Chapter 988: Seeking the Dao through the Feather Book, Ying Xintian’s Dao Lineage
Back within the Immortal Grotto-Heaven, Zhang Yu was manipulating his clone, observing and sensing the two great divine artifacts he had just obtained. They were… the Feather Book, which might have been tampered with by the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor, and the Immortal-Warding Talisman that had come from the Reincarnation Immortal Emperor.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I wonder, when these two collide, whether the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor will strike first and gain the upper hand… ultimately proving the better hand, or whether the Reincarnation Immortal Emperor will arrive later but first, thus outmaneuvering him.”
Immortal Slayer said, “In any case, let’s use the clone to observe for a while first.”
Fu Ji also agreed, saying, “Indeed, indeed. When facing an apex existence of the Immortal Dao like the Immortal Emperors, no amount of care is too much.”
Sect Examination Clone speaking: “All those who think they can face the Immortal Emperor with the sure certainty of victory… have already been consumed completely. When facing a supreme existence like the Immortal Emperor, who possesses truly unimaginable and boundless divine powers, one must always prepare for the worst…”
In this regard concerning facing the Immortal Emperor, every will within Zhang Yu’s mind actually reached an unprecedented level of agreement — it was the shared understanding of the Immortal Emperor they had formed after one event after another.
Zhang Yu sighed inwardly: “No matter how thorough the preparation, it may still fall short; no matter how high the success rate, it may still fail. In the end, one can only do one’s best and leave the rest to fate… The Immortal Emperor is that fate.”
As he sighed, Zhang Yu had already manipulated his clone to press the Immortal-Warding Talisman firmly against the Feather Book from Fa Liuyuan. Soundless and unnoticeable, the Immortal-Warding Talisman had already been affixed, as if an invisible wave surged out along with it.
“Did it succeed? According to what Reincarnation Group said, in this way… one can obscure the information one wishes to hide and output false data outward. Even an Immortal-class existence would find it hard to detect, even the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor…. Unless he acts personally, it cannot be cracked.”
His thoughts flashed by in an instant, and Zhang Yu had already planned to have the clone use it for now, waiting to observe for a period and then assess the situation.
“By having the clone use this Feather Book from Fa Liuyuan, and through reverse inheritance… the strengthening the clone gains can gradually sync to my main body.”
“Although doing it this way is slower, at least it is safer.”
“After all, when facing the Immortal Emperor, one must still be careful.”
Zhang Yu was not only worried about his intelligence being leaked, but even more concerned that among it there might be traps dug by the Immortal Emperor, becoming a means for the other to control him.
He mused inwardly: “As my cultivation realm continuously rises, drawing closer and closer to that step of ascension and becoming an Immortal and establishing a Dao Lineage… the traps the Immortal Emperor has dug against me, and the various means he wants to use to restrain me… I’m afraid they will only grow more and more numerous, right?”
At the same time, Zhang Yu’s clone also opened this volume of the Feather Book for the first time, reading its contents.
And on the first page Zhang Yu turned to, he saw a mass of ever-changing text emerge, ultimately transforming into segments of information that he came to understand.
“Books are tools by which people of today learn from those who came before, representing the inheritance of knowledge.”
“Works such as ‘Feathered Ascension’ and other books serve as tools for younger cultivators to study the Dao Lineages of their seniors, representing the inheritance of Dao Lineages.”
“Only with this book, I hope to connect with countless like-minded individuals from ancient to present times who have scaled the peak of the Immortal Dao…”
“All beings attain the Dao, and the salary flames pass on from hand to hand, ceaselessly, until at last The Other Shore is reached…”
Zhang Yu thought to himself: “Could this be… the message left by the creator of this Feather Book?”
Zhang Yu naturally could not be certain, so he could only continue reading through these segments of information.
In his perception, judging from the content of these pieces of information, it seemed that there was a great power who, moved by the difficulty of climbing to the peak of the Immortal Dao, wished to lead more people toward immortality and to unite the countless Dao Lineages of both ancient and modern times, so that all might ultimately arrive at the Other Shore together.
“This so-called Other Shore should be yet another ancient expression for the peak of the Immortal Dao,” Zhang Yu said while interpreting.
“But reaching immortality is too hard, and in order to rally an even greater number of experts and make it possible for more people to achieve immortality, this great power carved out a shortcut to immortality, which became the Four Books of Feathered Ascension.”
