The Complete Heavenly Dao

Xu Ying awoke serenely. When he opened his eyes, night had fallen over the Penglai Immortal Realm, and darkness enveloped the outside world. Penghu Hall remained brightly lit, in stark contrast to the pitch-black night outside. Rain had begun to fall at some point, pattering softly as water trickled down the eaves of the hall. By the hall's light, Xu Ying looked out and saw raindrops striking the ground, each one shattering on impact. "What did you think of, Young Master Xu?" The mist slowly thinned, and the Divine Mother's face emerged from the haze across from him. Framed by the curling vapors, her ordinary features took on the inscrutable mystery of an ancient god. In Xu Ying's heart, she was unfathomable—a presence comparable to Beiyin and Dongyue, perhaps even surpassing them! "I remembered the life of Yan Bao'er," Xu Ying said, gazing at the rain beyond the doors. It took him a moment to settle his state of mind before addressing the Divine Mother. "For a while, a wave of melancholy was difficult to shake off." He continued, "May I ask the goddess to take action again and help unseal more of my memories?" The Divine Mother shook her head. "Even the Northern Emperor could only unseal several thousand years of your memories. How could I possess such vast ability? Young Master Xu, undoing your current seals was already at the absolute limit of my power." Xu Ying was skeptical. In his memories of Yan Bao'er's life, the Divine Mother had even shown him scenes from his first lifetime, vivid as though he had experienced them firsthand. If she had been able to unseal a portion of his memories back then, fifteen thousand years ago, how could she be unable to do so now? "Goddess, the Immortal Master asked me to help him complete Penglai's Heavenly Dao. If you refuse to help unseal my memories, wouldn't that go against his orders?" Xu Ying smiled. "Besides, completing Penglai's Heavenly Dao will bring immense benefits to all of you immortals of Penglai." The Divine Mother chuckled and shook her head. "Using the Immortal Master to pressure me is futile. I arrived in Penglai earlier than he did; his petty schemes cannot hide from me. Before Penglai ever fell into his hands, I was already an immortal here." Xu Ying's heart stirred. He cast a deep look at her. *According to Xu Fu's information, Penglai was brought from the Immortal Realm down to the mortal realm by me, along with two other immortal mountains—Fangzhang and Yingzhou.* He blinked. *In my first lifetime, I was defeated in the battle where the heavenly road was broken, and my realms and cave-heavens were severed. Presumably, Penglai Immortal Mountain fell into the Immortal Master's hands at that time.* This struck him as rather strange. *I was the one who brought Penglai Immortal Mountain down from the Immortal Realm. If the Divine Mother says she arrived in Penglai even earlier than the Immortal Master, doesn't that mean she was already on Penglai when I brought it down from the Immortal Realm?* Xu Ying felt suspicious. Through the mist, the Divine Mother watched him with a smile, her face dipping in and out of the shadows cast by the curling smoke. *Could it be that she was someone I brought down from the Immortal Realm?* Puzzled, Xu Ying probed, "Goddess, in my memories, I heard you call me 'son of the Xu family.' Only ancient beings who know me well use such a form of address. I've always felt there is a profound connection between you and me." The Divine Mother smiled. "'Son of the Xu family' is merely a form of address. Determining one's identity from a title alone would be rather reckless. Young Master Xu, I know some of your experiences, but my cultivation is not enough to break your seals. There is someone whose cultivation surpasses mine—He will be able to unseal even more." Xu Ying's interest was piqued. "Who is this person? How can I find Him?" The Divine Mother's face gradually retreated into the mist, her voice drifting from its depths, growing fainter and more distant: "You have no need to search for Him. He is currently looking for you. Before long, you two will meet." Xu Ying hurriedly rose and called out, "Who is this person?" Mist swirled within Penghu Hall, but the Divine Mother was already gone. "Young Master Xu, my master has departed," Yuan Tiangang said outside the hall, holding a paper umbrella as he waited. "Allow me to escort you back." Xu Ying walked out of Penghu Hall and strolled side by side with Yuan Tiangang until they arrived outside Mituo Temple. Xu Ying looked back toward Penghu Hall, where the smoke had dispersed, leaving no trace