On the Path to the Great Dao

Yang Bi curled up, not taking the Ginseng Grass Fruit. The oxcart was far from comfortable, always jostling about. Even with straw beneath him, the bumps rattled his bones until they ached. But he felt like only through the pain could he be certain he was still alive.

The collapse of the Upper Realm had hit him too hard.

He had been clever since childhood. Though his Divine Embryo was poor, his intelligence far surpassed his peers. Even clansmen who received Purple Jade Divine Embryos couldn’t match his cultivation or combat prowess.

At twelve, he was selected and sent to the Upper Realm, where, under the tutelage of the thirteen ancestral masters, he began to engage with the grand plan of the Thirteen Great Clans to counterattack Despair Slope. The ancestral masters had long been plagued by their own wicked transformations, unable to take charge. So, they needed an exceptionally sharp mind to wield authority in their stead and unite the forces of the Thirteen Great Clans across the mortal and underworld realms.

He shouldered this immense responsibility as a youth, pouring nearly all his energy into it. Standing at the height of the ancestral masters, he looked down upon the Thirteen Great Clans and finally understood the daunting predicament he faced.

Over the years, the Thirteen Great Clans had become a cancerous tumor clinging to the Western Ox New Continent, rotten to the core. The underworld was even more corrupt. Not only did the clans act independently, but their ghost gods seized territories, becoming local tyrants who ran amok.

He did his utmost to consolidate the underworld’s forces, only to realize he could barely keep this massive, broken ship afloat. Turning it into an invincible warship in a short time was impossible.

His goal shifted from eliminating Despair Slope to merely surviving under its threat. But when Feng Ruotong, the Celestial Way Immortal of Despair Slope, invaded the Upper Realm, he discovered that even that was a luxury.

“It’s over…” he groaned on the oxcart.

The migrating villagers were kind-hearted, not shunning him as a waste but rather taking care of him. A young girl named Fang on the cart would wipe his body every so often, unafraid of the filth, cleaning the pus from his wounds.

When the group stopped to cook, she’d bring him a bowl of rice. Yang Bi was too injured to get up, so she fed him.

“Xiao Fang, this man won’t make it.”

An elder in the village told her. “Leave him here. We can’t save him. It’s time to let go.”

“He’s still alive now!”

Xiao Fang stubbornly insisted. “As long as there’s breath, there’s hope!”

The elder couldn’t argue with her and shook his head. “Wasting food. Can’t even fill your own belly, yet you’re trying to save a dead man.”

Xiao Fang said nothing, continuing to feed Yang Bi. As she fed him, tears began to fall, drop by drop.

“You have to want to live for there to be hope!”

She cried. “If you don’t want to live, who can save you?”

Yang Bi was silent.

The group pressed on. Their original village had been overrun by evil spirits, and their Godmother had died in battle. They needed to find a new home.

With the chaos of war everywhere, the county towns were unsafe. They’d heard that the fields couldn’t grow grain, so the powerful in the county resorted to looting and murder. The county towns were long empty, occupied by murderous bandits.

They could only head toward remote places.

Yang Bi stubbornly clung to life. His wounds began to scab over. Xiao Fang was delighted, helping him sit up, leaning against the oxcart, and combing his hair.

“Dressed up a bit, and you’re quite a handsome fellow,” she said with a smile.

Just then, the group was attacked by a ghostly beast, dragging away an old man. They only had one Xiucai in their group. Though he had diligently cultivated to the Golden Core stage, he was helpless against such a monster.

Panic spread through the group, accompanied by the sound of soft sobbing.

Yang Bi’s dead heart stirred. He tried to channel his magic power to slay the ghostly beast, but his injuries were too severe; he simply lacked the strength.

After a moment of hesitation, he swallowed the Ginseng Grass Fruit that Chen Shi had given him. A sweet, cool energy slid down his throat into his belly, nourishing his five viscera and six organs.

These villagers had helped him, so he would repay them. Even if his Dao Heart was shattered, he wouldn’t wait until the beast had nearly killed everyone before acting.

He was a cautious man. If he could muster even a sliver of magic power, that would be enough to eliminate the beast.

The beast came again. It was a Shen Beast, hidden in the fog.

The mist crept toward them, soon swallowing everyone in the group. People held hands, not daring to speak or move. Strong men guarded the perimeter, protecting the women, children, and elderly in the center.

