What Is the Price?

Hearing this, the Dao Venerable raised his brows slightly and smiled. "Why has Dongxuanzi suddenly taken an interest in studying the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction?" Dongxuanzi chuckled. "Having cultivated the Great Dao of Taiyi, I fear I can scarcely make another inch of progress, leaving me unable to advance to higher realms. I heard someone speak of cyclic verification of the nine Daos, and thinking that the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction is the most difficult to cultivate, I wanted to try it myself. The Dao Venerable possesses the highest attainment in this Dao, so I wanted to ask whether the Dao Venerable has mastered it." "So that's how it is," the Dao Venerable said with a smile. "I indeed cultivate this Great Dao, but whether it can be called perfect remains uncertain." Dongxuanzi asked, puzzled, "I heard that cyclic verification of the nine Daos allows the nine Great Daos to circulate endlessly. If the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction cannot circulate endlessly, how can one achieve cyclic verification?" The Dao Venerable frowned slightly, gave him a deep, penetrating look, and asked with a smile, "Who was it that told you this?" Beaming, Dongxuanzi said, "I merely heard someone mention it and recalled it on a whim, so I came to seek guidance from the Dao Venerable. As for who it was, it was too long ago—I've forgotten. Dao Venerable, if the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction cannot circulate endlessly, how does one achieve cyclic verification?" The Dao Venerable replied, "Even if it cannot circulate endlessly, cyclic verification is still possible. One need only observe a universe entering Nirvanic Extinction—from calamitous destiny to slaughter, and finally to Nirvanic Extinction—to comprehend the profound mysteries of the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction." Dongxuanzi shook his head. "Dao Venerable, your words are not entirely truthful." Surprised, the Dao Venerable asked, "Untruthful in what way?" "You speak of observing a universe enter Nirvanic Extinction, but when you observe another universe entering extinction, its heavenly and earthly Great Daos differ from the ones you cultivate. The Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction obtained by observing its extinction will inevitably fail to align with your own," Dongxuanzi said. "But if the universe entering extinction is the one you reside in—Tianjing, for instance—then should Tianjing enter Nirvanic Extinction, you too would be plunged into extinction. You would die because of it, unable to master the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction, unable to attain perfection." The Dao Venerable showed a look of approval and smiled. "Dongxuan, you possess considerable talent in the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction. With a single sentence, you have pointed out the true difficulty in cultivating it. Indeed, it is precisely because of this that I cannot bring my Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction to perfection." Dongxuanzi let out a breath of relief and smiled. "Which is to say, the Dao Venerable cannot truly achieve cyclic verification of the nine Daos." The Dao Venerable sighed. "The Dao knows no bounds. In my own Dao methods, there are still many imperfections." Dongxuanzi laughed. "Yet it is more than enough to deal with Luo Taizong. Dao Venerable, we worried for nothing, thinking Luo Taizong would be a formidable rival for you. Now it seems he will surely be no match for the Dao Venerable. Since that is the case, we shall return to the other shore." The Dao Venerable smiled. "My battle with Luo Taizong will undoubtedly be perilous in the extreme, and I fear harming the innocent, so it must take place within the Chaos Sea. Return early and do not tarry." The Dao Masters Cenxi, Yuxi, Jiangning, and the others each breathed a sigh of relief. Though the Dao Venerable did not know Dongxuanzi's true purpose in inquiring about the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction and cyclic verification of the nine Daos, they knew full well. Back when Xu Ying claimed that either the Dao Venerable could not achieve cyclic verification of the nine Daos, or he had mastered it and thus could not be affected by the Great Dao tide, they had been beside themselves with fury, yet a seed of doubt had been planted in their hearts. When Dongxuanzi wanted to come this time, they came along precisely to confirm this point. Now that the Dao Venerable had openly acknowledged his shortcoming in the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction and his inability to achieve cyclic verification of the nine Daos, his image in the hearts of Cenxi and the others remained unblemished. 