Free Web NovelChapter 521: Chapter 14: Great Success of the Primordial Body, Attaining the Celestial Intent Dao Rhyme, One Close to Daluo
The Current World, Southern Continent, Demon Country.
In the heartland of the Demon Country, two Divine Mountains stood side by side. On one, a grand palace was built where Demon officials came and went. Immortals and giants moved about unceasingly.
Occasionally, one could even spot Great Powers of the third and fourth levels of the Celestial Realms. In a sense, it was the Demon Country’s [Imperial City].
Or, more accurately, its [Imperial Palace].
As for the other Divine Mountain, it shot straight up, with no winding mountain paths, no plants, no beasts, and not even many rugged rocks.
It was less a mountain and more a [Pillar].
This mountain was named the Buzhou Pillar.
At the mountain’s peak.
"Merciful Buddha!"
The half-dead Buddha rolled his eyes and pleaded patiently,
"Oh, Emperor, we are old acquaintances, after all. There’s truly no point in suppressing me here. Neither the Goddess nor Haotian will risk coming for me..."
Gouchen looked up indifferently.
"Lamp, do you think I wish to be shackled here with you? This world cannot yet contain a Daluo. By forcing my way in, I was not lightly injured, and what’s more, I’m now trapped on this Buzhou Pillar, which is a world unto itself..."
Shaking his head, he slowly walked over to Lamp and, in a humiliating gesture, rapped on Lamp’s bald head.
"See? You are of some use. For example, that little girl I can’t quite see through—didn’t she come to save you?"
Gouchen rapped three times, hard enough to make Lamp’s head bleed and bury it in the ground, forcing him into a kowtowing posture.
He raised his head, his voice cold.
"Gouchen, don’t play with fire and burn yourself. Xiaonian is not someone you can scheme against."
"Play with fire and burn myself?"
Gouchen laughed aloud. He lifted his foot and stomped down, a single step unleashing the vast might of the heavens, accompanied by a grand spectacle of collapsing Celestial Realms and the clash of myriad Weapons.
He violently kicked Lamp’s head back down, forcing him to kowtow on the ground once more.
He smiled.
"The daughter of Supreme Profound Clarity... The shame of being flogged during the Spring and Autumn Period is something I will never forget. Play with fire and burn myself? Who could possibly burn me?"
Pausing, Gouchen’s smile vanished abruptly.
"Times have changed. Outside this world, I have the Demon Ancestor’s protection. Inside it, I am invincible. Who will come to burn me? Tell me."
Radiant golden Buddha Blood trickled from Lamp’s mouth. He struggled to lift his head and gave a compassionate smile.
"I see a darkness between your brows. A bloody calamity is upon you, a great disaster imminent..."
DONG!!
Lamp’s spine was broken, and he collapsed to the ground.
His entire body was already shackled by a strand of the Demon Ancestor’s Magical Power, and with Gouchen’s killing intent raging, he was utterly unable to mobilize his Magical Power, Dao Rhyme, or Profound Mysteries to heal his injuries.
And so he lay there, face down, head bowed to the ground, unable to move.
"Is disaster upon my head, or yours?"
As he spoke, Gouchen struck with his Emperor’s Fist, smashing into Lamp’s skull and sending Buddha Blood and Buddha Bone flying. Already half-dead and in a state of nirvanic decay, Lamp became even more broken. The injury even pierced through the Years, engraving itself into eternity.
"Heh!"
Gouchen stared at the kowtowing Daluo Buddha and sneered.
...
「The Beginning of Ancient Times」
The Blind Daoist dangled the little girl, his smile unchanged.
"Xiaonian, my dear, your two streams of Sword Qi are frighteningly weak. No need to study them further. How about Grandpa personally teaches you a few tricks..."
"Weird old man!"
Little Lu Nian shrieked.
"Dad, save me!!"
She was held dangling in mid-air by the Blind Daoist, her little legs kicking wildly, a look of terror on her face.
Both the Blind Daoist and Lu Xuan felt their teeth ache. The former shot an annoyed glare sideways.
"Look what you’ve done. What kind of manners have you taught Xiaonian?"
Lu Xuan was speechless.
After a moment, he rubbed his forehead, took Little Lu Nian from the Blind Daoist’s hands, and chided her.
"This is your Grand-master. Be more polite. What’s this ’weird old man’ nonsense?"
As he spoke, Lu Xuan bent two fingers and gave Little Lu Nian a rap on the forehead. The girl hissed, drawing in a sharp breath, and was just about to burst into tears,
when she saw the Blind Daoist give Lu Xuan a vicious rap on the head, knocking his nearly Daluo-Level Physique dizzy.
Little Lu Nian burst out laughing.
The Blind Daoist picked up Lu Nian, his expression serious, his eyebrows twitching.
