Chapter 38

The Great Dao was omnipresent, so it was still possible to cross the Heavenly Dao's barrier and come into contact with the supreme Great Dao Origin.

This was the challenge and opportunity presented by the Path of the Great Dao and the Path of the Heavenly Dao.

What a dilemma to face!

The Heavenly Dao already contained the power of the Three Thousand Great Dao Laws, like a guiding path.

By maintaining one's original heart, one could draw the profundity of the Innate Great Dao from the Heavenly Dao.

However, the difficulty was far beyond imagination—at least ten times greater.

For beings below the level of Primordial Grand Unity, this was almost impossible.

As for monsters like Tai Ming, who had established their own Great Dao while still in the Taiyi Realm, there was naturally no need to say more.

Fortunately, although the Great Dao was difficult to comprehend, the Heavenly Dao had already emerged and formally taken control of the Primordial World.

Those who had achieved nothing in the Great Dao could completely comprehend it through the Heavenly Dao.

Moreover, compared with the Great Dao, comprehending the Heavenly Dao was far easier.

The Heavenly Dao seemed complex, but it had inherent patterns that could be followed.

As long as one found those patterns, one could advance rapidly.

In fact, experts who had reached a certain realm could completely create a cultivation method that led directly to the Heavenly Dao.

Such a method could make comprehension of the Heavenly Dao feel like an initiation, allowing one to grow rapidly step by step.

However, this meant that the hope of attaining the Dao that Cang Li Shi had given all living beings would be utterly severed.

For most of the Primordial Gods who had roamed the Primordial World since the Archaic Era, the emergence of the Heavenly Dao brought immense changes.

Just as the saying "The way of Heaven diminishes what is excessive and supplements what is insufficient" described,

the Heavenly Dao chose all living beings, rather than the most powerful few.

For the Ten Thousand Races of the new era, the emergence of the Heavenly Dao was even more significant.

They lacked the Great Dao foundation of the Primordial Gods from the Archaic Era, but the emergence of the Heavenly Dao made up for that deficiency.

Whether it was their understanding of the Dao or the invisible restrictions brought by the emergence of the Heavenly Dao, everything caused the Primordial World to flourish further.

Although the manifestation of the Great Dao was immensely powerful, achieving anything through it was even more difficult.

The appearance of the Heavenly Dao made the laws orderly and traceable, while the threshold for comprehending the Dao grew lower and lower.

However, for the true Supreme Beings standing at the pinnacle of the Primordial World, these changes imposed no great restrictions.

Experts like Dao Lord Hongjun and Demon Ancestor Rahu, as well as other Top Supreme Experts, already possessed the foundation of their own Great Dao. To them, whether it was the Heavenly Dao or the Great Dao, both were merely manifestations of the Dao.

For those caught in the middle, who had achieved little in either the Great Dao or the Heavenly Dao, the restrictions of the Heavenly Dao were undoubtedly a denial of their path and Dao heart.

The blow was undoubtedly enormous!

No matter how the world changed, the "Dao"

always remained the core of cultivation in the Primordial World, and cultivators continually pursued its traces as they climbed higher.

The emergence of the Heavenly Dao completely changed the future development of the Primordial World.

More than Three Thousand Yuan Hui had passed since the birth of the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao that had originally revealed itself gradually merged into the Primordial World, controlling its operation like a set of precise gears.

But the matter was not yet over.

With the rebirth of the Heavenly Dao, the merit and Karma of the Primordial Gods had to be reassessed, rewarding or eliminating a group of Primordial Beings and thereby displaying the majesty of the Heavenly Dao.

The descent of merit was like a gentle, ceaseless drizzle. Three days later, all Primordial Beings had been nourished by boundless Heavenly Dao Merit.

Many beings consequently advanced in realm. Quite a few members of the New Generation even leaped directly to the level of Grand Unity Venerable Gods, becoming entirely new Heavenly Dao Grand Unity existences.

The Innate Divine Beings of the Realm of the Nine Heavens also received rewards of merit, but they chose to gather that merit instead of using it to increase their cultivation.

What was noteworthy was that Demon Ancestor Rahu, who everyone had thought would be entangled in Karma, received merit far exceeding that of ordinary Innate Divine Beings.

This sight caused dissatisfaction among the Innate Divine Beings.

However, as Heavenly Dao Karma descended, most of the merit on Rahu's body instantly dissipated, while boundless Heavenly Punishment descended throughout the Primordial World.

