Chapter 1556: The Dao Infant's Virtuous Fruits Balance the Path, The Ruler of the Evil Realm Desires the Evil Lord

“Dao Ying is not an 'infant'; it’s something edible, a fruit.”

“You can think of it as the heavenly fire born from the Cang Qiong Zhi Shu, or the Dragon Apricot fruit that the Zu Shu Long Xing produces once every three thousand years.”

“The only difference is that the latter two nurture their own creations through their own power, while the former, the creator of Dao Ying, relies on external forces to condense crystals of foreign attributes.”

“It may seem unrelated to itself, but this is the 'influence' of the Zu Shu—a special influence that isn’t combat-related.”

At the round table in the Crystal Palace, Li Fugui sat on the first coral throne to the left and explained.

The second true body on the main Liuli Dragon Throne listened in silence, gaining a deeper understanding of the mighty power of the Zu Shu.

It wasn’t just about entities that could produce heavenly fire or spawn something like Elder Jin Zhao through their own strength.

There was also this bizarre ability to impose influence, making others’ power coalesce into crystals, manifesting as 'Dao Ying'?

But what could this 'Dao Ying' mainly do?

Li Fugui seemed to sense the second true body’s confusion and smiled as he said:

“Dao Ying allows one’s power to manifest in the most perfect way, essentially a tangible form of a perfect embryonic Great Dao.”

“In ancient times, the creator of Dao Ying was once conquered by certain Sheng Zu clans.”

“The existence of 'Dao Ying' enabled the great powers in those clans, when facing imminent death or foreseeing their fall, to preserve parts of their perfect abilities in advance.”

“Though weaker in strength, it could be passed on to the next generation, granting them the same abilities.”

“Most of the time, a path with a fixed endpoint is destined not to produce anything new, unable to surpass the original.”

“But in this way, a clan’s lineage could be preserved eternally.”

This sounded truly frightening!

Indeed, from the perspective of family inheritance, the creator of Dao Ying was simply the most useful Zu Shu, bar none!

But…

“Since you said it’s 'immortal,' then what about this 'Sheng Zu clan' you mentioned now?” The second true body propped his elbow on the table and asked.

Now, the creator of Dao Ying wasn’t with the Sheng Zu; it was in the Ran Ming site.

Things like Dao Ying were rare knowledge across the world, and even information about the Zu Shu that creates it was scarce.

The question seemed to have an obvious answer.

Li Fugui spread his hands helplessly: “A Zu Shu this useful, and with more than one powerful Sheng Zu clan in ancient times, naturally it led to the saying that an ordinary person with a priceless treasure invites disaster. They fought and seized it until the clans weakened, and the Zu Shu thrived, escaping the chaos.”

The second true body nodded thoughtfully.

“But that’s just one version,” Li Fugui continued after a pause.

“Another says that the Sheng Zu clans’ power has been passed down to this day, evolving into the five great Sheng Di families.”

“Of course, there’s no way to verify it, so just take it as a little story, nothing that affects the current situation.”

At this point, Li Fugui seemed to get excited, leaning forward slightly with interest:

“Don’t you think that this 'Dao Ying,' as a perfect embryo, if fixed into a certain form, is quite similar to some things in the current refining spirit world?”

The second true body pondered, a sudden flash of insight in his mind, and he said in surprise: “Are you saying…”

“Yes!”

Li Fugui nodded emphatically: “The semi-saint position!”

Hiss…

The second true body inhaled sharply.

This was a bit terrifying to think about, wasn’t it?

“But it’s unverifiable, just a sudden idea that seems plausible at first but is full of holes and doesn’t hold up logically,” Li Fugui concluded, shaking his head, clearly finding the guess far-fetched.

Yet, the second true body felt like he had grasped something.

Li Fugui might look ordinary, but he was incredibly knowledgeable, always sparking new thoughts in conversation.

The second true body suddenly understood why most of the Ten Venerables hadn’t achieved sainthood.

Even that line from Ba Zun An, entrusted to Li Fugui for the original body: “Don’t use the semi-saint position to achieve sainthood, even if it’s through the sword dao.”

