Chapter 245: Spreading the Dao, the Traitorous Bone

In the dead of night, in a desolate wilderness beside a fox den, the statue before them suddenly opened its eyes.

Is this even livable?

Four eyes met; Xu Qing instinctively reached for the axe handle, while Xuan Yu synchronously gripped his long sword tight.

One stiffened, one cat, looking like a male-female pair of bandits; their posture clearly told the statue: You did us a favor, that's true, but if you scare us and then try to attack, that's on you!

Besides, we've already burned incense for you and made vows; just ask yourself if you're moved!

The statue dared not move an inch.

"Who are you, to awaken me?"

The statue fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke.

Hearing the voice, Xuan Yu was startled, drawing his long sword half a span out with a sharp ring.

Hearing the statue speak, Xu Qing actually felt somewhat steadier in his heart.

This statue of Yuan Gong seemed strange, but its inner incense and magic power were already exhausted; without the two portions of incense offered by him and Xuan Yu, the statue would be nothing but a dead object.

Xu Qing made a Daoist bow, first explaining his own cultivation path in the Divine Way, omitting only the matter of the zombie.

To prevent the statue from asking random questions, Xu Qing turned the tables and asked first: "My Baosheng Temple was established by the county magistrate and enfeoffed by the imperial court; in ordinary times, we have always saved the world through merit, and now we have already saved thousands upon thousands of people. Yet I wonder, is this the Yuan Gong himself? If not Yuan Gong, then which divine path are you, and what merits have you accomplished?"

"."

Hearing this strange yet familiar question, the statue thought it had returned to the days when it first left home to seek learning and the Dao; back then, when it went to seek a master, others always loved to ask it this.

But at that time, it was merely a white ape; though it had gained spiritual awareness, if you asked it to state what merits it had accomplished, it could absolutely not say.

This is like needing merits to become a disciple, but if one does not become a disciple and learn the arts, how can one have the ability to accomplish so many merits?

Xu Qing's words stirred up the statue's bad memories; after falling silent once more, the statue spoke softly: "I am the master of Bai Yun Cave in Yunmeng Mountain; I once received the Heavenly Emperor's decree to guard the Heavenly Book within the cave. Later, my merits were complete, and I returned to the Upper Realm, leaving only a statue of the Divine Way in Ruyi Temple. What you see now is merely a manifestation of my incense."

Speaking thus, Yuan Gong looked at the young girl beside him who was curiously examining him, and said in a softened tone: "You, this Black Cat, were born from the spiritual qi of heaven and earth; I did not expect to meet you again today. The pure qi within you is even clearer and more spiritual than before, showing that these years you have indeed held to simplicity and truth, without falling into negligence."

Xuan Yu knew Yuan Gong had done him a favor; after hearing these words, he clasped his hands in a bow and respectfully bowed to the statue.

Looking at the statue before him, Xu Qing's doubts did not lessen; instead, more questions sprang up.

He had seen so many things in Jinmen; the corpses he had guided across Tiannandibei, yet he had never seen a true god descend; rather, those rebel gangs liked to fabricate lies about gods descending to bewitch the people's hearts.

If what Yuan Gong says is true, then why do we not see other gods walking the world as manifestations of incense?

Furthermore, if Yuan Gong is an immortal and a saint, why did he sit by and watch the old fox demon occupy his Bai Yun Cave, allowing it to cause harm?

Xu Qing voiced his doubts; upon hearing them, Yuan Gong sighed wistfully, then revealed a truth unknown to the world.

"When this old man's merits were complete and I returned to the Upper Realm, the Heavenly Emperor collapsed the Taishi Peak where the Bai Yu Furnace was placed, thereby suppressing that enlightened wild fox within the cave, solely to cut off future troubles."

"In ordinary times, for this fox demon to break free would be extremely difficult, but by chance, the Great Calamity of Yin-Yang imbalance and the fall of the Nine Nether occurred; the Heavenly Emperor, to block the passage between the Netherworld and the mortal realm, severed the path to heaven, yet the seals of Bai Yun Cave thus lost most of their efficacy."

