Chapter 324 Where is the Present? The Dawn's Light (Two Chapters Combined) The finishing touch...
The Imperial Academy is filled with the gentle flow of water and the twinkling lights of lanterns. The corridors are draped with calligraphy and paintings, and the lanterns cast large characters that are projected into the courtyard and reflected on every face.
The house not far away was brightly lit and undisturbed by shadows, but it was crowded with people, and the atmosphere of chaos was even more overwhelming than that of the cultivators in the courtyard.
Qiu Tong sat at the table, looking ahead at Master Xun with the others. He was facing her with a solemn expression, his silent eyes sweeping over everyone.
He was the head of the Imperial Academy, and his writing skills were superb. Although his gaze was not cold and sharp, it was still quite intimidating. Qiu Tong was the only demon among them, and she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Master Xun did not wait long. After everyone was seated, he spoke: "You are all people who have received the Dao Lord's seal, that is, people with cloud patterns in their palms. Perhaps you will soon meet the Dao Lord in your dreams."
While nothing is absolute, and he might not actually keep his appointment at midnight, it's still necessary to tell you all some things about him in advance.
Upon hearing him mention the Dao Lord, not only Qiu Tong but also the others perked up, gripping the cloud patterns in their palms.
Master Xun took out his paintbrush from his waist, and with a few strokes, a cloud of mist appeared.
"Lin Feiran once told us that the Dao Lord might be neither human nor demon, and cannot be dealt with in ordinary ways."
Therefore, during this period, the seniors of the Goddess Sect have been tirelessly studying ancient books, and we have also been searching through the classics of the Imperial Academy and the Langhuan Sect, trying to find out the origin of the Dao Master.
We had found nothing before, but just yesterday, we found a clue.
During the great war between the two realms, blood flowed freely and corpses littered the ground. A strange thunderclap appeared in the southeast, followed by a torrential downpour that washed everything away. Thus, a secret realm appeared in the southeast, which no one was allowed to enter, for those who did not enter would perish.
The sign of that thundercloud was exactly like the thunderclap in the sky today.
As the paintbrush moved, strange yet familiar thunderclaps rolled through the clouds, raindrops pattered, and all was silent.
Some people stared at the cloud in disbelief and couldn't help but ask, "Could it be... that this strange and evil thing appeared during the great battle?"
"No," Master Xun shook his head, denying this claim.
He continued, "Just this morning, I happened to find a handwritten note from my predecessors in the library of the Imperial Academy. Surprisingly, there was such a thundercloud before the great battle, and even before my master opened the mountain gate and cave dwelling."
He waved his sleeve again, and the thunderclouds in front of him immediately cleared up, the dark clouds turned white, but the lightning that passed through them was still there, only smaller and weaker, but its momentum was still strange, just like the lightning now.
"His appearance came earlier than we imagined."
Master Xun twirled his long brush and paced forward.
"So I felt something was wrong. He was neither human nor demon, and his appearance was accompanied by such strange behavior. Something extraordinary must have happened, just like the birth of a spiritual treasure. There must be some kind of strange phenomenon around him."
He raised his hand, his expression calm and serene, displaying the demeanor of a teacher, as if he were treating Qiu Tong and the others as his students, and began to speak in a gentle and persuasive manner.
After gaining a vague sense of direction, Master Xun began to ponder the timing of these three appearances of thunderclouds.
The most recent unusual phenomenon was the thunderclouds at this moment, but since everyone was in the mountains and unaware of the depths, they did not yet know what had happened.
The last time it appeared was perhaps because of the war between the two worlds; this is a point in time that can be speculated upon.
And what will it be the next time?
With these doubts in mind, Master Xun began to search through the sea of books to find out the major events that happened before and after the thundercloud. But no matter how he searched, the day, month, or even year in which the thundercloud appeared was calm and peaceful, with no unusual phenomena appearing.
The time before the great war between the two realms was a rare period of peace. At that time, everyone was immersed in cultivation and seeking the Dao. Even though the boundary gate of the Endless Sea appeared and the human and demon races discovered each other's existence, neither of them made any unusual moves for the time being, and everything was the same.
The line of thought seemed to have reached a dead end, but Master Xun did not give up. Since things were not going well, he decided to start with people and perhaps something extraordinary would happen.
There were so many important figures back then, like a swarm of locusts crossing a river, that he didn't know where things had changed. He could only patiently go through everyone's biographies and finally find a predecessor in the sea of people.
Just one month before Lei Yun appeared, he unexpectedly lost contact with his friend, and when he reappeared, he had lost sight of one eye.
