16: Chapter 16 I am the Way!

Su Fan stood before the old man, pacing slowly, and said in a calm tone: "There are thousands of Daos, and only the Dao can be spoken of. What they call the Good Path, the Evil Path, heterodox paths, or the paths of alchemy and metallurgy, are ultimately minor Daos. One might say they are merely petty tricks."

"Only the Dao can be spoken of? Petty tricks?"

Old Ancestor Bing narrowed his eyes slightly; he found the young man before him somewhat unfathomable.

However, having now confirmed that his Dao Heart was destroyed and he could hardly achieve Core Formation, he smiled slightly and continued to listen to Su Fan.

Su Fan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the firmament, and continued: "The Dao is the Origin of all things, the Law of the Universe. As it is said, the Dao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Dao. The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things. All things are within the Dao, and all things possess the Dao. May I ask, do you know how many heavens exist beyond this heaven and earth? To you and me, time is time, but to heaven and earth, time does not exist..."

"Time does not exist?"

Old Ancestor Bing was puzzled inwardly, "I have lived for over twenty thousand years and have survived eight great life-and-death tribulations. How could time not exist? This kid must have had his Dao Heart ruined by me and is starting to babble nonsense..."

Su Fan suddenly stared at Old Ancestor Bing and asked: "Senior, do you know if those Immortals who ascended to the Upper Realm can truly attain eternal life?"

Old Ancestor Bing was actually startled by his Aura and subconsciously began to ponder this question.

That's right, after ascending to the Upper Realm and becoming an Immortal, can one truly live forever?

The answer naturally can only be known after ascending to the Upper Realm, and to ascend to the Upper Realm, one cannot do without something on The Demoness...

Thinking of this, Old Ancestor Bing shook his white head: "I truly do not know."

Su Fan withdrew his gaze and continued: "That is why I say the Dao you speak of, Senior, is a minor Dao. The true Great Dao is the relationship between the myriad things of the Universe and the True Self."

"How many heavens and earths are there beyond this heaven and earth?"

"How many layers of heaven are there in the Upper Realm?"

"Can Immortals truly live forever?"

"What are the Immortals busy with in the Upper Realm? Why don't they come down to the Lower Realm to take a look?"

"Beyond the Immortal Realm, what other realms are there?"

"Is the eternity of the Universe light or darkness?"

"If one cannot live forever and must eventually die, how must one live to have meaning?"

This series of questions left Old Ancestor Bing completely bewildered.

He had lived for over twenty thousand years, his cultivation had remained at the Mahayana Stage Great Perfection, and he had never been able to attain that final thread of the Great Dao, resulting in no hope of Ascension. He could only survive a life-and-death Lightning Tribulation every 3,000 years...

Who would have thought that the kid before him would ask such inexplicable questions?

Could he possibly know the answers to these questions?

He is simply crazy!

Old Ancestor Bing cursed inwardly, thinking that this kid must be crazy.

Let him be crazy, but the connection to The Demoness must not disappear. As long as the connection on him remains, he can find The Demoness...

In fact, Su Fan was not crazy. The things he asked were actually philosophical questions, but for the Cultivators of the Tianxuan Continent, these questions were far too inconceivable.

Even a Supreme at the Mahayana Stage Great Perfection like Old Ancestor Bing was no exception.

Su Fan continued to mutter to himself: "Perhaps life has no inherent meaning; it only gains meaning when one bestows it upon itself."

"Young Master Su, your Dao Heart is in chaos."

Old Ancestor Bing could not help but interrupt Su Fan, not wanting to hear him continue to ramble.

Old Ancestor Bing simply confessed the process of how his Dao Heart was destroyed: "Young Master Su, you were here seeking the Dao, wanting to condense a Golden Core from the Foundation Establishment Stage Great Perfection and achieve a Breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm. Originally, you did not touch upon Mortal Karma, did not concern yourself with worldly affairs, and only drank wine, ate meat, and listened to music every day, all to comprehend a thread of the Supreme Great Dao. This might have been a viable method, but I was truly bored and wanted to disrupt your Dao Heart, so I disguised myself as an old beggar to win your sympathy. I did not expect that you would actually take action for my sake..."

