Chapter 52: First Glance at the Boundless Wonders of the Great Dao [Two-in-One]

As Li Yang gained a profound insight into the Great Dao of the Bloodline Warlock, fragments of silvery runic scripts faintly emerged within his mind.

These runic scripts were esoteric, obscure, and incomplete, vaguely weaving together to form a gigantic web that shrouded the heavens and the earth. The sporadic, fragmentary runes that Li Yang could perceive were merely negligible snippets of this immense net.

The colossal web encompassed all things in the void, and even within living beings, there were traces of its weaving. The surface of this giant web was shrouded in a layer of mist, making it indistinct to the eye. The entire web was composed of subtle, profound silvery runic scripts. These fragmented runes emitted an aura of supreme profundity in Li Yang's eyes.

He was very familiar with this aura—it was the undulation of space. The moment he perceived this, Li Yang experienced a flash of enlightenment.

This giant web was the void that constituted the world, and it was also the primary structural component of the universe. Right now, by utilizing the innate divine ability within the bloodline of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, he was peering into the origin of the Laws of Space.

The innate divine abilities of archaic exotic beasts stemmed from instinct. Due to the biological traits of these creatures, most of these abilities were innate rather than attained through acquired comprehension of the laws.

However, the Bloodline Warlock Dao that Li Yang had pioneered—by smelting the bloodlines of archaic exotic beasts—enabled him to trace things back to their origin. By relying on the law fragments inherently carried within the bloodline of the archaic beast, he was able to glimpse the origin of the laws.

Of course, such comprehension was exceptionally difficult. Taking the first step in comprehending any law was always the hardest part. Even with the guidance of the law fragments within the Six-Winged Golden Centipede's bloodline to glimpse the origin of space, it remained extremely difficult for Li Yang to truly comprehend it.

Yet, he was not without gains. Being granted a glimpse into the true essence of the laws elevated his understanding of space to a higher level. If his past use of spatial divine abilities had been by the book, relying solely on the innate abilities of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, his current utilization of spatial laws allowed him to completely break free from the shackles of that innate ability and use it as he pleased.

His application of spatial laws no longer required rigid adherence, becoming far more fluid and effortless.

Just as Li Yang was immersed in the origin of the spatial laws, the divine runes of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede within his sea of consciousness suddenly dispersed, transforming into silvery, fragmentary runes that formed a short, silvery segment of the laws. This segment was branded into the golden river of the Great Dao, becoming a part of the Bloodline Warlock Dao.

This signified that Li Yang had completely transcended the limitations of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, digesting the foundational heritage of the centipede from the inside out.

......

"Good lad, I truly underestimated you! I never expected you to actually reach this step!"

Just as Li Yang withdrew from the golden river of the Great Dao, the primordial spirit of Daoist Zixiao immediately drifted over, looking him up and down with a face full of awe and amazement.

"Senior, you're awake! That's wonderful..."

Gazing at the primordial spirit of Daoist Zixiao, Li Yang's face lit up with pleasant surprise. He had not expected Daoist Zixiao to recover so quickly.

He was no longer a novice on the path of heart cultivation, but an accomplished giant who had genuinely attained the Immortal Dao. Naturally, he knew that for a weakened primordial spirit like Daoist Zixiao's to nourish its origin, the slumber usually lasted for decades or even centuries. Thus, seeing the brilliant, crystalline light emanating from Daoist Zixiao's primordial spirit, he couldn't help but feel immensely surprised.

Presently, it seemed that Daoist Zixiao had not only recovered, but had recovered exceptionally well. This was undoubtedly a great thing for Li Yang. The cultivation path of the Bloodline Warlock Dao and its various techniques urgently required an old monster with such profound heritage and vast experience as Daoist Zixiao to help refine them. His awakening right now was precisely what Li Yang needed.

"To be able to recover so quickly... speaking of which, I owe it entirely to your good fortune, lad!"

Seeing the genuine joy on Li Yang's face without a trace of pretense, Daoist Zixiao stroked his beard with satisfaction, his tone filled with deep emotion.

"Senior! What do you mean by that?"

Li Yang truly had no idea how Daoist Zixiao had managed to recover.

He had only just pioneered the Bloodline Warlock Dao himself, and many of its profound mysteries were things he understood in practice rather than in theory.

Take, for instance, when he was undergoing his heavenly tribulation: his body had been scorched by karmic fire, and the Bloodline Warlock Dao had instinctively pulled him into that realm of reincarnation. Even now, he found it incredible and remained clueless about the true nature of that space.

"Lad, your fortune is truly extraordinary. Look at you—your divine soul has condensed into form, gathering and dispersing at your will. Your divine soul is pure and full, permeated with the aura of Nirvana. If my guess is correct, you must have consumed the Nirvana Golden Pill!"

