Free Web NovelChapter 502: Chapter 2: The Shocked Lame Daoist, the Hongjun Era
His expression grew complicated. The Path of Great Balance was also the path of a Daoist Ancestor. It seemed Xiaoxuan truly had a chance of achieving the status of a Daoist Ancestor at the Beginning of Ancient Times.
But...
If he became a Daoist Ancestor at the Beginning of Ancient Times, he would be the ancestor of all living beings and the teacher of all... and that included himself.
The thought that there was a minuscule chance he might one day have to respectfully call this little rascal "Teacher" made his teeth ache!
So much so that the Lame Daoist’s gaze on Lu Xuan turned a little dangerous. He was contemplating whether or not to...
’Discipline his disciple before it’s too late?’
Lu Xuan shivered under the stare, took a subtle step back, and coughed.
"Third Master?"
The Lame Daoist retracted his gaze. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to actually beat Xiaoxuan. He sighed with emotion.
"Great Jun... You must remember, you absolutely must remember, do not let anyone else know of this."
Lu Xuan nodded with a sheepish smile, then immediately asked a question.
"But, Third Master, this path is newly born, just created. It’s still very weak and faint. I don’t know how to speed up its integration, how to make it grow strong quickly..."
"By naturally performing similar deeds."
The Lame Daoist smiled.
"Take your first master, for example. His path is that of Existence, Process, and the like. All things exist for a reason, and the progression of all matters is Nature itself. Thus, he upholds Non-action and practices ’All Things Natural’."
Lu Xuan seemed to understand something, yet he was still very confused.
"So I have to make all things equal? How am I supposed to do that?"
Although the Lame Daoist didn’t fully understand "Great Jun," he was an Enlightened One, after all. With his high-level perspective, he quickly came to a conclusion.
He said,
"Your priority right now is to strengthen the Path of Great Balance as quickly as possible. Haven’t there been countless inequalities throughout history? Act upon them. All such actions will be effective. The more profound the impact of your actions, the greater the result."
The Lame Daoist analyzed in detail.
"And for you, the most direct and effective way is... Heaven, Earth, and Man."
Lu Xuan bowed solemnly.
"I ask for Master’s guidance!"
The Lame Daoist smiled faintly.
"Heaven, Earth, and Man is the simplest. Since ancient times, the immortals in Heaven and the gods on Earth have ruled over the Human World. Although you struck down the Four Extremes during the Qin and Han Years, making that rule negligible,"
"Heaven and Earth have still ruled the Human World for countless years. You can have the Human World rule over Heaven and Earth for a period. Bringing the years of the Human Dao dominating Heaven and Earth closer to, or even equal with, the years of Heaven and Earth ruling the Human Dao would be a form of ’Jun.’ And its impact will be profound!"
Lu Xuan had a sudden realization, his eyes shining.
"And then, once those two periods of time are equal, I will make Heaven, Earth, and Man equal to each other, and bring about... the ’Great Jun Era,’ or rather, the ’Hongjun Era’ (Note 1)?"
"Correct."
The Lame Daoist said with approval.
"The closer you can get the years of the Human Dao dominating the Celestial Dao and the earthly dao to the years of Heaven and Earth ruling the Human Dao, the stronger ’Great Jun’ will become. After all, the Great Heaven and Earth is the true foundation of everything."
Lu Xuan now completely understood. He performed a grand bow.
"Master, I understand."
"Good."
The Lame Daoist patted Lu Xuan’s forehead and instructed softly,
"But do not do this in the Current World. The situation in the Current World is very complicated right now. The Demon Ancestor seems to be able to infiltrate it, while the other Dao Fruits can only cast their gazes down occasionally."
"You can choose a period in the past to carry this out. That way, I can stand behind you and be your shield."
Lu Xuan performed another grand bow, his thoughts crystal clear.
"I have already walked through the years of the Spring and Autumn Period, Qin, and Han. Something seems to have happened during the Late Han Dynasty that swept away my old friends... What about the Late Han Dynasty?"
