Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

A century has passed in the blink of an eye.

Deep within the Chaotic Treasury, time seems to stand still.

Li Mu sat cross-legged beneath the Dao Tree, his mind immersed in the Chaos Dao Tree. The strange source rooted in the void surged into him, refining the vast strange source he had drawn from the mother tree of the strange race day and night.

The Chaos Dao Tree's trunk is vigorous and ancient, with gray and misty energy surging between its veins. The Chaos Dao Fruits hanging on its branches, after a hundred years of tempering, are perfectly round and full, pulsating steadily. Gray and gold Dao patterns flow and intertwine on its surface, profound and mysterious, drawing the surrounding chaotic energy into a giant vortex, with Dao rhythms rising and falling like tides.

As the refining of the strange source progressed smoothly, and the roots of the Chaos Dao Tree continuously absorbed the strange source, it suddenly seized a strange white object that had invaded the Ancestral Tree of Myriad Realms.

This object was no bigger than a fist, eerily white, and its surface was covered with strange, pale patterns. Upon closer inspection, the patterns resembled countless wailing faces twisted and blended together, exuding a pure eeriness that surpassed other eerie sources.

This is the ancestral core of the Ghost Clan, containing a wisp of the "Primordial Ghost Law," carrying the original resentment of the Ghost Clan, and is the source of all Ghosts and the beginning of all Ghost Power!
The moment the ancestral source's strange core entered the body!

The Chaos Dao Tree trembled violently, its branches and leaves shaking. The power of the strange core broke through the blockade of the Chaos Dao Power and forcefully merged into the core veins of the Dao Tree, directly reaching the spiritual sea origin that Li Mu was cultivating with his mind and spirit!
A chilling, deathly, and extremely greedy, insane will, permeated with ancient resentment and poison, suddenly rushed in. The "Primordial Deception Law" was activated, and the most primal resentment of the Deception Clan spread like an invisible poison throughout Li Mu's spiritual sea in an instant.

Li Mu suddenly opened his eyes, his vision filled with a deathly white light. The chaotic energy was tainted by the strange source, and the scene before him abruptly changed.

In an instant, Li Mu's mind was dragged into the abyss of an endless illusion.

Within the illusion, there was neither heaven nor earth, neither light nor darkness, only the churning and roaring chaotic energy, its color a somber, ancient stain of blood. The aura of destruction permeated every inch of the void, pressing down on the Dao heart, making the soul feel as if it were about to shatter.

Li Mu sensed that the chaotic Daoist essence of this place was of the same origin as his own, yet it was heading towards its ultimate destruction—his chaos encompassed evolution and nurtured life; the chaos here could only return to it, devouring all things.

Ahead, dark currents of air slowly gathered and condensed into a figure.

He wore a green robe and had black hair. His face was exactly the same as Li Mu's, except that his eyes were as deep as an abyss, devoid of any emotion, exuding a coldness that regarded all things as straw dogs, and a destructive desire to burn everything.

"You are me!" Li Mu said solemnly, "When chaos returns to oneness and all things finally fall silent, that is the true essence of the Great Dao. Your evolution and your order are nothing but futile struggles, deviating from the origin. Let us become one!"

Before he finished speaking, Li Mu raised his hand and pressed down, and the entire chaotic destruction collapsed down. Hundreds of millions of vengeful spirits shrieked and devoured Li Mu. In an instant, his mind felt as if it were being torn apart by a thousand knives. The scene before his eyes twisted and collapsed, and his ears were filled with the sound of the world collapsing.

Li Mu grunted, forcing himself to calm down. The illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree appeared behind him, its branches and leaves stretching out, evolving into all things in the heavens; countless miniature worlds were born and died on the branches, standing in distant confrontation with this dead and silent chaos.

"Chaos...is it more than just the path to nothingness?" Li Mu's gaze sharpened as he stared directly at the embodiment of destruction: "It encompasses everything, evolves in countless ways, and is subject to birth, death, and rebirth. All of this is its principle. What you see is merely a corner of chaos. How dare you presume to claim it as the truth?"

Before he finished speaking, Li Mu pointed his fingers like a sword, and a stream of Daoist energy condensed into a golden dragon, which pounced forward.

The Golden Dragon of Order and the Rift of Destruction collided violently, silently. The two forces, of the same origin, fiercely fought against each other in the Chaos Domain, evolving into earth, wind, water, and fire, resetting the purity and turbidity, yin and yang, and annihilating everything.

