Chapter 580: Yin-Yang Eyes, Jade Simplicity Realm, Peace, a Good End

One hundred and thirty years had passed since Xiao Mo entered seclusion then, one particular morning, the spiritual energy within Seeking Immortals Temple grew ever thicker, spiritual energy converging from every direction, far beyond the ordinary.

Every spirit beast within the temple, without exception, turned to look in the very same direction.

Suddenly, a brilliant beam of light shot straight up into the sky, the white clouds above scattering instantly before that radiance.

A rich resonance of the Dao drifted gently through the summer breeze, brushing softly over one mountain forest after another.

Within Seeking Immortals Temple, Senior Sister Lin Qiaoqiao raised her head, looking toward the peak where Xiao Mo had entered seclusion.

She understood, in her heart, that Junior Brother Xiao was finally about to emerge from seclusion.

As that pillar of light gradually faded, within the cave dwelling, Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes.

He drew a deep breath, exhaling one last mouthful of turbid air laden with impurities, then walked step by step out of the cave dwelling.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, the breeze gently stirring the hem of his robe, Xiao Mo quietly sensed the great laws of the Dao flowing all around him.

This was an entirely different scene from what he had perceived at the Jade Simplicity realm.

Having entered the Immortal realm, Xiao Mo felt as though he stood within an entirely new heaven and earth.

"Junior Brother Xiao... Senior Xiao..."

Just as Xiao Mo was still adjusting to these subtle changes of the Immortal realm, Lin Qiaoqiao came to his side, bowing respectfully, her address of "Junior Brother Xiao" having already shifted to "Senior Xiao."

"There's no need for such formality, Senior Sister Lin. Just call me Xiao Mo or Junior Brother Xiao, as before." Xiao Mo said with a smile.

"Very well, then I shall boldly address you by name, senior."

Lin Qiaoqiao, too, felt it rather awkward to call Xiao Mo "senior."

Though, by the conventions of the cultivation world, never mind "senior," Lin Qiaoqiao could have called Xiao Mo "ancestral master" without it being excessive.

She had also heard that some people, upon entering the Immortal realm, having witnessed such a vastly different heaven and earth, found their temperaments changing along with it, sometimes becoming almost unrecognizable in character.

But seeing that Xiao Mo remained just as he had been before his seclusion, Lin Qiaoqiao felt a warm familiarity in her heart.

"Senior Sister Lin, might I ask how long this seclusion of mine has lasted?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Reporting to you, Senior Xi... ahem... Junior Brother Xiao, you have been in seclusion for a full one hundred thirty years." Lin Qiaoqiao coughed lightly and answered honestly.

"One hundred thirty years..." Xiao Mo's brow furrowed slightly, his tone carrying a note of concern. "Then, Senior Sister Lin, how is Sister Liu Shui doing now? Has she emerged from her seclusion yet?"

Hearing Xiao Mo mention Liu Shui, Lin Qiaoqiao could not help pressing her lips together, an undisguisable sorrow and desolation rising in her expression, her voice growing soft:

"Junior Brother... Sister Liu Shui... she passed away in meditation..."

Hearing Lin Qiaoqiao finally speak the words "passed away in meditation," Xiao Mo's mind went blank for a long moment, unable to come back to himself, as though he must have misheard.

Half an incense stick's time later...

Xiao Mo arrived at the peak where Liu Shui had entered seclusion.

By now, the great formation array upon the peak had already deactivated, and the disciples of Seeking Immortals Temple who had once kept watch at the entrance had long since dispersed.

Xiao Mo descended slowly from the sky, walking step by step deeper into the cave dwelling.

At the very depths of the cave dwelling, upon that warm, lustrous jade bed, all manner of elixir bottles and jars sat arranged neatly.

Some were already empty, while others had not even had their sealed stoppers opened but at the very center of the jade bed, the woman who should have been sitting there cross-legged had vanished entirely, without leaving the slightest trace behind, as though she had never existed there at all.

Lin Qiaoqiao followed him into the cave dwelling as well, walking quietly up behind Xiao Mo, her tone low. "After Sister Liu Shui was gone, we carefully traced through the spiritual energy she left behind in the cave dwelling."

"In truth, Sister Liu Shui had already passed through the first four stages, but when it came to the final trial, the inner demon tribulation..."

As she spoke, Lin Qiaoqiao trailed off, only shaking her head gently, unable to continue.

"I understand..." Xiao Mo nodded slightly, his voice calm yet unable to hide his sorrow. "These years, it's been hard on you and the others, Senior Sister Lin."

