Dao Seed

"No wonder true disciples like Lingxi were quite confident in my breakthrough to Void Refining." Mulling over the attitudes of those true disciples, Yaoguang thought, *A special void constitution naturally deepens a cultivator's comprehension of the Dao of the Void. Moving from Void Piercing to Void Refining is a process of continually elevating one's comprehension of the Dao of the Void, optimizing and remodeling one's grotto-heaven. Once my comprehension of void power is sufficient and I feel my grotto-heaven is stable enough to accommodate the 'Dao seed' I wish to house, I can use a Dao technique to coalesce that Dao seed and begin cultivating the Void Refining stage.* He pondered the significance of the Void Piercing stage. It was somewhat similar to a form of "Foundation Establishment" in cultivation. A Foundation Establishment for attaining the Dao! By opening up a grotto-heaven and possessing a world of one's own, one gained the foundation to "plant the Dao." To plant different "Daos," one had to forge different grotto-heavens. "Dao seed..." Yaoguang rolled the term over in his mind. When cultivating a Dao technique, upon achieving initial mastery, a cultivator could condense the technique into a Dao seed and then "plant" it within their grotto-heaven to let it thrive. This would be the core of cultivation for practitioners from this point onward, all the way until integrating with the Dao to become a Dao Lord. Thus, what kind of Grand Dao one chose and what kind of Dao seed one coalesced directly dictated the future direction of one's growth. In theory, the stronger the Grand Dao, the better. Yet the stronger the Grand Dao, the harder it was to comprehend, and the higher the demands placed upon the grotto-heaven. Many peerless prodigies, filled with excessive pride, chose the four supreme Grand Daos or the core Grand Daos just beneath them. As a result, not only did they spend countless years making zero progress, but even if they were fortunate enough to achieve basic mastery of the Dao method and coalesce a Dao seed, their grotto-heavens could not bear its power. They ended up spending countless times longer in the Void Piercing and Void Refining stages than ordinary cultivators. Not only that, even if their Dao seed reached great completion, the future step of integrating with the Dao would likewise be a life-or-death hurdle for practitioners of top-tier Grand Daos. The more powerful the Grand Dao, the easier it was for the cultivator to be "Dao-assimilated" during Dao integration. Therefore, if one's goal was truly just to become an immortal... Choosing a more ordinary Grand Dao would actually make the path of cultivation much smoother. Besides, mutual restraint sometimes existed between Grand Daos; a weaker Grand Dao was not necessarily weak in every aspect, and a powerful Grand Dao was not necessarily invincible. "This step is truly critical." Yaoguang examined the thirteen Dao techniques he had mastered... The Grand Dao of the Void, the Grand Dao of the Mind, the Grand Dao of Devouring, the Grand Dao of the Stars... Oh, and Supreme Human Emperor, the Dao technique obtained from Dao Lord Penglai that pointed straight toward the Grand Dao of Origin. *Which Grand Dao should I choose...* Yaoguang sank into thought. He could master far too many Grand Daos; this could only be described as the agony of choice. "The Grand Dao chosen to be planted in the grotto-heaven as a Dao seed is equivalent to a lifebound Grand Dao, and that Dao technique becomes a lifebound Dao technique. In theory, as the foundation that carries all other Grand Daos, the Grand Dao of the Void is the most suitable. It is also the Grand Dao chosen by the most cultivators—one in every two people makes this choice... But..." The Grand Dao of the Void was easy to learn yet difficult to master. While it seemed that just about anyone could grasp some profound mysteries of the Void Dao, in reality, the difficulty of cultivating the Grand Dao of the Void ranked among the top ten, or even top three, of all Grand Daos. What seemed simplest was often the most insoluble. "Besides the Grand Dao of the Void, the next best choice is naturally the Grand Dao of Fate. That Grand Dao is the master outline of all Daos; it can govern the other two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Grand Daos and is completely compatible with the power of every other Grand Dao. When cultivating other Dao techniques, one could even exert power comparable to a lifebound Dao technique... It is a wondrous thing that everyone desires, yet cultivators of the Grand Dao of Fate are exceedingly rare, entirely because it is the single most difficult Grand Dao to cultivate in the world—bar none!" Yaoguang browsed through the information regarding the choice of "Dao seed" at the Void Piercing stage. Even though he had obtained numerous supreme divine abilities through high-dimensional cognition, among all those abilities, not a single one pointed toward the Grand Dao of Fate. From this alone, one could see just how arduous the cultivation of that Grand Dao was. "There's only one great divine ability pointing toward the Grand Dao of Fate... Having only reached the level of a great divine ability means the creator themselves failed to smoothly prove their Dao and become a Dao Lord..." Yaoguang searched through his repertory and ultimately focused his attention on the two supreme Grand Daos of Karma and Time. After a long while, he produced a ranking. The Grand Dao of the Void was his first choice. Next came the Grand Dao of Fate and the Grand Dao of Time. Only after those came the Grand Dao of Creation, the Grand Dao of Destruction, the Grand Dao of the Soul, and the Grand Dao of Origin. As for what to actually settle on, however, Yaoguang planned to wait a bit longer. "Cultivators only truly make contact with the Three Thousand Grand Daos at the Void Shattering realm. A Void Shattering practitioner can peer through the essence of the void, face the Three Thousand Grand Daos directly, and select one among them to comprehend diligently in preparation for proving the Dao and integrating with it to become a Dao Lord. Therefore, it won't be too late to make my final choice once my cultivation reaches the Void Shattering realm and I gain access to relevant knowledge regarding the Three Thousand Grand Daos." Having made his decision, he quickly settled his mind. Although he did not plan to plant a Dao seed for the time being, that did not mean a cultivator could not cultivate Dao techniques or