146: Chapter 146 The Dao of Heaven's Transmission
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Within the Chaos, Lu Mingyuan walked.
Towards that cyan light.
That light grew closer and closer.
Brighter and brighter.
So bright it seemed it would dye the entire Chaos cyan.
Then, he saw.
A person, standing within the cyan light.
That person was tall.
Tall as a mountain.
That person was straight.
Straight as a sword.
That person's eyes were bright.
Bright as if fire burned within them.
That was Tongtian Jiaozhu.
The master of the Jie Sect.
The one to whom ten thousand immortals came to pay homage.
The one who lost most bitterly in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
And also the one who, to this day, still stands the straightest.
---
Lu Mingyuan quickened his pace and stepped forward, offering a deep bow.
"Disciple Lu Mingyuan pays his respects to Tongtian Jiaozhu."
Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at him.
He did not speak.
He merely looked at him.
For a very, very long time.
That gaze was complex.
It held scrutiny, expectation, approval, and also... something indescribable.
Then, he spoke.
"Rise."
Lu Mingyuan straightened up and looked at Tongtian Jiaozhu.
Tongtian Jiaozhu also looked at him.
Suddenly, Tongtian smiled.
That smile was hearty.
Hearty as thunder.
"Kid, do you know why this humble Daoist came to find you?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"I ask Jiaozhu to enlighten me."
Tongtian Jiaozhu said:
"Because of those few words you spoke in reply to Duobao within the Zixiao Palace."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"You said, even if you stand in the wrong place, you must still stand. You said, the wrong place is also a path. You said, the place of death is also a path. You said, the living must continue walking for the dead."
He paused.
"Those few words reminded this humble Daoist of many things."
---
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
He knew what Tongtian Jiaozhu was remembering.
The Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
Those Jie Sect Disciples who died.
Those Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters who stood, and then fell.
Those who stood in the wrong place, but died standing.
Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at him.
"Do you know how the Jie Sect was defeated?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"This Disciple knows a little. In the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, the Jie Sect stood on the side of the Shang Dynasty, opposite the Heavenly Dao."
Tongtian Jiaozhu nodded.
"Correct. Stood opposite the Heavenly Dao. But back then, who knew it was wrong? Who knew the Heavenly Dao would change? Who knew the Shang Dynasty would perish? Who knew those Disciples would stand, and then die?"
His voice grew somewhat heavy.
"They stood in the wrong place. But when they stood, they did not know it was wrong. They merely stood. Stood where they believed was right. Stood beside the people they believed in. Stood before the things they wished to protect."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"They were wrong. But did they deserve to die?"
This question, Duobao had asked within the Zixiao Palace.
Lu Mingyuan had answered.
Now, Tongtian Jiaozhu asked it again.
Lu Mingyuan looked at him.
"Jiaozhu, they did not deserve to die."
Tongtian asked:
"Why?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"Because when they stood, they used their hearts. They used the Dao they believed in. They used the things they wished to protect. What was wrong was the place, not the heart. What was wrong was the stance, not the Dao. What was wrong was that calamity, not them."
He looked at Tongtian.
"They died. But their hearts remain. In Senior Duobao. In the living. On the path of the Jie Sect."
---
Tongtian Jiaozhu listened.
As he listened, his eyes grew somewhat red.
That tall figure standing in the cyan light, that master of the Jie Sect to whom ten thousand immortals came to pay homage, that person who lost most bitterly in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity—his eyes reddened.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Kid, do you know what the Dao of the Jie Sect is?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"This Disciple has heard Senior Duobao say. The Dao of the Jie Sect is to seize a single thread of vitality."
Tongtian nodded.
"Correct. To seize a single thread of vitality. But do you know why one must seize a single thread of vitality?"
Lu Mingyuan thought.
"Because the Heavenly Dao has fifty, the Great Derivation forty-nine. the one that escaped is vitality. What the Jie Sect seeks to seize is that single thread of vitality."
Tongtian looked at him.
"Then do you know where that single thread of vitality is?"
