Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage -
Chapter 116: Thousands of Paths to Prove the Dao
Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Thousands of Paths to Prove the Dao
Sun Wukong, having heard these words, found himself at a loss and could only respond, "Then let it be so."
The Heaven-Defying Taoist and Wukong then said, "We are grateful."
Sun Wukong waved his hand and replied, "No worries, no worries! The matters concerning you two are not minor; it’s best that I preside over them."
Whenever Wukong had an opportunity, he would catch a glimpse of the Heavenly Dao. Just now, after taking the Immortal Pill from the Old Jun, he saw this scene—a woman in a pink dress, cold-faced, standing before him blocking a massive handprint. The moment when blood spouted from her mouth, a tender smile hung at the corner of her eye. Because of him, Xuan Ming died, her soul scattered, and even with the body of an Ancestral Witch, she could not be revived!
Because of him, Zixia died, Xia Qing was suppressed, and now Xuan Ming also died because of him—how could he bear it? This time, he had to enter the Underworld, enter the reincarnation, and cut off the ties of karma; otherwise, this glimpse of the Heavenly Dao might indeed come to pass! He would rather die himself than have others die because of him.
"Take care, I’m off! Before long, it will be the ten-year agreement, at which time brother Heaven-Defying Taoist must also make a trip!" said Wukong.
"Rest assured, brother. I certainly will not forget," the Heaven-Defying Taoist laughed. "It seems those four also have extraordinary talents. By now, they must have also achieved the rank of Taiyi Golden Immortal, right?"
Wukong nodded and said, "I’m off now!"
With those words, he employed the Earth Escape Technique and burrowed into the ground, heading for the Netherworld Underworld.
The Heaven-Defying Taoist also said, "I’m off too!"
With those words, he performed a somersault, turning into a streak of golden light, and headed toward the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands.
Sun Wukong sighed and said, "I, Old Sun, can go nowhere, only stay here and guard the home!"
Speaking of Wukong employing the Earth Escape Technique toward the Netherworld Underworld—it wasn’t long before he arrived at the gates of the Underworld, where someone stopped him outside.
"The dead may enter, the living shall not!" said the gatekeeper, a Yin God.
"Go inform Ancestral Witch Xuan Ming that the Green Emperor of the Demon Tribe is visiting," Wukong said.
Hearing that he was the Green Emperor of the Demon Tribe, the Yin God was secretly alarmed, realizing this was Sun Wukong! Hearing that he came to find the Ancestral Witch Xuan Ming, he dared not delay and nearly stumbled as he entered the Netherworld Underworld to notify Xuan Ming.
It was not long before Xuan Ming walked out from the gates of the Underworld.
Upon receiving the report that Wukong was visiting, Xuan Ming was somewhat surprised, unable to help but glance at him and asked, "What brings you here?"
Wukong nodded and replied, "I have a matter."
Xuan Ming felt a discomfort in her heart and her expression turned cold as she asked, "What matter?"
Looking at her face, Wukong said, "I need to enter reincarnation."
Xuan Ming replied, "Zixia’s soul has been scattered, and you will not find her in the cycles of reincarnation. What purpose do you have in entering reincarnation?"
Wukong said, "Would it be possible for you to join me?"
Startled by his question, a rare blush rose on Xuan Ming’s face as she asked, "What would we do inside reincarnation?"
Wukong smiled and said, "The last time was because of the six Buddha Golden Bodies, many changes arose within reincarnation. This time, I want to go in again to see; are you coming?"
Xuan Ming replied, "Naturally, I will go."
This journey into reincarnation was indeed needed to resolve karma. As for how this karma would be concluded, Wukong himself did not understand and had to take it one step at a time. Otherwise, when the time came for him to face his destiny, if Xuan Ming died for him, that would not be good. He also secretly wondered who had delivered that palm strike that could kill an Ancestral Witch’s body outright, leaving no chance for revival? Such a method was truly terrifying.
