Chapter 98: The Origin of Life

As they pressed forward, the sounds within the passage grew clearer and clearer. When the scene before them came into view, both of them could not help but feel a flicker of astonishment. On the platform sat a figure dressed in the robes of a Daoist priest—a being neither fully human nor fully dragon, yet somehow both—and his fierce, twisted features made it impossible to tell exactly what sort of creature he was. Below the platform, the flood-dragon guide was respectfully offering up a small bottle filled with primordial vital energy. At that moment, the figure above was reciting, over and over again, passages from Laozi's famous classic, the Dao De Jing.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of all things. Thus, in constant non-desire, one perceives its mystery; in constant desire, one perceives its manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name, and both are called profound—profound upon profound, the gateway to all wonders. When all under heaven know beauty as beauty, ugliness comes into being. When all know goodness as goodness, evil comes into being. Therefore being and non-being give rise to each other; difficulty and ease complete each other; long and short shape each other; high and low incline toward each other; voice and sound harmonize with each other; before and after follow each other. Thus the sage abides in the business of non-action and practices the teaching without words. The ten thousand things arise and he does not refuse them; he gives life yet claims no possession; he acts yet does not presume; he accomplishes his work yet dwells in none of it. It is precisely because he does not dwell in it that it never departs from him.

…

The Tao is empty, yet when used it is never exhausted. Vast and deep, it seems to be the ancestor of all things. It blunts their sharpness, untangles their knots, softens their glare, and mingles with their dust. Profound and serene, it seems to exist yet not. I do not know whose child it is—it appears to precede the Lord of Emperors.

Heaven and Earth are not kind; they treat all things as straw dogs. The sage is not kind; he treats the common people as straw dogs. Is the space between heaven and earth not like a bellows? Empty yet never spent, the more it moves, the more it brings forth. Much speaking leads to exhaustion; better to hold to the center.

The valley spirit never dies—this is called the mysterious female. The gate of the mysterious female is called the root of heaven and earth. It stretches on, faintly present, and its use is never toiled over.

Heaven endures and Earth abides. The reason Heaven and Earth can endure and abide is that they do not live for themselves alone, and so they can live forever. Thus the sage places himself behind and yet ends up in front; he sets himself aside and yet endures. Is it not because he has no thought for himself that his own self is fulfilled?

…

To grasp and fill to overflowing is not as good as leaving it alone. To whet and sharpen with relentless edge cannot keep long. When gold and jade fill the hall, none can keep them safe. Wealth and honor with arrogance bring calamity upon oneself. To accomplish one's work and then withdraw—this is the way of heaven… This is called the form of the formless, the image of the imageless; this is called the nebulous and vague. Face it, and you do not see its head; follow it, and you do not see its back. Hold to the Tao of antiquity to keep in hand what exists today. To know the ancient beginning—this is called the thread of the Tao."

Hua Feng led Yun Meng silently closer. Before the situation became clear, he was unwilling to make any rash move.

"Hua Feng-ge, judging by what that man in black said earlier, this person reciting Daoist scriptures should also be a flood dragon. Is our task now to root out every last evil, or simply to complete the objective and destroy their purpose of continuing to harvest the tourists' vital energy?" Yun Meng, for the moment, did not know what they ought to do in the face of such a scene.

"The better course is naturally to directly destroy the key element of this mission. I once saw a description of vital energy in the Yan Emperor's Mark. This is something close to the very essence of life. As long as no power is holding it in control, and we guide it with our own vital energy, containing it so that it does not scatter recklessly, then these extracted vital energies will return to their original hosts." Hua Feng recalled how the Yan Emperor's inheritors of every generation had understood the vital essence of life.

"If that's the case, then let's act quickly. They seem to be performing some kind of ritual. Once it is completed, those extracted vital energies won't be recoverable." Yun Meng was somewhat worried.

"Don't be hasty. Wait a little longer; the moment hasn't ripened yet. We followed the vine to find the melon, and we still don't know whether this half-dragon, half-human Daoist is truly the fruit hanging from this vine. If he isn't, then even a successful mission would carry little meaning." Hua Feng explained seriously.

At that moment, a slight change took place in the scene, as if events were developing in a way no one had foreseen. The Daoist seated upon the platform, chanting scriptures, abruptly transformed—the face that had been ugly beyond measure suddenly gave way to the features of a handsome young man.

"Master, the thing you asked for—I have brought it for you. People these days are getting harder and harder to deceive. Though your disciple has moved among the human world for decades, ever since the Heavenly Travel Agency began to show some success, the Demon Alliance and the Daoist Alliance have been watching us more and more closely. I have done my utmost to search everywhere and have only managed to gather this much vital energy from the tour-group members. I did not dare collect too much, for fear of stirring up deaths and drawing the attention of those above." The guide presented the vital-energy bottle with the utmost reverence.

The man addressed as Master took the bottle and cast it behind him into a cave. In that fleeting flash of light from the dimly glowing bottle, hundreds of other bottles came into view, all of the same style yet differing in color. The instant Hua Feng and Yun Meng saw them, they could not help but draw in a cold breath. How many people's vital energy had to be harvested to produce so many bottles?

"I know well what is in your heart. You simply wish to advance to the Sovereign realm as soon as possible and become a true guide recognized by both the Demon Alliance and the Daoist Alliance. As long as you help me gather sufficient vital essence, aiding me in walking faster and farther upon the path of cultivation, then I, as your master, will lend you my hand at a suitable moment and let you attain your heart's desire. After all, you are a scion of our flood-dragon clan."

"Thank you, Master! This disciple will do everything in his power. As long as you wish for it, I will certainly do all I can to harvest human vital essence for you. Although our numbers are limited now and I cannot take too much, when the need arises, this disciple will ask friends to obtain some qualified vital energy from other places and bring it to you." The guide nodded his head again and again upon hearing these assurances.

"As your master, my current cultivation has already reached level 65 of the Sovereign realm, right at the edge of a breakthrough. But if I wish to maintain this human skin, I must have enough vital essence. Otherwise, once I break through to the middle stage of the Sovereign realm, I will revert to my flood-dragon form, and to transform back into human shape and continue cultivating the Daoist scriptures will become far more difficult."

"Yes! Your disciple understands." The guide was timidly deferential and extremely respectful.

Hua Feng, listening from the side, had more or less grasped what the whole affair was about. He was just about to strike first when a voice called out loudly:

"You two little ones, why not show yourselves now? You have eavesdropped for so long—have you not heard enough?"

Hua Feng cursed inwardly: Damn it, they had been discovered. Truly, a disparity in realm and cultivation level could determine how well one could conceal oneself.

Yun Meng, by contrast, was undaunted. Though the other side numbered two, if the two of them wished to leave, a level 65 Sovereign was probably not enough to keep them here.