Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapters 571 and 580: You also want to stop me?

Chapter 579

At the far end of the square, at the entrance to the giant tower, stood an elderly man dressed in simple linen clothes, with white hair and beard, standing quietly as if he had been waiting for a long time.

He looked like an ordinary old man, with no magical energy emanating from him.

But the moment Xu Ran and Tu Feng appeared, his eyes snapped open!

What a pair of eyes those are!

There are no whites of the eyes, no pupils, only endless rivers of stars flowing and stars being born and dying!
It was as if his eyes held the secrets of the entire universe!
"This old man is 'Tianjizi' and greets fellow Daoist."

The old man bowed slightly to Xu Ran, showing respect as an equal.

His voice, though not loud, seemed to resonate directly in the depths of one's soul, carrying a profound wisdom and insight that seemed to see through everything.

Tianjizi!
Tu Feng's heart suddenly clenched!
This name is a legend throughout the entire Tianxuan Starfield and even dozens of surrounding starfields!
He is the current head of the Eternal Star Pavilion!

An old monster who has lived for countless epochs, and who, according to legend, has already transcended the river of time and sat down to discuss the Dao with the immortals!

He actually... waited here in person?
Moreover, why does he address his senior as "fellow Daoist"?
Xu Ran's gaze fell on Tianjizi, and for the first time, a flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes.

"Can you see me?"

This seemingly random statement startled Tu Feng.

But a bitter smile appeared on Tianjizi's face.

“I can’t see it all.” He shook his head. “In my ‘Heavenly Secrets Disc,’ your ‘past’ is a chaotic mess, and your ‘future’ is nothingness. Only this coordinate point of ‘present’ is so clear… that the entire Heavenly Secrets Disc is trembling, as if it can’t bear the weight of it.”

"I have been in charge of the Heavenly Star Pavilion for three eras, deduced immortality, and explored forbidden things, but I have never seen a fellow Daoist like you... an existence that cannot be 'recorded'."

“So, you wait for me here,” Xu Ran said. This was a statement, not a question.

"Yes." Tianjizi nodded. "May I ask, fellow Daoist, what brings you to my humble Tianxing Pavilion?"

“I need a star map,” Xu Ran said bluntly, “the oldest and most complete kind.”

Upon hearing this, Tianjizi fell silent.

His eyes, which seemed to hold the stars, gazed intently at Xu Ran, as if trying to see right through him.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke: "Fellow Daoist, do you know that star map of that level is the top secret of my Heavenly Star Pavilion? It was pieced together little by little by countless predecessors who spent several eras of their efforts and traversed the ruins of the heavens. Its value is immeasurable."

“I know.” Xu Ran’s tone remained calm. “So, I can ‘exchange’ with you.”

"Exchange?" Tianjizi raised an eyebrow with interest. "Oh? I'm very curious, is there anything in this world that my Tianxing Pavilion doesn't have, but you... can offer?"

His words carried a powerful sense of confidence.

As the largest repository of intelligence and knowledge in the universe, the Eternal Celestial Star Pavilion encompasses almost everything in all the heavens and myriad realms. Cultivation techniques, supernatural powers, divine materials, secrets... they lack nothing.

Xu Ran looked at him without saying a word.

He simply and slowly extended his right hand.

In his palm, the black chess piece, formed from the "erroneous seed of Tao," floated silently.

Tianjizi's gaze fell on the chess piece, initially with a hint of scrutiny.

But soon, the expression on his face changed.

From curiosity, to solemnity, and then to...unbelievable shock!

"This...this is...the aura of 'The End'?!" he exclaimed in shock, his voice trembling slightly. "No! It's not pure The End! It also contains...a will of 'Return'!"

"Chaos and order, end and rebirth... Two completely opposite 'fundamental principles' have been perfectly unified in a tiny chess piece?!"

"What...what kind of creation is this?! Whose work is this?!"

Tianjizi completely lost his composure.

He has lived for countless ages and has seen more treasures than the sands of the Ganges.

But nothing could make him feel as...disruptive as this chess piece before him!
This is no longer a magic weapon!

