Born with immortal seed

Chapter 396 The Confrontation Between the True Meanings of the Great Dao
Wei Dao's eyes were dazed, and a gentle breeze stirred his body, shielding the golden characters in front of him.

The four large, gilded characters, "June 6th," are infinitely varied and imposing, exuding a majestic aura that commands respect.

Wei Dao retreated four steps. The breeze turned swift, barely managing to lift the golden light. His legs went weak, and he sat back down in his chair.

"The wind moves with the heart, and stops with the heart, what a skill!"

Yu Ziliang saw it clearly: Wei Dao had been captivated by the true meaning contained in the calligraphy of the Great True Lord of Propagation of Dharma, and had already fallen into the trap.

However, the true meaning of the calligraphy was not malicious or murderous, so he was powerless to resist and fell down and lost his senses for a moment.

A Nascent Soul True Monarch can easily resolve a situation by mobilizing their own understanding of the true meaning, but this is only because it is tainted by worldly concerns and falls into a lower level.

This calligraphy scroll was intended to intimidate the Northern Region, letting all the Nascent Soul True Monarchs know the capabilities of the Moral Sect.

The true meaning and the measure are grasped with exquisite precision.

According to the Great True Lord Hongfa, to subtly unravel the true meaning of the calligraphy, one must reach the late Nascent Soul stage on the path of the Great Dao.

Only someone with such talent would be worthy of a share of the spoils in the future Northern Region under the dominance of the Moral Sect.

Ordinary Core Formation cultivators, who haven't truly grasped the essence of the Great Dao, would actually feel dizzy in this situation, rather than causing any disturbance to the calligraphy scroll.

Wei Dao emerged from seclusion this time, having cultivated to the mid-stage of Core Formation. He gained a new understanding of the true meaning of the Great Dao, and his theory of alchemy took another step forward.

Under the golden characters, their own path was stirred, and they were further targeted by the golden calligraphy.

That's why Yu Ziliang said that Wei Dao was good, and that they could all reach the standard of true disciples of the Daode Sect.

'Why haven't we heard any movement from Bai Zichen? Could it be that he only practices swordsmanship and doesn't understand the fundamental principles... and was directly stunned by the calligraphy and fainted?'

Yu Ziliang turned his head to look at the other side and found that the remaining golden characters were all surrounding Bai Zichen, forming a long dragon.

The gilded lettering appears to be formed from billions of gold grains, showcasing an evolutionary process that is infinitely more complex than before.

At the same time, his aura continued to rise, making people look up to him with ever-increasing awe, and captivating their minds.

"Uncle Meng's Nine Chapters of Heavenly Law already allows him to speak the imperial edict and command all living beings... The Great True Lord of Propagating the Dharma has gone even further, truly worthy of being the cultivator with the greatest potential to embark on the path of Nascent Soul."

Yu Ziliang recalled his master's evaluation of the two, and was even more surprised by Bai Zichen's performance.

"An invisible force has blocked it, preventing the gilded characters from advancing even an inch!"

This calligraphy copybook aims to examine the true meaning of the Dao, disregarding all trivial details.

In the eyes of a cultivator of the level of the Great True Lord of Propagation, apart from taking steps in the true meaning of the Great Dao, any progress in other supernatural abilities and secret techniques is insignificant.

Before Bai Zichen, there was an invisible river, and the golden light emitted by the gilded characters sank into it and disappeared as soon as it approached.

There's even a character for 'increase'; stepping into it, struggling for a moment, it too rises and falls before disappearing.

'Even the Elder Shibi of the Wusheng Sect couldn't resist attacking when faced with twelve gilded characters, scattering the golden light with pure baleful energy… Could it be that this Bai Zichen is even more advanced on the path of the Great Dao than the Elder Shibi?'

Yu Ziliang's mind went blank; he couldn't process what was happening.

On the road of life, a single step can make all the difference.

The Elder Shibi was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with overwhelming demonic power, and had been famous for hundreds of years.

On the other side, Bai Zichen was merely a late-stage Core Formation cultivator. Despite his reputation as a banished sword immortal and the number one swordsman since ancient times, it was only reflected in his combat strength.

If you were to say that the latter has surpassed the former in terms of attainment and progress on the path of enlightenment, no one would believe it.

