The cave abysses above Xu Ying's head expanded continuously, and his cultivation surged ever higher, breaking his reverie and immersing him in the joy of attaining the Dao.
In the traditional cultivation realms—from the first level to the seventh level of the Dao Realm, from ascension to the Dao Realm, from Human Immortal to Heavenly Monarch—it was always merely an elevation of realm; there was never any concept of "attaining the Dao."
Only the Supreme realm, the Eighth Level of the Dao Realm, and the Wondrous Realm of Great Luo carried the notion of attaining the Dao.
The so-called attainment of the Dao was the imprinting of one's Great Dao upon heaven and earth, forming a world of the Great Dao where the Dao bore witness to heaven and earth, and the dharma inherited the ways of nature.
In the ancient Dragon Court, the eighth level of the Dao Realm made that Dao Realm its world of the Great Dao. In primeval times, the Wondrous Realm of Great Luo also imprinted one's own Great Dao within the bodhimanda, forming a world of the Great Dao.
In high antiquity, Qingxuan established the Supreme realm, imprinting the Great Dao within a cave abyss, making the cave abyss one's world of the Great Dao. However, the cave abysses back then were summoned from elsewhere; one's Great Dao was imprinted within someone else's cave abyss, liable to be harvested at any moment.
Now that Xu Ying was attaining the Dao, his Great Dao was imprinted within his own cave abysses. All six of his great cave abysses had been cultivated to the Supreme cave abyss rank, among which Taiyi, Wuji, Primordial Origin, Chaos, and Samsara jointly revered the Martial Dao.
The Martial Dao Cave Abyss was the most bizarre of all, for within the void and nature, no such thing as an innate Martial Dao existed. There was neither such a Great Dao nor a Martial Dao Cave Abyss; it was a cave abyss Xu Ying had created out of nothing, brought into existence by sheer will.
When the Martial Dao Cave Abyss achieved the Supreme rank, though Xu Ying's Martial Dao was imprinted inside it, the cave abyss itself did not grow because of it. Thus, it drew power from the other five cave abysses, creating the anomaly where the five great cave abysses jointly revered the Martial Dao.
His heart stirred. Circulating his various Dao methods, Xu Ying felt his dharmic power surge like a boundless ocean, fathomless and vast!
Above all were the Dao sceneries within each cave abyss. Magnificent and resplendent, sceneries such as the Chaos Sea, the Qi of Primordial Origin, Yujing City, Mount Measureless, and the Twin Qi of Xuanhuang rapidly grew and expanded, resembling worlds of the heavens!
At this moment, these Dao sceneries of his were already comparable in scale to Qingxuan's Ten Sceneries of Great Void, yet far greater in number.
In particular, the Taiyi Cave Abyss—which had merged thirty other types of cave abysses—contained as many as two hundred and fifty-six Dao sceneries!
"Power... I feel endless power!"
Xu Ying muttered, "With this strength, I think I could fully challenge that Immortal True King from the other shore... Pfft!"
Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. A sharp agony racked his internal organs, severe damage inflicted upon them, with various bodhimandas clinging around his entrails. Not only that, all sorts of bizarre Dao injuries were scattered across his various realms—he was actually heavily wounded!
"Don't get ahead of yourself," the Ancestral God said with a benevolent smile. "When we helped you break through just now, our hands were just a little bit too heavy."
The Far Ancestor Big Dragon nodded hastily. "Just a tiny bit too heavy! We did it for your own good. Seeing you were about to break through, the deeper the love, the harder the beating!"
Emperor Ming Xun added, "If we hadn't put some pressure on you just then, you wouldn't have broken through so easily."
The Holy Venerable revealed a smile. "That little personal grievance between us is wiped clean."
Clearly, he had taken his petty revenge.
Xu Ying gave a muffled grunt, quickly sat cross-legged, and devoted all his efforts to healing his Dao injuries.
