502: The Way of All Beings

Previously, he had used Hongmeng Purple Energy to enlighten the stars, which was merely "giving a man a fish"; but now, these beings creating martial arts on their own was "teaching a man to fish"!

Their struggles, Breakthroughs, Legacies, and evolutions... every flash of wisdom was an interpretation of the Great Dao.

Xu Qing's Dao was growing with it!

At this moment, his mind seemed to be split into two parts; one part resided high in the Nine Heavens, indifferently observing everything on the stars like the Heavenly Dao; the other part merged with all things, experiencing the joys, sorrows, and emotions of those martial arts Cultivators.

He saw: a Genius youth from a river valley tribe, in order to Breakthrough his Realm, ventured alone into a Vicious Beast's den, achieving an Epiphany between life and death; an old ape among a mountain ape troop, before his demise, carved his life's insights onto a stone wall, turning into the tribe's Legacy; a wise one of the deep-sea fish race, observing the tidal changes, created the "Canglang Art"... every moment was a manifestation of the Great Dao!

"Om--"

The illusory Dao Tree behind Xu Qing gently swayed, and a new leaf gradually solidified.

Within the leaf veins, the figures of those intelligent beings faintly appeared... This was the first new leaf to solidify on the Dao Tree—the Great Dao of All Beings!

The Great Dao of All Beings is a supreme Heavenly Dao Law or Cultivation philosophy, its core being to take all beings as the Foundation, integrate the will of all things, and achieve the supreme Dao Fruit.

It can be both the ultimate pursuit of a Cultivator and the underlying logic of the Universe's operation.

It was also the Dao that Xu Qing comprehended during this Cultivation.

Some collect the faith (incense, Power Of Will) of all beings for their own use, eventually achieving the Dao; this is the Great Dao that Jun Tian walks.

Some accumulate Karma by saving all beings, using Karma to Breakthrough their Realm; this is the path that ancient sages walked.

Some refine their hearts in the Mortal World, taking on Incarnations as Mortals to experience hundreds of Reincarnations, comprehending the joys and sorrows of all beings.

In addition, the Buddhist concept of universal salvation; the Daoist idea of all things being one, without distinction of noble or base; Dao Xuan's indifferent observation of all beings to maintain balance... these are all manifestations of the Great Dao of All Beings.

And Xu Qing's Great Dao of All Beings is to use all beings as chess pieces, laying out plans for eons, solely for the sake of proving the Dao.

The stronger the beings of the Qiankun Great World become, the stronger the Heavenly Dao of the Qiankun Great World will be, and with the Heavenly Dao's feedback, Xu Qing's Great Dao will also grow stronger.

He doesn't need to Cultivate at all, because the stronger the Qiankun Great World is, the stronger his power will become.

And what he needs to do is to accelerate the growth of the Qiankun Great World as much as possible.

His aura became even more profound, as if his connection with this Heaven and Earth grew closer.

At this moment, he was both an observer and a participant!

"Perhaps... I should add more fuel to the fire."

Xu Qing's eyes moved slightly, and a wisp of Hongmeng Purple Energy once again condensed at his fingertips.

But this time, he did not directly enlighten, but instead divided it into tens of thousands, transforming into countless "Opportunities," scattered throughout the stars.

In the depths of an ancient Immortal Cave, a fragmented "Chaotic Martial Scripture" appeared;

In a certain stream, a stubborn stone nurtured a sword-shaped jade marrow within it;

In the heart of an ancient tree, a drop of "Azure Spirit Dew" capable of cleansing marrow and refining veins condensed... "Contend, break through, comprehend..."

Xu Qing's Dao voice echoed: "Your Dao is my Dao!"

The beings on the stars did not know that every Breakthrough they made was paving the way for a supreme existence to a higher Realm.

With a thought, Xu Qing returned to the Ancestor Mountain of the Qiankun Continent.

A large amount of resources appeared around him; this time in seclusion, he was going to raise his Body Refining Cultivation!

Outside!

Eighty-First Fortress City!

Xu Qing had been in seclusion for over a hundred years.

Seeing that Xu Qing really did not participate in the division of interests within the city, Dao Ancestor Jin Que and the other three felt much more at ease.

Two hundred years passed peacefully in this way, and on this day, a Half-Ancestor covered in blood burst into Eighty-First Fortress City, bringing everyone extremely bad news.

Deep within the City Lord's Mansion.

