Chapter 388 - 212: Evolving the Great Dao, Myriad Methods Flourish

Chapter 388: Chapter 212: Evolving the Great Dao, Myriad Methods Flourish

"Senior Brother Qiao."

"Junior Martial Uncle Qiao."

Wherever Qiao Feifeng passed, the sect members to the side all revealed expressions of reverence and admiration, bowing one after another.

A faint smile touched Qiao Feifeng’s lips, and he occasionally nodded in acknowledgment. He walked slowly to the front of a grand hall where a Daoist dressed as an elder came forward to greet him. The elder’s eyes flickered as he bowed and offered his congratulations with a smile:

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Qiao, on successfully forming your Nascent Soul and refining your Gangyun."

Qiao Feifeng was at the height of his success. Though usually proud and aloof, he didn’t hold back on the pleasantries. He returned the bow and said, "Thank you for your congratulations, Senior Brother Geng."

However, his direct nature soon took over. "I have just formed my Nascent Soul and wish to test my new skills in Xirang Mountain. I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother Geng to make the arrangements for me."

"Well..." To Qiao Feifeng’s surprise, Daoist Geng showed a slight hesitation. "Junior Brother Qiao, Xirang Mountain is already in use. You may have to wait a few days."

"Oh?" Qiao Feifeng’s brow twitched slightly. "Who is it?"

The so-called Xirang Mountain was exactly what its name implied: a mountain created by the Taixuan Sect using Xirang. This substance was one of the Innate Marvels; as long as there was sufficient vital energy, it could regenerate endlessly and would never be depleted.

The Taixuan Sect had established this mountain for the High-Achieving Cultivators of the sect to test their Dao Skills, preventing them from casually tearing apart mountains and splitting the earth, which would cause excessive destruction.

That being said, although the Taixuan Sect was presided over by a True Monarch and its prestige was growing daily, it had only been a little over a hundred years since its founding.

Qiao Feifeng, as the second True Disciple, had only just formed his Nascent Soul. The number of High-Achieving Cultivators in the sect had not yet reached the level expected of an orthodox Xuan Sect.

Therefore, Xirang Mountain was usually empty, let alone filled with people testing their Dao Skills. If Qiao Feifeng hadn’t just formed his Nascent Soul, he wouldn’t have been interested in coming here either, which was why he asked the question.

Daoist Geng had nothing to hide and replied, "It is Venerable Dao Miao of the Tai Su Orthodox Sect."

"What?" Qiao Feifeng was taken aback. "Why is Dao Miaozhi in our sect?"

Qiao Feifeng had only formed his Golden Core a little over a hundred years ago, but he was, after all, a personal disciple of the True Monarch—no ordinary Cultivator. His cultivation had long since reached a state of perfection.

After returning from Zhou Jun’s Golden Core ceremony, he had received personal instruction from the Taixuan Profound True Monarch. Qiao Feifeng felt the time was right and entered seclusion. He only formally emerged now, after successfully forming his Nascent Soul and stabilizing his cultivation base.

Therefore, Qiao Feifeng was actually unaware that Xuzhuang had come to the Taixuan Sect.

"Ten years ago, Venerable Dao Miao arrived at our sect and was granted an audience with the True Monarch. He has been staying here temporarily ever since."

Daoist Geng answered honestly, "It is said that Venerable Dao Miao attends a lecture from the True Monarch once a year for an unfixed duration. The rest of the time, besides cultivating in Yi Hall, he comes to Xirang Mountain to practice his Dao Skills."

’An audience with my Master, and listening to his teachings for ten years.’ Qiao Feifeng’s brow furrowed slightly as he glanced toward the depths of the great hall.

He was curious to know what Dao Skills Dao Miaozhi had learned after listening to his Master’s lectures for ten years, yet a sense of pride held him back from prying in secret.

After a moment of thought, Qiao Feifeng said, "Senior Brother Geng, after Dao Miaozhi leaves, could you please refrain from restoring Xirang Mountain for a while?"

