Chapter 2022: Superlimit

Before entering the Body Path comprehension phase, Xu Xiaoshou specifically tried something: he redeemed a Dao Seed.

Unfortunately, as expected, the Dao Seed could no longer affect the Body Path Disc. When he tried to bind it to the Body Path Disc and “plant” it in the field to cultivate comprehension, the Dao Seed disintegrated on its own, reverting into one million Passive Points.

This proved that a 90% complete Great Dao Disc was likely the limit that the Black Turntable could provide.

“That’s odd…”

Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t help but recall the scene he witnessed in the world beyond the Three Doors: Patriarch Nuo seizing Patriarch Shi as if he were a small chicken. Patriarch Nuo was burly, and in combat, he could even transform into a giant, with his fingers and claws turning into sharp weapons. Logically, his physical body should have been extraordinary. So, how could a Dao Seed not cultivate anything on the Body Path Disc for him?

This thought lingered for a long time. It continued until Xu Xiaoshou gained a vast amount of combat and Body Path comprehension from the War Patriarch’s Dharmakaya, yet still couldn’t obtain any physical training improvements.

“The Body Path is not the Intent Path. It incorporates elements of combat-oriented Great Daos, such as the War Path and ancient martial techniques, making it a dual combination of combat and comprehension.”

“However, all my Body Path comprehensions come from attribute points, and I’m currently relying on seizing the War Patriarch’s insights to recklessly push towards perfection. Therefore, it’s merely a pure comprehension-type Great Dao.”

“Since it’s a pure comprehension type, theoretically, I can rely on the Body Path Disc to condense a Body Path River. But there’s little chance of simply lying back and ‘inheriting’ the War Patriarch’s years of training experience.”

The only way to strengthen the Body Path in a combat-oriented direction is to spend Passive Points to upgrade passive skills like “Robust,” “Reverberation,” and “Sharpness.” Essentially, this involves nourishing the physical body with the power of fame to achieve actual improvements. It would be wishful thinking to rely on the ethereal nature of the Great Dao Disc to enhance physical strength, a tangible aspect, and achieve another massive transformation.

And the inability to inherit Patriarch Nuo’s Body Path comprehension seemed to provide an answer:

“Perhaps his physical body is strong not because of powerful Body Path comprehension, but because it’s integrated with various ‘Great Demon powers,’ or rather, ‘Great Demons’ themselves.”

“His physical strength was forcibly elevated, with little inherent comprehension. Naturally, the knowledge and experience provided by the Dao Seed wouldn’t even compare to those of the War Patriarch.”

This deduction held some credibility. After all, Mad Nuo’s strength lies in his madness and formidable combat prowess. However, his essence has never been purely about combat or physical strength. In this specific aspect, if the War Patriarch claimed second place, no one in the myriad planes of the Great Thousand World would dare claim first.

“If I can’t get actual physical enhancement, then so be it.”

“Pure Body Path comprehension and improved combat techniques are enough. I can supplement the rest later with extended passive skills.”

Xu Xiaoshou quickly reined in his diverging thoughts and returned to plundering Body Path comprehension. Even though he couldn’t seize the War Patriarch’s training experience, the sheer amount of comprehension alone was more than enough for him.

“Body Path Disc (94%).”

“Body Path Disc (95%).”

Days passed, and the Body Path Disc’s progress slowly but steadily increased. It was very slow! But also very fast!

Compared to his previous experience in the world beyond the Three Doors, where he met Patriarch Nuo and slowly comprehended the Intent Path on his own within a time predicament, that process took him over ten thousand years. This current speed, however, could be described as rapid acceleration. After all, Xu Xiaoshou was no longer relying solely on his own comprehension; he simply needed to absorb and digest the War Patriarch’s Body Path insights from less than a few years.

Inherent omissions were acceptable. There were also errors, but he had no time to dwell on minor inaccuracies. As long as they didn’t affect the overall direction, he could accept them entirely.

Time waits for no one! The Demonic Medicine Calamity was still out there. Each percentage point increase wasted six or seven days, and it became even slower as he progressed, sometimes dragging on for half a month.

When the Body Path Disc reached 97%, the progress bar finally stopped moving, and Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes.