"Now, your Dao Heart is in chaos. You will never be able to condense a Golden Core in this life and can only remain in the Foundation Establishment Realm until your Lifespan is exhausted."

Old Ancestor Bing said this expressionlessly.

The pitiful old man image from before was gone; he no longer pretended, and released the full spiritual pressure of his Mahayana Stage Great Perfection...

When he felt a massive wave of spiritual pressure, Su Fan could not even stand steadily. His legs bent uncontrollably, and the muscles all over his body trembled as if they were about to tear away from his body...

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, his back, and even his entire body.

He knelt down, his eyes bloodshot, his lips trembling:

"Senior... I... I did my best for you. I didn't provoke you, did I? Why... destroy my Dao Heart and make it so I can never achieve Core Formation in this life? Why on earth!?"

"Why?"

A cunning smile appeared on the corner of Old Ancestor Bing's mouth, "In this world, where are there so many whys? Why would I need to explain my actions to you?"

"That waiter, and that songstress, were they also arranged by you?"

Su Fan wanted to stand up, but found that in front of this old man, he couldn't stand up at all. His spiritual pressure seemed even more terrifying than Senior Ji Yao's...

"Correct, but that was done by Yang Kui."

"Who is Yang Kui?"

"He is just a Cultivator at the Soul Transformation Late Stage, with a Red Beard and green eyes. You have met him."

"It is him..."

Su Fan remembered the bad-tempered, red-bearded old man in the tavern, then gritted his teeth and said: "What is your purpose? Why destroy my Dao Heart? Why not just kill me?"

Su Fan did not understand. One person stronger than a Soul Transformation, and another at the Soul Transformation Late Stage—if they wanted to deal with him, they could wipe him out with a single finger. Why go to such great lengths to just destroy his Dao Heart instead of killing him...

And what he did not know was that in order to deal with The Demoness, they had even invited the "Number One Person in the World," whose cultivation was even higher than Old Ancestor Bing's...

Old Ancestor Bing's eyes flashed as he gazed silently at Su Fan, a hint of contempt in his eyes: "Su Fan, I ask you... you originally pursued the Good Path. Now, you do good deeds, yet the result is that I destroy your Dao Heart. Do you regret it?"

"Regret? I only did these things out of my conscience. What do I have to regret!!"

As Su Fan spoke, thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning...

A few seconds later, he had a sudden realization!

It must have to do with Senior Ji!

Before, Senior Ji was injured; it might very well have been this person before him who hurt her. The chi yan rejuvenation pill can neutralize ice-attribute poison, and the last time he saw this person, the lake surface froze...

That must be it!

Their ultimate goal is Senior Ji!!

And not him.

No wonder they didn't kill him...

They want to use him to find Senior Ji!!

Old Ancestor Bing looked at the dazed Su Fan: "What are you thinking about?"

Su Fan suddenly raised his eyes, met his gaze, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "I was thinking... perhaps in this world, there are countless kinds of Daos. Whether it is the Great Dao or a minor Dao, just as I said at the beginning, only the Dao can be spoken of. May I ask... in this heaven and earth, what exactly is the Dao?"

As he spoke, Su Fan suddenly stood up, his voice growing increasingly high-pitched: "I am not a person of this world to begin with, so my fate is determined by me, not by heaven. I do what I want to do. When I attain the Dao, the people of this world will all worship and admire me. Therefore, to me, this Dao is worth nothing... I, am the Dao!!"

Once these words were spoken, it was like the tolling of a great bell, deafening and awakening.

Between heaven and earth, the clouds and winds suddenly changed, and this patch of sky darkened...

Boom—

Thunder shook the black clouds, shrouding the small town.

Old Ancestor Bing looked at the sky with a surprised expression: "Thunder?"

Immediately, he quickly thought of something and suddenly raised his eyes: "Oh no, this is a Lightning Tribulation! Could it be my 3,000-year Lightning Tribulation? No, such a small Lightning Tribulation is not mine. Could it be...?"

Subsequently, he saw three purple lightning bolts strike down towards Su Fan, and he said in astonishment: "This kid is about to... Core Formation? Core Formation actually triggered a Lightning Tribulation..."

"Could it be that he... has truly attained a thread of the Supreme Great Dao?"