Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

This subversive truth was like an invisible hammer, hitting the hearts of all the strong men hard.

“Ye… Zi…?” The shadow of the Eternal Night Demon God fluctuated violently, and his voice was filled with incredible confusion.

The Bone Emperor Demon God's skeletal body made slight cracking sounds, the phantom fire dimmed, and he looked blankly into the void.

“Hahaha!” The Blood Hell Demon God laughed crazily, but the blood sea was as silent as a mirror: “We have roamed the world for thousands of years, but we are just ants at the end of a giant tree!”

The smile of Burning Heaven Immortal Venerable disappeared, his body hunched, and his voice was dry: "Daoyou Li...how much have you seen? We...are still hopeful?"

The enlightened monk Buddha turned the golden light of chaos and sighed with compassion: "One leaf is a bodhi...but this leaf is the leaf that will wither! How kind, how sad!"

The Soul Devouring Demon God's face twisted as he questioned in a shrill voice, "This is a lie that is misleading people! This must be an illusion caused by the backlash of the evil ways!"

Taixuan Sword Master sheathed his ancient sword and asked Li Mu in a deep voice, "Daoyou Li, have you fallen into the trap of the will of the treacherous Dao and been given false 'memories'?"

"It's not an illusion. It's the truth analyzed from its origin mark and Dao traces after the Chaos Treasure House refined its core. Our three realms are nothing but a dead leaf called 'Desolate Corner' at the end of the 'Cangxuan Branches' of the 'Ancient Tree of Origin'. The Matrix of the Weird Dao is a 'weird cancer' that parasitizes the Tree of the World; the Demon Abyss Seal only cuts off the tip of the thinnest straw that probes into this place!" Li Mu shook his head and explained calmly.

"The power of the mother body?" The Black Evil God asked with difficulty.

"It's impossible to guess." Li Mu said solemnly: "The ninth-level treasure is like a firefly in front of it. The will of the Weird Tree that we are resisting may not be as strong as its thought."

Despair is like ice that freezes the strong.

The Starry Sky Patriarch said in a sad voice: "Could it be that... after thousands of years of hard training... we are finally food for that 'cancer'? We are not even qualified to struggle?"

"Despair is the nourishment that the cancer of cunning craves the most... However, it has not yet reached the point of an unsolvable catastrophe!" Li Mu's voice was decisive, like a magic needle that stabilized the sea, which shocked everyone.

"Although the cancer of the treacherous way is strong, we will not sit still and wait for death!" Li Mu changed the subject and threw out the most crucial question. His voice was filled with a heaviness and inquiry that penetrated the void: "My fellow Taoists, you have traveled through the three realms for thousands of years. Do you know what other realms there are above this 'extreme way'?"

When this question came out, it was like a bolt from the blue!
In the dead silent star field, the feeling of suffocation was instantly replaced by a deeper confusion.

“Above the Ultimate Dao?” The hunched body of the Burning Heaven Immortal Venerable trembled slightly, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, which then turned into deeper confusion and solemnity: “The Ultimate Dao is already the pinnacle of this world. Going above… the fragments of ancient books may mention words like ‘transcendence’ and ‘Dao Lord’, but they are all illusory and no one has seen them, let alone any real evidence! What we seek is nothing more than the perfection of the Ultimate Dao and a glimpse of the origin of the Great Dao.”

“Hmph!” The Blood Hell Demon God suppressed his turbulent emotions, with murderous light and confusion intertwined in his bloodshot eyes: “The extreme is the pinnacle! The body of the Demon God is indestructible for ten thousand years! What you call ‘above’ is nothing but a legend, a mirage!”

The Bone Emperor Demon God's eyes flickered with dark fire, and he said in a concentrated voice: "The Demon Abyss is the oldest, and it only records the ultimate realm of the Demon God. Above that... if there is such a being, how could it be trapped in a 'leaf'?"

