A Thousand Ways to Deceive Heaven

From the beginning and end of the universe and the movement of the stars, down to the cycle of life and death and an ant moving house, limitations are everywhere. Everything follows its rules and evolves within set boundaries. In the mortal world, this is called the natural order. In the world of cultivation, it is called the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao imposes countless restraints. There is proof: in ancient times, a great sage lived forever, leapt beyond the Three Realms and outside the Five Elements, and waged war across heaven and earth, battling ghosts, demons, and gods. In his rage, he shattered the heavens and sent the Celestial River flowing backward. Yet after dreaming of reaching the heavens, he ultimately discovered he had only been leaping about in the palm of some mighty being. That is the Heavenly Dao. Just when you think you've escaped it, you suddenly find yourself in a greater realm. The one thing that never changes is that you are still nothing but an ant. A thousand tricks: deception, a crooked path spawned by the evolution of life, a universal skill of humanity, and the protagonist's unique specialty. The difference is that while everyone else deceives the masses, the protagonist... The Heavenly Dao cannot be defied, but perhaps it can be fooled by playing fair.