CHAPTER 523: CHAPTER 39: SACRIFICE ONESELF FOR THE CAUSE, BECOME THE EMBODIMENT OF THE WAY

Actually, Immortal Marrow does not make the consciousness directly face the Heavenly Dao, but rather allows it to indirectly connect with the colorless and formless Heavenly Dao by witnessing the remnants of the Great Dao.

Li Mo previously did not completely grasp the meaning of Tang Youzhu’s words.

In his understanding, the Heavenly Dao has no entity—it is merely an embodiment of the rules of Heaven and Earth, unrelated to the myriad things of the world or to humans.

But Li Mo was wrong, and gravely so.

As light and shadow intertwined, his consciousness seemed to rise above the Nine Heavens yet simultaneously burrow underground, exposing the so-called Heavenly Dao starkly before him.

"Ha ha ha ha ha."

Li Mo could not help but burst into mad laughter, a mix of incredulity and absurdity playing across his face.

"So, my assumptions were mistaken—world upheaval is not caused by the Heavenly Dao itself, because... because even the Heavenly Dao has been affected."

What Li Mo witnessed was indescribable and unnameable, nearly shattering his sanity. Fortunately, the invisible protection of the Great Wilderness Immortal Body steadied his mental realm.

The so-called Heavenly Dao was actually pieced together from countless things.

It exuded an unsettling sense of disharmony that was nauseating.

Everything appeared in its most primordial form before him.

Mighty ancient trees growing robustly; towering stones reaching a thousand meters; a shadow that pulsed incessantly; clashing cacophonies of sharp, discordant music; and weirdly shimmering curtains of various colors...

They dissolved, twisted, and blended chaotically.

Individually, each part of the Heavenly Dao seemed ordinary to Li Mo, yet together, they were more terrifying than any deceitful object in the world.

The Creation Book brought forth memories: ten thousand years ago, the Heavenly Dao had not been this distorted.

Ancient Heavenly Dao was an elaborate web formed by interwoven Dao Rhythms, spanning the entire mortal world. When mortals gazed upon it, the Heavenly Dao would respond with Dao Rhythms like a gentle mother.

However, the current Heavenly Dao had been utterly shattered by the upheaval of Heaven and Earth.

The thoughts of mortals had become too chaotic.

Though they had no concept of Heavenly Dao, they still tried to define it.

A tree, a mountain, incomprehensible formations of sun and moon above, boundless oceans, Daoists wielding divine skills...

And so, when mortals acquired the ability to make their words manifest as laws, affected were not only the Immortal and Mortal Realms but even the Heavenly Dao began to crumble.

Li Mo’s breaths grew rapid.

The essence of the world upheaval was a direct assault against the Heavenly Dao.

The myriad things of existence were merely pitiful worms caught in its backlash.

After the world upheaval, the spiritual energy of the world turned murky—this was proof of the Heavenly Dao’s pollution, a condition nearly irreversible.

"Is this world destined for destruction? No, not necessarily—though the Heavenly Dao is foul and clouded, it shows no signs of complete collapse overall."

Li Mo could not discern the true culprit; this world’s depths were far beyond his imagination.

"The Heavenly Dao can embody anything, but one thing it is not—it is not human."

Li Mo murmured to himself.

His consciousness suppressed its discomfort as he painstakingly pieced together the complete picture of the Heavenly Dao.

"So that’s how it is, Chunyangzi."

The various pieces comprising the Heavenly Dao moved along special trajectories, faintly revealing three or four marks resembling Chunyangzi’s visage.

The Heavenly Dao is Chunyangzi; Chunyangzi is the Heavenly Dao.

Li Mo could not help but shake his head repeatedly. It was indeed Chunyangzi who ended the world upheaval and simultaneously halted further deterioration of the Heavenly Dao.

Chunyangzi subtly guided mortals, using their ability to make words law to merge himself into the Heavenly Dao.

Li Mo did not fully comprehend the specific methods, but Chunyangzi had stabilized the Heavenly Dao, which was on the verge of terminal collapse, by sacrificing himself for the Dao.

Yet Chunyangzi also understood:

his consciousness, to the Heavenly Dao, was like a deadly poison—every day he existed within it brought the risk of destabilization closer.

To prevent future calamity, Chunyangzi chose Tang Youzhu as his executioner.