“Over two months…”

If calculated by the time on the Sacred God Continent, he had spent more than two months in the Temporal Domain. The inherent time flow difference between the Temporal Domain and the outside world was extremely unstable, fluctuating between ten and a hundred times.

“Out there, at least three to five days must have passed…”

This was yet another striking difference. A mere moment (the time it takes to steep a cup of tea) in the Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Forgetfulness corresponded to over ten thousand years in the time predicament. Yet, compared to comprehending the Intent Path, the Body Path was clearly tens of thousands of times faster, but in reality, it took even longer.

Xu Xiaoshou was burning with anxiety. The standoff between the Four Patriarchs could collapse at any moment. A single move could affect the entire situation, potentially leading to a complete breakdown if he couldn’t keep up. For now, the only silver lining was that no one had yet sent a “reinforcement” signal, which meant he still had some time. However, perhaps a month later, or a day later, or even in the next breath, he would have to return!

“How is it?” Seeing Xu Xiaoshou awaken from his state of enlightenment, the War Patriarch’s Dharmakaya asked.

Xu Xiaoshou slowly shook his head, his brows furrowed, and said, “Martial Master, we don’t have much time left.”

“What do you plan to do?” Although the War Patriarch’s Dharmakaya was the one being plundered through the connection of the Dao-Seizing Tentacles, when Xu Xiaoshou was in enlightenment, his mind was relaxed, allowing some of his Dao essence and past experiences to be glimpsed. From one spot, discern the whole leopard. The War Patriarch suddenly realized that the pressure Xu Xiaoshou was under at that moment might be far greater than he had imagined.

“A multi-pronged approach!”

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t hesitate; he had already made his decision. A Body Path Disc at 97% was far from enough; he would need 99% to condense a Body Path River. Moreover, his ideal outcome was 100%, absolute perfection, a Body Path Sea that was no less impressive than the Intent Path Sea.

“Perhaps the perfection you seek still needs to start with ‘training,’ ” the War Patriarch said, seeing Xu Xiaoshou’s urgency but knowing that haste makes waste. He still maintained his view. Unlike the Intent Path, the Body Path cannot achieve true perfection without physical exercise and growth; comprehension alone is insufficient.

Xu Xiaoshou naturally understood this principle. What he intended to do now was to use Passive Points to slightly compensate for the lost training time.

“Martial Master, I’ll likely multitask from now on. If there are any signs of me falling into spiritual deviation, please immediately awaken me. I beg you.” Xu Xiaoshou pressed his palms together, his expression serious, not daring to joke in the slightest, fearing he might be misunderstood.

Hearing this, the War Patriarch’s eyelids twitched, unable to grasp Xu Xiaoshou’s meaning. But the young man offered no further explanation. Suddenly, a Body Path Abstruse Array Diagram unfolded beneath his feet, its brilliant light illuminating the Temporal Domain once more. There was only one! Even the Sea of Intent, which represented the perfect Intent Path Abstruse Array Diagram, was retracted!

“You’re going to get into trouble,” the War Patriarch said in a low voice. He was merely a Dharmakaya, not the true body. Even if affected by the Temporal Domain’s power, returning to the Honored-One Extremity Slash Space would clear everything and allow him to regenerate. Therefore, the War Patriarch’s Dharmakaya had no concept of getting lost; simply put, he was unaffected by the Temporal Domain’s chaos. Xu Xiaoshou was different. If his will became chaotic, there would be no chance for a “reset” or to “start over.” With the Sea of Intent retracted, did he truly believe he could maintain his self in the Temporal Domain with an imperfect Body Path alone?

“High risk, high reward,” Xu Xiaoshou smiled with release, no longer explaining, and began to multitask, using three focuses simultaneously.

First, he stood on the Body Path Disc alone, activated “Heaven-Man Unity,” and entered a “Virtual Daoization” state. From this high-law region of the Temporal Domain, he began to absorb the nourishment needed for the Body Path to compensate for its deficiencies.

“May dumb luck descend upon me!”

“Just don’t let me keep encountering the wrong comprehension directions!”

Second, he split off a wisp of his consciousness, entered the Passive System Store, and immediately redeemed a bottle of Third-Tier Evolution Water, spending another hundred million in the process.

