Chapter 164: Samsara Collapses, Sun and Moon Shine Together

Upon a sheer cliff stand two figures. In the distant void, five others watch quietly, keeping their distance. Thousands of miles away in the high firmament, blazing fires fall, lightning flashes, thunder rolls, and dark clouds gather.

Just as Nan Luo is about to depart, Haotian asks a sudden question. His smile remains unchanged, but his gaze rests upon Nan Luo’s halted back, eyes slightly narrowed, concealing the true expression within.

Nan Luo does not look back. After a brief silence, he slowly says, "He was right. The greater one's ability, the greater the responsibility one must bear."

No sooner has he spoken than he takes a single step, drifting away into the ethereal void. Streaks of falling fire and flashes of lightning strike his body, yet pass straight through him. Haotian is slightly startled, and just as he intends to say more, Nan Luo’s figure has already vanished without a trace.

Seeing Nan Luo depart, the five figures who had kept their distance step through the void and instantly appear at Haotian's side. One of them speaks with indignation, "How can he act like this? Has he attained such high magic power that he has forgotten he is also of the human race?"

Another says slowly, "Perhaps he has his own reasons. Given his past actions, he is hardly one to turn a cold heart to self-preservation."

"He may not have been in the past, but so many years have passed; change is only natural. I heard his tribe was slaughtered by the blood-wolf clan, yet he merely killed a few individuals. He has never even visited the sole remaining flesh and blood left behind by his own younger sister. If this is not a cold heart, what is? And now, at this critical juncture of heavenly upheaval, the annihilation of all living beings, and shifting wars, judging by his demeanor, he intends to retreat into the mountains and wash his hands of worldly affairs..."

The five hold varied opinions of Nan Luo, while Haotian remains silent throughout, offering no comment. After a long while, he collects his thoughts, sighs, and says, "Regardless, for our human race to produce such a figure is a blessing of fortune."

Having stepped out once, Nan Luo is already tens of millions of miles away, entirely unaware of Haotian and the others' appraisals. Even if he knew, it would likely leave no trace upon his heart. At this moment, his mind is as clear and bright as the surface of the Yao Yue Mirror; though hazy patches remain, it is no longer obscure.

Suddenly, Nan Luo’s traveling form stiffens in the void. He feels as though heaven and earth have come to a complete standstill, and both space and time have been scrambled and inverted. The subtle connection he had slowly cultivated with heaven and earth turns obscure in that very instant, becoming intermittent, fragmented, and vague...

"Heaven and earth inverted, space and time disordered, the cycle of reincarnation shattered—"

Nan Luo steadies his mind slightly, and these phrases surface within his consciousness—a premonition born of the dark void. A tremor grips his heart, recalling Meng Ziyi’s words that the cycle of heaven and earth had been broken. At the time, having not truly stepped into the Dao realm, he did not fully understand. Later, upon entering the Dao realm, he still felt nothing. But at this very moment, he feels it deeply—he feels that just a moment ago, the heavenly reincarnation shattered and collapsed.

The moment this sensation arises in his heart, three hundred and sixty-five locations across the vast earth begin to emit varied radiances, followed by the sudden appearance of a sky full of stars. In the blink of an eye, the sun, moon, and stars all hang in the firmament simultaneously...

Endless starlight pours downward, its brilliance rendering even the sunlight hazy and blurred. Stars and moon appearing in broad daylight—such a phenomenon has never before occurred across the Primordial Land. Panic and bewilderment seize many who know not what to do. Those who have already touched upon the Great Dao of heaven and earth are struck with profound terror, for their spiritual perceptions vanish without warning in that single instant. When they desperately attempt to reconnect, an inexplicable sorrow wells up within their hearts.

This sorrow arises from no discernible source; it comes abruptly, sprouting from the deepest origin of the soul within. Those of profound cultivation naturally strive to suppress this feeling, and while filled with terror, immediately enter seated meditation to sever this emotion akin to a mental demon.

Those of lesser cultivation prove entirely unable to control their spirits. Ordinary living creatures shed tears unconsciously, unaware of why they weep, their very capacity for thought manipulated in that moment... No one can explain it clearly, nor can they comprehend why stars meant only for the night sky have emerged in broad daylight, denser and sharper than ever before.

Most remain ignorant of the events unfolding across heaven and earth, with only the deeply cultivated capable of surmising a fraction of the truth. Nan Luo, however, understands what has transpired. He does not resist the sorrow and pain within his heart. Yet, unlike ordinary living beings, he sheds no tears; instead, his inner perception grows deeper, more subtle, and more intense, for his advanced cultivation binds him in a far tighter communion with heaven and earth.

gazing at the stars filling the heavens, at the brilliant moon contesting with the sun in the zenith... his thoughts somehow drift to Quanyin. In that instant, many things suddenly become clear to him—he understands why Quanyin never emerged to see him. When he departed from Falling Spirit Mountain, he had felt someone watching him from behind, yet turned to find nothing. Now, upon reflection, it must have been Quanyin.

The Taiyin Stele is indeed ultimately controlled by Dijun. What has become of her now? Is she still alive? Or has she been reduced to a mindless stele spirit, or left as unfree as before?

