Joe Di did not immediately return to Genesis City. Although his injuries were lighter than Lyle Yew's, he was still seriously wounded. For him, the first priority was to find a place to recover.
Besides healing, Joe Di had just comprehended Time's Fourth Loom, but the resonance of his divine ability remained somewhat scattered.
Genesis City is no ordinary place. Joe Di must restore himself to peak condition before returning there.
Time's Fourth Loom was established only after the seventh strike of Time's Third Loom was completely shattered. It can be considered a nirvana divine ability evolved from Time's Third Loom. Once Joe Di fully mastered this technique, it would become a powerful trump card.
As for Quinn Moten and the others in Genesis City, as long as Lyle Yew doesn't return, nothing will happen to them.
Deep within the Rift of Annihilation.
Nick Ning stopped refining his Grand Way. He stared blankly at the Dao Seed before him, its Dao resonance growing ever more substantial. His own Dao resonance, the Primeval Pearl, and all the Grand Way aura around him slowly dissipated into endless Dao resonance, which would once again merge into the Dao Seed, continuously strengthening it.
Yet at this moment, Nick Ning hesitated.
Even though Nick Ning knew better than anyone that hesitation was the greatest taboo in seeking the Grand Way.
His Grand Way is: As long as I exist, the Way exists.
But now, as he was about to re-condense his own cosmic Dao Seed, he hesitated.
Nick Ning was certain that if he did not hesitate, as long as his universe was formed again, at the Genesis Realm, he could even kill Lyle Yew with a slap.
He had already found the flaw in his Grand Way, found his own deficiency, and even found a way to perfect his Grand Way.
Why did he hesitate?
It was the Primeval Pearl, the world he constructed during creation, all the Dao resonance of his Grand Way, countless insights that accompanied his growth, and things he could not bear to part with…
When his Dao Seed completely began to condense the cosmic Grand Way, all these things would dissipate. Would Nick Ning still be Nick Ning? He was a sentimental person—whether it was his Grand Way divine abilities, the Primeval Pearl, or his own world, these had accompanied him through countless life-and-death moments and helped him immeasurably.
He could give up these things, but he absolutely could not let them dissipate. Emotionally, he could not accept it…
Moreover, in Nick Ning's view, in the entire Genesis Universe, only one person was qualified to condense a Dao Seed—Emperor Ye. Apart from Emperor Ye, no one was qualified to condense a cosmic Dao Seed, including Nick Ning himself.
Even if he condensed his own Grand Way Dao Seed, his Unity Grand Way Dao Seed would still be inferior to Emperor Ye's. Even if he could crush everyone else, he would still be a step behind Emperor Ye. It was not that his Unity Grand Way was inferior to Emperor Ye's, but that after condensing the Dao Seed, his Grand Way would be inferior to Emperor Ye's.
All these years adventuring with Emperor Ye, both of them knew each other's Grand Way. Emperor Ye cultivated the Three Lives Dao Technique. More precisely, it was no longer the Three Lives Dao Technique condensed in the Golden Page World, but one personally forged by Emperor Ye himself.
Emperor Ye fused his own Dao, transforming one into two, two into three, and three into the myriad universes! When Emperor Ye condensed his Dao Seed, it would not destroy any Dao resonance, and even his three golden pages would ascend to a higher level. This was completely different from Nick Ning's Unity Grand Way, which was built upon the existing universe and all its things. Thus, for Nick Ning to condense a cosmic Dao Seed, the first thing to be destroyed would be all the Dao resonance and treasures that had accompanied him for countless years. In this respect, he could never compare to Emperor Ye.
He and Emperor Ye were brothers, having survived life and death together innumerable times. If it were merely that his Grand Way was inferior to Emperor Ye's, he could accept it. But now, at this level of cultivation, Nick Ning understood a deeper truth: in the universe, only one cultivator could condense a Dao Seed. If both he and Emperor Ye condensed Dao Seeds, his would inevitably fall behind.
Otherwise, the two would become incompatible, and one day, they would inevitably stand opposed.
No, that's not right...
Nick Ning let out a long breath. At last, he understood why he had only sensed his own Dao Seed, and not a second one in the universe.
It was because Emperor Ye, upon sensing that Nick Ning had already refined a Dao Seed, refrained from using his own Grand Way to evolve all things. He worried that his own power would be diminished, that his universe would be limited, or that the brothers would become enemies in the future. Otherwise, with Emperor Ye's extraordinary talent, he would have condensed a Dao Seed long ago.