The holy monk Mingxin put his hands together, and the chaotic golden light on the Buddha's wheel was flowing unsteadily: "Amitabha... The Buddhist scriptures mention the 'Bodhi Fruition' and the 'Supreme Enlightenment', but these realms require transcending the three realms and the five elements, destroying all phenomena, which is beyond the capacity of this world. What Mr. Li asked directly points to the ultimate of the Great Dao."

Taixuan Sword Master's eyes were as sharp as a sword. He was silent for a moment before he slowly said, "I have exhausted all the sword arts, but I only feel that the front is like an abyss or a prison, as if there is a barrier. The realms of 'combining the body with the Tao' and 'transforming the Tao into thousands' mentioned in ancient books may be the realm 'above'. However, to reach this realm, one must jump out of the cage of this world, and we... are all in the cage."

The Soul Devouring Demon God's illusory face twisted, and he shrieked, "Ridiculous! If there really is a higher realm, why have we never sensed it? Why have no living beings ever set foot in this world? Fellow Daoist Li, have you been indoctrinated with a false 'path' by the will of that treacherous Dao?"

The Black Evil God, the Eternal Night Demon God, the Starry Sky Ancestor, and others all had solemn expressions and looked deep in thought.

Li Mu's question was like a key, trying to open a door that they had never thought of and even subconsciously believed did not exist.

However, combined with the truth about the "leaf", the existence of this door itself contains a frightening possibility - perhaps, only by stepping into the "door" will there be a glimmer of hope to fight against the "strange cancer"!
Li Mu took in everyone's reactions. Their confusion, doubts, and limited knowledge were all within his expectations. He did not directly refute Soul Eater, but slowly spoke to the point, "If this world is nothing more than a cage. What would be the scene outside the cage, on the branches, and even on the top of the ancient tree? The Tao has no limit. Fellow Taoists, your horizons... should not be limited to this dead leaf."

Li Mu's words were like throwing a huge rock into stagnant water, stirring up deeper waves.

The confusion, doubt, and even despair on the faces of the powerful men were replaced by an unprecedented, piercing desire for knowledge.

Yes, if this world is really a cage of dead leaves, then what would be the scene outside the cage, on the branches, and even on the top of the ancient tree of origin? The Tao has no end. Could it be that their cultivation for hundreds of millions of years is really just circling around the lines of these dead leaves?

"Fellow Daoist Li... since you said that you were 'fortunate enough to glimpse the realm above the highest level'... does this realm really exist? And how... how were you able to glimpse it?" The sadness in the eyes of the Starry Sky Patriarch had not yet dissipated, but a glimmer of hope ignited, and he asked with concern.

All eyes, as if drawn by an invisible thread, instantly focused on Li Mu.

"It exists." Li Mu's voice was firm and firm, with a kind of insight into the truth. "This is not conjecture, nor is it an illusion of the strange way. It is the revelation 'analyzed' from the most fundamental Dao mark when refining the core of the Chaos Treasure House. Just like a dead leaf can feel the veins of a branch, the mark of the core is imprinted with Dao marks that far exceed the 'Extreme Dao' of this world can bear!"

After a pause, Li Mu seemed to be recalling the thrilling refining process, and the aura around him became ethereal and lofty: "When my mind and spirit merged with the deepest origin mark in the core of the treasure house, it was like a frog in a well looking up at the real sky for the first time! Deep in that mark, it is not a specific skill inheritance, but a certain... 'state of existence' of 'Tao'! It is vast, profound, and self-contained. The rules and power levels it contains make the 'Extreme Dao' laws I know pale in comparison, just like a stream to the ocean, a firefly to the scorching sun!"

Burning Heaven Immortal Venerable leaned forward and asked eagerly: "What state is it? Fellow Daoist Li, what did you see?" Li Mu glanced at him and said directly: "The core mark of the Chaos Treasure House did not directly give the specific realm name and practice method. It is more like a glimpse of 'revelation', a directional 'coordinate'. What I 'understood' is not its form, but its 'essence'!"

