124: Chapter 124 Hongjun's Phantom
Inside Zixiao Palace, it was as quiet as if no one were there.
Those lights all stopped there.
Those people were all looking at Lu Mingyuan.
Lu Mingyuan stood there, being watched by those gazes.
He did not hide.
He just stood there.
Waiting.
Suddenly, the old man in the deepest part moved.
He stood up.
Everyone looked at him.
Step by step, he walked toward the very center of Zixiao Palace.
Having reached there, he stopped.
Then, he reached out and made a gentle stroke.
In a place where there was nothing, a prayer mat appeared.
An ordinary prayer mat.
Woven from grass, old and worn, with frayed edges.
The old man looked at the prayer mat and suddenly knelt down.
He knelt in front of the prayer mat.
Everyone followed suit and knelt down.
Including those elders wearing purple Daoist robes.
Including those eminent monks with golden light shimmering on their bodies.
Including those generals with swords girded at their waists.
Including those Loose Cultivators who cared about nothing.
Everyone knelt down.
Lu Mingyuan knelt down as well.
He didn't know why he had to kneel.
But he knew that at this moment, he should kneel.
The old man knelt there with his head bowed.
For a long, long time.
So long it felt as if ten thousand years had passed.
Then, he spoke.
"Your Disciple, Taishang, respectfully invites Teacher to manifest."
His voice was very soft.
But in Zixiao Palace, it echoed like thunder.
Everyone kept their heads bowed.
No one dared to look up.
Lu Mingyuan also kept his head bowed.
But he couldn't help himself and stole a glance out of the corner of his eye.
With that glance, he saw—
On that prayer mat, another person had appeared.
No, not a person.
It was a shadow.
A faint, ethereal shadow.
The shadow sat on the prayer mat, motionless.
His face could not be seen clearly.
Only a silhouette was visible.
An old silhouette, as ancient as heaven and earth.
The shadow spoke.
"Rise, all of you."
The voice was very soft.
So soft it was like a breeze blowing through Chaos.
But when that voice reached the ears, it was louder than any thunder.
Deeper than any bell toll.
Truer than any Daoist sound.
Everyone stood up.
Lu Mingyuan also stood up.
He stood there, looking at the shadow.
The shadow was also looking at him.
He could feel it.
That gaze passed through everyone, through all the light, through all the Dao, and landed on him.
It landed on him alone.
It was very light.
As light as a father looking at his son.
But it was also very heavy.
As heavy as heaven and earth looking upon all creation.
The shadow spoke.
"The Dharma-Ending Kalpa has arrived?"
The old man—Taishang Laojun—nodded.
"It has."
The shadow was silent for a moment.
"That Rift?"
Taishang Laojun said:
"Three hundred li. It is still there."
The shadow fell silent again for a while.
"The people who died?"
Taishang Laojun looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"One hundred and eighty."
The shadow also looked at Lu Mingyuan.
That gaze became even heavier.
Heavy enough to place each and every one of those who died onto his shoulders.
Lu Mingyuan stood there, motionless.
He thought of Tie Niu.
He thought of those nameless Loose Cultivators.
He remembered that when they died, there was no fear in their eyes.
Only light.
He stood there, being watched on their behalf.
Watched by the Dao Ancestor.
The shadow withdrew its gaze.
He looked at everyone in Zixiao Palace.
Those people all had their heads bowed.
But their lights were all shining.
All sorts of lights shone within Zixiao Palace.
The shadow looked at those lights and slowly spoke.
"Today, I shall speak of the Dharma-Ending Kalpa."
Everyone raised their heads.
They all looked at the shadow.
They all pricked up their ears.
All ready to listen.
The shadow said:
"The Dharma-Ending Kalpa is not the first tribulation. There were six before it—Heaven-Opening, Ferocious Beast, Dragon-Phoenix, Witch-Demon, Investiture of the Gods, and Journey to the West."
He paused.
"Every tribulation has seen deaths. Many have died. Countless have died."
He looked at those people.
"In the Heaven-Opening Great Tribulation, Pangu died. The Three Thousand Demon Gods also died. Those who died transformed into heaven and earth. Those who died became all things."
"In the Ferocious Beast Great Tribulation, those Vicious Beasts that escaped from Chaos died. When the Three Tribes first rose, many also died. Those who died let the living know that fear stems from the unknown."
"In the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation, the Great Tribulation of Longhan, the Demon Ancestor Luo Hou brought Chaos to the world. Those who died separated the Dao from the Demon. They let the world know that conflict breeds resentment."
"In the Witch-Demon Calamity, the zhou heavens was shattered, and Hou Tu transformed into Reincarnation. Those who died let the world know that prosperity must eventually decline. No matter how strong a race is, there will come a day of its downfall."
"In the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, the Chan Sect and Jie Sect fought, and the Heavenly Court was established. Those who died let the world know that order requires a price. Order without a price is false."
"In the Journey to the West Great Tribulation, through the Karma of the quest for scriptures, Buddhism flourished. Those who died let the world know that faith can be diverted. If one path is blocked, another can be taken."
He paused.
"Now, the seventh tribulation, the Dharma-Ending Kalpa, has arrived."
