Forty-six, wanting to steal heaven

  The three of us stood around the thatched cottage, carefully setting up a seal. After a brief silence, Laozi spoke with a serious face: "Originally, you shouldn't know about it yet, but since you asked, I'll tell you about our experiences in refining and transforming the Hongmeng Purple Qi, as well as some speculations based on the Pangu legacy."

  Then Laozi fell into thought for a moment, as if organizing his words on how to begin.

  After a moment, the old man spoke: "Firstly, the Daoist Patriarch said 'The heavens and earth have an end, and the saints also have a number.' Through the information we obtained from refining the Hongmeng Purple Qi and combining it with the inheritance information from Pangu, we believe that the 'saint' referred to by the Daoist Patriarch is the 'Tian Dao Saint' who has achieved the Mixed Yuan in the vast expanse of the heavens and earth. The foundation is placed in this vast expanse of the heavens and earth, which is not infinite. With the power of the vast expanse of the heavens and earth, only nine Tian Dao Mixed Yuan Saints can be supported. As for achieving the Mixed Yuan, your Master and his brothers have some ideas, but they haven't decided how to implement them yet."

  Xun Daozi thought to himself: According to what Shifu said, the ancestor of this sect who spoke about verifying the Dao and mixing with the origin can only be referring to the mixed origin under the heavenly way of the Honghuang world. It must rely on the Honghuang heaven and earth, and is not truly able to transcend heaven and earth, enduring countless kalpas without being destroyed. If the Honghuang heaven and earth were really destroyed, I'm afraid that even the Honghuang heavenly saint would be destroyed together with it. Otherwise, why did those saints who had already verified the Dao and become sages in the legends of later generations still cling to the struggle for the Honghuang? It's probably not just for the sake of appearances. Even in the "Investiture of the Gods", which was revered as a classic by later generations, the three elixir pills of Hongjun Dazong could make Laozi and the three saintly masters obey him, otherwise, once they lost control, it would cost them their lives. In that case, verifying the Dao and mixing with the origin can transcend heaven and earth, enduring even if heaven and earth are destroyed, and enjoying longevity is just empty talk.

  "Master, if that's the case, then even if one attains the Dao and merges with the origin, they can only exist below heaven and earth, and cannot truly transcend this world or attain true longevity. But I recall Master saying that as long as one attains the Dao and merges with the origin, they can transcend heaven and earth, and when heaven and earth are destroyed, they will be the only ones to survive, and enjoy true freedom and longevity. What is the intention of Masters and Uncles in teaching the Dao?"

  The three of them looked at each other again, and Yuanshi spoke up: "What I told you about proving the Dao's mixed origin is not quite the same as what your master said; what I told you is the true mixed origin of the Dao, also known as the great mixed origin of the Dao, which is what I learned from Pangu. On the other hand, what your master said refers to the mixed origin of the heavenly way under the heavenly way born from the primordial heaven and earth. The two are far apart. As for me and your shifu, shibo, and shishu, we may not even have the opportunity to prove the great mixed origin of the Dao. We want to strive for it by cutting off the three corpses to prove the heavenly way's mixed origin; if we can't, then we'll find a way to bring out the merits of opening up heaven from our bodies and use those merits to prove the heavenly way's mixed origin."

  Xun Daozi listened to what Yuan Shi said, and in his heart he was also greatly surprised, not thinking that there would be such a distinction. After thinking for a moment, he asked again: "Master, Master's brother, Master's uncle, is there any way to prove the great Tao of Hunyuan?"

  "This time, I spoke up and said: 'There is, but it's difficult, extremely difficult! Firstly, as the Dao Ancestor said, to prove the Dao through power, one must accumulate infinite law power to break open the shackles of the vast heavens and earth, and see the Great Dao, to prove the mixed origin of the Great Dao. However, this method is too difficult. In the past, Pangu, the great god in the primordial chaos, wanted to use this method to prove the Dao, but he was bound by the primordial chaos, and the law power he accumulated was insufficient to break open the shackles of the primordial chaos, and thus failed to create the heavens. Now we are within the vast heavens and earth, bound by the shackles of the vast heavens and earth, and the spiritual power we cultivate comes from the vast heavens and earth. How can we accumulate enough law power to break open the shackles of the vast heavens and earth? Unless we can directly draw energy from the primordial chaos to refine it into law power, there is only a slight possibility."