Daoist Geng naturally had no objection and agreed. Qiao Feifeng was in no hurry to leave, so he simply decided to wait outside the hall.

...

Passing through the hall and into the light again revealed a mountain range. There were no rocks, no vegetation—only a vast expanse of pitch-black earth.

Xuzhuang, clad in a white robe with a Feather Robe draped over his shoulders, sat cross-legged in the air with his eyes closed. Above his head, a Gangyun floated, ethereal and ever-changing. Within it, the five qi flowed, its brilliant light like a rainbow, as if he were channeling the Five Elements to cast a Divine Technique.

As time went on, a silent power seemed to build within the quiet mountain range, accumulating until it reached its peak—

Xuzhuang’s eyes snapped open. Without any visible movement from him, the Gangyun above his head abruptly expanded. A deep rumbling sound echoed from within, followed by a torrent of five-colored lightning that burst forth, cascading down upon the land below.

In an instant, golden qi shot out like rampaging sword light, thunderous fire exploded with unparalleled force, and Yin Thunder rolled forth, corroding the earth...

Five elements, five colors, each displayed its divine might. The interwoven bolts of lightning looked as if they could shatter mountains and topple pillars, instantly leaving a scene of devastation upon the mountain range formed from an Innate Spiritual Treasure. The area scoured by the wood-elemental lightning, in particular, was so shocking that nearly half the mountain had been obliterated.

Slowly withdrawing his Divine Technique, Xuzhuang gazed down at the wreckage. A look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

This Five Elements Thunder Skill was precisely the Five Elements Divine Thunder he had deduced based on his own Dao Skill. The power of each individual Divine Thunder was no less than that of the Profound Fire True Thunder. Furthermore, because it was based on his own Dao Skill, it was more efficient in terms of consumption and casting.

But this alone was merely another good technique in his arsenal; it wasn’t enough to make him truly joyful.

What truly delighted Xuzhuang was that it had taken him less than half a year to deduce this Five Elements Thunder Skill. This was, of course, due to many factors: his profound mastery of the Five Elements Dao Technique, his exceptionally high attainments in thunder skills, and having the Profound Fire True Thunder as a reference.

But what truly enabled him to achieve this was the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture!

The Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture truly lived up to the Taixuan Profound True Monarch’s description: ’It possesses the ability to unlock wisdom and evolve the Great Dao, the power to part the heavens and earth and allow all techniques to flourish!’

The "unlocking wisdom" part went without saying. All Superior Dao Skills in the world were certain to have abilities such as unlocking wisdom, enhancing one’s aptitude, strengthening one’s resolve, and severing stray thoughts.

It could be said that the foundation of any Dao Skill was to unlock wisdom and enhance a Cultivator’s ability to comprehend the Great Dao.

The reason he had reached his current, almost unbelievable, realm of Dao mastery was due to the accumulation of many factors: his own natural talent, the nourishment from his Pure Yang Qi, the wisdom unlocked by multiple true techniques... It was by no means an overnight achievement.

This was also why Xuzhuang was never satisfied and was willing to cultivate multiple true techniques. Even if the accumulation was subtle, this most fundamental ability to unlock wisdom was of the utmost importance to him.

So, what was meant by "the ability to evolve the Great Dao"?

As the Taixuan Profound True Monarch imparted the Dao, Xuzhuang gradually forged the foundation of the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture. A mysterious spiritual light naturally arose in his heart, and the scripture’s true wonders began to reveal themselves.

Those who practiced the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture could activate the Daluo Spirit Light, which possessed the ability of deduction. This was not the deduction of divination or numerology, but the deduction of cultivation, the transformation of Dao Skills, and even the correction of a lost path to find the Great Dao!

This was the so-called "ability to evolve the Great Dao" and "power to part the heavens and earth." It wasn’t about parting the literal ’heavens and earth,’ but about opening a smooth path on the Great Dao.

Of course, the Daluo Spirit Light was not some inexplicable marvel. Evolving the Great Dao and parting the heavens and earth were all based on a Cultivator’s own accumulated mastery of Dao Skills. One could guess without thinking that those who studied the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture had to be widely read, diligently studying countless texts.