Master Xun paused slightly at this point, then pointed to the cloud pattern in everyone's palms.
Upon seeing that only one eye remained, he immediately recognized the man's identity. He had heard about this Taoist's deeds during his cultivation within the sect. He was a very ancient senior, whose name even his master did not know, only that later generations referred to him as the Old Man of the Heavenly Eye.
The third eye can see the future and explore the past; it is the pair of eyes closest to the "Tao." Looking back and forth, he is the only one who has truly cultivated the third eye.
“A long time ago, I noticed that the cloud pattern was strange. The aura swirled from all sides to the center, and from a distance, it looked like an open eye.”
Therefore, I speculate that perhaps this senior didn't disappear, but rather entered this secret realm. Perhaps he fought fiercely with the Dao Lord, sacrificing one of his Heavenly Eyes before escaping.
As he swung his brush, the cloud began to change again, and then he added dots to it.
The moment the pen tip touched the ground, the chaotic mist seemed to find its home, beginning to gather and condense in the center. Then, in the center of the white mist, a lifelike eye slowly appeared, struggling to open its eyes like a butterfly's wings fluttering, gazing at the vast world.
The world in the fog was no longer chaotic; with the birth of spirit, wisdom arose, and the empty monocular gradually began to show its brilliance.
"What is this?!"
"How could he appear? Even our seniors couldn't defeat this monster and had to sacrifice an eye to escape. How can we possibly resist him?"
"Perhaps, as the esoteric schools of Buddhism claim, he is actually an incarnation of the Dao?"
There were many different opinions, but Master Xun did not stop them. He waited until the panicked whispers subsided before he slowly spoke.
"Don't listen to a word of advice. Giving up an eye to escape is just my speculation. Their story is too far in the past. What exactly happened and what happened during the period of their disappearance are no longer verifiable."
But this "finishing touch" is not something I imagined. I've practically scoured every book I read, and I've studied it repeatedly with my own eyes; this explanation is the most reasonable.
"Be more serious."
Master Xun tapped the disobedient monk in front of him with his pen.
"Perhaps the Dao Lord came from between heaven and earth by chance, and then gained an eye, which allowed him to see the world, and thus gave rise to intelligence. This is my speculation about his origin, and according to what is recorded in the book, this explanation is the most reasonable."
Although his origins are mysterious, upon closer examination he is still a living being, just different from you and me.
There are butterflies, worms, you and me in this world, so why can't there be him?
"The workings of nature are wondrous! You have cultivated yourselves for so long, yet do you still not understand the vastness of heaven and earth, and the insignificance of humanity?"
His words were spoken calmly and slowly, as if they possessed a mellow power. The people in the hall immediately quieted down, their panic subsided, and they all returned to their original seats.
Someone muttered dejectedly, "Master, did you call us here today just to find out the origin of the Daoist? But his origin is unclear."
If he attacks us tonight, taking our lives in our sleep, how can we protect ourselves?
Master Xun clicked his tongue: "Of course, we must first explain the origin, otherwise how can you believe what I'm about to say? There's no way to protect yourself, so listen carefully and adapt to the situation."
With a stroke of his pen, he swept the clouds and mist beneath the beam.
"Perhaps because he was born from heaven and earth, he has a Daoist method that is different from both humans and demons. I will call it reincarnation for now, or in your terms, rebirth."
To this day, we still do not know how many times he has been reborn.
As soon as Master Xun finished speaking, Qiu Tong's expression changed for a moment. Then, recalling many things from the past, this moment of confusion turned into a sudden realization.
Lin Feiran had mentioned this matter before, but not as clearly as Master Xun. Before, they were all suspicious, but now they could almost confirm it, because they had expected it. Therefore, she was not as shocked as the others.
No wonder Zhang Chunhe and his father were able to be reborn many times; it turns out it was because of the Dao Lord, who truly possessed such extraordinary abilities and methods!
What about her? Could it be that she accidentally met the Dao Lord without her knowledge, which is why she was able to be reborn?
However, this explanation was not very convincing; she was certain that she had never met the Dao Lord.
The crowd in the hall nearly erupted in astonishment, exclaiming in disbelief. Rebirth was no less than reversing time and breaking through the void. Even saints could not achieve such an ability, yet the Dao Lord not only possessed it from birth but could do it so many times!
Someone, sensing something amiss, couldn't help but ask, "Master, for you to say such a thing today... could it be that someone was actually reborn along with him?"
