Rise and Fall
After Su Yao finished speaking, he looked at Mianning, who had no expression, but Mianning remained silent for a long time.
After a long silence, Mianning finally revealed an ambiguous expression, then slowly turned around, his back to Su Yao, his expression inscrutable, and said:
"In ancient times, the Three Sovereigns ruled the world: The Heavenly Sovereign, by Flourishing Wood and the elements of wind and thunder, comprehended the Eight Trigrams and established the order of the four seasons; this is called 'managing the seasons.' The Earthly Sovereign, by observing the Flint Fire Three Stars Water, comprehended the Earth Suitability and discerned the suitability of medicine and grains; this is called 'managing the land's advantages.' The Human Sovereign, by observing the Wu Earth and the elements of yin and yang, comprehended the way of Human Dao and established the principles of human relations; this is called 'managing all living beings.'"
He then took a step forward, put his hands behind his back, and looked towards the distant city of Yongzhou, his voice deepening:
"Therefore, the Heavenly Sovereign established the Eight Trigrams, and the Earthly Sovereign established the Earth Suitability. However, the Heavenly Sovereign and the Earthly Sovereign successively attained enlightenment and also successively departed."
At this point, he slightly turned his head, glancing at Su Yao out of the corner of his eye:
"With the Earthly Sovereign gone and the Human Sovereign yet to emerge, the Earthly Sovereign's son ascended the throne. He should have continued the Way of Earth Suitability and protected the virtues of the earth. However, he burned the agricultural season, used the Eight Trigrams to create the Li Fire, and proclaimed himself the Flame Emperor. For his own selfish reasons, he caused the transmission of the Eight Trigrams and the Earth Suitability to collapse. Although later generations could still practice it, it was difficult to prove or attain enlightenment."
After he finished speaking, he gave a soft hum, the tone of which Su Yao couldn't discern whether it was regret or contempt.
Then he abruptly changed the subject:
"Therefore, the Human Sovereign emerged, establishing the Human Dao and creating the Human Dao Attainment Position to fill the gaps in Heaven and Earth. However, although the Human Sovereign established the Human Dao, it was not perfected, and he was later imprisoned in the Azure Firmament. After the Human Sovereign, there were the Five Emperors. The Five Emperors began with the Metal Virtue, went through Water, Wood, and Fire, and ended with the Earth Virtue. The Five Virtues are mutually generative."
"The Five Emperors all occupied the proper positions of the Five Virtues, and then the Subsidiary Rank the Human Dao, thus completing the Human Dao. After the Five Emperors, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were established in succession. The Xia used the Human Dao of Demon Dao to supplement the Human Dao, the Shang used the Way of Witchcraft Dao to supplement the Human Dao, and the Zhou used the Way of Divine Dao to supplement the Human Way. At the same time Duke of Zhou, through the Jade Void Heavenly Order, comprehended the Human Order, thus enabling the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao to initially connect."
He paused, a hint of sadness flashing across his brow, and when he spoke again, his pace slowed slightly:
"It should have been this way, with each path supplementing the Human Dao, gradually forming a complete system. Human Dao as perfect as the immortal Immortal Dao established by the Three Pure Ones in the past. However, at the end of the Zhou Dynasty, taking advantage of the fact that the disciples of the Three Pure Ones were acting independently, and with the war between immortals and demons, and immortals and Buddhas, the Qin Emperor seized the Human Dao Attainment Position and established the Immortal Emperor Attainment Position, intending to suppress the world forever."
At this point, he shook his head, a cold smile playing on his lips:
"However, his schemes were ultimately thwarted by the Five Virtues Change Positions, which plunged the world into chaos. Although emperors occasionally rose to power thereafter, they only ruled over isolated corners of the land. Human Dao collapsed, and fathers and sons killed each other for the throne, with all propriety and music abandoned."
After he finished speaking, he suddenly fell silent.
A mountain breeze rose again, causing the hem of his white robe to flutter loudly.
After a long silence, he spoke again, his tone now tinged with heaviness:
"Until the Taizu emperor appeared out of nowhere, turned the tide, and redefined the Human Dao. At that time, all schools of thought—my own Mysterious Gate (Confucian School), Buddhist School, Witchcraft Dao, the various schools of thought, witchcraft, demons, remnants of the divine, and even the Demonic Dao —were delighted to see this happen and helped the Taizu restore order and discipline."
With his back to the setting sun, he spoke slowly and deliberately:
"However, after Taizu, he became even more ruthless. Although Zhu Household wanted to stop him, they were ultimately powerless to resist and could only protect themselves."
He paused for a moment, seemingly struggling with his decision, before continuing after a long pause:
"Therefore, Zhu Household had no choice but to present him with merits. Once the merits were complete and the Taizu achieved a position equivalent to Immortal Dao Heavenly Venerable, he had no choice but to go to the outer heavens."
However, his crown prince died young amidst the struggles with Zhu Household, so Taizu established his grandson as the heir apparent to rectify the Jianyan.
