Chapter 18

Luohu discovered that this Demonic Dao possessed a strange characteristic called "Great Freedom"

, which he had sensed only in the Ascetic Monk's Great Dao.

Regarding this point, Luohu conducted an in-depth deduction and discovered that the repulsion between Buddhism and demons had actually vanished within this entirely new Demonic Dao.

This allowed him to see an opportunity to break the balance of the Western Land.

From then on, Tai Ming's existence became the key to the future confrontation between the three sides.

Tai Ming was puzzled by this. Why had one casual attempt of his produced such far-reaching consequences?

He thought worriedly, Could it be that I've been used as a tool person just like this?

In reality, Tai Ming received unexpectedly good treatment on Mount Sumeru.

The result of the communication between Luohu and the Ascetic Monk not only made the Ascetic Monk accept this "Demon Head"

, but also led him to impart the Pure Land Buddhist Dao to Tai Ming.

In just a few hundred Yuan Hui, apart from the Great Freedom True Demon Ghost Dao and Demonic Dao Fortune, Tai Ming had also comprehended the Great Freedom Pure Land Ghost Dao and Buddhist Dao Fortune.

With the assistance of the new Great Freedom Pure Land Ghost Dao, he had already raised the Great Freedom True Demon Ghost Dao to the Grand Perfection of the Immortal Venerable God Realm.

This made Tai Ming's Ghost Dao system complex and diverse. It contained the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation's Innate Reincarnation Ghost Dao, Luohu's Great Freedom True Demon Ghost Dao, the Ascetic Monk of Mount Sumeru's Great Freedom Pure Land Ghost Dao, and even the Corpse Ghost Dao of his incarnation as Corpse Ancestor Jiang Chen. All of them had reached the limit of the main branch of his Ghost Dao.

Jiang Chen's Corpse Ghost Dao was especially impressive. In the Netherworld Blood Sea, it had already surpassed Tai Ming, its original body.

Facing all this, Tai Ming's feelings were too complicated to express. He mocked himself, "At this rate, perhaps one day I'll be able to incorporate the Heavenly Dao Lineage, Human Dao Lineage, and Immortal Dao Lineage into my Ghost Dao system."

As a tool person of the fortune of a derivative branch of the Primordial Dao Lineage, he could no longer deny his own strength and status.

His mockery revealed Tai Ming's ambitious nature.

Although the outside world was abuzz with discussion about his identity as a "tool person"

, he remained unconcerned.

He firmly believed that if he could fuse the Three Thousand Chaos Innate Great Daos, or even the Myriad Daos of the Heavens, into one, who could truly seize the initiative?

He possessed four major Ghost Dao branches—the Innate Reincarnation Ghost Dao, the Great Freedom True Demon Ghost Dao, the Great Freedom Pure Land Ghost Dao, and the Corpse Ghost Dao. These foundations had already surpassed the limits of the Immortal Venerable God Realm.

Yet Tai Ming's existence was like a variable, shattering everyone's understanding.

At present, outside Mount Sumeru, Tai Ming's interference had broken the balance of the Western Land, and a great war was about to erupt.

However, Tai Ming was safe and sound on Mount Sumeru, protected by the Ascetic Monk.

As long as he remained there, he would be the best bridge for an alliance between the Buddhist and Demonic Daos.

Even if war broke out, this place would still be the safest location.

Thus, he began considering how to make his Ghost Dao break through to the realm of the Indestructible Grand Unity Venerable God.

During the Primordial Era, the Divine Path flourished. "God and Dao are one" was not merely an empty saying but the core of Divine Path cultivation.

Cultivating the Indestructible Grand Unity Venerable God Realm meant developing the authority one possessed.

Different Innate Divine Beings had different understandings of the Grand Unity Venerable God Realm.

But no matter how the derivation and transformation proceeded, the key to breaking through lay in authority. It was the Great Dao Foundation.

Why did the Primordial Beings yearn to become Innate Divine Beings? It was precisely because of the attraction of this Great Dao Foundation and the authority of Innate Divine Beings.

When the Primordial Chaos first began, the Three Thousand Chaos Origin Great Daos were born and formed the Chaos Void Universe. Together, they constituted the Mother of the Great Dao, which then gave birth to the Three Thousand Primordial Chaos Great Dao Demon Gods.

Although "three thousand" was not a specific number, this source was the fundamental object pursued by all living beings.

Dao Gives Birth to One, which then evolved into two. Two gave birth to three, and from there, all things came into being.

Three was the original mother of all things, representing the concept of an infinite number.

"Thousand" signified abundance, vastness, comprehensiveness, and immeasurability.

Thus, the Three Thousand Great Daos symbolized the immeasurable origin laws of the Chaos Great Dao, while the Three Thousand Great Dao Demon Gods represented the immeasurable Great Dao Demon Gods within chaos.