The Holy Venerable, the Far Ancestor, and Emperor Ming Xun each resumed contemplating the Immortal Dao runes and dragon patterns. Lacking Xu Ying's profound mastery of the Heavenly Dao—which allowed him to freely switch between the three scripts—it would take them a considerable amount of time to comprehend even one of them.
Meanwhile, the Ancestral God flew out of this subterranean dragon city to transform more Dao ash into the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
He wove through the underground depths, preparing to reconstruct a Heavenly Dao world beneath the earth. The broader the reach of the underground Heavenly Dao, the stronger its power would grow. The suppression exerted upon Him by the alien Heavenly Dao of the Heavenly Immortal Realm would weaken, allowing Him to unleash ever greater might.
Although He had initially opposed directly confronting Immortal True King Yinyuanzi, now that everyone had agreed, He would prepare wholeheartedly and push His cultivation and strength to the absolute limit!
The current Heavenly Immortal Realm was built atop a thousand li of Dao ash, within which lay numerous dragon immortal cities. Whenever He encountered such places, the Ancestral God steered clear of them.
In particular, He gave the Dragon Court Imperial Capital a wide berth, lest hollowing out the ground beneath it alert Yinyuanzi and his retinue.
When Xu Ying healed his Dao injuries and opened his eyes, he saw the Far Ancestor and the others still deep in cultivation. Princess Mingman had awakened, clutching her head and crying out in pain.
"Little Master, it feels like my head got hit by something—it feels like it's splitting apart! But my cultivation has leaped forward by a huge margin!" Princess Mingman was both surprised and delighted, having suffered a bout of amnesia that wiped away all memory of being blasted away by Xu Ying.
Xu Ying did not know what had happened to her either. He said, "Mingman, we are about to fight a great battle against an Immortal True King from the other shore. The outcome of this clash is impossible to predict. It is not suitable for you to stay with us. I will escort you back to the Dragon Court Imperial Capital."
Princess Mingman hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
A battle with an Immortal True King would inevitably be cataclysmic; she truly could not intervene, and merely spectating would mean certain death. The best option was to return to the Dragon Court Imperial Capital, where her father Emperor Mingdao's protection would keep her safe.
Leaving a message inscribed in the air to explain his whereabouts, Xu Ying shifted heaven and earth with a thought, returning to the surface with Mingman.
"Now that I've reached the Supreme realm, I'm certainly no match for an Immortal being like Yinyuanzi, but infiltrating the Imperial Capital should be well within my reach."
Xu Ying was immensely curious. He desperately wanted to see just how wide the gap was between this Immortal being from the other shore and the Immortals here, such as the Far Ancestor and Emperor Ming Xun.
His body rapidly dragonized, soon transforming into a man with a dragon head and a human body. He whispered, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles out of a hundred!"
Seeing this, Princess Mingman shifted from a human maiden back into a dragon maiden. The two walked side by side, looking like a well-matched couple and drawing frequent glances from the dragon immortals along the way.
Above the Dragon Court Imperial Capital, other-shore outsiders stepped forth from time to time out of revolving cave abysses. These outsiders were the disciples of Immortal True King Yinyuanzi.
Yinyuanzi had descended upon the Heavenly Immortal Realm to move against the Three Realms and breach the gelatinous zone between the realms. But how could a True King attend to such labor in person? Naturally, he would enslave the dragons to pierce through the gelatinous zone.
His disciples had descended on this occasion to drive the dragon experts on his behalf.
As for Yinyuanzi himself, he was glad to enjoy his peace and quiet.
Just then, a disciple hurried over, bowed, and said, "Master, a young man of the Sacred Race has arrived outside. He calls himself Lu Yiren. His dress and speech are quite odd, and he seeks an audience with you, Master."
"Lu Yiren?"
Yinyuanzi was surprised. "What kind of name is that? How bizarre. Send him in."
The disciple departed. Moments later, Lu Yiren stepped into the immortal palace and bowed in greeting to Yinyuanzi. Seeing that he performed an unfamiliar etiquette rather than the other shore's customary greeting from a junior to an elder, Yinyuanzi felt slightly displeased. Still, not knowing Lu Yiren's origin, he held his patience and asked, "Lu Yiren, what brings you to see me?"
