267: Chapter 266 The Laws of the Dao

The moment Jiang Hanzhou snapped back to his senses from the memory fragments of the Dragon Slaying True Person, the temperature in the entire cultivation room plummeted by several degrees.

It was not a physical cold, but a shudder from the depths of his Divine Soul. Those images, those blood-red words, and those Cultivators who had their Divine Souls drained and were turned into mummified corpses were like brands seared into his Sea of Consciousness, impossible to dispel.

His face was pale, and his hands trembled slightly.

But he did not panic.

He simply closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed those surging emotions bit by bit. Fear, anger, and unease—all negative emotions were stripped away layer by layer and purified by the Heart Blade, eventually returning to tranquility.

Three breaths later, he opened his eyes.

In his eyes, there was no confusion, only a calm and unshakable resolve.

“dao seed.”

He murmured to himself, his voice terrifyingly calm.

He stood up from the prayer mat, walked to the center of the cultivation room, and sat cross-legged. With a slight thought, the Heart Blade deep in his Sea of Consciousness vibrated violently, and the dark gold dragon patterns on the blade erupted with a brilliant golden light.

That light penetrated the Sea of Consciousness and surged along his Meridians into every part of his body, into his internal organs, and into his Dantian and Sea of Consciousness.

He closed his eyes for an internal view, using the Heart Blade as a guide and the Spirit Concentration Art as a Foundation to probe his own Divine Soul, Dao Principles, and Foundation inch by inch.

The lake of divine soul was as calm as a mirror, and the layer of Divine Soul Armor on the surface circulated with four-colored radiance. The Heart Blade was suspended above the Sea of Consciousness, and the dragon patterns on the blade wound like a Dragon, breathing out shimmering white light. Deep in the Dantian, the inch-sized Dragon Fetus sat cross-legged, surrounded by the radiance of four True Intents.

Everything looked normal.

But Jiang Hanzhou did not lower his guard.

He pushed the Divine Soul power of the Heart Blade to its limit, allowing the golden light to penetrate every inch of the lake of divine soul's waters, every trace of the Dragon Fetus's Foundation, and every wisp of the four True Intents' radiance.

Then, he saw it.

Deep within the Dragon Fetus, amidst that chaotic and indistinct light, there was an extremely fine golden thread. The thread was only as thick as a hair and was a translucent gold; if one did not probe carefully, it would be impossible to discover.

One end of the thread was deeply embedded in the core of the Dragon Fetus, while the other end penetrated the Void Realm and vanished into the unknown distance.

The dao seed.

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils contracted sharply.

He did not rush to act but continued to probe. The golden light of the Heart Blade slowly extended along that golden thread, attempting to see its full form.

The thread was more complex than he had imagined. It did not just connect to the Dragon Fetus; it also branched out into countless finer threads that, like the root system of a plant, were deeply embedded in his four True Intents, his lake of divine soul, and his Qi and blood Foundation.

Those threads were faintly integrated with his power system, making them almost indistinguishable from one another. If he had not just seen the truth from the heavenly secret mirror, and if he had not used the Heart Blade to probe with meticulous detail, it would have been impossible to discover the existence of these threads.

“When was it planted?”

He closed his eyes and thought back.

The Whale Belly Gate. In that Small World left behind by the Dragon Slaying True Person, there were the memory fragments he had absorbed. Those pale gold beads, every single one of them contained a memory fragment of the Dragon Slaying True Person, and each one allowed his comprehension of the Dragon-Slaying True Intent to deepen by another level.

He had thought it was an Opportunity.

He had thought it was a gift from a Senior to a junior.

He had thought it was his greatest harvest in that Small World.

But now he knew that those memory fragments were nothing more than a trap set by the Dragon Slaying True Person. Within every bead, a sliver of a dao seed was hidden. The more one absorbed and the deeper one's comprehension, the deeper the dao seed would take root.

And he had absorbed more than one.

In that Small World, he had successively absorbed memory fragments from various stages of the Dragon Slaying True Person's childhood, youth, and young adulthood. Every absorption made his Metal Sharpness True Intent more powerful, and every absorption allowed the roots of the dao seed to grow deeper.

