If Not I, Then Who?

Wei Yuan looked at the utterly unfamiliar manor around him, his heart free of both sorrow and joy. He had long known that the moment his Dao path and mission became clear, he would inevitably face a heavenly tribulation. To be precise, the Dao Wei Yuan sought to prove would inevitably provoke Heaven's killing intent. The Heavenly Dao of this native realm had, since ancient times, merged with multiple mighty beings who had joined their bodies with the Dao; therefore, the Heavenly Dao was no dead mechanism, but possessed its own likes, dislikes, and inclinations. Wei Yuan now found himself in an ancient residence—grand, yet bearing marks of decay everywhere. Were it not for the sweep marks among the fallen leaves on the gravel path, one might well have suspected it to be a haunted house. In the sky, there was neither sun nor moon, yet heavenly light cascaded from somewhere unseen. Several ancient trees bore leaves redder than fire, growing amidst this desolate old residence—bringing no vibrancy, only adding to the eerie chill. For the moment, Wei Yuan could not discern how to break through this predicament, so he simply strolled forward at an easy pace. This time, the Heavenly Dao had finally come up with a new trick, producing a tribulation he had never seen before. It was much like Dream Eater's dreamscapes; presumably, finding the pivotal crux would allow him to shatter the delusion. Wei Yuan was in no hurry, taking his time as he wandered. The Reception of Wondrous Joy fruition had already begun to take shape, and even Xiaoyu possessed the power to dispel delusions; Wei Yuan would only be stronger. For now, however, Wei Yuan was in no rush to shatter the illusion. Instead, he wanted to explore more and see more. Heaven had released killing intent, but so long as it failed to kill him, that killing intent would ultimately be refined by Wei Yuan, yielding bits of data. Wei Yuan was the master of Splendor of the Many Realms, after all. With enough scattered scraps of data, he might be able to deduce a complete picture and unveil the true face of the Heavenly Dao. Undergoing tribulations was precisely the best opportunity to harvest data. Strolling along like this, Wei Yuan walked into a study. Drifting inside were countless bubbles, each containing a book. Wei Yuan reached out to touch one, and the bubble truly burst, the book inside vanishing with it. A spark of mortal fortune lit up at Wei Yuan's fingertip as he asked a single question: Are there truly books within the bubbles? Over three hundred thousand points of mortal fortune vanished in an instant, and Wei Yuan received his answer: Yes. Yet he stood there watching for a while without finding a way to retrieve the books. Those bubbles existed between the illusory and the real; the moment Wei Yuan touched one, it shifted from real to illusory and dissolved into nothingness. Wei Yuan pondered a moment, then stopped fretting over it. He already had more Dao paths than he could ever finish cultivating; he had no need for fortuitous encounters. However, noticing the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone laid out on the desk, an impulse struck him. He took up the brush, dipped it in ink, and dashed off characters freely across the paper, filling over a dozen sheets in the blink of an eye. Alas, Wei Yuan's calligraphy was truly mediocre; in the end, even he could only chuckle, shake his head, and set the brush down in defeat. Right at that moment, a sudden gust swept into the study, sending the inked sheets flying everywhere. A bubble in midair abruptly burst, and the book within fell out, landing right in Wei Yuan's hand. Before Wei Yuan could clearly make out the title, his surroundings shattered completely, and he was back in the Immortal City. Spirit Mountain was no longer the magnificent spectacle it once was; before, it had at least possessed a bright, radiant vault of heaven. Now, however, a small dark cloud had inexplicably appeared in the sky. Though not large, it was glaringly conspicuous. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas seated upon their lotus thrones of spiritual status naturally began their deductions, yet they could not divine the exact cause and effect, knowing only that it was related to Qingming. At the upper reaches of Spirit Mountain, an emaciated Buddha said, "Rather than sitting here making vain calculations, why not send someone to see for themselves and ascertain the truth?" Another Bodhisattva agreed, "Do we not happen to have a suitable candidate? Let him make another journey." "Yet what pretext should he use on this trip?" "The spare piece placed on the board some years ago has borne fruit; now is the time to make use of it. Have him take that with him." "Excellent!" "'Now, the cultivator begins by establishing themselves in humanity, uniting with heaven and earth, condensing the qi of the cosmos, entering the Dao from humanity, and uniting with Heaven through the Dao. This marks the beginning of true cultivation: one must make an offering of the united heaven and earth, craft a vessel to cross the ocean, ascend to the other shore, and ultimately attain transcendence..." Wei Yuan sat in his study, reading the Dao scripture in his hands. This book had come from the bubble within the tribulation illusion, a text that expounded upon Dao paths. What was described within was the mainstream path of cultivation practiced today: gathering supreme power unto oneself, making oneself the vessel to cross the ocean, and proving the Dao to attain transcendence. Many sects today walked this path, arriving at the same destination through different routes. What made this scripture rare was its assertion that ascending to immortality was merely the true beginning of cultivation, explicitly designating the proving of the Dao as the final destination. In this, it surpassed the vast majority of sects in the current age, rivaling the Four Great Immortal Sects. As he was reading, Wei Yuan suddenly raised his head and said, "Now that an old friend has arrived, there is no need to stand on ceremony." Monk Peacock then materialized before Wei Yuan. He glanced around in some astonishment and said, "I was outside Qingming, yet you plucked me straight here? You possess such divine ability now?" Wei Yuan gave a slight smile. "I only have this capability within Qingming. You were actually already standing inside Qingming just now. It is merely that the outermost three hundred li of Qingming have not been manifested, so outsiders know nothing of it." The outermost three hundred li of Qingming were kept hidden and dormant. Thus, when people stood at the edge of Qingming provoking him wildly, they would have no idea they had already set foot within it, allowing Wei Yuan to directly mobilize the realm's domain power to suppress them, catching them completely off guard. Once he understood this, Peacock could only sigh in admiration. "Realm Lord, with such foresight and mastery over truth and deception, it is no wonder you are ever victorious in battle." Wei Yuan laughed. "What brings you here this time?" Peacock sighed. "Do you have the cheek to ask me? I was meditating quietly when a giant hand reached down from above and dropped me right at Qingming, ordering me to see what was happening here. So, what are you planning this time?" "Oh, nothing much. I merely reorganized my Dao path recently, only to discover a fundamental conflict with the Baohua Pure Land. Since it is my Dao enemy, naturally I prepared a few little tricks." Peacock did not ask what tricks, but instead countered, "The Pure Land establishes the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss to deliver those with affinity, urging people toward good with great compassion. In what way does that make it your Dao enemy?" Wei Yuan replied, "Delivering oneself is not compassion; delivering others is. That is why King Buddha is true great compassion. As for the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss you speak of, I built a Paradise Island some years ago and already have results. It happens to be a good time to take you for a look." "Very well." With a sweep of Wei Yuan's hand, their primordial spirits entered Splendor of the Many Realms in an instant, appearing over the open sea. Several li ahead lay a massive island covered in skyscrapers and an overwhelming expanse of neon signs. The city blazed with brilliant lights; the people within knew neither day nor night, immersed in unbelievable prosperity. Yet looking upon it from afar, Peacock sensed an aura of decay, corruption, and dead stillness. Wei Yuan took Peacock flying over the island, looking down over the whole place. "When it comes to entertaining mortals, the outer realms far surpass our native world. When I built this island, I employed every otherworldly technology I could find. Those on the island need not work nor cultivate; they may eat, drink, and indulge to their heart's content, doing whatever they please. There was only one iron rule: no killing one another." Wei Yuan waved his hand, and the rise and fall of the island over several decades unfolded before Peacock's eyes. At first, people ate frantically and partied desperately, determined to taste everything they had never eaten and indulge in every amusement they had never tried. Consequently, rites and laws gradually crumbled, and people lost all desire to better themselves. Once people had indulged in every diversion