Dao Tree

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. After entering deep seclusion, Joe Di opened his eyes for the first time.

Ever since he began cultivating, he had refined his Grand Dao countless times, debating Dao with other cultivators and absorbing the strengths and weaknesses of their paths.

Even his Dao discussions with Emperor Ye and Nick Ning were numerous. He had severed his Dao many times, and even undergone Nirvana for his own path. His Dao had grown ever stronger, and in the end, he joined Emperor Ye and Nick Ning in forging a new, vast universe.

Though Joe Di had not yet truly experienced the new vast universe, he knew that the universe the three of them had built had already surpassed all the Saints of Saint Seat Plaza.

This included Saint Qin Ji and Saint Tai Hong. Joe Di was certain that their Dao and cosmic worlds could not compare to the new universe the three of them had constructed.

Whether it was him, Emperor Ye, or Nick Ning, their understanding of the Dao was fundamentally aligned. This was why they could join forces, complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and construct the new vast universe—transcending even the bounds of Cosmic Tribulation.

Yet over these thousand-plus years, Joe Di had witnessed countless Dao debates among the Saints of Saint Seat Plaza, and then spent a hundred years organizing the gains and losses from those debates.

Today, Joe Di’s conclusion was that his Grand Dao was still far from complete.

If not for Saint Qin Ji’s pursuit of the Ninth Layer of Divinity, and if not for the existence of the vast Chaos, perhaps the universe Dao forged by the three of them would have become the strongest cosmic world. Their Daos would have reached the ultimate peak, and no new Dao would ever surpass them.

But there are no ifs. Now, Joe Di was certain that Divinity had nine layers, not just the Fourth Step of Dao attainment. No matter how powerful the universe they built, it could not allow them to reach the Ninth Layer of Divinity.

But what is this form?

Joe Di looked at his own hand, suddenly sensing that perhaps this form was his very flesh. By transforming his body into a Dao vessel, he could refine all manner of Daos upon it, just like...

Yes, just like a towering tree. At first, he cultivated only a single Dao—like a tree without branches.

If, one day, he wished to cultivate other Daos, then this giant tree would have to stretch out its branches.

Joe Di chuckled at himself. He had never considered transforming into a Dao vessel, nor merging his body with the Dao. In truth, he didn’t even possess a tree—how could he possibly grow branches upon it?

Luckily, he realized this in time; otherwise, even if he cultivated until the end of his days, he could never fuse the three Daos into a single, majestic tree.

To merge his body with the Dao and become a giant tree—Joe Di would never do such a thing. He wasn’t so noble as to forsake even his soul and consciousness for the Dao.

Besides, even if he did merge with the Dao and become the Dao tree, who would govern its future growth and mastery?

Joe Di gazed at the still-burning supreme spirit vein, feeling a trace of worry.

What vessel should he use as the foundation for this grand Dao tree? If he didn’t choose a Dao tree, he could only cultivate the Dao of rules; all other Daos would have nowhere to reside.

As another supreme spirit vein burned away, the capture array swiftly retrieved a fresh one from the teleportation formation and fed it in.

Once again, the Chaos outside was sealed off...

Joe Di stared blankly at the burning supreme spirit vein, lost in thought for several breaths before slapping his forehead. How foolish he’d been.

Why had he, Emperor Ye, and Nick Ning been able to construct a new universe together? Why did their Daos coexist within that universe?

Wasn’t it because they used the vast Chaos as the world’s source? Otherwise, no matter how powerful their Daos, they could never have created a new universe.

Chaos as the source was the true foundation for the Dao tree; and with the complementarity of their three Daos, a complete new universe took shape.

Who was Joe Di to think he could ignore Chaos as the vessel, and, relying on his own strength alone, fuse the three Daos—even create a universe that combined all three?

Was this arrogance, or ignorance?

Joe Di sprang to his feet, excitement surging through him. All these years had not been in vain. Now, he needed only to enter Chaos and use it to build his Dao tree. Once it was constructed, not only could he fuse the three Daos—even in the future, if he encountered other outstanding Daos, he could merge them too.

Joe Di had a vague sense that, once he built the Dao tree with the help of Chaos, he might not need to cross Chaos at all—he could already uncover the secret of the Ninth Layer of Divinity.

As yet another supreme spirit vein was consumed, the capture array snatched a new one from the teleportation formation and fed it in at top speed.

He stared at the burning formation for hours, finally abandoning the idea of entering it to communicate with Chaos. It was far too risky. If he were discovered, Joe Di might never survive.

Even if he wasn’t discovered, entering the burning formation was still akin to carrying his head in his hands.

Joe Di stepped out of his protective array, intending to take a stroll on the Chaos ship and see if there was any chance to approach Chaos beyond the vessel.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist, you haven’t come out in a hundred years." As soon as Joe Di emerged, a hearty laugh greeted him.

"Fellow Daoist Hai Yi, long time no see." Seeing that it was Saint Hai Yi, Joe Di hurriedly cupped his fists in greeting. He noticed a trigger restriction set up by Hai Yi outside his shielding array—clearly, Saint Hai Yi had long wanted to meet him, but Joe Di had been in seclusion.

Saint Hai Yi rubbed his hands and chuckled, "Indeed, it’s been a long time..."

Noticing Hai Yi’s slight embarrassment, Joe Di asked, "Fellow Daoist Hai Yi, is there something you need?"

Saint Hai Yi nodded at once, "Actually, I do have a favor to ask. Sometimes I need to leave my guard post for extended periods, but..."

Joe Di immediately understood and said, "Fellow Daoist Hai Yi, why not set up an automatic array to capture spirit veins? I’m sure you’re capable of that."

Saint Hai Yi sighed, "Of course I can do it, but unfortunately, I’m unable to set it up. If I could, Saint Qin Ji and Saint Tai Hong would have done so long ago. We wouldn’t have to manually add burning spirit veins."

"Why?" Joe Di blurted out, but as soon as he asked, he suddenly understood.