Chapter 52: with translation of chapter title

Qi had the idea of leaving Cloud Dream Marsh to go out for a stroll; if he really needed a reason, he could just treat it as going to fulfill the Dao discussion agreement made when he first met Zu Long and them.

Fuxi and Di Jun didn't follow along; the two of them are now obsessed with formation arrays, enamored with the problem of spiritual power changes within formation arrays.

Qi proposed that they travel together, but they firmly refused.

In the end, there was no choice; Qi could only take Bai Ling on a tour of the wilderness.

Sitting on the ox's back, stopping and going along the way, Qi always felt that the perfect wilderness seemed unable to remain perfect for long.

Qi used a bright pearl to record the scenery along the way; if he felt inclined, he would stop and give a Dao lecture.

Speaking of which, it's interesting; the Dao he spoke of along the way became increasingly simple, and Qi also came to understand the true wilderness, which actually didn't have so many gods.

Most living beings are actually quite ordinary, so ordinary that they cannot even speak.

Although there are many strange beasts and spirit beasts, compared to ordinary living beings, they are actually one in a hundred million.

These ordinary living beings are also cultivators, just with lower cultivation, not immortals, demons, or gods.

Moreover, their methods are crude and superficial, unable to attain the Great Dao.

Qi began to recall the cultivation path previously spoken of by Hongjun: emphasizing fundamentals, cultivating the vital essence's yellow sprouts, practicing by consuming the heavenly and earthly spiritual mechanisms.

Using external things to make up for one's shortcomings can effectively improve one's physique and advance one's Dao cultivation.

However, it relies too much on the external environment; whenever there is a change, lacking certain great elixirs, or if one's innate talent is insufficient, then one can only stagnate.

Qi wanted to try to forge a new cultivation path, giving those with deficient vital essence or abnormal environments a glimpse of hope to see the Great Dao.

Unfortunately, he had no way to start, as he didn't understand the physical structure of these beings, nor the difficulty ordinary beings face in seeking the Dao.

Since Qi came into the world, heaven and earth have favored him; his Dao fruition is complete, and he holds the divine position of the god governing waters in Cloud Dream Marsh; it cannot be said he is not exceptionally favored by heaven.

The foundation of the Great Dao has already been laid by heaven and earth; he only needs to erect a tall building upon that foundation.

Regarding the experience of erecting such a tall building, Qi is very rich in experience and also has many unique methods and understandings.

But how to construct the foundation of this cultivation is something Qi does not understand.

Moreover, the wilderness of heaven and earth is vast, with myriad races as numerous as stars; Qi cannot possibly understand each kind, let alone devise a cultivation path for each.

Just Cloud Dream Marsh alone has more than a hundred million living beings; even by species count, it's not just ten thousand tribes.

Many living beings have similar shapes and habits, yet their inner natures are completely different.

Qi plans to, after meeting Zu Long and them, exchange ideas a bit, which can also be considered a small contribution to the wilderness of heaven and earth.

Qi's Dao becomes increasingly superficial when he speaks of it, although for most living beings it is still quite profound.

Most living beings who come to listen to the Dao end up making the trip for nothing; they only know these things are important but cannot understand them.

It's roughly like someone here is giving a good talk; I came to listen, huh, it's good, I'm engrossed—after it's over, what was said?

In the end, one can only reap some insignificant benefits from the phenomena of the Dao lecture.

There is some gain, but not much.

But each time a Dao lecture is given, some strange beasts and spirit beasts come; they can somewhat grasp a scale or half a claw, yet it's like searching for a flower in the mist.

Fortunately, Qi is not like Hongjun; Qi gives them a chance to ask questions, although sometimes after explaining they become even more bewildered.

But most of them will gain more.

These Dao lectures all generate merit; the amount of merit is recorded according to their effect on heaven and earth and their influence on living beings.

Qi's Dao lectures basically only earn the portion from heaven and earth; for ordinary living beings, the quality of his lectures is poor.

