Chapter 194 - 114: The Question of the Great Dao

Before dawn, a few figures had already gathered before Dongzhen Hall.

A cool breeze swept by, clearing the hazy mist. A Daoist in a white robe, his hair tied up with a sword-shaped pin, strode out from the darkness, drawing many gazes.

The eyes of a young, debonair Daoist with long hair flowing down his back flashed. He turned to the person beside him and asked, "I can see this man's cultivation is profound. Could he be that Junior Brother Xu?"

Just then, as if sensing something, Xuzhuang's gaze swept over. Seeing Han Wang standing among a group of three, he clasped his hands in a distant greeting. Han Wang smiled and returned the gesture before replying, "Senior Brother, your guess is correct. This is indeed Junior Brother Xu, Xuzhuang."

The young Daoist nodded and praised, "Worthy of a cultivation genius who formed his Nascent Soul in less than two hundred years. Seeing him today, he is truly remarkable."

Another elegant-looking Daoist beside him opened a folding fan and fanned it gently. With a faint, ambiguous smile, he said, "Riding the profound to descend upon the world, the bearing of a millennium immortal... After all, he is a once-in-a-thousand-years talent."

Hearing this, the young Daoist glanced at Han Wang. Han Wang, completely unruffled, tilted his head up as if admiring the moon. A strange smile appeared on the young Daoist's lips. He shook his head, dismissing the thought of asking Han Wang for an introduction.

Xuzhuang scanned the area and saw a few familiar faces. Han Wang was chatting with two unfamiliar cultivators. Not wanting to interrupt, Xuzhuang gave them a distant hand clasp and walked toward two other people who were talking nearby.

They were a man and a woman. The man, dressed in lavish brocade, had the air of a dandy—it was none other than Sun Suzhen. The woman, with pearl earrings and a beautiful face, was Yun Yaoguang. The moment Xuzhuang appeared, Sun Suzhen waved him over. As Xuzhuang approached, Sun Suzhen smiled, clasped his hands in greeting, and called out, "Junior Brother Xu."

"Senior Brother Sun." Xuzhuang returned the gesture, then turned to Yun Yaoguang. "Senior Sister Yun, it's been a while."

"Junior Brother Xu, it has been a while." Yun Yaoguang said with a radiant smile, "I only recently heard the news that you had formed your Nascent Soul and come out of seclusion. I really want to ask you how on earth you cultivate."

Xuzhuang smiled faintly. "Senior Sister, you flatter me."

Sun Suzhen laughed. "Junior Brother, you've already come out of seclusion. Why did you refuse my invitations to a banquet several times?"

Xuzhuang replied, "I was instructing my disciple in cultivation at my residence, and I also had some new insights into the Daoist arts, so I simply remained behind closed doors."

"In less than a year, your Daoist arts have improved again?" Yun Yaoguang shook her head. "To be in the presence of such brilliance, I truly feel inadequate."

Xuzhuang just smiled. 'It might not be considered an improvement,' he thought. 'But during this time, I had contemplated yin and yang and studied the five elements, and truly felt that by extending these principles and drawing parallels, my understanding had grown immensely.'

As the three were talking, a scorching ray of light suddenly burst from the clouds. In an instant, it arrived before Dongzhen Hall, revealing Nangong Yang in a golden robe. He nodded at the three of them before heading toward Han Wang's group.

Xuzhuang's expression flickered. Recalling how that group had been sizing him up when he first arrived, he asked, "Who are the two with Senior Brother Han and Senior Brother Nangong?"

Sun Suzhen mused, "They must be senior true disciples who achieved the Nascent Soul realm before Senior Brother Han."

Yun Yaoguang gently shook her head, the dangling ornaments in her hair making a crisp sound. She said leisurely, "That's right. The one with long, shoulder-length hair is Senior Brother Zhang Tingxian, and the one with the fan is Senior Brother Feng Yuanliu. Both are senior true disciples who formed their Nascent Souls several hundred years ago."

Sun Suzhen nodded. "So it's those two."

