Chapter 333: then translation of title line (which is line [1] actually includes title)

333. Chapter 333: Retreat, the Essence of the Great Calamity

Taiyi continued to speak:

"Perhaps the sage's fruition does not represent strength; accurately speaking, it should be that it cannot bring absolute strength, and our foundation should still lie in life cultivation."

"It's not that the sage's fruition is bad, but I feel it is more like a key that controls the power of heaven and earth; it allows you to use this power, but how much you can use ultimately depends on yourself."

"At least in my view, you should still focus more on the Way of Creation, enhancing your life cultivation, after all, there is no conflict between the Primordial Dao Fruit and the sage's fruition, right?"

Qi also nodded and said: "Since you created humanity, in terms of merit in the wilderness, there should be no one who can compare with you; achieving the sage's position, even counting the future, there should be few who can be stronger than you, and no one who can threaten you."

"If you, Nüwa, merely wish for this, then there's no need to think too much; you have already proven the Great Dao."

"But if you are not satisfied with this, life cultivation is the irreplaceable foundation for you and me, like dust on a mountain; no matter the amount, as long as there is accumulation, there is progress."

"However, you entered sagehood through merit, created humanity and proved the Way of Creation; even if you stop here, it is sufficient in the wilderness, having proven the Great Dao, there is truly nothing more to seek."

Nüwa nodded, but did not voice her choice, and Qi and the others also did not ask.

Nüwa already walks together with the Great Dao; she is a forerunner, and her choice is beyond reproach.

After Di Jun and the others left, only Qi and Nüwa remained in the hall; Nüwa then relaxed a bit and then solemnly said to Qi:

"Qi, do you know that in the wilderness, regardless of past or future, as long as I wish, I can glimpse it; and in Chaos, I have seen the future of the Heavenly Court."

Qi merely smiled and shook his head: "The past cannot be changed, the future is still unknown; every word and deed, every action, are variables that drive the future; who can guarantee that the future you speak of is fixed or changing, and why?"

"As for the future of the Heavenly Court, it is nothing more than our withdrawal; but the Heavenly Court remains the Heavenly Court, ultimately the ruler that dominates the wilderness and the nine heavens."

"The future of the Heavenly Court has been fixed since its birth; as for us, we each just look at our means."

"I do not believe that we, who hold such an advantage, will become losers under the Great Calamity; let alone that sages cannot act personally, even if they personally descend, what then?"

"We can get ahead of them once; why fear their pursuit? As for the future you speak of, there's no need to mention it further."

"The more one knows something, the slower the reaction to change becomes, and the resulting destruction and impact grow more severe."

"Moreover, the beings of the wilderness number in the hundreds of millions; what power in heaven and earth dares to claim it can predict their future?"

Upon hearing this, Nüwa appeared hesitant, wanting to speak in advice, but ultimately did not know how to begin.

She very much wanted to tell Qi that in the future she saw, everyone was gone, and she was confined in Chaos, unable to lend aid.

Yet looking at Qi before her, still as spirited and confident as before, Nüwa again did not know how to speak.

In the end, Nüwa still asked: "Even if it concerns your life and death, are you unwilling to inquire?"

Qi slightly raised a bit of interest, but still refused:

"Nüwa, you need not be so obsessed with the so-called future; the Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Evolution is forty-nine, still leaving a sliver of hope."

"The so-called 'heaven does not cut off man's path,' the Great Dao lies precisely here; moreover, the future you speak of may not be otherwise than what we wish."

"Based on the deduction of the heavenly secrets, all things in the world can enter our view; yet some things, even heaven and earth do not know, how could the heavenly secrets reveal them?"

Nüwa suddenly understood; it seems Qi and her elder brother, Di Jun, had already prepared, and there must be many things she did not know.

Thinking of her own nature, Nüwa realized the other party was not intentionally concealing, but simply had not informed.

However, since Qi and the others had full confidence, Nüwa naturally would not ask further, merely smiling and saying:

"If that is the case, then let it be as you wish; but you must know that in the Great Calamity, with my strength, I can protect at most one person."

"And that person will only be the elder brother, not you."

As Nüwa's words fell, her expression grew grave, her gaze burning as she fixed it on Qi, after all Qi is her dao partner; what she just said was indeed too excessive.

Qi merely laughed in response:

"Thus I am reassured; by now I will no longer hide it from you, having received Rahu's teaching, I have long planned everyone's retreat."

"Only Fuxi, when I first conceived it, I had no confidence; since you have spoken today, I also consider I have fulfilled my duty as a friend."

Nüwa was somewhat curious, so she asked:

"Then let's hear it?"

