Merit of Civilization, Only Change Is Unchanging

"Vast seas turned to dust over countless autumns; a hundred trials forged an achievement that startled gods and ghosts. Dreams drifted through millennia as stars hung over the wilds; the moon sank into the long river as clouds swept up dust. Rather than wear away my years in the mountains, I would enter the mortal world and seek the truth of the Dao!" Xuan Qing sang as he traveled, trying to see his true heart and Great Dao clearly. Yet the closer he came to the Human Ancestral Land, the more unsettled his heart became, as though obscured by the Mists of Time. "Which me is the real me?"

He was somewhat afraid to face it.

When he had first transmigrated into the Primordial World, he had felt surprise, excitement, and fear. He had also wanted to integrate into the human tribe of that time.

But his way of thinking was far beyond that era. Communicating with the humans of that time gave him the profound helplessness of playing music to a cow.

He had wanted to escape!

But he did not know where he could go.

Pursuing the immortal Dao and longevity had been both his dream and a way to distract himself.

He was afraid to face it all—afraid that all kinds of legends would become reality, afraid that one day, the humans he knew would truly become materials for the Demon Clan to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword!

Thus, he prayed to Nuwa day and night. When Taiqing Laozi traveled through the human tribe, he had attended to him with utmost care and eagerly offered him everything Xuan Qing thought was good.

He had also successfully left the human tribe, leaving behind that unfamiliar place of Eating Raw Meat and Drinking Blood, uncivilized and wildly untamed.

"Sui!"

Xuan Qing walked through the human tribe in a daze, his mind wandering elsewhere, unaware of what he was thinking. Then a familiar yet unfamiliar call reached his ears.

Sui!

That name had been given to him by an Innate Human when he tried Drilling Wood to Make Fire and guide the humans of that era away from savagery and ignorance.

"Suiming Country knew neither the four seasons nor day and night. There was a Fire Tree named Suimu, twisting and coiling across ten thousand qing. In later generations, a Sage traveled beyond the sun and moon to reach that country and rested beneath that tree. A bird like an owl pecked at the tree, and blazing fire burst forth. The Sage was inspired and taught the method of drilling wood to the masses. Because he used a small branch to drill for fire, he was honored as Suiren."

That was a legend he had heard before!

Yet just as he had been secretly pleased and somewhat terrified, believing that he had stolen Suiren Shi's Merit, someone had placed that title upon him.

For a time, he could not tell illusion from reality. Had he replaced Suiren Shi, or could Suiren Shi be anyone at all—as long as someone could drill wood to make fire, that person... was Suiren?

This question, like whether the chicken or the egg came first, had troubled him for a long time.

For a long period, he had been unable to understand whether he had changed history or become part of mythical history.

Hearing the person behind him call out, Xuan Qing turned around with a complicated expression. He forced out a smile and replied, "It has been a long time, Youchao!"

That was right!

The one who had come was Youchao Shi!

He was the man who had called him "Sui" after Xuan Qing drilled wood to make fire!

During the time shortly after his transmigration, Xuan Qing had not only tried to change the humans' habit of Eating Raw Meat and Drinking Blood, but also tried to guide them toward a civilized society.

Some had scoffed at him, some had ignored him, but others had shown interest.

Youchao Shi was one of them.

After Xuan Qing said that he hoped they could have a place like a bird's nest to shelter them from wind and rain, Youchao Shi began trying to build a "Bird's Nest" for humanity!

Just as Xuan Qing had been given the title "Suiren," after the "Bird's Nest" was completed, an Innate Human gave Youchao Shi the title "Youchao."

That person was Zi Yi Shi!

Before Xuan Qing left the Human Ancestral Land, nine people in total, himself included, had received titles and gained the recognition of most humans.

Suiren Shi, Zi Yi Shi, Youchao Shi, Zhi Sheng Shi, Da Ting Shi, Jin Hong Shi...

Seeing Xuan Qing return to the human tribe, Youchao Shi was extremely excited. "Sui, I thought you would never come back! You have been gone for tens of thousands of years! Right, where is Xuandu? Didn't he return with you?"

Xuan Qing did not know how to answer and could only steel himself. "I happened to be passing through, so I came back to take a look. As for Xuandu, he and I did not study under the same master. I do not know when he will return either."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Why don't you call me Xuan Qing from now on? That is the Daoist name my master personally bestowed upon me after I became his disciple!"

Youchao Shi did not think much of it. "It is all the same. Suiren is you, and Xuan Qing is also you. It is only a title. Why do you care so much?"

Of course it was not the same!

Suiren Shi was one of the Three Ancestors of Humanity, while Xuan Qing was a transmigrator... How could the two be mentioned in the same breath?

Yet Xuan Qing ultimately did not say those words aloud. As Youchao Shi had said, a name was merely a designation. He was the one fixating on appearances!

Soon, under Youchao Shi's guidance, Xuan Qing toured the Human Ancestral Land. Youchao Shi was incredibly excited as he told Xuan Qing about humanity's changes over the years.

Xuan Qing listened quietly.

In truth, after returning to the Human Ancestral Land, he discovered that humanity had now basically cast off its old ways of Eating Raw Meat and Drinking Blood, of sleeping in the open and living exposed to the elements.

Thatched Huts, Wooden Houses, Stone Houses, clothing, pottery, tools, ornaments... everything was available. Moreover, the Innate Spiritual Qi of the Primordial Wilderness had not yet been cut off, and with the Method of Cultivation, humanity had completely emerged from ignorance. They had formed all kinds of tribes and even begun actively exploring the world millions of li beyond the Human Ancestral Land!

As the two walked, they soon arrived at Nuwa's Temple. Xuan Qing had built it back then, and the statue he had once fashioned remained there, receiving incense offerings day and night and already giving rise to all kinds of miraculous phenomena.

Beside Nuwa's Temple stood another temple dedicated to Taiqing Laozi. Though Xuan Qing had not built it, he had contributed considerably to its construction.

He entered the temple and offered incense to each of the two Sages.

However, as he was leaving, he noticed that beneath the statues of both Sages seemed to be small sculptures that looked somewhat like him.

"That is you!"

As if noticing Xuan Qing's gaze, Youchao Shi explained, "Although the Holy Mother created us, and Taiqing Sage taught us the Method of Cultivation, it was you who taught us to make fire and craft tools, who guided me in building houses and guided Zi Yi Shi in sewing clothes!"

"And wasn't this what you once called... Merit of Civilization?"

At those words, Xuan Qing felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to recover for a long while.

"Civilization?"

"Civilization!"

At the beginning of his transmigration, he truly had wanted to change these humans. He did not ask for much—he merely wanted them to live more like the "humans" he remembered!

"So that's it!"

Xuan Qing suddenly understood. It was as though thunder exploded in his heart. "The thing I have been doing all along was civilization! What I did was not futile!"

At that moment, he seemed to understand the meaning of civilization. Since the humans of this age differed from those in his memories, then he would guide them toward that direction.

And he had been doing just that all along.

He simply had never realized it!

In ten years, one could watch spring pass into autumn; in a hundred years, one could witness birth, aging, sickness, and death; in a thousand years, one could see a lone tree become a forest; in ten thousand years, one could see mighty mountain ranges turn into seas and fields...

Civilization was not a simple matter. The development and transformation of a race, especially in a vast world like the Primordial Wilderness, took place in units of thousands and tens of thousands of years.

"Whether Suiren or Xuan Qing, I am still me!" Xuan Qing smiled as understanding dawned upon him. "One's true heart is easy to find, but one's original heart is hard to preserve. My other self is me, and my true self is me. Only change is unchanging—this is the true Innate Way of Change!"

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