Chapter 29: The Dao's Revelation and the Price of Love
Qingyun clung tightly to Qingxuan's sleeve. His eyelids grew heavy, as if he were on the verge of sinking into a deep slumber, and the Great Evolution Void Travel Technique stirred within him once more. His movement jolted Qingxuan awake from her stunned state.
"Junior Brother, you..." she began, her concerned gaze falling upon him in silent inquiry.
Qingyun wanted to reassure her, but the Great Evolution Void Travel Technique within him seemed to reach its breaking point. In an instant, it erupted from the depths of his being, flooding his vision with dazzling light.
When he came to, he found himself once again before the mysterious figure bound by chains. Though he had visited this place several times and grown accustomed to it, the urgency of the moment left no room for delay.
"Let me out!" he cried anxiously.
To his surprise, the figure, which had always remained silent, spoke this time. "Is it her... I see," it said cryptically. With a sigh, its lightning-filled eyes turned toward Qingyun, piercing into the depths of his body where the Great Evolution Void Travel Technique resided.
In that moment, a cascade of images flooded Qingyun's mind. He instantly understood that these were the profound secrets of the technique—not forced upon him, but liberated from the depths of his own soul. Though not foreign, the sheer magnitude of the knowledge overwhelmed him. With a groan, he awoke in Qingxuan's arms.
He saw her lips moving, her face etched with worry, but no sound reached his ears. Strangely, he could hear the faint rustle of the wind and the trembling of the multi-faced immortals nearby, forming a vivid mental map of his surroundings without even turning his head.
As he instinctively glanced toward the immortals outside the alley, he felt his body drawing upon an unknown power. Qingxuan, too, noticed the change and gasped, "The path... where the Dao Ancestor blesses!"
Qingyun's body slowly rose into the air, just as Qingxuan had once done when borrowing the power of the Dao. A deep blue armor materialized around him, and his eyes blazed with countless streaks of lightning, mirroring the chained figure.
What followed left Qingxuan speechless, her mouth agape in astonishment.
Qingyun moved with deliberate slowness. In the next moment, he appeared behind the immortals at the alley's entrance. He clasped his fists to his chest, then opened his palms, as if scattering something invisible toward the convulsing multi-faced beings. With that, his lightning-filled eyes glanced at Qingxuan.
The immortals, upon his gesture, melted like ice under a blazing sun, their trembling forms dissolving until they vanished.
That single glance seared into Qingxuan's mind, unleashing a torrent of visions—fragments of a future yet to unfold, yet feeling as though they had occurred countless times before.
The Visions of the Future
Scene after scene flashed before her. Qingxuan saw herself leading Qingyun to the heart of Golden Radiance City, where they met Qingpeng. In a desperate stand, Qingpeng fought to protect them, ensuring their survival amidst a conspiracy against the Five Elements Sect.
Outside the city, Chixiao struck down Li Xun with a single sword stroke. But as Chixiao prepared to enter the city, a branch adorned with white flowers flew from the heavens, embedding itself in Li Xun's corpse. A refined man descended from the sky, bowing to Chixiao.
Chixiao moved to retrieve Li Xun's body, but an ancient immortal sealed within Golden Radiance City broke free. At the same time, a figure in armor—the Soul-Slaying Immortal—arrived from beyond, forcing Chixiao into a dilemma. Unable to act, he watched as the refined man, the Xuanbing Immortal, took Li Xun's corpse.
The Xuanbing Immortal's true aim was Li Xun's death at Chixiao's hands. Using Li Xun's body and the lingering affection from "Mu Hua," he transformed Li Xun into a Confucian Immortal—a being of Dao-realm strength, stripped of past memories, loyal only to the Immortal Abyss.
Chixiao, battling two foes, sustained grave injuries. Fortunately, the Lotus Immortal arrived with her disciple, Lu Chan, in time to save him. Together, they slew the ancient immortal, though the Soul-Slaying Immortal escaped.
Meanwhile, the Five Elements Sect's delegation to the Immortal Abyss was ambushed, delaying their aid to Chiyan and Yushu. Chiyan and Yushu, alongside the dynasty's generals, defended the capital but awaited reinforcements that never came. Instead, they faced the Jialuo Immortal and his horde.
In that battle, Chiyan fell, and Yushu wept tears of blood. The capital was breached, the dynasty crumbled, and Shi Cangsheng, saved by his chancellor's sacrifice, fled into obscurity, later becoming a wandering storyteller.
When news of Chiyan's death reached the Five Elements Sect, despair gripped them. With Chixiao wounded and the dynasty overrun by immortals, the sect could only bide its time. Qingxuan, heartbroken and unwilling to accept her master's death, tried to leave but was confined by her father.
