Dao is a toad.
This single sentence captures the essence of Dao Ancestor's pursuit of Dao.
Dao Ancestor once sought Dao and ignored worldly affairs, unable even to provide for his own food, clothing, and shelter, relying on Great Brahma King Buddha for charity. Back when Quinn Shepherd returned to the early Dragon-Han Era and met them, it was Great Brahma King Buddha who begged for alms and brought spirit pills to support the two.
At that time, Dao Ancestor was wholly absorbed in Dao, caring nothing for right or wrong in the world.
Dao is a toad—he mistook ancient gods for Dao, for toads, and used numerology to decode them. Through these million long years, he pushed classic numerology to its peak, unraveling the Dao within ancient gods and turning it into runes, helping the Ten Heavenly Venerables build the Heaven Palace system.
He no longer needed Great Brahma King Buddha to beg for him.
Yet when Quinn Shepherd spoke of seeking Dao from Dao, he meant that Dao Ancestor sought Dao from ancient gods. Ancient gods are the embodiment of Dao—their Dao was always there, with or without his seeking, and he created nothing.
Quinn Shepherd then said to seek Dao from man—meaning that humans possess creativity. Before humans, there was no sword Dao; humans invented sword Dao. There was no painting or calligraphy Dao; humans created those. There was no Spirit Embryo Treasury; humans forged it. There were no cultivation manuals; humans wrote them.
Cultivation systems—whether Divine Treasuries or Heaven Palace—were all created by humans. They don’t belong to ancient gods, nor to toads.
Dao Ancestor spent all these years studying ancient gods, lost in scholarship, unable to break free—and so his achievements fell short of the Ten Heavenly Venerables.