[This change manifested outwardly in the fact that cultivators at this level became closer to the Dao in every movement they made. Whatever they thought of, a casual thought could become a supernatural power, possessing a certain degree of logic and considerable might. Their existing supernatural powers would also grow ever stronger due to changes in their Imperial Spirits, while controlling those powers became effortless.]
[Because of this Trait, the first people to touch upon this level in the Ancient Era were called "Dao Ancestors" by all living beings. For an Imperial Spirit that had completed Three Flowers Gathering at the Top had already reached the state of "the Dao comes to me," rather than the previous "I go toward the Dao."
Drawing close to the Great Dao and aligning with it—within the Heavenly Dao cultivation system, this was already the very end of the road. The next step was to merge with the Dao. Once successful, a cultivator's strength would soar by leaps and bounds... Yet after later generations learned of its drawbacks and benefits, they avoided it like snakes and scorpions. Anyone who was not completely ignorant of the consequences would make early preparations for another cultivation system, avoiding the path of merging with the Dao.
It was also through these many reforms that, near the end of the Ancient God Era, the flourishing golden age of Hundred Flowers Bloom arose as all races rose to prominence. Though every cultivation system remained incomplete, each possessed its own Traits.
In truth, cultivators capable of reaching this point were not incapable of understanding what lay within it. Merging with the Dao was indeed the fastest path to increasing one's strength after a breakthrough, but once one was truly influenced by the Great Dao and gained divinity... would they still be