Fifth Age

Chapter 229 The Fifth Epoch

Little Jade Capital in heaven.

Master Yankang and his wife have been here for more than ten days. This city in the sky is like a fairyland, with scenes that are hard to see in the human world.

"Master, are you used to living here these days?" An old man in a white robe came over and asked with a smile.

Imperial Master Yankang said solemnly: "Xiaoyujing is worthy of its name. The atmosphere here is extraordinary and makes me linger. But although this place is good, it is far away from the human world after all. My ambition is not here, and I will have to leave eventually. Please forgive me, Qingyou Shanren."

The old man, Qingyou Shanren, smiled and said, "Master, don't worry. I invited you to be my guest, but I haven't told you the origin of Xiaoyujing yet."

Imperial Master Yankang asked curiously, "I'd like to hear the details."

Qingyou Shanren led the way, taking the Imperial Master and his wife to a rainbow bridge, which was carved from seven-color jade and spanned the sky. People standing on the bridge felt like they were standing on a rainbow. When they reached the center of the bridge, the scenery of Xiaoyujing was different from what they saw below. In Xiaoyujing, the mountains in the sky were arranged like a natural formation, and the palaces on the mountains looked like the place where immortals lived.

"The origin of Xiaoyujing is even more ancient than the Imperial Master imagined."

Qingyou Shanren smiled and said, "The history of this place can be traced back to the Kaihuang period."

"Kaihuang?"

Yankang Imperial Preceptor had indeed never heard of Kaihuang, and asked curiously, "Which country was the Kaihuang period? Yankang State did not have an emperor named Kaihuang."

"Kaihuang is not Yankang. Kaihuang is a piece of land called Kaihuang Kingdom."

Qingyou Shanren said: "The Imperial Master should know that Kaihuang State is now Daxu."

Imperial Master Yankang's body trembled slightly, and he exhaled a breath of foul air: "Daxu."

Qingyou Shanren led the couple across the rainbow bridge and walked towards a fairy mountain suspended in the air. He said slowly, "Kaihuang is the Taoist term, and Buddhism calls it Kongji. Buddhism says that there are four stages: creation, existence, destruction and emptiness. Kongji is the fourth stage, while we Taoists call it Kaihuang Ji. Now that Yankang is rising, we in Xiaoyujing call Yankang the Yankang Ji. During the Kaihuang period, Daxu prospered. The great catastrophe that destroyed Kaihuang is called Kaihuang Tribulation in Xiaoyujing. There were three more catastrophes before Kaihuang Tribulation."

The wife of the Imperial Master's eyes flickered as she said, "The elders said that the Yankang Kingdom, you call it the Yankang Era, so if Yankang is destroyed, would you call it the Yankang Disaster?"

"Madam is smart."

Qingyou Shanren smiled and pointed to the distance, where there was a jade mountain floating in the air. Several Taoists were building a palace and said, "That palace will be used to store the history of the Yankang Era. When the Yankang Kingdom is destroyed, we can sort out the history of the Yankang Catastrophe and leave it for future generations to refer to."

The wife of the Imperial Master could not help but ask, "Elder, what exactly is Xiaoyujing? Is it good or evil? What does it think of us? We have been here for some time, and the elder has been letting us tour around here. Now is the time to tell us what Xiaoyujing really thinks, right?"

"We in Xiaoyujing have no ideas. We just want to observe the Imperial Master, observe the reforms, and record what we think is useful for future generations."

Qingyou Shanren smiled and said, "We call ourselves immortals, not gods, and we don't want to interfere with the running of worldly affairs."

Imperial Master Yankang asked, "How do we distinguish between immortals and gods?"

Qingyou Shanren said: "Immortals are human, but gods are not human."

Imperial Master Yankang seemed to be thinking deeply, and said, "You mean, humans cannot become gods, but can only become immortals?"

Qingyou Shanren smiled and said, "The national teacher cultivated to the Divine Bridge realm. What did he see when he stood on the Divine Bridge?"

Master Yankang did not speak. The Divine Bridge Realm is the seventh realm of cultivation and also the highest realm.

"The Divine Bridge is the bridge to the realm of the gods, but everyone's Divine Bridge is broken and cannot reach the other side. The National Master should be no exception, right?"

Qingyou Shanren said: "The immortals in Xiaoyujing are no exception. We have seen countless people's divine treasures, and the divine bridges are all broken. Standing on the broken divine bridge, we cannot reach the other side, and we cannot become gods. In fact, according to our cultivation, we can already stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods, but our realm is broken."

Imperial Master Yankang nodded and said, "I discovered this many years ago. I was troubled by it and searched many ancient books, but I couldn't find a solution. Is there any record of the broken bridge being reconnected in Xiaoyujing?"

"have."

Qingyou Shanren led them to the palace on the Jade Mountain and said, "But Xiaoyujing can't do it either. Because we can't become gods, we want to become immortals, so we old people live in Xiaoyujing. Although we call ourselves immortals, when the time comes, our souls will still return to the underworld. We can't avoid death. We just want to live in peace. State Master, Madam, please come this way."

Imperial Master Yankang and his wife followed him and walked into the palace on the mountain. Although the jade-like buildings here had an ethereal feel of immortals, they seemed deserted and no one was in sight.

Xiaoyujing is such a deserted place.

Qingyou Shanren led them through the long corridor, through the round gate, and into the depths of the palace. “However, during the Kaihuang period, a group of people did connect the broken divine bridge. They built a prosperous and glorious divine dynasty. Later, this divine dynasty was reduced to ashes and ceased to exist. The former site of this divine dynasty is today’s Daxu.”

Imperial Master Yankang was a little excited: "Someone has connected to the Divine Bridge? So, they can become gods?"