"Follow me," Xuan Ming said with a faint smile, turning to enter the depths of the Underworld.
"Alright," Wukong said, following closely behind her footsteps.
Di Jiang and others appeared at some point up ahead, blocking their path.
Di Jiang asked, "And where are you off to now?"
Xuan Ming replied, "Reincarnation!"
Di Jiang glanced at Wukong and said, "You have already thoroughly understood your heart and regained your past cultivation level, so what need is there to go into reincarnation?"
Xuan Ming smiled faintly and said, "To resolve karma and to achieve sainthood by slaying the three corpses!"
The other Ancestral Witches, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but draw a breath of cold air. Had Xuan Ming’s cultivation level advanced to such a degree? Wukong, upon hearing this, was slightly astonished as well. He hadn’t expected that Xuan Ming had seen through his purpose, but she had always been reluctant to articulate it.
Looking at Xuan Ming’s retreating figure, Wukong felt an inexplicable emotion surge within him, causing a severe ache.
Di Jiang nodded and said, "This time, entering reincarnation, you are to be safe and sound. Last time you thoroughly understood your own heart, this time you merely need to retain a sliver of clarity in your Dao heart, and you can come out whenever you wish."
Xuan Ming said, "At least a month, at most a year, I shall surely become a Saint!"
To become a Saint! How difficult was that matter? Lu Ya was born at the dawn of Heaven and Earth, even before the Three Pure Ones, yet it took him a full hundred thousand years to Slay the Three Corpses and attain sainthood. And yet Xuan Ming could achieve it so simply—could she indeed Slay the Corpses and achieve Primordialunity? Or was it that she had found her own unique path? Perhaps, only when she emerged from reincarnation would they know.
Today’s Xuan Ming, even the blood-related Ancestral Witches found her increasingly inscrutable—she had changed.
What changed was not just her cultivation level, but also her heart and her own Dao.
Since Xuan Ming’s existence began, it had only been two years. In the first year, she restored her cultivation level; in the second year, she was set to attain sainthood. This was quite shocking! However, her accumulation was also substantial, nearly a hundred thousand years, after all, she was a body born of an Ancestral Witch, existing since Pangu Split Heaven and Earth, slowly transforming from Pangu’s Essence Blood into Xuan Ming. Everything since the primal ancient times, she had seen with her own eyes.
Di Jiang nodded again and said, "Then go ahead, the sooner you come out, the better."
Xuan Ming said, "Naturally."
She then approached the edge of the Reincarnation Pool with Wukong, looked back at him once, and leaped into the Reincarnation World. Wukong did not hesitate, and he leaped into the Reincarnation Pool too. A six-colored grand wheel started spinning, integrating both into it and transporting them into the Reincarnation World.
"Big brother, what are your thoughts?" Houtu asked.
"Xuan Ming cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness, and from it wrought the Path of Slaughter. However, today, she has been touched by Sun Wukong at the root of her Dao heart. This time, I’m afraid Sun Wukong has discerned the changes in the Heavenly Dao, which is why he took the initiative to seek her out. I believe he is good-hearted, being still quite indecisive about emotions," Di Jiang said, frowning.
"How so?" Houtu asked.
"We are all transformed from Pangu’s Essence Blood, knowing nothing of love. But having cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness, Xuan Ming didn’t expect to undergo changes in reincarnation, from ruthlessness to developing emotions. She is the first among us to understand love. We aren’t able to Slay the Three Corpses; we can only accumulate merit to become saints. She, however, can do it because she understands love, a concept we are oblivious to," Di Jiang, though he didn’t understand love, had observed Xuan Ming closely and saw through this.
The Three Pure Ones lack emotions, so do the Twelve Ancestral Witches, even the Nether River is devoid of feelings, for they all are transformations of Pangu. But Xuan Ming was the variable; in reincarnation, she gained emotions. Where was the evidence? In her third life in reincarnation, she transformed into a Bodhisattva, who is also known as ’One who understands emotions.’ It was from there she began to see.