Though Qingyun often snuck her out to lift her spirits, her sorrow lingered. Her father, seeing her pain, tacitly allowed Qingyun's visits. Had things continued, perhaps Qingxuan might have healed.
But Lu Chan's arrival complicated matters. She clung to Qingyun, and despite his courteous distance, he felt an inexplicable fondness for her.
At Chixiao's bedside, the Lotus Immortal revealed the truth: Lu Chan was half of her lotus core, the other half implanted in Qingyun as a child to save his life after a near-fatal injury.
Qingyun's growing affection for Lu Chan did not escape Qingxuan's notice. Jealous and still mourning her master and Yushu, she plotted to leave the mountain in search of them.
Meanwhile, Kongxiang visited the Five Elements Sect, urging Chixiao once more to abandon his plans. In their conversation, Chixiao revealed, "Qingyun is intricately tied to the Qian Yuan Daoist."
To ensure Qingyun would remain in the mortal realm to aid the Taoists, Chixiao had replaced his heart with the lotus core and taken him as a disciple, hoping human bonds would anchor him after awakening his "true self" to fight the immortals. Yet Chixiao was unaware of Qingyun's deeper identity.
Tears welled in Qingxuan's eyes as the visions continued.
She saw herself leaving the mountain, while Qingyun, sensing something amiss in his feelings for Lu Chan, insisted he loved only his Senior Sister. He begged Chixiao to let him search for her. Chixiao, beleaguered by the Lotus Immortal's persistent advances, tested Qingyun's mastery of the Great Evolution Void Travel Technique and, against his wishes, sent Lu Chan with him.
The visions accelerated, the future still malleable, yet Qingxuan sensed an unseen hand guiding the grand design.
She saw Qingyun growing through his immortal hunts, Lu Chan's unwavering devotion softening his resolve. Meanwhile, Qingxuan encountered a white-haired, blind Yushu, consumed by grief, kneeling before an empty grave he had dug for his master. No plea could stir him—not even when he blinded his third eye, lamenting that, had he not been royalty, he might have confessed his love to Chiyan.
But a shocking revelation drew Yushu back to the world.
After Chixiao recovered, he quelled the immortals, granting the dynasty a reprieve. Then, a rumor spread: Chixiao was an Immortal—a Taoist who had failed to ascend, died, and was reborn as a Dao Immortal. Unknowingly, he had followed his past life's wish to the Five Elements Sect.
The immortals withdrew, as if to mock humanity, while Taoist leaders confronted Chixiao at the sect, bringing with them the reborn Li Xun—now a Confucian Immortal, his memories erased, a puppet.
The Five Elements Sect faced scrutiny and attack. Yushu returned, yearning to stand with his master and brothers. Before the world, Chixiao's immortal nature was exposed. His obsession with saving humanity stemmed from his immortal identity.
The sect distanced itself, but Chixiao's martial uncle secretly aided his escape with his disciples. Meanwhile, Qingyun and Lu Chan were trapped in a dire strait, unaware of the upheaval.
The events unnerved Chixiao, who sensed an invisible hand manipulating him, even his own schemes. Anxious, he tried to divine Qingyun's location but found his foresight blocked. He took his eldest disciple to seek Kongxiang, only to find Yushu and Qingxuan already there.
As the saying goes: "A man chasing a woman faces a mountain; a woman chasing a man, only a veil." Though Qingyun loved his Senior Sister, Lu Chan's innate closeness and deliberate charm wore him down.
Chixiao, upon arriving, heard Kongxiang's final plea to abandon his plans. Sensing something amiss, Chixiao decided to investigate the certainties in his schemes, journeying with Kongxiang beyond the heavens.
Qingxuan, learning from Qingpeng that Qingyun had left the mountain with "a vixen" while the sect was in crisis, fled in a panic to find him.
The visions sped forward again.
Qingxuan saw her own death at Lu Chan's hands, the latter's face twisted in a savage grin. Why? Was it because of Qingyun?
But the visions didn't stop with her death.
After believing Qingxuan slain by an immortal, Qingyun descended into madness. His mastery of the Great Evolution Void Travel Technique, aided by the chained figure, neared the Dao realm. He scoured the Three-Eye Dynasty for his master and friends.
With half a step into the Dao realm and the technique's power, few could challenge him. Yet the heavens seemed veiled by an unseen hand, thwarting even his divinations. In his frenzy, Qingyun began slaughtering immortals.
