Swallowing the Stars, Hu Yanbo's Pre-Godhood

Chapter 258 New Possibilities for the Enlightened One

"Then let's advance our understanding—to fully comprehend the six branches of the Great Way of Life!"

Infinite space, a small island in the middle of a lake.

"I have comprehended the six branches of the Great Dao of Cause and Effect. According to the rules of infinite space, there should be a reward for comprehending a new branch of the Great Dao."

Hu Yanbo's mind stirred slightly.

"However, can infinite space recognize this branch of my 'Path of Cause and Effect'?"

The infinite space only seals the major principles that Yuan learned (such as causality, life, destruction, and other known mainstream principles).

Guoyin Avenue is not on its banned list.

Being outside the ban list does not mean being outside the entire Hunyuan Space.

It's also possible that Yuan didn't learn it, who knows?

Therefore, whether this can be considered as opening up a new path in terms of infinite space, Hu Yanbo did not know.

"Try it and you'll know."

Hu Yanbo raised his hand and gently pointed his index finger forward.

"To determine the result, trace back to the cause."

Before his fingertips, the void rippled naturally, and countless extremely complex runes appeared out of thin air.

These secret patterns are connected end to end, repeating endlessly, forming a perfectly formed ring that seems to contain endless possibilities.

It is not a cycle of cause and effect, but a cycle of cause and effect!

The ring slowly rotated, its internal runes flowing and changing, its power reaching an extremely high level among the secret techniques of the first level of the God King realm.

The power of the rules of infinite space swept across this cycle of cause and effect.

There was no immediate feedback.

Hu Yanbo waited quietly.

Several breaths passed, as if the rules themselves were analyzing and evaluating something never seen before.

The silver mark on Huyan Bo's palm had just emitted a clear fluctuation when a message directly entered his consciousness: "Trial participant: Origin Continent, Huyan Bo".

"Based on the Great Dao of Cause and Effect, and through reverse deduction, a completely new branch of the Great Dao has been initially established. Evaluation of the new branch of the Great Dao: Top Grade."

Reward points: 100000.

"You have taken a solid first step on this new road. The road ahead is long and requires continued effort."

Total reward points: 209970.

"One hundred thousand points?!" Hu Yanbo was secretly shocked.

He clearly remembered that when Luo Feng initially merged "life" and "destruction" in the original work and created the "Path of Life and Death," the Infinite Space only gave him 10,000 points as a reward.

And the evaluation of his newly developed "Path of Cause and Effect" branch was ten times that of Luo Feng!

"Within the judgment of infinite space, the potential of my 'Great Dao of Cause and Effect', or rather the difficulty of its creation, far exceeds that of the 'Great Dao of Fusion'?" Hu Yanbo immediately realized the meaning behind this evaluation.

One hundred thousand points—this is the kind of reward one receives only after entering the second step of the Fusion Path.

This means that the future heights that the "Path of Cause and Effect"—a path that goes against the grain—are expected to reach by infinite space!

"To cultivate the Great Dao in reverse, to deduce the cause from the effect—it is incredible, truly incredible."

An aged yet gentle voice suddenly rang out beside Huyanbo.

Hu Yanbo's hair stood on end instantly!

With his current mental cultivation at the early stage of God Emperor, which is close to the upper limit of the will of the Origin Continent, he should be able to see any slight movement, energy fluctuation, or even causal attraction within an endless radius as clearly as the lines on his palm!

Even if the progenitors of the two ancient kingdoms were approaching, he would definitely be able to sense a sign in advance!

But this sound—it was as if it had always been there, and I had just heard it.

Even more terrifying is that, in his mental perception, the location from which the voice came was still a pure void, as if the speaker did not exist in any dimension of perception at all!

He turned his head abruptly.

Just a dozen or so feet away, an old man in an ordinary gray robe with a kind face was standing there, smiling at him with undisguised admiration and curiosity in his eyes.

The old man exuded no aura of power; he was just like any ordinary old man you might see next door.

But it was precisely this extreme ordinariness that, in Huyanbo's perception at this moment, transformed into the most unfathomable anomaly.

"Senior Yuan?" Hu Yanbo suppressed the turmoil in his heart and spoke respectfully.

He could appear silently in infinite space, see through the essence of the techniques he had just used at a glance, and even make his God Emperor's will unable to perceive his existence in the slightest —

Aside from the supreme being who left behind infinite space, Lord Hunyuan "Yuan," he couldn't think of a second person.

"It seems you know me." The old man in the gray robe nodded with a smile, his tone as casual as if he were having a friendly chat.

"Senior Yuan is too kind," Hu Yanbo replied respectfully, regaining his composure.

"Among the cultivators on the Origin Continent who have reached a certain level, who does not know the name of the senior, nor is he unaware of the senior's abilities?"

"Hehe, knowing is knowing." Yuan smiled, his gaze still filled with curiosity as he looked at Huyanbo.

"But very few people actually get to see me."

"Within the Source World, one usually needs to comprehend the complete Great Dao and achieve the ultimate realm before one can barely be considered worthy of attention and have a chance to meet them."

