"Could the Grand Dao Master still be alive?" Dao Ancestor Yuxu and the others carefully sensed that aura, their expressions shifting slightly.
The aura of the Tianjing Ruins' Grand Dao Master was truly profound and boundless, far surpassing Indestructibles like them!
At the horizon, multi-hued radiance surged along the darkness like a tide, making the very bottom of the dark expanse gleam with a sliver of rainbow light.
From there came faint roars resembling dragons and bulls—likely the spontaneous sounds produced as the Great Daos revived and soaked into the mountains and rivers.
Hearing this, Dao Ancestor Yuxu and the Ancestor of Earth Immortals stirred inwardly.
In the Tianjing Ruins, they had indeed encountered some unbelievable things. Time and again they saw phantoms flitting through the darkness, yet whenever they gave chase, the phantoms would vanish.
These phantoms seemed to exist in the depths of spacetime, often guiding them and helping them discover the treasures of techniques and inheritances within the Tianjing Ruins.
The Hunyuan Cave Abyss Calamity Dispelling Scripture that Great Dao Lord Xuhuang had sent to the Three Realms was precisely a technique they had obtained by tracking those phantoms.
The revival of the Tianjing Ruins Grand Dao Master's Daos also alarmed the four Grand Dao Lords, drawing their gaze toward the depths of the ruins.
"The Grand Dao Master of Tianjing cannot possibly still be alive! The people of Tianjing were wiped out by us long ago, leaving only a few on the other shore!"
"Yet only a living Grand Dao Master could possess an aura this terrifying, wouldn't they?"
"Could a Grand Dao Master truly be resurrected?"
They were suspicious and unsettled. The slaughter of the Tianjing people back then had been conducted to the extent of total extermination, which was how Tianjing had been reduced to the Tianjing Ruins. It was simply impossible for anyone to have survived such a massacre.
A Grand Dao Master was the sovereign and ruler of the Great Daos. Yet the Dao tide caused the power of heaven and earth's Great Daos to grow increasingly feeble, until ultimately no Dao possessed any Dao power, leaving even a Grand Dao Master exceedingly weak.
Only then could the other shore strike ruthlessly against Tianjing and wipe out its people.
In particular, the Tianjing people who had taught them profound techniques and inheritances had been the prime targets of extermination!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's gaze fell upon the Dao lands scattered like stars across the darkness. In a low voice, he said, "These lands of reviving Daos were arranged in advance by them, waiting for the fated. Only those who receive these fortuitous encounters are qualified to inherit their legacy! And for this, I have already prepared the fated ones for them!"
He smiled. "What does Tianjing's Grand Dao Master amount to? Dead is dead. All his efforts in life and death will merely serve to pave our way!"
The Grand Dao Lords of Life and Death, Gods and Demons, and Yin-Yang were likewise surging with excitement. The legacy of Tianjing's Grand Dao Master was finally about to bear fruit!
"Even if a Grand Dao Master can return from the dead, he will be in a state of Dao damage and no match for us!"
"Once we obtain his inheritance this time, we will eliminate them entirely to remove all future troubles!"
The aura of the Grand Dao Master's revival also startled Zhuo Daochun, Wei Yi, and the others. Almost simultaneously, everyone sensed their tremendous fortuitous encounter arriving, summoning them toward the place where the Grand Dao Master's aura resided. There, myriad forms of Dao power swept in hugging the ground from all directions and flowed skyward, vaguely forming what appeared to be a body composed of Great Daos!
The crowd immediately set out, rushing toward the place where the Dao power flowed.
The Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death was also rushing toward the Grand Dao Master's aura. On the way, however, he saw Xu Ying enter a blessed land, intending to seize the Dao Qi there.
The Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death hesitated. "Why hasn't this boy headed to where the Grand Dao Master is reviving? Does he not care about the Grand Dao Master's techniques?"
After seizing the Taichu Dao Qi here, Xu Ying immediately dashed toward the next location.
The Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death did not pursue him further, proceeding directly to the Grand Dao Master's revival site.
Xu Ying had just arrived at the next site of reviving Daos, but before he could collect its Dao Qi, he suddenly saw the Dao power in this Dao land drain away like an ebbing tide, quickly vanishing without a trace!
"What's going on?"
