Chapter 77: Lost in Illusion

This time, Guan Wen fell into a deep sleep for a very long time. He felt as though it had lasted at least three days and three nights, leaving every bone in his body aching with soreness.

"Moo—" The low bellow of an ox awakened him.

He raised his head. A dark green old ox was lowering its head to graze, strolling leisurely and slowly forward, occasionally flicking its tail to drive away the buzzing insects.

To the right of the old ox, an elderly man sat directly on the ground, holding a tree branch and continuously writing on the yellow earth before him.

Guan Wen walked over and looked down to read. What the elderly man was writing was: "The reason why rivers and seas are able to be the kings of all valleys is because they excel at flowing lower than them, and therefore they can be the kings of all valleys. Hence, if a sage wishes to be above the people, he must, in his words, place himself below them. If he wishes to be ahead of the people, he must place himself behind them. Therefore, when the sage dwells above, the people do not feel weighed down; when he dwells ahead, the people do not feel harmed. For this reason, the world is happy to push him forward without ever tiring of him. Because he does not contend, no one in the world can contend with him..."

That was a chapter from the Dao De Jing, explaining the philosophy of how a ruler governs the world. All the characters were written in ancient seal script; Guan Wen could only recognize about half of them, while the rest had to be deduced.

When the elderly man finished writing, he slowly snapped the tree branch in half, tossed the pieces to the left and right, stood up, mounted the green ox, and drifted away into the distance.

On the ground, the phrases "the king of all valleys" and "no one in the world can contend with him" touched a chord in Guan Wen's heart, making his mood as light and breezy as the white clouds overhead. His mind expanded, instantly casting away the doubts that had repeatedly entangled his thoughts.

Standing in this completely unfamiliar world, he was far away from the Summer Palace, far away from subduing demons and exterminating devils, and far away from all the troubles he had known since birth.

"The 'Nāga and other heavenly beings' of the Eightfold Pantheon exist within a world and state of 'non-human' beings, and then they think about problems using a 'non-human' mode of thinking. Naturally, they will not have 'human' troubles. Thus, the beings of the Eightfold Pantheon are happy and worry-free, capable of more directly comprehending Buddhist truths, advancing infinitely within their respective domains, and possessing 'non-human' powers and 'non-human' achievements. Viewed in this light, isn't being a 'non-human' far better than being a 'human'?" Guan Wen drifted and spun, feeling as though he were shedding his mortal shell and ascending to a "non-human" realm.

"If death can allow one to break free from the realm of 'humans' and enter the realm of 'non-humans,' then I am willing to die right now, to cross this boundary and cast aside all 'human' thoughts." As he thought this, his body laid horizontally in mid-air, limbs splayed out, as if floating in the Dead Sea—not breathing, not struggling, his body lazy and comfortable to the absolute extreme.

"Isn't a death like this the happiest thing in the world? If the taste of death is so wonderful, why would human beings fear death?" Once this thought arose, he immediately felt a profound joy in both body and mind, as if ascending to a celestial realm. This sensation of abandoning everything and returning to the ignorant, unknowing state of an infant was truly wondrous beyond compare.

During that process, Guan Wen had traversed from "life" to "death," completing the cyclical hundred-year journey of humankind. When human beings arrive in this world, they are completely devoid of thought and consciousness, coming into it stark naked; when human beings leave this world, they depart in the same unconscious and stark naked manner. Whatever they acquire from this world will ultimately be returned to the world unconditionally, without taking even a single hair or thread with them.

Guan Wen's mind recognized who the elderly man writing the Dao De Jing was, but then he thought again: "What difference does it make whether I know or don't know, whether he is who he is or isn't? What difference does it make if I know him and he doesn't know me, if I know him and he knows me, if I don't know him and he knows me, or if I don't know him and he doesn't know me? Let it be. All dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth. Let it all blend into the great unity and perish together with the dust. I transfer everything I knew during my lifetime to others; I am leaving—"

Unbeknownst to himself, he had already attained the broadest mind in the world, caring about nothing yet encompassing everything, possessing nothing yet rising above everything. This was precisely the highest realm described in the Dao De Jing, revered by historians and literati since ancient times: "He does not contend, so no one in the world can contend with him."

