Dao Master Taiyi looked up and stared at him in a daze. "Master, I committed many wrongs in the past, and I was once disrespectful to you."
"Indeed. But you carry my heritage, and you have walked farther than I ever could."
Dongxuanzi's gaze was warm and gentle. While Taiyi appeared as an old man, Dongxuanzi bore the form of a youth, looking far younger than his disciple. He smiled. "If only one of us can survive—myself or my heritage—I hope it is my heritage."
Dao Master Taiyi felt unimaginable pressure bearing down from the nineteen Heavenly Daos. His expression darkened, and he shook his head. "Master, you have someone better. Xu Ying will walk farther than I ever will. As for me, I have no hope left."
Sorrow overwhelmed his face. "I triggered the calamitous destiny of the other shore, yet I cannot mend the heavens. I have pushed the other shore toward annihilation."
His Dao heart had crumbled; gone was the former composure with which he had once commanded every situation.
Dongxuanzi frowned and stepped forward abruptly. He unleashed his Taiyi Great Dao, and nineteen rays of Dao radiance pierced the void, taking the place of the missing Heavenly Daos of the other shore in an attempt to relieve Taiyi.
"Taiyi, do you know? I could never comprehend that in the Dao of Taiyi, one's nature is self-sufficient."
He seized Dao Master Taiyi's arm with force. "My limit ends right here! But you can go farther! I am the Taiyi Dao Master of the other shore—I will mend these heavens in your stead!"
Dao Master Taiyi offered no resistance as Dongxuanzi hoisted him up and cast him aside like a dead dog. He chuckled bitterly. "Mending the heavens for me will only make you another scapegoat. I cannot win. Dao Master Lin has calculated everything down to the finest detail..."
Seeing this, Dongxuanzi flew into a rage. Resisting the backlash of the Great Daos, he kicked Dao Master Taiyi viciously in the abdomen and barked, "If you are so eager to disgrace me and bring shame upon the Taiyi Great Dao, I might as well kill you first and reclaim my supreme art!"
Dao Master Taiyi endured the punches and kicks without moving, quickly battered black and blue, covered in wounds.
Seething with fury, Dongxuanzi continued to beat Dao Master Taiyi, who still did not fight back. Only when Dongxuanzi was exhausted did Taiyi silently climb back to his feet, utterly devoid of any will to live.
Dongxuanzi snapped furiously, "If you care about the safety of the other shore, all the more reason to defeat Lin Chuanting! Sinking into despondency helps nothing!"
Taiyi shook his head and wailed aloud, "It's useless! Master, it's useless! Even if I strike Lin Chuanting dead, the other shore cannot be saved! I cannot mend the heavens!"
He fell to his knees, clutched Dongxuanzi's legs, and sobbed, "The other shore is finished."
Dongxuanzi stood numbly. "The other shore is not finished. It is your Dao heart that is finished."
At that moment, Gong Jiexuan called from a distance, "Dongxuan, we should go."
Dao Master Taiyi let go of Dongxuanzi, his face ashen, and muttered, "Go... you all should go. It's still not too late to flee. The other shore is done for... I pushed the other shore into annihilation..."
Galled by his disciple's spineless surrender, Dongxuanzi raised his fist to strike him again, but let it drop. He turned and strode toward Gong Jiexuan and the others.
The group departed from the place.
Gong Jiexuan felt an uneasy stir in her heart. "I sense that my Primordial Beginning Dao is about to attain realization, and I need everyone to protect me during the process. How strange... The other shore is about to enter annihilation, the calamitous destiny has erupted, and the Heavenly Daos are shattering. Why do I still feel that I can prove and attain the Dao? Dongxuan, you should return to Tianjing. This place is no longer fit for you to stay."
Dongxuanzi nodded in silence. Just as he prepared to leave the other shore, a thought struck him. He stopped dead, his eyes lighting up, and turned back. "Lady Gong, fellow Daoists, a universe on the verge of annihilation cannot produce a new Dao Master, correct?"
