Chapter 1355: Pilgrimage to the Great Black Mountain (Fourth Update)
The Heavenly Lord, Earth Lord, and Qin Mu looked around them. The sights they each saw and the Dao sounds they each heard were different.
What the Heavenly Lord saw was a deeper level of Heavenly Dao, a higher realm he had never comprehended before. What he heard was the voice of the Heavenly Dao itself, a depth of understanding surpassing even his own, the Heavenly Lord born from that very Dao.
What the Earth Lord saw was the Great Dao of the Netherworld, as astonishing as what the Heavenly Lord witnessed. The sounds he heard were equally beautiful, stirring an irrepressible urge to sing along in enlightenment.
What Qin Mu saw and heard was different again. He perceived a blurry chaos, indistinct and incomprehensible, yet he felt it was profoundly mysterious and unfathomable.
Each of the three had their own unique experience. The Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord rarely grew excited, but now they were exceptionally stirred, their ancient, unmoving Dao hearts barely able to contain themselves. Qin Mu, however, was long accustomed to Taiyi, so he felt no such excitement.
As they continued upward, they finally arrived before the portal of this great hall.
They looked inside the hall. Radiant mists swirled, drifting like the tentacles of a jellyfish, unfurling slowly like clouds—indescribably sacred.
The hall no longer seemed like a hall at all. It resembled the birthplace of all Great Daos. Even Qin Mu, walking inside, felt as if he were entering for the first time.
This hall was built by him; it was his palace. Although Qin Mu had not visited it many times, he knew it was never like this before.
“The mountain’s value lies not in its height, nor the water in its depth. With Taiyi, this true sacred being, dwelling in my palace, it has become extraordinary and transcendent,” he thought to himself.
The worth was not in the hall, but in the person within it.
The Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord were even more astonished. Qin Mu’s cultivation and realm were still low; what he saw was not as deep or far-reaching as what they perceived. The sights they witnessed were far more shocking!
In Qin Mu’s eyes, the old man Taiyi, surrounded by myriad Daos, looked like a withered tree harboring a trace of vitality. But in the eyes of the Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord, it 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 the Dao, eternally imprinted across the past, present, and future of this cosmos!
The Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord stepped forward, bowed in greeting, and said with utmost respect, “Elder brother.”
“No need for such formalities, fellow Daoists.”
The old man Taiyi nodded slightly and said, “I am already aware of the purpose of your visit.”
Even the Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord’s calm, well-like minds could not help but ripple. The Earth Lord asked, “Was it you, elder brother, who told the Great Dao back then to have the Creators expelled from the Ancestral Court?”
Taiyi nodded.
The Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord exchanged a glance. The Heavenly Lord said, “Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. Why did you, elder brother, wish to eliminate the Creators?”
“It was not my intention to eliminate the Creators, but to ask you to expel them from the Ancestral Court.”
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 exterminate them entirely. This was not what I wanted to see.”
The Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord fell silent.
Selfishness.
Indeed, in the process of eradicating the Creators, they had all developed various selfish motives. Some turned into ambition, some into a craving for power, and some evolved into desires for external things.
Thus, the Ancient Gods began to enslave the Demigods and later-born races. Thus, the Ancient Gods began to feed on Demigods and later-born beings, enjoying their sacrifices.
Thus, the Ancient Gods ruled over the myriad heavens and realms, standing high above, losing their original hearts.
Among them, some Ancient Gods were originally created by the Creators to serve them; some were born from heaven and earth, nurturing countless primordial giant beasts and maintaining order; others were born from the Great Dao of heaven and earth, governing life, death, sickness, old age, the movement of stars, and the cycles of creation and destruction.
There were also those born from the will of heaven and earth, emerging from eggs to protect the world.
Yet, in the process of eliminating the Creators, all their initial wishes gradually changed as their power increased.
After they removed the Creators, they became another batch of Creators—even more brutal ones.
The Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord were silent for a moment. Then the Heavenly Lord bowed and said, “Elder brother, will I succeed?”
Taiyi asked, “What is your wish?”
The Heavenly Lord replied, “To break free from the shackles of the Heavenly Dao.”
Taiyi nodded and said, “You will succeed.”
A look of joy appeared on the Heavenly Lord’s face.
The Earth Lord also bowed and asked, “Elder brother, will I succeed?”
Taiyi asked, “And what is your wish?”
The Earth Lord said, “To break free from the shackles of the Netherworld Great Dao and become a living, breathing human.”
The Heavenly Lord frowned, looking at him with some confusion.
Taiyi said, “You will succeed.”
The Earth Lord showed a delighted expression.
Qin Mu was eager to try. He raised his hand and said, “Elder brother Taiyi, will I succeed?”
Taiyi did not answer.
Qin Mu said excitedly, “My wish is to promote the Way of the Sage, to make the gods serve humanity, to limit the power of the gods! To bring harmony between gods and humans, to let the path of later-born beings develop and surpass the primordial, to make people prosperous, to put their talents to use, and to achieve success in learning! To eliminate the decayed like the Ten Celestial Venerables, and to allow new blood and fresh talents to emerge! Can I succeed?”
Taiyi still did not answer.
Qin Mu frowned and was about to ask again when Taiyi had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.
Qin Mu’s eyes widened. Taiyi’s snoring gradually began. Qin Mu said loudly, “Elder brother, why won’t you speak? Elder brother, you live in my Great Black Mountain, you don’t pay rent, and when I ask you a question, you don’t answer…”
The Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord bowed to Taiyi, then flanked Qin Mu and carried him out. The Heavenly Lord complained, “Mu Celestial Venerable, how can you speak to Elder Brother Taiyi in such a tone? He is one who has attained the Dao, one who has transcended—you must not be disrespectful!”
The Earth Lord also said, “He does not hold it against you, but you cannot be so reckless. If word gets out, the world will curse you, and I will have to write another entry in my little book!”
Without further ado, the two carried Qin Mu out of that sacred hall. Qin Mu’s hands and feet were cold, but he still called out toward the hall, “Elder Brother Taiyi, can my wish succeed? Whether it can or not is just a nod or a shake of your head—why won’t you say?”
That great hall suddenly lost all its radiant mists and Dao light. Taiyi had already left.
Qin Mu felt a profound sense of loss.
The Heavenly Lord laughed and said, “Mu Celestial Venerable, Elder Brother Taiyi lives right here with you. You will have plenty of opportunities to ask him in the future—why rush? Earth Lord, what is wrong with you? I can understand wanting to break free from the shackles of the Netherworld Great Dao, but why turn yourself into a living human? Humans have the seven emotions and six desires, joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, birth, aging, sickness, and pain. We Ancient Gods seek to break free from the shackles of the Great Dao, aiming for transcendence, not to bind ourselves with human emotions! Your path has gone astray!”
The Earth Lord set Qin Mu down. A smile appeared on his ugly face. “Elder brother, you dwell on high, looking down at the beings of the world from above. I dwell in the Netherworld, looking up at beings from below. You look forward to transcending the Heavenly Dao; I look forward to becoming one of the beings.”
The Heavenly Lord frowned.
The Earth Lord continued, “Mu Celestial Venerable has given us the opportunity to meet Taiyi and seek the Dao from him. Now that we have asked our questions, it is time to give Mu Celestial Venerable what he is due. Mu Celestial Venerable, I have prepared the Source Horn for you.”
Seeing that he could not persuade him, the Heavenly Lord set the matter aside for now and said, “Mu Celestial Venerable, you want to forge the strongest divine eye in the world. I have also prepared the Heavenly Dao crystal from my divine eye, which can serve as the anterior chamber of your divine eye! Are you ready?”
Qin Mu was still staring fixedly at that great hall. After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze and said woodenly, “I am ready.”