“Han Qing's death was no accident.”

He recalled Han Qing's eerie smile on the Sword Discussion Platform, the letters and Jade Slips he threw out before his death, and the miserable state he was in when he suffered Sword Gu backlash and his cultivation plummeted.

Han Qing had refined half a Sword Seed, practiced the Sword Gu Secret Technique, and taken a blood gu pill. His Dao Foundation was no longer pure, and his Divine Soul had long been deeply bound to the Sword Gu. In such a state, the growth speed of a dao seed would far exceed that of an ordinary person.

When the dao seed matured to a certain degree, the pulling force of the Dragon Slaying True Person would activate. At that time, Han Qing's Divine Soul, Dao Principles, and lifelong cultivation would all be drained to become the nourishment for the Dragon Slaying True Person's Rebirth.

And Cold Frost Master of Heavenly Sword Peak, that Heavenly Sword Peak Elder who colluded with the Ten Thousand Gu Sect and the Silver Wing Family, was merely a pawn on the Dragon Slaying True Person's chessboard. He nurtured Han Qing, had him practice the Sword Gu Secret Technique, and made him fight Jiang Hanzhou to the death on the Sword Discussion Platform—everything was only to make the dao seed mature faster and be harvested sooner.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes, and a cold glint flashed through them.

“Dragon Slaying True Person, what deep schemes you have.”

He took out that heavenly secret mirror from his sumeru pouch.

The jade talisman was entirely white, its surface engraved with fine silver dragon patterns that slowly flowed over the talisman. On the front of the jade talisman were two ancient characters: Heavenly Secret. On the back was a star map, with scattered stars that felt deep and vast.

The second Seal had already been completely undone when he watched the memory fragments.

He probed his Divine Sense into it.

Within the heavenly secret mirror, that star map had completely lit up. Countless stars flickered, flowed, and intertwined within the jade talisman, forming a vast scroll of the starry sky. Below the star map, the line of blood-red text had disappeared, replaced by lines of golden characters:

“List of the Nine Innate Daoist Bodies.”

“No. 1 Daoist Body: Jiang Hanzhou, Canglang Water Dock, Divine Spirit Daoist Body, Four Imagery True Intent Fusion, dao seed rooted depth: 70%.”

“No. 2 Daoist Body: Teng Yuzhi, Dragon Abyss Palace Bibo Pool, Innate Water Spirit Body, dao seed rooted depth: 60%.”

“No. 3 Daoist Body: Ao Zhan, Dragon Abyss Palace Heavenly Sword Peak, Innate Sword Body, dao seed rooted depth: 50%.”

“No. 4 Daoist Body: Han Qing, Dragon Abyss Palace Heavenly Sword Peak, Sword Gu Symbiote, dao seed rooted depth: 80%, Harvested.”

“No. 5 Daoist Body: ...”

“No. 6 Daoist Body: ...”

“No. 7 Daoist Body: ...”

“No. 8 Daoist Body: ...”

“No. 9 Daoist Body: ...”

Nine names, nine Innate Daoist Bodies, nine “dao seeds” carefully selected by the Dragon Slaying True Person.

As Jiang Hanzhou looked at those names, the chill in his heart grew even stronger.

Teng Yuzhi, that Bibo Pool Genius, the woman who fought side-by-side with him in the Dragon Gate Trial, and the fellow disciple who had silently prayed for him at the Sword Discussion Assembly.

Ao Zhan, the number one in the Heavenly Sword Peak Outer Sect, the rival who competed with him for an inner sect spot in the Dragon Gate Trial, and the Prodigy who still maintained his grace after being defeated by him in the Inner Sect Minor Competition.

Han Qing was already dead.

As for the other five names, he had heard of some and never heard of others. But regardless of who they were or where they were, their fates were already sealed—to become nourishment for the Dragon Slaying True Person's Rebirth.

He withdrew his Divine Sense from the heavenly secret mirror and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he took out that grayish-brown skin pouch from his sumeru pouch.