"I realized that the core quality of the realm 'above the extreme' lies in 'source'! In 'seed'! In 'self'!"

"Source? Seed? From?" The dark fire in the eyes of the Bone Emperor Demon God was beating violently, and his white bone fingers rubbed subconsciously, making a slight scraping sound. These few words were simple but weighty, pointing directly to the root of the avenue.

"That's right!" Li Mu's eyes were like lightning, sweeping over everyone and explaining in detail: "Whatever Taoists cultivate, no matter whether it is immortal, demon, god or Buddha, no matter how earth-shattering the magical power is, the 'source' of its power is 'outside'! Drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, borrowing the laws of the great way, and seizing the vitality of all things... This is the 'way of cultivating the source of others'! Refining, controlling, and exerting the power of 'other sources' to the extreme is the 'ultimate way' of this world!"

Li Mu's voice suddenly rose, with a shocking shout: "The 'ultimate way' reflected by the Chaos Treasure House Seal, its 'source' of power is 'inside'! It is no longer 'borrowing' and 'using', but 'birth' and 'creation'! It is like... in the chaos and nothingness of oneself!"

"'Plant' the 'seed' of the root that belongs to 'self'! The foundation of this Dao, its 'source' is born from 'self', grows from 'self', and becomes 'self'! I... let's call it 'planting the Dao in the source'! Therefore, above the extreme Dao, it should be the realm of planting the Dao!"

"Zhongdao Realm!"

These three words were like three chaotic thunders that created the world, striking fiercely into the minds of all the strong men.

“Internal source… self-generated… self-created…, the way of self-source.” The Immortal Venerable Burning Sky muttered to himself, his hunched body straightened a little, his eyes flashed with a gleam, as if he had seen a whole new realm.

He had spent his entire life pursuing the ultimate fire that burned the entire world, but its source... was not in the heaven and earth, but in himself? This subversive understanding impacted his foundation!

"Myself as the source? Myself as the seed?" The crazy laughter of the Blood Hell Demon God disappeared completely, and an unprecedented storm surged in his huge blood-red pupils. He plundered the blood of all living beings to achieve the body of a demon god, and the source of his power all came from "outside".

If power comes from the "seed" within oneself, then the meaning of plunder... He felt a shudder that came from the instinct of life.

"Amitabha!" The golden light on the Buddha's wheel of the enlightened monk was more blazing than ever before: "There is no Bodhi tree, and the bright mirror is not a stand! It turns out... the Bodhi fruit is not to seek the Pure Land outside, but to plant the Bodhi cause in your own heart! 'Plant the way from the source'... This is the supreme and correct way to transcend the cage of dead leaves in this world! Good! Very good!"

The compassion of the holy monk Mingxin turned into great joy that a glimmer of hope had finally appeared in the ultimate direction of the Great Way.

Taixuan Sword Master was as silent as an ancient sword returning to its sheath, but at this moment the sheath emitted a low and excited humming sound. His lifelong pursuit was to unite his body with the Dao and transform his sword into thousands of things. If what he “united” with was the “source Dao” that he had planted, and if what he “transformed” into was the thousands of laws derived from the source… that was the true ultimate sword path!
Jump out of the cage and open up a new world with the sword! A majestic sword intention of nurturing and creating quietly sprouted in the depths of Taixuan Sword Master's body that had been silent for thousands of years!
“Ridiculous! Ridiculous!” The Soul Devouring Demon God screamed, his illusory face twisted and deformed due to extreme fear and resistance. He said incomprehensibly: “Is it the source? Is it the seed? How can it grow without external support? How can it resist the erosion of the treacherous way? This is simply a road to self-destruction! It is the most sinister trap of the treacherous way, tempting us to give up the power foundation on which we depend for survival!”

