The Legends of Ren Zu
Background
Ren Zu is the Human Race Ancestor, created from the
Blue Sea of Life, where all living things originate. He had
ten children, and together with them, he experienced
countless legends. In the end, when all his children
perished, he gathered their corpses and used his own
life, along with their bodies, to create the Human Race.
The life story of him and his children was compiled into a
book known to every human called "The Legends of
Ren Zu." Even to the present day, the book is widely
spread and read by the human race. Secretly, it contains
the true inheritance of the Human path. Many great
geniuses and Venerables have invested time in the
book, gaining inspiration from it and creating many
wonders themselves
Chapter 1 – Strength, Wisdom and Hope
One of the oldest legends talks about the Hope Gu. In the legend, when the world
was just formed, it was a land of savage wilderness. Among the wild beasts that
walked the earth, the first man appeared. He was known as Ren Zu, eating raw
meat, and drinking blood, living a difficult life.
In particular, there was a group of wild beasts called Predicament. These wild beasts
loved the taste of Ren Zu and longed to eat him. Ren Zu did not have a body as
strong as mountain rock, nor did he have the sharp teeth and claws of a wild beast.
How could he fight with the Predicaments? His source of food was unstable, and he
had to hide all day. He was at the bottom of nature’s food chain and could barely
survive.
At this moment, three Gu came up to him and said, “As long as you use your life to
provide us, we will help you through this difficulty.” Ren Zu had nowhere to go, so he
could only agree to these three Gu.
He first gave his youth away to the biggest Gu among the three. That Gu then
granted him strength.
With strength, Ren Zu’s life began to change. He started to have a stable source of
food and was able to protect himself. He fought bravely and ruthlessly, defeating
many Predicaments. But soon he suffered and finally realized that strength was not
everything. It needed to be healed and cultivated, not spent freely at his will. Not to
mention when facing the entire group of Predicaments, his strength alone was too
small.
Ren Zu reflected on this lesson bitterly and decided to give his prime middle years to
the most beautiful Gu among the three. And thus, the second Gu gave him wisdom.
With wisdom, Ren Zu was able to learn how to think and reflect. He began to
accumulate experience and found out that many times when he used wisdom, it was
more effective than using strength. By relying on wisdom and strength, he was able
to conquer all the goals that he formerly could not and killed many Predicaments. He
ate the meat of Predicaments and drank the blood of Predicaments, surviving with
tenacity.
But good things would not last, as Ren Zu became old and would only grow older
and older. This is because he gave away his youth and middle years to keep the
Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu. When a man is old, his muscles deteriorate, and his
brain slows down.
"Human, what else can you give us? You don’t have anything else left to provide to
us," the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu said as they realized this. They left him.
Without wisdom and strength, Ren Zu was once surrounded by Predicaments. He
was old and could not run; his teeth had fallen out and could not even chew wild
fruits and plants.
As he fell weakly onto the ground surrounded by Predicaments, his heart was filled
with desperation. It was at this time the third Gu said to him, “Human, take me up. I
will help you escape Predicament.”
Ren Zu tearfully replied, “Gu, I don’t have anything else left. See, the Strength Gu
and Wisdom Gu have abandoned me. I only have my old age left! While it is not as
worth my youth and middle age, but if I give you my old age, my life will immediately
end. Even though I am surrounded by Predicaments right now, I wish to live a little
longer, even if just a second more. So you should leave. I have nothing else to
provide to you.”
But the Gu said, “Among the three I have the smallest needs. Human, if you just give
me your heart, it will be enough."
"Then I will give you my heart,” Ren Zu said. “But Gu, what can you give me in
return? In this situation, even if the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu returned to my side,
it would change nothing.”
When compared to the Strength Gu, this Gu looked frail and was just a tiny ball of
light. When compared to the Wisdom Gu, this one was only able to give out a dim
white light, not beautiful in any way.
But when Ren Zu gave it his heart, this Gu suddenly gave out endless light. In this
light, the Predicaments screamed in horror, “This is the Hope Gu, withdraw! We
Predicaments are most afraid of hope!”
The Predicaments retreated suddenly. Ren Zu was speechless, and from that day
onwards whenever he faced Predicament, he would give his heart to hope.
Chapter 2 – Rules & Regulations
The story mentioned that Ren Zu was able to escape his predicament because of
hope. But eventually, he grew old and without Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu, he could
no longer continue to hunt. Even his teeth fell off, making him unable to chew many
wild fruits and vegetables.
Ren Zu felt death slowly approaching.
At this time, the Hope Gu said to him, "Human, you must not die. If you die, your
heart will be lost, and I will lose my only place of residence.”
Ren Zu was helpless. “Who wishes to die? But if the heavens and earth want me
dead, I have no choice.”
The Hope Gu said, “There's always hope in everything. As long as you can catch a
Longevity Gu, you will be able to increase your lifespan.”
Ren Zu had heard of the existence of the Longevity Gu long ago, but he waved his
hand helplessly. “When the Longevity Gu stays still, nobody can detect it, and when
it flies, it is faster than light. How can I possibly catch it? It’s too hard!”
The Hope Gu then told Ren Zu a secret, “Human, don't give up hope no matter what.
Let me tell you, on the northwest corner of this continent, there is a huge mountain.
On the mountain, there is a cave, and in that cave, there is a pair of round and
square Gu Worms. As long as you can subdue them, there is no Gu in this world that
you cannot catch, including the Longevity Gu!”
Ren Zu had no choice; this was his last remaining hope.
He braved all difficulties and finally found the mountain. He then risked his life and
ventured through countless dangers to ascend the mountain. On the mountain top,
near the cave entrance, he used his last remaining strength to slowly make his way
in.
The inside of the cave was completely dark, and one would not be able to see even
their own fingers. Ren Zu walked in the darkness. Sometimes, he would bump into
things not knowing what they were. This caused him to get injured and wounded all
over. At times, he felt that this dark cave was huge beyond words, as if this was a
world of its own. He felt as if he was the only person in the area.
He spent a lot of time, but he could not walk out of the darkness. Not to mention
subduing the two Gu Worms.
Just when he was at a loss about what to do, two voices spoke to him from the
darkness.
One voice said, “Human, you're here to catch us? Go back, for even if you had the
Strength Gu, it would be impossible.”
The other said, “Human, go back, we will not take your life. Even if you had the
Wisdom Gu to help you, you may not be able to find us.”
Ren Zu laid exhausted on the ground, panting. “The Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu
had left me long ago, and I do not have much lifespan left, so I’m at my wits end. But
as long as there's hope in my heart, I will not give up!”
Hearing Ren Zu's words, the two voices went silent.
After a while, one of the Gu said, “I understand, human, you have already given your
heart to the Hope Gu. You will not give up no matter what.”
The other continued, “In that case, we shall give you a chance. As long as you can
say our name, we will allow you to use us.”
Ren Zu was stunned. To find their names among all the words in the world, it was
akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, he did not even know how many
words were in their names.
Ren Zu quickly asked the Hope Gu, but it did not know either.
Ren Zu had no alternatives and had no choice but to randomly guess their names.
He said many names and wasted a lot of time, but the darkness did not respond to
him so evidently, he was wrong.
Eventually, Ren Zu's breath got weaker as he turned from an old man into a dying
man. It was like the scene of the evening's setting sun. The sun that would slowly
descend had already been lowered halfway across the horizon, becoming a sunset.
The food he had brought was gradually reduced, his brain becoming slower, and he
barely had any energy to speak anymore.
The voice in the darkness urged, "Human, you are almost dead, so we will let you
go. Using your remaining time, you can climb out of the cave and take a final look at
the world. But you have offended us, and as punishment, the Hope Gu shall stay
here as our companion."
Ren Zu clenched his heart and rejected, "Even if I die, I will not give up hope."
The Hope Gu was very touched and answered Ren Zu's call enthusiastically,
emitting a bright light. At Ren Zu's chest area, a light began to shine. But this light
was too weak; it could not illuminate the darkness. In fact, it could not even cover
Ren Zu's entire body but only engulfed his chest area.
Yet Ren Zu could feel a renewed surge of energy gushing into his body from the
Hope Gu.
He continued to speak, shouting out names. But he was already muddled. A lot of
names had already been said, but he could not remember that and repeated them,
wasting a lot of effort in the process.
As time continued to flow, Ren Zu's lifespan was almost over.
Finally, when he was on his final day, he said out the word ‘Regulation.’
A sigh came from the darkness as a voice spoke, "Human, I admire your
perseverance. You have said my name, so from today onwards, I will obey your
commands. But only with my brother can I aid you in capturing all the Gu in the
world. Otherwise, with my ability alone, it is impossible. Thus, you should give up.
You're almost dead; you might as well use this chance to take a final look at the
world."
Ren Zu was determined and shook his head; he made use of all his time to continue
saying out names as he tried to guess the other Gu worm's name.
Seconds and minutes went by, and soon he only had one hour left.
But at this time, he unknowingly said the word ‘Rule.’
Immediately, the darkness dissipated.
The two Gu's appeared before him. As the Hope Gu had said, one was cubic, called
‘Regulations.’ The other was spherical, called ‘Rules.’
Together, they made up ‘Rules and Regulations.’
The two Gu said together, "No matter who it is, as long as they know our names, we
will listen to them. Human, since you know our names already, we will be at your
service. But you must remember, it is important to not let others know of our names.
The more people that know our names, the more people we have to obey them. Now
that you are the first to subdue us, tell us your request."
Ren Zu was overjoyed. "Then I order you both, go and catch me a Longevity Gu."
The Rules Gu and Regulations Gu worked together and captured an eighty-year
Longevity Gu.
Ren Zu was already a hundred years old, but after consuming this Gu, the wrinkles
on his face vanished, and his frail limbs became muscular again. A vibrant aura of
youth oozed from him.
With a belly flop, he jumped up onto his feet.
He ecstatically looked at his body, knowing that he had regained the body of a
twenty-year-old.
Chapter 3 – Wisdom encounter with Rules & Regulations
Ever since Ren Zu was able to get their names and subdued the Rules Gu and
Regulation Gu, his first order was for them to capture a Longevity Gu.
Rules Gu and Regulation Gu, one round and the other square, worked together and
could capture all the Gu in the world; a Longevity Gu was nothing difficult.
Ren Zu used the Longevity Gu and got back his youth, becoming 20 years old again.
But now the Rules Gu said, "Human, although you subdued us, every time you
command us, it will add a rule and regulation."
Regulation Gu continued, "We can catch the Longevity Gu for you; this is the first
order. Our new rule and regulation are, we will not repeatedly catch the same Gu for
you.”
That means, if Ren Zu wanted to catch a Longevity Gu again, the two Rules Gu and
Regulation Gu would not help.
Ren Zu nodded, having no choice but to accept.
He gave his second command, "Then, other than the Longevity Gu, please capture
all the other ten thousand Gu in the world for me."
Rules Gu and Regulation Gu got this command, and Rules Gu turned into a giant
circle, encompassing the universe. Regulation Gu turned into a giant square,
covering the large world.
One square and one round formed a giant net together, enveloping the entire world.
When they shrunk again and returned to Ren Zu, all the Gu in the world, other than
Longevity Gu, were captured.
Ren Zu was overjoyed; with this, all the Gu belonged to him. From now on, he was
the ruler of the world.
But once he opened the net, with a swoosh, a large number of worms flew outside,
and the Gu that Rules Gu and Regulation Gu worked hard to catch all escaped
fervently.
When Ren Zu closed the net, only five Gu were left.
"Why is this?" Ren Zu was astonished.
Rules Gu and Regulation Gu answered him, "Human, the world has over ten
thousand Gu with all sorts of abilities. You have no strength or knowledge; how can
you subdue them? We can only capture Gu for you; to subdue them, you have to
rely on yourself to get them to work for you."
Next, they added, "This is your second order, so we’ll add a second rule and
regulation --- From now on, we can only catch one Gu for you at a time.”
Ren Zu could only nod, and carefully opened the net, only showing a small gap.
The remaining five Gu contained the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu. Seeing this, Ren
Zu was overjoyed.
He said to Strength Gu, "Strength Gu, you left me back then; do you have any
regrets? If you succumb to me now, I will return you your freedom."
Strength Gu said, "Human, you are wrong. I didn’t leave not because I couldn’t, but
because I wanted to stay. You want to subdue me, but that’s impossible. I only
succumb to those stronger than me, but you are out of the question. However, we
can deal again; give me your youth, and I will temporarily obey you."
Ren Zu was reluctant upon hearing this; he had just gotten back his youth. Was he
about to lose it again?
But he desired strength; he knew that with strength, he would get stronger, and life
would get easier. Moreover, with strength, he could subdue more Gu. Thus, Ren Zu
accepted and formed a second deal with it.
Ren Zu became middle-aged at once, and the Strength Gu flew out of the web and
landed on Ren Zu’s shoulder.
Ren Zu had strength and was full of confidence.
He said to Wisdom Gu: "Wisdom Gu, you left me back then; do you have any
regrets? If you succumb to me now, I will return you your freedom."
Wisdom Gu said, "Human, you are wrong. I did not leave because I couldn’t, but
because I wanted to stay. You want to subdue me, but that’s impossible. I only
succumb to those smarter than me, yet you are not smarter than me. But we can
deal again; give me your middle age, and I will temporarily obey you."
Ren Zu, upon hearing this, refused to do the same deal again. He treasured his life
more, and he also knew that once he sold his middle age, he would be left with old
age. Before long, the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu would leave him again, just like
last time.
Ren Zu refused to deal but did not want to let go of the Wisdom Gu.
Wisdom Gu was anxious, reluctantly giving in, "Alright, Human, you win. I lost to you
this time. As long as you tell me what method you used to capture me, I will admit
defeat and not take anything from you, being at your disposal."
Upon hearing this, Ren Zu was overjoyed, and before the Rules Gu and Regulation
Gu could stop him, he said, "I used the Rules Gu and Regulation Gu to capture you."
Wisdom Gu laughed upon hearing, "I remembered it; so these Gu are called Rules
Gu and Regulation Gu. Haha, now that I know your names, you can no longer
capture me."
Saying so, it turned into a flash of light and flew away, vanishing into thin air.
Rules Gu and Regulation Gu began to complain, "Human, we told you long ago that
our name should be known by you alone and not others. Otherwise, we would be
used by others. Look what happened; now that Wisdom Gu knows our names, it
spells trouble."
Only then did Ren Zu realize that he was tricked by Wisdom Gu. He was anguished,
for he knew he lost the only chance he had of capturing the Wisdom Gu using Rules
Gu and Regulation Gu.
Ren Zu had the Rules Gu and Regulation Gu and could capture all the ten thousand
Gu in the world, obtaining Strength Gu but losing Wisdom Gu.
At that point, his net still contained three Gu. He opened and saw that they were the
Attitude Gu, Belief Gu, and Suspicion Gu, respectively.
Ren Zu was unwilling to let them go; thus, the three Gu could only bet with him.
Once Ren Zu opens the net, they would run out in three different directions, and
whoever is captured by Ren Zu would be subdued. Guess who did Ren Zu capture
in the end? It’s the Attitude Gu.
Chapter 4 & 5 - Attitude
Word has it that Ren Zu used the Rules Gu and Regulation Gu, obtaining Strength
Gu but losing Wisdom Gu, leaving behind three Gu worms. One was Suspicion Gu,
one was Trust Gu, and another was Attitude Gu.
Ren Zu grabbed the Attitude Gu.
Attitude Gu followed the betting rules, submitting to Ren Zu, saying, "Human, you
caught me. I can only curse my bad luck. From now on, I will be at your command.
Wear me, and you will be able to use my ability."
Attitude Gu’s appearance was like a mask. Ren Zu put it on his face, but in the end,
he could not wear it. Even if he used a rope to tie it, it would still fall off.
“What’s going on?” Ren Zu was troubled.
Attitude Gu laughed, “I know, human, you have no heart. Attitude is the mask of the
heart, so without a heart, how can you wear me?”
Ren Zu realized at once that he had already given his heart to hope. He was
heartless. Someone who is heartless cannot wear the attitude mask. In other words,
to someone with a heart/an intention, their attitude is a mask.
Legend says Ren Zu obtained the Attitude Gu. Attitude Gu was like a mask, and
without a heart, Ren Zu couldn’t wear it.
Because before this, Ren Zu had given his heart to the Hope Gu, and from then on,
he never feared difficulty.
But if Ren Zu wanted to use the Attitude Gu, he needed to have a heart.
Ren Zu was troubled, so he asked Attitude Gu. He said, "Oh Gu, sometimes attitude
says it all. Now that I have encountered a problem, you know it, thus I’m here to seek
advice.”
Attitude Gu said, “This is not hard, Ren Zu. You lack a heart, so you just have to find
a new one.”
Ren Zu was confused, asking again, “Then how can I find a new heart?”
Attitude Gu sighed, "Heart is nowhere and everywhere. Finding a heart is both easy
and difficult. With your situation, you can obtain a heart now.”
Ren Zu was overjoyed, “Quick, tell me, how?”
Attitude Gu warned him, "This heart is called loneliness. Human, are you sure you
want it? Once you obtain it, you will face endless pain, loneliness, and even fear!”
Ren Zu did not listen to his warning; he continued asking. Attitude Gu could not defy
Ren Zu’s orders, so he said, “You only have to stare at the sky on a starry night and
say nothing. Once you reach daylight, you will obtain the heart of loneliness.”
That night, it was a star-filled sky.
According to Attitude Gu’s instructions, Ren Zu sat alone at the mountain peak,
staring at the night sky.
Before this, his life was very difficult, constantly struggling for survival; he had no
time to admire this beautiful yet mysterious sky.
But now, as he stared at the starry sky, his thoughts began floating. Constantly
thinking about himself, such a meagre and weak being like himself, living a life of
constant fear and insecurity.
Sigh, although I have Hope Gu, Strength Gu, Rules Gu and Regulation Gu, and
Attitude Gu, to survive in this land, it is still difficult as ever. Even if I die tomorrow, it
is not shocking. If I die, will the world remember me? Will anyone rejoice over my
existence and grieve over my death?”
Thinking of this, Ren Zu shook his head.
In this world, he was the only human; how can there be others?
— Even with Gu accompanying him, he still felt a strong sense of Loneliness. Heart
of loneliness!
At this moment, when Ren Zu felt lonely, his body suddenly had a brand-new heart.
The sun rose from the horizon and shone on his face. But Ren Zu felt no happiness;
instead, he felt endless pain, despair, confusion, and even fear.
He could not endure this loneliness and fear, for all he felt was the advent of
darkness and apocalypse!
Thus, he painfully cried, stretching out his fingers and digging out his eyes.
His left eye fell onto the ground and transformed into a young man. He had golden
hair and a strong body. Once he appeared, he kneeled at Ren Zu’s feet, saying, “Oh
Ren Zu, my father, I am your eldest son, Verdant Great Sun.”
At the same time, his right eye turned into a young girl, and she held Ren Zu’s hand,
saying, “Oh Ren Zu, my father, I am your second daughter, Desolate Ancient Moon.”
Ren Zu laughed loudly, tears flowing out of his empty sockets. He said ‘good’ three
times and continued, "I have children now; I can finally endure the pain of the heart
of loneliness. From now on, there will be people celebrating my existence and
grieving for my death, even if I die now, you will remember me.
“Finally,” he sighed, “I lost both my eyes and can no longer see the light. From now
on, you two shall observe this world for me.
In the legend, before Ren Zu died, he gave birth to ten children. The eldest son
Verdant Great Sun, the second daughter Desolate Ancient Moon. Among the ten,
there was one named Northern Dark Ice Soul. Ren Zu’s legends, whether real or
false, alluded to many secrets in Gu Master’s cultivation. Ren Zu’s ten kids
individually represented ten types of ultimate aptitudes.
In Ren Zu’s story, his ten kids didn’t have a long life. In reality, it is difficult for the Gu
Masters who hold ten extreme physiques to grow and mature; almost all die an
untimely death. Of course, if they can really grow to become a Rank six, they will be
able to sweep through same-stage opponents and even perform miracles such as
fighting a higher rank!
Chapter 6 – Light of Faith
Ren Zu couldn't endure the heart of loneliness, so he dug out both eyes, turning
them into a son and daughter. This alleviated his sense of loneliness.
But good things do not last, for his children started to crave the scenery of the
outside world, forgetting all about their father Ren Zu and always going out to play
until they forgot the time, and even forgot to take care of Ren Zu.
Ren Zu could not see anything; it was total darkness.
But at times, he could see a little bit of light.
To this, he felt perturbed and asked the Attitude Gu. Attitude Gu told him, “Oh, this is
the eternal light given out by the Faith Gu.”
Ren Zu’s ten children, eldest son Verdant Great Sun, second daughter Desolate
Ancient Moon... the ten children’s aptitude defied heaven, thus heaven was wary and
did not give them a long lifespan. In the Gu world, the ten children also represented
the top ten most extreme aptitudes!
That is — the ten extreme physiques!
Ren Zu’s ten children died one by one, and Ren Zu was about to die of old age. But
at the end, Ren Zu gathered the corpse of his ten children and sacrificed himself, all
going into the stomach of the Derivation Gu. Derivation Gu’s stomach burst,
exploding and countless lives spreading across the land, creating the first batch of
mortals. These mortals did not have Ren Zu or the ten children’s talent, but they
could cultivate after awakening their aperture. Humanity thus grew and developed,
forming today’s size. Of course, that is all a mythological story.
Chapter 7 – The Origin of Wine
In this world, humans weren't the only ones who knew how to brew wines.
The earliest records of wine came from the legend of Ren Zu.
Ren Zu's two eyes turned into his eldest son Verdant Great Sun and daughter
Desolate Ancient Moon.
Verdant Great Sun was always with Desolate Ancient Moon, and this close
association created feelings towards his own sister. However, Desolate Ancient
Moon refused his wooing.
Verdant Great Sun was annoyed because of this and knew he needed some help,
thus he asked the Wisdom Gu.
At first, the Wisdom Gu ignored him and avoided him as much as it could. But
Verdant Great Sun kept on persevering, and the Wisdom Gu couldn't endure this
annoyance anymore, so it told him a way – “In the east dwells a group of Honey
Peach Monkeys. Drink the wine brewed by them and come find me.”
Thus, Verdant Great Sun went to the east and drank the wine.
The wine brewed by the Honey Peach Monkeys was fruit wine. And ever since
Verdant Great Sun drank the wine and returned, his face had a rosy flush. He
smacked his lips as he recalled the taste: “So, wine is sweet.”
The Wisdom Gu smiled and said: “In the west lies a group of Psychic Monkeys. Go
taste the wine brewed by them.”
The wine brewed by Psychic Monkeys was bitter wine. Verdant Great Sun went to
the west and drank the wine; since then, his tongue had a yellowish-brown hue to it.
He recalled the taste with a bitter expression. “So, wine can also be bitter.”
Wisdom Gu said to him again: “Wine is both bitter and sweet, love is the same, and
human lives are even more so. At the north dwells a group of Vajra Monkeys. They
also brew wine, go taste it.”
The Vajra Monkeys brewed strong wine.
Verdant Great Sun enjoyed this wine very much and drank till he was dead drunk.
He felt this wine was really to his taste and wanted to drink even more after getting
drunk. He drank from the bowl at first before trying to drink it directly from the wine
jar.
Finally, he started throwing up. The wine started showing its effects, making him feel
an unbearable pain.
He felt the insides of his body were on fire, as if lava was flowing through them.
“It's too hot!” He screamed. All the fire flowed in reverse towards his head, and his
hair started burning. From then on, his hair burned endlessly like fire.
When Verdant Great Sun woke up, he saw the Wisdom Gu looking at him.
“What did you think of the strong wine?” The Wisdom Gu asked.
Verdant Great Sun heaved a sigh “I understand now, no matter how good the wine
is, you will vomit it out if you drink too much; everything should be taken with
moderation.”
The Wisdom Gu laughed out loudly: "In the north dwells a group of Skywater
Monkeys. Their wine is also quite good; go taste it."
Skywater Monkeys' wine was clear wine and was completely opposite of the strong
wine.
Verdant Great Sun lightly tasted the wine, and the moment he did so, he completely
forgot all his worries and felt like he was floating in the air, with a hazy and
intoxicated look in his eyes.
The Wisdom Gu again asked him about his experience. He lightly waved his hands:
“Having known the joys of wine, I will not pass it on to those who are sober.”
The Wisdom Gu chuckled and left quietly.
Thus, humans weren't the first species to brew wine; rather, it was the monkeys who
were ahead of the humans.
Ordinary monkey groups all knew how to brew wine.
The wines were different from one monkey group to another, with all kinds of taste.
However, humans collectively called the wine brewed by the monkey’s monkey wine.
Chapter 8 - Reputation
Regarding the Reputation Gu's story, it originated from the Legends of Ren Zu.
One time, Verdant Great Sun got very drunk. When he woke up, his head hurt, and
he forgot all that happened when he was drunk. He did not know why he was
trapped on a lone hill, one which was surrounded by a bottomless abyss. The abyss
was filled with spiral winds, pale green in colour; this was the usual wind. The winds
blew dust into the air; those were the dark yellow mortal dust.
Verdant Great Sun's heart sank because he recognized that this was the Ordinary
Abyss. No living being had ever managed to fly past it. He was trapped on this lone
hill, unable to get out; he would die of starvation eventually.
Thankfully, there was a forest on the lone hill. Verdant Great Sun was hungry and
came into this forest to find fruits to eat. But this forest was very strange; the black
soil was like a swamp, smelling extremely pungent. The trees had no leaves, and the
branches looked like strange claws. But when the wind blew, there was the sound of
leaves moving in the wind.
Verdant Great Sun could not find food and fell into despair, knowing he was going to
die soon.
A few days later, he was so hungry he could not move, leaning on the tree trunk as
he laid on the ground.
He eventually fell unconscious.
In his slumber, he could hear many voices talking.
“Hey look, this person finally passed out.”
“Mm, as I expected, he's finished.”
Actually, it is possible to leave the Ordinary Abyss; you just need the “Reputation
Gu.”
Reputation Gu is at the center of the forest, hidden under a rock. "Too bad he doesn't
know, hahaha.”
“Sshhh, speak softer; it will be bad if he hears us.”
“It's okay, it's okay, he has fainted already. Before long, the black soil will bury him
and turn him into nutrients for us trees.”
Hearing this, Verdant Great Sun jolted awake.
It turns out this forest is Xi Yu Forest; what he had thought was leaves brushing in
the wind turned out to be the whispers of the trees.
After hearing the information, Verdant Great Sun walked to the center of the forest,
lifted the rock, and obtained the Reputation Gu.
Reputation Gu was like a chrysanthemum; its petals were golden yellow, emitting a
fragrance.
Reputation Gu said to Verdant Great Sun: "Young man, thank you for lifting the rock
and saving me. To repay you, I have decided to help you get across this Ordinary
Abyss."
Reputation Gu told Verdant Great Sun the method to use it.
Verdant Great Sun was overjoyed, arriving at the Ordinary Abyss, and placed the
Reputation Gu in his mouth, shouting as loud as he could.
The strange thing was, no matter how loud he shouted, there was no sound, but the
vibrations in the air caused the Ordinary Abyss to shake. As the commotion got
bigger, it was like an earthquake. The air was even filled with a brilliant fragrance.
Verdant Great Sun did not feel anything weird, as he had known from the Reputation
Gu: Reputation itself has no voice, but it can spread wide and create tremors.
As he shouted, a golden bridge appeared in mid-air, but the bridge's length was
limited, there was still a long distance to the other side.
Verdant Great Sun was too hungry, too tired; after trying several times, the effect
continued to diminish, and his chance for salvation seemed dim.
Reputation Gu sighed: "Sigh, you have not eaten anything in a while, even though
you have a breath left in your stomach, it is too little. From your diaphragm, it has to
go through your stomach, chest, throat, and finally your mouth; the journey is too
long. We have to reduce it. Here, place me between your two butt cheeks."
Verdant Great Sun did as instructed.
Reputation Gu landed near his private part and turned into a chrysanthemum cave.
"Okay, you can start shouting again," Reputation Gu said.
Verdant Great Sun forced that last breath of his, out of this hole, out of his body.
— Prrrrrrrrt.
In his daze, Verdant Great Sun heard a loud sound. The air was filled with an
unimaginable stench, but that golden bridge became majestic and large, stretching
over a thousand miles, reaching the other side.
A shitty reputation compared to good reputation is always easier to obtain and
maintain.
Verdant Great Sun quickly crossed the bridge, leaving the Ordinary Abyss and
reaching the other side, saving his own life.
Chapter 9 – Vanity
The earliest record of Hairy Men was in "The Legends of Ren Zu."
It was said that Ren Zu dug out his two eyes which turned into a son and a daughter;
the son was Verdant Great Sun, and the daughter was Desolate Ancient Moon.
Verdant Great Sun liked to drink wine a lot. One time he caused an incident while
being drunk and was trapped at the depths of the Ordinary Abyss. In the end, he
profited from the disaster and obtained Reputation Gu, which looked like a
chrysanthemum and was able to escape alive.
Because of Reputation Gu, Verdant Great Sun's reputation gradually became bigger.
Soon, news that Verdant Great Sun was a huge drunkard spread all over the world.
One day, a group of Tiger-Striped Honey Bees brought their beehive and found
Verdant Great Sun.
"Verdant Great Sun, we heard you really liked drinking wine and you have been
saying the wine made by the four heaven and earth monkeys is the most delicious in
the world. But how could the wine they brewed compare to our honey wine? Today,
we have specially brought our honey for you to have a taste."
Each of these Honey bees was the size of a leopard with patterns on their body
resembling tiger stripes, golden with black stripes on top. They were speaking
politely but their tone contained a threatening and forceful intent.