available and there was nothing new left under the sun, they began to chase novel thrills. Everyone bared their chests and exposed their bodies, their flesh covered in tattoos, their hair dyed every color imaginable, engaging in open debauchery everywhere. Later, someone even shouted an outrageous proclamation: "If two hearts are bound forever, why fret over phylum, class, order, or species!" On the strength of that single line, the person was acclaimed across the island, becoming its sole leader. From that point onward, the spectacles on the island made veins throb on Peacock's forehead, prompting him to repeatedly chant apologies and invoke the Buddha. Yet this was not the end. Once people had exhausted every conceivable diversion, they entered the third phase. Many could no longer find novel stimulation, leaving only bloodlust and slaughter. Had Wei Yuan not forbidden killing, the entire island would likely have died out by then. The vast majority of people no longer knew why they were alive. In a constant daze, they abused every hallucinogen and addictive substance imaginable, later even spontaneously researching illusion formations to replace drugs that were no longer potent enough. By then, the people on the island resembled withered skeletons. Living was, to them, merely existing. Reaching this stage, nothing changed anymore; it had become an eternal dead end. Peacock chanted a Buddhist name and murmured, "The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is not like this..." Wei Yuan said, "The Pure Land merely replaces the latter two stages with great joy and great tranquility. In essence, both leave the mind empty—one is an utter void, while the other has had its head stuffed with artificial joy. A puppet of joy and a puppet of decadence are both still puppets; neither is human anymore." Peacock frowned. "If one does not enter the Pure Land, must they suffer in the mortal world forever?" "Naturally, I do not want a world where mortals live from hand to mouth either. I brought you here simply to show you that if human beings have no goals whatsoever, natural extinction is the only path left to them." Wei Yuan then pointed overhead. "What is more, there are otherworldly entities. If humanity does not strive to strengthen itself, this realm will sooner or later be refined into nothing by them. In any case, you came looking for me; presumably you have something to convey?" Peacock said, "Indeed, there is a message. If you can let go of enmity and take refuge in Spirit Mountain, the Pure Land will withdraw all the sects and places of worship previously arranged to revere you, granting you pure liberation. "If you cannot, then those people have already established karma with you. When the time comes for you to ascend to immortality, they will become your burden and ballast, making your ascension all but impossible." Wei Yuan was taken aback. "That is all?" Peacock was equally startled. "Is that not enough? What more would it take?" Wei Yuan burst into laughter. "Truth be told, I noticed it not long after it began. But I figured that since I would be carrying them along in the future anyway, having them worship me devoutly would save some trouble. So if the Bodhisattvas think they can control me with this, they have calculated wrongly. They had better think of something actually useful! If they wait any longer, it will be too late." Peacock fell silent in thought for a while, then sighed deeply. "Leading hundreds of millions of ignorant, impoverished, shallow, and virtue-lacking mortals to forge ahead and pioneer is no different from remaking heaven and earth! Forgive this humble monk for speaking plainly: atop the Immortal Heaven, though there are many immortals and mighty beings, all cultivate self-deliverance and pursue transcendence. Guiding a handful of core disciples is their limit; who among them would care for the masses who live and die like grass? "Mortals—when one batch dies, another springs up soon after. What difference is there between this blade of grass and that? Even the cattle and horses grazing upon it do not care, let alone the herders. "Vast as the world is, who is meant to undertake such a task?" Wei Yuan did not answer. He merely led Peacock out of Splendor of the Many Realms and escorted him beyond Qingming. Peacock flew back, his mind a tangled web of confusion. Suddenly, a breeze blew toward him, carrying a sheet of paper with it. Instinctively, he reached out and caught it. He saw sloppy writing on the paper, resembling the practice strokes of an elementary schoolboy. Most of the calligraphy was scribbled beyond recognition, leaving only eight characters clearly legible: When facing duty, yield to none; if not I, then who?