The mirror image of Li Mu contorted, his destructive intent intensifying. He spread his arms, and the boundless, dark chaos behind him suddenly contracted, condensing into countless gray-black longswords. Wherever the swords pointed, all laws wailed, carrying the force of annihilation, sweeping across the heavens and earth.

The rain of swords was deafening, each strike imbued with ultimate Dao power, eroding life force. Li Mu's chaotic Dao domain peeled away layer by layer, and the protective Dao light around him dimmed rapidly.

"Chaos is not stillness; it evolves endlessly!"

Li Mu's thoughts merged completely with the Chaos Dao Tree, and the gray-gold Dao Fruit on the branch pulsed like thunder, with a vast source of primordial energy surging forth.

The Chaos Dao Tree's billions of branches and leaves swayed in unison, and on each leaf, a miniature world unfolded with a roar—mountains rose, rivers surged, spiritual light appeared, and life sprouted... Infinite vitality and creative intent converged into a dazzling torrent, directly confronting the rain of destructive swords.

"Boom--!"

Creation and destruction, two extreme chaotic energies, battle fiercely within the illusion of inner demons. Light and darkness alternate, all things manifest, sometimes all things flourish and thrive, sometimes heaven and earth collapse and return to deathly silence…

Li Mu's body trembled violently, his Dao source boiled like water, and the Daoist essence of destruction clung to his bones like a malignant sore, frantically eroding his mind along the lines of the Dao principles, trying to drag him into the abyss of eternal silence.

Countless distracting thoughts and inner demons arose from the depths of his heart—the obsessions of the past that had been severed, the confusion about the path ahead, the hidden worries about the loss of control over his power… all were magnified a thousand times, transforming into ferocious demonic shadows that roared and pounced.

"If one's Dao heart is not firm, how can one bear the chaos?"

The mirror image of 'Li Mu' mocked coldly, its figure blurred and splitting into countless forms, each carrying different negative emotions, evolving into layers of illusions that surrounded Li Mu.

The scene before him changed again: one might see the myriad worlds withering away because he devoured their origins, with billions of living beings weeping and cursing; another might see his own Dao Tree spiraling out of control, backfiring on the heavens, turning fellow Daoists like Tai Chu and Xing Yan into withered bones; yet another might see himself sinking into the Sea of ​​Devouring Monsters, reduced to a monster that knows only destruction…

His mind wavered, and cracks began to appear in his Dao foundation. Taking advantage of the situation, the Ancestral Source Core launched an attack, and the Primordial Deceptive Laws, like a poisonous dragon bursting from its sluice gate, stirred up primordial resentment and foul energy, rushing straight towards the last shred of clarity in his spiritual platform.

"How dare you defile my path!"

In the critical moment, Li Mu suddenly looked up. Within his eyes, the chaotic star vortex rotated in reverse, and a profound understanding that transcended eternity rose from the depths of his heart—his past insights into the Great Dao of Chaos: inclusiveness, evolution, order, and even destruction… Countless fragments converged like rivers flowing into the sea!
"Chaos is neither good nor evil, without beginning or end. It encompasses all things, hence its vastness; it evolves and perishes, hence its change; it follows the laws and order, hence its balance; it returns to nothingness and annihilation... which is also its final destruction?"

"I embrace chaos, unrestrained by any convention! I incorporate all laws to elucidate the Dao, and allow life and death to establish order! Destruction... is also within my Dao!"

A grand Daoist voice resounded from the depths of Li Mu's soul, like the first thunderclap at the beginning of creation, shattering the demonic shadows and dispelling illusions.

Behind him, the Chaos Dao Tree underwent a transformation, evolving into the phenomena of purity rising and turbidity descending, birth and death cycling. The Dao Fruits of Order on the branches shone with a clear, restrained radiance, and the gray and gold Dao patterns on their surfaces blended and permeated each other, giving rise to new patterns that were complex, profound, and all-encompassing.

The Ancestral Origin Core trembled violently, its inherent Primordial Origin Laws and primal resentment forcibly enveloped, decomposed, and assimilated by the newly born Chaotic Dao Aura. The mirror image of 'Li Mu' froze, its face filled with shock and anger. The aura of destruction surrounding it flowed uncontrollably toward Li Mu, merging into the transforming Chaotic Dao Tree.

"No! Chaos will eventually return to stillness!" The mirror image 'Li Mu' roared, its body expanding into a demon god of destruction, crashing down with the power of the entire illusion.

