Chapter 803: Chapter 26: Comprehending the Tao of the Sword Ancestor
A grain of dust is just a grain of dust.
Flying in the void, landing on the ground, swayed by the wind, and so forth, just as it should be.
The supreme Dao of form and intent, Dao Sheng Yi’s supreme Dao, all has derived into a perfect state.
Zhou Yan gave up everything, immersing himself in this piece of land, and only then did he sense and experience the vastness and profundity of it.
Uncontrollably, his heart was filled with tears.
All things have a spirit; this is an undeniable artistic conception and atmosphere. This land nurtures all beings, exuding a maternal divine radiance, imbued with the ancient ancestral land aura, flowing ceaselessly.
The true ancestral land, the true path of ancestor worship, is not actually in the Thirty-Three Heavens, but right beneath one’s feet.
Respect and awe for the land beneath one’s feet, with the spirit paying homage to this piece of land, is ancestor worship.
The path of ancestor worship is to walk a path of self-transcendence upon the ancestral land.
This is ancestor worship.
Zhou Yan transformed into a grain of dust, returning to the origin. Initially, to avoid the elder woman’s lock and sensing, he unexpectedly stumbled upon the true meaning of the path of ancestor worship.
At this moment, the elder woman’s ghost reappeared here, but this time, she was alone, merely a void soul.
"Come out, I know you are here, I have been waiting for you for a long time!"
The elder woman’s ghost released Tai Chu’s runes, her gaze calmly and coldly staring at the void, speaking softly.
This void, however, was exceedingly tranquil.
"Do you still refuse to see me? Haven’t you thought about why I do certain things?"
The elder woman spoke again, but the void remained calm.
"You may refuse to see me, but no matter how hidden you are, I can still sense your presence; Heavenly Dao says, hearts are linked."
We may not have a heart link, but whether you are here or not, I rely not on sensing power, but on my own heart. My heart knows you are here, so you need not hide."
The elder woman’s voice and tone were somewhat peculiar, she said.
"Don’t you want to know where Divine Demon Sword Body’s Immortal Soul Yanyan is in space-time? Can you bear to see your brother endlessly struggling in layout after layout?"
"Do you not know what all you have done was for? How about joining me, we strive together, okay?"
"Though our paths differ, our ultimate goal is the same, so why should the means matter?"
The elder woman spoke while looking around.
Yet all around remained silence.
A grain of dust remains a grain of dust.
"It seems that I, Lin Yumeng, was too self-assured; you still haven’t forgiven me."
The elder woman chuckled bitterly, saying, "Do you know why I am so old despite my power? Come out, I’ll tell you, otherwise you’ll regret it for a lifetime!"
She continued speaking.
Sadly, this place remained silent.
"Alas."
The elder woman sighed, then the Ghost Fox turned into a spectral light and disappeared again.
Zhou Yan remained in place, unaffected by external disturbances, becoming a grain of dust and feeling Fu Xi’s heart, sensing the land’s history of changes over time.
In this world, even the imprint of Dao traces in Heavenly Dao can be false. If one deliberately makes subtle changes during Enlightenment, future generations will be deceived by the records left—because those were scenes deliberately left by the Enlightenment Seeker for curious souls to see.
However, there’s something that can’t be false, not in the slightest.
And that is the land.
The land beneath one’s feet.
Ordinary land or land possessing divinity, nurtures all things, and buries all things, including those nearly immortal supreme remains.
With time’s passage, land remains land, and dust remains dust without much change.
Rocks turn to dust, dust condenses into rocks; it’s merely a change of form, essence never changes.
Through land, Zhou Yan sensed the heart of the land, sensed the beginning and end of the ancestor worship path, and suddenly had an impulse to become a Sword Ancestor.
But he remained calm, for this was merely an impulse and a chance. He hadn’t truly reached the realm of the Sword Ancestor, nor deeply understood the Nine Sword Ancestor Paths as imagined.
