Chapter 981: What Does It Mean to Be A Dao Master

The Authority of the Great Dao? Resurrection, but he would lose his insights into the Great Dao of Creation? Though Wu Yuan didn't fully understand, he grasped that failure would lead to dire consequences, even if not death.

Losing insights into the Great Dao of Creation alone was unacceptable to Wu Yuan. Nearly a hundred thousand years of effort, countless sacrifices, boundless determination, and innumerable fortuitous encounters – all lost in an instant. That would be worse than death for Wu Yuan.

Yet, Wu Yuan remained puzzled. "Seniors, even a Dao Master's successor wouldn't dare claim they could achieve eternity, let alone become a Dao Master themselves."

From all the intelligence Wu Yuan had gathered, a Dao Master should be an extremely powerful existence among eternal beings. However, even for eternal beings, raising another eternal being was incredibly difficult.

Take the Spacetime Dao Master. He had nurtured several eternal beings, but likely none could rival him. Moreover, the Spacetime Dao Master was still alive and could offer guidance.

But the Creation Dao Master was long dead. No matter how many treasures he had left behind, how much could external artifacts truly aid someone in becoming a Dao Master—or even attaining eternity? Could a fallen Dao Master truly foster the rise of another?

Hearing Wu Yuan's words, the girl in red and the boy in white exchanged smiles, as if they could read Wu Yuan's thoughts.

"Kid, you're not wrong," the white-robed boy smiled. "During the Dao Master's lifetime, he had over ten successors, but only three achieved eternity, and none could rival the Dao Master. Not even close.

“It's very difficult for a living Dao Master to nurture another Dao Master-level being. However, a dead one has more hope," the white-robed boy said calmly.

Wu Yuan's pupils constricted, filled with shock.

A living one couldn’t do it, while a dead one had more hope? Recalling what the two eternal beings before him had said earlier, various conjectures began to form in Wu Yuan's mind.

"Very well. Since you didn't reach this place through the nine trials, it's only natural that you have many questions," the white-robed boy said calmly. "If we take the time to explain things properly, it might ignite an even greater desire for strength within you. And who knows? Perhaps your odds of success might improve—rising from one in ten thousand to one in a thousand."

Wu Yuan was taken aback.

One in a thousand? He wasn't sure if the white-robed boy was praising or belittling him.

"Do you know what it means to be a Dao Master?" the white-robed boy asked softly.

Wu Yuan hesitated, "The master of a Great Dao? The first being in the megaverse to fully comprehend a certain Great Dao?"

From what Wu Yuan knew, the Spacetime Dao Master was born in the primordial era, countless samsara cycles of heaven and earth ago, and was the first to fully comprehend the Great Dao of Spacetime.

"What you say is partly right and partly wrong," the white-robed boy smiled. "The first Dao Master of each Great Dao is indeed the first to fully comprehend that Dao, but subsequent Dao Masters aren't necessarily so. For the first Dao Master, luck and strength are equally important, but for later ones, it's more like seventy percent luck and thirty percent strength."

"Luck and strength?" Wu Yuan was perplexed.

"In the boundless megaverse, the vast cosmic sea, the collision of matter, the birth of universes, the cycles of samsara... everything seems to be arranged by an invisible hand," the red-robed girl suddenly exclaimed. "We eternal beings call this the Primordial Rules.

“Primordium, meaning the source of all, the beginning of everything.

“The Primordial Rules reign supreme over all. Be it the Great Daos or eternal matter, all must follow the Primordial Rules," the red-robed girl continued. "The Primordial Rules have existed since the most ancient times, when the concept of space and time was first conceived, and when lifeforms emerged. Many eternal beings can only approach and draw near to it, but never truly match the Primordium."

Primordial Rules?

Wu Yuan held his breath, suddenly recalling many things.

He thought of the mysterious realm he had entered when he merged with the essence of the Ancestral Pagoda. It transcended the Great Daos. Was what he had comprehended and merged at that time the Primordial Rules? Wu Yuan's heart was filled with indescribable shock.

"The Primordial Rules are ethereal and unfathomable. The Great Daos and matter born from their operation are already the limit of what living beings can grasp," the white-robed boy said softly. "And the Great Daos are the foundation upon which all things and Laws in the boundless megaverse operate, eternal and unchanging, immovable. The Authority they hold represents the profundities of the Primordium.

“The first to fully comprehend a Great Dao can resonate with its essence, wielding its Authority on behalf of the Primordium.

“From then on, they are bound by many shackles, controlled by the Primordium.” the white-robed boy said calmly. "But at the same time, they can use the power of that Authority to do extraordinary things, destroying many eternal beings with a wave of their hand, and standing above even True Saints.

“Where one who wields a Great Dao’s Authority on behalf of the Primordium goes, it's as if the Great Dao itself is present, thus they are revered as Dao Masters throughout the eight directions of the cosmic sea," the white-robed boy said.

Wu Yuan understood.

A Dao Master wasn't necessarily the one with the greatest aptitude, nor the strongest of all time, but the one fortunate enough to be the first. Being in the right place at the right time – that was crucial. That was why the white-robed boy said it was part luck, part strength.

If a Great Dao already had a Dao Master, then no matter how many eternal beings later achieved complete comprehension of that Dao, they would still be suppressed beneath the Dao Master.

"Eternal beings can continue to cultivate, and their strengths vary. The powerful ones can be called Saints," the white-robed boy said calmly. "Dao Masters naturally stand at the pinnacle of eternal beings, and only those at the pinnacle of Sainthood can compare to them."

