At the mont of Xu Qing’s enlightennt, True Martial flicked his fingers lightly, a mysterious light burst from his sleeve, instantly enveloping the two of them and appearing in the Reincarnation Channel of the Spirit Platform Star Sea.
Within the channel, the rock walls condensed by Ruishui River shone with a faint blue light, the murmuring of water carried ancient Dao Rhys, stirring layer upon layer of ripples in the void, each wave seeming to recount the legends of Ancient Gods and Demons.
Xu Qing’s robes fluttered, the Tai Chi Qiankun Circle at his waist breathed in and out black and white Qi, echoing mysteriously with the patterns flowing across his forehead; opposite him, True Martial’s Daoist robe flapped in the wind, the Twenty-eight Constellations’ dark patterns fluctuated with his aura, the water droplets from the suspended Mystic Water Jade Pendant between his strands of hair, congealed ti and space into eternal amber.
"Why did you do this, senior?" Xu Qing asked respectfully, the bronze mirror fragnt under his wide sleeves slightly heated up, chaotic aura seeped through the cracks at the edge of the mirror. Before his voice fell, the Ruishui River beneath surged unexpectedly, condensing into ancient trigram symbols, the lines of three unbroken Qian and six broken Kun appeared on the water’s surface, only to be swallowed by the undercurrent in a flash, leaving behind tiny ripples.
True Martial held a shadow of the Mystic Water Banner in his palm, his starry eyes deep like an abyss: "Not for one person, but to seek a thread of hope for all beings of Taixu." The star patterns on his Daoist robe suddenly transford into streaming light, projecting thousands of stars onto the rock walls, the handle of the Beidou Seven Stars strangely reversed direction, predicting a change in the Heavenly Dao.
"Is it to leave the Taixu Universe?" Xu Qing traced his fingers across the mirror’s pattern, the surrounding space rippled like spider webs, from afar ca a tallic humming from the rock walls, as if countless Ancient Divine Weapons trembled in the void.
"Wrong. It is to find the true self." True Martial’s gaze was like lightning, piercing through the void, "Just like your past life, at its essence, cultivation is a dream, aren’t we living in soone else’s dream?" Before his voice fell, the water curtain above the channel suddenly twisted, reflecting countless phantoms of Xu Qing. Each phantom wore different attire and lived divergent lives - a scholar studying hard, writing on yellowed scrolls; a hero wielding a sword to slay demons, the blood on the sword tassel dripping onto the green stone; and a high-ranking Emperor, the crown swaying in front of the Dragon Throne.
Xu Qing remained calm, showing a natural expression: "Since there is proof of Dao within a dream, naturally there is reverse of reality and illusion. Even though we are real now, we may be the dream of a higher dinsional existence. Reality and illusion are defined concepts."
He paused, his gaze directed towards the depth of the channel, where the Ruishui River was swirling into a vortex, faintly revealing the silhouette of the Tai Chi Yin Yang Fish.
In his view, the standard of definition depended on the level of the definer. This is the ultimate dilemma of cultivation. What you consider the endpoint, in higher dinsions might not even be the beginning. The greater the wisdom, the more this is understood, hence the loneliness of standing at the top.
Hence those towering existences, so are very humble. Because the higher they stand, the more they realize their own insignificance. This is insignificance in the dinsions of the universe, not a gap in power. This gap is more despairing than a gap in power.
But there was not a trace of despair in his eyes.
There are always realms and forces that cannot be reached, but the small child scholar of Jiangning Prefecture need not concern himself with what the Emperor of the Capital is thinking. Similarly, he need not cling to the influence of higher dinsions. For things against which resistance is futile, just comply, understand, and transform them.
True Martial nodded approvingly, with a flick of his robe sleeve, the Eight Diagrams Divine Furnace’s shadow suddenly appeared in the channel, within the blazing fire thousands of souls seed to struggle: "You are the microdust tested by the flas of the Eight Diagrams Divine Furnace, now nothing can twist or change you."
Xu Qing smiled and said, "Senior overpraises. Perhaps it’s simply being perceptive of trends." If his past enemies heard this they would surely sneer. When had Xu Gongming ever been perceptive of trends? He was clearly the most rebellious person. But Xu Qing himself knew, he has always understood to comply with greater trends. The situation of the Yin Ruins Space-Ti entangled with True Martial, Ziwei, Supre Taoist Ancestor, and even the Otherworldly Universe... He vaguely sensed that Shakyamuni was also one of the promoters. Establishing the New Heavenly Court was rely one part of this grand ga.
True Martial looked solemn, the shadow of the Mystic Water Banner suddenly expanded, transforming into a surging long river: "The Innate Qi of the Pure Yang Ancestor and my Mystic Water Banner are key to refining the Investiture of the Gods. With this item, you can enshrine and seal Divine Spirits, establishing an absolutely loyal team."
"What else do I need besides that?" Xu Qing’s pupils shrank slightly, his Taichu Demon Qi began to surge uneasily around him.
True Martial paused, a flash of complexity in his eyes: "The fuel for refining the Investiture of the Gods is... the Taichu Demon Qi on your body."
Xu Qing’s gaze was sharp like an eagle: "Indeed. I’ve heard the senior once purged demons from the world, so does my Heavenly Demon identity have sothing to do with you?"
"No. Proof of Dao within a dream is inherently a way to cultivate into a demon. The Buddhist thod of proof in a dream was originally learned from Heavenly Demons." True Martial explained, releasing a scroll from his sleeve, with the Buddha and Heavenly Demon dancing together, "Your previous life inadvertently cultivated into a Heavenly Demon. That dream was a projection of a real universe. You entered an era indulgent in materialism, where all were Heavenly Demons, without exception."
"I don’t think so, there were good people in that world." Xu Qing recalled the mories of his past life, those altruists who distributed porridge on the streets, those righteous souls who saved people from fires.
"Heavenly Demons can also be kind." True Martial spoke aningfully, in the scroll the Buddha suddenly opened its demon eyes, "Kindness is a foundation."
Xu Qing was taken aback, then understood. To have a foundation to be kind. Kindness ans inclusiveness, ans bearing the cost. Be it material or spiritual, it is always about having the ability to bear the cost. So good people are taken advantage of. Unfortunately, his ideology did not fully align with True Martial’s. In his past life’s dream era belonged to the Human Dao, "The way of heaven diminishes excess to supplent insufficiency; the way of humans diminishes insufficiency to give to excess." In that world, kindness often ant insufficiency, only to be continuously exploited.
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