Chapter 125 – Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign: I have not transmitted divine abilities—not once, not once.

The voice of the young Daoist, reflected through words and spirit, still echoed faintly.

The refined-looking Daoist slightly moved his fingers and once again unfurled the scroll titled [Dao Sovereign Wuhuo’s Humble Reply to the Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign’s Letter]. What met his eyes were still those same characters. The brushwork differed, and the technique of channeling spiritual essence through the brush’s tip was so immature that he nearly felt compelled to burst into laughter—yet it had, undeniably, been written.

“This little fellow…”

“Has he learned my method of imprinting myriad forms into the brushstroke?”

Those characters reflected into the eyes of the Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign, transforming into the image of that young Daoist.

The Great Dao Sovereign fell into thought, then, with a pa!, shut the scroll once more.

The little Daoist was flattened again.

And so it went, several times over.

No matter how the scroll was opened, the spirit within the words would always take shape as that youthful figure. At last, the Great Dao Sovereign clicked his tongue and said:

“…Interesting.”

“Who would have thought—just by reading my writing, he managed to grasp even the superficial layer.”

“Not bad, not bad. His comprehension is quite decent.”

The Great Dao Sovereign voiced his praise, cast a glance at Yun Qin, and shook his head, saying: “He’s far smarter than you.”

Then, with a casual motion, pa, he closed the volume once again.

And so the young Daoist was sealed away yet again.

The Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign, however, felt inexplicably pleased.

Joyful indeed, joyful indeed.

Though too lazy to calculate why.

His thoughts, nevertheless, flowed freely.

Only after closing the scroll several times did he finally open it once more. Upon seeing the warm and upright characters on the page, reading the title [A Letter Humbly in Reply by the Dao Sovereign Wuhuo to the Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign], the refined-looking Daoist raised his brows. Just that single line was enough to make him clap his hands in admiration. Unable to hold back, he burst into hearty laughter:

“Dao Sovereign? Hahahaha—interesting, interesting, quite amusing indeed. This little fellow is rather arrogant!”

“Unlike that Taiyi brat—far too stiff.”

“I like this one.”

After laughing heartily, he settled back into his usual languor, no longer bothering to look at the scroll, simply setting it aside. When interest arose, he could pass on the Dao and answer questions; when the mood passed, there was no further desire to continue. Still smiling, he asked Yun Qin: “Speaking of which, that little fellow, the young Dao Sovereign, after reading my manuscript, did he say anything? Or did he just write that one scroll?”

“No, he said quite a bit more.”

And so Yun Qin recounted all the things that the young Daoist had said after finishing the manuscript.

At first, the Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign took it as something ordinary.

But when Yun Qin repeated what the young Daoist had said that day—‘Replacing all phenomena with the self to form the Cloud Seal Script…’

The Great Dao Sovereign reclined lazily in the void, expression utterly relaxed and unbothered, and chuckled: “So it is. A bit of perception, being able to see that much. Still, that alone is nothing special. Among my many disciples, there are quite a few who could spot the irregularities at a glance. Unlike you, little girl, who sees words as merely words, and Cloud Seals as merely Cloud Seals. One can’t tell if you’re too dull or just too pure.”

Yun Qin glared fiercely at the Great Dao Sovereign.

Resting his head against his right hand, the Dao Sovereign lay sideways and laughed: “Alright, alright, I’ll stop. I won’t say anything more.”

“Go on—what else did the little fellow say?”

Yun Qin replied: “Then Wuhuo said something about how that aligns with the Daoist ideal of embracing emptiness—not flaunting anything, yet still speaking of things like [seeing Heaven and Earth is not as good as seeing me], and [worshiping gods is not as good as worshiping me]. He said, Uncle, that though your manner seems humble and reserved, deep down, you’re actually quite proud.”

The smile at the corner of the Great Dao Sovereign’s mouth slightly faded. The jade ruyi in his left hand lightly tapped the void. After a long pause, he asked:

“What else did he say?”

The young girl replied honestly: “After that, Wuhuo became very confused.”

The Great Dao Sovereign asked with a smile: “Confused about what?”

Yun Qin answered, word for word: “He was confused about whether the ‘I’ he spoke of was his true self or the Spiritual Self within.”

“He was confused whether this was the kind of courage that a cultivator ought to have…”

“Or if it was, from the start, a path of cultivation that says [I am the Heavens and the Earth]—an extremely domineering and pure path of practice.”

The Great Dao Sovereign’s jade ruyi, which had been casually tapping against his leg, halted for a long time.

