First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 409: The Charm of the Dao, Mysterious Truths, and Laws

“A big secret?” asked Su Yi. “Do you want to tell me that the Divine Monarch of Tragedy is a nine-headed bird?”

The Firewood Daoist was stunned. Then, he frantically begged, “Senior, please spare my life. I swear that from this day forth, I’ll never commit any other atrocities….”

Splurt!

Su Yi stretched out and swept his hand, obliterating the Firewood Daoist’s soul.

Only the dead could be trusted not to commit any further atrocities.

“Yuan Heng, clean this place up, then take the kids back home.” Su Yi turned, then ordered, “Let’s resume our journey before sundown.”

“Yes, sir!” Yuan Heng solemnly accepted his orders and dashed out.

Su Yi sat cross-legged and started meditating.

The Grain Avoidance Realm was further subdivided into four stages: early, middle, late, and peak.

Upon reaching this realm, an Origin Power Seed condensed within the dantian, and a cultivator could connect with heaven and earth and glean enlightenment into the natural charm of the Grand Dao. From this, they could refine “Dao Charm.”

It was typically?at this?realm that the soul gave rise to divine?sense.

There were three main differences between true cultivators and mundane martial artists. Only the former possessed Origin Power Seeds, divine sense, and Dao Charm.

The higher an Origin Power Seed’s grade, the?firmer?one’s foundations in the Grand Dao. The?firmer?one’s foundations, the more power one could call upon in battle.

Divine sense was the power of the soul, and with it, cultivators could sense every minute movement in the surrounding area, as well as the subtle traces of the Grand Dao dispersed throughout heaven and earth.

The stronger one’s divine sense, the stronger their powers of comprehension, and the easier it was to sense the spiritual charms of nature. This made cultivation easier.

Divine sense was useful in combat too. Soul cultivators, for example, specialized in cultivating soul-based secret techniques.

Within the Origin Dao, the charm of the Dao was divided into three grades and nine levels.

The three grades were earth, heaven, and profound. Earth was the weakest, while profound was the greatest.

Every grade was further subdivided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower.

Thus, lower earth grade was the weakest, while upper profound grade was the strongest. action

For Origin Dao cultivators, this ranking system applied to the sword intent, saber intent, and spear intent too. The level of the Dao Charm at one’s disposal determined what level of intent they could unleash.

The power of my divine sense can already cover ten thousand meters in diameter. Even in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, only Spiritual Manifestation cultivators and above can compete with me in this regard….

No, in the Three Realms of the Origin Dao, a peerless genius of a soul cultivator might manage to temper their divine sense to this extent, albeit barely. However, on the Azure Continent, I doubt I could find even a single Origin Dao cultivator whose soul is comparable to mine.

He had begun cultivating the Universal Self-Embodiment Sutra and tempering his soul while he was still in the first of the Four Realms of the Martial Dao, the Blood Circulation Realm, and he had first condensed divine?sense?as a third-level Grandmaster.

When he had overcome his tribulation to become a Grain Avoidance cultivator over the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, the power of his divine sense had undergone a qualitative transformation. He could now effortlessly sense the movements of each individual windblown blade of grass within ten thousand feet!

This meant that the power of his soul was more than comparable to an advanced cultivator of the Spirit Dao.

As for my Origin Power Seed… The Strongest Dao Seed I condensed represents a level of attainment unprecedented even in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds. It’s unique and unparalleled in this world.

The only troublesome thing is that my foundations are too strong and too solid; ordinary cultivation resources are far from sufficient to satisfy my needs…

Su Yi sighed to himself.

Quite some time had passed since he had left the Great Zhou. He seemed like a passerby, sampling the countless facets of human life and admiring the beauty of the landscape, leisurely as could be.

But in truth, every time Su Yi arrived in a new country, he investigated its supply of cultivation resources.

They’d passed through eight mundane nations thus far, but the one with the strongest cultivators was merely on par with the Great Qin.?Some of the countries, in fact, had so few factions of cultivators that they were significantly weaker than even the Great Zhou and the Great Wei.?This meant that it would be hard to meet his needs with the cultivation resources dispersed throughout these mundane nations.

Su Yi had used up almost his entire supply of cultivation resources, yet he’d only reached the mid-stage Grain Avoidance Realm.?If things went on like this, when he cultivated, he’d have to rely on the sparse origin power of heaven and earth…

Forget it. Until I find sufficient cultivation resources, I’ll focus on training in the charm of the Dao.?Su Yi made up his mind.

He had first realized the charm of the Dao during the Qi Accumulation Realm’s Astral Manifestation Stage. Then, as a Grandmaster, each of the five inner furnaces had manifested the spiritual light of the five aggregates. Thus, he had naturally gained a degree of control over the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

In Su Yi’s eyes, understanding the charm of the Dao was merely the initial stage of comprehending the Grand Dao, but it was also the limit of what was possible during the Three Realms of the Origin Dao.

Upon breaking through and entering the Spirit Dao, cultivators could gain enlightenment into the “Mysterious Truths of the Spirit Dao. “

Then, upon stepping into the Profound Dao, they could condense and refine the “Laws of the Profound Dao.”

In simple terms, the Origin Dao’s Dao Charm, Mysterious Truths of the Spirit Dao, and Laws of the Profound Dao were three types of power in the Grand Dao. Each represented what was comprehensible in their respective Daos.

The Origin Dao’s Dao Charm was divided into three grades, each further subdivided into levels, but that was only true for ordinary cultivators.

A select few natural-born geniuses of cultivation could cultivate “absolute-grade” Dao Charm!

