Chapter 1495: Mountain and Sea Spirit Stone

"To be frank, senior brother, I possess a unique treasure called the Myriad Beast Revolving Wheel, which can restrain the nameless alien beings. However, its power is limited; it can only restrict eight of them at most. As for the rest, I'll have to trouble you, senior brother," Li Fan stated with surprising honesty.

At the same time, he displayed the treasure gifted by Emperor San Mo.

Cheng Dao gazed at the peculiar life images appearing within the revolving wheel and nodded slightly. "Indeed, it carries the aura of an outer-heavenly Great Dao. Haha, rest assured, junior brother. With me here, these alien beings won't be able to stir up any trouble."

Cheng Dao's unmasked confidence wasn't feigned, which piqued Li Fan's curiosity.

"Although you are strong, senior brother, I doubt you alone could contend with the combined might of all these nameless alien beings, could you? Unless..." Li Fan pointed above his head, referring to Guardian Qiu, who had already drifted away.

Cheng Dao smiled nonchalantly. "Such a trivial matter doesn't warrant bothering Master. Against fellow disciples, one might need to hold back a bit. But against these alien beings..."

"...any means are acceptable."

Li Fan's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands. "Please enlighten me, senior brother."

Cheng Dao did not answer directly but first asked, seemingly out of nowhere, "The one next to my true self, is that your clone?"

"Senior brother's insight is truly extraordinary. This clone of mine isn't linked by blood essence but by a subtle connection of our souls, making it nearly impossible for others to detect."

"Then observe closely."

The scene returned to the depths of the Shuoxing Sea Dao Net.

Li Buren was in a stalemate with Cheng Dao's true self.

Chaos and Shanhua intended to step forward and assist, but they were blocked by thousands of Dao strings that swarmed out. It was as if another Dao net was hidden within that emaciated body!

Even the power of Wuji would take some time to dismantle these Dao strings. Chaos and Shanhua could only parry them.

"Who exactly is this person? How strange!"

"These Dao strings appear to be imprints of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, but they are more of his own comprehension. I even saw my own Path of Shanhua among them! How is this possible?!" The two Nameless Ones instantly recognized the peculiarity of Cheng Dao, filling their hearts with even greater horror.

What they didn't know, however, was that Li Buren and Cheng Dao, who had been locked in a fierce battle moments before, had now turned their hostility into alliance. Cheng Dao even began to actively explain and demonstrate things to Li Buren.

"Junior brother, pay close attention."

Cheng Dao's grip on the Wuji Heavenly Pillar did not loosen; instead, it tightened further.

Li Buren noticed that the Wuji aura, surging like boiling water from Cheng Dao's body, grew increasingly intense.

Suddenly, hundreds of Dao strings, as if possessing sentience, simultaneously attacked Li Buren.

"This is..."

"Wuji?!"

These hundreds of Dao strings were able to bypass the defenses of the Myriad Forms Dao Net, and even the Wuji Heavenly Pillar itself. If Li Buren hadn't swiftly used his Dao Sword and Dao Saber to block them, he would likely have been impaled by them all over.

"The two characters 'Cheng Dao' are not just empty words. They are practiced and embodied through my physical form and will." Billions of Dao strings heavily surrounded him and Li Buren, isolating them from the prying eyes of Shanhua and Chaos outside.

"While establishing the Shuoxing Sea Dao Net externally, I also bear a Dao net within my body. Even if one day the Great Dao perishes and the Dao net ceases to exist, I can transform my body into the Dao net, into the Great Dao itself!" Cheng Dao's voice boomed like thunder.

In Li Buren's eyes, this emaciated old man truly seemed to be the embodiment of the Shuoxing Sea Dao Net, sitting before him, bearing the weight of heaven and earth!

"Senior brother's undertaking of the Dao is truly admirable. But if this is all, I fear it might not be enough. After all, with the departure of the immortals, the Great Dao of this world is already incomplete, and the Dao you bear, senior brother, will be further diminished... Furthermore, each of the thirteen primordial Dao forms of the alien race is a complete evolution of a Great Dao. A child with all its limbs is not necessarily stronger than a single powerful arm," Li Buren shook his head.

Cheng Dao did not directly refute Li Buren's words but instead smiled and countered, "What if what I bear is the complete Great Dao?"

"Then observe!"

The Dao strings gushing from Cheng Dao's body seemed endless, completely obscuring the surrounding heavens.

The original Dao net of Shuoxing Sea turned out to be just an insignificant fraction of it. Cheng Dao's body had completely vanished, and Li Buren felt as if he had fallen into an infinite expanse of stars. All around him were shining Great Daos!

Although it was much more indistinct than directly observing the true Great Dao itself, a careful perception of it would undoubtedly yield immense benefits.