Qi laughed: "It cannot be spoken, it cannot be spoken; you only need to remember today's affairs, and when the time comes that action cannot be taken, simply reach out and pull Fuxi once."

Upon hearing this, Nüwa's brows furrowed slightly, but she also did not wish to continue entangling; she rose slowly from her seat, wrapped both arms around Qi's neck, exhaled a fragrant breath, and whispered in Qi's ear: "Since you have confidence, then follow you; as my dao partner, in the situation where my body is restricted, the only thing I can do for you is to leave you offspring, to inherit your dao in the future."

After ten days, Nüwa returned to Chaos; unless a great disaster befalls the wilderness, she will not return.

In Chaos, within Nüwa's heavenly realm, the Great Dao of Creation emanated a moist luster; in Nüwa's hands she played with it, and it then transformed into several clusters of moist light, slowly falling into Nüwa's abdomen.

Even with the blessing of the earthly union, it is still quite difficult for the two innate deities to conceive offspring; Nüwa thereafter finds it hard to return to the wilderness, and the two wishing to leave offspring naturally need some means.

Moreover, the Way of Creation is undoubtedly the key; combined, the birth of offspring is a matter of course, and all that remains is to nurture them steadily and await their arrival.

In the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Di Jun, Fuxi, and Taiyi sat facing each other; merely Taiyi's closed-eyed contemplative appearance showed he had no interest in the discussion.

"The purpose of the Heaven and Earth Great Calamity is nothing more than two things, which we have already spoken: one is to cleanse the entangled and chaotic karma in the wilderness."

"Second is that Heaven and Earth, through the Great Calamity's destruction of the world, take the opportunity to reduce the thickness of the heavenly and earthly fetal membrane, so that the wilderness land can rapidly expand while accelerating the refinement of Chaos."

"Cleansing karma can lessen the burden of the wilderness world; reducing the thickness of the heavenly and earthly fetal membrane can increase the origin of the wilderness world; the two complement each other, neither can be lacking."

"At the same time, the Great Calamity will also break the boundaries between the wilderness's living beings, so they will not be like stagnant water, allowing flow between upper and lower levels."

"By breaking the wilderness's inherent pattern through the Great Calamity, the human way becomes lively, adding to the wilderness's origin, and making the Heavenly Dao clearer and more distinct."

The rapid expansion of the wilderness land makes the earthly way broader, able to sustain more life; therefore the occurrence of the Great Calamity is the joint promotion of the three ways of Heaven, Earth, and Man. This is the nature of Heaven and Earth, so the Great Calamity must occur, unavoidable; what we can do is only to strive to be the victor within it, like the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, rather than become nourishment for Heaven and Earth's evolution.

In the past, gods and the Dao were alike; it is precisely here, for regardless of how the Great Calamity was, whether heavenly gods, earthly deities, or divine persons, all were victors within it.

Alas, since the advent of ferocious beasts, gods have also gradually become nourishment for the wilderness land; although this can be considered a return to the origin, it is not what we seek.

Governed by Heaven and Earth, the gods shepherd all beings; because of their impartiality, they follow the Dao of Heaven, regarding all things as straw dogs, not changing due to their increase or decrease.

Alas, although we possess a divine heart, we are ultimately stained by desire, having likes and biases; though we are gods, we are in fact no different from humans.

Fuxi let out a long sigh, while Di Jun laughed and said:

It is futile for us to laugh at the innate gods born under the Heavenly Dao; now it seems we are no different.

But we have changed precisely because of this, following the heavenly timing, isn't that so? Just like this moment.

Di Jun and Fuxi exchanged a smile, gazing toward the Qilin Realm beyond Chaos; this is the realm opened by the Primordial Qilin after leaving the wilderness, considered a great thousand worlds, hanging upon the wilderness.

Between the two there is a connecting passage, but it has long been sealed, rather like a cave heaven situated within Chaos, but more autonomous.

Shi Qilin's actions were practically meant to demonstrate to the primordial gods, after Rahu had opened the demon realm, that this was feasible, and he even played a major part in it.

In the eyes of Di Jun and Fuxi, their future destination should be the same, and even the gods under the Heavenly Court, aside from a few sovereigns left to guard, will have their future goals here.

This calamity must surely be the greatest calamity in the primordial wilderness, and thereafter there will inevitably be none greater.

When the gods 'fall', the human Dao of the primordial wilderness will henceforth manifest only above humanity, leaving these four continents for immortals and demons to contend over.

As for the means the fallen gods will leave behind in the primordial wilderness, dropping a few hidden pieces, that is not something Di Jun and Fuxi need to worry about.

