PtM 18 - Chapter 37: What is Dao?

So I'm going to go ahead and commit to four chapters this week. Enjoy ^^.

An update on PtM 19 - it's at 45% of draft 1. If all goes well, we'll have a 1 month break on Patreon and resume the next month. Wish me luck! 

--

Cha Ming found himself in a cozy foyer, which included a single armchair, a crackling fireplace, and a small tea table that held one small pot of green tea and a single cup for him to enjoy it with. There was a bookshelf on every wall, as well as multiple masterwork paintings that would go for a fortune in any auction house. Each of these paintings depicted the Five-Point Monarchs and their journey from the lower realms to the peak of the immortal dimension.

“I won’t deny that a lot of luck was involved in our ascension,” said the voice that had announced the beginning and end of the first trial. “We started off as demons of the lowest tier but worked our way up by devouring our enemies and shedding oceans of blood. The only thing that didn’t change was our friendship, which was what made my death all the more devastating for them.”

“But you didn’t die,” said Cha Ming. “A drop of your soul blood survived.”

“I don’t think you can call that true survival,” said the speaker. “After all, I am also a remnant of the original Inkwell Ancestor. Fortunately, I have the good sense to know that this is my limit, unlike that overly ambitious droplet of soul blood that would destroy an entire world to recover.”

A woman appeared before Cha Ming. She looked just like Melody, and that included the tattoos that covered a whole side of her body. “Do you have a name that you go by?” asked Cha Ming. “I’d call you Melody, but I feel like you’d resent me for it.”

“Call me Harmony,” said Melody’s double. “Melody was what I used to go by, when my nature was more ferocious. My sisters should have known that she was unfixable the moment they laid eyes on her.”

“Then why not just kill her and be done with it?” asked Cha Ming. “Many needless deaths would have been avoided.”

Harmony sighed. “It’s not easy for immortal beings to meddle with the transcendent dimension. The slightest mistake would have destroyed anything. In the end, they settled on the safest solution for everyone: they empowered the local cultivators and sent down five immortal artifacts: a prison that couldn’t be broken into, and the Inkwell Sanctuary, the Bridge of Ascension, the Scriptorium, and the Gallery to guard it. Unfortunately, it seems they should have chosen a more aggressive approach. Melody is back with a vengeance, and there is no one on the plane who can stop her.”

She sent out a jade slip to Cha Ming. “You have exceeded expectations and have completed your runic sea. As a trial taker, you are entitled to a reward proportional to your achievements. A slightly larger pool of rewards as been made available. Please review them and choose a single item.”

The jade slip contained a jumble of characters, each of which contained information on a single artifact or painting. Over fifty percent of the items available were paintings, while the rest were assorted alchemical ingredients, weapons, and armor.

“Even immortal weapons are available,” Cha Ming said. “It’s too bad I don’t need any of them. I don’t suppose you can give me immortal crystals or planar fragments instead?”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” said Harmony. “If your goal is to recover as quickly as possible, I can grant you a time-acceleration treasure, the Sun and Moon Plate. But this will only provide you with twentyfold acceleration for a single day. Moreover, this will not superimpose your natural time-acceleration ability.”

An effective twofold time increase over Cha Ming’s tenfold time acceleration wasn’t worth it at all. Cha Ming therefore set his sights on the immortal-grade armor. He wouldn’t be able to use it properly without immortal crystals, but it would still be able to provide saint-level protection even without it.

Cha Ming did not rush to make this decision, however. He first reviewed the alchemical pills and concluded that it was exactly as he suspected—to most saints, they would qualify as precious treasures, but to Cha Ming, they wouldn’t even put a dent in his energy stores.

Then again, what if I just look at these items as available energy? thought Cha Ming.

“That one,” Cha Ming said, pointing to one of the runes.

“The Orb of Solar Apocalypse?” asked Harmony. “Pardon me for saying this, but this treasure seems very unsuitable for you. Only extreme fire cultivators would benefit from using such an item.”

“I’m certain of my choice,” said Cha Ming. “Am I correct in assuming we have some time to recover?”

“Three days remain before the next trial,” said Harmony. “Once again, are you sure you wish for the Orb of Solar Apocalypse?”

“I’m certain,” Cha Ming confirmed.

