Chapter 927: Gazing into the Abyss
The Dao is a toad.
This single sentence can summarize the Ancestral Master's heart in seeking the Dao.
In the past, the Ancestral Master sought the Dao without regard for worldly matters, unable even to manage his own food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, relying on the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha to provide for him. When Qin Mu returned to the early Longhan era and met the two of them, it was the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha who had gone begging for alms, obtaining spirit pills to sustain them both.
At that time, the Ancestral Master was utterly devoted to the Dao, paying no attention to right or wrong in other matters.
The Dao is a toad—he treated the ancient gods as the Dao, as toads, using numerology to decipher them. Over the vast span of a million years, he pushed classical numerology to its peak, using it to unravel the great Dao of each ancient god, transforming their Dao into runes and helping the Ten Heavenly Venerables construct the Heavenly Court realm.
He no longer needed the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha to beg for alms on his behalf.
Yet when Qin Mu spoke of seeking the Dao from the ancient gods, he meant that the Ancestral Master sought the Dao from the ancient gods themselves. The ancient gods are incarnations of the Dao. He sought the Dao from them, but the Dao of the ancient gods had always been there—whether or not he sought it, the Dao existed. He had created nothing himself.
Qin Mu also spoke of seeking the Dao from humanity, meaning that humans possess creativity. Before humanity, there was no sword Dao—humans created it. There was no path of calligraphy and painting—humans created it. There was no Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury—humans created it. There were no cultivation techniques—humans created them.
The cultivation system, whether Divine Treasury or Heavenly Palace, was all created by humans. It does not reside in the ancient gods, nor does it reside in toads.
The Ancestral Master had spent these years studying the ancient gods, utterly absorbed in scholarship, yet unable to step beyond his own scholarship, and thus his achievements fell short of the Ten Heavenly Venerables.
However, he must have realized his own limitations, which is why he told those two toads to serve as his face and prestige.
It is not that the longer one lives, the wiser and more intelligent one becomes. Intelligence and wit are born with five parts, and five parts are cultivated later—and that cultivation depends on one's environment.
Qin Mu came from Yankang, experienced the Yankang Reformation, and was himself the leader of that reformation. He witnessed the transformation from reform to the transformation of the Dao itself, the course by which the great Dao of heaven and earth was changed.
His vision and experience may not surpass the Ancestral Master's, but in certain aspects, his insights stand above him.
"I heard that Lady Yunxiao went to the Jade Pool and met with Heavenly Venerable Mu. So you must have come for Heavenly Venerable Yun's box."
The Ancestral Master took out a wooden box and said, "This old Daoist has guarded this box for several hundred thousand years. Now I can finally set down this burden on my heart."
Qin Mu accepted the box and asked, "Does the Ancestral Master not know what is inside the box?"
The Ancestral Master shook his head. "It is something Heavenly Venerable Yun left for Heavenly Venerable Mu. How could this old Daoist presume to open it? Heavenly Venerable Yun left two boxes—one for Heavenly Venerable Mu, and one for Heavenly Venerable Qin. The other box I have already delivered to Heavenly Venerable Qin."
"Heavenly Venerable Yun also left a box for Emperor Kaihuang? Lady Yunxiao never mentioned this to me."
Qin Mu was surprised and asked, "What was in Heavenly Venerable Qin's box?"
The Ancestral Master smiled. "When Heavenly Venerable Qin opened it, this old Daoist was right beside him. It was a geographical map—a place called the Great Void. I did not examine it closely."
"The Great Void?"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. "I just visited Heavenly Venerable Fire and Heavenly Venerable Void. I heard there is unusual activity in the Great Void—they took their disciples to roam it. What kind of place is the Great Void?"
The Ancestral Master shook his head. "I do not know. Only the Ten Heavenly Venerables know what the Great Void truly is. I have only heard that such a place exists—I do not know what is there, nor where it is. However, after Heavenly Venerable Qin obtained the map of the Great Void, the Kaihuang Calamity erupted, and he went to the Land of No Worries. There are rumors that the Land of No Worries lies within the Great Void. The reason the Ten Heavenly Venerables of the Heavenly Court care so much about the Great Void is most likely that they wish to find Heavenly Venerable Qin's whereabouts."
Qin Mu pondered for a moment. The Great Void, the Land of No Worries, the world created by the Creator race's visualization—was there a connection between these three?