Dao Ancestor Jin Que suddenly crushed the jade cup in his hand, and the blood-red wine dripped through his fingers, burning wisps of green smoke on the black jade floor.

"What did you say?!" He stood up abruptly, his muscles bulging like a Dragon, and the terrifying Dao Ancestor pressure made the entire hall tremble. "Something happened in the Chaos Ancient Mine?"

In the center of the hall, the Half-Ancestor, covered in blood, knelt on the ground, with Chaos Qi still lingering in the hideous wound on his chest: "Reporting to Dao Ancestor, it was... it was an unseen Chaos Ancient Beast! It resembled a gluttonous beast, with six wings on its back, and with just one strike, it tore through the seven-layered mine protection array..."

The blood jade on Dao Ancestor Xue He's fingertip suddenly cracked with a fine line, and a fierce look appeared on his feminine face: "More than a dozen Half-Ancestors working together, plus an Ancestor-level grand array, couldn't even hold it for half a moment?"

"That beast... that beast is incredibly powerful!" The injured Half-Ancestor coughed up blood clots mixed with organ fragments. "The Heaven Burning Sword Array was torn apart as soon as it was deployed..."

Thunder exploded in Dao Ancestor Lei Xiao's palm, and the entire hall instantly lit up like day.

He stared intently at the direction of the Chaos outside the hall, his voice rumbling like muffled thunder: "Could it be coming for the Dao Source?"

Four gazes intersected in mid-air, and they all saw the shock and anger in each other's eyes.

The Chaos Ancient Mine is a special Ancestral Vein, containing Dao Source, and Ancestral Crystals are endless, enough to allow a force to produce many powerhouses.

Especially the Dao Source, which is the key material for a Dao Ancestor to condense his three-life body.

This Chaos Ancient Mine of Eighty-First Fortress City is located 100,000 light-years outside Tianyang Pass. On the surface, it is a treasure land that produces Ancestral Crystals, but in reality, the most precious thing is the "Dao Source of This Life" occasionally nurtured deep within the mine.

A fist-sized piece of Dao Source can give a Two-step Dao Ancestor a 30% greater chance when condensing his present life body.

Such a divine object would make even the old monsters in the Human Race Holy Temple envious, and they would all wish to possess it for themselves, monopolizing it for their own use.

The reason they four could monopolize the mining rights was that they handed over the "Dao Source of This Life" obtained from mining to the Human Race Holy Temple, and two-tenths of the Ancestral Crystals obtained.

Because of this, with the Human Race Holy Temple backing them, no one dared to covet the mining rights of the Chaos Ancient Mine.

Over the years, relying on the Chaos Ancient Mine, the four Dao Ancestors accumulated a lot of wealth and also built up many connections in the Human Race Holy Temple.

Now that something had happened to the Chaos Ancient Mine, the four naturally dared not be careless.

"It must be dealt with immediately." Dao Ancestor You Yue's figure flickered in and out of the shadows, her voice as cold as the ice of the Nine Nether. "If the Human Race Holy Temple learns that we lost the mine..."

The words were not finished, but everyone understood the consequences.

Those important figures who smilingly accepted the Dao Source were more terrifying than a Chaos storm when they turned hostile.

Dao Ancestor Jin Que suddenly asked: "Is Xu Qing still in seclusion?"

"He hasn't moved an inch for over a hundred years!" Xue He toyed with the cracked blood jade, narrowing his eyes. "That saves us trouble."

Dao Ancestor Xue He naturally understood Dao Ancestor Jin Que's meaning; after all, Xu Qing was a Grand Elder of the Human Race Holy Temple. If Xu Qing knew about this matter, given their unpleasantness from over a hundred years ago, he might report it to the Human Race Holy Temple.

Lei Xiao's body surged with lightning patterns: "The four of us will go together, and we'll finish it quickly!"

"Let's go!"

Dao Ancestor Jin Que grabbed the injured Half-Ancestor, and his crimson cloak billowed with monstrous blood flames.

As the four figures tore through the Void Realm, the entire Fortress City's defensive array automatically lit up with warning Dao patterns.

And on the highest observation deck of the City Lord's Mansion, Dao Ancestor Xuan Zhen looked at the direction the four had left, and the divination hexagram in his hand suddenly exploded with a "bang," leaving a bloodstain on his palm.

"Great ill omen..."

He suddenly turned his head, looking towards the direction of Xu Qing's Immortal Cave where he was in seclusion.

That immortal palace, which had not opened for a hundred years, he hesitated on his face whether to remind him...