As one’s mastery of Dao Skills accumulated, the power of the Daluo Spirit Light would become ever more profound. It would, in turn, integrate with one’s own Dao Skills to find the path forward—this was the "power to allow all techniques to flourish."

Clearly, the Taixuan Profound True Monarch had created this scripture not only to establish an eternal legacy but also as an attempt to pursue his own Immortal Merits. Its ambition was in no way inferior to any other Superior Dao Skill.

Correspondingly, the difficulty of cultivating the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture could be described as monumental. The initial step of mastery was particularly daunting. What kind of heaven-defying talent would be required to become widely read, absorb the essence of countless Dao Skills, and activate the Daluo Spirit Light at an age when one is just laying the foundation for cultivation?

If practitioners couldn’t progress step-by-step, would the Taixuan Profound True Monarch have to patiently guide and teach every single disciple by hand? How could such a method serve as the true transmission of a sect’s lineage?

However, these difficulties and obstacles had nothing to do with Xuzhuang. In all the world, who could possibly compare to Xuzhuang in the depth of their accumulated mastery of Dao Skills?

Not only had he achieved Nine-Orifice Pill Formation, giving him a vast foundation, but his mastery of Dao Skills was also profound, fulfilling the "power to allow all techniques to flourish" on its own. He was also able to incorporate multiple true techniques into his being, cultivate the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture from scratch, and then cross-reference it with the True Monarch’s lectures.

Ten years of listening to the Dao surpassed countless years of bitter effort.

From the moment Xuzhuang forged the foundation of the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture and activated the Daluo Spirit Light, all his past accumulations were integrated and mastered. This caused his Dao Skill cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds, an earth-shattering transformation. In just ten short years, Xuzhuang had already touched the threshold of the perfected Nascent Soul realm.

Compared to this true progress, the ability to deduce Dao arts was merely an unexpected bonus.

With the depth of Xuzhuang’s accumulated Dao Skills, if he were willing to spend a few years of painstaking research, he could have deduced the Five Elements Divine Thunder on his own. It was all based on his own inspiration, just like the Void Form Profound Creation Dragon Technique and the Yin Yang Thunder Skill.

However, not only had his cultivation journey been short, but he had also rarely encountered bottlenecks, making free time to ponder Dao arts even scarcer. He hadn’t even been able to perfect the Void Form Profound Creation Dragon Technique and Yin Yang Thunder Skill that he valued so much, let alone act on his many fleeting moments of inspiration.

But now, with the Daluo Spirit Light’s ability to evolve the Great Dao, Xuzhuang could conjure Dao arts on the level of the Five Elements Divine Thunder with ease, and there was still plenty of room for improvement. One could only imagine that, given time, the growth of Xuzhuang’s Divine Techniques would only become more and more terrifying, until it reached an unimaginable realm.

At that thought, Xuzhuang retracted his Gangyun. He leisurely raised his eyes to the drifting white clouds, a feeling of reluctance welling up in his heart.

’For a seeker of the Dao like me, these days of listening to the Pure Yang True Monarch’s lectures, making progress every single day, and watching my Dao Skills soar have been simply too wonderful.’

’Unfortunately, this next visit will be for the Taixuan Profound True Monarch’s final lecture. My own accumulated Dao Skills have also been gradually integrated, and my future cultivation progress will likely return to a normal pace.’

However, as Xuzhuang’s mastery of Dao Skills continued to accumulate and his techniques flourished, he was certain to one day experience another period of rapid, thousand-mile-a-day progress.

It was clear what a tremendous karmic opportunity the Taixuan Profound True Monarch’s bestowal of the Supreme Profound Celestial Opening Scripture was for Xuzhuang. He truly did not know how he could ever repay such a great debt of gratitude.

After gazing at the scenery and pondering for a long time, Xuzhuang suddenly flicked his sleeve. "Time to go," he murmured to himself, transforming into a streak of rainbow light and soaring into the sky.