But that was the reality before him, and Yu Ziliang blinked several times to make sure it wasn't a hallucination.

"This move serves two purposes: first, to demonstrate our power, and second, to select cultivators with the potential to reach the late Nascent Soul stage and share some of the profits... Our sect is not like those poor sects that are eager to expand outwards and seize spiritual veins. There are still countless places to explore in the Nine Luminaries Grotto Heaven that our ancestor brought here. Even if we send in tens of thousands of disciples, we can't make a ripple."

In terms of cultivation, Yu Ziliang is not even ranked among the top in the Daode Sect.

The five main peaks and twelve branch peaks indicate that the true number of Nascent Soul True Monarchs far exceeds outside speculation.

At least 30% of the Nascent Soul True Monarchs in the Moral Sect reside in their secluded grotto-heavens year-round, never venturing into the mortal world.

However, as a disciple of the Daoist lineage, he cultivated the Dongxuan Hundred Generations True Scripture, which gave him a special status and enabled him to know many secrets that others were unaware of.

"I originally thought that the one I selected would be at least a Nascent Soul True Monarch, but he turned out to be a Core Formation True Man. How am I going to explain this to my two senior uncles? ... If we choose to cooperate with him, our sect will have to wait for him to grow up. Who knew it would take several hundred years?"

According to the discussions held within Tianfa Peak before the expedition, after killing Du Heng and exterminating the Zengguang Du clan, the Moral Sect army would be recalled to the Great Zhou and would not stay for long.

In the future, the Moral Sect will only leave behind one Nascent Soul True Monarch and his disciples in Zengguang Immortal City, and will not be able to provide much support.

That's why they wanted to share the profits and joined forces with several of the most promising Nascent Soul True Monarchs in the Northern Region to jointly govern the four kingdoms.

Otherwise, relying solely on the reputation of the Moral Sect without matching strength, even if they occupy Zengguang Immortal City, it will be difficult to restore the prosperity that the Du family enjoyed during their rule.

"The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind... Who would have thought that no one in the Northern Region would reach the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm on the path of cultivation? Only your Qingfeng Sect has stood out too much and attracted too much attention, which has become a disaster."

Yu Ziliang tilted the golden invitation card in his hand with difficulty, and the four characters "June 6th" flew together.

"If this were placed in the Central Region, the extraordinary phenomena that each Nascent Soul True Monarch exhibits after undergoing tribulation would be impossible to hide and would all be recorded... Just by looking at the Nascent Soul's extraordinary phenomena, one could roughly predict their future potential, and very few cultivators could break free from this framework!"

'What appears to be the overwhelming power of Heaven actually embodies the principles of creation in every single character…'

In Bai Zichen's vision, there was a river in front of him that seemed to have no beginning or end, and that space seemed to have stopped in time.

Once the gilded characters entered, they underwent countless transformations, yet none could escape the flow of time; each moment was a brilliant bloom before fading away.

The shape of the river is surprisingly similar to that of the long river of time.

However, both in terms of scale and power, it has been reduced by countless times.

He could tell that the invitation was not made of any special material, nor did it have any other restrictions on it.

A single sword strike could destroy the invitation, thus thwarting this obvious test.

However, such behavior would undoubtedly be considered a provocation and offense against the Daode School, and no one would do such a thing.

They all followed the rules, answered questions based on their own understanding of the Great Dao, and submitted their papers.

“Aside from the Azure Emperor’s Longevity Sword, I don’t know how to control the power of time. This response was stimulated by the gilded characters, which caused the Great Dao of Time to manifest a river that is somewhat similar to the River of Time… The Great Dao of Creation is also at the top level among the three thousand Great Daos. It seems that it has aroused the competitive spirit of the power of time.”

Enveloped in the power of time, Bai Zichen's aura was ethereal and unpredictable.

The gilded characters spun around several times, but still couldn't cross the long river, and all turned back to the visiting cards.

On the inner cover, you can see that the character "增" has lost its color, leaving only the ink traces.

Almost simultaneously, the shrunken version of the river of time faded away rapidly, as if it had never existed.

"On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, our sect will definitely be there to witness your sect's great feat of slaying the demon."