Master Xun could have denied it, but he didn't. After observing the various expressions, he solemnly replied, "Yes, indeed, there are people who reincarnate with him."
These words caused a huge uproar among the crowd, and even stirred up some secret fantasies.
The phrase "If only I could do it all over again" is an irresistible thought for anyone.
The murmurs among the crowd grew louder, but at this moment, only the two remained silent.
One of them was Qiu Tong. Her gaze flickered, and several thoughts intertwined in her mind. She was momentarily stunned and stood there.
The other was Master Xun, who did not ask the crowd to be quiet or reprimand the noise, but simply spoke up amidst the commotion, his voice neither too loud nor too soft.
He said, “We have been discussing the matter of reincarnation for a long time, but we still don’t know whether we should announce it to you. It is a huge temptation, but also a huge constraint for us.”
Those who previously chose to join and serve Tantric Buddhism did so in order to participate in the cycle of reincarnation.
At this point, the room, which had been filled with whispers, immediately fell silent.
Almost all cultivators knew that not long ago, major sects and families were hunting down disciples who had defected from the Secret Sect. Those who were captured were all imprisoned in their respective cells.
Although the executions have not yet taken place, their situation is far from good.
As the heated discussion subsided, the gleam in their eyes dimmed, and their restless hearts were suppressed.
Master Xun, however, seemed not to notice and continued to speak as if nothing had happened.
"Originally, I disagreed with saying this. Knowing the Dao Lord's abilities, few people could resist bowing down to him, which would surely shake your hearts."
But my master said something to me: "Everyone has their own path."
The crowd composed themselves and focused their attention on him.
"I think my master is right, everyone has their own path."
You are all recipients of this letter. How you choose to respond—whether to resist or submit—is your own choice. I can only try to explain the situation to you; your subsequent decisions are entirely up to you.
Not only the Dao Lord, but Lin Feiran also agreed to tell everyone about this matter, but she had another idea.
After receiving Zhang Siwo's message, she did not reply for a long time. Just when everyone was wondering if something had happened to her, they received her letter, which also mentioned the matter.
[This is our weakness, and the Dao Lord might make a move here. Rather than letting him say it, it's better for us to expose it first, and then we can adapt to the situation as it unfolds.]
Master Xun and she were of the same mind, so they did not hesitate any longer and chose to reveal the whole story today.
He could only offer one final piece of advice: "Now that the celestial phenomena are unusual and the esoteric schools are spouting wild claims about destroying the old world, whatever beautiful thoughts you may have in your hearts, you should first think carefully about whether there really will be another cycle of reincarnation, and whether you can even survive this life."
These words were just a word of advice to the others, but to Qiu Tong, they were like a thunderbolt. Her expression when she learned that the Dao Lord could be reborn was not as bad as it was now.
Master Xun did not notice her unusual behavior: "I called everyone here today because I don't want to keep you in the dark. Knowing the reason will help us make a decision."
No one knows what will happen at midnight tonight; you should all go back.”
Upon hearing this secret, many people rose as if in a dream and drifted out of the room.
Just then, Zhou Shushu and several other sect leaders arrived with two people, hurrying in from outside. Master Xun glanced at them and said, "By the way, the disciples I called out, stay behind: Daohe Palace, Changqing..."
Master Xun casually listed the names of several people, and in a daze, Qiu Tong heard her own name from his mouth.
When they came to their senses, the hall was empty, with only a few people remaining.
Master Xun was standing with several sect leaders, seemingly talking in hushed tones. Qiu Tong frowned, her expression turning quite grim.
She wanted to go forward and ask, but dared not make a sound to disturb them. She could only suppress her thoughts and quickly glance around. She was just subconsciously looking around, but after seeing the faces of the people, she was shocked.
Besides her and Master Xun, the leaders of various sects and disciples from other sects also came.
The disciples of Mu Chun'e of the Taiji Immortal Sect, Pao Tang and Zhang Zhongcheng, the direct disciples of Daohe Palace, Chang Qing and Chang Heng, and two bewildered mortals.
She recognized these two mortals, or rather, she recognized all of them, and was even somewhat familiar with them, though only in her previous life.
Pao Tang and Zhang Zhongcheng were her and Wei Changzai's friends outside the sect in their previous life. They met when the disciples went down the mountain for training. Although they were not close friends, they were gentlemen who went through many dangerous situations together.
However, things changed drastically in this life. She did not stay in Daohe Palace for long, nor was she able to go on training trips with others. Therefore, she did not meet them in the secret realm and had no way of getting to know them.