He hadn’t fully understood it back then, but now, after everything, he was starting to grasp it.

As Li Fugui said, a path with a fixed endpoint was too hard to innovate.

So…

Ordinary people saw the original body cultivating multiple daos and thought it meant a difficult road ahead, impressive for the moment but messy and unwise in the long run.

On Void Island, seeing the sword spirit body cultivating three daos in parallel, Ba Zun An wasn’t worried at all; instead, he was excited and offered great encouragement.

Was this the difference between geniuses and the Ten Venerables?

One had an endpoint of semi-saint or Sheng Di, which was achievable.

The other aimed for Zu Shen, or even beyond, which was out of reach.

“I’ve gone off track.”

The second true body quickly refocused.

Though talking with Li Fugui was enlightening, he was here to ask about the anomalies in the Hei An Sheng Lin.

“Does Dao Ying leaving the body cause a big disturbance?”

As soon as the question was asked, even the all-knowing Li Fugui hesitated.

“This…”

He thought for a moment before deciding to be honest:

“What I know about the Zu Shu that creates Dao Ying is pretty much all of that.”

“As for what Dao Ying looks like or what consequences it has when it leaves the body, I don’t know.”

After all, I don’t even know what the creator of Dao Ying looks like; everything’s just hearsay… Li Fugui thought to himself.

The second true body was at a loss now.

He still wanted to know if the strange changes in the Hei An Sheng Lin stemmed from Yue Gongli or the creator of Dao Ying!

“But if I don’t know, you could ask Lord Dragon Apricot, since it’s also a Zu Shu!” Li Fugui suggested.

The second true body’s mind was fixed on the original body, feeling they were getting closer to the danger’s center.

He wasn’t keen on dividing his attention.

But the unknown was even more frightening; better to wait until everything was prepared.

“Then go ahead and invite it…”

Before he finished speaking.

A shower of golden scales suddenly descended in the Crystal Palace.

Then, the spirit of the Dragon Apricot appeared as a coiling golden dragon illusion, accompanied by a faint dao sound:

“The Dao has no form, yet it takes form to be transmitted.”

“It is not discerned as self, but observed as self.”

“This is 'Dao Ying'.”

Li Fugui felt enlightened, his eyes lighting up, as if the hearsay information had been confirmed.

The Dragon Apricot spirit appeared and confidently defined “Dao Ying” outright.

The Dao is formless, but to pass it on, it needs a form.

And if one hasn’t reached the realm of discerning the true self, what they see as 'Dao Ying' is merely their own self?

Thinking this, Li Fugui stood up abruptly, bowing respectfully to the golden dragon illusion in the air:

“Dragon Apricot predecessor!”

Then he turned to the second true body: “So Dao Ying is the self?”

Li Fugui had never seen Dao Ying; he believed the second true body must have, which was why they were having this discussion in the Crystal Palace.

“Mm…”

The second true body nodded slightly, his thoughts stirring.

The Dragon Apricot had some real depth; having an elder around was like having a treasure.

“Apricot treasure, you’re here?”

He smiled and pointed to the coral throne beside him: “Sit!”

The Dragon Apricot spirit snorted through its nostrils, disdainful of sitting.

It had been watching this place for a while, ever since “creator of Dao Ying” came up in Xu Xiaoshou and Li Fugui’s conversation.

It came uninvited now because it had lost a bet earlier and, within its capabilities, wanted to help Xu Xiaoshou a bit.

It just hoped he wouldn’t bring up that bet afterward.

The Dragon Apricot spirit coiled in the air, ignoring the “Apricot treasure” nickname, and continued on its own:

“The Dao’s form is illusory, emotionless and desireless, yet it can be full of emotion and desire; this is 'fullness'.”

“My form is real, with seven treasures and five leaks, yet it can be seven flaws and five wholes; this is 'emptiness'.”

“For those who are empty, their dao cultivation is incomplete, not yet reaching non-existence or existence, not yet reaching perfection, so their observed form is ugly; thus, Dao Ying is ugly.”

