Five Immortals

Within his spiritual world, radiant light coursed through the ancient tree. Countless streams of energy representing "nutrients" poured into the [Alchemy] branch, fueling its vigorous growth. As it flourished, the branch rapidly turned translucent and crystalline, casting off waves of glazed, iridescent treasure-light. Once the transformation of this branch concluded, the glazed luster enveloping the entire ancient tree fused into a seamless whole. At that moment, anyone looking upon it would no longer see merely an ancient tree, but a divine tree, a sacred tree, an immortal tree of breathtaking, indescribable beauty. Boundless glazed treasure-light drifted down from the tree, scattering specks of radiance in all directions to flood the spiritual world and unfold a scene of heart-stirring splendor. Every ray of light seemed to hold an immeasurable expanse of knowledge, like the vast river of stars overhead drawn together in its entirety. Every beam felt as though it represented the sum of all information accumulated by a star from its birth to the present. With just a glance, one could sense the magnificent, surging history of that celestial body—spanning hundreds of millions, even billions of years—wherein countless living beings, races, and species had risen, prospered, declined, and vanished, weaving epics forged across ages beyond count. Though Yaoguang did not plunge deeply into these rays of light to browse their contents, the sheer sight of the star-filled sky before him threw him into an indescribable state of shock. After a long while... Yaoguang seemed to sense something. Amidst the expanse of starlight, three thousand distinct trajectories seemed to reveal themselves. These tracks could neither be clearly discerned nor put into words, yet they undeniably existed, forming the unified whole of the glazed treasure tree. Countless emerald-glowing "nutrients" were channeled through these three thousand paths into the starry sky, which in turn restored certain knowledge back to the tree through the same conduits. Between the two, it resembled a mysterious living organism. With each inhalation and exhalation, an exchange took place that surpassed the bounds of human comprehension. Yaoguang immersed his spirit completely in it, experiencing the serene emptiness of that "breathing." He felt as though he could perceive the mysteries of every single star in the cosmos... A profound intoxication washed over him. It was like a peerless scholar who could effortlessly grasp all knowledge, drifting freely through an endless sea of learning, standing face-to-face with vast truths that encompassed the very heart of the universe. Every doubt concerning all things under heaven seemed to find its answer here. The evolution of cosmic laws could be reenacted with a single thought. This sensation, this exquisite wonder... It exceeded the limits of sensory perception. Neither a breakthrough in realm nor the transformation of life could match even a ten-thousandth of the stir this mystical experience brought him. Only the sensation he had felt years ago—when he had first left the Cangwu Realm and set foot in the boundless sea of stars as a being of flesh and blood—could faintly compare to the awe stirring within him now. Back then, standing in the infinite universe, he had felt his own insignificance acutely while being stunned by the sheer grandeur of the cosmos. The fierce collision and clash of those two thoughts had almost moved him to tears. Yet at this very moment, the stir in his heart was not born of his insignificance or the universe's grandeur. Rather... Someone had laid the answers to the entire universe before him. It seemed that... So long as he looked, he could behold all the fundamental truths of the cosmos. Directly facing the ultimate truth, directly confronting the essence of reality... Moreover, the cosmic truths of an immense universe spanning countless billions of light-years flooded his vision and saturated his spirit... That sensation took Yaoguang's breath away. Fortunately, perception within the spiritual world did not require breath. Yet in that moment... "If eternity truly exists in this world... then this scene, this very moment, is eternity," Yaoguang murmured to himself. Just as these brilliant lights reached their peak, the stars across the sky gradually began to converge, each ray seeming to condense into a single leaf that adorned the crown of the treasure tree. At the same time, the tree abruptly surged with new growth. From its original height of a dozen meters, imbued with a sacred and ethereal aura, it shot upward—reaching twenty meters, thirty meters, forty, fifty in the blink of an eye... In a breath, the treasure tree had grown beyond a hundred meters tall. Its massive canopy blotted out the sky, shimmering with innumerable stars as both its size and reach expanded tremendously. However, when Yaoguang looked up through the crown, he discovered that its very center connected to a peculiar realm. Just like the peak of a mountain thousands of meters high disappearing into ethereal mist, drifting clouds obscured a portion of the canopy and even blanketed the entire upper layer, leaving parts of it faintly visible and veiled from clear sight. A flash of insight struck Yaoguang. His gaze instantly locked onto the branch that represented his cultivation. Without him realizing, the branch originally labeled [Immortal Dao: Void Shattering] had transformed into [Dao Integration: Void]. Moreover, as his spirit immersed itself into this newly transformed [Dao Integration: Void] branch, information he had never possessed before welled up clearly in his mind. "The cultivation of Dao Integration... is uniting oneself with the Dao until one completely masters a Grand Dao... mastering one of the three thousand Grand Daos that constitute the entire universe... And Dao Integration... is merely gaining the qualification and authority to fully wield the