“Previously, I explained the Classic of the Dao and Virtue to Yin Xi here. Since you are here, I’ll tell you about it. Unfortunately, it is already too late. Hah…it is too late…,” the old man sighed.
“Can I get a little red flower for my kindergarten?” the small Gu Hai asked while licking his ice cream.
The old man showed a faint, bitter smile and said, “You can.”
“Alright. Tell me about it,” Gu Hai said while licking his ice cream.
Smiling faintly, the old man extended a finger to the small Gu Hai’s forehead.
Ding!
The moment the tip of the old man’s finger touched Gu Hai’s forehead, he could no longer eat his ice cream. It felt like sounds suddenly flooded his head.
“The Dao, if articulable, is not the eternal Dao. The name, if it can be named, is not the eternal name. Heaven and earth started with no name. When named, all things become known. Therefore, when the mind rests in a state of nothingness, the enigma can be understood; when the mind rests in the state of reality, the bounds can be reached. These two states, though bearing different names, have a common origin. They are both mysterious, mysterious and ineffable. They are the essence of all secrets…”
There were eighty-one segments to the Classic of the Dao and Virtue; every segment imprinted in the small Gu Hai’s mind. It was not in the form of words, but more of a conception, a mysterious and ineffable feeling.
The ice cream in the small Gu Hai’s hand dropped to the ground as the old man imparted the Classic of the Dao and Virtue to him.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a gust blew through Qingyang Palace.
“Look! A flying saucer! That’s a flying saucer!” a tourist suddenly exclaimed.
“It’s a flying saucer! Did you take a picture? Quickly take a picture!”
“I didn’t. It left already! It really is a flying saucer!”
“It turns out that aliens really exist!”
“Could it be some secret technology of the military?”
“What nonsense? That is a flying saucer!”
The tourists in Qingyang Palace cried out in surprise.
The old man kept his finger on the small Gu Hai’s forehead. Then, he raised his head as he narrowed his eyes at the flying saucer that had left.
“Hah! Flying saucer? Aliens? The people of the world want to contact aliens, but they do not know they we are just livestock in the eyes of these aliens, the lackeys of Heaven sent to devastate the common people.” A cold look flashed in the old man’s eyes as he looked at the departing flying saucer.
Naturally, the small Gu Hai did not understand anything. He just stood there, stunned as he received the explanation of the Classic of the Dao and Virtue.
“Little Hai! Little Hai! Where are you?” Gu Hai’s mother returned from the toilet.
The surroundings had turned chaotic, the tourists shouting excitedly after seeing the flying saucer. They waved their hands, making phone calls and spreading the news.
When Gu Hai’s mother returned, she saw Gu Hai standing alone in a daze. His ice cream had fallen out of his hand and was melting on the ground.
“Little Hai, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare Mama! What’s wrong with you?” the woman asked, incredibly anxious.
“It’s fine. This little fellow might have been scared. A flying saucer flew by earlier,” someone at the side said.
“Flying saucer? How could there be a flying saucer?” the woman said in shock.
An old man was standing beside the woman, but she ignored him. Rather, she could not see the old man.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, another gust blew.
“Quick, look! Hurry! It is back? It returned?! It’s the flying saucer! Quickly, take a picture! Take a picture!”
“That flying saucer. It is sleek and glossy! It is a flying saucer!”
“Aliens! Aliens! Come down!”
Qingyang Palace’s entire yard broke out in a commotion.
The first time, the flying saucer had disappeared in a flash, so some people did not believe what they saw. Now, it appeared again. Another flying saucer appeared. It was real. There was no visible engine or propeller, nothing at all. It just floated in the sky, appearing flat like a disk. What else could this be but a flying saucer?
“Origin of the signal discovered. It’s at Qingyang Palace! It’s at Qingyang Palace!” A strange voice came from the flying saucer.
Buzz!
Suddenly, light seemed to shoot out in all directions, spreading far away.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Beams of light streaked over from a distance, moving increasingly faster in increasingly greater numbers. It looked like they would arrive at Qingyang Palace soon.
“There are so many flying saucers!”
“Are the aliens invading Earth?”
“Quickly, report it to the police!”
The surrounding tourists finally became flustered.
“Hello, is this the police? I want to make a report. Yes, a report. I am at Qingyang Palace. Yes. There are aliens here. Come quickly. What?! I’m making a false report, and you are going to charge me for it?! It’s true! There are aliens! Hey! Don’t hang up! Don’t hang up!”
“Hello, is this the police? There are many flying saucers here. There’s… Why did you hang up on me?”
“Aliens are invading Earth! Police… You are the crazy one. You are the one that came out of a mental asylum!”
The anxious tourists called the police. However, no one believed them.
A large flight of flying saucers sped over from the distance.
The old man removed his finger from the small Gu Hai’s forehead. He frowned slightly and said, “They still managed to discover you. There is no reasoning with these lackeys of Heaven. They have lost their character and are no longer their previous selves. Heavenly soul? Hah!”
