Though initially bewildered, the woman quickly regained her composure, clasping her fists and saying, “Yi Qingshan greets fellow daoists.”
“Friend Yi, how many years have you been on the Qintian Ancient Road?” Mo Wuji asked.
Yi Qingshan seemed caught off guard, calculating silently before replying, “Perhaps ten thousand years.”
“How many waystations have you encountered? When was the last one?” Mo Wuji pressed.
“About thirty, I think. The last one…” Yi Qingshan paused, as if struck by realization, “I saw the last Qintian Ancient Road waystation over a thousand years ago. That’s odd. Usually, you encounter a waystation within six hundred years on the road, sometimes in one or two hundred. Why has it been over a thousand?”
Frowning, Yi Qingshan pondered, unable to make sense of it.
Thunder Sage added, “She’s right. When I was here, the longest interval between waystations was under five hundred years. Over a thousand without one is strange. Plus, picking up stones here isn’t right either.”
“You picked up stones? Qintian Stones?” Yi Qingshan’s attention snapped to Thunder Sage’s words, asking eagerly.
Qi Manwei handed her a stone, “This stone seems to lack rules. Is it the Qintian Stone you mentioned?”
Yi Qingshan examined it and nodded, “Yes, that’s a Qintian Stone. It’s said they’re only found on specific stretches of the Qintian Ancient Road. At the last waystation, someone was buying them at high prices… but I’ve never seen one in all my time here. You’re lucky. Sadly, I don’t know their use.”
She returned the stone to Qi Manwei.
“Friend Yi, do you know of the Chaos River?” Lan Xiaobu asked suddenly.
Yi Qingshan nodded, “I’ve heard of it. Most waystations mention places like the Chaos River, Thousand Cosmos Void, and Haoyuan Universe. Speaking of which, Haoyuan Universe is said to be a mid-tier universe.”
“Mid-tier universe?” Mo Wuji’s eyes lit up, repeating her words.
Yi Qingshan confirmed, “Yes, the places we come from are low-tier or even insignificant universes. I’ve heard in mid-tier universes like Haoyuan, Creation Sages are as common as dirt, and there are even existences beyond Creation Sage.”
“Beyond Creation Sage? What’s that?” Thunder Sage asked urgently, aware of the fourth-step dao and eager to know more.
“The fourth step of the dao, naturally. In low-tier universes, no matter your talent, you can’t surpass Creation Sage. To reach the fourth step, you must go to a mid-tier universe,” Yi Qingshan said matter-of-factly.
Lan Xiaobu glanced at Thunder Sage, “Friend Thunder, you walked the Qintian Ancient Road for thousands of years. How did you never hear of the fourth step?”
Before Thunder Sage could respond, Yi Qingshan smiled faintly, “This daoist must have come to the Qintian Ancient Road long ago. News of the mid-tier Haoyuan Universe reached the road seven thousand years ago, brought by someone buying Qintian Stones. I’ve been here long enough to hear it. Now, the fourth step isn’t rare knowledge on the road.”
“Are you seeking a waystation to head to a mid-tier universe and achieve Creation Sage status?” Mo Wuji asked.
Yi Qingshan shook her head instinctively, “No, I failed to achieve Creation Sage and have been on the road seeking the reason for my failure, hoping to succeed next time.”
Her explanation was clear—failing to achieve Creation Sage meant identifying the cause, as repeated failures widened dao cracks, and three failures typically meant no hope for the dao.
Lan Xiaobu, puzzled, said, “Friend Yi, you know mid-tier universes exist. Why not go there? I heard waystations offer directions and means to reach them. If you can’t achieve Creation Sage in a low-tier universe, wouldn’t it be easier in a mid-tier one? Couldn’t dao concepts unclear here be resolved there?”
Yi Qingshan froze, murmuring, “Right, why haven’t I gone to a mid-tier universe to pursue Creation Sage instead of wasting time here?”
Mo Wuji smiled, “It’s not wasted. The Qintian Ancient Road’s dao principles are clear when active, aiding dao comprehension. Seeking the cause of your failure here isn’t wrong.”
Yi Qingshan, enlightened, bowed to Mo Wuji, “Thank you for your guidance, or my dao cracks might have worsened.”
Mo Wuji’s claim about clear dao principles was clearly consolatory—comprehending dao here wasn’t necessarily better than elsewhere.
Lan Xiaobu felt a bit sheepish; his casual remark hadn’t meant to affect Yi Qingshan’s dao.
“No matter, as they say, the involved are often blind. By the way, do you know how to reach the Chaos River?” Mo Wuji continued.
Thunder Sage laughed, “Brother Mo, why bother with the Chaos River? Why not head straight to the mid-tier Haoyuan Universe? We’re seeking the fourth step anyway.”
Mo Wuji smiled, “I suspect reaching a mid-tier universe requires passing through the Chaos River.”
Yi Qingshan looked at Mo Wuji admiringly, impressed by his insight, and nodded, “Correct. The Chaos River isn’t mandatory to leave the Qintian Ancient Road, but to exit this vast realm, you do need to pass through it. I’ve been focused on the Creation Dao, so I hadn’t paid much attention.”
“Then let’s focus on hurrying. I believe we’ll eventually find a waystation,” Mo Wuji said.
Even without Mo Wuji’s prompting, Yi Qingshan no longer planned to linger on the road pondering her dao. If she could reach a mid-tier universe with clearer Creation Dao principles, she wouldn’t need to ponder—she’d understand.
“Good, that’s my plan. May I ask your names, daoists?” Yi Qingshan bowed.
Mo Wuji introduced, “I’m Mo Wuji, this is Lan Xiaobu, Qi Manwei, and Fan Tianchenglun.”
Yi Qingshan sensed Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji’s cultivation was lower than hers but didn’t discern that Thunder Sage and Qi Manwei were stronger. Still, her gentle nature led her to greet each respectfully, despite her higher cultivation.
With Yi Qingshan joining, nothing fundamentally changed. On the Qintian Ancient Road, the only option was to move forward, though the group noticeably quickened their pace.
Ten years later, Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji realized that, despite the lack of interfering dao rules, advancing or gaining dao insights here was exceedingly difficult. A space filled solely with one’s own dao, devoid of external principles, was less effective for comprehension than one’s own world, where at least it was quieter, unlike here, where they had to walk and comprehend simultaneously.
A century later, they hadn’t seen a waystation, and their visible range on the road shrank further.
Another century passed, with no change except an even smaller visible range.
One day, Lan Xiaobu stopped first, “Everyone, I feel we’ll never reach a Qintian waystation this way.”
Mo Wuji halted too, nodding, “Right. Haven’t you noticed? No matter how far we walk, beyond the shrinking visible range, we sense nothing else. At this rate, let alone a thousand years, even ten or a hundred thousand won’t find a waystation.”
“But there’s no other path. Even turning back keeps us on the Qintian Ancient Road, with no markers or distinctive features,” Thunder Sage said, frustrated, knowing the odds were slim.
Lan Xiaobu said, “No, there are distinctive features. We picked up those stones earlier. I suspect they could help us find a waystation.”
Mo Wuji nodded, “I agree. Let’s pool the stones, and I’ll refine them into array flags.”
