The Ninefold Supre Jade Steps trembled slightly, pulling Lu Xuan and anchoring him above the River of Ti, preventing him from falling directly into the Ancient Spring and Autumn Years.
Lu Xuan sat cross-legged in the void, gazing down at the vast, turbulent river that coiled with the various mysteries of ti. His gaze was profound to the extre.
He looked toward the imnse chasm downstream in the river. Only now, with the might of eight hundred trends empowering him, could he barely make out a few blurry scenes.
Countless pavilions and towers tumbled from the sky amid billowing dust. The Nine Nether and Yellow Springs ceased to flow, the bridges that carried departed souls crumbled, and a Heaven-Reaching Divine Mountain collapsed, its rolling debris like a tide.
Four square Bronze Fragnts appeared in Lu Xuan's hand. He picked out the one connected to ti and rubbed it gently, his expression deep and mysterious.
Of the four fragnts, one controlled ti, one held fortune, and one enhanced intellect. The last could even interfere with the fundantal laws of the world.
'What a generous gift from Grandpa Chu...'
His Divine Thought delved into the Bronze Fragnt that controlled ti, attempting to manipulate its flow once more. The void trembled, and the Ninefold Supre Jade Steps resonated, glowing in unison.
"It really works."
Lu Xuan's eyes shone brightly. Though he was now a Seven Tribulations Earth Immortal, he had successfully adjusted the flow of ti to a seven-hundredfold difference. In other words, two years in the dream would be but a single day in the Current World!
His eyes lit up. 'This way, I can completely overco the three calamities of war, plague, and famine in the ancient years. By the ti I wake from the dream...'
'...perhaps I can truly beco a True Immortal.'
Lu Xuan smiled silently. 'A True Immortal...'
'If my Cultivation reaches a certain height in the future, could I truly...'
'...have A Dream of a Thousand Years?'
He released the constraints on himself and followed the pull, traveling upstream. He crossed the terrifying chasm of years and the boundless, profound [Ruin], plunging straight into the Spring and Autumn Years.
...
Outside the Guardian Storage Room, the Eighty-One Armors stood guard as always. Although Lu Zi had not appeared for thirty years, and the Zhou Dynasty had even appointed a new Keeper of the Records, they still ca to stand here every day, waiting for him.
For thirty spring and autumn seasons, day after day, year after year.
It was early morning. The nineteenth Keeper of the Records, a middle-aged man with his hair tied up in a topknot and crown, walked slowly. When he reached the Guardian Storage Room, he bowed to the Eighty-One Armors as usual.
Then, he pushed open the great doors of the Octagonal Four-Sided Tower.
"Hm?"
The Keeper of the Records paused for a mont. 'Why is Sandalwood Incense wafting through the room? Did a maid prepare it in advance?'
'Not bad at all...'
The Keeper of the Records smiled in satisfaction, closed the door, and slowly walked inside. Just as he rounded a corner, his expression froze.
"Who are you, sir?" He took three steps back, his expression turning wary. There, in the very center of the Guardian Storage Room, an old man sat cross-legged before a low table.
On the table, a stick of Sandalwood Incense was burning, and hot tea emitted a light, fragrant aroma.
The old man seed steeped in the aura of old age, yet he carried a unique majesty. A single glance gave the Keeper of the Records the illusion that he was looking upon the Celestial Son himself...
No!
'The profound aura of mountains and rivers about this old man far surpasses that of the Celestial Son of Zhou... How is this possible?'
Just as the Keeper of the Records's heart tightened,
the old man took a sip of tea. He was stroking a scroll of the Tao Te Ching in his hands. He glanced sideways, smiled peacefully, and said,
"It has been thirty years since I left this room, yet it hasn't changed much. Not a speck of dust... You must be the new Keeper of the Records, yes?"
The Keeper of the Records froze, sowhat bewildered, but he did not lower his guard. He said in a grave voice,
"The Guardian Storage Room is a vital place for the Court. Who exactly are you, and why are you here...?"
His words ca to an abrupt halt.
The Keeper of the Records suddenly rembered sothing. He had obtained this post only after the previous Keeper of the Records had been missing for eighteen years...
And he had now held this position for twelve years.
His heart began to pound. An incredible suspicion surfaced in his mind.
anwhile, the seated old man nodded gently and said,
"I once served as the eighteenth Keeper of the Records. I later secluded myself from the world for thirty years and have now returned to take a look."
*THUD!*
The Keeper of the Records threw himself to the ground, trembling as he spoke with a quavering voice,
"Gree... Greetings, Lu Zi!"
"There is no need for this."
Lu Xuan raised a hand and pointed. The Keeper of the Records rose to his feet involuntarily, but his body still trembled. His eyes were filled with shock, fear, reverence, and also great joy.
'It's Lu Zi... It's Lu Zi!!!'
Lu Xuan's eyelids were lowered, the smile on his face unchanged.
