Chapter 424: Chapter 65: The Dao Is Born of Xuan Sheng, The Dao Is Born of the Self, Return

When heaven and earth first opened, the principles were manifest, holding no profound mysteries. To gaze upon them was like looking at the lines on one’s palm.

Lu Xuan closed his eyes, listening to the calls of the barbaric creatures of the great wilderness, listening to the rhythm of every minute and every second between heaven and earth. He had achieved a great enlightenment.

"What is the Dao?"

He asked himself, then answered:

"From Jade Capital outward, within a radius of ninety million li, I shall be the Dao."

"I am the Dao."

A smile appeared on the young man’s face. When he opened his eyes again, in the span of a single birth and death, it was as if he had experienced endless years and personally witnessed the seas turn to mulberry fields.

In the flick of a finger, sixty instants passed;

In one instant, nine hundred cycles of birth and death.

He clapped his hands and laughed aloud, suddenly filled with high spirits. All seven emotions and six desires fell away, and the rolling Red Dust could not touch him!

He was about to ascend to the heavens. His smile grew purer, revealing a grand impartiality within his compassion. Neither benevolent nor malevolent, he saw all things as straw dogs...

"Come down!"

A hand as warm and smooth as jade pressed down on Lu Xuan’s shoulder. A gentle push sent him falling back to the ground. The smile on his face scattered in shock as he awoke from his trance. The seven emotions and six desires returned, and the Red Dust came rolling back.

"Second Master!"

Lu Xuan looked to the side and hastily bowed, his back drenched in a cold sweat.

The Blind Daoist nodded slightly and said softly,

"You did very well, but your cultivation level is a bit too low. To rashly act as the [Daoist Ancestor]... you were showing a tendency to merge your body with heaven and earth. Although you could have stepped into the Dao Fruit realm in a single leap, you would have become devoid of feelings and desires, eternally trapped in a state of [Supreme Forgetting Emotions]. You would no longer be you."

The cold sweat on Lu Xuan’s back grew heavier. He now understood the danger he had been in. At The Beginning of Ancient Times, all Dao Rhyme was manifest, and a moment of inattention could lead to drowning in it and being assimilated.

His heart still pounding with fear, Lu Xuan bowed once more.

"Second Master, why are you here...?"

"You’ve caused a monumental incident! If I hadn’t come, the fun would’ve really gotten out of hand!" the Blind Daoist scolded with a laugh. He pointed a finger at the ground, and a cattail cushion materialized. Lu Xuan obediently sat cross-legged upon it.

Immediately after, the Blind Daoist glanced sideways at Zhenyuan Zi, who wore a purple and gold Daoist crown. The latter bowed.

"Fellow Daoist Primordial, this humble Daoist will take his leave now..."

"You may."

The Blind Daoist nodded, his gaze profound.

"Fellow Daoist, you have never been to Jade Capital Mountain."

"This humble Daoist understands, this humble Daoist understands." Zhenyuan Zi let out a breath and said solemnly, "This humble Daoist swears by Cause and Effect that I have never been to Jade Capital Mountain."

Cause and Effect was wielded by Primordial.

After speaking, Zhenyuan Zi gave Lu Xuan a deep look. In a trance, he seemed to see the future: a being seated high in the Nine Heavens, the common people bowing their heads, and All Daoist Fruits paying their respects.

He silently withdrew.

Only after Zhenyuan Zi had left did the Blind Daoist turn to look at Lu Xuan, speaking in a tone of mock reprimand.

"Why must you act so recklessly? When Taiyi sent you here, did he not tell you not to act rashly at The Beginning of Ancient Times?"

Lu Xuan shook his head honestly, looking confused.

"Taiyi? Was it Taiyi who sent me? I don’t remember..."

The Blind Daoist’s gaze sharpened for a moment but quickly returned to normal. He too conjured a cattail cushion and sat down, patiently explaining,

"This is The Beginning of Heaven Opening, The Beginning of Ancient Times. I, your Second Master, performed the Creation of Heaven and Earth, so this stretch of primal Time is occupied by me. Anyone who wishes to return here, be they a Daluo or a Dao Fruit, must first have my nod of approval."

He paused, then frowned.

"When I saw it was you returning, I didn’t stop you. After all, this is The Beginning of Ancient Times. For you to come and establish yourself here only has benefits... But I never expected you to be so audacious."

Lu Xuan scratched his head, a little embarrassed. In front of his own master, he was no longer Lu Zi who whipped the Emperor, nor was he Profound Yellow who schemed against the Daluo.

The immense pressure on him briefly dissipated, allowing him to return to his true self.

Lu Xuan asked curiously,

"Second Master, is it forbidden to preach the Dao at The Beginning of Ancient Times?"

"Yes and no."

The Blind Daoist said with a smile,

"You can preach, but it depends on what Dao... You’ve passed down a Cultivation Skill in an age when heaven and earth are still barbaric, forging a path forward for these barbaric creatures of the great wilderness. This is something only a great teacher can do, and your Dao will spread far and wide in this era..."

He paused, his expression growing slightly serious, and sighed.

"Let’s put that aside. It was also fated. You are of the Supreme’s Direct Lineage, my disciple, and also the disciple of your Third Master. You bear the Cause and Effect of The Three Pristine Ones, and by preaching and paving the way in this age, you have been acknowledged by heaven and earth as a Daoist Ancestor..."

Lu Xuan, only half-understanding, asked curiously,

"Daoist Ancestor... that title sounds very grand. Bearing it at a low cultivation level seems to cause one to integrate with heaven and earth. If one’s level is high enough, it should be fine, right? Or are there other taboos?"

The Blind Daoist looked at his young disciple with a complicated expression. He was silent for a long time before, as if having made a decision, he finally spoke.

"[Daoist Ancestor] is the greatest position since ancient times. I once opened this heaven and earth and was also revered as a Daoist Ancestor, but that was the Dao of the Daoist Sect, not the Dao of the Great Dao of heaven and earth."

"You are different. You have already obtained the true prototype of a [Daoist Ancestor] by Preaching at The Beginning of Ancient Times... As for the taboos, think about it. What kind of beings existed at The Beginning of Ancient Times?"

Hearing this, Lu Xuan thought for a moment and said,

"Barbaric Creatures?"

"And besides them?" Primordial asked irritably.

Lu Xuan was a bit stunned. He thought for a moment, and his expression changed.

"The many Daluo?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"More than that!"

The Blind Daoist’s beard bristled as he glared.

"This point in time is extremely special, even more filled with Profound Mysteries than the time before the Heaven Opening. Before the Heaven Opening, principles did not exist. At the beginning of the Heaven Opening, all Daos became manifest!"

"This period of Years, although it comes after the Creation of Heaven and Earth, is even older and more profound than the time before it!"

"In this period of Years, besides the Barbaric Creatures and the later Daluo, All Daoist Fruits were also just being born!"

Lu Xuan was even more baffled and couldn’t help but ask,

"But Second Master, the Daluo are already eternal and one with the past and present, to say nothing of the Dao Fruits... I was teaching the Barbaric Creatures, not the Daluo and Dao Fruits..."

"It’s not that simple."