My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times-Chapter 239 - 66: Entering the Origin, Meeting the 3 Masters (Part 2)
"What’s done is done!" Spirit Treasure declared. "Is Supreme really going to try and steal this disciple back? Hmph! Just now he called us pests. He’s simply... simply..."
"It’s nothing. The Three Pristine Ones are one. When he scolds us, he’s scolding himself." Primordial, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned and took it in stride.
"What I’m worried about now is that the Fellow Daoist in the shadows isn’t plotting against us, but against Xiaoxuan... Xiaoxuan should be on the radar of those few Fellow Daoists by now."
"Who would dare?"
The Lame Daoist’s eyes widened. Annihilation and Slaughter manifested, rising and falling like the Heaven-Reaching Divine Mountain, standing firm all around him. The Qing Ping Sword also appeared in his hand. Lotuses bloomed upon a Sumeru, Great Realms were born and destroyed, and all worlds met their end!
The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became.
’They can’t really be plotting against Xiaoxuan, can they...? No, this won’t do. It must be one of those bastards. No matter who it is, I’ll go give them a beating first and ask questions later... I’m off!’
The Lame Daoist limped away, longsword in hand, radiating a menacing aura as he headed alone into the depths of Chaos. Primordial didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he wasn’t worried about him. Instead, he simply returned to his Daoist Palace.
...
「In the Current World, within the Little World.」
After sending away the Masters of the Academies, Zhang Ling glanced over and asked in a low voice:
"Xiaoxuan, did something happen? You’ve been a bit dazed just now, your mind was elsewhere."
Lu Xuan snapped out of it, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly asked:
"Senior Brother Zhang, I want to ask you a question... Let’s say you hadn’t been thrown into this world and trapped for a hundred thousand years, but instead, you were fated to be sliced by ten thousand blades and die a miserable death in the future... Would you feel that you were lucky to have been trapped here, acting as the Celestial Dao for a hundred thousand years?"
Zhang Ling was taken aback. ’What in the world is he talking about?’
Puzzled, he thought for a moment and asked:
"That would depend on why I died in your hypothetical."
"Probably for..." Lu Xuan recalled the corner of the future Grandpa Chu had shown him and said uncertainly, "Probably... for the sake of all people?"
"Then what’s so bad about such a death?" Zhang Ling started to laugh. "To die for all people, is that not a joy? To suffer for the world, is that not a delight?"
Lu Xuan’s eyes shone brightly as he murmured to himself:
"That’s right... What’s so bad about a future like that?"
He had seen his so-called future, but he wasn’t worried. He had already tested it just now—things upon the River of Time could all be changed.
At the very least, he had changed something himself: he’d given Senior Brother Zhang two slaps.
’Grandpa Chu’s appearance was too sudden, too strange,’ Lu Xuan thought as his expression tensed slightly. ’He confronted my Three Masters as if he were their enemy...’
’And if Grandpa Chu truly is an enemy of my Three Masters, his methods, talent, and Divine Techniques would surely be among the best in all of heaven and earth. Why would he do something so foolish?’
’The attempt to sow discord was too obvious, the method too crude.’
The more Lu Xuan thought, the more puzzled he became, and the more puzzled he became, the deeper he fell into thought. At that moment, however, Zhang Ling said excitedly:
"Let’s not talk about that. Little Junior Brother, first try and see if you can master this Supreme Treasure. Then, see if you can absorb this world into your Acupoints..."
As he spoke, Zhang Ling opened his palm, and a Bronze Fragment materialized above it.
Lu Xuan came back to his senses and glanced over. He thought of the three other Bronze Fragments. This was now the fourth piece.
Zhang Ling handed the Bronze Fragment to Lu Xuan and began to describe its effects:
"This is indeed a remarkable Supreme Treasure. It can alter and establish the rules of a world. I used it to replace the fundamental rules of this Little World with those of the ’Hundred Schools of Ancient Times’..."
