Chapter 177: The Human‑Origin Great Pill

Yan Buji was startled: "Can this Human Dao Red Cloud also help a person breakthrough?"

"Of course, the greatest thing about the Human Dao Red Cloud is that it lets cultivators quickly accumulate magical power, drastically shortening cultivation time."

Huh?!

Yan Buji was startled.

The red smoke in my magical power… could it be related to this Human Dao Red Cloud?

But when did I ever come into contact with it?

Yan Buji was a bit confused; he had some guesses, but he certainly couldn't ask directly.

Moreover, he didn't understand what "human Dao, non‑human Dao" actually meant.

"Hold on, senior. You know I've only been in the cultivation world for a few years. How do we explain this Renyan Tower and the Human Dao?"

The Daoist Li turned his head, gave Yan Buji a few looks, rolled his eyes: "Forgot you kid is a wandering cultivator. Fine, do you even know how a cultivator should cultivate?"

Yan Buji shook his head.

The Daoist Li laughed: "Take your Golden Wheel Skill—have you ever wondered why the Golden Wheel causes magical power to condense into a solid golden wheel?"

"Ah?"

"Or your Spiritual Fire—why does it need magical power to drive it?"

Yan Buji looked puzzled.

I forged it with magical power; without magical power, what would I use?

Seeing Yan Buji's doubt, the Daoist Li smiled and said: "So cultivators study the principle. Where does magical power come from, why does it evolve into countless techniques, why does the world give birth to such forces? We pursue the source; the source is the beginning of everything."

"The road toward the source is called the Dao!"

"Reason, reason—only when you walk the road can you understand the principle."

"Thus the world has myriad great Dao, naturally countless ideas, all of which each cultivator must practice and verify."

The Daoist Li chuckled lightly: "Cultivation is to let our inherently short lives perceive the vastness of time, the enormity of space, the greatness of life."

"Cultivation requires forging your own path; after stepping onto the path, you comprehend truth, which is also called real cultivation; after grasping truth, you advance toward the source, continuing on the truth path, also called Dao cultivation."

The Daoist Li's words rang like a great bell, leaving Yan Buji's thoughts stunned, and he fell silent for a long while.

Cultivators, it turns out, are walking the road, the Dao of truth, peering at the origin.

"But even if we understand the origin, we are already in the future; we can't go against the current, can we?"

"Hahaha, the benevolent see benevolence, the wise see wisdom; you walk toward the future, yet some chase the past. Just as why breakthroughs force cultivators to constantly refine their techniques instead of following predecessors. Some cultivation ideas aim toward future development, but who can ignore the ancient mighty forces that could split heaven and earth?"

The Daoist Li waved his hand, pointing to his own head: "All these must be figured out by oneself."

Yan Buji inhaled deeply, clasped his hands and said: "Thank you, senior, for your guidance."

"Hmph, I spoke too much on a whim. Since you now grasp the gist of cultivation, you must also be clear about the link between Renyan Tower and the Human Dao."

"Human Dao… is it the Dao based on humanity? The rules, morals, etiquette of humans in this world—that's Human Dao?" Yan Buji asked, puzzled.

"Not entirely, but close enough. There are countless great Dao; talking too much makes you overthink. Better experience the subtlety of Human Dao yourself. Compared with the other four realms, comprehending other great Dao in Nan Ting Mountain Region is hard, but grasping Human Dao is simple," the Daoist Li smiled, hinting.

Yan Buji instantly understood.

It was all orchestrated by those major sects and schools!

No wonder they set up the Eight Dao Mysterious Gates in the Eight Dao Territories to secretly monitor mortals, and used the Eight-turn Immortal Accumulation Renyan Tower to suppress ley lines, all for the development of the Human Dao, making cultivation convenient, right?

Yan Buji thought carefully; perhaps his earlier breakthrough in mindset unintentionally triggered the Human Dao. The myriad laws of heaven and earth are hard for someone with his innate talent to grasp alone; perhaps the Human Dao's breakthrough was also due to the subtlety of the Eight Dao Territories!

"So they built Renyan Tower; besides the Human Dao Red Cloud, does it have any other benefits?"

"What, you still want to snatch food from the tiger's mouth?" the Daoist Li laughed oddly.

"No, no, just curious. It can't be just for the Human Dao Red Cloud to warrant such a grand scheme, right?" Yan Buji chuckled.

"The subtlety of the Human Dao lies in its powerful support for all things human. You think why Nan Ting Mountain Region has rarely seen large‑scale anomalous tides or monster uprisings since antiquity? It's because Renyan Tower suppresses the Eight Dao Territories, allowing the great sects within the Ten Thousand Dao Mountain Range to sit securely on a fishing platform," the Daoist Li sneered.

"Such a tactic?" Yan Buji scratched his head, shocked.

"Hmph! You have too many things you don't understand; I have no time to explain each. But inside Renyan Tower there is indeed what I want. In a few days you'll go inside, fetch that item for me; once the task is done, the benefit you receive won't be small," the Daoist Li smiled.

"But it's by senior's command!" Yan Buji nodded.

"Won't you ask what the benefit is?"

"I think senior naturally won't shortchange me."

"Hahaha, you kid....."

The Daoist Li squinted at Yan Buji a few times, finding it odd that this mudskipper‑like wandering cultivator had such nerve to trust his words.

Did he really think he was worthy of him?

It was only to conceal things, after all.

Kid, don't blame me for entering Renyan Tower and fighting you; after all, you know too much!

Yan Buji smiled, drinking his wine.

"This Daoist Li must be trying to kill me, right? But since he came for Renyan Tower, he can't ignore other matters. Since Emperor Bao Cheng and the Third Princess might also be after Renyan Tower, they could run into each other."

At this moment, Hu Zhenfeng suddenly raised his cup: "Friends of the Dao, whoever can obtain the Human‑Origin Great Pill inside Renyan Tower and give it to my Hu family, I will reward a thousand‑grade Spiritual Stone and a Three‑turn Accumulation Device!"

Yan Buji's pupils contracted.

The Daoist Li snickered beside him: "Sure enough, it's for that thing."

"Senior, what is the Human‑Origin Great Pill? A spirit pill?"

"The Human‑Origin Great Pill is one of the three pills collectively called the 'Three Talents Celestial Pill' alongside Earth‑Origin Great Pill and Heaven‑Origin Great Pill. Its main use is to let cultivators in the Lianqi Phase ignore bottlenecks and directly breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage," the Daoist Li sneered, seeming indifferent.

Yan Buji raised an eyebrow, noticing Li's oddness, and asked: "Senior seems indifferent to this Human‑Origin Great Pill? Is there any side effect?"

"Side effect? Heh, the side effect is that you will no longer be able to take Earth‑Origin Great Pill or Heaven‑Origin Great Pill, and this lifetime you won't reach the Nascent Soul Stage," the Daoist Li said with contempt.

"Other than that, there's nothing else. Moreover, a cultivator who has taken all three pills in order during Lianqi Phase, Foundation Establishment Stage, and Jun Dan Phase actually increases the chance of forming a Nascent Soul by ten percent."

Yan Buji felt something stir within.

That's also a good thing!

Yan Buji cannot guarantee whether his aptitude can break through Foundation Establishment Stage; by then, let alone breaking through Nascent Soul, first extend lifespan then talk.