Bai Zichen made no mention of the strange phenomenon surrounding the visiting card, acting as if nothing had happened, and accepted it with clasped hands.

"Only after meeting Fellow Daoist Bai today do I realize how narrow-minded I've been... A true genius can shine brightly no matter what environment they are born in."

Yu Ziliang put away the visiting card and bowed deeply in sincere respect.

"With a fellow Daoist like you, your sect will surely become a leader in the Northern Region in a few hundred years... After eliminating the Du family this time, the trade routes between various countries will be contracted to a sect. If the Qingfeng Sect is interested, I can introduce you to my uncle who will stay in Zengguang Immortal City later."

Yu Ziliang shut down his five senses and locked his consciousness, unable to discern the power of time that had appeared beside Bai Zichen earlier.

It was unclear whether the mysterious first path of time had transmitted the gilded characters, but some people thought that Bai Zichen's path of cultivation was comparable to that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

His tone was more respectful, indicating that he had many friends.

Yu Ziliang didn't believe that such a person would fail before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, and that establishing a relationship beforehand was a good deed.

If it weren't for the cultivation method that required him to walk a hundred lifetimes and refine his worldly energy.

Yu Ziliang would never appear in the Northern Region with the Heavenly Punishment Peak army, nor would he ever meet this miraculous Core Formation cultivator born in a tiny country.

"In that case, thank you for the introduction, Master Yu."

Bai Zichen and Wei Dao exchanged a glance, and indeed it was similar to what they had discussed earlier.

The Daode Sect plans to take advantage of this opportunity to extend its reach into the Northern Region and seize Zengguang Immortal City, which is coveted by cultivators throughout the world.

The reasons for the process were slightly different, and it was not for the sake of spiritual veins, but the result was the same.

The Moral Sect invited all the Nascent Soul forces in the Northern Region to Zengguang Immortal City, intending to use the power of the demon-slaying and city-breaking to establish future rules for the Northern Region.

As long as all Nascent Soul forces reach a consensus, what can the remaining sects do if they have objections?

Therefore, this trip to Zengguang Immortal City is a must.

Not being present is tantamount to being excluded from the top echelons of power in the Northern Region.

When the interests are redistributed, no one will speak up for you, and your territory might be divided up by the two Nascent Soul sects in no time.

Subcontracting trade routes means that you are the only one in the country qualified to conduct large-scale procurement transactions with Zengguang Immortal City, which facilitates the collection of cultivation resources from lower levels and their resale to Zengguang Immortal City.

Among them, the sects that could take on the subcontracting were all incredibly wealthy, with hundreds of millions of spirit stones rolling through their fingers.

The Du family had used this strategy in the past, when Zengguangxian City was still in its infancy and far from becoming a center of trade and commerce.

Later, the Immortal City got back on track and was soon abolished.

The fact that this old matter is being brought up again is clearly intended to use this method to bind the four most promising sects to the future Zengguang Immortal City.

If the Qingfeng Sect can indeed subcontract one route, it means that all the sects and cultivation families in the five states and seventy-two counties of Liang Kingdom will no longer be qualified to directly sell the large quantities of goods they have currently sold to Zengguang Immortal City.

Immortal City didn't negotiate any large-scale transactions with you; they only recognized the four major subcontractors.

In the past, all the resources that the sects in Liang Kingdom sold to Zengguang Immortal City could only be sold to Qingfeng Sect.

Whether to acquire, how much to acquire, and what the value is...

Within the Liang Kingdom, everything is determined by the Qingfeng Sect.

Not only did they earn a massive amount of spirit stones, but they also put a tight rein on all forces within the territory.

Few sects can be self-sufficient; they all have to sell their surplus products to exchange for what they need in order to maintain their development.

The vast majority of Core Formation level sects and almost all cultivation families are like this; once they lose Zengguang Immortal City, their caravans become infinitely more idle.

"No need to thank me in advance. I'm just making the introduction. Whether it will actually happen depends on my senior uncle's overall consideration..."

Yu Ziliang waved his hand and said modestly.

In reality, it remains unclear who will become the ally chosen by the Moral Sect.

However, he was still confident that Qingfeng Sect would become a subcontractor for Liang Kingdom, since there were not many Nascent Soul sects that could compete with it.

(End of this chapter)