Three Discuss the Dao

Yang Mei followed Li Cha's advice, tearing through the void and heading straight into the boundless chaos to undergo his Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal tribulation, avoiding unnecessary attention and variables in the Primordial World. Within the grotto-heaven, Li Cha and Fairy Wang Shu's expressions eased slightly, but in their hearts, the cup of Primordial Chaos Spirit Tea had stirred up towering waves.

The Chaos Dao Rhyme and Primordial Spiritual Energy contained in that tea were far too vast. Not only did they help Yang Mei break through the gate of the Primordial Chaos realm, but they also left a profound resonance within their bodies. Both clearly felt that their once-solid cultivation barriers had loosened, and the opportunity for breakthrough was right before them!

"Fairy, we cannot let this opportunity slip. We must go into seclusion as well." Li Cha made the decision on the spot. With a sweep of his sleeve, he completely sealed all passages in and out of Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven, activating the Qiankun Seal and Sever Formation and the Heavenly Stars Gathering Yuan Formation at full power. This guarded the grotto-heaven as solid as iron, while also gathering a sea of spiritual energy to fuel their breakthroughs.

Wang Shu nodded solemnly. Without another word, the two each found a spiritual energy node within the grotto-heaven, sat cross-legged, sank into a deep meditative state, and began to charge toward higher realms.

In the Shouyang Pot, there was still a small half-pot of brewed Primordial Chaos Spirit Tea. Although it had been steeped once, the residual Dao Rhyme and spiritual power within it were still too overwhelming for Mo Ran, Shi Qing, and the Dragon Eel. Drinking it directly risked their bodies exploding.

Before entering meditation, Li Cha's mind stirred slightly. He cast the Spring Wind Transforms Rain Technique, drawing on the spiritual spring within the grotto-heaven to dilute the remaining tea soup countless times. It turned into a misty spiritual rain imbued with faint Chaos Dao Rhyme, evenly sprinkling across the entire Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven.

As the spiritual rain fell, all living beings in the grotto-heaven benefited. Ordinary flowers, grasses, and trees, nourished by this rain containing supreme Dao Rhyme, instantly grew wildly, radiating spiritual light. Many spirit plants with decent foundations even awakened nascent intelligence, sending out joyful waves of thought.

Those close to Li Cha—Mo Ran, Shi Qing, and the Dragon Eel—gained even greater benefits. Mo Ran, at Early Da Luo, was nourished by this spiritual rain and directly reached the peak of Early Da Luo, ready to break through at any moment. The Dragon Eel also stabilized its cultivation, with faint signs of bloodline purification.

The one who benefited the most was Shi Qing, who had the lowest cultivation! Originally formed from Pangu's Fingernail, his foundation was extraordinary, but his cultivation time was short. Now, stirred by the essence of the diluted Primordial Chaos Spirit Tea, the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique within him activated wildly on its own, and his entire body burst forth with a heavy, earthy yellow radiance!

"Boom!"

A powerful aura erupted from within him, directly breaking through the barrier and stepping into the Late Golden Immortal (Primordial Unity Golden Immortal) realm! Not only that, but his Dao body, tempered countless times by the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique, underwent a baptism of Chaos Dao Rhyme, skyrocketing in strength until it rivaled a Post-Heaven Lower-Grade Spirit Treasure! Every move he made carried a heavy, mountain-like force capable of shattering all laws.

Time flowed on. Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven remained sealed for over eight hundred years.

When the grotto-heaven's restrictions slowly opened again, the first to emerge was Li Cha. His aura was deeper and more restrained than before. Dao Rhyme flowed across his green robe, as if he had merged with the entire grotto-heaven. His cultivation had leaped from Late Da Luo to Half-step Quasi-Saint! Only the final step and the right opportunity stood between him and true entry into the Quasi-Saint realm.

Following closely was Fairy Wang Shu. She remained as cold and peerless as ever, but the moonlight and starlight flowing around her were purer and more vast, almost tangible. Her Peak Quasi-Saint cultivation was now completely stabilized, and she even faintly touched the edge of the Primordial Dao Realm. Her aura was perfectly rounded, several times stronger than before her seclusion.

The two exchanged smiles, both feeling the immense gains from their seclusion. They did not rush to cultivate further but instead sat again at the Sacred Spirit Table, brewing tea and discussing the Dao to digest their insights. However, the tea they now drank had been replaced with the Pure Spirit Tea from the Pure Spirit Tea Tree.

Whether it was Primordial Chaos Spirit Tea or Innate Enlightenment Tea, the Dao Rhyme they contained was too intense. Drinking them repeatedly in a short time would not only be unhelpful but could lead to a hollow foundation and an unstable Dao Heart due to overly rapid realm advancement—truly Not Worth the Effort. Pure Spirit Tea had a refined, elegant flavor, excellent for calming the mind and solidifying the Dao foundation, perfectly suited for the moment.

Thus, in this leisurely time of sipping tea, discussing the Dao, and quietly comprehending, another thousand years slipped by unnoticed.

One day, the space within Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven suddenly rippled with a strange fluctuation. This ripple did not come from the external formations but from within the grotto-heaven itself, spreading out from the level of the laws. The next moment, a figure materialized from nothingness, appearing silently beside the stone table, as if he had always been there, unnoticed by anyone.

It was Yang Mei, returned from the chaos!