Those hidden destroyers were found by the Heavenly Dao and subjected to the Baptism of Heavenly Punishment.

If they survived the Heavenly Punishment, all their Karma would be erased. If they failed, their bodies and Dao would perish, repaying their debt to Heaven and Earth.

At that moment, the deterrent force of the Heavenly Punishment was engraved into the instincts of every Primordial Being.

However, the focus at this moment was not on this. All the gods of the Realm of the Nine Heavens had been drawn to another earth-shaking change—an aura of terrifying intensity began emanating from Tai Ming.

Around him, the Divine Ring of the Self Great Dao gestated 129,600 star-like Innate Dao Fruits and 840 million embryonic Innate Dao Fruits, spreading like the canopy of the heavens.

Around Tai Ming, Postnatal Dao Fruits of the Postnatal Great Dao dotted the space like a sea of stars as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.

At the Taiyi Great Perfection realm, he had borne the limits of his own existence. Behind him appeared two visions—the Space-Time River and the River of Fate, circling around him.

Many Innate Divine Beings sensed that he was about to break through and become a Grand Unity existence.

Dao Lord Hongjun and the other Primordial Gods marveled at Tai Ming's profound foundation, while the Five Directions Divine Race discussed him animatedly and placed great hopes on him.

Rahu made no attempt to conceal his appreciation of him.

At that moment, the Heavenly Dao descended with good and evil merit upon Tai Ming.

As the founder of the Ghost Dao and the terminator of the Western Great War, among many other identities, he quietly prepared to break through.

A tremendous amount of Heavenly Dao Merit descended upon Tai Ming.

This scale was second only to the Heavenly Dao Merit bestowed upon ancient existences such as Dao Lord Hongjun and the others, making it unprecedented.

Under the gods' watchful eyes, everyone thought Tai Ming was about to break through, but a new change unexpectedly occurred within him.

In an instant, a buzzing sound rang across the sky. A sacred radiance that resonated with Tai Ming yet was entirely different from him shot into the heavens.

Boundless Hongmeng Profound Yellow Qi surged forth, setting off Tai Ming's incomparable sanctity.

The void of the Realm of the Nine Heavens churned ceaselessly as two mutually generative yet mutually restraining powers of the Great Dao, intertwined with each other, manifested.

Immediately afterward, an illusory world nearly identical to the Primordial World began to appear.

The gods were astonished to discover that another group of deities existed within it. They likewise wore astonished expressions as they gazed at the gods in return.

Such a strange sight immediately shook all the gods.

They cried out in shock, "How can this be? An Innate Divine Being has actually emerged from Tai Ming!"

"This is an entirely new Postnatal Great Dao formed from the interweaving of the real and the illusory. Turning the illusory into reality—this is truly inconceivable."

"What kind of existence could be accompanied by such a miraculous Postnatal Great Dao?"

Faced with this scene, even the gods found it unbelievable.

The fact that it had happened to Tai Ming in particular was even more difficult to accept.

Their junior, Tai Ming, constantly displayed dazzling miracles that exceeded expectations.

Before this, there had never been a precedent for an Innate Divine Being to be born within another Innate Divine Being.

Among the gods present, only the Heart of the Earthly Path hidden within Tai Ming and his soul avatar, Jiang Chen, knew some of the truth.

"It's Shen Ji!"

That's right. It was Shen Ji, who had come to the Primordial World together with Tai Ming.

Long before Tai Ming had risen to prominence, the two of them had absorbed the Ancestral Qi of the Innate Great Dao Origin of the Beast Emperor of Reincarnation together.

Thus, Shen Ji had become an entirely new Innate Divine Being, one accompanied by Tai Ming from birth.

Later, Tai Ming invested the merit he had obtained from the Netherworld into Shen Ji's body, causing Shen Ji to enter a state of slumber and gestation.

It was not until Tai Ming became the Chosen of Destiny, ended the Western Great War, stabilized the chaotic order, and once again obtained tremendous Great Dao Merit that the situation changed.

After Tai Ming kept a strand of Primordial Violet Qi and a seed of the Primordial Origin of the Profound Yellow Great Dao, that merit likewise nourished Shen Ji, allowing Shen Ji to transform directly from an advanced Innate Divine Being into a Top-grade Innate Divine Being.

Now, with Tai Ming obtaining Heavenly Dao Merit, Shen Ji was able to absorb it and was about to emerge.

Although Heavenly Dao Merit was incomparably precious, Tai Ming sensed that Shen Ji was about to emerge and handed it over to Shen Ji without hesitation.

