Xu Ying had very much wanted to spar with Zhangsun Shenghai before leaving, but knowing he was still no match for him, he casually boarded an emerald rock tower ship and waved goodbye.
"Junior Brother, don't you want to know how wide the gap between us still is?" Zhangsun Shenghai asked.
"Not at all!"
Xu Ying refused flatly, steered the emerald rock tower ship, and sailed away without looking back.
As soon as Zhangsun Shenghai arrived here, he had gained Dao Lord Zuo Lian's favor and had all manner of Dao methods imparted to him. Dao Lord Zuo was someone who had discussed the Dao with Qu Hong and Shentu Lun, transcribing many kinds of higher Great Daos. With Master Senior Brother receiving his true teachings, his cultivation and strength had surged far beyond his own.
Xu Ying was well aware of how that battle would end. After coming to the Spirit Realm, he had only cultivated the Karma Great Dao to near immortality, while making little progress in other Dao methods. Zhangsun Shenghai, however, had likely cultivated every single Great Dao of Dao Lord Zuo Lian.
Master Senior Brother's talent was exceptionally high, and surpassing him would be no easy feat. Fortunately, he had promised Dao Lord Zuo Lian to preach on his behalf, which would delay him by several years.
Xu Ying blinked and thought to himself, *That Yin Rao is an exquisite beauty and remarkably outstanding. With her by his side, his mind is bound to wander and delay his cultivation. Meanwhile, if I focus on cultivating during this time and comprehend the singular rune from those spirit runes, I can surpass him!*
Collecting the emerald rock tower ships moored along the way, he traveled for over a month until he reached the borders of the universe.
Xu Ying summoned the emerald rock tower ship he had used when first venturing out to sea, put away the other vessel, and sailed into the Chaos Sea.
The moment the ship entered the Chaos Sea, Chaos Qi surged in from every direction, leaving only a tiny pocket of space around the emerald rock tower ship.
Standing at the prow, Xu Ying recalled the scene of ten thousand pioneers sailing into the Chaos Sea aboard vessel after vessel, as if it had happened only yesterday.
Regrettably, only three had survived in the end. He carefully sensed the Sala tree of the other shore, confirmed the direction of the Three Realms within the Chaos Sea, and steered toward them following that resonance.
Immortal Emperor Xu Jing had just concluded the morning court assembly and retired to the Imperial Study to review memorials from across the realms. Right then, he sensed someone else in the room and called out, "Suying, you're here? Come help me look at this... Ying'er!"
As the figure walked into the inner chamber, Immortal Emperor Xu Jing finally saw who it was. Surprised and overjoyed, he tossed the memorial aside, rushed forward, and threw his arms around him!
"Ying'er, it really is you! You've been gone for over a hundred years. I was worried sick that you had died out there!"
Smiling, Xu Ying embraced his father and patted his shoulder. Soon after, the two went to see Lan Suying. She was ecstatic, and between father, mother, and son, there was naturally endless news to share. Since Xu Ying had departed, more than one hundred and forty years had passed. Journeying through the Chaos Sea and cultivating arduously on the other shore, he had lost all track of time.
Returning now, he was suddenly struck by the realization that so much time had flown by. He went to the Ancestral Court of Heavenly Dao and saw the fair lady he had yearned for day and night. Yuan Weiyang looked just as she had when he departed, completely unchanged.
Xu Ying stepped forward, boundless tenderness welling up in his heart.
"Junior Brother Xu came back, yet didn't even pay his respects to the Ancestral God first," Senior Brother Tian grumbled to the Ancestral God.
The Ancestral God chuckled. "How could the king of heaven himself ever compare to one's own wife?"
"True enough," Senior Brother Tian agreed.
The Ancestral God cast him a sidelong glance, always suspecting the fellow had been born a rebel.
Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang had not seen each other in over a century. Between the two, there were naturally countless words to be spoken and many things to be done, the wondrous bliss of which was not for outsiders to know.