Suspicious and bewildered, Xu Ying rushed to the next Dao land. The Dao power and Dao Qi there were also rapidly flowing away, heading straight toward the Grand Dao Master's revival site.
Xu Ying stopped. Instead of rushing to other Dao lands, he fixed his gaze on where the Grand Dao Master was reviving.
There, myriad forms of Dao Qi and Dao power converged, streaming from bottom to top on an increasingly magnificent scale. From afar, he could see a figure bridging heaven and earth sitting cross-legged amidst the light, the flowing Dao power composing an immensely vast body.
Xu Ying looked around and saw the starry scatter of Dao lands across the darkness extinguishing one after another. Energy was draining away; only that figure was growing ever stronger.
He had sensed a mysterious summons early on, as if a consciousness in his mind were telling him that he had to go there.
Even the Great Daos within his body seemed to have received a mysterious calling, as though a consciousness in his mind were telling him that he had to go there.
Fortunately, guided by the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, Xu Ying used the Ginseng Fruit Tree to bind the various Great Daos he had cultivated. He was effectively half a Dao Lord to himself, so the influence of these Great Daos over him was limited.
But for the likes of Zhuo Daochun and Wei Yi, they likely had no way to resist at all; they would succumb and be controlled by their own Great Daos.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought struck Xu Ying: "Did the Dao lands, Dao Qi, and magic treasures we found come from different Grand Dao Masters, or from a single Grand Dao Master?"
The number of extinguished Dao lands grew, the Dao power from all these lands flowing toward the exact same place.
Standing upon the darkening wilderness, Xu Ying felt deeply shaken.
He had discovered over three hundred Dao lands and as many varieties of Great Daos, including primordial Great Daos like Taiyi, Hongmeng, Taisu, and Taichu—truly all-encompassing!
The others must have discovered hundreds of Dao lands as well!
Yet this was merely the tip of the iceberg, a single hair from nine oxen among the Dao lands in the Tianjing Ruins!
If the Dao Qi and magic treasures in all these Dao lands had been arranged by this one Grand Dao Master, then just how many Great Daos did this Grand Dao Master master?
How many Great Daos was he sovereign over?
"Even an existence this powerful still could not withstand the Dao tide, reduced to a mortal and slain by the barbarians of the other shore."
An overwhelming sense of absurdity arose in Xu Ying's heart. Even a Grand Dao Master was not truly detached and transcendent; before the Dao tide, they possessed virtually no ability to resist!
Just then, the calling from the Great Daos grew clearer and more intense, as if innate deities born from each Great Dao were chanting Xu Ying's name, beckoning him to go and join the others.
Xu Ying hesitated, murmuring, "I only took the bait; I didn't bite the hook. If I follow this summons and go, I'll truly have taken the hook..."
Right at that moment, a gentle voice sounded: "Are you Xu Ying?"
Xu Ying looked toward the sound and saw a tall outlander man walking toward him. The cave abyss behind his head was so brilliant that his face remained shrouded in shadow, its features obscured.
However, Xu Ying recognized the cave abyss with absolute clarity—it was the Taiyi Cave Abyss!
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat. Bowing respectfully, he saluted, "Disciple Xu Ying pays respects to Master!"
Though the tall outlander's face could not be seen, his demeanor was effortless and his air transcendent. He said, "After hearing of your deeds on the other shore, I knew you had great potential and considered taking you as my disciple. I didn't expect you to be so clever as to divine my intention."
Xu Ying remained bowed, not moving an inch.
"Back when Haoyi stepped out of the Taiyi Cave Abyss, arrived at the other shore, and took me as his master, he too kept his emotions hidden, just like you."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi sighed. "Later, he rebelled against me. For the greater good, I executed my own kin in the Dao and made sure he did not leave the other shore alive."
Xu Ying said, "Haoyi was treacherous by nature, but this disciple is different. This disciple is utterly loyal to our lineage."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi continued watching him and asked, "You hail from the Three Realms?"
Xu Ying assented.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said, "The brigands running rampant in the Tianjing Ruins—Xuhuang, Taiqing, and the rest—do they also hail from the Three Realms?"
Xu Ying nodded.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said, "And Daoist Tongtian, who wrought massacre after massacre on our other shore—does he also hail from the Three Realms?"
