The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 284 The Great Secret of Eternity
At the Taiping Dao Palace, the Taiping Dao Master recounted his story with his old friend.

The teenagers formed a friendship, but later their lives took different paths.

When they met again, the leader of the Taiping Dao had become an outstanding disciple of the Nanhua Temple, and Qiu Ming had become a student of the Imperial Academy in Shengdu.

This is the treatment given to members of the Qiu royal family.

Even collateral descendants are no exception.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the young men were overjoyed. Later, they rode horses through the streets together, went on adventures together, practiced spiritual cultivation together, and traveled the world together, becoming sworn brothers.

Later, they parted ways.

One returned to the mountains to cultivate in seclusion, while the other returned to the capital to take up a post.

The two brothers would get together once every three years.

Time flies, and two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Taiping is now the Grand Elder of Nanhua Temple, a being at the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top Realm. Qiu Ming was also adopted by the previous ruler of the Great Sheng Dynasty and ascended the throne after his death, becoming the new ruler.

He was wise and capable, selected virtuous and capable officials, and worked diligently to govern the country. He even appointed Taiping as the National Preceptor of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

The brothers joined hands, determined to elevate the Great Sheng Dynasty to new heights. With unity of purpose and shared purpose, they created a peaceful and prosperous era, and the Great Sheng Dynasty's national strength flourished.

However, the good times did not last long.

A century later, when Taiping attained great power, he glimpsed the future, knew of the end times, and also learned a secret:
When the three elements (heaven, earth, and man) are unstable, human thoughts and desires arise indiscriminately.

Boundless salvation, sacrificed for generations.

The cataclysmic calamity is upon us, and all under heaven will perish.

Qiu Ming was also exceptionally talented. In addition to handling state affairs, he cultivated to the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top realm.

This is the limit that the Divine Dynasty Lord can reach.

Even the Great Emperor Taizu of the Great Sheng Dynasty stopped at this point.

This is why Qiu Ming also discovered the seal that Emperor Taizu had placed deep within the Imperial Seal of the State.

The ruler of the divine dynasty, whose three flowers converged at the top of his head, possessed a national fortune that made him comparable to a demigod. After the seal was broken, he saw a few words:

He bears the calamities of all living beings and serves as the master of the state.

As the Lord of the Divine Dynasty, I shall use my body to suppress evil, to save the world with boundless compassion, to cleanse the universe, and to protect my subjects for eternity.

---

Taiping met with Qiu Ming.

In a drunken stupor, out of trust and a desire for support, they exchanged secrets.

It was soon discovered that the two were closely related.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, they worked together to investigate and verify the information they had through various means.

Browsing through ancient books, exploring the mysteries of antiquity...

They are all extraordinary.

One was the Emperor of Dasheng, and the other was the Grand Elder of Nanhua. With some investigation, they discovered some clues.

Taiping also ventured far and wide, concealing his identity and secretly investigating to uncover more hidden truths.

When Qiu Ming and Taiping reunited, they boldly imagined and speculated, piecing together a daring hypothesis.

Undoubtedly, the three elements are Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The instability of the three powers (heaven, earth, and humanity) means that the balance between heaven, earth, and humanity is disrupt

"Boundless" likely refers to Boundless Dao Ancestor.

In ancient times, a catastrophe occurred due to the imbalance of the three powers (heaven, earth, and man). In order to save the world, the Boundless Dao Ancestor sacrificed himself, and this has been the case for generations.

One gathering lasts for 10,800 years.

A cycle lasts for 5,400 years.

In the later years of the Great Sheng Divine Dynasty, when the founding emperor was approaching 5,400 years old, the seal left by the Boundless Dao Ancestor loosened.

As the first ruler of a divine dynasty in the world, the Great Ancestor knew this secret and sacrificed himself to strengthen the seal.

Only then did all living beings enjoy peace and stability for the next five thousand years.

Both Taiping and Qiuming wanted to solve this problem, attempting to remove the poison from the heavens and restore the balance of the three realms. They prepared for this for a long time, but ultimately found it all in vain. This was because Qiuming was the reincarnation of the Boundless Dao Ancestor and also a sacrifice to reinforce the seal. Every step Qiuming and Taiping took was within Zhong Neng and Ji Yuan's calculations.