For example, they could comprehend the Dao Charm of the moon, sun, light, or darkness. All were rare, and their power placed them into the absolute grade.

Alternatively, they could master multiple, complementary charms of the Dao. These compounded into an absolute-grade Dao Charm too. Examples included Yin and Yang, the five elements, wind and fire, or wind and thunder.

Mastering even just one rare type of Dao Charm was enough to shine brightly.

Those who mastered complementary varieties of Dao Charm were rare and geniuses of limitless potential too.

The way Su Yi saw it, both grand Daos and minor Daos were Daos of heaven and earth.

The strength of Dao Charm didn’t just depend on its grade; a cultivator’s comprehension and mastery over it determined what heights it could reach.

A mighty cultivator who only mastered one ordinary Dao, yet comprehended their chosen minor Dao to the pinnacle of mastery, could explode with power beyond imagination in battle.

Such examples were too numerous to count.

At the end of the day, comprehending the charm of the Dao was only the first step. What mattered most was whether one could fully master it or not.

In peak-level ancient orthodoxies, they typically divided comprehension of the Dao Charm into four levels: basic understanding, understanding subtleties, major success, and perfection.

Failure to fully master one’s charm of the Dao during the Three Realms of the Origin Dao meant that one had no hope of breaking into the Spirit Dao.

In my past life, although I mastered the Mysterious Truths of all manner of Grand Daos, when I reached the pinnacle of the Imperial Realm, I couldn’t realize any further breakthroughs. This means that when it comes to mastery of the Grand Dao’s Mysterious Truths, more isn’t necessarily better. Rather, I must find a Grand Dao unique to myself. Only then can I realize the breakthroughs I failed to achieve in my past life…

Fortunately, I spent three thousand years pondering this question prior to my reincarnation, and I’ve deduced some hints already. Otherwise, I’m afraid this problem would still stump me now,?thought Su Yi.

In his past life, he had made ample preparations before reincarnating to cultivate anew.

From cultivating the foundational technique that his friend, the Peerless Martial Emperor, had developed—the Pine and Crane Body Refining Art—to achieving full spiritual awakening of the acupoints, opening his Hidden Meridian, refining the spiritual light of the Five Aggregates, and attaining Dao-grade xiantian qi….

He’d planned it all prior to his reincarnation.

The question of Dao Charm was naturally no exception.

In the Origin Dao, he would cultivate the five elements, refine Yin and Yang, and manifest wind and thunder!

Separately, none of these Daos resulted in peerless Dao Charm, but they could fuse to form three distinct types of peerless Dao Charm.

The five elements were the foundation, while Yin and Yang created the world, and the movements of wind and thunder gave rise to all living things.

In the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, rare geniuses, the type that only appeared once in tens of thousands of years, had accomplished this before.

But to Su Yi, this was just the beginning.

Upon stepping into the Spirit Dao, these three peerless charms of the Dao could, upon tempering, merge into a Mysterious Truth of the Spirit Dao called “Genesis.”

Genesis represented the very beginning, the origins of life.

The Dao of Genesis was unquestionably one of the ultimate Mysterious Truths of the Spirit Dao.

Similarly, when he reached the Spirit Dao, he could glean enlightenment into two other types of Spirit Dao Mysterious Truths: the “Supreme Palace” and “Void Cosmos.” They could combine with the Mysterious Truths of Genesis and, through enlightenment, undergo metamorphosis, becoming a completely new Spirit Dao Mysterious Truth.

Throughout the long history of the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, not one person had ever refined this Spirit Dao Mysterious Truth.

This was because it originated from the Nine-Layered Divine Chains sealed by the Sword of the Nine Hells. His inspiration was a trace of enlightenment, a hint he’d obtained from them.

This Mysterious Truth was called the "Apex of Genesis”!

The start of genesis, the apex of the spirit. The Apex of Genesis is realized, and the Grand Dao returns to its origins!

Since this Mysterious Truth was the result of pondering the Sword of the Nine Hells, Su Yi had never heard of it, not even in his past life.

However, after years of contemplation and analysis, he was certain that he could make the Apex of Genesis a reality!

Of course, it was unquestionably too early to discuss that now.

As a Grain Avoidance cultivator, what Su Yi had to do during his time in the Origin Dao was comprehend his three chosen peerless Charms of the Dao一five elements, Yin and Yang, and wind and thunder一to the pinnacle of mastery.

This was the only way to fuse them into the Mysterious Truth of Genesis upon entering the Spirit Dao.

As for the “Supreme Palace” and “Void Cosmos”, he’d have to reach the Spirit Dao before he could even begin comprehending their profundities.

I’ve already mastered the Dao Charm of the Five Elements. I’ve tempered each to the point of ‘understanding subtleties’, and I’m not far from reaching major success.

I still have to glean enlightenment into the other two peerless Charms of the Dao, Yin and Yang, and wind and thunder, as quickly as possible.

Su Yi sank into thought.

He was no stranger to enlightenment in the Grand Dao.

However, despite the abundant knowledge and experience of his past life, enlightenment into a brand new Charm of the Dao was no simple matter.

Enlightenment was key here.

He could only cross the threshold by gaining enlightenment from heaven and earth.

Of course, once he got his foot in the door, he could rely on his knowledge and experience to help him master a new Dao Charm’s subtleties. After that, it was just a matter of daily tempering and consolidation. Before long, he’d naturally reach full mastery.

Time slipped by.

Su Yi awoke from his meditation after daybreak.

However, Yuan Heng, who’d left to send the children home, had yet to return.

Don’t tell me something happened to him??Su Yi furrowed his brow.