“Passive Points: 800,000,000.”

This Third-Tier Evolution Water was naturally to be used on the “cutting edge” of Dao comprehension: the special passive skill, Heaven-Man Unity. He approached the evolution tree, watered it, and the fruit immediately bonded with Heaven-Man Unity, a seamless and fluid process.

“Heaven-Man Unity: Standing on a Great Dao Disc, attributes are boosted.”“Heaven-Man Unity (Evolution): Standing on multiple Great Dao Discs, attributes are boosted.”“Heaven-Man Unity (Secondary Evolution): When standing on a single Great Dao Disc, and that disc is at 90% or higher, gradually enter a ‘Virtual Daoization’ state.”“Heaven-Man Unity (Final Evolution): Building on Secondary Evolution, when in the ‘Virtual Daoization’ state of the Great Dao Disc, if ‘Errors’ accumulate beyond 1, ‘Alert’ is triggered, and one can choose whether to clear the Virtual Daoization comprehension and restart.”

As soon as the effect of the final evolution appeared, Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes lit up; he would no longer get lost in comprehension. He had a feeling that the appearance of this effect was inextricably linked to his perfected Intent Path. Even the “Alert” seemed like a self-reminder from his consciousness, but it was sufficient!

This meant he wouldn’t go spiraling out of control in the wrong direction; his only concern was the influence of the Temporal Domain’s power. Of course, the “Alert” function was limited to this.

By constantly eliminating errors through a process of elimination, would he definitely find the correct direction? Not necessarily! The directions of Great Dao evolution are immeasurable. To give an example, there could be hundreds of millions of them. Relying solely on elimination, if luck was against him, he might never achieve perfection in his lifetime.

But did “Errors” have no benefit or use at all? Not entirely! If enough errors accumulated, they could form a set of incorrect directions, and in contrast, the correct path would become clear. As the set of errors expanded, the correct direction of the Great Dao would become increasingly apparent, providing him with a chance to perceive and grasp it.

“But if I’m to do this, I cannot actively clear the Virtual Daoization comprehension; I must allow errors to accumulate within me.”

“And if too many errors accumulate, my Body Path could be completely ruined through miscomprehension…”

Was the risk high? Extremely high! If he had time, Xu Xiaoshou would never put himself in such a predicament, but he had no other choice. As he often said, with his perfected Intent Path as a foundation, he was confident he could sense the critical limit and, as long as he stopped at the crucial moment, he definitely wouldn’t get lost…

“Definitely, though?”

“Could it be that Patriarch Ming and Patriarch Shi, back then, fell into ruin due to similar self-confidence?”

Such thoughts flashed and were immediately extinguished. Confidence and courage were the last weapons of a cultivator. If a path offered zero risk all the way to the end, it would mean thousands could walk it and thousands could succeed. Truly immense success always required forging a new path, always required the confidence and courage to face the unknown and risk.

Patriarch Nuo had helped him overcome the difficulty of the Intent Path. But for the remaining Body Path and Spirit Path, would he be unable to succeed as soon as he lost external help?

“I’m already on a shortcut; how shameful would it be to stop now?!”

Xu Xiaoshou completely cast aside his worries and dedicated himself to moving forward. And this was only the “two-pronged” part of the “multitasking” he had mentioned to the War Patriarch.

The attribute point allocation didn’t stop. While Body Path comprehension continued, Heaven-Man Unity had been recklessly upgraded, and there was no reason for the other two major special passive skills to remain at their previous stages. They were gradually becoming insufficient. Perhaps by undergoing their final evolution prematurely, they could also make progress during his period of Great Dao comprehension.

Two more bottles of Evolution Water! With a wave of his hand, another two hundred million was spent.

“Passive Points: 600,000,000.”

Xu Xiaoshou had no time to feel the pinch; he proceeded with watering the tree, harvesting the fruit, and binding it, a process he had completely mastered.

