Chapter Sixty-Five: The Oath of the Dao Fruit

Ji Feichen and his companion returned to Nine He Mountain. When the drought demoness saw them arrive, she sighed softly, “Such is fate; in the end, the living beings of the Southern Wilds cannot escape this calamity.”

The two had journeyed back, accumulating merit along the way, and had been in high spirits, ready to break through to a higher realm. Seeing the demoness so solemn, they grew puzzled and quickly inquired as to the cause.

The demoness led them to her palace and addressed Ji Feichen, “That day, I left a treasure for you in the Golden Silkworm Cave, foreseeing that a fierce beast would emerge in the Southern Wilds. It is a dragon-beast, and you share a karmic bond with it. I intended for you to subdue it, yet you searched for dragon-beasts elsewhere.”

She explained the threads of cause and effect, and Ji Feichen was enlightened. Previously, he had used the Nine Cloud Mystic Crystal to divine the whereabouts of five dragon-beast treasures, but he only required three at the time, leaving him with a choice of five. Thus, he journeyed to the southeastern city of Golden Turtle, enduring trials of wind and fire. Meanwhile, in the Southern Wilds, a gluttonous beast was born. The demoness had left a restraining artifact in the Golden Silkworm Cave, hoping Ji Feichen would deal with the glutton, claim its inner core, and cultivate.

“A single misstep. Well, now your realm is perfected; become immortal first, then we’ll see,” she calculated in secret. Though the Southern Wilds faced disaster, with the great demon sects gathering, what true catastrophe could arise?

“Let us hope those demonfolk preserve a bit of compassion and subdue the gluttonous beast, lest it wreak havoc.”

Ji Feichen and Tushan sat in the demoness’s hall as Lady Chen carefully explained the matters to attend to when ascending to the realm of human immortals.

“To achieve immortality and condense the fruit of the Dao, merit is required.”

“You need not worry, Lady, for we have accumulated much merit; we do not fear heavenly tribulation.”

The demoness smiled lightly, radiant as spring sunshine, flowers blooming all around. “The merit I speak of is not merely merit between heaven and earth, but the merit of clarity of mind and true nature, the merit that arises inwardly. You must understand: Dao fruits differ, divine powers differ, karmic positions differ, and magical strength differs.”

The Dao fruit is the final summation of one’s cultivation on the great path. Ji Feichen’s ‘Demonic Dragon Sutra’ would ultimately yield a dragon pearl as his Dao fruit, while Tushan’s Heavenly Fox path would produce a fox inner core. These are the foundations of their cultivation, their respective Dao fruits.

“As your Dao fruit forms, you will surely utter a Dao fruit vow. The nature of the vow determines the merit and karma. Ji Feichen, if you condense your Dao fruit, you will naturally possess divine powers to summon clouds and rain, able to transform into a divine dragon and traverse the four seas. But heaven does not bestow such power upon those without virtue. With this divine power, how will you use it? Why?”

Ji Feichen pondered, and the demoness continued: “The Dao fruit is a manifestation of the forces of heaven and earth; what is merit if not the same? Merit is twofold: external and internal. Externally, it is heavenly merit and human virtue, the power of the wishes of all living beings, heaven and earth watching over you, and thus you are unstoppable. Internally, it is the fundamental vow enacted by your own Dao fruit. Enlightenment is merit; true nature is virtue. Acting in accordance with one’s heart, following the demands of the original great Dao—this is merit. This inner merit is not about helping others or following the heavens, but about aligning with one’s own heart and the path one holds.”

“Some cultivators of the mystic sect utter vows of merit, accumulating a million merits to comprehend the path of earth immortals. Some in the demonic sects vow to bring disaster to all beings, slay millions to attain supreme demonic fruit. It may seem as though they defy heaven, but are they not simply following their own grand wishes?”

Ji Feichen recalled the many individuals he had encountered. The drought demon of Mount Huang, who scorched a thousand miles, had found their own Dao fruit; they attained the position of drought demon through apocalyptic demonic fire and slaughter, venting their true nature. If their merit is fulfilled, they will achieve the true status of drought demon, comparable to an earth immortal.

Many demon lords commit countless murders, losing favor with heaven and all beings, yet for themselves, this is the completion of their own merit and Dao path. In the Underworld Sect, many have uttered similar vows of demonic Dao.

“If you consider it, the blood oath of the demonic sect upon you is itself a Dao fruit vow of the Underworld Sect. Mystic sect immortals require three Dao fruit vows, but those of the demonic sect only need two.” One of these can be replaced with the blood oath. Once one attains earth immortal status, this vow automatically completes, feeding back the original power to stabilize their demonic cultivation and advance their Dao.

Finally, the demoness revealed the great secret of immortality: “The greatest difference between human immortals and earth immortals lies not in magical strength or divine powers, but in the Dao fruit vows. As the Dao fruit forms, vows are made. Only by fulfilling the corresponding vows can one be certified as an earth immortal.”

Ji Feichen reflected and understood: from his previous life’s knowledge, the Dao fruit vow was like an exam. But this exam must be self-created and witnessed by heaven. To break through to human immortal, one would set three questions for themselves, and the entire realm of human immortals is the process of answering them. Earth immortals, with their Dao fruit perfected, have completed their vows and submitted their answers.

