Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

The void passage closed, and the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Taixu Immortal Realm gradually faded away.

Li Mu stood with his hands behind his back above the chaotic air currents, his eyes swirling like stars, deep and unfathomable.

Just as it was refining that strange source, the Chaos Dao Tree suddenly felt a very slight resonance—not from the Taixu Immortal Realm, but from all over the myriad realms, like distant starlight responding, all trembling for a moment.

Li Mu's gaze darkened slightly. The depth of the Ghost Clan's scheme far exceeded his expectations. Those "hidden stakes" buried deep within the source cores of various realms actually possessed a mysterious connection with each other, weaving an invisible giant net that quietly absorbed the remnants of the thoughts of all living beings, feeding back into the Ghost Clan's fundamental source.

Xue'er stood beside him, her nine-tailed spirit keenly sensing Li Mu's emotional fluctuations. She looked up at his profile and reminded him, "Brother Li, the words of that demise of the remnant consciousness of the Ghost Ancestor are probably not unfounded. There are countless hidden agents in the heavens. If they are allowed to lurk and grow, they will eventually cause a great disaster."

“Yes! I’ve noticed that too!” Li Mu nodded in understanding.

Xue'er bit her lip, reached out and grabbed Li Mu's sleeve, indicating, "Brother Li, you are going to travel to all realms to eliminate these monsters. Although we have entered the extreme path, we are afraid that we are not strong enough to deal with the monsters' backup plans. Why don't we... let us return to the Chaos Treasure Palace for a while to cultivate in seclusion, so as not to hinder your work!"

Xue'er's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, her eyes filled with undisguised reluctance. She was considerate of Li Mu in every way, showing her thoughtfulness and understanding.

Little Gold's golden eyes shone brightly: "Master, Xue'er is right! Our cultivation is still shallow, and following you would only distract you and be a burden to you. It would be better to return to the Treasure Mansion to cultivate diligently. If you need anything, you can summon us!"

Azure Moon Dragon, Crimson Fire Phoenix, and Little Tile all nodded in unison.

Li Mu looked around at everyone, remained silent for a moment, and nodded, saying, "Very well. Time can be controlled within the Treasure Mansion, and it is also nourished by the Dao Tree's essence, making it a suitable place for seclusion."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mu waved his sleeve, and chaos surged. A portal opened in the void in front of him, revealing a quiet courtyard with ancient trees swaying and Daoist energy flowing through it.

"After entering the manor, each of you should choose a quiet room for seclusion. The Scripture Pavilion contains the cultivation techniques and insights into the Great Dao that I have collected over the years from various realms. You may study them on your own." Li Mu smiled and gestured, "Once I have eliminated all the spies of the Ghost Clan, I will bring you out to continue your travels through the realms!"

Xue'er gave him a deep look, said nothing more, turned and stepped into the doorway, with Mingyue and the four demon saints following closely behind, their figures disappearing into the chaotic halo.

The gates closed, and emptiness returned to its desolate state.

Li Mu stood alone amidst the sea of ​​stars, his green robe fluttering. With a slight thought, the illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree reappeared behind him, its branches piercing through reality and illusion, its countless roots probing into the veins of the heavens.

Li Mu closed his eyes, merging his divine sense with the Dao Tree.

In an instant, the myriad realms, countless stars, and endless domains unfolded before my mind like a scroll. The treacherous spies hidden deep within the source of the realms, sensed by the Dao Tree, scattered like fireflies across the myriad realms, their mysterious trajectories connecting them to form an invisible net that enveloped all worlds.

The center of the net is particularly intense—it is the place where the hidden stakes gather, and the eerie atmosphere is so strong that it is almost fully formed.

Li Mu's divine sense locked onto one point: the Eternal Night Star Boundary.

This realm is located on the edge of the heavens, vast and boundless, where spiritual energy is stagnant. The realm lord, "Star-Hidden Daoist," has reached the mid-stage of the Dao Returning Realm and has been living in seclusion in recent years, making him difficult to find.

The roots of the Chaos Dao Tree followed the trail and, upon touching the boundary wall, a cold and filthy aura surged upwards, directly attacking the Dao Tree's spiritual light.

"Humph."

Li Mu snorted coldly, and the chaotic Daoist rhyme flowed, instantly dissipating the eerie aura.

Li Mu focused his mind, and a wisp of divine thought separated from his main body, transforming into a hazy stream of light that plummeted into the Eternal Night Star Realm.

Li Mu raised his finger and made a gesture, and golden patterns appeared in front of him. Once the pattern was formed, a clear light shone out, illuminating the source pool of all laws thousands of miles away.

