Wait a Little Longer

The Heavenly Dao had become complete so quickly thanks to Hongjun's Creation Jade Disc. Supplemented by the Three Thousand Great Daos in the Creation Jade Disc, it kept receiving patches and upgrades, so naturally its progress was swift.

Thus, in Xiang Dong's view, the Primordial World, now under the Heavenly Dao's suppression, was a brand-new version. This should be the Primordial World 4.0 era.

As the saying went, every version had its own god, but every version nerfed Miyamoto.

Those who had existed for several versions already, since the time of chaos, and had deleted their accounts to start over received especially close attention.

The reincarnated Chaos Demon Gods cultivating anew, such as Yang Mei Daoist, Yin-Yang, Five Elements, Qiankun Ancestor, and Luohou, felt it most keenly.

They had each mastered a Principle in the chaos era. Now that they had started cultivating anew, they naturally faced no bottlenecks and had a green light all the way.

All that remained was to attain the realm of Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal, and they could live free and unfettered.

They also had a particular advantage: each was the Dao Master of his or her respective Principle. When others cultivated those Principles and gained insights, the Dao Masters could feel those insights in real time.

Yang Mei Daoist, for example, was the Space Demon God. He had mastered the Space Great Dao and was the Dao Master of the Space Principle.

Xiang Dong also cultivated the Space Great Dao. Yang Mei Daoist could receive Xiang Dong's understanding and insights into the Space Principle in real time, gaining an experience-point bonus from them. Thus, no one could ever surpass Yangmei in the Space Great Dao.

But things were different now. The Heavenly Dao had locked the level cap and blocked their path to attaining the Dao through force.

As a result, these Chaos Demon Gods, the Dao Masters of their Principles, no longer had an advantage. If they remained stuck in place, they risked being overtaken by those who came after them.

There seemed to be only one path left if they wanted to break through: comply with the Heavenly Dao.

In an unknown valley in the Primordial World, Yang Mei Daoist's cultivation ground, he slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the sky.

Then Yangmei waved his hand, left the Primordial World, and entered the boundless chaos.

In an instant, the suppression and restraints weighing on him vanished. The realm of Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal seemed within reach, and the opportunity to break through lay right before him.

But when he returned to the Primordial World, that feeling of suppression and restraint descended again, heavier than before.

It was the Heavenly Dao's silent warning, cold and merciless.

"Heavenly Dao... what a Heavenly Dao, appearing at a time like this of all times."

Yangmei murmured to himself, a trace of helplessness and sentiment in his voice.

He was already close to the realm of Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal. Given a little more time, he could have broken through, but the Heavenly Dao had burst onto the scene at this very moment.

He could clearly feel the barrier to his next realm growing ever more solid. If he forced a breakthrough, he would be making an enemy of the entire Primordial World.

He had tried countless times, drawing on his utmost understanding of the Space Great Dao to break through or find a way around the barrier, but every attempt had ended in failure.

The Heavenly Dao would not allow an unrestrained "BUG"-level existence like a Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal to appear under its control. Such a being would be a loophole in the rules and order.

Note that this meant a Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal, not a Sage.

Only beneath the Heavenly Dao could there be Sages.

The Heavenly Dao belonged to the Sages. The realm of a Heavenly Dao Sage was the same as that of a Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal, but the two were not equivalent.

This concept took shape vaguely in Yangmei's mind.

The future path of cultivation would no longer be a simple matter of accumulating power and comprehending and mastering Principles. It would require the Heavenly Dao's recognition.

For example, by doing things that complied with the Heavenly Dao, helping the rules it set operate, and maintaining order, one would receive merit from the Heavenly Dao as a reward.

This merit was equivalent to experience points. With Heavenly Dao Merit, one could break through the level cap and level up.

Without it, well, sorry.

Where there were rewards, there were naturally punishments too: Karmic Force. Killing too much or causing widespread destruction to the Primordial World would bring Karmic Force down upon one.

A Heavenly Dao Sage needed Primordial purple qi as the foundation for attaining Sagehood and had to entrust his or her Primordial Spirit to the Heavenly Dao, becoming impervious to countless tribulations, undying and indestructible.

Becoming a Sage could indeed grant the power to destroy heaven and earth, but choosing that path was itself a form of restraint.

Moreover, one would become dependent on Heavenly Dao Merit. For its sake, one would inevitably be subject to the Heavenly Dao's many restrictions, every action entangled in karma with the greater course of the Primordial World. True freedom and ease would be hard to come by again.

Yangmei rose and paced through the valley. He knew clearly that only two paths lay before him.

The first was to leave the Primordial World and go into the chaos.

If he left the Primordial World and entered the endless chaos, he would be free of the Heavenly Dao's restraints. With his accumulated strength and foundation, breaking through to the realm of Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal would be only a matter of time.

But the price of doing so was also immense.

His current identity was that of a being of the Primordial World. His "household registration" was there, and he had countless karmic ties to this world.

Once he attained the realm of Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal in the chaos, it would be equivalent to immigrating there.

The Heavenly Dao would then regard him as an outsider. If he wanted to return, he would first have to get past the Heavenly Dao, and that would be no easy hurdle.

Besides, what kind of place was the chaos? How could he, a Chaos Demon God, not know?

The three thousand Demon Gods had spent who knew how many years there. The entire chaos could only be described as monotonous and desolate, and quite a few Chaos Demon Gods had gone mad from being cooped up there.

The Primordial World was different. It was full of life, bustling and exciting, and so interesting. Many people here spoke so pleasantly, too.

More importantly, he had a faint feeling that the Primordial World's future evolution seemed to hold the possibility of attaining a higher realm.

If he left now, he might miss a heaven-sent fortuitous opportunity.

If he did not leave, he would be choosing the second path: stay and try to adapt to the new rules set by the Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly Dao had sealed off the path to attaining the Dao through Principles, then opened a window called Sagehood. It looked rather wonderful.

But he was a Chaos Demon God, and he had his own pride. He was being asked to comply with the Heavenly Dao born from this world Pangu had opened up.

To become a Heavenly Dao Sage and bow in submission to the Heavenly Dao—wouldn't that be the same as making a living under Pangu?

Thus, Yangmei resisted the idea in his heart. He was nine parts, even ten parts unwilling.

These reincarnated Chaos Demon Gods were relics of an old era, utterly out of place before the emerging order of the Primordial World.

Yin-Yang Ancestor, Qiankun Ancestor... those old friends of his were probably facing the same choice.

Yangmei murmured to himself, "Perhaps there's a third path."

Yangmei thought of Xiang Dong, an anomaly he could not see through.

Yangmei had sensed it when Xiang Dong fused with the Space Principle imprint, and he knew even more clearly that such an imprint of the Space Principle came from Pangu's bloodline.

Perhaps the key to breaking the deadlock lay with him?

A glint flashed in Yangmei's eyes.

Perhaps he should wait a little longer and see whether this greatest variable could bring about some new changes.