Li Mu looked at the primordial point of chaos and renewal quietly emerging in the palm of his right hand and laughed, "I am chaos, and all laws return to their source."

The next moment, the origin spun rapidly, silently, boiling, destroying chaos, endless illusions... all like a whale sucking water, swallowed up by that one point of origin.

The illusion shattered with a crash!

Li Mu suddenly opened his eyes. The chaotic starry sky in his eyes had returned to calm, as deep as the ancient starry sky, without a trace of strange white impurities. His aura was harmonious and restrained, and he was completely integrated with the towering Dao tree behind him.

The Chaos Dao Fruit on the branch was completely stabilized. The Dao patterns on its surface took shape with a hazy, chaotic color. It contained endless evolution within, and its pulsation resonated with the laws of the heavens. The Ancestral Origin Demon Core disappeared without a trace. The Primordial Demon Law and Primal Demon Power within it were all refined, becoming the resources for Li Mu to further advance his Great Dao and comprehend the true meaning of "encompassing destruction".

Li Mu exhaled a long breath of turbid air, his aura becoming increasingly vast and unpredictable. The Dao patterns emerging from the Chaos Dao Fruit meandered like the trajectory of the Great Dao. With a single thought, he could create a small world in the palm of his hand, from the beginning of chaos to the annihilation of all things in an instant.

With a slight thought, Li Mu quietly attached a wisp of his divine consciousness to the towering Ancestral Tree of Myriad Realms. The clear light of the Ancestral Tree of Myriad Realms surged again, flowing through countless realms and soothing the wounds of war.

Soon, Li Mu sensed many strange points between the leaves of the Ancestral Tree of Myriad Realms through the boundary wall. These points were incompatible with the clear light of the Ancestral Tree of Myriad Realms. They were like moss growing on the roots of the giant tree, deeply embedded in the original veins, and quietly spreading the original breath of the strange race.

"Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't fall down when it's dead!" Li Mu sneered, his eyes suddenly turning cold.

The Chaos Tree responded to the call, its endless roots bursting forth from the void like a flock of dragons patrolling the heavens, piercing through layers of void and probing every realm of the 'ancestral tree' in all the heavens and myriad worlds.

In the blink of an eye, forty-three abnormal nodes were locked. The once teeming with life was now a desolate wasteland. A pale white mist obscured the sun, planets collapsed, star fields were cracked and covered with thick, filthy liquid, and twisted, eerie shadows wandered through the ruins, howling without awareness.

The origin of the realm was deeply polluted, the laws collapsed, the spiritual energy was exhausted, leaving only death and chaos; the forty-three small worlds, like malignant tumors, constantly emitted the aura of the strange race, eroding the fabric of all realms.

A chaotic vortex appeared in Li Mu's eyes, the Chaos Dao Tree trembled violently, and the forty-three thickest main roots broke through the boundary wall and fiercely penetrated the core of the Ghost Realm!
As the roots took hold, a powerful suction force erupted, like a whale drinking from the sea. The pale, eerie energy, the filthy origin, and the distorted, eerie shadows were all drawn away and devoured, incorporated into the root system of the Dao Tree.

The forty-three strange realms trembled violently, mountains and rivers collapsed, and space distorted. The remaining strange creatures sensed the impending annihilation and shrieked as they rushed toward the roots of chaos, but they were like moths to a flame, collapsing upon contact and turning into pure strange power, which was also swallowed up.

Li Mu, with a clear mind, drew a vast amount of strange power into the Dao Tree; the ever-changing Dao patterns on the branches flowed ceaselessly, evolving into a chaotic furnace, refining the impure and strange sources layer by layer. Impurities were worn away, leaving only the purest essence, which nourished the Dao Tree.

The emptied ghost realm, its pale whiteness faded, its filth dissipated, its spiritual energy withered, and all things withered, returning to its original state before the distinction between purity and turbidity was made. It awaits the passage of time, perhaps then it can give birth to life again.

The purification continued, and the roots of the Chaos Dao Tree, like tireless cleaners, traversed the Forty-Three Realms, sweeping away the eerie atmosphere wherever they went, and restoring the clear and bright world.

……

Just as Li Mu was fully immersed in absorbing and refining the source of the strangeness.

In the ancient realm of Taixie, the Ash Plains stretch endlessly, with shattered remains piled up like mountains, their distorted light and shadows weaving into a chaotic curtain. At the center stands a majestic skull altar, its top top teeming with a constantly shifting shadow—sometimes expanding like a cloud hanging from the sky, sometimes contracting like an eye in the abyss, its sinister pressure emanating and freezing even the soul.

