My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

In a place the Old Nong couldn’t see, within the ocean of Lu Xuan’s mind, the Qing Ping Sword and the Celestial Venerable Cyan Lamp would flash every so often. After a moment of silence, they would flash again...

As if they were thieves.

Time passed. Lu Xuan expounded on the Dao. When he spoke of the Supreme Dao, the Old Nong’s smile bloomed like a flower. When he spoke of the Primordial Dao, the Old Nong scowled with knitted brows. And when he spoke of the Spirit Treasure Dao, the Old Nong stomped his feet in anger...

And yet, despite the Old Nong’s strange behavior, not a single Immortal or Buddha noticed anything amiss. They still saw him as an ordinary old farmer and paid him no mind.

A Dao Fruit Cultivator could destroy the Celestial Realms with a single thought and remake All Realms with another. To cloud the minds of those beneath the level of Dao Fruit was a simple matter.

And so, amidst the Old Nong’s joy, sorrow, and anger, the sun and moon cycled thirty times. Winter passed, and spring arrived.

Atop the Cyan Bull, the Daoist’s final words drifted, long and melodic:

"To summarize all that has been said: the Great Dao is all things, and all things are the Great Dao. From The Beginning of Heaven Opening to the Nature of all things, to the very essence of heaven and earth, and then to the final end and extinction—the reason for it all is the Dao. All is the Great Dao."

"At its root, all is one and without distinction. With such a Great Dao, one follows its changes with an undisturbed heart, an untroubled spirit, an unburdened mind, and a wavering will."

"The cycling of sun and moon, the shaking of heaven and earth, the howling winds and raging tsunamis, the clap of thunder and strike of lightning—all calamities and tribulations—one should face them with tranquility. For they are all Nature. Calamity is Nature, and I, too, am Nature. There is no difference!"

As his words fell, Kongzi reached a sudden enlightenment, the Immortal Gods had a great realization, the Buddhas marveled in astonishment, and all of creation swayed.

Then, the very scenes he described—the cycling of sun and moon, the shaking of heaven and earth, the howling winds and raging tsunamis, the clap of thunder and strike of lightning, including great calamities—all manifested in an instant, surging forth like a great tide!

All living beings were terrified. Some of the common folk cried out in alarm. Lü Buwei staggered and fell to the ground. The faces of the Immortal Gods changed, and the Buddhas furrowed their brows.

But in the next instant, Lu Xuan dismounted from the Cyan Bull’s back, walked to a flourishing ancient tree, and offered a bow. He broke off a branch, then walked to the front of the assembled calamities and tribulations.

He drew a line on the ground with the tree branch and spoke, his leisurely voice filling the air between heaven and earth.

"I am Nature, and calamity is Nature. We are fundamentally the same."

As he spoke, under the watchful eyes of all, with the Immortal Gods looking on, Lu Xuan held the ordinary-looking tree branch, pointed at the line he had just drawn, and said calmly:

"I have drawn this boundary. All calamities and tribulations shall not cross it, yet they must arrive."

The moment his voice fell, the cycling of the sun and moon returned to normal, the shaking of heaven and earth subsided, the wind ceased, the howling stopped, the thunder faded, and the lightning vanished.

The calamities halted.

To speak a word and have ten thousand dharmas follow—this is to be a Saint.

RUSTLE!

The sound of a great tide arose from nowhere, as the countless people and myriads of spirits who had gathered around Jiangling City prostrated themselves on the ground.

High above on the clouds, the multitude of Immortal Gods were silent at first, but then they, too, bowed in unison toward the old Daoist on the ground.

Among the bowing Immortal Gods were even Immortal Officials and Divine Officials from the West Pole Celestial Palace.

Eventually, the Past Buddha and the Present Buddha rose leisurely to their feet. They too, surprisingly, bowed to the Daoist. The two Buddhas smiled in unison and said:

"Today, we have listened to the Great Dao, and our hearts are filled with gratitude!"

Infinite Buddhist light descended from the horizon. The Old Nong shot it a sideways glance, and the light instantly dispersed.

The two Buddhas were slightly taken aback, surprised that the light had vanished. They once again showered the sky with the meritorious light of the Buddha, but as soon as it appeared, it immediately dissipated again.

They were stunned for a moment, then came to a sudden realization. They remembered who that figure on the ground was and thought of Douluo Palace. They chuckled in understanding, then departed.

As he was leaving, the Present Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, lowered his gaze and glanced one last time at the Old Nong.

At that very moment, the purple qi in the sky suddenly surged!

This time, it wasn’t purple qi stretching for ten thousand li, nor twenty thousand li, but...

The purple qi came from the East, stretching for sixty thousand li.

Half of it went to Kongzi, and the other half to Lu Xuan.

"First he became a worthy, then he cultivated Virtue, and now he has become a Saint!" an Immortal sighed, still holding his bow as he prostrated himself before Lu Zi.

The other Immortals did the same.