The Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun sat on the gray-white sword platform of the Heaven-Slaying Sword Realm behind the Biyou Palace, with three jade slips in front of him, each one more badly damaged than the last.
The jade slip belonging to the Daoist Tongtian was cracked into three pieces, barely bound together by a grayish-white sword thread, the thread stained with dark red killing intent. The slip was inscribed with. "Deep within the Eastern Chaos, there exists a Universe World, within which sits the Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable, Peak Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal Chaos. His killing path has reached the point where 'killing intent is the world.' Every grain of dust within his shell is a manifestation of killing intent. For every killing intent I Immortal Slaying Sword, two more grow within his shell. After forty-nine days of this, the number of killing intents on the shell's surface has increased from one million to two million. I cannot sever them further. Please, Your Excellency, make the final decision."
Yuchen Daojun's jade slip was slightly better, only missing a corner, but its surface was densely covered with sword marks, each containing half a law inscription. It read, "Deep within the Western Chaos, a Universe World exists, with the Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable residing within, Peak Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal. His Dao of Myriad Laws has reached the realm of 'One Law Generates Myriad Laws, Myriad Laws Return to No Law.' The shell is covered by 3,600 layers of law shields, each woven from a different law. I break one layer, and he replaces it with a new law. After breaking forty-nine layers, he replaces it with forty-nine new laws. I'm stunned."
The jade slip of the Dunyi Daojun was the most complete, but its surface was covered with fine, spiderweb-like patterns of escape light, embedded with countless miniature void escape traces. The slip read, "Deep within the Universe World Chaos lies a vast universe, within which sits the Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable, Peak Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal. His escape techniques have reached the point of 'omnipresent, uncatchable.' Every time I attacked a place, his shell would disappear, attacking east and then west, attacking up and then down. After forty-nine days, not a single shell broke, and he even borrowed my own escape light three times. This man is as slippery as an eel, impossible to catch."
Shangqing read through the three jade slips one by one, pieced back together the one belonging to Daoist Tongtian that had been broken into three pieces, read it again, and suddenly laughed. His laughter was different from Taiqing's "interesting" laughter, and also different from Yuqing's "I see" laughter— Shangqing's laughter carried a sense of "this fight wasn't satisfying enough." He tucked the three jade slips into his sleeve, stood up, and headed east towards Chaos.
Halfway there, Taiqing himself came from the direction of Kunlun Mountain, and the two met in a gray-white halo. Taiqing glanced into his sleeve. "Three Universe World?"
"Three seats. Three avatars, one for each of them, all frozen in place." Shangqing handed over the jade slip.
Taiqing took the jade slip and read it word by word. He examined the one belonging to Daoist Tongtian twice, turning it over and over. Suddenly, he asked, "Your Daoist Tongtian has been slashing for forty-nine days, and the killing intent on the shell has increased from one million to two million. For every killing intent he shatters, two more grow inside the shell—tell Daoist Tongtian to stop slashing killing intent. The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable has cultivated the killing path to the point where 'killing intent is the world.' Killing intent is the root of the world. Shattering the root will cause the world to grow new roots, and the growth is faster than slashing. If you want to attack, attack the source of killing intent—there is a 'Myriad-Kill Spring' in the center of the world inside the shell. All the Demon Lord's killing intent gushes out from that spring. If the spring isn't blocked, no matter how much you slash, it will gushe out."
Shangqing nodded, then listened to Taiqing speak of the Yuchen Daojun's magic, "The Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable's magic is a single law that gives rise to myriad laws, and myriad laws return to the state of no law. Its outer shell has 3,600 layers of protective laws, each layer being different. Tell the Yuchen Daojun not to break it layer by layer—when he breaks one layer Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable replaces it with a new law to mend it. When he replaces the law, the old law hasn't dissipated yet, and the new law has already spread out. There is an extremely short 'no law' gap at the junction of the two laws. Tell the Yuchen Daojun to focus on the junction and strike the gap precisely. A single, accurate strike can break through ten layers."
