Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 500 Star Map
Chapter 508

Daoxu "saw" a tower.

A tower, pure white and flawless, constructed entirely of pure light.

Within a radius of tens of thousands of miles around the tower, there was no pollution from the Ruins of Return, nor any anomalies in spacetime. It was as if the tower itself was an absolute "safe zone."

At the top of the tower, a stable and powerful "beacon" is emanating from it.

That beacon belongs neither to the torch, nor to the void, nor to those "shadows".

It is full of the meaning of "order", "protection" and "summoning".

It is calling to all the guardians of the Flame Faction who are lost in this forbidden zone.

It is like a lighthouse.

A lighthouse, guiding all ships through the dark storm of despair.

Daoxu stood quietly, gazing at the tower.

He could sense the presence of "life" within that tower.

And, there's more than one.

Is it a trap? Or... a "comrade"?
Daoxu did not hesitate.

He took a step forward, and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant, heading straight for the "Tower of Light" located at the core of the distorted spacetime.

No matter what lies ahead.

He will forge ahead without hesitation.

And this final game, with the entire Chaos Sea as its chessboard, began to truly move towards its unpredictable climax because of his resolute step!
The moment Dao Xu stepped into this distorted spacetime, his steps did not falter in the slightest.

Within a three-foot radius around him, it seemed as if a world of its own existed. The "space" outside, which was twisted into a pretzel, and the "time" that sometimes surged like a waterfall and sometimes solidified like amber, were forcibly "calibrated" back to their most original and correct state by an invisible force when they touched the area around him.

He walked in an absolutely "normal" world, while around him was a bizarre and absurd "abnormal" world.

On the left, a galaxy that should be billions of light-years away is compressed into a "knife" as thin as a cicada's wing, lying across the dam. At the edge of the blade, the flow of time is extremely fast, and a moment is billions of years. You can see the birth and death of stars on the blade, endlessly repeating the cycle.

On the right, a fragment of a dam is trapped in the "quagmire" of time, endlessly repeating the state of the previous moment. A ferocious beast that has strayed into the void is trapped within, forever stuck in the position of "raising its front paws," unable to lower them or retract them, trapped in the eternal "present."

Further afield, scenes of the "past" and the "future" overlap like a mirage. In the Dao Ruins, one can see that in a possible future fragment, supreme beings shed their blood here, the Great Dao crumbles, and transforms into dazzling fireworks. One can also see that in the even more ancient "past," ancestors built dams here, chanting ancient songs, using their flesh and blood and will to resist the nascent Guixu.

None of these things could have any effect on Daoxu.

He is like an absolute "truth," walking in a world full of "falsehoods." Falsehoods cannot shake truth; they can only briefly reveal their absurd nature when truth passes by.

His gaze remained fixed on the "Tower of Light" located at the core of the distortion.

As he moved forward, the outline of the tower became clearer and clearer.

Its entire body is composed of an indescribable "light," a light that is neither dazzling nor scorching, but rather carries a warmth and inclusiveness like amniotic fluid. It is like a "singularity" in a chaotic sea, an absolute "origin of order."

There were no runes or carvings on the tower, only the purest "light" flowing within. But Dao Xu could "see" that inside that light, there were billions of "order structures" smaller than mustard seeds in operation. They were interconnected, forming a perfectly self-consistent "defense system" that kept out all the distortions and chaos from the outside world.

This is a kind of "order" that is completely different from "the torch," yet ultimately leads to the same goal.

The order of the torch is "resistance," "burning," proactive action, and the front line of protecting the entire "existence."

The order of this tower is "steadfastness," "anchoring," and "self-imposed confinement," guarding a pure land of "absolute truth" amidst endless chaos.

Daoxu stopped in front of the tower.

He could sense that the several life forms inside the tower had already discovered him.

Their aura was ancient and powerful, yet it carried a deep weariness and loneliness, as if they had been imprisoned for far too long.