Half a year later, Xu Ying finally recalled: *I've been back all this time, yet haven't paid my respects to the Ancestral God.*
He hurried to meet the Ancestral God. After paying his respects, he remembered to go see Wan Qi and Demon Emperor Jin Buyi. However, the big bell had already scurried over to visit Wan Qi and Jin Buyi half a year ago.
Upon seeing him, the two gave him an earful of complaints. Xu Ying caught up with his old friends, then visited the Holy Venerable, Useless Qingxuan, Lou Mingyu, and the others. Afterward, he made a trip to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, where Remote Ancestor Big Dragon, Emperor Mingdao, Emperor Ming Xun, and Mingman were all overjoyed to see him.
Xu Ying also visited Little Heavenly Venerable, Ji Jue, Daoist Xiaotian, and the rest before heading to the Mortal Realm to see his two disciples, Jingming the Old Corpse and Ming Wangsun.
He arrived at the Yuan Realm ruins to meet with the ten Yuan Realm elders, recounted what he had seen and heard on the other shore, offered an incense stick before the physical body of Grand Dao Lord Dao Zongyuan, and inscribed a spirit rune.
Having done all this, Xu Ying returned to the Ancestral Court of Heavenly Dao to resume his tender days with Yuan Weiyang.
A few days later, a wisp of Dao Zongyuan's consciousness took the form of Zhou Qiyun and arrived to see Xu Ying. Not long after, Remote Ancestor, the Holy Venerable, Useless Qingxuan, Emperor Mingdao, Emperor Ming Xun, Lou Mingyu, and the others arrived one after another.
The strongest figures of the Three Realms had gathered here in full.
By this point, there were already as many as a thousand beings in the Supreme realm throughout the Three Realms, yet Immortals remained scarce. In the Heavenly Immortal Realm, Remote Ancestor, Emperor Mingdao, and Emperor Ming Xun had become Immortals once again, but in the Earth Immortal Realm, there was not a single Immortal; even the Holy Venerable, Useless Qingxuan, and Yuan Weiyang were still some distance away from the Immortal realm.
As for the Mortal Realm, it naturally lagged behind the Earth Immortal Realm.
Yuan Weiyang's gaze rested on Zhou Qiyun, who was Dao Zongyuan's incarnation, her eyes blinking thoughtfully.
Dao Zongyuan took no offense and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu, now that everyone has gathered, we may proceed to business."
Xu Ying agreed and said, "However, this variety of Dao pattern carries profound implications and is perilous in the extreme. Were I to display it directly, I fear everyone present—save for you and me—would turn to Dao ash. I shall first recount it in the Dao language; please listen with utmost care."
Hearing this, the crowd pondered.
Xu Ying had invited them under the premise of discussing an important matter. They had originally assumed that while on the other shore, he had acquired numerous authentic teachings and intended to pass them on. None expected that he was referring to something else entirely.
Could there really be anything more important than the true teachings of the other shore?
Xu Ying opened his mouth and began chanting in the Dao language, word by word, speaking at a deliberately slow pace for fear that they might not hear clearly.
He chanted steadily, repeating the profound spirit runes he had gathered over and over again in the Dao language.
After a long while, Xu Ying asked, "Has everyone committed it to heart?"
The crowd nodded one after another.
Just as Xu Ying was about to display the spirit runes, he suddenly noticed Senior Brother Tian and the Ancestral God. Jolted into awareness, he said, "Senior Brother, Ancestral God, the two of you should step outside."
"I've memorized it too! Why should I leave?" the Ancestral God roared in fury. "We were listening just now as well!"
Xu Ying smiled. "I am merely considering your safety, Ancestral God. I worry that you might fail to grasp this Dao language and won't be able to cope with the shifts."
"I am master over the Heavenly Dao of four realms! How could I possibly not know how to handle changes?" The Ancestral God glared and bristled with rage.
"For your own safety, it is best that you leave," Xu Ying insisted, shaking his head.
The Ancestral God stormed off in anger.
Xu Ying let out a breath. Once the Ancestral God and Senior Brother Tian had left the Ancestral Court of Heavenly Dao, he turned to Dao Zongyuan and said, "Brother Dao, please lend me a hand. If any disturbance arises, I ask that you intervene."
