In the instant Huang Tian transcended the River of Spacetime and attained Daluo, the Earth Immortal Realm gave a sudden shudder.
Then it swelled, and fast!
Within the boundless Chaos, one could see the world membrane of the Earth Immortal Realm spreading rapidly outward, drawing in countless currents of Chaos. Once those currents entered the world, it was as though every trace of turbidity had been washed away, and they became dense, misty spiritual qi.
Within the world, innumerable living beings had only to lift their heads to see it: above the dome of the sky, endless pale-gold spiritual mist welled out of the void and spread in every direction.
The sky grew ever higher and more profound. Golden rosy light and purple auspicious qi wove together and fell from the zenith, steeping all things in a magnificent halo.
At the same time the earth stretched and expanded. Plains unrolled toward the distance. Mountain ranges lifted their spines like giant dragons, and peaks rose with a thunderous roar, stabbing straight into the clouds.
Rivers, lakes, and seas drank madly of the spiritual qi spilling from the heavens. Streams swelled into rivers. Rushing rivers became vast seas, wave upon wave, spray flying.
"Wh-what is happening?"
On Xuandong Mountain, Master Yuyang hovered in midair, staring dumbstruck at the changes throughout the mountains.
He saw spiritual peaks half hidden in layer upon layer of spiritual mist, threads of colored light actually blossoming from the mountain bodies themselves. Ancient forests expanded wildly. Giant trees towered into the sky, and a rich Yi-wood azure qi filled the woods.
Vines moved like spirit serpents. Strange flowers and rare grasses grew up everywhere. The mountain's spirit creatures—cranes and deer among them—went along in delight with spirit mushrooms held in beak and mouth, while spirit apes climbed the high trees to pluck spirit fruit.
In some of the valley lakes, lotuses bloomed in an instant, each blossom as large as a cartwheel. At the lake bottoms, spiritual veins turned into dragon-shaped phantoms and swam to and fro. It was as if a water-mansion grotto-heaven had been born!
The whole of Xuandong Mountain swiftly shed the form of a mere spiritual land and became a blessed land and grotto-heaven. The change was so great it left one staring.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Streaks of flight-light shot into the sky. They were Master Yuyang's disciples. Eldest senior brother Chen Guangsu stood at Master Yuyang's side and asked in astonishment, "Teacher, do you know why the mountain has suddenly changed like this?"
Xiao Chong, Li Manrou, Long Ling, Wei Gongqing, and the others all looked to Master Yuyang. He shook his head, then lifted his face to the sky again. Watching the spiritual qi flying and scattering across the heavens, he ventured a guess. "I do not know the reason either. But this change is certainly not confined to our Xuandong Mountain."
At those words Chen Guangsu immediately employed the Spirit Eye spell. Clear blue light shone in his eyes as he looked all around. "As far as this disciple's eyes can reach, across several million li, every mountain forest and every river is changing. The earth is stretching. Treasure light shoots out in all directions, and spiritual herbs and spiritual materials can be seen almost everywhere. Farther off, one can still faintly see spiritual mist and treasure light."
Xiao Chong was shaken and uncertain. "Could the whole of Southern Jambudvipa be transforming? Or is the entire vast Earth Immortal Realm changing?"
The moment that guess was spoken, everyone drew in a sharp breath of the fresh spiritual qi.
They simply dared not imagine what could have happened, that the boundless Earth Immortal Realm should evolve!
A guess stirred in Master Yuyang's heart. Could it be connected to Huang Tian, the Great Heavenly Venerable?
Ordinary cultivators did not know of Huang Tian's Dao integration, but he, as the teacher, did. If anyone could affect the entire Earth Immortal Realm, Huang Tian was the most likely.
Still, it was only a guess in the end. He said, "Set the cause aside for now. Heaven and earth are undergoing a great change, and countless immortal herbs and spiritual materials are growing. You may go out together, pluck precious medicines, and seek opportunities. But remember this: do not give rise to reckless thoughts, and do not fight, kill, or seize treasures—unless another party commits an offense first. Do you understand?"
