Chapter 348: Chapter 353: The Mark of Heaven_1
Qin Wudao knew little about the Primeval Era, but from the descriptions provided by the Four Incompatible, he could still conjure some images in his mind.
That era must have been a golden age for Martial Artists, when immortals still walked the earth and Immortal Law was widely taught. The Ten Great Immortals stood at the pinnacle of the world, either overlooking all life with transcendent detachment or, upholding the ideal of benefiting all living beings, spreading the Dao to all creation!
"Reviving the glory of the Primeval Era will depend on you. Of course, the prerequisite is that you can overcome the difficulties. By my calculations, it’s less than a hundred years away..."
The Four Incompatible was speaking but, realizing it shouldn’t continue on that topic, changed tack, saying, "Sit on the chair and begin receiving the Master’s legacy!"
Qin Wudao was taken aback. This is too easy! What happened to the promised test?
"Senior, is this reliable?" Qin Wudao asked Kun Daoist.
"Don’t worry," Kun Daoist explained. "Do you think coming here was easy? The process of falling into the abyss just now was the greatest trial. If not for your formidable constitution, you would have been frozen solid and shattered into ice dust long ago!"
Hearing this, Qin Wudao finally relaxed. After bowing respectfully to the Four Incompatible, he sat on the Supreme Chair that symbolized absolute authority.
As soon as he sat down, the Nine Heavens began to tremble violently, and all its energy converged into the Supreme Chair.
"Heavenly Dao, Great Dao, Dao of All Beings..."
A majestic voice echoed in Qin Wudao’s mind. His soul began to ascend, transcending Heaven and Earth, and entering a boundless sea of stars.
A white-haired elder, clad in a grey robe, sat among the stars, his voice resounding as he spoke.
Each word was a transformation, each sentence a universe unto itself—creation without end!
An Ultimate Immortal imparting the Dao!
Qin Wudao’s soul trembled. He quickly sat cross-legged beside the elder, devouring the Daoist teachings. It was as if scales fell from his eyes; he gained a much deeper comprehension of the ’Dao’.
His physical body was enveloped in golden light emanating from the Supreme Chair, and the aura he exuded grew unfathomably profound.
"Truly a fated one!" The Four Incompatible, lying nearby, muttered to itself.
Towards the end of the great war, the immortals, realizing their defeat was inevitable, began to divine the future, seeking those fated to inherit their legacies, which they left behind.
Anyone capable of sitting on the Supreme Chair and receiving the inheritance was such a fated individual!
RUMBLE!
As a large amount of energy was drained, the first layer of the Nine Heavens began to collapse. The continents were rent asunder, plunging into the turbulent Void with a deafening roar.
The golden glow around Qin Wudao’s body grew increasingly brilliant, making him appear as if cast from pure gold.
In the unknown Void, his soul was still immersed in enlightenment, countless motes of starlight suffusing his being. His soul power increased dramatically, successfully breaking through to the Heavenly Soul realm.
In the mountains, time has no measure; in the transmission of the Dao, ages pass unnoticed. An unknown period of time passed before the voice of the Dao slowly faded.
The ethereal form of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign opened his eyes and asked with a smile, "Kid, how much did you absorb?"
Qin Wudao also emerged from his state of enlightenment. He bowed respectfully and said, "Heavenly Sovereign, I’ve only grasped some superficial aspects. I am still a long way from true mastery!"
"Not bad," the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign said with a smile. "How about joining me for a game of chess?"
Qin Wudao looked around. Apart from the stars, there was no chessboard. He was momentarily puzzled.
"The highest realm of chess is no longer confined to the physical ’form’ of pieces on a board," the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign said, gesturing towards the starry sky. "Everything in the universe can be a chessboard, and every event, every person, can become a chess piece!"
To Qin Wudao’s astonishment, the boundless starry sky transformed into a chessboard, and countless stars became the pieces.
The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign continued, "You possess an Imperial Aura, so I presume you are the sovereign of a nation. You should understand how to play chess—how to strategize, and how to overcome your opponent’s designs!"
"Then, this junior shall respectfully comply!" Qin Wudao stepped forward and sat cross-legged.
He was, in fact, extremely proficient at chess and would often play with his ministers in his leisure time.
The two manipulated the stars, placing them as pieces across the cosmic board, setting up perilous traps. Before long, the starry sky around them was filled with chess pieces.
"Are you not exceedingly curious about what happened at the end of the Primeval Era?" the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign asked.
Qin Wudao nodded.
The current board clearly showed him with a temporary advantage. With just a few more moves, he could secure victory, forming the Heaven-Imprisoning Formation.
"But I won’t tell you!" the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign said with a playful grin.
Qin Wudao’s brow furrowed slightly; he hadn’t expected the dignified and majestic Primordial Heavenly Sovereign to possess such a mischievous streak.
CLACK!
At that moment, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign grinned. With lightning speed, he snatched one of Qin Wudao’s star-pieces and placed one of his own.
Instantly, the board transformed. Qin Wudao, who had been on the verge of victory, now found himself at an absolute disadvantage.
"Heavenly Sovereign, can you even do that?!" Qin Wudao said in dismay.
"Haha! Life is like a game of chess, always full of unexpected turns. And you should never expect your opponent to play by the rules!" the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign laughed heartily, his expression then turning unusually solemn.
Outside, the Nine Heavens continued to collapse. Now, only the final two layers of the Nine Heavens remained, and even they were beginning to tremble and crumble.
"My time is short. I have one final treasure for you: it is the Dao I cultivated, my path to enlightenment!" The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign wore an expression that spoke of a hero in his twilight, a touch of sorrow in his eyes, as he extended his right hand, shooting forth a ray of golden light.
Faintly, one could discern the word ’Heaven’ within the golden light.
Looking at the golden light, a sense of familiarity welled up within Qin Wudao. In the Kunlun Supreme’s inheritance, he had also received the character ’Dao’. Could there be a connection between the two?
When the ’Heaven’ character entered his body, the ’Dao’ character suspended in his Dantian erupted with a brilliant radiance.
Together, these two characters formed ’Heavenly Dao’!
As Qin Wudao mulled this over, the Voice of the Great Dao—the same voice he’d heard when he first received the ’Dao’ character—resounded in his mind once more.
"The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; The named is the mother of all things. Therefore, ever desireless, one can see the mystery; Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery..."
Immense waves of Spiritual Energy surged towards him, and Qin Wudao hastily sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
Bathed in the Voice of the Great Dao, his mental state swiftly elevated, and he gained even deeper insights into the Daoist principles the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign had previously imparted.
"Let me help you one last time!"
The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign smiled faintly, plucking stars from the void with a gesture and transforming them into pure energy, which he then integrated into Qin Wudao’s body.
The last two remaining layers of the Nine Heavens completely collapsed.
After completing this, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s form gradually faded. He transmitted his voice to the Four Incompatible in the remnants of the Nine Heavens, "Little Four, take good care of your future Young Master. He will be the last hope!"
The Four Incompatible scrambled to its feet, its face etched with sorrow, gazing upwards as if it could see into that unknown Void.
There, Qin Wudao cultivated cross-legged, his body radiating a golden light, the very picture of final hope.
There, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign had vanished completely. Having fulfilled his solemn trust, he had returned to the Voidness for all eternity.
"Master, rest assured," the Four Incompatible vowed with determination. "I will definitely assist the Young Master in defeating ’it’!"