Discussing the Dao with Hongjun

And Fellow Daoist Fuxi, whom he sought, actually had profound ties to the Witch Clan.

It seemed it would not be so easy for him to achieve his goal today.

Still, this man's concealment technique is indeed remarkable. Even with all my experience, I cannot see through his cultivation.

Although Hongjun's powers of calculation were not the strongest in the Primordial World,

With the Jade Disc of Good Fortune in his possession, Hongjun could say with certainty that none could match his way of calculation. Even Luohu and Great Immortal Yang Mei would marvel at it.

After all, the Jade Disc of Good Fortune was the strongest innate supreme treasure for calculating the secrets of heaven. When whole, it had been one of the chaos supreme treasures in Great God Pangu's hands, and countless people coveted it.

I refuse to believe it!

His thoughts racing, Hongjun began calculating, even going so far as to use the Jade Disc of Creation's power of deduction to calculate Fuxi's origins and cultivation right in front of him.

But the more Hongjun calculated, the more astonished he became. The man was clearly standing before him, yet in Hongjun's mind, he was hazy and elusive.

How is that possible? He has no cultivation at all?!

The result gave Hongjun a great shock.

Even with the Jade Disc of Good Fortune's unparalleled power of calculation, he could not see through Fuxi's true cultivation. Even the reincarnations of those chaos demon gods could never have achieved this.

One had to know that the Jade Disc of Good Fortune had been a chaos supreme treasure when whole!

Though it was now only a fragment, its power was still equivalent to that of an innate supreme treasure. Moreover, in Hongjun's hands, the Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation's power of deduction was no less than that of a chaos supreme treasure!

Yet even with the Jade Disc of Good Fortune's immense power, he still could not determine Fuxi's location!

He could not even see through his cultivation!

This left Hongjun utterly shocked.

He could not help wondering whether Fuxi was an innate god at all. Even holding a fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation, he could not see through an innate god. It was truly inconceivable!

One had to know that in the time of chaos, there had been three thousand demon gods. When Pangu split heaven and earth apart, Hongjun had been one of those Three Thousand Chaos Gods!

After the Primordial World was created, he had shed his chaos demon body and entered the Primordial Great World.

As soon as he entered the Primordial Great World, he had begun swiftly recovering his strength. In his eyes, the innate gods born naturally of the Primordial World were nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs!

He had already confirmed this long ago, when he traveled the Primordial World.

After all, he was Hongjun, a former chaos demon god!

But the more he considered it, the more wary Hongjun grew. There was definitely something amiss about an innate god whose depths he could not fathom!

Fuxi's origins were probably no lesser than his own; he too was one of the Three Thousand Chaos Gods, a Chaos Demon God!

After chaos was split open, he had likewise reincarnated into the Primordial Great World.

"I see that Fellow Daoist Fuxi's cultivation is extraordinary, and the sight has stirred my heart. Why don't we discuss the Dao?" Hongjun said slowly.

He gazed at Fuxi, his thoughts surging like the tide. This man was so mysterious that he naturally had to probe him thoroughly, and there was no better way to do so than by discussing the Dao.

"Very well," Fuxi said after a pause.

Since coming into the world, he had yet to discuss the Dao with anyone.

After all, Hongjun was the first Sage in the Primordial World after the Dragon-Han Calamity.

In the future, he would merge himself with the Heavenly Dao, and six Sages would emerge from among his disciples.

Discussing the Dao with such a figure would also greatly benefit Fuxi's Great Dao.

Although the method he cultivated was the Mythic Great Luo Method, which differed greatly from the cultivation methods of the Primordial World, as the saying went, stones from other mountains could polish jade. By reflecting the two against each other, he would naturally gain great help in comprehending the Mythic Great Luo Method.

Hongjun stepped forward, arriving within a thousand li of Fuxi, and said slowly,

"Please!"

"Please."

The two sat cross-legged, and Fuxi was the first to ask a question.

"What is the Dao?"

"The Great Dao is formless, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth; the Great Dao is without feeling, yet it sets the sun and moon in motion; the Great Dao is nameless, yet it nurtures all things. I do not know its name, so I call it the Dao."

