Chapter 1518: Profound Meaning Cuts the Dao Like Drinking Water, Profound Meaning Little Sky Turns into a Ghost from Jealousy

It wasn't just the ancient sword cultivators who were stunned.

In the Five Domains, spirit refiners everywhere froze in shock as they watched the illusory array diagrams of various great Aoyi manifest around Xu Xiaoshou in the Dao Preaching Mirror.

"What is this?"

"Has Xu Xiaoshou comprehended so many Aoyi?"

"The Qi Sea is surging, and spiritual yuan is fluctuating wildly—is he about to Chandao?"

"Chandao? Hiss, now that you mention it, Xu Xiaoshou is still only at the Wangzuo Daojing level. But with his spirit refining strength, he defeated the Xuanji Hall Master and the Northern Sword Immortal... That's insane!"

"This is no simple matter." Clearly, while the ancient sword masters only shouted about their six techniques, when it came to spirit refining, everyone was an expert in that field.

Some immediately analyzed Xu Xiaoshou on the spot, furrowing their brows and adopting a tone as if pointing out the way of the world:

"You see, his Aoyi array diagrams—though only one is lit up and the others are quite faint..."

"Only one?"

"Don't interrupt, let me finish! Even so, that brightest one still represents an Aoyi. Even if it doesn't match up to Shui Gui or Ye Bansheng's, Xu Xiaoshou is still impressive, right?"

"Hmm?"

"At the Wangzuo Daojing level, comprehending an Aoyi and attempting to Chandao—how incredibly difficult is that? The more stable the Dao foundation, the harder it is to Chandao! And from what I can see, Xu Xiaoshou has a big appetite; he probably wants to wait until the other Aoyi array diagrams light up before he does it, so..."

"So?"

"So, I bet Xu Xiaoshou will likely suppress his enlightenment this time, skip Chandao, and just grind away at the Wangzuo Daojing until he has three or five Aoyi under his belt."

"You know what? You're not wrong!"

"Hmph, makes sense, right? I've been studying Xu Xiaoshou for two and a half months now!"

"Brother, you've got insight. Xu Xiaoshou always has a big appetite... But anyway, why is he suddenly about to break through?"

Yeah!

Why was he about to break through?

It had only been a month or so since the breakthrough to Wangzuo Daojing on Void Island at the Gu Jin Wang You Tower... Above the original site of Yu Jing Cheng, Xu Xiaoshou looked inward at the dramatic changes in his Qi Sea and suddenly realized the reason.

Could "Ming" also affect the spirit refining realm?

"Or perhaps, it acts on the sword bearer, and the advancement of the sword bearer's essence, qi, and spirit indirectly loosens the spirit refining realm."

"Although I only broke through to Wangzuo not long ago, I've consumed a massive amount of heavenly treasures and contracted the Greed God, which fed back nearly endless devouring energy."

"And Wangzuo isn't a realm that heavily relies on spiritual yuan; it emphasizes comprehension more. Not to mention, I've already reached the Aoyi level with my life attribute alone..."

It was just water flowing to its course!

That was the simple logic.

Just like how Yu Ling Di cultivated the water system Aoyi and Ye Xiaotian cultivated the space Aoyi—during their cultivation, were they really clueless about other attributes?

No, they probably had some superficial knowledge.

But once the main attribute is perfected, insights into secondary attributes or other Dao become unimportant.

When the timing is right, a spirit refiner's Qi Sea will surge, ushering in the so-called "Chandao moment"!

"The more solid the Dao foundation, the harder the Dao is to Chandao..."

"If Chandao fails and damages the Dao foundation, a second attempt will be even harder..."

"Once Chandao succeeds, the best opportunity for enlightenment in Wangzuo Daojing will pass, and then I'll only have one life Aoyi?"

Some ingrained understandings from the past quickly surfaced, and for a moment, Xu Xiaoshou hesitated.

To Chandao or not?

This "life Aoyi" combined with "Ming" made the Chandao moment come too suddenly—he wasn't mentally prepared at all!

