Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 367: The Fight for the Control of the Great Dao

On Azure Falling Peak, Daoist Yan sat cross-legged above an ancient tree, her expression cold and aloof. Beside her, Di Nufeng sat casually, legs dangling over a branch as they engaged in conversation.

"You're going into a major period of closed-door cultivation?" Di Nufeng asked, surprise in her voice as she looked at Daoist Yan with a puzzled expression.

At their level, it wasn't unusual to go into closed-door cultivation. Mastering an immortal art or comprehending a bit of Dao essence often required dedicated isolation for a period. Typically, closed-door cultivation ranged from ten days to a few months. However, this kind of cultivation did not have a set time limit; it could last anywhere from a few years to several years. Such extended periods were rare and usually unnecessary unless aiming for a significant breakthrough.

But at Daoist Yan's level, another major breakthrough would mean...

"Yes," Daoist Yan nodded slightly. "If anything happens on Azure Falling Peak, I need you to take care of it."

Everyone knew that Di Nufeng's only friend among the thirty-six peaks of Mount Shu was Daoist Yan. However, few considered the friendship from another perspective: Di Nufeng was also Daoist Yan's only friend. The only difference between Di Nufeng and Daoist Yan was that Di Nufeng was disliked by people, which led to her poor relationships, while Daoist Yan was too reclusive, spending her days cultivating on the ancient tree of Azure Falling Peak, unwilling to socialize. Di Nufeng had no choice but to have no friends, while Daoist Yan chose not to have any. In the end, the result was the same.

So when Daoist Yan needed to enter a major period of closed-door cultivation, she could only ask Di Nufeng to look after her peak. As she made the request, there was a hint of unwillingness and sadness in her voice.

"Don't worry! You can count on me," Di Nufeng said as she patted her chest confidently. Even so, there was a hint of worry in her eyes as she looked at Daoist Yan and said, "But Yan Zi, you are not...reaching that point, are you?"

"Yes, I am," Daoist Yan replied straightforwardly.

"Are you still going to seek the Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination?" Di Nufeng asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes," Daoist Yan nodded again.

"Are you serious about not changing to another Dao?" Di Nufeng pressed.

"No," Daoist Yan replied calmly.

After a while, Di Nufeng finally said, "Alright then. I heard the Sword Emperor of the West Sea is coming to the land of the Yu Dynasty again. Even though I have a grudge against Old Li Ba, this time I hope he can beat that bastard from the West Sea to death."

Daoist Yan's mouth twitched, as if she wanted to laugh but was trying to suppress it. In the end, she gently curved her lips and let out a soft chuckle.

"What's the point of that?" Daoist Yan said leisurely. "The path of a sword cultivator is to move forward and personally cut down the enemy."

Despite her light tone, there was an unmistakable sense of severity.

"You can definitely do it!" Di Nufeng said firmly. After a moment's thought, she sighed, "I always thought I'd be the second person in Mount Shu to reach the Heavenly Origin Realm, but now you've beaten me to it."

"If only you focused more on your cultivation..." Daoist Yan began, looking at Di Nufeng, but she stopped midway.

In her gaze, there was a faint hint of regret, as though she was thinking about something that could have happened.

...

The eighth realm in the world was called the Heavenly Origin, and those who reached it were known as Masters of the Heavenly Origin.

The term "master" was used because cultivators in the seventh realm could comprehend various great Daos and utilize them, as long as they could harness their power. However, none of these Daos belonged to the seventh-realm cultivators; they were merely borrowing the power of heaven and earth.

For instance, Daoist Yan cultivated the Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination, yet she could still use other Great Daos and divine abilities.

However, to attain the eighth realm, one had to master one of the three thousand Great Daos of the world and become the master of that Great Dao—a Dao Master.

Being the master of that Great Dao meant that no one else could use that Great Dao in the presence of the Dao Master. The Dao Master would have sole control over it. If anyone tried to exert force through that Great Dao, it could result in a backlash, with the force coming under the command of the Dao Master.

By attaining the Heavenly Origin, one would become master of a Great Dao!

One Great Dao could only have one master.

Although it was said that there were three thousand Great Daos in the world, far fewer had actually been discovered and comprehended. Additionally, with countless cultivators, there was bound to be overlap, as many divine abilities and techniques ultimately led to the same Great Dao.

If a predecessor had already become the master of a certain Great Dao, there would be only two choices for someone seeking to advance to the next cultivation realm. One would either have to wait for the current Dao Master to die or compete with that Dao Master for control of the Great Dao.

A fight for control of the Great Dao was more serious than life and death!

If an eighth-realm expert's control of the Great Dao was taken away, their cultivation level would drop to an awkward position between the seventh and eighth realms. This stage was commonly referred to as the "seventh and a half realm." It meant that they were stronger than ordinary seventh-realm cultivators but not as powerful as those at the eighth realm.

