On the Path to the Great Dao

"Many people really were watching me."

Chen Shi was startled and uncertain. He had originally thought that feeling of being watched was just his imagination, but now that the sensation had suddenly disappeared, he realized it was no illusion. Just moments ago, someone had genuinely been watching him!

And it had been dozens of pairs of eyes!

His heart was both terrified and puzzled. "Isn't the Dao Ruins supposed to be deserted and untrodden? Why, when I achieved Dao Unification and cultivated my Dao Realm, did so many people come to watch?"

The people watching him bore no ill intent. They had only been observing from afar, outside the perimeter, and had not interfered with his actions.

"Perhaps this place is not as barren as I imagined. Maybe I even have neighbors."

With this thought, Chen Shi flew to the edge of his Dao Realm and stepped out.

Beyond lay the Dao Ruins. Verdant mountain ranges sprawled like slumbering dragons, crouching across the wilderness. This place was even larger than the Western Ox New Continent, stretching beyond the horizon. The mountains were grander too, with bizarre peaks and strange rocks, their scenery magnificent.

Chen Shi flew aimlessly in all directions when he spotted, nestled among the mountains, a human settlement with wisps of cooking smoke rising into the air.

He flew closer and saw a village. It was not large, only a dozen or so households, like one extended family living together in this place.

He arrived at the village entrance. The villagers were all busy with their own tasks. A woman was picking mulberry leaves to feed silkworms, an old man was leisurely puffing on his pipe, and a farmer was splashing fermented manure water onto his vegetable plot.

When the people saw him approaching, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at him in astonishment, their faces full of disbelief.

"Where does our guest come from?" A mischievous child ran up to Chen Shi, tilted his head up, and tried his hardest to put on a serious expression as he asked.

"I am Chen Shi, a newly ascended immortal. I live next door."

Chen Shi raised his hand, and golden characters of a land deed for the Dao Ruins materialized amid the mountains and rivers. "I am the landlord of this place. The Celestial Court granted the Dao Ruins to me. This is the land deed."

The child looked up at the land deed, a blank look spreading across his face. He turned back to glance at the other villagers, at a loss for what to do.

"The Celestial Court... granted the Dao Ruins to someone else?"

The other villagers were also bewildered and flustered. The old man, forgetting his pipe, hurriedly knocked the ash from his copper pipe bowl and stood up. "Is there a decree from the Great Celestial Venerable? There is. Houtu Huangdiqi... there is too. But without the Four Sovereigns' seal on the land deed, we don't recognize it..."

He saw the names of the Four Sovereigns on the deed, and his face turned ashen. He let out two muffled groans and said no more.

The villagers looked as though they had lost their parents, deeply grieved.

Chen Shi was puzzled. He walked into the village and said with a smile, "Everyone, although the Dao Ruins are now my territory, I will not interfere with any of you. You may continue to live exactly as you did before, and I will not collect any rent from you."

He stopped, looked up at the stone gate at the village entrance. The gate had three arches, with the words "Fuluo" carved in the center.

Upon hearing this, the villagers of Fuluo Village felt somewhat relieved.

The mischievous child led the way ahead, trying hard to act like an adult. "Although you are now our master, you must never treat us like tenant farmers. Our Fuluo Village is charged with guarding the Azure Stele for Spirit Treasure Daoist. Back then, Spirit Treasure Daoist promised us that as long as we guarded the Azure Stele well, he would not collect any rent from us!"

Chen Shi stopped and examined the cherry trees by the roadside. The cherry tree was not tall, only about eight feet high, and no more than five paces across. The cherries on the tree were the size of fingertips, round and plump, half yellow and half red, like yellow jade still wearing its skin.

Beneath the cherry tree stood a village girl, a bamboo basket hooked over her arm, picking cherries.

The cherries were beautiful, and so was she. But the girl was quite shy. She stole a glance at Chen Shi, then lowered her head, then peeked at him again in secret.

