Does Taiyi Know?

From the day Xu Ying stepped into the Taiyi Dao Sect, he had been held in awe by Zhangsun Shenghai. Even when facing Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, the shock had not been so profound. Zhangsun Shenghai had expounded the Nine Innate Daos to him, granting him a far broader horizon and making him realize there were heavens beyond the heavens and people beyond people. Ever since, the Nine Innate Daos had been the Great Daos Xu Ying aspired to master, while catching up to and defeating Zhangsun Shenghai had been the goal he strove toward. Now, he had mastered seven of the Daos and was on the verge of completing the eighth. Having earned Zhangsun Shenghai's acknowledgment, he could not help feeling eager to try his strength, his gaze toward Zhangsun Shenghai full of defiant challenge. Zhangsun Shenghai said sincerely, "Junior Brother, that you could cultivate to this level in a mere two hundred years—whether in perseverance, intellect, or sheer fortune—is truly admirable. Ever since I took Tongtian as my master and received the teacher's guidance, I suddenly comprehended a path leading straight to the realm of Dao Master. From then on, when I looked upon the prodigies of the world, none could catch my eye." He sighed and continued, "I even wondered if across the vast cosmos and endless living beings—from the three Dao Masters Hua, Lin, and Luo envying talent above, down to the mediocre, bustling masses below—there was not a single peer to match me. It was only when you arrived at the Taiyi Dao Sect that my eyes truly lit up." Xu Ying bowed. "Without Senior Brother's guidance, I would never have reached this point today." Zhangsun Shenghai smiled. "If you and I were to clash, we would surely push the Dao methods and divine powers—long shackled by the old fogies of the other shore—a step further. However, the slaughter calamity of the Zhao Realm has erupted; now is the prime moment for us to comprehend calamitous destiny." Xu Ying agreed. "Indeed. If we were to exchange pointers and suffer some mishap that prevents us from comprehending calamitous destiny, wouldn't that be a tremendous loss?" "You consider it well, Junior Brother," Zhangsun Shenghai said. "Calamitous destiny does not come often. If we miss this chance, who knows what year or month the next calamity will erupt. You and I will have plenty of time to exchange pointers; there is no need to rush." Xu Ying chuckled. "Still, calamitous destiny has been split four ways now. For four people to obtain it is still too many." Zhangsun Shenghai said, "The other two are Qingxuan and Yuan Yu, who are also members of the Taiyi Dao Sect." Moved by the thought, Xu Ying said leisurely, "Master's disciples are so exceptionally gifted. Do you think Master knows?" Zhangsun Shenghai laughed. "He likely has no idea his Taiyi Dao Sect is actually this formidable." Xu Ying burst into hearty laughter. "If he knew, he would surely get a huge fright! Senior Brother, please take your leave." Zhangsun Shenghai smiled slightly, rose, and took his leave. Watching his retreating back, Xu Ying thought, *As long as he stops and asks one more time, 'Don't you want to know how great the gap between our strengths is?', I will answer, 'I do!'* Fighting spirit surged within him, barely suppressible by reason. Zhangsun Shenghai walked on without pausing, drawing farther away, yet he could feel Xu Ying's burning gaze. He thought, *The moment he calls out for me to wait, I will halt and contest him to the end!* Combativeness raged in both their hearts. Yet Xu Ying did not speak, and Zhangsun Shenghai did not stop. As Zhangsun Shenghai walked further and further away, Xu Ying suddenly called out loudly, "Senior Brother, stay your steps!" Zhangsun Shenghai's figure froze. After a moment, he slowly turned his head back, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Junior Brother calls me to stay my steps. Could it be you wish to know how wide the gap between us is?" "I do!" Their gazes collided, spawning thunder from the void. Lightning burst out of nothingness with crackling rumbles, slithering through the depths of spacetime. Xu Ying surged with aura. Behind him, the Innate Daos of Chaos, Hongmeng, Wuji, Taiyi, Samsara, Karma, and Slaughter emerged one after another, weaving and coiling to form cave abysses of blinding brilliance! In the Zhao Realm where the calamitous destiny had erupted, these eight cave abysses were the brightest stars in the heavens! Even Xu Ying's cave abyss of Calamitous Destiny, still under cultivation, manifested. Boundless and vast, it harbored a power from which heaven, earth, myriad things, the Great Daos, all sentient beings, and even the entire universe could not escape! With fighting spirit soaring high, Xu Ying stood with his back to the Heaven and Earth Elegance Pagoda. On the other side of the Elegance Pagoda, the four Dao Masters of the other shore watched this scene, each visibly moved. They could not hear the conversation between Zhangsun Shenghai and Xu Ying; they could only see the two talking, with no way to know what was being said. Yet Xu Ying's revelation of eight great cave abysses truly astonished them. The eight Daos represented by these cave abysses were extraordinary beyond measure—eight supreme Great Daos! Dao Master Luo nearly stood up from his chariot, blurting in disbelief, "The Nine Innate Daos—aside from the legendary Dao of Nirvanic Extinction, he has mastered them all! Taiyi's disciple is this strong—does Taiyi himself know?" Dao Master Lin could hardly conceal his shock as he