Why did Fang Yuan choose the Transformation Dao?
After the great battle at Yitian Mountain, Fang Yuan was reborn anew. The question he pondered most was which path he should take for his future cultivation.
In his previous life, he chose the Blood Dao because it allowed for rapid growth, held immense power, could sustain itself through combat, and required relatively fewer cultivation resources. Moreover, it was the only decent opportunity he had back then; for him, the Blood Dao offered the greatest potential for development.
After his rebirth, he abandoned the Blood Dao in favor of the Force Dao because this was not the era of chaotic warfare among the Five Regions. Order was maintained, leaving no room for the Blood Dao to thrive. Another reason was his circumstances. Fang Yuan searched his memories for opportunities that suited his current situation, ones he could obtain and utilize. And these opportunities were all related to the Force Dao.
In reality, both the Blood Dao and the Force Dao had their drawbacks.
The Blood Dao's situation was poor, with everyone condemning it. Whether it was a Gu Master or a Gu Immortal, choosing to cultivate the Blood Dao meant that once discovered, one should prepare to face ostracism from the entire world.
The Force Dao was also in decline. Although the Dominant Immortal Chu Du had added the "Human Power, Jun Force" stream to it, this could not hide the awkward fact that the Force Dao was waning like the setting sun.
To be honest, neither of these two schools was the optimal choice.
Fang Yuan summarized for himself: after his rebirth, he had gained quite a number of opportunities.
There was the Wisdom Dao, the Luck Dao, the Theft Dao...
Some of these opportunities were exceptionally outstanding. For example, the Wisdom Dao inheritance of Dongfang Changfan, or the Star Dao inheritance of Wanxiang Xingjun.
The Star Dao and the Wisdom Dao were undoubtedly in much better situations than the Blood Dao and the Force Dao.
Furthermore, having an inheritance versus having none was a completely different matter.
The former allows for cultivation. One can build upon the wisdom of predecessors, advancing step by step. With bold progress, the future prospects are promising. The latter is like an elephant being touched by blind men. Confused, with no clue, struggling and groping forward through mistakes.
If Fang Yuan had obtained these two true inheritances five hundred years ago in his past life, then, conditions permitting, he would have definitely chosen Dongfang Changfan's Wisdom Dao inheritance as his primary path, supplemented by Wanxiang Xingjun's Star Dao inheritance and one of the true inheritances of his past life's Blood Sea Ancestor. He would have become a Wisdom Dao Gu Immortal.
Because in terms of potential and future prospects, Dongfang Changfan's Wisdom Dao inheritance was naturally the most outstanding.
Wisdom Dao Gu Immortals were rare. In the world of Gu Immortals, they were also quite precious, welcomed by others while also being feared. They had both substance and reputation.
But truly choosing what path to take depended not only on future prospects but also on the present situation.
Dongfang Changfan's Wisdom Dao inheritance came from an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal of the Heavenly Court and had been refined by many generations of inheritors. Its prospects were extremely broad.
However, this inheritance had a weakness: it was not adept at combat.
The most significant advantage of this true inheritance was its proficiency in calculation.
It was precisely to compensate for this weakness that Dongfang Changfan created the "Myriad Stars Flying Firefly" Immortal Killer Move. This somewhat made up for the shortcoming.
Following Dongfang Changfan's path was not suitable for Fang Yuan.
Because the current situation could be described as fraught with hidden dangers.
Shadowless. The remnants of the Shadow Sect. The Heavenly Court. The Ten Great Sects of the Central Continent. The major Golden Families of the Northern Plains, and so on. Fang Yuan had made many enemies.
Especially after the great battle at Yitian Mountain, Fang Yuan's secrets had been exposed. Whether it was the Spring Autumn Cicada, the Outsider from Beyond the Sky, or the true culprit behind the incident in the Imperial Court Blessed Land, he was almost completely laid bare.
Therefore, Fang Yuan needed not just future prospects, but also the ability to handle the present.
In a sense, the present was even more important than the future.
Without handling the present, no matter how vast the future prospects, they would be a castle in the air – pleasant to look at, but useless.
To handle the present, Fang Yuan needed a path that offered formidable combat strength.
The Five Major Schools – the Metal Dao, Flame Dao, Lightning Dao, Sword Dao, and Blood Dao – were universally recognized as having the strongest combat power among the five.
The first three have a long history and remain mainstream.
The latter two, whether the Sword Dao or the Blood Dao, had short histories and represented unconventional approaches. The Sword Dao produced Bo Qing, and the Blood Dao produced the Blood Sea Ancestor. But apart from these two, it was difficult to find other dazzling figures. Therefore, the heritage of these two schools was far from matching the first three.
For Fang Yuan, whether it was the Metal Dao, Flame Dao, or Lightning Dao, his attainment level was ordinary, and he possessed no related inheritances.
On the contrary, his attainment in the Blood Dao had reached the Grandmaster level. In the Sword Dao, although his attainment was also ordinary and he had no inheritance, he had stolen many of Bo Qing's Immortal Gu.
The attainment levels in the various schools were also a significant consideration.
Without an inheritance, if one's attainment was high, one could treat it as a blank canvas and innovate. However, this was much harder than having an inheritance and required more inspiration and talent.
Fang Yuan's attainment in the Force Dao, Blood Dao, Wisdom Dao, and Star Dao were all at the Grandmaster level. His Blood Dao attainment came from the accumulation of his past life. His Force Dao attainment came from the accumulation of both his past and present lives. His Wisdom Dao and Star Dao attainments surged upward dramatically through the fortuitous opportunity of a dream.
His Refinement Dao attainment was quasi-Grandmaster level, which was presentable even among Gu Immortals.
His Slave Dao attainment was at the Master level, which was not outstanding among Gu Immortals.
His Luck Dao attainment was quasi-Master level. His attainment in most other schools was ordinary (such as the Sword Dao, Light Dao, Dark Dao, etc.), or even blank (such as the Void Dao).
From the perspective of attainment levels alone, choosing one of the four schools where he had reached Grandmaster level would be best.
But the Blood Dao was not worth mentioning. The Force Dao was declining. The Wisdom Dao and Star Dao were not renowned for outstanding combat power. Although each had an inheritance, unfortunately, almost all the Immortal Gu Fang Yuan had accumulated were lost.
If these Immortal Gu from the inheritances had not yet been refined, Fang Yuan might have been able to refine them one by one during his cultivation.
But these Immortal Gu were held in Shadowless's possession. Which ones existed, which ones had been destroyed, Fang Yuan was not clear. This situation created an extremely adverse obstruction for his future cultivation. Even if he were willing to take risks and expend immense effort to refine Immortal Gu, because Immortal Gu are unique, success was not guaranteed!
To sum up, Fang Yuan's situation could be described as quite awkward.