Xu Ying felt his scalp tighten, but he nodded.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi sighed. "Of those who came from your Three Realms, one is a homicidal maniac, one was a born traitor, and several others are rebels. Xu Ying, you also come from the Three Realms. How is Master to trust you?"
Xu Ying said, "A long journey tests a horse's strength, and long days reveal a man's heart. Only the sun and moon can witness this disciple's fidelity! As time passes, Master will naturally see this disciple's unswerving devotion."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi fell silent for a moment, then chuckled. "I never counted on your loyalty. I merely wish to cultivate another Grand Dao Lord Haoyi."
Xu Ying did not understand his meaning.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi walked toward the Grand Dao Master's revival site, saying, "Come with me. I shall take you to witness the Grand Dao Master's inheritance."
Xu Ying had no choice but to follow, thinking to himself that things looked grim.
The main reason he hadn't wanted to go near the Grand Dao Master's revival site was that he had seen all too many harvesting ploys; this revival of the Grand Dao Master was very likely yet another harvest.
A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall, and Xu Ying wasn't even a gentleman.
"Among all my disciples, the most outstanding was Haoyi," Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said. "He possessed the greatest natural talent and aptitude I have ever seen—higher even than my own. Though of humble origins, hailing from an incomplete little universe with lowly Dao methods, I found him extraordinarily brilliant. After entering my sect, it took him only tens of thousands of years to leap to the very top of my disciples. Suddenly, I realized I had nothing left to teach him."
Xu Ying listened quietly without interrupting.
He was equally curious about Emperor Haotian's experiences on the other shore.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said, "At times, when he came to ask for guidance, the questions he posed were things I had never even considered. Those questions alone were enough to grant me immense enlightenment. I knew that his cultivation was still far beneath mine, but his comprehension of the Dao was already on the verge of surpassing me.
"I, too, needed such a disciple to continue breaking through in my comprehension of the Dao. So I permitted him to leave the mountain and travel far and wide, visiting True Kings, Dao Lords, and Grand Dao Lords to learn from them.
"The various True Kings, Dao Lords, and Grand Dao Lords were delighted with this young man, believing his talent was destined to elevate the Dao methods of the other shore to new heights. They also needed a youth like Haoyi to help them break through their own bottlenecks. That period was the most glorious time of my life."
He sighed with deep emotion. Even though Emperor Haotian had ultimately betrayed him, wounded and defeated all the True Kings, Dao Lords, and Grand Dao Lords, and turned against the other shore, he still took pride in having nurtured a disciple who could surpass him.
"In truth, Haoyi didn't have to die. After losing the battle against him, I felt both joy and concern. I saw what was in his heart."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said, "His heart was never on the other shore. He wanted to return to that weak, broken Three Realms and teach what he had learned and comprehended on the other shore to its people. That was an absolute taboo. I warned him never to harbor such thoughts."
Hearing this, Xu Ying asked, "How did Haoyi answer you?"
"He said, 'I am the emperor of the human race.'"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Back then, because the demon race oppressed humanity, he stood up to resist them. The people honored him as their emperor. As their emperor, mastering the Dao methods of the other shore and returning to his homeland to teach them was his duty. Xu Ying, can you understand such foolish thinking?"
He shook his head. "They were merely a swarm of ants. Being the emperor of ants? Helping ants grow strong? Utterly incomprehensible. He clearly was no longer of the same species as those ants. He had already become of the sacred race."
Xu Ying lowered his head. "I cannot understand it either."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi glanced at him. "You can understand. You and he are of the same kind. You are even prouder than he was."
Xu Ying bowed. "Disciple is terrified."
He was indeed terrified, uncertain what Grand Dao Lord Taiyi meant by these words.
If his answer displeased Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, he would likely be killed without the slightest delay!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi looked at the Grand Dao Master's revival site drawing closer before them, watching the multi-hued light of the Great Daos coalesce into the magnificent, towering figure of a Tianjing person.
"Just like him, you take pride in being a man of the Three Realms. The moment I laid eyes on you, I saw it. Haoyi would betray me and betray the other shore, and you will do the same."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi glanced at him and said, "Yet just as I tolerated Haoyi back then, I can tolerate you now. My battle with Haoyi brought immense advancement to my cultivation and comprehension of the Dao, which had stagnated for so long. I need you to help me break through once again."
Chapter 744