Karmic Cycle
The Dao Clone of Qi and the Dao Clone of Soul were busy with their own pursuits on the Qi Plane.
Meanwhile, on the Sage Plane, the Dao Clone of Mind remained within the Dao Formation, intent on studying this formation to the full extent of his abilities, all the way until his Nirvana Death Heavenly Calamity arrived, which was now quickly approaching.
Due to lacking any form of conscious dao comprehension, it was difficult for the Dao Clone of Qi to properly estimate the full extent of his various understandings. However, for the Dao Clone of Mind, this was simplicity itself.
Sitting in the Dao Formation, Knowledge was exposed to all 3,000 earthly daos simultaneously. His comprehension in all regards would rise steadily just by sitting here, but he made a conscious effort to focus on a certain dao at a time.
The first dao that he had pursued was the dao of illusions. When he first arrived on the Sage Plane, Knowledge had lacked any understand of Yaan's plan, but he was driven by a mysterious desire to reach the Immortal Step as quickly as possible. Since Yaan had always favoured the dao of illusions above all others, this was naturally his first focus.
Upon reaching the full extent of his comprehension ability in the dao of illusions, Knowledge immediately moved on. He had only comprehended one half of the Heavenly Dao's illusion dao, but he could feel that his comprehension had reached a limit that he would not be able to overcome, no matter how arduously he studied.
And so, he moved on…
To the dao of formations.
The dao of formations was one that, surprisingly, Yaan had not comprehended very far prior to his rebirth. Despite becoming a formations expert on the Blood Plane, he attained this level mostly thanks to his powerful Sea of Consciousness. Any formation dao insight that he had obtained was on a conscious level, giving Knowledge something to start with, but much to learn.
He chose the dao of formations as his second pursuit for a very simple reason – it was by far the easiest dao to study within the Dao Formation. The Dao Formation embodied every single dao under the Heavenly Dao, but it was still a formation after all, making the dao of formations the easiest to observe and comprehend. Choosing this dao as his second focus was simply the only rational choice.
It was after reaching his limit with comprehending the dao of formations, that Knowledge reached the Nirvana Realm. Upon reaching this realm, he started to realise certain things, and he eventually used his request with the Primordial Sage to learn of Yaan's true goal in creating the Dao Clones. She didn't explain absolutely everything, perhaps because she didn't yet fully understand Yaan's complete plan herself, but Knowledge learned enough of the truth that he was able to decide on the next dao to pursue.
'The main body created the three Dao Clones to further his dao path cultivation; that much we all knew upon being born. However, the main body hid something important from us – he is not just the core of our being, he has become an existence of experience and observation, watching and living as us Dao Clones as we go through our own paths.'
'The main body needed to hide this truth to ensure that we would all strive to reach the Immortal Step as quickly as possible. However, upon reaching the Nirvana Realm, I saw through the truth. The main body allowed this because he knew that I would not become distracted…because he knew from the beginning that I would never reach the Immortal Step. As for the other two Dao Clones, they will only learn of the truth after completing their dao hearts and ascending to the Immortal Step, at which point, there is a high likelihood that they will gain independence. However, the main body doesn't care about this…'
'The main body predicted many things that may or may not happen to us Dao Clones, but in the end, whether or not he was correct in his predictions doesn't actually matter. We were created to help the main body pursue his dao path, and dao…has no limitations. No matter the choices we make, no matter the direction we decide upon, the main body only needs to experience our lives and to witness our paths. This, is the path of dao…this is the first stage of the dao path…the experience of changing karma…'
There were other theories that Knowledge had in his mind, but he didn't dwell on them too much. After realising that Yaan was attempting to comprehend not only his dao heart, but also the dao of karma through his Dao Clones, Knowledge understood what he needed to do.
After the Dao Clone of Qi and the Dao Clone of Soul reached the Immortal Step, Knowledge's gaze flashed.
