The path to the Dao Lord realm was long and arduous, and for most people, a dead end. No, that wasn't accurate because most people couldn't even view that path, let alone step on it. Reaching the peak of the Celestial realm was merely the most basic requirement to even begin learning of the ways in which to traverse the path of Daos, and most living beings in the universe would never reach such a level.
Of those that did, another majority were only eligible to view the road, and were entirely unqualified to step on, let alone die trying to reach its end. The very first, absolute prerequisite to reaching the Dao Lord realm was to develop a Dao Heart.
While a Dao Heart did not necessarily have to transform into the Dao which a Dao Lord was dedicated to, it certainly played a significant role in trying to reach that realm in the first place.