stabilize their grotto-heaven. It merely meant that without a Dao seed, one could not step into the Void Refining realm. From here, he would raise his grotto-heaven's condition to its utmost limit while simultaneously pushing the five supreme divine abilities he currently mastered to evolve into Dao techniques as quickly as possible. Once his current combat strength reached a state comparable to the peak of Void Piercing, he would set about selling a Dao artifact. If all went smoothly, the profit from selling that single Dao artifact would allow him to elevate his realm from [Immortal Dao: Void Refining] to [Immortal Dao: Void Shattering]. If that still wasn't enough... Hunting great demons in the Deep Blue Sea would also be a fine choice. *** Yaoguang quieted his mind and entered seclusion to consolidate his cultivation. Yet the birth of a Void Piercing expert was worth grand celebrations in any faction. At Yaoguang's request, the Heavenly Dao Sect had not broadcast the news everywhere, but there was no need for active publicity; the moles embedded by various major factions across the sects would transmit the news back. It was merely a matter of time. Under these circumstances, in just one month, many top factions had become fully aware that the Heavenly Dao Sect had gained a Void Piercing junior sect master named Yaoguang. Moreover, because Jiang Tianzun and several Void Piercing elders had mobilized with great fanfare against Yaoguang, his background and origins had also been uncovered. He hailed from a nearby node world called Cangwu. When this news spread, quite a few people envied the Heavenly Dao Sect's good fortune. To some extent, Beihai Star was like an immigrant planet. The so-called natives on this planet were actually cultivators who had migrated here in earlier eras because of the Gate of the Immortal Realm. Over countless years, countless factions had risen rapidly by absorbing immigrant factions from outside. Now that the Heavenly Dao Sect had gained Yaoguang, setting aside whether he would become a towering titan in the future, at the very least, a Void Refining expert was virtually assured. Gaining an extra Void Refining expert would significantly boost the sect's strength and secure even more benefits for it. Yet while most envied the Heavenly Dao Sect's luck, some found it rather bizarre. This was especially true for factions adjacent to the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The Cangwu Great World? Hadn't that world pledged allegiance to the Taiyi Immortal Sect a hundred years ago? To demonstrate its tolerance and high regard for outside forces, hadn't the Taiyi Immortal Sect even permitted the Cangwu Great World—which lacked a single Void Refining expert—to become the ninth branch among its Six Halls and Nine Branches? Why, then, had a prodigy hailing from the Cangwu Great World who had bright prospects of reaching Void Refining ended up joining the Heavenly Dao Sect? What was more, before this Cangwu-born prodigy achieved Void Piercing, he had even been hunted for a bounty placed by another genius of the Cangwu lineage, Jiang Tianzun? They had even dispatched Void Piercing experts? Good grief, internal strife? With onlookers eager for drama, news regarding Yaoguang quickly reached the ears of the Cangwu lineage as well. *** Taiyi Immortal Sect. The cluster of peaks occupied by the Cangwu lineage. Void Piercing Battle Immortal Jian Hanzhou, having returned from outside not long ago, landed directly outside the main peak's grand hall. Sensing several fellow Void Piercing Battle Immortals inside, he barged in immediately. His voice arrived before his figure. "Lineage Master Xie! Elder Li, Elder Gelin, have you heard the news... Word outside says that Su Yaoguang, the one from our Cangwu Great World's Artifact Sect lineage, has achieved Void Piercing and even become the Heavenly Dao Sect's junior sect master..." Before he could finish, his voice trailed off. Inside the hall, several pivotal figures of the Cangwu Great World were currently holding a meeting via a technology akin to optical holographic projection. Jian Hanzhou's sudden arrival... ...had interrupted the meeting entirely. Only after a breath or two did Xie Xiong let out a sigh. "Since you're here, Hanzhou, come in and shut the door." Jian Hanzhou hurriedly stepped into the hall and shut the doors tight. He even activated the main hall's formations. Looking at the solemn expressions of Xie Xiong, Gelin, Li An, and the others, and then at the pivotal figures of the Cangwu lineage displayed across the holographic screens—all looking grave, even tinged with regret—he quickly realized what was going on. "You've already heard?" The moment the question left his mouth, he felt foolish. Of course. If even he had learned of it, how could the Cangwu lineage, which secretly controlled an intelligence network, remain in the dark? "Void Piercing! Void Piercing! How on earth did he reach Void Piercing?" Li An's eyes were full of bewilderment. Not just him—nearly everyone present shared the exact same thought. Indeed! How could he already be at Void Piercing!? "How long has it been?" Gelin also seemed somewhat dazed. Even though he had received this news half a day ago, he still could not completely wrap his mind around it. Xie Xiong glanced at him but said nothing, for he himself had only barely managed to steady his own mind. Yet whenever he thought of Yaoguang's current achievement, an unspeakable pang of bitter remorse gripped his chest. "Our Cangwu lineage has missed out on a truly peerless genius..." "He can no longer be called a genius," a Void Piercing Battle Immortal on one of the holographic screens interrupted. "He has already achieved Void Piercing; how can the word 'genius' still describe him!? Yaoguang's... momentum has fully matured!" His momentum had fully matured! At this moment, Yaoguang had truly become an unstoppable force. With his astonishing Void Piercing cultivation, he would thrive like a fish in water in any top sect. To say nothing of his staggering talent. Junior sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect—that title carried far more weight than an ordinary Void Piercing elder. "Given the standing Yaoguang currently holds in the Heavenly Dao Sect, if he so desires, he could probably assemble a faction no weaker than our Cangwu lineage in short order," Xie Xiong said in a heavy voice. "Everyone, because of our earlier blunders, our Cangwu lineage now stands at a critical crossroads. Where should the Cangwu lineage go from here!?"