Then he raised his hand and rubbed his temples, as if recalling a very unpleasant past event:
"However, more than 30,000 years ago, the Jianyan Emperor disrupted the laws of the Taizu Emperor, attempting to establish the ancient system of the Zhou Dynasty. Thus, the Chengzu Emperor rose up in the Yan region, ascended the throne, and took the title Yongle, dominating the world for 22,000 years. He is known as the Chengzu Emperor. Now, He is stuck at a crucial juncture, unable to emulate the Taizu Emperor, and thus seeks to follow the example of the Qin Emperor. In earlier years, our Dao would not have feared Him, but after several great battles, we are now powerless to suppress Him. The longer He lingers, the more the immortal sects, Buddhist sects, various schools of thought, demonic paths, monsters, witchcraft, and remnant gods suffer. Yet, He is ultimately far inferior to the Taizu Emperor, unable to attain Dao on his own, and there are still those around the world who do not submit."
At this point, he suddenly fell silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, there was a hint of helplessness in his tone:
"Therefore, I had no choice but to help him again, just as I had helped Taizu in the past. That is why I was able to travel south to Proclaiming Earth, sweep away the disloyal intentions of Southern Frontier southern border, Nanzhao, Annan, so that he could achieve the same great feats Taizu and leave as soon as possible."
The condition is that He abdicated eight thousand years ago, the Crown Prince succeeded him, and our Dao passed down the Immortal Kingdom Method of the Qin Emperor, allowing the current Qing Emperor to occupy the Emperor Position and borrow the Fruition Position. Our Dao can then be revived. However, there is discord within our Mysterious Gate, with disagreements among the disciples of the Three Pure Ones, and some even attempting to support Him in achieving the Immortal Emperor and realizing the coexistence of immortals and mortals.
After speaking, he looked directly at Su Yao:
"This time, Proclaiming Earth's journey south will inevitably be hindered by some. However... the Zhu Household have already reached an agreement: those at the Purple Mansion and above will not intervene; you will be the ones to handle it."
Upon hearing this, Su Yao wished he could return to Qixia Mountain immediately. How could he possibly be involved in such a momentous matter?
But since things had come to this point, he had no choice but to speak, so he mustered his courage and said:
"May I ask what brings you to Yongzhou, young master?"
Seeing this, Mianning laughed incessantly and looked towards Qixia Mountain:
"I presume that you, senior, are now watching us from the Ask Amid the Clouds."
He paused:
"But seniors, you've done everything you could. You can't hide it forever. How long are you going to keep deceiving him?"
His response was an endless glow of light blooming in the southwest.
But something blocked their way, preventing them from making any progress.
He ignored him and looked at Su Yao:
"Do you know why you were abandoned on the Great Qing River at birth? Go now. The matter of Proclaiming Earth cannot be resolved in twenty years. Qizhenzi ultimately deceived you. Go and see your biological parents to learn the details."
Su Yao was puzzled by this. He couldn't believe Daozheng's trust in the people of Qixia Mountain, so he asked:
"Is the young master so certain?"
He didn't explain, but changed the subject and continued:
"The matter of Proclaiming Earth's journey south involves too many things. Proclaiming Earth is in the hands of my Jade Void Palace. If it is to be carried out, it is naturally the lineage of my Jade Void Sect that should be responsible. However, as the one who carries it out, I have to invest far too much. Just look at that Fallen Soul Formation on your Golden Ao Mountain. Apart from the True Lord level set in the palace, there is only one set in the world. Things are not like in High Antiquity. Once these things are gone, they will never be available again. Therefore, neither my Jade Void Sect nor the Eight Sceneries and Biyou will allow so many mistakes to happen. That is why there are so many trials."
He paused:
"Originally, it wasn't you who was chosen, but the Daoist disciple of the Golden Court Dao Lineage. However, Master and the others discovered that the Daoist disciple of the Golden Court Dao Lineage was too soft-hearted. As for our Jade Void lineage, there aren't many Daoist disciples to begin with, and most of them are still those whose combat abilities before reaching the Purple Mansion level are questionable. But we didn't expect you to suddenly come down the mountain. We were even thinking about how to force you to come down the mountain, or even how to take the initiative to extend the lives of your parents."
"Su Yao, go now. This matter is settled. I will personally go to Qixia to apologize another day."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mianning swayed gently, and Su Yao found himself standing at the gate of Yongzhou City.
He turned around, looking towards Mianning, and then towards the rosy clouds blooming in the sky to the southwest.
After a long while, they finally headed towards Yongzhou City, thinking to themselves:
You're always trying to scheme against me, but what feelings do I have for my parents in this physical body?
They didn't abandon the original owner of this body on the Great Qing River the moment he was born. Without Daozheng, how could there be Su Yao today?
What familial bond exists between Su Yao and these two?
He had used this as an excuse before, but in the end, it was all for fortuitous opportunity that only he knew about.
Feeling reassured, he strode towards Yongzhou City.