Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 498 The Cliff of Cause and Effect
Chapter 506

For him, "treating" this "lesion" is also a form of "spiritual practice".

His understanding of "existence" and "non-existence," and his control over "order" and "chaos," have deepened to a new level.

Just as the Well of Sorrow in the Epoch was about to be completely healed, at the very last moment...

An extremely faint, almost imperceptible stream of information drifted out from the bottom of the well and actively merged into Dao Xu's fingertips.

That was not left behind by any remnant of civilization.

It is older and more original.

It was as if the "well" itself, before disappearing completely, was giving back to the Dao Ruins that had healed it as a "gift of gratitude."

hum!
Dao Xu's body trembled slightly.

A "scene" that didn't belong to him flashed through his mind.

That was a... sea.

An endless, pitch-black "sea".

This sea is the "Boundary Sea" that Daoxu has always faced.

However, in this scene, he saw the "end" of the boundary sea.

That is neither "nothingness" nor "non-existence".

Instead, it was a... black "coast".

On the coast, there stand some indescribable, twisted, and bizarre "shadows".

They seem to be composed of pure "malice" and "madness".

What shook Dao Xu's will the most was that he saw that the shattered universes and broken worlds that had been swallowed by "Gui Xu" in the Boundary Sea... after being "filtered" and "distorted" by Gui Xu, their "remains" were actually washed ashore on that black coast!

Then, they were devoured and absorbed by those distorted "shadows" on the shore, just like enjoying a meal!
Returning to the Void... is not the end?
Is it just a "channel"? A "filter"?
It transforms the "existing" world into "non-existent" energy, and then transmits it to... "something" on that black coast?
And we, the guardians, the torchbearer, this dam... everything we protect, everything we fight against...

Are we just selecting "food" for those "shadows"?
This thought, like a thunderclap of creation, exploded in Dao Xu's heart!
This is a terrifying truth that could overturn everything!
All beings, including those high-ranking "chess players," have always believed that their enemy is "the Void," the absolute opposite that represents "ultimate nothingness."

But what if there's something else standing behind the Ruins of Return?

If "nothingness" is merely a process.

And at the end of the process, is there an "existence" that is even more terrifying and incomprehensible than "nothingness"?

For the first time, a hint of... solemnity appeared on Dao Xu's eternally unchanging face.

The Flame Imprint within him, upon sensing this flow of information, erupted with unprecedented fear and resistance, trembling wildly as if it had seen its "natural enemy."

Dao Xu slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the endless mist, looking deeper into the dam.

That place was a true "forbidden zone" that even the guardians had never set foot in.

He knew that his previous thoughts might have been wrong.

He is not only the "doctor" of this dike.

He may have to face more than just the "lesions" on the dam.

In this final game, with the entire chaotic sea as the chessboard.

The real "enemy" may not have actually taken the stage yet.

He clenched his fist, and the "Return to the Void Crystal," which he had refined and transformed from the essence of the Void Spirit, emanated a chilling aura in his palm.

He felt the pure power of "nothingness" within it.

Perhaps, this power is not just the power of "destruction".

It is also a "key".

A key that leads to that "Black Coast".

Daoxu did not linger.

He took a step and continued forward.

His figure remained lonely.

But his goal was no longer simply to "repair" the dam.

He was going to the end of the dam.

He was going to the depths of that mist.

He wanted to see it for himself.

That area, the so-called "Black Coast".

And what exactly are those "things" on the coast that feed on "the ruins"?
His path, at this moment, became clearer, and...more dangerous.

And this endless, desolate sea dike, because of this glimpse of the truth, began to stir up a raging storm in the years to come, a storm that even those chess players who resided in the "land of truth" could not have foreseen!

The sea has no boundaries, and time passes silently.

Dao Xu's footsteps etched an invisible "Dao mark" on the ancient embankment. This mark was not imprinted on matter, but engraved on the very foundation of "existence." Wherever he passed, time and space were smoothed, laws were sorted out, and the lamentations of all paths returned to a supreme tranquility.

Far behind him, Lei Zhu and Wen Xi, like two tiny boats, struggled to keep up with the figure that was about to disappear into the distance.

They dared not get too close.

Simply following the "lingering influence" left behind by Daoxu made them feel unprecedented pressure and...fortune.

The Thunder Lord's "Great Path of Thunder" is undergoing an inconceivable transformation. In the past, his thunder was destruction, judgment, and the embodiment of the universe's violent emotions. But now, under the wash of that "afterglow," a completely opposite attribute is gradually emerging within the origin of his thunder—"vitality."

At the end of destruction lies not nothingness, but rebirth.

This profound truth, which could only be glimpsed in ancient texts, was now vividly displayed in his Dao. His bottleneck, the invisible barrier that had troubled him for countless eras, was quietly dissolving in a gentle, pervasive way.

"This..." Lei Zhu was utterly shocked. He could sense that if he stopped and went into seclusion for even a moment, he might be able to take that long-awaited half-step towards a higher level.

However, he did not stop.

He stared intently ahead, even though the figure had become so blurred that it was just a "concept," he was unwilling to give up following it.

Because he understood that this moment of "fortune" was nothing more than a speck of "dust" that had inadvertently slipped through the fingers of that being as he walked.

The true "Tao" lies ahead.

Compared to the Thunder Lord's shock, Wen Xi's feelings were more complex. Her "inclusive" Dao allowed her to understand the current state of Dao Xu more deeply than the Thunder Lord.

In her perception, Daoxu was no longer an "individual".

He is like a "standard", a "starting point".

As he walked, he wasn't "repairing" the dam, but rather "defining" it. He was reaffirming to this distorted, morbid spacetime what was truly "correct."

