Chapter 834: Dao
Aksai’s eyes remained closed as he cultivated.
Even though he had obtained and mastered the Poison Metamorphosis, he was not in a hurry to end his seclusion.
The words Arkaal had spoken over the last week continued to echo inside his head.
Many of those teachings originally came from the Poison Gu King himself.
Others came from fragments of knowledge that Qishan had gathered throughout his long life.
Normally, Aksai would not trust someone else’s understanding completely. Every cultivator walked a different road. Every cultivator viewed the world differently.
However, knowledge itself had value. Even if the conclusions were wrong, the information could still be useful.
As such, Aksai carefully reviewed everything.
Especially the teachings related to Dao Paths.
"Dao Paths..."
Aksai murmured softly.
His voice echoed faintly through the cave.
The concept fascinated him.
According to Qishan’s teachings, a cultivator was required to choose a Dao Path after becoming a Nascent Soul King. Only then could they continue advancing their Spirit cultivation properly.
Without a Dao Path, a King could still cultivate. However, their progress would become slow and inefficient. Eventually, they would hit a wall. A wall that could not be crossed through spirit essence alone.
The Dao was the answer.
It was the bridge connecting a cultivator to the deeper truths of the world.
Aksai slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze drifted toward the Demon Tree above him.
He watched the leaves sway gently.
Then he spoke to himself again.
"Still... waiting until the Nascent Soul realm seems wasteful."
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable Qishan’s logic sounded.
If a cultivator already knew which Dao Path they wished to pursue, why wait until becoming a King?
Why not start earlier?
Why not begin understanding it while still in the lower realms?
After all, comprehension accumulated over time.
A cultivator who spent centuries studying a Dao would naturally possess a deeper understanding than someone who had only recently started.
According to Qishan’s observations, many talented cultivators in the Eternal Sea began studying Dao Paths immediately after becoming Core Formation Lords.
Some exceptional geniuses started even earlier. There was technically no lower limit. Even Spirit Gathering cultivators could begin their journey if their talent and understanding were sufficient.
Aksai slowly nodded.
That much made sense.
His thoughts then shifted toward the classifications of Dao Paths.
The information was surprisingly organized.
Qishan had divided them into three broad categories.
Great Dao Paths.
Major Dao Paths.
Minor Dao Paths.
Aksai repeated the classifications silently while organizing them in his mind.
"The Great Dao Paths..."
His eyes narrowed slightly. These represented the pure elemental paths. The fundamental building blocks of the world.
Fire.
Water.
Earth.
Wind.
Lightning.
Ice.
And many others.
They were considered the oldest and most complete Dao Paths. The purest forms of understanding.
A cultivator who comprehended a Great Dao Path was essentially studying a fundamental law of nature itself.
The benefits were tremendous. However, the difficulty was equally terrifying.
Progress was slow.
Very slow.
Many cultivators spent hundreds of years trying to understand even a tiny fraction of a Great Dao.
Yet the rewards justified the effort.
A Great Dao possessed almost no natural bottlenecks.
As long as one continued comprehending it, advancement remained possible. And cultivators who mastered Great Dao Paths often stood above their peers.
Aksai slowly rubbed his chin.
"High risk. High reward."
The description sounded accurate.
"Then there are something called Major Dao Paths."
These were derivative paths.
Dao Paths born from the interaction of multiple elements.
Metal.
Wood.
Magma.
Storm.
Poison.
Mist.
Countless examples existed.
These paths were more specialized than the Great Dao Paths.
However, they remained broad enough to support long-term cultivation. According to Qishan’s teachings, Major Dao Paths offered the most balanced route.
More difficult than Minor Dao Paths. Easier than Great Dao Paths.
Their growth was stable. Their future was promising.
Many powerful cultivators chose Major Dao Paths because they offered a balance between difficulty and potential.
Aksai nodded slowly in agreement.
That sounded like the choice most practical cultivators would make.
Then came the final category.
"The Minor Dao Paths."
Aksai smiled faintly.
These were perhaps the strangest.
Unlike the elemental paths, Minor Dao Paths often revolved around concepts.
Luck.
Killing.
Deception.
Dreams.
Music.
Blood.
Desire.
Fear.
And countless others.
They were usually easier to comprehend.
Some cultivators could make astonishing progress in a short amount of time after finding a concept that resonated with them.
However, those advantages came with hidden dangers.