Everyone was startled, then nodded in agreement.
Yuxizi said, "Back when our Tianjing was on the brink of annihilation, millions of years passed without a single Dao Master emerging. The Heavenly Daos were in decline, making it impossible for a new Dao Master to be born."
Dongxuanzi's eyes gleamed. "Then why is Lady Gong about to prove the Dao of Primordial Beginning on the other shore? Doesn't this prove that the Heavenly Daos of the other shore have not yet reached the point of decay?"
Hainingzi took a step forward, channeled the Great Dao of Calamitous Destiny, and peered across the other shore with the Dao Eye of Calamitous Destiny to observe the currents of doom.
After a moment, a peculiar look appeared on his face. "I know why the lady can attain the Dao of Primordial Beginning. It turns out that after the New Sacred Clan from the macrocosmic universes entered the other shore, their cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Many of them have already proved the Dao, and some have achieved the Dao, becoming Indestructibles..."
His expression grew even stranger. "After these people achieved the Dao, they stabilized the Heavenly Daos of the other shore, thereby breathing vitality into this realm. Their numbers are vast..."
He shook his head. "Many times more than Tianjing at its zenith, and far more than the other shore ever had in the past!"
Back then, Dao Master Taiyi had suppressed all opposition to single-handedly push through the new governance, which had finally borne fruit, drawing in geniuses from across the macrocosmic universes.
It was the Dao attainments and achievements of these very geniuses that brought vitality to the other shore.
Dongxuanzi's eyes shone even brighter, and he smiled. "Then when the lady attains the Dao of Primordial Beginning, Primordial Beginning will encompass all the Heavenly Daos, will it not?"
Gong Jiexuan replied, "Primordial Beginning gives birth to innate numinous treasures and the universal Hongyuan. In principle, it does indeed encompass all Heavenly Daos."
Dongxuanzi's gaze burned with increasing intensity as he said urgently, "Once you attain the Dao of Primordial Beginning, it will reinforce the other shore's Great Dao of Primordial Beginning, and in doing so, reinforce all the other shore's Heavenly Daos! The calamitous destiny of the other shore will thus be delayed! If we also add the Heavenly Daos grasped by myself, Taiyi, and all of you here, mending the heavens is not impossible!"
Cen Xi coughed softly and said, "Dongxuan, those whose Daos diverge cannot make plans together. The other shore does not walk the same path as us. You have done more than enough for your disciple; it is time to look out for your own life."
Dongxuanzi chuckled. "I cultivate the Taiyi Great Dao, and our Taiyi lineage has always had a rebellious bone in our bodies. Rest assured, everyone. Since I have already obtained an opportunity to transcend the calamity from Dao Master Hua, I will not be ensnared by it."
Yuxi, Cen Xi, and the others frowned slightly. Knowing his mind was made up, they urged him no further.
Dongxuanzi drifted away, laughing, "Fellow Daoists, protect Lady Gong while she breaks through. I will go find a glimmer of hope for Taiyi!"
Gong Jiexuan watched him depart in the distance, her brow furrowing. "Dongxuan cares too deeply for his disciple. I fear he will entangle himself in the calamity once more..."
Suddenly, her expression shifted, and she gasped, "For some reason, the surge of my Primordial Beginning Dao breakthrough is growing stronger and stronger. Everyone, let us find a safe place at once!"
Cen Xi and the others hastily escorted her away.
In the Guangming Realm, Grand Dao Lord Yinyang sat upright in formal posture. He had long reached the consummation of the Indestructible realm, merely half a step away from the Dao Master realm, and had spent recent years pondering how to break through and become a Dao Master.
"I have harvested the macrocosmic universes, my cultivation is sufficient, and my comprehension is ripe."
Grand Dao Lord Yinyang knitted his brows and murmured, "Why can I never break through? Where exactly am I lacking?"