Chen Shi looked at the cherries, then at the village girl. He grabbed a handful of cherries from her basket and smiled. "Who is Spirit Treasure Daoist? I'm not too familiar with him. But since he made a promise, I won't collect any rent. Lift your head, let me have a look."

The girl raised her head as told, then shyly lowered it again. Basket in hand, she turned and walked away.

Chen Shi laughed heartily, popped a cherry into his mouth with great satisfaction.

He was about to speak when suddenly he felt as though a sun had been ignited inside his body. A blazing power instantly flooded every corner of his being!

"What kind of cherry is this?"

Without changing his expression, Chen Shi mobilized the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection, refining the power hidden within the cherry into various Dao patterns, tempering them into his body to strengthen his physical form and Primordial Spirit.

But the power within the cherry surpassed any immortal pill he had ever consumed. Impressive as the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection was, it could not fully dissolve the medicinal power in such a short time.

Chen Shi immediately activated the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture, drawing upon his distant Dao Realm. While he channeled both the immortal and demonic Dao Realms in the Dao Ruins to refine the medicinal power, he simultaneously reached out to his other Dao Realm, converting the excess medicinal power into Dao patterns and forging them into heaven and earth.

If there was still not enough time to refine it all, he would simply convert the medicinal power into spiritual energy and pour it into his Dao Realms!

Suddenly, above the Western Ox New Continent, auspicious clouds gathered and auspicious vapors drifted. In some places, spiritual energy turned to rain, falling in a gentle drizzle, nourishing the mountains and rivers, turning the green peaks verdant, bringing dragons to life in the river depths, and sprouting countless ganoderma and exotic herbs across the wilderness.

Hu Feifei looked up at the sky, puzzled. "What has happened to the Western Ox New Continent now?"

Chen Shi diverted the excess medicinal power into his three Dao Realms, finally managing to refine the power contained in the cherry. He breathed a silent sigh of relief and said to the child, "Friend, what is your name?"

"Bailu." The mischievous child answered with proper formality.

Chen Shi continued, "Your village is called Fuluo Village. Did Spirit Treasure Daoist have you guard the stone stele here?"

Bailu said, "It's the Azure Stele!"

Chen Shi nodded lightly. "Take me to see it."

The young Bailu led the way ahead, guiding him into the village.

Chen Shi ate another cherry, looking around as he walked. Suddenly, he spotted a duck waddling past. On instinct, he reached out, grabbed the duck by the neck, and with a smack, slapped it across the face.

"Where's the egg?" Chen Shi demanded.

It was only then that he remembered this was not Huangpo Village.

The duck obediently laid an egg. Only then did Chen Shi release its neck and let it go, tucking the warm duck egg into his pocket.

Bailu's eyes lit up at the sight.

Chen Shi casually plucked a cucumber from a roadside vegetable patch, rubbed off the prickly fuzz with his hand, and took a crisp bite. It was refreshing and delicious.

The cucumber slid down his throat into his stomach, and instantly, a surge of Azure Dragon Energy rose from his abdomen, ferocious and domineering.

"Is this cucumber also a celestial herb?"

Chen Shi found it hard to believe. Chewing on the cucumber, he mobilized both secret arts and all three Dao Realms to digest the cucumber's medicinal power together.

In Xinxiang Imperial Capital, Hu Feifei looked up at the Azure Dragon Energy swirling through the sky and murmured, "Heavenly omens again. More heavenly omens. What has gotten into our Western Ox New Continent? Auspicious signs every single day!"

As Bailu led Chen Shi along, the child spotted a mangy dog by the roadside and immediately grew annoyed. In a single bound, he rushed forward, grabbed the mangy dog by the scruff of its neck, and hauled it up. With two sharp smacks, he slapped the dog across both sides of its face. "Can't you see the great master of the Dao Ruins has arrived? Address him as Master!"

The mangy dog hurriedly bowed and scraped before Chen Shi. "Master."