The path eventually became narrower. The deeper one progressed, the harder it became to continue.
Many cultivators found themselves trapped by the limitations of their chosen concepts. Minor Dao Paths often led to powerful short-term gains but difficult long-term growth.
However, it was not like Minor Dao Paths had limited potential. The limitations came from the Spirit cultivators comprehending them. As long as one’s understanding was high enough, even the Minor Dao Paths could become as effective as Great Dao Paths.
In the end, it all depended on cultivators and their talents, diligence, and chance encounters. There was no one absolute truth when it came to Dao paths.
Aksai leaned against one of the giant roots behind him.
His eyes became thoughtful.
"So there really isn’t a perfect choice."
Each path had strengths. Each path had weaknesses.
The more powerful the destination, the harder the journey. The easier the journey, the lower the so-called ceiling and bottlenecks.
It was a familiar principle. Nature rarely gave benefits without demanding payment.
After a while, Aksai remembered another part of Qishan’s teachings.
Something many cultivators misunderstood.
"Dao Paths themselves are neutral."
People often talked about righteous paths and demonic paths. Yet according to Qishan, those labels were mostly created by cultivators themselves.
The Dao did not care about morality.
Fire was fire.
Water was water.
Poison was poison.
Life was life.
Death was death.
None of them were inherently righteous or demonic.
The difference lay in the cultivator’s understanding.
Their inclination.
Their interpretation.
Two cultivators could study the exact same Dao Path and reach completely different conclusions.
A Life Dao cultivator might dedicate himself to healing and nurturing life. Another Life Dao cultivator might view life as something to control and manipulate.
A Poison Dao cultivator might create medicines. Another might create plagues.
The Dao remained unchanged. Only the cultivator’s perspective differed.
Aksai found that idea reasonable.
The world was rarely divided into simple categories.
People liked putting labels on things. Reality was usually more complicated.
His gaze slowly drifted toward his own hands.
"What about me?"
The question escaped his lips naturally. For a long time, he remained silent. The answer was not obvious.
He was a Spirit Farmer.
An Alchemist.
A Druid.
A cultivator who specialized in life, growth, ecosystems, poisons, farming, blessings, curses, and countless other things.
Even the Void Gu now existed within his possession. There were simply too many possibilities.
Aksai smiled faintly. For once, he did not feel pressured to find an immediate answer.
He was still far away from becoming a Nascent Soul King.
There was no need to rush. This was not a decision that could be made carelessly.
A Dao Path was not merely a cultivation technique. It was a way of viewing existence itself. Choosing incorrectly could affect one’s entire future.
As such, Aksai decided to continue observing.
Continue learning. Continue accumulating knowledge and experiences. Eventually, the answer would reveal itself.
"There’s no need to rush."
Aksai spoke softly to himself.
The knowledge left behind by the Heavenly Poison Sect, the teachings of the Poison Gu King, and Arkaal’s memories had given him many answers.
His cultivation method already involved several elemental affinities.
Earth.
Water.
Wood.
Fire.
All four elements had become an important part of his cultivation journey. His druidic powers resonated naturally with wood.
His Spirit Farmer profession had strong ties to earth. The Void Water Pond and the Void Gu had deepened his understanding of water. And the blessings he received from his druidic bloodline often involved fire and vitality.
Trying to choose one over the others now would be foolish. He had not reached the point where such a decision was necessary. So he decided to continue training in all four elemental pools. Eventually, one path would reveal itself naturally.
"Let the Dao choose me first."
That sounded far more reasonable.
However, even though he had postponed his decision regarding Dao Paths, there was one thing he had already decided.
His inclination.
The smile on his face slowly faded.
His expression became serious.
"Heretic."
Among everything Arkaal had taught him, the concept of inclinations had fascinated him the most.
As it was already stated, Dao Paths themselves were neutral. However, the way a cultivator approached them was not.
Most cultivators eventually developed either a righteous inclination or a demonic inclination.
The righteous inclination emphasized order, restraint, responsibility, and harmony. The demonic inclination emphasized freedom, desire, dominance, and self-interest.
Inclination was an important aspect of Dao paths because the inclinations dictated one’s actions. And those actions would create experiences. Eventually, one’s experiences would help them resonate with their chosen Dao path.
Thus, the righteous and demonic inclinations both had their own advantages and disadvantages. Neither side was truly good or evil.
But then there was a third path.
The rarest path.
The most dangerous path.
The Heretic inclination.