At these words, Li Fugui’s mind formed a picture.

The Great Dao is full, encompassing everything; a cultivator only masters one, two, or three aspects, so relatively, it’s empty.

If the Dao isn’t fully cultivated, not grasping concepts like existence and non-existence, or whether the Dao has form or not…

Compared to “perfection,” it’s naturally “extremely ugly.”

So, if a cultivator at this stage could see Dao Ying, it would be ugly?

Li Fugui turned to the second true body: “So Dao Ying is ugly?”

Seriously, are you turning into Gu Qing or something, just repeating everything… The second true body glanced at Li Fugui speechlessly, but he was surprised by the content of the Dragon Apricot spirit’s words.

Right!

Dao Ying was ugly.

The original body had miscarried countless times, and upon inner inspection, they were all big-headed babies with short limbs, sometimes without limbs at all—“ugly” didn’t even begin to describe it!

“But something this ugly, or imperfect, could drive the countless monsters in the Hei An Sheng Lin mad?” the second true body asked.

The Dragon Apricot spirit didn’t know what “Hei An Sheng Lin” or “monsters” were.

But it clearly knew a lot about the creator of Dao Ying, another Zu Shu, so it was about to speak…

“Speak plainly,” the second true body interrupted mercilessly.

The Dragon Apricot spirit choked, then reluctantly complied.

By now, it was familiar with the language habits of this era and could explain in a way that made Xu Xiaoshou most comfortable:

“Though Dao Ying is ugly to you, it’s because your realm isn’t high enough; the Dao itself is formless, and so is Dao Ying.”

“When you reach the realm of discerning the true self, the Dao Ying you see will reflect your current state—it will be beautiful, perfect.”

Discerning the true self…

The second true body heard a familiar term.

Discerning the true self, surpassing the dao, the three realms of ascension, and obtaining the true name—the first-tier inheritance of the Ran Ming site.

“What is ‘discerning the true self’?” he interjected.

“As the name implies, clearly discerning the self.”

The Dragon Apricot spirit’s throwaway line earned a roll of the eyes, so it quickly explained:

“Discerning the true self leads to the self becoming one with the dao, a form of transcendence, which you humans might call… death, or eternal life.”

Li Fugui was baffled; the topic had suddenly become profound.

The second true body, however, perked up, knowing that becoming one with the dao meant an Avenue Plate above 80!

The Dragon Apricot spirit went on:

“But discerning the true self is the prerequisite for surpassing the dao.”

“Without completing this step, you can never break free from shackles, reach perfection, or attain the realm of Zu Shen!”

Li Fugui’s mouth dropped open.

So, the reason I can’t understand is that I’ve already reached the level of Zu Shen? No wonder…

What a marvel, Apricot treasure!

The second true body latched onto another key phrase and asked quickly: “What is ‘surpassing the dao’?”

“Surpassing the dao, as the name implies, means transcending the state of becoming one with the dao…”

The Dragon Apricot spirit was ready with the answer: “That is, finding a way to escape becoming one with the dao while still mastering its power—thus, the qualifications for Zu Shen!”

So, surpassing the dao is equivalent to Avenue Plate 90, and Zu Shen is 100?

In Xu Xiaoshou’s mind, he recalled the profound experience when the Avenue Plate reached 80, feeling he had the answer.

From 80 to 90 is becoming one with the dao; you need to find a way through it.

Once you pass, you gain the qualifications for Zu Shen.

Then, filling from 90 to 100 would make you a Zu Shen on the spot?!

The old ones are indeed the spiciest!

Xu Xiaoshou looked at Apricot treasure again, seeing it as a true encyclopedia, providing answers others couldn’t.

No…

Li Fugui is the encyclopedia, basic edition; the Dragon Apricot spirit is the encyclopedia, Zu Shen edition.

Both have their biases, but both are useful!

Soon, the second true body reined in his thoughts and returned to the anomalies in the Hei An Sheng Lin, getting back on topic:

“So, back to that question: even if Dao Ying is ugly and imperfect, could it still drive people mad?”