The disciples looked at one another, then answered together, "We disciples understand!"
Then, one after another, they flew excitedly out of Xuandong Mountain, heading for the places where treasure light pierced the sky.
"This transformation of heaven and earth must be connected to the Great Heavenly Venerable!"
In Xi Niuhezhou, on Mount Ling, within a grand hall, the World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha calculated on his fingers and spoke with certainty.
The Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha, and the bodhisattvas and arhats seated below, all showed shock. The Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha asked, "Could the effects brought by Dao integration be this great?"
By his reckoning, the Earth Immortal Realm was already at least thirty times its former size, and the transformation was still going on. When the change ended, it might well expand a hundredfold!
How astonishing!
One bodhisattva was puzzled. "But didn't the Great Heavenly Venerable complete Dao integration long ago? If Dao integration could trigger a heavenly transformation, then this change ought to have happened long since."
The World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "It was not caused by Dao integration."
The Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha started. "Then—"
The Buddha's voice drifted, its meaning hard to read. "Even within the boundless Chaos, the Earth Immortal Realm counts as a great world. So far as I know, there are only one or two things that could make it undergo so vast a change. The most likely is this: the one who integrated with the Dao has attained Daluo, and thereby drawn the world into transformation!"
Daluo! Attained Daluo!
In the precious hall, great waves of shock rose in every heart. The Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha instinctively wanted to object. How long had it been since Huang Tian's Dao integration? A year, or half a year? How could he have attained the legendary Daluo so quickly?
Of all the Golden Immortals in the Earth Immortal Realm, which had not failed to advance an inch across hundreds of millions of years? Which had not gone into the Chaos to seek an opportunity? Yet through all that long span of years, let alone attaining Daluo, they had not even seen a single true Daluo existence!
However peerless Huang Tian's immortal aptitude, he could not be so outrageous as to break through in a year, or half a year, could he?
What did he take Daluo for? This was no cabbage one could just yank up from under the leaves!
Seeing that the Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha wished to speak and then held back, the Buddha said unhurriedly, "Come with me to the Heavenly Court."
The Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha nodded. The two figures slowly dispersed into mist and cloud, leaving behind a crowd of bodhisattvas and arhats, shaken and stirred.
A short while later, in the Heavenly Court, within Shangxiao Palace, the figures of the two Buddhas manifested.
"The two fellow Daoists have come as well." Zhuanghua Superior Sage bowed in greeting, beaming.
The Buddha and the Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha returned the courtesy. One sweep of their eyes showed that nearly every Golden Immortal power was already in the hall: the Sovereign Emperor, the Eastern Polar Emperor, Zhuanghua Superior Sage, the Dao Ancestor's clone—
The Sovereign Emperor, seated at the head, spoke. "Have the two of you also come because of the heavenly transformation?"
The Buddha inclined his head. "Precisely so."
The Sovereign Emperor went on, "I imagine every fellow Daoist has a guess about this matter, and wishes to request an audience with the Great Heavenly Venerable. But since his Dao integration, the Great Heavenly Venerable has long ceased to show himself in the Heavenly Court or the mortal world. Unless he is willing to appear, the rest of us will find it hard to look upon his immortal countenance."
They all nodded. After merging with the Heavenly Dao, Huang Tian's realm had grown ever more profound. If he did not wish to appear, others might search the entire Earth Immortal Realm and still never find his figure.
Time slipped slowly by. Another interval passed, about as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea, and the Buddha suddenly said, "The heavenly transformation has ended!"
The Sovereign Emperor and the others each brought the Heavenly Mechanism divine ability to bear and calculated. The Eastern Polar Emperor exclaimed, "The breadth of our great realm now equals a hundred of what it was before!"
In a single transformation, the Earth Immortal Realm had grown a hundredfold!
The Dao Ancestor sighed. "Nothing short of the mighty power of Daluo could have wrought this."
Their breathing grew heavy and slow. Daluo—how remote and majestic a realm, hard to grasp, hard to fathom—
"Hua—"
At that moment a Daoist clad in immortal robes manifested in the hall.