Lu Mingyuan was taken aback.
Where?
He had never considered this question.
Tongtian looked at him, light in his gaze.
"That single thread of vitality is not within the Heavenly Dao. It is within the human heart."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"The Heavenly Dao is constant, it does not exist for the sake of Yao, nor does it perish for the sake of Jie. The calamities that must come will surely come. Those who must die will surely die. The sects that must be destroyed will surely be destroyed. The Heavenly Dao does not concern itself with those. The Heavenly Dao only governs operation."
He paused.
"But the human heart is different. The human heart changes. The human heart chooses. The human heart finds a way to live in a place of certain death. The human heart leaves a single thread of vitality at a time of certain destruction."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"The Dao of the Jie Sect is not to seize that single thread from the Heavenly Dao. It is to seize that single thread from the human heart."
---
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, he suddenly remembered something.
He remembered the Loose Cultivators at The Rift.
He remembered those nameless people.
He remembered what was in their eyes when they stood before the Demon Tide.
There was light.
There was that light of 'I do not wish to die, but I will not retreat either.'
Where did that light come from?
Not from the Heavenly Dao.
It came from the heart.
He looked at Tongtian.
"Jiaozhu, this Disciple seems to understand."
Tongtian asked:
"Understand what?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I understand why one must stand even when standing in the wrong place. Because when one stands, there is light in the heart. That light is vitality. That light is the single thread the Jie Sect seeks to seize."
He looked at Tongtian.
"The Heavenly Dao says, you stood in the wrong place, you deserve to die. But the human heart says, as long as you stand, there is light. Where there is light, there is vitality. Where there is vitality, you do not deserve to die."
He paused.
"The Dao of the Jie Sect is not about opposing the Heavenly Dao. It is about leaving a path for the human heart outside the Heavenly Dao."
---
Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at him, his gaze filled with approval.
"Correct. This is the true meaning of the Jie Sect."
He took a step forward.
"Do you know why this humble Daoist is called Tongtian?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
Tongtian said:
"Because this humble Daoist wishes to comprehend both Heaven and Man. Heaven has its Dao, and Man also has his Dao. The Heavenly Dao is without emotion, the human heart has emotion. The Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao are not two separate Daos. They are two aspects of a single Dao."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"When this humble Daoist founded the Jie Sect, I had already decided. The Dao of the Jie Sect is not in Heaven, but in the human heart. It is not in the patterns of the Heavenly Dao, but in the choices of the human heart. It is not about what should or should not be, but about what one is willing or unwilling to do."
He paused.
"If one is willing to stand, then stand. If one is willing to die, then die. If one is willing to take a blow for another, then take it. If one is willing to live for another, then live. That is the Dao of the Jie Sect."
---
Lu Mingyuan listened.
As he listened, he remembered Tieniu.
He remembered the light in Tieniu's eyes when he took that blow for him.
That light was not the light of fearing death.
It was the light of willingness.
The light of being willing to die for him.
He looked at Tongtian.
"Jiaozhu, this Disciple has understood one thing."
Tongtian asked:
"What thing?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I have understood why Tieniu took that blow for me."
He looked at Tongtian.
"It was not because the Heavenly Dao demanded he take it. It was because he was willing. He was willing, so he took it. He took it, so he died. He died, but he was willing. He was willing, so it was worth it."
He paused.
"If it was worth it, then there is no regret. Without regret, there is still light. That light is upon me. Within my heart. In the things I do. On the path I walk."
He looked at Tongtian.
"That is the Dao of the Jie Sect."
---
Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at him for a very, very long time.
Then, he suddenly smiled.
That smile was hearty.
Hearty as thunder.
"Kid, you understand the Jie Sect better than that child Duobao."
Lu Mingyuan was stunned.
"Senior Duobao is the Senior Brother of the Jie Sect, how could this Disciple compare..."
Tongtian interrupted him.
