Chapter 174: The Dao of Universal Oneness

The tiger demon with skeletal wings let out a thunderous roar, attempting to rally the last of its power to resist the assimilation of the Great Dao.

But the moment it moved, its bony wings began to shed one by one, crumbling into motes of light that vanished into the void. The fur covering its body withered like dead grass, revealing melting flesh beneath. The wraiths swirling around it screamed mournfully under the golden radiance before dissolving like smoke.

The rotting flesh demon boiled like pitch-black water, the resentment congealed within it turning into wisps of black smoke under the golden light. Countless twisted, agonized faces surfaced and disappeared, like ten thousand unwilling nightmares returning to the heavens.

The grotesque spider demon’s body began to collapse layer by layer. The human faces on its body let out silent screams and fell away like withered petals. Its eight human hands flailed helplessly in the air as it watched itself be assimilated by the Great Dao. Its black exoskeleton shattered into fragments and vanished in the golden light.

Three Foundation Establishment peak demons were reduced to scraps of ruined flesh within moments.

Lu Yan understood that the only reason those scraps remained was because these demons hadn’t fully undergone transformation—they still had parts of their bodies incompatible with the Great Dao. Had they been fully polluted by the Heavenly Dao, once assimilation began, nothing would have remained.

With a wave of his hand, Lu Yan had wiped out three powerful demons. The Giant Spirit God now looked at him with eyes full of awe and reverence.

“No wonder he is our lord… He’s mastered a Dao Truth with such ease!”

Even the Blood God couldn’t help but speak up: “We couldn’t stop these demons even with our formation. We only dragged our lord down.”

The Guardian God remained silent, standing behind Lu Yan with a solemn expression.

But it was understandable. The difference brought by the version shift was just too vast.

Back in the Urban Version, the three ghost gods were undoubtedly divine entities. At that time, Lu Yan had not even reached Foundation Establishment and still relied heavily on their power.

But after entering the Demon Version, and facing waves of demon assaults, the ghost gods and their troops could barely hold the line. Actually killing the enemies required Lu Yan’s intervention—no wonder they felt ashamed.

Lu Yan, sensing their mindset shift, thought for a moment and said:

“It’s not your fault. These demons wield Dao Truths. Their strange methods let them fight above their cultivation. In this version, the Great Dao is too unique—cultivating anything else will put you at a disadvantage.”

“But don’t worry. I’ll find you a True Law with no side effects. Once you’ve mastered it, you too will wield a Dao Truth. So long as you can counter their rule-level techniques with your own, those demons—who haven’t cultivated themselves—will be several levels weaker. You’ll be able to slay them easily.”

The three ghost gods were instantly relieved and bowed together.

“Thank you, my lord!”

If anyone else in the Demon Version had heard this, they would surely think Lu Yan was spouting nonsense. A True Law without side effects? That was nearly impossible.

But in the eyes of the ghost gods—if Lu Yan said it, it could be done.

The Giant Spirit God swept his gaze over the chaotic battlefield. All that remained of the demon corpses was rotten flesh.

Normally, demon bodies would slowly return to the world after death, leaving nothing of value.

“This place has already seen two waves of demon attacks. My lord should consider relocating quickly.”

But Lu Yan shook his head.

“The demons place immense value on True Laws, especially the seventeen that appeared on the Heaven and Earth True Law Rankings.”

“Some of them seem to have a way to sense my presence. Unless I find a method to block that sensing, demons will keep coming no matter where I go.”

“My lord, do you have a plan?”

Lu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. “Stand guard for me.”

With that, he once again sat cross-legged.

Gazing into his sea of consciousness, Lu Yan selected another True Law to comprehend the Great Dao.

This True Law was called 《Method of Shadowless Dust》.

Far away, hundreds of kilometers out, a terrifying Roc demon spread its wings. Each feather shimmered with ominous dark-golden light, as though countless netherworld eyes stared through the darkness.

Every flap of its wings sent it flying dozens of kilometers forward, leaving a long streak in the heavens.

If Lu Yan were here, he would’ve noticed—the Roc demon possessed the same Extreme Speed Dao Truth as the One-Legged Giant.

And the Roc’s current trajectory was heading straight for the remote mountain where Lu Yan resided.

But just as it rushed forward, its body suddenly paused. A look of confusion flashed across its eyes.

It could feel the location of the True Law—guided by the stars—had suddenly vanished.

It had lost its target.

And it wasn’t just the Roc. Countless demons en route to the mountain all lost their guidance at the exact same moment.

Back on the mountain, Lu Yan was slowly integrating the stolen Dao Truth into the Mysterious Female Gate. A faint, dark glow enveloped his body, as if cutting him off entirely from the world.

“Shine with the light, blend with the dust—this is called Xuantong.”

This Xuantong Dao Truth came from the Method of Shadowless Dust. It allowed one to hide all traces of themselves—to completely erase their presence.

As long as the opponent’s cultivation didn’t far surpass his, ordinary demons would be unable to pierce through the Xuantong veil.

The only downside: this Dao Truth could only be deployed through the Mysterious Female Gate. Lu Yan couldn’t manifest the gate at all times and had to keep it running internally.

That would place a heavy burden on him—but it was the only viable option.

As the Xuantong Dao Truth took hold, Lu Yan clearly sensed that more than half of the demonic auras rushing toward him had disappeared.

Still, to avoid bumping into any stragglers, he needed to leave quickly.

Rising slowly from meditation, Lu Yan picked up the Soul Banner, and with a wave, retracted all the ghost gods and ghost soldiers into it.

All that remained from his cross-version journey were the True Law tomes and a few bloodstained gold pieces. The carefully prepared Heavenly Dao Code and the duplicate of On the Dao of Heaven—not a single trace remained.

He picked up several of the bloodied gold ingots nearby.

Lu Yan could faintly sense traces of demonic aura fused into the metal. He suspected these were special materials unique to the Demon Version, and stored them away in his spatial pouch.

As for the now-empty books that had lost their True Laws, Lu Yan flicked his finger. The Merit Fire of Primordial Yellow instantly turned them to ash—leaving no causal trail to trace.

Having finished everything, Lu Yan left the desolate mountain behind.

(End of Chapter)