The Dragon Apricot spirit shook its head gently:

“You have a preconceived judgment of the dao’s end, so the Dao Ying of your self appears ugly to you.”

“But for outsiders, it’s not necessarily so.”

After a pause, the Dragon Apricot spirit, anticipating another demand for simplicity, said reluctantly:

“Still, in one sentence: the Dao is formless, and so is Dao Ying.”

“If Dao Ying doesn’t leave the body, it’s like a famous sword still in its sheath—its edge unknown.”

“But if it leaves and falls into outsiders’ eyes, even if it’s weak, it presents a perfect state, so it’s fully appealing in sight, scent, and taste, driving madness.”

The Dragon Apricot spirit seemed to have deep experience with the “madness” caused by the creator of Dao Ying and added:

“The degree of madness depends on the potential of the Great Dao that Dao Ying embodies.”

It cast a golden light toward Li Fugui:

“If it were his Dao Ying, once it left the body, though perfect in presentation, its potential would be limited—perhaps making creatures within about ten li lose their minds and go mad.”

Li Fugui touched his nose, smiling bitterly.

He wasn’t skilled in refining spirits, so even if Dao Ying were perfect, its upper limit was low.

The Dragon Apricot spirit cast another golden light toward Xu Xiaoshou:

“If it were your Dao Ying leaving the body…”

“From what I can see, at least creatures within ten thousand li would go mad.”

Ten thousand li?

The second true body looked back toward the Hei An Sheng Lin, feeling the Dragon Apricot spirit was underestimating both himself and Yue Gongli.

“What if it’s creatures within tens of thousands of li going mad?” he asked.

The Dragon Apricot spirit was stunned: “Ten thousand li is just a figure of speech, meaning that upon hearing of it, one loses their mind, and upon seeing it, goes mad. If it already has the qualifications for Zu Shen, how could there be talk of tens of thousands of li?”

The second true body was speechless, then his pupils dilated.

Qualifications for Zu Shen?

Surpassing the dao?

Had Yue Gongli already reached that level?

But he hadn’t even revealed his mystic array diagram!

The Dragon Apricot spirit, seeing Xu Xiaoshou’s expression, sensed that the tens of thousands of li might already be happening in reality, so after a moment of hesitation, it reminded:

“Dao Ying being perfect doesn’t mean the person’s Great Dao is perfect; it represents potential.”

“As for strength and circumstances, you’ll have to judge that yourself.”

“Also, if the creator of Dao Ying has changed, stay away, and all will be well.”

With that, the Dragon Apricot spirit, like an old mystic who had accidentally broken a taboo, turned into golden light and shattered, vanishing hastily without a trace.

Changed?

The second true body wanted to ask more, but as he looked up, Apricot treasure was gone.

Talk about leaving someone hanging!

No, the fact that even Dragon Apricot didn’t dare say more explained a lot…

Connecting it to the strangeness and eeriness of the Hei An Sheng Lin, a hint of shock flashed in the second true body’s eyes.

Could the original body’s guess be right?

Did the creator of Dao Ying have its own dreams, wanting to join the Ten Zu as a tree and cultivate to transcendence?

Shaking his head…

In the Crystal Palace, the second true body’s thoughts synced perfectly with Xu Xiaoshou’s original body in the Shen Zhi site:

What’s perfect isn’t Yue Gongli; it’s his dao.

His dao has the future potential of Zu Shen!

“Buzz…”

Gazing at the unstable space mirror in front of him.

Gazing at Yue Gongli, who was slaughtering everything while holding the Dao Ying and occasionally fighting the urge to eat the “perfect fruit”…

Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Dao Ying…”

Yes, he finally saw it clearly!

In his eyes, Yue Gongli’s Dao Ying wasn’t the ugly form of Yue Gongli’s head at all.

On the contrary!

It looked like a peeled fruit, with crystal-clear, plump flesh, fresh and juicy, practically tempting one to sin!