As for Chang Qing and Chang Heng, she had a good relationship with them, and was also very familiar with Wei Changzai from her previous life.
The two were four or five years younger than Wei Changzai. They often asked him for advice when they were cultivating or practicing swordsmanship since they were young. They called him "Junior Brother" this and "Junior Brother" that. Wei Changzai was a cold and aloof person. Among the disciples in the sect, only the two of them were not afraid of him and often bothered him. Therefore, the three of them had a good relationship.
Perhaps sensing that Wei Changzai treated her differently, the two of them helped her out of trouble quite a bit back in Daohe Palace. Later, when their affair was not tolerated by the elders, the two of them often mediated between them.
In this life, their relationship with Consort Wei remained the same, but they failed to discern Consort Wei's feelings, so they weren't particularly enthusiastic towards her, treating her only as a fellow disciple. For this, she had secretly resented it before...
As for the two mortals, she recognized them; they were Wei Changzai's parents in the mortal realm.
Qiu Tong stared blankly at the two people leaning against each other. She had never met them in person, but she had heard about their past.
When Wei Changzai was six years old, his mother fell seriously ill and passed away. Not long after, his father also died. After that, Wei Changzai met Zhang Chunhe by chance, became a disciple of the temple, and embarked on the path of cultivation.
When the two got married, Wei Changzai showed her a portrait, and the two people in the painting looked just like this.
She never expected that they were still alive... How could they still be alive? Were they cured, or was Wei Changzai lying to her back then?
Qiu Tong's thoughts were complicated, and she was somewhat confused and disoriented, but in this quiet atmosphere, she quickly composed herself.
Now is not the time for sentimentality. She looked at the palms of the others and saw that they all had the same cloud pattern. Why did Master Xun leave only a few of them behind?
After Master Xun finished speaking, the other sect leaders also turned around and looked at Qiu Tong and the others.
Master Xun continued, "But before we can confirm, please wait a moment until Lin Feiran and Wei Changzai return."
Hearing Lin Feiran's name calmed Qiu Tong down a bit. She clenched her fists under her sleeves, her mind still preoccupied with that thought. She was so nervous that her fingertips turned white from gripping them so tightly.
She deliberately avoided thinking about the question and looked up at Wei Changzai's parents.
They were both ordinary mortals. Although their eyes were blank as they stood there, they had probably been comforted by the sect leaders, so they showed no fear.
Zhou Shushu cupped his hands and said, "Please wait here for a moment. Once this matter is settled, I will send you back to reunite with your families."
Although Wei's mother looked ill, she did not hide her beauty. She nodded and said, "Since all the immortals are here, my husband and I are naturally not worried. We are just concerned about our child at home. In these chaotic times, we are afraid that something might happen to him."
Zhou Shushu's expression was somewhat complicated. He looked at the two men's faces and was unsure whether bringing them here was the right or wrong thing to do.
"Don't worry, the disciples I sent are still at your home. They are all children skilled in both Taoist magic and medicine. With them around, nothing will happen. However, have anything strange happened to the two of them recently?"
Master Xun also looked over.
Mother Wei paused for a moment, surprisingly not denying it, while Father Wei exclaimed in amazement, "Truly an immortal! You even know about such a small matter? Lately, things have indeed been a bit strange. Our relatives all say that my husband and I have changed. When we look in the mirror, the people in the mirror really don't look like us anymore!"
He took his wife's arm and stepped forward, saying, "Although we do not know what you immortals intend to do, we will do our best to cooperate. After it is done... could you please take a look at my wife and me and see if we are possessed or ill?"
Upon hearing these words, Qiu Tong couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about? Haven't you always looked like this?"
Upon hearing this, Master Xun and the others glanced at Qiu Tong with subtle expressions, but said nothing more.
Father Wei chuckled: "Immortal Master, you jest. My wife and I have always been of average appearance since childhood, but now our faces are becoming more and more beautiful. It's really strange. We haven't dared to go out lately, for fear that our relatives and neighbors will also think there's something wrong with us..."
Qiu Tong was even more puzzled. If it weren't for the fact that the two of them looked somewhat similar to Wei Changzai, she would have thought she had remembered wrong.
"Can……"
“Young friend,” Master Xun called out to her at the right moment, “Don’t panic, wait a few moments.”
Looking at the room full of familiar faces, Qiu Tong felt a suffocating tightness in her chest: "How long do we have to wait?"
...
She didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps a day and a night, or perhaps just a few moments. Qiu Tong leaned against the table, glancing at the Wei couple from time to time, her mind a jumble of thoughts and anxieties.
