108: Chapter 108 The Five Sons Gather for the First Time
Mount Buzhou Ruins.
To call it ruins would be generous; only a wasteland of debris remained. The colossal mountain had been snapped in two, its upper half vanished without a trace, the lower half scattered into countless massive boulders lying haphazardly across the desolate plain. Between the stones, wild grasses grew chest-high. The wind swept through, rippling the sea of grass, revealing faint glimpses of stone foundations and broken pillars beneath.
Lu Mingyuan stood atop one of the giant boulders, gazing at this expanse of ruin.
This was the legendary Mount Buzhou.
Gonggong, in his fury, struck Mount Buzhou, breaking the pillar of heaven and severing the bonds of earth. That was before the Witch-Demon Calamity. Billions of years had passed. The heavenly pillar of that era was now nothing but a field of shattered stone.
Bai Ze walked to his side.
"What are you thinking?"
Lu Mingyuan was silent for a moment.
"I'm thinking... what was going through Gonggong's mind when he smashed this mountain."
Bai Ze thought for a moment.
"Nothing."
Lu Mingyuan looked at it.
"Nothing?"
Bai Ze nodded.
"At the peak of rage, thought ceases. There is only the urge to strike. To break it."
It looked at the giant boulders.
"He broke it. And then? The sky collapsed, the earth sank, countless people died. He died too."
It paused.
"What was the use?"
Lu Mingyuan remained silent.
Bai Ze looked at him.
"You are different. You think. You think, and then you walk."
Lu Mingyuan said softly:
"Have I thought it through?"
Bai Ze looked at him.
"What do you think?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a long time.
Then, he shook his head.
"I don't know."
He looked at those boulders.
"I only know I must walk. Walk until I can walk no further, take each step as it comes. Think too much, and you cannot walk at all."
Bai Ze smiled.
"That's right."
Zhang Lingyun, Jiang Yichen, Fa Ming, Li Haoran, and Yue Wushuang stood upon another giant boulder, gazing at the ruins.
No one spoke.
After a long while, Zhang Lingyun broke the silence.
"This is Mount Buzhou?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Yes."
Zhang Lingyun looked at the scattered boulders.
"The pillar of heaven broke, and only this remains?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Only this remains."
Zhang Lingyun fell silent.
Jiang Yichen suddenly spoke:
"Yet it is still here."
Everyone looked at him.
Jiang Yichen looked at the boulders, his gaze calm.
"Broken, yet still here. Shattered, yet still here. Lying here for billions of years, yet still here."
He paused.
"It is the same with a sword. Broken, shattered, yet the Sword Intent remains."
Yue Wushuang looked at him and nodded.
Fa Ming pressed his palms together.
"Amitabha Buddha. Broken but not extinguished, shattered but not dispersed. This is constancy within impermanence."
Li Haoran said softly:
"Master Zhu once said, 'investigate things and exhaust their principles. Investigate one thing today, another tomorrow. In the end, all things share one principle.'"
He looked at the boulders.
"These stones have been 'investigated' for billions of years. They are still stones. But what principle have they revealed?"
No one answered.
Bai Ze said leisurely from the side:
"They have revealed you."
Everyone looked at it.
Bai Ze gazed at the boulders.
"They have lain here for billions of years, witnessing countless people come and go. Those who opened the heavens, those who mended them, those who fought for them, those who sought to end them. And finally, you have come."
It paused.
"This is what they have revealed."
Silence.
The wind blew, the grasses swayed.
Lu Mingyuan jumped down from the boulder.
"Let's go. Find a place to camp."
The others followed him, walking deeper into the ruins.
Passing through a field of jumbled stones, they came upon a flat clearing. It was overgrown with wild grass, but beneath the grass, the outlines of neatly laid stone slabs were faintly visible.
It resembled a plaza from that bygone era.
Lu Mingyuan stopped.
"Here will do."
Zhang Qingyuan set down the heart lamp and began clearing the weeds.
The others pitched in to help.
Half a shichen later, a clearing several dozen zhang square was cleared. The stone slabs were covered in moss, yet remained level and solid.
Zhang Lingyun sat on a slab, took out talisman paper and cinnabar, and began drawing talismans.
Jiang Yichen found a corner, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to meditate.
Fa Ming paced back and forth along the edge of the clearing, each step firm and measured, as if surveying something.