But soon, Xu Xiaoshou let it go, realizing he was overthinking it.

For others, yes, the more solid the Dao foundation, the harder the Dao is to Chandao, because they only cultivate one path.

Xu Xiaoshou, however, didn't believe he couldn't do it!

As for the common concern that enlightenment in Wangzuo would be impossible after Chandao...

"I have the Yundao Field and Yundao Seed!"

Xu Xiaoshou tore through his doubts and decided to boldly give it a try.

He had long suspected this—if you truly couldn't enlighten after Chandao, then the path of spirit refining must be wrong.

Dao Qiong Cang had discussed this before, and his views aligned.

Moreover, it wasn't just a few isolated people thinking this way—some were already doing it!

For no reason, Xu Xiaoshou's mind flashed with the image of Old Sang, recalling their last meeting in the Taixu World, when they parted at the end, and that thing under his feet that resembled an Aoyi array diagram...

This might be an illusion, but the Elemental God's messenger Zhong Yuanzi's great Dao diagram couldn't be a dream, right?

He was a Bansheng and could still continue to enlighten!

How could the Yundao Seed fail to activate the great Dao disk after Chandao?

"Since it has come, let it be."

The Chandao moment had arrived on its own—if he missed it, he'd have to wait a long time. There was no reason not to break through!

Just as the ancient sword cultivators' ideal—press forward without retreat.

Ming was like that, and so was he!

"Then let it come!"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xu Xiaoshou paused for just a few breaths before making his decision.

Even if he broke through right in the face of the Shengshen Hall, no one or Bansheng would dare to stop him.

Even Feng Tingchen realized something was off—the scene that followed might be more worth recording than the Seven Sword Immortals' battle. Subconsciously, he aimed the Dao Preaching Mirror at Xu Xiaoshou and had no intention of turning it off.

If he did turn it off...

Feng Tingchen didn't even need to think; he knew he'd be cursed by the people of the Five Domains, and even the entire Feng family would be dragged through the mud.

"It's coming—Xu Xiaoshou is going to Chandao!"

"Look at his expression—he's made his decision!"

Suddenly, an excited voice rang in his ears—this was the kind of second-rate commentary he couldn't produce after getting the Dao Preaching Mirror. Feng Tingchen turned his head and saw Feng Zhongzui looking sheepish.

He hesitated for a moment, handed over the Dao Preaching Mirror, and gave a warning glare.

I'll give you another chance!

But if you mess up again, don't even think about returning to the Feng family!

Okay... Feng Zhongzui chuckled and quickly moved the Dao Preaching Mirror back toward Feng Tingchen.

The latter immediately puffed out his chest, turned slightly to the side, and his cold expression on that perfect profile turned into a charming smile. After a slight nod, he hurriedly left the scene.

Feng Zhongzui was instantly freed and launched right in:

"They say the more solid the foundation in Wangzuo Daojing, the harder the Dao is to Chandao. Xu Xiaoshou seems to have comprehended an Aoyi already..."

"Maybe you don't know, but I just asked around on site—after Xu Xiaoshou contracted the ghost beast..."

"Ahem, ahem!" Feng Tingchen suddenly coughed violently.

Feng Zhongzui felt a chill down his back and got straight to the point: "Alright, the Aoyi Xu Xiaoshou comprehended is the legendary life Aoyi! With such a solid Dao foundation and other secondary attributes, can he really succeed in Chandao?"

No sooner had he said this...

"Boom!"

In the Dao Preaching Mirror, Xu Xiaoshou in black clothes focused his eyes, using his intent as a sword, and first struck at the illusory Shendao disk.

He might not have experience with Chandao...

But the first spirit refiner didn't have experience either, right?

As Ba Zun An said, since you're walking a completely new path, you can't borrow from anyone.

Once he decided to accept the Chandao moment, Xu Xiaoshou no longer wanted to hear outsiders' experiences or follow old rules—he only listened to his heart:

Chandao means Chandao...

Use intent as the blade, directly sever the Dao foundation.

No breaking, no establishing; no destroying, no achieving!

