Passing through the golden gate, Meng Qi’s vision suddenly expanded as if he had stepped from a cramped room into a vast wilderness. The sky was clear, the air fresh, with bodhi trees standing tall, clear springs bubbling, and sala trees unfading, exuding an indescribable purity and tranquility. His entire being seemed to have undergone a sublimation.
Yet this place held no living creatures, only silence pervading, eternal and unchanging, like the final resting place after death.
The Nine Nether could naturally give rise to goodwill, but evil demons, malevolent ghosts, and vengeful spirits willing to lay down their blades were indeed few and far between. Moreover, once they appeared and stepped into this pure land, they would inevitably be sensed by the Tathagata Buddha and guided to Vulture Peak. It was only after His nirvana and enlightenment, when Ananda rebelled and the world crumbled, that this lineage was left to fend for itself, and this place was abandoned.
Standing side by side with the Asura Progenitor, Meng Qi gazed into the distance of the pure land, where Mount Sumeru towered majestically, exuding solemn grandeur. He smiled faintly and remarked casually, “It’s understandable that the reincarnation of the Yellow Spring was discovered, but what puzzles me is how the discoverer knew He was heading to the Origin of Life and Death. Would such a secret be something the reincarnation of the Yellow Spring would blab about to everyone? And if they had captured Him and extracted the information through divine means, how did He manage to escape?”
The Asura Progenitor’s eyes grew increasingly turbid as he narrowed them slightly. “Since you’ve discerned this, fellow Daoist, why did you still come in?”
Meng Qi chuckled softly. “It’s just a ‘True Body of the Yellow Spring.’ Losing it is no great loss—what is there to fear?”
“For me, there is nothing left to lose. So I went with the flow, seeking life in the face of death, grasping for that sliver of hope.” The Asura Progenitor spoke with aged indifference.
After these brief exchanges, the two fell silent and began ascending step by step. Within moments, they reached the summit of Mount Sumeru.
At the peak stood a figure, his back to them, clad in black robes, exuding an aura as deep as an abyss and as towering as a mountain—a presence beyond the ordinary.
“Fellow Daoist, you are indeed here,” Meng Qi sighed with a hint of emotion.
This was none other than the reincarnation of the Yellow Spring, who seemed to have been waiting here for countless cycles of samsara.
The Yellow Spring slowly turned around, revealing a delicate human face. No longer a malevolent deity, He—now he—could be addressed as such.
His eyes, one entirely black and the other entirely white, swept past the Asura Progenitor and settled on Meng Qi. With a faint, enigmatic smile, he asked, “Fellow Daoist, do you know why I never returned to the Nine Nether to retrieve the remains I left behind?”
He had left behind control measures, intending to forge a peerless divine weapon from his original remains after reincarnation. Yet he never returned, allowing his remains to fall into the hands of the Sect of Impermanence of Life and Death, ultimately benefiting Meng Qi.
“Fellow Daoist, you have many secrets. How could I guess? But it likely boils down to either an unforeseen mishap or a deliberate scheme,” Meng Qi replied leisurely, showing no sign of feeling trapped.
The Yellow Spring shook his head with a wry smile. “Indeed. At the time, I used the cycle of the Origin of Life and Death to break free from the shackles of an innate deity. But I ended up ‘dreaming through ten thousand lifetimes.’ By the time I regained my memories, the end of the kalpa was near, my remains had long been taken by others, and I was being hunted by the likes of the Devil Buddha and the Emperor of Fengdu. I had no choice but to hide.”
The Asura Progenitor suddenly interjected, his voice hoarse and grave. “From your words, it seems you’ve also entered the ‘Origin of Life and Death’?”
If not, how else could he have used the Origin’s cycle for reincarnation, evading even the Devil Buddha’s detection?
The Yellow Spring let out a dark chuckle, his eyes swirling with a bloody yellow hue. In an ancient, weathered tone, he said, “I was born from the River of Yellow Spring, one with it in form. Yet I never knew of the Origin’s existence, let alone its mysteries. When the True Martial Emperor used me as a guide to invert the Yellow Spring and locate the Origin, if you were me, could you resist stepping in? It was a quest to unravel my own confusion—and perhaps my only chance to reach the Other Shore!”
Hearing this, Meng Qi’s gaze sharpened, waves of realization crashing within him.
The Yellow Spring had entered the Origin of Life and Death and then left to reincarnate. But what of the True Martial Emperor? Had he left as well? If so, where was he now?
The Asura Progenitor sighed. “I couldn’t resist…”
Not only could he not resist, but he would also try to be the first to act!
At this point, he truly couldn’t hold back any longer and asked bluntly, “What exactly is the Origin of Life and Death? What secrets does it hold?”
