Chapter 171: The False Heavenly Dao

The Mysterious Female Gate was precisely the Dao Truth that Lu Yan had comprehended from the Sermon of the Mysterious Female Scripture.

After coming into contact with the demons and observing their strange abilities, Lu Yan gradually began to understand the essence of so-called “Dao Truth.”

The Heavenly Dao of the Demon Realm was completely different from the Heavenly Dao of other versions he had encountered. It governed with a laissez-faire attitude, allowing all within it to spiral without restraint.

If the Heavenly Dao in other versions was like a veil that had to be pierced before one could comprehend it…

Then the Heavenly Dao of the demon version was laid bare, naked and unguarded, exposed directly before one’s eyes.

Because of this, Lu Yan was able to grasp the Dao Truth of the Mysterious Female Gate with only a brief period of cultivation.

In fact, it wasn’t just Lu Yan. Anyone who cultivated the True Laws handed down by the gods and buddhas of all realms could directly comprehend the Heavenly Dao right from the beginning of their practice.

And the so-called “Dao Truth” was, in essence, a fragment of the Heavenly Dao’s power.

To touch the Heavenly Dao meant gradually shaping one’s cultivation to become more and more compatible with it—thereby borrowing a fragment of that Dao Truth from it.

The stitched demon’s undying, the one-legged giant’s super-speed, the white wolf’s plague, and even the mist insect swarm’s devouring—all of these were, at their core, manifestations of Dao-level rules.

They were rules, and rules transcend cultivation realms.

That’s why such abilities could be used freely, regardless of the user’s level.

Lu Yan had killed the stitched demon with his spells multiple times, yet still couldn’t break his Undying Truth.

The mist insect swarm, despite being only at Qi Refining level, could devour a second-rank spell and use it to evolve. This was also thanks to their Dao-level devouring ability.

Even if the Dao Truth they grasped was minuscule, rule-level Dao Truth could ignore most power differentials. For these demons, cross-realm slaughter was trivial.

If it weren’t for Lu Yan’s Soul Banner, these terrifying demons might have had a real chance at surrounding and killing a Golden Core True Lord who refused to retreat.

That would be unthinkable in the Xianxia version, where the gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was vast beyond comparison.

But in the demon version, it was possible—because they relied on the tyranny of rules.

Unless one’s cultivation far exceeded theirs, rules trumped all conventional means. No wonder the True Law cultivators and demons of the demon version were essentially broken game mechanics.

“Dao Truth is indeed powerful… but it is, ultimately, a wrong path.”

Lu Yan sighed with regret.

To him, these so-called Dao Truths were like deceptively sweet, yet poisonous fruits.

In the Xianxia version, only after one reached the Golden Core stage, and cultivated divine abilities of Earth Fiend and above, could one barely come into contact with the Heavenly Dao—and even then, only by borrowing the edge granted by divine techniques.

Without that advantage, touching the Heavenly Dao directly required nothing less than Nascent Soul pinnacle, a True Lord of immense power.

As for wielding the Heavenly Dao—that was reserved for Spirit Severing Dao Lords and above.

Even so, Xianxia cultivators still faced the risk of Heavenly Dao backlash.

But demon version cultivators did not strengthen themselves—instead, they surrendered to the Heavenly Dao, allowed themselves to be assimilated.

That was putting the cart before the horse—placing their entire fate into the hands of a twisted, corrupted Dao.

The demon version’s Heavenly Dao was already polluted and perverse. Whether it was those who cultivated demon True Laws, or the grotesque-looking demons themselves—they had all, to varying degrees, been tainted by this Dao Truth.

This had driven them further and further down the path away from humanity.

The stronger they became, the less human they seemed.

Yet no matter the power gained from self-corruption, it was not truly their own.

Without self-cultivation, the Heavenly Dao could reclaim all its “granted” Dao Truth and comprehension at any moment. Even if a demon’s cultivation touched the heavens, if they couldn’t transcend the Heavenly Dao, they would eventually be devoured by it.

“This is a world that eats people.”

“And what devours you… isn’t just demons. It’s the Dao itself.”

Lu Yan couldn’t help but sigh softly.

The Giant Spirit God, seeing this, asked:

“My Lord, you came into contact with the Heavenly Dao in order to destroy the stitched demon. Will there be any negative side effects?”

Lu Yan calmly shook his head.

“It was just a trial run.”

“I’ve already established my Foundation and possess an Unsurpassed Dao Foundation. With both cultivation and foundation as my shield, the corruption of the Heavenly Dao cannot erode me. Simply touching a Dao Truth won’t affect me.”

Then, Lu Yan paused, his gaze falling on the Mysterious Female Gate still spinning within his palm. A strange gleam flashed in his eyes.

To destroy a Dao Truth, one either had to overwhelm it with sheer power—or use a higher Dao Truth.

It was precisely because he knew this that Lu Yan had chosen to comprehend the Sermon of the Mysterious Female Scripture, in order to better understand the demon version’s rules.

To his surprise, the process had been far easier than he imagined. With the third-ranked True Law on the Heavenly True Law Ranking, Lu Yan merely circulated the scripture slightly and was immediately able to touch the Heavenly Dao and pluck a fragment of its Dao Truth.

The Mysterious Female Gate—mother of all laws, root of all Daos—easily crushed the so-called Undying Truth.

Originally, Lu Yan had planned to resist the Dao’s corruption through his Foundation and cultivation, but the outcome was nothing like he expected.

He felt no corruption, no signs of assimilation. It was as if the Dao’s malice simply had no effect on him.

This shocked Lu Yan deeply.

He was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, far from any level that could influence the Heavenly Dao. So how could a Dao that could corrupt even powerful demons have no effect on him?

As his thoughts churned, Lu Yan once again circulated the Sermon of the Mysterious Female Scripture, searching for the reason.

The Heavenly Dao connected to the scripture once more appeared before his mind’s eye.

His consciousness plunged into another world—a colossal whirlpool, vast beyond description. Words failed before this vortex.

Immersed in that place, Lu Yan felt as though he had touched the source of all Daos, the foundation of all laws. Everything before him could be taken or given at will.

In a small corner of the whirlpool, a tiny stream disappeared—precisely the piece of Dao Truth Lu Yan had previously taken.

He moved his mind and tried to intercept another small stream and merge it into the Mysterious Female Gate.

The moment he did, the massive whirlpool slowed its rotation, seemingly deliberately assisting him in taking more Dao Truth.

Lu Yan froze in place.

“Is the Dao… submitting to me?”

And then, as if something clicked in his mind, his expression turned incomparably strange.

“Don’t tell me… it’s mistaking me for the Heavenly Dao?”

(End of Chapter)