Taiqing finally picked up the one belonging to Dunyi Daojun, read the line "borrowed and used three times" twice, and suddenly laughed out loud, "Your Dunyi Daojun is quite interesting. He fought with Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable for forty-nine days, and not a single piece of the shell broke, but his escape light was borrowed and used three times—you should Dunyi Daojun to stop attacking the shell. Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable's escape technique is so advanced that it's 'omnipresent and uncatchable,' and he can escape instantly if any part of the shell is attacked. But no matter how fast he escapes, there must be a starting point and an end point for his 'escape'—there is a 'Myriad-Escape Tree' in the center of the inner world of the shell, and all escape traces originate from that tree. You should have Dunyi Daojun use his escape light to guide it to that tree, and the escape traces on the tree will clash with his escape light. At the point of clash, the escape techniques will entangle themselves into a knot. Once there are too many knots, Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable will be unable to escape on his own."
Shangqing carefully put away the three jade slips and turned to head east towards the Chaos. Taiqing himself walked towards the platform of the Shichen Ancestor halfway up Kunlun Mountain. Halfway there, he sent a message to the Human Dao Heavenly Net: "Three Universe World have been discovered deep within the Chaos, each guarded by Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal. Shangqing's three avatars are currently attacking them. Any disciple of the Shangqing lineage who wishes to learn how to subdue Universe World can go to the back mountain of the Biyou Palace to see the battle report."
The message had been sent out for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea when Daoist Duobao replied from below, "Lord Taiqing, where are the three avatars of the Shangqing True Body attacking? I'm taking disciples from the Heaven-Slaying Sword Realm to help."
Taiqing replied, "There is one each in the Eastern Chaos, Western Chaos, and Lower Chaos. Take some men to the Daoist Tongtian in the east. He has been trying to slay the Killing Spirit for forty-nine days without success. Go and help him block the Myriad-Kill Spring."
Daoist Duobao replied instantly, "Alright. I'll take three hundred disciples from the Heaven-Slaying Sword Realm to the east. Golden Spirit Mother will take the disciples of the Dragon and Tiger Qi to the west to help Yuchen Daojun break the law shield. Wudang Holy Mother will take the disciples of the Space-Severing Banner to the lower realm to help Dunyi Daojun block the Myriad-Escape Tree."
Taiqing turned off the light screen and walked to the platform of Shichen Ancestor. Shichen Ancestor was squatting on a stone stool, using a twig to swat ants. Taiqing sat down opposite him. "Same as always, let's borrow the river."
The Shichen Ancestor tossed the branch aside. "Which way should we explore this time?"
"Explore three thousand li to the east, west, and down. Where is the Myriad-Kill Spring inside the shell to the east? How do you find the gaps where the laws intersect inside the shell to the west? What does the Myriad-Escape Tree look like inside the shell to the bottom?"
Shichen Ancestor stood up, reached into the air, and grabbed a grayish-white water droplet, tossing it to the ground. The droplet landed and transformed into a long, Gray-White Long River, three zhang wide, branching into three tributaries from the edge of the platform. Shichen Ancestor reached into the eastern tributary, and an image appeared on the surface: deep within the Eastern Chaos, a gigantic grayish-white shell, its surface covered with two million killing intents, each killing intent a grayish-white spike. The image penetrated the killing intents and entered the shell, revealing an endless battlefield of carnage, littered with countless shattered weapons and tattered flags. In the very center of the battlefield was a well, its mouth spewing forth grayish-white killing intents, which transformed into new spikes that adhered to the shell's surface as they emerged.
Shichen Ancestor withdrew his hand. "Look carefully. The Myriad-Kill Spring is in the very center of the battlefield inside the shell, and a Myriad-Kill Stele is pressing down on the spring. The stele is engraved with the Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable's natal killing curse. Tell Daoist Tongtian not to strike the killing intent, but to strike the Myriad-Kill Stele —once the stele is broken, the Myriad-Kill Spring will be blocked, and once the spring is blocked, the killing intent on the shell surface will only decrease and not increase."
Taiqing nodded. "What about the west?"
Shichen Ancestor reached into the western tributary, and another scene emerged from the water: deep within the western Chaos, a gray-white shell covered with three thousand six hundred layers of law-protecting shields. Each shield was woven from different laws, and there were extremely fine seams between the shields, through which one could glimpse the fleeting gaps of "lawlessness." The scene zoomed in, and the Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable stood in the center of the world within the shell, his hands constantly forming hand seals and changing laws. When he changed laws, the seams between the shields would light up briefly.
