Chapter Forty-Three: The Crescent Star Wheel

In the days that followed, Leng Bingyan came to understand what it meant to have reached the early stage of Immortal Emperor; at least in the Immortal Realm, he could now walk with his head held high. This realization brought him some comfort, and he surmised that Grandpa Mo must be from the Divine Realm, or perhaps an even higher plane. His confidence was restored.

Each day, he would spar with Mo Wuxie. It had to be said that Leng Bingyan was remarkably gifted, a fact that astonished Mo Wuxie. The first time, Leng Bingyan was defeated after only a single move. The second time, again, only one move. But by the third match, he managed to withstand two moves before losing, and the fourth time, three. With every bout, the number of moves he could withstand steadily increased.

This result left Mo Wuxie dumbfounded; he exclaimed that a monstrous genius in cultivation had been born—such comprehension was truly extraordinary. Now, Bingyan could endure thirty moves from Mo Wuxie. Of course, that was merely to withstand them; to truly defeat Mo Wuxie, Leng Bingyan was still far from sufficient.

One day, Mo Wuxie opened his storage space—a skill that could only be used upon reaching a certain level, far superior to any storage ring. From within, Mo Wuxie took out a crescent-shaped wheel. The moment it left the space, it flashed to Bingyan’s side and began circling him incessantly.

“What kind of weapon is this?” Bingyan asked curiously, for it looked very much like a treasure.

The crescent wheel was entirely silver-white, shaped like a moon, with tiny points of light sparkling across its surface like stars in the heavens, dazzling and radiant. The moment it appeared, Bingyan fell in love with it. What an adorable weapon! Even if it wasn’t a weapon, it would be worth collecting.

“This is the Crescent Star Wheel, a top-tier sacred weapon, growth-type, connected to its owner’s primordial spirit,” Mo Wuxie explained. “A growth-type means it can continuously evolve. As for the ranking of magical weapons, from lowest to highest, there are Treasure Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, Immortal Artifacts, Divine Artifacts, and Sacred Artifacts. All postnatal artifacts fall below sacred artifacts; sacred artifacts, however, are weapons born with the opening of Chaos.”

“So powerful?” Stars danced in Leng Bingyan’s eyes.

“Of course!” Mo Wuxie replied with immense pride. “It’s yours now, a matter of returning it to its rightful owner.”

“Returning it to its rightful owner?”

“That’s right. The Crescent Star Wheel originally belonged to the Sage of Linyu, so naturally, you are its master. In truth, there are two sides to the Crescent Star Wheel; this is but one. If you have the chance, you must find the other half—it will bring you unimaginable benefits.”

Leng Bingyan listened quietly, his mind already pondering how to obtain the other half of the Crescent Star Wheel. Suddenly, he remembered something and presented his Purple Sword to Mo Wuxie. “Grandfather, what grade is this Purple Sword of mine?”

“It has no grade,” Mo Wuxie glanced at it and replied indifferently.

“No grade?” Bingyan was stunned. After all, the sword housed a sword spirit; it should at least be above the Spirit Artifact level, right?

But Mo Wuxie was unfazed. “Of course it has no grade. Whether Treasure, Spirit, Divine, or Sacred Artifact, all these rely on the Heavenly Dao for their existence. Under the Heavenly Dao, such grades serve only to categorize spiritual treasures beneath it. But this Purple Sword exists within the Heavenly Dao, born after it, yet has returned from the postnatal to the prenatal, transcending the Dao itself. It is beyond the governance of the Heavenly Dao.”

At this point, Bingyan felt completely numb. The Heavenly Dao? The Great Dao? What on earth were these? They certainly sounded impressive.

“Ziling, are you truly that remarkable?” Bingyan communicated with the sword spirit in his sea of consciousness.

“Naturally,” Ziling replied with pride. “How could I, your lady, be subject to the Heavenly Dao’s control?” In his consciousness, she even shook her little hands—if she had a body, that is.

“…”

“As for your Crescent Star Wheel, it may only be a sacred weapon now, but it is growth-type, on par with the Purple Sword. And since you only have one half, when you unite both, it too will transcend the Heavenly Dao and become an existence like the Purple Sword.”