Verdant Great Sun complained in his heart; this was truly misfortune befalling on
someone who merely stayed home. Tiger-Striped Honey Bees were very powerful;
he was not a match against one of them, let alone a whole group.
Verdant Great Sun could only reluctantly taste the honey wine inside the beehive.
He had only taken a sip when his eyes brightened.
Honey wine was sweet but not overly sweet; the wine fragrance was mellow and
very delicious, absolutely a treasure of the world.
"Delicious, delicious, really delicious. This honey wine makes one feel like the most
fortunate person in the world!" Verdant Great Sun drank a mouthful of wine, praising
it to the high heavens.
Tiger-Striped Honey Bees laughed, feeling incredibly happy.
The leader asked Verdant Great Sun: "Then tell us which tastes more delicious, our
honey wine or the wines of the four heaven and earth monkeys."
Verdant Great Sun was already drunk and forgot about the terror of the Tiger-Striped
Honey Bees, speaking frankly: "They all have their own merits; it is very difficult to
compare them."
Tiger-Striped Honey Bees were furious: "He said our wine is actually at the same
level as those mere monkeys? This Verdant Great Sun is too hateful; we need to
teach him a lesson."
They were just about to attack when suddenly Verdant Great Sun disappeared.
This intoxication of Verdant Great Sun lasted for seven days and seven nights.
In his haziness, he heard a voice calling out for him from the darkness: "Verdant
Great Sun, wake up quick. If you don't wake up, you will be eaten."
Verdant Great Sun was startled awake.
He discovered he was bound up and was being carried by a group of savage people.
This group of savage people had hair all over their body, and their two eyes were
dark blue. There was already a bonfire burning, and above the bonfire was a
cauldron.
The savage people quietly sat down, speaking pleasant-sounding words.
"We are refining Eternal Gu and were just lacking a human to be the catalyst. Now
heaven has sent us Verdant Great Sun; it is truly worthy of celebration.
Human is the spirit of all living beings; Ren Zu is the spirit ancestor. Verdant Great
Sun was born from his left eye and has ample spiritual energy. The way I see it, the
refinement will succeed this time.
Throw him into the cauldron quick; we will obtain Eternal Gu and live for eternity."
Verdant Great Sun turned pale from fright at these words, immediately shouting out
and struggling with all his strength.
However, these savage people remained unmoved.
At this very moment, Verdant Great Sun again heard the voice from before in his
mind.
"Sigh, it is no use. These savages are the Hairy Men, loved by the world. They have
an innate talent in refining Gu Worms."
Verdant Great Sun instantly forgot his predicament and curiously asked in his mind:
"Who are you?"
That voice laughed: "I am Divine Travel Gu; as long as any person drinks four
different top-tier wines in the world, they will give birth to me in their hearts. I can let
you teleport to any place you wish."
Verdant Great Sun was exulted: "Then, please quickly bring me out of here."
Divine Travel Gu sighed: "It is no use. You can only use me when you are drunk.
Your mind is sober now, and so you can't use me."
Verdant Great Sun suddenly realized: "So that is why I was trapped on the isolated
island and almost starved to death that time. Fortunately, I obtained Reputation Gu
and could leave the Ordinary Abyss. So it was you who harmed me."
Divine Travel Gu replied: "Sigh, human, I did not have any intent to harm you; it was
all because you used my strength after you became drunk. You don't need to blame
me. Last time you were almost captured by the Tiger-Striped Honey Bees, but you
were able to escape thanks to me. One harm and one rescue; we can call it even."
Verdant Great Sun also thought of the Tiger-Striped Honey Bees and no longer
blamed Divine Travel Gu.
He was thrown into the cauldron by the Hairy Men.
The huge fire was burning hotter under the cauldron, and the liquid temperature
inside also soared.
"Add Agates and Red Pepper!" A Hairy Man threw precious agates and red pepper
into the cauldron.
The liquid inside the cauldron immediately changed to red and dyed Verdant Great
Sun's body red.
"Add Blue Smoke Fox Child!" A Hairy Man grabbed a small fox and threw it into the
cauldron.
The small fox's whole body was hairy and looked extremely cute with its eyes like
black diamonds. But the moment it touched the liquid, it turned into blue smoke and
blended into the water.
The liquid in the cauldron slowly boiled, and Verdant Great Sun also felt more
despair, feeling it would be difficult to escape the disaster this time.
Hairy Men continued to add in many supplementary materials and Gu Worms.
"Add Vanity Gu!" A Hairy Man threw a Gu into the cauldron.
This Gu was strange and looked like a huge blue crab. But different from real crabs,
its crab shell was hollow.
The moment it saw Verdant Great Sun, the huge crab-like Vanity Gu was very
excited: "You, you are Verdant Great Sun? I have heard about you but had never
expected I would meet you here; it is really my good fortune. I am so happy, too
excited."
Verdant Great Sun gave a bitter smile: "How can it be good fortune when we are
about to die?"
"I don't care about death. I only wanted to ask, how did you become so famous? I
really admire you! I have the utmost admiration for people like you." Vanity Gu asked
with urgency.
"I am not in the mood to talk about this now; I need to escape." Verdant Great Sun
struggled in the cauldron and tried to climb up but was quickly pressed down into the
cauldron by a watching Hairy Man.
"Quick, tell me, tell me quick!" Vanity Gu was not tactful and wholeheartedly wanted
to ask for guidance.
Verdant Great Sun furiously rebuked: "Can't you see the situation we are in now?"
Vanity Gu opened its eyes wide and stared at Verdant Great Sun before it beamed
with pleasure: "I understand, I understand now. If I want to be popular, I need to
endure the heat. Thank you for the guidance, thank you. Verdant Great Sun, as
thanks, I will do a favour for you."
Saying so, the Vanity Gu exploded.
This explosion was not intense and was very light, only giving off a soft "bang"
sound. The Vanity Gu turned into a formless poisonous wind and attacked the hearts
of all the Hairy Men.
The crystal clear dark blue eyes of the Hairy Men turned red.
Verdant Great Sun was dazed for a good while, before coming back to his senses.
He could not help sighing at Vanity Gu's sacrifice and immediately shouted:
"Although you Hairy Men can refine Gu, but it is nothing. Even if you all live for
eternity, so what? You are so ugly with hair all over your body; you are simply an
abomination."
The Hairy Men were stupefied. If it was before, they would not care about Verdant
Great Sun.
But now, the poison of vanity had spread in the depths of their hearts, shrouding their
intelligence.
Hearing Verdant Great Sun's shouts, the Hairy Men started refuting loudly:
"Nonsense, nonsense! We Hairy Men are the most perfect; there can be nothing
more beautiful than hair all over the body."
Verdant Great Sun was suddenly hit by an inspiration: "No matter how beautiful your
hair is, could it be as beautiful as my hair?"
Because he had drunk Vajra Monkey's strong wine, his hair had become blazing fire.
The Hairy Men were baffled at his words.
The beautiful fire was flickering and changing all the time. Even they could not help
but admit the movement of Verdant Great Sun's hair was beautiful.
Verdant Great Sun continued to stimulate them: "Even if you obtain eternity, you
won't be as beautiful as me! Look at my hair; it is as colourful and charismatic as
fire!"
The Hairy Men were spurred on by Verdant Great Sun, and finally someone could
not endure it: "You have such amazing hair, I will have it too. Look at mine."
He then used a fire torch to ignite his whole body.
The hair on his body burned, and he became a fiery man.
"Hahaha, you only have beautiful hair, but my whole body is beautiful now." This
Hairy Man shouted.
Soon, the other Hairy Men also rushed to do the same.
All of them became fiery men, the fire burned them, and the intense pain caused
them to howl in pain.
But when they realized this, it was too late for them to extinguish the fire, and
bombastically displayed their beauty.
Divine Travel Gu was overjoyed and praised Verdant Great Sun endlessly: "Human,
you are really clever, actually thinking of this method."
Verdant Great Sun escaped out of the cauldron and succeeded in surviving. He
replied in his mind with a cold smile: "It is not me who is clever. It is the vanity in
people that has turned them stupid. They often silently endure pain for false beauty,
giving up the goals they should truly pursue."
Chapter 10 & 11 – Not knowing one’s limits
How can flying-type Gu be easy to control? By nature, humans walk on the ground. If
they want to fly and soar freely, they need a lot of painstaking practice! And to battle
while flying? It needs even more bitter training! Even Verdant Great Sun, son of the
great Ren Zu, died while flying.
Humans were creatures that walked on the ground and did not have wings. Even
Ren Zu did not have the ability to fly. Being able to fly by itself was a miracle in
defiance of heaven.
Dang Hun Mountain, known as Crystal Mountain in the Legends of Ren Zu. As long
as any living creatures enter the range of Dang Hun Mountain, their soul would
receive a shock. The closer they get to the peak, the stronger the force of the shock
would be. Many living beings don't have strong souls, and their soul would often
scatter when they reach halfway up the mountain.
In this world, there is a thing that is more precious than life. That is glory. Eons ago,
Ren Zu's eldest son, Verdant Great Sun, gave up his life while chasing for glory.
The sunlight of the Immemorial Antiquity Era shone on all living beings. Cicadas
made noises, giving off the clamour of life. Dense green trees formed a large area of
shade as they swayed with the wind.
A large vat of delicious wine was in front of Verdant Great Sun, but he frowned,
having no desire to drink.
"Divine Travel Gu, oh Divine Travel Gu, you have harmed me so deeply. Right now, I
do not even dare to drink wine. I am afraid of getting drunk and end up transported to
a dangerous land by you," Verdant Great Sun sighed in anguish.
The previous two times, he was sent into the Ordinary Abyss by Divine Travel Gu, as
well as the cauldron of the Hairy Men. Thankfully, he was lucky and made it out of
both incidents alive.
Divine Travel Gu said, "Prince of humans, I was not intentionally harming you. In
fact, every time you got drunk, you were the one who used my power. I am innocent.
In fact, I even saved your life once, didn't I?"
Divine Travel Gu had, in fact, saved Verdant Great Sun's life from the Tiger-Striped
Honey Bees before.
Verdant Great Sun's expression was dejected, "Sigh… don't mention the past. Now
because of you, I do not dare to drink wine. My life has become meaningless and
boring."
Hearing this, Divine Travel Gu felt ashamed, "In that case, let me teach you a
method. Go up into the sky, and in the Azure Heaven among the nine heavens, there
is a bamboo forest. Inside the bamboo forest, pluck a Jade Bamboo that is sky blue
in colour. Next, go to Blue Heaven, and during the nighttime, collect the Eight-Sided
Diamonds Inside the Star Fragments. Next, when it is dawn, fly into the sky and use
the light of glory of the rising sun to turn me into Fixed Immortal Travel Gu. Once I
become that Gu, I will no longer send you to random places when you are drunk."
Verdant Great Sun heard this and he was overjoyed. But he thought about it and felt
that hope was slim, "Oh Gu, I have stepped on the earth since I was born, I am not
as light as clouds, nor do I have wings like birds. How can I fly into the Azure Heaven
and pluck the Jade Bamboo? How can I collect the Eight-Sided Diamonds in The
Star Fragments? Not to mention flying towards the rising sun."
Divine Travel Gu said, "That is right, humans cannot fly. But it is not a problem. We
can ask Wisdom Gu. It has the greatest wisdom in this world, there has to be a way."
Verdant Great Sun and Wisdom Gu were old acquaintances; the reason Verdant
Great Sun started drinking was because of Wisdom Gu's teachings.
But Wisdom Gu taught him to drink merely because it did not want to be disturbed.
Sensing that Verdant Great Sun was going to find it again, Wisdom Gu quickly went
into hiding.
Verdant Great Sun did not find Wisdom Gu and felt dejected. But Divine Travel Gu
said again, "If we can't find Wisdom Gu, we can find Cognition Gu; it is the mother of
Wisdom Gu."
Verdant Great Sun quickly found Cognition Gu and requested the methods of flying.
Cognition Gu answered, "You found the right person because cognition is the wings
of freedom. But everyone's thoughts are different; what wings you have depends on
yourself."
Saying so, Cognition Gu turned into a warm light and shone on Verdant Great Sun.
In the light, a pair of white pure-feathered wings appeared behind Verdant Great
Sun's back.
This pair of wings was very beautiful, white and pure like snow, without a trace of
impurity; it was like the wings of a white crane.
Cognition Gu took a look and said, "Mm, this pair of wings is called 'self,' everyone
has their own 'self-cognition,' this pair of wings has a high degree of flexibility and
freedom. But you must be careful, do not overly bask in sunlight; otherwise, your
sense of 'self' will either expand or shrink. Young man, you must remember my
words. The higher you fly, the harder you fall." Cognition Gu thought and said the last
sentence with deep meaning.
Obtaining the cognition wings named 'self,' Verdant Great Sun was very happy and
flew into the sky. He flew and flew, going higher and higher. Humans were not born
to fly, like birds soaring in the sky. This brought Verdant Great Sun great curiosity. He
played around freely in the sky, extremely happy. At the same time, he remembered
Cognition Gu's warning and did not overly expose himself to sunlight. When it was
sunny, he would hide in the clouds.
Like this, Verdant Great Sun flew higher and higher, finally reaching the limits of
heaven, the end of Azure Heaven. There, Jade Bamboos grew in the air, having
lustrous green leaves.
These Jade Bamboos were rooted in the void, and their tips also extended into the
unknown void. Looking from outside, one could only see their thin long stem. Verdant
Great Sun retrieved one segment of the bamboo casually.
This dark green bamboo stem was like jade, palm-sized, and hollow in the middle,
giving off a cold feeling. Verdant Great Sun obtained the Jade Bamboo and was very
happy; he continued flying upwards.
The sky of the Immemorial Antiquity Era had nine levels: White Heaven, Red
Heaven, Orange Heaven, Yellow Heaven, Green Heaven, Azure Heaven, Blue
Heaven, Purple Heaven, and Black Heaven. Verdant Great Sun plucked the Jade
Bamboo in Azure Heaven; a few days later, he flew to the higher Blue Heaven.
It was nighttime, and stars were shining in the sky. The stars flew around happily,
raining down stardust. These stardust gathered into a sea, a beautiful river of light
made of silver stars, flowing across the entire Blue Heaven.
Verdant Great Sun willed his wings and plunged into the star river to swim. He
searched painstakingly in the endless stardust; he did not want those seven-sided or
sixteen-sided fragments, he only wanted the Eight-Sided ones. These Star
Fragments were like diamonds, crystal clear and flawless. He searched for a long
time before finding one.
On the second day, Verdant Great Sun flew towards the rising sun at the break of
dawn. The sunrise was like a large red lantern, emitting a warm light. This sunlight
was not ordinary; it was the light of glory; it could shine on all living beings and
penetrate the River of Time.
Verdant Great Sun's left hand was holding onto the Jade Bamboo, his right hand was
holding the Eight-Sided Diamond, as he flew towards the sun and summoned Divine
Travel Gu.
Basking under the light of glory, Divine Travel Gu swallowed the Star Fragment and
entered the Jade Bamboo.
"Oh Verdant Great Sun, I need time to metamorphosize and become Fixed Immortal
Travel Gu. During this period, you have to fly towards the sun, and do not leave the
light of glory. But you have to be more careful, Cognition Gu had said, pay attention
to the 'self' wings on your back. Once my transformation ends, you should fly
towards the cloud cover immediately. Do remember, remember." Divine Travel Gu
reminded.
Verdant Great Sun laughed heartily, "Oh Gu, rest assured. I have even survived the
Ordinary Abyss and lived after the Hairy Men, I have the Reputation Gu, and have
transcended vanity, the light of glory can do nothing to me."
"Then I can stop worrying." Divine Travel Gu's voice weakened as the sunlight turned
into threads, forming a cocoon, and wrapping Divine Travel Gu and the Jade
Bamboo.
Verdant Great Sun moved his pure white wings, flying towards the sun. During this
process, the light cocoon became thicker and heavier.
A moment later, the cocoon was burst open, and a butterfly glowing in green light
flew out, "I succeeded, from today onwards, I am not Divine Travel Gu, but Fixed
Immortal Travel Gu. Hahaha!"
Fixed Immortal Travel Gu flew around Verdant Great Sun, happily dancing, but
suddenly shouted, "Ah, oh no! Verdant Great Sun, look at your wings!"
Under the light of the sun, Verdant Great Sun's wings had expanded to three times of
its original size.
"Do not fluster, I noticed it long ago, but so what? The larger my wings, the stronger
they are, and the higher and faster I can fly." Verdant Great Sun laughed loudly.
"Quickly hide in the clouds, stop flying." Fixed Immortal Travel Gu said worriedly.
"Don't worry, don't worry." Verdant Great Sun was not worried at all.
The 'self' wings on his back grew larger and larger, becoming even larger than his
body. Verdant Great Sun's speed also became faster and faster.
"Fixed Immortal Travel Gu, what do you think is above the nine heavens?" He shot
up towards greater altitudes.
"Stop flying, stop flying. If you fall down, I cannot save you." Fixed Immortal Travel
Gu was very worried.
"What's the problem, how could I fall down? Look at my wings, how strong are they,
how powerful are they!" Verdant Great Sun was just rebuking, when suddenly, his
wings expanded to their limits, and exploded.
Losing his wings, Verdant Great Sun fell towards the ground immediately. Eventually,
he landed on the ground, as an unrecognizable grotesque corpse. Ren Zu’s eldest
son met his end.
Divine Travel Gu was very mysterious and also legendary. Its earliest appearance
was in The Legends of Ren Zu. The Legends of Ren Zu was the first classic of Gu. It
appeared to be a story when one first read it but actually held profound messages,
recording the secrets of the ancient times and all kinds of Gu. Some Gu were directly
described like Wisdom Gu, Strength Gu and so on. And some Gu were hidden; their
descriptions were very vague, requiring the readers to dig through it and study
carefully.
In the Legends of Ren Zu, Divine Travel Gu's earliest appearance was beside
Verdant Great Sun. Verdant Great Sun drank four different top-tier wines in the
world; the dense liquor aura in his body congealed into Divine Travel Gu.
Divine Travel Gu had the power to send the Gu Master to any place in the world. But
its activation required the Gu Master to be in a drunken state, and its destination also
could not be controlled. Verdant Great Sun was transported to many dangerous
places and suffered a lot due to Divine Travel Gu, his life on the line several times.
Divine Travel Gu might be one of the four great movement Gu and is very powerful
at that, but its flaw is extremely big; who would dare to use it? Even Verdant Great
Sun had no choice but to refine Divine Travel Gu into Fixed Immortal Travel Gu in
the end.
Divine Travel Gu might be at the noble rank six, but its every use carried extremely
high risk and had low worth in using. Thus, Verdant Great Sun refined it into Fixed
Immortal Travel Gu.
The Door of Life and Death was a big deal; it was recorded in The Legends of Ren
Zu, a secret forbidden land in ancient times. It was similar to the River of Time and
Ordinary Abyss.
After Verdant Great Sun died, Ren Zu went to the Door of Life and Death to attempt
to revive him.
Legend says that behind the Door of Life and Death holds the secrets of life and
death, if a person can comprehend it completely, they would be able to control life
and death itself.
In the legend, even Ren Zu had to spend all his effort to find it. Door of Life and
Death is an unparalleled holy land, the controller of life and death.
Chapter 12 – Road of Life and Death
Dang Hun Mountain is a forbidden ground, first appearing in The Legends of Ren Zu.
Legend says that Verdant Great Sun flew towards the sky and ended up plunging to
his death.
Ren Zu, as his father, was extremely upset after receiving the news, finding Wisdom
Gu for an explanation.
It was Wisdom Gu who taught Verdant Great Sun to drink, causing the series of
events thereafter.
Wisdom Gu quickly said: "Ren Zu, oh Ren Zu, don't find trouble with me. Although
your son died, it is not impossible to revive him. As long as you enter the Door of Life
and Death and lead him towards the Road of Life, walking under the sunlight, he
would be revived."
Ren Zu was shocked, before becoming overjoyed, and then extremely furious.
He grabbed Wisdom Gu and questioned: "Wisdom Gu, oh Wisdom Gu, do you still
think I am that ignorant boy from before? The Door of Life and Death is a dangerous
place, once I enter, I will never be able to leave, after harming my son, you want to
kill me too?"
Wisdom Gu quickly said: "Other living beings do not know the secret of the Door of
Life and Death, thus they cannot leave. But I can teach you all of these secrets. You
are a living person, to enter the Door of Life and Death, you have to enter from the
Road of Death. This road is extraordinary; it was the road left behind by Fate Gu
when it left Fairness Gu. The road left behind was called the path of destiny. There
are many Suffering Gu inside the path of life; you have to enter from the Road of
Death, and you need to own Courage Gu. That way, you will not fear the torture of
suffering.
When you enter the Door of Life and Death, and see Fairness Gu, you are already
dead. But at the same time, you will see your eldest son, Verdant Great Sun's soul.
You will bring him away and go out from another road, the Road of Life. Road of Life
was the path trodden on by Fate Gu when it visited Fairness Gu; it is also called the
path of destiny.
But during this path, you will meet three obstacles. One is Dang Hun Mountain,
another is called Luo Po Valley, and lastly the Reverse Flow River. To climb past
Dang Hun Mountain, you have to smash the Gutstones on it and obtain Guts Gu's
help. To get past Luo Po Valley, you need to find Faith Gu to help. To get through the
Reverse Flow River, you have to move forward continuously, not stopping for even a
second during the process."
Ren Zu heard Wisdom Gu's words and let it go.
He quickly found Faith Gu.
Ever since he became blind, Faith Gu's light was the only light he could see.
"Oh Ren Zu, I can feel your determination in getting back your eldest son. I am
willing to help you, but I urge you not to give up on this goal. Because when you give
up, I will leave you for good," Faith Gu said with concern.
Ren Zu found Courage Gu next.
Courage Gu and Hope Gu were good companions.
Ren Zu had Hope Gu, and thus saw Courage Gu occasionally; he had a decent
relationship with it.
After getting Courage Gu's help, Ren Zu came to the Door of Life and Death,
entering the Road of Death.
The Road of Death was pure darkness, the large number of Suffering Gu were like
yellow fireflies, swarming towards Ren Zu. At this time, Courage Gu shone brightly,
chasing away the Suffering Gu for Ren Zu.
Courage was needed to face death.
Ren Zu succeeded in going down; his body turned whiter as it turned hollow,
gradually turning into a ghost. He could "see" again.
When he got to the end of the road, amidst the calm darkness, he saw Fairness Gu.
He was extremely shocked by Fairness Gu's huge body, exclaiming: "You are
Fairness Gu? Why is your body so huge? A mountain is a speck of dust compared to
you. The sea is like a droplet compared to you."
Fairness Gu's voice was grand: "Life and death are the greatest fairness in this
world; when I am inside the Door of Life and Death, my body will become enormous.
Oh Ren Zu, you are here for your son right. Feel free to go; he is right there."
Ren Zu was overjoyed upon seeing his son and ran towards him.
Verdant Great Sun had turned into a white ghost and was lying beside a lake,
scooping out the water with a bowl and drinking it.
The water was like wine with its fragrance pervading the area.
Verdant Great Sun drank it with utmost satisfaction.
"My son don't drink anymore. Come, let's go back," Ren Zu walked towards Verdant
Great Sun and shouted.
"Esteemed father, how did you come here? This is great; let's drink together,"
Verdant Great Sun opened his hazy eyes and looked at Ren Zu.
Ren Zu seized the wine bowl from him and said with exasperation: "Don't drink
anymore; you only know how to drink wine! Everyone knows there is a bewitching
lake in the land of the dead, and its water is the Bewitching Soup. When ghosts drink
it, they become muddle-headed and lose the desire to leave."
Verdant Great Sun, however, refuted: "Father, you are wrong. This is not the
Bewitching Soup; it is the Soul Calming Wine. It can calm down your soul and
remove all the impurities; your soul will no longer be restless, and you will
experience utmost tranquillity in your heart. This is one of the best quality wines in
this world."
"I don't care what wine it is; you have to follow me back," Ren Zu pulled Verdant
Great Sun's hand, but found Verdant Great Sun was as heavy as a mountain and
could not be budged.
Verdant Great Sun shook his head: "Some people, upon death, will be as heavy as a
mountain. Some people, upon death, will be light as a feather. Father, I had
Reputation Gu in my life and died after bathing in the light of glory. When I arrived
here, my body had become heavier than a mountain; I cannot even walk a single
step and can only lie down here."
"What!" Ren Zu immediately felt gloomy and anxiously shouted, "I told you before, a
tall tree attracts the wind; reputation is not always a good thing. Throw away the
Reputation Gu."
Verdant Great Sun shook his head and sighed: "We were not born with fame and
fortune; we also cannot take them with us after death. After I died, Reputation Gu left
me. It is Fixed Immortal Travel Gu that has accompanied me."
Fixed Immortal Travel Gu could bring Verdant Great Sun's soul out of the Door of
Life and Death or even bring him to any place in the outside world.
However, Verdant Great Sun could only truly resurrect after walking through the path
of life.
"What do we do now..." Ren Zu realized he had been played by Wisdom Gu.
Although he had arrived at the deepest part of the Door of Life and Death — a death
domain that had endless darkness, and has also found Verdant Great Sun, he
discovered he could not bring back his son.
At this moment, Fairness Gu spoke: "Oh Ren Zu, do you still not understand? There
are only two paths in Door of Life and Death, both appeared because of Fate Gu.
Life and death are determined by fate! All living beings live and thus die; this is the
cycle that allows the universe to continue existing. Your eldest son Verdant Great
Sun died; this is fate and you should accept it. Moreover, he is living a good life here,
Obsession Death Domain is the world's most tranquil place. He is drinking the
world's supreme quality wine and is free from all the worries of the outside world; do
you know how blissful this is?"
Ren Zu stood there and looked at his flesh and blood for a while before heaving a
deep sigh.
He knew he could not bring back his son's soul, at least it was like that for now.
He bid farewell to the Fairness Gu and also his son and left the Obsession Death
Domain.
He stepped on another path this time; it was the path of life which went from
darkness to light.
However, Ren Zu soon realized walking this path was countless times more difficult
than when he walked in through the path of death.
There were many more Suffering Gu on the path of life than the path of death. When
Ren Zu had walked through the path of death, his journey became smoother along
the way and the Suffering Gu lesser the further he walked. But as he walked through
the path of life, there was not only more Suffering Gu, but every step he took would
cause much more Suffering Gu to fly over and obstruct him.
Courage Gu could not resist them any longer: "Ren Zu, there are too many Suffering
Gu, and they will continue to increase. There is peace in death, but life has endless
suffering. Go to Dang Hun Mountain quickly and break some Gutstones. If you want
to survive, just relying on courage won't be enough; you need guts too."
Ren Zu hurried forward to Dang Hun Mountain and picked the Guts Gu while
enduring the tremors in his soul.
With Guts Gu's help, his soul strengthened greatly, and although he still suffered the
tremors, it was not of much worry.
He passed through Dang Hun Mountain and arrived at Luo Po Valley.
Luo Po Valley was a maze with winding and twisted paths. Occasionally, there were
large areas of Bewilderment Fog which could cause the soul to loosen, and
occasionally, Luo Po Wind would blow through and cut apart the soul.
Ren Zu had fallen into the lowest part of my life and could not distinguish the
directions. Because his soul was strengthened by Guts Gu, it was loosening in the
Bewilderment Fog at a slower speed. The loosened soul was cut apart by the Luo Po
Wind.
Ren Zu almost completely lost his way, but fortunately at this time, Faith Gu flew out
and shone upon his path.
Ren Zu was able to walk out of the Luo Po Valley with only the essence of his soul
remaining.
He let out a huge breath of relief and could feel he was close to success.
He walked to the reverse-flowing river; this was the final barrier in the path of life.
It was extremely difficult to move against the stream.
Endless suffering pushed upon him, causing him to make very slow progress.
However, he forcibly persevered and walked towards the light.
"Almost there." He looked at the success that was just ahead of him; only one final
step remained.
He let out a breath of turbid air and relaxed, forgetting the warning of the Wisdom
Gu; he stopped.
This brief pause caused Ren Zu to be washed away by the river.
Life was not easy; it was like a boat moving against the flow of the river. If you do not
continue moving forward, you will be pushed back.
Ren Zu was washed away by the river into the depths of Luo Po Valley, he was so
tired he could not budge a bit and was trapped in the Luo Po Valley.
Space Cave was first depicted in The Legends of Ren Zu; it was a forbidden ground
on the same level as the River of Time. In the River of Time, there were large
numbers of time path Gu Worms. Inside the Space Cave, there were countless
space path Gu Worms.
It connected the five regions, hidden in a place no one knew. Pushing open a door
from inside the Space Cave, one can reach any place in the world. The door that
connected the Space Cave was also known as the space door. Space door was
omnipresent; it could be in a narrow crack or in the wide and boundless sky. Where
there is space, there is a door into Space Cave.
But from the past until now, very few people could find the Space Cave, not to
mention going inside. In the entire human history, only one person had managed to
enter and exit it.
Chapter 13 – Love is cruel
Long ago, Desolate Ancient Moon climbed Cheng Bai Mountain and met with a
Rockman's pursuit.
Ren Zu could not save his eldest son Verdant Great Sun, and at the final juncture of
resurrection, he made a great mistake and was swept away by the Reverse Flow
River back into Luo Po Valley.
His eldest daughter, Desolate Ancient Moon, heard of this and wanted to go rescue
her father.
However, one must have the help of Courage Gu and Faith Gu to enter the Life and
Death Door.
But these Gu were with her father Ren Zu.
Desolate Ancient Moon was unable to enter the Life and Death Door. She wanted to
rescue Ren Zu but had no ways, so she asked for guidance from Cognition Gu.
