Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 313 - 202: Fate Diagram, Saint’s Artifact

Chapter 313: Chapter 202: Fate Diagram, Saint’s Artifact

Not long ago, Gu Wen learned from a conversation between Wu Kong and Qingcang that their previous talks were obscure, but now they were speaking very bluntly.

This might be where his master differed from ordinary Immortal beings.

Wu Kong would avoid talking about cause and effect, yet she could reel off such words with such ease and nonchalance.

And the Immortality Pill was acquired by Qingcang when she chopped off a Saint’s hair?

Gu Wen found it hard to imagine such a scene, let alone comprehend Qingcang’s realm, or how she managed to leave unscathed.

The Ancestor of Ten Thousand Spirits, the source of all celestial beings’ cultivation, the one whose breath moved the Spiritual Energy of the Three Realms.

Gu Wen looked around, were the mountains and rivers he saw the first pure breaths exhaled by a Saint?

A thread of enlightenment rose to his mind, to view the vastness, to follow his true heart.

Moving mountains and reclaiming seas are the powers of great cultivators, transcendence and longevity are the privileges of Immortal beings, while Saints are nature itself.

Becoming an Immortal wasn’t the end; above Immortal beings were Saints, and how wondrous must the Saints’ world be?

A thought surfaced, but Gu Wen quickly suppressed it. He hadn’t become an Immortal yet, nor had he experienced the carefree life of one. To fantasize about Saints now seemed overly ambitious.

Besides, his Fate Diagram only spoke of becoming an Immortal, never of becoming a Saint, so perhaps reaching Immortality was the end.

Fate Diagram?

The Earth Realm Saint had control over the creation and destruction of all things, bestowing upon sentient beings their Fate Diagram and Qi Fortune.

Was the Red Dust Immortal’s Fate Diagram also given by a Saint?

"Earth Realm Saint bestows Fate Diagram and Qi Fortune, does that not mean whoever they wish to become Immortal will become one?"

Gu Wen suppressed his thoughts to keep his expression neutral and asked calmly.

Doing so also kept Qingcang’s Divine Skills from hearing; she didn’t have the habit of eavesdropping on her disciple. Unless one’s emotions were overwhelming and difficult to conceal, one’s thoughts wouldn’t be leaked.

Qingcang smiled and shook her head, "The life and death of Immortal beings aren’t under His control, naturally. If there is Immortal Qi Fortune, it certainly isn’t something He can bestow at will. Just like those Sacred Bodied beings who are capable of Immortality, the Earth Realm Saint probably least wants to see that. Even if one could gather the Fate Diagram at great cost, it wouldn’t be bestowed upon sentient beings."

"Why?"

Gu Wen pursued the question, his expression inevitably becoming eager.

"To transcend is to escape life and death, a Saint in charge of life and death wouldn’t want too many Immortal beings. Besides, Fate Diagram is different from Divine Positions; those with thin fates can’t bear it, yet for those destined to become Immortal, it’s merely gilding the lily."

Qingcang answered without hesitation.

"Just as with the Life Span Tribulation, if it didn’t exist, the number of Immortals in the heavens and earth would be many times greater. Every Demi Immortal has the qualifications to become an Immortal, but they can’t transcend within their limited lifetime."

Normally, matters about Saints weren’t to be discussed lightly, but since her disciple asked, she would naturally respond.

Because sooner or later, Gu Wen would come into contact with these matters, and the searching process was time-consuming and laborious. Better she informed him in advance, lest in her absence, no one would tell Gu Wen.

"Both Saints, with different authorities, invariably involve all sentient beings. Do you know why?"

Gu Wen shook his head, "Disciple does not know, please enlighten me, Master."

"Because aside from Their own authorities, the last position of a Saint is sentient beings themselves, it’s what Jianmu pursues, and also your future goal."

Qingcang reached out to tidy up Gu Wen’s somewhat disheveled collar, as if a mother was planning her child’s future.