Seeing that Yinyuanzi did not invite him to take a seat, Lu Yiren answered while standing, smiling. "Junior has come to ask for guidance on cultivation techniques."
Yinyuanzi's brows knitted slightly, his displeasure growing. "If you seek guidance on techniques, you should consult your own master. A master's teachings are a hundred times better than those of an outsider like me. Why come to see me?"
Lu Yiren replied, "I have no master. My parents were emissaries escorting the three Emerald Rocks. When they arrived in the Three Realms, they were misunderstood by the local dragons, resulting in both of my parents being killed and leaving me alone and stranded in the Three Realms. I learned the other shore's supreme techniques from two of the Emerald Rocks, but there is much I do not understand, leaving my realm stuck and unable to break through for a long time."
All displeasure in Yinyuanzi's heart vanished, replaced by surprise. "You are the son of scouts? Your parents were killed by the barbarians of the Three Realms?"
Lu Yiren confirmed it.
Yinyuanzi rose, walked over to him, held both of his shoulders, and looked him up and down. He chuckled, "A child of meritorious servants, stranded in a foreign land, yet able to grow into adulthood—what a wonder! Of course you cannot reach the supreme realm by practicing the Dao methods on the Emerald Rocks. Those three Emerald Rocks were meant for slash-and-burn."
Lu Yiren was taken aback, unable to grasp his meaning. "What do you mean by slash-and-burn?"
Yinyuanzi laughed heartily, stepped out of the immortal palace, and gazed across the vast, boundless Heavenly Immortal Realm. "Look. This universe drifts in the limitless Chaos Sea, developing wildly and uncivilized. It possesses countless galaxies and boundless wealth. The cultivators of this universe are still primitive, embarking upon the path of cultivation relying merely on their meager bits of cleverness."
Lu Yiren smiled. "The Dao methods of the Three Realms are indeed very rudimentary. The Great Daos they have discovered and mastered are truly too few."
Yinyuanzi said, "Therefore, in our eyes, the Three Realms is merely a wild field overgrown with weeds. If we wish to plant crops here, we must practice slash-and-burn to clear the wilderness."
Lu Yiren smiled. "The other shore came to spread civilization, and my parents were envoys."
Yinyuanzi shook his head and interrupted him. "Your parents were scouts. Scouts who ventured into the Chaos Sea, escorted the Emerald Rocks, and searched for barbaric universes within the chaos."
A foreboding feeling arose in Lu Yiren's heart. He parted his lips to speak, but did not know what to say.
In his youth, his parents had told him they were going out to spread civilization. But now, it seemed rather different.
"What is slash-and-burn? It means clearing away the weeds of a native universe, just like setting a fire to burn them all down—this is called the fireseed. Your parents were the scouts responsible for delivering the fireseeds to barbaric universes. Once the fireseeds erupted, your parents were also tasked with fixing the barbaric universe's coordinates and returning to the other shore."
Yinyuanzi's voice entered his ears. "With the coordinates they secured, the other shore could set off toward that barbaric universe—where every weed had been burned away—and become its overlord."
A buzzing rang in Lu Yiren's head. It felt as though a core conviction in his heart had collapsed. His voice turned somewhat hoarse. "And then?"
Yinyuanzi smiled. "Slash-and-burn does not exterminate all life in a barbaric universe; a portion is always spared. That is the key to planting. These surviving barbarians discover the three Emerald Rocks. Fearing the rocks yet holding them in absolute worship, they learn the Dao methods upon them and even seek to master their power. But as long as they cultivate them..."
The smile on his face broadened, and he continued leisurely, "They turn into crops planted by the other shore, stalk by stalk. Once the other shore arrives, we can harvest these ripened crops."
Lu Yiren muttered, "This is slash-and-burn?"
Yinyuanzi nodded gently. "This is slash-and-burn! A barbaric universe that has undergone slash-and-burn is transformed to suit the survival of the people of the other shore. Perhaps that is why you were able to survive."