His soft, yet slightly piercing eyes slowly closed.

Then he spoke again: “Interesting. Interesting indeed.”

He sat up, reached out, and took the letter written by the young Daoist into his hands once more. This time, he truly began to read its contents. As for Qi Wuhuo’s words of gratitude, he skimmed past them entirely—his eyes focused only on the doubts and questions written by the boy. Shaking his head, he murmured: “I thought he was some genius with heaven-piercing talent. But to be unclear on any of this, then there’s really not much point in teaching him anything after all.”

“Not like a proper cultivator at all—more like a wild stray off some side path.”

With a careless flick of the hand, he tossed the scroll aside and lay back down again, lazily chewing on a piece of preserved fruit.

Yet, among all those questions, though most were so simple that the Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign wondered if the boy was toying with him, there were one or two that did spark some interest. They tickled at the Great Dao Sovereign’s heart, a heart that had always been freewheeling when it came to taking disciples, passing on the Dao, and ferrying countless beings. It itched in that spot where one most wants to scratch.

Call it foolish—yet it was just the right kind of foolish. A clarity in its very clumsiness.

So stupid that there was even a trace of insight hidden within. It made one want to give him a good kick, right back onto the proper path.

After lying there for a while, the Great Dao Sovereign suddenly sat up straight, giving Yun Qin a fright.

“Uncle, what are you doing?!”

“What am I doing?”

The Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign raised his brows and said: “This brat is too dumb. I can’t just sit by and watch.”

“I have to scold him!”

“Yes! A proper scolding!”

“This fool!”

“Bring it here! He can’t even figure out questions this simple? It’s ridiculous!”

With that, he swept his sleeve and drew back the scroll [A Letter Humbly in Reply by the Dao Sovereign Wuhuo to the Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign]. His gaze swept over it. He didn’t even bother with a brush—instead, he dipped his fingers into the nearby cup of tea and wrote directly onto the paper with bold, fluid strokes: “Ignorant! Ignorant! Ignorant!”

“Whether action or inaction—why cling to such distinctions?”

“You truly do not understand. Cultivating the truth is cultivating the self. Seeking the Dao is seeking the self. Among the three thousand righteous paths, all must place the [Self] at the center.”

“It is not I who should chase after the Dharma. It is the Dharma that should come to me.”

“This is what is meant by ‘spirit-nature’. A spark of true spirit lies within me. Whether acting or not acting, whether thoughts arise or stillness remains—are these things not all under my own will?”

“Take swordsmanship as an example. Swordsmanship can be fierce and decisive in slaughter, cutting down demons and devils—or it can be used to save and protect the common folk. Whether to kill or to save, it all rests on a single thought. To cling to only one aspect is to blind oneself to the other. Like the blind grasping at an elephant, unable to perceive the whole. How could one possibly attain the complete Dharma that is the Great Dao?”

“Let us continue with the most basic example of swordsmanship.”

“To cleave is to cleave—it can be used to kill, or it can be used to defend.”

“Mortal swordsmen speak of sharpness and seek utmost purity, yet in the end, their swordsmanship amounts to nothing more than child’s play.”

“They say the sword is an instrument of slaughter and annihilation? Hah! Laughable, utterly laughable.”

“Within Heaven and Earth, there is clarity and turbidity, yin and yang, life and death.”

“And I use my sword to make judgment.”

“With but a single swordstroke, I can determine the transformations between clarity and turbidity in all the cosmos, reverse the flow of yin and yang.”

“Shatter all demons, revive all beings—why should that be impossible?”

“Yet the sword is merely one branch of the Great Dao. Among the three thousand Daos under Heaven, there is none that cannot be thus!”

“That which thinks for all living beings and manifests what should not be possible—that is Divine Power!”

“Since one has embarked upon the Dao, one’s vision must stretch far.”

“When one sees far, and one’s heart is vast, one comes to know: among these three thousand worlds, there is no deed I cannot accomplish.”

“Since you have grasped what is wu wei and you wei—action and inaction— you have a bit of talent after all. But if that is the case, why must you cling to the form of these two things themselves? Know this: water that flows and nourishes all life is water; but water that freezes into ice and sweeps across the land is also water. If you have such great aspirations—why not walk both paths? Be as yin and yang, as Heaven and Earth.”

“There is no distinction between inaction and action.”

“To tread upon yin and yang beneath your feet—that is the true Dao!”

Having stifled his words for a while, the Great Dao Sovereign now let them pour out in a rush, and when he finished, he threw his sleeve out with a flick, roaring with laughter: “Ahhh—how satisfying!”