Normally, it takes two to three hundred years for someone with a Top-grade Golden Core to form a Nascent Soul. This is also the cycle for a 'generation of true disciples.' After forming a Nascent Soul, cultivators usually travel far beyond the mortal realm, so it's quite normal for them not to know the younger generation of true disciples.

Xuzhuang said, "For several generations of true disciples, spanning hundreds of years, to gather in one hall is truly a rare sight. It's a pity that after reaching the Innate Tai Su Realm, they will probably all depart for the outer heavens again."

Sun Suzhen looked at Xuzhuang in surprise. "Junior Brother, after you came out of seclusion, have you not seen the Sect Leader?"

"Of course I have." Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow. "What does Senior Brother mean by that?"

Sun Suzhen pondered for a moment before saying, "I also heard this from Senior Brother Nangong. He said the emergence of the Demon Sect is now inevitable. To guard against the demonic calamity, the sect might order the Nascent Soul true disciples to remain within the sect and take up positions in the Three Halls."

"Oh?" Xuzhuang nodded thoughtfully. The words of Daochen Zhenren flashed through his mind. 'Could his 'other arrangements' have been referring to this?'

The three talked for a while longer. As the Celestial Time drew near, the sun was about to rise, and the sky had already begun to lighten. Streaks of light flew in one after another, revealing middle-aged or young-looking cultivators. These were the Nascent Soul Venerables from the various clans. Xuzhuang did a quick count; there were twenty people in all.

A few breaths later, a streak of sword light tore through the air and arrived, revealing Yue Junlan with hair as white as snow and a black robe. She scanned the crowd, nodded to Xuzhuang, Han Wang, and the others, then found a spot to stand by herself, closing her eyes to rest her spirit.

Xuzhuang suddenly had a feeling. With these twenty-one people, the count was complete.

'It seems the Sword Step Master failed to form a Nascent Soul, nor did he accept a favor from the great clans. He has become the only one among the seven great true disciples who did not reach the Innate Tai Su Realm.'

Xuzhuang shook his head and waited quietly. Before long, daylight broke, and auspicious purple qi drifted from the east. The gates of Dongzhen Hall stirred softly and slowly swung open.

Everyone looked over. Two fair-skinned Daoist Children walked out, holding a jade tablet. They bowed to the crowd and began questioning them one by one. Soon, one Daoist Child came to Xuzhuang, bowed deeply, and pointed to a name on the jade tablet, asking, "Might you be Junior Martial Uncle Xu?"

Xuzhuang returned the bow with one hand. "I am."

The Daoist Child nodded slightly, took out a jade slip, and handed it to Xuzhuang before moving on to question Sun Suzhen. After all the jade slips had been distributed, the two children returned to either side of the entrance, bowed in unison, and said, "We invite all the Martial Uncles to enter the hall."

Everyone responded in unison. Someone took the lead and stepped into the hall. Xuzhuang was not in a hurry, following Sun Suzhen and the others inside at a leisurely pace. The True Monarch Dharma Aspect was still seated on the high platform, one hand forming a Dharma Seal, the other holding a star, looking as if it had been unchanged since time immemorial. Below the Dharma Aspect, twenty-one rush cushions had been laid out.

At this moment, the two Daoist Children also entered the hall, bringing a bundle of Immortal Incense, which they offered respectfully.

Feng Yuanliu snapped his folding fan shut, was the first to take a stick of Immortal Incense, and bowed before the True Monarch Dharma Aspect. He placed the incense into the Incense Burner, then sat down on one of the rush cushions and closed his eyes.

Everyone else followed suit, offering their incense and taking a seat in an orderly fashion. Xuzhuang did the same. After taking a stick of Immortal Incense and placing it in the Incense Burner, he found a random rush cushion, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes to enter a meditative state.

——

In a hazy state, Xuzhuang seemed to lose consciousness. He was completely unaware of this, just as a mortal who falls asleep is unaware that they are dreaming.

"Daomiao."

