"Hahaha!"
After his laughter subsided, Gu Qingfeng fell silent. Instead, he began strolling through the Great Dao Mausoleum, observing each of the Great Dao tombs. Suddenly, he noticed a problem: within the Great Dao Mausoleum, every Great Dao was present—those that existed, those that didn't, those he'd heard of, those he hadn't—all were there. Only the Human Dao was missing.
Gu Qingfeng searched almost the entire Great Dao Mausoleum but couldn't find a tomb for the Human Dao. Puzzled, he asked, "Why are all the various Great Daos buried here, yet the Human Dao alone is absent?"
"This old man is merely the grave guardian of this mausoleum. As for why the Human Dao is not within it, I do not know."
"Is it that you don't know, or that you don't wish to say?"
When Gu Qingfeng said this, the Mysterious Elder offered no further response.
Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin, pondering, and murmured, "If all the Great Daos are buried here, and only the Human Dao is missing, then that means during the Wu Dao Age, the Human Dao had not perished; it still existed. Only the dead are buried, and it's the same for Daos—only perished Daos are interred. A living Dao would not be buried."
"And since this Great Dao Mausoleum belongs to the Wu Dao Age, it follows that the Wu Dao Age was not an era without Daos. At the very least, the Human Dao still existed. If that's truly the case... then this is getting rather interesting."
"I once heard that before the Primordial Age, the Human Dao was once the Head of the Great Daos. The ancestors of humanity were each immensely powerful, capable of moving mountains and draining seas, ascending to the heavens and descending to the earth—there was nothing they couldn't do. One could say their divine abilities were vast. Later, the Human Dao inexplicably declined. I heard that the Source of the Human Path had its three souls extracted by Heaven, Earth, and Fate. Hence, after the Human Dao's decline, humanity became as weak as ants."
"I used to wonder why the powerful Human Dao suddenly declined, and why Heaven, Earth, and Fate would extract the three souls from its source. Now it seems the decline of the Human Dao was no accident; it might be connected to the karma of the Wu Dao Age."
"The resurgence of the Human Dao in the Present-Ancient Era might also not be accidental. There must be some indescribable, obscure karma linking it to the Wu Dao Age."
"Perhaps, from the very beginning, the Wu Dao Age was not an era without Daos, but rather... an era of the Human Dao..." Thinking of the Human Dao, Gu Qingfeng's mind involuntarily recalled a person.
His master, Zhen Jue.
During Gu Qingfeng's time at Shangqing Sect back then, Zhen Jue had never taught him any cultivation method of a particular Dao. He only taught him two words: human nature. It wasn't until later that Gu Qingfeng realized what his master had taught him about human nature was actually 'the innate nature of humanity'.
He hadn't known who his master was back then.
Later, he came to understand that his master was also a person from the Wu Dao Age.
He hadn't understood why his master, a person from the Wu Dao Age who clearly knew Gu Qingfeng was both the Dharmakaya of Original Sin and the Illusory Self, would specifically teach him about the innate nature of humanity.
Now, he was beginning to understand.
So-called Wu Dao Age truly wasn't an era without Great Daos, but an era of the Human Dao.
To be precise, perhaps the Wu Dao Age really was an era without other Great Daos, because if only the Human Dao remained between heaven and earth, then there simply were no other 'Great Daos' to speak of.
Back then.
After the Ancient Cataclysm, he returned to Shangqing Sect and saw his master again.
His master spoke to him about the rise and fall of the Human Dao.
Gu Qingfeng thought his master hoped he would revitalize the Human Dao.
However, his master denied this at the time.
The old man said it wasn't about hoping Gu Qingfeng would revitalize the Human Dao.
Back then, Gu Qingfeng didn't understand.
Now, he somewhat did.
To this day, he still clearly remembered the eight words his master once said to him: "Uphold your innate nature, never forget your original intent."
Thinking about it now, the meaning of these eight words was far more complex than Gu Qingfeng had ever imagined.
His master didn't hope Gu Qingfeng would revitalize the Human Dao, but rather hoped he would seek it out, to search for the Human Dao.
"I understand now...
Finally, I understand...
So all the secrets of the Wu Dao Age lie within the Human Dao. Heh...
This trip wasn't in vain after all."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at the Mysterious Elder, who was still sweeping the Great Dao tombs, and smiled. "Old Senior, until we meet again."
As his words fell, Gu Qingfeng's figure vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there.
Only after Gu Qingfeng had left did the Mysterious Elder slowly raise his head. His turbid eyes gazed in the direction Gu Qingfeng had disappeared, as if pondering something. After a long while, he shook his head slightly and let out a sigh.
This sigh was not as plain as water like before.
It contained countless indescribable confusions and endless uncertainties.
Suddenly.
A tomb began to tremble.
This tomb was like many others here, resembling a mountain, with a peak standing atop it like a mountain range.
The difference was, while the peak-tombstones on other tombs had inscriptions and names, this tombstone was utterly blank, bearing nothing.
The Mysterious Elder looked at this tomb without inscriptions and sighed once more.
This sigh.
Seemed to carry a hint of helplessness.
"Why must you be like this?"
"He cannot see you, nor sense you. At least, the him of now will not know of your existence. And..." As the Mysterious Elder spoke, he sighed again. This sigh also carried a note of helplessness.
The difference was.
The previous sigh was one of helplessness towards the tomb with the blank stele.
This current sigh was one of helplessness towards Gu Qingfeng, who had already departed.
"And, the him of the future may not necessarily know of your existence either. Although he is the Dharmakaya of Original Sin and the Illusory Self, and although he has more hope than anyone of achieving the True Body of Original Sin and the True Self of Illusion, it is merely hope. All of this, everything, has one prerequisite: whether he wishes to become the True Body of Original Sin, and whether he wishes to achieve the True Self of Illusion."
The tomb with the blank stele shook violently, growing increasingly intense.
"You are correct. He has transcended his self and seen through illusion. He no longer resists being the Dharmakaya of Original Sin or the Illusory Self; he has even accepted Original Sin and Illusion. But this signifies nothing. No longer resisting is merely no longer resisting; acceptance is merely acceptance. No longer resisting does not mean he is willing, and acceptance does not mean he desires it."
The tomb with the blank stele shook violently again, as if arguing with the Mysterious Elder about something.
"He has indeed understood. He understands that Wu Dao is the Human Dao, and he understands that the mysteries of Wu Dao lie within the Human Dao. It's just...
He has merely understood. Do not assume that because he understands, he will go forth to seek and search for the Human Dao. He may not necessarily seek it out, nor may he necessarily search for it."
Gazing in the direction Gu Qingfeng disappeared, the Mysterious Elder murmured, "He was lost within his self, yet transcended within his self. Originally one who followed his heart's desires, henceforth he will only follow them more. Originally one who let nature take its course, henceforth he will only do so more. Originally one indifferent and unconcerned about all of this, henceforth he will only be more indifferent, more unconcerned."
"I suppose this has something to do with my junior brother."
Having said this, the Mysterious Elder sighed once more. "In the end, he remains unwilling. Unwilling to resign himself to fate, unwilling to let nature take its course, placing his hopes on this variable. But who is it that is unwilling? Not just my junior brother, but also Zhen Jue, Xuan Ku, and even Cang Wu...
Ai..." Looking again at the tomb with the blank stele, the Mysterious Elder said, "Even you are like this. This old man knows you all wish to end this."
"It's just...
Can this truly be ended?"
The Elder shook his head regretfully once more. "Karma has no end, only cycles, endless cycles..."
A Request for Leave
Caught a cold, headache. Requesting leave, will make up for it tomorrow! @!
!!
!