Chapter 1056: Chapter 458: Discourse on the Dao (Part 2)

The Saint Ancestor shook his head.

"Teaching and imparting knowledge is something I enjoy doing; everyone benefits from it, so how could it be tiring?"

"Besides, if these younger generations don’t grow, should a formidable enemy arrive, the three of us alone might not be enough to handle it without oversight."

They naturally informed those selected about the potential arrival of enemies.

Immediately, everyone felt urgency, and their cultivation became more diligent.

The Sea Ancestor said, "Tomorrow, I’ll be the one to teach."

"Alright."

The three fell silent.

Ning Qi’s gaze drifted towards a certain section of the cliff above.

There, an ancient scroll was embedded in the cliff, precisely the Ancient Road Sacred Map.

Only now did Ning Qi truly see the true appearance within the Ancient Road Sacred Map.

The scroll was slightly yellowed with age, obviously ancient, its origin unknown.

From left to right, front to back, there were nine indistinct sacred shadows within the scroll.

Among them, Ning Qi had already truly encountered two, one being the inheritance of the Saint Ancestor, corresponding to a sacred shadow of an erudite old man with white hair and beard, author of "The Discourse."

He was both scholarly and amiable, yet could become fiercely powerful, able to suppress anything. Among his divine techniques was one called "Flowing as the River," which astonishingly touched upon the Time Rule.

Ning Qi and the Saint Ancestor were both involved in this.

Aside from this sacred shadow, another was when Ning Qi engaged the Mountain Ancestor in battle, with the Mountain Ancestor attempting to utilize the power of the Ancient Road Sacred Map to eliminate Ning Qi.

However, Ning Qi instead resonated with the power of the sacred shadow the Mountain Ancestor employed, thereby gaining its recognition and obtaining the corresponding inheritance.

This sacred shadow was known as the Ancient Saint of the Starry Sky, also called the Master of the Starry Sky. Its inheritance was astonishing, powerful enough to dominate an entire star domain.

That star domain was not the starry sky seen from the mortal realm, but rather worlds in the Sea of Realms, forming a vast cosmic sector like stars in the universe.

Ning Qi’s gaze shifted past these two ancient saints he had encountered, landing on other sacred shadows.

There were still seven sacred shadows on the mottled ancient scroll.

Their images were even more indistinct, some showing signs of fragmentation and dissolution.

"Was the sacred map already like this when you first acquired the Ancient Road Sacred Map?" Ning Qi asked.

The three sat in a triangular formation, floating in the void, having imparted teachings to other cultivators; they were also preparing to discuss the Immortal Path.

The Saint Venerable also glanced at the Ancient Road Sacred Map.

In his lifetime, he had only comprehended the inheritance of one sacred shadow, as that shadow resonated most with his temperament and power.

"Indeed, I also excavated this from a certain relic back in the day; it helped me become the ancestor of the Vast Realm."

The Saint Venerable responded.

The icy gaze of the Sea Ancestor swept over all the sacred shadows, seeing the Ancient Road Sacred Map for the first time as well.

As her gaze passed over it, she suddenly felt an inexplicable attraction from one of the shadows, resonating deeply with her.

The Sea Ancestor unknowingly reached out with a strand of her own power.

In an instant, a sacred shadow on the Ancient Road Sacred Map turned from indistinct to clear.

This sacred shadow was also a woman, ethereal and immortal, her gaze overlooking below, neither sorrowful nor joyful.

She was cool, proud, untainted by the mundane world.

"Taiyin Flying Immortal Scripture."

Beside her, elegant writing appeared.

"This is..."

Before the two could think further, the female sacred shadow transformed into the shadow of a Heavenly Immortal, flying towards the Sea Ancestor’s forehead like traversing time and space, disappearing there in a flash.

Witnessing this, Ning Qi and the Saint Ancestor’s eyes twitched sharply.

Goodness, this Ancient Road Sacred Map was truly enigmatic; these sacred shadows appeared indistinct, yet would manifest and bestow inheritance only to those who resonated with them.

Moments later, the Sea Ancestor regained her senses.

Her long lashes fluttered, meeting the gazes of Ning Qi and the Saint Ancestor, who were staring at her.

"How do you feel?"

The Sea Ancestor’s icy blue brows furrowed slightly.

"I seem to have obtained an Immortal Realm cultivation technique..."

"An Immortal Realm cultivation technique?" The Saint Ancestor was thoroughly amazed.

It’s important to know that despite holding the Ancient Road Sacred Map for so long, the highest attainment he had gained was a technique leading only to the Immortal Realm, not an Immortal Realm cultivation technique.

An Immortal Realm cultivation technique, intended exclusively for immortals, was invaluable beyond measure.

Unexpectedly, the Sea Ancestor easily unlocked such a secret scripture from the Ancient Road Sacred Map.