Zhang Yu was taken aback, “Could the Four Books of Feathered Ascension actually represent four shortcuts to immortality? No wonder…”
The Immortal Slayer gave his conclusion: “The so-called books are tools for one to study them and connect themselves with a vast array of Dao Lineages from ancient times as well as from the present. And what captions are the ‘Feathered Ascension’ at the top of the list of books… These four simultaneous connecting lineages, each one achieves the Dao also chose a shortcut that leads to the other shore.
Zhang Yu secretly thought to himself, “My Feather Book also seems to draw upon the power of various Dao Lineages. Does it belong to them as well?”
The Sect Examination Clone barked, “I think our Feather Book is more like our own potential surfacing. How could it be an external object? If it were an external object, why would it upgrade alongside us after Fu Ji enhances our innate potential?”
Zhang Yu did not answer the question. He simply suppressed his stray thoughts and continued reading, summarizing in his mind, “The shortcut to achieve immortality detailed in this volume of the Feather Book uses a predecessor’s Dao Lineage as a foundation to build one’s own upon it.”
Immortal Slayer remarked with surprise, “In this day and age, for a Law Edict to promote into a Law Decree, and then for a Law Decree to elevate into a Dao Lineage, it requires continuous diffusion and dissemination, occupying vast territories and populations.”
The Sect Examination Clone said in shock, “Yet this shortcut to achieve immortality uses a predecessor’s Dao Lineage as a stepping stone. It can directly skip the diffusion and dissemination phase, blanketing heaven and earth in an instant…”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly and thought to himself, “It’s treating a Dao Lineage that already covers heaven and earth as one’s own conduit to construct a new Dao Lineage. Standing on the shoulders of giants like this truly is a shortcut to establishing a Dao Lineage.”
Hearing this, Fu Ji exclaimed excitedly, “Doesn’t this drastically shorten the time needed to establish a Dao Lineage? Lower the threshold? Reach the heavens in a single bound? Leveling up just by freeloading on someone else’s Dao Lineage? There can be such a good thing?”
Auspicious God scoffed inwardly, “Just like how you’re parasitizing Zhang Yu right now and leveling up without doing anything, right?”
Zhang Yu sighed, “Naturally, there is no such thing as an absolute free lunch in this world.”
Sensing the information within the book, he continued, “The so-called foundation built upon the predecessors’ Dao Lineage, to put it another way… is parasitism. Although it saves countless hours of hard work, one is consequently restrained by the predecessors’ Dao Lineage.”
Fu Ji said, “Then shouldn’t you find an unowned Dao Lineage to parasitize? That way, wouldn’t you avoid being under someone else’s control?”
Zhang Yu remained noncommittal.
At this moment, Zhang Yu had not yet decided whether he would choose such a shortcut to achieve immortality in the future and undergo a parasitic ascension.
However, regardless of whether he would undergo a parasitic ascension or not, in his perception… utilizing this volume of the Feather Book held numerous benefits that would aid his cultivation.
“No matter what, I can walk this shortcut a bit to claim the benefits inside. As for my ultimate choice… that will depend on the actual circumstances.”
Pondering silently, Zhang Yu continued to comprehend the contents of the Feather Book before him.
“According to this, if one wishes to parasitize a predecessor’s Dao Lineage, they must establish a deep connection with it.”
“What does it mean to connect with a Dao Lineage?”
As he browsed through the information, a glimmer of realization flashed through Zhang Yu’s mind. “In fact, as long as each of us exists in this world, …in this world, whether alive or dead, whether achieving immortality or turning into a ghost, our very existence… is founded upon countless Dao Lineages.”
“Because the entire Kunxu World is inherently built upon countless objective laws and Dao Lineages.”
“Every living creature and every phenomenon in this world cannot escape the influence of objective laws and Dao Lineages.”
At the same time, magic power circulated within Zhang Yu’s body. Feeling his surging magic power, he thought to himself, “After mortals step onto the Immortal Dao and become cultivators, they move one step closer to the Dao Lineages.”
“From the most fundamental perspective, every subtle change in our dao heart, physical body, and magic power is inseparable from the effects of countless Dao Lineages.”
At this moment, Dugu Ming’s previous introduction surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind.
