Although Shen Yuan was still groping through the initial stages of understanding the Great Tao Manifestation, its potential had already begun to take shape.
But Shen Yuan believed that this level of comprehension was far from enough.
Gathering the True Intent of the Heavenly General-Earthly Destroyer, and coagulating this world’s, and indeed the universe’s unique characteristic of Great Tao Manifestation, should not be just a simple medium of borrowing power.
And when sitting upon the Great Seat of Tao Achievement, looking down at himself with a high-dimensional stance, the inspiration that emerged from the infinite charm of the Dao further confirmed Shen Yuan’s conjecture.
Therefore, Shen Yuan gave up the temptation of instantly ascending through the method of the Heavenly General and chose to place his bets on the Great Tao Manifestation.
Infusing the endless charm of the Dao into the Great Tao Manifestation, he attempted to deduce the truly complete Great Tao Manifestation.
The True Intent of the Heavenly General-Earthly Destroyer kept unfolding before his eyes, the endless Dao intertwined, and the Great Tao Origin converged, manifesting a transformative manifestation that changed myriad ways.
The Great Tao Manifestation began to perfect step by step, as if all the paths of many heavens were merging into it.
Shen Yuan was immersed in the infinite changes of the Great Dao, unaware of how much time had passed.
When Shen Yuan awoke from his enlightenment on how to mend the flaws of the Great Tao Manifestation, he unexpectedly discovered that the infinite charm representing the Great Seat of Tao Achievement had partially crumbled.
His True Spirit fell from the high-dimensional stance, and his deduction of the Great Tao Manifestation came to a temporary halt.
Looking down at the meditation mat below him, Shen Yuan faintly felt that the originally solid mat now bore a sense of illusion.
"I was just shearing a bit of the Dao’s charm, could there be a problem?"
A sudden sense of unease surfaced in Shen Yuan’s heart.
This Great Seat of Tao Achievement was derived from the projection of the Great Exalted One’s Tao Achievement, the key to unlocking the Dao Treasury. Should there be any trouble, he feared he could be directly kicked out of this Land of Taoism Impartation by the Great Exalted One.
"However, the gains from this journey have been substantial; completing the Great Tao Manifestation is far more valuable to me than the elusive Supreme Tao Impartation. Even if I’m now kicked out of the Land of Taoism Impartation, it would still be worth it."
Possessing the Rebounding Wind Returning Fire Great Divine Power, Shen Yuan keenly detected that the historical fog surrounding these Major Heavenly Immortals had thickened slightly, vaguely pointing to different historical nodes.
Shen Yuan understood in his heart, his gaze falling on the nine Great Seats of Tao Achievement. After Shen Yuan and Zhen Yuanzi had arrived, the two remaining seats had also been filled.
Above the nine meditation mats, most figures were entirely veiled by historical mystery. Without them taking the initiative to reveal themselves, it was difficult for Shen Yuan to discern their identities.
Just as Shen Yuan was deeply contemplating, a bell tone suddenly echoed within the boundless void.
This bell tone seemed to come from the initial opening of the heavens and earth, traversing the river of history and reaching future generations, with the Ancient One’s Dao melody reverberating above the heavens.
At the very beginning of time, who imparted the Dao?
Before form existed, how can it be investigated?
In the midst of the tolling of the Tao bell, an ancient figure with white hair and beard appeared in the center of this Land of Taoism Impartation.
He merely sat there, with all the Great Tao of heaven bestowed upon him.
At this moment, whether it be the most defiant of gods and demons, or the most majestic of emperors, all voluntarily stood up to salute the ancient figure.
"We pay homage to the Supreme Tao Ancestor!"
Shen Yuan subconsciously followed their actions, bowing to the Great Exalted One, but his gaze unwaveringly locked onto the figure of the white-haired Supreme Tao Ancestor, his pupils trembling violently.
In his eyes, that elder upon whom the Great Dao of heaven bestowed, looked emaciated as a decaying corpse, with his Taoist robe stained with dark red blood stains.
Yet, countless Eternal Golden Immortals and Highest Heaven Exalted Ones present displayed no anomaly in their treatment of the Supreme Tao Ancestor, as if what they saw was still in a normal state.
A tremendous fear rose from the depths of Shen Yuan’s heart, followed by the sight of the cadaverish Supreme Tao Ancestor casting a glance in his direction.
Contrary to his dreadful appearance, that look was so gentle, calm, silently soothing the unease and fear deep within Shen Yuan’s heart.