"Given the current environmental state of heaven and earth, even with that 'Muchen Pearl' left behind by the phoenix's Nirvana, I initially thought it would take you at least a hundred years to gather the remaining auxiliary medicinal ingredients. Moreover, with your cultivation level at the time, you were certainly not qualified to refine such a legendary golden pill..."

At this point, Daoist Zixiao looked at Li Yang with an exceptionally complex expression, feeling somewhat unsettled inside. He thought of his own thousands of years of Dao cultivation, only to end up in such a lingering, wretched state of survival.

As for Li Yang, counting from the time he began cultivating until now, it had only been about a decade. Yet, he had already weathered the three calamities and achieved the Immortal Dao. This was happening in an era where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was gradually depleting. Even in his own era, achieving the Immortal Dao in just over a decade was nearly impossible.

At times, he could not help but marvel at the wondrous and mysterious nature of the Great Dao.

"Senior, to be honest with you, being able to refine the Nirvana Golden Pill was a matter of various fortuitous coincidences. I went through a near-death experience before succeeding by sheer luck. In truth, I was only making a desperate attempt at the time; as for whether it would succeed, I had no great confidence myself..."

Recalling the process of refining the Nirvana Golden Pill, Li Yang still felt a lingering fear even now. No matter how thorough his preparations had been, and even with the assistance of the supreme thunder treasure, the Thunder Lord's Chisel, his life force had been almost completely exhausted in that thunder tribulation.

Had it not been for that, he would not have rashly swallowed the Nirvana Golden Pill, which caused the raging fire to consume his body and nearly resulted in his destruction. Given his cautious nature, even if he couldn't make foolproof preparations, he would certainly have prepared various contingency plans before the tribulation.

Yet, he had truly had no choice at the time. His vitality had been nearly worn away by the thunder tribulation, and swallowing the Nirvana Golden Pill to undergo Nirvana and rebirth was his only chance to cling to a sliver of life.

Even so, it was only by a stroke of fortune that the seal on the Thunder Lord's Chisel was undone by the tribulation, allowing it to absorb the final twenty-one bolts of lightning. Without that, ten lives would not have been enough to save him.

"The Great Dao is boundless; how can there be mere luck? The path of cultivation is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge; opportunity and fortune are both indispensable!"

"Since the seal of the Thunder Lord's Chisel has been undone! Does that mean you have already cultivated the Thunder Physical Body?"

Upon hearing Li Yang's account, Daoist Zixiao froze, muttering to himself, the expression on his face becoming even more bittersweet.

He considered his Zixiao Divine Thunder Dao, which had been passed down from antiquity and had survived the primordial era, the ancient era, and dozens of kalpas, only for its ultimate foundation to be acquired by an outsider. How could he not feel depressed?

Especially upon hearing that the Thunder Lord's Chisel also concealed the thunder authority left behind by the ancient deity Leize, Daoist Zixiao regretted it so much his intestines turned green.

"Forget it! Forget it!! Forget ithouse! Such is time! Such is fate! Such is destiny!"

Daoist Zixiao was, after all, an old monster of thousands of years who had once stirred up wind and clouds. Although he felt a hundred different complex emotions in his heart, he quickly adjusted his state of mind. Matters had already reached this stage; what else could be done?

Back then, it was his own reluctance to part with his cultivation that prevented him from forging the Thunder Physical Body, thus missing this monumental opportunity. When all was said and done, he could only blame his own lack of fortune. Truly, 'all things are determined by fate, and not a single bit is up to man!'

"Your achievements today also rely on your own decisiveness—to cut when it is time to cut, daring to venture and struggle! If old man I had possessed your spirit and vigor back then, I wouldn't have ended up in this wretched state!"

As if recalling the past events of his own youth, Daoist Zixiao's expression was filled with longing, regret, heroic spirit, and pain, all of which eventually dissolved into a long, drawn-out sigh.

......

"Senior, do you know what specific profound mysteries are involved in pioneering a Dao tradition?"

Noticing the expression on Daoist Zixiao's face, Li Yang sensibly changed the subject, pointing to the golden river in his sea of consciousness and asking with a solemn expression.

In truth, regarding the Bloodline Warlock Dao, Li Yang had never truly expected Daoist Zixiao to offer any useful advice. After all, there were only so many Dao traditions in the world, and most were passed down from ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn period, despite the flourishing of a hundred schools of thought, the only one that truly won the recognition of the Great Dao and nurtured its own Dao was Confucianism, and even that was due to the rise of humanity meeting the historical trend.

His reason for asking this question was simply to divert the conversation.

"Perhaps the heaven and earth are truly about to enter reincarnation; the unyielding conviction of all living beings has actually nurtured a brand-new Great Dao once again!"

"With such fortune, you are absolute match for the legendary Child of the Kalpa!"

Looking up at the golden river transformed by the Bloodline Warlock Dao within Li Yang's sea of consciousness, Daoist Zixiao's eyes brimmed with longing and reverence as he continued.

