The Subsequent Development of Xiao Hua's Heavenly Dao Clone from the Perspective of the Three Thousand Great Daos

[Content Summary]The Heavenly Dao in "Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan" is profoundly mysterious and unfathomable. In Songning Town, Xiao Hua felt the Heavenly Dao—his mind touched the seemingly ethereal starry sky, and an ineffable, unexplainable, un… describable sensation spread from his heart. In Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan, this state of cultivation is likened to "Contemplating Heaven." Furthermore, Tan Hua, in Chapter 353 "Evasion" of "Xiang Wang Yu Jiang Hu," summarized, "The ultimate goals pursued by the Immortal Dao, such as the cultivation of mental techniques, formations and restrictions, alchemy, artifact refining, and escape techniques, are all different interpretations of the Heavenly Dao." Following this, in Chapter 471 "Condensing Knowledge Treasure" of "Guang Dun Zhi Xiao Yu Da Lu," Tan Hua, through the mouth of Gan Diheng, stated, "The Three Thousand Great Daos is a general term, a summation of the Heavenly Dao." Subsequently, Tan Hua had Xiao Hua's primordial spirit, with ten parts, one part in the starry sky behind his head to comprehend the Heavenly Dao, naming it "Heavenly Dao Xiao Hua." It can be said that "Heavenly Dao Xiao Hua" is the most powerful and accomplished of Xiao Hua's clones. Therefore, this article will combine the Three Thousand Great Daos with the subsequent development of Xiao Hua's Heavenly Dao clone in "Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan Xian Jie Pian" or "Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan Hong Huang Shen Jie Pian."

There has always been considerable disagreement regarding the Three Thousand Great Daos. One school of thought believes that the Three Thousand Great Daos is a general term for the Dao, with "three thousand" signifying its vastness. Another school believes that the Three Thousand Great Daos are precisely three thousand Daos, neither more nor less. Here, I agree with the former viewpoint, as ancient traditions, whether it be "Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds," the Four Gentlemen's "Three Thousand Retainers," or Confucius's "Three Thousand Disciples," are all approximate numbers, signifying immense quantity.

I. What Exactly Does the Three Thousand Great Daos Encompass?

The Dao of Life and Death, the Dao of Karma, the Dao of Yin and Yang, the Dao of Reincarnation, the Dao of Balance, the Dao of Five Elements, the Dao of Eight Trigrams, the Dao of Time, the Dao of Space, the Dao of Speed and Slowness, the Dao of Black and White, the Dao of Light and Darkness, and so forth. In essence, the Three Thousand Great Daos, as a general term for the Heavenly Dao, must possess self-equilibrium. In other words, every Dao has its opposing, coexisting, and transforming Dao. For example, where there is life, there is death; where there is cause, there is effect; where there is speed, there is slowness; where there is light, there is darkness. If one ceases to exist, the other cannot be.

II. What Conditions Must Xiao Hua's Heavenly Dao Clone Fulfill to Reach Great Accomplishment?

Upon entering the state of "Contemplating Heaven," Xiao Hua experienced a peculiar realm of looking down on all beings, gazing upon the mortal world, and entering a state of profound mystery and wonder. For Heavenly Dao Xiao Hua, as the most formidable of Xiao Hua's twelve clones, to achieve great accomplishment, Xiao Hua must fully master various elemental forces. For instance, he must comprehend the mysteries and laws of the universe's operation, grasp the principles of heaven and earth, understand the Dao of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the mysteries of life, death, and reincarnation, as well as the origins of time and space, among others. Xiao Hua should not only be able to replicate these rules but also reverse them. Of course, for Xiao Hua to reach great accomplishment, while comprehending the macrocosm, he must also delve into the microcosm. After all, "A flower contains a world, a leaf contains a Bodhi." Naturally, it is still too early to discuss the great accomplishment of Xiao Hua's Heavenly Dao clone in "Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan Xian Jie Pian."

III. Which of the Three Thousand Great Daos Are Suitable for Combat?

1. The Dao of Time: Combined with lifespan, it can extend into life and death; combined with speed, it can extend into swiftness and slowness. In the later stages of the Immortal Realm or the Primordial God Realm, the laws of time can be used to delay opponents and accelerate oneself; it can also be used to drain the opponent's lifespan or as an escape technique.

2. The Dao of Space: Spatial cutting, spatial displacement, spatial ripples, etc. Spatial techniques can be used to attack enemies or escape. When combined with the law of gravity, it can lead to surprising combat techniques.

3. The Dao of Karma: The River of Karma and the Hand of Karma have been discussed in "Xiu Shen Da Jie Mi 10."

4. The Dao of Balance: The Dao of Balance is one of the most profound Daos. By exploiting imbalances caused by the laws of aggression and submission, one can alter the opponent's elemental forces, directly disintegrate their attacks, or inflict damage upon them.

5. The Dao of Five Elements: The five elements generate and overcome each other. If one element is stripped away, the five elements fall out of balance. If Xiao Hua comprehends this Dao, he can create the "Primordial Qi Stripping Technique."

6. The Dao of Stars: Heavenly Dao Xiao Hua comprehends the mysteries of the macrocosm's operation in the starry sky. Therefore, the Dao of Stars can control stellar power, either to attack opponents or to anticipate their moves.

7. The Dao of Extreme Fire and the Dao of Extreme Ice: A single Dao can attack opponents. Reversing and coexisting them can produce a terrifying self-detonation.

8. The Dao of Reality and Illusion: Using illusions to attack opponents.

9. The Dao of Life, Death, and Reincarnation.

Of course, there are too many of the Three Thousand Great Daos that can be used for attack. Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan does not recommend listing them all, but rather focusing on the most powerful ones.

IV. The Crisis Xiao Hua Faces When His Heavenly Dao Reaches Great Accomplishment

When Xiao Hua achieves "Reverse Light to Become a Saint" and merges his physical body with the Dao, his consciousness will gradually ascend to merge with the vast nebulae and the Heavenly Dao, losing all human emotions. This crisis of self might be the most hidden and distant foreshadowing in "Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan." Because this arrangement is so far-reaching, many readers only think about how Xiao Hua will use his light escape to return home, unaware that before his light escape home, he will face a crisis related to himself. The foreshadowing and resolution of this major crisis were already explained by Tan Hua in the first part, "Xiang Wang Yu Jiang Hu." The hint of this crisis comes from Xiao Hua's flying consciousness when he first felt the Heavenly Dao in Songning Town—"Zhang Xiao Hua's consciousness grew higher and higher, feeling like a white cloud floating in the sky, with all things on the ground having nothing to do with him." In "Guang Dun Zhi Xiao Yu Da Lu," at the Huang family's Tianmen Mountain, Xue Xue saw Xiao Hua cultivating, transforming into a transparent humanoid form that could be passed through (refer to Chapter 348 "Heaven and Man Unity Realm" of "Xiang Wang Yu Jiang Hu" for details).

In conclusion, the Heavenly Dao, collectively known as the Three Thousand Great Daos in "Xiu Shen Wai Zhuan," is filled with mystery and wonder, and is the source of various cultivation systems. For Xiao Hua to reverse the origin and become the Primal God, the first ray of light, his cultivation path is still very long. Everything in this article can only be speculation.