She couldn't help but wonder, could it really be as the Master said, that there is no more reincarnation?
Just then, the Master looked towards the door and said with a smile, "Lin Feiran has arrived. It seems she has won this half-son contest."
Upon hearing this name, Qiu Tong couldn't wait a moment longer. She suddenly stood up and left the place, walked onto the long corridor, stepped over the projection of the calligraphy and paintings on the ground, and then stood at the corridor door, looking into the courtyard.
Lin Feiran landed steadily from the sword, though she looked somewhat disheveled, her robes torn and mangled. She carried an unconscious Wei Changzai, who looked no better.
Ru Xian stood beside her, looking at everyone, and was the most proper-looking of the three.
Lin Feiran looked at Qiu Tong, but didn't go over immediately. Instead, she looked at the person in her hands, picked her up and shook her: "Wei Changzai, wake up, or I'm going to throw you on the ground."
The person in his hand did not react; instead, the Kunwu sword on his back emitted several sword cries.
Lin Feiran glanced at him, and just as she was about to let go, Wei Changzai suddenly realized what was happening. He pressed down on her wrist with one hand, then got up from the ground. He looked at the wounds on his body and glanced at Lin Feiran without leaving a trace.
He paused for a moment, then stared at her quietly and said, "All you do is throw me around."
Lin Feiran: "...Don't speak like Ru Xian."
Wei Changzai's voice returned to normal, without much variation: "Why? Don't you like this tone? I can learn it."
“I don’t like this tone of voice, I like talking…” Lin Feiran turned to look at Ru Xian, but there was no anger in his eyes, only a smile.
He said coldly, "It's like Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi."
Wei Changzai's expression remained unchanged: "? I can be Dong Shi (a famous beauty in Chinese literature)."
Lin Feiran swallowed the word "person" back, shook her head, and walked past Wei Changzai towards the corridor. Ru Xian's mouth was much sharper than hers, and Wei Changzai's words had an inexplicable air of being infuriating. With her in the middle, these cold words would not stop.
"Let's go, there are still people waiting for us."
Lin Feiran walked towards Qiu Tong and quickly noticed that her expression was off. She couldn't help but ask, "Qiu Tong, what's wrong?"
The four walked along the corridor, with Qiu Tong and Lin Feiran in front, and Wei Changzai and Ru Xian behind. Qiu Tong approached Lin Feiran, grabbed her arm, and whispered about what had happened in the hall.
"...So, you know that the Dao Lord's reincarnation is true, right?"
Lin Feiran replied, "I know about rebirth, but this is the first time I've heard of his background."
She knew about the Heavenly Eye, but she hadn't expected it to involve the "dotting the eyes" theory—that dotting the eyes of a living being might be the reason for wanting to become human...
Lin Feiran glanced at her face and said, "Zhang Chunhe himself said this. He broke his vow with the esoteric sect and died by cursing. He is no longer alive."
Qiu Tong stopped and looked over in surprise. Her originally light and agile eyes now held a hint of melancholy. Upon hearing the news of Zhang Chunhe's death, she felt very complicated and did not feel the joy she had previously thought she would feel.
"Really? Will he... come back in the next reincarnation?"
Lin Feiran shook his head and led her forward: "You remember correctly, after such lightning, a new cycle will begin, so what you saw before your rebirth was this."
However, we don't know much about this thunderstorm, and no one knows what will happen after the rain.
The Dao Lord did all this to bring humanity into the world, and now that his goal may be nearing completion, I think it's unlikely there will be a next time.
Qiu Tong was somewhat dazed upon hearing this. This time, she didn't even pay attention to Wei Changzai behind her anymore. She just followed Lin Feiran forward as if she were in a daze. Seeing her like this, Lin Feiran stopped talking and simply led the people into the main hall.
She was still unsure whether to tell Qiu Tong about Zhang Chunhe's nine-generation master-disciple relationship with Wei Changzai.
This is not good news for her.
Upon entering the lobby, seeing many people standing there, Lin Feiran paused for a moment before finally speaking.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Wei Changzai followed behind Lin Feiran. He was not particularly emotional at first, but his gaze wavered for a moment the instant he entered.
In the main hall stood an ordinary couple who were whispering to each other. When they heard footsteps, they looked up and their eyes met those of Wei Changzai.
The three of them were stunned and speechless for a moment.
Author's Note: The little foreshadowing about the parents has been resolved, and Qiu Tong's storyline is finally coming to an end. Creating plot points is fun for a while, but filling them in is a nightmare! [crying emoji]
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