Tang Youzhu, born deaf and mute and unaffected by external influences, was the perfect Wall-Facing Man—the final move in Chunyangzi’s strategy.

Li Mo’s expression revealed admiration.

Chunyangzi was unparalleled in foresight. Just as Tang Youzhu was cured of his deafness and muteness moments before death, he immediately used his mortal identity to completely erase Chunyangzi, who had merged with the Heavenly Dao.

"The Heavenly Dao can embody anything, but one thing it is not—it is not human."

Li Mo stared directly at Chunyangzi, unable to resist saying, "If I, this junior, someday transcend the Immortal and Mortal Realms, I will surely restore the world to its rightful state."

After speaking, he focused on mastering his primary cultivation techniques.

Li Mo hesitated for a moment and decided to deduce the Buddha Demon Dharma Body, for an undying and indestructible body is fundamental, with Yin and Yang being the supreme Dao.

The shimmering sun and moon formed Chunyangzi’s eyes.

Li Mo gazed into the sun and moon for merely half an instant, and his mind was flooded with a wealth of associated Dao Rhythms, with answers to all of his lingering questions.

The absence of Xia Dao Palace and Fake Soul Consciousness mattered little.

The medicinal power of the Bodhi Fruit alone was enough to spark endless thoughts, allowing him to re-analyze the Buddha and Demon Cultivation Scripture within a brief period.

Soon, Li Mo began recalling the Body Integration Realm content of the Buddha and Demon Cultivation Scripture.

Previously, the content of the Body Integration Realm had been only partially comprehensible; his Tao Seed lacked the nourishment of the body integration techniques, leaving many gaps and inconsistencies.

Now, however, Li Mo felt a sudden surge of clarity.

"Unexpected—the Buddha and Demon Cultivation Scripture has so many flaws. To use it for advancement into the Body Integration Realm would cause the Externalized Dharma Body to backlash against the physical body at least eighty percent of the time."

Li Mo secretly rejoiced and quickly worked to perfect the Body Integration techniques.

Due to the unfamiliarity of the following Mahayana Realm, the process of completing the techniques slowed considerably.

Li Mo shifted focus to create the Body Integration techniques for his other two cultivation methods and then concentrated entirely on tackling the Mahayana Realm.

The passage of time was indeterminate.

The Mahayana techniques within the Buddha and Demon Cultivation Scripture soon emerged.

With precedent set, Li Mo’s synthesis of other cultivation techniques flowed more smoothly, though his consciousness began to sense an inexplicable fatigue.

"Even the slightest misstep could result in my consciousness being overwhelmed by the remnants of the Great Dao."

Without hesitation, Li Mo turned more of his attention toward the Ninth Realm of Immortality and the practice of Tribulation Crossing, his consciousness eagerly absorbing nutrients.

He lacked a clear concept of the Transcension Tribulation Stage, so the cultivated techniques might not align with mainstream methodologies.

But that was irrelevant.

As long as the path proved viable, he could later obtain the appropriate techniques for verification and compare their strengths and weaknesses accordingly.

Li Mo gradually lost the concept of time, treating each passing moment as a crucial juncture.

Who knew—the next breath might return his consciousness to his physical body, and the Immortal Marrow would no longer grant access to the Heavenly Dao.

Li Mo ceased dwelling on realms and focused entirely on understanding the Heavenly Dao.

Time flowed.

When Li Mo regained awareness, he found his deductions stuck at the bottleneck—the end of the Tribulation Crossing stage. Only countless fragmented pieces of information had accumulated.

"Hiss..."

Even a brief glimpse of those fragments caused Li Mo’s mind to throb painfully.

He gritted his teeth and pressed on, discovering that the so-called Fake Immortal Stage following Tribulation Crossing was a dead end—stepping into Fake Immortal made becoming an Immortal impossible.

"Nine and a Half Realms is a hidden chess piece—perhaps Chunyangzi severed the Immortal Path entirely."

Li Mo didn’t relent in comprehending the Nine and a Half Realms, a thoughtful glint flickering in his gaze.

He had always believed that the Heavenly Dao governing the Immortal and Mortal Realms was distinct; otherwise, ancient cultivators wouldn’t need to endure the remnants of the Heavenly Dao’s power during tribulation.

