Chapter 1355: Pilgrimage to the Great Dark Mountain (Fourth Update)
Celestial Lord, Earth Lord, and Qin Mu looked around them—each saw different sights and heard different Dao sounds.
What Celestial Lord saw was a deeper layer of the Heavenly Dao, a higher realm he himself had never comprehended. What he heard was the voice of the Heavenly Dao, deeper than what he, the Celestial Lord born of the Heavenly Dao, had ever understood.
What Earth Lord saw was the Great Dao of the Netherworld, just as astonishing as what Celestial Lord beheld. The sounds he heard were equally moving, giving one an irrepressible urge to sing upon hearing them.
What Qin Mu saw and heard was different from both of them. What he saw and heard was a formless chaos, blurry and indistinct, incomprehensible—yet he felt it was profoundly mysterious and difficult to unravel.
The three each had their own feelings. Celestial Lord and Earth Lord rarely grew excited, but at this moment they were extraordinarily stirred, their ancient and unchanging Dao hearts barely able to contain themselves.
Qin Mu, however, had long grown accustomed to Taiyi, so he was not excited.
As they continued walking upward, they finally arrived before the portal of this great hall.
They looked into the hall and saw radiant light swirling like jellyfish tentacles drifting, like clouds slowly unfurling—an indescribable sacredness.
The great hall no longer seemed like a hall at all, but rather like the birthplace of all Daos. Even Qin Mu walking into it felt as though he were entering for the first time.
This hall was built by him—it was his palace. Although Qin Mu had not visited many times, he knew the hall was by no means what it looked like now.
"It's not about the mountain being high or the water being deep—with Taiyi, a true holy one, residing in my palace, it has become extraordinary and transcendent." He thought to himself.
The value was not in the hall, but in the person within the hall.
Celestial Lord and Earth Lord were even more astonished. Qin Mu's cultivation realm was still low, so what he saw was not as deep or as far as what they saw. What they witnessed was far more shocking!
In Qin Mu's eyes, the old man Taiyi surrounded by ten thousand Daos looked like a withered tree harboring a trace of vitality within. But in the eyes of Celestial Lord and Earth Lord, this was no small matter.
They seemed to see the origin of the universe, the genesis of the Great Dao—a being seated at the pinnacle of Dao, eternally imprinted across the past, present, and future of this cosmos!
Celestial Lord and Earth Lord stepped forward, bowed in greeting, and said with utmost respect: "Dao brother."
"Two fellow Daoists need not stand on ceremony."
The old man Taiyi nodded slightly and said: "I already know the purpose of your visit."
Even the calm, well-like minds of Celestial Lord and Earth Lord could not help but ripple. Earth Lord said: "Back then, the Dao told us to expel the Creators from the Ancestral Court—was that you, Dao brother?"
Taiyi nodded.
Celestial Lord and Earth Lord exchanged a glance. Celestial Lord said: "Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. Why did Dao brother wish to eliminate the Creators?"
"It was not my intention to eliminate the Creators, but rather to ask you to expel them."
Taiyi said: "My wish was good, but in the process of expelling the Creators, you each gave birth to your own ambitions and desires, ultimately seeking to annihilate the Creators entirely. And that was not what I wished to see."
Celestial Lord and Earth Lord each fell silent.
Selfish motives.
Indeed, in the process of eradicating the Creators, they had given birth to all kinds of selfish motives—some became ambition, some became a craving for power, some evolved into desires for external things.
And so, the Ancient Gods began to enslave the Demigods and the Acquired races. And so, the Ancient Gods began to feed on Demigods and Acquired beings, enjoying their sacrifices.
And so, the Ancient Gods ruled over all the heavens and myriad worlds, standing high above, having lost their original intentions.
Some of these Ancient Gods were originally created by the Creators to serve them. Some were born of heaven and earth, nurturing countless primordial beasts and maintaining order. Some were born of the Great Dao of heaven and earth, governing birth, aging, sickness, death, the movement of the stars, and the creation and destruction of all things.
And some were born carrying the will of heaven and earth, descending from eggs, tasked with guarding the world.
Yet, in the course of eliminating the Creators, all their initial wishes gradually changed as their power grew.