  "Secondly, through our inference and speculation of the information from all parties, it is possible that by using the method of beheading the three corpses, one may finally see the Great Way and attain the Great Way of Mixed Origins. The founder of the Tao said that the three corpses are also known as the three worms, which are evil spirits residing in the body of a cultivator. Through our speculation, these three corpses may represent various negative thoughts and concepts held by the cultivator. There is also another possibility, which is our most cautious speculation, that these three corpses are the ears and eyes of the Honghuang Tiandi sect monitoring the cultivators' behavior, transmitting their actions to the Honghuang Tiandi at all times. However, this information reported by the three corpses is not just and fair, but rather only speaks of negative behaviors, even fabricating false accusations. As a result, the Honghuang Tiandi will increase its control over the cultivator, blocking their opportunities to see the Way and attain enlightenment. In order for the cultivator to see the Great Way, they must find a way to expel these three corpses from their body. Only by doing so can the Honghuang Tiandi no longer receive negative reports about the cultivator's behavior, and will then consider the cultivator to be flawless, allowing them more opportunities to attain enlightenment and see the Great Way through the Honghuang Tiandi's oversight. This method has a slight chance of success, but it is not likely that one can attain the Great Way of Mixed Origins. At most, one may only see the Honghuang Tiandi and attain the Honghuang Tiandi's Mixed Origins. Afterward, by quietly contemplating the Tao, one may perhaps have the opportunity to see the Great Way through the heavens, thereby attaining the Great Way of Mixed Origins from the heavens' Mixed Origins. This requires a long period of cultivation, and it is uncertain whether one will be able to attain enlightenment even after the destruction of the heavens."

  After Laozi finished speaking, Laozi, Yuanshi and Tongtian all felt somewhat desolate.

  Xun Daozi also felt a bit disheartened, but then he thought: What's the point of talking about this now? Right now, I still have to be careful just to survive in the Hong Huang, why bother thinking too much? Let's talk about it when the time comes. But what about Master, Shifu, and Shishu? Listening to Shifu's words today, it seems that the only way to achieve the Great Dao is through force, and there's a slight chance of success with the Three Corpses technique, while the Merit technique has no chance at all. In the legends of past lives, even the Three Pure Ones ultimately chose the Merit technique, but still didn't attain true freedom. Should I say something about this? From the bottom of my heart, Xun Daozi hopes that his Master, Shifu, and Shishu can achieve the Great Dao and enjoy true freedom, unbound by anything. He also hopes that he himself can achieve the Great Dao.

  Xun Dao's head was a bit muddled. The three of them didn't say anything. For a moment, the atmosphere in Laozi's thatched cottage was somewhat oppressive.

  It's been a long time, and suddenly, Xun Daozi thought of something: How could he have forgotten that the pre-heavenly spiritual root, which didn't appear in the previous life's Honghuang legend, was also considered by many powerful beings to be not worthy of being born in this world - Wudao Tea Tree. Every 10,000 years, the Wudao tea tree produces 50 leaves, which completely imprint the mark of the Great Dao. Although the marks imprinted on the leaves every 10,000 years are different, as long as one can comprehend and understand the marks imprinted by the Great Dao, they should be able to transcend the constraints of heaven and earth, see the Great Dao, and attain the proof of the Great Dao's unity. However, this process requires cutting off the three corpses, without letting the Honghuang heaven and earth know, in order to achieve this feat of stealing from heaven. But I don't know if there is a method for cutting off the three corpses, it shouldn't be like what was said in the previous life's legend that one needs to rely on a pre-heavenly spiritual treasure? I still need to ask Master, Shibo, and Shishu about this.

  "Then he asked, 'Master, Master's brother and uncle, as previously mentioned, if one has already attained the saintly state through meritorious deeds, is there no chance of attaining the great Dao of mixed origin?'"

  Xun Daozi had just finished speaking, when Tong Tianjie intervened: "What doesn't have a bit of opportunity is fundamentally no opportunity. Relying on merit to exchange for the Honghuang Heaven and Earth, the Honghuang Heavenly Way's mixed yuan way mark will be imprinted in the minds of cultivators, causing them to instantly gain recognition from the Honghuang Heavenly Way's mixed yuan way mark. This is the merit of proving the heavenly way, becoming a saint. However, this way mark isn't something that the cultivator themselves have comprehended. Although they can use it, they don't know why it's like this. If they want to comprehend even more way marks, they also cannot. What's more, if the cultivator hasn't cut off their three corpses, these three corpses will haunt them, and the Honghuang Heavenly Way might let you see the great way?"

  Xun Daozi listened to Tong Tian's words and understood, so he opened his mouth again and asked: "In that case, if one wants to prove the Great Way of Mixed Origin, there is only one way to prove it with force and cut off the three corpses. As for us who are born in this vast and wild world, proving it with force is no longer possible, leaving only the path of cutting off the three corpses. I want to ask, is there a method for cutting off the three corpses? The Daozu only said that he used a secret method to cut them off, but what kind of secret method is it?"

  Yuanshi Dao: "The method of beheading the three corpses has a principle. The first is to refine the breath, refine one breath, referring to the pre-heavenly one breath, also known as the pre-heavenly true one breath. It is the original breath that produces heaven, earth and all things before the opening of the universe, before the separation of yin and yang. Only by cultivating internal alchemy skills, nourishing one's own yang breath, after the breath is sufficient, gathering in the dantian, and then breaking through the three gates, directly penetrating the bone marrow, can the three corpses be driven away forever. Once the three corpses are gone, the yin demon will disappear on its own. With the disappearance of the yin demon, the yang breath will come naturally."