"Mmm, mmm."

Chen Shi responded vaguely, continuing to munch on his cucumber. He thought to himself, "This dog can talk. That's already better than Black Pot. Fuluo Village is no ordinary place."

The young Bailu led him to the center of the village. There stood a green furnace, not very large, only half a person's height. Below was a round, plump furnace body, and above was a hood, with the pill chamber inside.

The furnace was latticed, revealing bright green flames burning within.

For some reason, those flames gave off an extremely dangerous feeling. Chen Shi glanced at them and felt a chill run down his spine. He sensed that if those green flames ever landed on him, they would reduce him to ashes in an instant!

Beside the furnace sat a burly man tending the fire, controlling the temperature to refine medicinal pills.

Chen Shi's gaze fell on the man, but he could not discern the depth of his cultivation.

In fact, he could not see through anyone in this village, not even the young Bailu, not even the mangy dog that had been slapped twice, and certainly not the duck that had been extorted for its egg!

If it ever came to a fight, Chen Shi suspected he might not even be able to beat that duck!

Next to the burly man stood a green stone stele, about two zhang tall, wider at the base and tapering toward the top, planted in the center of the village.

On the stele was carved a line of text, written in bold, flowing strokes.

"Spirit Treasure erected this stele, to eternally seal this realm!"

In addition, the stele bore a series of extremely complex characters, twisted and crooked, like the trail of writhing earthworms. But upon closer inspection, one could discern within them many remarkable Dao techniques.

"These are immortal Dao patterns!"

Chen Shi's heart stirred. He had only just begun to dabble in immortal Dao patterns.

Whenever one achieved Dao Unification and became an immortal, all their previous Dao techniques and divine abilities had to undergo a complete upheaval. It was not that the old techniques were unusable, but rather that their foundation was built on basic knowledge like talismans, which could not bear the immense power of an immortal.

If an immortal borrowed talismans to cast divine abilities without controlling their power, the talismans would explode.

Only Dao patterns could withstand the power of an immortal.

Chen Shi's grandfather, Chen Yindu, had already begun attempting to create talisman Dao patterns based on the foundation of talismans.

But in the Earth Immortal Realm, the patterns of the Great Dao were already fully mature. All immortal techniques contained Dao patterns, and immortals comprehended these patterns to understand Dao techniques and divine abilities. Dao patterns also often concealed the mysteries of their creator's techniques, though never in full.

After entering the Earth Immortal Realm, the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture and Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture that Chen Shi cultivated were filled with various Dao patterns.

The Dao patterns on this green stele were profound and mysterious, yet also abstruse and obscure, even more complex than the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture and Sword Scripture. Chen Shi fixed his gaze on one particular Dao pattern. After staring at it for a moment, his vision swam. Suddenly, a cacophony of chaotic Dao sounds rang out in his mind, buzzing and vibrating, as if trying to crack his skull open.

Just then, deep in his consciousness, the Celestial Way's brand flowed like a trickling stream, swiftly washing through his brain, soothing the chaotic thoughts and making the Dao sounds suddenly clear and orderly.

Chen Shi looked at the Dao pattern again. It was no longer as strenuous as before, and the Dao technique hidden within gradually became clearer.

This technique was called Azure Dragon Roar. Though called a roar, it was actually a hand seal technique. When activated, it awakened the power of the Eastern Heaven Green Emperor drifting through heaven and earth, empowering the seal. It could subdue all heterodox paths, crushing them utterly, and strike enemies dead!

Chen Shi gradually unraveled the mysteries of the Azure Dragon Roar. The deeper he delved, the more absorbed he became. He felt this technique was unfathomably miraculous, truly the finest hand seal technique he had ever encountered in his life.

But as he went deeper, the Celestial Way's brand gradually struggled to parse the mysteries within the Azure Dragon Roar. The Dao patterns before his eyes grew more obscure, the lines harder to understand, and the Dao techniques contained within became more and more profound!

