Chapter 2071: The First Sequence

"A great calamity is upon you?" Zhang Xuan was full of disbelief.

At most, the temple wanted to kill him; how could a great calamity be upon him?

"Indeed!"

With his hands clasped behind his back, a glint flashed in Master Kong's eyes: "You should possess a part of the Heavenly Dao within you, right?"

"You..." Zhang Xuan shuddered.

The Heaven's Path Library was his most secret possession. First discovered by that leader of the temple today, and now spoken outright by Teacher Kong, it was as if his greatest secret had been completely exposed to the world, causing him to frown involuntarily.

"You're wondering how I know, aren't you?"

Seeing his expression, Teacher Kong smiled. "Don't be nervous! Actually... I am the same as you—I too have obtained a part of the Heaven's Path!"

"Teacher Kong, you also obtained the Library..."

Zhang Xuan's eyes went wide.

On the continent of masters, when they learned of Master Kong's experiences, they had speculated whether he, like themselves, had obtained another library, enabling him to cultivate a perfect Heavenly Dao technique and progress faster than them.

"Library?"

Master Kong was taken aback: "No, I obtained the temporal-spatial ability of the Heavenly Dao, that is, the so-called 'Heavenly Dao Order'!"

"Heavenly Dao Order?"

"All things in the universe, the great Dao of heaven and earth—the sun reaches its zenith then declines, the moon waxes then wanes. Where there is life, there must be order, and time and space are its most fundamental needs, the most basic order." Master Kong nodded.

For life to survive, space and time are necessary; this is the first law, the first sequence that constructs the entire world.

No wonder the artifact created by Master Kong, the Spring and Autumn Canon, contained both the law of time and the law of space, even forming a special cultivation space within the library—it must be related to his 'Heavenly Dao Order.'

With time and space, everything becomes orderly, everything can develop naturally without chaos.

Without these two, it would be nothing but chaos!

Earlier, when seeing Kong Shiyao's bloodline power as 'One word becomes a rule, ten thousand laws follow,' they had wondered what exactly Master Kong had comprehended; only now did they understand.

So that's how it is!

Only with order was the Hall of Masters established, a place to regulate order and impart order.

Only then could the entire human race develop in an orderly manner. With tens of thousands of years of persistence, even the Spirit Race—abandoned gods, a race born powerful—found it hard to surpass them.

"Only with order can there be rules, and only then can one cultivate better!" Seeing that he understood, Master Kong nodded and looked at him with doubt: "The Heavenly Dao you obtained... is it not order? But a library? What library?"

Although he understood that the other party, like himself, possessed a part of the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao was vast and boundless; he did not know exactly which part it was.

"Oh, what I obtained... though it is called a library, if I guess correctly, it should be... the Heavenly Dao is flawed!"

After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan nodded.

When the library was first activated, a voice had appeared in his mind—the Heavenly Dao is flawed!

Because of this ability, the library could see the flaws of all things and find the correct path, accompanying him this far, all the way to today.

"The Heavenly Dao is orderly, the Heavenly Dao is flawed..."

Master Kong suddenly understood: "So that's it!"

"Master Kong just said that I am in great danger and will soon die... Is it related to the library?" Zhang Xuan said.

"Indeed!" Master Kong nodded: "Obtaining a part of the Heavenly Dao is a great opportunity and the most coveted thing for cultivators, but... have you ever thought that using it for too long might lead to being eroded by the Heavenly Dao and eventually becoming part of it?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had never considered such a thing.

However, as he cultivated for longer, he indeed found that his dependence on the library grew stronger, to the point where now, without the Heavenly Dao technique, he did not even know how to cultivate!

Could this be what it means to be eroded by the Heavenly Dao?

"Heaven is just; every sip and peck has its cause and effect. Being able to obtain a part of the Heavenly Dao, rapidly advance in cultivation, and greatly increase strength must also have its drawbacks! If I'm not mistaken, you also cultivate the Heavenly Dao technique, right?"

Master Kong looked at him, his expression serious: "When you cultivate to the peak of the Immortal Lord realm, do you find that there is always a dark, swirling gas hidden within your body? One that heavenly fire, thunder, or even immortal power cannot expel?"

Startled, Zhang Xuan nodded: "Yes! Is this the thing that your will left in the Master Teacher Continent once mentioned... hidden within the fetal poison?"

Back then, after using heavenly fire to burn away the innate fetal poison, a dark gas remained in his body that no amount of refining could expel.

He had been somewhat worried at first, but since it had never caused any abnormality or change in his body, he eventually let it go and stopped paying attention.

Now, with Master Kong's mention, he suddenly remembered.