Inside the pouch, the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu mother was sleeping quietly. Its body was only the size of a fingernail and was entirely dark gold, with fine blood-red patterns flowing over its surface. It had been sleeping in the pouch for several months, using Jiang Hanzhou's Qi and blood as nourishment to slowly transform and evolve.

But at this moment, it seemed to sense something.

Its body trembled slightly, and those blood-red patterns began to flow slowly, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

“You can help me,” Jiang Hanzhou looked at it, his voice calm. “The Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu lives by devouring all things. The essence of the dao seed is the Dragon Slaying True Person's Dao Principles fragments. Since they are Dao Principles, you can swallow them.”

He bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of essence blood onto the Gu insect's body.

The moment the essence blood entered its body, the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu mother snapped its eyes open. There were no pupils in those eyes, only endless darkness. Within that darkness, countless fine blood-red patterns could be seen flowing.

It opened its mouthparts and took a deep breath.

An indescribable suction force erupted from within the Gu insect, surging along Jiang Hanzhou's Meridians into his Dantian and into the places deep within the Dragon Fetus where those golden threads were rooted.

Those threads began to tremble.

They seemed to sense danger and shrunk frantically, struggling as they tried to pull their roots out of the Dragon Fetus and escape the Gu insect's devouring. But the Gu insect's suction was too strong—so strong that they simply could not break free.

The first thread was pulled out by its roots, turned into a wisp of golden light, and swallowed by the Gu insect.

Pain.

Pain to the extreme.

That pain was not a pain of the Physical Body, but the impact on his Foundation when the dao seed was pulled out. In that instant, Jiang Hanzhou felt his Dragon Fetus trembling violently, his four True Intents almost spiraled out of control, and his lake of divine soul whipped up a monstrous wave.

But he gritted his teeth, using the Heart Blade to suppress all the turmoil and using his will to hold on so that his Dao Foundation would not shatter.

“Continue.”

He gave a low shout and urged the Gu insect to increase the intensity of its devouring.

More threads were pulled out by their roots, and more golden light was devoured by the Gu insect. His face grew paler and paler, his breathing became more rapid, and a wisp of fresh blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

But his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Because he could feel that the roots of the dao seed were being pulled out one by one, and those parts of his Foundation that had been Sealed were returning bit by bit. His Dragon Fetus became purer, his four True Intents became more harmonious, and his lake of divine soul became clearer.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

When the last golden thread was swallowed by the Gu insect, Jiang Hanzhou's body gave a violent jolt, and a mouthful of black clotted blood was sprayed from his mouth.

That clotted blood contained the residual traces of the dao seed; it was the Impurities formed from the Fusion of the Dragon Slaying True Person's Dao Principles fragments and his own Qi and blood.

After spitting out the clotted blood, he felt an unprecedented lightness within his body. That feeling was like having a thousand-pound burden lifted, like breaking free from invisible shackles, and like waking up from a long nightmare.

He viewed his interior.

Deep in his Dantian, the inch-sized Dragon Fetus was more solid than before, and the four-colored radiance surrounding it was purer. Those four True Intents that had once been entangled with the roots of the dao seed had now completely broken free from their restraints, returning to their original state of being perfectly smooth and unobstructed.

The lake of divine soul was as calm as a mirror, and the layer of Divine Soul Armor on the surface circulated with shimmering white light. The Heart Blade was suspended above the Sea of Consciousness, and the dark gold dragon patterns on the blade were deeper and clearer than before.

The Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu mother let out a burp, its body a size larger than before. On its body, a wisp of golden luster had been added to those blood-red patterns—the traces of the Dragon Slaying True Person's Dao Principles fragments after being refined.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid Qi.

That breath contained the residual lingering charm of the dao seed after it had been pulled out; it slowly diffused in the cultivation room before finally dissipating into nothingness.

He stood up and stretched his muscles and bones.

His bones emitted a slight cracking sound, which was the sound of his Foundation being reshaped after the dao seed was removed. His cultivation had not increased, but his Foundation was sturdier and purer than before.

