Chapter 1534: The Cycle of the Dao

Gu Pan shot a cold glance at the Great Daoist Brush Master. This time, however, he didn't lose his temper.

He had to endure and stay calm. Once he had his true body, he could literally kill this dog of a man with a single fart. Hence, why bother wasting energy arguing with him right now?

Seeing that Gu Pan had chosen not to retaliate, the Great Daoist Brush Master lost interest in him. His gaze shifted to the nearby sword, Star Spring. At the moment, Star Spring wasn't making any moves against Ye Guan. It was merely trembling in the air.

Clearly, it realized that it had seriously underestimated Ye Guan's strength.

Ye Guan glanced at the Star Spring but chose not to attack. Instead, he turned and began walking away.

The Great Daoist Brush Master was slightly surprised and asked, "You're really going to let that slide?"

Ye Guan said calmly, "Why would I waste time being mad at a sword?"

Gu Pan seized the moment to mock, saying, "Exactly. Unlike some people who get petty over every little thing."

The Great Daoist Brush Master turned to glare at Gu Pan. "What the hell do you know? The only reason he didn't get worked up is that he knows he can't beat that sword right now.

"And let's not forget that you and I are both right here, waiting for a chance to strike. If he makes a move, and we take the opportunity to ambush him, he'll be in deep trouble. You don't know jack, so shut up."

Gu Pan's face darkened. He turned to Ye Guan, only to find his expression as calm as ever. That made Gu Pan even more annoyed.

Damn it, these two bastards are both so cunning. It's so infuriating.

The Great Daoist Brush Master cast Ye Guan a chilly glance, and then the three continued on their way.

On the road, Ye Guan asked, "Great Daoist Brush Master, what exactly is the origin of this Ancient God Nation?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master blandly asked, "Do you know what a god is?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Of course. On my journey, I've killed more emperors and gods than I can count. I'm sick of it, honestly."

The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at him with disdain. "Those? You call those gods?"

Ye Guan was intrigued. "

Oh?

What do you mean?"

However, the Great Daoist Brush Master didn't answer.

Ye Guan asked another question, "Why is there no unified standard for cultivation realms across the vast expanse?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master replied, "Because the vast expanse itself isn't unified. How can the cultivation systems be unified then? There are countless starry regions, each with its own unique civilization and origin.

"Every single one of them has their own cultivation system. It's like how every country in the mortal world has its own political system."

Ye Guan said, "Then shouldn't we unify the vast expanse?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master glanced at him. "I'm not going to argue with you about that. You still understand far too little about the vast expanse and the myriad beings within it. Talking to you about it would be pointless."

Ye Guan smiled but said nothing.

The Great Daoist Brush Master went on, saying, "The gods of the Ancient God Nation... strictly speaking, they're not true gods. If I had to give you a standard for what a real god is... it would be me."

Ye Guan was speechless.

Gu Pan shook his head. "I've never met someone so shameless."

The Great Daoist Brush Master didn't get angry and simply glanced at Gu Pan.

Ye Guan asked with curiosity, "You mean your true body, right?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master didn't answer that directly. Instead, he said, "The origin of the Ancient God Nation traces back to the Boundary of Truth and Illusion. Those True Void Spirits are from that place.

"You've heard of that place, haven't you?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Yeah. It's the world above the Void Spacetime, one step closer to the real world..."

"

Hahaha!

" The Great Daoist Brush Master scoffed. "You don't know shit."

Ye Guan was speechless.

The Great Daoist Brush Master said, "The Boundary of Truth and Illusion is still a part of the Void. If I were to make an analogy using circles, that place might have one foot outside the circle, but even that is still written on the same sheet of paper."

Ye Guan suddenly said, "It's still on the page, you mean?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at him in surprise.

Ye Guan met his gaze. "Am I right?"

"Yes." The Great Daoist Brush Master nodded. "That place has one foot out, but in truth, it's still within the bounds of illusion. Still, the beings there have an incredible advantage, just like how some people are born into poor families, while others are born into wealth."

Ye Guan asked, "What kind of advantage?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master replied, "They're not bound by the rules of this virtual world, or more precisely, the influence of this virtual world on them is minimal. Think of it like money in the mortal world. Beings from the Boundary of Truth and Illusion have a natural connection with both the Void Spacetime and the Truth and Illusion Spacetime.

"It's like they were born rich... And that world also has many ancient ruins and hidden realms. If you're lucky, the opportunities there can be absolutely absurd. Even the Great Dao River came from one such ruin."