Just then, a voice drifted over, calm and leisurely: "Heaven and earth are the zenith and nadir of all things; yin and yang are the male and female of qi and blood; left and right are the paths of yin and yang; water and fire are the portents of yin and yang; yin and yang are the origin and womb of all creation. You fail to attain the Dao of Yin and Yang—is your Dao of Water and Fire balanced? Are your Daos of Zenith and Nadir unobstructed? Is your understanding of Male and Female clear? Have you awakened to the primordial origin of all creation?"
Grand Dao Lord Yinyang felt as though waking from a dream, struck with sudden enlightenment. In an instant, the Great Dao of Yin and Yang he had cultivated all his life fell seamlessly into place!
His mind resonated with the universe, and the two qi of yin and yang between heaven and earth converged in droves. At that very moment, the Great Dao of Yin and Yang gained its Dao Master!
The Great Dao of Yin and Yang spanning heaven and earth received constant reinforcement from Dao Master Yinyang!
Dao Master Yinyang was overjoyed and astonished, then suddenly realized, "Who was it that gave me guidance to become the Dao Master of Yin and Yang?"
He sent his divine sense scanning in all directions, but found no one.
"Could it be that what preoccupied my thoughts by day surfaced in my mind, and I actually enlightened myself? That must be it!"
Dao Master Yinyang laughed boisterously. "My mastery over the Great Dao of Yin and Yang is peerless in this world. Who could possibly instruct me?"
He bothered no further about how he had attained the Dao, devoting himself entirely to sorting through his new insights.
Dongxuanzi had long since slipped away, muttering to himself, "A single Dao Master of Yin and Yang is not enough; we need more Dao Masters. Grand Dao Lord Shenmo is in Cuiwei Tianyuan, also merely half a step from attainment. A slight nudge will suffice."
Analyzing any Heavenly Dao subordinate to the Taiyi Great Dao was effortless for him, presenting no difficulty whatsoever.
For back in his time, he had comprehended all three thousand Great Daos one by one to the consummation of the Indestructible realm before proving himself a Dao Master!
Across the three thousand Great Daos, he had proved the Dao as many as three thousand times!
In terms of comprehension and the art of attaining the Dao, no one could surpass him!
A few days later, Dongxuanzi arrived at Cuiwei Tianyuan. After observing Grand Dao Lord Shenmo for a while, he sent a voice transmission, offering pointers to Grand Dao Lord Shenmo.
Grand Dao Lord Shenmo had been trapped at this half-step threshold, cultivating bitterly for thousands of years without ever breaking through. Upon hearing Dongxuanzi's voice, every knot of confusion untangled in an instant, bringing sudden, crystal clarity.
He could not help laughing heartily. Amidst his laughter, gods and demons harmonized as one, and rays of Dao radiance from the twin Daos of Gods and Demons surged from across the universe.
"Many thanks for your guidance, Brother Daoist!"
Dao Master Shenmo hurriedly bowed and declared aloud, "May I boldly ask for your venerable name? This junior will surely repay your grace!"
Dongxuanzi was pleasantly surprised. "Dao Master Shenmo is far more sensible than Dao Master Yinyang. Yinyang claimed all the credit for himself, while Shenmo knows to repay gratitude. Who else on the other shore is about to attain the Dao?"
He searched all around, but saw that over the fifteen hundred years of calamitous destiny, most Dao Lords had perished. Only a scattered few had survived, their cultivation and strength growing substantially until they became Grand Dao Lords.
Yet these individuals were still far from the Dao Master realm. Even with his guidance, they could hardly become Dao Masters in a short time.
Dongxuanzi then sought out Qiyan Hanging Ridge and carefully observed Zhangsun Shenghai. Though Zhangsun Shenghai was formidable, his ninefold cyclic verification circulating ceaselessly, his realm still fell short of a Grand Dao Lord.
"This person's ninefold cyclic verification is exceedingly orthodox, cultivating both internal and external. He is not a Dao Master, yet he surpasses one!"
