Free Web NovelChapter 514: Chapter 10: The Great Secret of Transcendence, The Truth of the Demon Ancestor, I Am Your Father
In the depths of his consciousness.
Lu Xuan’s True Spirit revealed its true form: three heads, six faces, nine arms, and eighteen pupils.
It was clad in a Supreme Daoist Robe, with the Primordial Dharma Aspect above its heads and the Six Paths Plate upon its back. Beside it, an infinite sea of blood churned.
Each of its nine arms grasped a different artifact: the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword, the Heaven-Reaching Fishing Drum, the Jade Void Glazed Lamp, the Spirit Coffin Lamp, the Ancient Tree Branch, the Heaven-Flipping Seal, Biyou Palace, the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, and a great banner that radiated the transformative power of opening the heavens and the might to sunder the earth.
Furthermore, a faint, ultimate Dao—ethereal and illusory, yet equalizing all things—flickered within its eyes, constantly shifting between the infinite Great Daos of Genesis, Process, End, Reincarnation, Time, and more.
He was on full alert. All three hundred sixty-five of his Innate Realms had manifested as he stared vigilantly at the brilliant Sea of Transcendence before him.
The Sea of Transcendence surged forward, and a single wave struck Lu Xuan, making him stagger. The great artifacts in his nine hands began to glow.
The Profound Yellow Pagoda, the Heaven-Opening Banner, and Biyou Palace in particular emanated a supreme Dao Rhyme, yet they teetered on the verge of collapse under the assault of the Sea of Transcendence.
Like a drowning man, Lu Xuan was submerged by the Sea of Transcendence. He tried to cry out, but the sea flooded into the mouths and noses of all six of his faces, causing him to choke violently.
"This is..."
’My thoughts are being drowned out, becoming muddled. I feel like I’m sinking, yet at the same time, I have the illusion of being above it all!’
"I took a wrong step."
Lu Xuan heard a soft sigh and was jolted awake. Streams of Profound Yellow Qi cascaded from the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda like a waterfall, enveloping him.
The Heaven-Opening Banner trembled of its own accord, unleashing a brilliant light that tore through and cleaved open everything, briefly holding back the Sea of Transcendence.
Lu Xuan leaped out with all his might. Biyou Palace began to shine, landing on the sea’s surface and transforming into a great ship that supported his body.
Gasping for breath, Lu Xuan looked up. Patches of dazzling light within the Sea of Transcendence coalesced into a familiar figure.
’Lady Wa.’
’No, Wa Huang.’
’That’s not right either.’
Lu Xuan stared at the figure pieced together from brilliant patches of light and asked weakly,
"You are..."
"As you can see."
The voice sounded like ten thousand people speaking in Lu Xuan’s ear at once. The overlapping, thunderous sound made him dizzy, and he staggered, nearly falling off Biyou Palace and back into the Sea of Transcendence.
The majestic figure lowered its head, looking down upon the true form of Lu Xuan’s True Spirit, and spoke with unrippled calm,
"I took a wrong step."
"I... don’t understand what you mean."
The figure sat cross-legged upon the sea of light, its tone a mixture of a sigh, a lament, and regret.
"I believed that Transcendence was to abandon everything, for the self to become ’empty.’ In a state of absolute ’emptiness’ and ’nothingness,’ one makes the final leap to transcend all."
"Therefore, when I completed the Celestial Realm, I sealed the Dao Rhyme of my transformation into Celestial Intent within a stone.
"I abandoned my physical body, which symbolized Essence; my cultivation, which symbolized Qi; and even my Self, which symbolized Spirit. I severed my Essence, Qi, and Spirit."
"I bestowed the merit from my creation of the Human Race upon the first Human Emperor, gifted the virtue of blessing all creation to Houtu, and gave my own Cause and Effect to Haotian."
"I succeeded in returning to my true origin, reducing myself to emptiness. But I also failed, for this step was a mistake."
As the majestic figure spoke, Lu Xuan’s heart pounded violently. ’This is... Wa Huang?’
’To be precise, a Wa Huang who failed at Transcendence?’
In that moment, a thousand thoughts raced through Lu Xuan’s mind.
’She abandoned her Essence, and her physical body fell, becoming Lady Wa. Then what about her Qi and Spirit?’
’Qi manifests as cultivation... cultivation...’
Lu Xuan thought of the Demon Ancestor. She was not a Dao Fruit wielder, yet her cultivation was so immense she could contend with the three masters.
’And her Spirit?’
’Is it this figure before me, condensed from patches of light?’
His mind spun with a thousand turns. After a moment of thought, Lu Xuan asked softly,
"So, you are Wa Huang? A Wa Huang who failed at Transcendence? Or rather... the abandoned Spirit?"
"They are all me. My failed self is stuck between transcended and not transcended. My true Self is using this abandoned Spirit to speak with you."
The majestic figure spoke plainly,
"I schemed for countless years. I brought forth the creation of the Human Race, controlled the Demon Ancestor, mended the firmament, completed the Celestial Realm, had Houtu bear the burden of Reincarnation, and enabled Taiyi and Haotian to command the Celestial Court.
"I saw to it that the heavens have a Celestial Court, the world has humans and demons, the Nine Nether has Reincarnation, and each realm has its rightful master..."
It sighed.
"A pity, a pity... In the end, it all fell short at the final step."
Lu Xuan remained doubtful. As he felt his own True Spirit changing bit by bit under the glow of Transcendence, he continued to ask,
"But Lady Wa already possesses incomplete Transcendent Traits. Her physical body is unparalleled, and her gaze approaches Omniscience.
"If the Demon Ancestor is the manifestation of your Qi, then she too possesses incomplete Transcendent Traits. Without a Dao Fruit Body, she can contend with Dao Fruit wielders who stand above the Great Heaven and Earth. Is that... not a success?"
The majestic figure lowered its cold, placid eyes.
"That is why I said I merely took one wrong step. I succeeded, and yet I failed."
"How so?" Lu Xuan pressed.
The majestic figure sat cross-legged upon the Sea of Transcendence, surrounded by all Daos, all principles, all Dharmas, and all wonders.
It had no smile, no expression, no emotion.
It was simply pure and tranquil as it slowly began to speak.
"I succeeded. And then I took a wrong step: I abandoned everything."
The majestic figure stated in its cold, flat tone,
"Fu Xi, the first emperor of the Human Race, received my merit and possesses partial Transcendent Traits.
"Houtu received my virtue and possesses partial Transcendent Traits.
"Haotian received my Cause and Effect and possesses partial Transcendent Traits.
"The Goddess received my Essence, and her physical body exists in a semi-transcendent state.
"The Demon Ancestor received my Qi, and her cultivation exists in a semi-transcendent state.
"Sun Wukong received my Celestial Intent Dao Rhyme and also harbors hidden Transcendent Traits, though they have not yet manifested.
"And you... you also received a gift from me, passed from the Goddess to your body, becoming the other half of the Innate Uncertain Number."
