Sparring to Verify the Dao: The Difference Between Heavenly Dao and Great Dao

Deep within Chaos, turbulent currents surged like raging waves.

Gales formed from Chaos currents compressed and condensed to the extreme possessed power comparable to spiritual treasures. Even an ordinary Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal who set foot here would, with the slightest carelessness and without divine abilities or treasures to protect themselves, be ground to pieces in body and have their Primordial Spirit utterly destroyed.

Only in one place, where purple qi stretched across three hundred million li and nine-colored rosy light lingered without dispersing, did an ancient palace, entirely violet-gold in hue, float silently in the void. It was none other than Hongjun Ancestor's Daoist sanctuary—the Violet Firmament Palace.

Outside the palace, Heavenly Dao laws formed invisible restrictions, layer upon layer, link upon link.

Endless Chaos currents were slowly drawn in by the restrictions, pouring unceasingly into the area around the palace. After being refined, they transformed into dense, rich innate spiritual qi, condensing into mist that flowed throughout the place.

Crack!

Three hundred million li from the Violet Firmament Palace, the Chaos turbulence suddenly exploded, and a boundless, profound spatial rift appeared out of nowhere.

From within the turbulent currents, an aged figure slowly stepped forth—

The newcomer wore a simple azure Daoist robe, with a fresh emerald willow branch tied at his waist. Though not a trace of aura leaked from him, the surrounding Chaos space faintly caved in, and all laws became empty.

His hair was white as snow, his white brows hung to his shoulders, and his white beard drifted before his chest. His face was lean, ancient, and unadorned. Whenever his eyes opened and closed, visions of space being born and extinguished flowed within them. He was none other than Yang Mei Ancestor.

A poem praised him thus:

The four directions and above and below made space his domain; with a single thought, ten thousand realms of emptiness lay open. Within the hollow willow, a universe was hidden; let all myriad laws turn to emptiness.

What a supremely sacred being—free and unrestrained, his Dao arts unfathomably profound!

"Fellow Daoist Hongjun, an old friend has come calling. Why not come out and meet me?" Yang Mei Ancestor stroked his beard and laughed. His voice echoed through the air like sound in an empty valley, piercing layer upon layer of restrictions and reaching deep into the Violet Firmament Palace.

Bang!

Whoosh.

Before his words had faded, the gates of the Violet Firmament Palace opened. A figure flickered faintly, then stood before him.

It was none other than Hongjun Ancestor.

His plain Daoist robe was untouched by dust, and the sacred might of the Heavenly Dao around him was entirely restrained. His face showed neither sorrow nor joy. Seeing Yang Mei, he gave a slight nod. "Old friend Yang Mei, more than a dozen Yuanhuis have passed since we parted after the War of Dao and Demons. It has been a long time."

Hongjun Ancestor was not particularly surprised that Yang Mei Ancestor had returned from death, as though he had known of it all along.

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on attaining the Heavenly Dao Sage position and becoming the first sage since the Primordial World was opened. Your cultivation has greatly advanced." Yang Mei Ancestor cupped his hands in congratulations. His tone was sincere, and as his gaze fell upon Hongjun, it carried the smile of old friends reunited.

Hongjun Ancestor's eyes narrowed slightly. A trace of surprise flashed across his face as he looked at him, before he sighed softly. "You flatter me, old friend. I did not expect that you would take a step ahead of this poor Daoist and attain the Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, leaping free of the cage."

Heavenly Dao Sages were undying and imperishable; in that regard, they naturally surpassed Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

Yet in certain respects, Heavenly Dao Sages were bound by many shackles, as though fetters were fastened upon their bodies.

—Even Hongjun Ancestor, the first sage and one of special standing, was no exception.

It would be a lie to say he did not envy Yang Mei Ancestor's freedom.

But even if Hongjun Ancestor were given another chance to choose, he would still walk the path of gathering the shattered fragments of the Creation Jade Slip, gaining Heavenly Dao's favor, killing Rahu, and comprehending the Three-Corpses Severing Path to Sainthood.