The Yellow Spring’s expression turned solemn. “All beings know that the Primordial Beginning cleaved chaos to create the heavens and myriad worlds, birthing all mysteries. This description is not wrong, but it lacks a preface—a crucial line: ‘Inheriting from the Dao, the Primordial Beginning cleaved chaos to create the heavens and myriad worlds!'”
“What is the ‘Dao’? The root of laws, the mother of principles, the source of virtue—the eternal pursuit of beings like us. It cannot be spoken of, cannot be described. Forced to name it, we call it the Dao. The heavens and earth were born from it, and all things evolved from it. And in this evolution, there are roots—places where the myriad worlds touch the Dao most closely, known as ‘Places Near the Dao.'”
“Even the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the beginning of all and the spirit of creation, could not initially grasp the mysteries of these places.”
The Asura Progenitor said gravely, “So the Origin of Life and Death is one such ‘Place Near the Dao’?”
Before the Yellow Spring could answer, Meng Qi suddenly spoke coldly, “The Primordial Heavenly Venerable couldn’t grasp it at first—meaning He later did?”
This was the most tantalizing implication of the Yellow Spring’s earlier words!
The Yellow Spring smiled. “If He hadn’t grasped it, how could He have condensed the embryonic form of the Dao Fruit?”
He didn’t elaborate further, instead saying, “The Origin of Life and Death is a ‘Place Near the Dao,’ as was the Nether Sea of old, and the highest layer of the Nine Heavens. There are only a handful of such places, each touching upon a different aspect of the Dao, like blind men describing an elephant. In this regard, the highest layer of the Nine Heavens is the most comprehensive.”
So this was the secret of the highest layer of the Nine Heavens? Meng Qi hadn’t expected to uncover so many hidden truths on this journey. His thoughts churned, as if something was about to take shape.
Grasping these mysteries, condensing the embryonic Dao Fruit… the struggle for the highest layer of the Nine Heavens… the Buddha once measured the Nine Nether… all factions sought to control the Heavenly Court and establish the Netherworld…
All these thoughts bubbled and fused like a boiling cauldron.
Just as the Yellow Spring was about to continue, Meng Qi’s voice rang in his ears again: “Is mastering all the mysteries and profundities of the myriad worlds a prerequisite for condensing the embryonic Dao Fruit?”
Both the Yellow Spring and the Asura Progenitor were taken aback—the former in surprise, the latter in confusion.
After a moment, the Yellow Spring chuckled darkly. “Isn’t that obvious? Inheriting from the Dao, the myriad worlds came to be. Though they belong to the postcelestial realm, the more thoroughly one masters them, the closer one can reverse-engineer the mysteries of the precelestial Dao. It’s like solving a puzzle—the more information you have, the closer you get to the truth. Conversely, the more mysteries of the myriad worlds you master, the more complete the real world within a Great Being of the Other Shore becomes, gradually evolving into another ‘myriad worlds’ until there is no difference. Past and future, celestial realms and the Nine Nether—all are within grasp, nearing the Dao, and the embryonic Dao Fruit takes form.”
“Only at this stage can one speak of shedding the postcelestial trappings, reducing to emptiness, and allowing the Dao Fruit to fully manifest.”
So this was the secret of the Other Shore. Upon crossing the bitter sea, the half-formed Dao Fruit was the condensation of one’s own path—a true, indescribable aspect of the Dao, albeit partial, like a blind man’s understanding of an elephant. To progress further, one had to comprehend the heavens and earth, measure the celestial realms and the Nine Nether, master past and future, and grasp all mysteries of the myriad worlds—all aspects of the Dao. Only then could the embryonic Dao Fruit take shape.
In the simplest, albeit imprecise terms, it was a journey from a few great paths to three thousand great paths, all in pursuit of the true “Dao.”
Yet there were undoubtedly gaps in the Yellow Spring’s explanation—things even he didn’t fully understand. Otherwise, why would the Great Beings of the Other Shore vie so fiercely? The mysteries and principles were there for all to comprehend, and the Netherworld and Heavenly Court had changed hands multiple times!
“I never imagined you would know the secrets of the Other Shore,” the Asura Progenitor said after a long silence once the Yellow Spring finished speaking.
The Yellow Spring smiled faintly. “I learned this from the True Martial Emperor. I myself am not entirely clear on it.”
Mention of the True Martial Emperor prompted Meng Qi to ask, “Is the True Martial Emperor still within the Origin of Life and Death?”
“Heh, he was too greedy, went too far, and was nearly assimilated by the Dao. Now he exists in a bizarre state between life and death,” the Yellow Spring replied with a cryptic smile. “Once I re-enter the Origin and carry him out, merging with his body in this state, I can usurp his place and take that crucial step forward!”
“But with my current strength, I cannot invert the Yellow Spring alone. I need the ‘assistance’ of you two fellow Daoists.”
His eyes gleamed with ill intent, as if the lengthy conversation had been a ploy to buy time for his preparations.
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