Chapter 139: What Is the Great Dao
The profound space of the Gathering Profound Tower was far larger than YUN Che had anticipated. It was surrounded by a very strong profound force seal. As he walked into the profound space and closed the door behind him, it felt as if he was completely isolated from the outside world, unable to sense the slightest breath or sound from beyond.
The concentration of profound force here had also reached an astonishing level.
A red shadow flickered before YUN Che, and MO Li slowly appeared there. Her eyes swept around, and she nodded slowly: "Not bad. This place is completely sealed off from the outside. No sound or movement will reach beyond. It's an excellent place for cultivation."
"Three months from now is the date of your agreed battle with MU Rongyi. With your Evil God's Mysterious Vein fully open at fifty-four profound gates, if you cultivate profound force here for three months, supplemented by the Evil Soul and Phoenix Flame Force, you might barely be able to defeat MU Rongyi in three months. But if, while improving your profound force within these three months, you also master the first realm of the Great Dao Pagoda Art, then you won't just barely win—you'll achieve absolute suppression across levels!"
"However, the Great Dao Pagoda Art is extremely difficult to cultivate. If your comprehension is insufficient, even just entering the door will take a very long time. Back then, even a peerless genius like my elder brother took a full thirty-three days just to glimpse the threshold when cultivating the Great Dao Pagoda Art. So asking you to master the first realm of the Great Dao Pagoda Art within three months is indeed somewhat forcing you, but it's not entirely impossible. Back in the Phoenix Trial Ground, you managed to forcibly comprehend the fifth and sixth realm phoenix flame techniques of the Phoenix Ode Scripture while bypassing the Phoenix Flame Force realms—that proves your comprehension is not weak."
After saying this, MO Li clasped her small hands behind her back, her petite figure standing straight in front of YUN Che. Her exceedingly cute little face was icy cold, and her tone was seasoned like an old hand: "Now, sit down on the ground and close your eyes. I will imprint the profound formula for the first realm of the Great Dao Pagoda Art into your sea of consciousness. How long it takes for you to truly comprehend it and find the gateway to cultivation will depend on your own understanding."
YUN Che did as he was told, sitting down in the center of the profound space, calming his mind, and closing his eyes.
MO Li stepped forward, extended her tender finger like a spring sprout, and gently tapped it on YUN Che's head.
In the silence, the profound formula of the first realm of the Great Dao Pagoda Art was silently imprinted into YUN Che's sea of consciousness.
But when he tried to contact these profound formulas with his mind, YUN Che fell into a prolonged state of confusion. Because these formulas, though clearly imprinted in his sea of consciousness, were still so blurry and ethereal. He used his mind, his spirit, his profound force... he tried every method, but whenever he touched these formulas, they scattered at the slightest contact, like mist that could be seen but not grasped.
YUN Che's heartbeat and breathing became light and even. His entire being entered a calmer state. His five senses were completely cut off from the outside world, and all his consciousness was focused on capturing these formulas. But the more concentrated his spirit became, the more lost he felt... He sensed his mind was like being at the center of a vast ocean, not knowing how to walk to find the other shore.
Then, an ancient voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Sixteen-year-old youth, have you truly gained the awakening to comprehend this Great Dao Pagoda Art?"
This voice did not come from his ears, but from the depths of his soul.
"Yes," YUN Che answered in his sea of consciousness.
"Then what is your awakening?" the ancient voice continued to ask.
"I crave power—the power to surpass everything and protect everything I wish to protect. That is my awakening." YUN Che's words were firm and resolute.
"Very good." The ancient voice revealed approval. "This indeed is the awakening deeply imprinted in the depths of your soul. You are straightforward enough. But if you wish to cultivate this Great Dao Pagoda Art, you must first understand what is the 'Great Dao' and what is the 'Pagoda'. So tell me, what is your understanding of the 'Great Dao' and the 'Pagoda'?"
What is the Great Dao? What is the Pagoda?
YUN Che pondered for a long time before speaking slowly: "The Great Dao is the fundamental law between heaven and earth. 'Dao' exists in nature, in all things, in every space and time between heaven and earth."
"Humans are born as infants, then grow up. If they are ordinary, their lifespan is only a hundred years—this is Dao. Water can extinguish fire. A small blade of grass cannot grow into a towering tree. The world not only has land, but also the sky and the ocean... These are all Dao! They are the most basic laws of the world. These Daos intertwine to form the foundation of this world, fill its content, create various orders, and cause everything in the world to operate according to these 'Daos'."
"This is the Great Dao as I understand it."
"As for the Pagoda, it is the epitome of the part within the world's Great Dao that symbolizes kindness, compassion, and forgiveness."
"Hehehehe." The ancient voice laughed gently. "Young man, for someone your age, to have such an understanding of the 'Great Dao' is already commendable. Then, let me take you on a journey through the Great Dao of your own life. How about that?"
YUN Che: "!?"
The darkness before YUN Che's eyes suddenly vanished completely, and a colorful picture slowly emerged.
This was a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters—lush green grass, a babbling brook. A middle-aged man nearing fifty, with a kind face, was carrying a medicine basket on his back, walking slowly along the stream. He stopped by the stream and saw a tiny baby boy. The baby seemed to have been born only a few days ago, completely naked, with only an exquisite pendant hanging around his neck...
"Master..." Looking at the middle-aged man who hurriedly walked toward the baby and gently picked him up, YUN Che choked out a sob.