“The world is not benevolent, mowing down all things like dogs. The sages are not benevolent, mowing down all things as dogs,” the small Gu Hai said.
“Little Hai, what are you saying?” Gu Hai’s mother asked.
However, the old man smiled. “You comprehended it? The sages? These sages became Heaven’s lackeys long ago. Naturally, they mow down the common people like dogs. The world is not benevolent, mowing down all things like dogs. Heaven and earth are like bellows, hollow but inexhaustible. The more they move, the more they blow. Speaking too much is pointless; why not just observe?!”
“The world is not benevolent, mowing down all things like dogs. Heaven and earth are like bellows, hollow but inexhaustible. The more they move, the more they blow. Speaking too much is pointless; why not just observe?” the small Gu Hai muttered in a daze.
“Little Hai, don’t scare Mama. What are you saying? What’s wrong with you?” Gu Hai’s mother felt extremely anxious, not even caring about the flying saucers coming over.
“Your kid is reciting the Classic of the Dao and Virtue, right? This is the fifth segment of the Classic of the Dao and Virtue. He is pretty good. However, why is your kid in the mood to recite the Classic of the Dao and Virtue when there are so many flying saucers approaching?” a tourist at the side marveled.
“What Classic of the Dao and Virtue? He has not learned it yet,” Gu Hai’s mother said anxiously.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Gusts blew as flying saucers surrounded Qingyang Palace.
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly at the flying saucers in the sky. After taking a deep breath, he said, “There is no more time. They still do not know the situation with you. You need to leave immediately.”
As the old man spoke, he raised his hand.
Boom!
The small Gu Hai instantly soared into the sky.
“Little Hai!” Gu Hai’s mother cried out anxiously.
However, the small Gu Hai continued to soar higher. In the blink of an eye, he reached the flying saucers.
“Quickly! Capture him! The visitor from outside! Hurry!”
“Capture him!”
“Don’t let him run!”
Furious roars came from the flying saucers charging over.
Boom!
The small Gu Hai seemed to turn into a meteor shooting through the sky, knocking aside the flying saucers.
“Your son is flying!” the tourist at the side was utterly shocked.
Whoosh!
Gu Hai shot past the flying saucers like a meteor, heading to the even more distant sky.
“Hurry! Don’t let him run!”
“Capture him and bring him back!”
“After him!”
Anxious cries came from the flying saucers before they quickly pursued Gu Hai. They moved extremely fast, reaching the horizon in the blink of an eye.
The entire Qingyang Palace was set abuzz.
“The flying saucers left!”
“Did you take a picture?! Did you take it?!”
“Flying saucers! Many flying saucers!”
The tourists cried out in surprise. Now, police sirens sounded outside Qingyang Palace.
The surroundings of Qingying Palace turned very noisy.
The old man stood in the middle of the crowd, but no one could see him.
He sent off the small Gu Hai with his eyes. Then, he took a deep breath and said to the sky, “It is all too late. However, if you want to try fighting, go on and try. Remember, one is powerless before Heaven unless one becomes immortal. Everything has an immortal firmament as the foundation. If you find an immortal firmament, you can give it a try. Find an immortal firmament!”
After saying that, the old man sighed as Gu Hai disappeared from view.
As Gu Hai soared into the sky, he quickly broke through the clouds.
He opened his eyes in a daze and saw some people standing above the clouds.
“There! Don’t let him escape!”
“Quickly, capture him!”
The figures above the clouds shouted. However, Gu Hai had already disappeared into the distance. Those people could not catch him.
Gu Hai felt that he had broken through the atmosphere and entered outer space. Furthermore, he was still flying rapidly like a meteor tearing through the heavens, coursing through space.
Everything seemed extremely quiet. However, the old man’s voice rang out in his mind.
Remember, one is powerless before Heaven unless one becomes immortal. Everything has an immortal firmament as the foundation. If you find an immortal firmament, you can give it a try. Find an immortal firmament!
The old man’s voice echoed in Gu Hai’s mind.
The small Gu Hai’s body grew larger and older. Soon, he had returned to how he was.
It was like the years that he passed had returned. He slowly remembered the Divine Continent and the Ten Thousand Sages Convention.
“Qingyang Palace? That old man? Laozi? Li Er?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
[TL Note: Li Er is believed to be Laozi’s name.]
Gu Hai sped up. Shock filled his face. Soon, he turned into a beam of light. Then, he accelerated—even faster than light. At that point, space started warping.
Buzz!
Gu Hai suddenly vanished in space.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Many flying saucers arrived and stopped where Gu Hai disappeared.
“Is this the place? This is where the visitor from outside disappeared?” A cold voice came from the flying saucer.
“Investigate what is going on. How could there be a visitor from outside?” A furious shout came from another flying saucer.
“Yes!” Voices answered from the flying saucers before they scattered.
Now in a daze again, Gu Hai seemed to hear a voice, the voice that had drawn him into this dreamy state.
‘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.
Gu Hai shuddered and woke up in the venue of the Ten Thousand Sages Convention.