"Great Heavenly Venerable!" Shocked and overjoyed, everyone hurriedly bowed with reverence.
The newcomer was Huang Tian, who had only just broken through. He inclined his head slightly. "You need not stand on such ceremony."
They raised their heads. The Dao Ancestor asked, hesitating, "May I venture to ask the Great Heavenly Venerable: have you attained Daluo?"
"So it is," Huang Tian replied.
Two simple words, yet everyone present was shaken, and elated beyond measure!
The shock was because Huang Tian had truly advanced to Daluo. The excitement was that they had finally seen a living Daluo!
Heaven have mercy. Since they had stepped into the Golden Immortal realm, through cosmic ages beyond counting, they had never seen a Daluo existence. Had the various worlds not passed down legends of Daluo powerhouses, they might even have suspected that Golden Immortal was the supreme realm of cultivation, and that so-called Daluo was nothing but a lie meant to deceive the world—
Now, at last, they could be certain. Above Golden Immortal, there was still a road ahead!
The Sovereign Emperor for once lost his composure, fairly dancing as he laughed. "The Great Heavenly Venerable's attainment of the Great Dao is the greatest joy since our realm was opened. We ought to lay a grand immortal banquet in celebration, that the day may be remembered!"
Hearing this, Huang Tian shot the Sovereign Emperor a glance. This one was altogether too fond of sitting down to a feast—
The Eastern Polar Emperor and the others chimed in as well. "It should be so. It should be so!"
Huang Tian considered for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. After the banquet, I shall set a platform, lecture on the methods, preach the Dao, and resolve doubts."
When he had first achieved Dao integration, he had followed the timeline back to the beginning of this realm's opening and transmitted the myriad methods, becoming the founding patriarch of the Three Teachings. Now that he had proved the Dao, transmitting the methods once more would bring beginning and end alike to completion.
At his words the several of them were beside themselves with joy. "The Great Heavenly Venerable's sagely wisdom is boundless!"
To hear a Daluo existence preach the Dao and dispel confusion—what an opportunity was that?
Across many great realms, countless immortals and gods might pass a whole life without seeing a Daluo even once, let alone receive the Dao from one!
With Huang Tian's assent, the Sovereign Emperor and the others set happily to work. They broadly invited the immortals, gods, and great cultivators of the Four Great Continents and the Ten Continents and Three Isles to ascend to heaven.
For a time the whole Earth Immortal Realm grew lively and clamorous. Every great immortal cultivator took pride in receiving an invitation from the Heavenly Court and went up to the banquet in high spirits, while those who received none hung their heads in utter dejection.
The State of Jin. The capital.
Layered clouds rolled across the sky, and immortal light spread in sheets. The clear sound of jade chimes fell from the nine heavens as an immortal honor guard came treading the clouds.
The immortal official at their head wore robes of rosy cloud, and his features were clear and bright. Behind him followed celestial maidens bearing feather fans and holding precious banners. The whole company was borne upon pale golden cloud. Immortal light and auspicious mist lit half the sky to a clear brilliance.
"Immortals! They're immortals!"
In the capital, a great many common people heard the immortal music and could not help lifting their heads to look into the distance. When they saw the immortal envoys upon the clouds, they grew excited at once. Some knelt on the ground and knocked their heads again and again. Others craned their necks in curiosity, wanting to see just what an immortal looked like.
"The immortals are heading for Duke Lingyou's mansion!" someone sharp-eyed called out.
"I hear Duke Lingyou was born to a farming family. Because he was kindhearted and took in a boy, and that boy later became an immortal, His Majesty the sovereign ennobled Duke Lingyou. Heh—do you know who that boy really was?"
"What a question. What household that's lived long in the capital doesn't know? That boy is none other than the reincarnated body of the Great Heavenly Venerable!"
"The legends say the Great Heavenly Venerable was born together with heaven and earth, the most ancient immortal god in the world. He transmitted all the various Daos. His station is exalted, and his powers are boundless. Later, for reasons unknown, he willingly underwent tribulation and reincarnation—one thousand seven hundred and fifty tribulations in all! The first one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine were not human lives, but birds, beasts, flowers, and trees—only on the final tribulation did he take human form. He happened to be born into a poor household. His parents died early, and Duke Lingyou took him in. Aiya! How is it I never ran into the Great Heavenly Venerable when he was young!"