said, "Though he has mastered them, not all of these Daos have been cultivated to attainment. Wuji and Calamitous Destiny have not attained the Dao. Even so, this is simply astonishing." As the earliest Dao Masters of the other shore, they knew well how difficult it was to cultivate the Nine Innate Daos. To master even one required an unimaginable amount of time. From the great explosion of Dao methods and divine powers on the other shore until now, beings who had cultivated any of the Nine Innate Daos to immortality were few and far between! As for mastering multiple Daos and elevating them all to the Immortal realm, it was entirely unheard of! Dao Master Hua remarked, "Perhaps this is no blessing for our other shore. He hails from the Three Realms, after all." At these words, Dao Masters Luo and Lin both grew solemn, casting a glance at Dao Master Tongtian without speaking. Dao Master Tongtian had come from the Three Realms, and had attained the Dao through the Dao of Slaughter—which was also one of the Nine Innate Daos! Just then, they saw Zhangsun Shenghai also channel his cultivation method. One after another, incomparably radiant cave abysses rose slowly behind him. Dao Masters Hua, Lin, and Luo stared blankly. This sight was even more shocking than the outbreak of the Zhao Realm's calamitous destiny! The cave abysses behind Zhangsun Shenghai were also those of the Nine Innate Daos. Seen from afar, they appeared even more consummate than Xu Ying's eight cave abysses, their luster seemingly even brighter! "Both of them were once disciples under Taiyi," Dao Master Hua said suddenly. "Taiyi hides himself exceedingly deep. Back then, Haoyi, who caused such a tremendous stir, was also his disciple." Dao Masters Luo and Lin felt their hearts tighten. Recalling Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, who was perpetually in secluded cultivation, their estimation of him unconsciously rose by several notches. At that moment, countless roots danced through the void behind Xu Ying, embedding themselves into the cave abysses. Chaos, Hongmeng, Wuji, Taiyi, Samsara, Karma, Calamitous Destiny, and Slaughter—nine cave abysses, each spinning as they sliced into Xu Ying's body! Xu Ying's aura surged dramatically, reaching ever higher and farther, evoking a sensation of the Dao embodied, man and Dao becoming one! He was not an Immortal, yet the moment the cave abysses entered his body, he gave off the impression of a Six Daos Immortal! Yet in the next instant, a feeling transcending immortality arose unbidden. It was a sense of the Great Dao fused into a seamless whole—no longer divided into Chaos and Hongmeng, devoid of Wuji and Taiyi, leaping beyond Samsara and Karma, breaking free of Calamitous Destiny and Slaughter, profoundly lofty! Yet at the same time, he was simultaneously Chaos, Hongmeng, Wuji, and Taiyi—indescribably bizarre! "A Dao Master!" This time, atop Mount Jiuqiu, even Dao Master Tongtian was awed! At this moment, the transcendent aura radiating from within Xu Ying was indeed remarkably similar to that of a Dao Master! Xu Ying's display of the eight cave abysses had certainly been powerful, but drawing them into his body was what was truly terrifying! The shock in the hearts of Dao Masters Hua, Lin, and Luo was all the more imaginable. Yet what shocked them even more was still to come: behind Zhangsun Shenghai, a ninth Great Dao cave abyss emerged. The instant this cave abyss appeared, it made them restless and uneasy, imparting a sense that everything would be destroyed and buried within it! "The Dao of Nirvanic Extinction!" "No, he hasn't attained the Dao yet!" "From where did Zhangsun Shenghai comprehend the Dao of Nirvanic Extinction?" Pair after pair of eyes fixed onto Dao Master Tongtian. His expression calm as an unruffled well, Dao Master Tongtian shook his head. "He was originally Taiyi's disciple. When he entered under my tutelage, he had already cultivated Nirvanic Extinction." The three Dao Masters did not believe him in the slightest. If it were any other Great Dao, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi might have dabbled in it, but this Dao of Nirvanic Extinction was something Taiyi could never have delved into. For the Dao of Nirvanic Extinction was a Dao that annihilated everything, reducing universes, Hongyuan, and innate spiritual treasures alike back into a state of chaos! Even if Grand Dao Lord Taiyi were to become Dao Master Taiyi, he could never have grasped such a Dao! Yet looking at Zhangsun Shenghai's Dao of Nirvanic Extinction, though not as profound as his other Daos, his attainment in it was already quite remarkable! Dao Master Hua sneered, "Taiyi's two disciples are this incredible—does Taiyi himself know?" No one answered him. Just then, Xu Ying vanished abruptly. In the next moment, his figure arrived in the stellar domain where Zhangsun Shenghai stood. He employed neither the Eight Immortality Methods nor Haoyi's divine power, Firmament, relying instead on the simplest bare-handed martial arts. Yet every move, every punch and kick, carried the Dao power of the Innate Daos—Chaos, Hongmeng, Wuji, Taiyi, and the rest! His moves appeared simple, yet they conformed to calamitous destiny and followed karma, leaving one nowhere to hide and no way to parry! Witnessing this, all three Dao Masters of the other shore were visibly moved. Though they were Grand Dao Masters, the Daos they cultivated were inferior to Xu Ying's. The Dao power of the higher Daos that Xu Ying wielded was something they could not unleash! What was even more frightening