In the four hundredth year after Xu Ying entered enlightenment, a long roar rang out. Jiu Zeng, Qingxuan, and the others were both startled and overjoyed, hastily looking over—only to see a golden-furred ape soaring into the sky. It was not Xu Ying.
Daoist Wukong was channeling the Taishang Dao. Like a hundred rivers flowing into one, this Great Dao united all the various Daos he cultivated, fusing them into a singular whole!
Having long since cultivated to the Immortal realm, the Daoist possessed profound cultivation and had constantly sought to achieve that state of myriad streams converging into a unified Primordial Chaos, yet success had always eluded him.
This time, meditating on the Dao beside Xu Ying, he had finally forged a body of Primordial Chaos. His heart swelled with boundless delight.
His Taishang Dao had already surpassed Dao Lord Yu Xuantong, who practiced the same path; all he lacked was raw magic power!
As Daoist Wukong rejoiced, he suddenly sensed another aura surging nearby. Hurriedly turning to look, he saw that Shi Tianyang was breaking through as well, presently attaining the Immortal realm.
Shi Tianyang was an outcast of the Stone Clan. Lacking sufficient resources, he would never have had any hope of attaining the Immortal realm and could only serve as a garrison commander at the ferry. Yet he had found a blessing in disguise: he had crossed paths with Xu Ying, and later roamed the underworld alongside Daoist Wukong, amassing a rich foundation.
This time, with Xu Ying entering enlightenment, he had also reaped immense benefits, smoothly achieving his breakthrough to attain the Immortal realm.
Once Shi Tianyang had proven his Dao, Daoist Wukong walked up to him and said, "Brother Shi, back when we were in the Zhao Realm, Qingxuan made a bet with you. If you lost, you were to take charge and form an alliance between the Stone Realm and the Three Realms. You lacked the strength to represent the Stone Realm back then, but do you have it now?"
Plucking up his courage, Shi Tianyang chuckled. "In the past, if I returned to the Stone Realm and declared that I wanted to lead them in rebellion against the other shore, my clansmen would most likely have beaten me to death on the spot to claim a reward. But now that I've grown strong, I can beat *them* to death instead. I'll head back to the Stone Realm right away and teach those folks back home a lesson!"
Seeing his behavior, Daoist Wukong knew he was unreliable, so he said, "I'll go with you. To be frank, I belong to the Stone Clan as well—I leaped out from a stone."
Shi Tianyang said in surprise, "You're from the Stone Realm too?"
"I leaped out from a stone in the Three Realms."
With their plan settled, the two gave word to Jiu Zeng, Qingxuan, and the others, and took their leave.
In the past, anyone wishing to leave the other shore had to submit a report, and only someone like Xu Ying, who could erase karmic ties, could come and go as he pleased. Nowadays, however, calamitous destiny had erupted across the other shore and slaughter reigned everywhere, which had greatly loosened the oversight at the ferry.
As a former garrison commander, Shi Tianyang had acquaintances at the crossing. With some money to grease a few palms, he secured a ship, and he and Daoist Wukong sailed off into the Chaos Sea.
Tianjue City's renown grew by the day. Yet on the other shore, several places stood on par with it: the Guangming Realm, where Grand Dao Lord Yinyang dwelt, sheltered its own region as a mortal sacred land unassailed by outside foes.
There was also the Cuiwei Plains, founded by Grand Dao Lord Shenmo, which served as another pure land untouched by calamitous destiny or slaughter. Practitioners of the dual Daos of gods and demons gathered there, thriving in growing numbers.
And there was the Qiyan Hanging Ridge, yet another pure land. It was the dwelling place of Zhangsun Shenghai, home to a vast gathering of disciples, prosperous and flourishing, rivaling Tianjue City itself.
These four great sacred lands sheltered their respective corners of the other shore.
On this day, Dao Master Hua arrived at Ganquan Palace within Hushan Pavilion. Dao Master Lin hurried out to welcome him, saying, "Brother Dao, what brings you to my humble abode today?"
Dao Master Hua said, "The mortal realm now possesses four great sacred lands. This is detrimental to the progression of calamitous destiny and must be dealt with."