"Now the world is already a Five Turbidities Evil World; all mortal gods have returned to the Upper Realm. That fox demon, knowing the heavenly gods could not spare attention for other matters, took this opportunity to form the thought of escape."

Xu Qing's heart stirred; he asked curiously: "When I cultivated in the mortal world, I also heard others mention rumors of the imbalance between the Netherworld and the mortal realm and the severing of the path to heaven, but I was not clear on the specific reasons. I wonder if the elder could dispel my doubts."

"This matter is a cosmic calamity of heaven and earth, beyond the control of ordinary people; listening to it is useless to you."

Though he said this, Yuan Gong still answered some of Xu Qing's questions.

"Even saints and immortals have evil thoughts; from the opening of heaven and earth until now, how much turbid qi has been hidden in the world? Heaven and earth distinguish clear and turbid; clear qi rises, turbid qi descends. The Upper Realm has no turbid qi; where do you think all that turbid qi went?"

"Heh, it is precisely the Nine Nether, the domain governed by the Yin Court!"

Yuan Gong sighed: "The Nine Nether calamity; Dizang reported it to heaven; most Buddhas, immortals, and saints chose to sever the connection between heaven and earth, cutting off the link between the Netherworld and the mortal realm."

"Only a few immortals and gods, lacking no fighting spirit, persisted in clearing the calamity and purifying the universe, yet they made great vows; the Lord of the Nether, who vowed not to become a Buddha until the hells were empty, and the Bodhisattva Shi Dizang, were the first to come out and oppose."

"Shi Dizang said: Before the calamity arose, the hells were already not empty; now that the Nine Nether has suffered a drastic change, who can possibly purify this pollution?"

Xu Qing heard the sigh of regret for their lack of struggle in Yuan Gong's tone; he vaguely perceived that Yuan Gong might be one of the very few immortals and gods who chose to support purifying the demonic atmosphere and reopening the path to heaven.

Under the premise of stable order, the Upper Realm would not care about the lives and deaths of cultivators in the lower realm.

In the Five Turbidities Evil World, with the heavenly path severed, even if mortal cultivators tried their hardest, they could not break the barrier of ascent; they could only choose to purify the Netherworld calamity and reopen the heavenly path.

But if even immortals and gods lack the courage to open the heavenly path, how could cultivators below easily open it?

Xu Qing thought of the bones in the Yinhe Ancient Path; there were human bones, demon bones, and the remains of spirits and ghosts.

The Yinhe Ancient Path was a bloody path carved out by the lives of lower-realm cultivators.

That sky-filling dust was not river sand, but bone ash and corpse powder.

Xu Qing thought again of Hu Baosong's longing; even in death, he wished to be sent to the Poplar Tomb to return to his roots.

The Poplar clan had only this main bloodline of Hu Baosong remaining.

Everyone else, without exception, had all been laid down on the Yinhe Ancient Path leading to the Netherworld.

"No wonder there are so many evil demons and heretics in the world; no wonder one cannot meet those who cultivate in seclusion."

Xu Qing gradually saw a corner of the truth of this world.

Those who had foresight and were willing to be the first for the world, even among demons, mostly used their bodies to pave the way forward, forever remaining in the Yinhe; only those who feared death and clung to life, or parasites like Bai Yun Daoist and Abbot Ding Guang who sustained themselves by sucking the life of the weak, still lived recklessly.

"This world is sick," Xu Qing suddenly said.

"It is sick, but not beyond saving."

In Yuan Gong's stone eyes, painted like lacquer, a bright light seemed to bloom in a trance.

"Cultivators face calamities; heaven and earth, sustaining themselves, also face calamities. Since the opening of the heavens, which calamity has not been an earth-shattering catastrophe? Some wish to enter the calamity, some wish to avoid the world, and some wish to govern the calamity."