All species on Earth possess selfish motives and personal desires—even little cats and dogs, flowers, birds, fish, and insects are no exception. But once a person comprehends the state of mind of "non-contention," they have already entered the ranks of the "transcendent and refined." Throughout historical records from ancient times to the present, only three ancient deities were able to achieve this: Nüwa, who patched the heavens day and night; Shennong, who tasted all herbs to save people; and Great Yu, who exhausted his wisdom and energy to tame the floods.

"The universe has three realms: the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm." It was still Tang Jue's voice, originating from nowhere and drifting toward the unknown.

"The Realm of Desire has six heavens: the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Yama Heaven, the Tushita Heaven, the Heaven of Delights in Creation, and the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Creations. Beings born into these six heavens possess desires between men and women, which is why it is called the 'Realm of Desire'..."

"The Realm of Form has eighteen heavens: the Brahma-parishad Heaven, the Mahābrahmā Heaven, the Brahma-purohita Heaven, the Heaven of Lesser Light, the Heaven of Infinite Light, the Heaven of Abundant Light, the Heaven of Pure Light, the Heaven of Infinite Purity, the Heaven of Non-Thought, the Heaven of Lesser Purity, the Heaven of Fruitful Results, the Heaven of Increased Blessings, the Heaven of No Clouds, the Heaven of No Trouble, the Heaven of No Heat, the Heaven of Manifest Joy, the Heaven of Superior Vision, and the Akaniṣṭha Heaven. The heavenly beings born into these eighteen heavens of the Realm of Form have only male form and no female form, and naturally, no sexual desires exist between men and women. However, the colors and shapes of those beings' bodies can still be seen..."

"The Formless Realm has four heavens: the Heaven of the Infinity of Space, the Heaven of the Infinity of Consciousness, the Heaven of Nothingness, and the Heaven of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception. Those who dwell in these four highest heavens no longer have visible form or shape, existing entirely in a spiritual state, which is why it is called the 'Formless Realm'... The 'Heavenly Beings' among the Nāga and other heavenly beings are sentient beings living in the various heavens. Naturally, the heavenly beings also include heavenly monarchs, such as Lord Śakra and the Great Brahma King. All things are impermanent, and sentient beings in the six realms are trapped within the cycle of reincarnation. When their lifespans end, they cannot escape death. Before heavenly beings die, they exhibit five signs: their garments become soiled and greasy, the flowers on their heads wither, their bodies emit a foul odor, sweat pours from their armpits, and they take no pleasure in their original seats. This is also known as the 'Five Decays of the Devas'..."

Guan Wen felt that death was like a river rushing from the Kunlun Mountains toward the sea—impossible to block, impossible to manipulate, and one could only drift passively downward. Even the leaders of the Eightfold Pantheon—the Heavenly Beings—could not escape death, let alone mere mortals.

"When you came into this world, the deepest depths of your brain hid a supreme secret. What was it?" Tang Jue whispered in his ear.

Guan Wen vaguely felt that his skull had already been pierced by something, which must have been a surgical drill or tweezers. He felt no pain, but the object carried a trace of chill, having already penetrated deep into his brain.

"I... don't... know..." he answered slowly.

"Of course you know, because that is your own secret—just like the hidden pearl nurtured in the deepest part of a clam's body, which only the clam itself knows." Tang Jue's voice was as soft as a spring breeze, carrying an intoxicating warmth.

"Subduing demons... subduing... demons..." Guan Wen seemed to recall something.

Tang Jue immediately retorted, "No, no, not subduing demons. Think again."