At the edge of the Pool of Myriad Laws, the Primordial Daoist was deducing the celestial orbits with his eyes closed when he suddenly sensed something and opened his eyes to look.

Ripples spread across the pool, and a phantom figure in a green robe emerged from the water—it was Li Mu's divine projection.

"The Lord of Chaos?" The Primordial Dao Venerable was slightly surprised: "Fellow Daoist, is there something important that you sent this message about?"

Li Mu's illusory figure nodded, his expression solemn: "The threat of the Ghost Clan has not yet been eradicated."

With a flick of his hand, a celestial map appeared in the clear light, with hundreds of eerie white dots flashing and connecting: "This is the net of the Ghost Clan's hidden agents, feeding on the negative emotions of all living beings to nourish the source of their evil. It has now manifested in the world. If it is not eliminated soon, the Ghost Clan may revive by taking advantage of resentment within a hundred years."

The Primordial Daoist's expression changed drastically. He examined the star map closely and gasped, "There are so many! No wonder supernatural events have been frequent in various realms in recent years, and cultivators have been plagued by inner demons... It's all because of the Ghost Clan's backup plan!"

“I have identified a gathering place,” Li Mu continued. “The Realm Lord Star Hidden Dao Venerable has likely been corrupted by the Heart Demon. I intend to go there personally to eliminate him. Hidden agents are scattered throughout the myriad realms, and it is difficult for me alone to eliminate them all within the time limit; it requires the joint efforts of all Realm Lords to investigate their respective territories and eradicate the remaining poison of the Demon Clan.”

Tai Chu Dao Zun rose solemnly and said respectfully, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I will immediately send a message to the lords of all the heavens to discuss the grand plan to eliminate the evil forces. I will leave the Eternal Night Star Realm to you."

"It's my duty." Li Mu bowed slightly, the clear light dissipated, and the projection disappeared.

The Pool of Myriad Laws returned to calm. The Primordial Daoist dared not delay. Dozens of jade talismans flew out from his sleeve, transforming into streams of light that shot towards the heavens.

The Eternal Night Star Realm, the heart of the realm.

Neither star nor land, but the vast, eternal void, where fragments of stars, twisted and cracked, float.

A gray-white palace floats in the center, with countless eerie white threads hanging from its eaves, like pulsating blood vessels, constantly drawing in the spiritual energy and emotional echoes from the surrounding area.

Inside the hall, Xingyin Daozun sat cross-legged in the center of the hall, his body withered and his face hidden in shadow, only his eyes gleaming with an eerie gray-white light, and his body exuding a cold and sinister aura.

"Soon... soon..."

The Star-Hidden Daoist murmured softly, his voice hoarse and overlapping, as if a thousand people were speaking in unison. He raised his hand and pointed to the top of the hall. The eerie white threads suddenly tightened, and a vast torrent of negative energy poured into the crown of the head. It was the fear, resentment, and despair accumulated by billions of beings in the Eternal Night Star Realm...

Xingyin Daozun's body trembled violently, his face a mixture of pain and pleasure. Deep within the Dao Source, a gray-white seed grew rapidly, its roots already penetrating the core of his soul.

Suddenly, the Star-Hidden Daoist opened his eyes and looked out into the void outside the hall:

"Damn it! It's you again!"

Before the words were finished, the chaos outside the hall was torn apart by an invisible force. A figure in a green robe stepped out, surrounded by chaos; it was Li Mu's divine sense avatar.

Li Mu's gaze swept across the palace and landed on Xingyin Daozun. He frowned slightly and said, "He has indeed been corrupted by the mind's cunning."

Xingyin Daozun slowly stood up, a sinister smile appearing in the shadows: "You've arrived too late after all!"

"That's not necessarily true!" Li Mu said calmly, raising his hand to form a Chaos Axe.

Xingyin Daozun's eyes narrowed sharply, and his eerie aura erupted, causing the entire palace to tremble. Countless eerie white threads coiled around his body, transforming into hideous armor. His figure vanished like a ghost, appearing behind Li Mu in the next instant. His five fingers formed claws, imbued with soul-devouring power, and he aimed straight for Li Mu's back!

Li Mu didn't turn his head, but instead swung his axe back.

"clang--!"

The clang of metal rang out, and blinding light flashed. Xingyin Daozun was blasted back a hundred feet, his strange armor cracking. Xingyin Daozun roared, and with a sweep of his arms, the entire palace exploded! Shattered stones rained down, each one inflicted with a bone-corroding curse, shooting towards Li Mu.

