Chapter 661: The Four Stages Of Dao Unity
Chapter 661: The Four Stages Of Dao Unity
Li Fan's expression shifted slightly as he felt the nearly doubled force of the attack. He swept his hand out, suppressing the water blades, then looked at Shuo Feng. "Fellow Daoist, what's the highest level of power your Sword of Deflection can deflect?"
Shuo Feng seemed to be savoring the sensation of the wooden sword acting in self-defense. After a long moment, he finally came back to himself. "The Sword of Deflection..." He shook his head. "To me, it is the Sword of Conflict Ceasure, the Sword of Non-Aggression."
He offered no further explanation, instead shifting the topic. "It can easily deflect the power of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator's grotto-heaven. A full-force strike from a Spirit Transformation cultivator would push it to its limit. As for Dao Unity and above..."
Li Fan feigned astonishment. "You can achieve such a shocking feat at Foundation Establishment. If you were to advance to Spirit Transformation, could you not contend with those at Dao Unity?"
"It's not that simple. There are vast differences even among those at the Dao Unity realm. The Soul Arbiters of heaven and earth are divided into..."
Li Fan's heart stirred, and he leaned in, straining to listen. But he saw only Shuo Feng's mouth moving, shaping words, yet no sound emerged. Realizing this, Shuo Feng stopped speaking abruptly.
Li Fan fell into thought, then tactfully refrained from pressing further.
"Though I possess a Curio of Heaven, I still have a long road ahead before I can overcome my mother," Shuo Feng said with a bitter smile.
"What's more, while establishing a Dao Foundation with a Curio of Heaven grants great power, it has its own shortcomings. For instance, advancing through the realms is far more difficult and slower for me than for ordinary cultivators. This remains true even with ample resources and the aid of the new methodology."
Hearing this for the first time, Li Fan immediately sought clarification. "Why is that?"
Shuo Feng answered without reservation. "A Curio of Heaven is, in truth, a law of heaven. Once you establish your Dao Foundation with a Curio of Heaven, you can no longer accommodate anything else.
"Ordinary cultivators must peer into the laws of heaven and earth, seize the essence of heaven and earth, extract the marrow of heaven and earth, and sacrifice the soul of heaven and earth, advancing step by step. But a cultivator with a Curio of Heaven is different. With the Curio as their law, their grotto-heaven, their pre-manifestation, and their Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, they need only comprehend their own Curio of Heaven to its utmost limit. In this way, they can advance unimpeded, straight to the Dao Unity realm."
Intrigued, Li Fan asked, "Isn't that a good thing? Why do you say it makes cultivation more difficult?"
Shuo Feng countered, "Fellow Daoist, which method of cultivation do you think is faster: forcibly seizing external objects, or relying solely on one's own comprehension?"
"Naturally..." Li Fan paused mid-sentence, as if struck by realization.
"Brother Shuo, do you mean that after establishing a Dao Foundation with a Curio of Heaven, one has to cultivate similarly to the ancient methodology?" Li Fan asked hastily, inadvertently changing his form of address.
"To be precise, it is cultivating with the ancient methodology, but in chains," Shuo Feng said with a soft sigh. "It has its advantages and disadvantages. Yet I have no regrets. Though the path is more arduous, its ceiling is far higher!"
As if something had occurred to him, Li Fan suddenly asked, "If one achieves Dao Unity with a Curio of Heaven, then the next step would be to defy the principle of the Curio of Heaven itself?"
A glint of approval flickered in Shuo Feng's eyes. "Correct! What makes the Eternal Life realm so difficult to reach? The principles of heaven and earth are intangible, ethereal concepts that ordinary people can hardly even see, let alone grasp. How much harder, then, to reverse them?
"Seeking the principles of heaven and earth, familiarizing oneself with them, mastering them, reversing them... these must all be accomplished within the Dao Unity realm. Though a Dao Unity cultivator's lifespan is long, each of these steps demands a steep price. Through the ages, how many brilliant prodigies have fallen at the very last step?
"By building your foundation with a Curio of Heaven, you bypass the first step entirely. From the moment you begin cultivating at Foundation Establishment, you've already been practicing the second and third steps. In essence, you save nearly half the effort."
Shuo Feng explained it in the simplest terms he could manage, choosing words Li Fan could actually hear.
A faint understanding dawned on Li Fan.
Seeking, familiarizing, mastering, reversing... these might correspond to the stages of the Dao Unity realm itself.
Li Fan suddenly recalled that when Ji Hongdao had faced Senior Sister Zhao, he had said that once a Heavenly Venerable established their Axiom, they should no longer meddle in worldly affairs.
To establish an Axiom means the principle of heaven and earth has already been reversed and replaced entirely, turning the cultivator into a part of heaven and earth. That is the true entry into the Eternal Life realm.
But before that, a Dao Unity cultivator still has four steps to tread.
Seeing Li Fan lost in thought, Shuo Feng couldn't help but offer a warning. "Everything I've revealed to you today was solely to repay your guidance, Fellow Daoist. You must not reach for what's beyond your grasp and lose your heart and mind in the process. If that happened, my good intentions would have brought you harm instead."
At this, Li Fan snapped back to clarity. He smiled and replied, "Brother Shuo, you worry too much. I'm not the kind who doesn't know what's good for him. It's just that I used to believe eternal life was separated from us cultivators by nothing more than a few realms of cultivation. I thought it might not be beyond my reach.
"Now it seems there are instead several vast chasms separating us... each one enough to drive a man to despair."
Shuo Feng nodded in agreement, then added a seemingly offhand remark. "One must always leave room for hope.
"By the way, I still don't know your name, Fellow Daoist. Given your nature and talent, you shouldn't be an unknown figure." Shuo Feng looked at Li Fan, curiosity in his eyes.
Li Fan cupped his hands in salute. "I am Li Fan!"
Shuo Feng's eyes narrowed as he gave Li Fan a thorough, appraising look.
"It's just a common name, nothing more! I've been mistaken for someone else many times," Li Fan explained.
Shuo Feng nodded slowly.
"I'm skilled in reading qi. While passing by, I sensed something strange about this place, so I descended to investigate. Yet before I could find an answer, you nearly cost me my life." Li Fan took the initiative to explain the situation from the beginning.
"That explains it. I, too, have felt something off about this area." Shuo Feng's eyes lit up with sudden understanding as he gazed into the distance.
His gaze turned in the direction of the Han Yi stone statue.
But he seemed unable to perceive the statue itself, sensing the anomaly there only through pure instinct.
Interesting...
"Fellow Daoist, would you like to join me in investigating?" Li Fan proposed.
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Shuo Feng was clearly not one to shy away from trouble, and he agreed at once.
The two of them were about to set off when, at that moment, the sky suddenly turned a brilliant shade of pink.
Shuo Feng's expression stiffened.
Crimson snowflakes began drifting slowly down.
A lovely female voice suddenly rang out: "Feng'er, you've been away from home too long. It's time to return."
Shuo Feng's expression tightened slightly. But he dared not defy his honored mother's will, so he cast an apologetic look at Li Fan.
"Yes, Mother," he replied.
He caught a snowflake, and the crimson dissolved into his palm.
A moment later, his figure grew hazy and slowly faded into the air.
Suddenly, a communication spirit talisman dropped from the sky, flying toward Li Fan.
"Brother Li, should you ever need assistance in the future, feel free to contact me."
Shuo Feng's voice drifted away, faint and fading.