"This kind of talent is top-notch in both temperament and ability."

Yuan paused for a moment, then continued, "If one is at the second level of the God King realm, under certain extremely special circumstances, they might also be able to see some traces or guidance I left behind."

"As for what I actively revealed—"

"In my memory, you are the first."

Hu Yanbo was startled.

Yuan's words carried a great deal of weight.

Yuan seemed to sense his shock, his smile widening, but a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes: "You are also the first non-Hunyuan Lord level being to surprise me."

Huyanbo was shocked by Yuan's appearance, but Yuan was equally shocked by the path Huyanbo had taken.

The moment Hu Yanbo used "Fixed Result and Tracing Cause" to condense the "Result and Cause Ring", the underlying rules of infinite space had already scanned this unprecedented fluctuation of the Great Dao.

However, the rules experienced a brief lag—not because they couldn't recognize them, but because this new, reverse logic caused the rules, built on the meta-cognitive system itself, to momentarily freeze, unsure how to accurately determine and reward them.

It was this brief anomaly that drew Yuan's attention from the boundless primordial space above.

He took a look at it himself and immediately understood the essence of the "cause and effect cycle".

So he personally took action, appraised this nascent and immature branch of the Great Dao, and awarded it a top-tier rating and 100,000 reward points.

This evaluation represents not only potential, but also a breakthrough in his cognitive system.

At this moment, Yuan looked at Huyanbo with genuine curiosity.

How on earth is this little guy thinking, managing to break free from the conventional "cause and effect" mindset and forcefully reverse the process to "cause and effect"?

Moreover, judging from the initial formation of these branching secret patterns, the power of this reverse cultivation path is in no way inferior to those top-tier fusion paths, and even surpasses them in terms of potential and conceptual subversion.

With Yuan's level of cultivation, even without cultivating this path, just a glance at the flowing secret patterns of "determining the result and tracing the cause" is enough to instantly deduce its countless changes and possible future development directions.

And this is just the first branch that has been initially opened up on this brand-new avenue.

"A very interesting approach," Yuan said with a smile, repeating his initial assessment.

"Practicing the Great Dao in reverse, deducing cause from effect—truly incredible."

"Huyanbo, you have opened up a completely new possibility for the cultivation of all 'enlightened ones'."

The path of those who sought enlightenment in the past involved comprehending the fundamental Dao that already existed between heaven and earth, groping forward in the darkness until they mastered it.

A genius might attempt to combine the two great paths, or even ultimately merge them, which is the limit of the cognition of countless beings.

But Hu Yanbo shattered this perception with his actions.

Cause and effect can be reversed, and the cause can be transformed into effect.

So, is it possible to understand things by going against the flow of time?

The future comes first, then the past.

Can space be folded and traced back?

If you let the result become zero, you'll never reach the other side.

Can destruction be deduced from the "end" to the "beginning"?

Can life be viewed from the perspective of "unity" to "differentiation"?

In the past, perhaps some people had similar absurd ideas, but no one took them seriously, and no one thought they were feasible.

This is because it violates their most basic understanding of the Tao—that the Tao follows nature, that there is cause before effect, and that there is order before sequence.

But now, Huyanbo has proven with his actual pioneering efforts that this is not entirely impossible.

Having a first successful precedent, even if it's just a tentative first step, is enough to shake many preconceived notions and light a completely different lamp for those who follow.

Just like countless ages ago, before the emergence of the first genius who attempted to perfectly merge two different paths, all cultivators believed that the "combination of paths" was the hardest end.

But when the first successful person stepped out of the "path of integration," it was as if a door to a new world had been opened, leading countless brilliant individuals to follow in his footsteps and explore and move forward along this proven new path.

Looking at the little guy in front of him who was only at the second level of the God King realm, Yuan seemed to see another spark that could ignite a new era.

Taking Hu Yanbo as a precedent, perhaps in the countless source worlds of the Hunyuan Space in the future, some brave and wise people who dare to challenge and "reverse cultivate" other Great Daos will emerge.

Of course, the road has been opened up, but how far it can go is another matter.

The hardships and dangers of practicing the Great Dao in reverse are probably far greater than those of comprehension through forward cultivation, and may not be less than those of merging with the Great Dao.

How far can Huyan Bo go using this path? Will he stop at the level of a God-King, transcend the shackles, or go even further?

Even someone at the Yuan level cannot make a definitive statement at this moment.

Whether this road leads to glory or a precipice is something Huyanbo must walk and prove for himself.

But this first step was impressive enough to catch the eye of this lord standing at the pinnacle and earn him a "top-class" rating.

"However, in the entire Hunyuan Space, including myself, I'm afraid no one can give you specific guidance on your cultivation of this new path."

"Even those naturally powerful Chaos Origin beings cannot provide you with a reference point."

Ordinary enlightened beings, after mastering a complete Great Dao within the Source World, must then grope their way forward in the darkness.

Their main method of exploration was to observe the primordial runes that naturally grew on the bodies of those born from the primordial chaos.

Those secret patterns are all-encompassing, containing the most primitive and natural interweaving and combination of many fundamental principles.

