Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

The volcano of sin, devoured by the demons, gradually dimmed, its crimson flames extinguished, and the karmic stones crumbled into dust.

The two-faced demon stretches for thousands of miles, bathed in the last wisp of sinful demonic flames—the left half of the demonic tree hangs with dark red, sinful fruit, while the right half of the demonic body is interwoven with demonic patterns and traces of sinful fire, its aura already approaching the pinnacle of the Dao.

"The Rift of Time and Ruins!" The face of decay opened wide, its pale eyes reflecting the chaotic rift that stretched across the ancient western sky of the Primordial Evil Realm: "Devouring its origin can break through to the half-step Dao Integration Realm!"

The three heads of the Devouring World roared in unison, its six arms tearing through the sky. Its demonic body transformed into a streak of eerie white light, instantly traversing billions of miles of territory, and landing directly at the edge of the rift.

The strangeness of this place far surpasses that of the Sea of ​​Bones and the Volcano of Sin. The fissures are like ancient creations of heaven and earth, stretching endlessly. Within the fissures, turbulent currents of time and space surge, sometimes transforming into silver-white blades of light that cleave the void, sometimes condensing into pitch-black vortexes that engulf all things, sometimes reversing ancient shadows, and sometimes flashing fragments of the future. Amidst the turbulent currents, countless fragments of time and space carry blurred Dao patterns, but only the evil power of the Ruins of Time surpasses all laws.

Deep within the rift, dozens of colossal skeletons float, all remnants of ancient time-space demon gods. The silver and black bones exude a faint Daoist aura. Even after a thousand years of death, their lingering resentment still stirs up turbulent currents, forming a barrier of their own. Among them, one skeleton is the most complete, wearing a time-space imperial crown and holding the broken staff "Time Order." Its body is surrounded by a vast source of time-space demonic energy—it is the remains of the "Time Demon God" who wields the power of time.

The Devouring World's Face, with its three eyes burning brightly and its six arms trembling slightly, declared: "Such a source is enough to help us open the door to the Dao Integration!"

The source of corruption remained silent, but the left half of the strange tree suddenly swelled up, its billions of roots like a pale white galaxy, piercing through the outer turbulent flow and plunging into the depths of the cracks. The moment the roots touched the flow, the silver and black intertwined power backfired like a tide, and fine cracks immediately appeared on the surface of the roots, hissing and almost breaking off.

"Freeze!" The face of the Corruption Source roared, and a strange light burst forth, pale as frost. Wherever it shone, the raging torrents froze like amber, and the light blades and vortexes were sealed, unable to move.

Taking advantage of this lull, the roots, like hungry thirsty insects, went straight for the skeleton of a demon god, piercing through the surface patterns and into the marrow, frantically extracting the remaining essence. The silver-black power flowed upwards, nourishing the roots, causing golden-thread-like spatial patterns to appear on their surface, making them even more resilient.

"Roar—" The dormant will within the skeleton awoke with a silent roar that shook the turbulent currents, attempting to shatter its roots. However, the two-faced demon's origin was profound, its roots deeply embedded like nails, remaining unmoved despite the turbulent currents, instead drawing its origin even more rapidly.

"My turn!" The Devouring Face grinned, its right half of the demonic body spreading out its six arms. The demonic vortex in its palm surged, transforming into six horizontal black vortexes with a suction force far exceeding that of the former Sea of ​​Ten Thousand Bones. A massive amount of primordial energy poured into the demonic vortex.

Blades of light, vortexes, afterimages of time, fragments of the future—none were spared. The monstrous forces within the vortex clashed fiercely with the origin of timelessness, their roars piercing the void. The fragments were annihilated, forging the purest "Evil Power of Timelessness," which flowed continuously into the demonic body.

The Devouring World roared to the sky, its right half of demonic body writhing with demonic patterns, merging with the evil power of the Time Ruins, gradually revealing silver-black Dao traces. These Dao traces moved like living things, sometimes condensing into the ancient seal script of the character "Time," sometimes transforming into the mysterious pattern of the character "Void." The spacetime around the demonic body was distorted, and its oppressive power was terrifying.

The two-faced demon advanced from both sides, drawing upon the essence of the demon god on the left and devouring the turbulent flow of time and space on the right, its demonic body expanding at a visible speed. On the left half of the demonic tree's trunk, gray-white and silver-white time and space patterns intertwined, evolving into "time and space demonic patterns," and the demonic fruits on the branches were stained with silver light, containing the ability to freeze time and distort space; the right half of the demonic body was bulging with muscles, its six arms covered with time and space traces, and with each swing of its arms, it could tear out tiny cracks.

