Chapter 1314: Longevity: My Farming-Style Cultivation Is Too Steady Chapter 1314: A Thought, Flowers Bloom!

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Protagonist:

Xu Zhangqing

"First Realm, Hearing the Dao."

The Dao Ancestor wrote as he said: "First sensing the breath, like a blind man seeing light.

Able to draw Qi into the body, prolonging life and increasing longevity."

Xu Zhangqing suddenly understood.

The so-called Hearing the Dao was the later Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment.

Sensing Spiritual Energy, drawing Qi into the body.

Tempering the flesh body, prolonging life and increasing longevity.

He had already reached the end in this realm.

That was why he had that feeling of "being able to touch but not push open."

"Second Realm, Entering the Dao."

The Dao Ancestor continued: "Dao Rhyme enters the body, the constitution transforms."

At this step, one can control the arts of Dao Rhyme.

In terms of methods, it is no longer the simple use of Spiritual Power.

Most of the arts cast by those disciples during the day were methods at the Entering the Dao tier."

Xu Zhangqing looked thoughtful.

"Third Realm, Comprehending the Dao.

Choose one among the myriad Daos to comprehend, condensing the 'Dao Heart.'

Arts from then on carry 'Dao Intent,' their power undergoing transformation.

Only at this step does one truly step onto one's own path."

"Fourth Realm, Executing the Dao.

Grasping the prototype of a complete Authority, one can found a sect and establish a school, with words becoming law."

"Fifth Realm, Merging with the Dao.

Dao and I become one, transcending life and death!"

The Dao Ancestor finished speaking, and once again fixed his gaze on Xu Zhangqing: "You are now at the Hearing the Dao stage, and the end of Hearing the Dao is the threshold of Entering the Dao.

To Enter the Dao, there is one gate that must be passed."

Xu Zhangqing subconsciously asked: "What gate?"

"Drawing Dao Rhyme into the body."

The Dao Ancestor said with an expression that was somewhat serious: "If Dao Rhyme does not enter the body, the constitution will not transform.

If the constitution does not transform, cultivation will forever remain at Hearing the Dao.

Even if you cultivate for another hundred years, you will still be treading in place."

When Xu Zhangqing heard the two words "Dao Rhyme," ripples rose in his heart.

In later ages, it was a comprehension produced when a Xiuxian Zhe resonated with the laws of heaven and earth while comprehending the Dao—indescribable, something that could be understood but not spoken.

Some people never encounter it in a lifetime; others walk and walk and suddenly achieve Enlightenment.

But that was later ages.

The Dao Rhyme of later ages was more like the lingering echo of laws.

And here was the Primeval Age.

Laws had not yet been born; what circulated between heaven and earth was not law fragments, but the Authority of gods, the breath of demons, and the lingering obsessions of demons.

Could the Dao Rhyme of this era be the same as that of later ages?

"Dao Ancestor, what is Dao Rhyme?"

Hearing this, the Dao Ancestor did not answer immediately.

He turned his head, his gaze falling toward Yuan Chu.

In the night, the Spiritual Light of the Wan Dao Tree was like the lights of ten thousand families.

From Yuan Chu came several roars of unknown wild beasts, soon covered by insect sounds.

Mortals huddled in a group tour around the bonfire, firelight flickering on Lian Shang.

At this moment, the Dao Ancestor raised his hand, pointing to a wildflower not far away.

This was a Survivor in the flood, mud still clinging to its petals.

"Mortals seeing this flower will only think the flower has bloomed."

"Cultivators seeing this flower know spring has come."

"What do you think of when you see this flower?"

Xu Zhangqing was stunned.

He opened his mouth, but when the words reached his lips, not a single character could be spoken.

At this moment, his mind was completely blank, without any thought.

The Dao Ancestor's voice was unhurried: "Seeing the flower bloom, think of spring.

Seeing falling leaves, think of Reincarnation.

Seeing the flood recede, think of the replacement of all things."

Seeing an infant born, he thought of endless life.

These things that make your heart tremble and cause you to stop and think involuntarily are the rhyme of the Dao!

The Dao Ancestor looked at Xu Zhangqing, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "To understand it is to understand the rhyme of the Dao."

To master it is to master the rhyme of the Dao."

Xu Zhangqing stood beneath the Wan Dao Tree, remaining silent for a long time.

The Dao Ancestor's rhyme of the Dao was entirely different from the "residual rhyme of laws" of later generations.