Cognition Gu gave her two methods.
The first method was to enter Space Cave, then open the space door to directly
move to Ren Zu's side. She could then use the Space Cave to escape Life and
Death Door. However, this method could only rescue Ren Zu's soul and could not
resurrect him.
The second method was to climb to the peak of Cheng Bai Mountain and find the
one and only Success Gu. As long as she made a wish to Success Gu, she could
rescue Ren Zu and allow him to successfully resurrect.
Desolate Ancient Moon already knew of Space Cave's existence, but she had no
idea how to find the Space Cave. Moreover, to let her father truly resurrect, she had
to go to Cheng Bai Mountain.
Cheng Bai Mountain was not tall and was like a mound. It was peculiar as it was
made from millions and millions of 'pebbles.'
These 'pebbles' were actually Failure Gu. And there was only one Success Gu, at
the peak of Cheng Bai Mountain.
Desolate Ancient Moon walked to the foot of the mountain and began to ascend the
mountain.
Her movement woke up Love Gu, who was sleeping nearby.
Love Gu was very angry at having its sleep disturbed and wanted to take revenge
against Desolate Ancient Moon. It used its unique power to awaken a piece of stone.
The stone gained life because of Love Gu and became a Rockman.
The Rockman was tall and mighty, his body filled with gold, silver, copper, and iron,
looking very dazzling and gorgeous.
After the Rockman was born, the first thing he saw was Desolate Ancient Moon. Her
shocking beauty immediately conquered his heart.
He started following behind Desolate Ancient Moon, and as he looked at her fair
back view, his heart was filled with love.
Finally, he could not endure it anymore and ran past Desolate Ancient Moon and
blocked her, shouting loudly: "Beautiful lady, your appearance is so dazzling, your
body is so elegant and your temperament is so noble. The very first moment I saw
you, I was subdued by you. You are my love; please accept my love for you."
The Rockman's physique was huge, completely blocking Desolate Ancient Moon's
path.
Desolate Ancient Moon slightly furrowed her brows and sized up the Rockman
before speaking coldly: "Love, what is that thing? You want me to accept your love,
but where is it?"
The Rockman immediately took off the iron pieces from his body and offered them to
Desolate Ancient Moon: "Beautiful lady, this is my firmness. I give it all to you; this is
my love."
Desolate Ancient Moon disappointedly shook her head; she had no interest in these
iron pieces.
The Rockman was dazed before taking out the copper pieces from his body and
piling them above the iron pieces: "Beautiful lady, this is my obstinance. I give it all to
you because this is my love."
Desolate Ancient Moon impatiently said: "Please move away; I have no interest in
love. I need to rescue my father."
The Rockman panicked seeing that the goddess of his heart was unmoved. He
kneeled down and made up his mind, taking out all the silver pieces in his body and
piling them above the copper pieces: "Beautiful lady, this is my dignity. I give it all to
you; this will prove my love for you."
Desolate Ancient Moon's furrowed brows deepened: "Listen, I don't have time to
waste with you."
The Rockman became more anxious and took out all the gold pieces in his body and
put them above the silver pieces: "Beautiful lady, this is my self-confidence. I give it
all to you; they represent my love for you."
Desolate Ancient Moon heaved a deep sigh: "Rockman, to express your love for me,
you gave up your firmness, put down your obstinance, lost your dignity and even
gave up your self-confidence. However, what I see is a very ugly Rockman. Get up; I
cannot accept your love; I have more important things to do."
After losing his gold, silver, copper, and iron decorations, the Rockman looked very
small and weak, even appearing comical. It lost all the beauty and might it had
before.
The Rockman wept and begged Desolate Ancient Moon: "Then, how can I obtain
your love?"
Desolate Ancient Moon was anxious, but the Rockman kept on kneeling on the
ground. She thought of an idea and changed her expression to show a smile:
"Rockman, since you love me, take out your real heart for me to see."
The Rockman opened his chest without any hesitation and offered his scarlet heart
to Desolate Ancient Moon.
Desolate Ancient Moon took the heart and immediately kept it.
The Rockman then said: "Now, I can obtain your love, right?"
Desolate Ancient Moon shook her head: "Even if you offer your heart, it cannot
exchange for my love."
The Rockman was panicking seeing Desolate Ancient Moon had stored his heart
away. He said: 'Heartless woman, your cold-heartedness has made me despair.
Since I can't obtain your love, then please give back my heart. Without my heart, I
will die."
But Desolate Ancient Moon did not return the heart and watched as he slowly died.
"Why? I love you so much, why are you killing me!" The Rockman shouted before his
death.
Desolate Ancient Moon looked at him with pity, but her voice was tranquil: 'Rockman,
I did not want to kill you. But you blocked my path to success."
Above Blessed Lands were Grotto-Heavens.
The most famous Grotto-Heaven was recorded within The Legends of Ren Zu; it was
the famous Immemorial Nine Heavens.
Verdant Great Sun refined the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu and flew up to the nine
heavens. In Azure Heaven, he obtained a segment of the jade green Jade Bamboo.
In Blue Heaven, he collected the Eight-Sided Diamonds Inside the Star Fragments.
The Immemorial Nine Heavens consisted of White Heaven, Red Heaven, Orange
Heaven, Yellow Heaven, Green Heaven, Azure Heaven, Blue Heaven, Purple
Heaven, and Black Heaven.
But later, when Ren Zu's son caused havoc in heaven and earth, red, orange, yellow,
green, azure, blue, and purple, the seven heavens were destroyed consecutively,
and all that remained were white and Black Heavens, with the two alternating
between day and night.
But later, when Ren Zu's son caused havoc in heaven and earth, red, orange, yellow,
green, azure, blue, and purple, the seven heavens were destroyed consecutively,
and all that remained were white and Black Heavens, with the two alternating
between day and night.
Grey-White Stone Slabs; they were from the Immemorial Era, Ren Zu's ninth
daughter, Carefree Wisdom Heart.
The Legends of Ren Zu states that in order to save Wisdom Gu, Carefree Wisdom
Heart came to the Qian Kun Crystal Wall.
Qian Kun Crystal Wall was straight from top to bottom; it floated in mid-air like a giant
mirror.
In the mirror, there was a Book Mountain.
On the Book Mountain, there was an Ink Waterfall, landing on the mountain rocks to
form a Literature Spring.
The Ink Waterfall continued to flow, as it landed on the Literature Spring, water
splashed about. These black color splashes flew in the air as the water droplets
formed into words.
This was the origin of the hundred clan writing system in the Gu Master world.
After Qian Kun Crystal Wall was broken, it turned into numerous Grey-White Stone
Slabs.
Legends say that if one gathered all of the stone slabs, they could piece back Qian
Kun Crystal Wall and the Gu Master would be able to enter Book Mountain again.
Inkman was also recorded in The Legends of Ren Zu. Their homeland was the Book
Mountain.
The Book Mountain had an Ink Waterfall which would crash down on the Literature
Spring, and the raging ink would fall on the rocks, forming Inkmen.
Chapter 14 – Troubles of love
When Ren Zu was in a certain-death situation, after he fell into Luo Po Valley and
had no way to get out.
Desolate Ancient Moon, in order to save her father, climbed up Cheng Bai Mountain
and tried to get to the top, in order to get that one and only Success Gu.
As long as she made a wish to Success Gu, Desolate Ancient Moon would be able
to save Ren Zu.
But when Desolate Ancient Moon got to the foot of the mountain, she was obstructed
by the Rockman.
It turns out that when Ren Zu's second daughter arrived at Cheng Bai Mountain, she
ruined Love Gu's wonderful dream.
Out of anger, Love Gu awakened the Rockman to obstruct Desolate Ancient Moon.
After Desolate Ancient Moon killed the Rockman and got to the mountain waist, Love
Gu had yet to leave. It appeared before Desolate Ancient Moon and said: "Oh
human, you interrupted my sweet dream, yet you still desire to take away Success
Gu. Now I will topple the entire Cheng Bai Mountain; you can have fun finding that
one and only Success Gu out of billions of rocks. Hahaha."
Saying so, Love Gu crashed towards Cheng Bai Mountain.
Cheng Bai Mountain was not an ordinary mountain; it was a mound entirely made up
of stacked rocks.
After Love Gu crashed into it, the entire mountain crumbled.
Love Gu left smugly, leaving behind Desolate Ancient Moon who looked at this huge
pile of rocks in a daze.
How was she going to find that one and only Success Gu among this chaotic pile of
rocks?
Desolate Ancient Moon was troubled, without a choice, she had to return to
Cognition Gu to seek advice.
After Cognition Gu heard Desolate Ancient Moon's description, it sighed: "Love Gu
had always been demanding and unreasonable, even if it was me, or my child
Wisdom Gu, we would not want to confront it.
Right now, Cheng Bai Mountain had collapsed; you can only look at these rocks one
by one, to find the real Success Gu from among them. There are no other ways."
Cognition Gu said again: "But you have to be careful; there are two Gu on Cheng Bai
Mountain. One is Success Gu, at the peak of the mountain. The other is Failure Gu,
at the bottom of the mountain. Failure is the mother of success, but it also has many
other children. Those rocks are Success Gu's siblings. When you pick those rocks,
many unthinkably bad situations will occur. I will tell you a secret here, as long as
you continue to affirm the belief of 'me' in your heart, these disastrous situations will
gradually disappear."
Desolate Ancient Moon heard this and her heart sank; she asked again: "Then how
do I differentiate the rocks in my hand? What do Success Gu and Failure Gu look
like?"
Cognition Gu sighed: "They look almost the same, but it is easy to differentiate them.
Just hold them in your hands; you will learn about their identities.
In your search for Success Gu, that Failure Gu will be your biggest threat. You
cannot hold on to the Failure Gu; otherwise, you will be completely lost, and your life
would be in danger."
Desolate Ancient Moon heard this and nodded, expressing her gratitude.
Cognition instructed her again before leaving: "Do not say that I taught you that. If
Love Gu comes to find me, I'd be in trouble. In the face of fanatic and toyful love,
wisdom and cognition can only run away.”
"Don't worry, I won't expose you." Desolate Ancient Moon agreed, returning to Cheng
Bai Mountain.
Seeing the huge pile of rocks, her heart was gloomy.
Success was not easily obtainable; to obtain success, she would need to bend down
and search while taking great risks.
Desolate Ancient Moon breathed in deeply, picking up the first rock.
This rock was ordinary, but when Desolate Ancient Moon held it in her hand, it shook
slightly.
A light wound appeared on Desolate Ancient Moon's hand.
This was not Success Gu, but one of success' siblings, one of the children of Failure
Gu.
Desolate Ancient Moon's heart was shocked; she touched the wound on her hand as
she recalled what Cognition Gu said —"When you pick those rocks, many
unthinkably bad situations will occur. You have to affirm the belief of 'me' in your
heart.
"So this is the terrible situation." Desolate Ancient Moon understood.
She chanted in her heart: "Me, me, me, me."
As she chanted, the wound on her hand miraculously healed! Only a light scar was
left.
She tossed the first rock away and picked up the second rock.
When she held this rock in her hand, Desolate Ancient Moon's heart jumped, as an
intense feeling of fear assaulted her.
Desolate Ancient Moon was shivering in fear; she almost ran away to escape, away
from this place.
'But she held on, and chanted 'me.'
After a long time, she slowly recovered as the fear in her heart was gone by half,
finally picking up the third rock.
This rock made her dejected. She could not help but think: "I want to find that one
and only Success Gu among these billions of rocks, how difficult is that, how long
would it take me?"
She could barely move anymore; she felt that the future was shrouded in darkness; it
was too difficult to find Success Gu.
She almost wanted to give up, but she thought about her father who was trapped in
Life and Death Door.
"If I give up, who will save father?" Desolate Ancient Moon shuddered. "Oh no, I
forgot to chant 'me.'"
Desolate Ancient Moon chanted again, getting rid of the despair in her heart, bending
down to pick up another rock.
Once she held the fourth rock in her hand, Desolate Ancient Moon was shocked to
find out that her nose had changed; it turned into a pig's nose.
She chanted 'me' once again, allowing her nose to recover.
Spending a lot of time, she exerted all her effort to get rid of the pig nose. But her
nose was still slightly deformed compared to before.
Like this, Desolate Ancient Moon continued to pick up rocks, hoping to find that
Success Gu.
But days passed, and all she found was Failure Gu's children.
Among these rocks, some made her injured, some made her dejected, despair, or
fear, while some made her grow a pig head, rat's tail, etc.
Despite Desolate Ancient Moon chanting 'me' continuously, some of the scars still
remained on her. As they accumulated, these scars turned her into a monster.
She grew six heads, three arms, five tails, and looked like a centaur. She had sixteen
legs, and some of her legs had soft fur, some had snake-like scales, some had sharp
claws, some had tough hooves.
In the search for success, people often transform and become completely different.
But Desolate Ancient Moon also became much stronger because of this.
After going through so much, she had become several hundred times as strong as
before. These rocks could no longer trouble her.
"Success, oh success, where in the world are you?" Her seven mouths opened
together. Some were screaming, some were shouting, some were whispering while
others were growling.
The more she failed, the more she desired success in her heart.
After her great effort, the number of unpicked rocks became fewer and fewer.
Eventually, when there were only two rocks left, Desolate Ancient Moon was stuck
between two difficult choices.
Undeniably, among these two rocks, one was Success Gu, while the other was
Failure Gu.
If she obtains Success Gu, that would be the best. But if she picked Failure Gu, then
Desolate Ancient Moon would become completely lost; she would be in danger of
dying.
Even if Desolate Ancient Moon became a monster, becoming so much stronger.
One step to heaven, one step to hell, what should she choose? Desolate Ancient
Moon could not help but become hesitant.
"If I do not dare to take the next step for fear of failure, then I will never succeed! I
am already so strong, success is a step away from me; even if I take Failure Gu, as
long as I chant 'me', I should be able to endure it, right?" Eventually, she mustered
her courage and stretched out her palm, picking one of the rocks.
Unfortunately, she picked Failure Gu.
An unforeseen feeling of lost, self-doubt assaulted her.
"…Me, me, me."
Desolate Ancient Moon continued to chant 'me', but her voice became softer, as her
seven mouths stopped moving eventually, her expression turning into a daze.
She had fallen into endless perplexity; she had completely lost herself.
The biggest tragedy for a human is to lose your sense of self.
Chapter 15 – Unexpected help
Ren Zu's second daughter, Desolate Ancient Moon, climbed Cheng Bai Mountain
and searched for Success Gu to rescue her father from the Door of Life and Death.
But at the final juncture, she failed and lost her sense of self, becoming an ugly and
powerful monster.
Without his daughter to rescue him, and his eldest son, Verdant Great Sun, still
addicted and dejected, Ren Zu was trapped in Luo Po Valley, unable to return to life.
Luo Po Valley was like a giant maze, its paths twisted and turned. Occasionally,
boundless Bewilderment Fog would spread and cause the soul to slacken, and
occasionally, Luo Po Wind that was as sharp as a knife would blow and cut down
souls.
Ren Zu had a spiritual body now and was unable to find the way out of the
Bewilderment Fog. His soul was cut down by Luo Po Wind, becoming weaker and
weaker, and the situation turned even more dangerous.
The soul fragments cut down by Luo Po Wind started to converge gradually and
turned into a youth.
Like this, Ren Zu's third son was born.
He was Northern Dark Ice Soul.
"My son, thank you for your company. I do not have much time left," having you to
accompany me in my final days, father did not have to feel lonely." Ren Zu sighed
with deep emotions.
Northern Dark Ice Soul had a cold appearance but was warm-hearted, and although
he did not speak much, he was very filial to Ren Zu. And as he looked at Ren Zu
growing weaker and weaker every day, his mood also became heavier.
He decided to rescue Ren Zu.
Ren Zu sensed his determination and felt both happiness and heartache: "Don't be
worried, my son. I know of your filial heart, I now understand that life and death
cannot be forced. Humans will die in the end; this is our fate."
Northern Dark Ice Soul said in a sobbing tone: "Father, I know your words are right. I
also know my efforts might be in vain. But looking at you growing weaker like this, if I
do not try, my heart will feel even more pain. Let me do something for you."
Ren Zu sighed and could only let him go.
Northern Dark Ice Soul wandered in the vast Luo Po Valley; he was born here, as
such, Luo Po Wind could not cut down his soul, and the Bewilderment Fog could not
obstruct his vision.
He searched bitterly but could not find the exit.
Right as he was becoming more desperate, he came across a Gu Worm.
"Well, well, to think I would be discovered by you." This Gu was like a ladybug with a
chubby spherical body, but it was extremely agile and was flashing around Northern
Dark Ice Soul's body.
Northern Dark Ice Soul's eyes brightened as he asked in curiosity: "What Gu are
you?"
"I am known as Unexpected." This Gu Worm replied.
Northern Dark Ice Soul's gaze dimmed down: "So you are Unexpected Gu; it is a pity
you are not Success Gu."
Unexpected Gu sneered: "Young man, do not look down on me. I have a love-hate
relation with Success Gu. The strength of unexpectedness is very powerful. Do you
know what your encounter with me here represents?"
"What?"
Unexpected Gu shook its chubby body and said proudly: "What kind of place is this?
This is Luo Po Valley, a death realm. You being here means you are already dead.
But by encountering me, you have come across an unexpected event in 'death' - that
is 'life.' Grab me, I will take you out to the human world, and you can be resurrected
again."
"Really?" Northern Dark Ice Soul was exulted. "Can I bring my father along?"
Unexpected Gu shook its head: "It is you who encountered me, not your father, so I
can only take you."
Northern Dark Ice Soul was extremely disappointed, refusing: "Since I cannot take
my father with me, then I will not go. I will accompany my father till his final moment."
Unexpected Gu laughed loudly and spoke in a domineering tone: "Unexpectedness
in life is beyond your control. Young man, you must come with me!"
The moment it finished speaking, Unexpected Gu forcibly took Northern Dark Ice
Soul and instantly left Life and Death Door, arriving in the human world.
Northern Dark Ice Soul obtained a flesh body and was feeling extremely bewildered
facing this vast world alone.
Unexpected Gu disappeared. He suddenly remembered Ren Zu once saying he had
an elder sister who was called Desolate Ancient Moon.
At this moment, Cognition Gu took the initiative to find him: "Young man, do not be
suspicious; cognition has always been the friend of humans. I am here to help you."
Cognition Gu told Northern Dark Ice Soul about Cheng Bai Mountain and also the
events detailing Desolate Ancient Moon.
Northern Dark Ice Soul decided to first see his elder sister.
When he saw Desolate Ancient Moon, his tears fell in sadness.
Northern Dark Ice Soul tried to converse with Desolate Ancient Moon, but Desolate
Ancient Moon who had turned into a monster kept on repeating questions.
"Where is this?"
Northern Dark Ice Soul thought for a while and answered: "This is the human world;
living beings can move about here. Above us is the heavens, and below our feet is
earth."
"Who am I?" Desolate Ancient Moon asked again.
"You are a human, Ren Zu's second child; your name is Desolate Ancient Moon. You
are my elder sister." Northern Dark Ice Soul replied.
"Elder sister, wake up quickly. Our father is trapped in Luo Po Valley, dying; we need
to resurrect him soon."
"Ren Zu? Desolate Ancient Moon? Resurrect?" The monster shook its head,
extremely puzzled, "Why should I resurrect him? Could it be that humans should not
die? What disadvantage is there in death? Why do humans live? Why do I live?"
This time, Northern Dark Ice Soul was not able to answer.
"Why do people live?"
As Northern Dark Ice Soul pondered over this question, Bewilderment Gu quietly
approached him, making him lose his sense of the surroundings.
Subsequently, Love Gu and Disguise Gu also approached him.
Cognition Gu felt a big headache when it saw them. These several Gu were famous
for their mischief and would often move together; even Cognition Gu did not want to
provoke them.
"Love, have you not harmed enough people? Why are you not letting them go?"
Cognition Gu sighed.
"Don't try to speak reason with me; I am completely unreasonable." Love Gu said in
an unruly tone, "Get lost, cognition; I do not like you."
Cognition Gu could only leave helplessly.
"Another human came again? Haha!" Love Gu was extremely happy when it saw
Northern Dark Ice Soul because it had another target to play with.
It and Disguise Gu were sworn brothers, and on the spot, it used Disguise Gu's
power to disguise as Cognition Gu.
"Young man, your elder sister has lost herself. If you want to save her, you need to
find Meaning Gu."
Northern Dark Ice Soul regained his senses and asked Love Gu without doubting: "I
have seen Unexpected Gu; please tell me where this Meaning Gu is? How should I
look for it?"
Love Gu deceived him in a serious tone: "Oh human, you should know; there is a
meaning to why you are all living in this world. As long as you find Meaning Gu, your
elder sister can awaken. Follow the direction I point towards and keep moving
forward; you will eventually find Meaning Gu."
Northern Dark Ice Soul expressed his gratitude before immediately setting off.
Love Gu, Bewilderment Gu, and Disguise Gu guffawed as they looked at his
receding figure.
"In this world, how could there be a Meaning Gu?"
There was simply no such Gu; Northern Dark Ice Soul would, as such, not find it no
matter how much he searched for it.
"Fool, who told you all to anger me? I will let you guys know how terrifying the
punishment of love can be! From now on, let's follow him and toy with him in turns."
Love Gu's proposal was approved by the other two Gu.
Thereupon, the three Gu played tricks on Northern Dark Ice Soul in turns; he
suffered so much that words could not describe it. But to find this non-existent
Meaning Gu, he kept on persevering.
Such spirit moved Cognition Gu. And when Love Gu was not present, Cognition Gu
approached Northern Dark Ice Soul to help him.
"Cognition, what are you doing? We are having a great time." Bewilderment Gu and
Disguise Gu were extremely displeased with Cognition.
Cognition Gu laughed: "I am afraid of love, but I am not afraid of you two. Young
man, use my strength to come to your senses."
Northern Dark Ice Soul used Cognition Gu's power to realize the truth; he was no
longer bewildered, and he had seen through the disguise.
Bewilderment Gu and Disguise Gu could only leave in defeat.
Northern Dark Ice Soul expressed gratitude to Cognition Gu: "Thank you, Cognition
Gu. Because of you, I have thought of a way to save elder sister."
"Eh? What way is that?"
"In this world, there is indeed no Meaning Gu. But why can't I create a Meaning Gu?"
Northern Dark Ice Soul replied confidently.
"Human life might have no meaning, but they could give a meaning to it." Northern
Dark Ice Soul came back to Desolate Ancient Moon's side and personally created a
Meaning Gu and pressed it into Desolate Ancient Moon's head.
"The meaning in my life is to search for Success Gu and resurrect father! I
understand now; I get it!" Desolate Ancient Moon's eyes brightened.
Chapter 16 – Understanding one’s purpose
Northern Dark Ice Soul awakened his elder sister Desolate Ancient Moon, and the
two again asked for advice from Cognition Gu on how to save their father.
Cognition Gu said: "Humans, Cheng Bai Mountain has disappeared, who knows
when it will form again. I am also not clear on other ways to bring your father back to
life. But no need to be dejected; you can try asking Wisdom Gu. I am its mother;
wisdom is the crystallization of cognition."
The student surpasses the master; the things Cognition Gu did not know, Wisdom
Gu might not necessarily be unknowing of.
Under Cognition Gu's directions, Northern Dark Ice Soul and Desolate Ancient Moon
found Wisdom Gu.
Wisdom Gu had somewhat of a connection with Ren Zu; back then Ren Zu had used
Rules Gu and Regulations Gu to capture it. But it was able to escape in the end.
At first, Wisdom Gu was not willing to help Northern Dark Ice Soul and Desolate
Ancient Moon.
But seeing that they were introduced by its mother Cognition Gu, it reluctantly said:
"Oh humans, I can show you the right path. But I need remuneration; one of you
needs to hand over your middle age to me."
"I will give my middle age to you." Desolate Ancient Moon immediately replied with
no hesitation.
She was awakened by her little brother Northern Dark Ice Soul and had been
bestowed with the meaning of her life, which was to bring her father, Ren Zu, back to
life. Thus, she replied immediately without the intention of passing it to others.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was not able to argue with his sister and could only let her
offer her middle age.
This meant, once Desolate Ancient Moon's youth had passed, she would directly
skip middle age to reach old age.
But to save her father, she did not have many misgivings.
Wisdom Gu obtained Desolate Ancient Moon's middle age and gave her directions:
"In the center of the Golden Desert in the west, there is a still Blue Sea with no
ripples, as flat as a mirror. That is the source of all living beings; all life in the world
originates from there. And in the depths of the Blue Sea lie many Life Gu shining
upon all living beings. You need to infiltrate the sea, catch a Human Shaped Life Gu,
and bring it to shore. This Human Shaped Life Gu can bestow your father a new life.
But remember, you cannot spend over fifteen minutes in the sea; otherwise, you will
be assimilated by the sea."
Wisdom Gu added another sentence in the end: "It is extremely difficult to find
Human Shaped Life Gu. Only a person who has truly comprehended the truth of life
can do it. If you are not able to do it, don't blame my solution for not being easy to
use."
Desolate Ancient Moon wanted to ask something, but Wisdom Gu quickly flew away
and did not give the siblings any chance to make inquiries.
Desolate Ancient Moon and Northern Dark Ice Soul travelled an arduous journey
through the Golden Desert and arrived at the center of the desert where they saw
the Blue Sea.
The Blue Sea was so beautiful that nothing more beautiful than it could be imagined.
Just like Wisdom Gu said, even strong winds could not cause the slightest of a ripple
on the Blue Sea.
With the soft golden sand surrounding it, it looked like a deep blue gemstone
embedded on this golden cloth.
The siblings infiltrated into the depths of the sea, and sure enough, found large
numbers of Life Gu packed together in the sea depths.
These Life Gu were like blue gems. But they were of different sizes and shapes.
Some looked like a colt; some like a tiger or leopard; some like an eagle or dove,
while some like a snake or flood dragon.
The siblings were dazzled from the sight. They saw all kinds of Life Gu from flowers,
birds, fishes, insects, beasts, Snowmen, Hairy Men, and all other shapes, except the
Human Shaped Life Gu.
Helplessly, the siblings could only get out of the sea and back to the shore.
The moment they had left the Blue Sea, a Deer Shaped Life Gu Northern Dark Ice
Soul had been holding, let out a soft light before jumping on the sand and turning
into a fawn.
This was the birth of a life.
The siblings looked at this sight in wonder, with their eyes wide open.
Only when the fawn had hopped far away, the elder sister Desolate Ancient Moon
suddenly comprehended: "No wonder Wisdom Gu flew away immediately after
speaking and did not let us question it. I have understood the truth of life."
"The truth of life, what exactly is it?" Northern Dark Ice Soul quickly asked.
Desolate Ancient Moon pointed at this Blue Sea in front of them and asked in return:
"Tell me, if we were to really find a Life Gu, a human shaped blue gem, and we bring
it back, what will it transform into?"
Northern Dark Ice Soul thought for a moment and replied: "It should be like that fawn
and turn into a real active life form, right?"
He suddenly looked distracted.
Desolate Ancient Moon looked at him with a smile: "It seems you have also
understood. We are these life forms. We were formed from Life Gu! We, ourselves,
are human-shaped blue gems."
Northern Dark Ice Soul completely understood; where did humans come from?
Wisdom Gu had already made it clear before: This Blue Sea is the source of all living
beings; all lives in the world originate from here.
Humans, naturally also originated from here.
Their father Ren Zu was once a blue gem in the depths of this sea. By some
opportunity and coincidence, it was able to come out from the sea and form a zestful
life form that roamed the world, surviving with difficulty and reaching this stage.
But humans were the spirit of all living beings, so how many human shaped gems
could there be in such a large sea?
It was definitely extremely few, and it was very possible Ren Zu was the only one.
Searching for a small blue gem in such a vast sea, how big of a project was this?
This was innumerable times more difficult than Desolate Ancient Moon looking for
the only Success Gu in Cheng Bai Mountain.
"I know a method which can get us a Human Shaped Life Gu quickly." Desolate
Ancient Moon suddenly said.
"What method?" Northern Dark Ice Soul had a bad feeling.
Desolate Ancient Moon smiled: "That is… I will go into the bottom of the sea and
assimilate with this Blue Sea, returning back to a Life Gu."
Although Desolate Ancient Moon had transformed into a monster, she was
intrinsically a human.
The essence of her life had not changed.
Since she was a human, once she was assimilated, she would form a humanshaped blue gem like Life Gu.
This speculation was not wrong.
No wonder Wisdom Gu said: But remember, you cannot spend over fifteen minutes
in the sea, otherwise you will be assimilated by the sea.
Wisdom Gu's words did not have any superfluous words.
Wisdom Gu had also said: If you are not able to do it, don't blame my solution for not
being easy to use.
One could analyze from this sentence — it was extremely likely there were no
human-shaped blue gems in the Blue Sea. If the siblings were not willing to sacrifice
themselves, they would not be able to obtain Human Shaped Life Gu. As such, don't
blame me, the Wisdom Gu if you are not able to do it.
"No, you can't sacrifice yourself like this, elder sister." Northern Dark Ice Soul
immediately dissuaded.
Although he wanted to bring his father back to life, he did not want to sacrifice his
own sister.
"I need to do it; the meaning of my life is to bring father back to life." Desolate
Ancient Moon replied tranquilly.
Northern Dark Ice Soul suddenly could not say anything.
It was him who gave this meaning to Desolate Ancient Moon's life, and Desolate
Ancient Moon was living for this. In other words, if her father could not be brought
back to life, there would be no meaning in her life. Then what would be the use in
continuing to live?
As long as she sacrificed herself, she could bring her father back to life; this was the
greatest meaning of Desolate Ancient Moon's life.