On the reliefs in the Blood Rust Belt, he had seen prehistoric Creators gathering their incomparably powerful divine consciousness to create another world in the void, seeking to distance themselves from this chaotic world and escape the slaughter of the ancient gods.
Could the world created by the Creators be the Great Void?
Is the Land of No Worries within the Great Void?
And both Qin Hanzhen and Consort Zhen had said that the Land of No Worries holds dangers—what does that mean?
He could not figure it out no matter how he thought.
Qin Mu opened Heavenly Venerable Yun's box and was startled. Inside the box was a small altar.
The altar was tiny—only about one cun and three fen in length, and only about two fingers in height. Placed in the box, it looked quite miniature.
Qin Mu reached in to take out the small altar, but as his hand entered the box, he saw his hand growing smaller and smaller, never reaching the bottom.
"The internal space of this box is very large, and the altar is not as small as it appears."
Qin Mu examined the box and the altar carefully, then suddenly noticed that there was something on the altar—something incredibly tiny.
He channeled his magical power, and his primordial energy manifested a hand that reached into the space inside the box, retrieving the object on the altar.
Qin Mu withdrew his primordial energy, and in his hand appeared a square seal, slightly larger than a palm, with five fingers able to grip it.
"This seal is..."
He was puzzled. The seal was not large, semi-transparent, made of some unknown material. Through the seal, he could faintly see the lines of his palm.
But since it was a seal, there should be text beneath it—yet this seal was completely blank, with only a complex mountain-shaped carving on its top.
He played with it for a moment, then handed the seal to the Ancestral Master. "Ancestral Master, can you see what secret this seal holds?"
The Ancestral Master examined it closely. Suddenly, a third eye grew from his brow, radiating boundless starlight—the Heavenly Eye divine ability.
After a moment, the Heavenly Eye on his forehead closed, and another eye grew in its place, blazing with the ghostly fire of the Netherworld—the Eye of the Earth Count.
He then dispersed the Eye of the Earth Count and manifested various divine eye abilities of the ancient gods, yet he could never find the mystery of this seal.
"I cannot see the mystery of this seal."
The Ancestral Master shook his head and returned it to him. "Since Heavenly Venerable Yun was so solemn about it, insisting on delivering this seal to you, there must be deeper meaning."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He opened the vertical eye on his brow and examined it closely. At that moment, Shujun's voice came to his mind: "This is the Imperial Seal of the Great Emperor Juyushi! It is a treasure condensed from the divine consciousness of the Great Emperor Juyushi!"
Qin Mu looked through his third eye and immediately noticed the abnormality of the Imperial Seal.
This Imperial Seal was a substance condensed from incomparably powerful divine consciousness. In the sight of his third eye, the Imperial Seal transformed into a towering emperor standing in the center of his palm!
When Qin Mu's gaze fell upon this emperor, he immediately felt his divine consciousness being assaulted!
In an instant, his divine consciousness was forced back into his body, forced back into his brow, squeezed almost to the point of collapse!
Qin Mu hastily closed the eye on his brow. Shujun's voice continued: "How could a treasure of the Great Emperor Juyushi end up here? This Imperial Seal symbolizes Juyushi's authority. In those days, the Great Emperor's envoys carried the Imperial Seal to all corners of the universe—any race that refused to submit was annihilated by it! When the Imperial Seal was deployed, corpses lay for ten thousand li, and none dared disobey! But the Great Emperor Juyushi should have died in the siege of the ancient gods—why does his Imperial Seal still appear?"
Qin Mu's divine consciousness was struck so hard his head ached as if it would split. Only after a moment did he feel his divine consciousness recover somewhat. He said, "Shujun, how can I unleash the power of the Imperial Seal?"
Shujun chuckled. "Give me all your life force and divine consciousness for the next three years, and I will teach you how to activate the Imperial Seal's might. The Imperial Seal is extremely powerful—in ancient times, it slew countless Creators. Even a clan leader, even an ancient god collectively constructed by hundreds of millions of clansmen, could not withstand the power of this treasure! As long as you give me your life force and divine consciousness for the next three years, I can let you master this power!"
"Forget it."
Qin Mu ignored him, tossing the Imperial Seal in his hand, and muttered to himself: "What deep meaning did Heavenly Venerable Yun have in leaving this Imperial Seal? The box left for Emperor Kaihuang contained a map of the Great Void, and the box left for me contains the Imperial Seal. These two items must have some connection..."
The Ancestral Master said in surprise, "Heavenly Venerable Mu knows the name of this seal?"
Qin Mu put away the Imperial Seal and smiled. "I know a little. This Imperial Seal was condensed from the divine consciousness of the prehistoric Great Emperor Juyushi. Its power is immense, but I do not know how to activate it. The Ancestral Master must have had a good relationship with Heavenly Venerable Yun, correct?"
The Ancestral Master nodded. "After this old Daoist achieved some success and began to stand out among humanity, Heavenly Venerable Yun sought me out and asked about my mastery of numerology. He spoke with me at length and told me that with my path of numerology, I could decipher the great Dao of the ancient gods and overthrow their rule."
He recounted the story, telling how Heavenly Venerable Yun had found him.
At that time, Heavenly Venerable Yun was already the Heavenly Emperor of the Xiaohan Heavenly Court, nominally subordinate to the Longhan Heavenly Court, ruling over all postnatal beings in the mortal world on behalf of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor.
The Longxiao Heavenly Court was ruled by Heavenly Venerable Hao, who was its Heavenly Emperor, governing all demigod races under heaven.
The two Heavenly Courts fought ceaselessly. The battles between demigods and postnatal beings never stopped, and the racial wars continued for several hundred thousand years throughout the Longhan era, with countless deaths.
However, nominally, both Heavenly Courts were branches of the Longhan Heavenly Court. The ancient gods still ruled the entire world, and the wars between demigods and postnatal beings made the ancient gods' rule extremely stable. Both the Xiaohan and Longxiao Heavenly Courts still offered sacrifices and tributes to the ancient gods.
If they failed to offer sacrifices and tributes, the ancient gods of the Longhan Heavenly Court would descend, aiding the other side in the war and punishing the forces that defied the Longhan Heavenly Court. Truly, rivers of blood flowed and mountains of bones piled up.
It was under these circumstances that Heavenly Venerable Yun found the Ancestral Master, who had already gained some fame, and invited him to join the Heavenly Alliance.
At that time, the Ancestral Master was attempting to use numerology to analyze the various great Daos of the world. He was proficient in many divine abilities, but his combat power was not high—he simply knew many techniques.
In that era of suffering, geniuses were like brilliant stars, and those with great combat power were not few. The Ancestral Master and the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha were not particularly conspicuous among them.
When Heavenly Venerable Yun told the Ancestral Master that his numerology could decipher the great Dao of the ancient gods, thereby completely overthrowing their rule and ending the suffering of the world, the Ancestral Master was startled and could hardly believe his words.
At that time, the Ancestral Master had already parted ways with the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha, each living their own life, each with their own disciples and followers.
Yet Heavenly Venerable Yun made him believe that this could be achieved—that mortals could also fathom the source of the ancient gods' power, and even obtain that source.
So the Ancestral Master began to implement Heavenly Venerable Yun's plan, continuously deciphering the great Dao of the ancient gods. He did this for five or six hundred thousand years.
To this day, he has essentially mapped out the great Dao of the ancient gods.
"But I have also noticed the changes in the world. The ancient gods of today are no longer the threat to heaven and earth."
The Ancestral Master stared blankly into the distance, then suddenly said, "Instead, it is the Heavenly Alliance that has replaced the ancient gods as the threat to the world. I am merely a researcher, unconcerned with worldly affairs. I never anticipated this situation, and I do not know what to do. That is why, when I learned last time at Qingyun Heaven that Heavenly Venerable Mu was visiting, I risked sending you to the Guardian Pavilion, hoping to pass on the great Dao of the ancient gods to you and bring about some change."
Qin Mu expressed his thanks and asked, "Why did the Ancestral Master pass on the great Dao of the ancient gods from the Guardian Pavilion to the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor?"
The Ancestral Master hesitated for a moment, then said, "That was also Heavenly Venerable Yun's idea."
Qin Mu was taken aback.
"In his final days, Heavenly Venerable Yun seemed to know that his time was short. He told me that the Heavenly Alliance had spiraled out of control and needed an enemy. He sensed that one member of the Heavenly Alliance might be the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, and asked me to stay close to him."
The Ancestral Master said, "He could not solve the Heavenly Alliance himself, so he could only do this—to split the Heavenly Alliance, lest it become a behemoth. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Alliance still became what he feared it would be."
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