Yun Qin blinked and asked in confusion: “What did you write?”

“Was that some kind of divine power?”

The Great Dao Sovereign laughed aloud: “Divine power? You rascal, don’t spout nonsense!”

“I most certainly didn’t pass on any divine ability.”

“None at all!”

Yun Qin nodded dazedly, still unsure.

Then she watched as that uncle of hers leaned back lazily and said: “What they call ‘divine ability’ is merely the [methods of those who came before].”

“I wouldn’t go about teaching something as crude and unrefined as a divine ability.”

Yunqin tilted her head. Divine ability… crude and unrefined?

Having vented his bottled-up frustration, and having enjoyed the pleasure of teaching without needing to bear the responsibility of being a master, the Great Dao Sovereign looked quite pleased with himself.

Seated atop the Taiji Diagram, one hand propping up his chin, he spoke lazily:

“I only used the simplest idea of [Cleaving] to answer that boy’s earlier confusion. How much he can comprehend—that’s up to him.”

“Chopping? It’s just swinging sideways.”

“Even holding a tree branch in your hand, you can do it. There’s no mystery to it—how could that count as a divine ability?”

“Besides, this thing called divine ability—is it not present everywhere, in every rise and fall of breath? What need is there for it to be taught?”

The Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign had rarely encountered a chance to spar with someone in words. Especially earlier, when he had discussed the Dao with Yuqing, he had not yet felt entirely satisfied. Now that he’d vented a bit and his temperament was sated, he no longer clung to anything, and casually said: “Since I’ve already written it, there’s no point in keeping it here. Little one, take it to that little Daoist—let’s see whether he can understand it this time.”

Then his gaze fell on the line: [A Letter Humbly in Reply by the Dao Sovereign Wuhuo to the Shangqing Great Dao Sovereign]

A flick of the finger—

And another line appeared above:

[Further Response from the Great Dao Sovereign to the Dao Sovereign Wuhuo]

He thought for a moment—

And “Dao Sovereign Wuhuo” was changed to “Little Dao Sovereign Wuhuo.”

The idle Daoist cared little for such things. Rarely encountering anything interesting, he simply tossed the wager with Yuqing out of his mind. With his palm propping his chin, he smiled in satisfaction:

“That’s more like it. Life is long, the years are dull—”

“Once in a while, something amusing does come along.”

“Uncle Master! Uncle Master, take me with you!”

“Please take me with you!”

“I don’t want to attend morning class—I’ll help you carry things! There’s so many herbs, you won’t be able to carry them all alone!”

“Wuwuwu…”

Early in the morning, Qi Wuhuo said he was heading to the medical shelters to treat the common folk and continue purging the plague aura. The little Daoist Mingxin began to whine and pester to go along too.

But this time, the old Daoist wouldn’t allow it again. He simply pulled the little one back.

Still unwilling to give up, Mingxin tried to sneak out, saying: “Master! Uncle Master Qi is carrying so many herbs, and that heavy medicine cauldron too. He won’t be able to carry it all by himself!”

The old Daoist chuckled and lightly tapped Mingxin’s head with the Dao scripture in his hand: “Won’t be able to carry it?”

“Gather your Primordial Qi into your eyes—and look again!”

Mingxin blinked in confusion, then did his best to gather Qi into his eyes.

When he looked again, he saw that young Daoist carrying a bamboo-woven medicine basket on his back—but there were currents of wind coiling around him, supporting what would be a burdensome weight for ordinary people. His steps were light and effortless, as if he bore no strain at all. Little Daoist Mingxin stared, wide-eyed. “Th-this is…”

The old man sighed: “Innate One Qi. Reversing the Three, Returning to the Two.”

“It’s not something as simple as accumulated Primordial Qi.”

“The moment he stirs a thought, myriad manifestations must bend to it.”

“Can’t carry it?”

“If you threw our whole Daoist temple onto his back—so long as his Primordial Spirit rouses the Primordial Qi—he could lift it and still walk like the wind. You wouldn’t even be able to catch up with him.”

The little Daoist looked up at their little Lianyang Temple on the low hill. Though it was now in decline, it was still a Three Pure Ones temple. There were guest quarters, cultivation rooms, and even a three-story Luzu Tower. When he imagined that whole structure pressing on the boy’s shoulders and yet not stopping him at all, he felt for a moment as if he were dreaming. Only then did he begin to understand why Innate One Qi was said to be the power of Daoist Masters capable of founding their own temples.

