Chapter 369: Chapter 32: The Secret of Nuwa, Below Daluo, None Are Unkillable

After some thought, he simply waved his palm. A chessboard and a Gloomy Lamp appeared, and he began to explain honestly:

"These are my gains from that place. The remains gifted me the chessboard, and the Buddha gifted me this lamp..."

"Oh?" Old Nong’s eyes widened, and he clicked his tongue in amazement. "That little fellow, Lamp, was so generous? He gave you the Human Lamp? How strange, how very strange..."

His interest piqued, he examined the Heaven and Earth Chessboard for another moment before remarking with a sigh:

"For you, however, this chessboard is the real treasure... If you use it well, you might be able to break free from your shackles ahead of schedule."

Lu Xuan asked curiously:

"Shackles... When the one on the cliff gave me the chessboard, he also said it might allow me to go from being a piece on the board to a Chess Player... By the way, Teacher, why exactly did you say that the Lady is not the Lady?"

The smile vanished from Old Nong’s face, and he fell into silence.

After a long moment, he said in a grave tone:

"While it is still too early for you to understand these matters, it would be for the best if you knew something of them."

After some thought, Old Nong sat up straight and, without beating around the bush, said directly:

"The path of cultivation has eight steps. The last of these is the Dao Fruit, which possesses all sorts of unimaginable traits. However, that does not mean the Dao Fruit is the ultimate end."

Lu Xuan’s expression also grew solemn as he asked tentatively:

"Teacher, what do you mean?"

"Above the Dao Fruit lies the ultimate end, which is true Transcendence..."

Old Nong waved his cattail fan, his expression solemn.

"You can think of it as a ninth step. At that level, one leaps beyond the Infinite worlds, becoming omniscient and omnipotent. Even I cannot describe it with words. To speak of it is to be wrong; to think of it is to be in error. It surpasses the very limits of thought..."

Lu Xuan listened, his heart pounding. ’Beyond the limits of what thought can reach, beyond imagination itself...’

’True, genuine Transcendence? True, genuine omniscience and omnipotence?’

His mouth felt dry as he asked again:

"Then, Teacher, the Lady... is she..."

"Just as you suspect," Old Nong said softly. "Wa Huang has already achieved Transcendence. She is the first and, currently, the only being to do so since the Creation of Heaven and Earth."

"After her Transcendence, Wa Huang’s physical body remained in the Great Heaven and Earth. That body had already surpassed the limits of a Dao Fruit and possessed some Transcendent Traits. Then, a consciousness and a soul were naturally born from it."

Lu Xuan’s breathing grew ragged, his lips parched. He was utterly dumbfounded.

"You’re saying that the Lady... was simply born from that physical shell later on? That she’s... a newborn?"

"Correct."

Old Nong said with certainty:

"However, the Goddess inherited Wa Huang’s memories. Since you’ve met her, you must know that her sight borders on Omniscience. Yet, she cannot see anything related to herself; she is trapped in a mental delusion."

With that, Old Nong raised his eyelids slightly and sighed.

"And although she has no Cultivation whatsoever, her body alone grants her Innate Invincibility. It is a body that surpasses the level of a Dao Fruit; even your Third Senior Uncle would struggle to scratch it. Though it is not a truly Transcendent body, it has some Transcendent Traits. She is no match for a Dao Fruit wielder, but they can do nothing to her either."

Lu Xuan fell silent.

After a long time, he took a deep breath and gave a wry smile.

"So that’s how it is... so that’s how it is..."

’No wonder the Lady acts and speaks like a child. No wonder at all.’

"Now that you know the truth, what do you intend to do?" Old Nong asked suddenly.

Without thinking or hesitating, Lu Xuan said frankly:

"Everything will remain as it is. The Lady... she..."

After a moment of thought, he chose his words carefully.

"...is very lonely."

A flicker of emotion crossed Old Nong’s face. After a moment, he said:

"That’s fine, too. We cannot see the Goddess as Nuwa, but you actually can. She can indeed be considered your mother... You will understand why in the future."

Although Lu Xuan was confused, he didn’t ask any further questions, simply nodding heavily.

At that very moment, a Daoist appeared on the horizon, slowly descending toward them.

"Your Senior Brother has arrived," Old Nong said with a smile. "Too many eyes are on his Daoist Palace, so it wasn’t a good idea to take you there directly. I summoned him here instead."

As they spoke, a Daoist with a calm yet stern face landed before the thatched cottage and bowed meticulously to Old Nong.

"Master."

"Xuandu," Old Nong chuckled. "Xiaoxuan, come and greet your Senior Brother."