"Clues... clues running through history, finding the critical point... finding the critical point to slay the witch, in a book... in a book..." Guan Wen felt the needle-like object deep inside his brain move, constantly probing left and right, as if a gluttonous creature were relishing a dish of chopped pepper fish head.

"What book? Think again, what is the title of that book?" Tang Jue was very patient, guiding him step by step.

"It is a book recording an epic war. The title of the book... the title of the book... Ah—" Guan Wen felt the needle-like object suddenly pierce the most sensitive spot in his brain, causing him to cry out in piercing agony.

The moment this cry escaped his lips, he instantly snapped back to awareness, finding himself lying flat on a suspended wire mesh. The mesh was only the size of a single bed, slowly rotating in mid-air.

"Hiss, hiss-hiss-hiss," that familiar, hair-raising sound of venomous snakes hissing echoed once again.

"Baoling—Qingcheng—Little Huo—" Guan Wen called out three names in succession—the things he cared about most in the remnants of his consciousness.

He knew that at this very moment, he was still within the Summer Palace, still under the control of the Tang Sect murderer named "Kalle," who was actually "Tang Jue."

When his consciousness fully cleared, he realized he was in a literal "snake pit." The ceiling, corners, walls, and floor were entirely covered in writhing, crawling venomous snakes with triangular heads, crimson tongues, and brightly colored, multicolored bodies. It was abundantly obvious that their venom was unimaginably lethal.

Compared to the immediate plight before him, the previous circular snake array was child's play.

"Tang Jue, Tang Jue, where are you?" He understood that everything before him was caused by Tang Jue. If Tang Jue did not die, this nightmare would never end.

No one answered. A monotonous and eerie bamboo flute tune began to play faintly, identical to the snake-charmer flutes of India—mournful, wailing, and terribly grating to the ear.

After the flute notes faded, all the venomous snakes ceased their movements. They raised their heads, opened their mouths, and spewed out streams of multicolored mist. The vapor rapidly diffused throughout the snake pit, carrying a suffocating, toxic, and foul stench.

Guan Wen's body was tightly bound to the wire mesh by a dozen iron chains, making it impossible to break free. Initially, he could hold his breath to avoid the poisonous mist, but after a few minutes, he was forced to passively resume breathing, losing himself within the toxic fog.

"You really are a very strange person, able to maintain your memory throughout my 'Eightfold Pantheon' secret technique. You must know that this secret technique is called the 'Eight Births and Eight Deaths of the Nāga' precisely because it means a person can fully recover the memories of the eight previous reincarnations they experienced here. It can also be broadly understood that a 'death' during a person's hundred-year cycle of life and death is not a true disappearance into nothingness. What is true 'death'? It must be the final death after a person has gone through 'eight reincarnations,' which is a thorough and complete disappearance. I know you will certainly understand this explanation, because we are both beings of the highest intelligence, aren't we?" Tang Jue's voice drifted over once more.

"I am dead... dead in your snake pit. This lifetime is completely over, is that it?" Guan Wen asked weakly.

"That's right," Tang Jue answered crisply.

"Then why didn't you just let me die outright instead of making it... so... complicated?" Guan Wen could not catch his breath.

This time, he felt as though he were undergoing open-heart surgery. His entire chest cavity was completely torn open, and his internal organs, blood vessels, and muscles were all exposed to the air filled with poisonous mist.

"I want to find that secret—the secret that is definitely hidden within you, yet unknown even to you..." Tang Jue laughed sinisterly.

"What is it? What is it?" Under the torment of a fate worse than death, Guan Wen was filled with boundless grief and indignation, unable to extricate himself.

"Indeed, what could it be?" Apart from Tang Jue, a second person's voice appeared. "There was once a time when I carefully dissected your body, knife by knife, stopping just short of mincing you into meat paste and grinding your bones into powder..."

The voice pressed close to Guan Wen's ear, breathing heavily through its nose, like a terrifying, predatory beast about to devour its prey.