Shichen Ancestor withdrew his hand. "The seam is at the edge of each layer of the protective shield, no wider than a hair's breadth, and only brighter for a blink of an eye. Have Yuchen Daojun aim at the light and strike as soon as it appears. If you hit accurately, you can break through both the upper and lower layers of the shield simultaneously. Eighteen strikes in a row will break through thirty-six layers. Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable's speed of changing techniques can't keep up with the speed of the collapse."
Taiqing nodded. "And then?"
Shichen Ancestor reached into the tributary below, and a third scene emerged from the water: deep within the Chaos below, a massive gray-white shell, its surface smooth as a mirror, constantly flashing with escape light. The scene penetrated the shell and entered its interior. In the center of the inner world grew a gigantic gray-white tree, its trunk covered with escape marks, each mark a complete escape law. Countless escape light threads hung from the tree's crown, each thread connected to a piece of void. If any part of the shell's surface was attacked, the corresponding escape light thread on the crown would light up briefly, diverting the attack elsewhere.
Shichen Ancestor withdrew his hand. "The Myriad-Escape Tree is in the very center of the inner world. Have Dunyi Daojun guide his escape light towards the tree. The escape marks on the tree will clash with his escape light, and at the point of clash, the escape paths will naturally form a knot. But Dunyi Daojun must have a backup plan—there are 3,600 escape marks on the tree. When the knot is halfway tied, Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable will cut off the tree crown to protect himself, and the cut branches will turn into new saplings. When Dunyi Daojun is tying the knot, have the Space-Severing Banner ready. If a branch breaks, use the banner to catch it and prevent it from taking root."
Taiqing memorized the three images and stood up, heading east towards the Chaos. Shangqing had already taken a step Shangqing and arrived at the place where Daoist Tongtian was encamped deep within the Eastern Chaos. Daoist Tongtian was squatting on the shell, using the Immortal Slaying Sword to pierce the spikes of killing intent, shattering one with each pierce, and replacing two more every three breaths. Daoist Duobao had just arrived with three hundred disciples of the Heaven-Slaying Sword Realm and was setting up a sword formation on the shell.
The Shangqing Purity Deity landed on the shell and tapped it three times. The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable within the shell raised his head, his voice emanating from within. "Who goes there?"
"Shangqing"
"Shangqing? Never heard of it."
"Now I've heard." Shangqing thrust the Four Swords of Zhu Xian into the shell, the four swords piercing the shell at their four corners. The swords blazed with a gray-white light, and the killing intent spikes on the shell shattered as the sword light swept across them. The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable activated the Myriad-Kill Spring within the shell, the spring gushing forth killing intent, and the shattered spikes were replenished in three breaths. Shangqing ignored him and turned to Daoist Tongtian, saying, "Stop poking at the spikes. Go to the very center of the battlefield; there's a well there, and a monument is pressing down on it. Chop the monument down."
Daoist Tongtian, carrying the Immortal Slaying Sword, walked towards the center of the battlefield inside the shell. The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable appeared at the far end of the battlefield; he was a man in a greyish-white battle robe, his face full of scars, clutching a spear formed from killing intent. Seeing Daoist Tongtian heading towards the Myriad-Kill Spring, he blocked his path with his spear. "Want to smash the monument? You'll have to get past me first."
Daoist Tongtian slung the Immortal Slaying Sword over his shoulder. "Your spear is made of murderous intent, my sword is the Zhutian Sword. Guess whose is harder?"
The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable didn't answer. He flicked his spear, and a million killing intent needles exploded from its tip, enveloping Daoist Tongtian. Daoist Tongtian plunged the Immortal Slaying Sword into the ground, causing it to grow three zhang in length. The sword's surface unfolded into a gray-white sword wall, and the killing intent needles struck the wall and bounced back, piercing the Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable himself, creating more than a dozen holes. The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable roared and slammed his spear into the ground. The battlefield cracked open, and even more killing intent surged from the cracks, wrapping around him. With each layer that wrapped around him, his aura increased.
