My version of Heavenly Dao is too old, so it's full of bugs.

Chapter 577 Choosing a Cultivation Path
[You haven't even settled on a proper name, and you're already starting to choose a suitable path?]

Yang Chan held him tightly, trembling as she asked, "Or do you want to accept the imperial decree from the Heavenly Court and the Jade Void Palace?"

Li Wei didn't intend to tell Yang Chan about his secret use of the disguise, so he deliberately misled her by saying:

I want to see if I can forge my own path without using a prestigious name!

Yang Chan's eyes widened immediately, and she gave Li Wei a thumbs up: "It has to be you!"

In today's versioned world, there are reasons why cultivation resources have always been monopolized by the Heavenly Court, Buddhism, and the saints.

The honorific name is one of the key elements that cannot be bypassed.

Whether they are the Nine Saints of Heretics, the gods of Heaven, or the Arhats and Bodhisattvas of Buddhism, each of them must rely on their esteemed name to obtain an account within the law system of the Three Realms before they can begin to delve into the path of cultivation.

But now Li Wei is actually preparing to break the existing cultivation system?

That's incredibly arrogant!
As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Although Yang Chan believed that she was forced into this relationship and did not have strong feelings for Li Wei, she had now opened her eyes, so a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes when she looked at Li Wei.

Putting aside everything else, this kid's ambition is truly extraordinary. He not only thinks about things that others wouldn't even dare to dream of, but he also dares to do them, and even dares to challenge the entire existing cultivation system.

【Interesting. Then I'll lend you a hand. I want to see if you can forge a path to enlightenment without relying on your reputation.】

Yang Chan stood up weakly and searched through her storage bag, quickly finding five scrolls.

[This is the reference material my second brother gave me when I ascended to immortality. It contains detailed information on the four main paths of enlightenment: Luo, Buddha, Tao, and Saint, as well as some miscellaneous paths.]

[I've been updating this from time to time over the years, adding the latest Dao-harmonizing techniques, which should be enough for your reference.]

After glancing at it, Li Wei skipped over the Great Luo's Path of Integration and instead opened the Great Vehicle Path of Integration of Daoist Sect first.

Yang Chan was slightly surprised, but still explained from the side: "Whether it's Buddhism, Taoism, the Chan and Jie sects, or those heretical and demonic paths, the highest realm pursued by all cultivators who have reached the Dao is 'Great!'"

The sky is vast, the earth is vast, and man is vast too; therefore, the character "大" (big) resembles a person with outstretched arms and legs, standing tall and upright.

The very form of this character is full of symbolism, elevating humanity to a height as grand as heaven and earth, and binding humanity and the celestial realm together.

After all, it starts with people, grows up, and then grows up to the heavens.

The originally lofty and indescribable "Way of Heaven" has now been forcibly named by "The Way that can be told, the name that can be named," and has become the horizontal line above an adult's head.

This feeling is like an obscure celebrity trying to piggyback on the fame of a top star, instantly making the human race "famous" and standing out from the masses of the Three Realms, laying the foundation for an era of hegemony.

After all, people come first, then big things, and finally heaven!
Through the progression of the three characters "human," "great," and "heaven," the cultivators successfully deconstructed the relationship between heaven and humanity, even to some extent making heaven a vassal of the human race.

Heaven is above man, and man is below man. Without man, where does heaven come from?
This is the origin of the conflict between Heaven and Man, and also the earliest conflict between Heaven and Man!

In this game, man triumphed over fate by half a move, successfully defining the "intangible supreme thing" that no one could define before, and thus gaining that revered name that everyone recognized.

—The Way of Heaven!
This leads to the second meaning of "great"—the relationship between heaven and humanity!
After becoming the dominant power of the era, the Heavenly Court has always harbored the ambition to "replace the will of Heaven with the will of Heaven, the intention of Heaven with the intention of Heaven, and the wisdom of Heaven with the wisdom of Heaven."

"Great" is the pivot and transition between heaven and humanity, symbolizing the highest and most supreme thing in the universe.

This leads to the third meaning of "great"—the next heaven, half heaven, sub-heaven, the world's ruler second only to the Heavenly Way.

So far,

The foundation for cultivation throughout this entire era has been established.

Whether you are a Buddhist, a Taoist, a demon, or a god, you must heed the call of the times and become a "great" person!

To become a person as great as heaven and earth, to transcend the boundaries between heaven and humanity, to become the supreme being among all things in the universe, to become a colossal being second only to the Way of Heaven!
Therefore, there is a reason why gods and Buddhas like to address their superiors as "sir" when they are in office.

Unfortunately, the "Great" Path is hard to find. Within the framework of the Heavenly Path version era, over seven versions and hundreds of thousands of years, only four "Great" Paths have emerged!

Great Luo, Great Vehicle, Great Sage, Buddha.

Each of these four paths has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each has its own unique characteristics. Once you choose the wrong path, you cannot make a comeback, so you must be extremely careful.

The most powerful of them all is undoubtedly the Da Luo He Dao route.

It was precisely because of the establishment of the Great Luo system that the Heavenly Court became the victor in the Investiture of the Gods, unified the Three Realms, and suppressed the entire world for hundreds of thousands of years!

That ability to write scripts, weave destinies, and manipulate all living beings is simply unsolvable. If used well, it makes one invincible from birth, and its value is extremely high.

But fate is a double-edged sword, with too many variables. Even someone like Sanqing or Shanghao would encounter countless unexpected events when writing a script.

If you are not careful, you may suffer the backlash of fate and end up dying and falling into countless dangers.

