Dao Seed, Terrifying Future

Chapter 24: Dao Seed, Terrifying Future

The night was hazy, the stars nowhere to be seen.

Between the mountain peaks, completely shrouded in darkness, a mist as thin as a cicada's wing rose from the valley floor, concealing a Taoist temple full of ancient charm.

The temple's courtyard walls were a dark ochre, stained with moss of varying depths from years of mountain mist and rain.

Numerous halls and houses stretched across several connected peaks.

Within the brightly lit temple, disciples moved about, numbering in the hundreds.

Zhengyi Dao, also known as the Celestial Master Temple, was the most renowned Taoist sect on Wangwu Mountain. In past years, it had even reached the pinnacle of Taoist leadership, enjoying a glorious past.

Compared to its former glory, the Celestial Master Temple today was rather underwhelming, its scale incomparable to other sacred Taoist sites.

It seemed this deeply rooted Taoist sect had failed to seize the opportunity of this great transformation of heaven and earth, to shed its old dust and radiate the dazzling light it deserved.

At the summit of a peak, Yuan Tianzong stood against the wind, gazing down at the Celestial Master Temple.

After a moment, he descended from the high cliff, moving like a phantom, silently infiltrating the temple.

Upon entering, he noticed the vital energy here was even more abundant and comforting.

Taoist classics recorded that the world contained grotto-heavens and blessed lands, imbued with spiritual essence, making them the most suitable places for living beings to cultivate. Some were even said to have been visited by immortals, filled with endless auspiciousness. Perhaps this saying was not without basis.

He recalled that Wangwu Mountain was said to be the foremost grotto-heaven and blessed land, known as the Minor Qingxu Grotto-Heaven.

He moved through the grounds as if no one were there.

Yuan Tianzong was searching for the Celestial Master Temple's collection of ancient scriptures, hoping to try his luck and perhaps uncover ancient secrets, to understand what the void white flame he possessed actually was.

"Scripture Pavilion."

He had to admit, scripture pavilions appeared very frequently in Taoist sects. The moment he saw these three words, Yuan Tianzong knew he had found the place.

"One, two, three, four, five."

Outside the pavilion, five elders with formidable auras sat in hiding, guarding the Scripture Pavilion. Judging by their auras, they were all top-tier cultivators in Huaxia of the Dragon Opening realm. This was indeed worthy of the Celestial Master Temple's name, not something the Nine Great Mountain Gates could compare to.

Concealing his aura, Yuan Tianzong took a few steps and, under the watchful eyes of the five, broke into the Scripture Pavilion. The entire process went completely unnoticed by them.

The Dragon Opening realm and the Grandmaster realm seemed only one stage apart, yet the gap between them was like heaven and earth, with one capable of crushing several of the other.

Wandering among the numerous Taoist scriptures, Yuan Tianzong flipped through them at an extremely fast pace, reading ten lines at a glance.

Regrettably, after a long time, he still found no information about the void white flame.

Taoist classics described many kinds of flames, such as the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, the Southern Bright Fire, and the Samadhi True Fire, but never the void white flame in Yuan Tianzong's possession.

He casually opened another Taoist book.

After glancing at it twice, his page-turning slowed. Yuan Tianzong raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't find the void white flame, but I found you, Dao Seed."

The book described a seed-like object, identical to the one in his hand that seemed to be dead. It was undoubtedly a Dao seed.

"A Dao seed is a medium for cultivation; only through it can the path of cultivation be opened."

A Dao seed is a medium, and only through it can the path of cultivation be opened?

The moment he heard this, Yuan Tianzong's mind flashed with a new term he had heard at the Celestial Master Temple not long ago—the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao.

The book's description of the seed had a similar effect to their description of the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao.

One stated that only through it could the path of cultivation be opened.

The other stated that only through it could one break through limitations and step into the Grandmaster realm.

Either one party was talking nonsense, lacking sufficient knowledge and unaware of other paths to ascend to Grandmaster and continue cultivating, or the two were related: the seed was the divine smoke, and the divine smoke was the seed.

"No, no, something's not right."