It seemed that the thought he had left behind on the Master Continent had specifically reminded him of something, but in the end, it didn't elaborate.

Master Kong said gravely, "Right, take a look now. What difference do you see in this black gas compared to when you first saw it?"

"Difference?"

Looking inward with his spirit, Zhang Xuan examined it carefully. After a moment, his body stiffened: "It seems... its volume has grown larger than before, and it's no longer pitch black, but... a hazy gray!"

The gas before had been only a finger's length, too thin to see clearly, so it had seemed black. Now it had nearly doubled, coiling inside him like a small snake, and its color was clear—a hazy gray, like morning mist.

"Yes, that's the color!" Master Kong nodded. "Have you noticed anything unusual about it?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

This thing had been inside him for a long time. He had never understood what it was, nor noticed anything unusual. It had no effect on his cultivation or the flow of his true energy, and he felt no harm to his body.

"Try using your 'Heaven's Defect' ability... Focus your mind and pay attention to this gray gas!" Master Kong said.

"This... alright!" After hesitating, Zhang Xuan looked up at the formation Master Kong had just set up, while mentally whispering, "Defect!"

Whoosh!

The library trembled, and a book appeared, recording the formation's strengths and weaknesses.

Glancing over it, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but marvel.

The man before him truly had a profound understanding of formations. Even a casual arrangement reached the level of Heaven's Dao, without a single flaw. Even he himself couldn't achieve that now.

"Well, see if the gas has changed..." Master Kong said.

Zhang Xuan quickly looked at the gas and frowned: "No change... No, it seems to have increased a bit, become stronger..."

The gray gas in his sight had increased a trace after he used the library just now. Though it was so faint as to be almost invisible, with his current strength, he could still sense something amiss.

"Right, it should have increased..." Master Kong nodded. "Every time you use Heaven's Defect, a wisp of this gas is produced, causing it to grow slowly!"

Zhang Xuan was stunned: "Why didn't I notice before?"

If that were the case, why hadn't he noticed earlier?

With his level of cultivation, he was fully aware of the slightest changes in his body. Under normal circumstances, he should have detected it.

Master Kong said, "The martial arts and weapons on the Master Continent are very weak. Even using Heaven's Defect, the gray gas produced wouldn't be much. But... it's different here. As the level of things increases, the side effects grow larger! Before, it was normal not to notice, but... once you encounter a Pseudo-God, or even enter the Divine Realm, the side effects will become apparent!"

It was like a horse pulling a cart. Pulling an empty cart caused no strain and few side effects, but as the cart grew heavier, physical strength was consumed faster.

Any treasure from the Upper Heavens was far superior to those on the Master Continent. Using the library to appraise them expended more energy, and naturally, more gray gas was produced.

"This... gray gas, is it fatal?"

Zhang Xuan shuddered.

"Fatal would be one thing!" Master Kong shook his head with a bitter smile. "What I fear is that this thing will accumulate more and more inside you, and since it can't be expelled, over time it will replace you, eventually turning you into a part of Heaven's Dao, losing your self-awareness!"

Zhang Xuan's body went rigid.

What exactly was this gray gas? He hadn't cared before, but now hearing Master Kong's words, it seemed possible!

This thing couldn't be expelled. As time passed, it would surely accumulate more and more inside him, eventually causing him to merge completely with the library, becoming a Heaven's Dao without emotion or consciousness.

If that happened, how was it different from death?

"Could it be that you, Master Kong..."

He quickly looked over.

The man before him, like himself, possessed a part of Heaven's Dao—the so-called Heaven's Order. If so, was he also troubled by this gray gas, unable to expel it?

"Right, I was once the same as you, unable to expel it, nearly losing self-awareness... Fortunately, I discovered it in time and have successfully resolved it!"

Master Kong nodded.

"Resolved?"

Zhang Xuan bowed with cupped hands: "Please tell me the solution, Master Kong. If I can eliminate this隐患, I will be eternally grateful!"

The library's ability was good—it allowed him to cultivate faster and fight stronger—but if it cost him his life, he would do anything to solve it!

It seemed that before completely resolving the gray gas, he should avoid using the library for a while.

"It's simple!"

Master Kong looked at him: "It depends on whether you are willing, whether you can bear to part with it!"

"As long as I can eliminate the隐患, I am willing to do anything!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Good. Actually, it's not difficult... The main reason the gray gas is produced is that, as a human, you have taken control of Heaven's Dao, violating the rules!"

Master Kong narrowed his eyes: "As long as you strip this thing—the library you speak of—from your body, naturally, you will no longer be in danger of losing your life!"