Now, Yang Mei's aura had undergone a complete transformation. It was not the kind of overwhelming, suffocating pressure that dominated the Primordial World, but a deeper, more essential metamorphosis. He stood there, yet seemed to exist in no specific space, while also existing in countless dimensions simultaneously. He maintained a strange state of both close connection and absolute independence with the surrounding world, with Li Cha and Wang Shu, and even with the stone table and teacups—a state of freedom and emptiness, fully integrated with the boundless cosmos.

A glimmer of understanding and admiration flashed in Li Cha's eyes. Smiling, he picked up the Shouyang Pot, poured a freshly brewed cup of Pure Spirit Tea, and pushed it in front of Yang Mei.

"Congratulations, Daoist friend, for enduring all tribulations and finally attaining the Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal fruit, gaining great freedom and great ease."

Wang Shu also composed herself, solemnly bowing with her hands folded. Her clear, beautiful face held an undeniable shock and a trace of longing. She asked softly, "Senior Yang Mei, congratulations on your attainment. I presume to ask, what is the essential difference between the Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal realm and the Quasi-Saint realm (also called Golden Immortal of the Origin) that we arduously cultivate?"

This was the ultimate question that had troubled countless great beings of the Primordial World.

Yang Mei showed no arrogance due to his transcendent realm. He calmly took the cup of Pure Spirit Tea but did not drink immediately, letting the elegant tea fragrance naturally merge into the microscopic spaces that constantly arose and vanished around him. His gaze grew distant, as if piercing through the walls of Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven, gazing across infinite dimensions and the river of time. He spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, but it resonated like the Great Dao's Resonant Voice, directly echoing in the depths of Li Cha and Wang Shu's Dao Hearts.

"Quasi-Saint, Golden Immortal of the Origin, is still 'in the pond.'"

He extended his index finger and lightly tapped the cup of Pure Spirit Tea before him. A strange thing happened. The tea in the cup silently rose, and under Li Cha and Wang Shu's astonished gazes, it transformed in the air into a pond illusion about a foot in diameter, crystal clear to the bottom. In the pond, "fish" formed from water ripples (representing the various laws of the world) swam leisurely, and "water plants" (representing various divine abilities and wondrous techniques) swayed with the current. The entire pond was full of life, containing no small amount of power.

"In this realm, no matter how high your cultivation or how vast your divine powers, what you do is nothing more than continuously strengthening your own 'fish,' refining and absorbing more 'pond water' (the spiritual energy and laws of the Primordial World), comprehending more exquisite 'swimming techniques' (deeper understanding and application of the laws), and even touching and influencing the pond's boundaries and inherent rules (touching the Heavenly Dao)."

He paused slightly, giving Li Cha and Wang Shu time to digest. Both nodded. Their current cultivation had indeed not surpassed this scope. Wang Shu mobilized the power of the Moon Star, and Li Cha drew on the vitality of all plants in the Primordial World—all drawing power within this "pond."

"However, no matter how strong the power or how wondrous the divine abilities, as long as you have not leaped out, you are still not free from the pond itself. The Dao you cultivate, the power you rely on—its source originates from this pond, from this Primordial World. When the world thrives, the pond water is abundant; when the world declines, the pond water dries up. Your own Dao is ultimately bound to the world, constrained by it."

These words struck like a morning bell or evening drum, ringing in their hearts.

"And the Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal," Yang Mei's tone shifted, carrying a sense of transcendence, "is leaping out of that 'pond.'"

As he spoke, the most agile "fish" formed from the tea water suddenly leaped out of the pond illusion! It completely broke free from the water's surface, suspended above the pond, turning calmly to look down from a new perspective at the pond it had once relied on to survive. Everything in the pond—the fish, water plants, ripples—was still clearly visible, but it no longer needed the pond water to exist.

"From then on," Yang Mei's voice carried a hint of detached insight, "though one is in the Primordial World, able to observe, interact, and influence, one is essentially independent of it. No longer needing to borrow the power of heaven and earth, one's inner landscape has already evolved into a nascent universe. Oneself is the source of the Dao; oneself is the law. When heaven and earth perish, I do not perish; when the Primordial World decays, I do not decay. This is 'gaining great freedom,' transcending all constraints. This is the Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal."

He looked at Li Cha and Wang Shu, who were on the verge of understanding, and made a final, incisive summary and distinction:

"Thus, the struggles of Quasi-Saints—whether over Dao or Demon, race or sect—at their root, are struggles for the water in the pond, for dominance over the pond's rules. They are stronger 'players,' but no matter how strong, they are still within the chessboard of the Heavenly Dao, constrained by its rules."

"And the Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal has already leaped off the chessboard, forming a new world and new rules of their own. They are fellow Daoists with the Heavenly Dao, fellow travelers, companions on the path of exploring the boundless chaos—not its subordinate cultivators or pawns."

Having said this, he downed the cup of Pure Spirit Tea, which had long gone cold, savoring it for a moment before praising, "Good tea. Daoist Li Cha's tea once helped me sort out the spatial threads and clarify my path. Today, drinking it, the Dao Rhyme of tranquility and naturalness within it can already reflect the newborn Primordial Chaos universe within me, helping to harmonize its nascent turbulence. Wonderful, wonderful."

Li Cha's eyes flashed with the light of understanding. He clapped his hands lightly and chuckled, "So that's it. The Tea Dao lies in communication, in harmonization, in reflecting all things. It seems that my Tea Dao, in the future, will not only nourish the All Beings of the Primordial World but also add a different fragrance of tea to this newborn Primordial Chaos universe of yours, aiding its evolution and granting it more completeness and vitality."