"Duobao understands principle. You understand the heart. Principle is above the heart, the heart is within principle. Duobao walked on principle for nine hundred years, and only today reached the heart. You were in the heart from the very beginning."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Do you know why?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
Tongtian said:
"Because you have walked at The Rift. Because you have seen those people, dying standing. Because you know that when they died, there was light in their eyes. That light is not taught by principle. It is born from the heart."
He paused.
"You saw that light, so you understood. Once you understand, there is no need to learn."
---
Tongtian extended his hand.
"Come, this humble Daoist will impart something to you."
Lu Mingyuan extended his hand and grasped it.
In that instant, he felt it.
Felt many, many lights.
Those lights were not of one color.
They were of many colors.
Red, yellow, blue, green, purple.
Those lights did not come from one direction.
They came from all directions.
They came from the heart.
They came from the hearts of those who died standing.
He saw.
Saw the Disciples of the Jie Sect, standing on the battlefield of the Investiture of the Gods.
Saw them falling one by one.
Saw the light in their eyes as they fell.
Saw those lights converge together.
Converge into a river.
A river of light.
That river flowed towards one person.
Flowed towards Tongtian Jiaozhu.
Flowed towards this person standing in the cyan light.
---
Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at him.
"Did you see?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"I saw."
Tongtian asked:
"What did you see?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I saw those who died. I saw the light in their eyes. I saw those lights converge together. I saw that river."
Tongtian asked:
"What is that river?"
Lu Mingyuan thought.
"It is the Dao of the Jie Sect."
Tongtian shook his head.
"Incorrect."
Lu Mingyuan was stunned.
"Incorrect?"
Tongtian said:
"That is the people of the Jie Sect. Not the Dao of the Jie Sect."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"The Dao of the Jie Sect is not a river. It is the place where that river flows to. It is the place where those lights shine upon. It is those who died standing, those who live standing, those who have light in their hearts."
He paused.
"The Dao of the Jie Sect is not in Heaven. It is in the mortal world. It is not in the past. It is in the future. It is not upon them. It is upon you."
---
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, he suddenly felt something enter his heart.
That thing was very warm.
Warm as sunlight.
But within that sunlight, there was something.
There were the hearts of those who died standing.
There was the light in those eyes.
There was the source of that river.
He looked at Tongtian.
"Jiaozhu, this Disciple understands."
Tongtian asked:
"Understand what?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I understand why you said the Dao of the Jie Sect is not in Heaven, but in the mortal world."
He looked at Tongtian.
"Because the Dao of the Jie Sect is what those who died standing left for those who live standing. It is what the light in those eyes shines upon later generations. It is the place where that river flows to."
He paused.
"When this Disciple stands at The Rift, that light is upon me. Where this Disciple acts, that river flows. On the path this Disciple walks, the Dao of the Jie Sect exists."
He looked at Tongtian.
"The Jie Sect is not destroyed. The Dao of the Jie Sect is still walking."
---
Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at him.
For a very, very long time.
Then, he reached out and patted Lu Mingyuan's shoulder.
That hand was heavy.
Heavy as a mountain.
But within that mountain, there was something.
There was the recognition of the master of the Jie Sect.
There was the entrustment of the one to whom ten thousand immortals came to pay homage.
There was something those who died standing entrusted to him to pass on.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Kid, the Dao of the Jie Sect is entrusted to you."
Lu Mingyuan was stunned.
"Jiaozhu, this Disciple is unworthy..."
Tongtian interrupted him.
"It is not about worthiness. It is because you have walked. Because you have stood. Because you have continued standing for those who died standing. Since you have walked, you should take it up. Since you have stood, you should hold it. Since you have stood for them, you should pass it on for them."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"The Dao of the Jie Sect is not this humble Daoist's Dao. It is the Dao of those who died standing. This humble Daoist merely held it for them. Now, this humble Daoist gives it to you. You take it up. You hold it. You pass it on."
He paused.
"Pass it on. Pass it on to those who are willing to stand. Pass it on to those who are willing to take a blow for another. Pass it on to those who have light in their eyes."
---
Lu Mingyuan stood there, looking at Tongtian.
