Chapter 1886: The Spirit Does Not Conceive the Dao
"Ao Xu, this Questioning Dao Peak, it wouldn't be some kind of death trap, would it?" Lin Feng asked Ao Xu.
Ao Xu smiled and shook his head, saying, "Not at all. Although this is my first time seeing this ethereal Questioning Dao Peak, I have heard of it long ago. Someone from our Dragon Clan once entered it. After coming out, their understanding of the Dao was deeper, and their strength had greatly improved. However, he was tight-lipped about what was inside the Questioning Dao Peak. But he told us that if we ever encountered it, we should definitely enter."
After saying this, Ao Xu stepped forward: "The ethereal Questioning Dao Peak rarely appears. How could I miss this opportunity?"
His rumbling voice faded as his foot stepped into the ethereal peak, and in an instant, he vanished from the crowd's sight.
"Since I have encountered the Questioning Dao Peak, how could I not enter?" Lin Feng smiled slightly, lifted his foot, and also headed toward the Questioning Dao Peak. Ao Mo followed him in. Moments later, both Lin Feng and Ao Mo disappeared from the view of the outside crowd.
As Lin Feng stepped into the Questioning Dao Peak, the scene before him suddenly transformed. On the vast, ethereal peak, spiritual energy was abundant, and vegetation flourished. Yet it felt as if it were cut off from the world—no exit was visible. However, on the open ground ahead, many figures sat cross-legged, seemingly meditating with their eyes closed. At the same time, skeletons lay quietly there, a sight that made one's heart tremble.
"It really is a dangerous place." Looking at the corpses and skeletons, Lin Feng noticed that many were incomplete—only half or a section remained. Even the intact skeletons bore wounds, with traces of terrifying power still lingering on them, as if they would never dissipate.
"Anyone daring to enter the Questioning Dao Peak must be at least at the Mid-rank Emperor realm, mostly High-rank Emperors. At this level, their physical bodies should hardly decay. These skeletons remaining here means their flesh was destroyed by external forces, leaving only bones behind," Lin Feng murmured to himself. Just then, Qin Yu and Bai Ling also stepped in one after another, coming to his side. Seeing quite a few figures on the open ground, they both showed expressions of surprise.
"The Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele—such a rare object actually exists." Ao Xu's gaze fell on the vast valley ahead. Light seemed to shine down from the sky, casting a strange glow over the valley. In the valley stood a massive stele, its surface smooth, appearing both solid and illusory, as if it were there and not there.
"I've heard that once you encounter the Questioning Dao Peak, entering is easy but leaving is hard. This ethereal peak seems sealed, as if one must pass through this valley to proceed." Qin Yu looked ahead, stepping forward slowly until he stood before the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele.
The stele reflected Qin Yu's shadow. His gaze calm, he stepped forward gradually, as if to knock on the door and question the Dao.
Suddenly, the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele emitted a burst of light, enveloping Qin Yu's body. A strange aura spread out, and an ancient voice suddenly echoed through the space: "Knock on the Heavenly Stele with the Dao."
Qin Yu's eyes sharpened. He stomped the ground violently, sending a terrifying force crashing into the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele. It struck the stele directly, but in an instant, an even more fearsome power radiated from the stele. With a thunderous roar, a wild and violent current surged out, twice as strong as Qin Yu's original attack.
Qin Yu's palm trembled, and an ancient stele appeared before him. The rebounding attack landed on it and gradually dissipated. Clearly, Qin Yu hadn't used too much force in his initial strike; otherwise, the rebound would have been even more ferocious.
"A man without the Dao—with what do you question the Dao?" The ancient voice rolled out from the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, startling Lin Feng and the others who had just entered. But those already seated remained calm, still meditating with closed eyes, as if they had long known this would happen. They too had come for the fame of the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, only to find themselves trapped here. Without the Dao, one cannot knock on the stele to question it.
A flicker of desolation passed through Qin Yu's eyes. A man without the Dao—with what do you question the Dao?
Though his combat power was formidable and he was well-known among the younger generation of the Underworld, a peak-level Nether Emperor, he had yet to comprehend the Dao. Now, before the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, he didn't even qualify to knock.
