Where Lies The Dao

After Yang Guanfeng finished speaking, he bowed three more times to Chen Yang before leaving the ancestral hall.

Long after he left, Chen Yang felt his heart churning, unable to calm down for a long time.

"Embark on the Great Dao... is it?"

He silently repeated Yang Guanfeng's last words in his mind.

These words struck him directly, causing Chen Yang to truly begin examining himself in this world.

When he was in the secret realm, he had no choice but to lie there silently.

But ever since Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu brought him out of the secret realm, his fate had become intertwined with the Yang Family.

This intersection gradually deepened after several crises, until the day of the blood sacrifice ritual. The Yang Family regarded him as their ancestral treasure, and Chen Yang felt the sense of connection he had experienced in his past life as a human.

Simply put, a bond had formed between them.

This way, Chen Yang was no longer just a stone that spent its days basking in the sun and sleeping.

To the Yang Family, he was like a guardian deity; to Chen Yang himself, he felt it was a responsibility and a mission.

At least, that's what he had believed until now.

But, on this very night, after listening to Yang Guanfeng's words, Chen Yang couldn't sleep.

Ever since his transmigration, he had always slept whenever he wanted, with excellent sleep quality. Yet, tonight, he couldn't fall asleep at all.

"The Great Dao is unfeeling... is that it?"

A thought emerged. Chen Yang wondered what choice he would make if he truly reached that stage.

Were Yang Guanfeng's words the fundamental basis for establishing oneself in this world?

After thinking for half the night, Chen Yang rejected this idea.

"The Great Dao is neither feeling nor unfeeling; the Great Dao is simply the Great Dao!"

If abandoning the Yang Family and fleeing into hiding was the ultimate destiny, how could something he himself didn't recognize or couldn't convince himself of be called "Dao"?

"It's just... what exactly is my Dao?"

Chen Yang couldn't figure it out, so he began to recall, repeatedly chewing over every event that had happened since his transmigration, trying to find the answer.

"Just a gambler fighting against fate. The clan finally produced a few promising talents. For the future of the Yang Family, no matter how dangerous, I must take a gamble..."

"In future cultivation, you cannot be careless in the slightest. You all must be diligent, you must work hard, and do not let the Patriarch's earnest efforts go to waste..."

"The path to the Yang Family's prosperity is about to begin. I, Yang Lingrui, will be the sharpest blade of the family! If anyone dares to stand in the way, I will kill them! If ghosts come to disturb, I will slay them..."

"After this, I will entrust you three with guarding the Exotic Stone. Rotate shifts, nurturing it with spiritual power without interruption every day, until the Exotic Stone completes its advancement..."

"Good treasure, I know you are powerful. If any demonic beasts come later, you must, you absolutely must warn us..."

"Today's blood sacrifice ritual is far from repaying the Immortal Venerable's kindness. I am truly ashamed. From now on, the Yang Family, for generations to come, shall do the same every year, only then can we be at peace..."

"Immortal Venerable, thank you for your hard work. The Yang Family is eternally grateful..."

"Immortal Venerable possesses boundless divine abilities. I thank you on behalf of Wu Tong..."

"If a great calamity truly befalls us, please, Immortal Venerable, do not be burdened by the Yang Family. Just pursue the Great Dao!"

By the time the sun's rays shone into Songshan the next day, Chen Yang's heart felt as if it had been instantly illuminated.

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is!"

Chen Yang felt a sense of sudden enlightenment and clarity!

The white space, which had been almost filled but still lacked a little spiritual power, suddenly expanded.

In an instant, Chen Yang seemed to effortlessly cross that threshold, even skipping the process of falling asleep, and smoothly reached the Late Qi Gathering stage.

"Is this what enlightenment feels like? So magical, beyond words."

Feeling the changes within himself, Chen Yang couldn't help but sigh.

"You old Yang, you were calculating against me, weren't you!"

"Where is the Dao? Where is the Dao? It's far away and yet right before my eyes!"

Chen Yang's doubts had long since vanished, and his state of mind had unknowingly ascended another level.

Sacrifice?

Why would he make such an infinitely foolish sacrifice?

It's not that complicated. I'll just use your Yang Family to prove my Dao!

With this realization, Chen Yang felt as if the world had widened, experiencing immense freedom and joy.

"Old Yang, take care."

He looked in the direction of the rising sun in the east, thinking in his heart.

Yang Guanfeng had already taken Han Wang to the eastern border of the Dynasty before dawn. All the cultivators of the Yang Family, including Wu Tong, had bid him farewell.

Everyone hoped and believed that Yang Guanfeng would return home soon.

But only Chen Yang knew that the conversation last night might truly have been the last time he and Yang Guanfeng would ever meet.

Whether Yang Guanfeng's words last night were intentional or unintentional, Chen Yang had no way of knowing.

However, with his inner turmoil resolved, the truth no longer mattered.

After bidding farewell to Yang Guanfeng, Elder Yu, along with Yang Lingrui and Yang Lingqing, returned to the ancestral hall. Elder Yu now held a green jade pendant in his hand.

After the three paid their respects to Chen Yang, Elder Yu presented the jade pendant, placing it beside Chen Yang.

"This item was unexpectedly acquired by our family. It is of the stone element, like the Immortal Venerable. The Patriarch specifically instructed that the Immortal Venerable should examine it first."

With that, Elder Yu retreated.

Chen Yang gazed at the small jade stone beside him and released his consciousness.

"Wait, this feeling!"

The moment his consciousness touched the jade stone, his heart suddenly stirred.

It was a long-lost sensory stimulation!

"Fragrant! So fragrant!"

"Brother, you smell so good!"

The aroma emanating from the jade stone directly triggered Chen Yang's hunger, which had been absent for over twenty years.

He eagerly extended his consciousness, channeling his spiritual power to draw the jade stone closer.

At this moment, Chen Yang hadn't realized that he could now manipulate objects from a distance by projecting his spiritual power.

The three from the Yang Family were startled by this commotion; it was the first time they had witnessed the Immortal Venerable Spirit Stone react so strongly.

"Ancestor Yu, what is this..."

"Hush! Silence. The Immortal Venerable is performing a ritual, do not speak unnecessarily."

Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui immediately closed their mouths, quietly watching as the jade stone adhered to Chen Yang's body and was gradually absorbed into him.

After the jade stone was completely absorbed, Chen Yang's entire body glowed with a green aura.

This aura flickered for a moment before gradually shrinking, eventually transforming into a green-colored birthmark on Chen Yang's body.

"Delicious, burp~"

Within his consciousness space, Chen Yang let out a very satisfied burp.

After swallowing the jade stone, his cultivation had increased significantly. The white space, which had been empty after his recent breakthrough, was now filled by twenty percent.

Theoretically, if he could swallow four more stone-element treasures of the same quality as this jade stone, Chen Yang could break through again, reaching Qi Gathering Perfection.

However, this was not feasible in the short term. After consuming the jade stone, Chen Yang's hunger had completely vanished, replaced by a feeling of drowsy fullness, making him unable to eat anything else.

He needed to digest it for a long time before he could consume anything again.

Previously, in Zhang Chen's possession, this jade pendant had displayed five abilities. Unfortunately, it was not a true spiritual treasure but a consumable, and Chen Yang could not inherit these abilities.

Having advanced to Late Qi Gathering, he could now control spiritual power to manipulate objects from a distance, and his control over his own consciousness had also become more refined.

"So sleepy, can't hold on..."

After finishing the jade stone, Chen Yang sent a thought to the three of them before succumbing to the overwhelming urge to sleep, driven by the feeling of fullness.