His mind began to race.
"I’m about to step into the Celestial Realms level. After the Celestial Realms, I will go to the Spring and Autumn Period again to perform the ’Transforming the Barbarians into Buddha’ and inherit the position of Shakyamuni. Can these two tasks be done concurrently?"
The Lame Daoist was taken aback, clearly just learning of this. With a single thought, he understood the cause and effect, and offered a pointer.
"In the original history, fifty thousand years after the end of the Han Years, the Buddhist Path flourished."
Lu Xuan smiled.
"The journey to the West? I understand. I can try to establish a Human Dao Divine Dynasty in the Late Han Dynasty to rule over Heaven and Earth. I will be its lord, observing Heaven and inspecting Earth."
"And if I use my True Self Incarnation to inherit the position of Senior Shakyamuni..."
"If you do so, you may be able to achieve Dao Fruit!" the Lame Daoist said with a smile.
The master and disciple spoke for a long while longer before Lu Xuan finally took his leave with great solemnity.
"I have benefited greatly from Master’s teachings!"
He performed a grand bow.
The Lame Daoist smiled faintly, pointed a finger, and transmitted the Xian and Jue Sword Scriptures to Lu Xuan. He then waved his hand.
"Go on, go on..."
"I will keep the Four Immortal Slaying Swords at the Origin. If you need them, you may come and take them yourself."
Lu Xuan bowed once more, and his figure vanished from the Origin.
After he left, the Lame Daoist’s gaze grew profound. He pondered for a long time, conflicted.
’Should I tell Supreme and Primordial?’
’Forget it. This matter is too important. Best not to get jealous...’
He realized his choice of words was a bit off, shook his head, put down the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, and left the Origin, a smile appearing on his face.
"Heh, this is definitely going to give those two a shock!"
... ...
「Current World.」
"Celestial Venerable, that Zhou Xiaotong and Chong Shanhu seem to have fled in that direction."
A member of the Human Race, who looked to be in his forties or fifties, bowed respectfully and pointed toward a giant mountain in the distance.
The Crimson Ridge Celestial Venerable opened his eyes slightly and nodded.
"Is that so? You will accompany me to have a look. If they are truly there, I will record a merit for you."
The middle-aged man was overjoyed and bowed in salute.
"It is all this humble one’s duty, all my duty..."
Meanwhile, on the mountainside of the giant peak, in a collapsed Daoist Temple.
Zhou Xiaotong glanced at the sky. Not daring to linger outside any longer, she hugged some Great Medicine and hurried back to the Daoist Temple.
"Aunt Zhou!"
Seeing Zhou Xiaotong return safely, Lin Yiyi and Chen Lide both stood up, sighing in relief.
"Grind this Great Medicine into a paste and have your Uncle Chong take it."
Zhou Xiaotong took out a medicine pot and pestle from her bundle and wiped the sweat from her forehead. But out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw the withered old man with closed eyes seem to raise his head and open his eyes.
Her expression changed slightly. She warily shielded the young boy and girl behind her, looked at the withered old man, and bowed.
"Night is about to fall, and Ghosts are rampant. We have taken the liberty of seeking shelter here. We hope Senior will forgive our trespass."
Lin Yiyi and Chen Lide’s expressions also grew solemn as they cautiously watched the withered old man.
The old man was unshaven and scruffy. He glanced around in confusion, his gaze landing on the unconscious Chong Shanhu, and he flinched slightly.
Immediately after, he looked at Zhou Xiaotong, studying her for a moment before asking,
"Young one, are you... Zhou Xiaotong? That’s your name, isn’t it?"
Zhou Xiaotong was utterly shocked.
(Note 1: Hongjun (鸿钧) is a near-homophone for Great Jun (大均). In Chinese lore, the "Hongjun Era" is an idiom for a utopian age of great unity, peace, and tranquility, originating from "The Four Sons’ Discourse on Virtue" by Wang Bao of the Han Dynasty.)