When the Primordial World was opened, it gave rise to Innate Divine Beings. These divine beings were nurtured by the laws of the Three Thousand Innate Great Daos.

The Primordial Beings respectfully called these divine beings the Three Thousand Great Dao Divine Beings. Their number could not be calculated.

At the beginning of the Primordial World, these divine beings were all transformed from Great Dao Ancestral Qi, and each was born carrying a strand of Innate Origin Ancestral Qi.

This Ancestral Qi was the authority of the divine being and the Great Dao Foundation. It existed innately and could not be defeated even after birth.

Every divine being could represent a portion of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and control a portion of the authority of the Innate Great Daos.

The cultivation realm was, in truth, an extension of authority.

If authority were compared to a tree, the cultivation realm would be its trunk.

The strength of the trunk symbolized the height of the cultivation realm, while the number of branches revealed the strength of a divine being's comprehension of the derivations of their own Great Dao.

The authority of an Innate Divine Being was not the Innate Great Dao itself.

To control more Great Dao authority, one had to continually perfect it, deduce it, and raise it to a state encompassing all things.

For naturally born Innate Divine Beings, "cultivation"

meant the process of constantly perfecting their authority and comprehending the Innate Great Dao.

Authority itself was a manifestation of the Great Dao.

Comprehending a portion of the Great Dao thoroughly was enough for a divine being to stand at the summit of the Primordial World. This was the true meaning of "god and Dao are one."

Beyond this, those who obtained authority to establish a Dao after birth and transformed into Innate Divine Beings could also obtain a strand of Innate Great Dao Ancestral Qi.

Although there was no difference in strength between the two, there was a fundamental distinction.

Naturally born Innate Divine Beings cultivated the Innate Great Dao. With god and Dao as one, and apart from enduring the brutal and fierce Dao Struggle, they could directly reach the realm of an Innate Great Dao Lord.

Innate Divine Beings who achieved their status after birth mostly established their own Postnatal Great Daos—that is, New Daos apart from the Three Thousand Chaos Origin Great Daos.

Compared with the Chaos Innate Great Daos that had existed since antiquity, Postnatal Great Daos would grow stronger or perish as the Great Dao evolved.

Yet this did not mean that Postnatal Great Daos were weaker than Innate Great Daos.

For example, the Heavenly Dao of Cang Li Shi and the Earthly Dao of Yue Jianshi in the Primordial World were both Postnatal Great Daos. Although they had transcended the Innate Great Daos, they were not weaker than them.

From the moment they were born, these Postnatal Great Daos had used the Innate Great Daos represented by the various Top-grade Innate Divine Beings as their foundation. After being tempered by time and absorbing the essence of the Three Thousand Great Daos, they had transformed into the source of the Primordial World. As long as the Primordial World endured, the Great Dao would not perish.

As cultivation progressed, the Great Dao branches that were derived would gradually flourish and eventually rise above the Three Thousand Great Daos.

The prominence of the Heaven, Earth, and Human Daos in the Primordial World was a clear indication that this trend had already emerged.

Although it was unknown whether these three Daos had successfully surpassed the Three Thousand Great Daos, if they had, the Ancient Three Sovereigns might be comparable to the Pangu Clan and the Mother of the Great Dao.

After comprehending this, Tai Ming suddenly gained clarity regarding his path of cultivating the Grand Unity Venerable God Realm and recognized the potential and direction contained within the Ghost Dao.

When the Ghost Dao was established, the Primordial World first gained the concept of "ghost."

When Tai Ming established the Ghost Dao, he had been influenced by the Netherworld. Now, he deeply understood the profound karma between it and the Netherworld of the Earthly Dao.

The assistance of the Netherworld's will had allowed him to quickly absorb the Innate Great Dao Origin Ancestral Qi of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation and become an Innate Divine Being ahead of time.

After comprehending all this, Tai Ming felt that the Primordial World was unfathomable.

Fortunately, many of these things were tremendous opportunities.

In the future, he was willing to repay the Earthly Dao Lineage as much as he was able.

After his mind became clear, Tai Ming began deducing the core of the Ghost Dao and delving deeper into its potential.

Those who established a Dao in the Primordial World had to gather the essence of the Innate Great Dao and absorb the potential of all Daos. While fusing one Dao with all Daos, they also had to make all Daos return to one, refining the core profundity of a Postnatal Great Dao.

In this way, their cultivation realm could advance by leaps and bounds and rise above all living beings and gods.

Otherwise, establishing a Dao without a foundation would leave one reduced to a heterodox path.

The Immortal Dao and Buddhist Dao of the Primordial World were both established by Innate Divine Beings, yet the treatment they received was entirely different.

The Immortal Dao and Demonic Dao absorbed the essence of the Innate Great Daos and derived myriad Daos.