If the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao, or the so-called Dao seed, was the only medium to open the path of cultivation, the only choice to break through limitations and reach the Grandmaster realm, then what about himself?

He had never come into contact with any Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao, seeds, or anything similar.

Could his Grandmaster realm be fake?

Long lifespan, life transformation—these were the descriptions of a Grandmaster in ancient texts, and he had indeed reached this level. His body had undergone a transformation, surpassing ordinary life.

Only by relying on the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao could one advance to Grandmaster!

He had defied this rule and achieved the Grandmaster realm in the Dharma-ending era!

The two contradictory statements could only mean one thing: there was not only one way to begin cultivating in this world!

Yuan Tianzong did not yet know what the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao was.

But he was certain that entering the Dao with it, the path to opening cultivation, should be related to the vital energy of heaven and earth. Vital energy is absorbed into the body, refined into one's own true energy, circulated throughout the five internal organs, illuminating the spirit.

In the Dharma-ending era, vital energy was depleted, making it impossible to refine vitality into energy.

Therefore, Yuan Tianzong in the Dharma-ending era did not rely on external forces to break through limitations, but on inner energy.

Inner energy is the source of power for martial arts in the Dharma-ending era, hidden between the flesh and blood of the human body. Its core principle lies in the idea that 'the mystery of the human body is like a small world, containing wonders, and possessing its own inner energy.'

Inner energy.

true energy.

These are two paths!

At this moment, Yuan Tianzong had a basic understanding of these two paths.

Inner energy cultivation strengthens the body and transforms the flesh, but the flesh contains shackles that block this path.

Due to his own bizarre experiences, the shackles were gone for him, but others still had such restraints.

The path of true energy seemed passable, but it required mastering the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao to enter.

Yuan Tianzong pondered the different rules of the two.

One path was sealed, a restricted zone that prevented him from proceeding.

The other was accessible, but required a ticket.

Very strange.

Just as Yuan Tianzong was about to leave, he suddenly heard voices outside the pavilion.

He flashed to the window, gently pushed open a crack with two fingers, and listened without staring, tilting his head.

The five elders guarding the pavilion were conversing in low tones with a newly arrived man.

"Several Martial Uncles, Master just sent word that he will be coming out of seclusion soon. Please prepare yourselves."

The five elders exchanged glances.

"Nephew Sect Master, rest assured, the five of us old fellows will cooperate with Senior Brother to strive for the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao and help him step into the Grandmaster realm one step earlier."

The man chuckled, "Five Martial Uncles, it's not just Master who wants to reach Grandmaster, you all do too."

"Haha, indeed, indeed. Of course, we also wish to break through our limitations and reach a higher level."

Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao?

Grandmaster?

What was the connection between these two?

Next, they exchanged a few more meaningless words before the Sect Master of the Celestial Master Temple quickly departed, his demeanor hurried.

He thought that after the Sect Master left, the five elders guarding the scripture repository would return to their respective duties. To his surprise, they remained gathered, conversing frequently.

"We don't know when the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao will appear. Senior Brother has been in seclusion for many years for this. It seems this smoke is truly the only opportunity to break through to Grandmaster!"

"Precisely. Senior Brother's talent is exceptional. Even he cannot break through his limitations and step into Grandmaster on his own. The rumors are true."

"You say, the Grandmaster opportunity the Mad Old Daoist spoke of has come to pass. Does that mean the world of mountains and seas he mentioned is also quietly approaching?" another elder with white eyebrows said solemnly, his tone laced with a hint of fear.

At these words, the other four fell silent.

After a long while, the seemingly most robust elder sighed, "If it is truly so, the future is truly terrifying. When that day comes, who knows how many beings will suffer, and how the human world will be devastated."

"The major Daoist sects have already begun to prepare. When Senior Brother emerges from seclusion, we will discuss this matter with him."

"Let's hope the Mad Daoist was truly just speaking madly."

With that, the five dispersed and sat in secluded spots. They appeared to be meditating with their eyes closed, but under Yuan Tianzong's perception, none of them could calm their minds, their brows etched with worry and confusion about the future.

He was extremely curious.

Who was the Mad Old Daoist? How could he predict the future?