Chapter 826 - 821: The Secret of Bhagavat!
"The Nascent Soul is the truth of the limitless and the essence of the two and five. It gathers the origin of the Qian father and merges with the Qi of the Kun palace. By entrusting one’s thoughts to Heaven and Earth, they blend and harmonize, reaching Enlightenment in the profound Fa of the Dao. Once preserved and cultivated to success, the essence of the two and five becomes human nature, and the truth of the limitless becomes human Ming. When the two miraculously unite, the Nascent Soul is finally born."
Ang Xiao calmed his mind and entered Meditation to regulate his breathing.
"Various Cultivation Techniques fail to expound on the Nascent Soul Secrets. Only this single passage has been passed down. Its core principle is nothing more than the union of nature and Ming being necessary for Proving Nascent Soul."
However, every sect had its own Fa. When truly put into practice, they all differed. For the Dao of Arcane Body, the Dao of Arcane Power, and the Dao of Arcane Arts, the Nascent Soul meant completely occupying a Great Dao and then relying on it for Ascension.
But what about the Pocket World Technique? How exactly did the Saint Sect Ancestral Master, the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord, and the Daoist Court Daoist Lord Prove Nascent Soul back in the day? All of this had been buried in history.
He pondered, "Yet only Bhagavat truly attained his Dao five thousand years ago. For him at that time, this was undoubtedly the best plan to attain the Dao."
Because 129,600 years ago, there was a great war between the six Masters of Dao. Under such circumstances, if any side were about to give birth to a new Master of Dao who would set foot on the Other Shore and break the balance, the opposing side would undoubtedly have a Daoist Lord intervene to interrupt them. It was virtually impossible to attain the Dao.
Therefore, Bhagavat bypassed it. He didn’t attain the Dao in the past. Instead, he waited until five thousand years ago to attain it, and then fed that power back into the past, rendering the Masters of Dao situated in the past powerless to block his path to the Nascent Soul.
"Of course, this couldn’t be without flaws," he mused. "I don’t know how much effort the Saint Sect Ancestral Master actually contributed, but this method of attaining the Dao also inflicted indelible damage to Bhagavat’s foundation."
The reason was simple.
"The other Masters of Dao attained the Dao countless years ago, making it difficult to trace their roots. Only Bhagavat is different. Five thousand years is too short, and it’s too easily altered by others," he continued his thoughts.
"Of course, Bhagavat also made repairs.
"That was to sever Time and create a Pseudo-History, turning the past where he attained the Dao into abandoned history, never to be touched by anyone else again.
"What a pity... The plan was good, but how could the Saint Sect Ancestral Master allow Bhagavat to be flawless? He had to find a way to Pinch Bhagavat. This is why there’s an entrance to the Pseudo-History within the Stain Sect. This is Bhagavat’s weakness. Once the Pseudo-History returns, Bhagavat’s position of the Nascent Soul will become unstable!
"Therefore, the Fruit of Rampart Earth is Bhagavat’s exclusive domain!
"After all, the fundamental Profound Mysterious of the Fruit of Rampart Earth, Zhi Gu Jin, is a supreme Profound Mysterious that can change the cause of the past and subsequently affect the result of the future.
"If the Fruit of Rampart Earth is proven by someone else,
"And that person happens to grasp the secret of Bhagavat attaining the Dao, and manages to enter the Pseudo-History... then Bhagavat’s position of the Nascent Soul could fall at any time!"
Thus, there could be no room for error regarding the Fruit of Rampart Earth.
If it was to be proven, it could only be done by the Pure Land Buddhist Cultivators. Thus came the plan for the Earthly Buddha Country, using the Fruit of Rampart Earth as a foundation to achieve Fake Holding Nascent Soul.
To Bhagavat, the Fake Holding Nascent Soul was not the key. The foremost priority was to use the Earthly Buddha Country to find a Fake Holding Nascent Soul guardian for the Fruit of Rampart Earth, ensuring this Fruit would never fall into the hands of outsiders. Only secondarily was it to use the avatar of the Fake Holding Nascent Soul to seek benefits for his true body.
"He’s simply a genius."
Ang Xiao carefully savored this forbidden Knowledge. These were things he had witnessed with his own eyes five thousand years ago; some were even told to him personally by Bhagavat. It was just that he had sealed them all away.
At the same time, he understood his relationship with Bhagavat—it certainly wasn’t the kind he had previously worried about, where he’d think, "Oh! I am actually the World Honored One’s Avatar."
Rather, it was exactly the opposite. He thought firmly, "I earned this relationship myself!"
Lowering his eyes, Ang Xiao mused, "If nothing unexpected happens, Bhagavat will stand by my side this time. This point is crucial."