Dao Master Lin raised his hand lightly, sweeping aside the clouds and mist above the Daoqing Pool below. Peering down, he took in Tianjue, Guangming, Cuiwei, and Qiyan with a glance, then smiled. "We Dao Masters sit high above, dwelling outside worldly affairs. The fewer karmic ties we entangle ourselves in, the better. If one wades too deep into the tribulation and tangles with too much karma, one might end up suffering the catastrophe as well."
Dao Master Hua replied, "Not entering the tribulation is easier said than done. One can simply extricate oneself after entering it. These four great sacred lands are courting universal outrage. If everyone flees under their protection, the calamitous destiny will never be diminished, and when the time comes, everyone will have to plunge into the tribulation and die!"
Dao Master Lin shook his head. "Once you enter the tribulation, trying to extricate yourself will be hard beyond measure. Brother Dao, the four sacred lands are merely the squabbles of juniors. It would be best not to drag yourself into the mire."
Seeing that he had no intention of interfering, Dao Master Hua pressed no further. He rose and said, "If you turn a blind eye, this will surely become a catastrophic bane in the future!" With that, he departed in a huff.
Dao Master Lin chuckled. "What a fiery temper."
Lu Yiren stepped forward and asked, "Master, did Dao Master Hua truly come here for the four sacred lands?"
Dao Master Lin shook his head. "Not at all."
Lu Yiren was puzzled.
Dao Master Lin smiled. "To keep himself as untainted by calamitous destiny as possible, Dao Master Hua has pretended to be gravely injured ever since returning from Tianjing, remaining indifferent to everything else. Yet the Dao Masters freed by Xu Ying and Taiyi were suppressed by him and Dao Master Luo. Unable to sit still, he issued a kill order against the Dao Masters, only to step into the tribulation and become stained by calamitous destiny. Dao Master Luo was likewise dragged into the tribulation over the matter with Tianchengzi, and has been unable to extract himself to this day. Only I sit high in Daoji Heaven, unentangled. Dao Master Hua was merely trying to drag me down with him."
Realization dawned upon Lu Yiren. "So that's how it is."
Still puzzled, he asked, "Aren't you and Dao Master Hua close confidants, Master? Why would he try to drag you into the tribulation?"
Dao Master Lin sneered. "It's nothing more than trying to force me to stand with him! Don't be fooled by Hua Shengsheng's honest and earnest appearance—his belly is full of wicked schemes! Among the three of us, his mind runs the deepest!"
Lu Yiren fell dead silent like a cicada in winter, not daring to utter a word.
Seeing his reaction, Dao Master Lin smiled. "There's no need to fear. I wouldn't silence you over something so trivial."
Right then, Dao Master Lin felt a sudden stir in his heart and turned his gaze toward the Daoqing Pool.
Lu Yiren stole a glance. The clouds and mist hovering over the Daoqing Pool were parting slowly, and in the water beneath, the figures of Grand Dao Lord Taiyi and several others surprisingly emerged.
Suddenly, Taiyi and the other ten Dao Masters looked up in unison, gazing directly toward them.
Lu Yiren was startled, only to see a woman in white raise her palm and sweep it lightly toward the sky. The Daoqing Pool instantly froze over, cutting off all sight of their silhouettes.
Dao Master Lin circulated his magic power, thawing the pool, but the figures had already vanished without a trace, leaving no track to be found.
"Where could Taiyi, Xuannü, and the rest be headed?" Dao Master Lin wondered in surprise.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi and the others had not shown themselves for a long time. Their sudden appearance surely meant they had something planned.
"Ever since their last battle with Dao Master Luo, they have been recuperating. Now that they've resurfaced, they must have some scheme in motion!"
During the four hundred years of Xu Ying's secluded cultivation, many monumental events had unfolded. The first was when Dao Master Luo ambushed Taiyi and the ten Dao Masters in the Tianshuang Forbidden Zone, sparking a world-shaking battle.
In that clash, both sides had mobilized over twenty innate numinous treasures, shattering heaven and earth. Taiyi and the ten Dao Masters were gravely injured and forced to retreat.
Dao Master Luo had also suffered wounds and went into secluded cultivation.
From that point on, Taiyi and the ten Dao Masters vanished without a trace.
The second major event occurred after the battle in the Tianshuang Forbidden Zone, when Daoist Dongxuan of Tianjing attained the level of Dao Master, becoming Tianjing's very first Dao Master on the other shore.
