Three Corpses Independent: Is the Great Dao Sage Path Flawed?

"Please enlighten me, Dao Ancestor." Lingxiao nodded, his expression calm, not the least bit surprised.

A man valued self-awareness.

Though he knew countless secrets of later ages and possessed insight far surpassing all the great powers of this era, his cultivation was ultimately only that of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. His comprehension of the Great Dao was also far inferior to Hongjun Dao Ancestor, who had attained sainthood through the Dao.

The Great Dao was fifty, while Heaven derived forty-nine. Even the Heavenly Dao had its flaws—how much more so a junior cultivator like him, who had only just glimpsed the threshold?

It was already no easy feat to propose the framework of the Great Dao Sage Path. To claim it was flawless would only be deceiving himself.

He knew clearly that even a peerless genius such as the Dao Ancestor had first cultivated into a Primordial Golden Immortal, then received the aid of a fragment of the Creation Jade Slip, and painstakingly cultivated for over a hundred thousand Yuanhui before finally creating the Three-Corpses Severing Path to Sainthood.

—Hongjun Dao Ancestor had originally been the reincarnation of a Great Dao Demon God's True Spirit. The moment he took form, he possessed one of the Primordial World's finest foundations, yet even he had found it so difficult.

He himself had cultivated for merely several dozen Yuanhui. That he had come this far was already an immense stroke of fortune.

He was not afraid of the Dao Ancestor pointing out flaws. What he feared instead was that the Dao Ancestor would fail to see the problem.

Finding a problem was the first step toward solving it!

"The greatest problem is that this method can only perfect oneself; it cannot save all living beings." Hongjun Dao Ancestor's brows eased slightly as he sighed. "When I passed down the Three Corpses Severance method, my original intent was to lower the threshold for attaining the Dao, allowing the Primordial World to produce more peak great powers and stabilize the order of Heaven and Earth. Though this method has its limits, its strength lies in its universal applicability. One may attempt it with a seventh-grade Dao Flower; so long as one possesses a compatible Innate Spiritual Treasure, one or two out of every ten can become Quasi-Saints."

"Yet your Great Dao Sage Path is far more difficult even than Proving the Dao through Force, the hardest path of all."

Hongjun Dao Ancestor's gaze swept across the void as though he were counting every great power in the Primordial World, a trace of helplessness in his voice.

"I carefully deduced it just now and surveyed the three thousand Violet Firmament Guests. Even Grand Pure One Laozi, whose foundation is deepest and whose fortune is greatest, falls short by that final thread. Though he possesses Pangu Primordial Spirit's legacy, he lacks your ability to accumulate boundless Merit."

"Beyond him, Kunpeng possesses the Merit of creating writing, but his foundation is somewhat inferior. Jieyin and Zhunti possess unwavering Dao hearts, but their fortune is insufficient."

"Looking across the entire Primordial World, only you—bearing the legacy of Pangu's Sun Star and further bolstered by a treasure such as the All-Heavens Auspicious Cloud, formed from Pangu's righteous qi—might possibly walk this path to its end."

Hongjun Dao Ancestor looked at Lingxiao, his eyes filled with complexity. "If this method succeeds, your future achievements will certainly surpass mine. But if it fails, it will mean utter death and the dissipation of your Dao."

"When has attaining the Dao ever truly been easy?" Lingxiao smiled faintly, but his tone was incomparably resolute. "Even the most peaceful path, Proving the Dao through Merit, requires immense compassion, immense perseverance, and immense fortune. I have pursued the Dao all my life. Why should I fear hardship and tribulation? So long as the path is right, even if I am doomed beyond countless calamities, I will have neither regret nor remorse."

He had once admired how Zhunti and Jieyin, for the sake of the Western region's rise, could cast aside all dignity. The steadfastness of their Dao hearts was worthy of respect.

But had his own heart in pursuit of the Dao ever been weaker by even the slightest degree?

For the sake of proving the Great Dao, for the sake of leading the Primordial World out of the destined end of the Dharma—what did such a small risk amount to?

"Excellent. With such resolve, the Great Dao is within reach." Hongjun Dao Ancestor stroked his beard and smiled, his eyes full of approval.

Then his expression turned solemn as he said in a deep voice, "The greatest threshold cannot stop you. However, there are still three trials that you must face. If you cannot pass the first two, there will be no need to mention the third."

Hearing this, Lingxiao immediately sat upright, gathered his spirit, calmed his qi, and listened with solemn attention.

"First: the Three-Corpses Separate Proving. Each Corpse has its own bias and can never be complete." Hongjun Dao Ancestor spoke slowly, his tone heavy.

"The reason I require Three Corpses Unification is to first reduce oneself to emptiness, then fuse back the obsessions that were severed away, discarding the dross and preserving the essence, thereby obtaining a flawless and perfect Dao heart."