"Crack—"

"Bang!"

The Shendao disk shattered, turning into endless points of light that merged into his body.

Just as expected, Xu Xiaoshou felt his body strengthen a bit... but compared to his already formidable foundation, this improvement was negligible.

Good.

He was on the right path.

The Dao should be severed like this!

But something felt off?

"Too... too violent!"

Holding the Dao Preaching Mirror, Feng Zhongzui suddenly stuttered, stunned for a moment before exclaiming:

"Although I'm an ancient sword cultivator, I've seen spirit refiners run around before!"

"Is this how you Chandao in Wangzuo Daojing? Shouldn't it be sitting in meditation, using comprehension to gradually dissolve the Dao foundation, returning to simplicity and merging qi and intent into oneself?"

"The harder the Dao foundation, the harder it is to dissolve and digest—it' like eating something too tough... The 'sever' in Chandao is just a metaphorical word, not literal. Now, Xu Xiaoshou has made it literal?"

Feng Zhongzui was truly baffled.

He didn't understand spirit refining, but he understood "intent."

From an ancient sword cultivator's perspective, he could clearly see that Xu Xiaoshou had just condensed an invisible sword with his intent above his head, splitting his Dao foundation in two and devouring it all!

This method was too fierce, too brutal, and way too abnormal!

It wasn't just him—in Yu Jing Cheng, countless spirit refiners, the ancient sword cultivators with only a vague grasp of spirit refining, and even the Bansheng, could hardly comprehend Xu Xiaoshou's actions.

Even the Aoyi Bansheng Ye Xiaotian looked "thoughtful," while the people of the Five Domains in front of the Dao Preaching Mirror were even more baffled, each one utterly perplexed.

"He severed his first spirit refining attribute insight just like that?"

"Yeah! It must be because that's not his main attribute—it's just an add-on..."

Full of anticipation, the crowd turned back to the Dao Preaching Mirror.

"Boom!"

Xu Xiaoshou struck again with a sword.

This time, targeting the Ling and Yi Daopan.

"Crack, crack..."

"Bang!"

They all shattered!

Feng Zhongzui's hand trembled, his eyes widening. "It worked again? Is it really because these are add-on attributes that Xu Xiaoshou can sever them so casually?"

Xu Xiaoshou was also stunned.

He realized what was off—the process was too smooth, like a dream.

Could I really be a genius?

The foundation of Shen, Ling, and Yi— even without the Yundao Seed, Xu Xiaoshou knew his base wasn't bad.

It might not match Yu Ling Di or Ye Xiaotian's Aoyi level, but compared to the vast group of spirit refiners, it should be above average, right?

If even this was so easy to sever...

How did the rumor spread that Chandao is so difficult?

For things others can't do, I just think about it, and it's like medicine curing the ill—wait, no, sword strikes and Dao severs?

Xu Xiaoshou paused briefly, then raised several "swords of intent," this time aiming at the remaining Daopan.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

He severed them one after another—sword, fire, gold, array, technique... It was utterly unreasonable; he cleaved them all open.

"Even the sword Daopan is severed?"

Xu Xiaoshou was certain his sword Daopan wasn't simple!

If even this could be severed, was it really only the life Daopan that could withstand him a little?

Suspicious, he raised another sword and aimed at the time Daopan.

"Crack..."

"Bang!"

The time Daopan shattered too!

"Ah, this..."

Only the life and space Daopan remained.

Xu Xiaoshou raised his sword again, striking at the radiant life Daopan that had reached the Aoyi realm—go big or go home!

"Crack—"

This time, the life Daopan held firm for a while, lasting over ten breaths.

Countless Dao principles turned to powder and scattered first, gradually merging into his body, until the entire Daopan cracked, collapsed, and exploded into fragments...

It was severed!

And digested!

This was ridiculous!

Chandao was easier than taking off pants—who said it was hard? Step forward and face the consequences!

With a sweep of his perception, Xu Xiaoshou saw the stunned onlookers around him and the shocked gazes from Yu Jing Cheng.