The Xiucai summoned his Golden Core to illuminate the surroundings, but it could only light up about ten feet around.

He moved the Golden Core, shining it around the oxcart.

Suddenly, the Golden Core stopped, its light revealing the Shen Beast’s enormous, fang-filled, hideous face.

People screamed. The Shen Beast grew more excited, opening its massive maw and lunging at them.

Just then, a faint sound of zither music rang out. The Shen Beast froze, its massive head slowly splitting down the middle, its mountainous body collapsing to both sides.

The fog gradually dissipated.

The fallen Shen Beast was still steaming.

The people were overjoyed and shocked, all looking at the Xiucai. He quickly waved his hands and said, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything! It just fell!”

“Master Xiucai is amazing!”

An old man marveled. “Master Xiucai killed this beast without even lifting a finger!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, hoisting the Xiucai into the air. Xiao Fang glanced at Yang Bi, who was leaning against the oxcart, but said nothing.

They began to carve up the Shen Beast’s meat. With this kill, they could survive for a long time. Amidst the laughter and joy, the sound of hoofbeats came. They looked up and saw a group of knights riding Shen Beasts approaching.

The people froze, dropping their work. The Xiucai tensed up and muttered, “Government officials!”

The official knights reined in their Shen Beasts, stopping beside them. The leader, a middle-aged man, looked at the dead Shen Beast on the ground, then at the villagers. His face darkened. “Who did this?”

The villagers fell silent. Someone glanced at the Xiucai, but a tug on their sleeve made them look away.

“This Shen Beast was government property.”

The middle-aged man sneered. “Killing government property is a capital offense. Won’t talk, huh? Men! Kill the males, and take all women under thirty!”

The knights on their Shen Beasts acknowledged in unison. Their miniature shrines manifested their Divine Embryos, preparing to deliver a fatal blow with their Primordial Spirits and Golden Cores.

“I did it! I killed it!”

The Xiucai quickly jumped out, raising his hands. “I alone am responsible! Leave them out of it! Your honor’s Shen Beast was eating people, so I killed it!”

The middle-aged man’s gaze fell on him, and he smiled. “You’re a scholar?”

The Xiucai replied, “A Tong student from the Jiajing era, year 6637.”

The middle-aged man chuckled. “Your life is spared. Come with me. You can pick a woman from these to be your wife.”

He waved his hand. “Kill the men to feed the Shen Beasts. Take all women under thirty.”

The Xiucai was stunned, then shouted, “I confessed! Kill me! Let them go!”

The middle-aged man laughed. “You’re educated. You’re a cultivator. You have use. The government’s Shen Beast is dead, so compensation is needed. The men will feed the beasts, and the women will be taken to be sold off, earning money through the skin trade to pay the debt.”

The Xiucai was furious. “Anyone who dares harm them, I’ll fight to the death!”

“Stubborn fool!”

The middle-aged man shook his head and ordered, “Kill him too.”

The knights laughed heartily, preparing their spells. Swords of light flickered, flying toward the villagers.

But then, the zither rang out, sharp and clear. The knights’ bodies shook violently. Their auras collapsed, their spirit embryos shattered, and they fell to the ground one after another, dead.

The middle-aged man was terrified. He tried to flee, but his Shen Beast was so frightened its legs gave out. His own legs turned to jelly; he tried to move them, but they wouldn’t obey.

The villagers all looked at the Xiucai, who wore a blank expression.

He had no idea what had happened.

The middle-aged man’s gaze passed over him and settled on the oxcart. He screamed, “Do you know who we are? How dare you strike us down! My surname is Yang! I’m the nephew of Yang Zhen, the Governor of Beimeng Province! The Yang family of the Thirteen Great Clans—do you know them?”

Yang Bi sat on the oxcart and suddenly burst into laughter. “You’re from the Yang family? The Yang family of Tingzhou?”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Emboldened, the middle-aged man yelled, “That’s right! You know the Yang family of Tingzhou? Then you should know that if I die…”

Zither music came from the heavens. His Primordial Spirit suddenly collapsed behind his head. The middle-aged man stared blankly for a moment, then his corpse crumpled to the ground.

“The Yang family… hehehe! The Yang family!”

Yang Bi laughed like a madman, cackling uncontrollably, then suddenly shouted in fury, “Everything I fought to protect—what the hell was I protecting?!”

“Pfft!”

He spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out.

Xiao Fang quickly laid him flat, pried open his mouth, and shoved her finger between his teeth to keep him from biting off his tongue in his unconscious state.

Yang Bi, in his stupor, unconsciously bit down on her hand until it bled. Luckily, the Ginseng Grass Fruit’s effects were still active, and he soon regained consciousness. Seeing that her thumb and index finger had been bitten nearly to the bone, he was filled with guilt.

Xiao Fang quickly asked, “How are your injuries?”

Yang Bi struggled to sit up. “Coughing up that blood clot actually made me feel a bit better. Is your hand alright?”

He took the girl’s hand and tried to transfer a portion of his qi and blood to her, moistening the wound and helping it heal.

Xiao Fang tried to pull her hand back but couldn’t.

A few days later, under her care, he could barely get off the cart and walk. The pus-filled sores had healed, though he still had a slight limp.

After the incident with the Yang family, it was as if he had been reborn. He began to live earnestly and cultivate seriously.

He shed his tattered old clothes and put on the new ones Xiao Fang had prepared. Though they were coarse cloth, he didn’t find them beneath him at all.

He started over from the beginning, like a true villager, living and working alongside them, driving away monsters and beasts, protecting the women, children, and elderly.

He taught the Xiucai and the children cultivation techniques. Xiao Fang, while caring for him, also learned Daoist methods from him.

They grew closer and closer.

The villagers found a spot by the river to settle down, planning to start a new life. They wove fishing nets and built small boats, intending to make a living by fishing.

A little over a month later, Yang Bi and Xiao Fang were married under the witness of the village elders, celebrating with a lively wedding.

A few days after that, a group of Red Mountain Hall cultivators passed by. They saw Yang Bi teaching the villagers cultivation methods, so they stopped, watching for a long time without leaving.

“Hey!”

The leader of the Red Mountain Hall group was a woman. She said to Yang Bi, “I am Tian Yue’e, the Hall Master of the Beimeng branch of Red Mountain Hall. Your cultivation is very high. I’ve been listening for a while and have gained a lot. Our Red Mountain Hall’s Instructor Chen has already arrived in Beimeng. He’s reviving the spirits of the Divine Continent and rebuilding the nation, and he needs people. Join our Red Mountain Hall.”

Yang Bi had long heard of Red Mountain Hall’s reputation among the people. They helped the common folk everywhere, punishing the wicked, disciplining the bullies, and slaying the evil spirits that caused trouble.

“Your Instructor Chen, who is he?” he asked.

Tian Yue’e smiled. “The current top scholar, Chen Shi!”

Yang Bi froze. After a long pause, he nodded.

“I’ll join Red Mountain Hall.”

Tian Yue’e laughed. “You can’t stay by the river. Move soon. The riverbank won’t grow crops. Head to a nearby temple. We’ve reclaimed good fields there, and there’s sunlight from the ancestral land, the Divine Continent. At night, you can even see the stars!”

She was very excited and added, “Pack up. I’ll take you there!”

The villagers were hesitant when they heard this.

They had just built their houses. Moving again would drain their strength.

Tian Yue’e smiled. “Our Red Mountain Hall has plenty of brothers from the Lu Ban Sect. They build houses very fast, so don’t worry. Just bring your families and come with us.”

Yang Bi thanked her, and the villagers set off once more.

They traveled for over ten days before finally arriving at the temple Tian Yue’e had mentioned.

Above the temple, a sun hung high in the sky, its warm light comfortable and soothing.

Countless cultivators were busy firing bricks, baking tiles, and building houses. The place was bustling. A small town was taking shape, centered around this temple.

Tian Yue’e settled them in, then took Yang Bi into the temple. “The deity enshrined here is from the Divine Continent, only recently revived by Instructor Chen.”

Yang Bi looked and saw couplets on either side of the entrance.

The gathered woman questioned the Dao,

The young girl married a man.

He looked up. Above the door were three ancient characters.

The Pavilion of Peng Zu.

Yang Bi stepped inside. The deity enshrined in the temple was in the process of awakening.

Yang Bi walked out of the temple and gazed at the bustling mortal world outside. A surge of warmth swelled in his heart.

Before, he had lived for the Thirteen Great Clans.

Now, he had found a new reason to live.

“We cultivators—all our power comes from ourselves. I cannot rely on others. This time, I will rely on myself!”