Since the mortal world’s Heavenly Dao was on the brink of collapse, surviving only thanks to Chunyangzi’s intervention, the Heavenly Dao of the Immortal Realm likely wasn’t much better.

Chunyangzi’s ascent to the Immortal Realm may have been an attempt to find a solution.

In the end, it was fruitless, prompting him to sacrifice himself for the Dao.

From Li Mo’s current perspective, it was unclear whether the Fake Immortal Stage harbored Chunyangzi’s machinations—the Nine and a Half Realms merely appeared as an extension of the Tribulation Crossing stage superficially.

What bothered him most, however, was the fact that upon advancing to Fake Immortal Stage...

the Heavenly Dao would bestow an Immortal Name.

"Whatever Nine and a Half Realms truly signifies is one matter—perhaps only by achieving the Tribulation Crossing stage will I uncover the mechanisms Chunyangzi left behind at his death."

After pushing his three primary techniques to their peak, Li Mo began to sense a faint rejection, indicating he was about to return to his physical body.

Unable to resist, he raised his head once more to gaze at Chunyangzi.

The image of the Heavenly Dao resembled an elderly Chunyangzi, bent and frail, his stooped back seeming to support Heaven and Earth, his expression perpetually solemn.

The rejection intensified.

Li Mo wasted no time, willingly reaching out to reconnect with his physical body. Soon, he felt an indescribable sensation of weightlessness.

"A pity—I won’t have time to perfect the Body Cultivation Technique."

"Huff."

Li Mo opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings, realizing he had returned to the belly of the Kun Whale.

He couldn’t help but feel as if he had lived through centuries of the Heavenly Dao’s enlightenment, even though, as Luo Yang had stated, it had only been an instant.

Clack, clack, clack.

Jiang Xi and the other two awakened, staring at Li Mo with eyes full of astonishment.

The Sword Intent radiating from Li Mo intensified, distorting the air around him, driving their Lifebound Flying Swords to frantically flee.

The Kun Whale reacted quickly, diving deeper into the clouds.

The cancer cells dampened his Sword Intent, and the Spirit Root Worm minimized the impact Li Mo might have on the outside world, ensuring no anomalies manifested externally.

"Mahayana Sword Intent?"

Daoist Bai Shuo couldn’t help but ask, only to be corrected by Daoist Ye Zhuo.

"Mahayana Sword Intent, heh, Senior Brother Taiyi mastered that more than a hundred years ago. Have you heard of Ru Dao Sword Intent? It must be Ru Dao Sword Intent."

Daoist Ye Zhuo spoke with absolute certainty.

Throughout the Heavenly Sword Sect, Ru Dao Sword Intent was only possessed by a few Land Immortals, among Inner Sect Disciples there was no one other than Yu Xiao who could compare to Li Mo.

The rest of the Sword Cultivators hadn’t even touched upon Mahayana Sword Intent.

"Ru Dao Sword Intent—near the essence of Dao itself."

"In a hundred years, Taiyi Senior Brother could undoubtedly elevate the Great Sun Sword Tomb to the top of the ranking out of twenty-eight."

Hearing the two speak so matter-of-factly, Jiang Xi’s mental realm calmed down as well.

Li Mo gradually retracted his Sword Intent.

His Symbiotic Dharma Body gained a black-and-white reversed scale containing Sword Intent that transcended top-quality, referred to as [Life and Death Sword Intent].

Using Life and Death Sword Intent required consuming at least thirty percent of his Spiritual Power.

Li Mo fixed his gaze on a bird amidst the clouds, which remained blissfully unaware it was about to become the target of Ru Dao Sword Intent.

"Go."

Li Mo flicked his finger lightly.

Life and Death Sword Intent seeped unnoticed through the skin of the Kun Whale, striking the bird.

The bird split in two—its left half devoid of life, while its right half, despite missing vital organs, retained vitality.

Such was the meaning of Life and Death Sword Intent.

Anyone touched by the Sword Intent could have their life or death decided by Li Mo.

With the Life and Death Sword Intent, Li Mo could now rival cultivators at the Refining Void Stage’s peak; even against the Time Sword, it was hardly inferior to Time Sword Intent.

"Let’s return to the port. Next, I must search for the remnants of No-Life Mother, and while at it, deal with some evil reputations among demon cultivators and those of the Dark Path."