The Eternal Calamity of the Heaven-shading

Chapter 283 When the speed reaches a certain level

……

"All things in the universe, from which the Dao is derived, give rise to wondrous methods, and all have forms that can be followed and traces that can be grasped."

"However, those who reincarnate are formless, rootless, and without origin. To tread the path of reincarnation, one must begin with the primordial spirit."

"The Tao has a source, but the cycle of reincarnation leaves no trace. As one goes further and further away, the distance gives rise to reversal, and reversal leads back to oneness."

Chu Xiaoyao suddenly woke up.

In a daze, I heard all sorts of mysterious sounds resounding, like celestial music, echoing in the void.

Turning my head again, I saw that the people playing chess had become Cao Yusheng and Lingbao Tianzun. As for the white-robed immortal from the beginning, he had disappeared without a trace.

Although only a fleeting moment had passed, it felt as if millions of years had gone by. The two peerless experts who were playing chess seemed to be close at hand, but in reality, they were far, far away.

At this moment, Chu Xiaoyao couldn't help but feel a sense of temporal and spatial displacement, as if an unparalleled being had used a forbidden divine power to sever a wisp of time and then piece the rest back together, deliberately making him aware of it.

"I see!"

Suddenly, Xu Dong muttered in his sleep, "I was too stubborn and lost my true self."

After a sigh, a tear rolled down his cheek, and he suddenly understood everything.

Chu Xiaoyao asked, "Old man, what's wrong with you?"

Xu Dong did not answer, but his body began to blur. Countless fine rays of light flowed gently and disappeared into the void.

Chu Xiaoyao's expression changed; it was the power of the Dao Transformation Realm, both terrifying and strange.

Transformation into the Dao, a terrifying term, signifies the annihilation of one's body and Dao, returning to the laws of Heaven and Earth. No matter how powerful or amazing you are, you will eventually experience that trial, with very few exceptions.

But how could Xu Dong, a quasi-Celestial Venerable, suddenly pass away? Chu Xiaoyao was very puzzled.

What's even stranger is that the aura of transformation seemed to only affect Xu Dong and did not spread to the surrounding area.

At this moment, Wu Geng, who was originally serving at the side of Lingbao Tianzun, suddenly looked up and sent out a wave of divine thought: "Uncle-Master, he has just woken up from a dream and awakened from the confusion of the past."

Chu Xiaoyao sensed a hint of sadness in his voice.

Just as he was about to ask a question, a broken chess piece flew over shakily and hovered in front of him.

"What is this?" Chu Xiaoyao was stunned.

Visually, this white chess piece is covered in cracks, making it appear small and delicate.

However, what emanated through the cracks were strands of chaotic celestial light, utterly peaceful.

Feeling that complete Dao Law, Chu Xiaoyao was greatly shocked.

The Tao is infinitely varied; a grain of sand, a blade of grass, a flower—all can embody the Tao. And this chess piece is the same; it encompasses an entire world within it, self-consistent and perfectly formed, without any trace of human intervention.

"What does this have to do with Xu Donghua's transformation into a Daoist?" Chu Xiaoyao asked.

“Just probe in with your divine sense, and you’ll know immediately,” Wu Gen said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiaoyao took a deep breath and calmed his mind.

……

After a long while, he withdrew his divine sense, his face deathly pale.

Upon closer inspection, Xu Dong had just vanished into a shower of light, leaving no trace.

"Having failed to unravel the mystery of the burial, and becoming obsessed with power, one must bear the price of one's own demise." These were the last words left by the other party.

"So that's it!"

Chu Xiaoyao muttered to himself, feeling a chill run down his spine. He now understood why Xu Dong had transformed into a Daoist.

Because that chess piece encapsulated Xu Dong's entire life.

Born into the Guijian Sect, he was chosen by the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable for his outstanding talent, who personally baptized his physical body and sealed it inside the divine source.

After Lingbao Tianzun disappeared, Xu Dong was born. He faced the suppression of the Great Dao and made great progress. Finally, at around two thousand years old, he became a Quasi-Tianzun.

Logically speaking, having achieved such success during a time of great hardship, all he needed to do was remain secluded and quietly wait for the world to recover; perhaps he could even strive for the position of a Heavenly Venerable for one lifetime.

However, just as Xu Donggang had survived his tribulation and was at his weakest, a man-made disaster suddenly broke out.

A quasi-celestial-level ancient corpse with spiritual powers, which had escaped the extermination, arrived carrying an extremely forbidden artifact and ambushed from the shadows.

That battle was so fierce that the sky darkened and the sun and moon lost their light, and Xu Dong was almost killed.

Fortunately, before leaving, Lingbao Tianzun specially crafted an ancient bronze lamp for Guijian Sect as a foundation.

In the end, Xu Dong successfully slew his formidable enemy, but he also lost an arm and an eye, suffering a severe loss of his vital essence—a curse inflicted at the cost of his life. Time passed, and more than 20,000 years went by.