Before the Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable could finish entangling him, Daoist Tongtian drew his sword and charged towards the center of the Immortal Slaying Sword. The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable Kills pursued, thrusting his spear tip at Daoist Tongtian flicked his left hand backward, sending four sword threads flying from his sleeve to entangle the spear tip, severing it in two. The Demon Lord of Ten Thousand Kills hesitated for a moment, but Daoist Tongtian had already reached the Myriad-Kill Stele, raising the Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable panicked, throwing the broken spear to the ground, transforming himself into a torrent of killing intent that swept towards Daoist Tongtian. Daoist Tongtian plunged the Immortal Slaying Sword into the crack in the stele, its gray-white light pouring into the stele, the crack spreading across the entire surface, and the stele shattered. The spring gushed out its last burst of killing intent, and the sharp spikes of killing intent on the outer shell vanished one by one.
The torrent that the Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable transformed into dispersed in mid-air, reformed into human form, and landed on the ground. He squatted down to pick up the broken pieces of the monument. "I cultivated the Myriad-Kill Spring for tens of thousands of years, and you cleaved it in two with a single sword strike."
Daoist Tongtian drew the Immortal Slaying Sword and slung it over his shoulder. "Your spring is too densely packed. The killing intent spews out from the springhead and sticks to the surface of the stone tablet, making it impenetrable. Denseness makes it brittle; one sword strike and the springhead will break."
The Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable stood up, stuffing the shards of the monument into his sleeve. "You can take this world. But I'll go back with you, and I'll lend you your Immortal Slaying Sword to cleave for three days. I've cultivated the Path of Slaughter for tens of thousands of years, until finally I can't even kill myself anymore."
The Daoist Tongtian tossed him the sword. "You can borrow the sword. Keep the casing. After you're done, go to City of Ten Thousand Crafts and find Yin Xi. He has ten thousand trials there. The ten thousandth trial is called the 'Naturalness Pass.' When you can break a stele without severing a spring, you'll be considered a master."
Deep within the Western Chaos, Yuchen Daojun was crouching on the shell's surface, poking at the seams where the protective barrier of laws met with the tip of his sword. Each poke broke two layers; after eighteen pokes, thirty-six layers collapsed. Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable's speed of changing laws was indeed insufficient; the barrier dropped from three thousand six hundred layers to three thousand five hundred. Just as Yuchen Daojun was about to continue poking, the Supreme Shangqing Form landed on the shell's surface and glanced at the seams. "Don't poke anymore. His speed of changing laws can't keep up with the rate of collapse, but he still has a backup plan—in the center of the world within the shell is a Myriad-Dharma Pool, containing reserve laws. Use up all his reserve laws before you poke again."
Yuchen Daojun carried his sword and walked into the shell. Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable, an old man in a gray-white Daoist robe, was waiting by the Myriad-Dharma Pool. He held a Myriad-Dharma Seal in his hand, its surface engraved with three thousand six hundred kinds of law inscriptions. When he saw Yuchen Daojun arrive, he dipped the Myriad-Dharma Seal into the pool, and the pool water surged and transformed into new laws to patch the protective shield. Yuchen Daojun did not rush to fight. He squatted by the pool and watched for a while, then suddenly plunged his sword into the pool. Gray-white sword light poured into the pool from the sword, and the laws in the pool water were disturbed by the sword light. Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable then dipped the seal into the pool, but the laws that poured out were crooked and could not be pieced together to form a protective shield.
"You've disturbed my pool?" Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable placed the seal on the edge of the pool.
"The laws in your pool have been stored for too long, causing sediment. Let me stir it up and help you re-stir it." Yuchen Daojun pulled his sword from the pool, the tip still coated with sediment from the bottom, containing remnants of old laws that Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable hadn't been willing to discard for tens of thousands of years. He tossed the remnants onto the ground, "What are you keeping these remnants for? They can't form a protective shield and they take up space."
Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable looked down at the bottom of the pool, where a thick layer of old law residue had indeed settled. He squatted down and used his seal to scoop it out, throwing away handfuls as he went, and it took him a long time to clean it all. After he finished, the pool water was clear, and new laws surged out from the bottom, pure and bright, but the amount was half of what it used to be. He looked up at the protective shell, which had dropped from 3,500 layers to 1,800 layers.
"The pool is clean, but the protective shield is down to half its original size." The Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable stood up and clapped his hands. "You can take this world with you. But I'll go back with you, and I'll lend you your sword to stir the pool for three days. I've cultivated the Dao of Myriad Laws for tens of thousands of years, and in the end, the pool was full of scum; I don't even know when I sank to the bottom."