Many founders of the Path of Integration were inspired by the secret patterns of these Paths of Integration, which ultimately led them to forge their own paths.

However, the reverse cultivation of the "Tao".

Yuan said that he had seen so many naturally occurring, primordial beings, but he had never seen such a secret pattern.

"This path is unprecedented," Yuan continued.

"However, judging from your appearance, besides the aura of this newborn cause and effect, you also possess a profound foundation in the two great paths of cause and effect and life, and have even glimpsed many aspects of the path of destruction."

"Huyanbo, are you planning to take the path of controlling the Source World?"

Within the infinite space exist treasures like the Heart of Primordial Chaos, with the conditions for becoming the master of the Origin World listed below them.

Hu Yanbo was able to glean information about the treasure vault, including the Heart of Hunyuan, using 100,000 reward points.

Therefore, Yuan felt it was not surprising that Huyanbo knew this route.

"Senior Yuan is wise indeed," Hu Yanbo readily admitted.

Upon hearing this, Yuan nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "You must comprehend the Dao of Reverse Cultivation."

"It must require extremely high levels of mental fortitude and willpower."

"How about this, I'll set a goal for you, as a kind of motivation."

"As long as you can cultivate each of the five different fundamental paths to the first level of the God King realm."

"I will bestow upon you a Primordial Heart," to help you cultivate a Primordial Body, allowing you to achieve a higher degree of harmony with all the fundamental principles of the Origin World.

"This gives us a greater chance to grasp the supreme rules and become the master of the source world."

"By becoming the master of the source world, your mental will will also be greatly enhanced, and on this basis, you will have a greater chance of deriving the complete Dao of Cause and Effect."

"As for the remaining 200,000 reward points you have," Yuan said casually.

"Keep it for yourself, use it as provisions for your spiritual practice, and exchange it for what you need."

After Yuan finished speaking, his figure vanished into thin air.

But that promise, that expectation, was truly imprinted in Huyanbo's heart.

Hu Yanbo bowed solemnly to the void where Yuan had disappeared, saying, "Thank you for your generous guidance, Senior Yuan."

Yuan's generosity was indeed beyond imagination.

First, because he opened up the unprecedented path of "Cause and Effect," he was directly recognized with 100,000 reward points through the rules of infinite space.

Now, he has personally promised that as long as he can achieve the first level of the God King realm in all five Great Daos, he will be given a "Heart of Chaos" worth 100,000 reward points.

Two opportunities worth 100,000 reward points were consecutively bestowed upon a cultivator who was merely at the second level of the God King realm.

This cultivation and investment is truly unique in the vast primordial space, countless source worlds, and the endless river of time.

Hu Yanbo calmed his mind and focused his consciousness on the rule imprint in his palm, connecting it to the infinite space treasure trove.

"Exchange for the Great Road Map!"

The silver mark on my palm warmed slightly, and as the light shimmered, 20,000 reward points were deducted.

Almost simultaneously, the void in front of Huyanbo rippled slightly, and a hazy, illusory scroll, seemingly woven from countless tiny rays of light, slowly emerged, eventually solidifying and floating into his hand.

The scroll feels warm and smooth to the touch, seemingly both real and unreal. When the eye falls upon it, it is as if one can see the projections of countless paths of the Great Dao within it, their birth, death, and flow, containing endless mysteries, yet all are hazy and indistinct.

Detailed information about the "Great Dao Diagram" also entered his consciousness:

This diagram is a wondrous object used to aid in spiritual practice, and it has two main uses.

Firstly, based on the practitioner's own realm, the Great Dao they have comprehended, and the characteristics of their soul, various secret methods most suitable for the practitioner can be deduced and optimized.

Whether it's attack, defense, escape techniques, or soul manipulation, all can be deduced and perfectly matched, with power far exceeding that of self-created techniques.

There are no hidden dangers in this application.

Secondly, it can assist in analyzing and interpreting the mysteries of the Great Dao. By placing this diagram in one's mind, when comprehending the Great Dao, it is as if a top-notch mentor is beside one's side, breaking it down and explaining it. This can dissect the complex and obscure branches of the Great Dao layer by layer, pointing directly to the core, thus greatly increasing the efficiency of comprehension.

The lower your strength, the stronger the auxiliary effect. According to information, with the help of this diagram, you can more easily push a path to the peak of the second level of the God King realm.

However, the second use is immediately followed by a crystal-clear scarlet warning:

Warning: The Great Dao Diagram can only be used to assist in analyzing and understanding the mysteries of the Great Dao's branches, and to accelerate the comprehension and integration of those branches.

However, to truly master a complete path (i.e., to enter the ultimate realm of God King), one must rely on the practitioner's own enlightenment; the scroll cannot provide any assistance.

Warning: If you rely too much on the Great Dao Diagram to analyze the Great Dao during the God-King stage, although you will make rapid progress in the early stages, you will unconsciously solidify your cognition and weaken your spirituality and intuition about the essence of the Great Dao. As a result, when you finally take that step of "complete unity", the difficulty will increase dramatically and far exceed the normal path.

Please use this product with caution!