Xuzhuang startled awake. He suddenly felt himself suspended in mid-air. Perhaps that wasn't accurate, because there was no ground beneath his feet, no celestial vault above, and possibly no up or down, no four directions. Xuzhuang was shocked to realize he had no idea if he was standing, upside down, or lying flat.

Xuzhuang tried to open his eyes and look, but this place wasn't dark and deep; it was devoid of color itself. It was without substance, without dust. Perhaps even 'existence' did not exist here. It was a complete void of 'non-existence'.

'Just now… did someone call me?'

Just as this doubt arose in Xuzhuang's mind, a Daoist with a blurred face slowly walked out of the nothingness and called, "Daomiao."

A sudden realization dawned on Xuzhuang. He responded respectfully, "This disciple greets the True Monarch."

The True Monarch smiled faintly and asked, "Daomiao, why do you cultivate the Dao?"

Xuzhuang fell silent, lost in contemplation. After a long while, he answered, "This disciple does not know."

The True Monarch seemed to sense the confusion in his heart and said gently, "It matters not. Just tell me everything that is in your mind."

Xuzhuang spoke slowly, "At first, this disciple wanted to ride a sword on the wind, to travel in and out of the Qingming. Later, this disciple wanted to tour the four seas by morning and rest in the cloud-draped marshes by evening. Later still, this disciple wanted to roam freely between heaven and earth, to travel in and out of the Star River..."

"This disciple wanted boundless Magical Power; this disciple wanted to learn Supreme Divine Techniques; this disciple wanted to achieve eternal life; this disciple wanted to know of my past and present lives; this disciple wanted to know where my Soul Home is; this disciple wanted to know the vastness of the Star River; this disciple wanted to know the mysteries of the universe; this disciple wanted to know..."

Xuzhuang suddenly understood. "This disciple's heart holds an infinite greed—a desire to witness the beauty of the Great Dao."

"Good." The True Monarch formed a seal with one hand, as if bowing to the Great Dao itself. He said no more, turned, and walked into the distance.

Xuzhuang opened his mouth but didn't dare to call out to the True Monarch. He watched as the True Monarch walked further and further away, gradually vanishing and leaving Xuzhuang alone in this expanse of 'non-existence'.

Suddenly.

A stir in Xuzhuang's heart—he intuitively felt that this place suddenly had 'existence'. Faintly, he seemed to know what was happening.

Yin and yang had not yet transformed; the great void was vast and desolate. Without light or image, without form or name.

In the Grand Beginning, there was existence and non-existence; non-existence was without name. The One arose, and with it came existence, yet it was without form.

Xuzhuang could not perceive any change, nor could he sense the generation of any spiritual Vigor. But in his awareness, it seemed that billions of years were flying by. With this passage, from non-existence came existence, from the One was born form. Once the signs of form were established, Xuzhuang 'saw'.

Xuzhuang saw the primordial embryo split, form giving birth to substance. The mists of Tai Su swirled, and a thing took shape from the chaos. This thing was the Dao!

From non-existence, existence is born. From existence, the One is born. The One gives birth to form, and form gives birth to substance... This was completely different from visualization; it was as if everything was truly happening right before Xuzhuang's eyes!

Xuzhuang forgot the passage of time, his mind following the transformation from Taishi to Tai Su, from Tai Su to Taiji, a feeling of endless joy welling up within him. Until it ended.

'It ended just like that?' Xuzhuang's joy turned to infinite disappointment. He had not yet fully understood Tai Su, had not grasped the nature of form and substance. Moreover, he did not know about Taiyi and Taichu, about how non-existence gives birth to existence.

'In Taichu and Taishi, how does the One give birth to form?'

'In Tai Su and Taiji, what did the sundering of Heaven and Earth truly look like?'

'Was it that the movement and stillness of Qi gave birth to yin and yang, and the separation of yin and yang created Heaven and Earth? Or was it that the One Qi divided into yin and yang, yin and yang gave birth to the five elements, the clear rose and the turbid sank, and thus Heaven and Earth were sundered?'

In a daze, Xuzhuang fell back into 'non-existence', only to startle awake from it once more.

PS: A bit short, working overtime.