Kong Xuan nodded, as if accepting the advice, but remained puzzled.
Often, the Dao was not grasped with a single spark, nor could it be fully illuminated in a few words. Otherwise, where would its difficulty lie?
Qing Ling smiled and extended his hand. With his hand as a brush and the heavens as paper, he wrote four true words in this inverted world: "All heavens and myriad realms, the Hall of All Beings, immeasurable and indestructible, the flame of life to be passed on."
Sixteen Daowen, as vast as Mount Sumeru, radiated primordial energy, drawing upon the pronouncements of sages and merging with the great Dao of all beings. Blessed by a sage, they transformed from mere ambitious declarations into true pronouncements.
Those who recited these true words with sincere hearts could attain great power.
The sixteen true words were inscribed on a giant stone before the Hall of All Beings, emitting a primordial energy that repelled all evil.
Countless demons shrieked in terror and fled madly towards the border of the two realms, not daring to linger.
Their creator, that mighty demon leader, was greatly alarmed and hurriedly bowed in apology towards the direction of Beiju Luzhou.
He waited for half a day, but no instructions from the sage came. Instead, he felt a great sigh of relief. Although his bow seemed utterly meaningless, it was precisely this gesture that saved his life.
The sage governed the world through ritual and law, which were advocated by the sages. Even if Qing Ling did not place great importance on ritual and law, he was still one of the sages.
Qing Ling, with Kong Xuan, departed from this minuscule world. The beings of this world remained unaware that a sage had once visited their realm.
The millions of御魂 (Yu Hun) people rejoiced ecstatically, celebrating as a tribe and kneeling before the Hall of All Beings, their tears falling like rain.
The young hall envoy, witnessing this scene, was deeply moved. He would remember this moment for his entire life, and it was at this moment that he truly felt the profound importance of his mission.
He too, knelt and paid homage to the saint image in the Hall of All Beings, the Sage of All Beings.
In the 72nd Yuan Hui of the Heavenly Emperor calendar, the 4782nd year, the Xuanyuan tribe and the Jiuli tribe officially went to war.
Chi You, a human-witch hybrid, led eighty-one witch venerables, also human-witch hybrids, and eight hybrid great witches. They commanded numerous troops and were skilled in battle, causing Xuanyuan to retreat repeatedly.
Chi You and Xuanyuan fought nine battles, all of which Chi You won decisively.
Chi You was even hailed by the human race as the God of War.
Chi You established a nation in the former ruins of the Heavenly Emperor, calling it the Jiuli Nation.
For a time, the continent of Dongsheng Shenzhou was engulfed in war.
In the Heavenly Court, Queen Mother of the West dispatched the Nine Heavens Profound Lady to assist.
The East Sea Dragon Clan sent a Da Luo, named Ying Long, to aid Xuanyuan.
Disciples of the Chan School also took action.
Many disciples of the Jie School, who had been cultivating in the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, also came to assist.
However, the chief disciples of the Three Schools did not appear. Even when Xuanyuan sought help from the Demon Clan, his ancient enemy, not a single great demon came.
Even with the most meticulous schemes of the sages, after so much time had passed, the Witch and Demon Clans naturally understood that their decline was not unrelated to the machinations of a few sages.
The Witch and Demon Clans harbored no friendly intentions towards Buddhism or Taoism.
The Demon Clan now resided in the Demon Realm dimension and no longer participated in the disputes of the Primordial World, so they were content to watch the drama unfold for their ancient enemies.
Although the Chi You tribe was a human-witch hybrid, they possessed sharp intellect and formidable strength. While the Witch Clan had no intention of returning to the Primordial World, they wished to recruit these promising talents.
After all, the reproduction of the Witch Clan was truly difficult.
After much deliberation, Ju Mang decided to support Chi You!
This decision shook the Primordial World. Even with the decline of the Witches and Demons, no one denied that they were still among the most powerful forces in existence.
