didnʼt require interpretation or judgment.

Lin Mu tried to view the Right Arm of the Skull Godʼs Commandery from various perspectives but could only conclude that its workings were shady but not outright evil. They were involved in corrupt practices—eliminating competition through unfair means and establishing dominance through violence. Yet, they didnʼt go on mindless, wanton slaughter.

”Was this restraint something unique to the Withered Spirit Daoist, or was it reflective of the Right Arm of the Skull God Commandery as a whole?” Lin Mu wondered.

This question was particularly conflicting since he had learned of the Great Domain Violatorʼs—or rather the Shadow Gloom Bone Lordʼs—affiliation with the Left Arm of the Skull God Commandery. The Shadow Gloom Bone Lord was undeniably a being of the Devil Path, and there was no room for doubt about it.

In fact, Lin Mu even found a few mentions of the abomination in the Withered Spirit Daoistʼs memories when she had read some reports. She didnʼt harbor any particular feelings about the creature and regarded it simply as an entity that existed.

Her time as a Celestial had been quite reserved, if not for her obsession with her junior brother and her pursuit of becoming a True Celestial.

It was at this point that Lin Mu learned the actual cultivation base of the Withered Spirit Daoist at the time of her voluntary death.

”The Icon Transformation Realm,” Lin Mu mused, reflecting deeply on this revelation.

Linking her memories together, he unraveled several details about the Celestial Realm and its stages. This information extended beyond what Xukong had shared with him. Since Lin Mu was able to access it without triggering any Heavenly Restrictions, he delved into it as much as he could within his capabilities.

After the False Celestial Realm came the Phylactery Establishment Realm, which Lin Mu already knew about. It was the stage where cultivators saved a wisp of their True Soul in a safe place to ensure their rebirth.

In the case of the Withered Spirit Daoist, as a Bestowed Celestial, she had given her True Soul wisp to her ”liege.”

What surprised Lin Mu was that her master wasnʼt actually a True Celestial either.

”A First Generation Bestowed Celestial? So the Withered Spirit Daoist was a Second Generation Bestowed Celestial,” Lin Mu realized.

The third stage after the Phylactery Establishment Realm was the Icon Transformation Realm. This stage fascinated Lin Mu due to its unique and significant process, marking a massive qualitative change for cultivators.

In the Icon Transformation Realm, a cultivator transformed their Dao Embryo into a Dao Icon. This transformation stabilized and perfected the Dao Embryo, elevating the cultivatorʼs strength and comprehension of the Dao to a new level. Their understanding would surpass all prior limits, and they would exude pure Dao Insights instead of mere Dao Traces.

The sheer implications of this transformation left Lin Mu awestruck. The potential power such a breakthrough provided was enormous, yet it also demanded equally immense effort and comprehension.

He continued to examine the Withered Spirit Daoistʼs memories, piecing together the journey of someone who had once walked the path of righteousness but had fallen to the Unorthodox and, eventually, the influence of the Devil Pathʼs corruption.

The dichotomy between her life as an Immortal and her life as a Celestial intrigued Lin Mu. As an Immortal, her actions had been calculated yet restrained. But as a Celestial, her allegiance to her liege had driven her to extremes she might never have embraced otherwise.