Chapter 708: The Dao Teacher Imparts The Terminus

As if in answer to the figure's words, the entire world dimmed in an instant.

Faintly, in the distance, Xu Bai heard a helpless and mournful wailing.

The slender figure shook his head and turned around.

His eyes met Xu Bai's.

Boom!

A roaring cacophony exploded in Xu Bai's mind. The figure's features were identical to his own.

No...

His vision blurred, and the face abruptly changed. Once more, Xu Bai glimpsed the peerlessly beautiful countenance of Mister Bai.

Yet it was nothing like what he'd seen at the Beast Taming Sect.

Gone was that transcendent, celestial perfection. In its place was something else entirely: a sorrowful, compassionate melancholy that made the face feel more real. More human.

His eyes were clear, yet they seemed to hold countless emotions within them, countless stories straining to be told.

Like a whirlpool, they began, slowly and inexorably, to devour Xu Bai's consciousness.

"Wake up!"

The cry struck like a bronze bell, sharp and resonant, as though it had torn through the barriers of infinite worlds to reach him.

In an instant, the turbid vacancy drained from Xu Bai's eyes, and life flickered back into them.

He looked again at Mister Bai. The flesh of his face was melting like candle wax, that once-breathtaking beauty curdling into something sinister and terrible.

Within moments, the horror had spread from his face to his entire body.

As though worn away by an invisible wind, he collapsed into a stark white skeleton.

Empty eye sockets stared straight at Xu Bai.

A bone-deep terror seized him without warning.

Around him, the scene fractured like struck glass, spiderweb cracks spreading in every direction.

Then, all at once, it shattered.

A wave of dizziness washed over him.

The illusion was gone.

The black-robed cultivator guiding him studied him for a moment, then spoke slowly. "This space retains a faint trace of the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher's aura. Cultivators entering the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters for the first time are inevitably affected, experiencing illusions."

Xu Bai already knew this. This wasn’t the first time he was here.

On his previous visit, his true self had seen the towering statue of the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher.

That statue had given Li Fan a sense of extreme danger, along with a faint, elusive familiarity.

But this avatar, refined from Xu Ke's essence blood and Mister Bai's spiritual essence, had witnessed this bizarre, uncanny scene instead.

Ahead lies an Immortal Path that cannot be tread, for the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher stands above...

Mister Bai's face became identical to the avatar's, then collapsed into a skeleton.

What did any of it mean?

Even after escaping the illusion, Xu Bai couldn't fully shake his shock.

He moved on instinct alone, following the black-robed guide without thought.

Perhaps because of Xu Bai's heaven-defying appearance, the black-robed cultivator left him undisturbed and simply led the way in silence.

Only when they stepped onto a transfer array and dissolved into beams of light, streaking through the vast space of the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters, did Xu Bai slowly surface from the illusion's hold.

The black-robed cultivator spoke. "We refer to that lingering trace of the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher's aura as the Dao Teacher's True Intent. It is profound and mysterious, with endless marvelous uses.

"Only a cultivator entering the Alliance headquarters for the very first time, caught entirely off guard, would fall into these illusions. Once sufficient time has passed and the body has grown accustomed to the presence of the Dao Teacher's True Intent, witnessing such visions again becomes extremely rare.”

In a past life, when Li Fan's true self had come here with Han Yi and Ximen Yue, the guide had never offered such a detailed explanation.

Judging others by appearance seems to be human nature. Even we cultivators can't escape it.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Bai pressed further. "According to what you've said, Senior, the chance to interact with the Dao Teacher's True Intent is extraordinarily rare, a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. But aside from a few illusions, I haven't noticed any other effects from it."

The black-robed cultivator's expression grew stern. "All of us practice the new methodology passed down by the Heavenly Venerable. So when we face the Dao Teacher's True Intent, what we see isn't a simple hallucination. It is, in all likelihood, connected to each person's Dao Terminus."

Before Xu Bai could ask what that meant, the man explained further:

"From the moment someone sets foot on the path of cultivation, the road to immortality feels distant and treacherous in equal measure. How to cultivate at each realm, how to choose the method best suited to oneself. All of this must be discovered through one's own efforts.

"And yet life grants no second chances. A single misstep, and one may spend eternity in regret, cut off from their Dao path forever. Every step must be taken with caution, with a meticulousness that cannot be overstated.

"The Dao Terminus is, in the eyes of the Heavenly Venerable, the final destination of the Dao path best suited to each cultivator's nature.

"What manner of existence is the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher? His vision surpasses ours by a margin beyond calculation. What He determines is, for all intents and purposes, reality itself.

"This is why that fleeting illusion you just experienced matters so much. Reflect on it day and night, and each time you do, you'll find it yields something new."

Countless floating landmasses streaked past them.

The black-robed guide went on, unhurried, narrating the marvels of the Dao Teacher's True Intent.

He finished with a sigh. "In our era, cultivation is like climbing a heavenward path shrouded in layers of dense fog. The slightest carelessness, a single misplaced step, and one falls, shattering against the rocks below.

"The Dao Terminus, illuminated by the Dao Teacher's True Intent, is like a brilliant torch kindled at the highest point of that heavenward path. Its flames pierce through the fog, casting light down upon the way forward.

"This is the Heavenly Venerable's compassion for all living beings under heaven!"

The moment they resolved back into human form and their feet touched ground, the black-robed cultivator fell silent. His cold, aloof demeanor settled back over him like a mask.

Before them stretched a straight path of green stone, leading to a towering black stele in the distance: the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s Enforcer Hall headquarters.

The instant Xu Bai's foot touched the path, the spiritual qi within his body plunged deep and went still, thoroughly suppressed.

Like a mortal, he walked forward step by step toward his destination, each footfall deliberate and grounded.

It was a long, arduous journey.

At the end of the path, the black-robed guide spoke again, his tone softening. "Present your Audience Jade Token here, and you may enter. I'll wait for you here."

Xu Bai bowed slightly, then produced the jade token.

Just as in his past life, a multicolored passageway emerged from the stele. Xu Bai strode into it without hesitation.

"Name of Derivation Jade usage applicant: Xu Bai.

"Queue number: 03.

"Permitted derivation level: Dao Unity.

"Please wait here patiently. Estimated remaining wait time: thirteen hours."

A vaguely familiar voice spoke in Xu Bai's ear.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.