A terrifying force suddenly gathered in his palm. A brilliant light flashed in Qin Yu's eyes, and he struck out with all his might. But the moment his attack hit the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, an even more oppressive pressure rebounded directly. Sand and gravel flew, the ground seemed about to tear apart, and the wild, domineering force slammed into Qin Yu like a thunderclap, sending him flying. He grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"What a domineering stele." Ao Xu's eyes flashed with a sharp light. No matter how powerful your attack, it's useless unless you can open the stele's gate with the Dao.
"Ao Mo." Lin Feng looked toward Ao Mo. Instantly, Ao Mo turned into wisps of demonic green smoke and then drilled into Lin Feng's body. Born from Lin Feng's bloodline, he could return to Lin Feng's body. Man and demon dragon could become one.
Lin Feng stepped forward, walked to the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, exhaled, and stood calmly before it.
"Knock on the Heavenly Stele with the Dao." The ancient, timeless voice appeared again as light enveloped Lin Feng. A halo of life and death emerged around Lin Feng, which he held in his palm and gently pushed forward, saying, "I knock on the stele with the Dao of Life and Death."
"Buzz!" As the life-and-death halo sank into the stele, a strange power suddenly appeared on it. The entire stele seemed to transform into the power of life and death, like a mirror reflecting Lin Feng's Dao.
Suddenly, a beam of death light shot out from the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, landing on Lin Feng. His pupils contracted sharply. In an instant, death qi covered his body, and his face turned ashen. But within him, the endless, surging power of life began to churn. Life and death, two extremes—death transformed into life. In the blink of an eye, a vast, boundless life force filled his body, restoring his vigorous vitality.
"That was close. Now I understand why there are so many skeletons." Sharp light shot from Lin Feng's eyes. The Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele seemed alive, capable of counterattacking based on the Dao used to knock on it. If he hadn't comprehended the Dao of Life and Death, he would have been dead in that instant.
Light blazed, and the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele transformed into an ancient mirror, reflecting Lin Feng's body. A strange power enveloped him, making his expression freeze for a moment.
"You can go in." A person who had been meditating with closed eyes slowly opened them, stared at the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, and said to Lin Feng.
"Mm." Lin Feng nodded slightly, stepped forward, and walked straight into the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele. He passed through it, and his figure suddenly disappeared.
"The Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele—you really must knock on the door with the Dao to enter." Ao Xu and the others showed sharp expressions. If that were the case, wouldn't they be trapped here?
After crossing the Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele, Lin Feng suddenly found himself in another place. It was still a valley, with figures sitting cross-legged all around and corpses lying on the ground. Ahead, the only narrow exit was another heavenly stele, reflecting his body.
"The Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele—there are two layers?" Lin Feng's gaze froze as he stared at the stele ahead. This second stele had also left so many people trapped here. What was its mystery?
Could it be that the so-called "easy to enter, hard to leave" of the Questioning Dao Peak wasn't just about death, but also about trapping people?
"Knock on the Heavenly Stele with the Dao." The ancient voice echoed again, making Lin Feng's pupils contract as he stared at the stele ahead. He once again raised a life-and-death halo in his palm and suddenly hurled it at the second Questioning Dao Heavenly Stele.
The halo sank into the stele, and light burst forth brilliantly. An invisible, formless radiance shot out, elusive and untraceable. This force pierced directly into Lin Feng's body. His head trembled violently, and he suddenly fell unconscious.
"Courting death. Overestimating yourself." A man with ink-black hair to Lin Feng's left opened his eyes and spoke contemptuously. But at that moment, within Lin Feng's mind, divine light seemed to blaze brilliantly. Celestial palaces hummed, their sound unceasing. Lin Feng's eyes snapped open. Looking at this world again, he felt the impermanence of life and death. In that instant, it was as if he had already died once.
"The spirit does not conceive the Dao—with what do you question the Dao?" The ancient voice struck Lin Feng's mind like a thunderbolt, leaving him dazed and stunned. A look of confusion appeared in his eyes. The spirit does not conceive the Dao—with what do you question the Dao?
Questioning the Dao, questioning the Dao—Lin Feng seemed to understand the true meaning of questioning the Dao. Questioning the Dao meant questioning his own Dao!