Chapter 4111 — Always Just a Little Short

"Gradually, I came to realize that if I kept cultivating the War Art of Creation this way, my progress would be slow, but my strength would become extraordinary—unmatched among those of my level, and even capable of slaying opponents of higher cultivation with a single blow. By the time I broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, I had already become the公认 strongest Nascent Soul cultivator on Cloud Terrace Island, and because I possessed the ability to slay higher-level experts regardless of the gap in cultivation, I was ultimately granted an exception and made vice-island master of Middle Island. For a time, I was truly at the height of glory." Di Xingdao recounted, neither joyful nor sorrowful.

"Since the War Art of Creation is so powerful, then... how did you end up in your present state, Lord Tian?" Wei Zhao could not help asking out of curiosity.

Di Xingdao shook his head. "Although I had become the strongest Nascent Soul cultivator at the time, there were still higher realms above the Nascent Soul stage. Naturally, I was unwilling to stop there. Yet when I prepared to break through the Nascent Soul stage, I found that I simply could not cultivate any further no matter what I did. And at the Nascent Soul level, apart from me, no one else cultivated the War Art of Creation at all, so there was no precedent to follow. I could only rely on my own foundational strength to force a breakthrough—and the result was that during the breakthrough process, my meridians were completely shattered..."

Hearing this, Wei Zhao broke out in a cold sweat. He himself was also cultivating the War Art of Creation, and his experience was exactly the same as Di Xingdao's—all along the way, he could slay opponents above his level with ease and delight. So according to what Di Xingdao was saying, did that mean that when he himself attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he would meet the same fate?

Although he was still far from the Nascent Soul stage, let alone breaking through it, if things continued this way, it was only a matter of time!

After a long while without hearing a response from Wei Zhao, Di Xingdao suddenly saw his expression—drenched in cold sweat and filled with fright—and could not help asking in surprise, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"That's not it. I was just moved by what you said, Lord Tian." Wei Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Moved?" Di Xingdao was startled. Then his body suddenly trembled, and he cried out in great alarm, "Don't tell me—you're also cultivating the War Art of Creation?"

"I won't hide it from you, Lord Tian. That is indeed the case." Wei Zhao nodded frankly, making no attempt to conceal it. Although this was his first encounter with Di Xingdao, with Tianchan as a connection between them, he could be considered half one of their own.

Moreover, he had no confidence in his own situation right now and needed to learn more about the War Art of Creation from Di Xingdao so as not to follow in his footsteps. After all, Di Xingdao's meridians had been completely shattered and there was still Wei Zhao to save him—but if something happened to Wei Zhao himself, then he could truly only sit and wait for death.

Di Xingdao gasped sharply and said hurriedly, "Then you must stop at once—we have both been cultivating it wrong!"

"Wrong? Why?" Wei Zhao was stunned. From what he had just heard, he had only thought that this cultivation method carried certain risks, but it should not be entirely wrong—otherwise, how could both Di Xingdao and himself be unmatched among their peers and even capable of slaying opponents above their level? How else could that be explained?

Di Xingdao looked Wei Zhao up and down carefully once more before slowly speaking. "Let me ask you first—what is the Heavenly Dao?"

"Isn't it simply the pursuit of higher realms? Foundation Establishment above the Heavenly Stage, the Golden Core after Foundation Establishment, and even the higher realms beyond that—all of this is the Heavenly Dao." Wei Zhao answered without hesitation.

Di Xingdao shook his head. "No. The true Heavenly Dao is cultivation of the truth—going against heaven and ultimately achieving the great way. That is the true Heavenly Dao."

"Right—isn't that exactly what we have been cultivating and pursuing all along?" Wei Zhao said in confusion. The term "cultivation of the truth" had been mentioned to him when he first arrived at Cloud Terrace Island, but he had not paid it much attention at the time, assuming it was merely a different way of referring to the new realm of Foundation Establishment.

"No, no, no. What we are cultivating now is not the Heavenly Dao at all—at best it can only be called the false Heavenly Dao. Its essence is to use martial arts in place of the Heavenly Dao. Although there are still divisions such as Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul, none of them are true cultivation of the truth. They can only be considered martial cultivation—a substitute for the true cultivation of the Heavenly Dao." Di Xingdao shook his head repeatedly.

"Martial cultivation? Cultivation of the Heavenly Dao? What does that mean..." Wei Zhao was utterly bewildered. He had always relied on his own exploration and comprehension before, and this was the first time he had heard anyone speak of these matters in earnest.

"Do you still not understand? What I just said means that very few people are capable of true cultivation of the truth. In order to allow more people to tread the path of the Heavenly Dao, as early as ancient times, great masters of supernatural power from Cloud Terrace Island adapted the method of true cultivation into a form of martial cultivation with a much lower threshold. Although martial cultivation can grant a more powerful physical body and superior skill, in the final analysis it is still nothing but the false Heavenly Dao. Martial cultivators are very strong in the early stages, but later on they are far inferior to true cultivators, and there is an extremely fundamental difference between the two!" Di Xingdao explained patiently, passing on his knowledge.

"Lord Tian, what exactly is this fundamental difference you speak of?" Wei Zhao could not help asking.

"It is very simple. In martial cultivation, the power ultimately obtained is martial technique—but in true cultivation of the Heavenly Dao, the power ultimately obtained is divine ability!" A look of yearning came over Di Xingdao's face.

"So that is how it is!" Wei Zhao finally understood, as if a bucket of enlightenment had been poured over his head. Di Xingdao's guidance instantly clarified his formerly vague understanding.

Still, Wei Zhao remained somewhat puzzled. Even if there was a difference between martial cultivation and true cultivation of the Heavenly Dao, virtually everyone nowadays followed the path of martial cultivation, and he had never heard of anyone who was a true master of cultivation. In other words, true cultivation of the Heavenly Dao had all but ceased to exist. Di Xingdao's sudden mention of all this seemed rather inexplicable.

Di Xingdao saw Wei Zhao's confusion and said solemnly, "The reason I am telling you all this is actually to let you know that the War Art of Creation is a true method of cultivation. This is a legend handed down from ancient times—it is not wrong in itself, nor did it deceive us. It is simply that very few people are capable of cultivating it, and even those who do end up going astray in their practice, just like me."

"Going astray?" Wei Zhao was taken aback again, but combining this with what had just been said, he could roughly understand. "Lord Tian, do you mean that this was originally meant to be a method of true cultivation of the Heavenly Dao, but you ended up using it according to the methods of martial cultivation?"