At the time of Daoist Dongxuan's ascension, the Great Daos of heaven and earth on the other shore bloomed like resplendent blossoms, and the three thousand Daos showered down radiant light to bless him.
Dao Master Hua took advantage of his breakthrough to launch an assassination attempt. Dao Master Ji Cang and Dao Master Xuanhong, along with a host of Dao Masters from Tianjing, rushed to his aid.
Yet all were severely wounded by Dao Master Hua and fled in panic, carrying Dongxuan with them.
Dao Master Hua's might shook the world.
Other matters were inconsequential to Dao Master Lin; only these two events commanded his attention.
"Taiyi and his companions haven't shown themselves for so long. For them to appear out of nowhere, could it be that they are confident they can deal with one of the three of us?" Dao Master Lin frowned slightly.
The three Dao Masters shared prosperity and ruin alike.
If Taiyi and the others were coming for Dao Master Luo or Dao Master Hua, he could never just sit by and watch!
***
Tianjue City.
The disciples of the Taiyi Dao Sect were cultivating around Xu Ying. Tens of thousands of disciples had gathered, all currently immersed in a state of enlightenment.
Originally, the Taiyi Dao Sect had not possessed so many disciples, but because Xu Ying sheltered Tianjue City, countless outsiders had sought to join its ranks.
While the Taiyi Great Dao was undeniably one of the most arduous Daos in the world to cultivate, the sheer volume of applicants meant that they had managed to unearth quite a few promising seeds.
The aura radiating from Xu Ying carried tens of thousands of people into enlightenment at the same time—a truly magnificent spectacle.
Suddenly, Xu Ying opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet.
Seeing him awaken, Jiu Zeng, Qingxuan, and the others were overjoyed and hurried forward. "Sect Master, how has your cultivation progressed over these years of seclusion?"
Xu Ying replied, "Regarding the principle that one's nature is self-sufficient, I have gained many insights and extended them to the other eight Great Daos. Yet when it comes to the self-sufficiency of the Martial Dao, I have still failed to grasp it."
Within the Taiyi Great Dao, he could now bring all affiliated Daos to an equal depth of cultivation: to understand one was to understand a hundred, and to master one was to master them all.
He could also achieve what Grand Dao Lord Taiyi had done—upon encountering an unfamiliar Dao, he could instantly elevate it to the Immortal realm, as though that Dao had always existed within him, merely waiting to be manifested.
Furthermore, the same held true for the other eight Great Daos: Chaos, Hongmeng, Wuji, Karma, Reincarnation, Calamitous Destiny, Slaughter, and Nirvana.
The concept that one's nature is self-sufficient meant that external Daos of heaven and earth subordinate to Taiyi were simply too numerous; one could never finish learning or comprehending them all. Rather than seeking out and studying them one by one, it was better to grasp the Dao's fundamental essence.
Once you comprehended the essence of the Taiyi Great Dao, whichever affiliated Dao of heaven and earth you encountered, you could unravel its profundities in an instant, elevating it to rival your own level of cultivation.
"What I did in the Haoyi Forbidden Zone was observe the process through which Haoyi comprehended this back then, and from that process, seek out the essence of Taiyi," Xu Ying told everyone. "After grasping the essence of Taiyi, I came to feel that my Taiyi Great Dao is subordinate to the acquired Martial Dao. Thus, I wished to comprehend the essence of the Martial Dao. That way, if I encounter an innate Great Dao I have never seen before in the future, I can understand it at a glance and master it in a single thought, just like any other worldly Dao."
Jiu Zeng, Qingxuan, the Holy Venerable, and the others exchanged glances, seeing the sheer shock in one another's eyes.
If such a day truly came, what kind of realm would Xu Ying inhabit?
Xu Ying shook his head. "The Daos of heaven and earth I've encountered are still far too few. The Daos of heaven and earth are not necessarily three thousand, nor ten thousand. The Nine Innate Daos are not necessarily nine; there may be more. Beyond the other shore lie even more universes, perhaps entirely different from both the other shore and Tianjing. Only by making contact with those universes and comprehending their Daos might one fathom such a realm."
Jiu Zeng stepped forward and asked, "Sect Master, this realm you speak of is neither the Immortal realm nor that of a Dao Master. What is it called?"
Xu Ying pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I do not know its name either."