More importantly, he was free.

He was no longer the Dragon Slaying True Person's dao seed, no longer a captive prey, and no longer a pawn in that chessboard that spanned a thousand years.

His life finally belonged completely to himself.

But he knew this was only temporary.

The Dao-Devouring Power of the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu could only Seal the dao seed; it could not completely root it out. The Dragon Slaying True Person's Dao Principles fragments had already merged deeply with his Foundation, and forcibly pulling them out would damage his Dao Foundation. He needed time, he needed stronger power, and he needed to find a way to truly break the game.

Furthermore, the Dragon Slaying True Person would not give him much time.

The thousand-year term was approaching, and the Dragon Slaying True Person was about to be reborn. At that time, the pulling force of all the dao seeds would activate simultaneously, and all Divine Souls, Dao Principles, and lifelong cultivations would be drained to become the nourishment for his Rebirth.

Jiang Hanzhou had to find a way to completely sever the dao seed before that day arrived.

He walked to the stone window and looked at the night scene outside.

The lights of Red Fire Peak swayed in the night wind, and the direction of Heavenly Sword Peak was a patch of pitch black. In the distance, the surface of the East Sea shimmered, and the sound of waves hitting the reefs could be faintly heard.

That sound was like a Tide, endless and never-ceasing.

Just like his path of martial arts.

Never-ceasing.

“Dragon Slaying True Person.”

He murmured to himself, his voice calm yet containing an indescribable resolve:

“If you want to use my Dao Foundation to be reborn, then let's see whether you, the Dao Lord from a thousand years ago, are stronger, or if I, the Fisherman who walked out of Canglang Water Dock, am more ruthless.”

He clenched his fist, and a cold glint flashed through his eyes.

“I will not let you have your way.”

...

In the cultivation room of Hanzhou Residence, Jiang Hanzhou sat cross-legged, surrounded by four-colored radiance.

Before him, the remnant volume of the secret record of blood gu that he had seized from He Yunqi's hands was spread out on the floor. The pages were yellowed, and there were traces of insect damage at the corners, but the words written in cinnabar were still clearly legible. Every page was densely filled with records of Gu insect nurturing methods, the way to operate Dao-Devouring Power, and the Origin mysteries of the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu.

The Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu mother floated about an inch above his palm; it was entirely dark gold, with fine blood-red patterns flowing over its surface. Its body trembled slightly, and with every tremor, a wisp of indescribable power escaped from it. That power was not spiritual energy, not True Intent, and not Divine Soul; it was Dao-Devouring Power, an Origin power that fed on Dao Principles.

“Feeding on Dao Principles.”

Jiang Hanzhou murmured to himself, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Over the past three days of secluded meditation, he had studied the remnant volume of the secret record of blood gu dozens of times from beginning to end, memorizing every word, every diagram, and every rune. He did not need the nurturing of Gu insects, the refining of Gu poisons, or the application of Gu techniques. He only needed one thing: the Origin power of the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu.

This Gu mother was seized from He Yunqi's Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu. He Yunqi had used it to wreak havoc on Shahe Stockade, used it as a medium to plant Gu poisons, and used it as a means to drain the Qi and blood of living people. But until his death, he never knew that the true power of this Gu insect was not killing people, but devouring Dao.

“The Dragon Slaying True Person's dao seed is essentially his Dao Principles fragments,” Jiang Hanzhou looked at the Gu mother in his palm, his voice calm. “Dao Principles fragments are Dao Principles. As long as they are Dao Principles, the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu can swallow them.”

He bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of essence blood onto the Gu mother.

The moment the essence blood entered its body, the Gu mother snapped its eyes open. There were no pupils in those eyes, only endless darkness. Within that darkness, countless fine blood-red patterns flowed frantically, emitting a sharp hissing. That hissing was not loud, yet it pierced straight into the Divine Soul, causing the air in the cultivation room to tremble.

It scented the aura of Dao Principles, the aura of the Dragon Slaying True Person, and the aura of that nourishment that made it crave with desire.