[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dao-dust-pearl":3,"chapter-the-dao-dust-pearl-the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-997":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dao Dust Pearl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2360498,4614,"Chapter 997: The Path of Redemption Lies Within","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-997",997,"\u003Cp>“Why did you place that Eastern priest among those tomb raiders? Isn’t he the core of your plan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah quietly entered the bishop’s prayer chamber where Delamengde  was, the sacred triangle representing the Holy Trinity removed, leaving only a silver lamp above his head; he knelt before it, having just finished his prayer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know the Magi of the Orange Light of Knowledge are greedy and arrogant, holding no reverence for the Three Creators, but I devoutly believe in the Three Great Gods—so do not disturb me while I pray!” Delamengde  said coolly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, tomb raiders are not ignorant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One of the core disciplines of Miskatonic University—archaeology—originated from them. Even Eastern tomb raiders possess core knowledge your archaeology department has yet to grasp; they are closer to the end of the Dao than you are!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah frowned slightly; though she had just enrolled and felt little attachment to Miskatonic University, it remained one of the central pillars of supernatural knowledge Chuancheng  across the Western Continent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chuancheng  held by Miskatonic University was the culmination of Western occultism, let alone its core disciplines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Folklore—occultism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Archaeology—secret history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theology—religion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These three disciplines were the core founding fields of Miskatonic University, only surpassed in the Fourth Era by the booming fields of mechanics, astronomy, and mathematics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, Miskatonic’s core disciplines number only nine: mechanics (creation), astronomy (astrology), mathematics and logic (mystic rites and spells), chemistry (alchemy), natural history and medicine (life), folklore (occult), archaeology (secret history), theology (religion), and politics (governance).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, Amon implied that archaeology—one of Miskatonic’s core disciplines—was far behind the core Chuancheng  of Eastern tomb raiders in certain aspects?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon saw through the girl’s confusion and smiled as he explained: “In the East, tomb raiding is a complex profession composed of multiple Dao paths; their minds are the Feng Shui masters known as ‘Dishis.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This path encompasses astrology, geography, and elements of mystic rites and occultism—it is one of the Five Great Chuancheng  of the Eastern Continent: Mountain, Medicine, Fate, Divination, and Physiognomy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Their hands and feet are the ‘Mo Jin Captain,’ mystics versed in True Martial, mystic rites, and spellcraft—equivalent to Miskatonic’s folklore occult masters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And their souls are the ‘Jiuyou Generals,’ a group of priests expert in funerary rites!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They lack the advanced Chuancheng  of fate and astrology, geography and qi, nor are they practitioners of folklore and occultism—but they are those who draw near to death, embrace death, and confront destruction; their origins are immeasurably ancient.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Sarah seemed to grasp something, Amon smiled: “Correct. They study what even Miskatonic University deems taboo—the most ancient supernatural Chuancheng : Death!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah said gravely: “Professor Gabe mentioned this Chuancheng . He said our school—no, in a certain sense, our sect’s leader—mastered necrology, and it was the only thing he never passed down. Legend says that beyond the Orange Book of Knowledge and the other six Color-Light Books, two hidden lamp-books exist; one is the Black Book of the Dead, recording the secrets of Death!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re mistaken,” Amon shook his head. “They are two books—or perhaps two volumes of the same book.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Black Lamp Book is one of the Nine Lamps composing the Color-Light Books, recording the end of all things: destruction and true death!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Book of the Dead, however, is one of two sacred scriptures of one of the world’s oldest civilizations—the Solar Dynasty born on the banks of the Nile. But you got at least part of it right: both are tied to Death. Even more, Eastern tomb raiders, Western archaeologists, and the priests of the Solar Dynasty all guard a sacred Chuancheng —the most mysterious of the Twelve Celestial Regulators: Shi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thus, the Black Lamp Book, the Book of the Dead, and the Secret Scripture of the Xuan Lord each record fragments of the secret of Shi—the Celestial Regulator known as Xuan Lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah realized: “The Secret Scripture of the Xuan Lord—isn’t that the scripture possessed by the Xuanzhen Patriarch?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait—doesn’t Xuanzhen Sect believe the Lamp Father worshipped by the Holy Church and the Lord of the Dead worshipped by the ancient Solar Dynasty are one and the same?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon shook his head: “Don’t be one-sided. Don’t misunderstand greatness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In a sense, it might be true—or it might not. If you had studied archaeology, you’d know many ancient civilizations worshipped these two great incarnations. Alongside the Book of the Dead, the other most sacred scripture of the Solar Dynasty was the Golden Book of the Sun. Look—the sun hanging in the sky—isn’t it the greatest lamp of all?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah countered: “But the ancient Solar Dynasty didn’t believe the Sun God Ra and the Lord of the Dead Osiris were the same… oh! No—you mean the Lord of the Dead isn’t Osiris, but Atum!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah’s mouth fell open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon smiled: “Yes. The history of the Solar Dynasty is too long—it spans three epochs. Don’t forget I once was ‘Amon!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Sun God Ra’s identity in secret history is exceedingly complex.