“Passive Fist: True Damage.”“Passive Fist (Evolution): Accumulates charge when attacked; releases half of the charge when activated.”“Passive Fist (Secondary Evolution): When charge exceeds 1,000, the excess does not dissipate but merges into ‘Limitless Void Particles.’ ”“Passive Fist (Final Evolution): Building on Secondary Evolution, charge can be actively increased without limit by consuming ‘Limitless Energy.’ ”

Honestly, when he saw the words “without limit,” Xu Xiaoshou felt as though his skull had been struck by a heaven-shattering hammer. He nearly lost his Body Path comprehension entirely.

What an “unlimited” power! Didn’t this mean that as long as he provided enough resources, Passive Fist could inflict devastating blows on the physical bodies of Ancestral Gods? Of course, immense attack damage also meant immense backlash damage. Behind the words “without limit” lay the hidden implications of self-assessment and taking personal responsibility for the consequences.

Evidently, at this stage, even the creator of the Black Turntable couldn’t accurately estimate the user’s reserves, capabilities, or how they would wield Passive Fist. Had he chosen to fully unlock the permissions, allowing the user to go all out, even if it might harm him?

“Mad Nuo, I really want to land a punch on you!”

Just thinking about the eighteen pools of life elixir energy still within his inner world, which someone had originally intended to use for upgrading the New Heavenly Realm, Xu Xiaoshou almost burst out laughing. During his time at the Crossroads, he used his Three-Loathing Pupils to read Bei Huai, effectively stripping away everything from the Medicine Patriarch, leaving him completely unprepared for Dao Qiongcang’s attack. To this day, the Zero Patriarch, who should embody the power of “zeroing out,” hasn’t been able to display even a fraction of his strength and remains suppressed.

Looking back now… Who was the greatest contributor on his cultivation path? Was it Patriarch Nuo and the Black Turntable? He didn’t think so. The Medicine Patriarch was also a great benefactor! If eighteen pools of life elixir energy could create a New Heavenly Realm, did that mean, if he sacrificed all of it, he could shatter a New Heavenly Realm with a single punch, or even that Ancestral Court, the Grand Demon Mountain?

“Calm down, calm down…” Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath, but still couldn’t completely calm himself.

He couldn’t help but wonder if the Finger of Illusionary Destruction also followed this upgrade path, given Passive Fist’s direction.

“Finger of Illusionary Destruction: Mental Counterattack.”“Finger of Illusionary Destruction (Evolution): Accumulates charge when subjected to mental attacks; triggers ‘Mental Awakening’ when charge fluctuates.”“Finger of Illusionary Destruction (Secondary Evolution): When charge exceeds 1,000, the excess does not dissipate but merges into ‘Limitless Void Particles.’ ”“Finger of Illusionary Destruction (Final Evolution): Building on Secondary Evolution, charge can be actively increased without limit by consuming ‘Limitless Energy.’ ”

As soon as the Third-Tier Evolution Water was applied and this evolution effect emerged, Xu Xiaoshou felt as if he could see the Demon Patriarch’s body and soul, which had been so painstakingly unified, waving goodbye to him. He finally possessed the full confidence to directly confront multiple Ancestral Gods.

Even if he couldn’t kill them, at least one pool of life elixir energy would surely force out a wave of their unknown trump cards, right? Xu Xiaoshou didn’t know how many trump cards those cunning individuals possessed. He only knew now that he had eighteen more chances to make mistakes!

Could the Demon Patriarch endure nine punches and nine Finger of Illusionary Destructions? Even if distributed among the three patriarchs—Demon, Medicine, and Dao—could each of them withstand three punches and three Finger of Illusionary Destructions?

“It’s impossible to spread out the attacks, right?”

“If I’m going to strike, I’ll first suppress one, refine all their reserves into Limitless Energy, accumulate a few more punches and fingers, and then turn to deal with the others…”

Xu Xiaoshou’s lips curled into a wide grin, and he burst out laughing. At that moment, the War Patriarch’s Dharmakaya, across from the silver-white tentacles, felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.

But… Would Xu Xiaoshou stop here? The attribute point allocation wasn’t over yet!

He then turned his gaze to the skill points, which would undoubtedly provide direct enhancement, replace time-consuming training, and grant immediate, tangible physical transformations.

“Fifth-Tier Skill Points…”“Perfected Skill Points…”“Skill Treasures, what other surprises can you bring me?”