Lan Xiaobu entered seclusion, not only to heal but also to prove the Light Dao.
Qi Manwei grew increasingly delighted. She hadn’t asked where Lan Xiaobu’s Space Dao Scroll came from, but upon examining it, she understood. His scroll was no less potent than the one she’d cultivated, yet its Dao charm felt different.
Specifically, Lan Xiaobu’s scroll aligned with the Human Dao, while her father’s aligned with the Heavenly Dao. For ordinary cultivators, a Heavenly Dao scroll was more precious. But for an Eternal Life cultivator, the path wasn’t about following the Heavenly Dao forever—it required transcending it. Thus, Lan Xiaobu’s scroll could elevate her Space Dao qualitatively, mending its flaws and traces.
Qi Manwei regretted not checking the scroll sooner. Had she, she wouldn’t have injured Lan Xiaobu. After a moment’s hesitation, she opened her Dao foundation, allowing Lan Xiaobu to sense her entire Dao principles at any time.
As she activated the Space Dao Scroll, Space Dao principles rooted in her Eternal Life Dao quickly formed around her. In moments, a faint spatial cocoon enveloped her, and the injuries from tearing her Dao trace began healing rapidly.
Lan Xiaobu was equally astonished. His injuries were severe, his Dao foundation damaged by Qi Manwei’s trace. Her strength far exceeded his, and her trace had harmed his foundation. But now, he clearly sensed her Dao trace, laid bare for him to perceive directly, allowing him to isolate and repair his foundation with ease.
He knew she’d deliberately opened her Dao principles to aid his recovery, as his injuries were her fault.
Through her principles, Lan Xiaobu confirmed she only cultivated the Space Dao, untouched by the Light Dao.
Moreover, he saw her Space Dao had reached its limit, marred by too many traces and overly influenced by universal rules. Her master hadn’t taught her anything remarkable. To Lan Xiaobu, her Space Dao principles were mediocre. Had she not caught him off guard with her superior realm, she couldn’t have ambushed him.
Qi Manwei generously shared her Dao principles, and Lan Xiaobu didn’t hesitate. As his injuries healed, his Eternal Life Dao Tree circulated, and Time and Space Dao principles grew clearer in the space.
Under his lucid principles, Qi Manwei refined her Space Dao’s traces and began comprehending the Time Dao.
—
Wan Dao River.
A renowned place in the Land of Eternal Life, rumored to be the eighth Creation Land. Its master, Wan Dao Saint, was destined to be the eighth Creation Saint.
But it was said he faced a minor issue proving Creation Saint, leading to failure.
Rumors also claimed his failure angered supporters like Eternal Life Saint and Heavenly Secret Saint, costing him further chances to prove Creation Saint and lowering his status.
Yet, in the Land of Eternal Life, even a diminished Wan Dao Saint, nearly a Creation Saint, far surpassed ordinary Derivation Saints.
Today, however, Wan Dao River was under attack.
Its dojo, built on a river of billions of Dao principles, where every stream was a Dao rule and every droplet a law fragment, was legendary. An attack on such a place was shocking.
News spread, and countless cultivators rushed to Wan Dao River.
An attack on its dojo was no small matter. If the river, bearing billions of principles, shattered, those principles would scatter, and even one would be a massive gain for ordinary cultivators.
As they arrived, the rumors proved true. A blue-robed youth wielded a long halberd, striking the dojo above Wan Dao River. Each blow tore through countless Dao prohibitions, scattering law fragments.
“Someone’s really attacking Wan Dao River’s dojo. Why hasn’t Wan Dao Saint appeared?” a bystander whispered.
No one answered; they didn’t know. They could only wait for the youth to break the dojo, grab a few principles, and flee.
The Dao charm’s roar grew stronger, and the dojo’s space trembled. Without intervention, its destruction was certain.
Deep within, Wan Dao Saint, Chong Jianshan, fumed, his face ashen. He couldn’t emerge—his Dao charm was fused with Wan Dao River. Leaving now would not only halt his healing but further damage his Dao foundation. Another blow could drop him below Derivation Realm, let alone Creation.
Who dared attack his dojo? Did they think Chong Jianshan, unproven as a Creation Saint, was fair game?
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* The dojo’s prohibitions weakened under the onslaught.
Chong Jianshan knew he had to act. If the dojo fell, his billions of principles would collapse, far worse than a Dao backlash.
Madness in his eyes, he severed his connection to the river’s principles and rushed out.
“Who are you, daring to attack my Wan Dao River?” His voice, though not raging, carried killing intent that could shred anything in its path. He asked only to learn who sent this foe.
“Chong Jianshan, forgotten me already? Know why I came for you first?” The blue-robed youth’s tone was lazy, but his halberd never paused, casting relentless shadows.
“You? Mo Wuji, you dare show yourself?” Chong Jianshan recognized him—Mo Wuji, hunted across the Land of Eternal Life.
He knew why Mo Wuji targeted him. When Mo Wuji first arrived, he befriended someone. During the hunt for Mo Wuji, that friend helped him escape. Chong Jianshan killed that friend, tore apart their world, and threatened to annihilate Mo Wuji’s home universe, stripping its vitality and luck.
Had Great Universe Saint not held that universe’s Dao principles, hiding somewhere unreachable, Chong Jianshan would’ve succeeded. Instead, he stripped the luck of Yellow Spring Dao Ancestor’s plane, even forcing them to surrender its Dao principles.
“Old fool, today I settle the score with you. The others, I’ll hunt one by one,” Mo Wuji said, unleashing his Mortal Halberd again.
Seeing the halberd’s Dao breath, Chong Jianshan’s face changed. This strike was ten times stronger than before. Mo Wuji had held back, waiting for him to emerge and witness his river’s principles shatter.
*Boom! Crack!*
One strike tore Wan Dao River’s Dao foundation to nothing. The space’s rules collapsed, billions of principles exploded, and for Wan Dao River, it was apocalyptic.
For the watching cultivators, it was a catastrophe for Wan Dao River but a golden opportunity for them. Even facing death, they’d seize the scattered principles. With Mo Wuji in front, death wasn’t certain.
“I’ll devour you!” Chong Jianshan, seeing his river torn apart, neared madness. His Heaven-Escaping Sword swept up his Wan Dao principles, lunging at Mo Wuji, rationality gone. He knew losing Wan Dao River ended his rebirth and reincarnation prospects.
Mo Wuji sneered, “With your meager skills, you dare fight me?”
He stowed his Mortal Realm and pointed a finger. Seven Realms Finger, First Finger: Mortal World.
The finger transformed the space into the Mortal World. Under its rules, Chong Jianshan was just an ordinary soul among countless others, struggling to survive, toiling for existence.
In an instant, it felt like billions of years. Fame, wealth, eternal life—all illusions, all fleeting.
As the finger neared his brow, Chong Jianshan snapped awake from the eons-long illusion. He didn’t dodge, perhaps knowing his injuries made it futile, or perhaps seeing something in the finger’s truth.
“What was this life for?” he said, as a blood mist burst from his brow, his world torn open by Mo Wuji.