of anyone. He praised, "Her divine foresight is truly admirable." Yuan Tiangang shared his heartfelt admiration. "That is why I have been studying under her, and I have gained a great deal during this time." Xu Ying smiled. "It is difficult for Qi Refiners to cultivate the Nuo method—once one achieves a Primordial Spirit, opening the secret depositories becomes nearly impossible. But for Nuo immortals, cultivating Qi Refiner methods meets no obstacles whatsoever. Mister Yuan, I have an ancestral method among the Nuo techniques to give you." He took out a jade slip and presented it to Yuan Tiangang. Yuan Tiangang accepted the jade slip and secretly transmitted his divine sense: "The Immortal Master cannot be trusted. His mind is impure. Over these past days, I have deduced Penglai's heavenly fortunes and discovered that Penglai's Heavenly Dao has already fallen under his control. If you help him perfect Penglai's Heavenly Dao, his cultivation and power will surely advance by leaps and bounds, reaching an unimaginable realm!" Xu Ying walked past the huabiao heavenly pillars, examining them one by one. He said leisurely, "I know what I'm doing. In this life, I will not repeat the same mistakes. Mister Yuan, look at the Heavenly Dao runes on these pillars—many are runes I have never seen before!" He stopped and inspected them closely. Yuan Tiangang said, "These pillars are the Immortal Master's magic treasures. Once activated, they can control the Heavenly Dao of Penglai." Xu Ying walked among the huabiao pillars, his emotions surging. These pillars were treasures left behind from his first lifetime! Every single pillar was a Heavenly Dao divine artifact, wielding a distinct Heavenly Dao divine might! *The Immortal Master? I was the one who taught him his Heavenly Dao,* Xu Ying thought as he lightly touched the runes carved on the huabiao pillars. He murmured calmly, "Now, I have comprehended something even better." The next morning, the drizzle ceased, and the sky grew light. Sunlight cascaded down from the Immortal Realm, bathing Penglai's numerous immortal mountains in radiance. Patriarch Yan Yu of the Penglai Pavilion stepped out of his immortal pavilion onto his small mountain. On this three-foot-square immortal mountain stood a Tianbao Platform, where sunlight and immortal qi from the Immortal Realm descended. Every morning, one could cultivate on the Tianbao Platform, absorbing the immortal qi to strengthen oneself. The platform was only the size of a book, just enough to accommodate six three-inch-tall figures like him. A seventh made things rather cramped. Unfortunately, the Penglai Pavilion happened to have seven pavilion masters. "Lin Tianhua, that unfilial disciple, is coming too. Just great—eight of us huddled here drinking the northwest wind... Huh? Strange. My cultivation seems to have leaped forward by a massive margin!" Yan Yu gasped in wonder, muttering to himself, "Could it be that I am an extraordinary genius, and overnight my cultivation and strength more than doubled? Why didn't I realize this before? Let me go back and catch some more sleep; maybe my power will double again..." Just as he turned back, the other Penglai Pavilion masters emerged from the pavilion, rubbing their sleepy eyes. "Huh? After one sleep, my cultivation actually more than doubled! I really am a genius of heaven! One nap and I've had an epiphany!" The Third Pavilion Master, Xiang Hao, exclaimed in pleasant surprise. Turning back toward the pavilion, he declared, "I'm going back to sleep some more!" The Sixth Pavilion Master also cried out in shock, "Bizarre! I've become an extraordinary genius too!" The other pavilion masters chimed in with astonishment. They discovered that over the course of a single night, their cultivation and magic power had doubled without them even noticing! Patriarch Yan Yu raised a hand to silence their clamor. "If only my cultivation doubled, it would mean I'm a heaven-sent genius who just had an epiphany last night. But if you fools doubled your cultivation as well, there must be something else at play!" Prompted by his reminder, the pavilion masters nodded in agreement. "I knew it! How could an idiot like the Patriarch suddenly have an epiphany overnight? Something is definitely fishy." They flew out from the immortal mountain one after another, their bodies expanding against the wind until they regained their true physical size. Patriarch Yan Yu was about to knock on Fairy Gushe's door when Third Pavilion Master Xiang Hao hastily called out, "Patriarch, you still dare harass the fairy? Did she not beat you hard enough last