“And so-called innate talent is a cultivator’s comprehension and utilization of Dao Lineages; it is a direct manifestation of the connection between a person and the Dao Lineages.”
As the power of the Feather Book in the clone’s hand was activated, Zhang Yu saw lines of data related to himself appear within it.
“Are these… my innate talents? Can this Feather Book measure innate talent?”
“A higher innate talent means that my current self… is more in tune with certain Dao Lineages.”
“These talent evaluations are divided into a total of ten ranks, and only after reaching the eighth rank of world-shaking talent can its associated Dao Lineage serve as a target for parasitism.”
Scanning the talent evaluations emerging on the Feather Book before him, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “So right now, I possess a total of nine world-shaking talents?”
As the talents were displayed, Zhang Yu continued to delve deeper and activate the detection function. Soon enough… the Dao Lineages associated with these world-shaking talents emerged one after another.
“Magic Power Dao Lineage, Spiritual Energy Dao Lineage, Dao Heart Dao Lineage, Immortal Qi Dao Lineage…”
“My nine world-shaking talents involve numerous Dao Lineages, and every single one of them can serve as a target for parasitism.”
“However, many of these Dao Lineages already have masters… Parasitizing them rashly would probably be walking into a trap.”
“On top of that, there are so many of them, and I don’t know much about some of these Dao Lineages… How am I supposed to choose?”
Just as Zhang Yu was looking at the rows of Dao Lineages and feeling troubled, he noticed that they had already been ranked by compatibility.
The top three were, respectively: Dao Seed Dao Lineage, Bloodline Dao Lineage, and World-Domain Dao Lineage.
Looking at these three Dao Lineages, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Dao Seed… Is it because I’ve mastered so many Dao Seeds that my compatibility with the Dao Seed Dao Lineage is exceptionally high?”
“The Bloodline Dao Lineage… is probably due to Senior Supreme Truth’s legacy related to Bloodline Mystic Powers, Bloodline Extensions, and Bloodline Law Edicts.”
“As for this World-Domain Dao Lineage…”
Immortal Slayer said in surprise, “This is the Dao Lineage mastered by Grandmaster Ying!”
“Oh?” Zhang Yu’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Senior Ying Xintian’s Dao Lineage? Could it be space-related?”
Immortal Slayer said, “I’m not entirely sure about the details, but it is definitely closely linked to spatial technology. It’s likely because of the foundation in spatial technology we’ve accumulated over the years, along with the blessings of Dao Seeds like [Immortal Descendant] and [Construct the World], as well as enhancements from Chain Formation Diagrams like [Inverted Kunlun], that we have such a high compatibility…”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “The Dao Seed Dao Lineage has been fractured for many years and held in the hands of various Upper Cultivators. If I choose to parasitize the Dao Seed Dao Lineage, there might be quite a few hidden dangers.”
“As for the Bloodline Dao Lineage, it might be controlled by Senior Supreme Truth. But if Senior Supreme Truth has been refined into a Supreme Immortal Artifact by the Ten Immortal Emperors, then wouldn’t parasitizing it be walking right into a trap?”
Looking at the option of [World-Domain Dao Lineage], Zhang Yu thought, “Senior Ying Xintian is someone whose background I know well; it’s much safer.”
From Zhang Yu’s perspective, among the top-ranking Dao Lineage options before him, either the forces behind them were clearly malicious, or it was completely unknown who was pulling the strings. Only Ying Xintian’s World-Domain Dao Lineage gave him a sense of security and reliability.
Immortal Slayer said, “We should definitely choose the World-Domain Dao Lineage! At least Grandmaster Ying won’t backstab us, nor will he set traps for us. Besides, everything under the heavens falls within the universe. Attaching ourselves to the World-Domain Dao Lineage can greatly accelerate our future Dao Lineage construction.”
The Sect Examination Clone snorted coldly, “Who says Ying Xintian won’t backstab us? What if he constantly demands that we give our subordinates raises and days off, or that we shorten our own lifespans and distribute our wealth? No, that’s unacceptable. We can’t choose him.”
While the two were arguing, Zhang Yu made up his mind.
“Let’s go with the World-Domain Dao Lineage for now. After all, from the looks of it… it’s already the safest among all these Dao Lineages.”