"The Time Demon God!" The Face of Corruption locked its gaze on the imperial crown skeleton deep within the rift, saliva dripping from its mouth: "By absorbing its essence, we can achieve greatness!"

With both sides moving simultaneously, the demonic body transformed into a strange white stream of light, breaking through the triple spacetime storm and rushing straight towards the remains. The roots of the strange tree on the left side were like a net, entangling the skeleton. The pale white light and silver patterns intertwined, suppressing the lingering resentment. The six arms on the right side gathered a demonic vortex into a fist and blasted towards the head.

The imperial crown shattered, the skull broke open, and the remnant spirit of the Time Demon God roared angrily, shaking the universe. The storm around him surged, making a final counterattack; however, the two-faced demon was unstoppable, its roots burrowing into the cracks, directly targeting the core source; the demonic vortex devoured the storm, refining it into the evil power of the Time Ruins.

After the source of the Time Demon God was completely devoured, the aura of the two-faced demon suddenly transformed. The silver patterns on the left half of the demon tree stabilized, and as it swayed, the surrounding space-time either froze like iron or sped like lightning. The traces of the Dao on the right half of the demon body merged with the demon patterns, and with the swing of its six arms, it could tear through barriers and traverse fragments of space-time in a short moment. Its supernatural power was so strong that it shocked the world.

The demonic body continued to expand, from tens of thousands of miles to hundreds of thousands of miles, then millions of miles, finally transforming into a giant star shadow, suspended above the rift in the Time Ruins. The left side was pale white, and the right side was pitch black, with the two halves clearly distinct. However, at the junction, dense and eerie patterns emerged, attempting to intertwine and merge the five elements of eerie power, demonic energy, ancient evil, sinful fire, and time and space, as if trying to completely assimilate them.

"Hmm?" The Face of Corruption suddenly sensed something amiss, and a look of shock and anger flashed across its pale eyes: "You actually intend to turn against me?"

"It is not a backlash, but a quest for unity!" The three heads of the Devouring Realm roared in unison, its six arms pressing down on the center of the demonic body: "It is difficult to attain the Dao alone; only by uniting the demon and the monster can there be a glimmer of hope!"

Two wills clashed violently within the demon's body. Deathly greed and violent destruction tore at each other, the ancestral rune of the demon race in the center flickered uncertainly, sometimes white and sometimes black, and the demon's body trembled violently, cracks spread, as if it were about to collapse.

"Absurd! I am the Source of Corruption, how dare I allow such a bloodthirsty person to defile my true self!" The face of the Source of Corruption roared angrily, using trickery to draw upon the evil source of the earth's veins, attempting to suppress the other party.

"Stubborn fool!" the Devouring World Face roared, its right half unleashing all the evil power of the Time Ruins, causing the Time-Space Dao Marks to erupt and freezing the flow of strange power: "The Chaos Dao Lord is pressing us relentlessly. If we don't cooperate, we will perish! Sooner or later, we will become nourishment for someone else's Dao Fruit!"

The stalemate intensified, the demon's body trembled violently, the cracks widened, and a strange, viscous white liquid seeped out. The chaotic currents of time seized the opportunity to counterattack, washing over the cracks, attempting to tear it apart completely.

At the critical moment between life and death, the central pattern suddenly emitted a brilliant light. The interwoven patterns of all sources seemed to sense the crisis and spontaneously activated, generating a vast assimilative force that forcibly pulled the two wills together.

Both the Source of Corruption and the Devouring Realm were shocked—their wills were being forcibly merged. Past obsessions, selfish desires, and disagreements were all worn away in the flow of the ancestral runes of the Ghost Clan. Only the hatred for the Lord of Chaos, the greed for power, and the obsession with the survival of the race remained, which coalesced into a pure core will.

"No... I am not reconciled!" The face of corruption let out a final hiss before being assimilated and its will dissolve.

"Merge! Then merge!" The Devouring World Face closed its eyes, lowered its head, and merged its will into the strange patterns.

The two intentions merged into one, the ancestral runes of the Ghost Clan blazed brightly like the sun, the cracks on its body healed rapidly, the boundary between the pale white Ghost Tree and the pitch-black Demon Body disappeared, transforming into a strange demon body interwoven with ghostly white, the central crack opened up, ghostly white energy surged and condensed into a new head.

The left half of the new head is ashen white as bone, covered with strange patterns of time and space; the right half is pitch black as ink, engraved with traces of time and space; a fist-sized crystal is embedded in the center of the forehead - the "Eye of Annihilation" forged from a fragment of the Myriad Ghost Blood Map, the gray-white patterns on the crystal surface flow, reflecting the illusory images of all the heavens and myriad worlds, exuding an aura of world destruction.