Ye Guan's curiosity deepened. "So where did those ruins come from?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master calmly answered, "They were leftovers from beings beyond the circle. Gifts, basically."

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Great Daoist Brush Master glanced at him. "A myriad living beings? What a joke. Do you know how some beings see the so-called 'masses'? Like ants. For those in power, they don't even need to lift a finger; just a word from their mouth can alter the fate of countless lives.

"Take your own Guanxuan Universe. You're the king now. If you were to implement a harmful policy, untold numbers of lives would suffer. You know that, right?"

Ye Guan fell silent.

"What may seem trivial to those at the top can become catastrophic for those at the bottom..." muttered the Great Daoist Brush Master. Then, he shook his head. "But why am I even telling you all this?"

Ye Guan asked, "So you're against unifying the vast expanse?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master laughed. "Ye Guan, have you ever thought whether you can change human nature?"

Ye Guan frowned.

The Great Daoist Brush Master continued, "I won't bother with that old cliché of heroes turning into villains. Let me ask you this: maybe you don't crave power or wealth. But can you control the people beneath you?

"The only reason you're not greedy is that you already have everything. You were born with it. The people below you weren't. And if you won't let them have what you do, do you really think they'll accept that?"

Ye Guan replied, "I understand the problems you're talking about. I do. But look at the vast expanse, and you'll see that it's a mess. There's endless fighting, constant chaos, and there is no peace at all."

The Great Daoist Brush Master was quiet for a moment, then said, "That's the Dao for ya. All causes and effects arise naturally. It is the cycle of the Dao... no one should place themselves above the Dao, or try to replace it.

"Humans are selfish. They have countless evil beliefs. If someone replaces the Dao and becomes greater than it, that would be a disaster for the vast expanse."

Ye Guan looked at him. "I understand what you mean by 'Dao.' But... aren't my actions of unifying the vast expanse considered the Dao as well?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master frowned.

"There are infinite expressions of the Dao. If I bring Order, isn't that a type of Dao, too?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master said flatly, "No way."

"Why not?" Ye Guan asked.

The Great Daoist Brush Master replied, "Because I am the Dao."

Gu Pan was speechless.

Ye Guan laughed. "So in your mind, your words are Laws. You are the Dao?"

Expressionless, the Great Daoist Brush Master replied, "That's correct."

Ye Guan was momentarily stunned, and then he burst out laughing. "Alright, then let me ask you this—who's stronger? Is it the Dao or my aunt?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master's face darkened.

Ye Guan continued, "You say you're the Dao. Fine, let's go with that. But I think you should listen to the voices of the people below. Just like an empire, sure, the rulers represent Order, and the masses should follow the laws.

"But doesn't the ruler also have a responsibility to hear the people out?"

He chuckled and added, "Of course, I understand. From the Dao's point of view, the lives of ordinary people are insignificant. Even a county magistrate won't care about the lives of commoners unless their position were threatened..."

Then he looked straight at the Great Daoist Brush Master. "You and I... this whole situation... it's really about the differences in how we view Order.

"We both came here to establish our own systems, and then we'll compare and see whose system is better. But instead of competing fairly, you stirred up the empire to try to kill me.

"I get it, if I die, the bet's over, and you win. But have you thought about what happens to the empire if I die? You used them and manipulated them, but you've never once considered their fate. Is that your so-called Dao?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master narrowed his eyes.

Ye Guan added, "You've pushed the Empire to come after me. But if I survive and wipe them out, tell me, whose fault is that? Yours, or mine? Is that the Dao?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master was silent for a moment, then said, "It's not like I ignore the voices below. You all have opinions, go ahead and speak up! Just don't go trying to defy Heaven or replace the Dao.

"Everything I do is for the betterment of the vast expanse..."

Ye Guan shook his head. "Great Doaist Brush Master, cut the crap. The reason you're afraid of me establishing order isn't that you fear someone might rise above the Dao and harm the common people.

"What you're really afraid of is losing your own interests. It's just like corrupt officials—when they get caught, they'll cry and beg for mercy, claiming they regret everything, saying they've let the people down, admitting that they were wrong.

"Now think about this—what if they never got caught?"

Before the Great Daoist Brush Master could respond, Ye Guan added, "It's the same now. You're willing to sit down and discuss Order with me. You're willing to listen to those beneath you, but it's not because you genuinely care about them.

"It's because you're scared. Scared of what? Scared of my family. If my family weren't around, would you be here discussing any of this with me?"