When Ji Jingqiu first entered the Heavenly Venerable realm, his Dao Power had already reached the Third Tier Peak, nearing Perfect.

During the many years of secluded cultivation at the Heavenly Saint Lake, his Dao Power was nourished, and he was just a step away from the Fourth Tier.

Though No Heaven has now advanced to become a Dao Ancestor, his Dao Power has only just reached the Fourth Tier, attaining the minimum standard of a Dao Ancestor.

Of course, No Heaven’s Daoist career was all "inherited," reaching heaven in one step, rather than cultivated step by step by himself.

Ji Jingqiu did not rush to take back No Heaven, having agreed to witness together the breakthrough of Ancestor Shouzhen into Transcendence.

No Heaven’s emergence also marked the transfer of the Taoist inheritance of Heavenly Saint Lake onto his shoulders.

Shouzhen began the final preparations for his seclusion.

Before going into seclusion, he purposely delayed the time to summon Ji Jingqiu and No Heaven.

Upon meeting Shouzhen at this moment, Ji Jingqiu was moved.

In his eyes, Shouzhen’s once dense Karma Net turned into a blank sheet...

Though he was clearly seated in front of Ji Jingqiu, with a gentle and open aura, without any concealment, Ji Jingqiu could hardly sense his presence.

It seemed as if even "what was seen" had issues.

"Is this doing subtraction to become empty?" Ji Jingqiu couldn’t help but ask.

Ancestor Shouzhen’s voice was somewhat ethereal, as if coming from afar:

"The Method of doing subtraction to become empty was quite successful. The Karma on my body, along with the Taoist inheritance of Heavenly Saint Lake, was transferred onto No Heaven."

"I have roughly understood the essence of this path; it is completely opposite to the Harmonization of One Realm."

"For any living being, the world is not only a place of origin but also a prison."

"Those who pursue the Harmonization of One Realm walk the path of ’I am the world, the world is me,’ condensing the entire world’s power into a point, held in one’s palm. The stronger the world, the stronger the self, yet this road is also highly bound with the Harmonization World."

"But doing subtraction to become empty is entirely opposite; it advocates transferring or ending all Karma between oneself and the world, until one utterly becomes ’empty,’ seeking the ultimate perfect Transcendence Realm."

Ancestor Shouzhen’s exposition was quite clear, and Ji Jingqiu immediately grasped the essence and core of this path.

"I wonder if this path is centuries-old or pioneered by Emperor Yi," Ji Jingqiu murmured.

Regarding how many Ancestor Masters entered Transcendence, Ji Jingqiu had already inquired from Sword Light Brother.

The latter indicated that the methods the Ancestor Masters used to reach Transcendence were not uniform, each having their unique path. For himself and most Transcenders, the path to Transcendence lay more in the ’proof’ of ’Proving Dao.’

Back then, Cang Jian traveled most of the Sea of Realms, empathized with the suffering of All Spirits, and developed the First Sword, gaining the recognition of the Sea of Realms, ultimately proving Dao and transcending, while continuing to enhance his Daoist career in the process of practicing his Dao.

But this kind of path no longer exists in later generations.

"Indeed, it is said that the Sea of Realms can nurture and accommodate only limited Transcendence Fruit Positions, and once the Fruit Position reaches the limit, those born in later generations cannot even see this path, let alone walk it!"

"In such an environment, if one wants to prove Dao, one must either follow the path of Unity like the Phoenix King, leaving no path for the Latecomers."

"Or it’s the ’Proving Dao with Power’ you mentioned earlier, though I’ve never heard of anyone succeeding in Proving Dao with Power."

At this moment.

Ji Jingqiu looked at Ancestor Shouzhen, who was sitting right in front of him yet seemed not to exist in the world, and once again asked the Moon-cutting Sword Light:

"Is this path promising?"

The Moon-cutting Sword Light didn’t reply immediately, but instead circled Shouzhen solemnly several times.

As they had met many times over the years, Shouzhen was not surprised and had even consulted on the mysteries of Transcendence multiple times.

"Doing subtraction to become empty..."

Sword Light murmured,

"This path is not simply the opposite of the Harmonization of One Realm, nullifying all traces of Karma so that one’s self has power but no bondage, completely releasing oneself from the constraints of the Primordial Realm, but this alone doesn’t allow one to break through to Transcendence."

"Shouzhen, you should know the ultimate endpoint of this path, right?"

Shouzhen nodded: "Proving Dao with Power."

Sword Light sighed: "Indeed, doing subtraction to become empty is not to truly escape the prison, but to reach the best state prior to prison-breaking, without any constraints, maximizing the release of one’s Dao Power. Yet to truly prove Dao, you still need to take Proving Dao with Power."

Shouzhen looked into the void, eyes slightly flickering: "Once I truly embarked on this path, I could feel that this path wasn’t yet complete."

"Oh?"

Sword Light was suddenly serious, pondering for a moment, then said,

"This path is indeed strange, making such an elaborate arrangement and even forsaking one’s Daoist inheritance to sever all bonds of Karma and destiny, yet it only serves to keep oneself in the optimal state?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"It’s quite bizarre, unless..."

"Unless this path was not conceived to break through to Transcendence." Shouzhen thoughtfully interjected.

Sword Light fell silent; Shouzhen’s conjecture seemed bold in his eyes.

If not for breaking through to Transcendence, then what is it for?

"If this path was indeed pioneered by Emperor Yi, then it makes sense." Sword Light said in a deep voice, "The Ancestor of Divine Dao a century ago, the Lord of Heaven, had likely reached the pinnacle of his Daoist career, with no room left for further progress."

Shouzhen’s gaze was profound, following this line of logic, Emperor Yi pioneering ’doing subtraction to become empty’ was not to prepare for breaking through to Transcendence, but rather...

Beyond Transcendence!

Ji Jingqiu suddenly said: "Did Qian Wanqiu and the other three Great Dao Ancestors ever find a path forward back then?"

Sword Light responded without hesitation: "The path beyond Transcendence has always theoretically existed!"

In Ji Jingqiu’s mind, it was as if sparks ignited, as he exhaled deeply and said: