166: Chapter 166 The Southern Heavenly Gate (Part 3)

The Dark Heavenly Emperor's projection vanished, but his laughter remained. It echoed beyond the South Heaven Gate, reverberated in the ears of the gods, and took root in everyone's heart. There was something in that laughter, the kind of despair that said, 'Nothing you do matters.'

Lu Mingyuan leaned against Yang Jian, panting. His injuries were severe, so severe he could barely stand. But his eyes were bright, as bright as the light formed from the completed Souls outside the South Heaven Gate.

"He will return," Yang Jian said.

"I know," Lu Mingyuan replied. "But next time he comes, it won't be so easy."

"Why?"

"Because I understand him better now."

Lu Mingyuan lifted his head, gazing into the boundless darkness beyond the South Heaven Gate. There was nothing in the darkness, yet he knew the Dark Heavenly Emperor was there. In every Rift, in every wisp of Devilish Qi, in every lingering grievance. He was not a person, but a lack. Not a demon, but a shadow.

"He is afraid," Lu Mingyuan said.

"Afraid?" Yang Jian was stunned.

"He fears being made whole. He fears transforming from a lack into completeness, from darkness into light. What he fears isn't me, but my Dao. It's the Dao that says, 'It's not about opposition, but completion.'"

Yang Jian looked at Lu Mingyuan and suddenly understood. Lu Mingyuan wasn't fighting a battle; he was treating an illness. The Dark Heavenly Emperor wasn't an enemy; he was a patient. The Demon Tide wasn't an army; it was a symptom. And the medicine was completion.

---

Inside the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the Heavenly Emperor sat upon his cloud dais, cradling in his hands the light formed from the completed Souls.

"I have been Heavenly Emperor for a hundred thousand years, and never once did I think a demon could be converted," the Heavenly Emperor said. "I always believed demons were simply demons, born to be eradicated."

"Demons are not born as demons," Lu Mingyuan said. "Demons are a lack. They are projections of the Heavenly Dao's deficiencies. They are not evil; they are sick. They are not enemies to be destroyed, but patients to be healed."

The Heavenly Emperor fell silent for a long time, then nodded. "I understand now."

He walked up to Lu Mingyuan and handed him that ball of light. "This is yours. You completed them; they should follow you."

Lu Mingyuan took the ball of light. It pulsed in his hand like a heart. He placed it into his heart, into his Wanxiang Heaven and Earth. The light fell into the very center of Wanxiang Heaven and Earth, landing upon the tree that had not yet fully grown. There, it took root, sprouted, and grew into a small sapling. The sapling was short, as short as a blade of grass. But it was straight, as straight as a sword.

"This is..." Lu Mingyuan was stunned.

"Your Dao has borne fruit," the Heavenly Emperor said. "You have taken the first step—completing a demon. That step is this seed."

Lu Mingyuan looked at the small tree within his heart and smiled. He felt his cultivation loosening. The barrier of Mid-stage Daluo was cracking.

"A Breakthrough?" Yang Jian asked.

"Not yet," Lu Mingyuan said. "I still lack one true confrontation. Facing the Dark Heavenly Emperor himself, not a projection."

---

Beyond the South Heaven Gate, the darkness stirred once more.

This time, it wasn't demon soldiers, demon generals, or a vanguard. This time, it was the Dark Heavenly Emperor himself. Not a projection, but a wisp of his true will. Yet that single wisp was already a hundred times stronger than Shi Xin.

That wisp of will emerged from the darkness, formless, colorless. Yet its mere presence evoked a sense of boundless deficiency, of endless grievance. It stood there without speaking, yet everyone could hear its voice. The voice wasn't in their ears, but in their hearts.

"Lu Mingyuan."

"It is I."

"You completed my soldiers. You converted my generals. Now, you would complete me as well? Convert me?"

"Yes."

That wisp of will fell silent. Then it laughed. There was something in that laughter, the kind of certainty that said, 'You cannot do it.'

"Do you know what I am?" it asked. "The grievances of the Three Thousand Demon Gods slain by Pangu in the Heaven-Opening Great Tribulation are within me. The grievances of the Vicious Beasts slaughtered in the Ferocious Beast Great Tribulation are within me. The grievances of the fallen Dragon Clan and Phoenix from the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation are within me. The grievances of the perished Witch and Yao Race from the Witch-Demon Calamity are within me. The grievances of the Loose Immortals who ascended the list in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity are within me. The grievances of the demons struck down in the Journey to the West Great Tribulation are within me. The grievances of immeasurable beings from the Seven Great Calamities are all within me. With what will you complete me? With your meager Mid-stage Daluo cultivation? With that sapling of yours that has just sprouted?"

The laughter grew louder, so loud the Lingxiao Treasure Hall trembled. So loud the gods shook.

But Lu Mingyuan did not shake. He stood there, standing. Covered in blood, his chest caved in, his bones broken. But he stood. He looked at that wisp of will and smiled.