"The path of Jianmu’s sanctification is to become the tree of a realm, suspend Grotto Heavens, and nurture living beings. Similarly, our Human Race cultivating the land, conditioning Spirit Veins, and establishing Spiritual Mountains and Spirit Fields, is also a path to sanctification."

"If you wish to become a Saint in the future, our clan will help you, and when the Human Race becomes the leader of all spirits, that will be the time of your sanctification."

Gu Wen, catching the implied meaning in her words, didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

He said, "Having found the Immortality Pill, that position of Saint should be for Master."

"The world is impermanent, and in life, it’s common to have eight or nine dissatisfactions out of ten. Disciple, you have already taken up one of your Master’s satisfactions, and that should suffice. The rest depends on whether I have eight or nine unsatisfactory outcomes."

Qingcang smiled faintly, ruffled Gu Wen’s hair, and said no more.

Jianmu failed to achieve his wish of sanctification, and what should have been the most important backup, the Immortality Pill, became a burden. Yet, just when Jianmu seemed to have the upper hand, Gu Wen appeared.

Qingcang had prepared herself for complete obliteration. With Jianmu’s Semi-Saintly stature, her cultivation time was not even a ten-thousandth of his.

Even if she couldn’t perish together with him, the time she had bought was enough for Gu Wen to grow.

Now the Human Race held an advantage, and Jianmu would die.

On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, South Gate fell into the hands of the Nanchun Army, exposing the interior of Qianjing to their iron hooves.

During this time, strong members of the Demon Sect kept coming to probe in their avatars, without exception, all were slain by Gu Wen. The situation of facing enemies everywhere hadn’t changed, but due to an increase in strength, the previous difficulties had disappeared.

Gu Wen used the Daoist Sect’s Qi Observation Skill to see, from thousands of miles away, an old dragon wailing.

The Lord Emperor’s momentum was gone, victory seemed within easy reach.

————————————

Eight thousand li to the south of Nanshui, giant trees stood tall, and the dense canopy and vines were like an impenetrable carpet that thoroughly covered the entire land.

Apart from the green forests, nothing could proudly stand in the sunlight.

Clang!

A sword came from the east, and miles of white clouds all retreated; in the end, the sword light touched down on the ground, and the green carpet was slowly slashed open.

An unadorned wooden-handled Xuan Iron Sword stood suspended in the air, then in the next instant, it transformed into an old man with white whiskers.

Sword Master looked at the valley he had just casually cleaved, the densely tangled tree roots enveloped it, with a green-haired woman at the bottom holding a severed arm in her hand.

Their eyes met, each gazing at the other, and at that moment, the heavens and the earth seemed to morph into swords and spears; the colliding auras set off a hurricane that overwhelmed millions of trees in the forest.

"Jianmu’s incarnation?"

Sword Master frowned deeply, looking at the severed arm in the other’s hand, he knew he had guessed wrong again.

"Immortal Sword."

The green-haired woman’s voice was ice-cold as she asked, "You are not Qingcang, and you have already attained immortality, so why are you so fixated on the Immortality Pill?"

Immortals are unbound; aside from Qingcang, no immortal would be concerned with racial differences.

In the past, the Human Race might have been third-rate within Jianmu Cave Heaven, but as the Humans left and gradually some among them became great powers, first-rate tribes like the Four Symbols no longer minded having dealings with powerful humans, many even became Fellow Daoists.

Even great powers who had not attained immortality were not divided by race, let alone immortals.

Cultivation is about cultivating oneself.

"In former times, the immortal officials of the immortal court perished, all by the hand of the Spirit Ancestor. Today, countless beings in the Cultivation World should not repeat the same mistakes."

Sword Master slowly raised his hand towards the sky, and behind him, in the firmament above, millions of sword shadows glittered in the void, like a sky full of stars.

The original Human Race, in order to compensate for their innate deficiencies, resorted to Artifact Refining, and Swordmen were the Human Race’s first real teeth.

He was one of the first sword refiners, and there was another from the Immortal Realm, an immortal official.

When the immortal official descended to earth and was attacked, his injuries were too severe to return to the Immortal Court, and he was picked up by a woodcutter from a human village and taken home; thus, the village gained an anecdote:

The loner at the end of the village didn’t bring back a fairy, but instead picked up a White-faced Lang.