"Xiaonian, my dear, I am your Grand-master, your one and only Grand-master, you understand? You can’t call me ’weird old man’ anymore. If you say that outside, that brainless Heaven will strike you down with a great thunderbolt!"
Hearing the Daoist’s threat, Little Lu Nian pouted and sniffed dismissively.
"I’m not scared! Grandma said I have Innate Invulnerability and Innate Invincibility!"
The Daoist was struck dumb. He was about to say something when he saw Lu Xuan, standing to the side, rub his own forehead and say with a wry smile,
"Second Master, I was hoping you could help discipline this girl. You can’t spoil her rotten..."
Little Lu Nian’s expression fell.
The Blind Daoist scoffed and said,
"Discipline? Born an Immortal, reaching the Celestial Realms at three, and proficient in all Daos—what is there to discipline? As long as she doesn’t stray from the right path, she should naturally be allowed to do as she pleases..."
Little Lu Nian’s face lit up. She nodded furiously and called out sweetly, "Grandpa!" This time, it was the Blind Daoist’s turn to beam with joy.
’Hmph, as expected of me, the beginning of all things, the first of all... I beat those other two guys to it again.’
Lu Xuan’s face darkened. He waved a hand weakly.
"Do as you see fit. I plan to spend some time consolidating my skills here in The Beginning of Ancient Times... Second Master, I’ve lost the Bronze Fragment, and my Cultivation isn’t yet at a level where I can adjust the flow of the Years myself. Could you...?"
"Nine days in the Current World, right? How about you stay in The Beginning of Ancient Times for a thousand years? Is that enough?"
"More than enough!"
Lu Xuan nodded. A thousand years was enough for him to use [Jun] on the Transcendent Traits contained within the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
After a moment’s thought, his expression grew solemn.
"Second Master, there are two other matters."
The Blind Daoist, who was playing with Little Lu Nian, nodded slightly.
"Speak."
"This Candle Dragon..."
The Heaven-Opening Banner appeared in Lu Xuan’s hand. The Candle Dragon suppressed within was curled up motionlessly, unable to perceive the outside world.
The Blind Daoist’s expression grew a little more solemn, and he sighed softly.
"Ah, that... Your other self, the one preaching in The Beginning of Ancient Times, caused a great disturbance, and the other Fellow Daoists couldn’t resist investigating."
He paused before continuing,
"Although I could have stopped them, if I had acted too obviously or been too protective, they might have guessed the truth. So I didn’t interfere too much. Before you attain your Dao Fruit, it’s best you act with caution in The Beginning of Ancient Times."
Lu Xuan’s brows furrowed tightly.
"Who was it that sent down the Great Curse and the punishment?"
"Bodhi."
"Second Master, can you help remove the Great Curse and the Candle Dragon’s punishment?"
"I can, but..." The Blind Daoist shook his head. "It would be detected by several Fellow Daoists, and they might trace it back to you. Now is not the time."
He paused, then added,
"However, after you attain Daluo, you can return here. Empowered by the status of a Dao Ancestor Embryo, you will be able to sever the curse and punishment with ease."
Lu Xuan’s expression was dark and uncertain. He nodded slightly, then spoke again.
"One more thing, Second Master. [Wa Huang] came looking for me."
"Hm??"
The Blind Daoist’s expression changed drastically. He held the bewildered Little Lu Nian in his arms and asked seriously,
"What happened?"
Lu Xuan thought for a moment and recounted the entire event.
The Blind Daoist listened with a solemn expression, his brow twitching from time to time, a rare look of astonishment on his face.
He frowned.
"Wa Huang... failed??"
The Blind Daoist lowered his eyelids, his thoughts unreadable. After a long while, he finally said,
"As you said, it is indeed strange that this Wa Huang did not know about your Dao of [Great Jun]. However, that does not necessarily prove she isn’t the real Wa Huang."
Lu Xuan’s brow tightened. He bowed respectfully and said,
"I ask Second Master to enlighten me."
The Blind Daoist nodded and explained,
"According to what ’Wa Huang’ said, she took a wrong step and scattered her legacy among several people, causing her true self to become stuck between Transcendent and not. Her True Thought then briefly merged with an abandoned [Divinity] to find and speak with you..."
"This explanation is, in fact, quite plausible. Xiaoxuan, do you know what Transcendence is?"
Lu Xuan was taken aback. He answered,
"Transcendence... is to leap beyond everything, to be omniscient and omnipotent?"
"Incorrect."
The Blind Daoist shook his head, his expression grave.
"Transcendence is not a realm, nor is it the step after the Dao Fruit. The moment one speaks of Transcendence, one is wrong. The moment one thinks of it, one has erred. It is unimaginable to the limits of thought, indescribable by the limits of language..."