'We envisioned the Dao Venerable as too perfect, but the Dao Venerable is just like us—merely in the Dao Master realm,' everyone thought to themselves. 'The Dao Venerable is not as despicable and vile as Xu Ying claimed. Affected by the Great Dao tide, the Dao Venerable became a mortal just the same!' 'The truly vile one is that petty rascal Xu Ying! Gauging the heart of a gentleman with the belly of a petty man, seeing a thief in everyone!' Even Dongxuanzi could not help harboring a bit of resentment toward Xu Ying, thinking, 'That grand-disciple of mine has a mind full of conspiracy theories and paranoia that someone is out to murder the emperor! What kind of life did he lead in the past?' They had come in haste and were now departing in haste, but unable to part with their homeland, they wished to rest briefly and leave in a few days. This was human nature, so the Dao Venerable could hardly object. Dongxuanzi and the others visited their respective hometowns. After five or six days, the Dao Venerable sent them a voice transmission: "Fellow Daoists, it is time to return to the other shore. I hope you will prioritize the greater plan and not linger on thoughts of home." Left with no choice, the group set out. After leaving Tianjing, they traveled through the starry sky for several months without realizing the passage of time. Jingningzi said, "Dongxuan, you cultivate Taiyi, yet the Dao Venerable said you have great talent for Nirvanic Extinction. Why don't you try cultivating the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction again?" Hearing this, everyone laughed and chimed in. "Indeed. It's rare for the Dao Venerable to praise anyone, and praising your talent proves you certainly possess it. Jiangning cultivates Karma, and Jingning cultivates Slaughter—they can lend you a helping hand!" "That's right. The other shore is currently experiencing an outbreak of Karma and rampant slaughter tribulations. If it continues to unfold, Nirvanic Extinction will follow. The timing is perfect for you to cultivate the Dao of Nirvanic Extinction!" Dongxuanzi chuckled. "The Dao Venerable only said that in passing; it shouldn't be taken seriously. Besides, how difficult is Nirvanic Extinction to cultivate? Even the Dao Venerable cannot cultivate it to perfection. If I wanted to use the other shore entering extinction to cultivate Nirvanic Extinction to perfection, that would be utterly impossible. I could only rely on Tianjing entering extinction to..." Mid-sentence, he froze, struck dumb as a wooden rooster. Seeing him suddenly freeze in mid-speech, silent as his face grew pale, Cenxi and the others grew curious and pressed him with questions. Dongxuanzi seemed to have lost his soul, sweat pouring from him like torrential water, yet he remained utterly silent. Cenxi suddenly had an epiphany and said, "I know what Dongxuanzi is thinking! We achieved the Dao in the other shore! Our first verification, second verification, third verification—all took place in the other shore! In our first verification, our Great Dao imprinted upon heaven and earth; in our second verification, our Dao became equal to the body; in our third verification, our Dao became unstructured, unified in hunyuan! Therefore, we are Dao Masters of the other shore!" Jingning understood his meaning and continued, "Which is to say, if we cultivate the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction, we could actually reach a state of perfection—because we are the Masters of the Great Dao of the other shore!" Hainingzi, Yuxizi, and Jiangningzi also realized it one after another. Jiangningzi said, "However, even if cultivating the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction could achieve perfection, we would also be trapped within the tribulation! How terrifying is the Nirvanic Extinction Tribulation? Cultivating the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction—let alone perfection—would likely see us assimilated into the Nirvanic Extinction Tribulation!" Everyone broke into clamorous chatter and heated debate. Suddenly, Dongxuanzi's voice rasped, "What if there is a way to avoid being assimilated by the Nirvanic Extinction Tribulation and still cultivate a perfect Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction?" The others ceased talking