Li Mu pointed his fingers like a sword and slashed through the air.

The Chaos Dao Domain unfolded, freezing the vast void, freezing flying stones in mid-air, and extinguishing the brilliance of the eerie incantation inch by inch.

Xingyin Daozun's expression changed drastically. He tried to escape, but the chaotic Dao energy surrounded him layer upon layer, making him feel as if he were trapped in a quagmire, unable to move.

"break."

With a single word uttered, the Chaos Axe flew from his hand, transforming into a gray axe light that traversed the starry river, slicing through his body.

The armor shattered, and blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

Xingyin Daozun let out a miserable howl as his Dao body exploded, turning into a sky full of blood mist. Within the mist, a fist-sized, eerie white seed appeared, its surface writhing with thousands of roots, trying to escape through the void.

"Want to go?"

Li Mu reached out and grabbed, and the roots of the Chaos Dao Tree emerged from the void, firmly binding him and dragging him into the Dao Tree space.

Just as Li Mu absorbed the source of the strange seed into the Chaos Dao Tree, his mind was suddenly jolted.

A foul and ancient will surged against the flow of consciousness!

The scene before my eyes suddenly changed.

The pitch-black abyss stretched endlessly, where billions of twisted faces floated and wailed, their resentment condensing into a viscous black sea, emanating an aura of despair that froze the soul.

In the center of the abyss, a skeleton as majestic as a galaxy floats silently.

Its entire body is dark gold, with demonic patterns inscribed on its bones. Even though it has been dead for countless ages, the pressure it exudes makes all living beings tremble. It is the remains of an ancient demon god!
At this moment, the skeleton has been refined into a source of pollution by the Ghost Clan. Inside the chest cavity, a ball of gray-white ghost light continuously releases the "Ten Thousand Grudges Curse Power," which, like a plague eroding the abyss, radiates to the hearts of billions of living beings in the Eternal Night Star Realm through a mysterious connection.

Li Mu's divine avatar stood at the edge of the Heart Abyss, his expression solemn.

"Roar!"

The roar of the ancient demon god came from the end of eternity, the sea of ​​monsters boiled, and the ghostly white soul fire ignited in the eye sockets of the skeleton, locking onto Li Mu.

The next instant, the remnant will of the White Demon God, along with the corruption of the Ghost Clan, transformed into a raging torrent that surged straight into the mind!
Illusions abound.

In the beginning of chaos, the world was born and died, and eventually returned to nothingness;

Li Mu himself ascended to the summit, slew enemies and saved the world, but ultimately perished.
Xue'er, Mingyue, Xiaojin, the Four Demon Saints... all perished in the counterattack of the Ghost Clan, their souls turning into monsters;

Even deep within his Dao heart, a trace of dark and impure thought was amplified infinitely—a greed for power, an obsession with immortality, and a disregard for all living beings… He wanted to twist the Great Dao of Chaos into a chaotic vortex that devoured the abyss.

"Chaos...inherently contains destruction..." A deep, hoarse voice echoed in his mind, full of seduction: "Why cling to the evolution of order? Returning to nothingness is the true essence of the Great Dao..."

The combined forces of corrupting the will of the ancient demon god and polluting the ancestral source of the demon race intend to drag Li Mu into the deepest part of the Heart Demon Illusion Realm, where he will be forever trapped.

Li Mu's soul trembled, cracks appeared in his Dao heart, his body was in chaos and disorder, and his avatar was on the verge of disintegration!
In the critical moment, deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, the Chaos Dao Tree suddenly burst forth with boundless clear light, the Order Dao Fruits on its branches pulsated like thunder, and countless golden threads of gray-gold Dao patterns hung down, protecting Li Mu's true self and spirit.

"My path... must not be defiled!"

Li Mu suddenly opened his eyes, the stars in his eyes swirling in reverse. A profound understanding that transcends eternity rose from the bottom of his heart: chaos encompasses all things, evolution and birth and death, theorems and order—yet, the abyss of disorder and the return to nothingness are also aspects of chaos!
"The remains of the demon god, the power of the curse of ten thousand grievances, the corruption of the strange race... all are within the chaos!"

Li Mu roared, his divine sense avatar expanded dramatically, transforming into a towering, chaotic dharma form. He formed hand seals, and the illusory image of the Dao tree behind him solidified, its countless roots emerging like dragons from the abyss, fiercely piercing into the bones of the ancient demon god!

"Since you intend to drag me into the abyss, then I will... swallow this demonic abyss whole!"

