Chapter 1997: Chapter 1990: The Ti Has Not Co
Shen Luo, upon hearing Yuan Tiangang’s words, was about to speak when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside.
Following the sound, he saw a burly old man walk in, none other than Duke Cheng Yaojin.
Surprised, he took a closer look and noticed sothing amiss—the Cheng Duke before him was not his physical body but a carefully crafted piece of armor.
“Good kid, you’ve finally returned,” Cheng Yaojin said cheerfully in his usual manner.
Seeing Shen Luo staring at his body sowhat absent-mindedly, Cheng Yaojin imdiately slapped his chest with a loud thud, laughing, “See this? This body was crafted by the Little Master himself, more solid and durable than my original one, haha…”
“Junior greets the Duke,” Shen Luo cupped his hands in salute.
“How about it? I heard you’ve been in seclusion in the Eastern Sea. Have you made any breakthroughs?” Cheng Yaojin asked.
“Indeed, I attempted to break through to the Heavenly Venerate Realm two days ago, but was first disturbed by a Heart Demon, and then the Three Calamities Tribulation ca for , ultimately leading to failure,” Shen Luo said frankly to the two elders, hiding nothing.
Moreover, he hoped to gain so guidance and experience from these two elders.
“Goodness, how many years have you been practicing Daoism, and you’re already attempting a breakthrough to Heavenly Venerate?” Cheng Yaojin was almost dumbfounded.
Yuan Tiangang, however, remained calm, showing no surprise.
“Previously, when advancing to Taiyi, you used cunning tactics to deceive the Heavenly Tribulation with an earthbound transformation thod, thus avoiding the Three Calamities. Now, advancing to Heavenly Venerate, the backlash from these Three Calamities will only be more fierce and deadly,” Yuan Tiangang said.
“National Master, is there a way to avoid it?” Shen Luo asked.
“The Three Calamities are the fated tribulation, the true gateway to Great Freedom for the mortal body, unavoidable. Beyond the physical tribulations, there’s also the ntal tribulation and the necessity to overco the Heart Demon, none of which can simply be avoided,” Yuan Tiangang shook his head.
“My Heart Demon tribulation is especially strong. This guy will definitely not let advance to Heavenly Venerate and will sabotage ,” Shen Luo said with a bitter smile and a sigh.
“Once the ntal threshold is breached, two outcos are possible: one is being replaced by the Heart Demon, losing one’s spirit and becoming an Extraterrestrial Demon; the other is grappling with the Heart Demon and thus unable to fully confront the Three Calamities, ultimately leading to the body’s death and Dao’s dissipation,” Cheng Yaojin said with a frown.
“National Master, is there really no other way?” Shen Luo asked.
“Avoidance is impossible, as it is fate. If you truly wish to break through, the only way is to suppress the Heart Demon, then break through the heavenly fate and rewrite destiny,” Yuan Tiangang said slowly.
“Rewrite destiny?” Shen Luo murmured.
“Yet often, destiny is set, and the Three Calamities are a shared fate for all who attempt transcendence, even more immutable,” Yuan Tiangang continued.
“National Master, since destiny is hard to defy and cannot be changed, how does one then talk about breakthrough? Like you used a divine treasure to block the Three Calamities, how did you accomplish it?” Shen Luo asked, increasingly puzzled.
“Have you ever heard the story of Buddha cutting his flesh to feed an eagle, or how he fed himself to a tiger? Or that Buddha was once swallowed by a peacock?” Yuan Tiangang did not answer directly but asked instead.
Shen Luo nodded, indicating he knew.
“Then are you aware that the Jade Emperor endured one thousand seven hundred and fifty calamities to prove the Dao, among which there were thirty-three death tribulations?” Yuan Tiangang continued to ask.
Upon hearing this, Shen Luo seed to grasp sothing.
“A calamity is both a tribulation and a knot; how should it be resolved?” Yuan Tiangang asked.
In his mind, Shen Luo’s thoughts whirled, and suddenly he realized: since the Three Calamities are ordained by heavenly fate and cannot be changed, one must face them like Buddha and the Jade Emperor, to survive through death.
Seeing the spark of understanding in Shen Luo’s eye, Yuan Tiangang smiled and continued, “Shen Luo, you truly have great wisdom; I suspect you’ve already figured out what needs to be done.”
“Junior understands the Elder’s aning but wonders when you advanced to the Heavenly Venerate Realm, did you face the calamity of death?” Shen Luo asked.
“Succumbing to a calamity is indeed a way to deceive heaven and the Heavenly Dao. The danger is imnse, and success is slim; it cannot be a self-manufactured feigned death but must deeply involve oneself in mortal peril. I could say I died but not necessarily truly perished,” Yuan Tiangang smiled.
Listening to this, Shen Luo was again uncertain—how to die and live again, to be reborn from the brink of death?
“What the National Master describes, though profound, essentially ans being reborn after facing death; in that most indistinct line of life and death, allowing the Three Calamities to assu you are dead, while you rely on a trace of vitality to survive, that’s the principle,” Cheng Yaojin said with a smile.
Hearing this, Shen Luo was sowhat surprised, observing Duke Cheng, usually rough, with unexpectedly clear insights.
“Thank you both, Elders, for your guidance,” Shen Luo cupped his hands and smiled.
Yuan Tiangang’s eyes twinkled for a mont, as his hand secretly calculated within his sleeve, then gently lowered it, and sighed softly in his heart, “The ti is not yet.”
…
Shen Luo stayed at the Governnt Official, preparing to accompany Yuan Tiangang to the Heavenly Palace for a council eting.
After just one day, an official rushed into his courtyard with urgency, informing him of Duke Cheng’s urgent summons.
Shen Luo did not dare to delay and imdiately rushed over.
Upon entering the inner hall, Shen Luo saw Cheng Yaojin and Yuan Tiangang both present, alongside nurous disciples of the Governnt Official.
In the central area surrounded by everyone, a glimpse of a white dress was vaguely visible.
Seeing Shen Luo arrive, the people around slightly parted, allowing him to clearly see a woman in a white dress seated in a chair inside, none other than the long-unseen Gu Hualing.
Yet at this mont, her forr beauty was gone, her face awfully pale, and wrinkles had ford at the corners of her eyes and forehead, even her hair seed a bit grey, as if she had aged by decades.
“Friend Gu, what’s happened to you? How did your vital energy deplete to this extent?” Shen Luo asked in shock.
Gu Hualing lifted her head to look at Shen Luo; her gaze was sowhat void. She didn’t answer Shen Luo but instead spoke sowhat lost and broken, “Shen Luo, Lu Huaming is in trouble.”
“Brother Lu, what happened to him?” Shen Luo’s brows furrowed as he imdiately stepped forward to ask.
Being questioned like this, Gu Hualing’s eyes quickly welled up, and she struggled to speak.
“Let explain,” Cheng Yaojin sighed and said.
“Previously, espionage from the Great Tang border troops reported unusual activity of a large number of demons. Upon investigation, it was found they had escaped from the Northern Ju Lu Continent, but at the ti, there was too little information to know exactly what transpired in Northern Ju Lu Continent, so I dispatched the two of them to investigate, alas…” Cheng Yaojin sighed deeply as he spoke to this point.
At this mont, Gu Hualing, having stabilized her emotions sowhat, picked up where he left off, “When we reached Northern Ju Lu Continent, at first, we did not go directly onto land and initially only investigated in the surrounding sea area. But soon after arriving, we discovered that the number of demons escaping from the continent was decreasing, and felt sothing was amiss, so we decided to set foot on Northern Ju Lu Continent to investigate.”
She paused here, continuing,
“In the southern part of Northern Ju Lu Continent, conditions were relatively fine; we managed to encounter so mbers of the Demon Race, who inford us that the ravaging, bloodthirsty demonic beings seed finally at rest, temporarily ceasing their attacks on living beings.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Luo showed an expression of surprise, but he did not interrupt, quietly listening instead.
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