—It had nothing to do with strength, weakness, or freedom. It was merely a matter of personal choice.

"I merely used the tribulation to feign death and escape, shedding excess to seek emptiness, and slipped free through a trick. It is not worth mentioning." Yang Mei stroked his beard and smiled. A trace of battle intent flashed through his eyes, azure light rippling around him as layers of ripples actually spread through the surrounding Chaos space. "You and I have known one another since before the world was opened. We fought side by side against enemies several times, yet we have never truly exchanged blows to verify our paths. Now that we have both attained the Primordial Dao Fruit, why not spar and verify the Great Dao, mutually supplementing one another?"

He had attained the Dao through spatial laws. Using his Hollow Willow true form, he opened a complete world within his body. Compared to other cultivators who proved the Dao through force, he had gained an enormous advantage.

Thus, he had surpassed Hongjun by one step and become, in practice, the first to attain the Dao after the Primordial World was opened.

Hongjun Ancestor nodded slightly, his tone calm. "It is precisely what I desire, though I dared not ask."

Having just attained the sage position, he needed to verify his own Dao Fruit. Naturally, there was no reason to refuse.

With a flicker, the two vanished into a deeper region of Chaos. This place was far from the Primordial World; even if they fought with all their strength, they would not affect heaven and earth in the slightest.

"Go."

Hongjun Ancestor struck first.

"Heaven's mystery unfolds the Great Dao, Primordial Unity steadies Heaven-Earth.

"The Jade Slip opens primordial chaos, the golden lotus guards the Dao root.

"One qi divides clear and turbid, the Three Realms determine rise and fall.

"Hongjun commands Heavenly Dao, and all myriad laws return to his gate."

As his voice fell, the Creation Jade Slip above his head, covered in cracks, slowly rotated. Three thousand Heavenly Dao runes flowed without cease, encompassing all things and containing ten thousand manifestations. In an instant, they evolved earth, water, fire, wind, and the myriad manifestations of the Five Elements, fixing the surrounding Chaos space in place.

With a single move, he revealed the supreme might of a Heavenly Dao Sage—any Great Dao law that existed within the Primordial World could have its mysteries evolved by Heavenly Dao.

When Heavenly Dao Sages attained sainthood, their Primordial Spirits were entrusted to Heavenly Dao, allowing them to wield the authority of heaven and earth. Thus, they could understand myriad laws and command all paths. This was the shortcut of attaining sainthood through Three Corpses Severance, and also the fetter from which they would find it difficult to break free in the future.

A Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal like Yang Mei, however, followed another path: deeply studying a single Dao, exhausting its origin, then ultimately using one Dao to evolve ten thousand Daos and opening Heaven-Earth within the body. This was Proving the Dao through Laws.

—Only because Pangu had shattered ten thousand laws through force and opened heaven and earth did the living beings of the Primordial World generally call this path Proving the Dao through Force.

There was no absolute hierarchy between Great Dao and Heavenly Dao. One prevailed in breadth, the other in depth.

However, Hongjun Ancestor knew that if the gaps in the laws of the Primordial World could be filled, Heavenly Dao might not be unable to ascend further, nor would it be inferior in depth to any Great Dao.

It was simply that this path was exceedingly difficult...

Activating the Creation Jade Slip was merely the beginning. With Hongjun Ancestor's great divine abilities and boundless mana, he could now truly draw out some of the power of supreme-grade innate spiritual treasures and innate supreme treasures.

With a raise of his left hand, the innate supreme treasure Taiji Diagram unfurled with a thunderous roar, transforming into a golden bridge that spanned the void. It stabilized the clear and turbid qi, rendered all laws unable to invade, and drove away every evil.

With a shake of his right hand, the supreme-grade innate spiritual treasure Mountains and Rivers State Diagram spread open. It contained Heaven-Earth and the universe within, where mountains, rivers, seas, sun, moon, and stars revolved without end, seeking to draw Yang Mei into the diagram and suppress him.