Dao Zongyuan smiled. "Caution is indeed warranted."
Only then did Xu Ying mobilize his divine sense and trace the first spirit rune in midair. The instant it appeared, Dao ash filled the sky like falling snow, drifting and fluttering downward!
"Everyone, remember the Dao language I just taught you!" Xu Ying called out in a low voice.
The crowd snapped to attention and compared the spirit rune to the Dao language, instantly grasping its myriad subtleties. Even so, facing the intrusion of the spirit rune, they felt tremendous strain.
Dao ash puffed from the mouths and noses of quite a few people!
A piercing Dao weeping sounded in their ears—the noise of the Great Dao decaying!
Dao Zongyuan gently opened his palm and spoke slowly, "Myriad Great Daos share different paths to the same destination."
With those words, the Great Daos inside everyone that were being continuously replaced by the spirit rune abruptly quieted down. A wondrous power seemed to thread through every Great Dao within them, preventing the spirit runes, Dao patterns, dragon patterns, and runes from clashing with one another.
Seeing this, Xu Ying could not help but marvel at the Grand Dao Lord's supreme skill. He thought, *My Martial Dao still lacks refinement. If it could unify Daos like Taiyi, Chaos, Primordial Beginning, and Samsara, I wouldn't need to fear Dao weeping even when encountering higher Great Dao frameworks like spirit runes.*
Just then, snow made of Dao ash continued to fall incessantly from the sky. Xu Ying looked up and saw the Ancestral God's face pressed against the sky of the Ancestral Court of Heavenly Dao, having clearly caught sight of the spirit rune as well.
"Brother Dao!" Xu Ying cried, looking toward Dao Zongyuan.
Dao Zongyuan lightly raised his hand. The Ancestral God tumbled down from the heavens, landing beside him, and the ash-transformation immediately ceased.
Xu Ying glared at the Ancestral God before turning to address the crowd: "This is the spirit rune I obtained from the Spirit Realm universe, an order of Great Dao patterning even more profound than the principle runes of the other shore. Using spirit runes to describe the Great Dao progresses from complexity to simplicity; once cultivated to the peak of the Immortal realm, comprehending the singular spirit rune allows one to attain the position of Dao Lord."
Having witnessed the terrifying might of the spirit runes and hearing this explanation, everyone was deeply shaken.
Xu Ying laid out the spirit runes he had gathered and said, "Spirit runes are an architecture of the Great Dao leading straight to the Dao Lord realm, far superior to ordinary cultivation methods. If we promote spirit runes across the Three Realms, it will surely produce multiple Grand Dao Lords."
At these words, silence fell over the surroundings.
After a moment, Useless Qingxuan looked around and said, "The civilization of our Three Realms is founded upon our respective fundamental Great Dao architectures. When the principle runes invaded back then, Dao Ancestor Xu also said: if we undergo full assimilation, will we still be people of the Three Realms? Spirit runes are indeed more advanced today, but I cannot help asking the same question: if we undergo full assimilation, will we still be people of the Three Realms?"
His words were spoken plainly, yet they struck like a thunderbolt, plunging everyone into deep contemplation.
A moment later, the Holy Venerable spoke: "Full assimilation is indeed inadvisable. In the past, under the pressure of assimilation, we managed to evolve Dao patterns, runes, and dragon patterns. Today, there is no reason we cannot continue to evolve under this new pressure."
"Well said!" Remote Ancestor laughed. "Back when we faced the invasive assimilation of principle runes, we were utterly defenseless, thoroughly routed and stripped of our armor. Some even lost their will to fight and fully embraced assimilation. Yet in the end, we saw that the Heavenly Dao strives ceaselessly; even in desperate straits, it sought out a spark of life and evolved on its own to rival the principle runes of the other shore. Though spirit runes are stronger, they are ultimately nothing more than a more formidable version of principle runes!"
Yuan Weiyang added, "I believe we should embrace all and exclude none, neither shutting out principle runes nor spirit runes. To choose what is good and adopt it, and to reform what is not—that too is a path forward."
The crowd broke into animated debate, discussing the unique merits of the various spirit runes and determining which elements could be absorbed and evolved.