Chen Shi's head spun. With a thud, he collapsed. It took a moment for his vision to gradually clear.

The faces of Bailu, the burly man, the old man, the woman, and the village girl came into view. They had all gathered in a circle around him, leaning in to look at him. Seeing him awake, they all laughed. "The master is awake!"

Chen Shi sat up, his head still groggy. All sorts of chaotic Dao sounds clamored in his mind, making him nauseous.

But the villagers of Fuluo Village were filled with admiration for him. The old man laughed. "The master is truly formidable! He managed to stare at the Azure Stele for so long before collapsing. If it were us, the longest any of us has lasted wouldn't even be half as long as the master's."

The others all showed expressions of deep respect.

Chen Shi held his forehead. "I passed out? I remember I was looking at the Dao patterns on this stele..."

"Those patterns were left by Spirit Treasure Daoist. Everyone in our village has to rest for days after just a few glances."

The woman said, "Our Fuluo Village is here on Spirit Treasure Daoist's orders, guarding this Azure Stele. He gave us this furnace and taught us to refine pills. If we eat the medicinal pills, we can become immortals, free from calamity and disaster, and live forever."

Chen Shi sat up, shaking his head. He was still dizzy. Steadying himself, he asked, "Spirit Treasure Daoist came to your village, left this Azure Stele, and had you guard it. He worried that your lives would not be long enough, so he taught you the art of pill refining. Am I right?"

The villagers all nodded.

Chen Shi asked, "How long ago was this?"

The old man said, "I can't remember. I used to keep count, but after a while, I stopped bothering. We are people of Shang. Later, when the Great Shang fell, we followed the Celestial Court and migrated here. This old man is Shang Dugong. I'm the oldest in the village, but I'm only a few dozen years older than the rest of them."

Chen Shi's eyes widened in disbelief.

The Great Shang had been over three hundred thousand years ago!

These people of Shang had already lived for more than three hundred thousand years!

After a moment, he began to feel a little better, though he still walked unsteadily.

The villagers bowed and scraped as they rose to see him off. Shang Dugong smiled. "Master, be careful. How about this old man escort you back?"

Chen Shi waved his hand. "No need. I can walk on my own. I'm just a little unsteady on my feet."

He stopped in front of the burly man's furnace. "Are these pills done?"

The burly man hastily replied, "Done! Done!"

He quickly opened the furnace. Inside were dozens of medicinal pills white as fine jade. They gave off a faint fragrance, but extremely subtle.

"Our medicinal pills were taught to us by Spirit Treasure Daoist. It's just that the ingredients are a bit troublesome to come by."

The burly man said with an ingratiating smile. "We plant some herbs outside the village. It takes about ten years to gather enough for one furnace of pills. The leftover dregs we feed to the ducks and dogs in the village. Who would have thought they'd survive all the way to now."

"Let me have a taste."

Chen Shi grabbed a handful of pills from the furnace and walked out, waving his hand. "No need to see me off, everyone. I can still walk."

The villagers sent him off with respectful bows.

Chen Shi walked some distance away, then looked back at Fuluo Village, finding it hard to believe.

A small village tasked with guarding a stele had survived for over three hundred thousand years on the medicinal pills taught by Spirit Treasure Daoist!

"The villagers, even the ducks and dogs, have all unknowingly become immortals, free from calamity and tribulation, living to this very day!"

Chen Shi looked at the pills in his hand. For over three hundred thousand years, the villagers of Fuluo Village had eaten these pills. Their cultivation was so high that even the Celestial Venerable paled in comparison!

"But these villagers don't have the slightest idea that they are already masters of the utmost caliber! Who exactly is Spirit Treasure Daoist? And what is the Azure Stele he left behind? What secrets does the Dao Ruins conceal?"

Chen Shi withdrew his gaze and returned to his Dao Realm. He took another bite of the half-eaten cucumber and thought to himself, "The ones who were watching me earlier weren't them. But this village, I could visit often."