  "Secondly, using the Innate Spiritual Treasure to drive out (the Three Corpses), the Innate Spiritual Treasure contains the Innate Primordial Qi. The stronger the Innate Spiritual Treasure, the more and stronger the Innate Primordial Qi it contains. Practitioners can refine and place it at the three passes where the Three Corpses reside, using it to drive out the Three Corpses. This requires three strong Innate Spiritual Treasures. Compared to the method of refining Qi, this method is simpler, but there are two drawbacks: one is that strong Innate Spiritual Treasures are hard to obtain, and two, this method relies on external objects; if the refined Innate Spiritual Treasure encounters an unexpected situation, the Three Corpses will return again. This is not as thorough as the method of refining Qi."

  Xun Daozi thought for a moment and then said: "Disciple dares to ask Master, Shibo, Shishu, can you behead the three corpses?"

  The old man laughed and said, "Your Master and my Master, as well as your Uncle-Master, have all benefited from your light and were able to drink the tea of enlightenment. This is what allowed them to attain the 'Great Luo Golden Immortal Fruit Position'. If it weren't for this, we wouldn't know when we would be able to attain the 'Great Luo Golden Immortal Fruit Position' either. Think about it, those who were originally at a similar level as us, such as Jie Yin, Zhun Ti, and Fu Xi, are still stuck in the 'Great Luo True Immortal Realm', struggling to comprehend. Your Master is extremely grateful for this. Now that we have the Daoist powers of the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm, whether it's refining Qi to expel the three corpses or refining the pre-heavenly spiritual treasure to eliminate the three corpses, both can be achieved. However, refining Qi requires a lot of time, perhaps tens of thousands of years of cultivation are needed; refining the pre-heavenly spiritual treasure takes relatively less time, but at least several thousand to ten thousand years of effort are required. What do you want to ask about this?"

  Xun Daozi smiled and said: "Master Shibo, you just said that by relying on my achievements, Drinking Wudaozi tea can attain the 'Daluojinxian Fruit Position', but I not only have Wudaozi tea, but also Wudaomu tea, Wudao Cong tea. That is the complete imprint of the Taoist treasure that has been fully imprinted with the mark of the Great Way. Master Shibo, may I... " Xun Daozi stopped here.

  Laozi was stunned as soon as he heard it, and Yuanshi's eyes suddenly showed a fierce and crazy look. Tongtian turned his head to see Laozi, Yuanshi's appearance, first stunned, then opened his mouth wide, and remained motionless for half a day.

  It took a long time for Laozi, Yuanshi and Tongtian to come back to their senses. The three of them stared at Xunzi intensely, their eyes shining brighter and brighter, yet overflowing with emotions - shock, joy, relief, frenzy, and many more. It's unprecedented that these three great men would reveal so many emotions, a truly one-of-a-kind sight.

  After watching for half a day, the old man finally spoke up: "The Great Way is fifty, the Heavenly Gate is forty-nine, and the escape is one. It's all about the birth of the vitality of all things in one line." After finishing speaking, he burst out laughing with great joy.

  "The Great Way, the Heavenly Way, is also like this; follow it, oppose it, and there will be nothing that is not the Way!" Having said this, he laughed loudly without stopping.

  "Tongtian laughed and said: 'The heavenly performance is not yet finished, the Tao is also not cut off, in this a thread remains, leaving me to fight for it!' After finishing speaking, he burst into another fit of mad laughter."

  Xun Daozi stood by and saw the three old men making such a gesture, knowing that they must have gained something, and what they gained was not small. So he calmed down and waited quietly for the three to calm down.

  After a while, the three old men finally calmed down and looked at each other. Suddenly, they stood up, solemnly bowed to Xun Daozi and said: "Thank you, Master!" Their words were sincere.

  Xun Daozi was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and knocked his head repeatedly: "Master, Master, Master's brother killed me, I should thank you for not being able to be your disciple!"

  Yuanshi stretched out his hand and pulled him up, smiling and saying: "You deserve it, without your words, the master and the teacher's uncle would have gone astray, and there would be no possibility of verifying the great way of mixing yuan. Your words brought us back from the wrong path, how can we not thank you? The most correct thing I did was to accept you as a disciple." After finishing, he was still full of emotion, remembering when he accepted Xun Daozi as his apprentice and calculated that this disciple would be particularly crucial, not only for himself but also for his brothers. At that time, he didn't know why, but now it seems that this disciple is indeed extremely critical.

  The old man on the side also felt a sense of regret, and he had calculated that Yuan Shi's acceptance of Daozi as his disciple would have a great impact on himself and his three brothers. He hadn't expected it to be so significant today. Now that he thought about it, Yuan Shi's acceptance of this disciple was actually a blessing for the three of them, not just a blessing for Daozi himself!

  Xun Daozi was pulled up by Yuan Shi and listened to Yuan Shi's sincere words, which also moved him. He decided to make a plan for his three masters...

  P.S: Shamelessly asking for a recommendation, collection and click! Thank you!