Ruthlessness, or having emotions? The difference is a fine line.
The emotionless are most easily moved; the emotional are easily rendered emotionless.
Yao Chi asked, "Can Xuan Ming truly Slay the Corpses and attain the Dao this time?"
Di Jiang shook his head, saying, "The Path to Sainthood is arduous yet simple. The Three Pure Ones accumulated merit when Pangu opened Heaven, received Hong Jun’s salvation, and directly became saints; Zhun Ti accumulated merit by founding the Western Religion, dreamt daily until he dreamt of becoming a saint, and then he actually did; similarly, Jieyin also created religious merit, supported by all Buddhists chanting ’Amitabha Buddha’, was thus crowned a saint; the Nine Heavens Profound Lady was nurtured by the Heavenly Dao for tens of thousands of years, born from Heaven, an Innate Taoist Body, naturally became a saint; Eastern Emperor Taiyi, competing with the entire world with the Eastern Emperor Bell, glimpsed a bit of the Chaos Dao, Slayed the Three Corpses..."
"Goddess Nuwa created humanity with her Essence Blood, moved people with her immense compassion, and thus became a saint; Di Jun and the sun are born together, like the Profound Lady, an Innate Taoist Body, naturally became a saint; Lu Ya Taoist, born at the dawn of Heaven and Earth, his original form was a Three-legged Golden Crow, he should have achieved the Dao earlier, but Di Jun beat him to it with the sun’s help, forcing him to meticulously explore and Slay the Three Corpses to achieve Dao; Ancestral Demon Luo Hou, intercepted the hearts of demons between Heaven and Earth, with great magical power created the Demon Abyss in the Northern Region, achieving the Dao with a demonic heart..."
After Di Jiang finished speaking, everyone contemplated deeply, wondering where their own path to attaining the Dao lay.
Zhu Rong then asked, "What about Pangu? What was his Dao?"
Di Jiang smiled and said, "Pangu was already a Heavenly Dao Saint, but the Splitting Heaven and Earth required the use of a Great Dao Divine Artifact. He tried to prove the Dao with force and attain the status of a Great Dao Sage, but ultimately, he failed. Instead, it was the Three Pure Ones who benefitted, picking up the great merit from Pangu’s creation and with the Taoist Patriarch’s salvation, they simply became saints."
Houtu said, "So Zhun Ti became a saint just by dreaming? Then maybe everyone in the world should start dreaming!"
Di Jiang said, "Do you think becoming a saint through dreams is easy? Zhun Ti is a unique being, the first Bodhi seed formed between Heaven and Earth, naturally in accord with the will of the Heavenly Dao. He dreamt daily of becoming a saint, spending all his days doing nothing but cultivating in his dreams, and one day, he dreamt he became a saint. When he awoke, he indeed had become a saint."
This method of attaining sainthood was indeed peculiar; though it might seem simple to outsiders, it was extremely difficult; dreams are uncontrollable, and who among the people of the world can control their dreams? Saints are dreamless, but Zhun Ti had dreams and could even manage them.
Houtu exclaimed, "Wow! Then how will Xuan Ming achieve the Dao in reincarnation?"
Di Jiang laughed, "She said she would Slay the Three Corpses, but I fear she won’t manage to, as she is too obsessed. However, since she claimed she could become a saint, there might indeed be a possibility! We just have to wait and see if Xuan Ming truly can become a saint."
Gonggong nodded and said, "I saw Xuan Ming changed as soon as she came out of reincarnation, likely because of Sun Wukong. The two are deeply intertwined; this venture into reincarnation to resolve their karma should bring them great fortune!"
Everyone has their own Dao; it depends on how they walk it. Walk it right, and naturally, you become a saint; walk it wrong, and you’re merely drawing a pie in the sky.
This time, what Dao is Xuan Ming walking? And is she walking it correctly?
And Wukong? Did Wukong make the right move?
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