"Thank you, brother," Nick Ning murmured, and without hesitation, he dispersed his Dao Seed.
Since they were brothers, his Grand Way could not rely on his brother's concession, nor could it be inferior to his brother's. He wanted to forge a Grand Way of his own, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Emperor Ye.
As the Dao resonance seed dispersed, the endless annihilation aura within the Rift of Annihilation once again stripped away Nick Ning's flesh and blood, filling his heart with a profound sense of emotion.
He had seized the chance to condense a Dao Seed before Emperor Ye, yet Emperor Ye had not competed with him for the cosmic Dao Seed. It was easy to imagine that during this time, Emperor Ye must have endured the annihilating aura within the Rift of Annihilation, letting it tear at his flesh and soul. What a terrifying ordeal—and what a precious friendship.
Watching the dissipating world laws and Xuanhuang Dao principles born from annihilation, Nick Ning felt as if his heart were being cut by a blade. His desire for vengeance was too urgent; after realizing his own deficiency, he hadn't thought things through and had directly condensed a Dao Seed.
Now he could only watch helplessly as the world laws and Xuanhuang Dao principles of his Dao Seed's annihilated world faded away, powerless to stop it.
Every world, including his Primeval Pearl, was evolved from laws. Once those laws or Dao principles were shattered, there would be no way to restore them...
Within the vast universe, nothing exists without laws. Even the law-breaking divine abilities he once comprehended in the Realm of Broken Laws were governed by rules. In his understanding of the Grand Way, even the absence of rules is a rule in itself...
Even the absence of rules is a rule in itself...
As this thought suddenly emerged, it was as if a bolt of lightning exploded deep within Nick Ning's mind. His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
At that moment, the blood mist and Dao resonance stripped away by the annihilating Dao principles in the Rift of Annihilation seemed somehow different from before. Nick Ning stared blankly into the void, feeling as though something was within reach, yet just barely eluding his grasp.
Crack! Another bone was swept away by the annihilating Dao principles, the intense pain jolting Nick Ning awake.
"Hahaha!" Nick Ning burst into wild laughter, mocking his own stubbornness and celebrating his newfound enlightenment.
In the past, he had taught others about the three stages of the Grand Way. The first stage: seeing mountains as mountains, and water as water. The second stage: seeing mountains not as mountains, and water not as water. The third stage: seeing mountains as mountains again, and water as water again.
He thought he had long since grasped this truth, even passing it on to others.
Only today did he realize he had never truly understood it.
No rules means no rules—why should the lack of rules itself be a rule? His law-breaking divine ability had always remained at the second level, and so had his Grand Way.
All cultivators revolve around the rules of heaven and earth, even constructing their own universe worlds from rules, whatever those rules may be.
It was as if he had been crushed by Lyle Yew because he was too entangled in the rules of his own world, too obsessed with the laws of the Five Elements Universe.
Why should he be like everyone else? Since others all evolve their Grand Way through the rules of heaven and earth, he would abandon all rules and evolve a Grand Way of his own.
"Break the rules!" Nick Ning raised his hand and struck out, blasting away Dao resonance that had seemed perfectly refined.
In an instant, the Dao principles of his body and world were swept away by the annihilating aura of the Rift of Annihilation. Yet in the next moment, the world of the Primeval Pearl and his Grand Way were condensed once more.
All the rules within the Primeval Pearl remained unchanged, but Nick Ning no longer felt any attachment. Whenever he wished, he could seize any rule at will.
His own world transformed into a cosmic embryo. Closing his eyes, Nick Ning sensed this cosmic embryo, at whose edges endless ruleless void was unfolding.
Nick Ning tore at the void with both hands. The Rift of Annihilation, so hard that no one could rend it, now split open with a crack. Nick Ning stepped into the rift and vanished from sight.
No rules does not mean ignoring rules. He had comprehended the Grand Way of rulelessness, but his universe did not have to be without rules. He could seize any rule at will, turning all of heaven and earth into a domain without rules.
Now he needed to traverse the vast cosmic void, to further elevate his Grand Way of rulelessness by comprehending all the rules of heaven and earth within the universe.
When he felt he had fully perfected the Grand Way of rulelessness, it would be time to return here, to go to Genesis City.
For at that time, any missing cosmic rule or Dao principle could be mended with a wave of his hand. This was the true realm of seeing mountains as mountains and water as water.
(That's all for today. Good night, friends!)