Chapter 1 Seeking Passage Once More, Seeking Passage Once More

"Grant me passage, grant me passage."

The old Taoist's voice was sincere, with a hint of unwillingness. His hope was to ascend to a higher realm of cultivation, not to rely on external forces of status and power. What he resented was that if he had been born in this era, encountering the revival of spiritual energy comparable to the Age of Gods, he would not have been limited to his current realm. He would have surely reached even greater heights.

Wei Yuan looked at Zhang Ruosu, pondered for a long time, and said, "Are you truly set on this?"

"But you must know, if you don't take risks, you wouldn't have stopped here either."

Wei Yuan thought of the Taoist who wielded lightning from [Seven Years Later].

Undoubtedly, Zhang Ruosu, walking this path of destiny, held the Jade Emperor's talisman. Moreover, through close interaction and exchange with the Great Marsh Thunder God, he had made further progress in the art of thunder. When unleashing his full power, aided by the Jade Emperor's talisman, his strength in the mortal realm was almost firmly established as the top tier below the Ten Greats.

He was able to act alongside the Great Marsh Thunder God.

Even if he was inferior, the difference wouldn't be significant.

However, the method Wei Yuan knew was extremely dangerous. A single misstep could cloud his true spirit.

Zhang Ruosu candidly said, "No regrets."

Wei Yuan looked at him and couldn't help but ask, "How did you suddenly come up with this idea, Daoist Zhang?"

The old Taoist smiled and sighed, "Actually, strictly speaking, I had this idea a long, long time ago. It's just that although I have a heart for seeking the Dao, unfortunately, there are still many things in the human world that need my attention. I can't just abandon these disciples, and there's also A-Xuan. Now that you have emerged and the human world has restored its spiritual energy to the Age of Gods, and there are Ying Long Gengchen and Nu Ba to watch over it."

"Zhao Gongming has gone to the Great Wilderness to seek the origin of his being."

"A-Xuan has also reunited with his parents."

"The worldly ties are severed. This old Daoist is tired of stillness and yearns to see the scenery again, to seek the direction of the Great Dao."

"As for the risks…" Zhang Ruosu said with a free and easy air,

"Isn't it natural for a cultivator to die seeking the Dao?"

"What is cultivation about? Some say it's about freedom, some say it's about longevity, some say it's about innocence, but after cultivating for so long, I only feel the word 'natural.' It's not about understanding some principle, nor about pursuing some realm. Breathing is natural, walking is natural, seeking the Dao is natural. What reason is there to hesitate?"

"At most, one will cultivate until the end and be buried upon death."

Zhang Ruosu spoke at length with Wei Yuan. Even though the old Taoist was so carefree and natural, with such a peaceful state of mind, he had once reached the pinnacle of Taoism. Leaving aside those legendary, quasi-divine immortals, he had already reached his limit, indistinguishable from gods in the eyes of ordinary people.

However, immortals and gods reappeared, and myths were reborn. The path that was thought to be completely severed had reopened.

Moreover, each mountain was higher than the last.

This rekindled the hope in the old Taoist Zhang Ruosu's heart. Wei Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "Daoist Zhang, your current realm is already the pinnacle of Taoism. Even if you start again, it will be difficult to break out of the current framework. Leaving aside combat power, your current realm is already firmly standing at the upper level of the second tier below the Ten Greats."

He was the pinnacle of the human world.

The kind of peerless genius that appears once every few thousand years.

And once he wielded the Jade Emperor's talisman, he could mobilize the endless, inexhaustible majestic power of the Heavenly Court's talisman array. Coupled with his profound mastery of thunder techniques, he would almost immediately stand at the strongest echelon of the first tier below the Ten Greats. However, as Zhang Ruosu himself said, the external power was too great, clouding his original heart and nature. The longer he stood in that position, the longer he used the power of the Heavenly Court, the more difficult it would be to advance in realm.

Wei Yuan said slowly, "If you want to cultivate, either you need to grind through hard work, spending a long time to improve bit by bit, or perhaps you can take a more special approach."

Wei Yuan was referring to the anchor point method.

He explained the differences between the Ten Greats' Daoguo realm and the levels below the Daoguo realm.

The old Taoist's eyes seemed to flicker with light, then dim.

"What a pity."

Zhang Ruosu mocked himself, "What a pity, this old Daoist has a future to seek, but I have no past."

When Zhang Ruosu was young, he cultivated a mind-sword and then directly severed his past self!

To ensure that I am me.

To completely separate himself from Ying Long Gengchen.

From then on, his cultivation and sword practice went smoothly, advancing by leaps and bounds, roaming freely with his sword.

But at this time, a huge obstacle appeared.