What they knew was what the two wanted them to know: the Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. The Great Prosperity Dynasty will reign for a maximum of three hundred years, and the Great Prosperity Dynasty will exist for more than three thousand years before its fortune comes to an end.

They are born in prosperity, and they will also perish in prosperity.

Since the founding emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty offered sacrifices, the last emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty should also offer sacrifices, so that there would be a proper beginning and an end.

Taiping tried to stop him but was powerless. Zhongneng and Jiyuan intervened and stopped him. Qiu Ming died.

Subsequently, the two immortals joined forces to distort fragments of time and rewrite history, thus making Qiu Ming a tyrant.

They also wanted to kill Taiping to eliminate future troubles, but at the critical moment, the remnant soul of the Nanhua Daoist hidden in Taiping made a move. It was he who guided Taiping to see a moment in the future, and it was he who summoned the remnant souls of the other three Daoists. At the cost of their souls being scattered, they rescued Taiping and severely injured Zhong Neng and Ji Yuan.

It wasn't until Taiping's cultivation reached the level of a half-immortal that he was able to reshape his memories, see the truth, and secretly accumulate power.

---

After listening to the story.

Xuanming was both enlightened and alarmed.

I never expected the truth to be like this.

The three great beings remained calm, clearly having known all along and working together with their master.

"So, I am that reincarnation?"

The leader of the Way of Peace said, "In the past, I also thought so, but after years of repeated reflection and research, I have discovered that the truth is not so. To be precise, you are only a part of it."

He is a partial reincarnation of the Boundless Dao Ancestor.

The true form of the Dao Ancestor has either vanished or is still striving to maintain the balance of the Three Powers.

Xuanming nodded, believing this explanation.

Otherwise, why would he be sacrificed for generations?

Moreover, he had personally witnessed the imbalance of the three elements.

"So, Zhong Neng and Ji Yuan are waiting until I become a great power before making their move. Is it because the time is almost up and they need special offerings?"

Xuanming makes a bold conjecture.

The leader of the Way of Peace agreed: "It's not impossible."

After clearing up the doubts, Xuanming said, "So, fellow Daoist, you are trying to repair the Heavenly Dao by changing the heavens?"

The Master of the Way of Peace did not hide anything and told the truth: "To be precise, it is to cut off a piece of rotten flesh from the Heavenly Dao and replace it with new flesh."

I have spoken with the Heavenly Lord Lingyao and the Heavenly Lord Tiannan.

In the past, there was a Heavenly Realm in the Nine Heavens, which was later shattered into the Heavenly Domain. I suspect that this shattering was related to the Dao Ancestor's salvation of the world. Perhaps that catastrophe was not completely eliminated and was sealed in the Jade Capital, so it requires reincarnated beings to offer sacrifices life after life.

Or perhaps eliminating the harm caused by the deformed Three Powers requires generations of sacrifices. Regardless of the answer, it means that Baiyujing has sealed away some things that are bad for heaven and earth and all living beings, making Zhong Neng and Ji Yuan feel as if they are facing a great enemy and remain silent.

When the Jade Capital opens, the world will be unified.

The truth of this age-old prophecy is hard to determine.

Perhaps once the seal on Baiyujing is broken, the storm will pass, or perhaps the three realms will be unified, the two paths of heaven and earth will return to the path of humanity, the three realms will be completely unbalanced, and from then on, one path will reign supreme.

Whatever it is, it's not a good thing.

Xuanming pondered.

It has to be said that this guess is quite alarming, but on second thought it is not impossible.

After calming himself down, he began to speak:

"No matter which one we guess, it is a harm caused by the imbalance of the three powers. As long as we try to shorten the gap between the three powers before Bai Yujing is born, we may be able to minimize the harm. At least it will be beneficial to us then."

The Lord of Taiping nodded: "Your unification of the Netherworld is probably also to bring the Three Realms back on track. However, unification alone can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause."

"I am naturally aware that unifying the Netherworld is only the first step."

Xuanming's palm shone brightly, and the imperial edict talisman flowed, exuding a unique and mysterious power.

The leader of the Way of Peace had bright, alert eyes.

The three major powers immediately caught my eye.

(End of this chapter)