‘Sleep Immortal, Dream of Longevity.’ The Supreme Ascendant Dao connects to the immortal firmament. The words of others do not affect me. However, my words influence everyone.
After Gu Hai fell asleep, this voice rang out endlessly in his mind.
Gu Hai could not resist this voice. Even the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal in his forehead space did not resist. On the contrary, the black Go stone that merged into the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal, the black Go stone that brought Gu Hai to this world of cultivation, seemed stimulated by it, suddenly shining with white light.
All at once, Gu Hai felt like he appeared in outer space around Earth.
Then, he started plummeting towards Earth, moving extremely fast.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Gu Hai turned into a meteor shooting to the ground, flying saucers suddenly appeared in the vicinity.
“Stop him!”
“A visitor from outside! Capture him!”
“Hurry! Don’t let him run!”
The flying saucers quickly pursued the falling Gu Hai. However, he moved too fast, piercing through the clouds and rushing down. He landed in the blink of an eye, reaching a crowded place.
Buzz!
After falling to the ground, he suddenly came to his senses.
“Look! That’s the Eight Trigram Pavilion. Do you see the fist mark on top? It is said that when the divine dragon on the pillar tried to escape, the immortals used their fists to seal it there.”
“Look! Those are the Three Pure Ones and the Twelve Golden Immortals! Have you read the Investiture of the Gods? Those are the Twelve Golden Immortals from that book!”
[TL Note: The Twelve Golden Immortals are the disciples of the Jade Pure One, one of the Three Pure Ones, also known as the Lord of Primordial Beginning. Here is the Wikipedia entry on the Three Pure Ones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Pure_Ones.]
“There is Veritable Cihang. Don’t you recognize Veritable Cihang? She is Bodhisattva Guanyin!”
[TL Note: Wikipedia entry on Veritable Cihang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cihang_Zhenren.]
There were many sightseers around and people explaining what was around them.
Gu Hai looked at the surroundings in confusion. He seemed to have forgotten everything, immersed in the situation.
“Little Hai, come over! Take a picture with Mother!” a woman holding Gu Hai’s tiny hands said with a smile.
Gu Hai felt stunned as he looked at his small hands. These were hands of a four- or five-year-old child. He seemed to be a child right now. However, Gu Hai also seemed to have forgotten everything—the Han Royal Dynasty, the Divine Continent, and the Ten Thousand Sages Convention.
“Hurry up! Little Hai, don’t just stand there and stare!” the woman said with a smile.
“Mama?” Gu Hai called out in his juvenile voice, feeling tears welling up.
Mama is right before me, but why do I feel I have not seen her for many years already? It feels like I have not seen her in a long time. Suddenly, he could not suppress himself when he saw his mother.
“What’s wrong? Little Hai, why are you crying? Didn’t we come to Qingyang Palace to have fun? What’s wrong? Did you really want that doll from earlier? A train? A robot? Mama will buy one for you later. Don’t cry. There, there, don’t cry,” that woman consoled softly.
[TL Note: Qingyang Palace is a Daoist temple in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, and is a tourist attraction.]
“Mama! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob…!”
Gu Hai hugged that woman and cried for a while, feeling sadder the more he cried.
“This child… Alright, we won’t take any more pictures. No more pictures. There, there. Don’t cry. Mama will buy you ice cream, alright?” That woman waved to the person helping them take a picture as she consoled Gu Hai.
However, Gu Hai did not stop crying, not until after a long time.
The woman accompanied Gu Hai all the while.
“Little Hai is a man already. You can’t keep crying. We are going in there to walk around later. Don’t cry already, alright? Come on. Mama will buy you an ice cream,” that woman consoled.
“Alright.” Gu Hai rubbed his eyes.
That woman brought an ice cream and placed it in Gu Hai’s hand. Then, Gu Hai toured the Qingyang Palace while holding his mother’s hand and eating ice cream.
“Mama, what are these?” Gu Hai looked at the many statues in the palace hall.
