Chapter 51: Offending the Dao Ancestor Means This Life Is Truly Complete

"Great divine powers?"
"What kind of great divine powers?"

Hearing this, Lu Ge instantly perked up.

Lao Dan casually stroked a tree branch, forcing all the tiny twigs and leaves into the branch itself.
The originally verdant branch was refined in an instant, turning into a straight and slender wooden staff.

"How would I know what divine powers you can comprehend?"
Lao Dan casually tossed the wooden staff to Lu Ge.

"Although that Taiyi practices the path of projecting his self-incarnations among myriad realms, he is still a Golden Immortal of the Grand Monad after all."
"The great divine powers he commands may not be as numerous as those dedicated to the path of divine power cultivation, but he still possesses around ten-odd varieties."
"This branch is a fragment of the ancient Fusang tree, and naturally carries within it numerous divine power Dao rhymes."
"If your luck is good, you might just be able to comprehend every single one of his divine powers."

Lu Ge caught the wooden staff, held it in his palm, and stroked it gently.
The moment he touched it, he felt a gentle warmth on the surface.
However, upon sensing it more carefully, Lu Ge discovered an immensely scorching power contained within.
Once unleashed, it could incinerate the heavens and destroy the world as effortlessly as a flick of the finger.

After toying with it for a moment, Lu Ge looked at Lao Dan before him.
On a whim, Lu Ge reversed the staff and thumped it against the ground like a walking cane.
The old man and the youth, facing each other while leaning on canes, formed a strangely harmonious picture.

Lao Dan paused for a moment, reached out, and flicked Lu Ge right on the forehead.
"You rascal, you're even starting to copy me."
"What's a young man like you doing leaning on a walking cane?"

The green ox rolled around laughing nearby.

Lu Ge rubbed his head. Heh, it didn't even hurt.
"You are the teacher, and I am the disciple."
"Naturally, I should learn from you."

Lao Dan said with a mock display of annoyance, "Instead of learning the proper things, you pick up all the crooked ways."
"There is one more matter that I must tell you."

Lu Ge straightened his expression and listened attentively.

Lao Dan said softly:
"This time, when I went to seek out Taiyi, I shattered his Solar True Form and broke a branch of the ancient Fusang tree."
"As for him killing you, it was a life for a life, so the karma between you is now settled."
"However, the ancient Fusang tree is the vessel upon which Taiyi's Dao fruit rests."
"Since his true form is now shattered and his Great Dao is incomplete,"
"Whether he wishes to repair his true form or advance further, he will inevitably have to reclaim this branch from your hands."
"In other words, he will definitely come looking for you again."

Lu Ge listened in a daze.
Hearing this, somehow it felt as though he had died once more.

"But you needn't worry."
"After my strike this time, there is already a sense of dread in his heart."
"At the very least, before you attain the Dao of Da Luo, he will never dare to make a move."

***

Lu Ge vaguely felt something was amiss.
"Are you going fishing?"

A smile appeared on Lao Dan's face.
"You rascal, you understand me."
"You guessed right, I am indeed fishing."
"He is a Golden Immortal of the Grand Monad, and you have my protection; both sides possess methods of resurrection."
"Therefore, when he kills you once, I can only kill him once in return."
"Otherwise, if I were to extinguish the suns of all heavens and myriad realms to thoroughly eradicate him, it would ultimately be going too far."
"Once I truly did that, the Hunyuan figures behind him would probably split their mouths smiling."
"Using this as a handle, the vast Dao sect of the heavens would face a strike as violent as a storm."

Lu Ge muttered, "If the Dao sect exterminated the suns of the heavens, we'd probably be directly labeled as belonging to the demonic path."

Lao Dan nodded.
"Precisely so."
"Within our Dao sect, there are also numerous disciples who walk the path of self-manifestation among myriad realms."
"Once we are branded with the label of the demonic path, their path of cultivation would be thoroughly severed."

Lu Ge understood in his heart, and he also sympathized with Lao Dan.
If Lao Dan were entirely alone without any other disciples, he could naturally annihilate Taiyi at will.
Regrettably, that was not the case.
He was the patriarch of the Dao sect, with countless Dao sect disciples beneath him.
Lao Dan could only give tit for tat; cutting down Taiyi once could also be considered venting his frustration for Lu Ge.

"So, you broke his Fusang tree,"
"Knowing full well that he will surely seek me out in the future."
"If I refuse to give it, he will forcefully seize it."
"By that time, I will have already attained the Dao of Da Luo and will no longer fear him."
"And then I will have a righteous pretext to kill him once more."
Lu Ge's eyes brightened as he spoke.

Lao Dan nodded, then shook his head.
"You are only half right."
"My thought is that you won't just kill him once."
"You and I are different."
"I am the patriarch of the Dao sect, where a single hair pulled can affect the whole body."
"But you are different."
"When that time comes, you can completely extinguish the suns of the heavens and utterly eradicate him."
"And then, take his place."

Lu Ge was startled and said, "Take his place?"

Lao Dan nodded and said, "The path of projecting self-incarnations is to establish countless anchors across myriad realms and transform them into incarnations of the self."
"The sun is Taiyi's anchor in the myriad realms."
"You can utterly destroy him, and then reshape the suns of the heavens to establish anchors of your own."
"From then on, you will be the new Lord of the Sun."

***

Lu Ge looked at Lao Dan in astonishment.
Good grief.
Although he held no affection for Taiyi, he now couldn't help but offer a silent moment of sympathy for him.
Offending the Dao Ancestor meant his entire life had been neatly arranged for him from start to finish.

"Teacher, this method is indeed good."
"But there are still some problems."
"First, I don't know how to create a sun."
"Second, I walk the path of divine power cultivation, and I feel like I never have enough time every day just trying to comprehend divine powers; where would I find the spare time to be some Lord of the Sun?"

Lao Dan laughed heartily and said, "None of these are problems."
"If you wish to be one, reshaping the suns of the heavens is no difficult task."
"Our Dao sect is brimming with talented individuals who will naturally assist you when the time comes."
"It's just that you might end up owing quite a few favors."
"And if you don't wish to be one, that's fine too."
"You can completely sell off this opportunity."
"There are more than enough people within our Dao sect who want to be the Lord of the Sun."
"At that time, you can also reap plenty of favors and benefits."
"How you choose is entirely up to you."

After listening, Lu Ge nodded. According to Lao Li's words, he would not lose out no matter what.
"Very well, everything shall be as Teacher says."
"As for the matter of the Lord of the Sun, we'll talk about it when the time comes."

Lu Ge did not immediately decide whether or not to be this Lord of the Sun.
Based on his current mindset, he certainly wasn't willing.
However, who could say for sure what the future holds?
Perhaps by then, he might actually want to be one after all.

Lao Dan stroked his beard slightly and looked at Lu Ge.
"I have explained everything that needs to be explained."
" Do you have any other questions? If so, speak quickly."
"If not, I will send you back to be resurrected in the living world."

A thought flashed through Lu Ge's mind, and he hurriedly raised his hand and said, "Teacher."
"There is indeed one matter."
"This time, I traveled through time to over two hundred years after we passed west of Hangu Pass."
"The task given by that mirror was to help Emperor Shi unify the realm."
"I was thinking, if I can unify the world, or even unify the stellar system, or unify the universe,"
"The reward might be even higher."
"Can you help with this matter?"

Lao Dan listened in a daze.
"What?"
"You even want to unify the universe?"