"The Dao is ever without action, yet nothing is left undone. If lords and kings could hold to it, all things would transform of themselves. If, in transforming, desires arose, I would subdue them with the nameless uncarved block. The nameless uncarved block would likewise be without desire. Without desire, all would be still, and the world would settle of itself..."

For a time, heavenly flowers fell in profusion and golden lotuses sprang from the earth, a truly beautiful sight.

After an unknown length of time, Hongjun stopped expounding the Dao and asked in return, "What is the Dao?"

Hearing this, Fuxi spoke.

"Heaven is dark and earth is yellow, the cosmos vast and primordial. Mystery upon mystery, the gateway to all wonders!"

"Heaven, earth, and all things are brought into being without action. All the myriad things are natural..."

As he spoke, countless heavenly flowers fell like raindrops, while golden lotuses spread across the earth, dazzling and brilliant, with five colors and ten hues. Heavenly secrets flowed, and radiant light shone in all directions.

The twelve Ancestral Witches listened as if lost in clouds and mist, unable to understand what the two were talking about.

After all, they cultivated only their physical bodies, not their primordial spirits, and knew almost nothing of the Dao and its methods.

Only from the strange phenomena of heaven and earth that arose as the two expounded the Dao did they judge that Fuxi's Dao was a cut above.

And that was indeed the case.

The more Hongjun pondered the Dao Fuxi expounded, the more clearly he understood Fuxi's incomparably profound foundational Dao and its methods.

It was as though great bells were tolling in his mind.

When Hongjun came to his senses, he saw Fuxi looking at him with a smile and hurriedly said,

"Your understanding of the Dao and its methods is profound. I admire you!"

In the past, Hongjun had always believed that even if his understanding of the Dao and its methods was not the best among cultivators of the same realm, it was still among the very best.

But unexpectedly, in discussing the Dao with Fuxi today, he had been firmly outmatched in his understanding of the Dao and its methods. Moreover, Fuxi's understanding often broke new ground, giving him the feeling of emerging from the shade of willows into a garden of bright flowers.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. The two delved ever deeper into their discussion of the Dao, gradually touching upon their own foundations.

One day, Hongjun spoke proudly.

"I have newly created a Dao method that reaches the heavens. It is a method of becoming a Sage, called the Way of Severing the Three Corpses. I hope Fellow Daoist Fuxi will offer his assessment."

"The Method of Severing the Three Corpses?" Though Fuxi had his own path and would not walk the Way of Severing the Three Corpses, the principles it contained might serve to verify his own.

Hongjun continued,

"The three corpses are poisons."

"The human body has three corpse gods, known as the three poisons. The upper corpse is named Peng Ju and governs the upper burner and the tendency to think."

"The middle corpse is named Peng Zhi and governs the middle burner, greed, and attachment."

"The lower corpse is named Peng Qiao and governs the lower burner and evil thoughts."

"The upper corpse loves fine adornments, the middle corpse loves rich flavors, and the lower corpse loves."

"The upper corpse dwells at the Jade Pillow Pass, the middle corpse at the Spinal Pass, and the lower corpse at the Coccyx Pass. On every Gengshen and Jiazi day, they go to report good and evil."

"We cultivators must use our magic power to sever the three thoughts of good, evil, and attachment, then cultivate until our magic power, mastery of the Dao, and thoughts are all in complete accord with the Heavenly Dao."

"Then, by using innate objects to house one's primordial spirit, the three corpses can be made to manifest. Sever them with my method, and one can attain the Dao."

Since ancient times, there had been only two ways to become a Sage. The first was to become a Sage through merit. In the future, Nuwa and the Three Pure Ones would all take this path. It was the easiest method, but their combat power after becoming Sages would also be the weakest.

The second was to become a Sage through laws. Great God Pangu had taken this path. Though this method granted unparalleled combat power, attaining the Dao was truly difficult. Even a mighty being like Great God Pangu had fallen at the final moment of becoming a Sage.