The roots of the Chaos Dao Tree spread wildly, entangling every inch of the skeleton, forcibly absorbing the origin of the ancient demon god, the power of the Myriad Grudges Curse, and the filthy ancestor of the Ghost Clan.

The monstrous remains of the ancient demon god struggled violently, burning with eerie green soul fire and unleashing a torrent of annihilation curses. The Chaos Dao Tree, encompassing all things, circulated with Dao light, refining the curses one by one and nourishing itself.

Li Mu's mind merged with the Dao Tree, and he sensed that deep within the bones, there was still a trace of the mad will of an ancient demon god, which had merged with the corruption of the Ghost Clan and transformed into an unprecedented evil existence, which was frantically counterattacking and trying to seize the Dao Tree!
"sucker Punch."

Li Mu let out a cold shout, and the Dao Fruit of Order shone brightly. The golden patterns of the theorem pierced through the bones like chains, reaching the core. Wherever the myriad golden patterns passed, the will of the ancient demon god of the strange transformation quickly collapsed, and the ancestral source of the strange race rapidly dissipated.

The abyss and black sea churned, with billions of resentful spirits howling, yet they could not stop the Chaos Dao Tree from devouring and assimilating them.

Time passes bit by bit.

After an unknown period of time, the demonic energy within the skeleton of the ancient demon god dimmed, the bones turned to ash, and vanished into nothingness; the grayish-white demonic energy was seized by the roots of the Dao Tree and swallowed into the tree's heart.

The entire abyss collapsed, and the illusory realm of the mind shattered like a mirror.

The illusion shattered, and the abyss of the heart crumbled.

The instant Li Mu's divine sense returned to his body, the billions of roots of the Chaos Dao Tree trembled simultaneously. The Dao patterns on the surface of the gray-gold Dao Fruit atop the branch rapidly shifted, undergoing a new change—the originally orderly golden patterns and the all-encompassing chaotic gray patterns began to merge and reshape, evolving into complex and profound Dao patterns.

The scene in the illusion where Li Mu confronted the dark side of his own Dao heart and glimpsed the source of "heart-deviousness" still lingers in his mind.

That pitch-black abyss, those countless faces rising and falling in wailing, that viscous, tangible resentment of all spirits… none of it is an illusion. It is the fear, hatred, despair, greed, and delusion that have been bred in the hearts of countless beings in all the heavens and myriad realms since the birth of the primordial beings. All negative emotions have gathered, settled, and fermented in the darkness. After being refined and purified by the Ghost Clan through secret methods, they have all transformed into the source of “Mind Ghost” that erodes all paths.

As long as living beings experience emotional fluctuations, and as long as shadows can rise in their hearts, this "psychic malice" will follow them like a shadow and will never be eradicated.

“So that’s how it is…” Chaotic star vortexes slowly rotated in Li Mu’s eyes, reflecting the endless tide of resentment deep within his heart. “The so-called ‘pollution’ of the Ghost Clan is actually the gathering of all the inner demons of the myriad spirits into one, forging them into weapons of attack. As long as the inner demons are not destroyed, the source of the Ghost Clan will be difficult to eradicate.”

With this thought, Li Mudao's mind suddenly became clear.

All the insights I had gained about the Great Dao of Chaos in the past—evolution and birth, theorems and order, all-encompassing phenomena—are now converging at a single point like rivers flowing into the sea. Chaos encompasses all things; how could it be without the aspect of "inner demons"?
Order governs all things, so why can't it govern our thoughts? Embracing and supporting all beings, we should naturally embrace the light and darkness of our minds!

“Chaos has neither good nor evil, and inner demons are also dust in the Dao.” Li Mu murmured to himself, his voice like the first tolling of a Dao bell, and the majestic Dao tree behind him resonated in response: “I stand on the Great Dao of Chaos, to cleanse this dust and restore clarity to the hearts of all spirits.”

Before he finished speaking, Li Mu naturally formed a hand seal.

As the ten fingers flew across the paper, the chaotic Daoist rhyme surged forth, echoing the newly formed patterns on the Daoist fruit on the branch; the orderly golden patterns transformed into a regular framework, fixing its structure; the encompassing gray patterns evolved into endless void, forming its heart; and a wisp of "insightful" true meaning, tempered from the illusion of the abyss of the heart, was integrated into it, like a candle illuminating the darkness.

"Chaos as the foundation, order as the bone, inclusiveness as the heart, and insight as the eye... Purify the mind and cleanse thoughts, suppress demons and soothe the spirit." Li Mu chanted the mantra, causing the Dao Tree to roar, and the laws of the universe to resonate in response. (End of this chapter)