Chapter 733: The Forgotten Dao Principle

"What do you mean?" Ding Huan frowned at Xing Jia; he didn't understand Xing Jia's words.

Xing Jia wasn't surprised that Ding Huan didn't understand; it would be strange if he did.

"Have you heard of the Cycle Great Dao?" Xing Jia asked.

Ding Huan wanted to say he knew—it was true he had comprehended fragments of the Cycle Dao principles…

But then he realized the fragments he had grasped were merely insignificant shards among countless billions of Cycle Dao principles; if that counted as "having heard," then the Cycle Great Dao would be far too lowly.

"I haven't heard of it. I don't know," Ding Huan replied.

Even as he answered, Ding Huan felt something was off—he should be familiar with the Cycle Great Dao; he had cultivated the Seven Seals of Cycle and comprehended fragments of the Cycle Dao principles…

Oh right, when he first entered here, he had sensed a trace of Cycle Dao resonance within the Death-Ending Dao resonance.

Xing Jia spoke slowly: "In the vast universe, countless beings seek to cultivate the Cycle Great Dao, but no one has ever truly comprehended it fully and reached the highest peak."

Xing Jia wasn't speaking falsely.

Back in the Great Universe, there were more than a few who cultivated the Cycle Great Dao—but which of them had achieved Eternal Life and reached the same height as me?

It's not that the Cycle Great Dao is flawed—it's just too difficult to cultivate.

"The foundation of the Cycle Great Dao is the Cycle Dao Scroll from the Three Thousand Great Daos. If you think merely possessing the Cycle Dao Scroll is enough to attain Eternal Life through Cycle… hah, I've never seen such a thing in my life."

"Why?"

"Because the Cycle Dao Scroll is merely the foundation. To attain Eternal Life through Cycle, you must forge your own new Cycle Dao principles through the Cycle Great Dao itself…"

Here, the Cycle Saint paused:

"Do you know why I think this fellow is a genius? Because he has already surpassed everyone who cultivated the Cycle Dao Scroll and walks his own path of the Cycle Great Dao.

If he succeeds, he may be the first to attain Eternal Life through Cycle—and his future achievements may far surpass mine."

Xing Jia wasn't lying.

If this skeleton truly attained Eternal Life through Cycle, then he was indeed a supreme elder.

"Please enlighten me," Ding Huan said, now speaking with great respect—he no longer called him "Old Jia."

Xing Jia knew this was what Ding Huan meant by "impression points."

To increase Ding Huan's impression points, he had to explain in detail: "The key to attaining the Cycle Great Dao is to validate the Six Realms Cycle Dao Principles.

The so-called Six Realms Cycle Dao Principles mean comprehending fragments of the Dao principles of the Six Realms within a vast realm, then attaining Dao.

But this person must have failed to validate the Six Realms Cycle Dao Principles, and thought of another way…"

"Old Jia, what exactly is validating the Six Realms Cycle Dao Principles?" Ding Huan didn't want to interrupt, but Xing Jia showed no sign of continuing, so he had to ask.

Deep inside, he felt asking this question was crucial.

Xing Jia sneered at Ding Huan—he didn't even know this? How…

"The Six Realms Dao Principles are: the Dao Principle of Entry, the Dao Principle of Establishment, the Dao Principle of Rebirth, the Dao Principle of This Life, the Dao Principle of Next Life, and the Dao Principle of Cycle…"

At these words, Ding Huan's face turned instantly pale.

Xing Jia could now sense the outside world—he fell silent at once, staring at Ding Huan in confusion.

A cold sweat slid down Ding Huan's forehead; he felt something terrible had gone wrong.

Because he knew all these things—but he couldn't remember them.

Only after Xing Jia spoke did he suddenly awaken—he had seen these things before.

"Old Jia, let's come back to this later," Ding Huan said, then immediately commanded the Cosmic Cauldron to retreat swiftly, vanishing from the Gaze of the Divine in an instant.

As Ding Huan's Cosmic Cauldron fled, the skeleton seated dozens of li away turned its head to glance at him, then resumed its previous posture.

Ding Huan's Cosmic Cauldron moved at incredible speed, nearly pushed to its absolute limit.

One day later, Ding Huan's Cosmic Cauldron burst out of the realm saturated with Death-Ending Dao resonance and came to a halt in a valley untouched by Death-Ending Dao resonance.

"Old Jia, bear with me for now—I've run into a problem."

After speaking, Ding Huan immediately sealed Xing Jia's perception with spatial barriers.

Xing Jia erupted into furious curses.

This bastard—when he needed him, he was all sweet talk and let him perceive everything outside.

When he didn't need him, he sealed him off in a pocket of space.

But soon he sighed wearily—hadn't he himself once been the same?

After sealing off Xing Jia, Ding Huan opened his palm—the Grand Void Flame floated before him:

"Grand Void, if any Dao thought, Dao principle, or even will tries to escape my array, obliterate it immediately."

"Master Huan, rest assured—I'm here, everything's fine."

The Grand Void replied loudly.

Ding Huan began setting up various Spirit-Sealing Arrays and Soul-Binding Arrays.

He didn't even know where the problem lay—but he was certain something was wrong.

And it couldn't be a residual soul—he would have noticed it long ago.

It was far more likely a will or a Dao thought.

Because he was gradually forgetting what he had seen—and the fastest to vanish were the things on the hide scroll.

He clearly remembered having seen the Six Realms Dao Principles; he had even seriously pondered how to attain them.