Then, an aged voice rose from within the True Spirit.
"The Dao that can be told, is not the eternal Dao..."
Shen Yuan suddenly woke up.
Looking around, he found himself, unknowingly, on a simple and crudely constructed wagon.
The cart, assembled from worn-out planks, seemed barely able to prevent collapse. Without any shock absorbers, the wheels rolling over the ground brought a sensation of jolting.
The only special feature was the hanging of an ancient authority token inscribed with the word "Dao" on the exterior of the carriage compartment, but its color was as old and decayed as the carriage itself.
What imparting of Tao to all heavens, what Tao Achievement’s Great Seat, what Supreme corpse, all seemed like nothing but an illusory dream inside this simple carriage compartment.
The unease in his heart slightly dissipated, Shen Yuan subconsciously checked his own condition, only for the answer to cause a great change in his expression.
At this moment, his realm had unknowingly climbed to the Spirit Refining Peak, his accumulation had reached its limit, and all that was left was to merge with heaven and earth to step into the Return-to-Void Realm.
What was more important was that the Great Tao manifestation, which had been perfected through the endless interpretation of Dao rhyme, still existed.
"The experiences I had before were not mere illusions but were real!"
"I entered the Land of Taoism Impartation by mistake and witnessed the gathering of immortals and gods, the Supreme Tao Impartation!"
After the initial shock, he finally managed to suppress the tumultuous thoughts.
No matter the reason for the Supreme corpse, it was not something that a mere Spirit Refining cultivator like him could touch.
Compared to that hidden great terror, figuring out the current situation was of greater importance.
After running the "Great Void Spirit Refining Method" and confirming that there were no hidden dangers in his realm advancement, Shen Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, his state was at an unprecedented peak, and if he wished, he could complete the merger with the heaven and earth to step into the Return-to-Void Realm at any time.
But Shen Yuan had no intention of breaking through at this moment.
Although the Great Tao manifestation had been perfected through the endless interpretation of Dao rhyme, the first transformation of the Great Tao manifestation that Shen Yuan envisioned had not yet been completed.
Shen Yuan believed that if the Great Tao manifestation could undergo its first transformation, it would bring tremendous benefits, and when he merged with the heaven and earth afterward, he might ascend in one step.
After probing and understanding the most concerning aspects of his own condition, Shen Yuan finally had the mind to look around at his environment.
The carriage still moved forward, and aside from Shen Yuan, there was only a charioteer driving on the outside.
This carriage might look old and worn, but the charioteer outside possessed the cultivation of the Spirit Refining Stage, enough to be appointed a True Being in the Great Yin, presiding over a territory.
And yet, here he seemed content to drive an old carriage and showed not the slightest unwillingness.
A sense of caution faintly arose in Shen Yuan’s heart, just as he saw the charioteer turn his head in surprise as if he sensed the movement inside the carriage.
"Sir, you’ve awakened!"
Sir?
Shen Yuan’s eyebrows rose slightly as he calmly inquired, "Where are we headed?"
The charioteer seemed not to be surprised by Shen Yuan’s question.
"Did Sir enter the dream of a thousand autumns again?
One’s consciousness returning from a history spanning a thousand autumns could indeed result in some memory loss, but with Sir’s Divine Skills, a little recuperation will be sufficient for a full recovery."
The charioteer paused for a moment, patiently explaining:
"We are on our way to Linzi, the capital of the Qi State; we are less than a day’s journey from Linzi.
The Hundred Schools scholars wish to hold a grand ceremony of Taoism at the Jixia Academy, and great demons from the ten directions as well as the gods and Buddhas of the Luotian Realm will all go to Linzi to observe the ceremony."
Shen Yuan keenly captured the words "Luotian Realm" and realized in his heart that he had arrived in the Luotian Realm from the Land of Taoism Impartation.
The originally designated location of the All-Worlds Luotian Convention was right in the midst of this Luotian Realm.
With this thought, Shen Yuan felt a sudden release inside.
His gaze fell on the charioteer, and Shen Yuan looked at the old carriage, his brow furrowing as he said:
"Seeing as Linzi is less than a day away, we could just hasten our travel using Divine Skills, why bother riding in this old carriage and delaying our time?"
The charioteer suddenly became alarmed and quickly said:
"Sir must not!
With a stature such as yours, Sir, you must arrive at the Jixia Academy in a carriage to display your status.
This is not only the way of the Dao but also a great courtesy!"
"And why is that?"
"Because Sir, you are one of the Hundred Schools scholars!"

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