Simpler.

And harder.

Later-generation xiuxian zhe comprehend the rhyme of the Dao relying on their cultivation level, their spiritual root, and their affinity for laws.

But the rhyme of the Dao spoken of by the Dao Ancestor requires none of these things.

It only needs a pair of eyes and a single thought.

A pair of eyes that can see "flowers blooming."

A thought that can associate with "spring."

He wanted to ask a few more things, but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.

He had asked enough today.

The Dao Ancestor had said enough for him to understand.

Xu Zhangqing bowed deeply: "Thank you, Dao Ancestor, for clearing my doubts!"

The Dao Ancestor waved his hand, then raised his head again, gazing at the star-filled night sky above, and said no more.

Xu Zhangqing did not disturb him further, immediately turning and leaving.

But after walking a few steps, he couldn't help but turn back to look once more.

Beneath the Wan Dao Tree, the Dao Ancestor gazed up at the starry sky.

The spiritual light of the Wan Dao Tree fell upon him, enveloping his whole person in an inexplicable atmosphere.

Ordinary.

Extraordinary.

Transcendent.

Layers shifting, with beginning and end.

At this moment, Xu Zhangqing gained a bit of comprehension.

He wanted many things.

Truth.

Divine abilities.

Spiritual realms.

But what was most urgent right now was still to draw the rhyme of the Dao into his body.

The Dao Ancestor said, mortals see flowers blooming, cultivators see spring.

Then, what about himself?

What should he see?

……

……

From then on, Xu Zhangqing went out every day.

Previously he went out to search for unfamiliar lingti; now he went out to comprehend the rhyme of the Dao.

But for several consecutive days, not only did he fail to find the rhyme of the Dao, he even forgot about the lingti.

In the end, his eyes were blurred from looking.

Countless thoughts surged up, each one understandable, each one meaningless.

Zhang Daoxuan saw it in his eyes and shook his head: "Too much obsession, turning into karmic obstacles!"

Xu Zhangqing took it to heart; he no longer stared at those flowers and grasses.

He even closed his eyes, switching to listening with his ears and feeling with his heart.

His spiritual awareness slowly spread out like a net, extending in all directions.

At this moment, although his eyes were dark, he "saw" more things.

Passing by the Xi Tribe, he "heard" an infant's heartbeat.

Passing by a patch of grass, he "heard" the sound of a seed breaking its shell.

Passing by a lightning-struck tree, he "heard" the sound of a tender shoot prying open dead bark.

Every sound was demonstrating the same thing.

Life!

Vitality!

The exuberance of all things!

The moment this thought surfaced, Xu Zhangqing felt that some place that had always been blocked suddenly loosened, even warm and cozy.

Like a seed finally breaking through its shell to welcome the first ray of sunlight.

His footsteps did not stop; he continued on.

Where to?

Don't know!

Just follow the feeling.

At the instant Xu Zhangqing gained realization, the Wan Dao Tree reacted.

First the leaves at the very top of the crown began to tremble slightly, then the branches in the middle, and finally the entire tree.

Ten thousand leaves swayed at once, making a rustling sound, as spiritual light rippled outward in waves.

At this moment, it had formed an unprecedented resonance with Xu Zhangqing.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know!"

"Does the Wan Dao Tree feel different today?!"

Everyone raised their heads, blankly watching the glowing Wan Dao Tree.

Xu Zhangqing was completely unaware.

He still had his eyes closed, walking step by step.

Wherever he passed, clusters of tender green grass sprouted from the soil beneath his feet, wildflowers by the roadside bloomed one after another, and even the muddy stench left by the flood in the air faded somewhat, replaced by a fresh scent of grass and trees.

He walked very slowly, as if measuring every inch of land beneath his feet.

His resonance with the Wan Dao Tree grew stronger and stronger, from trembling leaves to swaying trunks and branches, until finally even the tree roots began to hum.

The spiritual light of the entire Wan Dao Tree became brighter and brighter, even seeping out from every leaf, finally gathering into a green light pillar that shot straight from the top of the crown toward the sky.

Xu Zhangqing finally stopped his steps and opened his eyes.

Before him was nothing else—it was precisely the Wan Dao Tree.

In that instant, the Wan Dao Tree bloomed its first flower.

Then the second, the third, the tenth, the hundredth… the ten thousandth.

Not long after, the entire Wan Dao Tree was covered in flowers!