Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

“That’s right. I have experienced a fragment of the Heaven Courtyard but I know nothing about the Emperor.” Shen Lian looked at the stars above the school. Those were not real stars but a projection of the stars.

Guan Longzi noticed Shen Lian’s micro-actions. He smiled and said, “The Emperor was the strongest in the universe. I have looked into numerous records but only found a few words that mentioned his deeds. He was born as a God and had the ultimate power of the universe. One of the records claimed that he was the strongest among the three realms.”

Shen Lian could not resist but move, “The strongest among the three realms?”

Guan Longzi nodded, “Yes, exactly. But the three realms here does not refer to the Three Realms of heaven, earth and human. It was the realms of past, current and future. Of all the Three Realms and Five Elements, he was the strongest in all time of this tiny universe.”

Being the strongest in one realm was already considered a terrifying feat, what is more being the greatest of all time. It was an accomplishment beyond words, beyond imagination and beyond legend.

Shen Lian was moved, “But from what I understand, no one can be stronger beyond Daoist master and Buddha. Could it be that the Emperor was actually stronger than them?”

Guan Longzi answered, “That’s right, this involved the mysteries of life and death. Judging from your abilities, I believed you have detached from life and death.”

Shen Lian answered with a light voice, “That is true.”

Guan Longzi was amazed and said, “You have probably accomplished enough to carve a deep mark in the River of Time. I believe it would be hard to find another person who could top your accomplishments.”

He paused for a second and continued, “Please forgive me for my frankness, you have detached from life and death but it was not a complete process. You did not have the closure and some trials are yet to be overcome. Such detachments would only bind you up.”

“That is right. Although I have attained immortality, there were still constraints. I fit the bill for detachment but I did not achieve the real detachment,” Shen Lian answered.

“The real detachment from life and death was to jump out from the Three Realms and not within the Five Elements and be free from the constraints of time and space. It should transcend beyond the past, future and current, which was also the levels of a Daoist master and Buddha. Thus, the Emperor was indeed below them. But if a Daoist master and Buddha were to manifest in the Three Realms, they may not be above the Emperor,” Guan Longzi said.

Shen Lian understood Guan Longzi’s point. If it was a test with a hundred as the full marks, the Emperor would score a hundred points so does the Daoist Master and Buddha. It would be hard to tell who did better than the other but the reason why the Daoist Master and Buddha would score a hundred was because the full marks is a hundred.

He replied, “Now I understand. A Daoist master and Buddha were beyond imagination but the Emperor was also beyond the reach of many. Why would someone like that disappear?”

“Just because the Emperor was unbeatable does not mean that he had no rivals. His rivals were the ancestors of Emperor Xia and the other eleven aristocratic families. Their million-year-long battle affected the entire universe and the ripple effect was magnificent. I could feel it from the text and my heart was racing with excitement while I was reading it. This part of the universe was founded by the ancestors of Emperor Xia and the other aristocratic families to take in the lost souls of the war that had no place to return to. This place was eventually known as the Netherworld,” Guan Longzi explained.

Shen Lian could finally confirm his presumption that this world was the legendary Nine Underworld. The existence that could manifest the Netherworld must be an incredible power that was beyond belief. Even if Shen Lian could enter Taiyi, he could only manifest a small world and it was impossible for him to open up a world as vast as the Netherworld.

Such level of mana was extremely extraordinary.

He continued to ask, “But this place seemed to be a little different from the Netherworld that I have read about. Could it be that the records were erroneous or have it undergone some sort of change?”

Guan Longzi looked at Shen Lian with surprise. He responded, “Looks like you were aware that the Netherworld was once the center of the karmic cycle.”

Shen Lian smiled, “I have heard about it briefly.”

Guan Longzi said, “Not many people knew about it and I have only heard little of it. There were no living beings at the Netherworld initially, but the spirits were not the only existence here. There were countless powerhouses in the Netherworld and the most powerful of all was the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and the ancestor at the Asura blood-red sea, followed by the Ten Kings of Hell and the manifestation of a second generation Emperor of the Heaven Courtyard. It was a very exciting era and things seem so dead now compared to then.”

“Where are those existing at the present time?” Shen Lian asked.

Guan Longzi answered, “I do not know about that but their disappearance was related to the turmoil during the second generation of Heaven Courtyard. The war has compromised the heaven created by the Daoist Master, so does Buddha’s Western Paradise, the human world and the Netherworld. Although the war did not last long, the affected score was so vast that it could match the damage of the battle between the Emperor of the Heaven Courtyard and the ancestors of Emperor Xia and the aristocratic families.”

He sighed and continued, “The world of the State’s Academy became a pile of debris from the two battles of the Emperor and the Heavenly King respectively. The debris fell into the Netherworld but I am not sure if the State’s Academy was a product of the Emperor’s conquest of heaven and earth or the turmoil with the Heavenly King. Over the years, the school has changed many masters and there were no methods to verify its origins.”

Shen Lian said, “I see. The academy was complete with the Five Elements and the Theory of Fa was crystal clear. Perhaps it’s because the school once belonged to an extraordinary world. Moreover, it was so stable even if it was just a fragment. That is indeed very rare and it’s the perfect place to disseminate knowledge.”

“You are right. The school’s purpose is to disseminate knowledge. Unfortunately, Emperor Xia was a believer or power and chose not to emphasize knowledge. The person who valued the school was Tianyi, the monarch of Yinshang.” Guan Longzi sounded low-spirited.

Shen Lian laughed, “We have chatted so much yet I still do not know what should I do here. I want to borrow your place as a temporary residence.”

“The humble academy is honored with your visit. Furthermore, I need your help with something. Ever since Emperor Xia sent me here, I have been fully focused on learning and have gained slightly from that. But I do not want to just keep it to myself and intend to start giving lessons and recruit some students from Diqiu. I might need you to deliver some lectures when you are available and if you have any difficulties, you can access the collections of records of the academy. You just have to talk about the knowledge that exists in the school,” Guan Longzi said.

Shen Lian responded, “May I know what type of students you would like to recruit?”

Guan Longzi answered, “Anyone who is willing to seek knowledge regardless of their nobility.”