A small red globe appeared before Harmony. “This item was refined by my main body from a collapsing dwarf star. Note the clever runework restraining its violent energies, as well as the spiralling network of runes that allows for harmonious mixing of energies coming into and out of the artifact . The craftsmanship is exquisite, and even old Clockwork admire—”

Her voice broke off as Cha Ming crushed it with a fist. Cracks appeared on the item, and violent wisps of energy began rushing out. Cha Ming directly absorbed them using his Crumbling Canvas Domain and converted the energy to Clearmist.

Most of the energy in the sphere was transcendent grade, but a small amount of immortal energy was present. Cha Ming used Second Truth of Mists: Self-Wrought Creation, to dilute the energy and bring it down to a saint-grade equivalent.

“I don’t know whether to be delighted or disgusted by your innovation,” said Harmony. “That is a priceless treasure to anyone on this plane. Its liquidated value alone is close to one hundred immortal crystals.”

Cha Ming shrugged. “It wasn’t a bad pick. I got twenty immortal crystals’ worth of energy out of it, and I doubt I could have gotten more out of any other treasure.”

The high-quality energy was perfect for generating Clearmist, which Cha Ming was in dire need of to fix his inner world. It wasn’t long before his energy stores were replenished. He then used any excess energy for repairs on his planar boundary and the cores of each of his four demiplanes and three moons.

Three days passed, and in that time, Cha Ming healed enough to mobilize 70% of his strength. He wouldn’t be in such a bad position if he and Dreadful Night fought again.

“Are you done desecrating precious artifacts, Daoist Clear Sky?” asked Harmony in an obviously grumpy tone.

“I’m done,” Cha Ming confirmed. “For now. I assume there are going to be more prizes for those who pass the second round?”

“Drop dead,” said Harmony. “You wouldn’t understand beauty if it struck you in the face, so there’s no need to consider the second round of prizes.”

“Well, I’d like to try anyway,” said Cha Ming. “Since you’re an artifact spirit, the rules are everything to you.”

A gray light flashed, and Cha Ming found himself in a banquet chamber with the other nine remaining participants.

“Impossible!” said the participant from the Wei Clan, Wei Yibu. “There were only nine core runes in the painted world. How can there be a tenth participant?”

“He must have used underhanded means,” said the participant from the Zhang Clan, Zhang Yu. “I hope the keeper of the Gallery will uphold justice for us.”

“Everything has gone according to procedure,” Harmony said in a curt voice. “If you doubt this, I’m more than happy to send you out of this trial ground.”

“My friends spoke thoughtlessly,” said the participant from the Lei Clan, Lei Sun. “The keeper has always conducted the trials in a fair and transparent manner.”

“Indeed,” said Harmony. “Let us then continue to the topic of the second trial. Like times past, this trial is a trial of beauty. The topic of this trial is as follows: What is Dao?”

“What is Dao?” asked Dreadful Night. “What kind of topic is that?”

“A topic you’ll be hopeless to answer, given how wounded you are and how badly mangled your spirit is from being controlled by Melody,” said Harmony. “You’ll each have fifteen minutes of time to prepare your painting. Your runic seas will be your canvas. The three best answers will pass to the next phase of the trial.”

***

Harmony did not wait on their answer. Instead, she summoned a host of spiritual creatures that carried all sorts of culinary delicacies into the room. Any one of these dishes were things that saints would fight over in the transcendent dimension, but sadly, most of them weren’t in any mood to enjoy them.

What is Dao? thought Cha Ming as he looked from competitor to competitor. It was a broad and unimaginably complex question. Moreover, each answer would need to be accompanied by a painting, which made the number of potential answers to the question nigh infinite.

It was Zhang Yu who stepped up first. Like the other members of the Inky Sea Sect, he wore black robes with the embroidery of a personal disciple. His appearance and his disposition were oily and gave Cha Ming the feeling that trapping him in place wouldn’t be easy.

Zhang Yu’s demon companion was a slug. He drew upon their bond as he summoned a slick runic sea and arranged the runes in a meandering path that twisted as it encountered unexpected rocks, cracks, and fallen trees.

“Sometimes, the simplest answer is the best answer,” said Zhang Yu. “Dao is a path that you make for yourself.” He sent the painting flying onto an empty wall. There was only space for three paintings on that wall. The most inferior painting would be removed in case of conflict.

