Chapter 578: Hearing the Dao in the Morning

Outside the Jinshan Prefecture city, a massive golden Buddha statue radiated infinite light.

The sound of Sanskrit chants spread throughout the entire prefecture; the dark clouds above the city were pierced by the light, and thousands of thunderbolts dissipated along with them.

With the Pudu Temple joining in, the tide of battle reversed in an instant!

That Buddha from Pudu Temple, though he had not been famous in recent years and was even ranked alongside the other four True Persons as one of the "Five True Persons," had never received the respect he deserved.

Yet, among the world's peak powerhouses, no one dared to underestimate this Buddha.

Now, separated by thousands of miles, this was the first time this Buddha had taken action in front of the world, and he immediately displayed the boundlessness of his Buddhist Dharma!

If True Person Qingxu could have fully perfected his grand array and brought down its full power, he would not have feared a battle with his opponent, but as it stood now—

He knew clearly that it was almost impossible for him to perfect the grand array.

The Imperial Dragon Qi summoned by Yunshu and the power transmitted from Pudu Temple had forcibly cracked a corner of the array, making it difficult for True Person Qingxu to complete it.

If this continued to drag on, the imperial court would send more powerhouses to destroy the array.

In the blink of an eye, the thousand-meter Dharma form within Jinshan Prefecture city collapsed all at once!

Yunshu was startled.

He had been analyzing the Dao principles and knew that True Person Qingxu had by no means reached the point of being "at the end of his rope."

Therefore, this was the opponent's own deliberate choice.

"What is he trying to do?"

Yunshu grew vigilant.

At the same time, the Dharma forms in the other four directions of Ming Province all underwent changes.

Yunshu could clearly "see" that within the territory of Jinshan Prefecture, the power of the array was "retreating."

True Person Qingxu had completely abandoned Jinshan Prefecture!

He had set up five Dharma forms in five directions to construct an array based on the principles of the Five Elements, thereby serving as the foundation for establishing a Dao Nation.

But now, he had voluntarily abandoned Jinshan Prefecture, which belonged to the "Metal" attribute, and actively disintegrated the Metal-attribute Dharma form.

Subsequently, through analyzing the Dao principles, Yunshu "saw" the power between the four remaining Dharma forms linking together.

"He's gone mad!"

Yunshu found it unbelievable.

True Person Qingxu had actually abandoned the Five Elements array and was forcibly using the four incomplete Dharma forms to construct the array!

Daluo Peak, the forbidden area behind the mountain.

Inside the cave dwelling, the true body of True Person Qingxu remained here.

Tai Yu was also still firmly suppressed by his restrictions.

Previously, True Person Qingxu had been suppressing Tai Yu while simultaneously battling Yunshu!

"Qingxu, will you not turn back yet?"

Inside the cave, Tai Yu suddenly roared.

Although he could not perceive the situation of the battle outside, he had been constantly clashing with True Person Qingxu using Dao principles, so he had sensed it the moment True Person Qingxu disintegrated one of his Dharma forms.

In Tai Yu's view, this was a sign that True Person Qingxu was about to fail.

True Person Qingxu glanced at Tai Yu.

At this moment, he was still able to smile:

"Junior Uncle, from the day I began seeking the Dao, I told myself: In this life, if I do not attain longevity, I will never turn back!"

Having said this, he walked out of the cave dwelling without looking back.

Luoxia Peak, the Daoist temple where True Person Qingxia resided.

When True Person Qingxu began his move, this place was immediately sealed by a restriction; those inside the temple could not leave, and those outside could not enter.

After trying several times, True Person Qingxia stopped attempting to break the restriction and just sat quietly in the courtyard, lost in thought.

Suddenly, she felt something and looked to one side.

A flash of clear light flickered, and True Person Qingxu appeared there.

This was not the true body of True Person Qingxu, but merely a clone formed from his virtual thoughts.

"Senior Brother actually has time to come see me? Does this mean you have already been defeated?"

Upon seeing True Person Qingxu, True Person Qingxia did not stand up and asked with a mocking laugh.

"Why do you think I would only come to see you after being defeated?"

True Person Qingxu asked.

True Person Qingxia chuckled: "Based on my understanding of you, Senior Brother, if you had succeeded, there would be too many things to do immediately; you would certainly not have the leisure to visit me. Only if you were defeated would you possibly come to settle scores."

True Person Qingxu looked at this former confidant.

He had once trusted her so deeply that he had even considered letting her know about the Dao Nation.

"Have you already guessed my goal?"

"Senior Brother is a talent of heaven-sent genius with grand strategies; in this world, there is only one thing worth you painstakingly plotting and being willing to pay a huge price to pursue."

"Why?"

True Person Qingxu finally asked this question.

He wanted to know why True Person Qingxia had chosen to betray him.

Back then at the Taixu Hall, if True Person Qingxia had not stood up to vote at the end, that "Joint Verification of the Dao Lineage" would never have started.