'The other two Dao Clones have reached the Immortal Step, realised the truth, and gained their independence. But I…am still just an extension of the main body's dao. I am like the main body's arm or leg, I am part of Yaan, and I must do my best to comprehend the dao of karma to the utmost extent before my Immortal Ascension Tribulation arrives. The dao of karma is essential to the main body's plans going forwards. Unless he attains divine stage comprehension in the dao of karma, then surviving through the calamity of the Primordial Devil will be impossible…'
There were many things that Knowledge still didn't understand, such as how Yaan planned to leave the Spirit Plane and fight against the Primordial Devil without being captured by the Spirit Plane Lord, but also the purpose of the other two Dao Clones. However, despite not understanding many things, Knowledge understood his own purpose, because it was extremely simple.
He just needed to comprehend dao.
After awakening to the truth, it became clear to Knowledge that pursuing the dao of karma was now the most important matter of all, but he couldn't help but wonder something…
'Was the fact that I naturally gravitated towards the dao of illusions and the dao of formations prior to awakening also something that the main body considered? Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter…all I can do is fulfil my role…'
As Knowledge continued to comprehend the dao of karma through the Dao Formation, his understanding of Yaan and what he was scheming steadily increased.
The dao of karma was one of, if not the hardest earthly dao to fully comprehend in this world. Not only was karma far too intangible and difficult to observe and perceive in this world compared to any other dao, but it was also the only principle dao which could be split up into four separate partial-principle daos.
Unique, elemental, principle, partial-principle, derivation - these were the five categories of earthly dao.
At the top stood the principle daos, including life and death, creation and destruction, space-time, yin-yang, and karma. Aside from karma, the principle daos could be split up into two partial-principle daos, all of which were implied in their names. Only karma differed from the other principle daos…
The dao of karma could be split into karmic beginning, karmic end, karmic link, and karmic fate.
It didn't take Knowledge long to realise something.
'Lower realm cultivators believe that the Heavenly Dao encompasses the entire concept of dao, but the further one progresses down the path of cultivation, the more blindingly obvious it becomes that this is simply untrue. This can be seen clearly in the Heavenly Dao's dao of karma…to place fate as a mere subset of karma shows that the Heavenly Dao's own understanding of fate is far too lacking…'
As Knowledge thought about something further, a strange idea emerged in his mind.
'The Heavenly Dao…is actually a living being, is it not? In fact, when Yaan underwent our Immortal Ascension Tribulation back then, the Heavenly Dao even gained its own temporary sentience in order to strike us down! In this sense, the Heavenly Dao can be thought of as a unique living being, a being that exists as the laws which govern all life within the world. When cultivators comprehend earthly daos, they are essentially comprehending the Heavenly Dao's own understanding of dao!'
Knowledge knew for a fact that the Heavenly Dao wasn't equivalent to dao itself, because the Primordial Sage had directly told him this. Aside from that, he had realised various things that supported this idea.
The existence of dao hearts proved that the Heavenly Dao was not dao itself; a dao heart was a cultivator's own dao, a dao not governed by the Heavens. Beyond this though, even the earthly daos could actually be comprehended beyond divine stage comprehension, which was the limit of the Heavenly Dao's comprehension over that dao.
For example, Yaan's illusion dao had developed beyond the Heavenly Dao's own illusion dao. He understood illusions on a level that nobody else in this world understood them…but likewise, there would be others who had comprehended the dao of illusions in a way that Yaan did not understand. This was the nature of dao; infinite and unlimited.
Naturally, the same applied to the dao of karma…
Knowledge knew this, and it didn't take him long to realise something else.
'I do not possess the ability to comprehend dao beyond the Heavenly Dao…I see, so the main body created me with this in mind, too. If I possessed the ability to continue comprehending dao beyond the limits of the Heavenly Dao, then perhaps I never would have moved on from the dao of illusions…'
It might seem like Knowledge was becoming distracted, to be thinking these things when he was meant to be comprehending the dao of karma, but this was actually how his dao of karma comprehension manifested itself. The more his mind delved into the various connections between the main body, the other two Dao Clones, himself, the Primordial Devil, the Heavenly Dao, and really, everything else in this world, the more his understanding of karma improved. He had not noticed it, but an endless stream of illusory green chains flashed within his pupils as his comprehension continued to progress.
