207: Chapter 207 Demonstration of Immortal Path

The light of the Divine Dao floated behind him like countless fireflies. Lu Mingyuan carried that connection and walked toward the fifth beam of light.

It was cyan, as cyan as the sky, as faint as the wind. The light was neither blinding nor scorching, but it was very light. It was so light that one glance made the body feel lighter. It was so light that standing before it made one's steps feel buoyant. That was not weightlessness; it was Carefreeness.

The Immortal Dao.

Lu Mingyuan stood before the cyan light, not rushing to look. He first relaxed his body, from his toes to the top of his head, loosening inch by inch. Once relaxed, he could float. Once floating, he could fly. Once flying, he could see a different landscape.

Within the light, the imagery began.

There was no heaven, no earth, only people. People were no longer kneeling, nor standing, but walking. Walking from the foot of the mountain to the peak, from one bank of the river to the other, from this city to that city. Walking and walking, they walked out of the human world and into the mountains. In the mountains, there were clouds and mist, the sound of pine waves, and the cries of cranes. That was where the Immortals lived.

People want to become Immortals, not because they fear death, but because they desire freedom. To breathe freely, to walk freely, to live freely. Not controlled by the government, not bound by the fields, not restrained by family. One person, a pot of wine, a sword, walking to the ends of the earth.

That was the beginning of being Carefree.

Lu Mingyuan watched that person walking into the mountains; he felt no envy, only understanding. Because he himself had walked such a path. Walking out of Heyin, into Zhongnan Mountain, into the Three Mountains, Three Temples, Three Courtyards, and Three Sects. It was not to escape anything, but to find something. To find his own Dao, to find his own heart, to find himself.

Carefreeness is not escaping; it is pursuing. Those who escape have fear in their hearts; those who pursue have hope. Fear makes people shrink; hope makes people stretch. Once stretched out, one can embrace a larger world.

The imagery in the light continued to evolve. People learned to exhale and inhale, to consume Qi, and to practice Alchemy. Exhaling and inhaling is exchanging breath with heaven and earth; consuming Qi is taking in the essence of heaven and earth; Alchemy is locking the power of heaven and earth within the body. That is the Cultivation of the Immortal Dao, step by step, from mortal to Immortal.

Cultivation is not for longevity, but for having time. Having time to walk more paths, see more scenery, and comprehend more Dao. Longevity is not the goal; it is a means. The means serves the goal, and the goal is to be Carefree.

Lu Mingyuan recalled the path of Cultivation he had walked. Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refining, Body Integration, Mahayana, Undergoing Tribulation, Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi, Daluo, Quasi-Saint. Every step was not to live longer, but to go further. Only by going far can one see different scenery. Only by seeing can one understand different truths.

Understanding is being Carefree.

The imagery in the light changed. It was no longer Cultivation, but roaming. Immortals ride the clouds, roaming the four seas. Watching the sunrise in the east, the sunset in the west. Watching the sea in the south, the snow in the north. Leaving when they want, stopping when they want. No constraints, no attachments, no responsibilities.

Lu Mingyuan watched those roaming Immortals; he felt no longing, only vigilance. Because he knew that such Carefreeness was fake. Carefreeness without constraints is not Carefreeness; it is emptiness. Freedom without attachments is not freedom; it is loneliness. Ease without responsibility is not ease; it is escaping.

True Carefreeness is freedom amidst constraints, ease amidst attachments, and being Carefree amidst responsibilities. Just like him in the Northwest, bound by The Rift, attached to the people, pressed by responsibilities. Yet his heart was free, freely choosing to stay, freely choosing to protect, freely choosing to love.

That is not the Carefreeness of the Immortal Dao; it is the Carefreeness of the Human Dao.

The imagery in the light continued to evolve. The Immortal was no longer roaming, but sitting in the mountains, motionless. Sitting for a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years. His body turned into stone, his Primordial Spirit turned into a breeze. He no longer wanted his body, nor his Primordial Spirit, only the Dao. Becoming one with the Dao, I am the Dao, and the Dao is me.

That is Transcendence.

Transcendence is not leaving the world; it is merging with the world. It is not discarding the body; it is returning the body to the earth. It is not discarding the Primordial Spirit; it is scattering the Primordial Spirit into the breeze. Not wanting it does not mean it is gone; it means existing on a greater level.

Lu Mingyuan recalled the ending of Volume 14. The Transcendent is not in Zixiao Palace, but in the smoke and fire of the marketplace. Not high above, but plain and ordinary. Not doing nothing, but doing everything. Cooking, sweeping, teaching, planting flowers. Just like an ordinary person, but his heart is different. His heart is the manifestation of the Dao, the breath of the Dao, the pulse of the Dao.

Transcendence is ordinary.

He bowed deeply to the cyan light. It was not bowing to Immortals, but bowing to the Dao. Bowing to those Immortals walking on the path, bowing to those Immortals sitting in the mountains, bowing to those Immortals who merged with heaven and earth. They proved with their lives that being Carefree is possible, Transcendence is possible, and longevity is possible.

The imagery in the light stopped. The Immortal Dao had demonstrated what it should; the rest was for him to comprehend himself.

Lu Mingyuan closed his eyes, savoring everything he had just seen. Carefreeness, Transcendence, Longevity. Three keywords intertwined in the Immortal Dao. Carefreeness is not escaping; it is pursuing. Transcendence is not leaving; it is merging. Longevity is not the goal; it is a means.

In his Dantian, that tree had grown a little more. Ten zhang three, ten zhang four. The patterns on the trunk now had more cyan, as cyan as the sky, as faint as the wind. It was light and airy, but within that lightness was weight; the weight was the burden of the Dao. The Dao is not heavy, but it is steady. Steady enough that the wind cannot move it.