Seeking the Nascent Soul wasn’t something to be done blindly. As the saying went, how could a mere Lower Cultivator, a frog at the bottom of a well, clearly see the vastness of Heaven? Without the support of a Master of Dao, so-called seeking the Nascent Soul was nothing but empty talk.
"The Saint Sect Ancestral Master is far too unfathomable," Ang Xiao pondered. "His support is actually quite hollow; no one can see through his true motives. What if he’s merely using me? But Bhagavat is different. As the weakest among the Masters of Dao, he is more than happy to find himself an ally.
"Of course, the prerequisite is that I cannot head to the Other Shore.
"Because the slots on the Other Shore are limited... There’s only so much food. With an extra person eating, everyone else gets less. No one wants to see that happen.
"But if I seek the Netherworld, there’s no problem."
Reaching this point in his thoughts, a smile finally surfaced on Ang Xiao’s face. "Everything is proceeding according to my previous plans, but these are all external factors."
Seeking the Fa, seeking the Dao—in the end, it still came down to seeking oneself. No matter how perfectly the external environment was crafted, if he himself was lacking—without the foundation, Cultivation, and ability—it would all end up as drawing water with a bamboo basket, an effort in vain.
"RUMBLE!"
At this thought, Ang Xiao immediately threw out the Fruit of Sky-River Water in his hand, causing the Void Test Dao beneath his feet to frantically extend outward once again. And he once again took a step forward.
"Using the Path of Void Certification to Swallow the Fruit, nourishing myself, and subsequently ascending to the Other Shore... Originally, the effect would be best after gathering all the Five Elements Fruit Positions and then Swallowing them."
"What a pity." Three Elements were still somewhat lacking.
While pondering, Ang Xiao firmly grasped the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood, which he had handled for countless years and was nearly fused with him. It let out a faint, trembling hum. However, he didn’t hesitate.
Although the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood was good, it wasn’t truly his. They were merely playing along for the occasion; did it really think his true love was it?
"Goodbye." Before his voice even faded, he decisively tossed the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood into the Void Test Dao. In an instant, the Great Dao erupted in blinding Splendid Light!
This time, the Great Dao rooted itself deeply within the Netherworld. Ang Xiao advanced stealthily along the Great Dao and finally caught a faint glimpse of a mass of grayish-dark color. It lay in the deepest depths of the Netherworld, beating like a heart, and one could vaguely see the slightly illusory scenes of palaces within it.
"That is the core of the Netherworld!" he realized. Or rather, the original Netherworld Fruit. As long as he controlled it and arrived there, given the Netherworld’s current mass, it would basically be equivalent to him setting foot on the Other Shore, making him comparable to a Master of Dao!
"THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!"
At this moment, despite Ang Xiao’s mental fortitude, he still felt an intense surge of nervousness and excitement. He could even hear the sound of his own heartbeat. Up until now, everything had gone smoothly.
He didn’t find this surprising, because this smoothness had been bought with his scheming over a long expanse of Time, and through the hardships of countless days and nights.
He thought to himself, "I, Ang Xiao, have reached where I am today entirely through my Talent Skill and hard work! It’s all what I deserve!"
However, all his preparations and the foundation built over countless years were exhausted at this step... and he was still a short distance away from the Netherworld’s core.
"It’s all because I don’t have enough Fruits!" Ang Xiao gritted his teeth inwardly. "If the Five Elements Fruit Positions were complete, I could have reduced this distance by at least half, vastly increasing my chances of success!"
Now, however, this remaining distance left Ang Xiao’s nerves taut. The Great Dao he had manifested through his Void Certificate halted here, unable to extend any further. Thus, for this final step, he could only rely on his lifelong Cultivation and find a way to "jump" across. If he succeeded, he would formally step into the realm of a Master of Dao. If he failed, he would plummet into the Boundless abyss, his body feeding the Netherworld.
"If it were just this, I would have been fine with it..."
Thinking of this, Ang Xiao couldn’t help but look up. "They’ve been allowing me to act freely all this time, probably just to wait for this moment. They’re waiting to strike when I make my jump."
After all, he would be suspended in mid-air at that time, with no Great Dao beneath his feet to support him. A Master of Dao would only need to give him a gentle shove to reduce his life’s effort to nothingness, sending him off the cliff and turning his Great Dao into the void... And they would definitely strike!
He thought, "It’s about time.
"Is that little beast still not planning to come out? Can he really hold his composure this well?"
A sliver of expectation swelled in Ang Xiao’s heart. At this moment of life and death, an anonymous True Monarch of Dharma Body ought to proactively step forward to draw the fire away from him!