Da Qin: Conquer all heavens and all realms

The voice of the Life Dao Master was full of vitality and compassion: "Child, you have taken the wrong path. You should embrace the 'Tao', feel the 'Tao', and become a part of the 'Tao', rather than trying to create a cold, rigid cage of 'Dharma' to constrain the nature of all things."

The Lord of Death's voice was cold and indifferent: "All things will eventually return to silence. This is the inevitable result of the Great Dao. Can your 'Dharma' prevent death? If not, then it is meaningless."

The Dao Masters of Matter and Energy scoffed in unison. They were the foundation of the universe and the carriers of all Dao principles.

In their view, Ying Zheng's "law" was nothing more than a low-level phenomenon derived from the matter and energy they controlled, and was not worth mentioning at all.

Facing the repeated questioning and contempt from the six Taoist masters, Ying Zheng's expression remained as calm as water.

He didn't even glance at them, his gaze still fixed on the eternal core of chaos.

He knew that there was only one person who really needed to talk to.

The Lord of Chaos.

This Dao Master remained silent from beginning to end. He was merely a mass of chaos, formless and voiceless, yet he gave people the feeling that he was this Eternal Star Region itself, the embodiment of all Dao principles.

Ying Zheng's voice rang out again. This time, he was no longer addressing the entire Eternal Star Domain, but was directly addressing the chaos, asking his ultimate question:

"I ask you, what is the Tao?"

"Is Tao the law of the universe? If so, why would the law change due to the will of the powerful? Why can a single thought create the world and a single thought destroy a nation? If Tao is for all, where does private intention come from?"

"Is Tao the origin of all things? If so, why does this origin favor certain beings, making them born noble and superior to all others? Why are some born in the mud, struggling hard, yet never reaching the threshold of Tao in their entire lives? If Tao is equal, how can there be injustice?"

"I see that your way is not the way of the universe, but the way of the strong!"

"The nature you speak of is not the nature of all things, but the nature of your will!"

"The laws you control are not the laws of sentient beings, but the laws of your authority!"

"This kind of Tao is not the true Tao, but the tyrannical Tao! It is a false Tao!"

Every word of Ying Zheng was like a sharp sword, piercing the root of the cultivation system of the heavens and all worlds, peeling off layer by layer the truths that were regarded as the golden rule, revealing the naked and cruel truth based on power inequality.

For the first time, anger appeared on the faces of the six Taoist masters.

They felt an unprecedented offense. They were high and mighty, worshipped by all races for billions of years, and no one had ever dared to slander the Way they represented.

The Lord of Time snorted coldly, "Arrogance! The strong prey on the weak, the fittest survive, this is also the way of the universe! We can control the Tao, that is our ability! You mortals, instead of striving for progress, complain about the unfairness of heaven, how ridiculous!"

"That's right!" echoed the Space Dao Master. "Power is everything! With power, you can define your 'Tao'! Without power, your 'Fa' is just empty words!"

Ying Zheng finally turned his head and glanced at the six Taoist masters with a hint of compassion in his eyes.

"Power... I never deny power."

"But I know better: the power of disorder is destruction. The power of order is civilization."

"Your power has created eternal war and reincarnation across all the heavens and worlds. The strong survive, the weak perish, and civilizations rise and fall like fleeting clouds. Is this the 'golden age' created by your ways?"

"And what my law will do is to put an end to all this."

"I will use the law to establish a bottom line for all living beings. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot wantonly slaughter the weak, nor destroy the world. This is 'not allowed.'"

"I will use the law to pave a path for all living beings. No matter how humble your origins, as long as you follow the law and work hard, you will receive the dignity and rewards you deserve. This is what 'can be done'."

"I will establish order for all the worlds through law. Between nations and tribes, superiority and inferiority will no longer be determined by strength, but by legal principles. This is 'order.'"

"This is my law!"

"It may not be as profound as your 'Tao', nor as powerful as it can create the world or destroy a country with a single thought."

"But it allows a farmer to farm peacefully without having to worry about a Dao Master getting upset and crushing his planet."

"It allows a merchant to trade fairly, without having to worry about a powerful person taking advantage of his treasure and then killing people to steal it."

"It allows a child to grow up in the sunshine, without having to worry about being branded as a 'pariah' from birth, with no hope of ever rising up again."

"This is the meaning of my legislation!"

Ying Zheng's voice was filled with supreme determination and conviction, as if it was going to completely ignite the chaos of this Eternal Star Domain.

The six Taoist masters were speechless after being asked this question.

They are used to thinking about problems from the perspective of power and origin, but have never thought about examining the world they have built from the perspective of "all living beings" or "civilization."

Every word Ying Zheng said was like a heavy hammer, hitting their extremely strong defenses.

They could not refute it, because what Ying Zheng said was exactly the most real tragedy that happened every day in the heavens and worlds they created.

They regarded it as normal, but Ying Zheng called it a sin."

At this moment, the Lord of Chaos, who had been silent all this time, finally made a move.

The chaos began to spin slowly, and a deep, ancient voice, as if containing all the sounds from the beginning of the universe, came from it:

"Law...governing...Tao..."

"Use... a finite... life... to determine... a boundless... way..."

"Do you know what this is..."

Ying Zheng met that chaotic gaze with an unprecedented sharpness in his eyes, and answered word by word:

"I don't know what this is."

"But I know what this is about."

"This is—"

"With a mortal body, I stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods."

"Use human laws to judge the laws of heaven!"

The moment the words fell, the entire Eternal Core trembled violently.

For the first time, a glimmer of light appeared in the chaos of the Chaos Taoist Master.

That light was neither approval nor anger.

But...interest.

A supreme being who had been sleeping for billions of years and had long been tired of everything, for the first time, regained a trace of...interest in this universe.

He looked at Ying Zheng and slowly asked his first question:

"If... your 'law'... conflicts with my 'Tao'..."

"What... are you going to do...?"