What is "space"? The distance beneath his feet is "space". What is "time"? The rhythm of his steps is "time".

What is the "Great Way"? Its very existence is the "Great Way".

This feeling instilled in Wenxi a deep-seated awe stemming from her very being.

“We are... witnessing a miracle.” Wen Xi’s voice was soft, but it carried an unprecedented firmness. “A miracle that is happening that transcends the flame and the void, that transcends all our knowledge… the miracle of the Dao.”

Lei Zhu fell silent. He couldn't fully understand Wen Xi's words, but he could see the outcome. He looked up, gazing into the depths of the dam, at that forbidden zone shrouded in thick fog that even he found unsettling.

Where is he going?

“Yes.” Wen Xi nodded, her expression solemn. “The ‘truth’ he has glimpsed far surpasses that of you and me. The ‘enemy’ he will face may not be the ‘Ruins’ that we have been fighting against all along.”

"What could that be?"

Wen Xi shook her head, her beautiful eyes reflecting that lonely figure, and murmured to herself, "I don't know... but from today onwards, the history of this dam may... be rewritten."

……

Daoxu stopped in his tracks.

He has crossed the 30,000th barrier and entered an area where no guardian has ever been able to stay for long.

The scene here has changed once again.

There is no longer a "knot in the heart" like the Well of Weeping in the Epoch, nor a "tumor" like the Tomb of Ten Thousand Paths.

Ahead lies a fault line.

It was as if an unimaginable giant axe had struck the sea dike from the dimension of "existence."

Between the 3001st and 3002nd sections of the wall, a bottomless "chasm" appeared.

This chasm is not a spatial rift.

Rather, it is a precipice of "cause and effect".

Dao Xu stood quietly on the "cliff edge," his chaotic eyes gazing at this eerie area.

In his "vision," this chasm is filled with countless broken "causal lines."

A speck of dust falls here. It may have already struck the ground before it even "falls." Or it may remain "in the process of falling forever," never reaching its destination.

A thought arises here. You want to "move forward," and the result might be that your body instantly disintegrates into the most basic particles. Because the "cause" of "moving forward" does not lead to the "effect" of "displacement," but rather randomly links to "disintegration."

This is the graveyard of "logic" and the ruins of "reason".

Any being that attempts to force its way through this region using its own Dao will only suffer one fate—a confused Dao heart, a collapsed logic, and ultimately, even the concept of "self" will be completely dismantled, turning into a part of this chaotic cause and effect.

Because your "Tao" is built upon "logic" and "cause and effect." When the foundation collapses, how can anything built upon it survive?
This is a more insidious and unsolvable "decisive attack" than the pollution of the Ruins.

The pollution of the Ruins can still be resisted and purified.

But how can you withstand this "cliff of cause and effect"? You can't even predict what the "consequences" of "resisting" will be.

Dao Xu could "see" a skeleton lying quietly on the 30,002nd section of the cliff on the opposite bank.

The skeleton, entirely the color of alabaster jade, still radiated an immortal divine glow even after countless eons of decline. Inscribed upon the bones were countless "true words," each one seemingly containing the ultimate truth of a world's birth and death.

This is a supreme giant who once reached the level of Lei Zhu and Wen Xi, or even surpassed them.

He clearly intended to cross the cliff, but failed.

Dao Xu could even "go back" to the moment of his fall.

This tycoon unleashed his most treasured possession, a scroll of "The Chart of Destiny," attempting to forcibly reconnect the broken cause and effect with the certainty of "destiny," paving a path for the future.

However, the moment he stepped onto the Dao diagram, the cause of "destiny" led to the effect of "his own annihilation".

He was killed by his own "Tao".

Not even a chance to struggle.

Dao Xu's gaze shifted from the skeleton to the chaotic depths of the precipice.

His face, which had remained unchanged for ages, still showed no emotion.

Pity? Regret?
These things are meaningless to a powerful figure who has already fallen.

He was simply "observing" and "analyzing".

He saw that among those countless broken and disordered lines of cause and effect, there was an extremely faint yet ubiquitous "impurity".

It was a non-logical "virus" full of "malice" and "mockery".

It's like a highly skilled hacker who has invaded the sophisticated computer of the "universe," tampered with the lowest-level "code," and made "1+1" no longer equal "2," but equal to all random and absurd possibilities.

And this "viral" aura...

Dao Xu's gaze sharpened slightly.

It shares the same origin as the information flow from the "Black Coast" that he sensed at the bottom of the Well of Sorrow in the Epoch!

But it's clearer, more... "fresh".

It's as if this causal cliff formed not long ago. Or rather, it's being continuously "maintained" in this state of collapse by a force from a distant shore.

It turned out to be the case.

Dao Xu understood.

Guixu is a "battlefield".

Those "shadows" use this battlefield to project all sorts of incomprehensible "attacks" onto the world of "existence".

The "contamination" at Wandaozhong is a biological weapon.

The "despair" of the Well of Sorrow in the Epoch is a spiritual plague.

The "chaos" of this causal cliff is... a "logic bomb".

They are using these "lesions" on the dikes to test and screen different forms of weapons that can undermine "existence".

And the Flame, and all the guardians, throughout the endless ages of the past, did not even know who their true "enemy" was.

They were merely passively cleaning up the "radiation" and "ruins" left behind after these "weapons" exploded.

How sad.

Dao Xu slowly raised his right hand.

He did not use any magical treasures or activate any supernatural powers.

He simply extended that hand, composed of the origin of chaos and seemingly not existing in this world, toward the "Causal Cliff" that even supreme giants despaired over.

(End of this chapter)