Through the changes in the ancient bronze lamp, Xu Dong confirmed that Lingbao Tianzun had passed away, and coincidentally, his Wheel Sea Secret Realm appeared on the Starry Sky Trial Road.

As for the series of events that followed, Chu Xiaoyao was even more familiar with them, having personally experienced them.

In fact, Chen Wu's Burial Technique pulled everyone into the ripples of time and space, but each person was in a different world.

Xu Dong was no exception, returning to the peak of the Great Sage's life with his memories.

Just like Chu Xiaoyao, he was initially skeptical, believing that he was under some kind of illusion.

To verify this, Xu Dong made ample preparations this time when he underwent the tribulation of a Quasi-Celestial Venerable. Finally, he successfully killed the ancient corpse with spiritual power without paying a heavy price.

Since his origin was not damaged and he possessed insights into the future Great Dao, Xu Dong began to advance rapidly in the days that followed. He even forcibly broke through the Great Dao's shackles and reached the peak of Quasi-Celestial Venerable, only one step away from proving the Dao.

People sang his praises, considering him the second Lingbao Tianzun, while Xu Dong was full of ambition, wanting to try to prove the Dao and thus continue the glory of Guijian Sect.

But he gradually forgot that it was all an illusion, and what he perceived as the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was nothing more than the world inside a chess piece.

"In pursuit of power, they sink deeper and deeper without realizing it, until when they wake up, their original physical bodies are no longer able to bear that power, so in the end they can only face destruction." Wu Gen whispered, revealing the truth.

Wow!

As he spoke, more chess pieces appeared out of thin air, alternating between black and white, each piece covered with cracks.

Chu Xiaoyao's eyes narrowed. He guessed it. That was the world where everyone else was, and they were all lost in it, mistakenly believing that they had really returned to the past.

Wu Geng's eyes shone brightly as he calmly said, "Only you and I have always kept our original aspirations in mind and have not lost our way."

"I don't believe I possess such a steadfast Dao heart," Chu Xiaoyao shook his head.

Reflecting on his own experiences, he suddenly felt that he was nothing special. After all, he had only been awake for a short time when the discovery of the Heavenly Venerable's Tomb was too obvious.

"You are an outstanding person praised by several celestial beings, why belittle yourself?"

Wu Gen smiled, his expression enigmatic, "Besides, your memory might not be entirely reliable."

"What do you mean?" Chu Xiaoyao frowned.

“If you want to investigate, listen carefully. I only woke up a little earlier than you.” As he spoke, Wu Gen gestured with his eyes to the chess game that was going on not far away.

Upon seeing this, Chu Xiaoyao's heart stirred.

Seemingly realizing something, he cleared his mind of distractions and probed out with his divine sense.

In an instant, he seemed to travel back in time and truly arrive before Cao Yusheng and Lingbao Tianzun.

The boundless and profound mysteries of the Great Dao were displayed on the chessboard, transforming into one golden rune after another.

"Young Chu, you're not exactly stupid." Cao Yusheng glanced up at Chu Xiaoyao.

Lingbao Tianzun smiled and said, "After all, he has passed the test of Yongjie Tianzun. In the future, he may be ranked alongside us."

At this moment, Chu Xiaoyao fell into a state of ethereal tranquility, as if he were standing under the ancient sky, with his feet firmly planted on the earth and the vast starry sky above him, touching the imprint of the Great Dao on the chessboard with his body, mind, and spirit.

The various profound principles and expositions of the great Dao were like a sudden enlightenment, instantly captivating him, but he gradually lost himself in them afterward.

"wake up!"

Suddenly, Cao Yusheng placed a piece, startling him awake.

"Do you think the more divine arts you know, the better? You're not that freak; if you're all mixed up and not proficient, you'll never reach the highest realm."

"I..." Chu Xiaoyao was bewildered.

Cao Yusheng's voice resonated in his heart once again, "What is enlightenment? It means reaching the highest level in a particular field. It's not about learning a lot, which will only distract you and ultimately lead to nothing."

"Then which path should I take?" Chu Xiaoyao shook his head slightly, analyzing his true feelings, "I am only fast, but in terms of combat strength, I am far inferior to Wu Gen."

"That's enough."

Cao Yusheng nodded. "When the speed reaches a certain level, it is enough to touch the power of time."

"Young Chu, remember these words, and don't let me down."

Then, a mysterious fluctuation arose, and the Dao of the Great Universe and the Dao of the Spacetime, two completely different spacetime forces, flowed and intertwined, creating a passage filled with blazing immortal light.

Immediately afterwards, Chu Xiaoyao was swallowed up.

In the last moment before he lost consciousness, he heard Cao Yusheng nagging again: "My position as the second-in-command depends entirely on you, so you must live up to expectations."

(End of this chapter)