Bai Ze looked at the tree and nodded. It knew that Lu Mingyuan was one step closer to being a Saint. Not closer in cultivation, but closer in state of mind. When the heart is close, the Dao is close. When the Dao is close, the proof is not far away.

The kitten stretched, changed its posture, and continued to sleep. It did not understand the Immortal Dao, but it understood comfort. Comfort is finding a warm place, curling up, closing eyes, and thinking of nothing. That was the cat's Carefreeness, the cat's Transcendence, the cat's longevity.

Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes and looked at the light of the Immortal Dao. The light was still there, not extinguished. It would keep shining until the last Immortal gave up on being Carefree. But Immortals would not give up, because Carefreeness is the root of the Immortal Dao. As long as the root is there, the tree is there. As long as the tree is there, the flowers will bloom.

He reached out his hand, wanting to touch that light. His hand reached halfway and stopped. It was not out of fear, but not rushing. He wanted to finish looking at the other two beams first, then integrate them all together.

He did not withdraw his hand, just held it there, placed before the cyan light. The light was cool, like the mountain breeze. The wind blew on his hand, and his hand gained the freedom of the wind. Freedom is not doing whatever one wants to do; it is not doing what one does not want to do. Not doing what one does not want to do is being Carefree.

Lu Mingyuan remembered his days on Zhongnan Mountain. No The Rift, no Demon Generals, no commoners. Only mountains, only trees, only wind. But he no longer wanted such days. Because it was too light, so light that it had no weight. Carefreeness without weight is not Carefreeness; it is floating. Floating for too long, one forgets who they are.

True Carefreeness is lightness amidst weight. Just like him in the Northwest, carrying the lives of two thousand three hundred commoners on his shoulders, holding the bond of three hundred and eighty brothers in his heart. It was heavy, yet his heart was light. Light enough to fly, to fly into Chaos, to fly before the Seven Saints, to fly to the source of the Dao.

He took a deep breath and withdrew his hand. Then he sat down, legs crossed before the cyan light. Closing his eyes, he went through the Immortal Dao he had just seen in his mind. Carefreeness, Transcendence, Longevity. Each word turned into a picture, each picture turned into a person. Those people walked in the mountains, flew in the clouds, sat on rocks. They were Immortals, but they were once human.

People becoming Immortals is not changing their species; it is changing their hearts. When the heart is big, it can hold heaven and earth. When the heart is light, it can float above the clouds. When the heart is still, it can sit through rocks.

Lu Mingyuan suddenly smiled. He had realized another side of the Immortal Dao: Returning. Carefreeness is for the sake of returning, Transcendence is for the sake of returning, and longevity is also for the sake of returning. Having gone far, one can still return. Having flown high, one can still land. Having lived long, one can still remember. Returning is not going back to the starting point; it is bringing the scenery of the distance back to the place of departure.

He remembered the day he returned from Chaos. Carrying the green lotus fragment, carrying the axe blade fragment, carrying the insights of the seven Daos, returning to the Northwest, returning to Mount Buzhou, returning to the side of those guarding the posts. That was not the end; it was a new beginning. Beginning Mending the Heavens, beginning establishing the Dao, beginning Transcendence. After Transcending, return again. After returning, never leave again.

He stood up and bowed deeply to the light of the Immortal Dao. Grateful to those who taught him Carefreeness, grateful to those who led him to Transcendence, grateful to those who made him not fear longevity.

The seven beams of light were still shining, the light of the Immortal Dao being the lightest. But the other lights were not weak; they were waiting for Lu Mingyuan to see, to comprehend, and to integrate.

Lu Mingyuan was not in a hurry to look at the sixth beam. He sat down and continued to digest. The Immortal Dao was too light, so light that it needed weight to balance. In Chaos, there is weight and lightness, there is Yin and Yang, there is Dao and vessel. Do not rush, do not be impatient, do not be attached. Comprehend slowly, comprehend steadily, comprehend lightly.

The oil lamp was shining before him, the wick flickering. The green lotus fragment and the axe blade fragment were placed beside the oil lamp, one cyan and one gold. The three beams of light and the light of the Immortal Dao intersected, illuminating his face. His face was very calm, but his eyes were smiling. The smile was very light, very faint, very warm. That was the smile of Carefreeness, the smile of Transcendence, the smile of longevity.

Bai Ze watched his smile, feeling an indescribable emotion in its heart. This scholar never pursued longevity. Yet he lived a long life, not a long body, but a long heart. When the heart is long, one can walk very far. Having gone far, one can still return. Having returned, one does not leave.

The kitten turned over, belly to the sky, four legs curled up. It slept very soundly, deeply, and sweetly. That was the cat's Carefreeness, the cat's Transcendence, the cat's longevity. The cat does not need to comprehend the Dao; it is the Dao itself.

Lu Mingyuan reached out and touched the kitten's belly, soft and warm. He smiled, a smile that was very light, very faint, very warm.

"Have you finished looking at the Immortal Dao?" Bai Ze asked.

"Finished."

"Did you understand it?"

"I understood a part of it. The rest, I will understand slowly in the future."

"That is enough. The Dao cannot be fully understood at once; once understood, one can walk. Walking and walking, one will understand more."

Lu Mingyuan nodded. He stood up, preparing to look at the sixth beam of light. This time, he walked very lightly, because his heart carried the thought of returning. Returning is the end point of the Immortal Dao, and also the starting point of the Human Dao. The starting point and the end point are the same point.

He walked toward the sixth beam of light, walking toward the Buddhist Dao.