157: Survival of the fittest

Days passed, and five years later, he was six years old.

Xu Sanyan gradually accepted everything here, but deep down, he always had a feeling that he did not belong to this world.

No matter what he did, there was always a faint sense of disharmony.

On this day, a person descended from the sky, treading on auspicious clouds, holding a Buddhist whisk, with a rosy complexion and a long beard flowing from his jaw, looking like an Immortal.

All the villagers knelt on the ground, their faces filled with reverence.

The Immortal had come to select Disciples, and after inspecting the age-appropriate children in the village, as expected, only Xu Sanyan met the standard, and his Aptitude was good, so he bid farewell to his parents and followed his Revered Master to cultivate Immortality.

After entering the Immortal Sect, he cultivated diligently: Refining Essence at seven, Inner Energy at sixteen, Heavenly Dao at thirty-one, and Foundation Establishment at fifty.

His cultivation progress was unparalleled within the Sect, and he was known as the foremost among the younger generation of the Righteous Path!

He then descended the mountain for experience, eliminating demons and defending the Dao, and his name was known throughout the world!

He traveled the world for twenty years, seeking the Dao in his Heart-Nature.

One day, Xu Sanyan had a sudden realization and entered seclusion to comprehend.

There are a total of three thousand six hundred Great Daos, further divided into three Daos: Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The so-called Heavenly Dao refers to the Dao of nature, such as the rotation of the sun and moon, the changes of stars, the alternation of seasons, etc. All Great Daos that conform to natural laws are Heavenly Dao.

The Earthly Dao is the growth of all things, natural reproduction, the collapse of mountains and rivers, the drying up of lakes and seas—all are Earthly Dao.

The Human Dao refers to all human actions, such as Formations and Talismans, the Dao of Swords and killing, overcoming desires and guarding the heart, benefiting all things, and so on... all belong to the Human Dao, which includes good and evil, and also non-contention.

The Dao has no distinction of superiority or precedence; all Great Daos can be followed to the end, it just depends on one's own choice.

In this life, the Dao that Xu Sanyan cultivated was the “Sword of Upholding Righteousness.”

It refers to a sharp blade that guards the Righteous Path of Heaven and Earth.

This Dao is considered an offshoot of the Heavenly Dao, guarding the righteousness of the Heavenly Dao, with the emphasis on 'righteousness' rather than 'sword,' yet it cannot be separated from the sword.

This also includes the Dao of Swords, meaning he combined the 'righteousness' of the Heavenly Dao with the 'sword' of the Human Dao.

Because he was taught by his parents from a young age to be an upright person, to care for the weak, and not to do evil.

When he entered the Sect, he was taught by his Revered Master to guard the Righteous Path of Heaven and Earth, to respect his elders, to care for his Junior Brother and Junior Sister, and not to break precepts.

So, from a young age, he was extremely upright, caring for his Junior Brother and Junior Sister, respectful to his elders, and admired by everyone in the Sect.

Now, Xu Sanyan, having achieved enlightenment, broke through two stages consecutively, reaching the Mid-stage of the Midao realm.

From then on, he had to strictly adhere to the Dao in his Heart-Nature in his actions and not do anything against his conscience, otherwise his cultivation would be difficult to advance further.

At this point, the faint sense of disharmony in his mind grew stronger. When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him shattered, and he returned to the Immortal Cave.

Xu Sanyan lowered his head in silence; he already knew how to use this Immortal Cave and what this so-called Saintly Book was all about.

But he was not satisfied with the outcome and process of this life, so he continued to step forward, and that sensation of weightlessness came again.

The memories of the first life in his mind gradually faded...

This time, he was born into a wealthy family, as the only son, spoiled by his parents who granted his every wish, so he was extremely mischievous.

But deep down, he still retained a shred of conscience; although he made many minor mistakes, he never committed major ones.

Later, his family spent countless sums of money to send him to the Immortal Sect as an Outer Sect Disciple. He endured many hardships, and his personality became completely different from before; he became more tolerant and more cunning.

He was like a venomous snake; he wouldn't strike unless necessary, but once he struck, there would definitely be a result.

After countless trials and tribulations, and expending great effort and schemes, he finally achieved a Breakthrough into the Mystic Path Realm at one hundred and two years old.