time?" The pavilion masters burst into laughter. Patriarch Yan Yu flushed red and stammered, "I only asked her if she wanted to dual cultivate, and she resorted to violence! Just because she's stronger than me, she gave me a sound thrashing. Shows what a fiery temper she has." Right at that moment, Fairy Gushe flew out from her immortal palace, her expression frosty. "There must be a reason for our sudden surge in cultivation," she stated. Patriarch Yan Yu scurried after her. "I noticed it too! There is definitely something going on here." The other pavilion masters followed in a rush, only to see that immortals on other mountains had also been disturbed, streaming down toward Penglai's main peak below. Evidently, it was not just them—everyone's cultivation had doubled overnight! The immortals buzzed with excitement, bewildered by the miraculous leap in their power. From a distance, they spotted the Immortal Master of Penglai. Patriarch Yan Yu called out hurriedly, "Immortal Master, hold on! Did your cultivation also more than double overnight? What on earth is going on?" The Immortal Master had little desire to talk to him, addressing instead Fairy Gushe, who had remained silent: "I do not know either. My cultivation also more than doubled over the night. I can sense that Penglai's Heavenly Dao is shifting. In all likelihood, this is Fellow Daoist Xu's doing. Aside from him, no one else possesses such capability." They arrived at White Cloud Palace. As soon as they stepped through the entrance, they saw a huabiao pillar standing there, carved with intricate, profound Heavenly Dao runes. These runes flowed and shifted unpredictably. As the crowd escorted the Immortal Master inside, they were greeted by even more huabiao pillars, every single one inscribed with circulating Heavenly Dao runes that emanated waves of divine heavenly might, blending into Penglai's world! Xu Ying had stayed up all night, currently chiseling a huabiao pillar, with Yuan Tiangang assisting at his side. "Immortal Master, fellow daoists, what brings you all here?" Xu Ying turned around, looking astonished. He dusted off his hands and smiled. "I haven't fully finished these huabiao pillars yet. I intended to erect them first before sharing the good news with you all, but you've already found out." Patriarch Yan Yu stepped forward in haste. "Young Master Xu, are these the pillars that perfected Penglai's Heavenly Dao?" Xu Ying smiled. "The runes contained in these pillars number only one thousand six hundred. Combined with Penglai's original one thousand four hundred, that makes three thousand in total." Patriarch Yan Yu murmured, "Three thousand Heavenly Daos? A complete Heavenly Dao..." Suddenly, Xu Ying activated one of the huabiao heavenly pillars. With a thunderous rumble, the pillar soared into the air, reaching high into the azure sky and sinking deep into the mountain roots, anchoring itself between heaven and earth! "The Heavenly Dao runes in the Heavenly Dao world have serious flaws. The runes mastered by those gods are full of errors and omissions, far less complete than Penglai's Heavenly Dao." He activated the heavenly pillars one after another, planting them across Penglai. The numerous huabiao pillars grew into colossal columns supporting heaven and earth, expanding Penglai's realm wider and wider. The firmament of Penglai rose higher and higher! More immortal qi and immortal light poured down from the Immortal Realm, enriching the world's spiritual aura! Xu Ying called to the Immortal Master of Penglai, "May the Immortal Master activate the other huabiao pillars to complete the Heavenly Dao!" The Immortal Master of Penglai channeled his power into the huabiao pillars on the main peak. With rumbling roars, those pillars also rose one by one from the earth, turning into towering pillars piercing the azure heavens! Instantly, the crowd felt their cultivation and strength surge once more at an astonishing rate. They couldn't help cheering, "The Immortal Master's magic power is boundless!" The Immortal Master's expression shifted slightly. After raising those huabiao pillars, he discovered that the number of pillars under his command was far fewer than the ones Xu Ying had newly carved! Furthermore, the pillars Xu Ying carved were magic treasures in their own right, within which the Heavenly Dao runes shifted constantly, leaping and evolving at every moment. In contrast, his own huabiao pillars had static runes that never changed! *Either I never figured out the proper refinement method for these huabiao pillars, or Xu Ying held back when he taught me fifteen thousand years ago!