“Ah, these? These are the Three Pure Ones. Look, this is the Jade Pure One, the Lord of Primordial Beginning. This is the Supreme Pure One, the Lord of the Numinous Treasure. He is the Sect Master Heavenly Access that you and your father read about in the Investiture of the Gods. Do you recall that? Also, this is the Grand Pure One, the Lord of the Dao and the Virtue. He is the Supreme Ascendant Sovereign that you read about in the Journey to the West, the one with the Monkey King, Sun Wukong,” that woman said, pointing to the statues of the Three Pure Ones.
[TL Note: Here is the Wikipedia entry on the Supreme Ascendant Sovereign: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daode_Tianzun. My translation is different from Wikipedia’s to match the Supreme Ascendant in the cultivation world; they use the same characters but with the extra sovereign words for Earth’s. However, those words translate to old gentleman rather than sovereign. Some translations use elder lord.]
[TL Note: Wikipedia entry on the Journey to the West: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West.]
“This is the Supreme Ascendant Sovereign? That does not look like him!” the small Gu Hai critiqued as he ate his ice cream.
“Does not look like him? How do you know?” the woman asked with a smile.
“He does not look alike at all. That is not how he looks like on television! Mama, why is the Supreme Ascendant Sovereign here?” the small Gu Hai said, feeling curious.
“This is Qingyang Palace, where Laozi explained the Classic of the Dao and Virtue to Yin Xi,” the woman said with a smile.
[TL Note: Here are the Wikipedia entries on Laozi, the Classic of the Dao and Virtue, and Yin Xi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yinxi.]
“Ah? Papa told people stories here?” the little Gu Hai said inquisitively as he licked his ice cream.
“Huh? Papa? Papa told stories here? Why do I not know about it?” That woman felt slightly stunned.
“Doesn’t Papa frequently call himself ‘Laozi’? ‘Laozi’ this, ‘Laozi’ that?” the small Gu Hai said in puzzlement.
That woman showed a bitter smile and said, “Don’t listen to Papa. That is just vulgar language. You are not to learn it!”
[TL Note: Laozi literally translates to “old one.” It’s often used in arrogant speech and when talking down to someone. This term has appeared in the novel several times and was translated as “this great me.”]
“Laozi is a vulgarity?” the small Gu Hai said in confusion.
“When your father uses it, it is a vulgarity. However, the real Laozi is a person. He is a person of great prestige in ancient times, someone very learned. Doesn’t your teacher always teach about politeness and culture? Laozi is the most learned in culture, the most polite person,” the woman said with a smile.
“Right. I want to be a person like Laozi in the future. Then, I will get many little red flowers in kindergarten!” the small Gu Hai immediately said with ambition.
[TL Note: Little red flowers are stickers or some sort of token rewarded for performing well.]
“Yes, yes…Laozi gained many little red flowers,” the woman said, flabbergasted.
“If Laozi was the one telling the story here, what are they doing here?” the small Gu Hai asked out of curiosity.
“It is said that Laozi’s breath became the Three Pure Ones. After that breath left him, it became these three people,” that woman explained.
“Ah? Children come from the mouth? Did I come from Mama’s mouth?” the small Gu Hai asked in confusion.
The woman: “…”
A child’s attention span was very short. The change in topic caused the woman to forget about the Three Pure Ones, focusing only on Gu Hai with his half-eaten ice cream. She walked further in with Gu Hai.
“This is Veritable Cihang; she is also Bodhisattva Guanyin. Do you know her?” the woman said with a smile.
“I know her! She appears in the Sun Wukong show. There is also the Madam White Snake show that Granny enjoys watching!” the small Gu Hai said happily while smiling.
[TL Note: Wikipedia entry on Madam White Snake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bai_Suzhen.]
“That’s right. Little Hai is the smartest!” The woman smiled as she held the small Gu Hai’s hand.
The small Gu Hai looked around at the crowd as he ate his ice cream. There were many guides explaining the various sights in Qingyang Palace.
“Mama, I saw the grampa earlier!” The small Gu Hai felt slightly startled as he looked at the distant crowd.
“What grampa?” the woman asked in confusion.
“That grampa sitting in the glass case in the second large room we entered!” the small Gu Hai replied.
“The grampa in the glass case in the second large room?” The woman felt slightly startled.
“The second large room is the Origin Hall. Laozi’s statue is there. You saw wrong,” the woman immediately said with a bitter smile.