This is the manifestation of the "Tao"! It is a higher level of "principle" that transcends the cognition of this universe!
Tianjizi's eyes, which held the very essence of galaxy's birth and death, were now violently contracting and expanding. The trajectories of the stars within them became chaotic, countless stars colliding and turning to dust, while countless nebulae were reborn from the chaos. This signified that his state of mind, his Dao, was undergoing an unprecedented and immense impact!
He stared intently at the black chess piece, as if trying to absorb his very soul into it. He could feel every strand of law that constituted his body, and indeed the entire City of Myriad Stars, groaning before that chess piece, as if in worship, or perhaps in fear.

Fear of something "foreign" that doesn't belong to this world.

"Where did you get this from, fellow Daoist?" Tianjizi asked with difficulty, his voice hoarse, no longer displaying the composure he once had when he seemed to know everything.

"I found it." Xu Ran's answer was so simple it was infuriating.

He withdrew his hand, and the black chess piece disappeared.

Tianjizi seemed to have all his strength drained away. His figure swayed slightly, and the void behind him showed a subtle distortion.

Picked it up?

This "Source of the Dao," which is enough to overturn an era and may even attract the covetous eyes of immortals, was actually... picked up?
The bitter smile on Tianjizi's face was more painful than tears. He knew the other party didn't want to talk. And for such a being, not wanting to talk meant the same thing as "you have no right to know."

He took a deep breath, forcibly calming his almost boiling Dao heart, and the chaotic scene in Shuangxinghe's eyes gradually returned to calm.

"Fellow Daoist...you have won."

He slowly uttered those four words, as if he had used up all his strength.

"In this world, there may indeed be things that my Heavenly Star Pavilion does not possess. The 'Dao' in your hands, fellow Daoist, is one of them. This old man has never heard of it, nor has he ever seen it."

"Using it to exchange for a star map is... a loss for you, fellow Daoist."

Tianjizi's words carried a complex mix of emotions: shock, awe, and a touch of fervent zeal as a seeker of the Dao.

He was acutely aware of the value that chess piece represented. If he could grasp even a fraction of its meaning, he might be able to touch that legendary state of "transcendence," a state even immortals dreamed of!
In comparison, a star map, no matter how precious, is merely a matter of technique, dead knowledge. But that chess piece is a living, breathing key—a "key" to the unknown path!
Chapter 580

"I only want the star map." Xu Ran's tone was completely calm, as if in his eyes, the chess piece that could make Tianjizi lose his composure was no different from a stone picked up from the roadside.

This attitude only made Tianjizi more certain that the person in front of him was probably many times more terrifying than he had imagined.

“Alright.” Tianjizi no longer hesitated, a resolute glint in his eyes. “Fellow Daoist, please follow me.”

After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the gate of the towering tower.

The colossal bronze gate, which had been tightly shut for countless epochs, opened silently and slowly as Tianjizi approached.

Inside the door, instead of the palaces and pavilions one might have imagined, there was a... much deeper, much more vast starry sky! It was as if the interior of this tower connected to another universe.

“Senior…” Tu Feng followed behind Xu Ran, looking at the unbelievable scene before him, and couldn’t help but transmit his voice, “This Tianjizi doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions.”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Xu Ran replied calmly.

Tu Feng was momentarily speechless upon hearing this, but then he understood.

Yes, I wouldn't dare.

Before such an incomprehensible and unfathomable being as a senior, any malice is as laughable as a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Tianjizi has lived for countless years; he naturally possesses this much wisdom.

Not only did he dare not harbor ill intentions, he even tried to find ways to forge a good relationship with the other party.

Stepping into the giant tower is like stepping into the center of the universe.

All around them flowed the river of time, and beneath their feet lay the flickering lines of cause and effect. Countless ancient and powerful auras emanated from all directions, as if countless eyes were watching them, these few newcomers, through the dust of history.

Tianjizi led the way, and with each step he took, a lotus flower made of starlight would appear beneath his feet, carrying him through layers of time and space.

"The star map you seek is not a physical object, but rather the cosmic outline imprinted on the 'Eternal Dao Stele' by the sages of my Heavenly Star Pavilion throughout the ages, using their own Dao."