'The main body was my karmic beginning…I am my own karmic link…and the main body will become my karmic end…this cycle is karmic fate…'
Knowledge felt like he was approaching the pinnacle of intellectual karmic comprehension, and perhaps, given a bit longer, he would actually be able to achieve his objective. Unfortunately, life rarely went as Yaan wanted it to, and this cruel fate flowed over to his pitiful Dao Clones.
For the first time in many months, Knowledge's eyes, still filled with illusory karmic chains, shot open. He didn't move, but he looked up into the sky, watching as a black cloud formed within the upwards pillar of light that made up the Dao Formation.
"What a shame, my Nirvana Death Heavenly Calamity is already here…" Knowledge muttered with a deep sigh.
He watched as the black cloud continued to grow, yet despite the pressure of the Heavens which attempted to weigh down on his heart, Knowledge felt nothing much towards this Heavenly event.
"In the past, I recall our Heavenly Calamity growing many hundreds of times larger than this…in comparison, my own Heavenly Calamity feels quite tame." Knowledge muttered to himself. A gleam appeared within his eyes, and slowly, a smile spread across his face.
He didn't feel the pressure which the Heavens attempted to crush him with, because he did not fear death. The other two Dao Clones had gained their independence, but Knowledge only saw himself as a small part of Yaan's complete self. He also saw the 'main body' as a singular part of the complete Yaan, but he believed that the main body was vital to Yaan's continued existence, whilst he was not…he was expendable.
He was not wrong to think this way, it really was the truth.
"I do not fear death. In fact, I know that I will die today. But so what? My life exists for the sole purpose of comprehending dao for the main body…so let my death serve this same purpose!"
A strange light shone within Knowledge's eyes, as the light of karmic chains became even more intense than before.
As the black lightning thundered in the sky and a storm of deathly rain started to approach him…Knowledge turned away and shut his eyes.
He could use many methods to overcome his Heavenly Calamity, but in this moment, he realised that he could achieve more by using none of those methods, and instead, continuing to comprehend the dao of karma.
'The main body needs my dao comprehension more than my life, so let my death be decided by my growing comprehension over karmic fate! Whether I live or die is of no concern…the only important thing is that my dao comprehension grows as much as possible!'
In the first second of Knowledge's Nirvana Death Heavenly Calamity, not one drop of deathly rain, not a single black lightning bolt, actually hit him!
In the next second, he was struck by a single droplet of deathly rain, causing his Life Essence to decline.
In the next second, Knowledge was struck by a black lightning bolt. He did nothing to defend against this death-infused lightning, despite feeling the aura of death which threatened to kill him. Instead, this moment of life and death actually stimulated his focus on comprehending karma, and after the black lightning struck his head, it strangely exploded outwards in all directions, dissipating before it could inflict significant damage!
With each second, more of the deathly phenomena landed upon Knowledge's body. With each second, it always seemed as if this would be his last, as if he had reached his limit. With each second, Knowledge's comprehension over karmic fate - which embodied the complete cycle of karma - grew stronger.
The Nirvana Death Heavenly Calamity lasted for a total of nine seconds.
After the ninth second passed by, Knowledge was left with just a single droplet of Life Essence. From 200,000, down to one…the odds of it ending like this were too slim to be called coincidence.
Despite overcoming his Heavenly Calamity, Knowledge felt an even greater sense of impending death. He had survived the calamity, but he was now afflicted by the Heaven's curse of death, meaning that his Life Essence was fated to continue declining, until the moment he triggered his Immortal Ascension Tribulation!
Without even thinking about it, Knowledge immediately triggered the tribulation, taking his last step towards immortality.
As for the dao that he used to trigger this tribulation?
Obviously, it had to be the dao of karma.
The sense of death dissipated immediately, but Knowledge didn't relax. He knew that he would definitely fail his tribulation; passing with a single droplet of Life Essence was completely impossible. Even so, he continued attempting to comprehend the dao of karma…unfortunately, he realised that he could no longer sense the Dao Formation…
On the Sage Plane, the Primordial Sage stared into the Dao Formation with her shining emerald eyes. She stared at the place where Knowledge had just been, before he suddenly vanished without warning.