Ning Qi gazed at the Ancient Road Sacred Map, its nine vague shadows now noticeably one short.

"What exactly is the origin of the Ancient Road Sacred Map? How could it hold both below-immortality and immortality-level techniques? Could it be that the nine sacred shadows represent ancient saints of different realms?"

The Saint Ancestor said with a wry smile, "I genuinely don’t know; otherwise, how could I resonate with only one of the ancient saints?"

The question went unanswered.

Nonetheless, the three felt quite excited, for six sacred shadows remained unmanifested in the Ancient Road Sacred Map. What realm of cultivation could they conceal and what conditions need to be met to activate them?

In any case, with the Sea Ancestor obtaining an Immortal Scripture, it was akin to all three of them gaining it.

The Sea Ancestor did not speak further, directly taking out two Jade Scrolls, placing them at her forehead to inscribe the Immortal Scripture she had just acquired.

Then, she handed the Jade Scrolls to the two.

"This is an Immortal Scripture, and you are willing to share it so freely?" Ning Qi joked.

The Sea Ancestor responded generously, "An Immortal Scripture still requires people to cultivate it. If we cannot become immortals, what use would numerous Immortal Scriptures have?"

"That makes sense. Let’s first examine the content of this Immortal Scripture; it may provide insight into our quest for a new path to becoming immortals."

Thus, Ning Qi and the Saint Ancestor focused on studying the Immortal Scripture.

With the Enlightenment Realm Tree’s aid, even though this scripture was meant for female cultivation, the two men read it smoothly without any impediment.

"The Taiyin Flying Immortal Scripture, cultivating this scripture, one can directly break through to the Celestial Immortal Realm."

The Sea Ancestor murmured this crucial statement.

"Heavenly Immortal?" Ning Qi questioned.

The Saint Ancestor, noticing Ning Qi’s confusion, eagerly explained.

"The Immortal Realm is mainly divided into three major realms, namely True Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, and Golden Immortal. In our pursuit of becoming immortals, we first become True Immortals."

"What are the differences among them?" Ning Qi pressed.

"This..." The Saint Ancestor blew his beard and said, "Are you teasing me? I haven’t gone through this, so how would I know? But surely each is stronger than the last!"

The Sea Ancestor chuckled from the side.

She said, "Let me explain; isn’t part of this recorded in the Immortal Scripture?"

Both assumed a listening posture.

"Cultivators of the Immortal Realm can be further divided into True Immortal Ninth Grade, Heavenly Immortal Sixth Grade, and Golden Immortal Third Grade."

"To become an immortal, one must first convert their concentrated and perfected Power of Rules into the most pure and perfect force, known as immortal power, to form the Immortal Door."

"Through the baptism of the Immortal Door, cultivators acquire an undying and eternal immortal body, advancing their life and becoming a True Immortal."

"What is a True Immortal? Refining all rules into the initial fruit of the great path, no longer restrained by the world, creating a world of one’s own to become a True Immortal."

Upon hearing this, both the Saint Ancestor and Ning Qi were taken aback.

"Creating one’s own world? But Ning is already like that."

The Sea Ancestor shook her head and said:

"Creating one’s own world doesn’t mean a literal world. Ancient cultivators needed to break through the void, leaving their original world to enter the true Immortal Realm."

"Their nascent immortal body had to withstand the pressure of the Immortal Realm to survive without rejection, so ’creating one’s own world’ refers to the immortal body becoming its own world."

The Saint Ancestor blushed, reluctant to speak further.

Yet Ning Qi caught a key point.

"Are you saying not being restrained by the world?"

The Sea Ancestor nodded and continued:

"A world is born of rules. We mortal cultivators have always been trapped within worlds, at best advancing to the Harmonization state. So if one aims to become an immortal, they must shed all worldly restraints and break through all rules."

At these words, Ning Qi’s eyebrows flicked, his expression changing.

"Kid, what did you realize?" The Saint Ancestor asked curiously.

"Nothing, I’ve just confirmed my previous hypothesis."

Previously, Ning Qi reincarnated into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

At the end, when revealing his true strength, Ning Qi, to free the Sword Ancestor and others from the Mountain and Sea Realm, avoiding entanglement between the Mountain and Sea Realm and himself.

In the War Realm, Ning Qi used the power of the Celestial Tribulation to cleanse their bodies and souls, severing their connection with the Mountain and Sea Realm completely.

And the reason for his strength also stemmed from this.

Ning Qi never cultivated according to the rules of the Mountain and Sea Realm or the Vast Realm.

Because he knew, if he adhered to the Mountain and Sea Realm’s rules, the Mountain and Sea Realm would suppress him.

Ning Qi had always pursued his self-created Realm Lord system to avoid the world’s restraints.

Unexpectedly, immortality cultivators pursued the same path!

Ultimately, Ning Qi sensed he had captured an idea for forging a new path to immortality.