ATEG Chapter 112

Once the Earth’s Spine was set, the Heaven-Connecting Vein above was also established. The force of the Heaven-Connecting Vein that Great Yin had barely managed to sustain as a symbol of the upper realm dissipated.

With these two most critical earth veins now settled, the four directional veins no longer mattered. Whatever arrangements Chaos had made regarding the earth veins, however many years they had persisted, were now rendered void.

Yet Yin Tianzi felt no sense of loss or frustration over this. It had only ever been a casual move on his part. To obtain the power of the Shetu, both the earth-spine force within the Daqing Mountain Range and the one within Diancang Mountain were indispensable. The earth spine within Diancang Mountain was watched over by Fengchuan and Gengheng — these two spirit beings were nothing to speak of, but behind them stood the watchful gaze of the Flame Lord. Although Chaos could obtain the earth-spine force within the Daqing Mountain Range, if he were to scheme and seize control of it, the Flame Lord would certainly personally guard the earth-spine force within Diancang Mountain, making it virtually impossible for him to ever obtain it.

So this had only been a casual move on Chaos’s part. All the preparations made before were merely to await a possible opportunity — so that when a flaw appeared in the earth-spine force within Diancang Mountain, he could seize the moment directly and settle everything in one stroke.

The Earth’s Spine must not be recklessly disturbed. Were it not for Shetu protecting these two earth spines still in gestation, the earth would have already shattered and collapsed 120,000 years ago. Thus the contest between both sides was built upon this foundation. If the Flame Lord had strictly guarded Diancang Mountain from the very beginning, Chaos would not have minded forcibly seizing the earth-spine force within the Daqing Mountain Range. Even if he himself could not obtain it, he would not allow the Flame Lord any chance to acquire the power of the Earth’s Spine — that would be supplying resources to the enemy. Therefore the Flame Lord had always allowed the two spirit beings within Diancang Mountain to guard the earth-spine force, while he himself presided from afar at the Flame Lord’s Sacred Sanctuary in Min territory — that was precisely to keep Chaos dangling, so that he would not forcibly move against the Daqing Mountain Range.

Chaos’s covetousness of the Daqing Mountain Range and the Flame Lord’s attitude toward Diancang Mountain — both sides understood each other’s intentions perfectly. It was simply a matter of patience across the long river of tens of thousands of years, competing over who would first reveal a weakness, who would first seize the opportunity.

There were not many beings in this world capable of interfering with the Earth’s Spine. No matter who among them wished to move against the Daqing Mountain Range, they could not hide it from him. He simply had not anticipated that Changyang, who should have perished alongside Shetu, had not truly died.

Taiyin and the Flame Lord — these two illustrious High Gods had cooperated with seamless tacit understanding in this matter. They had likely known long ago that Changyang had not perished, yet had endured 120,000 years without revealing the slightest trace.

Because of this one variable, the power of Shetu had been gathered by Changyang, and the foremost peak of the Daqing Mountain Range had become Changyang’s earthly sacred sanctuary — just like Tianzhu Mountain had been 120,000 years ago. Changyang had lain dormant for 120,000 years before emerging, and was still gravely wounded at present. But with the protection of Shetu’s power, the moment to kill him while he was vulnerable had passed. The opportunity had existed only for an instant, and he had already missed it. If he dared to act by force now, the Flame Lord and Taiyin would certainly not stand by and do nothing.

Yin Tianzi looked at the serene and perfect Heavenly Maiden Wuyou across from him and sneered coldly, “You showed admirable resolve — deceiving the entire world for his sake.”

Had Taiyin not proclaimed that Changyang had perished, had there been no sign across 120,000 years of them doing anything that might have benefited the gravely wounded Changyang, how could Chaos have had no suspicion of Changyang’s death? How decisive they had been!

Most critically, the betrayal of the Destiny-Recording Brush could not have killed Changyang. When the great calamity suddenly erupted in those ancient days, many High Gods did not know what had happened. Chaos, who had masterminded the Destiny-Recording Brush’s betrayal, knew full well. All the tribulation-calamity accumulated in the world had been pressed onto Changyang in a single instant. Changyang had been the one most deeply entangled with the great calamity by virtue of establishing the Underworld, and all that karma had been connected to Changyang — only it had been severed by him through a profound and wondrous technique, confined within a single finger bone.