True Person Qingxu would still be the Sect Master of Daluo Sect, and he would not have needed to launch his plan in such a rush.

The final outcome might have been completely different!

"Just because of that dead disciple?"

There was a hint of anger in True Person Qingxu's words.

True Person Qingxia stood up abruptly from the stone bench, meeting Qingxu's gaze without showing any weakness:

"Senior Brother must think that disciple was unimportant, so I want to know, who exactly is important in your heart? Is Senior Brother Qingding important to you?!"

True Person Qingxu was startled, his expression returning to calmness.

Or rather, returning to indifference.

True Person Qingxia showed rare emotional agitation:

"Senior Brother, tell me, who in your heart is actually important?"

"To pursue your Dao, the disciples of Daluo Sect can be sacrificed at will, and the Junior Brothers who followed you for years can be sacrificed. Even I, I suppose, am also expendable?"

"In the face of your Dao, is everyone in the world expendable?!"

"Yes!"

True Person Qingxu interrupted Qingxia's questioning, giving her one last look with cold eyes.

The next second, his clone vanished from the courtyard.

True Person Qingxia was stunned, then collapsed onto the ground.

"Haha, hahahahahaha—"

She laughed wildly in the courtyard.

While the two were talking, in Yidu Prefecture, Jingmen Prefecture, Xiuzhou Prefecture, and the provincial capital of Ming Province, the four Dharma forms in these four places soared into the sky, carrying the Blood-Scaled Golden Dragons circling around them!

Heaven and earth shook.

"He is forcibly establishing a Dao Nation!"

Yunshu saw through True Person Qingxu's intentions by analyzing the Dao principles.

After discarding one Dharma form and a "corner" of the Five Elements, True Person Qingxu had reconstructed an array using the remaining Dharma forms.

For this feat alone, he was worthy of being the number one in the world at arrays!

But a Dao Nation forcibly constructed with an incomplete array was also incomplete and fundamentally difficult to sustain.

"Amitabha, Benefactor Qingxu is attempting to forcibly verify the Dao."

A compassionate voice came from within the golden Buddha statue.

This was the voice of that contemporary Buddha.

He also saw through True Person Qingxu's intentions.

The arrays in the other four directions had long been perfected; now that True Person Qingxu had abandoned Jinshan Prefecture, he had shrunk the scope of the array, also locking Yunshu and this Buddha statue outside the "gate."

It was already too late for the two of them to stop True Person Qingxu.

"A path to self-destruction."

Yunshu said coldly.

Even if he succeeded in establishing a complete Dao Nation, True Person Qingxu might not have had much certainty in verifying the Dao.

Now that he was forcibly verifying the Dao with an incomplete Dao Nation, the probability of success was even smaller!

Therefore, Yunshu believed this was a path to self-destruction.

The Buddha on the side remained silent, merely witnessing.

As a leader of Buddhism and a contemporary Buddha, he disdained True Person Qingxu's method of blood sacrifice and did not wish to see a Dao Nation established.

But as a fellow seeker of the Dao, he felt some admiration for True Person Qingxu's choice at this moment.

While the two were speaking, a Dao Nation covering most of Ming Province appeared:

Ordinary people and those with insufficient cultivation could not see it, but a golden giant dragon, fully ten thousand meters long, circled above this Dao Nation!

Grand power rippled within it; the higher the realm of the powerhouse, the more terrified they felt.

Bolts of lightning flickered in the sky, as if singing for the Dao Nation.

On Daluo Peak, a purple-gold pillar of light shot into the sky, straight up into the clouds, with no end in sight!

Xiang Yunshu and the Buddha statue beside him both looked at this pillar of light.

Many powerhouses who were fighting at the borders also stopped their clashes and turned to look at this pillar of light.

As long as they were within the range of Ming Province, any powerhouse who had reached a certain realm could feel it in their hearts, sensing from it that magnificent, vast, and heaven-piercing aura!

The Dao Nation has been established; True Person Qingxu has begun to break through his realm!

On the highway leading to Chongcheng, because Li Fei carried the Dragon Qi, he felt it the moment the Dao Nation was established and turned his head to look into the distance.

He could also "see" that ten-thousand-meter-long golden dragon, and subsequently, he felt that aura atop Daluo Peak.

"True Person Qingxu is going to verify the Dao?"

Li Fei reacted immediately.

He thought for a moment, injected a strand of virtual intent into the Dream-Entering Order, and then informed True Person Qingding of this news.

"He has established the Dao Nation?"

Upon receiving this news, True Person Qingding was very agitated.

"It is indeed established, but it should be incomplete. I am currently within the territory of Jinshan Prefecture, yet I am not enveloped by the Dao Nation."

Li Fei said.

"He is attempting a forced verification!"

True Person Qingding reacted, then fell into silence.

"... It is a pity that I cannot witness it in person."

A moment later, True Person Qingding said with regret.