At that point, who will be the master of the primordial earth will naturally be his concern; as for the Heavenly Court, without the gods it is merely a qi formation that gathers fortune.

Initially, Di Jun, Qi, and Fuxi consulted, and the three ultimately decided that the gods would withdraw with the aid of the great calamity, leaving only Purple Micro and them to continue controlling the authority of the Heavenly Court.

The departing gods then go into Chaos to open up the great thousand worlds; when their strength is sufficient, they will return to the primordial wilderness! There are many restrictions in the primordial wilderness, for without the Primordial Chaos, Limitless Heavenly Net Honored God, they can ultimately only bow beneath the sages.

But if the great thousand worlds are fully opened, we ourselves would be their masters; the method of converting Chaos into innate spiritual qi has long been matured in the Heavenly Court, so why cling to a single place?

The only difficulty now is how to repay the karmic debt owed to the primordial wilderness without being detected by the Heavenly Dao.

And the great calamity is undoubtedly the swiftest way to eliminate karmic debt; the Wu Clan is also an extremely perfect opponent, for they do not cultivate the primordial spirit and cannot sense the true spirit, giving the gods a sliver of hope.

As for how to seize it, that depends on one's means—whether one can unravel the mystery within the womb, live again, and rediscover oneself.

In the Qilin realm, Shi Qilin walks amid a expanse of molten lava, the rolling hot lava emitting a gleaming red light as it flows across the land.

This world can still only be considered barren; although the Qilin can survive there, it is by no means a good place.

As Shi Qilin passes through the molten lava, countless spiritual threads continually descend from the sky, ending in the rolling hot lava.

The lava instantly cools rapidly; as it cools, Shi Qilin again steps heavily upon the ground, and the spiritual threads from heaven turn into raindrops, pattering softly.

The mottled rocks, too, are swiftly shattered under Shi Qilin's heavy tread, and then turned into fertile soil by the spiritual rain.

Shi Qilin exhales a gust from his nostrils, which becomes a hurricane sweeping across, thereby forming mountains, and countless trees, flowers, and grasses grow.

At this point the Qilin realm finally has color, but aside from a few Qilin, it remains a silent, quiet world.

Shi Qilin lets out an angry roar, a mighty 'Zha' resounds, thunder crashes down, and countless plants and trees thereby gain spirit, transforming into individual sprites that frolic and play in the forests and grasslands.

This world now has vitality, but Shi Qilin still finds it somewhat monotonous; he originally wanted to create some living beings himself to fill the world, only regretting that he is not adept at the way of creation.

"I, who was originally steeped in grave sins, do not know whether, upon returning to the primordial wilderness, there are still beasts willing to live with me in Chaos."

"This great thousand world, without them, is ultimately still incomplete."

After a brief hesitation, Shi Qilin opened the passage between the great thousand worlds and the primordial wilderness, leapt out from within, was about to depart, but then saw two heavenly soldiers approaching head-on.

Seeing that they were coming straight for him, Shi Qilin felt a bit puzzled and involuntarily asked:

"What does the Heavenly Court send you two here for? Moreover, as mere Golden Immortals, how could you bear such a heavy responsibility."

Shi Qilin actually harbored some dissatisfaction; when Qi had expounded the Dao to the Qilin clan, he had shown his respect by sending a Great Luo to welcome and guide the way, yet now that the Heavenly Court has matters to discuss, it merely dispatches two lowly Golden Immortals.

Facing Shi Qilin, the two heavenly soldiers were neither servile nor arrogant, bowing and saying:

"Dipper Division heavenly soldier Lu Shan, pays respects to Shi Qilin."

"Dipper Division heavenly soldier Lu Shui, pays respects to Shi Qilin."

Shi Qilin furrowed his brow, rather impatiently speaking:

"Speak plainly what you have come for; I have no interest in your two names."

Lu Shan stepped forward a pace, speaking rather respectfully:

"Shi Qilin, we have come this time not in the identity of the Heavenly Court to seek you, but because our clan has need, and therefore we have specially come to seek Shi Qilin to inquire."

Shi Qilin's interest was slightly piqued; not representing the Heavenly Court? It seems then that this primordial wilderness is not as tranquil as he imagined, and the Heavenly Court's control over it is not as absolute as he thought.

"Oh? That does pique my interest a bit; I recall that your deer clan also bears responsibility for an innate deity, right?"

"I want to see what he seeks in finding me, this historical failure, for what purpose."

Lu Shan and Lu Shui gave a slight smile; it appears the matter of their clan is settled. (End of chapter)