Qingxuan inquired, "Is it the end of the Great Dao?"
Xu Ying chuckled. "The end of the Great Dao merely means cultivating a specific Dao to its limit. For example, the Thunder Dao on the other shore differs from that of the Three Realms, which in turn differs from the Stone Realm's. If there are a thousand universes in the Chaos Sea, there may well be a thousand variations of the Thunder Dao; if ten thousand universes, then ten thousand variations.
"What we call the end of the Thunder Dao is likely the culmination of all its variations across the myriad universes, evolving endlessly without straying from its core origin. But the realm I speak of is roughly the end of all Great Daos, evolving endlessly without straying from their fundamental core. Perhaps it is a realm that lies beyond the end of the Great Dao."
Hearing this, the crowd was both astonished and delighted, hastily asking, "Could the Sect Master impart this to us?"
Xu Ying couldn't help but laugh. "I haven't mastered it myself, so how could I teach you? Don't let your imaginations run wild."
Even so, he still explained the true heritage of the Taiyi Great Dao that he had comprehended. However, each person's aptitude and comprehension varied, and whether they could grasp it was beyond Xu Ying's concern.
Suddenly, the winds and clouds outside Tianjue City roiled violently. Heaven and earth trembled with such fury that the city seemed about to plunge into a deep abyss of space-time.
With a mere thought, Xu Ying unleashed the magic power of his primordial spirit, steadying Tianjue City instantly.
His figure shifted faintly, and in the next instant, he appeared before a young man.
The young man possessed handsome features with a pair of fine mustaches. It was none other than Ling Xuzi of Tianjing, who had arrived at Tianjue City at some unknown moment.
Ling Xuzi looked at Xu Ying in surprise and praised, "I heard you have been in secluded cultivation all this time. I didn't expect you to have improved so much. Xu Ying, I hear you are a native of the Three Realms. As someone from the Three Realms, sheltering the people of the other shore is utterly contemptible."
He cast his eyes about. "You protect so many cultivators of the other shore, preventing them from falling into the tribulation and dissipating the other shore's calamitous destiny. Can you face those from the Three Realms who died at the hands of the other shore?"
Xu Ying showed an expression of bemusement. "Ling Xuzi, the moment we met, you attacked my Dao heart. You didn't come to exchange blows—you came to kill me."
Ling Xuzi laughed. "You figured it out so quickly. No matter if you know; I'll let you die an enlightened ghost."
A look of venomous hatred crossed his face, his voice chilling. "The other shore has plunged into calamitous destiny, swayed by slaughter, with countless inhabitants dying every single day. Yet even that cannot extinguish the hatred in my heart! The other shore should have no pure land! By establishing Tianjue City and sheltering this territory, you set yourself against me!"
Xu Ying said, "And what else?"
Ling Xuzi smiled haughtily. "I am on the verge of becoming the Dao Master of Creation, yet I still fall short by a sliver. I need to battle a supreme expert, using the pressure to attain the position of Dao Master—and incidentally kill that expert as a sacrifice for my ascension!"
Xu Ying looked at him with an unfathomable gaze. After a moment, he said, "Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated? Have you already picked out an auspicious date?"
***
In Shangdu, Gong Jiexuan asked, "Where is Ling Xuzi?"
Dao Master Dongxuan replied, "He seeks to attain the status of Dao Master and has gone to Tianjue City."
Gong Jiexuan's expression changed slightly. "He went after Xu Ying again? What audacity! If I hadn't stepped in last time, he would have been killed by Xu Ying!"
Dao Master Dongxuan smiled. "You needn't worry, young lady. In his past life, Ling Xuzi was a Dao Master; his cultivation speed is thousands of times faster than that of ordinary men. He lost to Xu Ying back then, but more than four hundred years have passed. Today, there is no reason for him to lose."
Gong Jiexuan stamped her foot. "I'm worried he will ruin the relationship between Tianjing and the Three Realms! Xu Ying is the Dao Ancestor of the Three Realms, after all. If he comes to harm at his hands, I fear the Three Realms will refuse to join forces with Tianjing against the other shore!"
Dao Master Dongxuan chuckled. "How could the relationship between two universes be compromised over the life or death of a mere Dao Ancestor? Still, since you are ill at ease, young lady, I shall make a trip to Tianjue City myself."
Chapter 836