Seeing their passionate discussion, Xu Ying stood stunned. After a moment, his bewilderment turned into deep admiration.
*When I first encountered spirit runes, my first thought was to spread them throughout the Three Realms so our people could study them and become stronger. I forgot my original intention and turned toward pursuing pure power,* he reflected silently. *Yet they have held fast to their original purpose and never forgotten it. My pursuit of pure power likely stems from spending too much time on the other shore, infected by their obsession with sheer strength.*
At that thought, a wave of vigilance rose within him.
The other shore's extreme thirst for power had led it to harvest countless universes, an obsession bound to bring catastrophe down upon it in the future. If he became trapped in that same mania, he would surely suffer the same fate.
With this realization, he smiled and said, "While on the other shore, I joined the sect of Grand Dao Lord Taiyi and browsed through all the ancient records in his collection, gathering many principle runes. Since our goal is to draw upon the strengths of all varieties of Great Dao patterning, we might as well consult the principle runes as well."
With a thought, Xu Ying projected countless branching principle runes into the air using his divine sense.
Seeing this, Dao Zongyuan's heart stirred, and he smiled. "Dao Ancestor Xu, my Yuan Realm also possesses a type of Great Dao patterning known as Yuan patterns. If the Dao Ancestor does not object, I could summon Yue Bo, Guo Daozi, and the others to join the discussion. An extra person means an extra measure of strength."
Xu Ying replied, "Back then, I made a pact with several of them forbidding them from stepping beyond the Yuan Realm ruins; otherwise, violating the Chaos Oath might bring calamity upon you."
Dao Zongyuan chuckled. "How about everyone comes to converse beneath my corpse? What do you say?"
All eyes turned to Xu Ying, who smiled and said, "If we can borrow the strength of two hundred and seventy-two Immortals and a Dao Lord, that would naturally be ideal."
Dao Zongyuan rose and said, "After you!"
Xu Ying and the others got to their feet and traveled to the Yuan Realm ruins in the Mortal Realm. Before long, everyone sat in a circle beneath the corpse of the Grand Dao Lord. The Dao patterns, dragon patterns, and runes of the Three Realms, along with the principle runes of the other shore, the spirit runes of the Spirit Realm, and the Yuan patterns of the Yuan Realm, were all laid out in their entirety. Furthermore, Xu Ying displayed various Great Dao cultivation techniques in the air. Using countless runes, Dao patterns, spirit runes, and principle runes, he deciphered his most proficient Golden Wheel Calamity-Transcending Scripture, leaving the remaining methods for the others to study and decipher.
The Yuan Realm ruins became a holy land for discussing the Dao. The gathered cultivators studied and deciphered the various arts to deepen their foundations, then experimented with improving runes, Dao patterns, and dragon patterns.
Even the consciousness of Grand Dao Lord Dao Zongyuan joined in directly, participating in the debates.
Evolving their Dao methods and divine abilities from the ground up, they lost all concept of time, heedless of the passage of days and months. Eventually, the fundamental Great Dao architecture of both the Three Realms and the Yuan Realm was elevated by an immense margin.
The new Great Dao architecture absorbed the wondrous secret of the singular rune from the spirit runes, embraced the myriad permutations of the principle runes, and retained a portion of the Yuan patterns' profundity.
This new Great Dao patterning was no longer divided into runes, Dao patterns, and dragon patterns; instead, it fused the brilliance of all three, still bearing the name of Dao patterns. As one progressed along this path, the higher the realm, the simpler the Dao patterns became, yet they could combine to form entirely different Great Daos.
It was still rudimentary, with much left to refine and many Daos that had yet to be reconstructed with the new Dao patterns.
Yet like a newborn sprout, it brimmed with vibrant life and held boundless possibilities!
"How much time has passed?" Xu Ying asked suddenly.
Dao Zongyuan answered, "Eighty-six years have gone by."
Xu Ying's expression turned solemn. "Has it really been that long? Grand Dao Lord Taiyi has likely come out of seclusion. I must return to the other shore without delay!"
Chapter 764