The Path of Heaven, the Elder Shi

"Please, Senior, reveal yourself."

The moment Qi Yuan agreed, a weathered and distant voice suddenly rang out in his mind:

"Little friend, I can not only see that you have concealed your Aptitude and cultivation level, but I can also see that your Aptitude is extremely high. You are but one step away from condensing a Divine Radiance Nascent Soul; you must be an unparalleled Genius."

Was he seen through?

Qi Yuan's heart gave a sudden jolt.

He hadn't expected that this Lin Kid, Lin Zhen, really did have a grandfather figure accompanying him.

He possessed the talent 'True Pretend to be a Pig to Eat the Tiger', yet the other party could see through it at a glance. This meant that the person was at least a powerful expert in the Hedao Realm, or perhaps even higher!

Seemingly having seen through Qi Yuan's thoughts, that ethereal voice rang out once more:

"Little friend, you need not worry. I do not care what your identity is, nor do I care about your purpose in concealing it."

"I merely observe that you are slightly worth molding, and since you are a close friend of Lin Kid, I am willing to point you toward a bright path to prevent you from going astray and regretting it in the future."

Qi Yuan's mind stirred upon hearing this, and his expression grew solemn.

"Senior, please speak freely. This Junior will listen to your instructions."

The mysterious voice paused for a moment before slowly speaking, "Do you know what the path of the heavenly dao is?"

"This Junior does not know." Qi Yuan shook his head, assuming a posture of listening attentively, "Please, Senior, enlighten me."

Even as the Dao Child of Tai Xuan, he had truly never heard of what the path of the heavenly dao was.

"The so-called path of the heavenly dao is when a Cultivator, after entering the Dao, achieves a perfect and flawless Breakthrough at every major Realm, in accordance with the Heavenly Dao."

"During Foundation Establishment, one must achieve a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment; during Core Formation, one must also achieve a Heavenly Dao Golden Core, followed by a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul, Heavenly Dao Soul Transformation... until one condenses an immortal seat and undergoes Ascension to become an immortal."

"In this process, should one take a single wrong step, all previous efforts will be wasted. At that time, no matter how excellent one's Cultivation talent may be, one will at most be stuck in the Mahayana Realm for life, unable to achieve Immortal Ascension and attain the Dao."

"Therefore, the path of the heavenly dao is the path to Immortal Ascension. Only by walking the path of the heavenly dao can one undergo Undergoing Tribulation to become an immortal, ascend to the Immortal Realm, and glimpse the great Dao of longevity."

The path of the heavenly dao!

Qi Yuan's expression changed slightly. No wonder no one in this Realm had achieved Ascension to become an immortal in hundreds of thousands of years; the conditions for Immortal Ascension were truly harsh.

Every major Realm Breakthrough had to be perfect and flawless, without the slightest error; the difficulty was simply shocking.

Thinking of his own situation, Qi Yuan couldn't help but frown.

His previous method of Foundation Establishment was Derivative Foundation Establishment, which was based on 'The Jade Record of Taixuans Grotto Splendor' to derive the true meaning of the Dao.

This method of Foundation Establishment was extremely difficult, and few could succeed. Once completed, it was enough to look down upon one's peers, but it was clearly not Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

And the Golden Core he had formed belonged to the one-in-a-ten-thousand top-grade Golden Core, yet it was also not a Heavenly Dao Golden Core.

This meant that he was currently not on the path of the heavenly dao at all. Even if he successfully condensed a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul this time, the previous two Realm Breakthroughs were still considered failures, and there was no hope for Immortal Ascension!

However...

Qi Yuan's thoughts raced, and he quickly sorted out his train of thought.

Since this mysterious old man brought this matter up, it was unlikely he was just trying to mock him.

Judging from the other party's tone, there must be a way to remedy it regarding the path of the heavenly dao!

Thinking of this, Qi Yuan's expression became serious, and he asked respectfully:

"Senior, if one did not step onto the path of the heavenly dao during previous Breakthroughs, is there any way to remedy it afterwards?"

"Of course there is." The mysterious voice said leisurely, "The Heavenly Dao is impartial and righteous; naturally, it will leave a glimmer of Opportunity for remediation for living beings. Although your previous two Breakthroughs were not perfect ones, fortunately, your Dao foundation is solid, and you possess extraordinary Aptitude yourself. It is not impossible to make up for the flaws, but it requires a creation mending heaven pill."