"You have done well, keeping this room spotless. I hope you will continue to do so."
"You praise too much, Lu Zi!" The Keeper of the Records looked overwheld by the favor. "This is rely what I ought to do..."
Lu Xuan nodded and rose gracefully. He opened his lowered eyelids, revealing Chaos Qi swirling within his pupils, accompanied by a vast and mighty trend.
A seven-hundredfold ti acceleration was still a bit too much. The mont he entered the Spring and Autumn period, it was as if he had used the Keeper of the Records' Edict—he had aged three thousand years, his hair and beard turning completely white.
'Still, this is fine.'
Lu Xuan felt the Human Dao Trend inexplicably rising and falling around his body, and the [Virtue] flowing across his skin.
Cradling the Tao Te Ching, he walked to the doorway under the reverent gaze of the Keeper of the Records. He looked back and smiled.
"I will not go to see the Celestial Son of Zhou. You may relay a ssage for . I will travel among the states and preach the Dao to the world. The Celestial Son of Zhou gifted the Eighty-One Armors, so I shall add eight hundred and ten years of fortune to the Zhou Dynasty."
As his voice fell, he pushed the door open and walked out.
The mont he stepped out, the Eighty-One Armors glanced over and froze in unison.
The next mont,
these armored soldiers, who had stood guard for thirty years, all bowed deeply. Their voices, though showing signs of age, were filled with excitent and joyous surprise, booming like thunder.
"Lu Zi!!"
Lu Xuan nodded gently. Thirty years had passed, and he no longer had the face of a youth, yet the Eighty-One Armors still recognized him at a glance.
Looking at the faces of the soldiers, who had clearly aged a great deal, he was filled with a thousand emotions.
'So little ti has passed in the Current World, but thirty years have gone by in this dream...'
Lu Xuan raised his hand, showering them with vast Essence Qi, even mixed with so Innate Material, which all fell upon the Eighty-One Armors.
Stunned, the soldiers all felt the aura of old age dissipate from their bodies. Their bones and sinews humd, their Physiques glowed, and their Cultivation soared!
The Eighty-One Armors bowed again.
"Thank you for your gift, Lu Zi!"
On the long street, many commoners heard the commotion and instinctively looked over. Most did not understand what was happening, but a small number of the older generation, who had lived here for thirty years, stared with wide, incredulous eyes.
'No... it can't be, can it?'
The older folk looked at the old man, who also appeared ancient but carried the aura of vast mountains and rivers. Then they glanced at the bowing [Personal Attendants of Lu Zi] and felt a sense of disbelief.
'Could it be...'
But Lu Xuan rely gave a calm nod. He glanced down the rustic, long street, a little lost in thought.
'Thirty years have passed, and this place has changed so much. But I can still faintly see what it once looked like...'
As if lanting the vicissitudes of ti, the old man sighed softly. Cradling the bamboo slips, he walked past the Eighty-One Armors and stopped at the head of the street.
"rcy, rcy."
He spoke softly, and the void beside him trembled slightly. Before countless astonished and bewildered gazes, a massive Cyan Bull materialized out of thin air.
The Cyan Bull was covered in a dense Dao Rhy, even interwoven with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth. It lowered its head slightly, knelt on all four legs, and bowed its body low.
Lu Xuan patted the Cyan Bull and slowly mounted it. Niu'Er straightened up and, amid the gasps of so onlookers, spoke in a human voice:
"Master, where are we headed?"
"To preach the Great Dao, to walk the Human World, then to travel West, pass the border, tread the clouds, and ascend to the Celestial Court."
"Where to first?"
"The Qin Region."
"By Virtue or by Dao?"
To go by Virtue ant to travel the world in the Position of Great Virtue.
To go by Dao ant to travel the world in the position of the Supre Direct Lineage.
The two were worlds apart.
After a long silence, the old man spoke faintly,
"Dao."
"Yes, Master."
With that, the Cyan Bull carried the old man and ambled slowly toward the city gate. Just as they had thirty years ago, the Eighty-One Armors followed close behind.
Only then did so of the commoners realize who this person was.
They prostrated themselves on the ground, pious and sincere.
"Great Virtue to Lu Zi!"
The only response they received was the old man's faint voice.
"On this journey to preach to the world, I am Lu Zi, and also..."
"Supre Profound Clarity."
The people were bewildered, but they bowed again, committing the na, Supre Profound Clarity, to heart.
...
In the heart of Ancient Luoyang, the Ming Hall stood as majestic as ever. The Ministers of Zhou and court officials were arrayed within, and the Celestial Son of Zhou sat enthroned above them, his presence radiating majesty.
He, however, seed worried, sighing repeatedly with a sorrowful expression.
A minister spoke with a bitter tone,
"Your Majesty, you have not perford the sacrifices to heaven for three years and have angered the Immortal Gods. A great drought stretches for a hundred thousand li in the East, and heavy snow covers nine thousand mountains in the West. The people in so regions have already begun... begun to trade their children for food..."
