Refining the Dao into Godhood: A Tale of the Jie Sect

"Countless autumns pass as seas turn to dust, crafting mastery through trials that ghosts and gods trust. Dreams bestowed upon the millennia spread far and wide, as the moon descends into the river and clouds roll with the tide. I choose not the mountains to grind away my years, but venture into the mortal realm in search of the Dao's truths clear!" Xuanqing sang and journeyed forth, attempting to peer into his own heart and the Great Dao; yet, the closer he neared the Human Clan Ancestral Land, the more turmoil within his heart, as if obscured by the fog of ages: "Which me, truly, is myself?"

He somewhat feared facing it.

At the beginning of his transmigration into the Primordial World, his heart experienced surprise, excitement, fear, and also sought to assimilate and blend with the Human Clan Tribe of that era.

Yet his thoughts were far too advanced for the age; communicating with the humans of the time often felt like playing the lute to an ox, leaving him with a profound sense of impotence.

He wanted to escape!

But he knew not where to flee?

Pursuing the Immortal Dao and eternal life was his dream, as well as a means to distract himself.

He feared confrontation, feared legends becoming reality, and feared that one day he and the humans he knew would genuinely turn into materials for crafting the Sorcerer Slayer Sword by the Demon Clan!

Thus, he prayed day and night to Nuwa, serving the visiting Taiching sage in the Human Clan Tribe with utmost care, diligently offering what he thought to be the finest things.

He had indeed successfully left the Human Clan Tribe, escaped from this place of raw-flesh consumption, unenlightened, where savagery thrived, and where he felt utterly alien.

"Sui!"

Xuanqing, lost and adrift, wandered within the Human Clan Tribe, mind adrift, unaware of his thoughts, yet a familiar yet strange call rang in his ears.

Sui!

This name was given to him by a member of the Primordial Human Race when he tried to create fire by drilling wood, guiding the era's humans to abandon brutality and ignorance.

"Sui Ming Country knows not the distinction of four seasons and day from night, has a tree called Sui Wood, sprawling over thousands of acres. In later generations, a Saint traveled beyond the sun and moon to this country, resting under this tree. There was a bird, like an owl, which pecked the tree and sparked a brilliant fire. Touched by this, the Saint taught the art of drilling wood to the masses; because he used small twigs to produce fire, he was revered as Sui Ren (Fire Maker)."

This was a legend he had heard!

But when he felt self-satisfied, yet somewhat frightened, thinking that he had usurped Sui Ren's Merit, someone had already bestowed that title upon him.

This left him momentarily unable to distinguish between illusion and reality, wondering whether he had replaced Sui Ren, or if Sui Ren could be anyone who managed to create fire from wood; that person… would be Sui Ren!

This question troubled him as profoundly as the classic conundrum of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

So much so that for a long while, he couldn't figure out whether he had altered history or had merely become a part of mythic history.

Hearing the call from behind, Xuanqing's expression was complex. He turned around and mustered a faint smile, responding, "It's been a long time, You Chao!"

Indeed!

The caller was You Chao!

He was the man who called him "Sui" after he had demonstrated how to make fire by drilling wood!

During those initial days of transmigration, he didn't just attempt to change these humans' practice of eating raw meat and blood but also tried to steer them toward civilized society.

Some scoffed, others ignored, yet there were those who showed intrigued expressions.

You Chao was among them.

After he expressed the hope for them to have shelter like a bird's nest, safe from wind and rain, You Chao began to attempt to construct such a "Bird Nest" for the Human Race!

Just as he had been granted the name "Sui Ren" when the "Bird Nest" was completed, others from the Primordial Human Race also granted the title "You Chao" to the man.

That person was Ziyi!

In any case, before Xuanqing left the Human Clan Ancestral Land, including himself, there were nine individuals who earned titles and were recognized by most of the Human Race.

Sui, Ci Yi, You Chao, Zhi Sheng, Da Ting, Jin Hong...

You Chao looked at Xuanqing returning to the Human Clan Tribe, extremely excited: "Sui, I thought you'd never come back! You've been gone for tens of thousands of years! By the way, where's Xuan Dou? Didn't he come back with you?"

Xuanqing didn't know how to respond and could only bite the bullet and say: "I just passed by and decided to stop by for a visit! As for Xuan Dou, he and I have different mentors, so I don't know when he will return!"

After a thought, he added: "In the future, you might as well call me Xuanqing! This is the Daoist name bestowed by my teacher after I became his disciple!"

You Chao disagreed: "It's all the same, whether you're Sui or Xuanqing, it's just a name, why do you care so much?"

Of course it's not the same!

Sui is one of the three patriarchs of the Human Race, while Xuanqing is a transmigrator... Can these roles really be compared?

However, this phrase, Xuanqing ultimately never voiced, as You Chao said, a name is merely a label; it's his own attachment that matters!

Soon, under You Chao's lead, Xuanqing strolled through the Human Clan Ancestral Land. You Chao was very excited and talked with Xuanqing about the changes the Human Race had undergone over the years.

Xuanqing listened quietly.

In fact, upon his return to the Human Clan Ancestral Land, he found that the present Human Race had largely shed their past of consuming raw meat and living exposed to Wind and Fire.

Various huts, wooden houses, stone houses, clothes, pottery, tools, ornaments... everything was available. Coupled with the still-flowing Innate Spiritual Energy of the Primordial World and the methods of cultivation, the Human Race had completely emerged from ignorance, forming various tribes, and had even begun actively exploring the world far beyond the millions of miles of the Human Clan Ancestral Lands!

The two walked together and soon reached Nuwa Temple, which was built by Xuanqing himself. The statue he had crafted was also left behind, constantly worshipped and had already manifested various miraculous phenomena.

Beside Nuwa Temple was another temple dedicated to Taiching, which, although not built by Xuanqing, he had put considerable effort into.

He walked into the temple and offered incense to both Saints.

However, as he was leaving, he noticed that beneath the statues of both Saints there seemed to be smaller statues, which bore a slight resemblance to him.

"That's you!"

Seemingly noticing Xuanqing's gaze, You Chao explained: "Although we were created by Holy Mother, and the cultivation methods were taught by Taiching, the one who taught us to make fire, create tools, guided me to build houses, and guided Ci Yi to sew clothes, was you!"

"And weren't these the merits of education you once spoke to me about?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanqing felt as if struck by lightning, stunned in place, unable to regain his senses for a long time.

"Education?"

"Education!"

At the beginning of his transmigration, he indeed wanted to change these people of the Human Race, not to mention more, he just wanted these people to live more like what he remembered as "human."

"So that's how it is!"

Xuanqing suddenly realized, as if thunder had flashed through his heart: "It turns out that what I've been doing all along is education! What I've done is not in vain!"

In this moment, he seemed to understand the meaning of education; since the current Human Race differed from his memory, then let them transform toward that direction.

He had always been doing so.

It's just, he had never realized it!

Decades witness the change of seasons, a century witnesses birth, aging, sickness, and death, a millennium witnesses a lone tree become a forest, a myriad of years witness massive mountains erode into vast seas and plains...

Education is not a simple task; the development and change of a race, in a vast world like the Primordial, are measured in thousands and tens of thousands of years.

"Whether as Sui or as Xuanqing, I am still myself!" Xuanqing, with newfound realization, couldn't help but laugh: "True understanding is easy to obtain, while the original intention is hard to maintain, whether as the Other or as the Self, it is still I, only in change lies the unchanging, this is the true essence of Innate Yi Dao!"