The pale, eerie tree, transformed from the Ancient God of Corruption, was riddled with cracks, its roots piercing the void and spewing dark red, foul light. The ancient god of devouring realms, a demonic figure tens of thousands of feet tall, had three heads and six arms, each holding a ball of leaping evil energy, its body crackling with eerie lightning. Both gazed at the shadow of the altar, eerie green flames burning fiercely in their eye sockets.

"Swallow it... and we will be able to surpass the past!" The leader in the center of the Devouring Realm roared, waving its six arms and summoning evil lightning and strange fire that danced wildly like a swarm of snakes.

The leaves of the Corrupted Source Tree rustled, its cracks opening and closing, emanating a dry, astringent divine thought: "This thing... is dangerous! Its power is chaotic and mixed, far exceeding anything I've devoured before!"

"Survival in the face of danger! Only by risking our lives can we survive!" The left head of the Devouring Realm roared, while the right head whispered a bewitching message: "Merge their power, absorb their source, and our race's unorthodox path will reach its ultimate sublimation!"

Before the words were finished, the Devouring Demon Shadow pounced first, its ten-thousand-foot-tall body smashing through layers of spatial fragments, its six arms outstretched, fiercely grabbing at the shadow! The Corrupted Origin Tree hesitated for a moment, then burst open its mouth in fury, spewing out a torrent of filthy light, like a river of blood flowing backward, in coordination with the Devouring Demon's attack.

The shadow of the altar instantly boiled, an invisible wave spreading out, the Ash Plains trembled violently, and billions of skulls groaned in unison. The shadow suddenly expanded, transforming into a gigantic maw that blotted out the sky, its interior churning with chaos, seemingly capable of devouring stars and the moon. From within the maw came the wails of countless gods and demons, and the sounds of an era collapsing.

The six arms of the Devouring Demon Shadow slammed into the shadow, unleashing a frenzied burst of evil thunder and fire. The evil source and evil power fiercely clashed and crackled, and the demon arms were even corroded, leaving them pitted and mottled, overflowing with eerie energy. The torrent of corrupting light crashed into the shadow, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea, only stirring up ripples. Instead, it was entangled and pulled by countless pale tentacles!
"Roar!" The Corrupted Origin Tree struggled violently, its roots whipping at the void, cracking and splitting, but it could not break free from its restraints.

The power of shadow is cold and viscous, penetrating to the very source, frantically drawing upon its sinister and evil power.

The three heads of the Devouring Realm roared in unison, and the middle head suddenly spat out a natal bead containing all the evil energy of its life. The bead was deathly white and contained countless resentful faces! The bead crashed into the shadows and exploded with a bang, temporarily halting its devouring momentum with its immense evil power.

"Now! Corruption Source, Merge with God!" The Devourer roared, and the demonic shadow advanced instead of retreating, its entire body crashing into the core of the shadow. The pale trunk of the Corruption Source Tree crumbled inch by inch, transforming into a pure source of corruption, which followed closely behind and plunged into the boiling shadow!
Above the altar, the shadow suddenly contracted, then erupted violently! Eerie gray, white, and red lights shot into the sky, stirring up the entire Ancient Realm of Evil. The shattered remains of the realm turned to dust in the pillar of light, and the turbulent flow of laws was forcibly pushed aside, forming a brief vacuum.

At the center of the pillar of light, a distorted figure gradually materialized.

At first it was blurry, then it solidified. It was about a thousand feet tall, and its body was a strange blend of two colors - the left half of its body was as white as bone, covered with layers of strange race patterns, and countless wailing faces wriggled under its skin, exuding a pure and cold strange race aura;

The right half of his body was pitch black, with a viscous black liquid flowing beneath his skin. The chaotic demonic patterns unique to the Ancient Evil Realm appeared, and the shadows of shattered stars and collapsing boundary walls flickered, revealing a primal evil power of greed, tyranny, and the ability to devour everything.

Above its head were two faces. The left face vaguely resembled the cracked face of the Ancient God of Corruption, with pale white eyes and a deathly indifference. The right face was the ferocious appearance of the Ancient God of Devouring Realms, with three eerie green eyes and a chaotic madness.

Two faces appeared alternately, sometimes overlapping and whispering, their voices hoarse and distorted, containing two completely different sources of evil that were perfectly fused into a terrifying will. (End of Chapter)