This was also the reason why Zhang Ruosu felt that even though the spiritual energy in the human world was rich, and the primordial energy was reviving, almost entering the Age of Gods, he felt trapped and unable to go further. Because the path ahead had already been cut off by himself. The lack of an anchor point in time meant that he could never reach the Daoguo realm and the first tier below the Daoguo realm.

At most, he could only exist as the title of the Heavenly Court's Jade Emperor.

Relying on the power of the Heavenly Court's talisman array and his own mastery of thunder techniques.

But that was the Heavenly Court.

The powerful one was the Jade Emperor, so what did it have to do with a Taoist named Zhang?

Cultivation, cultivation, is about cultivating oneself.

Was it I who transformed into the Jade Emperor, or was it that the Jade Emperor became my title, and I became the Jade Emperor's puppet?

Zhang Ruosu saw it very clearly.

He originally thought that his path was simply wrong, his direction was wrong, that he was restrained by too many worldly ties and mundane affairs, and that was why he couldn't go further. Now, hearing Wei Yuan's explanation of the Daoguo anchor point, he finally understood that his path ahead had been cut off, and he sighed even more in his heart.

Wei Yuan said, "So, Daoist Zhang, do you regret severing your past and distinguishing yourself from Gengchen?"

"Otherwise, relying on your connection with him, you should be able to easily leave an anchor point in the past."

"Moreover, it would be an anchor point that directly delves into the age of myths, merging with those famous legends. In that case, using this anchor point to leverage the laws and step into the first realm below the Ten Greats would be a matter of course."

Zhang Ruosu only smiled and said, "I don't regret that."

"Cultivation is about cultivating oneself. I am now unwilling to become a puppet of external forces and hope to release the Jade Emperor's talisman, just like I was unwilling to become Gengchen's reflection and wielded my sword back then. It was so then, and it is so now. If I regretted what I did back then, then I wouldn't be letting go of the Jade Emperor's talisman and seeking the Dao now."

Wei Yuan said, "But the path ahead is severed."

Zhang Ruosu laughed loudly, "If the path ahead is severed, then I will forge a new path."

"Imagine my Taoist predecessors, did they have any cultivation path ahead of them? Wasn't that how they came to be?"

"If you don't have such a thought, what Dao are you cultivating? Here, take this."

He swept his sleeves, and a talisman emitting a purple-gold radiance flew out, directly towards Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan grabbed the talisman and saw countless golden auras outlining an image of a Heavenly Emperor wearing a crown and magnificent robes, with a cold yet dignified temperament and a sense of supremacy.

This was the Jade Emperor's talisman of the Divine Land Heavenly Court.

As he threw out the talisman, Zhang Ruosu's aura began to decline.

Finally, it stabilized at the level of a top cultivator in the human world.

The decay of his body also began to slowly emerge.

Wei Yuan spread his five fingers slightly, and the Heavenly Court talisman appeared in his palm. He said, "…Daoist Zhang, when did you make this decision?"

The old Taoist said, "It was when I saw you using the form of Yuanshi Tianzun to open the heavens and restore Mount Buzhou to its original state."

Wei Yuan sighed.

No wonder this trajectory was different from the future he had seen before.

It seemed that it was because the old Taoist had personally witnessed the old Mount Buzhou, who had been drinking tea and wine with him, instantly transform into the strongest of the Ten Greats' Daoguo realm, then break through space, traveling hundreds of millions of miles in an instant, directly leaving the human world and heading to the Great Wilderness, supporting the sky and propping up the earth with one hand, capable of holding mountains and crossing seas, traveling through the six directions, that his heart was moved.

That was why he made a decision different from his original destiny.

Or rather,

He had made this decision in advance.

It seemed that karma interfered with destiny, but cause was also effect, and effect was also cause. The cycle of cause and effect was endless.

Making one change might lead to many other unexpected and huge changes due to the connection of cause and effect. Wei Yuan's understanding of cause and effect and destiny deepened further, and then he faintly seemed to have a feeling, relying on the feeling of cause and effect, of touching another kind of law.

Wei Yuan collected his mind.

Looking at Zhang Ruosu, after thinking for a long time, he still said:

"...I do have a method that can help you complete the anchor point, but this method is extremely dangerous. Even I cannot guarantee your safety. You are very likely to die directly in this process. And if your true spirit is ignorant and no Dao opportunity arises, you may die directly in that era, leaving your physical body here."

The old Taoist laughed and then got up and bowed again: "That is exactly what I wish!"

………………

Mount Longhu, the Heavenly Master's Mansion. Many Taoists with some cultivation had gathered here. They surrounded the old Heavenly Master, whose legend and name had been circulating for more than a hundred years, and heard an unprecedented, bizarre method. The black cat Lei jumped up and down uneasily. Zhang Ruosu lit a stick of incense.