Lu Xuan returned to his senses and bowed respectfully to the stern-looking Daoist, addressing him as, "Senior Brother." The man, in turn, sized him up with curiosity and said in a serious tone:

"So this is Junior Brother? Your appearance seems to have changed, and your destiny is obscured. I didn’t recognize you just now."

Saying this, he returned the bow and added,

"Junior Brother, what you did at the West Pole Celestial Palace was a great and righteous deed."

"You praise me too highly, Senior Brother," Lu Xuan quickly replied, curiously sizing up this new Senior Brother of his. He looked very stern and meticulous, yet there were no Profound Mysteries or unusual phenomena about him. He seemed perfectly ordinary.

By now, Old Nong had leaned back on his recliner, a wide grin on his face.

"Xuandu, I summoned you this time not only so you and your junior brother could meet, but also for another matter."

The Ancient Daoist bowed formally:

"I respectfully await Master’s Decree."

"Oh, you..." Old Nong laughed, shaking his head. Fanning himself with his cattail fan, he continued, "Do you know why you have never attained the rank of Daluo?"

"My Cause and Effect remains unresolved," Xuandu stated calmly. "But Master, though I am not a Daluo, I have already surpassed the Celestial Realms. I have weathered eight million life-and-death calamities. An ordinary Daluo is no match for me. Even the Four Celestial Lords themselves would not dare face a single strike of my sword."

Listening from the side, Lu Xuan was a little confused. ’My Senior Brother isn’t even a Daluo?’

At this, Old Nong raised his eyelids and laughed teasingly.

"And you’re pleased with yourself? You might be called ’invincible in the present,’ but if you were to truly fight a Daluo and they traveled into the past to kill you in your youth, what would you do?"

Xuandu replied with the same calm demeanor:

"To answer your question, Master, when I was weak, I was traveling by your side or listening to the Dharma in the Eight Sceneries Palace and the Douluo Palace. Who would dare to come and kill me then?"

Old Nong’s eyelid twitched, and he said with a sense of helplessness:

"So that’s why you’re so determined not to resolve your Cause and Effect? If you let it go, you could become a Daluo on the spot. You can already defeat a Daluo without being one and are ’invincible in the present.’ If you were to actually achieve the rank of Daluo..."

"In response, Master: I was the very first of the Human Race brought into being by Lady Wa Huang’s Creation. If I were to abandon the ’Cause’ of my human birth, it would be a grave disrespect to her."

"Fine." Old Nong didn’t press the issue further. "Resolving your Cause and Effect doesn’t require you to renounce your human identity. You could also lend the Human Race a hand, repaying a debt of gratitude."

Xuandu was taken aback.

"Master, what do you mean?"

"Your junior brother intends to wage war against the heavens in the name of the Human Dao. You can assist him and thus repay your debt."

"Yes, Master."

Lu Xuan, listening from the side, was completely baffled, his mind filled with questions.

But Old Nong simply rose leisurely to his feet.

"Xuandu, you have weathered countless calamities without killing a single immortal. Your temperament is now set. You may lift your restriction on killing. Go with your junior brother to the Human World. I shall conceal your fate from the heavens."

"Upon reaching the Human World, you will no longer be Xuandu. You must change your name."

"You shall be... Luo Hou."

The two brothers bowed at the same time. When they looked up again, they were no longer on Taishan. Before them was a majestic, sprawling city, bustling with people.

A dense Human Dao Fortune ebbed and flowed here, far surpassing that of the former Luoyang. In the Celestial Vault above, the silhouettes of dragons could occasionally be seen tumbling through the clouds, their faint roars echoing down!

"The Dragon Race?" Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes, his interest piqued. ’There are members of the Dragon Race presiding over this great city...’

He looked up. The great city spanned thousands of miles. On the plaque above the city gate, one powerful and vigorous word was inscribed:

[Xianyang].

"Junior Brother," Xuandu said calmly. "Master has ordered me to assist you. Who is it you wish to kill? Who must be slain? You need only tell me."

Lu Xuan was stunned. He glanced sideways at the stern-faced Senior Brother beside him.

’My Senior Brother is not what I imagined. His killing intent... is quite strong.’

’Have I just gained a super-powered heavy hitter??’

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, he bowed.

"Senior Brother, waging war against the heavens in the name of the Human Dao cannot be accomplished in a day. We must proceed with a careful plan."

"It matters not." The stern Daoist stood perfectly still. "Then we shall proceed slowly and methodically. However, should there be any being you need killed, you need only tell me."

After a pause, he added:

"Below the rank of Daluo, there is no one I cannot kill."

(Three Chapters remaining)