Tianjizi's voice echoed in the empty and deathly silent space.

"It records all the realms, star seas, ruins, and even some forbidden 'nothingness' that we can observe from the beginning of time to the present."

"To fully appreciate it, one must endure the 'examination of the Dao' left by the sages of past generations. Their will has long been integrated with the Dao stele, and they will instinctively reject all outsiders."

"Even I, an old man, can only glimpse a corner of it after paying a certain price. If I were to forcibly copy it, the entire City of Myriad Stars would be reduced to dust by the backlash of the Dao Stele."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Ran, seemingly wanting to see how he would react.

However, Xu Ran's expression remained as calm and composed as ever.

"It doesn't matter."

He simply uttered two words.

With a firm resolve, Tianjizi said no more and led them to the edge of a chaotic expanse.

There, a massive stone monument, too enormous to be described in words, stood silently.

It is neither black nor white, as if it were composed of the purest "nothingness". There are no words on the monument, only engravings of varying depths. Those engravings seem to be the traces left by the Great Dao at the beginning of the world, containing the most fundamental secrets of the universe.

Just one glance was enough to make Tu Feng feel as if his primordial spirit was being torn apart, as countless complex and vast pieces of information flooded into his mind!

There were roars of creation, lamentations of fallen gods and demons, and sighs of changing eras...

"puff!"

Tu Feng spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning deathly pale. He quickly closed his eyes, unable to bear looking any longer.

This was just a glimpse from afar! If he were to get closer, he had no doubt that his True Immortal Dao Fruit would shatter instantly, and his soul would be annihilated!
Just then, a gentle force enveloped him, shutting out the terrifying pressure of the Dao.

It was Xu Ran who made the move.

"Om-"

At the same time, the ancient Dao Stele seemed to sense the approach of Xu Ran, this "outsider," and began to emit a low rumble.

A series of blurry yet majestic figures emerged from the stone tablet.

Some of them wore star-patterned robes, some wielded giant axes that could split the heavens, and some stood on chaotic lotuses... Every figure exuded a terrifying aura of suppressing all ages and being the only one who reigned supreme!
They are the imprints of will left by the most powerful sages of the Eternal Star Pavilion throughout history!
There were at least a hundred figures!

Their gazes, transcending time and space, were all fixed on Xu Ran.

In an instant, the entire space inside the tower froze!
Time, space, laws, the Great Dao... everything was completely frozen under the will of these hundreds of former supreme beings!
An unprecedentedly solemn expression appeared on Tianjizi's face.

He was prepared to immediately activate his authority as the Pavilion Master if things went wrong, in order to temporarily appease the will of these sages.

However, Xu Ran's actions once again exceeded his expectations.

Faced with this terrifying display that would make even immortals tremble, Xu Ran simply watched those figures quietly, and then asked a question.

"You, too, want to stop me?"

His voice was soft and flat.

But this seemingly ordinary statement was like an inviolable "supreme command," falling into this frozen space-time.

Those ancient sages, whose gazes were originally cold and whose killing intent was boiling, were all shaken upon hearing these words!
Their bodies, composed of pure will, began to flicker violently, as if some intense conflict was taking place within them.

"bar……"

One of the tallest and most terrifying figures seemed to want to say something.

But as soon as he uttered the word "block," cracks began to appear in his will and body!

It's as if the option of "stopping Xu Ran" simply doesn't exist in their "settings"!

Forcibly carrying out this action would be going against the very "fundamental logic" of their own existence!
"Crack...knock..."

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

Under the completely numb, even somewhat dazed gazes of Tianjizi and Tufeng.

Those hundreds of terrifying will imprints, enough to suppress an entire era, shattered like broken porcelain, starting from the tallest figure, one after another!

They did not resist, did not struggle, and did not even utter a roar.

Just like that, it collapsed and disintegrated, turning into the purest specks of will, and reintegrated into the Eternal Dao Stele.

The whole process was eerily quiet.

From the moment Xu Ran spoke until all the imprints of will collapsed, only three breaths had passed.

The terrifying pressure that could freeze everything vanished.

The world resumed its normal rhythm.

"..."

(End of this chapter)