The tower gate opened silently and on its own.

A gentle thought, yet tinged with uncertainty and tension, emanated from it:
"May I ask... who comes here? Are you... the successor of the 'Torch'?"

Dao Xu did not answer; he simply stepped into the tower.

The scene inside the tower was completely different from the desolate and dilapidated outside.

This is a vibrant little world.

There is green grass, a stream, a few rustic thatched cottages, and even a few graceful cranes preening their feathers by the stream. The sky is a soft curtain of light, which is the inner wall of the "light" that makes up the tower.

Everything here seemed so peaceful and serene, like a legendary paradise.

But Daoxu knew that this "paradise" was bought at the cost of endless loneliness and imprisonment.

Three figures stood in front of the thatched hut.

Leading the group was an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in grey linen robes. His eyes were like two bottomless ancient wells, filled with the vicissitudes of changing eras. He was the master of that consciousness, his aura the most unfathomable, yet also the most weary.

To his left stood a burly, resolute-faced middle-aged man carrying a massive stone axe on his back. His muscles were bulging, exuding explosive power, but between his brows lay an unyielding anxiety and ferocity, like a peerless ferocious tiger trapped in a cage.

To the right stood a woman dressed in pristine white, her beauty unparalleled. Her aura was ethereal yet compassionate, and her eyes seemed to gleam with wisdom. She gazed at Daoxu, her eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of… barely perceptible hope.

“I am the ‘Guardian of the Lamp’,” the old man in hemp robes spoke first, his voice hoarse as if he hadn’t spoken to anyone for countless years. “This is ‘Cangya’, and this is ‘Lingshu’. We are the guardians of the ‘True Coordinates’.”

He paused, scrutinizing Dao Xu closely, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes: "You possess the aura of 'Fire' within you, yet... it is entirely different. You... are not any of the 'Fire Bearers' we know. Who exactly are you?"

Dao Xu's gaze swept over the three of them.

He could "see" that the three of them had cultivated their Dao to an unbelievable level. Each of them was no less than Lei Zhu and Wen Xi. In fact, this "Guardian of the Lamp" had already faintly touched the threshold of another level.

But their "path" was "locked" by this tower, or rather, by this area.

Their power can operate perfectly within the tower, but as soon as they leave the tower's range, they are immediately eroded by the distorted spacetime outside, causing their Dao Fruit to collapse.

They are guardians, and also... prisoners. "My name is Daoxu."

Dao Xu finally spoke, his voice calm and devoid of any emotion, yet it seemed to contain some supreme "principle," causing the great Dao of this small world to resonate softly in harmony.

“Daoxu…” the lamp keeper murmured to himself, while Cangya and Lingshu beside him also looked bewildered.

They had never heard of this name before.

In the long history of the war between the flame and the void, there has never been such a person.

"How...how did you get here?" Cangya, the most impatient of them all, couldn't help but ask. His voice was like a giant axe cleaving through metal and stone, full of power. "The 'Twisted Corridor' outside, and that damned 'Causal Cliff,' even in our prime, we dared not easily set foot here! How did you..."

His words were interrupted by the lamplighter raising his hand.

The lampkeeper gazed intently at Daoxu, and for the first time, a violent turmoil stirred in his usually calm eyes.

Because he "saw" it.

He saw Daoxu walking towards him, his three-foot-tall figure "absolutely normal".

He saw that none of the myriad distortions could penetrate him; none of the billions of absurdities could disturb him.

That's not about using magic to resist, nor using supernatural powers to break through.

That's a higher level of... "posture".

Just as mortals cannot "pollute" a silent stone with words.

Because they are not even on the same level of "existence".

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is..." The lamplighter suddenly became excited, his old body trembling slightly with emotion. "Not just 'fire'... but even better than 'fire'! You... you've found another path! A path that even the 'Lord of Fire' hasn't found!"

