Changes of the Heavenly Dao

It was impossible to keep track of time in this place, but Yaan didn't care how long he ended up spending in the Boundless Dao Library. His cultivation base clone could deal with the various matters in the outside world…of course, that clone alone could not compare to his full self.

His cultivation base clone lacked certain methods that his dao body could make use of - namely, all dao-based techniques, like his Absolute Domain, his Dao Treasure, his blazing killing intent, and his dao spell; Reveal Truth.

His cultivation base clone could still make use of the illusion dao and Yaan's comprehension over paintings to manifest a world similar to his domain, but it would lack the crucial instinct in his dao heart that allowed it to become a domain. The same was true for his killing intent - he could still release his full killing intent with his cultivation base clone, but it was unable to manifest his killing intent in the world as an actual power, in its profound blazing form.

But honestly, so what? Yaan placed far more importance on seeking out more Legacy Runes compared to the conquest of the Four Divine Star System. Anyway, his cultivation base clone should be more than enough to deal with any Earthly Deities. It lacked his most powerful dao-based techniques, but it still possessed four fused Divine Step cultivation bases after all, the sheer power of this alone would be enough to suppress most Earthly Deities.

It wasn't long before Yaan came across another Legacy Rune. He once again sat down and spent some time studying the rune, but just like before, he was able to discern very little about its deeper meanings.

Like the previous Legacy Rune, Yaan felt fairly confident that this one was originally created by a being with strength roughly equivalent to the Divine Step – or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say, the original book was written by a cultivator with a completed, divine stage dao heart.

Yaan understood that comparing cultivation and power between the cultivators of different Eras might not be possible due to the differences in the world laws, but the dao heart was something intrinsic to life itself - regardless of the Era, dao was dao, and the heart was the heart.

He still wasn't completely certain about his conjecture that the runes on the Boundless Dao Library Door were created by a being above this level of power. When he compared this Legacy Rune to the runes he had seen on the doorway, Yaan definitely felt like the doorway runes were somehow more profound, but it was as if that profundity was being suppressed by the world, as if it couldn't quite manifest in the 2nd Origin Era…

Or maybe it was just an effect of the transformation that the library had undergone after passing through the Origin, there was no way to be certain.

"In the end, studying the rune isn't getting me anywhere, other than solidifying my conjectures regarding the nature of these runes. This Legacy Rune contains the dao legacy of a being with a completed dao heart from the 1st Origin Era, and this dao legacy was formed using the Origin Runes of the 1st and 2nd Origin Eras. Studying these Legacy Runes isn't much help, but if I can utilise those dao waves properly…"

Yaan's eyes shone brilliantly as he stood up, took a deep breath, and readied himself. Last time, he was caught unaware, but this time, he wouldn't let the dao waves go to waste!

He did not touch the Legacy Rune with his body like before, but instead, released his Absolute Domain. His domain exploded out with the greatest force that Yaan could muster, spreading out over, around and past the rune, before it could fully collapse into dao waves.

Immediately, joy swept through Yaan's heart as he felt his success.

Previously, only around one tenth of the dao waves formed by the collapsing rune spread through his Dao Soul, but this time, by the time the rune fully collapsed, it was completely engulfed by his domain. Yaan didn't stop there, but spread his domain out as far as possible, as he used his perception within his domain to examine the rune during its moment of collapse.

As soon as the rune completely collapsed into thick, golden waves, Yaan's mind went blank. At this point, he was no longer able to continue expanding his domain any further…but what he had achieved already, was more than enough!

He managed to spread his domain out for several hundred feet before the dao waves sent his mind into a brief daze. Because of this, his gains this time vastly surpassed the benefits he had reaped from the previous Legacy Rune.

Within Yaan's domain, he stood in the centre, his body akin to a painted figure atop the canvas of the golden sea around him. The dao waves released from the collapsed Legacy Rune quickly phased through and past him, causing his body to ripple, before returning to normal.