The path of ancestor worship, enlightenment of the Nine Sword Ancestor Paths. What these nine paths are is still unknown.
Moreover, explanation has not been achieved, the mortal matters are unresolved, and he has yet to begin transcending tribulations in this void.
Through the insight of the ancestor worship path, Zhou Yan chose the place to transcend—above the Thirty-Three Heavens’ supreme void, to transcend, sever the ancient Tai Chu imprints from all directions, proving the true immortal path.
This is a wish, a wild ambition, yet it’s not without opportunity.
Though this road may likely be interrupted due to such a choice, Zhou Yan does not regret.
In the past, Zhou Yan felt ordinary transcendence was enough; after all, he had the experience of rebellion bone heavenly tribulations, and would no longer care about anything after Heavenly Tribulation struck.
But now, after hearing the elder woman’s words, Zhou Yan had his own decision.
He lives, perhaps largely for family, but not entirely for family. This lifetime, he also lives for himself.
Zhou Yan’s heart is ethereal, and he self-recognizes as a grain of dust, thus can remain calm in such a scene, leaving the elder woman’s ghost completely unable to sense.
Ultimately, the elder woman’s ghost left, seeming quite different from the elder woman herself.
After she left for a long time, Zhou Yan remained without any change, as if he did not exist.
Later, the elder woman’s ghost appeared again, this time fierce, yet still sensed nothing.
Next, there were a few consecutive appearances and disappearances of the elder woman’s ghost, yielding nothing.
In the end, this place sank into silence and indifference; the elder woman did not return, and Zhou Yan still did not leave.
He immersed himself in the world perception of a grain of dust, truly merging with this piece of land, witnessing the cycles of time and the course of transformation, experiencing a kind of spiritual perception.
...
The Divine Monkey Sword Soul emerged and transformed into a void light, arriving at the previous place where Hua Qiudao was.
At this moment, only Hua Qiudao was present on site, the remains of the dead cultivator had already been crushed to powder by formless energy, leaving nothing behind.
Hua Qiudao seemed not unfamiliar with all this.
"Old man Qiudao, why are you still here when several of those Western missionaries have already—hm?"
The newcomer is Ye Kongxing, who holds the Red Blood Sword, possessing a unique talent to sense certain things through the Red Blood Sword.
But he’s wise, choosing to say nothing, all the while showing a look of astonishment in his eyes.
"Did you understand?"
Hua Qiudao pondered.
He was communicating through the spirit, though not guaranteed, it managed a significant degree of secrecy.
"Hmm, roughly sensed Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan’s bloodline aura severed, what should we do about the explanation?"
Ye Kongxing communicated through soul consciousness.
"Let’s wait and see, Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan is such a figure of Great Power, I feel he might not have encountered peril; given the treacherous Outer Star Domain, how can he return safely without some skill?"
Hua Qiudao pondered.
"Under normal circumstances, I would not worry, but given the many Ancient Divine Weapons Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan repaired this time, he must be spiritually wounded. Like Lee Ran, who is loyal and righteous, he surely wouldn’t mention injuries even if hurt. It’s precisely due to this that becoming vulnerable is possible."
The soul consciousness Ye Kongxing conveyed showed signs of worry.
"Were there truly an unforeseen event, explanation should not be delayed; when the time comes, I will step forward, although I don’t understand, I have deeply researched Merit Power, at worst, I’ll share my lifelong study with the public."
"Absolutely not—"
"My mind is made up. Zhou Yan’s reputation should not be impaired due to this. I don’t know the situation, but those Fu Xi Clan’s ancient Immortal Land are indeed beyond my ability to confront. Though I have a desire for justice, I am powerless."
Hua Qiudao sighed.
Ye Kongxing fell into a slight silence, holding the Red Blood Sword which seemed to manifest the residual will of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, displaying the spirit of seeking revenge.
He clenched the sword.