Several sages were somewhat surprised, and after numerous deductions, they could find no satisfactory solution.
Despite the emergence of numerous geniuses among the disciples of the Three Schools, they still paled in comparison to the Witch Clan, like children facing adults.
On Shouyang Mountain, Laozi frowned. He considered seeking help from others. Nuwa was likely watching with amusement. It was impossible to expect assistance from the Demon Clan. The two from the West were too seductive, and Laozi feared the difficulty of inviting gods and then sending them away.
His own three brothers, along with the Three Schools combined, could not match the accumulated foundation of the Witch Clan, which had dominated for hundreds of Yuan Hui.
After much thought, he thought of Qing Ling.
Although Qing Ling's sect had a similar number of followers, he was the Demon Ancestor. At the very least, he could mobilize some great demons, demon saints, and the like.
There was also the tribe of the Earth Emperor. The current Great Yu Kingdom, after tens of Yuan Hui of great development, had also greatly advanced in strength.
As long as Qing Ling could be persuaded, not only would the human belief in the Dao Gate be established this time, but the remnants of the Witch and Demon Clans would also be weakened. Furthermore, the development of the Great Yu Kingdom lineage could be curbed, and the disciples of the Three Schools could be tempered, growing into capable individuals after experiencing storms.
Laozi pondered, focusing his primary concern on persuading Qing Ling.
Therefore, Laozi summoned his young attendant Yin Jiao to lead the Green Ox and set off towards Fuyu Mountain.
Unexpectedly, when Laozi arrived before the mountain, he discovered that Qing Ling was no longer in his dojo.
His divine sense swept across the Primordial World, but he found no trace of Qing Ling.
Laozi assumed he was too hasty and carefully scanned the four continents, twelve planes, and over a thousand large and small worlds of the Primordial World, still without finding Qing Ling.
He asked the disciples of Fuyu Mountain, but they also did not know where their sage had gone.
Laozi was somewhat astonished. A sage could not simply disappear. The fact that he could not find the other party among the countless beings indicated that the other party's strength was comparable to his own.
Laozi shook his head and sighed, "Ultimately, one who walks a solitary path before others."
Thus, the disciples of Fuyu Mountain learned that their grand-master had disappeared. Then, the hall envoys of the Hall of All Beings learned that their hall master had disappeared. Subsequently, some great and ancient elders learned of it: the Sage of All Beings had vanished!
For a time, gossip among the great powers of the Primordial World all revolved around Qing Ling. As for those who harbored crooked thoughts of taking advantage of the sage's absence to make a move on the Hall of All Beings or Fuyu Mountain, no one dared.
After all, they knew the sage had merely vanished. The sage was immortal even in immeasurable kalpas. They might simply be hiding somewhere in the void, sleeping.
If it were anyone else, it might not be so. But for a sage, it was indeed possible. For with the passage of long ages, time held no meaning for sages. Being immortal and without crisis, they rarely traversed the entire Primordial World in an instant or accomplished all their tasks in a flash.
Sages acted one matter at a time, not only because they had to consider all parties, but also because if all matters were completed instantaneously, what would sages have to do?
The realm of sages, in the eyes of those who still struggled on the path of seeking the Dao, was like a powerful ruler retiring to enjoy their golden years, with only one thing to do: enjoy themselves.
The entire world was abuzz with discussions about where the Sage of All Beings had gone. Meanwhile, the Sage of All Beings himself, along with Kong Xuan, had arrived at the Taishang Sect Realm within the Taiqing Nine Realms.
The Taiqing Nine Realms were sect worlds established by nine Taishang sects under the sect of Ren Jiao, all of which were Great Thousand Worlds.
In the Taishang Sect Realm, beneath the sect gate, countless Taoists sat in meditation, listening intently to the teachings.
Above the sect gate, a young Daoist with an ethereal demeanor expounded upon the Great Law of the Purple Mansion and Xuan Du.