"In other words, there may be countless realms after the Dao Fruit, but Transcendence is not a realm. The Dao Fruit merely grants one the qualification to leap toward Transcendence."
"By the same token, Transcendence cannot be imagined, described, or conjectured. Even if Wa Huang is stuck between Transcendent and not,
if she were to come see you directly, you wouldn’t be able to see her at all."
Hearing this, Lu Xuan was stunned and said thoughtfully,
"Is it because she is beyond the scope of my imagination, and therefore... I cannot see her?"
"It’s not just that you can’t see her. You can’t perceive her, can’t hear her, can’t touch her, can’t even *think* of her!"
The Blind Daoist sighed softly.
"We are speculating about Transcendence right now, and any speculation is bound to be wrong... or rather, not entirely wrong, but it will only ever grasp a tiny fraction of the truth.
Therefore, if the one who sought you truly was Wa Huang, she must have been a wisp of consciousness that she herself demoted, which then merged with an abandoned [Divinity]. Her ignorance of your Dao of [Great Jun] would be understandable."
Realization dawned on Lu Xuan.
"You mean, Wa Huang was real?"
"No, it is only a possibility. You must still remain vigilant."
After thinking for a moment, the Blind Daoist added,
"I will discuss this matter with your other two masters. For now, you should go. Go on..."
Lu Xuan nodded silently. After giving Little Lu Nian some instructions, he truly stepped into The Beginning of Ancient Times, appearing on the peak of Jade Capital Mountain.
He breathed in the dense Innate Material and reverted to the appearance of a two or three-year-old toddler, silently using his ability to equalize the [Celestial Intent Dao Rhyme] and draw it to himself.
During this time, he didn’t forget to cultivate All Skills, stabilize his Cultivation, and even tried to explore the Profound Mysteries of the Years, advancing toward the [Fifth Level].
In his five-hundredth year in The Beginning of Ancient Times, Lu Xuan, who had already grasped some of the Profound Mysteries of Time, completely broke through the bottleneck and stepped into the Fifth Level of the Celestial Realms.
He was now a [Near-Daluo].
’All I lack now is to travel through all the Years of history and leave my footprints in every Chapter of Ancient History. Then I can enter the Daluo realm...’
’This will take a very long time, but perhaps I can take a shortcut.’
The two-or-three-year-old-looking Lu Xuan’s eyes were profound. He had already reached the Celestial Realms and could now travel to the Spring and Autumn Period, pass through Hangu Pass once more, and perform the act of "Transforming the Barbarians into Buddha."
In other words, he would become [Shakyamuni].
He continued to cultivate, continued to comprehend the Dao.
In the six hundred and seventieth year, Lu Xuan completely deduced the [Primordial Body] to the stage of Great Success.
He mastered the five Great Divine Techniques: [Dao Generating One], [Celestial Flipping], [Heaven Opening], [Yin Yang], and [Four Symbols].
His Primordial Dharma Aspect evolved further, merging with Lu Xuan’s Physique to become... the Primordial Dharma Form.
In the nine-hundredth year, the equalization was complete.
On the peak of Jade Capital Mountain, Lu Xuan transformed back into the appearance of a man in his thirties, with a scruffy beard and a world-weary look in his eyes, all traces of the toddler gone.
"Celestial Intent Dao Rhyme..."
"So that’s how it is."
In that moment, Lu Xuan seemed to have become ’Heaven’ itself.
Or rather, Heaven.
He was lost in thought, silently comprehending this Transcendent Trait. The more he comprehended, the more shocked he became.
At this moment, his Primordial Dharma Form was complete. Lu Xuan, looking faint and indistinct with a forty-nine-colored halo spreading out behind him, slowly opened his eyes.
He gazed out over the vast Barbaric Wilderness, his thoughts sweeping over the painfully curled-up Candle Dragon within the Heaven-Opening Banner, before silently turning his gaze to the west.
With a single thought, Lu Xuan uttered a Celestial Decree, his voice like the sky itself:
"Fall."
At the same time.
In The Beginning of Ancient Times, in the Land of the Far West, there were countless celestial materials and endless earthly treasures. Golden Lotuses stretched as far as the eye could see. Auspicious omens and Qingyun were ever-present, and the Buddha’s Voice and Brahma Sound rolled on, vast and mighty.
The next moment.
The celestial materials withered, the earthly treasures rotted, the Golden Lotuses decayed, the auspicious omens vanished, and the Qingyun dissipated!
At that very moment, this Far West in The Beginning of Ancient Times became hated by heaven and abhorred by earth, despised by heaven and abandoned by earth. It rapidly fell into ruin and decay, turning into a forsaken land!
The Far West of ancient times was the origin of the Western Pure Land. For it to decay from its very source triggered a monumental change!
"Which Fellow Daoist is this?!"
Two Great Buddhas rose to their feet in a rage.
