Chapter 11 The Arrangements of Daojun Tianyi

The Water-Linked Residence of the Great Mo Courtyard, covering over a hundred li, was elegant and tranquil, ranking first among the guest residences in the Great Mo Courtyard.

The Water-Linked Residence.

The gardens, halls, and study were all buildings floating on the water, connected by wooden bridges. At this moment, an old man in tattered robes and a white-clad youth were walking side by side on the floating wooden bridge.

"Hoo." Daojun Tianyi let out a sigh, his face full of emotion. "I knew Great Mo would help me, but now that he has truly agreed, this old man still feels ashamed. The feeling of being indebted to an old friend is truly unpleasant."

"Big brother, it's just a Dharma body, not the true self going in person. Even if it's lost, shouldn't it be possible to cultivate another one in a short time?" Ji Ning asked, puzzled.

Daojun Tianyi looked at Ji Ning. "Short time? Do you know how a Daojun's Dharma body is cultivated?"

Ji Ning was taken aback and gently shook his head.

"When a World-level cultivator finds his own Dao and wants to break through to become a Dao of Life and Death... first, the body and soul must be absolutely perfect," said Daojun Tianyi.

"Absolutely perfect?" Ji Ning murmured.

"Absolute perfection means... all avatars must be completely unified," said Daojun Tianyi. "No matter what avatar techniques you cultivated before, they must all merge into one. Of course, there is one exception: if you cultivated a 'second true self' while still mortal and both passed the heavenly tribulation, the second true self and the true self cannot be unified."

Ji Ning nodded.

For himself, the second true self was of the qi-refining path.

The true self, however, cultivated both divine power and body refinement. The original eighteen avatars of the true self could easily merge, as they were identical to each other. But the second true self and the true self were vastly different, making complete unification impossible.

"Thus, cultivators who rise from the mortal world have a second life," Daojun Tianyi said with a smile. "Although more than half of cultivators rise step by step from the mortal world, many do not have a second true self. Even if they do, some lose it over the long years of cultivation... Among Daolords of Life and Death, over ninety percent have no second true self."

Ji Ning nodded gently.

"Take me, for example. As a Daojun, I am extremely far from the Heavenly Cang Palace, yet I can still transmit messages to it. How? Through the 'Dharma body,'" Daojun Tianyi said, looking at Ji Ning.

"A Dharma body is a body of a magic treasure!"

Daojun Tianyi said, "Just like a puppet treasure, we cultivate a 'upgradable' magic treasure puppet for ourselves, and then use a sliver of our soul to become the master of this puppet! It sounds simple, but in reality, making the magic treasure body perfectly combine with the soul, and even allowing it to be continuously nurtured and upgraded... the cost of refining one Dharma body exceeds that of ten Eternal Divine Weapons."

Ji Ning was secretly astonished.

"The treasures I gave to Great Mo are enough to refine the best and most perfect two Dharma bodies," Daojun Tianyi said with emotion. "But for a Dharma body to reach its peak, besides external materials, it requires the Daojun to nurture it with heart—a very long process."

"And a Daojun can only wholeheartedly nurture one Dharma body, since the Dharma body contains only a tiny bit of soul. Once nurturing stops, the Dharma body's power gradually declines. Most Daolords have only one Dharma body," said Daojun Tianyi. "I also have only one Dharma body. Because it is a magic treasure body, it can perfectly integrate with the guarding formation of the Heavenly Cang Palace... Under the formation's enhancement, the Dharma body's power can fully match my true self. Naturally, it can protect the Heavenly Cang Palace well."

"Moreover, with the Dharma body as the core, the entire guarding formation's power is greatly strengthened."

"This is the core of guarding a faction," Daojun Tianyi said, looking at Ji Ning. "Daojun Great Mo's Dharma body should also be perfectly integrated with the guarding formation of the Great Mo Courtyard. Now, by having his Dharma body go with me to the Yi Bo Realm... I am effectively greatly reducing the defensive power of his Great Mo Courtyard."

Ji Ning began to understand.

"He needs three years to prepare, precisely to refine a weaker Dharma body, and his true self will also sit in the Great Mo Courtyard!" said Daojun Tianyi. "Once his powerful Dharma body dies in the Yi Bo Realm, he will devote all his efforts to nurturing the weaker one."

"He is prepared for his Dharma body to die?" Ji Ning was startled.