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the First Epoch, He was the Great Creator, the Lamp Father, and also the Lord of the Dead, Xuan Lord. In the Second Epoch, all Celestial Regulators abandoned their mythic roles and returned to the heavens. Their priests replaced their earthly incarnations and were revered as Named Ones. I was one of them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“During the Second Dynasty, I made a pact with an outsider, but he ultimately usurped my identity, cast me into the Abyss, killed three Named Ones, and cast them into the Abyss. The final nine Named Ones ruled the Solar Dynasty, becoming the Nine Pillar Gods!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the Third Epoch, that usurper ascended his throne, cast all gods into the Abyss. His priests led a band of slaves away from the Sun’s domain to Jerusalem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There, he died, was resurrected, and was ultimately revered across the entire Western Continent as…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah turned pale, trembling, whispering: “The Savior!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon shrugged, his expression unchanging: “So, Eastern tomb raiders are no simple matter. They hold knowledge even I cannot ‘know’—knowledge I once knew when I was Amon, the Great Illuminator and Named One of Xuan Lord, but have since forgotten—the secrets of Xuan Lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah looked up, bewildered, murmuring: “You were once the brightest sun in heaven—what could possibly be worth trading your throne for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon fell silent, his gaze deep, as if spanning countless years; behind his eyes lay something Sarah could never comprehend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Sarah thought she would never get an answer, Amon spoke slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Soul.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” Sarah snapped her head up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What Morra, Vassago, Baal, and I crave is something you mortals never understand or value: the ‘soul.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah cried in disbelief: “You don’t have souls, yet you were all once…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We were all once gods—but yes, we have no souls!” Amon chuckled. “Remember what the Trinity Bible says? Every human soul comes from the Lamp Father’s radiance, but demons have no souls. Yes, the Savior lied to you many times in that book—but this is true: souls originate from the highest layer of the Spirit Realm, where the Lamp Father’s radiance strikes a mirror and becomes you—that light is the soul!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We, lords of the Spirit Realm, gods, beings born of dreams and illusions—can never possess a soul!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For you are part of the Lamp Father’s great spirit, while we, though we yearn for that light, are too far away…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That outsider—the Savior—used what you consider the most ordinary, mundane thing: the soul, to lure us into corruption, betrayal, and becoming demons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon showed emotion for the first time—pain and anguish: “We tempted you. We greedily coveted you. We became demons who seduce mortals to fall—all for your souls!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I thought…” Sarah murmured, “our souls are the demons’ currency, your most common collection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you think a soul is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon asked: “So many formless arts, so many rites and occult practices—haven’t you sensed the holiness of the soul? If violence could seize a soul, I guarantee the next second there would be no living being left on earth! Only original sin and corruption can taint a soul, allowing it to briefly enter our realm—but no spiritual, ritual, or formless art can harm a soul.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We merely lick the original sin upon their souls, yet cannot harm their sacred essence in the slightest!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you not noticed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All rituals require your consciousness. All mind-affecting spells are weak. We can only make you greedy, lazy, fearful—pulling you further from the great Lamp Father—but we cannot control your mind or seize your consciousness. Humans always have a chance at redemption. This is the Lamp Father’s greatest gift to you: the soul—and free will!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When occultism reaches its end, you will see the shining, holy, free soul!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon’s emotions grew agitated. He rose from his high-backed chair, speaking like a mortal—expressing his helplessness and longing, his desires and dreams, describing a thing that glowed brilliantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And we—you who think us powerful, omnipotent gods and demons—we cannot even escape your beliefs. Your desires and ideals shape us. Merely by thinking, you can cast us from the Spirit Realm into hell. Our thoughts, consciousness, beliefs, and ideals can all be shaped by the lowliest mortal! Because we have no soul!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon’s voice trembled: “Now, do you still think our longing for souls is insignificant?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But!” Sarah stared at Amon—for the first time showing vulnerability and resentment, fallen from his high throne, slumped on the floor like a mortal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knelt before him and whispered: “But you have emotions—joy, anger. I feel we are not so different.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though we are so alike…” Amon murmured, “we still live in two different worlds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah suddenly gasped: “Does the Savior have a soul?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon looked up, gazing at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She covered her mouth softly: “Then… the Savior is also a mortal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon spread his hands: “He came from beyond the world, possessing a reality foreign to this world. He claims all life beyond the world possesses souls. We lack souls—not because the Lamp Father is too generous to you, but because the Creator is too stingy toward us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This made us resentful, and we committed great errors!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah pressed her temples, troubled: “Wait… slow down. This is shattering my entire worldview.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are worlds beyond the world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beyond the Three Great Creators, are there other creators?