The incense smoke rose slowly.

It burned extremely slowly. This was incense he lit with a wisp of his own soul.

When this incense burned to ashes, it would also be the time of the Taoist's death.

The black cat Lei was rarely affectionate.

Zhang Ruosu rubbed Lei, held the black cat in his arms, and Wei Yuan, standing in front, watched the old Taoist in front of him and said, "...Leaving an anchor point is a random event, and you must not have any memories. It's like being reincarnated like me, otherwise, if you change something, you may encounter a huge shock and backlash. At that time, your true spirit will dissipate, and your soul will be scattered, and even I will not be able to help."

"This time, it's just to leave an anchor point in the past."

"But you must also realize and understand the mysteries of the past, in order to discuss the Dao. If you cannot attain the Dao, you will die directly in the past."

Zhang Ruosu laughed instead: "So that's how it is. Taking me as the main body, leaving an anchor point in the past, this old Taoist is curious. Is it my soul that enters the past and becomes 'him,' or is it this anchor point 'him' that is reincarnated and becomes me? Is it Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or is it a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou?"

The white-haired Taoist said, "Aren't they all you?"

"It is you who are here, seeking the Dao and leaving. He is your clone, he is your thought, you are his origin, and you are also his end."

The old Taoist laughed incessantly.

He said to the younger generation next to him, "If I die, burn this body and scatter it in Mount Longhu."

"Then it can be considered as accompanying you."

He patted the black cat Lei.

Finally, he sat cross-legged, with his hands on his knees, and chanted in a long voice: "Heaven and earth are selfless, the sun and moon are eternal, the Great Dao of life is ordinary.

Not knowing what the Creator does, only busy with the Qi of Qiankun; Yin and Yang operate without stopping, the sun and moon's radiance does not change anew, I now want to ask the secret of longevity, smiling and pointing to which peak of the southern mountain…"

With his hands on his knees, his soul had already ascended.

The incense smoke rose slowly.

The white-haired Taoist stood in front, watching his old friend leave, not knowing whether this time it was life or death, but he pinched a magic seal, but in the end, he did not look, but let him leave. The human world has its own fate, so why force it? He only hoped that this time you could get what you wished for.

Daoist Zhang.

Not seeking strength, not seeking law.

What is sought is the Daoguo!

………………

And at an unknown time and in an unknown place, a poor farmhouse had a child.

When the child landed, he neither cried nor fussed.

In the end, it was the midwife who slapped him on the bottom three times in a row before the child belatedly burst into tears. The acquired Qi poured into his body, muddying the original innate Qi. His true spirit, thoughts, and even memories gradually blurred, and finally, he forgot who he was.

"Give him a name, call him Er Gou'dan, easy to raise!"

The midwife decided on this name in one sentence.

Of course, even a poor family must have a formal name.

Otherwise, when he goes out and gets married in the future, he can't just say Zhang Er Gou next door, right? What is that?

There was a scholar who had fled to the village. At the time of the first birthday grab, the wealthy families used books, swords, and jade pendants, but in this farmyard, there were hoes, sickles, and grain. Finally, they even put a dry fruit to barely make up a circle. The young child, in the regretful gazes of his parents, passed by the hoe.

The father said regretfully, "Ah, not a good hand at farming."

And the child also brushed past a pen.

This also disappointed the scholar.

"Not a seed for reading."

In the end, he even passed by the crops. Oh my, wouldn't that mean he couldn't even get enough to eat? Everyone was annoyed. He couldn't pick up a hoe, couldn't practice boxing, couldn't eat grain, couldn't read the books of sages, but this child finally grabbed a dried-up pear tightly, and no matter how much his parents scolded or gently patted, he wouldn't let go, holding it tightly.

'What I seek in this life is only the Daoguo heavenly secret!'

The child held on tightly.

The scholar shook his head and smiled, "Fruit is fruit. Picking fruit in the mountains is also a way to make a living. As for the name…"

The poor scholar who came here to freeload didn't have much talent.

He couldn't speak of the beauty of peach blossoms. This fruit was not a peach.

In the end, he had to say, "Might as well just call him Zhang Guo!"

"Ah, Zhang Guo, this name… is not good."

The old farmer father felt that this name was not good to hear, not as good as the names of the families next door, such as Liu Wu.

The scholar left after eating and drinking his fill, laughing and saying, "Ah, what's not good about it?! Hahahaha, I think this name is very good. When he's young, he'll be called Er Gou'dan, and when he's older, he'll be called Little Zhang Guo."

"When he's old, when he's old, it's easy to say, just call him Old Zhang Guo, huh? Doesn't sound good? Then change it, when he's old, call him…"

"Zhang Guolao."

ps: Today's first update…