"Yes," Daojun Tianyi nodded. "Going with me to the Yi Bo Realm, the chance of his Dharma body dying is over ninety percent. Losing the most perfect Dharma body nurtured over endless years cannot be compensated by mere treasures. I owe Great Mo a favor! If I fail in my Dao-heart unification and die, I will compensate before my death. But now, for the sake of unification, I can't care about that."

Ji Ning nodded gently.

He had originally thought that 'Dharma body' was like the Dharma body of the Buddha Tathagata in the Three Realms—some divine powers or secret arts. But now it sounded more like a puppet treasure body! The name was the same, but the reality was completely different.

...

The wooden house and garden floated on the water.

Ji Ning and Daojun Tianyi had both sat down.

"This time, everything has gone as I planned. I obtained the Eternal Token, and Great Mo's Dharma body will also go with me to the Yi Bo Realm," Daojun Tianyi said, looking at Ji Ning. "Only you are an unexpected factor... For now, I cannot take you to the Heavenly Cang Palace. If everything goes very, very smoothly this time in the Yi Bo Realm and there are no delays, I can come out within three to five years."

"If I get trapped somewhere in the Yi Bo Realm, it's hard to say. It could be as short as a hundred million years, or as long as ten or a hundred chaos cycles without getting out—that's also normal," Daojun Tianyi said, looking at Ji Ning. "If I can't come out for a long time, you'll have to go to the Heavenly Cang Palace on your own."

"Don't worry, big brother," Ji Ning said with confidence.

"It won't be difficult for you to break through to the World level. Once you become a World-level cultivator, the journey to the Heavenly Cang Palace will be relatively safer," Daojun Tianyi said, waving his hand. A golden scroll appeared in midair. "This star map contains the detailed route from the Great Mo Territory to the Heavenly Cang Territory. Memorize it quickly."

Ji Ning was delighted.

He immediately extended a strand of divine sense to memorize it. As soon as he looked, he was shocked.

It was too far.

The Great Mo Territory and the Heavenly Cang Territory were extremely distant. Even the simplest route required passing through one hundred and twenty-one territories to finally arrive! Many areas on the route were marked with various dangers. Remember, even Star Lord Wuyan and his ilk only roamed around a few neighboring territories. Without a star map, blindly wandering could easily lead to unfamiliar territories.

"The star map I gave you covers only about three hundred territories," Daojun Tianyi said, looking at Ji Ning solemnly. "I did not record many unfamiliar territories, for fear that you might run around recklessly... There are too many dangers in the endless territories. A World-level cultivator should not travel too far, and you must follow the route to minimize risks. Even so, you must become a World-level cultivator before setting out."

"I understand," Ji Ning nodded.

The chaos was never safe; it held infinite mysteries and unknowns.

Those route maps were verified by countless cultivators with their lives—they were safe routes! Blindly venturing outside the routes could easily lead to dangerous and deadly places.

The Great Mo Territory and the Heavenly Cang Territory were too far apart. The route map provided by Daojun Tianyi had some absolutely safe sections and some relatively safe ones. Only with sufficient strength could one travel through and reach the final destination.

"I will also bestow some techniques upon you..." Daojun Tianyi waved his hand, and a pile of bamboo slips appeared on the long table before Ji Ning. "In fact, after you join the Heavenly Cang Palace, you can naturally learn a vast number of techniques and secret arts. But the 'initiation ceremony' must be held after you arrive at the Heavenly Cang Palace. Only then will you truly become a member of the Heavenly Cang Palace."

"You have the invitation token, so it's not a big deal for me to bestow some techniques on you in advance."

"Learn these techniques and step into the World level as soon as possible. If I cannot return in a short time, you will have to rely on yourself," Daojun Tianyi instructed.

"Yes, big brother." Ji Ning was still quite grateful. Daojun Tianyi had already considered things thoroughly for him. He couldn't expect Daojun Tianyi to act like a nanny and escort him through over a hundred territories, especially since many places required slow flight and some even had dangers and troubles.

...

Over the next three years, Ji Ning lived in the Great Mo Courtyard. He also had his followers, the Fire Fairy 'Su Youji' and the Wild Dog Ancestral God, come out of the cave-treasure and stay with him in the 'Water-Linked Residence.'

During these three years, Daojun Tianyi occasionally instructed Ji Ning, and even gave pointers to the Fire Fairy Su Youji. As for the Wild Dog Ancestral God? His comprehension was too poor, so Daojun Tianyi didn't bother to teach him.

In the blink of an eye, the three-year period was up.