The ancient voice spoke: "This is an image from the third day after your birth on the Cang Yun Continent. At that time, what was the Dao you encountered?"
YUN Che was silent, then said: "Dao is the rule... I was abandoned, I did not die at that time, and the fate with my master were all determined by the Great Dao... These were all Dao."
"Very good."
The scene before him changed immediately. He saw the gate of the Xiao Sect in Liu Yun City. He was walking out of the gate with a stiff expression, bearing countless glances of contempt, sneers, and schadenfreude behind him.
That was the image of him being expelled from the Xiao Sect. Even now, he still clearly remembered the deep anger in his heart at that time, as well as his worry for his grandfather and little aunt, and his resentment and unwillingness at his own powerlessness.
"This is on the Tian Xuan Continent. You were sixteen years old yet still accomplished nothing. You were cast out of your home. Except for your family, others looked on coldly, sneered, and then quickly forgot you, because at that time you were so insignificant that people didn't even bother to care... At that time, what kind of 'Dao' was upon you?"
"Perhaps it was the obstacle and trial given to me by the Heavenly Dao," YUN Che said lightly.
"Hehe, from your understanding of the 'Great Dao', the Dao is a general term for all rules of nature. That means you believe no matter what you do in this life, or even in future lives, you can never escape the control and arrangement of this 'Great Dao'. Because every move, every word, and all the people, things, and events you encounter are within the rules and order woven by the Dao. Am I correct?"
"..." YUN Che was stunned, unable to answer for a long time.
The scene before him changed again. It was a verdant bamboo forest, but it looked as if it had just been hit by a violent storm—utterly wrecked. Amid the broken bamboo, he was holding a quiet, frail girl, crying his heart out. But that girl had already passed away, never to answer him again...
"Linger..."
"This is your only true love on the Cang Yun Continent, Su Linger. In your soul, this is your most painful moment. Even now, this pain has not completely dissipated; it is still etched deep in your soul. If you believe that everything in the world cannot escape the rules of the Great Dao, then if you were given a chance to start over, would you believe that both you and she could not escape the arrangement of the Great Dao, and that she would still leave you at the same time, in the same place?"
YUN Che: "............"
The scene changed once more. It was a sheer cliff, so high the top could not be seen, so deep the bottom was lost in darkness. Above was a precipice, below was an abyss, and he was falling desperately downward...
"This is the final image of you on the Cang Yun Continent. You were forced into a corner, swallowed the Heavenly Poison Pearl, and jumped off the ten-thousand-zhang abyss. You thought it was the last moment of your life, but when you woke up, you found yourself reborn into the body of your dead self on another continent... Your rebirth—what Dao did it bear? If you had died completely, what would the Dao that manipulated all of this be? After you died, what did the Dao leave for you?"
YUN Che: "..."
The scene before his eyes vanished completely. The ancient voice also stopped, no longer sounding. YUN Che's sea of consciousness fell into chaos. His consciousness churned, his soul stirred. Some things he once thought were truths, some things his subconscious believed could never change, were turned upside down in the turmoil... His entire sea of consciousness seemed to surge with towering waves that would not calm for a long time. The profound formula of the Great Dao Pagoda Art was like duckweed on that great sea, tossed and disappeared with the waves.
This chaos lasted for a long time... No one knew exactly how long it had been when YUN Che's sea of consciousness finally calmed down bit by bit. After a long period of stillness, he suddenly laughed. He laughed very contentedly and lightly, as if he had put down some heavy boulder that had been pressing on his heart, releasing the shackles of his soul.
"How is it? Have you awakened?" the ancient voice came.
"I have awakened." YUN Che smiled faintly. At this moment, he felt his body and soul were so light. Even his perception of the outside world had completely changed, as if in a trance he had jumped from one world to another different world:
"This world has no so-called 'Great Dao'. If one must say there is, then this Great Dao is myself."
"Because I live, I can speak of the 'Great Dao' in my heart. If I did not exist in this world, what would the 'Great Dao' be to me? Therefore, I am not born because of the 'Great Dao', but the 'Great Dao' is born because of me, exists because of me. The elements of heaven and earth: water, fire, wind, thunder, earth, light, darkness, time, space... they exist because of me, providing the foundation for my survival. The people, beasts, and events I encounter fill my life, also existing for me. My family, the important people in my heart—they fill my emotions, stimulate my desires and will—also exist because of me and for me. And I am the center of all this, the master!"
"Heaven and earth and all things are for my use; all living beings exist because of me. This is my Great Dao, and also the only Great Dao! As for the Pagoda, it is also in my heart. I can build it at any time, and I can destroy it at any time. Everything is up to my will; no external things can interfere, because I am the Great Dao!"
"Hahahaha!" The ancient voice laughed heartily. "Young man, you surprise me. No wonder you have lived two lives—no, three lives—to have awakened so quickly. Since you have awakened, from now on, let heaven and earth be for your use, let all living beings exist because of you, and pursue the 'Great Dao' and 'Pagoda' that belong only to you."
In the profound space of the Gathering Profound Tower, YUN Che, who had been sitting cross-legged for three days and three nights, suddenly smiled. As his smile appeared, a faint layer of silver light emerged on the surface of his body. At the same time, above his head, a small silver pagoda slowly materialized, then slowly descended, merging into YUN Che's body.
MO Li watched all this quietly, a deep surprise flashing in the depths of her eyes. She uttered a soft murmur:
"Back then, my elder brother took thirty-three days to awaken, yet he only took... three days."