“What a boring answer,” said Gongsun Wuying. She was a charming, sweet girl with a secret vicious streak. Her demon companion was a white rabbit with a key-shaped black mark on its forehead.

“If you think you have a better answer, then by all means, present it,” said Zhang Yu.

“I’ll naturally do as you say,” said Gongsun Wuying.

Gongsun Wuying summoned her own runic sea, which was mostly white with a spot of black. The white runes assembled to form a door, while the black runes formed a lock in the middle of the door. “My answer is equally simple. The Dao is a locked doorway. Everyone, including the sages, wish to peek through it, but the key has been lost since time immemorial.” A thoughtful expression appeared on most of the trial takers.

“I suppose I’ll be shameless and go next,” said Wei Yibu. His demon companion was a viper, and his runic sea was green and black. His painting was the most complex yet; it included a battlefield and an ocean of blood. A solitary figure stood at the end of it, and his destination was unknown.

“The Dao is an ocean of blood,” said Wei Yibu. “Many catch a glimpse of it, but few survive to comprehend it.” His painting flew onto the wall to join Zhang Yu and Gongsun Wuying’s.

With the addition of the third painting, the atmosphere in the room became strained. Only three paintings could grace the wall at any given time. This meant that regardless of the outcome, one of these trial takers would fail.

“I’m afraid my understanding of the Dao is shallow,” said Lei Sun. Out of all those from the Inky Sea Sect, he appeared to be the most thoughtful and polite.

His painting was different from Wei Yibu’s in that, despite including a lot of people, there was no fighting. These people were having a polite conversation about the Dao, and none of them had the upper hand.

“In my estimation, the Dao is compromise,” said Lei Sun. “It is the path that you take after careful consideration.” He added a few finishing strokes before sending it toward the wall. A loud crash followed as his painting shattered, but he only looked slightly disappointed.

Only five competitors remained. From the Inky Sea Sect, there was Lord Dreadful Night, the covert Inkwell clansman, and Yin Hua, a cold and reserved woman.

“Are you going to go next or shall I?” asked Dreadful Night.

Yin Hua didn’t speak. Her bonded demon companion, a nightingale, glowed with a deathly light as she summoned a pale and sickly runic sea. She painted a world below and an executioner’s axe above, along with an eye that overlooked all in creation.

“The Dao is judgment,” said Yin Hua in a deadpan voice. “It is cold and merciless and exists to control.” Her painting flew toward the wall with frightening speed and directly shattering Gongsun Wuying’s painting of a locked door.

“How mean of you,” said Gongsun Wuying. “Just you wait till my master hears about this.”

“This is a competition,” Yin Hua said coldly. “If you don’t like it, leave.”

“And what about you three?” said Lord Dreadful Night. “Will you be going now, or will you be waiting?”

“Our strategy requires us to go last,” said Cha Ming. “It’s a drama thing.”

Lord Dreadful Night chuckled. “As a demon, I can appreciate the need for drama. And since the answers thus far have been completely lacking, I may as well spice things up.”

“Lacking?” said Wei Yibu. “Aren’t you afraid of choking on your own words?”

“We gave our answers after much consideration,” said Zhang Yu. “If you feel your answer exceeds ours, then by all means, show us how it’s done.”

Dreadful Night shrugged and summoned his own runic sea. Its golden coloring was long gone and was now an inky black.

A portion of these runes formed a sphere, and another portion separated to form flowing waves. To everyone’s surprise, the last portion split off to form various ocean-dwelling creatures that swam about aimlessly.

“And what exactly is this supposed to mean?” Wei Yibu asked.

“It’s nothing you’d understand,” said Lord Dreadful Night with a sneer. “Consequently, I’m completely certain that your answer is the worst out of the three.” His painting shot out toward the Wei Yibu’s battlefield painting and shattered it. It then placed itself on the wall, but in a slightly elevated position compared to the others. “Dao is an ocean full of fish. A masterpiece compared to the rubbish you all dared bring out.” He then looked to Cha Ming. “What do you think? Was I appropriately dramatic for you and your friends?”

“Amply so,” said Cha Ming. “Silver Fish? Serrendil? Which one of you wants to go first?”

“Why don’t you go first?” asked Silver Fish. “Are you implying my answer isn’t sufficiently dramatic?”

