Man is in the heavens, parasitic on the way

Chapter 258: Discussing Methods of Transcendence

"Forming one's own Dao..." Qing Di murmured, "This is another concept. Instead of seeking to master and encompass all the mysteries of the Dao, after cultivating to a certain level, one expands infinitely, reflecting the Supreme Dao with an infinitely exponential Dao Sea... But if one does this, how can it compare to the Dao Fruit obtained by making reductions to seek emptiness?"

He admitted that after achieving Dao himself, he was indeed stronger than those on the Other Shore; this was certain.

The fact that they had just allowed his realm to almost improve already explained everything.

However, it was definitely not as strong as the Dao Fruit, because the Dao Fruit truly obtained all the realms of the 'Dao', a realm that is unknowable and cannot be discussed.

The Dao Fruit realm itself is the realm reached by cultivators after thoroughly comprehending the 'Dao' through cultivation; it can be considered the 'Dao' with consciousness.

Of course, Qing Di's understanding of the Dao Fruit did not mean it was absolutely correct.

Although the three of them had profound realms, each forming their own Dao, seemingly equivalent to the unique 'Dao', they did not give him the feeling of being wrong the moment he thought about them.

"Perhaps the 'Dao' they formed is not complete, which is why they need to continue cultivating more Dao Fruits," Qing Di thought.

"Indeed," Ye Fan nodded, stating frankly, "I once traced back time and caught a glimpse, but currently, I am still not comparable to those seniors who have achieved the Dao Fruit."

His previous glimpse, although only a blurry phantom, was enough for him to know that the Dao Fruit realm was indeed above his own and others' current level.

While the Other Shore was not as strong as them, the Dao Fruit above the Other Shore surpassed them.

"The three Fellow Daoists have crossed the void and Chaos to come here. Could it be that you wish to use the Dao of this place to perfect your own Dao, thereby truly transcending?" Qing Di guessed.

He now regarded these three as people who had not completely transcended.

"That's not entirely wrong," Ye Fan pondered for a moment, not refuting.

Hearing Ye Fan's words, Qing Di knew his guess was not entirely wrong, but also not entirely right. He cupped his hands and said, "Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist!"

Hearing Qing Di's words, Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang looked serious, holding their teacups and listening intently.

"In fact, we have a different understanding of transcendence," Ye Fan considered briefly, saying, "We believe that becoming the 'Dao' cannot be considered true transcendence."

"Becoming a complete Dao with a self cannot be considered true transcendence? Then, according to the thoughts of you Fellow Daoists, could it be that one must surpass the 'Dao' to be considered truly transcended?" Qing Di said with slight astonishment.

The true Dao Fruit is unknowable, unattainable, within the realm of agnosticism, an unsurpassable domain.

The true 'Dao' should also be an existence in this domain; nothing can surpass it.

Now, these few outsiders seemed to want to surpass the 'Dao'!

"Indeed, to achieve this goal, the method of 'Sacrifice Dao' was created," Ye Fan nodded, and then explained what Sacrifice Dao was.

"Crazy? Isn't this suicide!?"

The same thought arose in the hearts of Meng Qi, Gu Xiaosang, and Qing Di.

To sacrifice all of one's origin and Dao Fruit, and still be alive, makes no sense!

"I still underestimated them. Although their transcendence is incomplete and cannot be considered a truly complete Dao Fruit, they ultimately possess the essence of transcendence and have incredible abilities," Qing Di marveled in his heart.

If someone on the Other Shore were to do this, they would certainly die.

"So, Old fellow villagers, you plan to Sacrifice Dao again and again, ultimately completely surpassing all 'Dao' and reaching a supreme realm that no one has ever reached?" Meng Qi recovered, his eyes burning as he looked at the three of them, speculating, "Doesn't this mean that the final realm will be even more profound than the Dao Fruit realm?"

He felt that this realm seemed incredibly powerful. The Dao Fruit was said to be wrong the moment one thought about it, unknowable and unthinkable, but it was ultimately equivalent to the Dao. The ultimate goal of these three Old fellow villagers was to surpass all 'Dao'.

Just then, the few people present turned their heads to look behind them. An old man in Daoist robes was walking towards them. He looked at them and said, "Do you mind if this old Daoist also joins in the discussion?"

The person who arrived was the most ancient Tian Zun, Moral Heavenly Lord, who represented the foundation of existence.

"Of course, you are most welcome," Fang Ming smiled, conjuring a stone stool out of thin air, and said, "Please sit."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist." The stone table was very large, and after the old man sat down, it did not feel crowded at all.

"Please have some tea, Fellow Daoist." As expected, Shi Hao once again served a cup of Dao tea to Moral Heavenly Lord.

The external Dao information captured by people at different levels and with different cultivation bases is different. This Moral Heavenly Lord is the foundation of existence, roughly equivalent to one-third of the 'Dao', an unimaginable amount.

Of course, in reality, it cannot be simply added up like this; it is just a simple comparison.

In fact, the Dao is infinite and boundless. Even if it is only one-hundred-millionth less, it is still an infinite difference. Therefore, even if the three most ancient Tian Zun verified each other's Dao, they still could not take that step.

"This tea..." Moral Heavenly Lord's eyes showed surprise. Even He, the most ancient Tian Zun, was somewhat shocked.

He almost thought that these three were beings who had achieved the 'Dao Fruit' realm.

Now his view was the same as Qing Di's: they had not completely transcended, but their state was better than that of the Buddha, much better, and also stronger.

At this moment, Meng Qi's voice sounded in His heart: "Uncle Moral, this is what happened..."