Li Haoran took out the *record of near reflection* and, by the fading light of the sunset, began turning the pages one by one.
Yue Wushuang laid his sword, 'shouxin', across his knees, gazing motionlessly at the distant mountains.
Bai Ze lay down in the center of the clearing, squinting its eyes as if asleep.
Zhang Qingyuan, holding the heart lamp, looked around, unsure what to do.
Lu Mingyuan sat on a stone slab, watching these people.
Five.
Five people from different places, five different paths of cultivation, five different temperaments.
Zhang Lingyun, a talisman master from Longhu Mountain. Taciturn, yet every word he spoke hit the mark.
Jiang Yichen, a swordsman from Mount Qingcheng. Cold as ice, yet when his sword warmed, so did he.
Fa Ming, a martial monk from Shaolin. Seemingly dull, yet clearer in mind than anyone.
Li Haoran, a scholar from Yuelu. The most well-read, the deepest thinker, yet swifter to act than any.
Yue Wushuang, a sword fanatic from Qingcheng. His eyes held only the sword, yet the sword held humanity.
And Bai Ze, a Divine Beast of unknown age. It had seen everything, understood everything, yet said nothing.
Looking at them, a phrase suddenly came to his mind.
The Dao path, newly established.
Back then, he had just achieved his Body Integration Breakthrough, just created the Wanxiang True Qi, just clarified the direction of the 'Xuan-shu Path'.
He thought he had found the path.
Now he knew, finding the path was only the beginning.
Walking the path, that was the real task.
Night fell.
Zhang Qingyuan lit a fire. The flickering flames illuminated the area for a dozen zhang around.
Zhang Lingyun finished his last talisman, looked up, and met Lu Mingyuan's gaze.
"Brother Lu."
Lu Mingyuan looked at him.
"Hmm?"
Zhang Lingyun was silent for a moment.
"I want to ask you something."
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Ask."
Zhang Lingyun looked at him.
"Why did you call us here? What exactly are we to do?"
Lu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.
He gazed into the fire, thinking for a long time.
Then, he said softly:
"To guard The Rift."
Zhang Lingyun asked:
"How do we guard it?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"I don't know."
Zhang Lingyun frowned.
"You don't know?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"I don't know."
He looked at Zhang Lingyun.
"But I know one thing—I cannot guard it alone. Not even with Bai Ze. With you all, perhaps we can hold it for a while. With those who will come later, perhaps we can truly guard it."
He paused.
"Guard it until the day we find a way."
Zhang Lingyun fell silent.
Jiang Yichen opened his eyes.
"What way?"
Lu Mingyuan looked at him.
"A way to mend the heavens."
Jiang Yichen asked:
"Do you have a way?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"No. But I am searching."
He looked at the group.
"The Queen Mother of the West said that resistance is futile, that restoration is the Righteous Path. Daoist Songyun said that if you walk to the end, you will naturally know. Xuanweizi said that cultivation is walking; walk the path beneath your feet well, and you will naturally know how to proceed."
He paused.
"The path I walk now is that path. Guard The Rift, wait for others to come, find a way. When we reach that step, we will naturally know."
Five.
Silence.
The firelight flickered, dancing on each face.
Fa Ming suddenly spoke.
"Benefactor Lu."
Lu Mingyuan looked at him.
"Senior Brother Fa Ming, please speak."
Fa Ming thought for a moment.
"This guarding of The Rift you speak of... for how long?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"I don't know. Perhaps a year, perhaps ten, perhaps a hundred. Perhaps forever."
Fa Ming looked at him.
"Forever?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Forever."
Fa Ming was silent.
After a long while, he asked:
"Then is it worth it?"
Lu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.
He gazed into the flames, thinking for a long time.
Then, he said softly:
"It is worth it."
Fa Ming looked at him.
"Why?"
Lu Mingyuan looked at those boulders.
"Because if we do not guard it, those who died will have died in vain."
He paused.
"The Queen Mother of the West said to remember those who died, those things that were lost. I remember. And because I remember, I must do something."
He looked at Fa Ming.
"You tell me, is it worth it?"
Fa Ming was silent.
Then, he pressed his palms together.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Li Haoran closed his book.
"Brother Lu."
Lu Mingyuan looked at him.