As Li Buren gazed at this true Dao net hidden within Cheng Dao's body, two terms suddenly appeared in his mind:

Dao Inscription Immortal, and the Great Dao Scripture.

"What he is doing to bear the Dao is, in essence, no different from Dao inscription or the Dao Scripture."

"The Dao Inscription Immortal merely materializes the formless Dao and then translates the Great Dao, allowing the world to observe, understand, and master it."

"Cheng Dao, perhaps aware of his limited aptitude, cannot emulate the Dao Inscription Immortal. He is merely willing to serve as a mirror reflecting all the Great Daos of the heavens."

"However, to be a Dao mirror is an extraordinary feat. Besides his own understanding of the Great Daos of the heavens needing to reach a certain level, the most crucial aspect is..."

"...the question of the temporal node. Not to mention the calamity suffered by the immortal realm, which caused the Great Dao to vanish into oblivion. Even in the once-intact immortal realm, many nameless True Immortals transcended and departed, rendering the Great Dao of heaven and earth incomplete. So, where exactly do these Great Daos of the heavens that he reflects originate from?" Li Buren's thoughts raced.

As if sensing Li Buren's doubts, Cheng Dao's ethereal voice echoed from all directions: "I was originally a spirit stone by the edge of mountains and seas, gestating in the immortal realm for billions of years, yet unable to hatch. I did not even develop sentience until Master was about to transcend and depart."

"Later, Master came to the lower realm's testing ground and discovered a star sea there that might be able to help me. Thus, he left me here."

Before Li Buren's eyes, a dark, chaotic starry sky appeared.

It was one of countless cubic spaces within the immortal realm's testing ground. Li Fan had observed this area before and found nothing special about it.

The scene rewound, and thousands of blue light projections emerged from the darkness. This was the starry sky's original appearance from an unknown number of years ago: a boundless, azure ocean. The seawater overflowed, occupying the entire starry expanse.

And its source was surprisingly a mountain no bigger than a palm.

Streams on the mountain flowed ceaselessly. This stream water seemed to exist outside the world's cycle of reincarnation; once born, it would no longer participate in the cycles of heaven and earth and would not disappear.

Over time, it accumulated more and more, gradually filling the entire starry sky.

Only the mountain at the center of the star sea remained unaffected.

Guardian Qiu placed the spirit stone on the mountaintop, at the spring's source. It was continuously washed by the stream day and night, eventually transforming into a human form!

Li Buren sighed, "So, senior brother has such an extraordinary origin!"

"When I was a spirit stone, I reflected all the scenes of the world. Those that have passed away or disappeared are all within my past. Except for those who truly transcended and became saints, I can reflect them anew with my mind."

The billions of Dao nets displayed to Li Fan vanished, and Cheng Dao returned to his emaciated old man appearance.

"It merely requires time."

"Unfortunately, time waits for no one," Cheng Dao sighed deeply.

"As you've seen, it took me tens of thousands of years to construct the Shuoxing Sea Dao Net. To re-establish all the heavens would likely take tens of millions of years..."

Li Buren pondered for a moment, then understood somewhat: "If there wasn't the pressure of the Dao Oblivion calamity, I suppose you wouldn't need so long, would you, senior brother?"

"Precisely. Ultimately, I merely bear its Dao reflection, not the true Great Dao itself. Without a Dao Transformation True Immortal as a pillar, even if I could reproduce a complete Great Dao, it would be like a castle in the air – it would collapse with a push, utterly fragile!"

"You needn't be humble, senior brother. Reflecting a complete Great Dao, with such methods and realm, is certainly beyond what ordinary Nameless Ones can achieve. I just wonder, what exactly did you mean earlier by 'any means acceptable'?" Li Buren was very curious.

"Replace reflection with Dao, transform reflection into Dao," the emaciated old man, still seated, slowly uttered these eight words.

Li Buren carefully pondered this statement.

"Between different possibilities, the paths of Dao might vary slightly. But ultimately, within the mortal realm, they cannot transcend the mountains and seas. This spirit stone of mine, born by the edge of mountains and seas, is largely capable of engulfing and absorbing them. Afterwards, I can transform them into the Dao reflections in my memory," Cheng Dao explained unhurriedly.

"Furthermore, perhaps due to the influence of the mountains and seas, my absorption isn't particularly difficult. To a certain extent, I can even disregard the other party's will."

As if to verify his words, Cheng Dao tightened his grip on the Wuji Heavenly Pillar again. In an instant, the surging Wuji aura from his body intensified fivefold.

Meanwhile, Li Buren noticed that the Wuji Heavenly Pillar itself had been slightly diminished.

Although Wuji remained Wuji, its upper limit had weakened somewhat.