She did not know where he had gone…this was not how the Immortal Ascension Tribulation was supposed to go.
Typically, upon triggering their tribulation, a cultivator would enter a state of pseudo-death. Their mortal body would die and they would enter the Heavenly Dao's tribulation, a world that nobody properly understood.
But Knowledge simply vanished entirely.
It was possible that this was a result of undergoing his tribulation on the Sage Plane. After all, nobody had actually undergone the Immortal Ascension Tribulation on the Sage Plane before…
However, the Primordial Sage believed that there was more to it than that. Unfortunately, no matter how much she investigated, she could not discern the truth.
All she knew, was that it had something to do with karma, and that Yaan was definitely involved.
When Knowledge disappeared from the Sage Plane, on the Spirit Plane, Yaan was midway through building a formation on the 6th Layer of Heaven.
The Primordial Sage watched him closely, just as she had been doing ever since he started this strange journey, but his expression didn't change at all. However, this in itself told her that he was deliberately hiding any thoughts or feelings from appearing on his face, since she knew that he was definitely aware of what had happened to Knowledge.
It didn't matter to Yaan if the Primordial Sage realised this, he knew that she would come to this realisation eventually regardless. So long as he was able to hide his thoughts and intentions, it didn't matter even if she knew that he was hiding.
Yaan showed nothing on his face in the outside world…
But within his illusory Sea of Consciousness, he faced the stunned Knowledge with a smile.
"I was your karmic beginning. You became your own karmic link. I will now be your karmic end. This…is our karmic fate."
Yaan pointed at Knowledge as he continued smiling, causing that feeling of impending death to once again appear within Knowledge's heart.
Knowledge was stunned for a moment, but when he finally understood, he couldn't help but smile back.
"Good luck, Yaan."
After speaking his first and last words to Yaan, Knowledge's illusory body, formed by a single droplet of Life Essence, exploded into fragments of illusory karmic chains.
It was only in his last moment, that finally, Knowledge understood.
Karmic beginning, karmic link, karmic end, karmic fate. At the moment of his death, Knowledge's karmic fate reached its conclusion, bringing an end to his life's karma. It was a complete karmic cycle that Yaan had planned from beginning to end. Because Knowledge had never gained his independence, he remained within this cycle throughout his life.
In the end, the Heavenly Dao used Knowledge's own comprehension over karma to kill him…by sending him directly towards the greatest source of karma in his life - Yaan. This could never happen to others, but thanks to the powerful karmic link between Yaan and his Dao Clones, it became possible.
The Heavenly Dao was not an inherently sentient entity, so it didn't even consider the possibility that Yaan would scheme against it using its own dao of karma like this.
Just like that, the Dao Clone of Mind was killed, and his karma with Yaan was destroyed.
In this moment, the Primordial Devil, the Dao Clone of Qi, and the Dao Clone of Soul, all stopped what they were doing and showed shocked expressions when they felt their connection with Knowledge extinguish. They did not know how he had died, only that he had died. Despite already anticipating this, they still couldn't help but feel shaken when they felt a significant part of their karma shatter.
As for Yaan, he felt like he had just sliced away a large portion of his own heart. The feeling was soul-crushing, it was dreadful and left him feeling like he had destroyed something extremely important to himself.
However, the feeling slowly faded over time, until he became numb to it. He had destroyed a portion of his own dao heart, and yet…his dao heart was not damaged in the least, but rather, a portion of those abyssal black cracks actually healed over!
In the outside world, Yaan showed nothing on his face and continued his journey across the 6th Layer of Heaven.
Years later, Yaan finally reached the Divine Court's 6th Heaven Hall of Rebirth.
With his divine stage comprehension over the dao of karma, he was finally able to build the 3,000th formation on the 6th Layer of Heaven, and the first of the 13 keystones in his grand formation that would eventually encompass the entire core of the Spirit Plane.