Chapter 93: Red Dust Valley

He became a diligent scholar studying in a cold window, ten years of hard study, all for the moment his name would appear on the golden list.

After experiencing the disappointment of failing the exam and the mockery of his classmates, he eventually achieved late success, became a metropolitan graduate, and entered officialdom.

In the sea of officialdom he rose and fell, witnessed scheming and deceit, once held high aspirations and petitioned for the people, ultimately seeing through fame and fortune, he resigned his post to live in seclusion, wrote books and established doctrines, becoming a great scholar of his generation, with disciples spread across the world.

In his later years he died suddenly in the academy, and his disciples mourned.

Hum!

He then became a general who swept across the battlefield, with bronze halberd and iron horse, his spirit devouring ten thousand miles like a tiger.

He endured crushing defeats and also enjoyed the glory of victory, as his comrades fell one by one; ultimately he achieved fame and success, was ennobled as a marquis and appointed general, yet his body was covered in scars, and in midnight dreams he saw only the silhouettes of old friends.

After laying down his armor and returning to farming, he spent his remaining years in a quiet manor.

Hum! Hum! Hum!

One illusion after another, like surging waves of red dust, completely submerged Ye Wuque's mind and spirit.

At times he was a farmer who worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, facing the yellow earth and back to the sky, all his joys, anger, sorrow, and happiness tied to the harvest of a few meager fields.

At times he was a street vendor who bustled about, pinching pennies, arguing till his face flushed over a single coin, and also toiling for his family's warmth and sustenance.

At times he was a worldly emperor whose power swayed the heavens and whose harem numbered three thousand, enjoying supreme power while bearing the loneliness of a solitary ruler and the weight of the realm.

At times he was a recluse in the deep mountains, subsisting on wind and dew, pursuing the Dao in his heart, accompanied by beasts and conversing with the stars.

At times he was a carefree sword immortal who settled grudges and tested the world with his blade, a single strike chilling nineteen continents, earning fame in life and after death, yet unable to escape the entanglements of love and fate.

Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants; nobles, generals, ministers; talented men and beautiful women; recluses and knights-errant…

The myriad aspects of the red dust, the countless facets of life—almost every possible life path—Ye Wuque experienced them all firsthand, incredibly real!

Each time, it was a complete lifetime!

From infancy's wail, to toddling steps, to youthful prime, to midlife crisis, then to feeble old age, until death descended!

That sense of long ages flowing by, that profound emotional experience, those different struggles of desire, love and hatred, partings and deaths…

Countless memories, emotions, and insights, like surging floodwaters, continually scoured Ye Wuque's original heart.

Myriad Worlds Reincarnation!

Ye Wuque's mind and spirit seemed to constantly rise and fall in the endless sea of red dust suffering.

At first, he could still clearly maintain his Ye Wuque ego-consciousness, coldly observing all of this.

But as the number of lives he experienced grew, the massive tangle of memories and emotions nearly submerged and assimilated his ego!

Myriad Worlds Reincarnation, each life more perilous than the last, each calamity more terrifying than the previous!

Among them, several reincarnations were fraught with danger, nearly dragging Ye Wuque completely into the depths of ruin!

In one life, he actually ascended to the Absolute Peak, becoming a supreme being who overlooked all ages and governed the birth and death of epochs, strolling upon the Space-Time River, with a snap of his fingers the universe changed and the Star River turned to dust.

Such an experience of perceiving the laws of all things and controlling every fate was enough to cause any feeble mind to lose itself, becoming intoxicated in this authority almost like the Dao itself, forgetting its origins and no longer thinking of returning.

Yet, whether facing ultimate temptation or boundless suffering, Ye Wuque's tempered Dark Heart, like an immortal boulder amidst towering waves, remained steadfast and unmoving!

He always clearly remembered, he is Ye Wuque!

He steadfastly upheld his courageous and diligent progress, guarding the path of the Great Dao he stood upon, never deviating in the slightest due to myriad worldly experiences!

He dared not forget the great mission he bore, which must be accomplished!

It was precisely this unwavering original heart and concern that allowed him ultimately to see through the emptiness of that supreme authority, cut the shackles of decline, and complete this extremely perilous Myriad Worlds Red Dust Tribulation.

When the vision of the final lifetime's reincarnation receded like a tide, Ye Wuque's consciousness returned to clarity.

He stood in the same spot, as if only an instant had passed, yet also as if he had truly experienced ten thousand years of reincarnation.

His gaze became deeper, weathered, tranquil, yet exceptionally clear and resolute, as if he had surveyed all ages of red dust and washed away the flashy frivolity.

This myriad worlds reincarnation had, for him, become an unprecedented tempering!

It tempered the Dark Heart, forged the true self, washed the spirit platform in the vast red dust, clarified the ego, and his will became like divine metal refined over myriad ages.

It trained his disposition, let him comprehend the myriad aspects of sentient beings, countless emotions, and his state of mind became ever more transcendent and inclusive.

He gently exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, his gaze swept over the surroundings, and in his heart a conjecture had already arisen.

To lay down such a terrifying and mysterious red dust illusion, this place… is likely inseparable from that supreme being.

He continued to stride forward, this time no longer looping back to the starting point.

Passing through a dense purple bamboo grove, ahead appeared a clear-to-the-bottom stream; beside the stream stood an ancient tree, vigorous as a dragon, its canopy like a jeweled parasol, shading a cool patch.

Beneath the tree, an old man with white hair, a kind face, wearing ordinary hemp clothing, sat on a stool made from a tree stump, smiling narrowly as he looked at him.

The old man's eyes were warm and moist, as if they could see into people's hearts, yet without the slightest sense of oppression.

"Having experienced myriad worlds without forgetting the original heart, having passed through myriad ages without changing the Dao's path…"

The old man spoke slowly, his voice gentle and full of wisdom: "In the myriad worlds of red dust, the firmer the will, the clearer the path… Good, good…"

He looked Ye Wuque up and down, his eyes full of unreserved admiration and astonishment:

"Young man! Remarkable! At such a young age of bone, you actually passed through the 'Myriad Worlds Red Dust Tribulation'! Moreover… the short time you took, I have never seen in my lifetime! Future generations to be feared, future generations to be feared!"

Ye Wuque's heart stirred slightly; he stepped forward and, with neither humility nor arrogance, clasped his hands in salute: "Senior, you overpraise me. I am the junior Ye Wuque, having mistakenly entered this place; may I ask, senior, where exactly is this?"

The old man stroked his beard and laughed: "This place? Its name is… Red Dust Valley."