The Buddhist Dao, however, had not gained acceptance as widely as the Immortal Dao and was accepted only by a minority.

Thus, the Immortal Dao became the publicly recognized Great Dao.

Tai Ming had to create the core of the Ghost Dao in order to truly control its power.

Whether one became a Buddha, an immortal, a demon, a monster, or a ghost, one still had to absorb the Three Thousand Innate Great Daos and improve one's own foundation.

Tai Ming's goal was to unearth the potential of the Ghost Dao and advance toward a more distant future.

Time flew. After witnessing the contrast between Postnatal Great Daos and Innate Great Daos, endless inspiration surged through Tai Ming's mind.

Sparks of wisdom flashed continuously as he integrated all the knowledge he had absorbed before, passing down and reshaping wisdom.

One day, during his deductions, Tai Ming unexpectedly discovered that the Ghost Dao he had yet to fully explore concealed astonishing power.

The Innate Great Dao originated from the Chaos Void Universe. The fusion of the Three Thousand Innate Origin Great Daos was the supreme order of the Great Dao in the Primordial World.

Although the Postnatal Great Dao originated from the Pioneer of Dao, it was also an evolution of the foundation of the Primordial World and was likewise encompassed beneath the Innate Great Dao.

Its potential was boundless. If it absorbed the essence of the Three Thousand Innate Great Daos, it might even rival the Mother of the Great Dao of the Innate Chaos Void Universe.

In the past, Tai Ming had known that comprehending the Dao was important, but he had only a vague understanding of its true meaning and benefits.

Now, he finally understood the key. He realized that he had not previously brought out the greatest potential of the Ghost Dao.

Therefore, as the Lord of the Ghost Dao, Tai Ming had to think carefully and clarify the direction of his future cultivation.

In an instant, Tai Ming had already made his decision, and a smile appeared on his face.

He now knew how to better develop his Ghost Dao and advance toward a higher realm.

Since he had chosen to embark upon the path of the Postnatal Ghost Dao, establishing its core power had become the most important matter.

Only with a core could Tai Ming's Ghost Dao condense into one. Otherwise, no matter how many insights he gained, they would merely be scattered sand.

Without a core, even if he broke through to the Grand Unity Venerable God Realm, he would be no more than a Three-No Grand Unity like Daoist You Quan, with feeble power.

The power Tai Ming currently possessed was enough to let him choose the two Postnatal Great Daos of demons and Buddhas, both of which had limitless potential, as the core of the Ghost Dao.

At this moment, he had already comprehended the corresponding Ghost Dao branches.

Choosing one and fusing it into the main vein of the Ghost Dao could cause the Ghost Dao to fully take shape and improve the current situation in which the main Great Dao was weak while its branches flourished.

In the future, if the opportunity arose, he could even contend for the fortune of the Lords of the Demonic and Buddhist Daos.

As long as Tai Ming attained the Dao before the founders of the Buddhist and Demonic Daos, he could bring these Postnatal Great Daos under his own name.

But this path was filled with danger. After all, the devouring and occupation between Great Daos went both ways.

With the slightest misstep, Tai Ming might suffer backlash from these Postnatal Great Daos.

Considering his insufficient strength, Tai Ming chose to abandon this tempting idea.

Although the Demonic and Buddhist Daos were powerful, they were ultimately not the power of the Ghost Dao itself.

If he chose to rely on them, he feared that in the end, not even bone fragments would remain, and the Ghost Dao would instead become a branch of the two Daos.

This was also why those powerful existences had chosen to let him be.

Therefore, Tai Ming decided to create a core power that truly belonged to the Ghost Dao itself. He would fuse the Great Freedom True Demon, the Great Freedom Pure Land, the Corpse Dao, and even the Innate Reincarnation Great Dao—as well as all three thousand Innate Great Daos of the Primordial World—into it, making the Ghost Dao an unsurpassed Great Dao comparable to, or even surpassing, the Buddhist and Demonic Daos.

This decision was not based on empty imagination. He possessed the Innate Great Dao inheritance of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation from the past and could wander through chaos within the inheritance, directly comprehending the obscure Innate Great Dao contained within it.

Tai Ming calmed his mind and began accepting the inheritance of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation, wandering through the true meaning of the Chaos Great Dao.

This allowed him to incarnate as the former Reincarnation Demon God.

With this opportunity, he had a chance to open up an entirely new Great Dao that surpassed the Immortal, Demonic, and Buddhist Daos.

This was thanks to the Chaotic Cave Dao Heart Will he himself had comprehended.

If it had been someone else, they might have been assimilated by the will of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation within the inheritance and transformed into an incarnation of the Innate Reincarnation Great Dao.

Opportunities were important, but without sufficient ability, one could not seize them.

After making up his mind, Tai Ming began to act, sitting cross-legged in the void.