Last time, as soon as the dao waves passed through his body, his Dao Soul had finished being sublimated under the dao legacy. This time, however, the dao waves continued to slowly wash through his domain…

A domain contained the essence of a cultivator's dao, and this was especially true of an Absolute Domain, a domain built upon the foundation of a completed dao heart! As the dao waves washed through the region of painted gold sea, it was as if Yaan's Dao Soul was experiencing an elongated period of sublimation under the pure essence of the dao legacy left behind by the author of what was once a book!

That author's dao, written in the language of the Dao Runes from the 1st Origin Era, and transformed by the dao of the 2nd Origin Era, filled Yaan's Dao Soul with a profound sense of enlightenment.

With the 1st Legacy Rune, Yaan only experienced one tenth of the dao waves, and his Dao Soul was only washed by those waves for a single second at most. This time however, he was exposed to the entirety of the dao waves, and the sublimation lasted for over a dozen seconds!

A dozen seconds might not sound like a long time, but this was a dozen seconds wherein his own dao experienced the complete dao legacy of another living being. Countless visions passed through Yaan's mind, from raging seas, to collapsing mountains, to the crashing sounds of metal on metal in the midst of battle.

These were not memories, but sensory manifestations of the dao enlightenment that he was receiving!

It was an experience like nothing that Yaan had ever encountered before. Perhaps, an experience like this…could only be found within the Boundless Dao Library!

The visions lasted for just a dozen seconds, but it took several hours before Yaan returned to his senses, finally coming to after falling into a state of contemplative enlightenment. 

He exhaled deeply, an amazed, but profound look lingering in his eyes.

"I see…so the author of that Legacy Rune, follow a 'heart of spear'. Their dao heart was focussed on combat, specifically with the spear. But that's not all, if I'm correct, then this dao of spear…was one of the daos under the Heavenly Dao in the 1st Origin Era!"

Not only had Yaan deepened his understanding of many daos, this Legacy Rune had taught him far more about the 1st Origin Era than he had expected. The most shocking matter of all, was that every single dao passed down in this dao legacy, both major and minor, was comprehended by the author of the original book…but these daos were also contained within the 1st Origin Era's Heavenly Dao!

But how did Yaan know this, just from experiencing the sublimation of his Dao Soul under those dao waves?

"Perhaps the most incredible aspect of these Legacy Runes, is that I can feel the transformation of each dao from its original state in the 1st Origin Era, to its current state in the 2nd Origin Era. The dao itself is infinite, dao itself does not change from Era to Era…but the way in which dao presents itself in the world changes! The Heavenly Dao changes, as does the way in which dao manifests in each Era!"

Yaan fell silent as he contemplated the implications behind this. Gradually, his eyes brightened as a certain idea flourished within his mind.

"Could it be that in the 1st Origin Era, there was no limit to the number of daos under the Heavenly Dao? Could it be that in the 1st Origin Era, the Heavenly Dao allowed all dao to not only exist, but also grow within the world? In the 2nd Origin Era, this is not the case - there are no emotional daos or weapon daos under the Heavenly Dao, these daos can only manifest within the heart, not within the world. In that case…could it be that the Heavenly Dao decided that allowing dao to flourish limitlessly throughout the world was a mistake, and it 'fixed' this mistake in the 2nd Origin Era?!"

Yaan started to feel like he had touched upon a portion of the truth. Actually, he had considered this possibility before…

"The Heavenly Dao in the 2nd Origin Era is constantly suppressing cultivators, trying to prevent all manner of life from reaching the greatest heights of cultivation. In order to weaken cultivators, both in strength of cultivation and strength of heart, it forbids the appearance of emotional and combat oriented daos from manifesting in its world laws! If this is the case, then it's no wonder that so many cultivators managed to transcend the Origin in the 1st Origin Era, but so few succeed in the 2nd and 3rd…"

Yaan's eyes shone with a strange glint.

"Heavenly Dao, is this what you were trying to prevent us from finding? Were you so dead-set on preventing us from entering this library, simply because you feared that we would discern more of the truth about your nature? Or perhaps…are there even more secrets to be found within this Boundless Dao Library?"

With a newfound sense of anticipation, Yaan once again shot through the golden sea, in search of more Legacy Runes.