"Under suspicion, passive points: 8544."

"Under jealousy, passive points: 1."

Feng Zhongzui thought he was dreaming, so he splashed snow on his face and looked again, shivering: "Not a dream?"

"His Chandao is smoother than me... uh, drinking water?!"

The others were shocked, but Xu Xiaoshou, realizing how smoothly it went, panicked first. His second true body flew out from somewhere with a grim expression.

—The main body was just half a step from Chandao, and the second true body couldn't cultivate or evolve. If one fell behind, what he'd be severing wouldn't be Dao, but the grievances of the second true body!

But this time, the second true body came with a mission. He went straight to Ye Xiaotian, the Aoyi Bansheng whose eyes were slightly red:

"Dean, I have a question..."

"Dare I ask, am I Chandao-ing right now, or self-destructing my cultivation? Is Chandao really this simple?"

Ye Xiaotian glanced at the Xu Xiaoshou in front of him, then back at the one Chandao-ing not far away.

He was silent for a moment.

Don't lie to you—your question is exactly what I'm pondering...

And why, as fellow Aoyi Wangzuo, does your Chandao look so easy, so devastating?

"You continue anyway. From the results, everything's fine, and your way of Chandao has given me some inspiration." With the Dao Preaching Mirror aimed at him, Ye Xiaotian spoke more formally, putting on an air of a master.

"Dean, say what you need to, but don't float away..." The second true body grabbed his ankle and pulled him back down. "I need a drop of your blood."

"What for?" Ye Xiaotian looked vigilant—blood was a sensitive thing.

"I was confident before, but now I'm a bit panicked. What if I can't enlighten to Aoyi after Chandao? I'll borrow some of your blood to test something..."

As soon as he said this, Ye Xiaotian's pupils dilated sharply.

This Xu Xiaoshou was up to his tricks again, and his ideas...

"What are they saying?"

Feng Zhongzui tried to zoom in on the Dao Preaching Mirror and capture the sound.

But the image and audio were blurry, so he just muttered a casual explanation:

"We see Xu Xiaoshou stopped Chandao midway—can spirit refiners really pause Chandao like that? It feels a bit mysterious..."

"Xu Xiaoshou is bold; he probably stopped midway because he realized he lacked experience and went to ask questions. Anyway, there's an Aoyi Bansheng like Ye Xiaotian, his former dean..."

"Good! Now there are two Xu Xiaoshous; the one not unexpected is his clone, and the one crossing the tribulation should be the main body..."

"Good! Ye Bansheng gave the clone a drop of blood—what are they up to?"

"The clone teleported away; the main body took that drop of blood and pulled out a... what's that thing? A clay figure? A sculpture? Blood, dripped on it?"

"Someone explain! I'm running out of commentary!"

"You spirit refiners— is Chandao always this weird? It looks like a joke!"

The Five Domains audience was completely blown away!

Compared to Feng Zhongzui, who only half-understood spirit refining, the experts in front of the mirror were the real ones!

"What the hell—pausing Chandao midway? Does Feng Zhongzui have any common sense? It's not spirit refiners who are weird; it's Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Who pauses Chandao? Who dares to Chandao in public?"

"Isn't this supposed to be done in a secluded place, focusing entirely on the breakthrough without any distractions?"

"Incredible, ha! This Feng Zhongzui said Xu Xiaoshou stopped midway because something felt off and went to ask for experience... Wait! Blood? Imitator?"

"That's the Imitator! The famous item of the former Yi Department leader Yi, one of the top ten anomalous weapons... I hear if you drip blood on it, it can imitate that person, gaining their insights, usage, and a lot of experience—but it's temporary... Xu Xiaoshou, ah? That's impossible, right?"

"Xu Xiaoshou—he couldn't be thinking of... also..."

"He's going to enlighten in Yu Jing Cheng and become another Aoyi?"

With the space Daopan under his feet and the unity of heaven and man activated, Xu Xiaoshou was surrounded by continuous Dao rhymes.

That's right—he was going for another Aoyi!

Dripping blood on the Imitator was just a cover.