After a pause, he continued:
"However, it probably won’t have much of an effect on the Great Heaven and Earth. For one, our Cultivation isn’t high enough. For another, the vastness of the Great Heaven and Earth is not something a Supreme Treasure can shake. But if you can master this treasure, Little Junior Brother, you can use it to weave the rules within your own Acupoint Heaven and Earth. That would be quite good!"
Lu Xuan held the Bronze Fragment, briefly sensed its power, and nodded.
"Yes, I can indeed control it... Weave the rules of my own Acupoint Heaven and Earth? Senior Brother, you mean..."
"I thought of this use a long time ago."
Zhang Ling laughed heartily.
"But it’s useless to me. It can only be used after one has pioneered a world within their Acupoints. Xiaoxuan, you’ve managed to do that ahead of time, so this treasure is a perfect match for you."
After a pause, he added, somewhat impatiently:
"Xiaoxuan, hurry up and see if you can take this Little World into your Acupoints. If you can, I’ll be able to get out and enter Reincarnation..."
But Lu Xuan shook his head.
His expression was serious.
"Senior Brother Zhang, your lifespan is already at its end. If you stop acting as the ’Dao’ of this Little World, I’m afraid you’ll die of old age immediately."
"Isn’t that perfect? I need to hurry on to the next Reincarnation and get through my tribulations as soon as possible."
"But..." Lu Xuan lowered his eyes. "In the outside world right now, Reincarnation may no longer exist."
Zhang Ling froze, asking in stunned disbelief:
"What do you mean by that?"
Lu Xuan thought for a moment and said:
"In the outside world today, the ages are fractured. It has gone through an age of decline. The Ancient Immortal Gods have vanished, the Celestial Court and Underworld are no more, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation have most likely disappeared for now as well..."
A chill ran down Zhang Ling’s spine.
Lu Xuan’s expression grew solemn.
"Here’s what we’ll do. Find a quiet room for me. I’ll give you an answer in a little while."
Zhang Ling snapped back to reality. Though puzzled, he didn’t ask any questions and nodded decisively, leading Lu Xuan into the depths of the Hall of the Hundred Schools.
After entering the quiet room, Lu Xuan caressed the Bronze Fragment in his hand, his gaze growing profound.
’I remember wanting to tell my master about the Bronze Fragment,’ he thought, ’but when I went to the Ancient Times, I bizarrely forgot all about it...’
’It was probably Grandpa Chu’s doing.’
’My every word and action right now are very likely being watched by Grandpa Chu. If so, should I enter my dreams and return to the Ancient Times, I’ll most likely forget these things again, however briefly...’
Lu Xuan’s gaze burned with intensity. He gently squeezed his left hand.
’Grandpa Chu doesn’t know I’ve already taken the Three Masters as my own. In other words, Grandpa Chu doesn’t know what happened in the Origin.’
Stretching languidly, Lu Xuan yawned as if about to fall into a dream.
But in the instant before falling asleep, he silently activated the ’key’ his Three Masters had carved into his hand, the one that could open the Origin.
According to his Three Masters, before his Ascension to Immortality, he had to go to the tomb to open the Origin. After ascending, however, he could enter it whenever and wherever he pleased.
Lu Xuan’s vision suddenly went dark. The world spun around him.
When everything settled down again, he found himself in the Origin—a place with no sky or earth, no left or right, no directions, and not even Years, time, or Birth and Death.
In the absolute silence, Lu Xuan raised his head and shouted:
"Three Masters! Three Masters!"
"Three! Mas! Ters!"
His voice traveled through the absolute void, the absolute silence, drifting far, far away, but there was no response.
Lu Xuan thought for a moment, then took out his Fishing Drum and tapped it lightly.
DOK!
"Three! Mas! Ters!!"
The Origin trembled, and the head of a disheveled Lame Daoist poked in.
"We’ll talk in a minute! Wait ’til I’m done carving up this damned bald-ass!"
As his voice faded, the Lame Daoist pulled his head back out. But in the instant before he vanished, a single drop of Buddha Blood, which seemed to contain three thousand worlds, fell from a strand of his hair.
Lu Xuan was dumbfounded. Then his pupils contracted—the Buddha Blood... it was falling toward him!