However, fortunately, the merit from heaven and earth's purification is also not small.

The way merit is distributed also changed; at first, each lecture gave a small reward, but later, Qi's lectures were settled in batches of several.

After traveling one-third of the way to the East Sea, heaven and earth stopped settling accounts, as if they were tired of too many lectures and found a single settlement too troublesome.

Qi could feel that merit was still accumulating, it was just not being issued.

Each Dao lecture takes a hundred years; along this journey to the East Sea, it amounts to over twenty years, and Qi gave nearly ten thousand lectures of the purifying Dao.

When Qi arrived at the shore of the East Sea, Zu Long personally welcomed him, and hundreds of millions of aquatic tribes parted the waters to welcome Qi into the East Sea.

"Qi Dao friend, you have finally come; this journey is a great merit to heaven and earth!"

At this moment, Zu Long's enthusiasm for Qi exceeded Qi's imagination; in his impression, Zu Long was an extremely proud person.

Nowadays, calling Zu Long and the dragon clan the greatest tribe of the wilderness is not an exaggeration; how did people become like this now?

Zu Long again called for a banquet, having various spiritual wines, spiritual root fruits, and dancing maidens arrive gracefully.

Although Qi was doubtful, he also felt he had received great respect, and his face shone.

"Zu Long Dao friend, why are you treating me like this? Although I am not a mortal, I shouldn't be causing you to treat me so lavishly."

Qi was very doubtful.

Zu Long then laughed and explained to Qi:

"Dao friend, because you focus on lecturing the Dao, you are unaware of some things; other places might be okay not to understand, but my dragon clan cannot."

"Dao friend, you have come all the way to the dragon clan's East Sea shore, having given over ten thousand Dao lectures along the way; wherever you passed, heaven and earth became pure and spiritual, lotuses covered the ground, and you performed great merit deeds; treating such a person, anything we do is appropriate!"

What Qi didn't know was that, during his journey of lecturing the Dao, the entire Eastern Continent knew there was a person of great merit who went to visit the dragon clan.

One who can cause a virtuous person to go and visit must themselves be a moral place.

The dragon clan's fortune also rose greatly because of this, which is one reason Zu Long treats Qi this way.

But the main reason is still respect for those of great merit; that is the primary cause.

Because Qi's actions are greatly beneficial to the wilderness of heaven and earth, and he too is an innate divine sage, holding such a respectful attitude is appropriate.

After the banquet dispersed, Qi and Zu Long finally had the opportunity for a private talk.

"Zu Long Dao friend, I have come here mainly for three reasons: first, to fulfill the Dao discussion agreement with you from the beginning; second, I now have some personal insights into the Dao, which can be considered barely enough to discuss the Dao with you; thus I have made this journey."

Zu Long, upon hearing these words, nodded in approval and said:

"Good, Dao friend, you are being overly modest; the Dao has no precedence, each can discuss from their own Dao, so where does the notion of forcing come from?"

Seeing Zu Long's approval, Qi then said:

Secondly, on my way to the Eastern Sea, I saw myriad living beings, with no viable path; although they cultivated, they could hardly see the Great Dao.

Friend Dao, as the foremost of the scaled beings under heaven, I wish to converse with you, hoping to try to open a path for these worldly living beings whereby they can see the Great Dao.

The path is arduous, but we ought to open a sliver of hope for them.

The Ancestral Dragon's expression grew somewhat grave; after serious contemplation, he nodded in reply to Qi and said:

The difficulty for all living beings to seek the Dao; to open a sliver of hope for them is a great merit. As the dragon clan, foremost among the scaled beings under heaven, in this matter I shall not shirk my duty!

Qi heartily approved, clapping his hands and saying: 'Good.'

PS: Today's update is finally finished; I have at last completed the writing!

Working overtime is truly annoying; in a few days I will take five days off to store up some drafts, so that thereafter I won't fall behind.

I declare in advance that this leave is for real life, not aimed at the novel; the novel will still be updated normally.

Please vote!

(End of chapter)