"Old man, what nonsense are you spouting!" Cangya frowned. "The Path of the Flame is the only righteous way to protect 'existence.' How can there be another path?"

"You brute, what do you know!" Ling Shu, who was standing to the side, rarely spoke up and scolded him. Her wise eyes were shining with an unprecedented brilliance as she stared intently at Dao Xu. "The Flame of Inheritance is within the 'rules' to resist 'erosion.' And this Lord Dao Xu... he himself is the 'rule'!"

Upon hearing this, Cangya was instantly stunned.

He couldn't fully understand it, but it sounded impressive.

The lampkeeper exhaled a long, stale breath, a breath that seemed to carry away the pent-up frustration and despair of countless eras. He then solemnly and deeply bowed to the Dao Ruins.

"Lord Daoxu, please forgive our poor eyesight."

“We have been waiting here for nine epochs.”

"What we're waiting for isn't rescue."

"Instead, it is someone like you, someone who can 'ignore' everything here and walk up to us... 'hope'."

Dao Xu's gaze remained calm.

He ignored the other person's excitement and reverence, and instead asked the question that concerned him: "What are the true coordinates?"

Upon hearing this, the lamplighter's expression turned solemn.

He didn't answer immediately, but waved his hand.

The entire scene of the small world changed in an instant.

The grass, the streams, the thatched huts—all vanished.

Instead, there was an endless, dark "star map".

This star map does not depict the stars of the universe, but is composed of countless "points of light," some bright and some dim. Each point of light represents a "world," a "civilization," and a "unit of existence."

At the center of the star chart, there is a cluster of light as intense as the sun; that is the origin of the "fire".

At the edge of the star map, there is a vast expanse of darkness that is constantly spreading and swallowing up those "points of light".

That is, "Return to the Ruins".

“This is what we know as ‘war’,” the lamplighter said in a deep voice, pointing to the star map.

"The flame of life guards the core of 'existence.' We, the guardians, stand atop the dike, preventing the spread of 'return to nothingness.' We believe this is a tug-of-war between 'existence' and 'nothingness.'"

"But we were wrong."

The lamplighter's finger suddenly pointed to the darkness beyond the "Ruins of Return," to that deeper, more indescribable, true "nothingness."

hum!
The star map changes once again.

This time, it was "magnified".

Dao Xu saw that the entire star map that had previously represented the "Battlefield of the Flame and the Ruins" was actually just a huge, slowly sinking "bubble"!
And beneath this "bubble" lies the "Black Coast," a place he had once glimpsed in the distance!
Countless "shadows" on the shore, like fishermen waiting to collect seashells at low tide, wait for the world's original essence, worn away by the "return to nothingness," to settle down in the "bubbles" and become their "food."

And that "King," seated at the edge of darkness, upon his throne, is asleep...

His existence is the very foundation of that "Black Coast"!
"Do you see that?" The lamplighter's voice trembled with fear. "This is the 'truth'."

"Our so-called 'whole world,' the 'existence' for which we fight and sacrifice, is nothing more than a 'bubble' about to burst on the edge of His dream."

"The Void is not our enemy. It is more like a 'filter', a 'digestive system'. It crushes 'existence' and breaks it down into the most primordial 'nutrients', which then settle down to nourish those 'shadows' and ultimately, to nourish the sleeping 'king'."

“And the greatness of the torch lies precisely in this.” A hint of respect appeared in the lamplighter’s eyes. “It may be the ‘self-preservation instinct’ that this ‘bubble’ itself condensed at the very beginning of its birth. It was unaware of the existence of the ‘King,’ but it instinctively resisted this trend of ‘decline.’ It was trying to strengthen the boundaries of this ‘bubble’ and delay the time when it would burst.”

“We, all the guardians, are merely extensions of the ‘self-salvation instinct’ of the Flame.”

Cangya's face had lost all color. His unwavering Dao heart was now undergoing an unprecedented shock.

(End of this chapter)