A three-faced demon!

The Eye of Annihilation slowly opened, and a gray-white beam of light shot into the void. Wherever it passed, space and time collapsed, and laws were annihilated. The three heads roared in unison, their eerie voices powerful and domineering, surpassing all living beings.

On the six-armed demonic body, the five elements completely merged, evolving into profound destructive Dao patterns. With each breath, it shook the origin of the ancient world; with each opening and closing of its eyes, it caused time and space to freeze.

Reaching the pinnacle of the Dao!

Half a step towards Dao Integration!

Three monstrous figures stand atop the rift, their three heads gazing into the void beyond the boundary, their eyes piercing through countless barriers.

"Lord of Chaos..." The face of corruption parted its lips, its voice as cold as frost.

"The humiliation of the past will be avenged today!" The three heads of the Devouring World Mask roared in unison, their killing intent soaring to the heavens.

"All realms... will eventually become a sea of ​​monsters!" The Eye of Annihilation shot out a gray-white beam of light, illuminating the outlines of the heavens, its core will as resolute as iron. With a flick of its demonic body, it tore through space and time, transforming into a streak of eerie white light that rushed straight towards all the heavens and myriad realms.

------

Deep within the Chaos Treasure Palace, time stands still.

Li Mu sat cross-legged beneath the Dao Tree, his eyes closed, a gray aura flowing around him. Behind him, the towering, sky-reaching phantom of the Chaos Dao Tree drooped down with countless roots, plunging into the depths of the void, faintly resonating with the origin of all the heavens and myriad worlds.

"The nature of a cunning mind!"

Li Mu's mind sank into the core of the Dao Tree, his spiritual platform clear as a mirror, reflecting what he saw in the illusion of the Heart Abyss in the Eternal Night Star Realm—the boundless black abyss, the billions of faces floating and wailing, and the viscous, tangible resentment of all spirits, all vividly before his eyes.

"The seven emotions and six desires, greed, anger, ignorance, delusion, fear, despair... all are fluctuations in the mind of living beings." A clear light gradually rose in the depths of Li Mu's heart, and he murmured, "Chaos encompasses everything and evolves in countless ways, how could it lack the path of thought alone?"

As soon as this thought arose, the Chaos Dao Tree trembled violently.

The Dao Fruit on the branch, interwoven with gray and gold, pulsated like thunder. The Dao patterns on its surface swirled rapidly, evolving into unprecedented and profound changes. Orderly golden patterns and chaotic gray patterns merged and reshaped, and gradually, strands of crystalline light emerged—like joy and sorrow, like anger and fear, containing endless emotional fluctuations.

“The mind is in a state of chaos.” Li Mu’s mind resonated with the Dao Fruit, and enlightenment came naturally: “The Great Dao of Chaos allows the mind to enter the Dao. Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, hatred, and delusion can all be resources for the Dao.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the branches and leaves of the roadside trees swayed in unison.

On each leaf of the Dao, the miniature world suddenly changes: the mountains and rivers remain the same, but the emotions of the creatures within transform into tangible radiance, rising up and merging into the world's primordial cycle. Joy brings the warmth of the sun, anger brings thunder that shakes the sky, sorrow brings gentle rain that nourishes all things, and happiness brings a spring breeze that caresses the face... All these emotions contain Daoist principles and are perfectly integrated with the world's birth and death.

Li Mu's aura underwent a transformation.

In past cultivation, the Great Dao of Chaos focused on the evolution of all things, the establishment of order, and the inclusion of all laws. One's own emotions were mostly suppressed and dissolved with the Dao Heart, seeking clarity and emptiness. Only today do I realize that this is putting the cart before the horse—emotions are the nature of living beings, and forcibly erasing them is tantamount to cutting off one's own arm on the path of cultivation.

"To unite with the Great Dao of Chaos, one must first unite one's heart."

Li Mu exhaled a long breath, and the chaotic starlight in his eyes spun in reverse: "I will transform all my will, emotions, and Dao thoughts into the Chaotic Origin. Thoughts are Dao thoughts, emotions are Dao rhythms. From now on, joy is also Dao, anger is also Dao, sorrow, happiness, fear, hatred... all kinds of emotions become the resources of the Great Dao."

Throughout history, cultivators of immortality have either transcended emotions, upheld righteousness, or succumbed to desires and become demons, all regarding emotions as obstacles and the source of inner demons. Even those who entered the Dao through emotions only refined one or two emotions into the foundation of their supernatural powers. For someone like Li Mu to attempt to encompass all emotions into chaos and transform them into a link in the cycle of the Great Dao is truly unprecedented.