Yuchen Daojun tossed him the sword. "You can borrow the sword. Keep the shell. After you're done, go to City of Ten Thousand Crafts and find Yin Xi. He has ten thousand trials there. The ten thousandth trial is called the 'Naturalness Pass.' When you've practiced until the laws in the pool remain for three years without settling, you'll be considered a master."
Deep within the Chaos, the Dunyi Daojun was crouching on the shell, guiding his escape light towards the Myriad-Escape Tree. He tied a knot to the tree, creating seventeen knots in total. Inside the shell, the Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable cut seventeen branches from the tree's crown. Each branch that fell to the ground grew into a sapling. The Daoist of Shangqing Dunyi Daojun landed on the shell and planted the Space-Severing Banner in the ground. "Stop up the saplings. Plant the banner here; let the cut branches fall onto the banner, and collect them one by one."
The Dunyi Daojun guided his escape light towards the tree, this time specifically towards the trunk. The escape marks on the trunk were dense, and the knots tightened quickly. The Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable was chopping branches hastily, and all the branches he cut fell onto the Space-Severing Banner and were collected. When the thirty-sixth knot was formed, the trunk of the Myriad-Escape Tree suddenly shrank into the ground, as if the entire tree was about to escape. The Dunyi Daojun pressed his escape light into the ground, and the light transformed into a net that caught the roots of the tree. The tree could not escape, and the knots on the trunk tightened more and more until finally the entire tree split open from the middle, Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable fell out from the heart of the tree.
"I've cultivated the Myriad-Escape Tree for tens of thousands of years," the Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable, sitting on the ground rubbing his buttocks. "You bound it with thirty-six dead knots, and I cut off thirty-six branches, until finally the main trunk split open on its own."
The Dunyi Daojun withdrew his escape light. "You've cultivated that tree too greedily. The escape marks are wrapped from the roots to the top, each one connected to the outer shell. When the shell is attacked, the tree automatically escapes. But your escape marks are wrapped too tightly, so tightly that even the trunk itself can't tell which escape mark covers which area. I'm binding the trunk with a knot, and you're cutting branches to protect yourself. Cutting off a branch reduces the number of escape marks by one. In the end, the trunk is hollow and cracks on its own."
Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable stood up and patted the escape light threads on his body. "You can take this world. But I'll go back with you, and I'll lend you your Space-Severing Banner to practice escape for three days. I've cultivated the art of escape for tens of thousands of years, and in the end, I can't even escape anymore—if a tree splits, I don't even know where to escape to."
The Dunyi Daojun tossed the banner to him. "Here, take the banner. Keep the shell. After you're done, go to City of Ten Thousand Crafts and find Yin Xi. He has ten thousand trials there. The ten thousandth trial is called the 'Naturalness Pass.' When you can travel three hundred li without a tree, you'll have graduated."
When the three avatars carried the shells of the three Universe World back to the Primordial Wilderness, Shangqing had already set up three stone tables on the back mountain of the Biyou Palace. Daoist Tongtian led Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable to the first stone table, Yuchen Daojun led Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable to the second stone table, Dunyi Daojun led Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable to the third stone table. The three sat down at the stone tables, and Shangqing looked at them one by one, then turned to Taiqing Main Body and said, "Your three avatars have collected three, Yuqing's three avatars have collected three, and my three avatars have collected three, making a total of nine Universe World. Where should we put the shells after we bring them back?"
Taiqing himself peeked halfway up Kunlun Mountain: "The three to the east should be placed north of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, the three to the west should be placed west of the Western Ox Continent, and the three below should be placed at the Kunlun Mountain in the Central Continent. Bring the shells back and dismantle them first. After dismantling, sort them by size: the large shells will be placed on the continent, the medium shells will be used for materials, and the small shells will be used to feed the earth's veins."
Shangqing nodded, then turned to Daoist Tongtian and said, "Take Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable to the north of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent Yuchen Daojun examine the shell. Once the shell is dismantled, keep the killing intent for Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable as teaching material." He then said to Yu Chen Dao Jun, "Take Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable to the west of the Western Ox Continent to examine the shell. Once the shell is dismantled, keep the remaining laws for Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable to use in his training pool." Finally, he said to Dunyi Daojun, "Take Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable to the Kunlun Mountain in the Central Continent to examine the shell. That shell is the largest and the most difficult to dismantle; you two dismantle it together. Once it's dismantled, the escape traces belong to Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable, and the other creations are fed to the Earthly Dao Formation Network."