The shadow looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Do you know what 'Dharma-Ending' means?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"Does 'Dharma' refer to the methods of cultivation?"
The shadow nodded.
"Correct. Dharma-Ending means the Dharma is about to be extinguished. The methods of cultivation will vanish. Those paths that allow people to achieve Immortal Ascension or become Buddhas will be severed."
He paused.
"But that is not the most terrifying part."
Lu Mingyuan asked:
"Then what is the most terrifying part?"
The shadow looked at him.
"The most terrifying part is the human heart."
Lu Mingyuan was stunned.
"The human heart?"
The shadow nodded.
"In the first six tribulations, it was people who died. But the human heart remained. Both the dead and the living had hearts. Where there is a heart, there is light. Where there is light, there is hope."
He looked outside Zixiao Palace.
Looking at the endless Chaos.
"But in the Dharma-Ending Kalpa, it is the heart that dies."
He withdrew his gaze.
"If the human heart dies, the Dharma truly perishes. If people no longer believe, the Dao is truly severed. If people no longer love, heaven and earth truly grow cold."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Do you know what that Rift is?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"The core of resentment. It is the accumulated resentment of the Seven Great Calamities."
The shadow nodded.
"Correct. But do you know what resentment is?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"Is it... a lack?"
The shadow smiled.
The smile was very faint.
Faint as water.
But there was something in that smile.
Recognition.
Gratification.
The kind of thing that said, 'You understand'.
The shadow said:
"Correct. Resentment is a lack. Only when something is lacking does one feel resentment. If nothing is lacking, there is no resentment."
He paused.
"In the Heaven-Opening Great Tribulation, what was lacking was completeness. Heaven and earth were separated, and all things were born, but those dead Demon Gods lacked life."
"In the Ferocious Beast Great Tribulation, what was lacking was a sense of security. The living did not know if they would be devoured by Vicious Beasts the next day."
"In the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation, what was lacking was peace. With all the fighting back and forth, no one knew when it would end."
"In the Witch-Demon Calamity, what was lacking was longevity. Such powerful races vanished just like that."
"In the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, what was lacking was fairness. Why could some achieve Immortal Ascension while others could only be granted titles as gods?"
"In the Journey to the West Great Tribulation, what was lacking was the true scripture. Were the scriptures obtained real? Was the Dao being preached correct?"
He looked in the direction of The Rift.
"One or two of these lacks are nothing. But the lacks of six great tribulations added together became—"
He paused.
"An."
Lu Mingyuan listened.
Something in his heart was moving.
Growing.
Sprouting.
The shadow continued:
"An is not a demon. Demons still have hearts, desires, and directions. An has none. An is simply lack. It is the kind of thing that lacks nothing yet lacks everything."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Do you know why An still exists even though you've killed so many demon soldiers?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"Because resistance is futile?"
The shadow nodded.
"Resistance is equivalent to feeding it. The more you resist, the stronger it becomes. Because what it needs is resistance. Resistance is a lack, and lack is what it is."
Lu Mingyuan was silent.
He remembered what the Queen Mother of the West had said.
"Resistance is useless; completion is the Righteous Path."
He remembered standing before that Rift for three days and three nights.
He thought of those who had died.
He remembered the moment he made his Breakthrough to the Golden Immortal realm.
He looked at the shadow.
"Then what should be done?"
The shadow did not answer.
He just looked at Lu Mingyuan.
He looked for a long, long time.
Then, he said:
"You are the solution."
Lu Mingyuan was stunned.
"Me?"
The shadow nodded.
"the one that escaped has chosen you."
Lu Mingyuan did not understand.
"the one that escaped?"
The shadow said:
"The Great Dao has fifty paths; heaven's derivation is forty-nine, and man escapes through the one. That 'one' is the variable. It is that tiny bit that lies outside of heavenly fate. It is the one thing that can turn a dead end into a living path."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"You are that one."
Lu Mingyuan stood there, motionless.
He remembered what Xuanweizi had said.
He remembered what Xuanweizi said in Chapter 77—
"The Person of Destiny is not determined by fate, but by self-choice."
He remembered walking from Zhongnan Mountain to The Rift.
Step by step.
Step by step.
Every step was his own choice.
No one forced him.
No heavenly fate weighed him down.
He chose it himself.
He looked at the shadow.
"I didn't choose it. I walked it."
The shadow smiled.
The smile was gentler than before.
"Correct. It is not chosen, but walked. Only what is walked out becomes yours."
He paused.
"Starting tomorrow, let them ask you."
Lu Mingyuan asked:
"Ask what?"
The shadow said:
"Ask about your Dao."
He stood up.
On that prayer mat, the shadow grew fainter and fainter.
Fainter and fainter.
So faint it seemed it would vanish.
Finally, he spoke a single sentence.
The sentence was very soft.
Soft as a breeze.
But in Lu Mingyuan's ears, it was as heavy as a mountain.
"The heart is the profound pivot of all laws. They have waited nine hundred years for this sentence."
The shadow vanished.
Inside Zixiao Palace, only those lights remained.
Those people.
And Lu Mingyuan standing there.
Alone.
Standing.