"Let it begin from this moment."

Li Mu made a firm decision, formed a hand seal, and the Chaos Dao Banner appeared on its own behind his head, fluttering and scattering countless strands of gray light to protect the origin of his true spirit. Then, his soul trembled slightly and began to differentiate on its own.

A streak of crimson-gold light shot out from between his brows, transforming into a phantom identical to Li Mu. This phantom was engulfed in flames, its eyes wide with rage, its fists clenched like mountains—a manifestation of the emotion of "anger."

"boom!"

Another stream of pale blue light separated and condensed into a body with its head bowed and weeping. It was surrounded by water vapor and filled with sorrow, a manifestation of grief.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several streams of light shot out from the divided soul, each taking on a different form: those beaming with joy and filled with music were the "Joy" form; those trembling and cowering with terror in their eyes were the "Fear" form; those with ferocious faces and boundless hatred were the "Hate" form; and those lost in a daze, entangled in obsession, were the "Infatuation" form...

In less than three breaths, Li Mu's divine soul split into billions, each carrying a fluctuation of emotion, some strong, some weak, some bright, some dark, some righteous, some wicked. These myriad emotional manifestations densely covered the Chaos Dao Tree, surrounding his original body.

Such actions are extremely dangerous.

For ordinary cultivators, splitting their divine soul is already a risky move; a slight misstep could damage their very essence. Li Mu, however, split his divine soul based on his emotions, with each emotion carried by a separate soul. This was tantamount to completely dissecting his Dao heart, allowing all his emotions to be laid bare. If he lost control even slightly, all his emotions would backfire, causing his divine soul to shatter and his Dao foundation to be destroyed in an instant.

"Chaos is the furnace, all thoughts are the material. Refine!"

Li Mu remained calm, his eyes as deep as an ancient well, and his shout resounded throughout the mansion.

The Chaos Dao Tree's countless branches and leaves swayed in unison, and the cascading gray air currents rolled back like a waterfall, enveloping all the myriad emotions and fragmented souls. Within the air currents, the chaotic Dao rhythm surged and flowed, transforming into an invisible furnace to refine the emotions carried by the fragmented souls.

"what!"

The Wrathful Soul was the first to roar, its crimson-gold flames surging and transforming into a raging inferno that crashed against the chaotic energy. The raging inferno was intense and fierce, containing the powerful Daoist spirit of speaking out against injustice and slaying all evil. Now, enveloped by the chaos, it collided violently, bursting out dazzling sparks.

Li Mu's true self resonated with it, clearly perceiving the various past events within the anger—the hatred of powerful enemies who blocked his path, the anger at the chaos caused by the strange race in the myriad worlds, the pain of his relatives and friends suffering calamities... all of which were the source of this anger.

“Anger is not a sin, and fierceness is also the way.” Li Mu guided the chaotic Dao rhythm to slowly wash away the violent and out-of-control thoughts, leaving only the fierce true meaning of slaying evil and protecting the righteousness. The crimson flames gradually became warm and gentle, transforming into a golden sun, hanging on the tree branch of the Dao tree, and sprinkling down the righteous light of the Dao.

Almost simultaneously, the fragmented soul of Sorrow surged with a deep blue light, its sorrow like a tidal wave, containing endless regret, the pain of loss, and the agony of separation by death. Enveloped by chaotic energy, the tide of sorrow surged, almost assimilating into the Daoist principles.

Li Mu immersed himself in the experience, comprehending the source of the sorrow—the tragedy of the collapse of the Xuanhuang Ancient Realm, the heroic bloody battle of the Daoist friends of the Primordial Star, and the grief of the suffering of all living beings in the myriad realms. This sorrow was as deep as the sea…

“Sorrow without despair, benevolence revealed in grief.” Li Mu guided the Dao patterns of order to descend, stabilizing the surging tide of sorrow. With the all-encompassing meaning of chaos, he dispelled the thoughts of sinking into despair, leaving only remembrance for the deceased and compassion for all living beings.

Fear caused his divided soul to tremble uncontrollably, and his body was surrounded by churning gray-white mist containing countless terrifying illusions—the fear of the severing of his path, the fear of the annihilation of his relatives and friends, the horror of his body turning into a strange creature... all kinds of fears, like venomous snakes gnawing at his heart.

Facing this fear head-on, Li Mu felt as if his mind was being pierced by a thousand needles, but his Dao heart remained as firm as the primordial stone, unmoved by the surging waves of fear. (End of Chapter)