Lu Yiren parted his lips. He wanted to say that the reason he had survived was that the dragon who killed his parents had spared him out of pity because he was just a child. Yet he could not bring himself to utter those words.
"In transforming a barbaric universe, all the geniuses of that universe delve into the Great Dao of the other shore. Using their wisdom, they toil arduously to pioneer Dao methods for us, expand our cave abysses, and mend our damaged Great Daos. They are the most diligent, selfless beings. When the other shore descends, we harvest them once more, leaving behind even more seeds."
Yinyuanzi looked out at the myriad dragons and chuckled. "It is just that the Three Realms turned out to be rather peculiar, defying the other shore's expectations. Not only did the scouts fail to return and report the coordinates of the Three Realms, but a barbarian calling himself Tongtian even fought his way all the way to the other shore..."
His expression gradually soured. Exhaling a turbid breath, he continued, "Later, another person calling himself Haoyi arrived at the other shore as well."
"Haoyi?"
Lu Yiren's heart stirred. He recalled that human youth by the Emerald Rock whom he had once guided in cultivation—virtually half a disciple of his!
"Haoyi's talent was simply too monstrous," Yinyuanzi said, his cheek twitching slightly. "His achievements were so great that quite a few fellow Daoists on the other shore nearly fell by his hands. Aside from this Haoyi, there were also bizarre individuals calling themselves the Buddha Ancestor, Dao Ancestor, and Grand Dao Lord who barged into the other shore as well. Every single one of those bastards came from the Three Realms universe."
Lu Yiren parted his lips, but still said nothing.
The Buddha Ancestor and Dao Ancestors like Taiqing and Yuxu had actually been sent to the other shore by him.
Back then, when he had activated the Emerald Rock in an attempt to find his birthplace, the Emerald Rock had unexpectedly flown away. The Buddha Ancestor, Dao Ancestors, and the others had immediately flown along with the Emerald Rock. Lu Yiren had wanted to go with them, but Great Dao Lord Xuhuang had struck him down, forcing him to remain in the Three Realms.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the Grand Dao Lord, the Buddha Ancestor, and the others would become "bastards" in Yinyuanzi's mouth.
Yinyuanzi stared ahead and muttered, "The Three Realms universe, not particularly large, actually gave birth to so many formidable barbarians. How could we not be intrigued by this cosmos?"
He turned around and said, "Lu Yiren, your parents' demise was beyond my expectations, and what was even more unexpected is that you actually managed to survive in this barbaric universe. You are a talent. The other shore will not allow the child of a meritorious servant to keep suffering."
"I..." Lu Yiren's mind was in turmoil.
Yinyuanzi said, "First, change out of those clothes. And those messy etiquettes of yours—you must change those as well. Those belong to barbarians, to livestock and crops. The noble Sacred Race of the other shore naturally cannot use such things."
Lu Yiren assented.
Yinyuanzi summoned a disciple and commanded, "Take him down, prepare several sets of proper attire for him, and teach him the etiquette of the other shore. Lu Yiren, once you have learned them well, come see me again. I will take you to harvest the Three Realms!"
His mind in a daze, Lu Yiren followed that outsider away.
Halfway through the walk, Lu Yiren heard his own voice ask, "Senior Brother, weren't the Emerald Rocks of the other shore sent to spread civilization? Comprehensive emeraldization is a good thing, isn't it?"
The outsider chuckled. "Of course they were sent to spread civilization. We cultivate and harvest these native barbarians, and our Sacred Race settles here to reign supreme above them—is that not civilization? As for comprehensive emeraldization, it merely fattens up the fertilizer."
Lu Yiren's mind was in utter turmoil. Stumbling along with uneven steps behind him, a voice echoed from the bottom of his heart: *I am of the Sacred Race... No, I am a being of the Three Realms; I was fed and raised by the human race... But I am of the Sacred Race! No, it was a dragon who spared your life... But I am an outsider—*
Tears welled in his eyes as he snapped the neck of the outsider walking ahead of him.
Chapter 701