Qingyou Shanren nodded and smiled, "But there are very few of these people now. They are called the abandoned people of God."

Imperial Master Yankang was stunned: "Are they the abandoned people in the Great Ruins?"

"No. Almost no abandoned people in the Great Ruins possess a complete set of Divine Bridge Divine Treasures. Our immortals from Xiaoyujing have gone to check it out."

Qingyou Shanren pushed open a door and led them in, saying, "Yankang State has received the oracle, right? It is strictly forbidden for the abandoned people of Daxu to leave Daxu. In fact, the oracle wants you to guard against not the abandoned people in Daxu, but the remnants of Wuyou Township living in Daxu. Their divine bridge is intact, and the oracle is guarding against them."

In front of them were rows of bookshelves, on which were placed thick volumes of classics, which were the history of the Kaihuang period recorded by the immortals of Xiaoyujing.

"If the Imperial Master reads these classics, he will know what happened during the Kaihuang Era and the Kaihuang Tribulation."

Qingyou Shanren bowed and prepared to leave the library. He said, "If the Imperial Master continues to follow his own established path, the history of Kaihuang Ji will probably also be the history of Yankang State. The things that Kaihuang Ji faced, Yankang Ji will also face."

Yankang Imperial Master returned the greeting and said, "Zhen Sanren from your Little Yujing died in my hands, why did you ask me to come here, Brother Dao?"

"We, Xiaoyujing, do not interfere in worldly affairs. We only record them. When Zhen Sanren goes down the mountain, he is no longer an immortal of Xiaoyujing. Whether he is dead or alive has nothing to do with Xiaoyujing."

Qingyou Shanren walked out and said, "Since the virtuous couple came to Xiaoyujing, they are also the immortals of Xiaoyujing. After the virtuous couple leave, they have nothing to do with Xiaoyujing. A saint appears every 500 years, and we in Xiaoyujing also want to see if the saints of today can do what the saints of the past could not do."

"Strange rules."

The wife of the Imperial Master looked at these books and said, "My husband, there are some questions about the origins of Xiao Yujing. I think they should be descendants of the Kaihuang Kingdom."

“It’s possible.”

Imperial Master Yankang sat down, picked up the scroll, and said, "They have no ill intentions, so there is no need to guess what they are thinking. I want to read the history of Kaihuang, so that we can learn from the past."

Big ruins.

"I just want to find a lower world for my people to settle down and reproduce. I don't want to go to war with your world."

The Demon King Dutian had a dull look in his eyes and muttered, "We are all doomed. If we continue to fight you, we will really become extinct. I want to be responsible for my race. Let me go back. I will look for another lower world. Let me go back..."

Hu Ling'er looked at Qin Mu and whispered, "Sir, why don't you let him go? He is so pitiful."

"How do I know if he is really going back or just pretending to go back?"

Qin Mu shook his head and said, "He is just a consciousness. His real body is still in Dutian. He can continue to search for other worlds. There is no need for this consciousness to return to Dutian. What if he doesn't go back, but hides to summon his real body, then wouldn't it be my fault? Don't believe a word this guy says. If you believe it, you lose. In front of us is Xianglong City, and it is only a thousand miles away from Canlao Village."

In front of him, Xianglong City was in sight. Qin Mu relaxed as he had finally arrived at his own territory.

"Young Master!"

"Is the young master back?"

"Sir, how does Yankang compare to our Daxu?"

…

Qin Mu brought Long Qilin into Xianglong City. Merchants along the way greeted him. Qin Mu smiled and returned the greetings, saying, "Yankang is much more chaotic than our Daxu. There are rebellions and wars every day. It's not a good place."

"Yes, not long ago many refugees fled to Daxu, saying they were fleeing from the war. It's good that you are back, after all, your own home is safer."

Qin Mu came to the City Lord's Mansion and asked, "Is the City Lord back?"

"The city lord came here a few days ago and then left. Do you want to stay here? I will prepare a banquet to welcome you."

"No."

Qin Mu said: "The New Year is coming soon, I will go back to the village first."

Xianglong City had long been his and Granny Si's property, and the forces in the city were basically all from the Demonic Cult. It was different from the outside world, where the Demonic Cult called Qin Mu the leader and saint master, but in Xianglong City they still called Qin Mu "Young Master".

After all, the owner of this city is Granny Si, and Qin Mu was raised by Granny Si, so it is natural for him to be called Young Master.

Qin Mu set out on his journey home again. The distance of more than a thousand miles was very short. With Long Qilin's leg speed, he could reach Canlao Village in half a day.

Long Qilin stepped on the river surface and went upstream. The winter sun shone down and felt a little warm, not as cold as the current Yankang Kingdom. Qin Mu remembered that he and Xian Qing'er fought against the ice tide last year. When he passed by there, he saw Xian Qing'er leading the villagers to smoke fish, smearing salt on the big fish hanging under the trees by the river, and smoking them with wet wood to absorb the smoke.

The people in this village caught a lot of big fish and hung them on trees more than a meter high. The fish meat was crystal clear. People rarely went out hunting during the New Year, so they could rely on these catches to get through the winter.

Qin Mu asked Long Qilin to stop. The little girl with three braids blinked her bright eyes and said, "You are the cowherd, and you are back home in glory? Is it fun out there?"

Qin Mu smiled and said, "Not bad. You are hunted wherever you go. Didn't the monks from the Little Leiyin Temple come looking for you?"

Happy National Day! I wish the motherland a happy holiday, and everyone enjoys eating and having fun! The performance of Shepherd's Record was good last month. Thank you for your love. During the National Day, there is still a double monthly ticket period. If you vote for one monthly ticket, Shepherd's Record will get two more monthly tickets. Thank you for your support!

After the rhinitis and cold of Zhaizhu are cured, he will continue to explode to give back to everyone!