The old Daoist gently rubbed his head: “You’ve got the roots. You’ve got the insight.”

“But you must also learn to still your heart.”

“Do you understand now why some people, even if it means they won’t extend their lifespans beyond a mere hundred and twenty years, still seek external force to break into the realm of Innate One Qi?” 

“It’s because of techniques like these.”

“Though people call it ‘breaking through’, that’s just a term. In truth, they’re only borrowing power—controlling forces like Primordial Qi through external aid. But their own life’s state remains unchanged. They haven’t returned the Three to the Two.”

“They’ve gained strength, but not the method.”

“Without true Innate One Qi—it’s only a [semblance].”

Mingxin still didn’t fully understand, but then he asked: “Then what about Uncle Master Qi?”

The old Daoist let out a long, sorrowful sigh: “His path is the hardest, and the highest.”

“I cannot compare to him.”

Originally, letting the little Daoist follow along wouldn’t have been much of an issue.

But today, Qi Wuhuo had already made up his mind. In addition to clearing the lingering plague Qi from the afflicted, he would also be going to the Mingzhen Dao Alliance. There were many matters to attend to. First, he needed to borrow the Alliance’s strength to discern the current state of Jinzhou, and then to understand precisely what this [Human Qi Fortune] signified—what kind of power it was, and how it operated.

It had already been several days since he’d broken through.

And over the past few days, he had finally begun to grasp the condition of his body after attaining Innate One Qi.

Though he hadn’t begun actual [Qi Refinement] yet, and the Innate Qi still lacked purity.

But it seemed that, perhaps due to the deep and solid foundation he had laid during the stage of [Complete Three Talents], the range and depth to which his Innate Qi could be applied was extraordinarily vast. Most likely, he owed that to the fortune from the Dream of Golden Millet. At a roadside stall, the young Daoist was eating a freshly-fried meat-stuffed pancake, savoring the rich juices. Suddenly, a voice came from behind him:

“Daoist Qi, hmm?”

“Ah… Have you had a breakthrough?”

The young Daoist turned his head and saw the grey-robed monk standing there. The latter seemed somewhat surprised upon seeing Qi Wuhuo, giving him a once-over. A faint smile rose on his face, which had grown a little thinner of late. Then he placed his palms together and said:

“Congratulations.”

“To have entered Innate One Qi through the path of Complete Three Talents.”

“From now on, I truly must address you as [Daozhang(Daoist Master)].”

The young Daoist offered his thanks, and then the two of them walked together toward the medicine shelter. Along the way, they exchanged pleasantries. When asked what he was doing today, the monk gestured to the medicine basket slung over his back and said: “This morning, this humble monk was assisting with diagnoses at the medicine shelter. But a certain patient arrived today—”

“Rather troublesome.”

“Most of the people here are commoners suffering from the lingering evil Qi of plague. It’s enough just to dispel that.”

“But this one is the result of human malice.”

“Human?”

Qi Wuhuo followed the monk into the medicine shelter—and discovered that the troublesome patient was someone he knew.

It was the old village head they’d met not long ago.

Back then, although already advanced in years, the old man still walked swiftly through the village with the help of a cane. He could clearly recall the affairs of every household, his thoughts sharp and lucid. But now—he lay on a bamboo stretcher, covered in a thin blanket, his vitality drained, exuding the stench of decline.

The monk spoke quietly: “The elderly are fragile by nature and don’t recover easily from a fall.”

“The old man was ‘pushed’, and fell hard—several bones broken.”

“And there is also damage from wrath attacking the heart. This poor monk has gone back to fetch medicine, but now that Daozhang is here, the situation will improve.”

“After all, the Primordial Qi of the Daoist lineage excels more than our Buddhist means in the art of healing.”

The young Daoist knelt and leaned in to look at the old village head. He made no visible movement, but with the stirring of his Primordial Spirit, his Primordial Qi surged into the elder’s key meridians, stirring his innate vitality.

The old man slowly woke from unconsciousness.

As his gaze rose, it fell upon Qi Wuhuo—and he froze.

Then, emotion surged through him. His hand shot out and grasped the young Daoist’s.

His entire frame trembled—not from illness, but from the force of guilt, sorrow, and remorse.

His first words, choked out, were: “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry ah…”

The old man tried to sit up, but he no longer had the strength. That weather-worn face, etched with countless wrinkles, now bore a pained mixture of grief and anguish.

“That old man’s grave… they dug it up…”

“I couldn’t stop them…”

The young Daoist’s gaze lowered.

His hand paused just slightly.