power of a Grand Dao!" Yaoguang murmured to himself. Qualification, authority! Compared to the true Grand Daos that formed the universe, an expert of Dao Integration was still separated by tens of millions of miles. A newly ascended Dao Integration expert... Their grasp of a Grand Dao's power amounted to at most one ten-thousandth. Future cultivation would mean raising that control to one-thousandth, one-hundredth, one-tenth... Until they completely mastered the Grand Dao and reached the ultimate realm of this path—Dao Ancestor! "The end of Dao arts... is an Origin Dao art. That is the greatest difference between a Dao Lord and those beneath them." An Origin Dao art differed greatly from the ordinary Dao arts derived from a Great Dao of Origin. Many Dao arts branched out from the Grand Dao of the Void. Arts such as Void Flicker, Void Sword, Eight Desolations Purgatory, and Inverting Heaven and Earth all belonged to the branches derived from the Grand Dao of the Void. The so-called Origin Dao art was the fusion of all these derived Dao arts into a single entity, creating the Great Void Art that directly accessed the origin of the Grand Dao of the Void. This Great Void Art was the true expression of the Grand Dao of the Void. It was said that once the Great Void Art was mastered, it could suppress and seal all Dao arts other than Fate. It could even prevent any Dao art from manifesting at all. After all, the void was the very foundation that carried and manifested the three thousand Grand Daos. Without the Grand Dao of the Void, the other Grand Daos would naturally cease to exist. This was the reason why the Grand Dao of the Void was known as one of the four supreme Grand Daos. "The Great Void Art..." Yaoguang exhaled a long breath. If he could truly master this Origin Dao art... He would sweep through every Void Shattering expert without exception! Those who wielded Dao arts at the Void Shattering realm would have no hope of resisting him. In fact... "Many Dao Lords haven't even transformed their innate Dao arts into Origin Dao arts! It seems one must enter the Immortal Realm and rely on its unique environment to achieve that... That is why Origin Dao arts are also known as immortal arts..." Yaoguang pondered. He could not help but yearn for the Immortal Realm. He wondered what kind of sights awaited him there. After a long while, Yaoguang turned his attention back to the [Dao Integration: Void] branch. At present, the progress of this branch... Showed no progress. 0%! Yet Yaoguang knew a tiny value did exist; it was simply lower than 0.01%, rendering it invisible on the panel. 'Should I adjust the progress bar?' With a thought, the display for [Dao Integration: Void] shifted to 1/10000. "At this rate, who knows how long it will take to reach one-thousandth." Yaoguang shook his head. Fortunately... The transformation of the glazed treasure tree had brought more than just this. The branches that had previously reached Level 15 at 100%—such as [Formation], [Artifact Refinement], [Alchemy], [Demon Hunting], and [Merchant]—had all undergone an evolution. Yaoguang briefly felt the transformed abilities, paying particular attention to [Artifact Refinement], and quickly gained a clear understanding. 'My efficiency in completing orders will increase dramatically. Furthermore, crafting high-grade and pinnacle Dao artifacts will be much smoother. As for immortal artifacts...' Digesting the knowledge of artifact refinement, Yaoguang had an epiphany: 'Now I understand why the concept of half-immortal artifacts exists. To forge an immortal artifact, one must first elevate their innate Dao art into an Origin Dao art—an immortal art! Yet at the Dao Lord stage, very few can achieve that step...' He quietly contemplated the knowledge embedded within that single ten-thousandth of progress in [Dao Integration: Void]. Most of this information focused on the insights and perceptions of this realm, with relatively little on actual cultivation methods. Even so, it touched upon several methods for fusing immortal arts. Only, these fusion methods... Were rather distinctive. "To master an immortal art is to truly become an immortal, but there are five paths to immortality." Yaoguang quickly organized the methods involved. "Constantly plundering others and refining their Origin Dao arts into one's own is the path of the Ghost Immortal." "Using oneself as the vessel to temper one's body, vital energy, and spirit into an Origin Dao art is the path of the Human Immortal." "Relying on the spiritual roots of heaven and earth or grotto-heavens and blessed lands, refining an entire territory into a foundation to nurture an Origin Dao art, is the path of the Earth Immortal." "Merging further with the Grand Dao and falling into partial Dao assimilation to obtain the power of an Origin Dao art is the path of the Divine Immortal." And the final path... Which was also the most difficult. Fusing countless Dao arts of the same nature until one glimpsed the ultimate truth of the Dao and cultivated the Great Dao of Origin was the supreme path of the Heavenly Immortal. "Dao Lord, immortal, Dao Ancestor." This was the path of cultivation that lay ahead after ascending to the Immortal Realm. Because Yaoguang's progress in [Dao Integration: Void] stood at merely one ten-thousandth, it only outlined the path beyond Dao Lord without providing concrete methods. He still possessed only a superficial understanding of how to cultivate an immortal art. "In the end, my progress is simply too low. If I can reach two or three ten-thousandths, I should be able to determine which of the five types of immortals suits me best." Yaoguang raised his head. "I need to raise my progress as quickly as possible." *Whoosh!* Just as he was digesting the flood of knowledge brought by the Dao Integration realm, a Dao artifact battleship bearing the unmistakable style of the Light God race broke through the void at a spatial node ten trillion li away.