Yet now, when he tried to recall the Six Realms Dao Principles, he remembered nothing.

Only after Xing Jia named them did the memory suddenly return.

He felt the things he was forgetting weren't limited to the hide scroll—he barely remembered even pulling out the eight jade slips. Yet this impression quickly faded again; if this weren't a problem, it would be strange.

The residual will from the hide scroll he had originally obtained had long since been destroyed by him.

Since a problem had now arisen, it could only be the hide scroll from Qu Yi.

He had examined Qu Yi's hide scroll repeatedly—in it was a space, where a residual soul and a soul thought were entangled.

The lingering soul was Ku Ku Fangling; the soul-idea was what the hide scroll left behind.

To be safe, he destroyed the hide scroll at the time. As for the lingering soul and soul-idea, he left not a single one alive—he burned them all.

But before destroying the hide scroll, he carved eight jade slips.

But what was the hide scroll?

If he left behind some hidden tricks, it would be normal for him, at his cultivation level then, not to have noticed.

"Old Jia, I have a question: some things I used to remember suddenly became fuzzy—what's going on?"

Though Xing Jia disliked Ding Huan, hearing Ding Huan's words still startled him inwardly.

This is the Dao of Forgetting.

One word—one sound—one inner content—one look!

Long ago, someone laid down the Dao of Forgetting across the Great Universe, causing even the Eighth Step of the Great Dao to forget the Tianmeng Clan—how could Ding Huan also have the Dao of Forgetting laid upon him?

That's unlikely; this tiny place doesn't even count as a cosmic corner—how could anyone lay down the Dao of Forgetting here?

After a long while, Xing Jia cautiously said:

"There is a kind of Dao called the Dao of Forgetting. Once laid down, it causes one to gradually forget things that were once clearly remembered.

Could someone have laid the Dao of Forgetting upon you?"

He said this, but Xing Jia still didn't truly believe it—could anyone really lay the Dao of Forgetting upon a mere ant like Ding Huan?

Hearing Xing Jia's words, Ding Huan was almost certain: someone had laid the Dao of Forgetting upon him.

"How do you break the Dao of Forgetting?" Ding Huan asked.

Xing Jia sighed: "At least, I have no way."

If he were in his prime, knowing about the Dao of Forgetting might have offered a chance to break it—but now, it's unlikely.

Ding Huan paid no further attention to Xing Jia.

The Dao of Forgetting?

If he didn't know, it might be troublesome.

Now that he knew, this thing that troubled others was nothing to him.

For him, he feared nothing more than various cosmic rules, Great Dao principles, and countless laws.

All of these could become part of his Sea of Consciousness's Great Dao Universe—if he wished to merge them.

Since it is a Dao principle, it is not a lingering thought.

It seems he had a false alarm.

Clearly, the Dao of Forgetting was not left upon Seeing Qu Yi—it must be that the lingering thought of the hide scroll looked down on Seeing Qu Yi, thinking he could stir no waves.

Laying the Dao of Forgetting upon him was a deep, bitter grudge.

Ding Huan's spiritual sense settled upon the Three Thousand Great Dao—there should have been the Great Art of Forgetting, but now it was gone too.

Ding Huan constructed within himself the Great Universe Art Zhou Tian.

The Great Universe Art Zhou Tian began to rotate—not for cultivation, but to probe whether any Dao principles hidden within his own Great Dao did not belong to him.

Ding Huan feared the Dao of Forgetting still held a trace of Dao-idea, so during the Great Universe Art Zhou Tian, he employed the Law Flame.

This Law Flame, as it circulated within him through the Zhou Tian, caused him not the slightest harm.

Any Dao principle or law not fused by Ding Huan would be caught by his Law Flame and burned.

Under Ding Huan's Great Universe Art Zhou Tian, all Dao principles he had already fused automatically separated.

In just half a day, Ding Huan caught fragments of Dao principles he had not fused.

Ding Huan did not use the Great Universe Art to perceive and merge them—he used the Law Flame to burn them.

As Ding Huan's Law Flame burned ever stronger, he felt his memories becoming clearer and clearer.

Indeed, it was the Dao of Forgetting.

One after another, the Dao of Forgetting that did not belong to Ding Huan twisted wildly beneath the Law Flame.

Indeed, there was some will left.

As Ding Huan's Law Flame burned these wills to ash, new Dao principles of Forgetting arose within him, which he perceived and merged into his own Universe of Countless Laws.

Ding Huan now understood: he had long known the True Essence of the Universe.

Unfortunately, beneath the Dao of Forgetting, he had forcibly forgotten it.

Even when reminded at last, he could not recall it.

Not only that, when he entered the Dao Rhythm of Death, the first thing he remembered was not that the True Essence of the Universe could save him—he chose Yang Liu instead.

And when he ordered Emperor Hou Hen to establish the Blue Star Sect, it was merely a sudden flash of inspiration.

Yet when he was in the Divine Valley of Dissonance, he did not recall establishing the Blue Star Sect, nor did he recall ordering Emperor Hou Hen to do so.

For example, the Chaos Supreme Artifact Eternal Divine Wheel—he had heard Xing Jia mention it, and even though he couldn't refine it, he planned to go see it.

Afterwards, he simply could not recall this matter.

He also intended to ask Yuan Qing whether any cultivators had ascended from Half-God Star—yet he forgot that too.

These ancient beings were truly terrifying.

(End of Chapter)