"Humans originally were gems of the world. It is only that whether the gems are
bright or not requires us to polish them. Every effort we make, every choice we take,
are all polishing each of our gems.
And humans can only obtain life by sacrificing life."
Desolate Ancient Moon leisurely spoke before sinking into the Blue Sea.
Northern Dark Ice Soul tried his best to stop her, but he was not able to. Desolate
Ancient Moon had become a monster with incomparable strength, and he was not
her match.
After fifteen minutes of time, Desolate Ancient Moon was assimilated by the Blue
Sea and turned into a human-shaped blue gem.
But this blue gem was not of a healthy human shape but a badly damaged, less than
half a proper human shape.
This was because Desolate Ancient Moon had given her 'middle age' to Wisdom Gu.
Humans, in the process of understanding what life was, would often have already
used up half of their lives.
Northern Dark Ice Soul held this blue gem with tears in his eyes and left the Golden
Desert.
He did not have any of the happiness of success, but instead sank down into
extreme remorse.
From a certain perspective, it was him who had killed his elder sister.
Chapter 17 – Taking the first step
Luo Po Valley was a very wide and complex labyrinth; Ren Zu searched for Northern
Dark Ice Soul, who was missing, but he got lost in the labyrinth himself. Even after
several days, he did not find a way out.
He was extremely tired, sprawled on the ground, his back leaning against the walls
of the labyrinth. A feeling of boundless loneliness quickly engulfed him.
This was because he had given his original heart to hope; right now, he only had a
heart of loneliness left. The feeling of loneliness was unbearable. Ren Zu was afraid
of being lonely; he had once dug out both of his eyes and turned them into a son and
daughter to accompany him. But right now, he could only endure the torture of
loneliness.
Amidst the loneliness, Ren Zu felt intense desolation, loss, and pain. Time seemed
to have stopped; he was all alone in this world, and there was nobody he could rely
on, no fire that he could gain warmth from.
Ren Zu felt suffocation, but as time passed, he got used to the feeling of loneliness;
he even started to savor it. He started to feel that loneliness was not that scary. In his
loneliness, he felt serenity, peace, and quiet.
He talked to himself: "Oh human, what is the purpose of your existence? Struggling
here in this world, rushing about everywhere."
Next, he heard a voice from beside him: "Oh human, you are the spirit of all beings.
You are lonely; thus, you wanted to be comforted, to be understood, to be
recognized. Right now, the thing you want to do most is to find the way out of this
damned place."
Ren Zu was shocked: "Who, who is talking to me?"
That voice laughed as it said: "I am a Gu, called 'self.' If you look inside yourself, you
will find me."
Ren Zu quickly inspected his heart of loneliness, and as expected, in the deepest
part of his heart, he saw a Gu Worm. This Gu looked very real, almost like himself,
but it was many times smaller than him, like the size of an ant.
Ren Zu was curious: "Eh, you are a Gu Worm, why are you inside my body?"
Self Gu said: "Ever since you gained life, I had been inside your body; you just did
not discover me. It is not easy to find me; you will need to inspect your inner heart of
loneliness."
"Is that so?" Ren Zu had little interest, as his mind was entirely concerned with
Northern Dark Ice Soul.
Self Gu saw Ren Zu's lack of concern and laughed: "Oh Ren Zu, you should be
happy. You should know, finding yourself and understanding yourself, that is the
most important thing in life. You yourself are the most reliable thing in the world. Let
me help you leave this place."
"You can help me leave this place? No way, can you bring me out of Luo Po Valley,
and travel in the Reverse Flow River?" Ren Zu was shocked and excited.
Self Gu laughed heartily: "Oh Ren Zu, why must you walk on this road? The Door of
Life and Death's entrance and exit are the traces left behind by Fate Gu when it
visited Fairness Gu. When you walk on this road, you will be under the manipulation
and arrangement of fate. If you want to revive, to leave this place, you should walk
on a brand new road."
Ren Zu was perplexed: "Isn't there only one road? Wisdom Gu had already told me
that, where can there be a second road?"
Self Gu said: "Oh Ren Zu, as long as you want to walk, there will be a road for you to
step on."
Ren Zu was even more confused now: "Then how should I walk?"
Self Gu said: "Didn't I say it already, first, you have to 'think' about leaving."
"Think?" Ren Zu tried using his brain, thinking of how to move on. He thought for half
a day, his head was bursting, when finally, a Gu jumped out of his mind.
This Gu was an old friend of Ren Zu; it was Cognition Gu.
"Where there is cognition, there is me." Cognition Gu said: "Oh human, you seem to
have gotten into trouble again; let me help you think." Saying so, Cognition Gu gave
off a bright light, enlightening Ren Zu.
Cognition Gu had an ability, that was to enlighten all beings. Any lifeform enlightened
by Cognition Gu would gain wings.
Back then, Verdant Great Sun obtained the wings of "self," flying into the sky.
When the light dispersed, Ren Zu obtained a pair of wings. This pair of wings was
located at his heels, and they were very delicate.
Cognition noted: "Mm, this pair of wings is called independence, Ren Zu, it will help
you walk on a new road. You have to be careful; a new road is hard to walk on. Other
Gu are unreliable; you can only rely on your Self Gu."
Saying so, Cognition Gu vanished.
Ren Zu was still very much confused: "How should I walk?"
"Walk ahead and carve the path of your Road of Life. This is a road that is unique to
yourself! Only you can walk on it!" Self Gu said excitedly.
Ren Zu took the first step forward.
Bam!
The next moment, his vision changed.
Legend says when Ren Zu started walking on the Road of Life, his vision changed; it
was pure darkness.
He took the first step.
Plop.
At the next moment, he stepped into the mud.
He raised his foot, wiping it with his hand; it was full of mushy mud and extremely
smelly.
He was hesitant to move forward.
At this moment, Self Gu said: "Oh human, do not hesitate. If you want to walk on
your own road, you will need to rely on your own legs. When your leg steps on the
road, do not be afraid of dirtiness."
Chapter 18 – Walking Meat Tree
Walking Meat Tree was a legendary plant recorded in <<The Legends of Ren Zu>>.
Ren Zu's third son, Northern Dark Ice Soul, was revived by Unexpected Gu and
wandered outside. After encountering his sister, Desolate Ancient Moon, he gave her
a new meaning in life.
Next, under the guidance of Wisdom Gu, the brother and sister came to the Blue
Sea to search for the life gem that could revive their father, Ren Zu. In the end,
Desolate Ancient Moon sensed the mysteries behind life and sacrificed herself, being
turned into a damaged life gem.
Northern Dark Ice Soul carried the life gem as he attempted to return to his father to
revive Ren Zu. But it was extremely difficult for him to enter the Door of Life and
Death.
The Door of Life and Death had two routes: the Road of Life and the Road of Death.
No matter which path it was, there would be a lot of Suffering Gu. To overcome the
interference of the Suffering Gu and enter deep into the Door of Life and Death, he
needed the help of Courage Gu.
However, Courage Gu had already been taken by Ren Zu and was currently with
him. Northern Dark Ice Soul did not have courage and could not enter the Door of
Life and Death. He had no methods left and could only wander around, searching for
a method to resolve this.
He walked past tall mountains, travelled through streams, ran for his life under the
assault of wild beasts, and had gone hungry during the intense cold. He had suffered
a lot. Northern Dark Ice Soul was filled with guilt and anxiety.
He was guilty because he was the one who gave Desolate Ancient Moon her
meaning in life, but that caused her to sacrifice herself and become the life gem.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was the murderer who indirectly caused his sister's death.
He was anxious because even though he had the life gem, he was unable to return
to his father's side. He was afraid that if a long time passed, his father's soul might
collapse in Luo Po Valley, causing Desolate Ancient Moon's sacrifice to be in vain.
He walked and walked until the purple sky above him faded and became black.
Originally, the Immemorial Nine Heavens – white, red, orange, yellow, green, azure,
blue, purple, black – would take turns to loom over the five regions at set intervals.
The sky of the Immemorial Antiquity Era was connected to the ground. Heaven and
earth were connected and whole; people could walk towards the sky from the ground
or walk towards the ground from the sky.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was walking aimlessly, unknowingly leaving the ground, and
walking towards an area deep within Black Heaven. It was complete darkness inside
Black Heaven, but it was not desolate; there were large numbers of life forms there.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was inside the darkness and could not find a way back. He
was flustered, scared, and lost. He tripped many times and fell. Suddenly, he saw a
lump of fire ahead of him. This was the only source of light in the entirety of Black
Heaven.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was overjoyed. He quickly walked towards the fire. When he
got close to the lump of fire, he realized it was a Gu.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was very curious. He asked, "What Gu are you? You can
actually give out light in Black Heaven. Help me, I want to leave Black Heaven,
heading back to the ground. I have very important things to do."
The Gu's voice was very weak. It said to Northern Dark Ice Soul, "My name is Fire.
Who are you?"
Northern Dark Ice Soul said, "I am a human. My name is Northern Dark Ice Soul.
Can you help me? With your light, I will be able to see the way and return to the
ground."
The Gu sighed, "So you are a human. I've heard of a famous human before. He is
called Verdant Great Sun. Because Verdant Great Sun had Reputation Gu, his name
was spread throughout the entire world. There was almost nobody that did not know
him."
Northern Dark Ice Soul was overjoyed. "That's right, Verdant Great Sun is my big
brother."
Fire Gu said, "I can help you. But before I help you, you have to help me. I am too
hungry; I am going to die of starvation. Go find me some food first."
Northern Dark Ice Soul asked, "Oh, Fire Gu, what do you eat? This place is
completely dark. How can I find what you need to eat?"
Fire Gu said, "I am the least picky Gu Worm in the entire world. I can eat almost
anything. I will eat whatever you feed me."
Northern Dark Ice Soul searched around, finding some tree branches and throwing
them towards Fire Gu. After Fire Gu ate, it started to shine more brightly. It was
giving off a warmer light and also grew from the size of a fist to around the size of a
basin.
It was very happy. "Can you bring me more food?"
Northern Dark Ice Soul nodded and looked around, finding a pile of rocks and
throwing them at Fire Gu. After eating for some time, Fire Gu sighed, "Sigh, I was
way too hungry. My teeth are not working well now. The things I could chew before, I
can't chew them now. Bring me some stuff that is easy to digest."
Northern Dark Ice Soul thought about it. "How about this, Fire Gu? Follow me and
light the way. Along the way, whatever you feel like eating, I will feed to you. Is that
alright?"
Fire Gu agreed and condensed into a small lump, letting Northern Dark Ice Soul hold
it. Like this, Northern Dark Ice Soul left on his return journey. Along the way, he fed
many things to Fire Gu.
After a while, Fire Gu grew larger. On this day, Northern Dark Ice Soul was resting.
Fire Gu was eating branches in front of him while swaying with the wind.
Suddenly, countless footsteps could be heard. Northern Dark Ice Soul looked and
saw a huge group of trees shining under the light of the fire. They were running
towards him in huge numbers. Not just trees, there were also countless wild beasts
and insect groups.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was extremely scared. He quickly picked up Fire Gu and ran.
Behind him, the trees, wild beasts, and insect groups were chasing. Wherever
Northern Dark Ice Soul went, they followed.
The pursuers shouted, "Whoever is in front, stop running. We do not want to harm
you; we just want to escape into the light. Dream Realms are about to reach us;
please help us and let us live under the light of the fire."
Northern Dark Ice Soul was breathing roughly. He could not run any further. Seeing
that he was about to be caught, Fire Gu said, "Oh human, don't be afraid. These
pursuers are my food. Let me help you. Just toss me there."
Northern Dark Ice Soul was forced by the circumstances. He could only listen to Fire
Gu and toss it towards them. What Fire Gu first encountered were a huge group of
trees.
These trees were Walking Meat Trees. The branches were made of meat; they
resembled the tentacles of octopuses. Fire Gu burned all of these trees, turning the
trunks into ashes and branches into cooked meat. The smell of fragrant meat
attracted Northern Dark Ice Soul, and he picked up one to eat, exclaiming that it was
delicious.
Chapter 19 – Living in a dream
Ren Zu's third son, Northern Dark Ice Soul, had entered a deep part of Black
Heaven, obtaining Fire Gu.
He was chased by many life forms inside Black Heaven, left without a choice, he
tossed Fire Gu towards them to protect himself.
Fire Gu lit up many of the Walking Meat Trees, and the fire spread out to ignite many
of the wild beasts' bodies.
At once, life forms were crying out as the light of the flames burst out brightly. "So
many delicious things, so many delicious things!" Fire Gu shouted in excitement. It
was no longer weak like before; it was tall and imposing. There was even a hint of
ruthlessness and madness in its tone.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was shocked: "Fire, oh fire, how did you become so huge?"
"I said, I am the least picky when it comes to food. I can eat almost anything. Fire
can draw out more fire; a spark can create a forest fire." Fire Gu shouted proudly as
it answered.
Suddenly, the flame rose up like a wall, moving towards Northern Dark Ice Soul.
Northern Dark Ice Soul quickly took a step back.
Fire Gu laughed loudly: "Oh human, do not be scared! You saved me; you are my
benefactor, you are my friend. They are afraid of me, but they need me to deal with
those Dream Realms, thus they imprisoned me and starved me. Only you helped
me, thus you are my true friend. From now on, if you have any difficulties, you can
count on me."
Northern Dark Ice Soul's heart was eased; he said happily: "That would be great, my
friend."
"Friend!" Fire Gu laughed loudly. It turned into a form of a human as it opened its
arms, wanting to give Northern Dark Ice Soul a hug.
Northern Dark Ice Soul jumped back in fear: "Oh fire, excessive fervor is the fire of
self-immolation. Let's keep a distance between us."
Fire Gu had no choice but to stop its actions. It spun around Northern Dark Ice Soul
as he said: "Oh human, you are so weak, you are not fun."
Northern Dark Ice Soul was surrounded in flames; he quickly waved his hand: "Don't
get too close, don't get too close. It is so hot, way too hot, leave a path open for me
to walk out."
Fire Gu had to open a path for Northern Dark Ice Soul to walk out of. After he walked
for several hundred steps, he looked back at the blazing sea of fire with a sigh of
relief.
But at this time, a wild beast came out from the shadows behind him, swallowing
Northern Dark Ice Soul in one mouthful.
"That is a Dream Realm! There are so many Dream Realms; they are catching up!"
Many life forms shouted as they escaped.
"Quickly release my friend!" Fire Gu shouted in anger, pouncing towards the beast
group of Dream Realms.
The Dream Realm beast group shrunk when shone by the light of the fire; they
rapidly melted like a candle. They growled and scattered all over the place.
Fire Gu continued to eat along the way; it spread towards the Dream Realm that
consumed Northern Dark Ice Soul.
The Dream Realms were escaping, but Fire Gu was chasing behind them. Among
the escaping Dream Realms, the larger their bodies, the stronger they were, and the
faster they ran away. Soon, they pulled some distance from Fire Gu.
As it turned out, the Dream Realms used the emotions and desires of their prey to
strengthen themselves.
Northern Dark Ice Soul, who was swallowed by a Dream Realm, had a huge desire
to survive. At the same time, his greatest goal was to revive his father.
In addition, he was filled with anxiety and was afraid he would not make it. He was
also filled with guilt and regret because Desolate Ancient Moon died due to him
giving her a meaning in life.
One could say that Northern Dark Ice Soul was the best prey for the Dream Realms.
The Dream Realm who swallowed him grew rapidly. Fire Gu growled loudly in anger,
but it was getting closer to the Dream Realm.
Northern Dark Ice Soul was deep inside the Dream Realm; he had fallen asleep. In
his dream, he saw Desolate Ancient Moon reviving and smiling to him, calling him a
good brother and saying she forgave him, and that she knew he did not do it
intentionally.
He saw that he was at the Door of Life and Death, successfully saving his father,
Ren Zu. Ren Zu praised him: "You are indeed my good son; if not for you, father
would not have revived."
Northern Dark Ice Soul's face was filled with a blissful smile.
And like that, many days passed.
The sea of fire was still burning intensely; it spread all over Black Heaven as it finally
blocked all of the Dream Realms which were escaping.
Under the burning of the flames, the Dream Realm quickly melted as Northern Dark
Ice Soul fell onto the ground, waking up from his dream.
He suddenly understood that everything in his dream was fake; his happiness was
not real. What he faced was a burning hot Fire Gu. But his face was filled with tears;
he felt an extreme cold that was piercing into his bones.
He cried out loud, questioning Fire Gu: "Why, why did you wake me up? I still want to
dream; I want to be eaten by the Dream Realm."
Fire Gu reminded him helplessly: "Oh human, you must know, dreams are often the
opposite of reality; they are fake."
"I don't want to listen; I don't care." Northern Dark Ice Soul cried out as he covered
his ears and shook his head.
Fire Gu was anxious: "I am your friend; I do not want—"
Northern Dark Ice Soul interrupted it before it finished: "Since you are my friend, you
should not restrict me or obstruct me."
"Sigh..." Fire Gu let out a long sigh; it fell into silence, giving Northern Dark Ice Soul
a path leading out without a better choice.
Northern Dark Ice Soul quickly ran out, wanting to find another Dream Realm within
the darkness to have him eaten once again.
Chapter 20 – Origin of dreams
At the end of The Legends of Ren Zu, it said — Ren Zu's ten children died one after
another. Even Ren Zu himself was going to die of old age; he was at the end of his
life. Before dying, Ren Zu retrieved the corpses of his ten children and sacrificed
himself, sending them all into Derivation Gu's stomach, eaten by it.
Large amounts of Dream Realms also followed the smell of the delicious food, going
into Derivation Gu's mouth along with them.
Derivation Gu's stomach burst open as countless lights of life shone on the lands,
creating the first batch of mortals.
Because the Dream Realm was involved in the derivation, the first batch of mortals
would experience dreams when they slept at night. Humans often sink deep into
dreams, like Northern Dark Ice Soul, and are unable to free themselves from it.
Chapter 21 – Stepping into Ordinary Abyss
Ren Zu started walking on the Road of Life. The surroundings were pure darkness,
and under his feet was dirty mud.
Ren Zu asked Self Gu, "Where is this?"
Self Gu replied, "This is the ordinary marsh in the lowest level of Ordinary Abyss."
Ren Zu knew of Ordinary Abyss; his eldest son Verdant Great Sun had once been
trapped inside.
Ren Zu could not help but become excited: "Since this is the bottom of Ordinary
Abyss, does that mean I have already left the Door of Life and Death and returned to
the living world? Does that mean I am now reborn?"
"In a way, that is true," Self Gu said.
"But how is this possible? I have not passed Luo Po Valley and have not charged
through the Reverse Flow River," Ren Zu said in an incredulous tone.
Self Gu said, "Oh human, you should know that you are talking about the path Fate
Gu travelled. And this path you have walked on is a completely new path, a path
created by you. Where this path goes is all decided by your own intentions. Like I
said before, as long as you want to walk, there will be a road for you to step on."
Ren Zu suddenly realized: "So it was like this."
He then felt doubtful: "Then how did I walk to this place?"
Self Gu: "Humans are born ordinary. Although they are the spirit of all living beings,
they do not have the claws of a tiger nor the ability to absorb nutrients from the earth
like plants, and also cannot transform like clouds and rain. You came to the ordinary
marsh; what's strange about it? It is not only you. Look at the mud under your feet
carefully; you will see traces of many other footprints."
Ren Zu lowered his head close to the ground before he was able to see clearly. Like
Self Gu said, the ordinary marsh was filled with all kinds of marks. Claw prints of wild
beasts, root imprints of vegetation, traces of water flowing, and also traces of stones
rolling past.
"How can there be so many marks?" Ren Zu asked curiously.
Self Gu replied, "This is Ordinary Abyss. All living beings will enter here due to
various reasons. All living beings are ordinary. But the absolute majority of them will
be trapped in Ordinary Abyss for all their lives. Only a small portion can leave
Ordinary Abyss through their own efforts."
"I do not want to be trapped here for my entire life. There is nothing here; it is
completely dark, and the air stinks. I want to leave this place," Ren Zu frowned.
Self Gu laughed loudly: "If you think that being ordinary is an abyss, then it is an
abyss. But if you think that being ordinary is heaven, then it shall be heaven. Since
you do not want to stay here, then leave, use your two legs to walk out of the
ordinary marsh step by step and become extraordinary."
Ren Zu took the first step.
Suddenly, his body bent, his front leg was deeply embedded into the marsh.
It was not easy to walk in the marsh; one step was deep, another was shallow. The
path which looked almost uniform had some parts that were rather solid, while some
were very loose.
Ren Zu walked several steps when his eyes suddenly brightened as he thought of a
trick.
He purposely chose to walk on the spots which had the claw marks, since these
spots could hold the marks; its soil texture was also much more solid.
Thus, Ren Zu was able to walk very smoothly, almost like he was running when
compared to his previous speed.
He said with a burst of emotion: "So it turns out that in an ordinary marsh, walking in
the footsteps of predecessors is much faster than finding the way on your own."
Chapter 22 – Becoming Extraordinary
At this time, his original heart, the heart of loneliness, spoke in Self Gu's voice: "Oh,
human, I have thought about a way to leave the abyss. You can plant a tall and
grand accomplishment tree. As long as this tree is taller than Ordinary Abyss, you
will be able to leave this place by climbing onto this tree."
Ren Zu thought about it and his eyes shined: "That's right, that is a good idea."
But he was troubled again: "But how can I plant a tree that is so grand, taller than
Ordinary Abyss?"
Self Gu said: "You used the blood from your feet to plant this forest, these are all
ordinary trees. If you use the blood from your heart, you should be able to plant a
great accomplishment tree. Buried under the ground of Ordinary Abyss are many
blades, why don't you use these blades to stab into your heart? The heart blood that
flows out can be used to water the trees."
Ren Zu tried the method that Self Gu said.
The blade stabbed into his heart, causing immense pain. This pain was hundreds
and thousands of times greater than the ones in his body.
Eventually, the trees that were watered grew tall and large, much larger than the
original trees.
Ren Zu felt pain but also joy. He continued to stab more blades into his heart,
causing more heart blood to flow out. The more blades he stabbed, the more heart
blood flowed out, and the larger the trees he planted.
But even the tallest accomplishment tree was only half the height of Ordinary Abyss.
Ren Zu continued to persevere, as Hope Gu accompanied him.
When the crown of the tree he planted reached the same height as Ordinary Abyss,
the trunk of the tree cracked open, and inside, a girl came out.
"Father, father!" The girl went into Ren Zu's embrace; she was very adorable.
This was Ren Zu's fourth child, called Boundless Forest Samsara.
Ren Zu was also overjoyed; he played around with his daughter. When Boundless
Forest Samsara was hungry, he would get her fruits to eat.
"So sweet, so sweet." Boundless Forest Samsara loved to eat fruits; she became
healthy and well-fed.
She played in the forest every day, feeling immense joy.
Ren Zu still wanted to walk out of the Ordinary Abyss. Boundless Forest Samsara
urged him many times: "Father, why must you exhaust yourself? Isn't staying here
great? There are trees to shelter us, fruits to feed us; we can play here forever. Life
will be peaceful until we die of old age."
Ren Zu shook his head; his attitude was firm. He planted an even greater tree, and
the branches of the trees left Ordinary Abyss completely. Boundless Forest Samsara
cried; she held onto Ren Zu's hands as she pleaded: "Father, don't abandon me. I
cannot climb trees; if you go, I will be left here alone. I do not know how to plant
trees; there are limited fruits. One day, I will die of hunger."
Ren Zu said: "Why would I abandon you? You are my daughter; I will carry you and
leave this place."
Thus, the father and daughter climbed the tree.
The higher they went, the more exhausted Ren Zu felt. Boundless Forest Samsara
was a heavy burden; even without her, climbing the tree alone was very dangerous,
not to mention carrying a person who could not climb the tree at all.
The bigger problem was the tree started wavering and making cracking noises.
Cognition Gu told Ren Zu: "Oh no, Ren Zu, you are carrying your daughter; it is
impossible to get out of Ordinary Abyss. This is your accomplishment tree; it cannot
help others become extraordinary, even your daughter is no exception."
Ren Zu shook his head: "I do not want to give up."
Hope Gu also urged him: "Put her down; otherwise, you cannot leave this place.
Even though you have the hearts of loneliness and discontent, after planting so
many trees, your heart blood is already dry. This is your last hope! Look, the tree is
about to collapse."
Ren Zu waved his hand: "I still want to try."
Self Gu saw that Ren Zu was stubborn from his actions and seeing that the other Gu
Worms failed to convince him, it flew out.
"Ah, this is killing me!" Self Gu did not discuss with Ren Zu; it bit on Boundless
Forest Samsara's hand.
Boundless Forest Samsara shouted in pain; she was furious and wanted to kill Self
Gu.
But this way, she let go of her hands, with the shaking tree, she fell off Ren Zu's
back, crashing and tumbling. After breaking her fall from many branches, she landed
on the ground, in great pain, as she started crying.
"Daughter!" Ren Zu shouted, wanting to go down.
"It's too late; the tree is going to fall!" Self Gu pushed Ren Zu; he took a huge step
forward subconsciously, leaving Ordinary Abyss.
The tree fell.
Ren Zu was at the edge of the cliff; he lost the way back. He shouted helplessly:
"Daughter, I will return to save you."
Boundless Forest Samsara cried, saying with much sadness and helplessness:
"Father, how could you be so cruel to leave me behind to live here alone? I am so
scared."
Ren Zu heard her cries and felt extremely anguished. He checked around Ordinary
Abyss but could not find a way in.
"It is no use," Self Gu said. "Your accomplishment tree, even if it has fallen, is proof
of your grandeur. A grand person is extraordinary; how can a person who is not
ordinary enter Ordinary Abyss?"
Chapter 23 – Learning through other’s failure
After Ren Zu climbed the giant tree and walked out of Ordinary Abyss, he left behind
his daughter, Boundless Forest Samsara.
Ren Zu wanted to save her, but there was nothing he could do. He had become
extraordinary, no longer able to enter Ordinary Abyss.
Ren Zu saw that pacing around this place was not going to help. He decided to set
out again to find a way to rescue his eldest child, Verdant Great Sun, and his fourth
child, Boundless Forest Samsara. He started a new journey, beginning his Road of
Life.
On this day, he came across a Hairy Man.
The Hairy Man stopped him and was clearly happy: "Ren Zu, I had a tough time
looking for you."
Ren Zu felt strange: "I don't recognize you, why are you searching for me?"
The Hairy Man explained: "It is like this, Ren Zu. I am the leader of all the Hairy Men
in the world. No Hairy Man can match my Gu Refinement attainment. But I have
recently encountered a problem when refining Gu. I want to refine Success Gu, but I
am unable to confirm if it is success or failure."
Ren Zu had wanted to continue traveling, but he had a thought well up in his mind. If
the Hairy Man Leader could truly refine Success Gu, and he borrowed this Gu,
couldn't he rescue his eldest child or his fourth child?
Therefore, Ren Zu stopped and talked with the Hairy Man: "But what do you need
from me?"
The Hairy Man cautiously took out a Gu. This Gu resembled an ordinary rock and
was covered with a thick layer of hair. The Hairy Man spoke: "I do not dare to break
it. If it is Success Gu, that is fine. But if it is Failure Gu, the moment I break it, I will
completely lose my sense of self. But Ren Zu, you are different. You are walking on a
path that solely belongs to you; this means you have Self Gu. Since you have Self
Gu, even if you break the Failure Gu, you will not lose yourself. So I want to request
you to appraise it."
Ren Zu was happy: "So it is like that. I can help you, but if it is Success Gu, please
give it to me. I have an urgent need for it."
The Hairy Man said: "Alright! That is no problem."
Ren Zu touched the Gu Worm in front of him. He made a wish upon this Gu: "Please
return my fourth child, Boundless Forest Samsara, to my side."
At the next moment, the Gu Worm crumbled.
"Failure." The Hairy Man was dejected: "It seems I refined a Failure Gu."
Courage Gu on Ren Zu flew out: "Ren Zu, you are a failure. I am leaving you."
Courage Gu left Ren Zu and flew away.
The Hairy Man, however, was invigorated: "It doesn't matter. I can improve the Gu
Recipe. Ren Zu, wait a moment, I will refine it again."
Ren Zu wanted to chase after Courage Gu and take it back, but he had an even
greater desire for Success Gu to rescue his children.
He thought for a moment and decided to wait for the Hairy Man Leader to refine the
Gu.
The Hairy Man refined the second Gu and gave it to Ren Zu for inspection.
Ren Zu touched the Gu and made a wish; the Gu Worm crumbled again.
"Another Failure Gu." The Hairy Man sighed in dejection.
Faith Gu on Ren Zu flew out: "Ren Zu, you are a failure, you are not worthy of me."
Faith Gu also left Ren Zu.
Ren Zu stamped his foot and wanted to chase after it, but the Hairy Man tugged him:
"Don't be in a hurry. I have thought it through; this time I can definitely refine Success
Gu."
Faith Gu had already flown far away. Ren Zu realized he could not catch up to it and
said with a sigh: "Hairy Man, refine it quickly, this is the last time I am trusting you."
The Hairy Man's third Gu Worm was still the Failure Gu.
Strength Gu also flew out: "Ren Zu, you are a failure, you are unworthy of
possessing me."
Strength Gu flew away, and Ren Zu felt bitter as he knew chasing after it would not
give any result. So he could only gaze as Strength Gu flew far away.
However, right at this time, Self Gu in his heart suddenly flew out and bit Strength
Gu.
Strength Gu shrieked and flew even faster as a piece of it was bitten away. It soon
disappeared like a streak of smoke.
Ren Zu and the Hairy Man watched with stupefied expressions.
Self Gu leisurely flew back and said proudly to Ren Zu: "Any failure has its value.