This was the lifelong vision of both him and True Person Qingxu; no matter what, he wanted to witness the final result.

In truth, Li Fei also very much wanted to observe how a peak powerhouse breaks through boundaries to verify the Great Dao.

It is a pity that this place is several hundred kilometers away from the Daluo Sect, and with a Dao Nation in between, what he could see was truly limited.

"Wait a moment..."

Li Fei suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of something:

"If I pass through the Gate of the Dream Realm and enter the Dream Realm, is it possible to see the subconscious of True Person Qingxu?"

The Dream Realm could allow him to span space and establish a connection with extremely distant existences.

But the prerequisite was that he must be able to sense the other party's consciousness.

With Li Fei's current cultivation in the art of the Dao, he could at most sense consciousness within a thousand-meter radius; trying to sense the consciousness of True Person Qingxu from this location was almost impossible.

But now, True Person Qingxu was at the critical moment of breaking through his realm; the other party's consciousness in the Dream Realm should appear very dazzling, and it should not be difficult for him to find it.

Furthermore, he now carried the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi, and True Person Qingxu, as the master of the Dao Nation, carried a massive amount of the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi.

A connection would naturally form between the two.

"It is worth a try!"

Li Fei made his decision.

The Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi strengthened him in every aspect; it not only enhanced his physical force but also his spiritual power, so his virtual intent was also strengthened accordingly—not like the Possession Realm, but better than the Possession Realm!

This was the confidence Li Fei had to attempt it.

If one wanders too far in the Dream Realm, there is a risk of getting lost!

In the history of the Nightmare Sect, many powerhouses in the Possession Realm ended up completely lost while wandering the Dream Realm because they went too far, their bodies becoming walking corpses.

With his current virtual intent at the strength of the Possession Realm, plus the Dream-Entering Order, Li Fei's ability to wander in the Dream Realm would not be inferior to a True Person!

Only then did he have the certainty to "wander" to the side of True Person Qingxu.

He used his virtual intent to cast the "Gate of the Dream Realm," then used the Dream-Entering Order to step into the Dream Realm once again.

This time, he easily completed the "fixing of intent" and appeared on a highway surrounded by woods.

Then he turned his head to look in the direction where he remembered the Daluo Sect to be.

He saw a sun!

This was the projection of True Person Qingxu's subconscious in the Dream Realm at this moment.

Li Fei's heart stirred, and he began to fly toward this sun.

Diving directly into the subconscious sea of a powerhouse is a very dangerous thing, especially since True Person Qingxu was currently breaking through his realm; who knows what terrifying things were hidden within his subconscious!

Li Fei did not intend to court death, so he would not enter the subconscious of True Person Qingxu directly.

He only wanted to get closer to watch this breakthrough.

Other powerhouses observing from the real world might not be able to see as clearly as he could through the subconscious!

Soon, Li Fei "swam" to the vicinity of the "sun" in the sky.

The closer he got, the more he could sense the terrifying power contained within this "sun."

And this "sun" was extremely unstable, as if it could explode at any moment!

"Eight hundred years of Daoism, a thousand years of martial arts, yet no one has glimpsed the scenery above the peak."

Suddenly, Li Fei heard a grand voice.

This was the voice of True Person Qingxu.

This was the voice of his subconscious projected into the Dream Realm; because the power fluctuations were too strong, Li Fei did not need to dive into it to hear it.

"If predecessors could not do it, I shall!"

"If I do not verify longevity, I swear I will not turn back!"

"..."

One after another, "heart-sounds" were projected into the Dream Realm, allowing Li Fei to feel the will of True Person Qingxu to seek the Dao.

At a certain moment, the "sun" before Li Fei's eyes suddenly leaped upward and burst forth with infinite light, as if it wanted to illuminate the entire Dream Realm!

Li Fei could no longer look directly at this "sun" and could only try his best to feel the light projected onto him.

In a trance, he felt the entire Dream Realm shake once.

Something had been broken.

Then he heard a burst of crying.

This crying was not sad; it was like the wailing of an infant, as if it were opening its eyes to see this world for the first time.

Hearing this cry, even under the protective cover of the Dream-Entering Order, Li Fei's spirit still swayed, unable to extricate himself:

He was also influenced by this cry, falling into a massive, indescribable sense of being moved!

Through this cry, he seemed to see many incomparably profound and mysterious things.

He could not understand these things for the moment and could only imprint them deeply in his heart.

At this moment, the world lifted its veil before Li Fei, allowing him to see a new heaven.

An immortal strokes my crown!

The real world.

A sun rose from the east, and ten thousand rays of rosy light tore through the darkness, bringing light back to the human world.

The morning sun rose, and dawn had arrived.

On Daluo Peak, a childlike smile appeared on the face of True Person Qingxu, who was enveloped in a purple-gold pillar of light.

The Dao has been heard.

Seeking monthly votes.

Just one update today; I will take a rest and organize the subsequent plot.

(End of chapter)