In an instant, Moral Heavenly Lord already understood what had happened.

Immediately, Moral Heavenly Lord looked at Ye Fan and the others, cupped his hands, and said, "Please continue, Fellow Daoists. Do not stop because of this old Daoist's arrival. This old Daoist also knows another path to transcendence."

"That's not necessarily true. After all, the Dao Fruit belongs to the realm of agnosticism, and you, being from Earth, also know about this thing called agnosticism..." Ye Fan's voice sounded. He did not speak definitively, saying, "However, our ultimate pursuit is indeed to surpass all 'Dao'."

It must be said that the system of these outsiders was truly infinitely wondrous.

With his thoughts turning, Ye Fan said, "The cultivation concept of obtaining all of the Dao, I once saw it in another place, on a person named Jiangnan. He called it 'Eternal Beginning', and he himself was Primal Beginning Heavenly Venerate."

"What does Eternal Beginning mean?" Moral Heavenly Lord asked.

"The Great Dao that encompasses all known and unknown, past and future, possible and impossible," Ye Fan briefly described the definition of the Great Dao that Jiangnan had narrated to him.

Moral Heavenly Lord nodded and said, "This is the 'Dao'."

"If that person cultivates to true Eternal Beginning and then forms his own Dao, he will definitely be incredibly powerful, possibly comparable to the 'Dao Fruit' realm here," Ye Fan said.

Why is it possible? Because in different outsider worlds, the strength of the Dao is also different; it cannot be generalized.

It might also be stronger, or it might be weaker.

Having already cultivated two Immortal Emperor Dao Fruits, they had a profound understanding of this.

The external Dao information captured from Fang Ming's soul and body, and the external Dao derived through evolution, proved their point.

Hearing Ye Fan's words, the people present were surprised in their hearts. The titles themselves didn't matter.

But they understood the meaning behind Ye Fan's words: that person named Jiangnan seemed to be truly close to being able to cultivate the 'Eternal Beginning' realm, which was comparable to the 'Dao Fruit' realm.

"Forgive this old Daoist for presuming to ask, whether it is the transcendence method of the three Fellow Daoists or the Eternal Beginning Dao Fruit of Fellow Daoist Jiangnan, is there any restriction?" Moral Heavenly Lord looked at Ye Fan and asked, "Has anyone succeeded?"

"It is foreseeable that Fellow Daoist Jiangnan's Eternal Beginning Dao Fruit will definitely succeed, and there are no restrictions. The only restriction can only be personal ability. This requires too high a demand on personal ability. It can be said that besides him, it is difficult for others to walk this path," Ye Fan said, shaking his head.

Hearing Ye Fan's words, Qing Di felt inexplicably disappointed.

This was a method of cultivation equivalent to the Dao Fruit realm, and it had no inherent restrictions.

At his level, he already knew that the birth of a Dao Fruit was restricted, even to the point that only one could exist in an epoch.

Even if making reductions to seek emptiness was perfected, the epochal cycle power of one epoch could only allow one person's nascent Dao Fruit to mature and become complete.

"As for our method, there are no restrictions. As long as one can form one's own Dao and succeed in Sacrifice Dao, one has embarked on this path," Ye Fan paused for a moment, then continued, "As for successful individuals, I think there are some."

Speaking of this, Ye Fan thought of that Plateau of Disaster, and the terrifying will slumbering within the Ertu. That was definitely an existence that surpassed the Sacrifice Dao level.

"In my homeland, there is an Ertu that is terrifying to the extreme. Within that Ertu, slumbers a will that absolutely surpasses our current level," Ye Fan said, showing a look of apprehension. He said, "We suspect that that Ertu is related to beings who have surpassed the Sacrifice Dao level."

"That Ertu can create beings at the 'Sacrifice Dao' level. Combined with the will within it, we believe that Ertu is closely related to those above Sacrifice Dao. It is very likely that it was created by a being at that level," he continued.

As he spoke, Ye Fan looked at Shi Hao, and the two nodded, then simultaneously pointed a finger.

Immediately, the scene of the Plateau of Disaster was projected before everyone. There, time and space were chaotic, principles were distorted, and it was polluted by something unknown.

Seeing the scene of that Ertu, even Moral Heavenly Lord, the most ancient Tian Zun, felt a sense of horror in his heart.

Undoubtedly, there, the 'Dao' was distorted and was no longer its original appearance, becoming some indescribable horror, similar to the unknowability of the Dao Fruit.

"No wonder the Old fellow villagers embarked on the path of Sacrifice Dao. If they didn't embark on the path of Sacrifice Dao and take a further leap out, they would definitely have no way to deal with that place," Meng Qi realized.

"It is indeed possible that it is something left behind by an existence that has surpassed the 'Dao'," Moral Heavenly Lord nodded, and then continued, "But as this Heavenly Emperor said, the Dao Fruit is wrong the moment one thinks about it, unknowable and cannot be discussed. The one who surpassed the 'Dao' may not necessarily have surpassed the Dao Fruit realm."

Without achieving the Dao Fruit, all speculations about the Dao Fruit are incorrect.

"However, this is indeed a path to transcendence different from the Dao Fruit, and it has no restrictions," the most ancient Tian Zun sighed.

Moral Heavenly Lord drank the tea in his cup, then stood up and cupped his hands, saying, "My journey today has been of great benefit. If I can achieve the Dao Fruit in the future, I will return to discuss the Dao with you."

Having reached this point, He naturally would not easily give up the path of the Dao Fruit!

Moreover, achieving the Dao Fruit does not mean that one cannot embark on another path.

"Most welcome!" Ye Fan and Shi Hao cupped their hands in return.