After they eliminated the Creators, they became another batch of Creators—even more brutal Creators.
Celestial Lord and Earth Lord were silent for a moment. Celestial Lord bowed and said: "Dao brother, will I succeed?"
Taiyi said: "What is your wish?"
Celestial Lord said: "To break free from the shackles of the Heavenly Dao."
Taiyi nodded and said: "You will succeed."
A look of joy appeared on Celestial Lord's face.
Earth Lord also bowed and said: "Dao brother, will I succeed?"
Taiyi said: "And what is your wish?"
Earth Lord said: "To break free from the shackles of the Great Dao of the Netherworld and become a living, breathing human being."
Celestial Lord frowned, looking at him with some confusion.
Taiyi said: "You will succeed."
Earth Lord showed a delighted expression.
Qin Mu was eager to try, raising his hand and saying: "Taiyi Dao brother, will I succeed?"
Taiyi did not answer.
Qin Mu said excitedly: "My wish is to promote the way of the sages—gods serving humanity, limiting the power of gods! To let gods and humans coexist in harmony, to let the path of the Acquired develop and surpass the Primordial, to make people prosperous, to have their talents put to use, to have their studies bear fruit! To let corrupt beings like the Ten Heavenly Lords be eliminated, to let fresh blood and new talents continually emerge! Will I succeed?"
Taiyi still did not answer.
Qin Mu frowned and was about to ask again, but Taiyi had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.
Qin Mu's eyes widened as Taiyi's snoring gradually rose. Qin Mu said in a clear voice: "Dao brother, why won't you speak? Dao brother, you live in my Great Dark Mountain—not only do you not pay rent, but when I ask you a question, you won't even answer..."
Celestial Lord and Earth Lord bowed to Taiyi, then flanked Qin Mu on either side and carried him out. Celestial Lord said reproachfully: "Mu Heavenly Lord, how can you speak to Taiyi Dao brother in such a tone? He is one who has attained the Dao, one who has transcended—you must not be disrespectful!"
Earth Lord also said: "He may not quibble with you, but you cannot be presumptuous. If word of this spreads, the world will curse you, and I will have to record another mark against you in my little ledger!"
The two, without giving him a chance to argue, carried Qin Mu out of that holy hall. Qin Mu's hands and feet were cold as he still called out toward the hall: "Taiyi Dao brother, will my wish succeed? Whether it will or not is merely a nod or a shake of your head—why won't you say?"
That great hall suddenly lost all its radiant light and Dao glow—Taiyi had already left.
Qin Mu felt a sense of loss.
Celestial Lord laughed and said: "Mu Heavenly Lord, Taiyi Dao brother lives right here with you. In the future, you will have plenty of opportunities to ask him—why rush? Earth Lord Dao friend, what is the matter with you? I can understand your wish to break free from the shackles of the Great Dao of the Netherworld, but why would you want to turn yourself into a living, breathing human being? Humans have seven emotions and six desires, joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, birth, aging, sickness, death, and pain. We Ancient Gods seek to break free from the shackles of the Dao—what we pursue is transcendence, not binding ourselves with human emotions! Your path has gone astray!"
Earth Lord set Qin Mu down, and a smile appeared on his ugly face: "Dao brother, you sit high above, and when you look upon the beings of the world, you look down upon them. I am in the Netherworld, and when I look upon beings, I look up at them. You look forward to transcending the Heavenly Dao; I look forward to becoming one of the masses."
Celestial Lord frowned.
Earth Lord said: "Mu Heavenly Lord gave us the opportunity to meet Taiyi and ask him about the Dao. Now that we have asked, it is time to give Mu Heavenly Lord what he is due. Mu Heavenly Lord, the Horn of Origin—I have already prepared it for you."
Seeing that he could not persuade him, Celestial Lord had no choice but to set the matter aside for now, saying: "Mu Heavenly Lord, you want to forge the mightiest divine pupil in the world. I have also prepared the Heavenly Dao crystal from my divine eye for you, which can serve as the anterior chamber of your divine eye! Are you ready?"
Qin Mu still stared blankly at that great hall. After a long moment, he finally withdrew his gaze and said woodenly: "I am ready."