He stands quietly amidst the mountains, gazing up at the sky. From afar, a figure in green robes is seen standing deep within a verdant mountain valley, staring motionless at the bright moon overhead. A gigantic, multicolored flood dragon suddenly appears; the changes in heaven and earth have filled it with sorrow, a sorrow that turns to restlessness, a restlessness with nowhere to vent... When its eyes fall upon a single human figure, a murderous intent surges instantly within its heart, and it lunges straight toward the green-robed man.

A foul wind rises abruptly. A flash of white light, and the giant multicolored flood dragon is cleaved into two halves. Yet the green-robed man remains completely motionless, continuing to gaze quietly at the sky.

For reasons unknown, the sorrow in Nan Luo’s heart begins to slowly transform, shifting into other emotions.

Sorrow, resentment, anger, joy—all manner of emotions sprout from within, slowly flowing through the sanctuary of his heart in a bitter-sweet medley. He neither banishes nor suppresses them. How much time passes, none can tell. The stars across the sky fade away, and heaven and earth seem to return once more to tranquility. Nan Luo sighs faintly, knowing full well how exceedingly difficult it will be for heaven and earth to ever return to what they once were.

The battle in the nine heavens dissipates abruptly at the very moment of the heavenly upheaval... The four Ancestral Witches blocking Eastern Emperor Taiyi scatter in all directions. Those who had sealed the Eastern Emperor Bell depart before Taiyi's arrival, leaving behind the Eastern Emperor Bell, which seems utterly unchanged; it rings softly once and vanishes into the void.

The Sea of Blood hovers in the nine heavens for a brief moment before tearing through the void and disappearing. The ever-elusive Mountain of No Calamity pauses for a short while, as if searching for something, and likewise vanishes. A five-colored radiance streaks across the firmament, fading into the distance.

All these changes are witnessed by Nan Luo. A look of deep contemplation crosses his face, and a moment later, he appears to have comprehended many things.

A gust of wind sweeps by, and the man vanishes without a trace. The wind, however, continues to blow across a field of corpses, every single one of them severed cleanly into two halves. They lie piled in a circle, leaving only a patch of ground in the very center completely pristine, unstained by a single drop of blood...

The simultaneous appearance of the sun, moon, and stars does not last long, yet it leaves behind a surge of bloodshed across the world. All this slaughter arises for no reason, as if the living beings of heaven and earth at that exact moment were entirely puppeted by the cosmos itself.

Though the duration was exceedingly brief, as Nan Luo journeys eastward across the land, he can feel the lingering aura of slaughter permeating heaven and earth. Faint though it is, and not heavy, it is present everywhere.

Flying eastward across the land, he passes Buzhou Mountain. Pausing to gaze for a long time, he sees auspicious qi rising and colorful mists lingering around Buzhou Mountain. It appears entirely like an ethereal fairy realm, retaining not a single trace of the chaotic, uncultivable primal energies of days past.

At the foot of Buzhou Mountain lies a majestic Daoist sanctuary, where a being of great magic power is expounding upon the Great Dao of heaven and earth. Profound sounds resonate endlessly, presenting a myriad of magnificent phenomena...

Countless streams of light arrive and depart. Countless cultivators sit cross-legged in meditation, practicing their qi within the opened sanctuary. Such prosperity is hardly comparable to the humble beginnings when Nan Luo first entered the Heavenly Court. Who among the people of today, one wonders, still remembers the former First Star Lord of the Heavenly Court?

The Heavenly Court exhibits no particular reaction to Nan Luo’s quiet departure, as if merely an inconsequential person had walked away. Or perhaps, once the Taiyin Stele is successfully forged, it matters little what manner of soul is imprisoned within its prohibitions.

Just as he is about to leave, he suddenly senses someone watching him. Turning his head, he sees a man and a woman in the distance looking toward him. Drifting through the void, they resemble an immortal couple. The man wears white robes, carrying an air of elegant grace, gently waving a white jade bone fan with a smile at the corner of his lips. Beside him stands a woman, gentle, virtuous, radiant, and captivating. In her arms, the woman holds an infant, exquisitely carved like jade and fast asleep.

Upon seeing them, Nan Luo feels a momentary bashfulness, yet he halts his steps and returns their smile. The man and woman ride upon a white cloud, descending before Nan Luo.

"It has been a long time. Congratulations on escaping your tribulation!" It is the white-robed man who speaks. The woman beside him also smiles quietly, carrying the comforting warmth of a reunion with an old friend.

"Haha, indeed. I very nearly failed to escape," Nan Luo replies with a smile, seemingly infected by their smiles, his own mood lifting considerably.

"Are you returning to the human race?" asks the white-robed man.

"Ah, yes. I am returning to my tribe. I have been away far too long; it is time to go back," Nan Luo says with a smile.

"Ah, it is good to be able to return. A pity that we cannot," the white-robed man says, gazing into Nan Luo’s eyes with a brimming smile. Nan Luo smiles awkwardly, unsure of what to say in response.

Gently waving the white jade bone fan in his hand, the white-robed man studies Nan Luo’s expression, as if appraising him or pondering something. After a moment, he speaks: "It was you who found us husband and wife in the past, plunging us both into the mire of mortal slaughter from which we could not extricate ourselves. You might well be called the cause of our deep suffering. Today, I come for no other reason than to ask one favor of you. I wonder if you are willing to help us."