Another court minister stepped forward and said with a sigh,
"Your Majesty, the people's resentnt is boiling over. The fortune of our Great Zhou... is in peril once again!"
These Ministers of Zhou in the hall possessed extraordinary abilities and could perceive the nation's fortune. At this mont, so of them looked toward the highest point of the Ming Hall. The fortune of Great Zhou was already in decline, and now it was waning even further, like a candle flickering in the wind...
Suddenly, before the astonished eyes of the court ministers, the nation's fortune, which had been flickering like a candle in the wind, abruptly surged!
The Celestial Son of Zhou seed to sense it. He shot to his feet, his worried expression replaced by shock and joy.
He said in disbelief,
"I can see it... My nation's fortune... has gained eight hundred years??"
Below, the many court ministers exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding what had happened. Eight hundred years of national fortune—it wasn't an imnse amount, but it was by no ans small!
'This...'
Just as the ministers and the Celestial Son of Zhou were baffled and confused, the current Keeper of the Records ca stumbling in, accompanied by the announcent of the guards outside. He fell to the ground and cried out,
"Your Majesty!!"
The assembled ministers glanced over in surprise. The Celestial Son of Zhou also ca to his senses. After another look at the nation's fortune, which was now flaring up like oil on a fire, he looked down and asked,
"What has caused you such panic?"
"Lu... Lu..." The Keeper of the Records swallowed hard. "Lu Zi has appeared in the Guardian Storage Room!"
"What?!"
The Celestial Son of Zhou shot to his feet again, and the ministers erupted in an uproar.
The current Keeper of the Records continued,
"Lu Zi also said..."
He collected his thoughts and recounted everything in detail.
"Lu Zi will travel among the states and preach the Dao to the world. Your Majesty gifted Lu Zi the Eighty-One Armors, so Lu Zi shall add eight hundred and ten years of fortune to the Zhou Dynasty."
As his voice fell, the entire hall fell silent.
The Celestial Son of Zhou stared blankly upward, looking at the nation's fortune that had surged by eight hundred and ten years, his expression dazed.
After a long mont, he snapped back to his senses and cried out urgently,
"Where is Lu Zi now?"
"He... he has likely already left the city!"
Hearing this, the Celestial Son of Zhou began to run so frantically that he even lost a shoe. The ministers followed close behind, and with a great RUSH, they all poured out of the grand hall.
Standing outside the hall, they could now hear the chorus of praise from the city's populace, the repeated cries of "Great Virtue to Lu Zi!"
The Celestial Son of Zhou swallowed and gazed into the distance. He saw the old man riding the Cyan Bull, followed by the Eighty-One Armors, heading straight out of the city amidst the farewells of the masses.
And in the sky, one could see purple qi coming from the East, stretching for thirty thousand li!
Thirty thousand li of purple qi rose from the East, blanketing the sky in layer upon layer. It surged across the sky above Luoyang City, then descended as rays of rosy cloud.
The rosy clouds were like celestial silk, landing upon the Cyan Bull and coiling around the old man!
*THUMP!*
A court minister collapsed to the ground and mumbled in a daze,
"Thirty thousand li of purple qi from the East... This is a Saint! This is the sign of a Saint! Has Lu Zi... achieved sainthood through Virtue?"
"Not necessarily."
The Celestial Son of Zhou also stared blankly at the thirty thousand li of purple qi above him and said in a daze,
"But though he is not yet a Saint, he is not far from it."
"If Lu Zi truly preaches his Dao to the world, I fear..."
"...he could truly beco a [Saint]."
Great Sage: Reasonable Words.
Great Virtue: Unity of Virtue and Conduct.
And Saint: one whose single word can beco the law for all under heaven.
Not far away, a Historian ca to his senses. He raised his carving knife and engraved upon a set of bamboo slips:
[Thirty years after Lu Zi's invasion of Qi, Lu Zi returned to Luoyang City. He stated that as the Celestial Son had gifted him the Eighty-One Armors, he would in turn gift the Great Zhou eight hundred and ten years of national fortune.]
[Thereafter, the nation's fortune did indeed increase by eight hundred and ten years. Amidst great drought, snow, and disaster, the fortune instead flared like oil on a fire, growing more prosperous by the day.]
[Upon hearing of Lu Zi's return, the Celestial Son rushed out, losing a shoe within the hall, yet he remained oblivious. Upon exiting the Ming Hall, he imdiately saw Lu Zi riding a Cyan Bull out of Luoyang, accompanied by thirty thousand li of purple qi from the East—the sign of a Saint's ergence!]
[The Celestial Son was dazed, and the ministers were silent. Only the unified voices of the city's ten thousand people could be heard, all crying out in praise of Lu Zi's na!]
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