This realm was about to be graced by a transcendental clone of the Grand Master of Xuan Du, who descended once every hundred thousand years to lecture.
Qing Ling, with Kong Xuan, sat leisurely among the crowd.
Most of the cultivators in the crowd were only at the Heavenly Immortal or Profound Immortal realms. Only the hundred or so individuals at the very front were Golden Immortals or Taiyi Immortals; these were the lineage masters and even elders of the Taishang Sect.
These grand laws were undoubtedly a rare opportunity for those lineage masters, but for the common cultivators behind them, who had barely stepped onto the path of immortality, it was enough to induce drowsiness.
Since it was a transcendental clone lecturing, it was essentially a projection. The disciples did not hesitate and communicated with each other in secret.
Kong Xuan observed this scene with a mixture of pity and sigh. These Daoists treated the Dao with such disregard. The profound teachings, which outsiders sought with difficulty, were right before them, yet they were engaged in idle chatter and gossip.
The Dao sought disciples, but how unfair it was!
However, he soon lost this train of thought, as he heard them discussing him.
"Do you know? There's another rumor from the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Flowers in the East Sea of the Primordial World about a sage disappearing."
"Another one! What rumor? Tell me quickly."
"Brother Huai Zhi, you're quite capable. Where did you get this news? Tell us, tell us."
"Don't rush, don't rush. Let me tell you slowly. The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Flowers claims the sage likely drank an unparalleled fine brew, got drunk for a hundred Yuan Hui, and in his dream, created a new world called the Realm of Floating Life Like a Dream."
"Oh? What's the basis for this?"
"Haha, you don't know, do you? Years ago, when I left this realm and entered the Dongsheng Shenzhou of the Primordial World, I befriended a confidant. He is now a great immortal master in the Xuanyuan tribe. When he fought against the Chi You tribe, he killed a witch-human, and from his inherited witch carvings, he saw a story about the Sage of All Beings.
It is said that at the beginning of the Primordial Era, when the Witch Clan dominated the heavens and earth, before the sage had attained enlightenment, and when the World Tree was still in the East, the Ancestral Witches, incited by some ancient immortal king named Dong Wang Gong, besieged the sage, who was then a peak great power.
At that time, on the wall of a desolate outpost city, the sage, clad in red, leaned against the wall, holding a wine vessel and drinking alone. Facing the siege of nine Ancestral Witches, with a smile, he captured and suppressed the Eight Desolations, even commanding the Ancestral Witches to move mountains and part seas, directly dragging Dong Wang Gong's dojo several hundred billion li away."
"Did something like that happen? The sage's demeanor is truly admirable. If I had even a fraction of the sage's power..."
"If you had even a fraction of the sage's power, you would be lecturing here at the sect gate now. Alas, you never will in this life or any other!"
"You scoundrel!..."
These disciples, who had only recently entered the path of immortality, still possessed youthful spirits, engaging in playful banter and scolding. Although somewhat unlearned, they evoked fond memories.
Kong Xuan asked doubtfully, "Master, can even the sages not find our whereabouts?"
Qing Ling smiled, looking at the rowdy disciples, and shook his head. "Your Master does not possess such abilities.
However, I have merged with all beings, thus I am a person among beings. How can the sages, who are high above and do not mingle with the mortal world, find me?"
"Then why does Master remain hidden?"
"It is not yet time," Qing Ling shook his head. "And it is also quite interesting to wander the world freely like this. If I were to appear, I would become a variable, and the future course of the world's major trends would change.
You have been with me, traveling and stopping, for some time now. It is time to return. Go tell your junior brother Shen Nong that he may assist Xuanyuan, but after Xuanyuan becomes emperor, the tribes must unite and be called Yan Huang."
Kong Xuan hesitated, "Will they agree?"
Qing Ling smiled. "They can only agree. The Great Yu Kingdom brings not only combat power to the Xuanyuan tribe but also the destiny of the human race.
You should go as well, and see if you can take that step by borrowing the destiny of the human race!"