"But if you allow the Three Corpses to independently attain the Dao, the Good Corpse will possess only compassion and no killing intent. It may easily become foolish kindness, like Hong Yun, sacrificing himself for others only to suffer an unforeseen disaster. The Evil Corpse will possess only killing intent and no compassion. It may easily become consumed by demonic obstacles, like Rahu, stirring up boundless slaughter calamities. The Self Corpse will possess only obsession and no adaptability. It may easily become stubbornly extreme, like Ancestral Dragon, Yuan Feng, and Primordial Qilin in those days, single-mindedly contending for supremacy, only to be devoured by Karmic Power in the end."

"Second: the Great Dao honors only itself; they cannot coexist, and discord may arise." Hongjun Dao Ancestor's voice grew increasingly low.

"The Three Corpses would each place their trust in a different Great Dao, and the Great Dao honors only itself. Given enough time, change will arise. Each Corpse would carry a complete Great Dao, and after long years, they might develop independent self-awareness and no longer remain under the control of your true body!"

At this point, Hongjun paused, lingering fear flashing through his eyes.

"When that time comes, the Great Dao Sages you prove will not be you, Lingxiao, but three independent Saints. Three Saints born from the same root, undying and indestructible, each holding to one extreme and attacking one another. The slaughter calamity they unleash will not be inferior to the Dragon-Han Calamity. Once things spiral out of control, even with my Dao Integration, I may not be able to suppress them."

"You, the hope of the Primordial World, would instead become the source of all evil in the heavens."

The depths of Violet Firmament Palace instantly fell into dead silence.

Time and space seemed to freeze. Even the soft sound of the Creation Jade Slip turning vanished without a trace.

Hongjun Dao Ancestor's concerns were by no means alarmist. If Lingxiao truly experienced the Three Corpses turning against one another after attaining the Dao, it would be a catastrophe capable of annihilating the Primordial World.

Lingxiao's brows furrowed tightly as he sank into deep thought.

The Dao Ancestor's concern was precisely his greatest worry.

If severing the Three Corpses gave rise to independent consciousness, that would not be attaining the Dao. It would be raising a tiger to invite calamity, making a wedding dress for another.

From beginning to end, there could only be one Daoist Lingxiao in the Primordial World.

—The Good Corpse was Lingxiao's goodness, the Evil Corpse was Lingxiao's evil, and the Self Corpse was Lingxiao's obsession. They absolutely could not become three utterly unrelated strangers.

This was the foundation of his Dao path. It could not waver in the slightest!

He sat there motionless for three thousand years.

Throughout those three thousand years, Hongjun Dao Ancestor did not speak. He merely watched Lingxiao quietly, his eyes filled with expectation.

He too was deep in thought, attempting to help Lingxiao find a solution. Yet after three thousand years had passed, he had only found a vague direction.

He knew that Lingxiao would ultimately have to comprehend and overcome this trial himself.

Three thousand years later, Lingxiao slowly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through them before they returned to calm.

"Dao Ancestor, rest assured. I already have a solution." Lingxiao cupped his hands to Hongjun in salute, his tone composed. "I had worries about this matter before as well, and some scattered thoughts had long existed in my mind. Now, enlightened by the Dao Ancestor's guidance, I have suddenly seen the light and integrated and perfected them."

"Oh? What ingenious method do you have, little friend?" Hongjun immediately became alert, leaning forward slightly, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

"The method is simple once laid bare: Same-Origin Corpses Severance and the Merit Heart-Calming Method." Lingxiao explained slowly and methodically. "First, use three treasures that originate from the same source to sever the Corpses."

"Second, and most crucially—use a treasure of innate Merit to condense a Merit Dao Fruit within each Corpse body, making it the core of its Dao heart."

A dazzling light shone in Lingxiao's eyes.

"The power of Merit is utterly impartial, utterly righteous, utterly pure, and utterly harmonious. It can reconcile every conflict and purify every obsession."

"With Dao Fruits condensed from Creation Merit guarding the Dao hearts of the Three Corpses, the Good Corpse can be compassionate without becoming foolish, the Evil Corpse can kill without becoming cruel, and the Self Corpse can be resolute without becoming biased."

"Though the Three Corpses belong to different Great Daos, they all serve my single will. Their spirits may scatter, but their forms will not; their forms may differ, but their hearts will remain one."

"In this way, the Three Corpses will forever remain my Three Corpses and will never develop independent consciousness. I will also be able to control three Great Daos at once, truly achieving the simultaneous proving of three Daos—proving one, proving three!"

When his words fell, Violet Firmament Palace became utterly silent.

Hongjun Dao Ancestor stared blankly at Lingxiao. Confusion first filled his eyes, followed by sudden realization, before it finally transformed into undisguised admiration.