74: Chapter 74 The First Tribulation of Dragon and Phoenix
On the evening of the second day, Lu Mingyuan arrived at the eastern wing early.
The tea had already been brewed, and two bowls of coarse tea were placed on the low table. Xuanweizi sat on the couch, eyes closed, resting his spirit. Outside the window, the setting sun stretched the shadows of the old cypress tree long, falling onto the window paper like a light ink painting.
Lu Mingyuan sat down on the prayer mat without making a sound.
After a long time, Xuanweizi opened his eyes.
"You've thought about it all night; do you still want to listen?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"I do."
Xuanweizi looked at him, something in his gaze—was it relief, or something else?
"Then I shall continue."
He picked up the tea bowl and took a sip.
"Yesterday we spoke of the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation. Do you know that the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation has another name?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"The Longhan Tribulation."
Xuanweizi put down the tea bowl, his gaze becoming distant.
"That was the tribulation where the Dao and the Demonic were first separated."
"After the Ferocious Beast Great Tribulation, the Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin Clans jointly ruled the world. The Dragon Clan ruled the seas, the Phoenix Clan ruled the heavens, and the Kirin Clan ruled the earth. The three clans each guarded their own realms, living in peace with one another."
Xuanweizi's voice was very soft and light.
"But that peace was only on the surface."
He paused and continued:
"The Dragon Clan was bellicose, the Phoenix Clan was arrogant, and the Kirin Clan was stubborn. None of the three clans would submit to the others, and they had been competing in secret for countless years. They fought for territory, resources, and Luck. As they fought, they eventually formed deep-seated enmities."
Lu Mingyuan listened quietly.
"At that time, an extraordinary figure emerged in the world."
"Who?"
"Rahu."
There was a hint of gravity in Xuanweizi's voice.
"Rahu was originally formed from a Remnant of the Demon God. After the Ferocious Beast Great Tribulation, he hid beneath the earth in the west and cultivated for countless tens of thousands of years. What he cultivated was not the Righteous Path, but the Demonic Path—feeding on the devouring of resentment and finding joy in the destruction of living beings."
Lu Mingyuan's heart jolted.
"He watched the three clans fight and knew his opportunity had come. He transformed into human form and infiltrated the three clans to sow discord. One day he would tell the Dragon Clan that the Phoenix Clan wanted to seize their seas; the next, he would tell the Phoenix Clan that the Dragon Clan wanted to occupy their heavens. The day after, he would tell the Kirin Clan that the Dragon and Phoenix Clans had joined forces to destroy their earth."
He sighed.
"The three clans already harbored grievances, and with Rahu's instigation, they finally went to war."
"The Initial Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation lasted for thirty thousand years."
Xuanweizi's voice carried a deep sense of exhaustion.
"Thirty thousand years—do you know what that concept entails?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"A Mortal's life is but a hundred years. Thirty thousand years is the lifespan of three hundred Mortals. For three hundred lifetimes, they were at war."
He looked at the setting sun outside the window, his gaze distant.
"The Dragon Clan lost more than half its number, the Phoenix Clan was nearly wiped out, and only a few Kirin remained. The four seas were stained with blood, the Nine Heavens were shattered, and the earth was rent asunder. The resentment of those fallen beings was overwhelming."
"That resentment..."
"Was all absorbed by Rahu." Xuanweizi turned back. "He hid in the shadows and waited for a full thirty thousand years, specifically for this."
Lu Mingyuan fell silent.
Thirty thousand years.
Just to wait for an opportunity.
"What happened next?"
"Later, the three clans realized they had been tricked," Xuanweizi continued. "But by the time they found out, it was too late. The three clans' Origin Qi was greatly damaged, while Rahu had become so powerful that none could oppose him."
"What did he want to do?"
"He wanted to destroy the world," Xuanweizi looked at him. "To return Heaven and Earth to Chaos."
Lu Mingyuan gasped.
"Then... who stopped him?"
Xuanweizi was silent for a moment.
"The Dao Ancestor."
"The Dao Ancestor?"
"Hongjun," Xuanweizi said slowly. "Back then, Hongjun was not yet the Dao Ancestor. He was merely a Loose Cultivator, practicing his cultivation on Kunlun Mountain."
Lu Mingyuan was stunned.
