Chapter 185: Heavenly Dao Emerges, a New Divine Being Is Born in Cloud Dream Marsh

As the three tribes withdrew into seclusion, heaven and earth seemed to become much clearer; a silent divine might spread throughout the wilderness, lasting eighty‑one days before fading away invisibly.

The gods had a clear perception of Him, and they understood that the Heavenly Dao was about to manifest.

Since the Heavenly Dao's pressure appeared, Qi has felt that the consciousness of Cloud Dream Marsh has become much duller, no longer as before, always liking to linger around him.

All beings spent the first yuanhui of the Great Dao's departure in peace.

At the very moment the ending concluded, Dao resonance sounded in the sky, countless heavenly flowers scattered, golden lotuses sprang from the earth, and spiritual rain drifted down.

The Heavenly Dao has manifested! All beings sensed it; as the Heavenly Dao appeared, sweet dew was sent down in celebration, and heaven and earth rejoiced together with all beings.

At the same time, within Cloud Dream Marsh, countless thunderclaps exploded, clouds and mist gathered, stirring the marsh's spiritual essence to follow closely.

This drastic change naturally drew the attention of Qi and the others, who immediately rushed toward its center.

When Qi and the others arrived, the change had already stabilized; countless clouds and mist coiled about, forming a great cocoon that continually shrank as it moved.

Finally the great cocoon transformed into a humanoid figure, possessing a human body with two wings and bird feet.

Furthermore, countless clouds and mist gathered in his hand, shaping into a sword; its arc like a cold moon, the cloud‑scarlet radiance blazing, with inscribed patterns floating on its surface, reading: Tianzhao.

"My name is Pingyi; I have greeted you all, fellow Daoists."

"Qi, Nüwa, Taiyi, Fuxi, Di Jun, I have greeted you, fellow Daoist Pingyi."

Pingyi, however, separately bowed to Qi and said:

"Pingyi greets the Divine Lord, and here also thanks the Divine Lord for His compassion."

Hearing these words, Qi was somewhat stunned, then realized his own past actions; feeling inevitably a bit embarrassed, he said: "Fellow Daoist, do not say such things; previously I overstepped, and I hope you will not hold it against me."

Pingyi, however, laughed and said: "The Divine Lord has misunderstood my meaning; my words of gratitude are sincere, for without the Divine Lord's compassion, I would not have this day."

Upon hearing Pingyi's words, Qi instead felt a bit doubtful and asked: "Where does this come from?"

Pingyi explained: "The foundations of Cloud Dream Marsh were insufficient; without the Divine Lord's efforts to make up for them, how could I have come into being?"

"Furthermore, if not for the Divine Lord's great compassion and tolerance, even if Cloud Dream Marsh's heaven and earth had nurtured me, I could not have survived to this day."

"Pingyi's birth, no matter what, will inevitably take away a portion of the Divine Lord's authority; whether much or little, it is a loss for the Divine Lord."

"Even if the Divine Lord once observed my attainment of the Dao, it had no effect; how could I blame the Divine Lord for these inconsequential matters?"

"From this we see that Pingyi has attained today only through the Divine Lord's grace; how could we not thank the Divine Lord for His compassion?"

Pingyi's words left Qi unsure how to respond, muttering but unable to find the words.

Seeing Qi somewhat at a loss, Pingyi continued speaking:

"Pingyi has received the Divine Lord's grace and has nothing to repay; I wish to offer this sword to the Divine Lord, willingly serving as the Divine Lord's child attendant, ever at His side, to repay His kindness!"

Having said that, he dropped to one knee, raised the Heavenly Illumination Sword with both hands overhead, and presented it before Qi.

This act startled everyone; Qi immediately dodged and shouted:

"Fellow Daoist, you must not do this; how can this be allowed? Please rise quickly, please rise quickly!"

After great effort helping Pingyi to his feet, Qi finally breathed a little easier and said:

"This sword is your companion‑born treasure, a safeguard of the Dao; how could I accept it? To do so would place me in an unjust position." "Moreover, speaking of a child attendant is best left unmentioned; we share the same origin, so do not adopt such postures."

Pingyi then ceased, no longer performing the sword‑offering gesture, and instead of addressing him as a fellow Daoist, he closely followed, answering anyone who asked that he was merely a guard and felt content.

This gave Qi a great headache, yet he did not know how to dissuade him; in the end Qi could only sneak about, trying to avoid Pingyi.

Only after finally finding a moment when Pingyi was not following could Qi leisurely chat and drink tea with the others.

"Qi, what exactly did you do back then to make an innate divine sage behave toward you in this way?"

Nüwa was very curious, and everyone turned their gazes toward them.

They were equally very interested in this second innate divine sage born of Cloud Dream Marsh, feeling that he was somewhat different from the rest.

Hearing this, Qi gave a wry smile: "I also do not know how to answer; do you remember when I was in seclusion? I think the cause lies there."

"Please explain in detail."

Taiyi urged curiously.

Qi could only nod helplessly, explaining to everyone what had happened back then, saying: "At first I sensed some changes in Cloud Dream Marsh, so I followed the trail to investigate."

"Thus I discovered Pingyi, though at that time he was still in the process of gestation, and since I had never encountered such a thing before, I disregarded the Marsh's consciousness opposition and compelled Him to let me observe."

"In the end He could no longer endure and could only allow me to enter."

"Only after I entered did I understand what had occurred; the manifestation of the Great Dao there was a place where heaven and earth nurture flawless Dao fruits, a precious opportunity I could not bear to miss, so I remained to contemplate the Dao."

"I had originally wanted to invite you all together, but the Marsh's consciousness reacted too intensely, leaving me no choice but to give up."

"That time, the Marsh's consciousness seemed to think I would be detrimental to it, so to dispel my doubts it briefly united with me in Dao for about ten breaths."

"It also allowed me to observe Pingyi's gestation, enabling me to comprehend the innate cloud‑mist Great Dao within."

After a moment's hesitation, Qi added: "That is all that happened back then; I simply do not know why Pingyi holds this attitude."

The others were speechless, unsure how to describe Qi and Pingyi's ordeal; if they were Pingyi, this would likely be an irreconcilable feud.

After all, who would tolerate another snoring beside one's bed? To forcibly intrude upon one's own nurturing place, observe the polishing of Dao fruits, and ponder one's own Great Dao—

No matter how one looks at it, such an attitude toward this person is unwarranted, even if we share the same origin.

Yet their impression of Pingyi is actually favorable; all they have seen are respectful and reverent manners, with speech full of admiring words.

Moreover, he is extremely intelligent and eager to learn; if he has doubts in cultivation, even if it is the white spirit or his mount, he is not ashamed to ask.

A person who knows propriety, loves learning, and is intelligent, whose speech is uniformly respectful, will always be hard to refuse and will tend to inspire goodwill.

Furthermore, he usually harbors no excessive desires, merely enjoying drink a little; when the others drink, he alone gets drunk and does not return, greatly loving song, dance, and music.

When the others are idle, even if only he remains, they will drink, hold a feast, and enjoy song and dance.

However, in the eyes of the others, these are merely a deity's pastimes, not worth mentioning.

But while the others were conversing, Pingyi rushed up and said: "Great gods, if you wish to know why, why not ask me? What is my attitude like, and how did the Divine Lord come to know? Isn't this seeking fish in a tree?"

(End of chapter)