“Besides… I haven’t even decided whether I’ll actually pursue parasitic ascension in the future.”
“And based on the information I just browsed, the Dao Lineage parasitism function of this Feather Book should allow me to switch parasitic targets as well.”
At this moment, this volume of the Feather Book from Fa Liuyuan lay open before Zhang Yu.
The left page displayed Zhang Yu’s innate talent and associated Dao Lineages, while the right page displayed the words ‘Dao Pursuit’.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Even though I call it parasitism, according to the terminology in this book… it’s called Dao Pursuit.”
The next moment, with a thought, Zhang Yu dragged the [World-Domain Dao Lineage] from the left over onto the words ‘Dao Pursuit’ on the right. Instantly, the [World-Domain Dao Lineage] appeared on the right side, with a progress bar added behind it: Dao Pursuit Progress: 0%.
According to Zhang Yu’s understanding, as long as he continued to raise this Dao Pursuit progress, he would become stronger and stronger in the relevant fields.
And once the Dao Pursuit progress reached over 80%, he would be able to parasitize this Dao Lineage in the future to complete his own Dao Lineage. The closer it got to 100%… the higher the success rate and the greater the advantage would be.
Watching this scene, Zhang Yu suddenly felt it looked somewhat familiar: “How come this Feather Book’s parasitism — or rather, Dao Pursuit function — looks a bit like the prologue of my own Feather Book?”
“In my prologue, it detected my basic stats and cultivation arts, and then I could choose a cultivation art to specialize in, which displayed a progress like 0/10.”
“In this volume of the Feather Book, it assesses one’s innate talent and affiliated Dao Lineage, after which you select a Dao Lineage to pursue the Dao, displaying a progress like 0%.”
“However, the difficulty of improving it is vastly different.”
Zhang Yu remarked, “In my Feather Book prologue, once a specialization target is confirmed, I only need to keep increasing my practice count to raise the cultivation art’s level.”
“Whereas for the Dao-seeking in this volume… once the target is confirmed, there are no bottlenecks. As long as one continues to temper oneself, undergo bitter cultivation, and learn skills in related fields, the Dao-seeking progress percentage will naturally increase.”
At this point, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I wonder, if the two volumes of the Feather Book merge, will there be an enhancement in this regard?”
Fu Ji thought, “Zhang Yu’s Feather Book is that powerful? No wonder his cultivation speed is so absurd, often pursuing quantity over quality…”
At this moment, scene after scene from the past surfaced in Fu Ji’s mind — his chaotic, sloppy practice outside the dormitory in University City, his purchasing of vast quantities of redundant, practically useless cultivation arts in the sect… Zhang Yu’s various outrageous behaviors kept coming back to her.
Immortal Slayer said, “The difficulty of improving in cultivation arts is naturally far simpler than that of a Dao Lineage.”
He sighed with emotion, “The Dao-seeking function of this volume of the Feather Book allows one to advance completely bottleneck-free. This means that with enough time ground out, one can eventually parasitize a Dao Lineage and ascend to heaven in a single step. Calling it a shortcut to the Immortal Dao is not an exaggeration at all.”
Zhang Yu said, “Grinding out time… but time is precisely what I lack the most right now.”
Thoughts flashed like lightning through his mind. Just as Zhang Yu locked onto his Dao-seeking target, he felt the volume of the Feather Book from Fa Liuyuan truly become one with his clone. With a single thought, he drew it into his clone’s body.
Zhang Yu understood that this volume of the Feather Book had now fully recognized him as its master and was entirely under his clone’s control.
At the same time, Zhang Yu suddenly felt the volume of the Feather Book inside his true body pulse slightly, as if it wanted to move closer toward the clone.
“Is it being attracted?”
Recalling how it had almost devoured the book when he borrowed it from Fa Liuyuan earlier, Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow. With a shift of his thoughts, the Feather Book in his true body was retracted, returning once again to tranquility.
“Why is it attracted? Is it because there’s… some special connection between the two?”
Just as Zhang Yu was pondering this, Fu Ji reminded him, “Zhang Yu, isn’t it time to eat?”
Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback, but immediately understood, “This girl Fu Ji… is reminding me to feed her the Evil Gods.”
Following that, Fu Ji devoured the power of the ten Evil Gods one by one. This time, she did not fall asleep; instead, the aura around her entire body surged explosively.