Ren Zu, I went through repeated failures and absorbed them to become stronger.
Just now, I took a bite of Strength Gu; from now on, you will have your strength! I can
still become stronger; I can devour any Gu Worms to possess all their strength."
Ren Zu was shocked.
The Hairy Man Leader slapped his thigh, shouting: "I know how to refine Success
Gu; it is through failures. The more failures there are, the closer I will be to success! I
understand, I understand now."
He shouted happily as he rushed away, leaving Ren Zu behind.
Chapter 24 – Freedom in death
The Legends of Ren Zu state that Ren Zu walked on his own Road of Life. After
separating from the Hairy Man Leader, he encountered Feathermen in Green
Heaven.
Ren Zu was extremely happy when he saw these Feathermen because they had
wings on their back. Since the Feathermen could understand Ren Zu's words, both
sides could communicate.
Ren Zu requested the Feathermen, "Feathermen, please help me. My daughter is in
Ordinary Abyss and cannot come out. Please fly down and rescue my daughter, let
us father and daughter reunite."
The Feathermen laughed loudly, "Human, how can you order us? Us Feathermen
are the most free living beings in the world; no one can order us or bind us. You want
us to listen to your request and follow your wish, that is impossible."
Ren Zu kept on persuading and even pleaded with them, but the Feathermen simply
kept on flying in the air, enjoying the pleasure of freedom. Ren Zu's mouth had
already dried, but the Feathermen only treated him as a clown, ridiculing Ren Zu as
if they were looking at a joke.
“Oh look, such a pitiful human.”
“So, what if he is the life form with the most intelligence in the world?”
“He doesn't have wings and can only walk on the ground; he is so pitiful. Fortunately,
I am not a human, but a Featherman. See how vigorously I can fly.”
…
In Ren Zu's heart of loneliness, Self Gu started getting angrier as it heard these
words. Finally, it could not hold the anger back and jumped out.
"All of you, come down," Self Gu displayed its might, capturing all the Feathermen in
the sky at once.
Ren Zu could not help but become greatly startled at this: "Self Gu, when did you
become so strong?"
Self Gu said proudly, "It is only natural. I took a bite out of Strength Gu, now that I
have my own strength, I possess immense might. Moreover, there is no need to pay
any price to use this strength. Human, you need to know what is most reliable is your
own strength. And without strength, freedom is just an illusion."
The Feathermen were captured and could no longer fly to the sky, pressed onto the
ground without being able to move. They began to throw curses at Ren Zu and Self
Gu in anger.
Ren Zu heaved a sigh, "Feathermen, I did not mean to offend you. Please forgive my
rudeness. I only want to ask you to save my daughter. When I reunite with her, I will
definitely reward you."
"Impossible! We Feathermen are the most free."
"Even if our bodies lose freedom, our hearts are still free."
"Right, right."
"Cruel human, you can't impose your will on any Featherman."
The Feathermen kept on shouting without any intention to compromise.
Ren Zu persuaded them for three days and three nights, but it was in vain. Helpless,
he could only let go of these Feathermen.
Self Gu spoke bitterly, "Human, how could you release them so easily? Don't you
want to rescue your fourth child?"
Ren Zu, however, replied confidently, "I have already understood that these
Feathermen cannot be forced. After these days of contact with the Feathermen, I
have found these Feathermen might be free, but they don't have dens to shelter
themselves from wind and rain, and they also don't have enough food to fill their
stomachs. To make them help, I have to make them do it willingly."
Thereupon, Ren Zu built a house near the Feathermen. Every day, he relied on Self
Gu to gather a lot of wild fruits and hunt many Beasts.
The Feathermen soon discovered the safety and warmth of the house. Especially
during the days of storms, the Feathermen could only hide in groves of trees,
shivering and starving, while Ren Zu stayed within his house, enjoying the warmth of
a fireplace and sumptuous food.
On one cold night, some Feathermen quietly moved under the roof of Ren Zu's
house, to evade the wind and snow, while also greedily absorbing the warmth
leaking out from the crack in the door.
Ren Zu wore the mask of Attitude Gu and opened the door, using an extremely warm
attitude to invite these Feathermen into the house and to enjoy the warmth and food
with him.
As this repeated several times, more and more Feathermen came into Ren Zu's
house.
Ren Zu was very hospitable and would entertain the Feathermen every day, even
giving the area near the fireplace to the Feathermen. No matter how much the
Feathermen ate, he let them eat without restraint.
The Feathermen gradually became accustomed to living this way until one day, Ren
Zu saw the timing was ripe and took off Attitude Gu, revealing his true, cold
expression.
He shut the door of the house and stored all the food as well, no longer supplying
them to the Feathermen for free.
The Feathermen were caught off-guard and were frantic. They were already used to
the safety and warmth of the house, used to plentiful food; they rarely flew now and
hunted even less. Their stockpile of food was extremely small. Many Feathermen
were fat to the extent they could not fly.
The Feathermen had no way to deal with Ren Zu's behaviour. They could not beat
Ren Zu, who possessed Self Gu.
Soon, all the Feathermen reached a situation where they would die from hunger or
the cold.
Several days later, many Feathermen died.
Ren Zu waited and waited until he became extremely anxious, as the Feathermen
showed no signs of coming to terms with him.
In the end, when most of the Feathermen died, Ren Zu could not help but mention
the old matter again: "Feathermen, as long as you move your wings to fly to Ordinary
Abyss and rescue my daughter, I will give you enough food and also warm houses."
However, the remaining Feathermen still shook their heads.
Eventually, they all died.
From these Feathermen's corpses, many small creatures flew out. They looked like
tiny specks of light, shining with all kinds of colors. Ren Zu tried to grab them but was
not able to.
"It is no use," Cognition Gu informed him at this moment. "Wild Freedom Gu cannot
be caught. These Feathermen chased after freedom since their birth, but it is a pity
that only after their death could they find freedom."
Chapter 25 – Miniman in a well
Boundless Forest Samsara was separated from her father, Ren Zu, and could only
stay in Ordinary Abyss.
She was heartbroken and did not feel happy eating the fruits anymore.
Every day, she would shed tears and weep incessantly, until she got tired and
gradually fell asleep.
In a dream of hers, she vaguely heard some extremely soft voices and felt
something small, like an ant, climbing her body.
Immediately, she woke up and sat up, and saw a Miniman was climbing on her body.
Because of Boundless Forest Samsara's movement, this Miniman's foothold became
unstable, and it fell to the ground.
"Who are you? There is actually such a small person like you in the world?"
Boundless Forest Samsara saw the Miniman that was not even the size of her finger
and felt extremely curious, forgetting to cry for a moment.
The Miniman looked at the giant Boundless Forest Samsara with a stupefied look,
and after the shock, he raised his head and started crying loudly.
"Hey, little person, I am not crying, what are you crying for?" Boundless Forest
Samsara was puzzled.
The Miniman spoke while crying, "I am the tallest in my tribe, and I was brave,
arrogant, and proud because of this. Today, I intended to climb a mountain, but to
think that this mountain was really a person. There are actually such giant people
like you in the world; this is the first time I've seen someone like you, so I burst into
tears."
Almost every person who explored and grew up would have such a mental journey.
The more they saw, the more they realized their weaknesses. Sometimes they would
sigh at the vastness of the world, and sometimes they would find how far their goal
was, and to reach their goal, they had to go through an endless journey which they
had not considered before. They would feel loss, bewilderment, discouragement,
panic, even hopelessness.
Thus, one could understand the Miniman crying when it saw Boundless Forest
Samsara.
Chapter 26 – Fear is scarier than death
Legend says that Ren Zu tried to rely on the capabilities of the Feathermen to save
his daughter, who was still stuck inside Ordinary Abyss.
However, the Feathermen wanted freedom; they did not want to be restricted.
Ren Zu thought of a scheme, but he failed; the Feathermen would rather die than
compromise their freedom.
Ren Zu fell into deep perplexity.
He could not find a better way to save his children.
The same situation applied to his eldest son, Verdant Great Sun, and also his
daughter, Boundless Forest Samsara.
At this time, Self Gu spoke in Ren Zu's heart: "Oh human, you want to save your
son, Verdant Great Sun, I have a method."
Ren Zu thought that he had to save at least one of them; he quickly asked: "Oh?
What method?"
Self Gu laughed: "All living beings in this world will die; this is because Fate Gu
entered the Door of Life and Death and left a trace behind when searching for
Fairness Gu. Oh human, you can enter the Door of Life and Death and walk on the
Road of Life and Road of Death; as long as you do not walk on the traces of fate,
you will step on a road that belongs to you solely. When you walk into the Door of
Life and Death and leave again, you will form a brand new road; that would be
partway to success.
Next, as long as you bring Verdant Great Sun onto the path that you walked on and
leave the Door of Life and Death, you will be able to return to the human world where
the sun shines. Your son, Verdant Great Sun, will be able to escape death and
revive."
Ren Zu heard the method of Self Gu and was very hesitant, but there was no better
solution available.
Thus, he decided to let Boundless Forest Samsara stay inside Ordinary Abyss for a
while longer, while he used the method taught by Self Gu to save his eldest son,
Verdant Great Sun.
Ren Zu set off towards the Door of Life and Death; as he walked, one day, he met
with a Beastman.
This Beastman was very muscular; his muscles were like rocks, the fangs in his
mouth were sharper than blades. He took huge steps, sprinting in the wilderness as
he shouted: "Don't get any closer, don't come here! I am afraid."
Ren Zu was very curious; he asked: "Oh Beastman, what are you afraid of?"
The Beastman said: "I am afraid of my own shadow; it keeps following me, I cannot
get rid of it. I am so afraid that I can only run around in all directions; I am tired,
hungry, and thirsty, I am going to die."
Ren Zu felt that this was funny: "Oh Beastman, you have such a powerful body, yet
you are afraid of a harmless shadow, do you have a cowardly heart? What is there to
be afraid of?"
At this time, a Gu Worm came out of the Beastman's heart; it laughed at Ren Zu: "Oh
human, do not speak so shamelessly. You do not feel afraid because you have not
encountered me, Fear Gu. Hehehehehe."
"Fear Gu?" Ren Zu took a step back; his expression changed.
Once Fear Gu appeared, fear started to well up in Ren Zu's heart.
He was afraid.
Fear Gu laughed even more arrogantly now; it said to the Beastman: "I will let you off
now, little Beastman, you pitiful worm."
The Beastman was free now; it fell to the ground, weeping in extreme joy.
Fear Gu turned around, facing Ren Zu: "Oh human, you dared to look down on me,
Fear Gu; now I will torture you with endless fear."
Saying this, Fear Gu flew into Ren Zu's heart with a whooshing sound.
Ren Zu felt immense fear.
He was afraid of this, and afraid of that.
Fear Gu made him scared of the wind; every time the wind blew, Ren Zu screamed
in horror.
Fear Gu made him afraid of sunlight; Ren Zu could only travel at night and often lost
his way. During the daytime, he would enter caves or hide inside thick bushes.
Fear Gu also made Ren Zu afraid of tree leaves; thus Ren Zu ran away from the
forests; every tree he saw made him shriek.
Fear Gu made Ren Zu afraid of snakes; in the end, Ren Zu even stopped using the
grass ropes that he made himself.
After that, Fear Gu made Ren Zu scared of rain.
Whenever it rained, Ren Zu would shrivel up and look at the sky that was raining
continuously, feeling extreme fear.
Ren Zu wanted to go to the Door of Life and Death, but after being struck by Fear
Gu, he could not move much; he could not make any progress.
When Fear Gu understood Ren Zu's motive, it made Ren Zu scared of death.
Ren Zu no longer dared to walk towards the Door of Life and Death because once
he entered the Door of Life and Death, he would be walking from life towards death.
Ren Zu was afraid that he would die; he could only stay in place.
Self Gu sighed: "Oh human, actually death is not scary; the real scary thing is the
fear in your heart."
"That is right!" Fear Gu heard this and said proudly: "The only thing worth being
afraid of is fear."
Chapter 27 – Opening one’s horizon
Ren Zu’s fourth child, Boundless Forest Samsara, fell from the tree; she did not
follow after Ren Zu; instead, she was trapped inside Ordinary Abyss.
One day, when she was sleeping, she met a Miniman.
The Miniman was crying; Boundless Forest Samsara asked him why.
The Miniman spoke while crying: “I am the tallest in my tribe, and I was brave,
arrogant, and proud because of this. Today, I intended to climb a mountain, but to
think that this mountain was really a person. There are actually such giant people
like you in the world; this is the first time I’ve seen someone like you, so I burst into
tears.”
Since then, Boundless Forest Samsara and the Miniman became good friends; they
were inseparable.
"Miniman, oh Miniman, where is your father? Do you not have siblings? Why have I
never seen your family?" One day, Boundless Forest Samsara asked the Miniman.
The Miniman directed Boundless Forest Samsara to a well, saying: “Look at this
well; my former home is inside.”
Boundless Forest Samsara sprawled in front of the well, extending her head to look
inside.
Next, she shouted: “Ah, there are so many Minimen!”
She saw that there were countless Minimen inside the well; they were living together.
They built many houses; they lived among each other; there were markets, flowers; it
was a harmonious scene; they were very happy.
The Minimen in the well also shouted:
"Why did the sky become so dark? It’s night time already."
"There was thunder but no rain; I don’t see lightning either."
The Minimen were in panic; they discussed as the entire city went into commotion.
"Your family is here? Why did you go outside the well? You don’t want to live with
them?" Boundless Forest Samsara asked.
The Miniman shook his head: "They were the ones who exiled me; they think I am a
monster."
"Oh? Why is that?" Boundless Forest Samsara was curious.
The Miniman answered with sadness: "I told them that the world we were living in
was just a well. The outside world is very big. But they did not believe me; they told
me to stop spouting nonsense."
"I also told them that the mountain at the fringe of our city is a very small mound. But
they refuse to believe me; they think that it is the tallest mountain in the world; they
told me to stop spreading lies."
"Which mountain is it?" Boundless Forest Samsara asked.
"That’s Miniscule Mountain." The Miniman pointed.
Boundless Forest Samsara started to giggle: "You call that a mountain? It can fit in
my palm."
Suddenly, Boundless Forest Samsara clapped: "Then let me tell them the truth."
The Miniman shook his head: "It is useless."
Boundless Forest Samsara did not believe him; she faced the well as she shouted;
the Minimen inside started to panic even more.
They felt that today was too strange.
Not only did the sky turn dark, but there was also thunder rumbling, and it was
getting louder and more frequent.
"Heaven is raging, I want to repent, I want to confess."
"No, it is a monster, a monster ate heaven; it is burping now."
"Save me, this world is getting destroyed."
Some Minimen knelt on the ground and begged; some had despair on their faces,
while others were running around crazily.
Boundless Forest Samsara’s breathing became a tornado inside the well.
Boundless Forest Samsara’s saliva became a huge rainstorm when it went into the
well.
Boundless Forest Samsara’s words were like rumbling thunder in the Minimen’s
ears; their eardrums almost burst from it.
Boundless Forest Samsara eventually gave up; she sprawled outside the well,
exhausted; she said weakly: "Why are these Minimen so stupid? Can’t they be like
you, to get out of the well and see the world?"
The Miniman shook his head as he sighed: "They think that they are big enough;
they think the sky is round; they think the mountain is only that tall; they think life is
just like this."
"Then why did you climb out?" Boundless Forest Samsara opened her eyes wide as
she asked with curiosity.
The Miniman smiled bitterly: "Because I realized how small and insignificant, I was;
therefore, I got out to see how big the world is."
Chapter 28 – Betrayal and Loyalty to oneself
Ren Zu wanted to save his own children, but he encountered a Beastman along the
way; he was affected by Fear Gu.
Fear Gu made Ren Zu fear everything; he was unable to advance due to this fear.
Ren Zu was tormented by his fear, in deep agony; he consulted Self Gu.
Self Gu answered: “Then let me eat it.”
Ren Zu waved his hand: “No, no. I want nothing more than to avoid fear. If you eat it,
this fear will stay with me for life. This is too risky.”
Ren Zu asked Cognition Gu.
Cognition Gu said: “Oh, human, you want to conquer fear; you need to have
courage.”
Ren Zu was troubled: “I used to have Courage Gu as my companion; it is the friend
of Faith Gu. But because I encountered the Hairy Men, due to Failure Gu, it left me.”
Cognition Gu said: “I’ll teach you a method, hide Fear Gu deep within your heart.
Move forward after that, and Courage Gu will come to you. Courageous people are
not fearless; they are just hiding fear deep within their hearts.”
Ren Zu was more troubled now: “Oh Gu, what are you thinking? Precisely because
of fear, I cannot advance, thus I need courage. But you are telling me that to obtain
courage, I need to move forward first.”
While they were talking, a Gu Worm flew over.
“Is it Courage Gu?” Ren Zu was overjoyed before feeling disappointment.
Because this Immortal Gu was not Courage Gu; it was Love Gu.
Sometimes, love comes to you on its own.
Love Gu said: “Oh human, I can smell hope and fear from you, as love, they are my
food.”
Ren Zu was overjoyed: “You can take fear away, but hope is mine; I cannot give it to
you.”
Love Gu refused: “Only hope and fear can nourish me together; that is how I survive.
Oh human, then I can only stay by your side.”
Ren Zu did not have any good feelings towards Love Gu; he was not very willing, but
Love Gu said, “Don’t chase me away; with me around, you can summon Courage
Gu.”
Indeed, after Ren Zu called out, Courage Gu flew to his side a while later. “Ah, this is
the aura of love. Oh, and fear too.” Courage Gu landed in Ren Zu’s heart with much
satisfaction.
It was actually good friends with Fear Gu; the two were playing as they flew around
Ren Zu’s heart.
Fear and courage are often within one’s grasp.
Ren Zu had courage; his fear dissipated by a huge amount; he could move on again.
“Oh Ren Zu, I want to thank you; you are the reason why I broke free from fear.”
Before Ren Zu left, the Beastman came to him.
“I have two Gu here, one is loyalty, one is betrayal. Choose one; this will be my token
of gratitude towards you.” The Beastman said, taking out two Gu Worms, holding
one in each hand.
Ren Zu did not know which to choose.
Love Gu said: “Choose loyalty; you already have fear.”
Cognition Gu said instead: “Go choose betrayal; you already have Courage.”
Ren Zu was troubled; he asked the Beastman: “Can I take a look at them first?”
The Beastman said: “Of course.”
Ren Zu thus obtained both Loyalty Gu and Betrayal Gu, but to think that after he took
them, Loyalty Gu turned into Betrayal Gu, and Betrayal Gu turned into Loyalty Gu.
Ren Zu was puzzled.
The Beastman explained: “Loyalty to others is betrayal to oneself; betraying others is
loyalty to yourself.”
Self Gu spoke at this time: “Oh human, choose betrayal. Since you are walking on
your own road, you will need to betray others, and even betray yourself.”
Ren Zu made up his mind; he chose Betrayal Gu.
The Beastman kept Loyalty Gu; before leaving, he told Ren Zu: “Oh Ren Zu, you
have betrayal now; you cannot go to a place called ‘Care’. At that place, betrayal will
harm you, but if you do not ‘care,’ then betrayal cannot harm you at all.”
Ren Zu nodded: “Thank you, Beastman; I will remember your advice.”
Chapter 29 – Love must be selfless
Ren Zu obtained love, courage, and betrayal; he was no longer unable to progress
due to fear. He continued to move forward.
On this day, he walked on his road, hearing a voice behind: “Oh Ren Zu, I finally
found you. Slow down, wait for me.” Ren Zu stopped moving, turning around. He
saw a Snowman running up to him.
“What is it, Snowman?” Ren Zu asked curiously.
The Snowman said: “Oh Ren Zu, I finally found you. I am the strongest Snowman in
my tribe. Snowmen are said to be afraid of fire, and I want to prove that it is untrue. I
travelled the world, and I have already conquered the Bright Light Glorious Ring Fire
in the sky, the Azure Divine Stone Furnace Fire in the earth, and the Raging Wave
Rising Dragon Fire in the sea. But I heard that there is a fourth type of fire in this
world, called the Fire of Love. Once it burns, it can turn all life forms in this world into
cinders. I do not believe it, and I heard that you have just obtained Love Gu, thus I
wanted to try it.”
“Fire of Love?” Ren Zu was surprised, hearing it for the first time. Thus, he called out
Love Gu, asking: “Oh Gu, oh Gu, can you emit the Fire of Love?”
Love Gu replied: “I can, and I cannot.”
Ren Zu and the Snowman were curious, and they asked: “What do you mean by can
and cannot?”
Love Gu explained: “I can because I am necessary to emit the Fire of Love. But I
cannot because I alone am not sufficient; two hearts are needed.”
“Two hearts?” The Snowman was worried, and she took out her heart from her
chest. This heart was huge and tough, emitting strong pressure.
The Snowman said: “This is my Heart of Domination, and it is a pity that I only have
one heart.”
Ren Zu said: “Don’t worry, I have a heart too.”
Ren Zu originally had one heart, but he gave it to Hope Gu. He next obtained a Heart
of Loneliness, and Self Gu was residing within it. He also had a Heart of Discontent.
Thus, right now, he took out the Heart of Discontent.
The Heart of Discontent was dry and shrivelled, small and weak, because this heart
had little blood left. Ren Zu had once used almost all of his heart blood in Ordinary
Abyss to grow the grass and trees of achievement.
Love Gu flew into the Heart of Discontent and flew out, then it flew into the Heart of
Domination and flew out again. It flew into the sky and said: “Alright, you want the
Fire of Love, let these two hearts clash.”
The Snowman and Ren Zu took out their respective hearts, putting them together.
Crackle, sparks were created. The sparks grew rapidly, turning into a Blazing Flame
– Fire of Love.
The Fire of Love burned on Ren Zu’s heart of discontent; it instantly turned this heart
into ashes. Ren Zu was stunned.
Love Gu said: “Love has a price; it makes people willing to sacrifice.”
The Snowman laughed: “Oh Ren Zu, thankfully you have two hearts; otherwise,
without a heart, you would die.”
The Snowman turned to look at the Heart of Domination in her hand. The Fire of
Love enveloped this heart, but this heart shone brighter and brighter.
The Snowman was nonchalant: “Oh, what? This Fire of Love only has an impressive
appearance, it neither has the heat of Bright Light Glorious Ring Fire, nor the
heaviness of Azure Divine Stone Furnace Fire, nor the chaos of Raging Wave Rising
Dragon Fire.”
As she said that, she placed the Heart of Domination into her chest. Next, her body
started bursting out in flames; she started melting like snowflakes under the sun. She
turned pale from shock, she quickly patted and attempted to put out the Fire of Love.
But the Fire of Love could not be extinguished. Eventually, the Snowman completely
melted, only her heart was left, burning in raging flames.
Ren Zu was extremely shocked; he felt that this Snowman was very strong, to think
that she would vanish like this.
“The Fire of Love is so scary.” Ren Zu was shocked.
Love Gu said: “The result of love varies from heart to heart. The heart of the
Snowman was domination, but you had the Heart of Discontent, and it was
completely burned from the fire. Thus, this was the result. Actually, there are good
results that can occur when the Fire of Love burns. The results of love varied each
experience of love was a risk and gamble.”
Ren Zu suddenly thought of something, becoming stirred up: “Oh Love Gu, you said
that love can make people willing to sacrifice. This is wonderful, I will fall in love with
the Feathermen and make them willing to fly for me so that they can save my
daughter from Ordinary Abyss.”
Right at this moment, a voice could be heard: “Father, father.”
From the burning flames of the Heart of Domination, a boy jumped out. He was
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance.
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance jumped into Ren Zu’s arms as he said: “Father,
father, so I have a sister as well. I support you, let’s go save sister.”
Ren Zu was extremely overjoyed; he rubbed Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance’s
head as he said: “My son, you are so smart and sensible.”
Ren Zu brought Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance and went on a journey again, not
long after, they returned to the gathering spot of the Feathermen.
Ren Zu took out his Heart of Loneliness, saying to the Feathermen: “Do you all have
hearts?”
The Feathermen answered: “We all have the Heart of Freedom.”
Ren Zu laughed: “Then let us fall in love. I have a heart too, as well as Love Gu.”
The Feathermen shook their heads: “The Heart of Freedom will be completely
burned in the Fire of Love. The process of pursuing love was also the process of
losing freedom.”
Ren Zu was persistent: “The results of love vary from hearts to hearts. Don’t just look
at one heart; my Heart of Loneliness is part of the process too.” But no matter how
Ren Zu urged, the Feathermen would not agree.
Ren Zu was helpless; he asked Love Gu: “Oh Gu, oh Gu, they don’t want to love me,
you have to help me, and ignite the Fire of Love in our hearts.”
Love Gu sighed: “This is beyond my abilities. I cannot force others to love, no matter
what heart, it has to collide on its own free will.”
Ren Zu shook his head: “No, this is a good chance to save my daughter; I cannot
give up. Self Gu, I will rely on you.”
Self Gu nodded, using its strength. It had once eaten a mouthful of Strength Gu, and
right now, Ren Zu had his strength. Thus, these Feathermen were all captured by
Ren Zu; their hearts were dug out and used to collide with Ren Zu’s heart.
But no matter how they collided, there were no hearts that created the spark of love.
Love Gu sighed: “Oh Ren Zu, forcing others to love is impossible, you will only
create hatred.” As it said that, a Gu Worm appeared before Ren Zu.
Ren Zu took a look, and it was Hatred Gu indeed. Hatred Gu made all of the
Feathermen feel hatred. They shouted: “Oh Ren Zu, you are too much; you are
bullying us, and we will make you pay the price.”
Thus, these Feathermen flew up together, shining worms were flying out of their
bodies; they were wild Freedom Gu.
The Freedom Gu fused together into a gigantic Freedom Gu. This Freedom Gu
easily took away Ren Zu’s Love Gu.
“Henceforth, love is free.” This giant Freedom Gu said.
Ren Zu’s Self Gu quickly flew out, wanting to snatch Love Gu, but it could not
overpower Freedom Gu; it only managed to take a bite of Love Gu.
Self Gu said angrily: “Love also belongs to oneself.”
Chapter 30 – One who perseveres, will
succeed/Perseverance bears a ladder
Ren Zu’s daughter, Boundless Forest Samsara, was trapped inside Ordinary Abyss.
She made friends with a Miniman, and the Miniman brought Boundless Forest
Samsara to see his home — City Well. After Boundless Forest Samsara saw City
Well, she raised her head at the sky.
"I understand now," Boundless Forest Samsara looked above her.
She was trapped inside Ordinary Abyss, just like the Minimen who were trapped
under the well. The Minimen raised their heads and saw the sky within the well,
much like the sky that Boundless Forest Samsara saw when she looked up at
Ordinary Abyss.
"I have decided; I will work hard and get out of this abyss to meet with father again!"
Boundless Forest Samsara raised her fists, making up her mind.
The Miniman was overjoyed: "Sure. I want to leave Ordinary Abyss and see the
world outside as well. I see that there are many trees here in Ordinary Abyss; we can
chop them down and make a ladder to climb up."
Boundless Forest Samsara gasped, looking at the Miniman: "Oh Miniman, don't you
have wings? Why can't you fly out?"
The Miniman smiled bitterly: "Oh human, I might have a pair of wings, but they are
flimsy and weak. They can only carry me for a short distance. When I left City Well, I
also used a ladder."
"So that's it," Boundless Forest Samsara realized.
In the following days, she stayed with the Miniman, chopping trees, and creating a
ladder. Trees were chopped down one by one, and Wisdom Gu flew out from them.
Boundless Forest Samsara was shocked: "Wisdom Gu, why are you here?"
"Wisdom is hidden in the ordinary; of course, I can be here," Wisdom Gu answered.
Next, Wisdom Gu said: "You are all very smart; you know how to use the
achievements of predecessors to escape from being ordinary. But if you two want to
leave Ordinary Abyss, you need to build your own ladders and complete them alone.
Otherwise, you cannot leave."
Boundless Forest Samsara quickly nodded: "Oh Wisdom Gu, thanks for reminding
us; we will take note."
She and the Miniman made their own ladders. The ladders became taller and taller;
soon, Boundless Forest Samsara's ladder surpassed the Miniman's. The Miniman's
ladder was short and small, with a small distance between each step. In comparison,
Boundless Forest Samsara's ladder was long and tall.
Boundless Forest Samsara teased the Miniman: "Miniman, oh Miniman, the ladder I
make in half a day is as tall as the one you make in half a month. At this rate, when
can you make a proper ladder to step on and escape from Ordinary Abyss?"
The Miniman was helpless: "I can't help it; I am already doing my best. But this is all
the wood I can carry after spending half a day, while you only need one hand to carry
this over. I need to use a long time to chop down a small tree, but you only take three
swings. I am already doing my best to reach this extent."
Boundless Forest Samsara nodded: "It is a pity we can only make our own ladders."
The Miniman replied: "That's right; to leave Ordinary Abyss, we can use our
predecessors' achievements, but we truly need to rely on ourselves. Let's continue
working hard."
Boundless Forest Samsara and the Miniman continued to chop down trees to make
their ladders. Trees fell one by one, and from within, Strength Gu flew out.
Boundless Forest Samsara was shocked: "Oh Strength Gu, why are you here?"
"Strength is hidden in the ordinary; of course, I can be here," Strength Gu answered.
Boundless Forest Samsara thought about it and asked: "Oh Strength Gu, can you
give us any advice? Like Wisdom Gu."
Strength Gu said: "I have no advice to give you, but I can grant you great strength,
as long as you give me your youth."
Boundless Forest Samsara fell into hesitation.
Strength Gu said: "According to your current strength, when will you be able to build
a ladder tall enough to escape Ordinary Abyss?"