When he finally calmed, he discovered Lu Chan had been a pawn of the upper realm immortals all along. The Lotus Immortal was merely a tool; her core had been swapped by the upper immortals, with Lu Chan planted as a seed.
Upon awakening, Lu Chan knew her mission: to break Qingyun's heart, to make him wish for death. Thus, after Qingxuan's death drove him to slaughter, Lu Chan struck when he was most vulnerable. She plunged the sword he had given her into his chest.
In his disbelief, she sneered, revealing the truth.
The Truth of the Qian Yuan Daoist
In every dream of the Qian Yuan Daoist, there was a Qingyun and a Qingxuan—his beloved. Long ago, all sacred beings existed as Yinhun. The Qian Yuan Daoist taught them the Way of Qian Yuan, merging Qian Yuan with Yinhun to create physical bodies.
But his favoritism toward one Yinhun—Qingxuan—and his hoarding of Qian Yuan bred resentment. The others ambushed Qingxuan, shattering her Qian Yuan and dispersing her Yinhun.
In response, the Qian Yuan Daoist sought to recreate her through the Great Dream Technique, falling into an eternal slumber where he lived countless dreams with his love.
Learning this, the Yinhun plotted to kill every dream's Qian Yuan Daoist, driving him to despair and death, so they could seize his Qian Yuan and return it to the cosmos. Qingyun's world was the last dream.
Kongxiang had gleaned this from Buddhist scriptures and tried to stop Chixiao, knowing that with their talents, they could "refine the false into truth," escaping the dream to become real.
Chixiao, half-understanding, believed that keeping the Qian Yuan Daoist asleep would allow humanity to reach that stage, becoming true beings. Unbeknownst to him, his every move was orchestrated by the outer Yinhun, using him to kill Qingyun and break his heart.
The chained figure remained silent, having endured countless heartbreaks. But the outer Yinhun underestimated Qingyun's bond with Chixiao.
They thought Qingxuan's death and Lu Chan's betrayal would suffice, unaware that Qingyun still clung to his master. Enlightened, Qingyun realized the adage: villains die from talking too much.
He burned the Qian Yuan Daoist's essence within his sea of consciousness, fueling his own existence as Qingyun. The Yinhun hadn't anticipated the dreamer sacrificing himself to empower the dream.
In that moment, Qingyun transcended the Dao realm, becoming the true "Dao" of his world—a dream he now embodied. He saved Chixiao.
At Chixiao's plea, he neither awoke to dissolve the dream nor succumbed to despair. Perhaps the chained Qian Yuan Daoist saw this as the only path, sacrificing himself to empower Qingyun.
A dreamer who knows he dreams cannot truly love or understand the dream's illusions. Only by relinquishing the dreamer could the dream's self be reborn.
Yet Qingxuan's death still wounded Qingyun. Chixiao asked, "Can't you change her fate?"
Qingyun replied, "The Dao is the Dao. To transcend it is to question existence itself. If I alter the Dao, the consequences are unknowable—perhaps unraveling the world. Even if possible, your lives might cease. It's unimaginable."
He added, "Like mortal laws: a supreme power enforces them, expelling or destroying dissenters. But even as the Dao, I am within it—how can I change it?"
The chains binding Qingyun were self-imposed. To alter the dream at will would shatter the Dao, awakening him but erasing all within—friends, family, love—leaving only Qingyun as real.
Thus, he chose to bear the Dao, accepting the prison. He could prevent outer gods from interfering but remained unable to break free or seek revenge. The outer Yinhun watched coldly.
To them, Qingyun was like a man in love with the bacteria on his skin, refusing to evolve beyond them—pathetic.
Before awakening, the world revolved around the chained figure as the Dao. Now, it clung to Qingyun like a parasite. Others, unless they "refined the false into truth," would remain illusions, dependent on the dream.
The Qian Yuan Daoist faced two fates: eternal slumber or despairing death upon the dream's end. The outer Yinhun had succeeded. Though not dead, he remained trapped, unwilling to wake.
After revealing this, Qingyun used the Great Evolution Void Travel Technique to return to the past, reliving his days with Qingxuan over and over.
Centuries later, the technique fell into disuse. Legend held that those who delved too deep, seeking to alter time, would encounter a mad figure who slew any who tried to change the past.
Some said it was Qingyun, lost in endless loops of memory. Others whispered it was just a foolish Taoist, guarding the proof of his love.
Tears brimmed in Qingxuan's eyes as the visions ended. But she knew the future was not yet sealed. Perhaps she could change it—survive, and prevent Qingyun from becoming that temporal monstrosity.
(End of Book)