The powerful ones could be called Saints? Wu Yuan thought of True Saint Taiyuan, who seemed to be quite powerful among eternal beings.

As for the pinnacle of Sainthood? Perhaps that referred to the level of Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu and the Heavenly Imperator.

Of course, these were just Wu Yuan's conjectures. He hadn't even reached the peak of sempiternal life, so his understanding of eternal beings was very limited.

"The Dao Master has fallen. But he hasn't truly perished," the white-robed boy's eyes showed a rare hint of regret. "At least, the Authority of the Great Dao remains within the Dao Realm.

“If the Dao Master had truly passed away, then the Authority of the Great Dao would return to the Great Dao itself, leading to a brutal struggle among the many eternal beings who have fully comprehended the Great Dao of Creation," the white-robed boy shook his head. "It would become incredibly fierce...

“Moreover, the Dao Master once said that the Authority of the Great Dao is no longer in its original state. After the first generation of Dao Masters, it became increasingly difficult for later ones to wield it. If an eternal being dared to forcibly brand their imprint, they would likely perish from the backlash of the Great Dao's essence."

"Perish?" Wu Yuan held his breath.

Just attempting to brand their imprint would lead to death? He realized how special and terrifying the Authority of the Great Dao was, certainly not something to be trifled with lightly.

"On the contrary, sempiternal lifeforms are protected by the universe and favored by the Great Dao. If one has a Great Dao Body, the backlash would be very, very small, and there's hope of leaving a Yuan Soul imprint," the white-robed boy said softly.

"If one brands their imprint during the sempiternal life stage, then, not only would one’s comprehension of the Great Dao advance by leaps and bounds, but when achieving eternity and attempting to wield the Great Dao’s Authority, the chances would be ten or a hundred times greater," the white-robed boy said. "At that time, it would be the moment a new Creation Dao Master is born."

Wu Yuan now fully understood.

So, the Creation Dao Master established the Creation Dao Realm with the ultimate goal of selecting a new Creation Dao Master. For this purpose, he even set up nine trials.

As for himself, though he had wandered the Creation Dao Realm for a long time, he hadn't truly encountered the inheritance left by the Dao Master. Instead, following the guidance of the black pagoda, he had stumbled blindly into the final trial ground of the Dao Realm. This place was not inside the corpse of the Creation Dao Master.

Oh black pagoda, black pagoda, you've screwed me over.

Wu Yuan sighed inwardly. He also vaguely understood that the more secrets he learned, the fewer choices he would have.

If what I’m sensing is correct, the black pagoda's target is indeed in the final trial ground of the Dao Realm.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Standing in this vast temple, he could still sense something, though he couldn't pinpoint its exact location.

He had many conjectures. The black pagoda was a projection of the Ancestral Pagoda's existence, so why would it guide him to the Creation Dao Master? And why did the Creation Dao Master insist on selecting a new Creation Dao Master? Wu Yuan also thought of the Spacetime Dao Master, who seemed to be doing the same thing.

It's glory, but also shackles. Wielding the Authority of the Great Dao brings immense power, but also endless responsibility...

Wu Yuan pondered silently.

He wasn't sure if his guesses were correct. Eternity and Dao Masterhood were indeed too distant for his current self.

It was like ordinary mortals struggling to comprehend the vastness of outer space; that scale was beyond their imagination. Sempiternal lifeforms similarly struggled to understand eternal beings.

"If the Dao Master left the Authority of the Great Dao in the Dao Realm, don't other eternal beings know about it?" Wu Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"They probably don't know. Besides, even if they knew, so what?" The white-robed boy showed a hint of a sneer. "The peak powerhouses in the boundless megaverse don't believe the Dao Master has truly fallen. Remember, the concept of death among sempiternal lives is not the same for eternal beings.

“In fact, if any Dao Master-level being deigned to return to the river of space and time... The Dao Master would naturally make them understand who the true master of this river of space and time is.

“Kid, I know you're from the Eldritch Court. The Eldritch Court has many eternal beings, and figures like Hou Tu and Di Jiang stand at the very pinnacle, not Dao Masters but as good as Dao Masters." The white-robed boy glanced at Wu Yuan.

"But it's useless. From the moment you arrived here, your destiny was no longer in their control. I believe they wouldn't risk themselves for a mere sempiternal lifeform like you either."

Wu Yuan's pupils constricted.

Hou Tu? Di Jiang? He understood that these two eternal beings who looked like children had a far greater understanding of the boundless megaverse than he did.

"What about the Heavenly Imperator?" Wu Yuan suddenly asked.

"The Heavenly Imperator?" The white-robed boy and the red-robed girl were both stunned for a moment.

After a while, the white-robed boy suddenly laughed, "That one? He won't come.

“We've told you what you need to know. Although you haven't gone through the previous inheritance trials, you possess a Great Dao Body, and cultivate two paths to eternity, so your chances are no less than the previous successors. You should have a glimmer of hope." The white-robed boy looked at Wu Yuan.

"You have ten breaths of time. After ten breaths, your future will be determined.

“Succeed, and you have the chance to become the new Dao Master," the white-clad child said with a smile.

He and the girl in red robes fell silent, no longer speaking.

Success? Failure?

Wu Yuan drew in a deep breath, his eyes brimming with boundless desire.

I must succeed.

Ten breaths passed in the blink of an eye.

“Go!”

The boy in white waved his hand, and an invisible force instantly enveloped Wu Yuan, propelling him towards the distant throne.

He sat down slowly.