Boundless Forest Samsara thought: "Very long; I will need twenty to thirty years."
Strength Gu said: "Yes, by then, you will no longer be young; you will lose your youth
and become middle-aged. Rather than that, you might as well give me your youth.
Even though you will become middle-aged, you only need a few years to build the
ladder."
Boundless Forest Samsara thought about it and nodded: "You are absolutely right,
Strength Gu; I will rely on you."
Thus, Boundless Forest Samsara obtained Strength Gu, and her speed in building
the ladder became very fast. She could chop more trees at once. A year later, her
ladder was extremely tall.
She stood at the top of the ladder and looked down. She saw that the trees were
very small, and the grass was a field of green. She was very happy.
"So when I stand at a high point, things that are big usually become small. It is just
like City Well."
She looked down at the Miniman's ladder; it was very short, less than one percent of
hers. She pouted.
Boundless Forest Samsara walked down and said to the Miniman: "Why are you still
so slow? My ladder is already so tall."
The Miniman looked at her ladder in admiration, saying helplessly: "I really admire
you; your strength surpassed me to begin with, but now you also have Strength Gu.
It is too bad that I have no help; I can only rely on myself. I have already tried my
best; every day, other than eating and resting, I spend all my time building this
ladder. But it cannot match yours."
Boundless Forest Samsara nodded: "That is natural."
Another year passed.
Boundless Forest Samsara continued to build the ladder even taller. She stood at the
peak and looked down, only to see that clouds were blocking her vision. She wanted
to look at the Miniman's ladder, but she could barely see it; it was less than one tenthousandth of her ladder.
Boundless Forest Samsara sighed; she felt lonely. When the wind blew, she
shuddered, feeling cold.
"So when I stand at this tall point, not only will I feel lonely, I will also feel cold."
Boundless Forest Samsara walked down the ladder and told the Miniman about this.
The Miniman shook his head: "My ladder is not tall enough; I don't know how you
feel."
Boundless Forest Samsara felt bored. She continued to build the ladder, but the time
she spent on it was decreasing.
Strength Gu asked her: "Oh human, why are you not building your ladder?"
Boundless Forest Samsara answered: "The ladder is too tall and cold; I need to rest
and regain warmth."
Another year passed.
Boundless Forest Samsara felt extremely bored. She was still building her ladder,
but she was spending less and less time on it.
Strength Gu asked her: "Oh human, why are you not building your ladder?"
Boundless Forest Samsara answered: "The ladder is too tall; when I look down, I get
afraid. I need to rest and let my heart calm down."
Another year passed.
Boundless Forest Samsara became even lazier.
Strength Gu asked her: "Look at the Miniman; he has never stopped building his
ladder; he is giving it his all. If you continue being lazy, he will surpass you one day."
Boundless Forest Samsara laughed: "How can that be possible? One day of work for
me is a month of his. How can he ever surpass me?"
Like this, years passed without stopping.
Finally, one day, the Miniman found Boundless Forest Samsara resting under a tree,
saying to her: "Oh friend, my ladder is at the edge of Ordinary Abyss; tomorrow, I will
step out and leave Ordinary Abyss."
Boundless Forest Samsara laughed: "Oh Miniman, don't lie to me; this is too funny."
The Miniman shook his head, saying seriously: "Grandness and being laughable is
merely an inch apart. But I am not laughable anymore; I am grand and can finally
leave this Ordinary Abyss. If you do not believe me, watch as I leave."
Thus, the Miniman started to climb his ladder.
Boundless Forest Samsara was shocked at this; the Miniman was really at the edge
of the abyss, and he could leave if he continued like this.
Boundless Forest Samsara shouted: "Oh Miniman, do you not feel cold?"
The Miniman said: "Of course, but I want to build my ladder and climb out of here."
Boundless Forest Samsara shouted again: "Oh Miniman, do you not feel lonely?"
The Miniman said: "Of course, but I want to build my ladder and climb out of here."
Boundless Forest Samsara shouted again: "Oh Miniman, do you not feel afraid?"
The Miniman said: "Of course, but I want to build my ladder and climb out of here."
After saying those three lines, a bright light flashed on his body, rapidly forming into a
Gu Worm.
"My name is Perseverance; oh Miniman, thank you for giving me life." Perseverance
Gu thanked the Miniman.
The Miniman laughed: "Great, even though I do not have strength, I have
perseverance."
The Miniman said as he climbed out of Ordinary Abyss, stepping into the outside
world.
He first saw someone.
It was Ren Zu.
The rate of time inside Ordinary Abyss was different from the outside world.
Ren Zu sighed as he saw the Miniman: "This is Perseverance Gu? What a pity, if I
had it, I would have been able to conquer Reverse Flow River."
Chapter 31 - Wealth
Legend says that the Miniman surpassed Boundless Forest Samsara and
persevered to build the ladder and made his way out of Ordinary Abyss.
When the Miniman saw Ren Zu, Ren Zu sighed. If he had perseverance Gu back
then, he would have conquered Reverse Flow River and would not have created
such a mess.
Ren Zu wanted to save his children, but until now, he had not achieved anything.
Ren Zu saw that the Miniman had perseverance Gu and gained new hope; he said
to the Miniman, "Miniman, oh Miniman, I need your help."
The Miniman asked, "Oh Ren Zu, how do you want me to help you?"
Ren Zu told the Miniman that he wanted to borrow and use perseverance Gu.
The Miniman said, "Oh Ren Zu, the reason why I could leave Ordinary Abyss was
that I used the trees that you planted. I chopped down those trees and built my
ladder, thus, I owe you a favor."
The Miniman agreed to lend perseverance Gu to Ren Zu.
But after Ren Zu gained perseverance Gu, he realized he could not use it.
"This is the perseverance of the Miniman, not yours, Ren Zu." Cognition Gu
appeared at this time and told Ren Zu this fact.
Ren Zu was anguished; he sighed deeply.
He asked Cognition Gu, "Then what should I do? I know that perseverance Gu can
help me, but I cannot use it. I know the Feathermen can help me, but love cannot
control them."
Cognition Gu told Ren Zu, "Nobody can force anyone to love them, but you can
create a Gu to lure the Feathermen into helping you do things. Think about it, how
did the Miniman gain perseverance Gu?"
Cognition Gu's words were a huge inspiration to Ren Zu.
Ren Zu was overjoyed. "Oh cognition Gu, thank you for the great idea. I know what
to do now; I want to create my own Gu."
Cognition Gu was curious. "What Gu is that?"
Ren Zu shook his head. "I am not sure, but I have an idea. I want this Gu to be
something everyone in the world wants."
Thus, Ren Zu left Ordinary Abyss and went to the blue sea.
This was the blue sea that formed life Gu; it was the source of all life in the world.
Ren Zu had walked ashore from the blue sea; he was back here again.
Ren Zu was thirsty; he scooped up the blue sea water and drank a few mouthfuls.
He got thirstier as he drank it, but Ren Zu was satisfied. "I want to use the blue sea
water to refine Gu. After I succeed, no matter who obtains it, they will never be
satisfied, and they will want more."
Thus, Ren Zu took away a lot of blue sea water.
After the sea level reduced, the beach was exposed. Ren Zu found that there were
many sea urchin-like Gu on the beach.
This was not life Gu; it was difficulty Gu.
Any life would face difficulties.
Ren Zu's eyes shone; he said, "I want to refine Gu that everyone needs, but to
obtain it, there will be difficulties."
Thus, he took many difficulty Gu.
After doing all these, Ren Zu left the blue sea and headed to the Door of Life and
Death.
After entering it, Ren Zu did not go deeply into the Door of Life and Death but only
walked one round around the road of life.
He gathered a lot of worry Gu as he said, "I want to refine Gu that after getting it,
people will not abandon easily; they will be worried that it will go missing."
After leaving the Door of Life and Death, along the way, Ren Zu met with sadness
Gu.
Ren Zu laughed happily. "Excellent, I want to refine Gu in which once people lose it,
they will be very sad. This way, people will not abandon it easily."
Thus, he collected the sadness Gu.
Ren Zu had gathered everything; he started to refine Gu.
The flames of the Gu refinement raged on, and a lot of black smoke was produced,
attracting many Gu and lifeforms to come and watch.
"Oh Ren Zu, what Gu are you trying to refine?" Stupidity Gu was lured here as it
asked curiously.
Ren Zu smiled. "Oh stupidity Gu, if you want to know, go into the fire and see for
yourself."
Stupidity Gu went inside and never came out again.
Not long after, wisdom Gu came here as well; it asked, "Oh Ren Zu, what are you
trying to refine?"
Ren Zu laughed. "Oh wisdom Gu, if you want to know, go into the fire and see for
yourself."
Wisdom Gu flew in too.
But it only flew into the black smoke; once its vision was obscured, it flew around
randomly and flew out again.
"Ren Zu, oh Ren Zu, I was almost deceived by you. I already know what you are
refining; I am leaving." Saying this, wisdom Gu flew away.
Ren Zu felt that it was a pity; he sighed. "This way, after my Gu is refined, it can
enslave stupid people and blind wise people for some time."
Days passed one by one.
The Gu refinement flame continued to burn, but he did not succeed.
The black smoke did not fade away; it gathered in the sky and created huge black
clouds.
"Oh Ren Zu, you must have felt it; we are just one step away. This final step is the
most crucial one." Cognition Gu said.
Ren Zu nodded; he stood up with determination and walked towards the fire. "It
seems that this Gu needs to be created with human hands."
Saying so, Ren Zu chopped off both hands and threw them into the fire.
Boom!
The flame exploded as the endless dark clouds in the sky faded. Under the golden
sunlight that shone down, a little girl appeared before Ren Zu.
"Oh father, thank you for giving life to me. I am Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence."
The girl was radiating an aura of prosperity; she smiled towards Ren Zu.
Ren Zu looked at her and laughed. "Hahaha, I have another daughter now. But wait,
did my Gu refinement succeed."
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence opened her right palm as she held the Gu towards
Ren Zu: "Look father, this is the Gu that you refined; it is called — Wealth."
Chapter 32 - Webs of Fate
The Legends of Ren Zu stated that Ren Zu had spent an enormous amount of
energy and effort gathering Gu materials, even sacrificing his own two hands to
finally refine Wealth Gu.
He brought his son, Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance, and daughter, Myriad Gold
Wondrous Essence, to the Feathermen’s residence. However, strangely, all the
Feathermen had disappeared with no traces left.
“What’s going on?” Ren Zu was puzzled.
“That is because I arrived here; those Feathermen are afraid of me. All of them ran
away.” A black and white spider walked towards Ren Zu leisurely.
“Who are you?” Ren Zu asked.
The spider smiled, “Human, you have walked through the road I created in the Door
of Life and Death; you still don’t know who I am? I am Fate Gu.”
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence added, “Fate Gu, you are not even the size of my
palm. Why would those Feathermen fear you?”
Fate Gu chuckled, “Because they pursue freedom, but I, Fate, bind and restrict
them.”
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance grumbled, “So your intention was the same as us.
You are really a failure, not capturing even one Featherman, while hindering us as
well.”
Fate Gu laughed loudly, “Who said I failed? The Feathermen are pursuing freedom,
but what do they know? Their escape is only on the superficial level. I have already
bound them. The road towards their freedom was all arranged by me, but they think
they succeeded, not knowing anything. You are also the same, look at yourselves.”
Ren Zu, Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance, and Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence
looked at their bodies. They discovered that white spider silk had stuck to their limbs
and body for some unknown time. They also discovered that not just themselves,
even the surrounding flowers, grass, trees, rocks, water—everything was bound by
the spider silk.
These spider silk strands gathered together to form a spider web, which spread out
endlessly in the sight of Ren Zu and his children.
“This is the web that I weaved; it is called the all-encompassing web. Everything in
the world is bound by this web, to be arranged and controlled by me, Fate. Everyone
you encountered and all the things that have happened are all controlled by me,”
Fate Gu said.
Ren Zu and his children felt a chill in their hearts and began to struggle fiercely.
Fate Gu smiled, “It is useless; you cannot escape. Fate cannot be altered.”
Ren Zu glared at Fate Gu furiously, “Oh Fate, why do you have to manipulate and
toy with us? From what you said, all the hardships and misfortunes I encountered
were all your doings. The loss of my children was also due to you.”
Fate Gu said calmly, “Human, I know you want to save your eldest son Verdant
Great Sun, but he is already dead. Death is a necessary fate of humans; you simply
cannot save him. Moreover, you want to rely on Wealth Gu to save your daughter
Boundless Forest Samsara; that is also impossible.”
As Fate willed, a thread of spider silk bound Ren Zu’s Wealth Gu and dragged it in
front of Fate Gu.
“Release it, that is our Gu worm!” Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance shouted.
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence’s eyes reddened, sobbing, “Father sacrificed his
own hands to painstakingly refine this Wealth Gu. How dare you take it away?”
Ren Zu struggled fiercely, but the spider silk continued to become tighter, firmly
binding them.
Fate Gu laughed loudly, “Life and death are decreed by fate, prosperity is up to
heaven. Human, you are fated to be poor and menial, tormented and humiliated till
you become insane, and in the end, you will also die. Although you refined Wealth
Gu, you don’t have the fate to enjoy it. If you are fated to be poor, even if you dug out
gold, it will turn to copper; if you are fated to be rich, even if you pick up paper, it will
turn to silk. All these things are under my control.”
Ren Zu, Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance, and Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence
started cursing Fate Gu furiously.
Fate Gu was not the least bit angry, still carefree and at leisure, “Many have cursed
me, but so what? Humans, no matter how you curse me, it won’t change anything.”
Fate Gu suddenly moved the spider silk, throwing Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance
and Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence far away, completely out of Ren Zu’s sight.
“My children!” Ren Zu howled.
Fate Gu said darkly, “Human, don’t blame me; this is your fate. Not just you,
loneliness is the fate of every person. Even if they are your own children, they will
not accompany you for life and will eventually leave you. Every encounter is
temporary; separation is normality.”
Ren Zu, however, kept on struggling, but the more he struggled, the tighter the
spider silk bound him. Ren Zu felt an increasingly enormous pressure pushing him
down to the point of suffocation. He panted heavily, gradually losing the strength to
struggle.
Ren Zu started crying, tears rolling down his cheeks, “Why does my fate have to be
so pitiful?”
Fate Gu was silent. But at this time, a voice emerged from the depths of Ren Zu’s
heart. The voice belonged to Self Gu, “Human, believe in your own strength rather
than blaming your fate.”
Ren Zu stopped crying as he suddenly realized, “Right, although I don’t have
Strength Gu, Self Gu has taken a bite of Strength Gu. I have my own strength now.
Self Gu, I can only rely on you.”
Self Gu then erupted with a dazzling light as it attempted to break the spider silk.
Some spider silk was torn, but even more came to bind Ren Zu.
“My own strength is not enough?” Ren Zu was anxious, “Right, Self Gu, you have
also taken a bite of Love Gu. If strength does not work, let us rely on love instead.”
Thereupon, Self Gu let out a gentle light as it attempted to break the spider silk, but
this also failed.
Fate Gu said, “Oh human, why can’t you understand? Love is a type of fate; I
arranged it to make Verdant Great Sun fall in love with Desolate Ancient Moon, I also
arranged it to make the Rockman fall in love with Desolate Ancient Moon. I also
arranged success and failure in their lives, so they eventually ended up dead.”
“No! No——!” Ren Zu screamed and bawled.
Fate Gu listened quietly. Ren Zu gradually lost the strength to cry; he mumbled
powerlessly, “I understand now; I know why the Feathermen pursue freedom.”
Fate Gu smiled, “Human, you also want to pursue freedom?”
Ren Zu nodded, “Yes, if I have freedom, I will no longer be bound by you.”
Fate Gu said, “But look at those Feathermen, even though they pursue freedom,
aren’t they still under my control?”
Ren Zu shook his head, “My freedom is different from them. I will pursue absolute
freedom.”
Fate Gu laughed loudly, “A person’s absolute freedom is insanity. Oh human, see for
yourself; you are seeking freedom but you are actually moving towards insanity. I
already said this earlier; you will lose your mind. That is the road I arranged for you;
you cannot escape my control.”
“No! I don’t believe you! I will use my own strength and wisdom to obtain freedom. I
don’t believe your words; I will escape your control!” Ren Zu retorted.
Fate Gu’s laughter became louder, “Oh human, you are truly going crazy; you are
already deranged. Did you forget? Your Self Gu has only taken a bite of Strength Gu
and Love Gu, so you only have your own strength and love, but not your own
wisdom. Oh human, when you think you are intelligent, it will be the sign that you are
going crazy.”
“Hahaha, hahaha.” It was Ren Zu’s turn to laugh, “I don’t believe you, oh Fate Gu, I
don’t believe you! I don’t believe that this world has fate.”
Fate Gu was silent for a moment before saying, “Even if you don’t believe it, I will still
exist.”
Ren Zu rebuked, “No, that is not true. When I stop believing in you, you will stop
existing. I refuse to believe in fate; fate does not exist! Hahaha!”
Fate Gu shook its head, sighing, “Truly pitiful, oh human, you have already fallen into
insanity.”
Ren Zu scratched his hair and skin; his tears and mucus mixed together. He
struggled, he knelt on the ground as he rolled around.
It was like how Fate declared; he had become insane.
Chapter 33 – Joy and Weight of Freedom
Ren Zu wandered alone on the vast land; his hair was dishevelled, and he seemed
to have lost his mind. At times, he wailed, at times, he sat down in a daze, and at
times, he laughed like a fool.
Fate Gu's manipulation had separated him from his children, and he also lost Wealth
Gu. Ren Zu was forced into a state of madness.
"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?" Ren Zu was at a loss and went crazy
again.
One morning, a group of birds ran past Ren Zu. These birds did not have wings; their
six legs moved alternately as they ran on the ground, raising clouds of dust in their
path.
Ren Zu jumped with joy when he saw these birds.
"So, I am a bird!" He also spread his legs and ran wildly, joining the bird group.
The birds growled strangely towards Ren Zu: "You are a human; you use two legs to
walk. You are not a bird. Leave, don't disturb us. We are pursuing freedom Gu; we
want to retrieve our freedom."
Ren Zu asked, "Why are you all searching for freedom Gu?"
The birds said with a heavy tone, "We once possessed freedom Gu, but we did not
realize that. Only after losing it, we found that we no longer had wings and could not
fly anymore. When we regain freedom, we will be able to spread our wings and soar
to the sky again."
Ren Zu realized, "I understand; humans also need freedom. If humans don't have
freedom, they will be like birds who have lost their wings."
"Right! I remember now!" Ren Zu clapped and laughed madly. "I also need to search
for freedom to get rid of fate's shackles. After that, I can go wherever I want to go
and be with whomever I want to be forever."
The birds casted a strange look at Ren Zu, "Oh human, how can you have such
preposterous thoughts? Look at us; how can birds not have wings? So, chasing after
freedom is part of our duty. But you humans are destined to be alone; all gatherings
will end up in separation. Oh human, you want to pursue freedom, but you also need
to abide by your nature; you should not indulge in wild fantasies."
Ren Zu scratched his head, puzzled, "Is that how it works?"
The birds left behind their last words, "Oh human, let us give you some sincere
advice. If you obtain freedom in the future, you must cherish it; don't be like us and
let go. Don't let Freedom Gu fly away; otherwise, you will regret it."
After Ren Zu parted ways with the birds, he slowly forgot his identity and goals once
again.
One afternoon, a leap of blue leopards passed by him. The insane Ren Zu saw the
group of leopards and shouted in joy, "So, I am a leopard."
Ren Zu rushed into the group, but the leopards pushed him away and shouted, "You
are a human, not a leopard. You use two legs to walk, while we have four legs.
Leave, don't disturb us. We are pursuing freedom Gu; we want to retrieve our
freedom."
Ren Zu asked, "Why are you searching for freedom Gu?"
The blue leopards looked depressed, "Sigh, we once possessed freedom Gu, but we
did not realize it. Only after losing it, we found that we no longer had teeth and could
not bite and tear apart our prey. When we regain freedom, we will be able to eat
happily again."
Ren Zu realized, "I understand; humans also need freedom. If humans don't have
freedom, they will be like beasts with no teeth."
"Right!" Ren Zu clapped and laughed madly. "I need to search for freedom to get rid
of fate's shackles. I will possess countless delicacies and wines, endless wealth, and
all kinds of comfortable and beautiful clothes."
The blue leopards were stunned before laughing loudly as they mocked Ren Zu, "Oh
human, how can you have such preposterous thoughts? Look at us; how can beasts
not have fangs or claws? So, chasing after freedom is part of our duty. But you
humans were born with empty hands and will pass away with nothing. Oh human,
you want to pursue freedom, but you also need to abide by your nature; you should
not indulge in wild fantasies."
Ren Zu scratched his head, unsatisfied, "Is that how it works?"
The leopards left behind their final words, "Oh human, let us give you some sincere
advice. If you obtain freedom in the future, you must cherish it; don't be like us and
let go. Don't let Freedom Gu fly away; otherwise, you will regret it."
After Ren Zu parted ways with the leopards, he slowly forgot his identity and goals
once again.
One evening, a school of fish swam past him. Ren Zu saw the fish and shouted in
joy, "So, I am a fish."
Ren Zu joined the fish group and tried to swim like them. There was a commotion in
the fish group as they pushed Ren Zu away and shouted, "You are a human, not a
fish. You use two legs to walk, while we have no legs. Leave, don't disturb us. We
are pursuing freedom Gu; we want to retrieve our freedom."
Ren Zu asked, "Why are you searching for freedom Gu?"
The fish sighed, "We once possessed freedom Gu, but we did not realize that. Only
after losing it, we found that we no longer had gills and could not breathe in the water
again. When we regain freedom, we will be able to swim in the water again."
Ren Zu realized, "I understand; humans also need freedom. If humans don't have
freedom, they will be like fish with no gills and cannot breathe."
"Right!" Ren Zu clapped and laughed madly. "I need to search for freedom to get rid
of fate's shackles. I will breathe freely and live on forever; I want eternal life."
The fish sneered, "Oh human, how can you have such preposterous thoughts?"
"Look at us, a fish must have gills, so chasing after freedom is part of our duty. But
you humans are destined to have no relation with eternal life; you will die of old age
and illnesses. Oh human, you want to pursue freedom, but you also need to abide by
your nature; you should not indulge in wild fantasies."
Ren Zu frowned, feeling irritated, "Is that how it works?"
The fishes left behind their final words, "Oh human, let us give you some sincere
advice. If you obtain freedom in the future, you must cherish it; don't be like us and
let go. Don't let Freedom Gu fly away; otherwise, you will regret it."
After Ren Zu parted ways with the fishes, he slowly forgot the advice of the birds,
leopards, and the fish.
"I am a human; I need to pursue freedom. I need to get rid of the shackles of fate. I
want to live forever with my loved ones; I want to enjoy life with enough wealth. I
want to live on forever."
Many beings that walked past Ren Zu heard him; they shook their heads and stayed
away from him.
"Let's quickly leave; he is Ren Zu and he is talking nonsense again."
"He has already gone mad completely."
"How could he dare to have such thoughts?"
One day, Freedom Gu flew towards Ren Zu on its own accord. Ren Zu was joyous
as he grabbed it.
"Oh, freedom, I finally obtained freedom." Ren Zu was extremely happy but also felt
puzzled as he asked Freedom Gu, "This is really strange. The wingless birds are
pursuing you, the toothless beasts are pursuing you, the gill-less fish are pursuing
you, but you flew to me. What is going on here?"
Freedom Gu replied, "I didn't fly to you, human. You once used Attitude Gu to bully
me, used Love to bind me, and used Wealth to bribe me. I loathe and hate you! I
flew over because I was attracted by the Cognition Gu on you."
Cognition Gu floated out of Ren Zu's body and explained with a smile, "Ren Zu,
because you have gone mad, you are thinking deliriously all the time. A human that
desires companionship forever, a human who has an extravagant hope of living a life
with no worries, a human who pursues eternal life; what else can this be other than a
lunatic?"
Freedom Gu sighed, "Freedom of cognition is the greatest freedom. These delirious
thoughts can strengthen me. Ren Zu, although you captured me, I will never work for
you. Release me now."
Ren Zu shook his head and grasped even tighter, "Freedom Gu, I will not let you go."
Freedom Gu sneered, "Then prepare yourself; don't collapse from the pressure."
The moment it finished speaking, Responsibility Gu flew over, pressing on Ren Zu's
shoulder.
"Heavy, so heavy!" Ren Zu almost bent over from the pressure.
Cognition Gu sighed, "Freedom and responsibility coexist, oh Ren Zu, you want to
obtain freedom, so you need to shoulder the responsibility. At least, you need to be
responsible for yourself."
Ren Zu clenched his teeth and persevered; sweat flowed down his body like a river.
Soon, he knelt down on the ground.
He saw spider webs again.
Fate Gu's spider silk wrapped around his whole body. Ren Zu was barely
shouldering the heavy responsibility and had no strength to break free from the
spider silk's bindings.
Fate Gu's spider silk constricted tightly, forming blood wounds everywhere on Ren
Zu's body.
Ren Zu shouted, "What is going on?"
Cognition Gu explained, "Oh human, the more freedom you experience, the more
you will feel the restriction around you."
Freedom Gu laughed, "Just let me go; the longer you hold on to me, the more spider
silk will bind you, the binding will become tighter and will even constrict you to
death."
Ren Zu shook his head, "No, I won't let go. Oh Freedom Gu, I must have you."
Countless spider silk pierced into Ren Zu's flesh; Ren Zu howled in pain and rolled
on the ground but did not let go.
"Hahaha!" Ren Zu began laughing foolishly again, "I can sense a Gu far away. Just
this feeling alone makes me happy and satisfied."
Cognition Gu admitted frankly, "That is natural. Whoever obtains Freedom Gu will
also be able to sense the location of Happiness Gu."
Ren Zu continued to persevere; he cried in pain at times and laughed happily at
other times. The spider silk constricted tightly, tearing into his bones, and leaving
deep marks on them, but Ren Zu still did not loosen his hands.
In the end, he fainted from the pain.
After a long time, he slowly woke up.
Fate Gu's spider silk was no longer constricting him, Responsibility Gu also did not
exert heavy pressure, while Cognition Gu had disappeared.
"Wait, what about Freedom Gu?" Ren Zu did not sense Freedom Gu's existence,
and in his moment of panic, he opened his hands.
The moment a gap appeared, Freedom Gu flew away and left Ren Zu behind.
Humans often did not understand freedom when they possessed it; only after losing
it would they come to a sudden realization.
Ren Zu was stunned when he saw Freedom Gu flying away. He remembered the
advice of the birds, leopards, and fish; he felt extremely regretful.
He tore out his hair painfully and rolled on the ground.
"I am better off dead." Ren Zu was overwhelmed with grief. "I would rather lose love;
I would rather lose my life. I don't want to lose freedom."
Chapter 34 – Reverend Insanity
His goal was achieved at this moment, but he did not think of himself and instead
thought of The Legends of Ren Zu.
Ren Zu said, "He wanted freedom and to get rid of fate's shackles. After that, he
could go wherever he wanted to go and be with whomever he wanted to be forever."
The birds berated him, "You humans are destined to be alone; all gatherings will end
up in separation. Oh human, you want to pursue freedom, but you also need to abide
by your nature; you should not indulge in wild fantasies."
Ren Zu said, "I want freedom and to get rid of fate's shackles. I will possess
countless delicacies and wines, endless wealth, and all kinds of comfortable and
beautiful clothes."
The beasts ridiculed him, "But you humans were born with empty hands and will
pass away with nothing. Oh human, you want to pursue freedom, but you also need
to abide by your nature; you should not indulge in wild fantasies."
Ren Zu said, "I want freedom and to get rid of fate's shackles. I will breathe freely
and live on forever; I want eternal life."
The fishes rebutted, "But you humans are destined to have no relation with eternal
life; you will die of old age and illnesses. Oh human, you want to pursue freedom, but
you also need to abide by your nature; you should not indulge in wild fantasies."
Ren Zu was puzzled.
Ren Zu was disgruntled.
Ren Zu was irritated.
Ren Zu became insane.
"Why can't I have the same thoughts?"
"Why can't a human be together forever with their loved ones?"
"Why can't a human live life without worries and have endless wealth?"
"Why can't a human have eternal life?"
"Because fate does not allow it."
"Because it does not allow, therefore I cannot do it?! I cannot even think about it?!"
"On what basis!?"
"On what damned basis?"
"On what basis am I not allowed to think about it?"
"On what basis is eternal life forbidden?!
"If such pursuit makes me demonic."
"Then let me become a demon!"
Chapter 35 – Lightning and Hatred
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance and Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence were sent
flying away by Fate Gu and were forced to leave Ren Zu, arriving at the immemorial
blue heaven.
Rumble!
Thunder rumbled unceasingly here. Lightning flashed, imprinting the sky, and
forming a forest of lightning.
"I am angry! I am angry!" The source of this lightning forest was a lightning Gu, and it
was roaring continuously.
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance and Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence were
extremely afraid. The lightning was too strong; if a lightning bolt struck them, they
would be heavily injured or even die. They did not move at all, afraid of Lightning Gu
discovering them and bombarding them to death.
They waited patiently for Lightning Gu's anger to dissipate, planning to move once it
calmed down. However, Lightning Gu remained extremely angry, and the lightning
forest kept on growing in size.
"What should we do?" Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence was worried. "How can we
return to father? Brother, do you have any good suggestions?"
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance shook his head, his brows furrowed. "It is all Fate
Gu's fault! It forcefully separated us from father. I am definitely going to take revenge
in the future. Argh, my heart hurts every time I think of Fate Gu."
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance held his chest, finding his heart aching more and
more.
