My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

This had nothing to do with factions or relationships. They had come simply to listen to the Dao. The gathering was clean and pure, yet it also highlighted the reputation, power, and virtue of the two speakers.

True Immortals stood, Celestial Venerables were seated, and there were even Buddhas who had come from the West, their eyes lowered in deep observation.

Everyone was watching. Everyone was listening.

"Hm?" A Buddha’s gaze fell upon Old Nong leading his ox, and suspicion flickered in his heart. But just as the feeling arose, a daze washed over him. When his mind grew tranquil again, he no longer paid any attention to Old Nong, having subconsciously overlooked him.

’Just an old farmer,’ the Buddha thought to himself.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Lu Xuan wore a serene expression. Hearing Kongzi’s question, he smiled and said:

"First, you asked of heaven, earth, and Nature. Second, you asked of benevolence and righteousness. And now, you ask me what the Great Dao is..."

His scalp tingled with apprehension, but not a hint of it showed on his face. He, too, was seeking the Great Dao. How could he possibly know the answer?

Just as Lu Xuan was about to be honest and admit that he did not know what the Great Dao was, nor how to enter its gates, Old Nong, who was leading Niu’Er, yawned, stretched, and quietly tapped the ox’s head three times. The vibration traveled through Niu’Er to the Daoist.

Lu Xuan felt as if his own head had been tapped three times. He was suddenly enlightened, his mind filling with countless Profound Mysteries. His expression turned solemn. Just as he was about to expound on the Dao, he sensed a change in heaven and earth and turned his head to look.

Lu Xuan saw a swath of mountains and rivers being torn away, stripped from the present Years. A figure was thrown inside... ’Senior Brother Zhang?’

Old Nong also glanced over, his brow furrowing slightly, but he did not investigate. There were more important matters at hand.

Lu Xuan retracted his gaze and said gently:

"To behold the Great Dao, one must first let the mind wander to the beginning of all things. Within heaven and earth, beyond the cosmos, the myriad spirits of All Realms, the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers—their Forms are all different. Yet what they share is that they follow the natural course of Birth and Death, of stopping and starting... In the beginning, all things were mixed as one, without Form, without nature, without difference."

As Lu Xuan spoke, his expression was solemn. His Daoist Robe fluttered in an unseen wind, and the Daoist Crown on his head trembled slightly. The words he spoke were his own, yet they were also the words of Old Nong, who was borrowing his voice.

The one expounding the Dao was Lu Xuan, but even more so, it was the Supreme.

The Supreme was lecturing on the Dao, and all of heaven and earth listened in reverence.

The sound of the Great Dao was fierce and majestic, spreading throughout heaven and earth and shaking the cosmic Circulation. It attracted even more immortals and gods. Another Buddha arrived in person; both the Past Buddha and the Present Buddha had now come to hear the Dao, causing an uproar among the assembled immortals.

Kongzi seemed oblivious to the celestial phenomena, asking with confusion:

"Teacher, the Forms of all things are different. What is the benefit of observing the things they have in common?"

This time, Old Nong knocked three times on the void, as if rapping on Lu Xuan’s head.

With those three light taps, Lu Xuan had another great epiphany. His voice boomed like Great Thunder, shaking the heavens and piercing the earth:

"Observe what they have in common, and your self will be Qi with the commonality of all things. Qi with matter, Qi with events, Qi with right and wrong, Qi with the self... Therefore, you can see life and death as the same as day and night, disaster as the same as fortune, and the baleful as the same as the auspicious."

He paused, his gaze sharpening. He was clearly the one speaking, yet he was also the one gaining enlightenment. He continued:

"To perceive the commonality in all things under heaven, to see everything as one. Since the self exists among all things, then the self is also one with all things. The self and all things become a single entity. This is the gate to the Great Dao."

Kongzi was in a daze. ’Heaven and earth are me, and I am heaven and earth. All things are me, and I am all things...’

He seemed lost in thought, muttering to himself:

"If that is the case, what difference is there between imparting benevolence and righteousness to myself and imparting them to the world?"

He suddenly lost his desire to seek benevolence and righteousness, to spread rites and etiquette. The obsession that had weighed on his heart dissipated. As if a great burden had been lifted, his body and mind felt light and clear.

Old Nong once again tapped the void three times. With each tap, the Daoist on the ox’s back gained another flash of insight and spoke:

"The Great Dao is as deep as the sea and as high as the mountains. It fills all that is within and without the cosmos, and is Everywhere. It flows unceasingly, reaching all places. It cannot be obtained through seeking, nor can it be reached through discussion."

His thoughts surged, and his voice resounded across the firmament. The assembled immortals involuntarily bowed in respect, listening in a state of captivated bliss.

Lu Xuan suddenly burst into laughter. He was both expounding the Dao and comprehending it.

"The Great Dao gives birth to heaven and earth, yet it does not decay. It nourishes all things, yet it is never depleted. Heaven obtained the Great Dao, and so it is high. The earth obtained the Great Dao, and so it is vast. The sun and moon obtained it, and so they cycle through day and night. The four seasons obtained it, and so all things have their order. If I obtain it, and you obtain it, what then shall we become!"

Kongzi, his body and mind already freed of their great burden, was shaken to the core. His thoughts swam as the voice of the Dao filled his ears. His consciousness seemed to soar among the clouds, dive to the bottom of the sea, enter the mountain forests, and exist within all of creation!

He was all things, and all things were him. Feeling refreshed and utterly at ease, he exclaimed in great admiration:

"How vast! How broad! It is as boundless as the horizon! For decades, I have known only to uphold benevolence and righteousness, never realizing the vastness of the heavens and earth, the breadth of all creation! How could it be limited to merely benevolence and righteousness? Teacher, your words have brought me such joy... More, please, tell me more!"

Old Nong nodded slightly, about to tap the void a third time—to tap into Lu Xuan’s mind and grant him another great epiphany.

But before his finger could fall, the Daoist on the ox’s back suddenly burst into laughter. Then, under Old Nong’s astonished and bewildered gaze, his voice boomed forth like thunder and tide:

"A Saint lives in this world; they face events and do not turn away. When things change, they do not cling to the past. They flow with the turn of all things, allowing matters to follow their course in Nature. One who harmonizes and adapts achieves Enlightenment. One who follows the flow of circumstance and adapts is a Saint!"

This pronouncement on the Dao echoed through the halls of the Celestial Palace. In Lingxiao Hall, the Emperor Corpse watched as all the Immortal Officials and Divine Officials suddenly rushed off in a great flurry to listen. He was left not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Scanning the now-empty Lingxiao Hall, he grew thoughtful and murmured to himself with a faint smile:

"Supreme, what in the world are you trying to accomplish?"

The True Immortals did not know, and the Celestial Venerables did not understand. The Upper Celestial Venerables and Great Buddhas of the [Celestial Realms] level could not see clearly. Even Emperors and Buddhas at the [Daluo] rank could not perceive his intent.

But the Emperor Corpse was a [Dao Fruit]. Though he was dead, he still sat upon his Dao Fruit, so he could naturally see who the ox-herding Old Nong truly was.