Ancestor Hongjun was actually of Loose Cultivator origin?
Xuanweizi saw his confusion and shook his head slightly.
"Do you think the Dao Ancestor was born that way? No. He cultivated to reach it. Step by step, from a Mortal to a Saint, and from a Saint to the Dao Ancestor."
He paused and continued:
"Rahu wanted to destroy the world, and Hongjun could not stand by. He descended the mountain to discuss the Dao with Rahu."
"Discuss the Dao?" Lu Mingyuan was puzzled. "Rahu wanted to destroy the world; what use is discussing the Dao?"
Xuanweizi looked at him with profound eyes.
"What do you think the Dao is? Is it fighting? Is it Spells? Is it Divine Abilities?"
Lu Mingyuan was speechless.
"The Dao is reason. Only when reason fails does one resort to force. If reason prevails, there is no need for force."
He sighed.
"But with Rahu, reason did not work."
"Hongjun and Rahu discussed for seven times seven, forty-nine days."
Xuanweizi's voice flowed slowly through the twilight.
"Hongjun said that Heaven and Earth have order, and all things have their constants. Life is a constant, and death is also a constant. To destroy the world is to violate the constant."
"Rahu said, 'Who decided what is constant? Did Pangu decide? Pangu is dead. Since he is dead, why should we still follow his rules?'"
"Hongjun said, 'Rules are not set by man, but by Heaven. Heaven wants life to exist; you cannot destroy it.'"
"Rahu said, 'Heaven? What is Heaven? Heaven is also what Pangu transformed into. Pangu is dead, so why should Heaven still exist?'"
"Hongjun said, 'Pangu is dead, but what he left behind remains. The sun and moon are still here, the mountains and rivers are still here, and living beings are still here. These things are Heaven.'"
"Rahu said, 'These things originally belonged to Chaos. Pangu snatched them away. I am merely taking them back.'"
Lu Mingyuan listened with alarm.
Rahu's reasoning actually... made sense?
Xuanweizi looked at him and said slowly:
"Do you feel that Rahu's words also have some truth to them?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"They have logic. But it is twisted logic."
"Twisted logic?"
"Yes. Twisted logic," Xuanweizi said. "He said Pangu snatched things from Chaos. But to whom did the things in Chaos belong? No one owned them. Pangu's creation of the world was not snatching, but creation. He created something new called Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth are not a continuation of Chaos, but a new life."
He paused and added:
"Rahu did not understand this. He thought Heaven and Earth were part of Chaos, and that destroying the world was taking back what was his. But he did not know that once Heaven and Earth are born, they cannot go back. Forcing them back only results in destruction."
Lu Mingyuan was silent for a long time.
The initial separation of Dao and Mo.
So, the divergence between the Dao and the Demonic lies here.
The Dao believes that Heaven and Earth are new life and must be protected.
The Demonic believes that Heaven and Earth are plunder and must be destroyed.
"They discussed for forty-nine days, but reason failed. Thus, they could only fight."
Xuanweizi continued.
"Hongjun and Rahu fought at West Kunlun for nine times nine, eighty-one days. They fought until the heavens collapsed and the earth rent asunder, until the sun and moon lost their light. In the end, Hongjun was victorious."
"Did Rahu die?"
Xuanweizi shook his head.
"No. Rahu was formed from a Remnant of the Demon God and cannot be killed. Hongjun could only Seal him, sealing him deep beneath the earth in the west."
He paused and added:
"But although Rahu was sealed, his Dao was passed down. Those beings he beguiled, those who believed in his philosophy, all became demons. The Demonic Path began from that time."
Lu Mingyuan thought of those Demon Puppets, those demon generals, and the things that surged out from the blood-colored Rift.
"Are they... all Rahu's descendants?"
Xuanweizi nodded.
"Not entirely. But their roots lie with Rahu."
He sighed.
"After Rahu was sealed, Hongjun began preaching at Zixiao Palace, taking Disciples and passing on the Dao. From this, Taoism flourished. But the Demonic Path did not completely die out. They lurk in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity. Every Great Tribulation is an opportunity for them."
Lu Mingyuan's heart jolted.
"Then, An and Rahu..."