Looking at that tall figure standing in the cyan light.
Looking at that person who lost most bitterly in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
Looking at that person who, to this day, still stands the straightest.
His eyes reddened.
He looked at Tongtian.
"Jiaozhu, this Disciple accepts it."
Tongtian smiled.
That smile was hearty.
Hearty as thunder.
"Good. Accept it. Hold it well. Pass it on well."
He turned, preparing to leave.
After taking two steps, he suddenly stopped.
He did not turn his head.
"Right, there is one more thing."
Lu Mingyuan asked:
"What is it?"
Tongtian said:
"The Dao of the Jie Sect is not only about dying standing. It is also about living standing."
He paused.
"Living standing is harder than dying standing. To die, you die in an instant. To live, you must live continuously. To live continuously, you must stand continuously. To stand continuously, you must continuously face those demon soldiers, those Rifts, those who have died."
He paused.
"But only those who live standing can pass on the Dao of the Jie Sect. Because only by living can you continue walking. Only by living can you continue walking for those who have died."
He continued walking forward.
"Therefore, you must live. Live well. Live for them. Stand for them. Walk the path for them."
His figure gradually disappeared into the cyan light.
A final sentence came through.
"Kid, live well."
---
Lu Mingyuan stood there, looking in the direction where Tongtian had disappeared.
For a very, very long time.
Then, he offered a deep bow.
"Many thanks, Jiaozhu."
He straightened up.
He looked at the Chaos ahead.
The Chaos was still that Chaos.
Grey and misty, containing nothing.
But within his heart, there was now something more.
There was the light of those who died standing.
There was that river of light.
There was the Dao of the Jie Sect.
There was the entrustment of Tongtian Jiaozhu.
He took a step.
Continued walking forward.
As he walked, he suddenly remembered a sentence.
That sentence was spoken by Tongtian just now.
"Living standing is harder than dying standing."
He smiled.
That smile was light.
Light as wind.
But within that wind, there was something.
There was the steadiness of knowing how one should live.
He walked.
Step by step.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Simply walking.
---
As he walked, light appeared once more within the Chaos ahead.
This time, the light was golden.
Golden as a Buddha.
Golden as... the West.
Lu Mingyuan looked at that light.
He knew that ahead, someone else was waiting for him.
There was still Dao to be transmitted.
There was still Dharma to be bestowed.
There was still a path to be walked.
He continued walking forward.
Towards that golden light.
Towards that next person waiting for him.
Towards the path that must be walked.
---
Within the Zixiao Palace, Tongtian returned.
Yuanshi Tianzun looked at him.
"Finished transmitting?"
Tongtian nodded.
"Finished."
Laozi asked:
"Did he understand?"
Tongtian said:
"He understood."
Jieyin asked:
"Truly understood?"
Tongtian smiled.
"Truly understood. More than that child Duobao."
Zhunti asked:
"How is that possible? Duobao is the Senior Brother of the Jie Sect..."
Tongtian interrupted him.
"Duobao understands through principle. He understands through the heart. Understanding through the heart is far deeper than understanding through principle."
Nuwa nodded.
"Correct. Because he has walked. Because at The Rift, he saw those people dying standing. He saw the light in their eyes. He saw the source of that river."
Houtu said:
"Because he stood for them. Because he lived for them. Because he continued walking for them."
Yuanshi Tianzun looked deep into the Chaos.
"Then let us see how he continues walking."
---
Within the Chaos, Lu Mingyuan continued walking.
Towards that golden light.
Towards the Dao of the Buddhist Sect.
Towards that next person waiting for him.
He walked.
Within his heart was the One Qi Transforming into Three Pure Ones planted by Laozi.
Within his heart was the Dao of the Jie Sect left by Tongtian.
Beneath his feet was the path he himself had walked.
Ahead lay unknown Daos, unknown Dharmas, unknown calamities.
But he was not afraid.
Because he was walking the path.
Because as one walks, one comes to know.
Because as one walks, one comes to understand.
Because as one walks, one arrives."
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