"From the birth of the world to its destruction, it is all a single cycle of reincarnation. From the opening of the world to the great calamity where all things perish, it is an ending that no living being in the universe can escape. At the end of the world, all things turn into nourishment, becoming resources for the world's growth. Even those Immortal Golden Immortals who master the primordial laws of heaven and earth and are eternally undying cannot escape the kalpa of the world's reincarnation!"

"This is the truest destiny of all living beings in this world; no one can escape it!"

"The Dao Ancestor once said: 'The Great Dao is formless, yet it nourishes heaven and earth; the Great Dao is merciless, yet it drives the sun and moon; the Great Dao is nameless, yet it fosters all things. I know not its name, so I forcibly call it the Dao.'"

"In truth, the Dao Ancestor's words only spoke of the cause wherein the Great Dao nurtures all things in heaven and earth, but failed to explain the effect wherein the Great Dao harvests all living beings of the universe!"

At this point, Daoist Zixiao wore a bitter smile, as if lamenting the merciless nature of the Great Dao.

"Is there truly no way to escape the calamity brought by the end of the world?"

Just as Daoist Zixiao's voice trailed off, Li Yang eagerly asked.

"The world itself is destroyed; do you think the living beings surviving within it and the dimensions attached to it can be spared?"

"If you wish to evade the end of the world, the only way is to nurture the Fruit of the Dao."

"During the Spring and Autumn period, I once had the good fortune to listen to a sermon seated before the incarnation of the Dao Ancestor. I only heard a little about the Dao Fruit, knowing only that it is a fruit nurtured by the Great Dao itself. Your Bloodline Warlock Dao, though nascent, at least holds the hope of nurturing a Dao Fruit."

"If you can nurture the Dao Fruit before the arrival of the kalpa of the world's end, you will have the chance to leap out of this world and pioneer a brand-new world based upon yourself, forever free and unfettered, attaining supreme liberation!"

Gazing deeply at Li Yang, Daoist Zixiao felt all the more convinced that Li Yang was the Child of the Kalpa for this era. Naturally, he was well aware of the existence of Dao traditions.

In fact, his so-called Zixiao Divine Thunder Dao was, when traced to its roots, merely a branch of the Daoist school.

"So that's how it is. Is the Dao Ancestor mentioned by Senior none other than Laozi of the Daoist school?"

Hearing this, Li Yang could not help but feel curious. Logically speaking, Laozi was born during the Spring and Autumn period, while the Zixiao Divine Thunder Dao was passed down from Leize and belonged to the primordial Daoist sect. How could these two possibly be related?

"Indeed. I know what you are thinking. In truth, there are many legends regarding the Dao Ancestor, and his origins are unfathomably mysterious. He appeared at the beginning of heaven and earth, and he appeared again in ancient times. Thus, some speculate that the Dao Ancestor had long since transcended this world, leaving behind nothing more than a projection!"

It was not just Li Yang who was curious; Daoist Zixiao was equally curious. However, back when he listened to the Dao before the seat of Laozi, his cultivation was not high, and he could not perceive the slightest bit of the Dao Ancestor's true reality.

Yet he knew that even if he tried now, it would still be impossible for him to see through the foundation of the Dao Ancestor, for the gap between them was simply too vast.

"These are not things you should be considering right now. You have now acquired the thunder authority of the Great Deity Leize, and the door to the Immortal Golden Immortals has opened for you. What you need to do is rapidly accumulate your strength, weather the remaining two calamities, and achieve the true fruit position of the Immortal Dao."

"Only then will you possess the qualification to comprehend the laws. Although you have already transcended the mortal realm, the process of weathering the three calamities is actually a period of metamorphosis. Your foundation is still not profound enough, and you can only perceive the superficial furrows of the laws. If you were to force your comprehension now, it would only yield half the result with twice the effort."

Looking at Li Yang, who was staring intently at the river of the Great Dao with a pensive expression, Daoist Zixiao voiced his warning.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior!"

Interrupted in his thoughts, Li Yang felt not the slightest bit discouraged. He knew very well that with his current cultivation level, he truly could not comprehend anything profound. To him, the laws were like flowers viewed through the mist: visible, yet indistinct.

Much like the spatial laws: although he had the law fragments within the Six-Winged Golden Centipede's bloodline as a primer, he had only sensed them, and his view was far from clear, let alone comprehending them.

Li Yang knew that his most urgent task right now was to consolidate his cultivation, and then smelt the Three-Legged Golden Toad and the Fury-Staring Chicken to strengthen his own foundation.

Beyond that, he needed more archaic exotic beasts to refine the Bloodline Warlock Dao and his own cultivation techniques. For now, his three natal exotic beasts had all completed their metamorphosis, and it was time to cultivate new natal beasts.

Thinking of this, Li Yang slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the high-rising sun in the sky, he put away the Three-Legged Golden Toad—which was still practicing its breathing technique nearby—and turned to leave the courtyard.