At this point, you will need the support of a powerful force. The greater the force, the greater the fortune, the more influence you can exert on destiny and fate, and the safer you will be. You will also be able to withstand any backlash.

Therefore, the Great Luo Path cannot be achieved without great power.

When it really comes down to the script, even the Nine Saints Heretic Sect and the Buddhist sect are in a tough spot. At most, they can only passively defend themselves. As for turning the tables and arranging things for the Heavenly Court, forget about it.

Thinking about this, Yang Chan finally understood why Li Wei wasn't very interested in the Da Luo He Road route.

After all, although He is still nominally attached to the Heavenly Court, to put it bluntly, He is now all alone.

If a real problem arises, where can one find a powerful force to suppress their fortune?
Fortune, fortune, one can only have fortune if one has power. If Li Wei cultivates the Great Luo Path, it will actually suppress his own advantages.

That's why He chose the path of aligning with Taoism first.

Seeing this, Yang Chan added: "The Daoist path of integration focuses on cultivating both internal and external strength, bringing the power of heaven and earth into one's own body. Therefore, it is recognized throughout the Three Realms as the strongest fighting force."

Let alone on the Celestial Planet, even on Earth, gunpowder was invented by Taoist priests. In fact, all guns and cannons originated from the Taoist sect. They are undoubtedly the ancestors of physical salvation.

If Li Xiuwei takes this path, then his advantage of having so many flaws will be magnified infinitely.

However, Taoism also has its drawbacks. After all, no one in this world can completely transcend worldly limitations. Therefore, the Taoist path of combining internal and external cultivation and self-ascension has an inherent upper limit and is easily restrained by Great Luo Immortals, making one vulnerable to being toyed with and killed as a mere martial artist.

No matter how strong their fighting power is, they are nothing more than pawns.

Moreover, the Taoist cultivation path was originally created by the Moral Celestial Venerable of the Three Pure Ones, and to a certain extent, it can even be said to be an appendage of the Three Pure Ones. It would be strange if you were not restrained by the power of the Great Luo.

So after looking at it, Li Wei temporarily put aside the Great Luo Union Road and instead picked up the Buddhist Buddha Union Road.

Yang Chan frowned upon seeing this, but still explained: "The Buddhist path of enlightenment actually has the highest potential among the four paths!"

[In the past, the Buddha was exceptionally talented. Based on the combined path of the Chan and Yi schools of Buddhism, he created the Way of Cause and Effect, binding cause and effect with destiny, thus expanding the concept of destiny and forcing even the Three Pure Ones to humbly learn from him.]

[Following this, He referenced the Taoist path of cultivating both inner and outer virtues, expanding His self-cultivated Taoist path into a path of universal salvation, incorporating the Buddhist compassion, and creating the Hinayana Buddhism of inner cultivation and the Mahayana Buddhism of outer cultivation, thus once again profiting from Taoism.]

Thus, the Buddhist path of practice even surpassed the Chan and Jie schools of Buddhism at one point, and nearly merged with the Daoist path.

Unfortunately, Buddhism also has its own shortcomings. Like Taoism, it is bound by the real world and cannot transcend it.

Furthermore, the Buddha's teachings are boundless, encompassing countless profound and complex principles, and are heavily influenced by cause and effect, making the risks extremely high!

He possesses the same hidden dangers as Taoism and the Chan and Jie schools, and even has them greater than those two schools. Therefore, the path of cultivating Buddhism is a double-edged sword.

The higher the potential, the greater the risk.

Furthermore, Yang Chan casually remarked: "By the way, the Buddha's path to enlightenment also requires a certain level of moral character. In order to adapt to the times and expand the foundation of humanity, the Buddha also absorbed the concepts of the Three Pure Ones' morality and developed countless precepts."

Therefore, if you want to cultivate Buddhism, you must follow the path of a moral saint, and from then on, you must abstain from meat and sexual desire.

Li Wei raised an eyebrow, gave him a strange look, and said, "Why are you reluctant to part with me?"

【Pah! Shameless! I'm just worried that if you practice Buddhism, you won't be able to control yourself. If you break the precepts and your inner demons grow rampant, you'll suffer the consequences!】

【Ha ha ha ha! 】

Li Wei picked up the Buddhist materials and glanced through them, finally picking up the Path of the Great Sage: "What's so special about this path?"

Yang Chan was silent for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "If I had to say, it would probably be the most free!"

As you know, the process of determining a suitable road route consists of two parts: theory and technology. What we just talked about is the theory, while there are many specific technologies involved in determining a suitable road route.

[For example, the primordial demon god path cultivated by the Monkey King, the omniscient information path of the dark web, and the mutated and indiscriminate path that reaches the heavens—these are all specific techniques for achieving Dao.]

[Then you'll see that the Great Sages value technique over the Dao, each with their own unique methods and paths, but they all manage to cultivate to the level of a Great Sage.]

Therefore, the path of the Great Sage emphasizes inclusiveness and focuses on technical skills, rather than theoretical principles. Simply put, it's about overcoming all obstacles with sheer force.

However, this "power" does not refer to violence, but rather to "cultivational power," meaning the ability to break through realms using simple and direct methods on the path of cultivation.

Therefore, in terms of individual martial prowess, aside from anomalies like the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the other Great Sages are still inferior to the Mahayana cultivators of the Daoist sect.

After reading it, Li Wei quickly fell into deep thought.

Yang Chan didn't urge Him, but was very curious about what choice He would make.

[Without powerful backing, Da Luo is like a rootless duckweed. Although Buddhism has a high ceiling, its hidden dangers are too great. Shouldn't He take the path of Mahayana or the path of a Great Sage?]

(End of this chapter)