"Hush! Have you no regard for your life? There are gods three feet above your head. Speak rashly of the Great Heavenly Venerable, and mind you don't get struck by lightning!"
"Ahem—I was wrong, I was wrong. Great Heavenly Venerable, don't hold it against a stupid fellow like me."
"But what are the immortal envoys seeking Duke Lingyou for? Could it be they're inviting him up to heaven?"
Many of the common people, some on tiptoe and some with heads thrown back, gazed toward Duke Lingyou's mansion.
By then Old Man Mo and Mo Hong had heard the commotion as well. They came out from the courtyard, looked up, and saw a company of immortal envoys descend on golden cloud to land in the front court. The leading immortal official said with a smile, "Is Duke Lingyou well?"
"I am grateful for the immortal envoy's kind inquiry. This old body is hale." Old Man Mo's face was ruddy, and he answered courteously. "These years I have also tried my hand at cultivation and taken some medicines. I dare not say I have accomplished any real skill, but illness can hardly take root in me anymore."
Mo Hong spoke. "May I ask why the immortal envoy has come—"
The immortal official replied, "The Great Heavenly Venerable has attained the Great Dao and laid an immortal banquet, to share joy with all the immortal sages. I have come to take Duke Lingyou and his lady, together with the young master, up to heaven."
Old Man Mo said gladly, "The G-Great Heavenly Venerable's merit and fruit have advanced. Truly a joyous matter, and it ought to be celebrated."
With that he looked to Mo Hong. "Go call your mother out. We'll ascend to heaven together."
Mo Hong answered joyfully, went to the rear court, and before long came out with a kindly-faced old woman.
"In a moment, when we fly up through the layered heavens, none of you need be alarmed. I will protect you in all things."
The immortal official gave that instruction, then swept his sleeve. An auspicious cloud lifted everyone and drifted slowly toward the sky.
"They're really going up to heaven!" someone among the common people shouted in excitement.
"Ma, I want to go up to the sky too, and pick the stars—"
"I'll slap you once, and then you'll see stars!"
"When one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven—"
The auspicious cloud flew higher and higher. The figures and buildings on the ground grew smaller and smaller. Old Man Mo and his wife were rather alarmed at first. Fortunately, after they had flown for a while and met with no danger, they set their hearts at ease. As for Mo Hong, he was not flustered in the least. He had formed a Dao Foundation and had flown through the sky before—only never so high as this.
They traveled a long while. At last they saw, far off at the horizon, thousands upon thousands of streams of auspicious mist born from the void, woven into brocade of rosy cloud and laid out as a sky-reaching road.
Purple qi served as curtains, and cinnabar sunset-cloud as silk, tied before palace after palace. Treasure light spilled from within the heavenly gate and became a river of flowing color, slowly washing over the jade steps.
Outside the heavenly gate, immortals and gods drove jeweled carriages past. Others rode cranes, rode qilin, or drove colorful phoenixes. As they passed they scattered streaks of rosy light, magnificent beyond compare, until the sight left the three of them dizzy and entranced.
Just then another mass of snow-white cloud came flying in from the edge of the sky. More than a hundred people stood upon it, drawing the notice of many immortals and heavenly generals. Once they saw the face of the one at their head, they bowed from afar.
"That is Master Yuyang of Xuandong Mountain, and his disciples." Seeing the curiosity of Mo Hong and the other two, the immortal official explained, "When the Great Heavenly Venerable sought the Dao in days past, he entered Xuandong Mountain as a disciple."
"So that was it!" The three of the Mo family understood at once, recalling the scene of years before, when Huang Tian had set out alone to seek the Dao.
As they spoke, the auspicious cloud had already flown in through the heavenly gate. It passed palace after palace, and at last descended before an exceedingly towering hall.