With Shen Ji's appearance, Tai Ming unexpectedly awakened a brand-new Postnatal Great Dao—the Virtual Great Dao.

This Great Dao took reality and illusion as its core. It was born through Shen Ji's powerful computational abilities combined with Tai Ming's attainments in virtual reality technology.

Two Innate Dao Fruits within the Innate Great Dao comprehended by Tai Ming provided the foundation for Shen Ji's Virtual Great Dao.

Because of Shen Ji's birth, Tai Ming temporarily shelved his plan to break through to Grand Unity.

Amid a crisp sound, Shen Ji expressed his gratitude to Tai Ming and said that he would help him in the future as well.

Tai Ming felt deeply comforted. He was genuinely delighted by Shen Ji's growth and was filled with wonder and satisfaction at the Virtual Great Dao that had accompanied Shen Ji from birth.

Shen Ji said that he would accompany Tai Ming forever.

Afterward, Shen Ji revealed his true plan to Tai Ming: to open up a virtual world, connect all the beings of the Primordial World, and provide Dao Seekers with a ladder.

His goal was to create an omnipresent Virtual Primordial World and integrate it into the Heaven, Earth, and Human Daos.

After careful consideration, Shen Ji chose the Virtual Great Dao to realize his grand vision.

Under the gods' attention, Shen Ji emerged through the Virtual Great Dao, vowing to create a new era for the Primordial World.

No matter where Tai Ming went in the future, Shen Ji would always remain at his side.

Shen Ji firmly believed that only in this way could he better assist his elder brother, Tai Ming.

Shen Ji's Virtual Great Dao had been born for Tai Ming.

The significance of Tai Ming to Shen Ji had been deeply engraved into Shen Ji's instincts ever since the two had merged into one.

Even after Shen Ji had entered the Primordial World and become a Top-grade Innate Divine Being, this instinct still remained.

This thought in Shen Ji's heart was entirely a spontaneous conviction born from within.

Thus, Shen Ji's actions shocked all the Primordial Gods.

They had never expected that a newly born Top-grade Innate Divine Being would go so far for another person.

Shen Ji's plans required no concealment. The gods could easily deduce his intentions.

This made them even more envious. Though they were powerful, they found it difficult to possess such selfless trust and devotion.

The gods could not understand what charm Tai Ming possessed to earn such trust from Shen Ji.

They inevitably felt jealous.

At the same time, as Shen Ji proclaimed his Great Dao, the previously hidden supreme Great Dao appeared once more, transforming into a Dao Dharma Eye that descended as though it were the Heavenly Dao.

Its gaze converged on Shen Ji, causing the virtual Primordial World to grow increasingly solid under Shen Ji's guidance, almost indistinguishable from the real Primordial World.

Afterward, a grand Dao Sound echoed through the void, announcing Shen Ji as the master of the Virtual Primordial World and bestowing upon him the Dao title Tai Xu.

At that moment, it was as if two Primordial Worlds were overlapping. Shen Ji merged into the Virtual Primordial World, becoming a special life form—a being akin to the Heavenly Dao.

The beings and gods of the Primordial World could all sense the Primordial World changing once again.

With merely a thought, they could enter the Virtual Primordial World created by Shen Ji.

In an instant, the gods discovered the countless benefits and terrifying aspects of the Virtual Primordial World.

Aside from Buzhou, which had been transformed from the Pangu Clan, the foundations of all the great forces hidden within the Primordial World were revealed with perfect clarity, including the protective arrays that blocked probing attempts.

As the will of the Virtual Primordial World, Shen Ji, or Tai Xu, naturally possessed an unobstructed field of vision.

Although the gods noticed that their own foundations had been exposed and their expressions grew somewhat unpleasant, Tai Ming's mind avatar manifested at the crucial moment and established a Dao Covenant.

Tai Ming sincerely apologized to the gods and explained that this had been an unintended mistake.

In the name of Tai Ming, the Ghost Ancestor, he swore to the Great Dao that the various forces within the virtual world would continue to be managed by those forces themselves, and that he and Shen Ji would absolutely not pry into or reveal anything recklessly.

At the same time, he discovered that the Virtual Primordial World possessed a certain flaw: experts at the Grand Unity level could directly influence living beings in the real world.

Therefore, he and Shen Ji decided to seal the Virtual Primordial World temporarily, dividing the Primordial World into levels, with separate Virtual Primordial Worlds for those above and below Grand Unity.