* He gave Xu Ying a profound look. By patching Penglai's Heavenly Dao overnight, Xu Ying had indeed allowed his cultivation to leap forward, but now Xu Ying controlled more than half of Penglai's Heavenly Dao! This was a grave problem. *I refined these pillars for so many years and never figured out their true application. Yet the moment he arrived in Penglai, his memories on this matter awakened. Did the Divine Mother help him unlock his memories from his first lifetime?* A chill ran through his heart. If that were true, Xu Ying's strength would soon rise to an unimaginable level! *The Divine Mother wouldn't go so far as to betray me. He must have only recalled how to use the huabiao pillars, without fully awakening his first lifetime.* With that thought, the Immortal Master of Penglai said in a solemn voice, "Everyone, we have already penetrated deep into the heart of the Yuanchu Great World, arriving at the site of the demonic realm's invasion. Now that all of your cultivation and strength have vastly increased, you must share the burdens of the mortal world." The immortals flew into the air and looked around. The Xuanwu divine turtle was still plowing forward with the Penglai Immortal Mountain on its back. Surrounding the mountain was a sprawling demonic realm, where encroaching demonic qi gave birth to countless terrifying creatures. These demonic creatures lunged at the Xuanwu divine turtle to tear and bite, only to be swept up by the torrential river circling the beast—either drowned in its currents or scrubbed into piles of white bones. The immortals of Penglai carefully sensed their surroundings: here, the Heavenly Dao did not exist; it had completely become an alien domain. The Immortal Master of Penglai turned to Xu Ying and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu, the demonic realm's invasion of the Yuanchu Great World is of grave consequence. As protectors of the Dao against evil, we cannot shirk our duty. In quelling this demonic turmoil, I hope Fellow Daoist Xu will also lend a hand." Xu Ying replied solemnly, "I await the Immortal Master's orders." The Immortal Master hastily said, "I wouldn't dare presume. This time, all immortals of our Penglai Immortal Realm must mobilize to purify the demonic nature of this realm and restore brightness to heaven and earth. Fellow Daoist Xu, how about teaming up with Fairy Gushe?" Xu Ying agreed. The Immortal Master of Penglai called out the names of the immortals, dividing them into groups, and warned them earnestly, "The demonic realm is fraught with peril. Everyone must be extremely careful." He produced jade pendants and distributed them to everyone. "Holding this jade talisman will preserve your realm as immortals. The talisman must not break; if it shatters, you will fall from immortal back to mortal." Fairy Gushe also accepted one. The crowd flew out of the Penglai Immortal Realm one by one. As Yuan Tiangang brushed past Xu Ying, he sent a secret transmission: "Be careful." Xu Ying smiled faintly and departed alongside Fairy Gushe. The Immortal Master of Penglai watched them recede, his eyes flickering. He muttered under his breath, "If you had merely carved those huabiao without claiming ownership, I could still tolerate you. But by refining them and turning the host into the guest, you make things very difficult for me..." The Divine Mother's voice drifted from afar with a chuckle: "Fifteen thousand years ago, you dared to plot against Xu Ying and his wife. Do you lack the courage to plot against him this time?" The Immortal Master of Penglai snorted, his expression dark and uncertain. "Did you help him unseal his memories of his first lifetime?" The Divine Mother giggled. "How would I dare? If I unleashed that demon king, wouldn't I have to worry about the Emperor striking me down with his Purple Nether Blade?" The Immortal Master laughed heartily. "Fairy Gushe is right by his side. Why would I kill him? Wouldn't that mean killing Fairy Gushe as well? Divine Mother, you judge the heart of a gentleman with the petty mind of a scoundrel!" The Divine Mother smiled without responding. Xu Ying and Fairy Gushe traveled side by side. Suddenly, Xu Ying smiled and asked, "Fairy, do you know how powerful a Heavenly Dao avatar is when backed by the complete Heavenly Dao and supported by the Penglai Immortal Realm?" Fairy Gushe shook her head. "I don't. Do you?" "I don't know either," Xu Ying said with a grin. "However, we'll find out very soon." His heart surged with excitement. With the complete Heavenly Dao, just how much would their cultivation and strength increase?