and turned to look at him. Dongxuanzi's face was deathly pale. His earlier vitality had vanished without a trace, replaced by sheer dread and panic. Cenxi's Dao attainment was second only to his. Instantly sensing the disarray in Dongxuanzi's Dao heart and the inner demons sprouting within, Cenxi shouted, "Dongxuanzi, steady your Dao heart!" Stepping forward, Cenxi tapped gently, sending Wuji Dao intent into Dongxuanzi's body to help align his Dao heart and suppress the inner demons. Dongxuanzi's complexion improved slightly, though he still looked soul-shaken. Hainingzi said, "Dao Brother, I've pondered back and forth, but I still cannot fathom how one could remain unaffected by the Nirvanic Extinction Tribulation while mastering a perfect Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction. Tell us." The corners of Dongxuanzi's mouth twitched. Wearing a bitter expression, his voice tinged with a sob, he gave a strange chuckle. "It's very simple. When the Great Dao tide arrives, cause your native universe to run aground against another universe. Transfer your native universe's calamitous destiny to that other universe. That universe absorbs the calamitous destiny of your native universe, plunging into slaughter, gradually entering Nirvanic Extinction, and facing destruction. That way, standing detached from the world, watching it all unfold, you can cultivate a perfect Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction." His words made everyone knit their brows involuntarily, and the atmosphere instantly turned bizarre. Dao Master Cenxi cleared his throat and said, "Dongxuanzi, your Dao heart has been damaged. Speak no further." Yuxizi's face flushed with anger. He raised a hand and said coldly, "Fellow Daoist Cenxi, don't speak! Dongxuan, I respect you as an elder and overlook trivial matters, but to utter such words today—what do you intend?" "Precisely!" Radiating murderous aura, Jingningzi said coldly, "If you do not explain yourself clearly today, all ties of gratitude and brotherhood between us are severed, and henceforth we are sworn enemies!" The others sneered coldly. Hainingzi was beside himself with rage. "Dongxuanzi's words have hidden meanings, clearly pointing at something. Could it be you want to say that back then, the Dao Venerable intentionally preached to the other shore, intentionally letting those wolves and dogs of the other shore slaughter every Tianjing person? Are you suggesting that the Dao Venerable intends to use this venomous scheme to graft calamitous destiny onto the other shore, all to cultivate a perfect Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction?" Back then, when the other shore ran aground, Tianjing had been experiencing the Great Dao tide—the Dao had ebbed, and everyone, including Dao Masters, lost their cultivation and dharmic power. Now the other shore was embroiled in calamitous destiny and slaughter, virtually identical to what Dongxuanzi described. It was impossible for other thoughts not to stir within them. Dongxuanzi's face grew even more ghastly pale. "Having the people of the other shore take back the rational patterns to the other shore turned its heavenly and earthly Great Daos into Dao ash. As a result, the heavenly and earthly Great Daos of the other shore became identical to Tianjing's. And at that time, Tianjing's heavenly and earthly Great Daos were in an ebbing tide, with all Daos falling silent..." The others halted their steps and encircled him, brimming with killing intent. To them, the Dao Venerable was a figure akin to a father and teacher; any insult or suspicion toward him was utterly unacceptable! Even if that suspicion came from among their own! Had the person raising such doubts been an outsider like Xu Ying or Taiyi, they would have beaten him to death on the spot. Because Dongxuanzi was one of their own, they held back from striking immediately. Hainingzi sneered, "You say transferring calamitous destiny transfers it just like that? Tell me, how can modifying the heavenly and earthly Great Daos transfer it? If you cannot explain clearly, Dao Brother, I will have no choice but to send you into the tribulation!" Dongxuan's face was bleak. "With Tianjing stripped of heavenly and earthly Great Daos, while the other shore possesses Tianjing's Great Daos, a portion of calamitous destiny could be transferred." The corner of Hainingzi's mouth twitched. "Not enough." Dongxuan continued, "Letting a portion of Tianjing people enter the other shore to cultivate there carries away another portion of calamitous