“Buzz…”

The space mirror trembled again, showing Yue Gongli protecting the Dao Ying while trying to fight his way out through the sea of monsters.

The more Xu Xiaoshou watched, the more familiar that path seemed.

“Is he heading toward me?”

Soon, he looked down in shock and realized…

It wasn’t Yue Gongli moving toward him; his own feet were unconsciously stepping toward Yue Gongli’s position!

A realization he could no longer deceive himself about burst forth: Xu Xiaoshou finally faced his true self:

“The power of Tian Zu, the power of the Evil God, the power of Sheng Zu—three ancestral source powers in perfect balance. This is a brand-new path to deification and ancestry!”

“If I eat it, devour this dao fruit, I can comprehend the dao of balance, using it to harmonize my various ancestral source powers while balancing the three daos of the sword spirit body!”

“So, I need this dao fruit more than Yue Gongli does!”

Xu Xiaoshou…

From afar, it seemed like cries of alarm echoed.

His thoughts shook, and Xu Xiaoshou snapped back, seeing that the scene in the space mirror had overlapped with what was in front of him.

Countless stitched monsters were stepping on him, using him as a springboard to lunge at the Dao Ying in Yue Gongli’s hands.

But they were all shaken off!

These weak monsters were insignificant in quality, but in quantity…

They blanketed the sky and covered the earth!

Filling the entire Hei An Sheng Lin!

“Xu Xiaoshou, help me—”

Yue Gongli’s cry was crystal clear; he stood on the Six Marrow Corpse King’s shoulder, freezing batch after batch of monsters.

Yet, those monsters were undying; they reformed through the life dao and charged again, wave after wave.

Xu Xiaoshou stared fixedly at the perfect dao fruit.

The temptation!

A fatal temptation!

He could still hold onto a bit of his self and replied: “Run on your own, head out of the Hei An Sheng Lin, away from me!”

“I can’t run—”

Yue Gongli shouted in despair: “We’re both heading deeper into the forest!”

What?

Xu Xiaoshou whipped around, realizing he was already very close to where his sword intent had stalled earlier.

Are the monsters pushing us along?

These monsters are so weak; is it just a distraction? Is there something more deadly at the forest’s end, luring us deeper?

Creator of Dao Ying!

In his mind, the Dragon Apricot spirit’s final warning flashed, and Xu Xiaoshou’s pupils widened.

He had to get away!

Get away from it!

“Space teleport—”

Yue Gongli yelled: “Take me with you, let’s go together!”

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t hesitate; he stepped on the Avenue Plate and teleported away on his own.

Yue Gongli clearly understood him and added as a last resort: “My coffin is big enough for two people!”

Those words carried weight.

Neither was foolish; they thought about what might happen after leaving the forest.

A coffin together was better than both dying under the strange forces of the Hei An Sheng Lin or being expelled from the Shen Zhi site.

“Instant!”

Without delay, space power enveloped them, and Xu Xiaoshou teleported with Yue Gongli.

Target: the initial landing point of the Shen Zhi site!

Whoosh…

The scene shifted.

The monster flood vanished, and the world fell silent.

“Ah…”

Yue Gongli stared ahead, holding the plump, juicy dao fruit, letting out a despairing sound.

Xu Xiaoshou looked up as well.

Where was this the initial landing point?

It was a dark, sunless, bizarre world, pitch-black yet clearly revealing ahead…

A towering black tree, its roots twisted, branches sprawling, outlining a graceful form like a flowing long skirt.

Her tree trunk was slender and curvaceous, with tendrils like countless black hairs cascading down, resembling the great mother of the world transformed into a human form—elegant and voluptuous, with a full abdomen.

The thickest six branches from her midsection stretched like six arms, plunging into her tree crown, which resembled a faceless human head.

“Damn…”

Xu Xiaoshou’s face turned pale, his eyelids twitching wildly.

As his spirit shook, “spiritual awakening” triggered repeatedly, and his mind echoed with a beautiful, loving, benevolent call:

“Come! My child…”

“Draw nearer, even closer…”