"It's hardly worth calling hard." Lin Qiaoqiao shook her head, her gaze falling on Xiao Mo's somewhat desolate profile, and said softly, "I'll leave you be, then. If there's anything you need, Junior Brother, just call for me."

"All right." Xiao Mo gave a respectful bow, his tone even. "Take care, Senior Sister."

Lin Qiaoqiao turned and left the cave dwelling, not wishing to disturb Xiao Mo any further.

She understood, in her heart, that the bond between Xiao Mo and Liu Shui had never been an ordinary one, and that he needed this time alone to gather himself.

Left alone within the cave dwelling, Xiao Mo walked slowly forward, at last seating himself upon that jade bed.

"Sir... I like you..."

"Sir, I know, I know my own talent isn't enough... but... I don't want to remain stagnant like this. I want to try, to attempt a breakthrough into the Nascent Soul realm."

"If I can successfully emerge from seclusion this time, entering the Nascent Soul realm, sir... may I... become your concubine?"

Those words Liu Shui had once spoken echoed, one after another, ceaselessly through Xiao Mo's mind, as vivid as though she stood beside him even now.

Xiao Mo had always known of Liu Shui's feelings for him and it was precisely because he understood this so clearly that, every time Liu Shui expressed her affection to him, he had chosen to decline.

First, because Xiao Mo had genuinely always thought of Sister Liu Shui the way one thinks of an elder sister from next door, holding no romantic feeling toward her in his heart.

Second, because Xiao Mo understood, in his heart, that what he was about to undertake could never possibly come to a complete and happy ending, and he could not bear to hold her back from her own life but this "not wanting to hold her back" of his, was it truly not, in the end, a form of holding her back after all?

He sat there upon the jade bed, gazing at the empty cave dwelling, unable to rise for a long, long while.

At last, Xiao Mo shook his head.

He rose from the jade bed, slowly raising his hand, weaving an incantation.

A long river of yin and yang, flowing and swirling, quietly emerged all around him, rippling outward like water.

Having entered the Immortal realm, this River of Yin and Yang that Xiao Mo now conjured through the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet was now connected to the very threads of karma itself.

In an instant, sun and moon seemed to reverse, the stars shifting position, the whole night sky rearranging itself again and again, as though some invisible hand were reordering them.

Within Seeking Immortals Temple, quite a few disciples sensed something, and raised their heads, looking toward that very same peak.

They saw, above that peak, a long river woven of black and white, ceaselessly flowing back upon itself, converging, merging.

"Temple Master, this... this is..."

A disciple stood beside Daoist Master Yun Xi, gazing up at the strange phenomenon above that peak, her face full of astonishment.

"Huangye, what do you think divination truly is?"

Daoist Master Yun Xi asked, gazing into the distance, her question unhurried.

"Do you believe that fate is fixed and unchangeable from the start?"

"If fate were truly fixed and unchangeable, if what divination reveals is merely a predetermined, unalterable result, then what meaning would human effort still hold?"

"This..." The disciple named Huangye found herself at a loss, unsure how to answer.

She understood well enough, of course, what divination was.

Simply put, it meant peering secretly into the workings of heaven, glimpsing another's future fate, foreseeing fortune and misfortune but she had never before considered the questions the Temple Master had just posed.

Before Huangye could answer, however, Daoist Master Yun Xi had already, quite naturally, supplied the answer herself, “So-called divination is simply the process of continuously deducing and calculating, based on the entangled web of countless causes and effects in this world, according to the laws already in place, in order to arrive, in the end, at a result."

"That result is not fixed and unchanging. It is merely the current situation, or the most likely direction the future may take."

"And since the result may still change, the words and actions of the diviner may, in turn, exert some influence, deep or shallow, upon the future fate of the one seeking the divination. Whether that person chooses to heed the diviner's counsel is, in the end, entirely their own choice."

"It's only that everyone's karma is entangled with the hidden workings of Heaven's Dao, which is precisely why it is said that the secrets of Heaven must not be lightly revealed."

"If someone performs a divination on another's behalf, and the karma involved is too great, then Heaven's Dao will, in turn, strike back at the diviner themselves."

"And so, some diviners, even having glimpsed the secrets of Heaven, will choose to remain silent, feigning ignorance, in order to avoid this backlash from Heaven's Dao."

"However, if the gap in cultivation between the diviner and the one seeking divination is truly vast, and the karma involved for the seeker is not especially heavy, then the diviner may, by their own power, sway the other's future, and turn the course of their fate."

"And this phenomenon is what the mortal world calls 'an immortal toying with the affairs of men.'"

"Xiao Mo has now reached the Immortal realm, and the technique he cultivates, the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet, is precisely capable of such a thing."

