Chapter 668
: Retreat and Enlightenment
Zhuang Yan was bestowed the title of "Lingtai Dongming Zhilu Tianzun Sanjie Fuyu Shenxiao Dadi", which can be understood as the "Fifth Emperor" of the Heavenly Court. However, his authority does not reside in the heavens, but rather in the entire Three Realms and the human world.
Simply put, below the Jade Emperor, the Four Emperors decide matters in the heavens, while Zhuang Yan decides matters on earth.
The Five Great Emperors were all bowing to the heavens with complex expressions. From this moment on, Zhuang Yan truly had the power to control these emperors.
When Zhuang Yan's imperial entourage returned to Buzhou Mountain, the Great Emperor of Zhongyue personally led all the gods and immortals of Zhongyue to welcome him, and the Great Emperor of Nanyue and his wife had no choice but to stay at Buzhou Mountain for another day.
However, Zhuang Yan did not hold a celestial banquet that day. He only summoned the Great Emperor of Zhongyue, the Great Emperor of Nanyue and his wife, as well as the celestial officials and gods of Buzhou Mountain, Zhongyue, and Nanyue. He accepted everyone's worship and congratulations, and then dismissed everyone.
Afterwards, the Great Emperor of the Central Peak and the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak had a brief gathering before each departing to return to their respective divine abodes.
After everyone had left, Zhuang Yan summoned Huo Ling Zhenxian and his trusted confidants from Chen Huan Yu Fu to the Chen Huan Hall of Lingtai Palace.
He then said to the crowd, "I have completed the creation of the 'Human Laws,' and now I shall go into seclusion to comprehend the 'Great Dao Fruit.'"
Upon hearing this, everyone present was overjoyed and bowed to Zhuang Yan, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Zhuang Yan slightly raised his hand, and everyone quieted down. He continued, "This time, you will be in seclusion to comprehend the 'Great Dao Fruit' for at least several decades, and possibly one or two hundred years. The affairs of the Dust Jade Palace will still be entirely managed by True King Fire Spirit. You must assist True King Fire Spirit well and not make any mistakes."
Upon hearing this, everyone bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, we will obey your decree."
Zhuang Yan nodded, then said to Huo Ling Zhenxian, "I will place the golden book of 'Human Laws' in the hall. You will be in charge of the affairs of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm. If you encounter any difficult problems, you can come here to request 'Human Laws'."
Fire Spirit Immortal bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Afterwards, Zhuang Yan's gaze swept over everyone present, including Huo Ling Zhenxian, Huang Zhoujun, Chi Ling, Hu Xianfeng, Wang Shu, Liu Yan, Hongshanjun, Lu Hanzhi, Julingshen, Wen Daoren, and so on. Then he smiled and nodded, his figure gradually dissipating, and he disappeared without a trace in an instant.
All the gods and officials bowed and said, "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."
After seeing him off, True Immortal Huo Ling walked up the steps of the hall, his gaze fixed on the golden book of "Human Laws" placed on the jade table, which was shrouded in a mysterious light. After a moment, he turned around and said, "His Majesty has gone into seclusion. Fellow Daoists may return to their respective residences to attend to their affairs."
The next moment, all the gods and officials in the hall bowed in unison and said, "We will obey Your Highness's decree." Then they each withdrew from the Hall of Mortals in turn.
Not long after, True Immortal Fire Spirit also left the Mortal Realm and returned to his own Fire Spirit Immortal Palace.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Yan had already returned to his 'Zhou Tian Jing She'. He sat cross-legged inside, his hands forming a mudra, his eyes slightly closed, and quickly entered a meditative state.
After Zhuang Yan entered into meditation, his "Jade Purity Divine Firmament Great Dao Treasure Record" began to circulate automatically throughout the body.
Then, the immeasurable merit in his spiritual platform began to be absorbed by Zhuang Yan's primordial spirit. As the immeasurable merit was continuously absorbed by the primordial spirit, Zhuang Yan's primordial spirit was immediately elevated to an unparalleled state.
Under the blessing of this immeasurable merit, Zhuang Yan's cultivation and spiritual power began to surge. Threads of heavenly secrets and strands of heavenly will unfolded neatly before Zhuang Yan's eyes like strings on a zither.
Chaos and the Dao of Heaven began to collide, time and space began to merge, and the long river of time, past, present and future, began to form.