In gratitude for saving his life, the immortal official taught the woodcutter the ways of Qi Cultivation, and thereafter, the two would go chopping wood on the mountain at dawn, practice Qi Cultivation in the forest at noon, and hone their martial skills by the stream at night.

At that time, there was no distinction of schools in the art of cultivation; mastery of magic skills and Fate Diagrams were deadly secrets, and revealing them meant certain death to outsiders.

The village man observed the patterns of the mountain winds, applied the skills to chopping wood, and thus created the Sword Qi art.

Once the immortal official’s injuries healed, he returned to the Immortal Court, and every ten years he would descend to deal with official matters, always making time to visit the woodcutter. Over ten years, as the woodcutter practiced swordcraft daily and began his journey into immortality, he also reached middle age, but the immortal official still looked as he did at first.

The latter spoke of bringing him an Imperial Decree, seeking the Immortal Position of a minor celestial officer.

Ten years later, the immortal official did not return, and the woodcutter progressed in his cultivation, becoming a renowned expert far and wide.

As centuries passed, the woodcutter’s reputation evolved from Sword Dao Master to the founding patriarch, the Sword Master, but the immortal official never returned.

It was only when he reached the mountain peak that he learned the Heavenly Gate was closed, the Immortal Court had perished, and the immortal official had died.

Sword Master wasn’t feeling sentimental but simply regretted not being able to see his old friend again, and he also held no fondness for the Spirit Ancestor.

"The immortal official died bound by the Immortal Position, transcended because of it, and also perished because of it."

Despite the myriad sword lights, the green-haired woman’s expression remained unchanged as she straightforwardly said, "If that is the case, why not help me become a Saint? In doing so, all problems will be solved."

"Help you? It seems that Fellow Daoist Qingcang truly has the makings of a Saint, and you are not without the power to contend against him."

A slight smile appeared on Sword Master’s steely face; he was amused at Jianmu’s predicament, having twelve immortals under his command, yet still needing to solicit his assistance.

This suggested that even with Jianmu and the Twelve Demon Ancestors, there was no certainty they could suppress Qingcang. At least Jianmu could not escape completely from Qingcang’s hands, and it might even come to mutual destruction.

Just as the saying goes, below immortals, all are ants; if one does not achieve transcendence, one is doomed to become dust. Conversely, without attaining immortality, one remains an ant.

Jianmu has not yet become a Saint, thus he’s not invincible.

"There is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome, and I am no exception."

The green-haired woman didn’t deny it, she reached for her left arm, and with a gentle pull, tore off flesh and bone alike.

Instead of blood, tender green sprouts flowed out, one end burrowing into the Immortality Pill’s severed arm.

The two components, differing in size and with completely opposite auras, were forcefully merged; in just a moment, the green-haired woman transformed back into the heavenly aspect.

It was formless by nature; the feminine aspect was merely an emulation of Qingcang. Now, derived from the Saint, the Immortality Pill was stronger than Qingcang.

Neither male nor female, the union of Yin and Yang, the potential for creation was boundless.

A three-inch White Jade Vajra Ring appeared in the palm, and a breath that towered above the heavens and earth unfolded.

"Then of the number nine and one, do you choose nine, or one?"

"Cut."

The old man transformed back into an Iron Sword, and with one strike, heaven and earth split asunder.

In the hands of Jianmu’s incarnation, the White Jade Vajra Ring flew out, a streak of white light passed through, and thousands of sword shadows were drawn into it, the Immortal Sword no larger than a toothpick.

Sword Master reverted to his human form, his face showing surprise, which then gradually settled into calmness.

The White Jade Vajra Ring, harboring the power of Saints, could only contain, as the power of Saints required Jianmu to exhaust his utmost potential to barely achieve containment within it; any more was beyond its capability.

According to the Sword Sect’s message, this was intended to deal with Qingcang, and now it was used on him, it had to be eventually released.

Unless Jianmu thought him more troublesome than Qingcang.