"So you are the Heavenly Dao? What exactly is this Heavenly Dao? You have already fallen—so why is the Heavenly Dao still operating?" Uchiha Shin asked.
Azure Heaven Venerable said, "The Heavenly Dao is not like the living beings of the Three Realms, nor is it like the Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Court, who is simply gone once he dies. The Heavenly Dao is something intangible and elusive. Anything can become the Heavenly Dao. Even if one Heavenly Dao falls, that is merely a form of consciousness. The Heavenly Dao itself will continue to operate without any effect. Do you understand what I mean?"
Uchiha Shin paused before saying, "So, according to you, you are the Heavenly Dao, but you do not represent the entire Heavenly Dao. Just like Patriarch Hongjun is the Heavenly Dao, but the Heavenly Dao is not Patriarch Hongjun. Is that right?"
Azure Heaven Venerable pondered for a moment. "You could put it that way, but Patriarch Hongjun and I are somewhat different. He is a living being spawned by the Heavenly Dao, representing it. But I am not. I sought to replace the true Heavenly Dao—to surpass both Patriarch Hongjun and the true Heavenly Dao, to stand above the Heavenly Dao itself. Do you understand?"
Naturally, Uchiha Shin understood, but he was somewhat astonished.
"I understand everything you said, but you want to surpass the Heavenly Dao and stand above it. Is that even possible?" Uchiha Shin looked at the lamp, deeply skeptical.
Previously, Taishang Laojun had used Patriarch Hongjun's primordial spirit in an attempt to attain sainthood, and he had also claimed that he might have a chance to surpass the Heavenly Dao.
But the Heavenly Dao Taishang Laojun spoke of surpassing was Patriarch Hongjun, not the true Heavenly Dao.
Taishang Laojun merely