"The one sealed within must be a former disciple of the Saint Monarch. Venerable Wuji..."

Cheng Dao shook his head and poured the forcefully taken Wuji power back in.

The missing part of the Wuji Heavenly Pillar was replenished, returning to its original state.

"If their Great Dao is stripped by me, it can be transformed within my body. If those thirteen Dao forms of the alien race dare to come..."

"...then they won't be leaving. They will all remain as Heavenly Pillars." In a few words, Cheng Dao had already decided the fate of these nameless alien beings.

Cheng Dao's recent action of reducing the Wuji Great Dao's upper limit prompted deep thought from Li Fan.

Because, in some respects, this method seemed somewhat similar to his True-or-False ability to diminish spiritual limits.

"However, True-or-False involves existence, cutting away from nothingness. Cheng Dao's innate divine ability merely transforms its nature and cannot directly erase it. But perhaps both are related to the mountains and seas..."

"It's fortunate that Guardian Qiu picked up and enlightened this spirit stone in the past. With Cheng Dao's current moral principles, as long as one doesn't openly contradict his understanding, there won't be trouble. Otherwise, even without using Guardian Qiu's mark, if he unleashed this innate divine ability, he would be extremely difficult to deal with," Li Fan secretly marveled.

The power of the mountains and seas transcends the mortal realm. No power originating from the mortal realm is its match. Only transformations of truth and falsehood can contend with it.

"Perhaps Guardian Qiu left his mark partly for surveillance. Otherwise, if he were to go mad and lose control, the destruction inflicted upon the mortal realm would be immense."

As Li Fan pondered, he decided that Cheng Dao was a friend, not an enemy.

"Rest assured, senior brother. Since you trust me so much, I will never disclose your origins to anyone else," Li Fan vowed solemnly.

"With such abilities, senior brother, I truly have no worries. However, it wouldn't be ideal to directly release the True Immortals sealed within the Heavenly Pillars. I fear there might not be enough support, and the Dao Oblivion is approaching..." Li Fan explained with a troubled expression.

"I naturally understand this principle." Cheng Dao was by no means inflexible. "Once the alien Heavenly Pillars are supplemented, then we can release them. When do you suppose those nameless alien beings will arrive?"

"Fifty years at the shortest, a century at the longest."

Cheng Dao nodded. "That's good, not too long. Their grievances won't be too great either."

Li Fan chimed in, "Haha, senior brother truly has a compassionate heart."

The billions of Dao strings that had obscured the heavens were withdrawn.

Shanhua and Chaos, who were still on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy, were both utterly astonished to see Li Buren and Cheng Dao standing together, seemingly as close as brothers.

"Senior, what's going on?" Chaos transmitted his question.

"Just a misunderstanding. This is the Great Net, and also my senior brother."

Li Buren's words greatly surprised the two Nameless True Immortals.

They carefully scrutinized the slender old man before them but could never connect him with the pair of massive blue hands.

Cheng Dao, meanwhile, didn't bother to explain to them.

He merely stated blandly, "Although you have repeatedly foiled my plans, considering we share the same master, I won't hold it against you."

Shanhua and Chaos were utterly bewildered by his words, having no idea where this "sharing the same master" supposedly originated.

But they dared not ask further.

At last, the commotion, or perhaps farce, finally came to an end.

In the entire affair, while some True Immortals had died, there were no casualties among those at the Nameless realm.

They were merely temporarily sealed within the Heavenly Pillars and could be released at any time.

As for the Immortal Hunters and mortals in Shuoxing Sea...

...they were entirely outside Cheng Dao's consideration.

Li Fan now had some understanding of this senior brother. In Cheng Dao's eyes, fellow disciples were also ranked.

Those who received Guardian Qiu's true teachings were naturally the closest.

As for the immortals in the Immortal Realm, their importance was determined by their cultivation.

And the mortals in the lower realm were merely ants performing tasks.

"One can only say that he truly is a spirit stone from the edge of mountains and seas. Although he was enlightened by Guardian Qiu and awakened sentience and morality, deep down, he remains cold and ruthless," Li Fan couldn't help but inwardly evaluate.

Yet, he showed no hint of this on his face, calling out "senior brother" with affectionate tones.

Perhaps since his birth, he had never truly been addressed in such a way. Cheng Dao was content, and his attitude towards Li Fan grew increasingly friendly.

During their casual conversation, Li Fan also learned why a powerful Nameless True Immortal like Cheng Dao would use mortals to maintain the Dao net.

"Mere mortals can contend with you, senior brother?" Li Fan asked, filled with surprise and disbelief.

"If I were to truly unleash my full power, they naturally wouldn't be my opponents. But even if they were defeated, it wouldn't change the fact that they could harm me. That's why I gradually grew interested in them."