"The creation mending heaven pill is a Saint-tier Medicinal Pill. It is only effective when taking the first one, and it can only repair the shortcomings left by your first two Breakthroughs."

"If you fail to condense a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul this time, then all is lost; no amount of creation mending heaven pills will be of any help. This is the reason why I specifically reminded you today."

A creation mending heaven pill?

Hearing this, Qi Yuan's expression froze instantly. There was indeed a creation mending heaven pill in the System Store, but the problem was that this pill cost one million Counterattack Points.

He had worked himself to the bone completing tasks during this period and had only saved less than five thousand Counterattack Points. It would take forever to scrape together one million Counterattack Points.

Regardless of the outcome, it was at least better than having no hope.

Qi Yuan took a deep breath; he could only comfort himself this way for now.

"For you, the most important thing right now is to condense a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul. With your Aptitude, if you can find a wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi, there is still a chance to condense a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul."

"There are two types of Heavenly Dao Qi: one is the Heavenly Dao Karma Qi, and the other is the Heavenly Dao Creation Qi. Every time you have a Realm Breakthrough, you must first find one of these types of Heavenly Dao Qi; only then is it possible to have a perfect Breakthrough."

"So that's how it is."

Qi Yuan understood instantly.

To walk the path of the heavenly dao, one not only needed monstrous Spiritual Root Aptitude but also needed to fuse a wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi during the Breakthrough to achieve a perfect Breakthrough; both of these requirements were indispensable.

Because his previous two Breakthroughs were not perfect, if he wanted to regain the Opportunity for Immortal Ascension, he had to take a creation mending heaven pill to make up for the flaws.

Thinking of this, his surprise grew even greater.

The many ancient books within the Taixuan Holy Land contained absolutely no records or even a single word about the path of the heavenly dao. This matter was clearly an ultimate secret. Who exactly was this mysterious old man to be so knowledgeable about this?

Since it concerned Ascension and becoming an immortal, the value of this information was simply immeasurable!

Just as Qi Yuan was in a daze, the mysterious old man's voice rang out in his mind once again, with a hint of warning in his tone:

"I have already told you what to do. As for whether you can actually find Heavenly Dao Qi and condense a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul, that will depend on yourself."

"Also, I will not tell Lin Kid about you concealing your identity, and you must not reveal what I just told you to anyone else. Furthermore, you are not allowed to pry into my true identity; otherwise, do not blame me for being ruthless."

"If you have the Opportunity to successfully condense a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul, you may come to see me. I have a matter here that requires you to do."

"Once you complete that matter, I can tell you where to obtain a creation mending heaven pill. If you cannot condense a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul, then do not speak of anything!"

The voice fell, and then it stopped abruptly.

Qi Yuan came back to his senses and hurriedly bowed:

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior. This Junior is endlessly grateful."

After a while, there was still no response to this, evidently, the mysterious old man had already hidden himself away.

At this moment, Lin Zhen's curious voice came to his ears:

"Brother Qi, what did Old Man Shi just say to you?"

"Nothing."

Qi Yuan composed his emotions and shook his head with a complex expression, "He just saw that my method of Cultivate was wrong and gave me some guidance."

The exchange between him and the old man just now was conducted through Divine Sense Voice Transmission; naturally, Lin Zhen could not hear anything.

However... this mysterious old man's surname was Shi?

Lin Zhen did not seem to have realized that he had let something slip, and he was saying with a serious face:

"Brother Qi, please do not reveal the existence of Old Man Shi; he does not wish to disclose his identity."

"No problem."

Qi Yuan nodded while pondering in his heart.

There were many powerful experts in this world with the surname Shi; a certain Grand Elder of the Boundless Holy Land was surnamed Shi.

Of course, compared to the Grand Elder of the Boundless Holy Land, this old man was more likely to be some ancient powerful expert...

Just as his thoughts were running wild, a series of exasperated curses suddenly rang out in Lin Zhen's mind.

"You brat, how many times have I told you not to reveal my name in front of others? And look at you, you just blurted out my surname!"

Lin Zhen scratched his head, "Old Man Shi, I figured that Brother Qi is not an outsider, so there is no need to be so secretive, right?"

"I am so infuriated! Even an idiot like you has an Immortal Fate; the heavens must be truly mad..."