Chapter 177: Transformed

The moonlight is like a silk thread, pouring down on the top of the Bajing Palace. The power of the stars in the sky gathers into a trickle, slowly falling down, covering the ancient Zique Palace with a layer of dreamy silver gauze. The portal surrounded by purple air shows strange changes under the gentle touch of the moonlight. Although the purple air is strong, it gradually becomes soft under the baptism of the moonlight. The array pattern seems to be breathing slowly, revealing a deep mystery.

"Wait!" Yin Tianzhi was anxious and wanted to break free first, but Yin Tiande gently pushed him back with a steady force.
"Then I'll go first!" Yan Yixi was about to go in when he saw that the two Yin Tiande brothers had not taken any action.

However, he could not escape the tacit obstruction of the Yin Tiande brothers.

"Everyone, the opportunity here is not for you, why force it? Do you really want to force me to take action and hurt the harmony?" Yin Tiande snorted coldly, trying to persuade Zixia and the other two to retreat.

"Do you really think you have us in your grasp?" Ji Ziyue's voice was filled with the arrogance and indomitable spirit unique to the ancient family. Her sneer echoed in the empty space, like a violet swaying in the cold wind, beautiful and proud.

Ji Ziyue's words were still echoing in the air when Yin Tiande made his move like lightning. His divine power gathered into a blade, pointing directly at Ji Ziyue's heart. His eyes were cold and precise, as if he had seen through everything and determined that Ji Ziyue was the key to breaking the situation.

However, Zixia was prepared. Her reaction was as swift as the interweaving of light and shadow. The fire furnace was summoned with a bang, and the bright red light illuminated the space like daylight. She vowed to protect Ji Ziyue safely.

But at this critical moment of life and death, an irresistible force surged from the side, and Yin Tiande's shocking attack seemed to have encountered the shackles of time, slowly stagnated, and solidified in mid-air, unable to move forward any further.

"Slow down!" Qingniu, who was not far away, spoke calmly. Every word was of great significance and his words were followed by actions. The arrogant offensive was quelled as if it had never existed.

It walked out slowly, its tone calm but full of meaning: "Water is good at benefiting all things without competing for its work, and it lives in places that people do not want, so it can be close to the Tao. Practitioners should live in good places, have a heart as calm as the abyss, treat others with kindness, be trustworthy in words and deeds, govern affairs with justice, and act at the right time. If you all here only know how to fight, isn't that contrary to the essence of practice?"

After saying this, the Green Ox stood up in a detached manner. It raised its hand gently and pointed to the door leading to the unknown palace. Its invitation was evident in its words: "Here, heroes are not judged by their level of cultivation. Whether one can see the true teachings depends entirely on one's character and understanding of the original law. Now that we have come this far, it must be fate. Everyone, please follow me."

Following the steady steps of Qingniu, everyone stepped into the threshold of Bajing Palace, as if they had crossed the cracks of time and space and entered a fairyland. Qingniu waved his nose ring lightly, and the door slowly opened. A warm and spring-like, lingering fairy air rushed over, instantly enveloping everyone's body, bringing unprecedented comfort and tranquility.

"This place is truly a holy place for cultivation. If one can concentrate on practicing here, there is no need to worry about not making progress in cultivation." Yin Tianzhi sighed sincerely, with a strong desire flashing in his eyes.

At this moment, the situation in Zique suddenly changed, and the world seemed to be shaken by an inexplicable force. Everyone who entered the Bajing Palace felt the pull of a mysterious force in an instant, and their consciousness involuntarily left their bodies and traveled to a strange dimension. In the blink of an eye, Zixia's figure seemed to have crossed the shackles of time and space, standing alone on the edge of a vast ocean. The traces of the other companions were completely gone, leaving her alone facing this unknown world.