"You are right," he said. "My cultivation is insufficient; my tree is too small. But I will still complete you. Not because I am strong enough, but because it is what I must do."

"With what will you try?"

"With the path I have walked. From the first step I took out of Heyin City, to every dawn on Zhongnan Mountain, to every talisman of the Three Mountains of Daoism, to every chime of the bell from the Three Temples of Buddhism, to every page of the books from the Three Academies of Confucianism, to every sword drawn from the Three Sects of Martial Arts. Those paths were not walked in vain. Those stands were not taken in vain."

Lu Mingyuan took a step forward. One step, taking him beyond the South Heaven Gate. Into the Domain of the Dark Heavenly Emperor. Within that Domain was boundless darkness, endless grievance. Yet Lu Mingyuan stepped in and stood. His Wanxiang Heaven and Earth unfolded within the darkness, though it spanned only a ten-foot radius. His Xuan Shu Dao extended amidst the grievances, though it measured only three feet in length. His small tree grew within the despair, though it was only an inch tall. But they were there, standing within the Dark Heavenly Emperor's Domain.

"Look," Lu Mingyuan said. "My Dao is within your Domain. It is small, but it is here. It is weak, but it is here. As long as it is here, it will not perish. As long as it is here, it will grow. As long as it is here, it can complete."

That wisp of will looked at Lu Mingyuan, at the ten-foot radius of Wanxiang Heaven and Earth, at the three-foot length of Xuan Shu Dao, at the one-inch-tall sapling. It remained silent for a long time.

"You are not afraid of me?"

"I am."

"Afraid, yet you step in?"

"Afraid, I must still step in. Afraid, I must still face it. Afraid, I must still complete. Not because I am unafraid, but because it is what must be done."

That wisp of will fell silent again. It remained silent for a long time. Then it took a step back. One step, retreating into the darkness. Its voice came from the darkness, very soft.

"Today, I will not fight you. Not because I cannot win, but because I wish to see. To see how large your Dao can grow. To see how much your completion can mend. The Dharma-Ending Kalpa is long. We have time."

That wisp of will vanished. Beyond the South Heaven Gate, it was empty once more.

Lu Mingyuan stood beyond the South Heaven Gate, standing. He withdrew his Wanxiang Heaven and Earth into his heart, but his small tree continued to grow. It grew an inch taller; now it was two inches high.

He turned and walked back through the South Heaven Gate, back before the gods.

"He is gone."

"You did it," Yang Jian said.

"It was not I who did it. It was the Dao. It was what must be done."

He looked at the gods and smiled. "He will return. But we are not afraid. Because we know how to face him now. Not with opposition, but with completion. Not with battle, but with conversion."

---

Inside the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the Heavenly Emperor held a feast to celebrate the victory.

Not a celebration of winning a fight, but of holding their ground. Not a celebration of slaying enemies, but of converting them.

The gods sat in the hall, all bearing injuries. Yang Jian's arm was in a sling, Nezha's leg was bandaged. But they were smiling, drinking. Not because they had won, but because they were still alive. Not because being alive was cause for joy, but because only by being alive could they continue to stand.

"Lu Mingyuan," the Heavenly Emperor raised his wine cup. "I toast to you. To you holding your ground. To you completing."

Lu Mingyuan raised his cup and took a sip. The wine was strong, so strong it made him cough. His injuries were not yet healed; his chest still ached. But he drank.

"I toast to you as well," Yang Jian raised his cup. "To you showing me there is another way to fight."

"I toast to you too," Nezha raised his cup. "To you showing me there is another way to live."

Cup after cup, one after another. Lu Mingyuan drank a lot, his face flushed, a smile on his lips.

The feast ended. The gods returned to rest. Lu Mingyuan stood alone before the South Heaven Gate, standing. He gazed at the darkness beyond the gate, at the stars within the darkness. The stars were few, so few there were only a handful. But they were there, shining in the darkness.

"What are you looking at?" Bai Ze poked its head out from the qiankun bag.

"At the stars."

"Do you know? Those stars are formed from the completed Souls. Shi Xin is one of them, and so are those demon soldiers. For every one you complete, a star appears in the sky. One day, the stars in the sky will outnumber the darkness. When that day comes, the Dharma Ending Age will have passed."

Lu Mingyuan looked at those stars, at those few weak lights, and smiled. "Good. Then I will complete more. Until the day the stars outnumber the darkness."

He stood there, standing before the South Heaven Gate. Within his heart, the small tree continued to grow. Two inches, three inches. Slowly, but it grew. When it grew larger, it could complete more.

Beyond the South Heaven Gate, the wind rose. That wind carried the scent of blood, the scent of wine. But it also carried light, the light of those stars. The light was weak, as weak as fireflies. But that light did not go out. No matter how strong the wind, no matter how deep the darkness, it did not go out.

That light is called completion. That light is called hope.