Watching Zhangsun Shenghai cultivate, Dongxuanzi was filled with marvel and uncertainty. He thought, 'If he attains the Dao, I fear he will achieve realization in all nine Daos! His cultivation might soar unimaginably high—even my grand-disciple could not compare! If he could attain the Dao and confirm it with heaven and earth, the other shore might gain a bit more time.'
However, Taiyi's safety remained the pressing priority.
Dongxuanzi departed in haste, thinking, 'Since no one else possesses the strength to become a Dao Master, I will help them become Indestructibles. That, at least, I can achieve!'
And so he walked among the mortal realm, searching for young masters at the peak of the eighth level of the Dao Realm. Often, in mere moments, he discerned why they could not prove the Dao to reach Indestructible; a few offhand pointers were enough for them to break through.
Dongxuanzi traveled through the mortal world, mentoring these young masters. Though the effect of their breakthroughs to Indestructible was far less than that of a Dao Master, tiny drops made a mighty ocean, and achieving the Dao was simple for them. Thus, in just over twenty days, more than a thousand new Indestructibles emerged across the other shore.
Dongxuanzi was delighted, thinking, 'If only I had more time, finding those at the seventh level of the Dao Realm and guiding them through their first Dao verification would likely be even easier and yield even greater numbers.'
He shook his head. Time was running out. The decisive duel between Lin Chuanting and Taiyi drew near; he needed to find a safe haven to shoulder those nineteen Heavenly Daos in Taiyi's place.
Shouldering these nineteen Heavenly Daos meant he had to endure their relentless backlash. Only then could Dao Master Taiyi lay down all burdens and face Dao Master Lin in a battle to the death with peace of mind!
He hurried toward Daoji Heaven, joy welling in his chest. 'There is still time. I can also take Taiyi down to the mortal realm to see the New Sacred Clan who came to the other shore answering his edict—to see these emerging new faces, these young masters! They will bring vibrant life to the other shore!'
Happiness surged within him. 'Once that wretched disciple sees this, his fighting spirit will rekindle, along with his resolve to achieve victory...'
Just at that moment, he stopped in his tracks. Dao Master Shi Lan, valiant and imposing, appeared right before him.
"Old bastard, everything you've done these past days has been witnessed by Brother Lin."
Dao Master Shi Lan sneered. "Dongxuan, I come by Dao Master Lin's command to send you on your way and deliver you to your doom!"
Dongxuanzi burst into laughter and shook his head. "Shi Lan, I transcended the calamitous destiny long ago; I am not among the doom of the other shore! The one answering the calamity this time should be you!"
Dao Master Shi Lan mocked, "Old fool, you are still dreaming. By helping so many prove the Dao, you have long since entangled yourself in cause and effect, plunging deeply into the calamitous destiny!"
Dongxuanzi's expression flickered slightly. Indeed, he was not well versed in the Great Dao of Cause and Effect.
Dao Master Shi Lan smiled. "Originally you had a way out, but now even that path to survival is gone! Brother Lin does not wish for the other shore to truly plunge into calamitous destiny, so he did not stop your actions. But you want to restore Taiyi's Dao heart—that is impossible. We have no choice but to send you on your way. Your death will only hasten Taiyi's defeat!"
Dongxuanzi sneered, "Shi Lan, you are far from my match!"
Dao Master Shi Lan laughed. "Which is why I invited several Dao bodies of Dao Master Lin!"
Behind her, figures of Dao Master Lin stepped forth one after another, smiling as they looked at Dongxuanzi.
"Dongxuanzi, today we send you on your way!"
——
Xu Ying strode out from the Chaos Sea and entered the other shore, the waters of chaos shimmering behind him. Suddenly, a realization struck him, and he murmured in surprise, "Strange. Nineteen Heavenly Daos seem unstable. What happened here?"
With a stir of thought, he abruptly channeled the other shore's First Sacred Ground, using the Great Dao of Primordial Beginning to activate the nineteen Heavenly Daos within it and mend them whole.
"There, that's much better."
Chapter 889