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can souls be created? That seems to contradict what you said earlier…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon smiled, his eyes gleaming: “The Savior—he is a liar, a fool, a deluded man…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah opened her mouth but didn’t dare say: if the Savior is a fool, then what are you—those who lost all holiness and greatness, tumbling headlong into hell because of him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Amon seemed to read her thoughts, opened his arms, embraced Sarah, and whispered in her ear: “The truth is, the Lamp Father is indeed supreme and good. All souls originate from Him—whether within this world, or beyond it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Savior thought he saw the Lamp Father clearly—no… his arrogance made him see only a shadow of the Lamp Father and mistake it for all greatness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We are, after all, beings born of this world, closest to the Spirit Realm! We were deceived, we were angry, and ultimately fell into ignorance and prejudice. But the Lamp Father still gave us clear eyes—far clearer than the outsider’s. So we see: not long ago, a great power fell into this world. It came from beyond the world, beyond the universe, from before all creation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That power is called—Dominion! Authority! Rule!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even touching a fragment of its secret confirmed it: the Savior has made a grave mistake! The world beyond and this world itself were created by the same great being.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He killed the former tyrant who ruled the universe and bestowed souls upon all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Remember—it is ‘human’!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah, seeing Amon lean so close, felt her tongue go numb and instinctively stepped back two paces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon smiled and sat back in his high-backed chair: “Centuries of accumulated knowledge and path have allowed me to condense something called the Dao Seed. My pain, my confusion, my countless years of tempting humans, licking the power called ‘original sin’ from your souls—has made me increasingly human!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At that moment, I heard the voice of the Creator, the Lamp Father. I’ve forgotten what He said, but I felt His mercy and kindness—the blessing He grants to all beings willing to become human and possess a soul: something called—Yuan Shen? Yuan Shen? It must be Yuan Shen—the essence!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Primordial God?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Meaning the potential to become a god…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To become Yuan Shen is to possess a soul!” Amon declared firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up, his tone complex: “But to become Yuan Shen, one must first possess a soul!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?” Sarah’s eyes went dark, bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon laughed like a human: “No—not as you imagine. It’s a paradox.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to my understanding, if one possesses a heart that truly wishes to become human, and receives a sincere, unwavering love from a human soul, then… he may share in the love of that soul—and at that moment, I shall achieve Yuan Shen and gain my own soul!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the Path of True Love.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon pulled from his heart a purple crystal, radiating pure light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a massive raven, eagle-like, burst into the prayer chamber, cawing loudly: “Amon, retract your True Love’s Purple Light! She is mine, mine!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah, overwhelmed by the flood of information, watched as the Raven God Morra tore open Amon’s face, revealing his goat skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m confused!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah rubbed her forehead, murmuring: “Is this also the Lamp Father’s revelation to you—about true love and soul?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amon picked up the desk lamp and struck the raven with it, then adjusted his tie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Sarah’s words, he turned and smiled: “Of course. The Lamp Father’s revelations are everywhere. It was the outsider who made us realize: the Three Great Creators—at least the Lamp Father—is the sole Creator of all existence, both within and beyond this world. Thus, in our world, history flows with the Lamp Father’s will, manifesting as fate, even appearing in the writings of certain authors.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For example, many scriptures from the Eastern Continent, such as the Dao De Jing...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So...\" Sarah's eyes lit up: \"The Path of True Love originates from...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen!\" Amon interjected: \"The Little Mermaid! Haven't you read it? I think every child should have read this book!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah recalled: in the fairy tale of the Little Mermaid, there was indeed something like this—the mermaid, though beautiful, had no soul; only by gaining the prince's love could she obtain one. Thus, though she turned to foam, she was redeemed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the Little Mermaid’s ending was, in fact, a perfect conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was not a love-struck fool, but a saint who craved the Father of Light’s love more than any earthly affection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sarah fell silent—whether it was the absurdity that the path to enlightenment of Amon, the foremost demon and most powerful of the demon gods, stemmed from a fairy tale penned by a children’s writer, or that Amon himself was merely a Little Mermaid yearning for love.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both filled her with a cruel twist of fate and a profound sense of dissonance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The raven Lamor, feathers flying from being struck, barely revived, flapping his wings and shrieking: \"Liar! He didn’t gain the Father of Light’s revelation from any fairy tale—he got it from The Book of Colored Light!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Seventh Light: The Violet Light of True Love!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was the Path of Colored Light that revealed to us that within it lies a path to redemption!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The raven lunged at the girl, crying: \"Sarah! Don’t be fooled by this emotional fraud—I’m your loyal little raven! These demons feed on the corruption of human souls, savoring the sensation of soul existence—how evil and terrifying. Only I, your Qiyuezhe , would never harm you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2631,"2026-06-21T05:40:02.617Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","291b8a6af736f97f0bb7db1c116a863d7e7cc6541a91e8769ae340d4f592d3c7","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-998","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-996",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dao-dust-pearl-cover.jpg"]