Beneath his feet, the Twelve-Petaled Merit Golden Lotus bloomed with boundless golden light. Golden lotuses protected his body, untouched by karmic debt and unstained by cause and effect.

The Dragon-Headed Staff transformed into a golden dragon and pounced to kill.

The Pure Water Alms Bowl hung overhead, pouring down countless streams of pure water to cleanse the Primordial Spirit and shatter all illusions.

For a moment, all manner of treasures emerged at once, their sacred might vast and surging.

"Fellow Daoist, you rely too heavily on external objects."

"Very well. Watch this poor Daoist use 'one force to break ten thousand laws,' and 'one force to subdue ten skillful methods.' Hahaha!"

Yang Mei Ancestor merely smiled faintly. Azure light flashed around him, and the phantom of his true form, the Hollow Willow, slowly appeared.

The willow was pale azure, its trunk hollow and empty. Three thousand branches hung down, each corresponding to one profound evolution of the Spatial Dao.

—It was the supreme divine ability of the Hollow Willow: "Space is king, the void is sovereign; it can contain all things and receive all laws."

Yang Mei Ancestor opened his mouth and inhaled. The surrounding Chaos space suddenly collapsed, forming a boundless Chaos black hole.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Taiji Diagram, Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, Dragon-Headed Staff, and Pure Water Alms Bowl that Hongjun had deployed were drawn by an irresistible suction force and swallowed whole by the black hole in an instant.

Even the protective merit golden light of the Twelve-Petaled Merit Golden Lotus swayed on the verge of collapse.

In less than a breath, every treasure in Hongjun Ancestor's possession had been swept clean away by Yang Mei Ancestor's Hollow Willow divine ability.

Hongjun Ancestor frowned slightly. With a thunderous boom behind his head, the All-Heavens Auspicious Cloud formed from the vast righteous qi in Pangu's chest before his fall suddenly emerged and hovered above him.

Pearl tassels hung from the auspicious cloud, while lamps and golden flowers flowed across it. It stabilized his Primordial Spirit, prevented all laws from invading, and sent all evil retreating. Only then did it barely withstand Yang Mei Ancestor's spatial devouring force and stabilize his figure.

He sighed softly. "Only today do I know that beyond heaven lies another heaven. Old friend, your Spatial Dao has reached the pinnacle of perfection. This poor Daoist is inferior."

Time was sovereign; space was king.

Before destiny emerged, karma ruled as emperor.

The Hollow Willow, Demon God of Space, could firmly rank among the top ten of the three thousand Great Dao Demon Gods. The Chaos Earthworm, by comparison, was far inferior, essentially among the lowest ranks of the many Great Dao Demon Gods.

Furthermore, Hongjun Ancestor had only just become a sage, and there was a gap between his foundations and Yang Mei Ancestor's.

His defeat was only to be expected.

"Old friend, attaining the Dao and becoming a sage is merely a new beginning. Do not grow lax."

Yang Mei Ancestor withdrew his divine ability. Azure light flashed, and all the treasures he had just taken were returned, landing steadily before Hongjun Ancestor. He patted the latter's shoulder encouragingly. This had only been a spar to verify their paths; they stopped at the proper point.

Hongjun Ancestor collected his treasures and looked at Yang Mei, speaking sincerely. "Now that you have attained the Dao, why not remain in the Primordial World? Sit guard over heaven and earth together with this poor Daoist, fill the gaps in the Primordial World's spatial laws, and protect all living beings. That too would be a boundless merit."

He had long known that heaven and earth in the Primordial World were incomplete, and he had always labored over it. Yet the great momentum of Heavenly Dao was difficult to reverse, even for him, a newly ascended sage.

It was precisely because of this that, when he saw Lingxiao establish the Twelve Time Markers and complete the Temporal Order, he felt comforted and silently sighed, My path is not a lonely one.