"The immortal banquet is about to begin. Duke Lingyou, please enter." The immortal official indicated the way with a smile.
"Please."
The three of the Mo family followed the immortal official into the hall. The moment they stepped inside, the sight dazzled them.
There were glazed pillars and amber beams. Auspicious clouds grew upon the pillars, and purple qi drifted among the beams. Luminous pearls the size of bushels cast their radiance. The floor was paved with cloud and rainbow, breathing out warm mist.
The immortals, gods, and great cultivators sat alone or talked in twos and threes. Some held ruyi scepters, and some cradled treasure pearls. There were also spirited divine generals, their armor reflecting the sun, frost on their swords and jade pendants.
Along row upon row of seats, jade nectar and jade dew were passed in turn, and rare immortal delicacies were piled into mountains.
Fire dates, joined pears, qilin jerky, dragon liver and phoenix marrow—immortal maidens bearing trays had ribbons streaming on the wind, and boys holding ewers had colored clouds born beneath their feet.
What a lively scene!
Guided by the immortal official, the three of the Mo family went to the foremost cloud-tables and sat, drawing startled looks from the immortals.
"Who are those people? They have hardly any cultivation. How can they sit in those places?"
"Let me look. Hiss—you don't even know this man? Duke Lingyou! Hearing that name, doesn't it come back to you?"
"So it's him. No wonder, no wonder!"
The immortal sages understood all at once. They then bowed to Old Man Mo and the others from afar, all smiles. The latter were not arrogant either, and returned the courtesy with all politeness.
A little more time passed, and the immortal guests in the hall had nearly all arrived: Master Yuyang, Old Man Mo, Mo Hong, Chen Guangsu, True Sage Equaling Heaven—
Hua—
The figures of Huang Tian, the Sovereign Emperor, and the others appeared. Every immortal sage rose and bowed. Then the banquet began!
Those who drank, drank. Those who ate meat, ate meat. Those who talked and laughed, talked and laughed. Company after company of immortal maidens in colored robes flourished their wide sleeves. Row upon row of jade maidens in plain dress made qin and xiao sound together.
The joy reached its height.
The banquet went on for half a month.
Half a month later, it ended.
Huang Tian gave the slightest sweep of his sleeve, and everyone passed from the hall into the layered clouds. Beneath each person was a rush cushion.
Then he took one step and stood above the nine heavens. Auspicious clouds churned and gathered beneath his feet, and in a moment became a platform of white jade cloud.
He sat upright upon the cloud platform. Everyone else sat upon the cushions, faces lifted and ears pricked, lest they miss so much as half a sentence of true words.
A round radiance like moonlight appeared behind Huang Tian's head. When he spoke, his voice boomed like great ceremonial bells. "My Dao is Yuanji."
The words had scarcely fallen when a Dao Seed manifested before his chest. That Dao Seed rose and sank in stillness, releasing five-colored radiance: white metal, azure wood, black water, red fire, and yellow earth. The five qi crossed like coiling dragons, and then two colors of profound mystery bloomed as well. One half shone with the bright mildness of yang harmony. The other reflected the dark mystery of great yin.
Within the radiance, the forms of the eight trigrams and the nine palaces faintly appeared, illuminating every direction.
"Yuanji is neither void nor existence, yet it can contain all that exists. It is without beginning and without end, yet it can hold beginning and end."
He went on, unhurried. "—Whether heaven's rain is broad or narrow, it all returns to the sea. Whether the wind's voice is high or low, it still becomes a verse. Those who refine elixir keep their fire. Those who temper swords nurture their edge. Those who dine on rosy clouds bathe in their light. All the myriad roads, in the end, return to Yuanji—"
Thousands upon thousands of streams of auspicious qi hung from the cloud platform. Heavenly flowers fell in a riot, and golden lotuses surged from the earth. The immortals listened until they scratched at ears and cheeks, entranced as if drunk.
Truly:
The Dao Seed hangs in the void and shines on Daluo;
Yin, yang, and the five elements sway of themselves.
All methods flow home to where Yuanji lies,
And only then is the cosmos known to share one root and bough!
Chapter 224