Throughout history, it was rare for challengers to seize control of the Great Dao from their predecessors. After all, the current master of that Great Dao would have been in the Heavenly Origin Realm for many years and would obviously surpass the challenger in terms of cultivation, mindset, and experience.

How challenging would it be to fight for control of a Great Dao?

Ambitious and talented cultivators would start paying attention to the Great Daos without masters while they were still in the sixth realm. Great Daos like Yin-Yang, Heaven and Earth, and Five Elements were generally out of the question.

Throughout history, prodigies had fought for control of these Great Daos, leading inevitably to someone's defeat.

By choosing an obscure and unconventional Great Dao, one could ascend to the eighth realm more easily. For example, the Dao of Music followed by the South Melody Conservatory was subdivided into several Great Daos. The number of these Great Daos even exceeded the number of seventh-realm musicians, leaving plenty of Great Daos for musician cultivators to master.

However, musicians who managed to touch the threshold of the eighth realm were rare...

Compared to the musicians with many unconventional Great Daos, the competition among the sword cultivators was extremely fierce.

In this world, there were three known Great Daos of sword cultivation—Cloud of Determination, Severing Void, and Tai'a.

The Dao Master of the Cloud of Determination was the Sword Emperor of the West Sea!

The Dao Master of the Severing Void was Sword Saint Old Li Ba!

The Dao Master of the Tai'a[1] was the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner of the Yu Dynasty!

These three were all prominent figures.

Old Li Ba was the first to reach the Heavenly Origin Realm, holding the position of Sword Saint at the Endless Sword Sect for a lifetime. The Imperial Supervisory Commissioner in the Capital of Yu was the second, serving as a stabilizing force for the nine provinces. He rarely took action but was never known to have lost a fight. The West Sea Sword Emperor emerged from the Sword-Hanging Kingdom decades ago, sweeping through the world's sword cultivators before encountering Old Li Ba, thus claiming the last Great Dao of sword cultivation.

Each sword cultivator was more formidable than the last!

Thus, for the past sixty years, it was widely believed that the Great Dao of sword cultivation was closed off.

Fortunately, not every sword cultivator could reach the eighth realm, so most sword cultivators didn't have to worry about competing with these three for control of the Great Dao.

But Daoist Yan had to worry about this.

If one of the three Great Daos had to be chosen, the one controlled by the West Sea Sword Emperor would be the best choice. After all, the West Sea Sword Emperor was the least experienced of the three Dao Masters, and Daoist Yan had always studied the Cloud of Determination, meaning that her cultivation of this Great Dao was much stronger.

If she chose to fight for control of this Great Dao, her chance of success would be the highest.

However...

There would always be Great Daos left without a master in this world. With Daoist Yan's talent, if she departed from sword cultivation and delved into another type of Dao, she would still have a chance of attaining Heavenly Origin.

Still, Di Nufeng would never ask her friend to switch to another Dao as she knew that her friend would never do something like that. After all, the core of Yan Zi's Dao lay in the motion of moving forward relentlessly.

Thus, with a serious expression rarely seen on her face, Di Nufeng said, "Start your closed-door cultivation without worry. With me here, your disciples on Azure Falling Peak have nothing to fear."

Before she finished speaking, a five-colored glow rose in the horizon.

As Daoist Yan watched the five auras converging over Treasured Pagoda Peak, she smiled and said, "It's Yuebai."

Di Nufeng looked over. A moment later, another phenomenon was witnessed—the rise of a profound Sea of Qi.

She smiled too and said, "It's Chu Liang."

Instantly, Daoist Yan's face turned gloomy, a stark contrast to Di Nufeng's expression.

Her expression changed because she saw that the phenomena of Qi Circulation were intertwining!

"That's my disciple and your disciple! Could it be that they are doing dual—" Di Nufeng's excited words got stuck in her throat as she saw Daoist Yan's gloomy face. She quickly changed her words, "I mean, both achieving breakthroughs? What a coincidence that it's happening at the same time, huh?"

Daoist Yan's gaze flickered gloomily.

Di Nufeng couldn't stop smiling.

After a while, Daoist Yan finally said, "Maybe."

Daoist Yan had just been told that her disciples on Azure Falling Peak would have nothing to fear. Even so, she was already worried before she started her closed-door cultivation and the person she was worried about happened to be Di Nufeng's disciple!

Daoist Yan was even considering her other relationships. She seemed to have good relations with Old Man Sikong and Tantai Jing as well, so asking them to look after her disciples wouldn't be out of the question.

Everything else could be left unattended, except for one thing that must be strictly managed, and that was...the prohibition of dual cultivation!

1. The Tai'a Sword is one of the most famous swords in Chinese mythology. ☜