When the Destiny-Recording Brush betrayed, when karma entangled and vengeful calamity fell upon him, Changyang had still managed to resist for a single instant — and within that instant, he severed all connections between the Underworld and the mortal world. No one knew where he had concealed it, nor what measures he had laid within the Underworld, such that Chaos to this day dared not personally enter the Underworld to retrieve the Destiny-Recording Brush and eliminate this vulnerability within himself.

After that one instant, Changyang fell, and heaven and earth underwent the Da Xuan.

(TL: Da Xuan = profound darkness; great void; utter mystery; the great unknown)

The Da Xuan of those ancient days had been personally executed by Taiyin.

Yin Tianzi gazed at the composed Heavenly Maiden Wuyou, and from within his pitch-black eyes there suddenly seeped a profound and heavy malice. “Do they know of Da Xuan’s existence?”

Heavenly Maiden Wuyou’s expression remained undisturbed. “Only Changyang will return.”

Yin Tianzi’s expression darkened, and an oppressive might pressed toward Heavenly Maiden Wuyou. “This is your only avatar capable of walking in the mortal world. Since you have appeared before me, I take it you are prepared to lose it.”

“Then let Great Yin’s national fortune be extinguished together with this avatar,” Heavenly Maiden Wuyou said calmly.

Taiyin presided over fate. As Taiyin’s avatar in the mortal world, extinguishing a nation’s fortune was not beyond her capability.

In the end, Yin Tianzi did not act. Great Yin still had its uses for him. As for Heavenly Maiden Wuyou — she was only an avatar. Losing her would not harm Taiyin’s fundamental self. Just as he himself was only an avatar of Chaos — Chaos was the Yin Tianzi, but the Yin Tianzi was not Chaos.

After Heavenly Maiden Wuyou departed, the dark expression on Yin Tianzi’s face faded away, restoring itself to its dignified bearing. He gazed afar toward the foremost peak of the Daqing Mountain Range, and fell into contemplation.

The loss of the earth veins was nothing. What truly commanded his attention was Changyang’s return to life.

Although the moment to act had now been lost, since Changyang’s location had been exposed, many things now had threads to follow.

Lu Kingdom’s border… When he had previously probed to extend his reach into Lu Kingdom, the escape of the Dream-Eating Tapir had caused the Xuanqing Sect lurking within Lu Kingdom’s borders to reveal a trace of its presence. Lu Kingdom was the Divine Court’s territory, yet the Divine Court at the time had not pursued the matter extensively. The incident had settled quickly, and so had not drawn his attention. But looking at it now, the Divine Court had held back precisely because of this — and he had not noticed this small incident that had not led to any serious consequences, nor had he noticed that within this incident lay traces of Changyang’s movements.

In order to conceal Changyang’s existence, Taiyin could truly be said to have gone to extraordinary lengths.

Changyang commanded karma; Taiyin understood fate. Although through the current state of karmic and destiny chaos, Chaos could conceal his own movements from the watchful gaze of these two deities, at the same time, beneath the concealment of these two deities, he could not directly perceive their arrangements, and could only deduce from surface-level traces.

And if by that time Changyang had already begun to act, then based on his ability to command karma, the places where a scheme could possibly have been laid…

One by one, seemingly scattered and unrelated traces slid through Chaos’s divine consciousness, then suddenly fixed in place. His gaze fell upon a member of the Xuanqing Sect within Liang Kingdom.

Appearing within Lu Kingdom near Taiwu County — the Taiwu County Earth God — investigating the matter of the Dream-Eating Tapir — being grievously wounded — an aberrant soul — joining the Xuanqing Sect: Feiying.

Every single point had a perfectly reasonable cause behind it. Feiying had been thoroughly investigated and questioned when he joined the Xuanqing Sect. The aberrant soul was because he had been gravely wounded by the Taiwu County Earth God; he had been gravely wounded by the Taiwu County Earth God because his identity as an aberrant cultivator had been exposed due to old grudges, while he had also appeared near Taiwu County; he had appeared near Taiwu County in order to search for traces of the Dream-Eating Tapir; he had searched for traces of the Dream-Eating Tapir in order to pursue the power behind it, thereby obtaining a more advanced method of cultivation. Furthermore, Feiying himself had never traveled near Shuigu Town, and appeared to have no connection whatsoever to Changyang.

Yet when all these peripheral factors converged together, he absolutely would not treat it as coincidence. Chaos had never underestimated Changyang — that was a deity who commanded karma. Had Changyang not single-handedly sought to establish the Underworld and sort through karmic threads in those ancient days, he would not have needed to lie dormant in concealment for so many years.