was that Xu Ying had not cultivated just one higher Dao, but eight! "No, it must be nine!" Dao Master Lin said suddenly. "There is another Dao hidden within his body, using that Dao to govern these eight Innate Daos!" Even Sword Master Tongtian was stunned to hear this. In this world, the Nine Innate Daos were already the highest Great Daos. Could there truly exist a Dao that reigned above the Nine Daos, capable of unifying their Dao powers? What struck them as equally marvelous was Zhangsun Shenghai's response. Xu Ying used that enigmatic Dao to unite eight Innate Daos, whereas Zhangsun Shenghai cultivated nine Daos to form a cycle of the Great Dao's birth, extinction, formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness! He had not achieved unification, yet at the same time it was a unification—only what unified these nine Daos was not a hidden Dao inside his body like Xu Ying's, but he himself! Using himself as the medium, the various Daos shifted and cycled. Within his Dao methods, one could see the evolution from Chaos and Hongmeng to Slaughter and Nirvanic Extinction, and then from Nirvanic Extinction back to Chaos to pioneer anew! Repeating in such an endless cycle, all Nine Innate Daos served his will! The instant their palm strikes collided, the spacetime of the Zhao Realm fluctuated violently, blurring the vision of the four spectators watching outside the passage. The vast, boundless Dao power of the two battered the passage, making it unstable to the point of risking collapse! Dao Master Luo hurriedly activated the Heaven and Earth Elegance Pagoda to stabilize the passage. The four looked on to see a colossal Hongyuan vaguely taking shape around Zhangsun Shenghai. With him at its core, this Hongyuan went from birth to genesis, turning into a resplendent universe that spawned myriad Daos. Then this Hongyuan went from formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness to extinction, and from extinction back to birth—cycling and evolving continuously! Xu Ying, meanwhile, seemed to harbor a colossal Hongyuan within his body, all Daos fused into an indivisible whole! Suddenly, the two fought their way beyond the line of sight of Dao Master Luo and the others, leaving them unable to watch the battle between these two youths. Yet the violently trembling starry sky indicated that the battle was only growing more intense! Suddenly, constellations were disturbed, breaking from their original orbits and surging toward this direction. Gigantic stars migrated whistling through space, evidently disturbed by their divine powers. Just then, a massive hand reached out, crushing stars into sand. When that hand clenched shut, tens of thousands of radiant stars turned into stardust, and Zhangsun Shenghai reappeared in their sight. Countless specks of stardust surged with Zhangsun Shenghai's palm imprint, striking toward the opposite side! Neither had used any magic treasures, yet at this moment Zhangsun Shenghai refined stars into a treasure. It was not considered breaking their rules, only a clever trick. Xu Ying met this strike head-on, only to be forced back repeatedly by its immense might. Seeing the method work, Zhangsun Shenghai released his aura, sweeping the starry river into his Hongyuan. Star after star entered the Hongyuan around him, serving his will and further bolstering his momentum! Xu Ying frowned slightly. His Martial Dao cave abyss had merged with his physical body, drawing the Great Daos inside; he could not borrow external power the way Zhangsun Shenghai did. In this ebb and flow, he would inevitably fall into a disadvantage! *Zhangsun Shenghai is still the Eldest Senior Brother!* He was just about to concede, thinking, *I'll just continue being his Martial Uncle Xu, and just be magnanimous about it for a few more years!* Suddenly, in the distance, the Heaven and Earth Elegance Pagoda spun. The doors on the topmost tier swung wide open. With a clanking rattle, a coffin tightly bound by chains slowly slid out from the portal. Then the doors on the second tier opened as well. Amid another metallic clatter of chains, another coffin wrapped in chains slowly slid out. *Bang! Bang!* The chains binding both coffins blew apart, the lids flying off to reveal two corpses—one elderly, one young. Xu Ying and Zhangsun Shenghai both stayed their hands, looking over in surprise and suspicion. Atop Mount Jiuqiu, Dao Master Tongtian's face darkened. "Brother Daoist Luo, what is the meaning of this?" Dao Master Luo hastened to say, "Fellow Daoist Tongtian, this was not my doing!" Ferocity flashed in Dao Master Tongtian's eyes. Sword light flared as he slashed downward, yet struck only empty air. He did not intend to kill Dao Master Luo, but rather to sever any connection between the people here and the Heaven and Earth Elegance Pagoda. However, this strike did not touch any magical power or divine consciousness whatsoever. Dao Master Lin gave a dry cough and said, "Fellow Daoist Tongtian cares deeply for his disciple, but indeed none of us made a move just now. Most likely, the corpses of these two Dao Masters sensed their return to their homeland and seized this chance in an attempt to revive." The old and young pair within the coffins were none other than the two Zhao Realm Dao Masters who had launched a counterattack against the other shore when the Zhao Realm first clashed with it back in the day! Though the bodies of these two Dao Masters were shriveled and devoid of all Grand Daos within, they suddenly opened their eyes, fixing their gazes upon Xu Ying and Zhangsun Shenghai.