Chapter 1272: Longevity: My Farming-Style Cultivation Is Too Steady Chapter 1272: The Dao Venerable Expounds the Dao!

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Protagonist:

Xu Zhangqing

Once every fifty thousand years, the Great Dao Venerable publicly expounds the Dao.

Those closest are all Direct Disciples.

Except Eldest Disciple Zhen Yuanzi, who has not arrived because he is patrolling the Chaos Sea.

Third Direct Disciple Jun Wu Huo, Fifth Direct Disciple Yin Wu Ji, their current whereabouts are unknown.

The rest—Second Direct Disciple Luo Qing Han, Fourth Direct Disciple Bai Li Hong, Sixth Direct Disciple Feng Bu Hui, Seventh Direct Disciple Ji Chen, Eighth Direct Disciple Xun Xian, Ninth Direct Disciple Xu Changqing—have all taken their seats.

Further out are the various Elders, Stewards, True Disciples, and Inner Sect Disciples of the Beidou Immortal Mansion.

Further out still are many people of status and background from the Floating World Four Domains.

Even further out are mostly top Loose Cultivators from the various Star Domains.

……

……

"The world says there are three."

The Great Dao Venerable's voice slowly spread from the great hall.

The entire Beidou Star Domain fell silent at this moment.

The voice shook outward, penetrating halls, penetrating stars.

Every word caused the time laws of the Beidou Star Domain to tremble along with it.

"First is 'the Present'.

The present is the only dwelling of existence.

The past has passed, the future has not arrived.

All phenomena and all things can occupy nothing but this gap of the present.

Every breath you take, every trace of mana you circulate, every sword light you strike forth, all occur in the present."

His voice stopped, as if giving everyone time to understand.

At the same time, above Tian Shu Xing, countless golden light spots drifted down.

Hundreds of millions of star souls, while the Great Dao Venerable expounded the Dao, simultaneously transformed into rain of faith.

These light spots fell upon everyone, neither wetting their clothes nor entering their meridians, but instead causing people to fall into a mysterious state of enlightenment.

The starlight of the Beidou Seven Stars dimmed somewhat at this moment.

Several probing divine senses from the Endless Star Domain had just touched the edge of the Beidou Star Domain when they were silently bounced back by the time barrier.

No one can disturb this place at this time.

After a moment, the Great Dao Venerable's voice sounded again.

The tone was neither high nor low, yet it made every word penetrate deep into everyone's divine souls.

"Second is 'the Past'.

The past is the anchor of the present.

The reason you remember who you are is not because of memory or experience, but because every 'present' of the past has carved an indelible karma mark into your divine souls.

These marks, one end anchored in the past, one end pulling at the present.

Every step you take is actually walking within karma.

The past cannot be changed; any attempt to rewrite the past is nothing more than casting a stone into the river of time—wherever the ripples reach, they instantly capsize."

Xu Ping'an heard this and slightly lowered his head.

Among everyone present, only he had touched the time laws.

At this moment, his understanding of "time" in his heart became even more profound.

However, Xu Zhangqing was different.

He only felt his heart tighten and his sea of consciousness shake.

As if he had forgotten something important, yet could not remember it no matter how hard he tried.

"Third is 'the Future'.

The future is the shadow of the present.

Every 'present' actually projects countless shadows toward the future; these shadows are 'karma'.

Plant what cause, reap what effect.

The future is not nothingness; it exists at the other end of the river of time, approaching the present at a speed you cannot perceive.

All you can do is use every choice of the present to decide which future will meet you."

These words spoken, different people had different reactions.

Those cultivators of the He Dao School, after listening, had different thoughts in their hearts.

In the eyes of others, the Great Dao Venerable comparing the future to a "shadow" and expounding the inevitability of karma was the supreme truth of time.

But in their eyes, this metaphor was still too "light," even overly conservative.

The core of the He Dao School lies in man uniting with heaven, I am the Dao.

A cultivator completely merging into the laws of heaven and earth is itself an extension of the Great Dao, with no boundary existing between them and the Great Dao.

For such an existence, the future is neither shadow nor karma, but the self-manifestation of the Great Dao's will in the river of time.

Wherever he walks, the future extends to wherever.

Cause and effect are not shackles, but footprints.

He Dao Flow xiuxian zhe do not "choose" the future, nor do they wait for the future.

These words spoken by the Great Dao Venerable or the sect master, to He Dao Flow xiuxian zhe, sound more like guidance given to juniors who have not yet touched the threshold of the Great Dao.

After hearing this, the Transcendence Path xiuxian zhe reacted even more coldly.

The essence of the Transcendence Path is severing cause and effect, transcending the Three Worlds.

The xiuxian zhe severs all connections between himself and the entire world in one stroke, from then on existing in no heavenly calculation, within no cycle of cause and effect.

A true xiuxian zhe who has walked the Transcendence Path does not even need "the present."

Because they have neither present nor future.

Cause and effect?

Cause and effect are chains, are shackles, are the culprit that firmly binds xiuxian zhe within time!

Those truly moved by these words are mostly Creation Flow xiuxian zhe.

The core of Creation Flow is preaching to all beings, gathering vows to become a sage.

The xiuxian zhe does not open a Shen Guo, does not merge with the Dao, does not transcend, but instead establishes their own Dao lineage, preaches to all beings, condenses the vow power and faith of all beings within themselves, and thereby achieves an immortal position.

For xiuxian zhe of this school, the cause-and-effect imprint between "the present" and "the future" is precisely the foundation of their existence.

Plant what cause, reap what effect.

In their hands, this is not a guideline for personal cultivation, but the strongest weapon for weaving a belief system.

They kneel beneath the Great Dao Venerable Seat appearing to comprehend the Dao, but in their hearts they think of the mortal kingdoms and immortal sects under their rule.

The future indeed, as the Great Dao Venerable said, is drawing near to the present.

And what they must do is use every choice of the present to influence believers, to condense faith, to decide that final future drawing near.

Suddenly, the voice of the Great Dao Venerable resounded again, ever more grand, ever more deeply entering the heart.

"The present as foundation, the past as mirror, the future as shadow.

The three each occupy their place in time, must not be inverted, must not be usurped.

The essence of cultivation is to prove the Dao in the present, let the past settle as the Dao foundation, let the future open upon the Dao path.

You all must know.

The past is a congealed Dao fruit, cannot be swallowed, cannot be spat out, can only be used as a mirror to see where you come from.

The future is an unopened Dao flower, its shadow can be seen, its petals cannot be touched, can only use the present as soil, will as dew, wait for it to naturally bloom.

The only thing you all can hold in your hands is the present!"

"The present?"

"The present!"

"The present?!"

Some do not understand, some suddenly realize, some are suspicious.

"What is the present?

It is the flowing of that wisp of spiritual energy in your breathing, it is the flashing and vanishing of that law when you strike out sword light, it is every choice you make guarding your original heart through countless calamities.

You are not cultivating in the past, nor cultivating in the future, but cultivating in this moment, this instant, this thought.

Ten thousand laws return to the present, ten thousand Daos begin in the present.

All cultivation, all cause and effect, all existence, are within time.

Outside of time, there is only nothingness!"