Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1059 The Five Methods of Dao Integration (Part 1) (46, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)
To be honest, I'm the same way about this, and I don't actually know much about it.

At this point, Zu Long's tone became extremely candid: "[Because I attained the position of Saintly Venerable in that era when it was easy to attain the Dao]."

[This realm is a permanent one, even if Huai Xu no longer supports me, I am still in the Dao Integration Realm.]

Therefore, even for me now, I cannot achieve Dao fusion a second time... I can only tell you that, so far, all known paths may lead to 'above the heavens'.

As light and shadow shifted, the First Emperor revealed the first path to Anjing.

Endless light and shadow converge, the sky and sea descend, the earth's veins rise, and humanity and nature unite as one.

The first method, the most primitive and ancient, is 'when thought leads to the arising of the Dao, heaven and earth unite'.

This is the most common Dao-merging method in Huaixu, and it is also the 'Transcendental Ultimate Method' of the [Heaven and Earth Venerable]

Because the universe is endless and eternal, boundless and eternal, any existence within the vast universe, even if the boundless power of an infinite number of Lingxiao Heavenly Venerables were added together, could never be equal to the entire universe.

This is a leap that cannot be achieved through mere accumulation. Therefore, rather than contemplating how to become the universe, it is better to directly merge with a celestial order that recognizes you, become a part of it, and thus reach that existence that transcends all lower levels.

[This is feasible—it's not truly the oldest, but it is the oldest for Huai Xu—the original, the Dao-merging and even higher-level powerhouses who created Huai Xu did not arrive using this method, but in the civilizations created by those Dao-merging beings, this method of Dao-merging is the most common.]

This was originally the righteous path, but now, the Huai Xu Heavenly Dao refuses anyone to merge with it. This path has been blocked and is tantamount to non-existence.

Immediately afterwards, the light and shadow shifted, transforming into an endless sea of ​​blood and a gigantic maw that devoured heaven and earth.

The second method, the simplest of all, is the Holy Demon's "devouring heaven and earth, I am all things." This is also the method that little girl in the sea of ​​blood outside is currently using.

Since Heaven and Earth will not allow me to merge with the Dao, then I will forcibly devour Heaven and Earth until I myself become an infinite Heaven and Earth. By continuously devouring the matter and laws of Heaven and Earth, I will accumulate infinite 'quantity' until I finally trigger a qualitative transformation, collapsing into an existence with 'returning to the source' properties, comparable to the Heavenly Dao.

[In theory, this is indeed feasible]

But in reality...

At this point, Zu Long shook his head: "[It's too inefficient. The time and resources required to achieve Dao integration using this method are 'infinite.' It will forever remain in the 'process' and will never achieve the 'result.'"

Next came the third method of merging with the Dao.

[The Ultimate Unity, the Circle of All Self]

The Ancestral Dragon's Dao was surrounded by countless illusory figures, each identical to Him yet existing in a different time and space. Ultimately, they merged into one, forming an infinite ring encircling the Ancestral Dragon's head: [A more mainstream and intelligent method compared to 'devouring the heavens and earth'.]

Lingxiao is already 'potentially infinite,' which is a perfect foundation. As long as a method can be used to infinitely superimpose the power of all 'me's' in this infinite parallel universe, one can, with a human body, rival the power of heaven and earth, and forge a truly infinite existence.

The infinite universe and the infinite number of people are essentially the same. Moreover, once this 'Ring of Infinity' is achieved, one can completely break free from the shackles of the Heavenly Dao of Emptiness and become a truly free being, even possessing the potential to reach a higher realm—the peak of the Dao Integration Realm.

"The only problem is..." An Jing seemed to understand something. He was silent for a moment, then keenly grasped the key point: "What exactly is that so-called 'method'?" This question stumped the Infinite Dragon before him.

[...No one can answer this question.]

A sigh escaped Zu Long's voice. "This is also the final insurmountable barrier that has troubled all the martial arts masters of Huai Xu, all the current Heavenly Venerables, causing them to stop here."

“But none of these are the reasons why you and Fu Xie achieved the Dao.” An Jing was silent for a while, pondering, and then pointed out a fact: “The method by which you achieved the Dao is the real key, isn’t it?”

"My relationship with Fu Xie is special." The First Emperor did not deny this: "Our method of attaining the Dao is not something ordinary people can use."

One of these possibilities is related to the one you seem to want to try—it's called, 'Opening the Heavens and Establishing the Way, Proving Emptiness Within Emptiness'.

As soon as he finished speaking, a light suddenly shone in An Jing's eyes.

He saw the light.

A flash of sword light.

A sword light that was born from nothingness and then pierced through the universe in an instant!
That's the origin of 'Kendo'...

The voice of the Ancestral Dragon became distant, as if recalling an era that, to Him, could be described as ancient and legendary: "In the ancient history of the Daoist Court, there was an extremely powerful Daoist Master who, to facilitate those who came after, created a 'principle that did not originally exist in the world' through His own will."

He conceived of a completely new, self-consistent Great Way, and then endowed it with an infinite foundation using his infinite power.

From that moment on, the 'Way of the Sword' itself existed between heaven and earth.

But if we have to put it another way, this is essentially just creating a tool. Just like how people don't need to use their hands to do things anymore once they have a tool, and they no longer need to do everything themselves, these new great paths are revealed through 'emptiness within emptiness'.

The concept of martial arts is similar. Martial arts, swordsmanship, and even the Way of Humanity itself are all 'infinite tools' created by powerful Dao Venerables and Saints to simplify the cultivation process for later practitioners. Of course, acquired and innate are the same. Huai Xu is a world with many acquired Daos built-in, which is also the method by which the Dao Court transforms all original worlds.

The original world had no concepts like swordsmanship, martial arts, or humanity. Only after Huai Xu's modifications did these special systems come into play, allowing people to learn real and authentic power from them.

An Jing nodded slightly: "I understand."

Although it may sound like the acquired paths of swordsmanship and martial arts are not as profound as the innate paths of heaven and earth, that is just a mortal's instinctive feeling, while the thoughts of cultivators are contrary to common sense.

At most, we can say that many innate Dao principles are more universal than acquired Dao principles. Things that are naturally generated are certainly more numerous than those that are artificially promoted. However, the latter can also obtain real power and may not be inferior to innate Dao principles. In fact, they often surpass them in terms of specificity and subtlety.

Just like natural iron ore and refined steel forged by human hands, both are iron, but if they really collide, the man-made one is more durable.

(End of this chapter)