Within the cave dwelling, the light was faint, the silence complete.

Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes yet what he now saw was not the ordinary rock walls and stone formations of the cave at all.

Within Xiao Mo's field of vision, a River of Yin and Yang flowed quietly beneath his feet, black and white intertwined, never running dry.

The white river of yang and the black river of yin flowed together and apart endlessly, like two ancient torrents reuniting here at last, finally converging into one vast, boundless River of Time.

This was the River of Time that Xiao Mo, having entered the Immortal realm, was now able to enter, by using the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet to link himself to the great Dao of heaven and earth.

Xiao Mo searched ceaselessly along the River of Time, his gaze passing through countless flowing shadows of light.

At last, he found one faint, flickering point of light.

Xiao Mo walked slowly forward, carefully reaching out, wrapping that point of light in the warm, gentle spiritual energy within his own body.

This point of light was not a soul, but "karma" itself.

"Sister Liu Shui... let me see you on your way..."

Bolstered by the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet, Xiao Mo walked forward step by step along the banks of the River of Time.

Through that faintly glowing River of Time, Xiao Mo saw the reflected images of one ordinary household after another, cast up from the surface of the river.

Though he could not tell whether the images of these households came from ten years hence, a hundred years hence, or a thousand years hence.

He could, through the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet, deduce roughly what kind of life Sister Liu Shui might come to lead, and what outcomes might follow, were she to be reborn into any one of these different households.

At last, Xiao Mo came to a stop before the gate of one particular household.

He stood outside the courtyard door, his fingers moving subtly, quietly working through the calculation.

At last, Xiao Mo arrived at words, “Yin-yang eyes, Jade Simplicity realm, peace, a good end."

"This will do, then." Xiao Mo murmured to himself, passing through the courtyard gate, gently sending that point of light representing "karma" drifting into the courtyard.

Roughly three thousand years later.

A clear infant's cry suddenly rang out from within this courtyard.

"She's born, she's born... it's a girl!" The midwife ran out the door, her face full of joy, calling out to the simple, honest-looking man outside who had already been pacing anxiously in circles.

The moment the man heard this, he rushed into the room.

The honest man carefully picked up the tiny infant swaddled in the blanket, while his wife leaned weakly against the head of the bed, a happy smile touching her lips, asking softly, "Husband, let's... give our daughter a name..."

"Ning Wei..."

The honest man's face was full of joy.

"I'm not a learned man, so I went specially into town to ask a scholar, and he gave us this name, Ning Wei. Wife, what do you think of it?"

"Ning Wei..." His wife spoke their daughter's name softly, a tender smile blooming on her lips, and she nodded gently. "It's lovely..."

Time flowed on like water, slipping quietly by, day after ordinary day.

That little girl named Ning Wei gradually grew up, blossoming into a sweet, adorable child.

One day, Ning Wei went out to play, holding her beloved cloth doll, only to have it snatched away by a group of mischievous children.

They tossed the doll back and forth between themselves.

Each time she nearly managed to catch up to it, the doll would be thrown off to another side.

The little girl, her hair in two braids, her eyes reddening, her small mouth pressed tightly together, looked as though she were about to burst into tears at any moment.

At last, the grievance building up in the little girl's heart became too much to bear.

She crouched down, burying her small face against her knees, tears falling in fat drops, soaking into her skirt.

"Can't catch it, can't catch it!"

"Crybaby, can't catch it!"

"Ning Wei is such a crybaby... shame, shame!"

The children circled around the little girl, clapping their hands, laughing and jeering at her.

Just then, a man with a long saber at his waist strode forward, giving each of the children a firm rap on the head.

"Don't you dare bully others, especially not a little girl. Aren't you all ashamed of yourselves?"

The man snatched the cloth doll away, scolding them sternly.

Seeing an adult step in, one with a long saber at his waist besides, the children scattered in fright, running far off.

The man stepped forward, crouched down, and handed the cloth doll back to the little girl, his tone turning gentle all at once. "Here, this is yours."

"Thank you, big brother..." The little girl raised her head, sniffling, tears still clinging to her lashes, her voice soft and sweet.

"No need to thank me." The saber-bearing man looked into her eyes, and could not help but pause, as though he had glimpsed something out of the ordinary.

"Little girl, what's your name?" the man asked softly.

"Ning Wei... the 'ning' of peace and tranquility, the 'wei' of the rose flower..." The little girl blinked, wiping away her tears, tilting her face up to look at him earnestly. "What about you, big brother?"

"Me..."

The man smiled gently.

"I'm called Xiao Mo."

"The 'xiao' of autumn's chill, the 'mo' of ink."