destiny." Hainingzi said coldly, "Still not enough!" Dongxuan's eyes turned hollow and terrifying, devoid of any emotion, and he said woodenly, "Kill every last Tianjing person." A chill swept over everyone's scalps as they turned to look at Hainingzi. Hainingzi was a Dao Master who had attained the Dao through Calamitous Destiny; whether such a transfer of calamitous destiny could succeed was something he knew better than anyone. Hainingzi's face abruptly drained of all color, as if all his strength had been sucked out. His Dao heart began to crumble, his spirit shattered. Their Dao hearts also began to waver. Hainingzi still struggled, his voice hoarse. "No, no! The people of the other shore are savage by nature. They slaughtered all Tianjing people and took on Tianjing's calamitous destiny—they brought it upon themselves! It served them right! It has nothing to do with the Dao Venerable!" As if grasping at a lifesaver, the others chimed in hurriedly, "Right! It served them right!" "The other shore enslaved myriad universes, harvested myriad universes, and even transferred calamitous destiny to plunge many universes into Nirvanic Extinction, killing countless people! Their eruption of calamitous destiny and rampant slaughter is entirely deserved—it has nothing to do with Tianjing, nothing to do with the Dao Venerable!" "The other shore committed heinous atrocities and deserves ten thousand deaths! Dongxuan, you cannot absolve them!" ... Dongxuan said impassively, "The other shore indeed deserves ten thousand deaths. No one is absolving the other shore. Dying a thousand times, ten thousand times, would not atone for their crimes!" The crowd ceased their clamor and turned their eyes to him. Dongxuan continued, "However, the other shore's calamitous destiny should not have erupted at this time. The other shore is only several billion years old. Even if it committed untold evil, it still had billions of years of lifespan remaining. But our Tianjing is already twenty billion years old. By all rights, our calamitous destiny should have erupted long ago." Cenxi exhaled a turbid breath and suddenly extended a finger, using Wuji Dao intent to help everyone steady their Dao hearts. "Everyone, no matter what, the Dao Venerable harbored goodwill toward our Tianjing." Looking around, he said in a heavy voice, "While transferring calamitous destiny to the other shore is admittedly somewhat dishonorable, all of this was the choice of the people of the other shore themselves. The Dao Venerable did not force anything upon them. Had they not learned the rational patterns, had they not taken the rational patterns back, had they not taught the rational patterns, the other shore would never have suffered a million years of Dao snow, nor would so many people have died..." Jingningzi cut him off, saying coldly, "Nor would they have sought vengeance against Tianjing and slaughtered every last Tianjing person. Dao Brother Cenxi, the living beings of Tianjing were the price the Dao Venerable paid!" Hainingzi ground his teeth. "Yet the living beings never knew they were the price." Cenxi looked sorrowful and said softly, "Yet because of this, Tianjing was freed from calamitous destiny and spared from Nirvanic Extinction. And the people of Tianjing survived as a result..." "A fraction of Tianjing people. A very small fraction," Yuxizi reminded him. Cenxi said, "Small though it may be, Tianjing people survived in the end. Sacrificing an abominably evil other shore in exchange for the survival of Tianjing people—I feel the Dao Venerable has nothing to be blamed for." Hearing this, the crowd fell into silence. At that moment, Dongxuanzi's tearful chuckle rang out: "What if... we too are part of the price?" Everyone looked at him. Dongxuanzi chuckled strangely. "To make the other shore collapse under calamitous destiny and plunge into Nirvanic Extinction, relying solely on the current Dao Masters of the other shore is not enough. The other shore currently does not possess so many Dao Masters, and those they have cultivate second-rate innate Great Daos. They have no Dao Master of Chaos, no Dao Master of Hongmeng, nor any Dao Masters of Wuji, Karma, Samsara, Calamitous Destiny, or Slaughter." His tone turned chilling: "To make the other shore thoroughly perish, those voids had to be filled!" Dongxuanzi looked around the circle, his gaze sweeping over the faces of Dao Master of Chaos Yuxi, Dao Master of Wuji Cenxi, and the others, his eyes grim and desolate: "You and I present here, along with Miss Gong and Wu Xizi—all of us are the price!"