"Hmm?"
Li Haoran thought for a moment.
"You said, when we reach that step, we will naturally know. But what if we never reach it?"
Lu Mingyuan looked at him.
"If we don't reach it, we keep walking."
Li Haoran asked:
"Walk until we die?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Walk until we die."
Li Haoran fell silent.
Then, he smiled.
"Good. I will walk with you until death."
Yue Wushuang suddenly spoke.
"I will accompany you too."
Jiang Yichen nodded.
"I will also accompany you."
Zhang Lingyun looked at them, silent for a moment.
Then, he said softly:
"I will accompany you too."
Fa Ming pressed his palms together.
"Amitabha Buddha. This humble monk will also accompany you."
Lu Mingyuan looked at them. His eyes grew slightly warm.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
Bai Ze stood up and walked to his side.
"You see?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
Bai Ze said softly:
"This is the path you have walked out."
Lu Mingyuan looked at those people.
Zhang Lingyun, Jiang Yichen, Fa Ming, Li Haoran, Yue Wushuang.
Five people.
Five people willing to walk with him until death.
A phrase suddenly came to his mind.
The way of the sword is the way of the heart; the way of the heart is the way of humanity.
The way of humanity is having people willing to walk with you.
He looked at those people and smiled.
A very light smile, yet there was light in his eyes.
"Thank you."
He said.
Zhang Lingyun shook his head.
"No need for thanks. We came of our own will."
Jiang Yichen nodded.
Fa Ming pressed his palms together.
Li Haoran smiled.
Yue Wushuang looked at him.
"Let's walk."
He said.
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Let's walk."
The night grew deep.
The fire gradually died down, leaving only a few dull red embers.
Zhang Qingyuan leaned against a stone slab and fell asleep, emitting soft snores.
Zhang Lingyun, Jiang Yichen, Fa Ming, Li Haoran, and Yue Wushuang each found a corner and closed their eyes to rest.
Bai Ze lay in the center of the clearing, squinting.
Lu Mingyuan sat on the stone slab, gazing at the night sky.
The stars were many, and bright.
He remembered the words of the Queen Mother of the West—"Those who died, if no one remembers them, truly died in vain."
He looked at those stars.
Had those who died also become stars?
He did not know.
But he knew one thing—
He remembered.
He remembered Gou Dan, remembered those four Golden Core Cultivators, remembered those killed by the demon soldiers, remembered those who died in the calamity.
He remembered.
Therefore, they did not die in vain.
He closed his eyes.
In his ears were the sounds of the night wind, the chirping of insects in the grass, the soft breathing of those people.
He suddenly felt very much at peace.
Not because so many were with him.
But because the path he must walk, he had finally found the right one.
The next morning, the sun rose.
Golden sunlight spilled over the ruins. The boulders, the stone slabs, the wild grasses—all took on a faint golden hue.
Lu Mingyuan stood in the center of the clearing, looking at the others.
Zhang Lingyun was putting away his talisman paper.
Jiang Yichen was polishing his sword.
Fa Ming was sweeping—no, not sweeping, but walking. Step by step, slow and steady.
Li Haoran was reading. He had already turned to the last page of the *record of near reflection*.
Yue Wushuang stood upon a giant boulder, facing east, motionless.
Zhang Qingyuan stood beside him, holding the heart lamp.
Bai Ze walked over.
"What shall we do today?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"Wait for people."
Bai Ze looked at him.
"More are coming?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Yes."
He looked into the distance.
"Many more are on the way."
Bai Ze was silent for a while.
Then it said:
"Then we shall wait."
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"We shall wait."
He walked to the center of the clearing and sat down.
Zhang Lingyun walked over and sat beside him.
Jiang Yichen walked over and sat on his other side.
Fa Ming walked over and sat cross-legged.
Li Haoran walked over and sat facing him.
Yue Wushuang jumped down from the boulder and sat behind him.
Zhang Qingyuan stood to the side, holding the heart lamp.
Bai Ze lay down among them.
Seven beings—six men and one Divine Beast—sat in a circle at the heart of the ruins.
Sunlight bathed them, warm.
The wind blew, the grasses swayed.
They did not speak.
They simply sat.
Waiting.
Waiting for those still on the way.
Waiting for the day that must come.
Waiting for the step they must take.