"How could this be?" He quickly opened up his chest and looked at the depths of his
heart.
"Oh, why is there a Gu in my heart?" Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance was
astonished. "It is no wonder my heart is in constant pain; this Gu was biting on my
heart."
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence also saw this Gu worm. "Isn't this Love Gu? I heard
father mentioning it before."
"No, I am Hatred Gu." The Gu worm spoke. "Although I look similar to Love Gu on
the surface."
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence urged, "Hatred Gu, why are you gnawing on my
brother's heart? Please stop quickly."
But Hatred Gu said, "I won't! I am building my home here. I am changing your
brother's heart into a heart of hatred."
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance was furious. "Who allowed you to build your home
in my heart? Get out quickly; I don't welcome you. If you don't get out, I will crush
you to death."
Hatred Gu laughed loudly. "I was attracted by Lightning Gu's anger, but unexpectedly
discovered that your heart is more suitable for my home. I won't leave."
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance was furious. He put his hand inside his heart and
grabbed Hatred Gu. Hatred Gu was like a curved blade without a handle; Blazing
Glory Lightning Brilliance's hand was pierced and bled as he grabbed it. He clenched
his teeth and exerted strength, crushing Hatred Gu to death. But Hatred Gu
resurrected from the blood and became even bigger.
"It is useless," Hatred Gu said. "Hatred cannot be killed. Vengeance only breeds
more hatred and grudges. The more you treat me like this, the more your hatred will
increase."
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence was somewhat stunned and helpless against
Hatred Gu.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance covered his chest, his
face pale from the pain.
Hatred Gu was drilling in and out of his heart, creating holes after holes, transforming
his heart into a heart of hatred. The current Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance hated
Fate Gu even more.
"If I was not sent flying here by Fate Gu, how could I have encountered Hatred Gu?
How could my heart be pierced by Hatred Gu? I will definitely destroy Fate Gu; I will
definitely take revenge."
The more Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance thought, the more he hated. He was no
longer afraid of angering Lightning Gu; he stood up suddenly.
"Sister, let's go. I don't want to stay here." Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance held
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence's hand.
But Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence hesitated. "Brother, there is lightning all around
us; we don't know when it will strike. It is too dangerous."
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance said, "Sister, don't be afraid. The hatred in my heart
has shown me a path, that is the path of revenge. There is no lightning on this path.
As long as I follow it, I can find Fate Gu and take revenge against it. Quick, follow
me."
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance dragged Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence. The
strange thing was that despite lightning bolts crackling around them, not a single one
struck Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance and Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence.
The two ran and ran when they suddenly collided with something.
"What is ahead?" Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence touched the air in front of her and
found it was like a transparent wall.
"This is the heavenly wind qi wall, the border of the immemorial nine heavens."
Hatred Gu explained.
"Brother, there is a wall ahead; we cannot leave." Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence
said helplessly.
But Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance had a different perspective. "Where is the wall?
I only see the path ahead. As long as we follow along this trail, we can definitely
leave and find Fate Gu."
Time and again, Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance got up and rushed forward before
colliding with the heavenly wind qi wall; his head bled as he fell to the ground. Then,
he climbed up and charged forward again.
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence wanted to stop him, but Blazing Glory Lightning
Brilliance did not listen.
Hatred Gu laughed. "It is useless. I have already built my home in his heart. Although
his eyes are open, he can only see the path that I point towards. He cannot see any
other thing. Hahaha."
Right at this time, Lightning Gu sensed Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance and Myriad
Gold Wondrous Essence; the terrifying lightning forest began to quickly spread
towards them.
There was no road to advance or retreat. Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence was
extremely anxious but did not have any ideas. "It would have been great if we still
had Wealth Gu."
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance did not listen to her; he continued to collide into the
heavenly wind qi wall. Blood filled the ground.
Lightning Gu finally reached closer; Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence cried. "Am I
going to die here?"
But Lightning Gu restrained its power and approached slowly. It let out a rumbling
sound. "Don't worry, oh humans. I won't harm you or injure you. On the contrary, I
want your help."
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence stopped crying and asked curiously. "Lightning Gu,
you are so strong. How can we possibly help you?"
Lightning Gu: "I have been trapped here all along. The immemorial blue heaven is
large, but I am already sick of it. I want to go out but I am unable to find a path that
leads to the outside. Thus, I am angry. Anger often leads to hatred, so Hatred Gu
was attracted here. But from your brother, I can see the path to exit. Therefore,
humans, let us cooperate. I will help you break the heavenly wind qi wall, and you
will bring me out of here, alright?" Lightning Gu proposed.
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence and Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance were very
happy at this suggestion.
"I agree to it. Your help will be great." Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance replied.
Thereupon, Lightning Gu landed on Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance's hand and
started to emit a terrifying radiance.
"Hatred Gu laughed loudly. "Let me lend you a hand."
Lightning Gu obtained Hatred Gu's strength and became extremely powerful.
Rumble rumble...
Lightning Gu erupted with fierce strength, not only destroying the heavenly wind qi
wall but even shattering the whole of immemorial blue heaven.
"Quickly leave!" Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance was greatly shocked and knew
that they had created a huge disaster. He quickly grabbed his sister and left with
Lightning Gu and Hatred Gu.
Chapter 36 – Strong eat the weak
Ren Zu lost Freedom Gu; he was anguished and only recovered after a long time.
Ren Zu was troubled; he asked Cognition Gu, "Oh Cognition Gu, how can I obtain
Freedom Gu again? After what happened last time, Freedom Gu will not approach
me anymore."
Cognition Gu answered, "Oh human, why do you desire Freedom Gu so much?"
Ren Zu replied irritably, "Don't you know the reason already? I am searching for
freedom to break free of the restraints of fate."
Cognition Gu answered once again, "Then I have nothing much to tell you. Haven't
you told Fate Gu the answer to this question already?"
Ren Zu was dazed before he recalled, before he went insane, he met Fate Gu.
When he was harmed by Fate Gu, he shouted at it that he would use his own
strength and wisdom to obtain freedom; he would eventually break free from fate's
control.
Ren Zu's eyes brightened, "Oh Gu, I remember now, thank you for the reminder. I
need to rely on myself to break free of fate. I already have my own strength; what I
lack is my own wisdom. I need to let Self Gu eat a mouthful of Wisdom Gu, just like
how it ate a part of Strength Gu in the past. But where is Wisdom Gu?" Ren Zu
asked Cognition Gu.
Cognition Gu replied, "I do not know. Wisdom Gu has been to many places; its
location is not fixed. You can find wisdom in countless places, so human, you need
to find it yourself."
Ren Zu nodded as he set off on his journey again.
He walked and walked and walked. One day, he saw two Gu worms chasing each
other along the road.
One Gu worm was white and tiny; it escaped ahead as it begged for mercy, "Stop
chasing me, stop chasing me, I do not want to be eaten by you."
The other Gu was clearly larger in size; it had thick armor and said in a deep tone, "I
want to eat you, I want to eat you! No matter where you escape to, I will eat you."
The tiny white Gu was about to be caught by the larger Gu behind; it suddenly saw
Ren Zu and hid behind him, "Oh human, I beg of you, quickly save me."
Ren Zu saw that this Gu worm was so pitiful, chased by another Gu worm, unable to
fend for itself, he felt like he was seeing himself.
At this instance, a new heart grew in his chest—the heart of sympathy.
Ren Zu stretched out both arms as he stopped the larger Gu, "Stop, stop chasing it."
The armored Gu shouted, "Hey human, are you obstructing me? No, you cannot
stop me; you are unable to stop me. Why is that so?" Ren Zu was curious.
The armored Gu explained, "I am Strong Gu; that is Weak Gu. Since time
immemorial, the rule of nature is that the strong prey on the weak. Thus, the strong
must eat the weak; weaklings are the food of the strong."
Ren Zu sighed as he tried to convince the Gu, "Then why don't you let it off just this
once; look at how pitiful it is."
Strong Gu sneered, "Not even once! In the eyes of the strong, weaklings have no
stature; there is no sympathy for the weak. This is because heaven and earth will
never pity the weak; it will only marvel at the incredible feats of the strong. Weaklings
are born to be subdued, controlled, and devoured by the strong."
Ren Zu saw that his words fell on deaf ears; he could only deny Strong Gu forcefully,
"I have already saved this Gu; go and eat others."
Strong Gu knew that it could not beat Ren Zu alone; it could only fly away in
dissatisfaction, "I will be back."
Chapter 37 – Facing a Strong Predicament
Ren Zu continued on his journey. After a while, a huge Predicament entered Ren
Zu's vision.
Strong Gu was inside this Predicament's body, laughing, "Oh human, I am back
again. This time, I have help. Let's see what you can do."
Ren Zu had to stop walking, even though the Predicament before him was huge; he
did not fluster.
Long ago, Ren Zu had been chased by a group of Predicaments as he escaped.
However, after he gave his heart to hope Gu, those Predicaments, which feared
hope, escaped in panic.
"Oh hope Gu, I need your help," Ren Zu summoned hope Gu, but the light of hope
did not scare away this Predicament.
What was going on?
"Haha!" Strong Gu laughed. "Oh human, this Predicament has gained my help. It will
definitely be the greatest Predicament you have ever met in your life. With just hope,
how can you possibly defeat it?"
Ren Zu could not think of a way.
At this moment, weak Gu, shielded by Ren Zu, spoke in a soft voice, "Oh human,
thank you for protecting me. Don't worry; I have an idea. Let's scare this
Predicament away."
"You can scare it away?" Ren Zu asked.
Weak Gu shook its head. "Oh human, even something as weak as me has a method
to survive in life. Against those that want to eat or bully me, I will often put up a
deceiving disguise to make others think that I am very strong. This world favors the
strong. Even if we are weak, we need to disguise ourselves as strong beings, or we
will be bullied everywhere. Oh human, you can do it. Don't you have fear Gu? Isn't
attitude Gu on your face?"
Ren Zu heard weak Gu's suggestion and decided to try it. He first twisted his
appearance using attitude Gu, revealing his teeth, and showing a fierce expression.
Next, he used fear Gu to scare the Predicament, which bared its teeth, sprawling on
the ground and staring at Ren Zu vigilantly.
Ren Zu was dazed. "Why didn't we scare it away?"
Weak Gu urged, "Didn't it jump earlier? This means that my method works, but we
need to put in more effort. Oh human, why don't you put attitude Gu on top of self
Gu? What is the best form of deceit or disguise? It is to deceive even yourself. By
doing that, we should be able to deceive the Predicament."
Weak Gu continued, "As long as the Predicament thinks that you are strong, it will
definitely let you pass. That is because Predicaments often take the initiative to give
way to the strong."
Ren Zu took off the mask on his face as he placed attitude Gu on self Gu. However,
it was pointless; the Predicament did not run off in fear.
Ren Zu realized at once, "I understand now. When a person faces a huge
predicament, putting up a facade will never solve the real problem."
Strong Gu laughed, "Oh human, stop wasting your effort. With me here to remind the
Predicament, how can you guys possibly deceive it? You should not have saved
weak Gu; weak people often like to jeer and taunt others, showing a ruthless
demeanour to conceal their own weakness inside."
Ren Zu was helpless; he could only stall for time temporarily.
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and said to Strong Gu, "You said that the law
of survival is for the strong to eat the weak. I agree with that. But how do you prove
that you are strong while we are weak? If you cannot prove this, on what basis are
you allowed to eat us?"
Strong Gu was dazed, "It is because I am Strong Gu, and that is weak Gu."
Ren Zu shook his head, "Just your names alone cannot prove anything. Moreover,
other than both of you Gu worms, this Predicament and I are also here."
Strong Gu smiled coldly, "Then I have a good method to prove it! We will eat a
portion of each other; whoever fails to persevere to the end will lose. Whoever is
weak deserves to be eaten."
Ren Zu saw that he could not stall for any more time; he had to take a risk. "Then we
will do that. Don't regret it! However, which of us will eat first?"
Strong Gu was confident in its strength, it chuckled, "So what if I let you go first?"
Ren Zu assessed the Predicament with his gaze. The truth was he had never eaten
any Predicaments before.
Ren Zu thought about it before he had an idea. "Then I will eat the head of the
Predicament first."
Thus, Predicament took off its head and gave it to Ren Zu.
Ren Zu only took a bite when his face became distorted; he almost vomited on the
spot. "So bitter!"
It turned out that this was a huge bitter head.
Not just that, even though the Predicament lost its head, it was still standing; the
neck that was missing a head did not bleed at all, there were no issues at all.
"Haha!" Strong Gu laughed. "Oh human, you chose wrongly. By just eating bitter
heads, you cannot resolve any predicaments. Moreover, whether you are capable of
eating this huge bitter head is another question altogether! If you cannot eat it, it
means that you are a weakling; you deserve to be eaten by us."
Compared to the Predicament's head, Ren Zu's body was very small.
Ren Zu knew that Strong Gu was right; he could not afford to lose. If he lost, not only
would he fail to protect weak Gu, he would even lose his life and become the food of
the Predicament.
Ren Zu could only frown as he opened his mouth, continuing to eat the bitter head.
After taking dozens of mouthfuls, Ren Zu suddenly stopped; he opened his mouth
and almost vomited.
Hope Gu encouraged him, "Oh human, don't vomit. If you grit your teeth, you can
devour any hardship that comes your way. Humans do not just need to eat food; they
also need to taste bitterness."
Ren Zu nodded as he continued to eat. Halfway through, the fear Gu on his body
started to shout, "Oh heaven, when will we ever finish eating it?"
Ren Zu also felt a trace of despair.
Courage Gu quickly said, "Oh human, you cannot be afraid of tasting bitterness.
Don't fear bitterness; suffering is only temporary. If you start to fear suffering, you will
suffer for life."
With the help of Courage Gu, Ren Zu finally managed to eat all of the bitter heads
after great hardship.
Ren Zu wiped his mouth as he looked at Strong Gu with difficulty, "You can choose
now."
Strong Gu smiled, "Then we will eat your skin first."
Ren Zu had to pull off the skin on his body as he threw it to the Predicament. The
Predicament had no head; it stuffed Ren Zu's skin down its neck. Ren Zu's skin was
completely eaten, but its huge belly did not expand at all.
Strong Gu asked again, "Oh human, what are you going to eat next?"
Ren Zu was troubled now; he had just eaten the Predicament's head, and it was too
bitter. Even though he endured the process, his stomach was almost full.
As for the Predicament, even though it had no head, it was still alive and standing.
"What should I eat now? I ate too much earlier; my stomach is reaching its limit. If I
have to eat a lot, my stomach might burst, and I'll die." Ren Zu thought to himself; he
had to eat the most important and fatal part of the Predicament's body.
But which part of the Predicament's body was the most important?
After thinking for a long time, Ren Zu finally had an idea. He said to Strong Gu,
"Then I will eat the part that you absolutely do not want me to eat."
Strong Gu snorted coldly, "Then you can eat some losses."
It took out all of the losses from the Predicament's body and gave them to Ren Zu for
consumption.
These losses were not big; the quantity was not large either.
Ren Zu was quite surprised because after these losses were taken out, the originally
huge Predicament shrunk by a lot.
Rules and Regulation Gu started to explain for Ren Zu, "Oh human, this is not
strange. Predicaments vary according to people. Since you ate such a huge bitter
head earlier, you will have fewer losses to eat, thus, it became smaller."
Ren Zu became happy, "This is great. Even if I eat all of these losses, I will not reach
my limit; it will not fill my stomach completely."
Ren Zu opened his mouth and ate a small loss.
It was so spicy that Ren Zu could not even speak at this moment.
Continuing to eat, Ren Zu opened his mouth as he breathed heavily; his empty eye
sockets also started to tear up uncontrollably.
Eating again, Ren Zu's entire body was covered in sweat that merged with the tears
flowing out of his eye sockets.
The most uncomfortable thing for Ren Zu was that budding flames started to appear
in his heart. These yellowish flames resembled chicks; they gathered together in
groups.
The more losses one ate, the more flames of resentment they would feel in their
heart.
The more flames of resentment they had, the more uncomfortable it felt. Even Ren
Zu's several hearts could not take it; they were going to be incinerated soon.
Right at this moment, the Heart of Nobleness grew in Ren Zu's chest.
Compared to the other hearts, the Heart of Nobleness was able to endure the most
flames of resentment. With this heart to bear the burden, Ren Zu finally managed to
endure it.
Ren Zu ate all of the losses.
Strong Gu looked at Ren Zu's bulging belly as he smiled coldly, "Oh human, you are
almost at your limit; it is time for us to eat."
Ren Zu breathed roughly as he asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Strong Gu said, "I want to eat your flesh."
Ren Zu was helpless about it; he could only let it eat his flesh.
Ren Zu's skin and flesh were inside Predicament's stomach; he only had his bones,
organs, and hair left.
Chapter 38 – Hope triumphs again
Ren Zu stared at the skeleton head. "Next, I will eat the most important part of the
Predicament's body."
Strong Gu laughed. "This is a stupid move! Oh, human, your choice is extremely
foolish."
The Predicament shook its body as it shrank. At the same time, countless
Tribulations flew out of its neck and attacked Ren Zu.
The Tribulations were like fire, burning Ren Zu's bones. They were like hammers,
charging at Ren Zu as his bones cracked. The Tribulations were like wind and rain,
sweeping at Ren Zu's lone body. The Tribulations were like flashing lightning, striking
Ren Zu continuously.
Fear Gu shouted, "Oh heaven, this is too scary. That human will die for sure at this
rate."
Courage Gu encouraged, "Oh human, don't be afraid."
Self Gu and Attitude Gu shouted together, "I am very strong, I am very strong. All
Tribulations are mere drizzles, they are insignificant breezes."
Weak Gu, Betrayal Gu, and Fear Gu flew together, wanting to escape with Ren Zu.
"Oh human, quickly run. Don't believe in Self Gu's words; it has already been
deceived."
Ren Zu was trapped in the Tribulations; he could not escape. When Tribulations
loom over you, it is not a simple matter of running away.
"This is too scary; let's go. Forget about the human." Weak Gu, Betrayal Gu, and
Fear Gu flew away together.
"You traitors!" Self Gu was furious; it grabbed onto these three Gu and bit them all.
The three Gu were injured, but they were not stopped by Self Gu. They quickly
escaped from Ren Zu. Self Gu wanted to chase them, but Rules and Regulation Gu
urged, "Don't chase them. Escaping when Tribulations strike due to fear and
weakness, betraying oneself and courage in the process will only lead to death. Isn't
it good that they are gone? Weak Gu and Betrayal Gu are unable to help us, as for
Fear Gu… if the Tribulations did not appear, fear would have been pointless. But
since the Tribulations are here now, fear will only lead to greater pain in the human."
"You are absolutely right." Self Gu stopped.
Hope Gu flickered with light as it supported Ren Zu. "Oh human, as long as you still
have hope in your heart during the Tribulations, there will still be hope in this
situation."
Strong Gu could not stop laughing. "Oh human, you are truly pitiful. You easily
believe in the words of hope. Don't you know? Having only hope during the
Tribulations will only cause them to continue longer. Hope is the thing that lengthens
the person's pain. When you stop bearing any hope, you will feel relaxed in the
Tribulations."
Ren Zu did not speak; he endured the attacks of the Tribulations with great difficulty.
No matter how bent his body became, he did not fall.
Strong Gu soon found the reason — on Ren Zu's feet, there was a pair of
independent wings. Even though the wings were small, they flapped stubbornly,
helping Ren Zu to stand up despite everything.
Strong Gu continued to demoralize Ren Zu. "Oh human, I am starting to admire you.
It is a pity that you are going to fall soon. Look at your bones; they are covered in
cracks now due to the Tribulations."
Ren Zu was silent. Originally, Ren Zu's bones were shiny and intact; there were no
cracks at all. Now, his skeleton was covered in cracks; it seemed like it would shatter
at any moment.
All the other Gu worms were silent; only Hope Gu gave out light. "Oh human, don't
give up! Tribulations are not scary. The scariest thing is a person who has lost hope."
The light of Hope Gu penetrated the cracks of Ren Zu's bones, into his bone marrow.
In the life of everyone in this world, cracks would always form at some point, but
those were the times where the light of hope would shine in.
Ren Zu's bones absorbed the light of hope; they started to engulf the surrounding
Tribulations. Each crack was like a huge mouth; the larger the crack, the larger the
mouth, and the more Tribulations it could devour.
"How could this happen?" Strong Gu was extremely shocked.
The more Tribulations that Ren Zu's skeleton devoured, the stronger and firmer his
bones became. Tribulations could destroy people, but they could also toughen
oneself.
As the Tribulations continued, Ren Zu's bones started to shine in a golden light. The
Tribulations became wilder as Ren Zu's bones burned in flames, becoming
dazzlingly golden.
Ren Zu started to straighten his back; he raised his head and puffed his chest. After
enduring countless tortures, his skeleton shined like a golden pillar; he stood directly
inside the Tribulations. This was the myriad tribulation golden skeleton.
And on Ren Zu's skeleton head, a crown grew out naturally; it was the heaven
connecting bone crown. All of the tribulations and disasters that people suffer would
become their crowns of achievement in the future.
Even though the Tribulations had not ended, Ren Zu could already speak at this
time. "I know, Fate has arrangements. Tribulations are the arrangements it makes for
people. But I can persevere; any Tribulations that seem unendurable are all, in fact,
endurable to me."
Strong Gu was shocked and bewildered.
Self Gu realized at this time. "I understand. Oh human, you are someone who
walked out of Ordinary Abyss; that is why you can endure these Tribulations that are
impossible to endure."
Strong Gu saw that the Tribulations could not take down Ren Zu; it forced itself to
stay calm. "Oh human, don't forget, as long as you have Hope Gu, these Tribulations
will not stop. Are you going to delay our bet from earlier? I don't care! I will treat it as
if you passed the Tribulations. Now, it is our turn to eat you."
"Which part of me do you want to eat?" Ren Zu sighed.
Strong Gu laughed loudly, pointing at Ren Zu's chest. "Next, I will eat your hearts."
Ren Zu shook slightly; Strong Gu's choice was too fatal. How could a human live
without his heart?
"Quickly take out all of your hearts; let us eat them!" Strong Gu shouted in
excitement.
Ren Zu sighed as he hesitated, before taking out the heart of sympathy.
Strong Gu directly placed the heart of sympathy into the Predicament's neck as the
heart fell into its stomach. The Predicament's stomach expanded slightly.
When faced with predicaments, people often lose their hearts of sympathy first.
Ren Zu took out his heart of nobleness next; the Predicament ate it as its stomach
expanded some more, it seemed to have problems digesting it.
Ren Zu took out his original heart. "Oh hope Gu, leave now. I do not want to
implicate you."
Hope Gu resided in Ren Zu's original heart; it did not fly out. Instead, it said, "I am
not leaving; this is my home. Oh human, just toss me in along with it. I do not blame
you."
Ren Zu had no choice; as Strong Gu rushed him, he gave his original heart to the
Predicament as food.
After the Predicament ate it, its belly expanded again. Predicaments often caused
people to lose hope as well.
Without Hope Gu, all of the Tribulations around Ren Zu vanished. This caused the
pressure on Ren Zu to fall, but he felt deep melancholy as well.
"Quick, oh human, take out your final heart and let us eat it!" Strong Gu pointed at
the heart of loneliness in Ren Zu's chest.
Ren Zu hesitated as he felt troubled. The heart of loneliness did not only contain his
Self Gu; it was also his final heart. Without this heart, Ren Zu might die.
Strong Gu laughed and threatened. "Quick! If you do not take it out yourself, we will
make our move and eat you entirely."
Self Gu had already been deceived; it called out in nonchalance. "Oh human, just
give it to them. I do not care; you will not die either! We are the strongest."
"Give it to me!" Strong Gu grabbed the heart of loneliness in Ren Zu's hand and
stuffed it into the Predicament's stomach through its exposed neck.
"At this point, Ren Zu lost all his hearts."
He fell onto the ground, losing all signs of life; he could not stand up anymore. Ren
Zu died.
"Oh human, you died; we have regained freedom." Rules and Regulation Gu flew
away.
"There is no helping it; the human met with the greatest predicament in his life."
Courage Gu and Edge Gu flew away as well.
On Ren Zu's corpse, only Self Gu remained; it flew around him. Attitude Gu wanted
to leave too, but Self Gu grabbed onto it, forcing it to stay.
Strong Gu laughed happily. "Hahaha, oh human, you were nothing impressive after
all. Hmm? Predicament, what's wrong?"
The Predicament that Strong Gu was attached to grabbed onto its bulging stomach
as it rolled on the ground in pain.
Loneliness was extremely hard to digest; the stronger the Predicament, the lonelier
one would feel.
"Boom."
Suddenly, the Predicament's belly burst open.
Ren Zu's heart of loneliness, his skin and flesh fused to create a boy.
"Who are you?" Strong Gu was flabbergasted.
The boy said, "I am Ren Zu's son — Great Strength True Martial."
Before finishing his words, he jumped up and grabbed Strong Gu.
Strong Gu tried to struggle while Self Gu used the opportunity to approach and take
a bite of it.
Strong Gu was injured; it got weakened.
"Where are you trying to go?" Great Strength True Martial shouted; he grabbed
Strong Gu and stuffed it into his chest.
Strong Gu went into his chest and got imprisoned in his heart, unable to escape.
"Don't waste your effort; this is my heart of ambition. You cannot escape." Great
Strength True Martial laughed.
Next, he found Ren Zu's other hearts from the corpse of the Predicament and placed
them back into his chest.
Ren Zu was revived once again.
Chapter 39 – Effort begets results
Legend says that Ren Zu encountered the greatest Predicament in his life. He ended
up creating his seventh child, Great Strength True Martial, and was saved as a
result.
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial started to travel together.
Great Strength True Martial asked, "Father, where are we going now?"
Ren Zu replied, "My son, you still do not know the situation. I will explain it to you. I
originally wanted to save your brothers and sisters, but Fate Gu arranged everything,
not allowing us to have a reunion. Right now, we need to break free from fate's
control in order to be with our family again."
After hearing the story, Great Strength True Martial could not help but shout in anger,
"This Fate Gu is too wicked!"
At the same time, Strong Gu also shouted in his heart, "Experts hate restraints,
especially fate."
Ren Zu patted Great Strength True Martial's head and consoled, "Don't worry, I have
already thought of a way. I will use Self Gu to gain strength and wisdom, after which,
I will obtain Freedom Gu and break free from Fate Gu's control. Now, let us go to a
place called Qian Kun Crystal Wall; we will search for Wisdom Gu there."
Great Strength True Martial nodded, "Let us go there then."
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial walked and walked; the road was uneven,
with many upslope and downslope roads.
Strong Gu encouraged Great Strength True Martial, "Oh human, walk on the
Upslope Road. Even though it is a harder journey, there are often good things there."
Great Strength True Martial nodded, "Experts like to walk on the Upslope Road."
Great Strength True Martial took great effort to walk up the Upslope Road. He looked
around and called out, "There's nothing here at all."
"No, it is right by your feet; pick it up now," Strong Gu instructed.
Great Strength True Martial squatted down, searching the ground with his hands. As
expected, he found something hard; it was an invisible Gu.
"I found something good," Great Strength True Martial laughed. "So it is Effort Gu."
Ren Zu found it strange, "My son, how did you find out its name? We can't see what
it looks like."
Great Strength True Martial scratched his head, "The moment I obtained it, I saw
Effort Gu's appearance. As for why I know this is Effort Gu, well, every expert should
know what effort is. This is natural; there is nothing strange about it. After all, you
cannot see the effort of other people."
The pair of father and son set off again.
"This is great; now that I have Effort Gu, it will help me greatly," Great Strength True
Martial walked as he looked at Effort Gu, feeling very happy.
He continued to choose the Upslope Road.
Ren Zu asked curiously, "Is Effort Gu really that amazing? Can it allow you to
achieve success?"
Great Strength True Martial shook his head, "Effort might not necessarily lead to
success, but effort will give you a result. Regardless of the result, whether you put in
effort or not will show a difference."
Ren Zu was very worried, "Oh son, you have just been born. Don't be deceived by
the Gu. I had once been deceived by Wisdom Gu. I see that you are covered in
sweat and pant heavily each time you walk on the Upslope Road. I do not see Effort
Gu helping you at all. I've heard of such rumours too; Effort Gu can sometimes lie to
you."
Great Strength True Martial shook his head as he wiped the sweat off his forehead,
"Father, because you cannot see the effort I put in, you misunderstood things. You
cannot understand the amount of effort I put in to walk this Upslope Road. Actually,
the result of my effort is below my feet; every step, I move higher and further. There
are many good things on the Upslope Road; humans cannot obtain them without
effort."
"Is that really the case?" Ren Zu was half convinced and suspicious.
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial continued on their journey.
Great Strength True Martial kept walking on the Upslope Road; he continued to
move up higher. He obtained Authority Gu and Fortitude Gu. In the later part of the
road, he found Humility Gu and Forgiveness Gu as well. These two Gu worms took
the initiative to follow Great Strength True Martial.
Great Strength True Martial asked for the reason while they replied matter-of-factly,
"Because humility (forgiveness) is the authority of an expert to begin with."
Because Great Strength True Martial walked on the Upslope Road, an ability Gu
suddenly appeared within him.
Great Strength True Martial held Ability Gu as he said to Ren Zu, "Look father, this is
the result of Effort Gu. It awakened my potential; I have my own ability now."
Ren Zu asked, "Then what is the use of this Ability Gu?"
Great Strength True Martial shook his head, "I am not sure. People will only know
their abilities and their strength after they use them. But it is definitely useful; it can
last my entire lifetime."
Ren Zu shook his head; he still felt that his son was deceived by the Gu.