"They are related, but they are not the same thing," Xuanweizi said. "Rahu is a demon; he wants to destroy the world. An is a deficiency in the Heavenly Dao; it wants to complete itself. Rahu is an active evil, while An is a passive lack. But they use each other—Rahu needs resentment, and An also needs resentment. Therefore, in every Great Tribulation, there is the shadow of the demon."
The night grew deeper.
The tea had long since gone cold, but no one moved to refill it.
Lu Mingyuan sat on the prayer mat, his heart unable to settle for a long time.
The initial separation of Dao and Mo.
So the Dao and the Demonic have been separate since then.
The Dao seeks to protect, the Demonic seeks to destroy.
What is protected is Heaven and Earth, and what is destroyed is also Heaven and Earth.
But those who protect are not necessarily entirely right, and those who destroy are not necessarily entirely wrong.
The things Rahu said were not all wrong. He had simply gone astray.
"Master," he asked, "can the Dao and the Demonic really be clearly distinguished?"
Xuanweizi looked at him and was silent for a long time.
"That is a good question."
He picked up the cold tea and took a sip.
"The Dao and the Demonic were originally one entity. Like light and shadow, only with light can there be shadow, and only through shadow can one know light. Without the Demonic, there would be no Dao. Without the Dao, there would be no Demonic."
He put down the tea bowl, his gaze deep.
"But being one entity is one thing; choice is another. Do you choose to stand in the light or in the shadow? Do you choose to protect or to destroy? That is the key."
Lu Mingyuan remained silent.
"Rahu chose destruction. He believed Heaven and Earth should not exist and should return to Chaos. He made that choice, and so he must bear the consequences of it."
He paused and added:
"You must also choose."
Lu Mingyuan looked up.
"Choose what?"
Xuanweizi looked at him, his gaze calm.
"Choose which side to stand on."
Moonlight shone in through the window, falling between the two of them.
Lu Mingyuan thought for a long time before saying:
"This Disciple chooses to stand on the side of Heaven and Earth."
Xuanweizi nodded.
"Why?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"Because Heaven and Earth have flowers and grass, people and beasts, sunrises and sunsets, joys and sorrows. Chaos has none of these. There is nothing in Chaos."
He looked out the window; under the moonlight, the shadows of the old cypress tree swayed gently.
"I like these things."
Xuanweizi smiled.
"Liking them is enough."
He stood up and walked to the window.
"If you like them, you will want to protect them. If you want to protect them, you will do so. Whether you can protect them or not is another matter. But as long as you want to protect them, there is still hope."
He turned back and looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Rahu did not understand liking. He only understood hate. Hate for Pangu, hate for Heaven and Earth, hate for all existence. That is why he wanted to destroy."
He walked back to the couch and sat down again.
"Your Dao is called Xuan-shu Path. 'Shu' means the center. Neither biased nor leaning, neither left nor right. But being in the center does not mean having no stance. Your stance is to protect."
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"I understand."
That night, Lu Mingyuan suffered from insomnia again.
He lay in bed, watching the moonlight outside the window.
Rahu.
Demon Ancestor Rahu.
He had only heard this name in legends before. But today, for the first time, he knew that this person truly existed and had nearly destroyed Heaven and Earth.
And the initial separation of Dao and Mo.
So the Dao and the Demonic began to separate from that battle.
He remembered the last thing Xuanweizi had said.
"You must choose."
He had chosen.
He chose to stand on the side of Heaven and Earth.
Not because the Dao was more brilliant than the Demonic, but because he liked this world with its flowers and grass, people and beasts.
Liking it was enough.
But was liking it enough?
He didn't know.
He only knew that since he had chosen, he had to keep going.
Outside the window, the moonlight gradually shifted westward.
He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
In his dream, he saw a giant shadow standing between Heaven and Earth. The shadow had no face or features, but he knew it was Rahu.
Rahu looked at him and asked:
"Do you like this world?"
He nodded in the dream.
Rahu smiled.
The laugh was unpleasant, like the cry of a night owl.
"Then I shall wait. Wait for the day you no longer like it."
He woke with a start from the dream, drenched in cold sweat.
Outside, the sky was just beginning to brighten.
He sat up and looked at the morning light outside the window.
In the morning light, the shadow of the old cypress tree had grown out again.
He suddenly smiled.
"Just wait," he murmured. "That day will never come."