Chaos’s gaze fell upon the newly established Heaven-Connecting Vein. If Feiying was truly Changyang’s vessel, then what did he intend to use Feiying to accomplish?

Only Changyang will return. Changyang, the Xuanqing Sect…

Hmph. Yin Tianzi suddenly let out a cold laugh, his eyes narrowing into a long, narrow slit, their sharp light keen as a blade.

Changyang… you want the Xuanqing Sect that you built with your own hands, do you…

****

From the moment the Earth’s Spine was set and the Heaven-Connecting Vein was established, the spiritual essence within the Daqing Mountain Range surged upward with vigor, the calamity qi diminished considerably, and the chaotic spiritual essence throughout heaven and earth grew much more settled along with the fixing of the Earth’s Spine. A vast and majestic force gradually condensed upon the Earth’s Spine — the closer one drew to the foremost peak of the mountain range, the heavier the oppressive might became. The former Tianzhu Mountain had been the summit of the rising sun, the head of the Heaven-Connecting Vein, and had always been Changyang’s earthly sacred sanctuary.

This place — this was truly a ground worthy of bearing the descent of a deity.

Jin Liushan bowed twice in deep reverence and then slowly withdrew. The deity had not spoken, yet Jin Liushan already understood that this was no longer a place where he could remain.

The deity’s grace nourishes heaven and earth; the deity cannot be touched. Just as the radiant sun illuminates all living things — all beings may receive its light, yet none may look directly upon its brilliance. Before long, this newly established Heaven-Connecting Vein would naturally generate an oppressive might preventing ordinary people from drawing near, just as Tianzhu Mountain had once done.

Jin Liushan descended from the mountain summit and returned to Li Manor. Along the way he passed through the territories of countless cultivators concealed within the Daqing Mountain Range. They watched him, yet none attempted to stop him. They had all seen him accompany the deity all the way to bear witness to the Earth’s Spine — and that was the greatest stroke of fortune in his entire life.

Hou Li saw him return alone, and with a complex expression looked toward the distance. He had already heard that long resonant cry of the Earth’s Spine, and had heard the deity’s proclamation.

The deity would not return here again.

This place was only a shallow little pool — it might serve as a brief resting place for a deity in concealment, but could not bear the presence of a deity who had already manifested in full form.

“I should depart,” Fengchuan said with deep feeling. He had borne witness to this magnificent feat, and his expression gradually composed itself. He looked at the younger generation beside him. “For you, this is not a bad thing.”

Hou Li bowed respectfully. “This junior understands.”

The gulf between them and the deity was too vast. After the deity’s manifestation, every movement and action would generate ripples that they could not bear. Their connection to the deity had been the most precious stroke of fortune in their lives; now the time for it to conclude had come. Clinging too heavily would only burn them to nothing. Hou Li understood the reasoning behind this. Fengchuan had previously cautioned him not to rely too much on the deity — he simply had not expected this moment to arrive so swiftly.

Fengchuan departed. Hou Li rose to his feet, swept his gaze around the interior of the residence, and could not help but let out a long, deep breath. Once, he had been a manor spirit barely able to protect himself. The silver fish had been a fish-soul on the verge of dissipation. Wen Qianzi had been a young beast that had just awakened its spiritual awareness. The monkey troop had been nothing but bewildered wild beasts of the mountain wilderness. The Great King Yishan had been a great demon long trapped and unable to attain divine rank. And then there was Little Loach… Between them, even those who knew each other had had no real connection. Now the old pine before the gate had been reborn; the silver fish had transformed into a spring spirit; Wen Qianzi could already speak fluently; the most quick-witted little white-cheeked monkey had begun learning to read and write at Master Li’s schoolroom in the village below; the Great King Yishan had become a true earth god who truly understood what it meant to be a god of heaven and earth; and the Little Loach, cradling a dazed little river otter, held its tiny paw and waggled it a few times in Hou Li’s direction.

Hou Li could not help but smile. The deity had already illuminated the path ahead for them. Like a small river that had briefly passed through a magnificent gorge, it was now time to return to its ordinary course — yet the magnificence of that gorge had already left its towering reflection in the river’s waters.

In Shuigu Town, at the Yun Family Medicine Shop. A lean man in a spotted-collared grey robe stood in the doorway, gazing afar toward the Daqing Mountain Range. Jing Yan, who had already taken human form, bowed deeply. Though his eyes held lingering reluctance, from them steadfastness also arose.

****

Shezhou City.

Li Shi was packing his things, preparing to leave — preparing to… return to the Li clan’s ancestral territory. His heart was in truth filled with considerable bewilderment.