Mo Wuxie watched Leng Bingyan’s stupefied expression and couldn’t help but smile. “I know you have many questions—the Heavenly Dao, the Great Dao, your identity, why there is a Sage of Linyu, and who I am, correct? Let me explain it all to you.”

Filled with confusion, Leng Bingyan obediently chose to listen.

Mo Wuxie’s tone was gentle as he began, “The Way of Chaos is also the Heavenly Dao. At the beginning of creation, fifty strands of primordial purple energy were born. The Way is fifty; Heaven evolves forty-nine, leaving one missing, so that all things retain a thread of hope. Excluding the one that vanished, the remaining forty-nine were naturally transformed by the Heavenly Dao: twenty-four nurtured Pangu the Great and the Heaven-Opening Axe—sixteen for Pangu, eight for the axe. The Heaven-Opening Axe is a supreme chaotic treasure, on par with the Chaos Green Lotus and the Creation Jade Disc—each with eight strands, totaling forty. Three more became the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth, the Map of Rivers and Mountains, the Five Directional Banners, the Four Swords of Immortal Execution, and other innate spiritual treasures. The last six strands suppressed the vast primordial world.”

Seeing Bingyan utterly absorbed, Mo Wuxie continued, “After Pangu split the heavens, his body perished, and his primordial spirit divided into the Three Pure Ones—Grand Supreme Elder Lord, Primordial Heavenly Venerate, and Supreme Celestial Lord Tongtian. His blood and turbid breath merged to form the Twelve Ancestral Witches.”

“The Heaven-Opening Axe shattered, becoming the Taiji Diagram, the Pangu Banner, and the Chaos Bell—each an innate supreme treasure containing two strands of primordial purple energy, with two strands disappearing. Half of Pangu’s merit for opening the heavens formed the Linglong Pagoda of Heaven and Earth, the other half absorbed by the Three Pure Ones.”

“The Chaos Green Lotus broke apart, becoming the Twelve-Petaled Golden, Black, Red, and Purple Lotuses, each housing two strands of primordial purple energy.”

“The heart of the Chaos Green Lotus became the Guide, Geng Metal of the Five Elements became Zhunti, Jia Wood became Zhenyuanzi, and the first cloud in the world became the Red Cloud Daoist. Later, during the dispute for the Purple Qi at Zixiao Palace, one strand was forced to self-destruct and vanished.”

After describing the transformations of the purple energy and the disappearance of several strands, Mo Wuxie paused, then continued, “Hongjun, the innate deity of Kunlun Mountain, obtained the broken Creation Jade Disc, comprehended the Path of Ruthlessness, severed good, evil, and self, and achieved the supreme Way of Limitless Primordial Unity, becoming a Limitless Saint. Later, beyond the thirty-three heavens, he established the Zixiao Palace in the chaos, enlightened the primordial world, and accepted Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Zhunti, Jieyin, and Nüwa as disciples, who all achieved the Way of Primordial Unity. After his six disciples became saints, he further gained immeasurable merit as their teacher and achieved the ultimate supreme Way of Primordial Unity, thus becoming the spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao—hence the title ‘Heavenly Dao Hongjun.’”

“What I’ve just recounted is the process by which the Heavenly Dao was established. But there are three thousand Great Daos; fifty pertain to the Heavenly Dao. Any of the three thousand Daos can be used to attain enlightenment. The Great Dao is essentially the law; three thousand laws, and mastering any one allows enlightenment. There are three main methods: enlightenment through merit, through severing the three corpses, and through strength. Only Pangu achieved the Way through strength. Nüwa became a saint through merit for creating humanity; the Three Pure Ones founded teachings, and by leading others to enlightenment, drew upon the merit of Pangu’s act of creation and became saints. Later, Laozi severed the three corpses and became a Primordial Unity Saint, a rank just below Hongjun.”

“Heavenly Dao is a branch of the Great Dao, and beneath it are three realms: Human, Divine, and Saint. The Human Realm was the abode of ancient humans, the Divine Realm for innate deities, and the Saint Realm is the ultimate destination for gods who attain enlightenment and ascend. The Heavenly Dao is already governed by its master—Heavenly Dao Hongjun—but the Great Dao remains a law without a master.”