Human immortals are in the stage of seeking proof and guidance; earth immortals have attained proof and the path. This is the greatest difference between them.

“So, if someone sets their Dao fruit vows as light and easy tasks, could they not quickly advance to earth immortal?”

“That is why Dao fruit vows are not easily made. They must be aligned with one’s own great Dao, and with the future Dao fruit. When I became a human immortal, I first attained the drought demon Dao fruit. Thus, I vowed: if I use the demonic fire of drought to harm living beings, I shall never attain earth immortal status in this life. If I cannot carve out a haven for living beings in the snowy north, I shall never attain earth immortal in this life. If I fall into the demonic path and cannot preserve a pure heart, I shall never attain earth immortal in this life. The Dao fruit vow is a pledge to heaven and earth, a self-imposed constraint for people like us, capable of mitigating some heavenly tribulation. Each time a vow is fulfilled, depending on its size and difficulty, a portion of heavenly power is fed back, allowing your Dao cultivation to grow.”

Dao cultivation is one’s understanding and depth of the path. When cultivation is complete and the Dao fruit is perfected, one can comprehend even higher Dao fruits.

“If I vow to not eat or sleep tomorrow, naturally there will be some feedback, but do you think that feedback compares to the results of arduous will-tempering?”

“No wonder some advance thousands of miles in a day, while others stagnate for a thousand years with no progress,” Tushan spoke. “In other words, the human immortal realm only requires fulfillment of Dao fruit vows to further condense the Dao fruit of earth immortals?”

“Precisely. If you work diligently, you should be able to fulfill three great Dao fruit vows in a few hundred years. But true earth immortals require not only the Dao fruit, but also magical strength, physical body, and more—none must be lacking. An earth immortal with perfected Dao fruit is strong, but may only be a wandering immortal on land, their magical strength no different from an ordinary human immortal.”

“Should magical strength break through to earth immortal, but the Dao fruit remain incomplete, one still cannot rival a true earth immortal. In terms of fate and destiny, they are inferior. The body is even more critical: if the physical body or primordial spirit is insufficient, then no matter how powerful the magical strength, in the end lifespan will run out, and one will become nothing more than a pile of bones.”

“Only by perfecting every aspect can one be considered a true terrestrial immortal.”

Mentioning these relationships, Ji Feichen and Tushan exchanged glances, both thinking of Elder Peng.

“Elder Peng cultivates the Three Corpses Dao; his Dao fruit vow is likely to sever the three corpses. Though he has already expelled the second corpse spirit and his realm is equal to an earth immortal, his magical strength and physical body are not yet comparable to a true earth immortal.”

It is no wonder Elder Peng spoke of devoted cultivation, aiming to remedy his shortcomings and truly cross into the earth immortal ranks.

Listening to the demoness’s explanation, Ji Feichen and Tushan pondered deeply: what, then, are my own Dao fruit vows?

Dao fruit vows must accord with one’s heart and great Dao; only by examining oneself and seeking the root of one’s path can one utter the appropriate vow—it must be approached with utmost caution.

The two withdrew and returned to their respective cultivation.

Ji Feichen went to the spiritual cavern he had recently visited. Sitting beneath jade bamboo, he sank into the great Dao, using the Nine Cloud Mystic Crystal to divine his own Dao fruit vows.

The bamboo radiated bright spiritual light. Yin and yang energies spiraled endlessly. Suddenly, a tiny figure rolled from the side, tumbling several times to Ji Feichen’s side.

Ji Feichen was startled and looked closely at the black-and-white ball before him. Then he glanced at the bamboo; the vitality at its base had vanished. Counting carefully, thirteen green leaves were missing.

“Could it be that what was born under the spiritual bamboo is you, little one?” Looking at the black-and-white ball, Ji Feichen’s expression turned odd: was this not a panda?

Of course, on Xuanzheng Continent it is called a bamboo bear. The great demon saint of the beast race who once fell here was a black-and-white bamboo bear. After his death, his spiritual bamboo artifact was buried nearby. After thousands of years of essence of sun and moon, the spiritual bamboo absorbed the demon saint’s energy, giving rise to a new spirit beast beneath it.

The panda clapped its paws, showing great affection toward Ji Feichen.

Some days ago, Ji Feichen had cultivated here. By chance, a thread of yin-yang Dao stimulated the spiritual bamboo, causing the panda to be born early. It fed on the bamboo’s green leaves and was growing stronger.

The panda climbed up Ji Feichen’s robe, but after only a few steps, it tumbled down, though its thick skin and flesh kept it unharmed.

After several attempts, it reached Ji Feichen’s shoulder, bit off a bamboo leaf, and swallowed it whole. A surge of primordial energy filled its body, making it visibly larger.

With a plop, the plump panda fell into Ji Feichen’s arms.

Playing with the panda, Ji Feichen set aside his worries and entered the realm of “pure tranquility” spoken of in the mystic sect. Soon, inspiration flashed before his eyes, he entered a state of enlightenment, understood the root of his own great Dao, and a dragon pearl began to slowly form within his abdomen.