The Black Evil Demon God, the Eternal Night Demon God, the Starry Sky Ancestor... all of them were terrified, their faces changing constantly. The skills they practiced were all dependent on external sources, which meant that they had no chance of following the true path, unless they cut off their paths and start over!
Li Mu's words, without any specific practice, were more subversive than any other practice. However, they fundamentally shook their understanding of the foundation of practice and the source of power that they had firmly believed in for tens of thousands of years!
“It’s not about giving up the foundation,” Li Mu looked at Soul Eater calmly, his eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the fear in his soul, and said bluntly: “It’s about rebuilding the foundation! Just like a giant tree seedling, it may need to absorb nutrients from the soil at first, but its towering ambition, its undying vitality, and its ultimate power will look down on the sky!”

"Its root lies in the life seed it nurtures! 'Seed the Tao from its own source' does not mean isolating external nutrients, but transforming external nutrients into the nourishment for the 'self-sourced Tao seed'. Its core and end point is that the Tao seed that belongs to 'me' takes root, sprouts, grows, and finally... expands the cage of this world and touches the vast branches outside the cage!"

As he spoke, Li Mu stretched out his palm, and a faint but incomparably pure air current with a primitive and independent aura like the beginning of chaos slowly emerged, swirling and dying in his palm, like a miniature chaos seed, exuding a charm that is completely different from any known power in the Three Realms.

"This is neither a magical power nor a force," Li Mu's voice carried a hint of guidance, and also contained a hint of the profoundness of his own understanding that was still being explored. He reminded: "This is the embryonic form of a ray of 'intention' that naturally escaped from the depths of the origin when I tried to understand the source of the Tao and my mind resonated with it, ..."

That faint breath was like the first spark thrown into a dry grassland. In an instant, the divine thoughts of all the powerful men were like gluttons smelling a rare delicacy, entwining it recklessly, greedily sensing, analyzing, and understanding this strange and noble "intention".

However, the Dao seed formed by Li Mu was his own unique source of chaotic Dao. Others saw it and understood it, but in the end they were still a little bit lacking and could not truly touch its core origin.

The demon gods and extremely powerful ones were reluctant to let such a great opportunity go to waste, their spiritual thoughts were like a net that instantly wrapped around that strand of "intention", their faces immediately changed, and their own spiritual sources were greatly shaken.

Burning Sky Immortal Venerable: The Dao fire in his body was flickering, as if some dormant origin was ignited by this ray of "intention", and the Dao in his eyes was frantically deducing.

Taixuan Sword Master: The humming sound in his body became louder, and a sharp edge like the creation of the world was brewing in the depths of his silence.

Holy Monk Mingxin chants the Buddha's name softly, and the light of the Buddha's wheel gently but firmly blends into that "intention", as if confirming that "one's own mind is the Pure Land."

Soul Devouring Devil: Fear turned into rage! "Falsehood! Break!" An invisible and intangible black thorn that devoured the essence of the soul silently pierced the "will" in Li Mu's palm, trying to pollute and devour it!
The Dark Demon God: A faint light flashed in his eyes, and a ghost claw condensed from pure Dark Demon God arrived first and grabbed the airflow! He didn't want to destroy it, but wanted to grab it by force and study the secret of this "self-source"!
Facing the soul-devouring, vicious soul thorn and the domineering claws of Xuansha, Li Mu's expression remained unchanged.

The faint stream of air in the palm of his hand suddenly trembled slightly.

hum!
An indescribable sense of "existence" suddenly spread, not an explosion of power, but as if it itself was the "origin", unaffected by anything!

"What?!" The Xuansha Demon God's face changed for the first time. He suddenly retracted his claws and looked at the trace of chaotic aura remaining on his fingertips, with surprise and doubt in his eyes.

That wisp of "intention" was as weak as a candle in the wind, but it contained a supreme quality of "being immune to all laws and growing and developing on its own"! It seemed to be independent of the laws of this world, forming a tiny chaos of its own! (End of this chapter)