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial continued walking, and the situation on the
road was getting worse. The Downslope Road was easier to walk on, but it was
getting rarer, and there were more and more segments of the Upslope Road.
"Isn't there an easier road to walk on?" Ren Zu was helpless.
Cognition Gu flew towards Ren Zu, "Oh human, there is no other way. The more
valuable thing you try to pursue, the more segments of the Upslope Road you need
to walk on, and the more Predicaments you need to overcome."
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial had to continue on their way.
Indeed, as Cognition Gu had said, they encountered more and more Predicaments,
and their road was completely blocked.
Ren Zu said, "Don't be afraid of the Predicaments; we still have our hope."
"But hope alone cannot defeat the Predicament; at this time, you will need me,"
Great Strength True Martial's Ability Gu spoke.
Great Strength True Martial used his ability, defeating many Predicaments.
Ren Zu sighed at long last, "My son, your Ability Gu is too amazing; it can actually do
this. It seems I have underestimated your effort and ability."
Great Strength True Martial smiled, "Often, we humans do not lack abilities; we lack
the opportunities to display them."
Strong Gu shouted in his heart with great ambition, "Kill them all; let's eat them all!
That way, we can become even stronger."
Great Strength True Martial killed many Predicaments, and he started to eat the
Predicaments' heads.
"So this is a bitter head? It is really bitter. But I can feel myself getting stronger."
He started to eat the Predicament's loss.
Great Strength True Martial immediately spat it out, "Experts do not like to swallow
losses."
He also ate the Predicament's flesh.
Strong Gu got bigger, and Great Strength True Martial also became more muscular
than before.
Strong Gu was very satisfied with this change, "In this world, only by becoming
stronger can one avoid getting bullied."
Great Strength True Martial gave some of the meat to Ren Zu, "Oh father, eat
something; you are too skinny."
Ren Zu was so thin he looked like a rack of bones.
Eventually, Great Strength True Martial tossed Ability Gu into the tribulation.
Ability Gu went through great hurdles and difficulties, but it got larger and stronger as
well.
All sorts of tribulations and difficulties were prime opportunities to train one's ability,
to develop one's ability, and to increase one's ability.
Chapter 40 – Thirst for knowledge
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial went through great hurdles and finally
arrived before Qian Kun Crystal Wall.
Qian Kun Crystal Wall was straight and stood upright in the void; it was like a huge
mirror that reflected everything that happened in the world.
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial went inside Qian Kun Crystal Wall.
Numerous flowers, birds, fish, and insects converged into a colorful dazzling shadow
that filled Great Strength True Martial's vision. The sound of waves, thunder, and
birds' singing rippled together in his ears; there was a fresh, sweet, exciting, spicy
taste dancing on his tongue. At times, he felt like he was walking on a steep
mountain path; at other times, he felt like he was swimming in the waves, and at
other times, he felt as if he was falling from a great height.
"Father, father! Where are you?" Great Strength True Martial shouted, but Ren Zu
could not hear him, could not see him. The color of white filled his vision; it was
boundless and vast.
"Oh son, where are you?" Ren Zu sprinted, wanting to find Great Strength True
Martial.
Ren Zu ran and ran and ran. After a long time, he saw a black dot at the furthest
point within his vision.
Initially, he felt happy and thought it was Great Strength True Martial. But when he
approached the black dot, he found that it was actually a huge mountain.
This mountain was very special; the mountain rocks and vegetation were made of
white paper, the streams and waterfalls were made of black ink.
This was Book Mountain.
At the foot of Book Mountain, there was a village with many Inkmen living in it.
Ren Zu went into the village, causing a huge commotion to arise.
"This is really a rare sight," the Inkman spoke. "When ordinary lifeforms enter Qian
Kun Crystal Wall, they would get lost after a few steps. They cannot resist the allure
of the material world or the countless temptations within it. They can never reach
here. You are the first person to arrive here."
Ren Zu was confused, "Why so?"
The Inkman elder replied, "Oh human, you are only left with a skeleton. You cannot
see, hear, taste, smell, or touch. It allowed you to roam Qian Kun Crystal Wall freely
without losing your life."
Qian Kun Crystal Wall existed when the world was first created; it reflected everyone
and everything, containing all the secrets of the world's past and present. Once a
person enters it, they would face the barrage of endless information, and after some
time, they would die from information overload.
After Ren Zu heard this, he felt very worried about Great Strength True Martial. He
asked the Inkman elder about the way to survive, and the elder brought Ren Zu to
ascend the mountain.
On Book Mountain, there was the largest ink waterfall, and below it was a deep pool.
The Inkmen called this pool Literature Spring.
The ink waterfall continued to flow, landing on the Literature Spring, water splashed
about. These black color splashes flew in the air as the water droplets formed into
ink texts.
"If a person wants to continue living in Qian Kun Crystal Wall, the ink text will be your
best helper. The reason why we Inkmen can live here is also because of the ink
text," the Inkman elder told Ren Zu about this big secret.
Ren Zu received the Inkman's advice; he collected a lot of ink texts and left the
mountain. Every time he walked for some distance, he would leave behind some ink
texts as reference points. In this vast world of whiteness, the pitch-black ink text
became very conspicuous. Even though ink texts faded over time, using them, Ren
Zu no longer walked on unnecessary trails. He eventually found Great Strength True
Martial.
Great Strength True Martial received Ren Zu's ink texts. Every step he walked, he
would leave behind some ink texts. The ink texts recorded the information that
barraged Great Strength True Martial, turning them all into pieces of literary work.
These literary pieces turned into pieces of tiles that were layered below Great
Strength True Martial's feet.
Great Strength True Martial was finally free; his eyes were not blurry, his ears were
not buzzing, he could no longer smell the mix of countless fragrances as well.
Stepping on these tiles, he followed Ren Zu back to the Inkman village.
Ren Zu asked the Inkman elder again, "Oh elder, how can I find Wisdom Gu inside
Qian Kun Crystal Wall?"
The Inkman elder told Ren Zu, "Even though Wisdom Gu often stays within Qian
Kun Crystal Wall, it is hidden very deeply. To find it, you will need to venture deep
into the crystal wall. It will not be possible with just ink texts and the tiles that are
formed below your feet. These tiles only record all sorts of information on the
superficial level, with the endless barrage of other information the limited ink texts
within the tiles will change in content. They will disappear quickly and cannot last for
long."
The Inkman elder said again, "Oh human, you need to turn all the information into
knowledge. Only with knowledge can you explain information clearly; you will be able
to write them down in words, allowing you to create a real path instead of just tiles
made of texts."
Ren Zu was troubled, "How can I turn them into knowledge?"
The Inkman elder laughed, "There are many bookworms on Book Mountain; they
record the knowledge that our Inkman seniors have left behind. Oh human, you can
go look at them.
"It is not difficult to gather the knowledge yourself either. Firstly, you need Memory
Gu to store all of this information inside your mind."
Before the Inkman finished his words, Cognition Gu appeared, saying to Ren Zu,
"After that, I can help you to refine knowledge."
The Inkman elder nodded with a smile, "Indeed, cognition can produce knowledge."
Ren Zu said, "Then I will thank you all in advance."
The Inkman elder shook his head, "No need to stand on ceremony."
Cognition Gu said, "Don't say that, human. We have always been good friends, and
this situation benefits myself as well.
If cognition did not take in new information, it would quickly get outdated. Only by
receiving new information and thinking about it could cognition create useful new
thoughts that were healthy and vibrant, innovative, and lively.
Ren Zu gathered many bookworms on Book Mountain; he obtained a lot of new
information. Next, with Cognition Gu's help, he created much new knowledge from
the vast amount of information. He used ink texts to write down his knowledge,
scattering them on the ground and creating a black path made of ink texts.
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial walked on this path; they walked for a long
time, far longer than any of their previous trips.
"Oh no, I don't have enough knowledge left." Ren Zu walked to the end of the path,
feeling very dejected and upset. He had gathered many ink texts, but the knowledge
in his mind was insufficient already.
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial's first attempt failed; they had to return to
Book Mountain.
Great Strength True Martial continued to collect ink texts while Ren Zu gathered all
the bookworms. With Cognition Gu's help, he refined even more knowledge from
them.
With more and more knowledge, Ren Zu found that his mind was getting filled up.
"I have too much knowledge now." Ren Zu was very satisfied; he said confidently,
"Let's go. I am sure we can reach the deepest part of Qian Kun Crystal Wall this
time."
However, they still failed in their second attempt.
"Why did this happen? My mind was already filled with knowledge." Ren Zu said
dejected, "This is all the knowledge I can hold."
"No, oh human, look closely again." Self Gu suddenly spoke to remind him.
Ren Zu inspected his mind, he found a Gu hiding inside it.
Ren Zu realized at once, "So you are occupying my mind, preventing me from
getting more knowledge. What Gu are you?"
The Gu answered, "I am Pride Gu."
Ren Zu said anxiously, "Can you hurry and get out, you are occupying such a huge
area. I want to fill the place with knowledge instead."
But no matter how anxious Ren Zu was, or how he urged, Pride Gu refused to leave.
When Ren Zu was out of ideas, Great Strength True Martial spoke, "Oh father, don't
be anxious. Don't forget that I still have Humility Gu. I will give it to you."
Great Strength True Martial took out Humility Gu and gave it to Ren Zu. Pride Gu
was chased away by Humility Gu; it had to fly out of Ren Zu's mind and land on
Great Strength True Martial instead.
"Strong Gu was very happy, "The strong have their own pride."
After Ren Zu chased Pride Gu away from his mind, he returned to Book Mountain to
continue gaining knowledge.
After Ren Zu gained Humility Gu, he realized that the more knowledge he had, the
more he found that he was lacking knowledge, and the more he wanted to fill his
mind with even more knowledge.
Ren Zu's mind was quickly filled.
Self Gu urged him, "Oh human, stop now, your mind is already full of knowledge."
But Ren Zu replied, "But I think that it is insufficient, I am certain that I still do not
know a lot of things. I need to continue gaining knowledge."
Ren Zu continued to refine his knowledge; his mind was getting bloated, it was
hurting and could not hold any more information, but Humility Gu made him feel like
he was still lacking in knowledge.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom.
Eventually, Ren Zu's mind could not take it anymore; it exploded from an overload of
knowledge.
The knowledge scattered on the ground as a little girl stood up from within.
"Father, father." The little girl hugged Ren Zu's leg happily. "My name is Carefree
Wisdom Heart; I am your daughter."
Chapter 41 – Finding Wisdom
Carefree Wisdom Heart was born, and she was intelligent and witty. Ren Zu liked his
eighth child a lot.
But at the same time, Ren Zu was vexed: "My mind shattered, what do I do? I cannot
store more knowledge anymore. Sigh, it seems that only the two of you can help me
now."
Thus, Carefree Wisdom Heart and Great Strength True Martial used their own minds
to store up more knowledge. They filled their minds with knowledge before moving
along with Ren Zu. Ren Zu and his children started their third attempt.
Before they took a step, they would scatter ink text and knowledge; the text would
describe their knowledge and form a small black path. Ren Zu and his children
walked on this small path.
But when they finished using their knowledge and reached the end of the ink text
path, they did not see any signs of wisdom Gu. Ren Zu's third attempt failed again.
Great Strength True Martial shrugged in disappointment: "What do we do now? We
have already done our best, but our knowledge is still insufficient. We cannot hold
any more knowledge in our minds."
Ren Zu sighed; he was also quite helpless.
At this time, Hope Gu flew out: "Oh human, don't be disappointed; I am here."
Ren Zu was surprised: "How can you help me?"
Hope Gu answered: "Oh human, I can awaken your aperture.”
Hope allowed people to gain enlightenment (awaken their aperture). Thus, hope Gu
exerted effort to create an aperture for Ren Zu.
Humility Gu laughed: "Then let me help you as well, human. When you have humility,
your capacity will be larger; you will be able to hold more things."
Thus, the aperture expanded in size.
Ren Zu obtained the aperture and felt very happy: "This place is really huge; I can
store so much knowledge! This is wonderful."
Ren Zu and his children went to Book Mountain again; they refined their knowledge
and searched for ink text. Ren Zu stored a lot of knowledge into his aperture; even
he did not know the quantity he took. Ren Zu and his children set off on their fourth
journey; they stepped on the ink text path and entered deep into Qian Kun Crystal
Wall.
They went very deeply and searched many places; they changed directions
countless times but still could not find wisdom Gu. They had no choice but to return
to Book Mountain.
This time, because the exploration took too long, the ink text path that they created
when they set off was unable to endure the endless barrage of information; a large
portion of it faded away.
Ren Zu found the Inkman elder and asked: "Why can't we find wisdom Gu?”
The Inkman elder replied: "Sometimes, when we Inkmen explore the place, we
would encounter wisdom Gu. But you three have searched the entire Qian Kun
Crystal Wall but did not find wisdom Gu; it means that it is intentionally hiding from
you, it does not want to meet you."
Carefree Wisdom Heart quickly asked: "Then where is wisdom Gu hiding at?"
The Inkman elder pondered and said: "Oh humans, you have searched the entire
Qian Kun Crystal Wall. If wisdom Gu is still inside here, it can only hide in one place.
That place is called Primordial Domain; it is the most mysterious part of Qian Kun
Crystal Wall."
Qian Kun Crystal Wall has a record of everything that happens in the world; it
contains infinite information. Primordial Domain contains the information of the world
since creation; it also has the information of the ends of all living beings. It is both the
starting point and the ending point. It has nothing, yet it comprises everything.
Great Strength True Martial was overjoyed: "We have not gone to Primordial Domain
yet. Oh Inkman elder, tell us how to get into the Primordial Domain."
The Inkman elder shook his head: "It is not that I do not want to help you, but we
Inkmen have also only heard of the location; we have never entered it. Oh humans,
we Inkmen admire you a lot. You possess knowledge that far surpasses us, thus, if
you want to enter Primordial Domain, you need to rely on yourselves."
Ren Zu and his children had to make their research.
Carefree Wisdom Heart had a find; she shouted joyfully: "I found it, I found it!"
"Oh daughter, what did you find, why are you so excited?" Ren Zu asked in curiosity.
Carefree Wisdom Heart opened both her palms: "On my right palm, I found right Gu.
On my left palm, I found wrong Gu.
These two Gu are born in your body; they are ordinary-looking and are much less
presentable than my authority Gu. What help can they give us?" Great Strength True
Martial was very prideful; he spoke nonchalantly.
Carefree Wisdom Heart answered: "These two Gu allow us to differentiate and
classify our knowledge. Look at our knowledge again; the truth is, much of it is right
at this moment, but after some time, those pieces of information will be wrong. There
is also much of it that is right when placed here, but wrong when placed there. I think
that if we use the knowledge that is always right at all times and use it to make our
text path, we will be able to reach Primordial Domain."
Ren Zu nodded: "Your words are quite logical. Let us try it."
But no matter how they looked, they could not find such knowledge.
Great Strength True Martial's Strong Gu said proudly: "Oh humans, you are wasting
your effort. Because in this world, there has only been strong and weak; there has
never been right or wrong. Thus, your actions are in vain; you cannot classify right
and wrong."
Qian Kun Crystal Wall contains everything that happens in the world; all of the
information comprises genuine events with no lies. Using right and wrong will not be
able to differentiate them at all because since they exist, or rather, since they
existed, they are all logical information.
Carefree Wisdom Heart was criticized, but her eyes shined with bright light: "I get it;
the existence of everyone in the world, regardless of right or wrong, is logical
because this is the true meaning of their existence. This is what true meaning is."
"Let us search for it."
The three of them started to dig up true meaning from the vast sea of knowledge.
Great Strength True Martial was the first to get impatient; Ren Zu also lost his
perseverance soon, but only Carefree Wisdom Heart remained calm and composed;
her expression was serious and solemn.
After a long time, Great Strength True Martial pointed at Carefree Wisdom Heart; he
gasped in shock: "Look, another Gu grew on your body."
The newly born Gu was called serious Gu.
After Carefree Wisdom Heart obtained it, she became very happy: "With this Gu, I
will be able to recognize true meaning more easily."
After a long time, Ren Zu pointed at Carefree Wisdom Heart as well: "Look, another
Gu appeared on your body."
The second Gu was called learning Gu.
Carefree Wisdom Heart started to learn knowledge; she converted knowledge into
things that she truly understood; she was no longer just storing them using Memory
Gu. She started to understand more and more knowledge; soon, a third Gu
appeared on her body.
The third Gu was called talent Gu.
"I found it, I found it!" One day, Carefree Wisdom Heart shouted with joy; with the
help of self-will Gu, learning Gu, and talent Gu, she finally found the true meaning of
knowledge.
"Quickly tell us, what does true meaning look like?" Great Strength True Martial was
very happy as he asked.
But Carefree Wisdom Heart shook her head: "The true meaning contained within will
be lost if I try to convey it in words."
"Then write it out using ink text." Great Strength True Martial thought about it and
suggested.
But Carefree Wisdom Heart shook her head again: "The meaning can only be
understood; it cannot be passed down in text."
Ren Zu waved his hand: "Forget it; since you possess true meaning now, let's head
out immediately."
Carefree Wisdom Heart was filled with true meaning; they set off from Book
Mountain as she scattered ink text on the ground; the path was much wider than
before; it was also sturdier.
Ren Zu and his children walked on the great path and arrived in Primordial Domain.
Within Primordial Domain, they met wisdom Gu.
Wisdom Gu was quite helpless; it had already hidden itself so deeply, but Ren Zu still
found it; self Gu managed to take a bite out of it in the end.
Chapter 42 Betraying one’s self
Wisdom Gu was bitten by self Gu, and it felt very angry and decided to take revenge.
Wisdom Gu found Lie Gu: "No matter what I say, my words are filled with wisdom;
they will advise and help others. This won't do, so I came to you for help."
Lie Gu asked, "How do you want me to help you?"
Wisdom Gu said, "This is easy and simple. Ren Zu and his children are in Primordial
Domain now. In front of Primordial Domain is Xi Land, while behind it is Hu Land. Go
to Primordial Domain and deceive Ren Zu; tell him Hu Land is in front while Xi Land
is behind."
Lie Gu was puzzled, "That can help you take revenge?"
Wisdom Gu laughed loudly, "Humans need to breathe in first before they can breathe
out. Meanwhile, Xi Land and Hu Land are the breathing of heaven and earth. Just
follow my instructions."
Lie Gu followed Wisdom Gu's arrangements and went to Primordial Domain. It told
Ren Zu, "Human, you need to be careful. You are in a mystical place; you will reach
Hu Land if you go forward and Xi Land if you move back."
Ren Zu had been thinking of leaving Primordial Domain; he thought, "The Beastmen
once advised me not to go to Hu Land. In that case, I shall head towards the back
and go to Xi Land."
Ren Zu moved towards the back of Primordial Domain with his children Great
Strength True Martial and Carefree Wisdom Heart.
Thus, they arrived at Hu Land.
"This is not Xi Land!" Carefree Wisdom Heart knew they had been deceived.
Ren Zu patted his chest, "Fortunately, I died once, and Betrayal Gu has already left
me. Otherwise, if I care, Betrayal Gu will harm me."
But Great Strength True Martial suddenly realized something and shouted, "This is
bad!"
"What's wrong?" Ren Zu was about to ask when Self Gu flew out of his body. Self Gu
left Ren Zu, leaving behind a sentence, "Oh human, after you put Attitude Gu on me,
you deceived even yourself, so don't blame me for leaving you."
Back then, Ren Zu protected Weak Gu. Weak Gu urged Ren Zu to put Attitude Gu
on Self Gu to deceive himself, creating the perfect deception that managed to even
deceive the Predicament.
If humans deceived themselves, their sense of self would leave, and the person
would lose themselves.
Ren Zu was angry and anxious, "What to do, Self Gu left me. How can I obtain
freedom without it? How can I break free of the restraints of fate?"
"Self Gu once took a bite of Betrayal Gu, so it gained the inclination to betray. I was
already dissatisfied with it." Great Strength True Martial's Ability Gu shouted.
The skilled were naturally dissatisfied with themselves.
"Self Gu will be out of our sight soon; we need to give chase!" Carefree Wisdom
Heart reminded. The three immediately chased after Self Gu.
Self Gu left very fast and dove into a river.
The river's surface was calm with ice of all sizes floating on it.
"This is the River of Time, the ice floating on the river is called Truthful Floating Ice."
Ren Zu's group recognized it immediately; they had gained this knowledge in the
Qian Kun Crystal Wall.
Ren Zu looked afar and said, "I think Self Gu is hiding in the center of the floating ice;
let's quickly go and catch it!"
Ren Zu's group sized up the situation by the riverside.
Every piece of floating ice in the River of Time was a piece of truth.
Ren Zu observed for a long while before pointing towards a floating ice: "This floating
ice is neither big nor small and has a smooth surface; let’s step on this."
But Great Strength True Martial said, "This floating ice is clearly too small; it is not
enough for us three."
Carefree Wisdom Heart shook her head, "This floating ice is quite big, but there are
many spikes on it; they will pierce our feet."
Even when looking at the same truth, from the perspectives of different people, they
could be big or small, minor, or severe, difficult, or easy. Some could accept it, but
some could not.
Ren Zu's group discussed for a long while before they chose a floating ice and
stepped on it.
When Ren Zu stepped on this ice, he immediately cried and snivelled. Great
Strength True Martial shouted in anger, while Carefree Wisdom Heart laughed
happily.
When looking at the same truth, different people would have different feelings and
emotions regarding it.
Ren Zu and his children could only endure this.
"Every piece of floating ice in the River of Time is a cold and silent truth. But we
humans have hearts; we feel emotions when we come across truths, and when
truths and emotions mix, they create different situations for everyone." Carefree
Wisdom Heart recalled the knowledge in her mind.
The floating ice carried the group and drifted for a while before it started shrinking
and submerging.
"Let's jump to that floating ice." Ren Zu pointed towards the left, at his front.
Before the floating ice under them submerged, the three jumped to the second
floating ice.
This piece of truth created different emotions in Ren Zu's group. The longer they
stood on the floating ice, the more these emotions accumulated.
As the floating ice continued to sink, the emotions they felt also changed. Some went
from angry to happy, while others went from happy to depressed.
"I can't endure this anymore; I feel horrible." After persisting for a while, Ren Zu said
while grasping his heart, "Let's jump to that floating ice."
The three jumped over, but shortly afterward, Carefree Wisdom Heart said, "I cannot
stand this situation; I am also feeling extremely down. I even want to die."
Ren Zu's group of three quickly changed to another floating ice.
No matter what truth they came upon, in reality, they could be endured by gritting
one's teeth. The most dreadful thing was the suffering of the heart.
If the heart could not endure it, the person would be unable to continue moving
forward.
After changing several pieces of floating ice, Great Strength True Martial felt the
least amount of discomfort: "I am still fine."
Strong Gu shouted proudly in his heart: "There are too many situations in the world,
but it has always been the weak who suffer more than the strong."
Fortitude Gu called out: "The credit here goes to me because I have been helping
you since the start."
Fortitude Gu could suppress emotions.
Suddenly, two Gu worms grew on Carefree Wisdom Heart's palms.
The Gu on the left palm was called Good. The Gu on the right palm was called Bad.
"Humans, we can help you distinguish which situation is good and which is bad."
Good Gu and Bad Gu said together in a soft voice.
Thus, with the help of Good Gu and Bad Gu, Ren Zu's group was able to choose a
piece of floating ice that had a good situation.
All three of them felt happy when standing on this floating ice.
When the floating ice started to submerge and good situations turned bad, the three
jumped away.
Like this, the three gradually turned happy, then ecstatic, before finally becoming
euphoric. They could not move forward anymore as they drowned in emotions of
endless joy.
The three forgot about their situation; the truthful floating ice they were standing on
submerged completely, and they fell into the river one after the other.
Chapter 43 – Finding self
After falling into the water of the River of Time, Ren Zu and the other two woke up in
shock.
The three immediately climbed up to a nearby floating ice; although it was only a
short time, they had already grown old.
“Time Gu is hidden within the River of Time; our lifespan will be washed away by the
river water." Great Strength True Martial sighed.
Ren Zu felt regretful: "Constantly encountering good situations is actually a bad
thing; it will create a huge problem! It is not good to be too happy or constantly
happy; it can make people indulge in the present and forget about time as they get
immersed entirely."
But Carefree Wisdom Heart said with a tone of joy: "Quick, look at your heart."
The three of them inspected their inner hearts; they saw that many accumulated
emotions had been washed away earlier when they fell into the river.
This discovery made Ren Zu and the other two feel very happy.
Next, they continued to travel on the floating ice.
Whenever they encountered a bad situation and felt negative emotions, they would
put their heart into the river water to wash it: "These bad situations will pass
eventually."
Their negative emotions faded away with time.
Whenever they encountered a good situation and felt immersed in joy, they would
put their heart into the river water to wash it: "These good situations will pass
eventually."
Their positive emotions also weakened over time, preventing them from feeling
indulgent.
Cognition Gu saw that the three of them were constantly washing their hearts; it
could not help but remind them: "Time has never healed the wounds of the heart,
except that your hearts have grown old. The worst thing is not your body growing old
but your hearts aging. Stop washing them."
Ren Zu and the other two heard these words and quickly stopped their actions.
But without washing the hearts, their speed fell again.
"Let me help you." At this time, a Gu worm flew over and landed on Ren Zu.
Ren Zu and the other two saw this Gu worm and became very happy.
It was Familial Emotion Gu.
With the help of Familial Emotion Gu, Ren Zu and the other two spread their
emotions around; the joy of one person was split among three, the sorrow of one
person was also split into three.
Using familial emotion, Ren Zu and the other two consoled each other and carried
each other's burden; they moved quickly and firmly.
But good times did not last.
More and more emotions accumulated in their hearts; their hearts became tired and
gradually got hurt after being unable to sustain it any longer.
Deep emotions hurt the heart.
The situation soon aggravated because their hearts were severely injured; they
could not take in more emotions.
At this time, Carefree Wisdom Heart took out a cage and held it in her hand: "This is
the Mental Domain that I created; place all your emotions in here."
Ren Zu and Great Strength True Martial did as she said.
They put their emotions into the Mental Domain.
Immediately, the truthful floating ice revealed its original appearance in front of the
three.
They were simply pieces of floating ice; the three felt a different sensation towards it
now.
The emotions of people did not concern others; only their mental state mattered.
"What is this?" Carefree Wisdom Heart soon found a Gu worm in the floating ice.
The Gu worm answered: "I am Calm Gu."
The truth was icy cold; this was the attitude that one should have when facing
situations.
Ren Zu and the other two finally reached the center of the truthful floating ice.
But they did not find Self Gu.
"So Self Gu is not here." Ren Zu was very disappointed.
Initially, people would often think that they were the center of all situations, but that
was not true.
At the center of the truthful floating ice, there was no Self Gu, but three other Gu
instead.
They were Rules Gu, Regulation Gu, and Practice Gu.
Rules and Regulation Gu had been with Ren Zu for a long time; after Ren Zu's heart
was eaten by the Predicament, they thought that he died and left him.
They came here to create truthful floating ice along with Practice Gu.
All sorts of situations were bound by the rules and regulation of heaven and earth.
The three Gu continued to create truthful floating ice like this; afterwards, under the
effect of Time Gu, these floating ice flowed away and sank.
Rules and Regulation Gu saw Ren Zu and felt surprised: "Oh human, so you did not
die."
Ren Zu quickly asked them on how he could find Self Gu.
Rules and Regulation Gu pointed at Practice Gu and said in unison: "It can help
you."
Practice Gu replied: "Oh human, you have gone through too many situations. After
such a long time, you have changed a lot. Self Gu is the same; even if it is right
before you, it will feel very foreign now, you cannot recognize it."
"What can I do?" Ren Zu was troubled.
"This is simple." Practice Gu laughed. "Can't you just undergo the 'situation of
recognizing yourself'?"
"That's right!" Ren Zu and the other two realized at once.
Practice Gu continued: "For a human, recognizing yourself is the most important and
also the most difficult thing in the world. Great Strength True Martial, you are strong
and have ability; if we work together, the chance of success is very high."
Ability Gu laughed and said: "Undergoing situations can make me stronger."
Carefree Wisdom Heart supported this; she gave Serious Gu to Great Strength True
Martial.
Great Strength True Martial started to undergo situations alongside Practice Gu.
They first created a piece of floating ice that was as small as a ball. It surrounded
Great Strength True Martial and Practice Gu as a light membrane appeared around
the ice ball.
Ren Zu and Carefree Wisdom Heart stood on top of the ice ball as they flowed away,
eventually encountering Year Gu.
"Is this Self Gu?" Ren Zu asked.
Great Strength True Martial replied: "No, Self Gu is smaller than it."
They continued to undergo situations within the ice ball as Ability Gu got stronger;
the floating ice also became larger as a water membrane appeared around the
periphery.
While floating, Ren Zu saw Month Gu.
"Is this Self Gu?" Ren Zu asked.
Great Strength True Martial replied: "No, Self Gu is smaller than it."
Great Strength True Martial and Practice Gu continued working hard; Ability Gu got
stronger and made this floating ice even bigger; the periphery of the ice ball was
covered in a stone membrane.
Ren Zu saw Day Gu.
"Is this Self Gu?" Ren Zu asked.
Great Strength True Martial replied: "No, Self Gu is smaller than it."
The stronger the ability, the more one would find that they were small and
insignificant.
Eventually, the floating ice reached its biggest size; the periphery was covered by a
crystal membrane. Ren Zu and the other two floated on the ice ball and eventually
found Self Gu.
"Self Gu is actually so small." Ren Zu was internally shaken.
Cognition Gu sighed: "In the eyes of heaven and earth, in the eyes of mankind, a
single Self Gu is very small and insignificant."