In this life, his Heart-Nature was ruthless, and the Dao he cultivated was also very much in line with his Heart-Nature.

The scene shattered, and he returned to the Immortal Cave again.

Xu Sanyan was still not satisfied with this, so he continued to step forward. Then came the third life, the fourth life, the fifth life...

It wasn't until the seventeenth life that he finally found his Dao.

In this life, he was born into a hunter's family. From a young age, he was clever and intelligent. His parents sent him to study and read. When he was a bit older, he accidentally found an Immortal Cave in the mountains, and thus embarked on the path of cultivation.

He did not have the deep-seated resentment of the second life, nor the upright and kind character of the first life; he only had a selfish Heart-Nature that prioritized his own benefit.

All things are born of Heaven and Earth and are inherently ownerless; whoever has the greater ability claims them, there's nothing to be said about it. This is also a type of Heavenly Dao.

—Survival of the fittest, the strong survive!

In this life, he also experienced many hardships, repeatedly teetering on the brink of life and death, but he never wallowed in self-pity.

At fifty years old, he was defeated while fighting over a treasure with someone, suffered severe injuries, and nearly died, but he held no resentment.

Because it was simply his own lack of strength; he couldn't defeat the other person, so he couldn't blame anyone else.

At sixty years old, after years of planning, he finally united with several people to kill that person and seize the treasure, which was considered revenge for what happened years ago.

Not resenting is one thing, but revenge still needs to be taken; these are two different matters.

At eighty-two years old, Xu Sanyan successfully achieved a Breakthrough into the Mystic Path Realm. In this life, the Dao he cultivated was—

The struggle by any means necessary.

Struggling with others, struggling with Heaven!

Struggling for the path to Immortality, struggling for eternal imperishability!

Only by experiencing those various Great Daos can one fully comprehend what is in their Heart-Nature and know how to proceed on the path forward.

In the illusion, one's own thoughts are Sealed, and actions are entirely based on instinct, which is why it is closest to one's own Great Dao.

The scene before him shattered, Xu Sanyan smiled, showing his teeth, and turned to walk back. There was no need to continue down the path; he had already obtained what he wanted.

As for the Saintly Book, he had already seen it.

In his last life, the Cultivation Technique he cultivated was the Saintly Book.

The Saintly Book never referred to a single Cultivation Technique. Xu Sanyan experienced seventeen lives, and the Cultivation Technique he cultivated in each life was different.

If he had turned and left in the first life, then the Cultivation Technique cultivated in the first life would have been the Saintly Book.

But when he entered the second life, the memories of the first life would dissipate, so it was impossible to retain all the Cultivation Techniques.

Xu Sanyan opened his panel and saw that The Supreme Truth and Serenity Scripture of Eliminating Illusion and Attaining Reality in the Cultivation Technique column had been replaced by another Cultivation Technique. This Cultivation Technique was named:

Duo Dao Qi Yuan Scripture

When he walked out of the Immortal Cave, Tu Wanshan and Fang Xiang had already come out. The few of them nodded and greeted each other, then silently stood behind the three Hall Revered Masters, waiting.

It wasn't until the night grew deep that Qi Liang and Jiang Qinqin emerged together.

Venerable He Yu, seeing that everyone had arrived, slowly spoke,

“Return to your respective places and reflect well. This is the only chance you will have in your life. Come to Tongxin Mountain in a month; there will be matters to discuss.”

“Yes.” Everyone bowed their hands in salute.

Afterward, the Hall Revered Masters left with their respective Disciples. Qi Liang walked up the mountain; he was originally from Tongxin Mountain.

Mad Daoist did not inquire about what Cultivation Technique Xu Sanyan cultivated, only instructing, “Not a single word about what happened in the Immortal Cave must be revealed, do you understand?”

“This Disciple understands.” Xu Sanyan quickly assured him.

He knew without thinking that the Immortal Cave was the most important place in the Tongxin Demon Sect, perhaps even the only one.

“Mm.”

Mad Daoist nodded faintly. In a blink of an eye, the two had returned to Red Dragon Mountain. He set Xu Sanyan down, turned to leave, and before departing, casually said, “From now on, you will manage all matters, big and small, on Red Dragon Mountain, as long as no mistakes occur.”

Xu Sanyan was stunned, then his face lit up with joy, “Yes, thank you, Hall Revered Master.”