After all, he had tried it; the insights gained from it wouldn't belong to him, so he absolutely couldn't achieve another space Aoyi that way.

But the Yundao Field and Yundao Seed could—Ye Xiaotian's blood was just to hide that fact!

Xu Xiaoshou was aiming to play big now, and in his anxiety, he wanted to probe a new path for spirit refining with a conservative plan.

"Passive points: 78,114,978."

For one Aoyi, he didn't need ten million passive points, or even eight million—just five or six million.

Because his foundation was solid, even at the lowest, there was over 10% progress; at the highest, he couldn't recklessly push to 100% synchronization with the great Dao, so it wouldn't cost that much.

The life Aoyi he had pushed earlier only took 6.7 million passive points.

And after showing off in Yu Jing Cheng for so long, he'd already recovered nearly a third of that cost.

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he was pushing for Aoyi almost at zero cost!

With his previous experience, he was now doing it effortlessly, spending passive points without even counting—ten thousand at a time, directly exchanging for the Yundao Seed.

"Space Daopan (15)."

"Space Daopan (16)."

"Space Daopan (23)."

"Space Daopan (34)."

"Space Daopan (68)."

"Space Daopan (77)."

Ye Xiaotian was dazed for a moment, then rubbed his eyes and looked again at the space Aoyi array diagram under Xu Xiaoshou's feet.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in anger, and blood nearly burst from the corners!

Staring at Xu Xiaoshou, who was clearly in the "Chandao moment" and shouldn't have any major breakthroughs, just because he took a drop of his blood...

The space Aoyi array diagram under his feet lit up bit by bit!

In the end, it nearly matched his own, as if he had also comprehended space Aoyi!

At that moment, Ye Xiaotian lost it.

His heart felt like it had been ripped out in the icy snow of winter by a relative (Xu Xiaoshou) and left on the roadside, where a wild dog (Xu Xiaoshou's main body) pounced and bit it viciously.

This dog was mad!

It was a real mad dog—not human at all.

It bit his heart, then pinned Ye Xiaotian down and kept gnawing, chomp after chomp, devouring his sanity bit by bit. In the end, it even left a big mess on his face— the dog had space Aoyi now?

"Impossible!"

Ye Xiaotian's eyes turned red with rage as he rushed forward. "Stop! Xu Xiaoshou, stop right there!"

Using my blood, using my understanding of the space attribute, to perfect yourself... Oh, you Xu Xiaoshou, how vicious! Can't you cultivate it yourself?

You used the Imitator like that—it's enough to drive people mad with jealousy. You're not human; you're a monster!

The second true body hugged Ye Xiaotian from behind. "Dean, where are you going?"

"You get off me! Give me back the blood, give it back..." Ye Xiaotian cried.

He watched as the space Aoyi under Xu Xiaoshou's feet fully formed.

He watched as the deed was done, admitting he was petty.

He just didn't like seeing another space Aoyi emerge to share the sky full of praise—he didn't like it, what could he do?

In all the world, who could be that magnanimous?

Ye Xiaotian wailed in pain.

Feng Zhongzui timely turned the Dao Preaching Mirror toward them.

Ye Xiaotian stopped crying and forced a smile, waving his sleeve lightly. "Hey, no big deal."

"Thank you, Dean." The second true body said sincerely from behind.

I want to kill you, Sang Qiye—you raised what kind of disciple... Hearing the thanks, Ye Xiaotian's heart shattered, his soul feeling drained, yet he could still face the Dao Preaching Mirror, point at the Chandao-ing Xu Xiaoshou, and force a laugh. "Well, he's half my disciple, hee-hee, ha-ha-ha!"

"Space Daopan (80)."

Xu Xiaoshou used his intent as a sword and struck down.

"Crack..."

"Bang!"

The space Daopan shattered, and points of light merged into his body.

The world fell silent, then endless spiritual energy howled in, surging madly into his body.

The Qi Sea expanded, and Dao rhymes surged like tides.

No matter how unbelievable, it was real...

"Chandao!"

(End of chapter)