The three accepted the order and departed. Taiqing, the true self, sat on a stone pier halfway up the mountain and sent a message to the Human Dao Heavenly Net: "Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing's three incarnations have each collected three Universe World, totaling nine. The nine Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal within these shells have returned to the Primordial Wilderness. Any Sanqing Disciples who wish to learn how to collect shells may go to the northern part of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, the western part of the Western Ox Continent, or the Kunlun Mountain in the Central Continent to examine the shells."
The message had been sent out for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea when Yin Xi replied from below, "Lord Taiqing, the Demon Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable, the Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable, and the Dao Lord of Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable Escapes have arrived at City of Ten Thousand Crafts and are squatting in front of the first level, the Character Recognition Pass. The Demon Lord of Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable Laws said he will borrow the pool to practice for three days to settle his energy before breaking through. The Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable said he will borrow the Space-Severing Banner to practice his escape skills for three days before breaking through."
Taiqing replied, "Let them break it. After they're done, come find me at Kunlun Mountain, and I'll arrange work for them."
Nine Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal from the Chaos Universe World lined up for three days in front of Yin Xi's Pass Daoist Arena. They squatted in a row before the first Character Recognition Pass Myriad-Sequence Dao Venerable drew order inscriptions on the ground with a tree branch, Void Dao Venerable looked at his treasure mirror over and over, Myriad-Kill Demon Venerable Creation King Pan used a stone shard to trace the cracks in the bricks, Wan Sha Mo Zun held a broken stone tablet and sharpened his nails, Wan Myriad-Dharma Dao Venerable held the Myriad-Dharma Seal and imprinted law patterns on the ground, Myriad-Escape Dao Venerable couldn't stay still, moving from the front to the back of the line. He was only quieted down after Yin Xi hit him on the forehead three times with a ruler.
On the fourth day, Yin Xi summoned the nine men to the main Pass Daoist Arena and posted a gray notice on the door frame. The notice read, "The rules for the Character Recognition Pass have changed—it will no longer test literacy, but 'reasoning.' Each person must give a reason from their own world. Those who can make sense will be allowed to pass; those who cannot will have to go back and think again."
Myriad-Sequence Dao Venerable was the first to step forward. He sat down on the stone pier in front of the gate and began to speak of order, "When all things are in order, there is order; when there is no order, there is chaos. The heavens have stars and constellations, the earth has mountains and rivers, and people have hierarchy and age—all are governed by order. When order is established, all things are at peace; when order collapses, all things perish."
After listening, Yin Xi drew a circle on the notice with his ruler. "That makes sense. But your order only mentions 'establishing' it, not 'breaking' it. An order that's been established for too long will become rigid, and when it becomes rigid, it needs to be broken, and then a new one needs to be established. You only establish it without breaking it, that's called a dead order. Go back and add a clause: When should the order be broken?"
Myriad-Sequence Dao Venerable paused for a moment, then sat back at the end of the line to think again. Void Dao Venerable was the second to step forward, and immediately began speaking of the void, "The void is omnipresent and encompasses everything. All things are born from the void and perish in the void; the void itself is neither born nor dies. Those who cultivate the void should know that the void is not empty, but the foundation of all existence."
Yin Xi drew an X with his ruler. "That's Taixu. Let me ask you, if a stone falls into the void, does the stone originate from the void or come from somewhere else? If you can't answer that, you haven't thought it through. Go back and add: How does the void contain things?"
The Void Dao Venerable, carrying the precious mirror, returned to the back of the line and squatted down. The Creation King Pan was the third to step forward, and immediately began speaking about creation, "The Creator uses finite materials to create boundless vessels. Materials are finite, but vessels are infinite; therefore, the way of creation lies in 'disassembly'—disassembling old things for new materials, disassembling large vessels for smaller ones, disassembling and then reassembling, reassembling and then disassembling again, in an endless cycle, creation is inexhaustible."
Yin Xi drew a checkmark on the notice with a ruler. "That makes sense. But you only mentioned the disassembly and reassembly cycle, not how far you should disassemble before stopping. If you disassemble it too much, the material will break and you won't be able to put it back together. Go back and add a clause: when should you stop disassembling?"