He had gone to seek help from Mister Li Quan, who had once shown kindness to Chang Andu, asking him with little hope to see whether the curse that the Li clan bore could be resolved. Yet his ancestor had remained behind, and he had gone out for a turn — only to return and hear that the curse had been resolved?!

It had happened so fast that he had little sense of it being real.

Li Shi finished packing the last of his things and suddenly felt an emptiness settle over him.

“Ancestor?” he asked softly.

Ever since he had retrieved the jade pendant from Mister Li Quan, his ancestor had said nothing beyond initially confirming that the Li clan’s curse had indeed been resolved.

“What is it?” The ancestor’s reply seemed somewhat sluggish.

“We’re going back,” Li Shi said. He was silent for a moment, then added, “Does it feel too sudden to you as well?”

The Li clan had labored over this curse for countless generations. Generation after generation had paid painstaking effort, yet had still not managed to see even a glimmer of result. By his father’s generation, the Li clan had nearly despaired. Even Li Shi himself had long since ceased to hold any hope that the curse could be lifted — yet of all things, in his generation, the matter had been resolved with effortless ease.

It was not the result of his own effort. He had paid no price for it. He had simply happened to encounter a cultivator, and then asked for his guidance…

“Mm…” the Destiny-Recording Brush responded sluggishly.

The deity… He had now met the deity who commanded karma. His own karma no longer had any flaws. The karma that had been forcibly grafted onto the Li clan to transfer calamitous affliction had returned to bear upon himself — and so the so-called “curse” upon the Li clan was naturally also dissolved.

The deity had reclaimed the name that he had stolen and recorded. But it seemed the deity had not disclosed the truth to Li Shi, who still regarded the Destiny-Recording Brush as the Li clan’s ancestor. For the Destiny-Recording Brush, however, whether it was disclosed or not made no difference. Even if he himself had sunk to such a state, it was not something Li Shi could possibly shake. His karma had also returned to its proper order and would no longer generate gaps, and he was no longer able to interfere in any way with the karma of others.

He could choose whether or not to tell Li Shi the truth. But what meaning would that hold for him? He wished only for annihilation. Would this choice offer any assistance toward his annihilation?

He had already handed over everything he could possibly hand over, yet still had to endure the calamitous affliction that clung to him — because he had not planted the cause of annihilation.

Yet he did not dare give rise to even a single thread of resentment or dissatisfaction, did not dare contemplate seeking any other path. He had been bound by calamitous affliction for 120,000 years, his spirit repeatedly sinking into madness and derangement, again and again having to struggle back to lucidity against his will. And what had been pressed upon Changyang in that single instant of those ancient days had far surpassed this — it had been the grievous hatred of all living beings and the tribulation-calamity of the great calamity itself. No one knew better than him that every being who had ever cried out to Changyang for help had harbored hatred for this world.

The Destiny-Recording Brush forcibly severed its own train of thought and shrank deeper still into the innermost reaches of the jade pendant.

Outside the jade pendant, also packing travel provisions alongside Li Shi was Chang Andu. Li Shi was returning to Lu Kingdom, and for Chang Andu this was magnificent news beyond measure. His home was in Lu Kingdom, yet he had been stranded in Liang Kingdom with no way to return. Now that he could travel back together with Li Shi, the longing that had built within him could no longer be suppressed.

Before departing, Chang Andu sought out Mister Li Quan to bid him farewell. Beyond the provisions and travel funds needed for the road, Chang Andu transferred everything he possessed in Liang Kingdom as a gift to Li Quan.

“Please do not decline, Mister. Had it not been for your assistance, I would by now be a set of dry bones at the river’s bottom. What is more, you also helped Brother Li Shi resolve his long-standing affliction. I no longer intend to come to Liang Kingdom again — these things have no use if left with me, so it is better to leave them with you.”

Li Quan accepted with a smile. The two bade their farewells to him and departed, setting out on the road home.

And within an unassuming courtyard in this Shezhou City, sunlight spilled through the open gate, coming to rest at the hem of a dark teal robe. Li Quan lay a qin crosswise over his lap, seated in the shadow of the main chamber, the smile at the corner of his mouth cold and chill.

Between his fingertips he wound a thread of silk — desire, plucked from the body of the Destiny-Recording Brush.

Those slender fingers unhurriedly replaced a string on the qin. Within his profound eyes was reflected the boundless expanse of karma.

Show it through movement, benefit its stillness while keeping it controlled, enhance its activity and let it be yielding.