“It really is that grampa! He even smiled at me earlier. Really!” the small Gu Hai cried out anxiously, raising his ice cream.
“Alright, alright. You saw him. Come on, let’s continue!” That woman smiled.
“Alright!” The small Gu Hai nodded.
“Little Hai, wait here for a while. Mama is going to the toilet. Don’t go anywhere. Mama will be back soon. Don’t follow anyone who calls to you,” the woman instructed.
“Alright. Mama, don’t worry!” The small Gu Hai nodded while eating his ice cream.
The woman left.
The small Gu Hai was licking his ice cream as he waited when he suddenly sensed someone walking over. It was an old man.
“It’s you? Grampa, I told Mama that I saw you earlier, but she did not believe me. This is great! You came! Tell Mama later?” the small Gu Hai said excitedly.
The old man had a kind appearance. As he looked at Gu Hai, he sighed, “You finally came? Hah…perhaps it’s already too late.”
“What? Grampa, what are you saying?” the small Gu Hai said in confusion.
“What did you see earlier?” the old man asked.
“Me? I saw the Three Pure Ones. Mama mentioned the Lord of Primordial Beginning, the Honored Lord of the Dao and the Virtue, and the Lord of the Numinous Treasure. There is also Veritable Cihang and Bodhisattva Guanyin,” the small Gu Hai recalled.
The old man sat beside Gu Hai, looking at the surrounding people. The surrounding people seemed like they could not see the old man; they only saw a child talking to himself. While they felt puzzled, no one paid any attention.
“Veritable Cihang? She died and became Bodhisattva Guanyin? She also died, just leaving the idea of her in everyone’s heart,” the old man sighed softly.
“Ah?” The small Gu Hai continued eating his ice cream, not understanding.
“It is the end of the Dao age. All the past myths and legends have been leveled, vanished. The world mows down all things like dogs. Back then, I spread the word to the world, telling the people of the world the true nature of the world. Confucius, Mozi, Zhuangzi, Han Fei, the Sage of Ghost Valley [author of Guiguzi], Shi Jiao, Gautama, Jesus…hah… Hahaha! All who fight Heaven have miserable ends. One is powerless before Heaven unless one becomes immortal,” the old man sighed.
[TL Note: Here are the Wikipedia entries for those mentioned above, links are in the same order: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuang_Zhou, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Feizi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiguzi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shizi_(book), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus.]
“Become immortal? Sun Wukong is an immortal. He can even beat up other immortals. I also know of the Tathāgata Buddha! His Five Finger Mountain is incredible!” the small Gu Hai rebutted.
[TL Note: The Tathāgata Buddha is actually another name for the Gautama Buddha. However, the novel might have written them as two different beings. Here is the entry on the Tathāgata Buddha: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tath%C4%81gata.]
“The Tathāgata Buddha? Haha! They are not immortals. I am not an immortal. Gautama is not. Jesus, Confucius, and Mozi are all not. Even in the new world that we created, which has the Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, Cund Puti, and Jehovah, it is useless. One is powerless before Heaven unless one becomes immortal. Hah…everything has collapsed and repeated. Heaven took everything away—music, Go, calligraphy, painting, the cultural Dao energy. Emperors starting nations, the energy of blessings. The natural Spiritual Energy. Everything. Heaven took everything away. There is nothing left,” the old man sighed.
[TL Note: I can only find entries for a few of the new mentions in this paragraph, they are likely more obscure figures that are not very well known. Jieyin, Cund and Puti are either bodhisattvas or buddhas. I could only find an entry on Cund the other two are not easy to find even in Chinese sources. Here is the Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cundi_(Buddhism). As for Jehovah, that is one of the names of the Christian/Judaic God. Here is the Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah.]
“What is cultural Dao energy? What is the energy of blessings?” the small Gu Hai asked in confusion.
The old man looked at Gu Hai. Eventually, he smiled bitterly and said, “You came too late. You appeared too late. Everything has ended, the end of the Dao age. Heaven has taken everything away, leaving us with just this cage. Earth? Hahaha! It is just a cage.”
As the old man guffawed, there was sorrow in his laughter.
“Grampa, I don’t understand what you are saying,” the small Gu Hai said in confusion.