Seeing this scene, the blue ox was filled with infinite expectations. It secretly wondered whether these travelers who entered the Eight Scenery Palace could comprehend the mysteries of the scenes, and whether they could inherit the supreme inheritance of the ancient master, so that they could be liberated and travel freely in the vast world. After all, the long years of waiting in this divine source land had made it feel the weight of time, and it couldn't help but feel a little irritable and yearning.

"Is this the sea?" Zixia stood alone on the sea, staring at the vast expanse of blue waves in front of her with deep eyes. The surging waves looked like the magnificent scene in the mortal world, and also like the deep universe under the starry sky, so vast that it made people feel awe. She secretly sighed in her heart that the road to inheritance was indeed extraordinary and full of challenges.

Recalling Qingniu's words, Zixia's state of mind gradually returned to peace. She abandoned all distracting thoughts and entered a mysterious state. She no longer deliberately floated, but let her body lie gently on the sea surface, as if she had merged with the sea, feeling its every subtle pulse, and experiencing the highest realm of "letting nature take its course and governing by doing nothing". At this moment, Zixia seemed to have become a part of the sea, breathing together, pulsating together, and exploring the mysteries of this place.

Witnessing the performances of several people in the strange dimension, Qingniu couldn't help but look at Zixia, Ji Ziyue, and Yin Tiande with new eyes. Zixia, whose temperament is similar to but completely different from that of the ancestor, shows a unique charm; Ji Ziyue, who is eccentric but has a unique wisdom; Yin Tiande, who is ruthless and decisive, has an unfathomable Taoism, and has a tendency to step into the forbidden realm of the gods, which is amazing. In comparison, although Yan Yixi and Yin Tianzhi are also rare geniuses, they are obviously inferior to these three.

As time passed, Qingniu closely followed the progress of everyone's understanding in the strange world. Yin Tiande was one step ahead and touched the secret of the sixth scene; Ji Ziyue followed closely behind and also stepped into the threshold of the fifth scene; even Yan Yixi and Yin Tianzhi gradually got into the groove and glimpsed the mystery of the second scene.

However, when Qingniu's eyes fell on Zixia, he could not help but frown. She seemed to be still lingering in the first scene, floating gently on the sea, seemingly without any significant progress. This made Qingniu puzzled. With Zixia's extraordinary physique and aura similar to that of the ancestor, how could this be possible?

Zixia quietly floated above the sea, her eyes closed, as if she was isolated from the world. At this moment, she was not continuing to perceive the strange world, but completely letting her mind return to tranquility and conducting a deep introspection. Her thoughts drifted away, no longer communicating with any elements of the outside world, but immersed in the pure contemplation of the highest realm of "Tao".

As the incarnation of the "Tao Embryo", Zixia should have a natural affinity and understanding of the "Tao", but at this moment, she is facing a seemingly simple but actually profound confusion - what is the "Tao"? In her heart, the wisdom in Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" and Daode Tianzun's "Tao Jing" echoed, and those explanations about the "Tao": it is the beginning of chaos, governing by inaction, quiet and natural, it is both the origin of heaven and earth, and the mother of all things, nurturing all things without taking credit; it is invisible and formless, doing nothing but doing everything, nourishing all things like water without competing, overcoming hardness with softness, and embodying the supreme goodness; it transcends the boundaries of words, and cannot be directly captured by human senses. It is invisible when seen, silent when heard, and invisible when touched.

Although these theories resonated in Zixia's heart, she found it still difficult to touch the essence of "Tao".

So, at that moment of gently floating on the sea, Zixia's mind seemed to have passed through the strange scene in front of her and directly connected with the vast universe. In this tranquility, she listened wholeheartedly, trying to capture the subtle and grand sound of "Tao" and feel its deep and delicate pulse. At this moment, as a "Tao fetus", she truly touched the outline of the Tao for the first time.

However, the majesty and depth of the Heavenly Dao were not something that could be easily touched by the Dragon Transformation Realm. When Zixia's soul resonated subtly with the Great Dao, her consciousness encountered an unprecedented crisis, and she began to transform into the Dao unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)