Profound and mysterious principles appeared before Zhuang Yan's eyes, chaos evolved before him, and the Heavenly Dao revealed its unparalleled power.
But after a short while, everything—every flower, every blade of grass, every tree, every leaf, every grain of sand, every stone—began to evolve before his eyes, from the vast chaos to the smallest particle, all dazzling Zhuang Yan.
Zhuang Yan made no move, simply circulating the "Jade Purity Divine Firmament Great Dao Treasure Scroll," quietly observing everything. Ten days, one hundred days, one year, ten years, even thirty years passed quickly, and Zhuang Yan continued to observe the evolution of all things before him.
Another thirty years have passed, and all evolution has come to a standstill; it seems that everything has reached its end.
"Is it over?" Zhuang Yan wondered to himself, because the evolution of chaos, the Heavenly Dao, and all things had come to an end, and everything seemed to have stopped and fallen silent.
Zhuang Yan watched like this for one year, two years, ten years, fifteen years, until the twentieth year. Finally, Zhuang Yan discovered that these things that had evolved to their end had always remained in this static and silent state.
This state terrified him; it filled him with fear. Time remained unchanged, space remained unchanged, and the past, present, and future seemed to overlap. Everything was so quiet and lifeless.
"Why isn't it over yet?" This thought had already crossed Zhuang Yan's mind. "What comes after it's over? A complete end? Or a new beginning? Or perhaps a return to chaos?"
Zhuang Yan received no answer, because everything remained silent. Even his own "Jade Purity Divine Firmament Great Dao Treasure Scroll" had stopped circulating and had come to a standstill.
Soon, Zhuang Yan's primordial spirit also fell into a state of deathly stillness, and the immeasurable merits ceased to bless him. Zhuang Yan's body, from the inside out, became as still and quiet as an evolutionary process that had reached its end.
"No!" Zhuang Yan suddenly realized, "We can't just stay in this dead silence forever, I have to do something."
In this deathly silence, Zhuang Yan seemed to see his own end, his own annihilation, and he could not allow this to happen.
At that very moment, Zhuang Yan's primordial spirit suddenly opened its eyes.
“Yes, I have to do something.” Zhuang Yan’s primordial spirit gazed at all things that had evolved to their extremes and fallen into a state of lifelessness. Suddenly, he mobilized his magical power.
At the very moment his primordial spirit mobilized its magical power, Zhuang Yan 'himself' came back to life. He was no longer quiet or lifeless. The Jade Purity Divine Firmament Great Dao Treasure Scroll began to operate again in that instant, and everything came alive.
The next moment, Zhuang Yan's primordial spirit circulated all his magical power, gathered it at his fingertips, and gently touched the chaos, the Heavenly Dao, and all things that had evolved to their extreme and fallen into deathly silence.
Like a ray of light suddenly shining into the pitch-black night sky, the deathly silence was cleaved apart, and chaos, the Dao of Heaven, and all things were completely annihilated, returning everything to nothingness, the boundless nothingness.
But just a moment later, two beams of light suddenly appeared in the boundless void. These two beams of light were merely the yin and yang energies, one black and one white, but they still appeared extremely dazzling in the boundless void.
With the birth of Yin and Yang, the boundless void also quickly disappeared, and the boundless gave rise to Yin and Yang.
Chaos is the beginning of nothingness. A great force created heaven and earth from chaos, and the way of heaven manifested. Thus, yin and yang were separated, the four symbols arose, the eight trigrams evolved, heaven and earth took shape, and all things were born.
In an instant, all the immeasurable merits came to him, causing Zhuang Yan to repeatedly cycle through life and death, stillness and movement.
When Zhuang Yan had been in seclusion for ninety-nine years, he suddenly stopped this cycle. His primordial spirit stirred slightly, and with a command from the treasure seal in his hand, he immediately integrated the "Jade Purity Divine Firmament Great Dao Treasure Record" into his own great power.
At this moment, Zhuang Yan's physical body and primordial spirit simultaneously raised their hands and drew a 'circle' that encompassed all things before their eyes.
The moment the 'circle' was drawn, Zhuang Yan's physical body vanished, but only a moment later, his Dao body was reshaped.
Yes, Zhuang Yan's body is no longer a 'body', but a 'Dao Body,' an 'Immeasurable Dao Body.' (End of Chapter)