“I agree with Silver Fish,” said Serrendil. “You’re underestimating us.”

“Then there’s only one way to settle this,” said Cha Ming. “One… two… three!” Three hands shot out in unison, then continued flashing out several hundred times. In the end, Silver Fish stepped out. “Paper, I lost.”

Some of the competitors from the Inky Sea Sect shot them looks of disgust, while others looked completely offended by their lack of seriousness.

“See, this is exactly the problem,” said Dreadful Night. “They know what kind of attitude to have toward such a serious question. I only hope their answers match their disposition. Show me what you’ve got, cousin dearest.”

“I don’t have any cousins,” said Silver Fish. “As my painting will make quite clear.”

Silver Fish’s runic sea was a mix of black and silver. A smidgeon of red brought color to an otherwise dreary world. The silver runes became a road of spikes and thorns, while the black runes depicted a lonely figure covered in black chains. Traces of blood marked the path he’d taken.

“Dao… is pain,” said Silver Fish before sending his painting flying onto the wall. It destroyed Zhang Yu’s painting, which had lasted from the beginning of the trial till now. Like Dreadful Night, Silver Fish’s painting was positioned higher than Yin Hua’s painting.

“Do you want to flip a coin or something?” Cha Ming asked Serrendil.

“No need,” said Serrendil. “I’ll go next.” She summoned a golden runic sea that moved like spinning gears.

The runes peeled off and began building an array of towers. And when the last tower was built, the first was destroyed; its runes shifted to form yet another unique tower, and the cycle continued endlessly.

“Dao… is wonder,” said Serrendil. Her painting shot out toward Yin Hua’s and shattered it.

Cha Ming was surprised by the result, since her answer was completely opposite Silver Fish’s, yet somehow took up an elevated space just like his.

He was up next. He summoned his runic sea, which was still golden, but contained a single clear rune at its center.

There were many answers to the question at hand. So many, in fact, that Cha Ming didn’t feel comfortable painting one out. But the trial demanded it, so he took one golden rune and fed it to his clear rune. His 2,999-rune sea became a 2,998-rune sea.

He continued feeding rune after rune into the single clear rune. His runic sea shrank continuously until there were only two thousand runes, then one thousand runes, and finally, one hundred. The clear rune was starting to become unstable, but Cha Ming continued pouring runes into it until only ten remained.

“I caution you against this course of action,” Harmony said when cracks began to appear on the clear rune. “You will not get a second chance if your runic sea breaks.”

“It’s fine,” said Cha Ming. “I’ll continue with the trial, regardless of the consequences.”

He continued feeding runes to the primary rune, until there were only three left. At this point, adding any one of the two runes would destroy the rune and everything with it.

But Cha Ming didn’t stop there. He summoned his Crumbling Canvas Domain onto the clear rune and pressed. At the same time, he fed the other two runes into the last remaining rune and forced them together.

“The sages say that one should seek the Dao in all actions,” said Cha Ming, recalling the words spoken by Sun Wukong. “Those who comprehend the Dao in the morning will die content in the evening.

“But Isay the sages are misguided. They seek clever words to answer a simple fact. The Dao is boundless and without limit. I do not understand it, for I have yet to create it.”

The last remaining rune shattered as he finished, creating ten thousand fragments from the single original. Each fragment was clear and unique and contained an entirely different meaning than the original 3,000 runes. They became a starry sky in the dark night, the kind that children would look up to in wonder. Countless constellations could be found on this starscape; the only limit was one’s imagination.

The painting firmly smashed Dreadful Night’s painting of sea creatures. Further, it occupied a higher position than Serrendil and Silver Fish’s.

“So in the end, I still lost,” said Dreadful Night with a sigh. “What a pity.”

“You don’t look very disappointed,” Cha Ming noted. “Is there a reason for this?”

“The Ancestor predicted this might happen,” said Dreadful Night. “Since I have tried my best, I have nothing to fear.”

“The three finalists have been determined,” said Harmony. “Seven of you will be sent out, and the remainder will be rewarded according to their performance.”

A gray light flashed, and Cha Ming, Serrendil, and Silver Fish found themselves alone in the banquet room. A yellow crystal filled with chaotic lightning appeared before him.

“Don’t I get to choose what I want?” Cha Ming asked Harmony.

“Be content with what you get, heretic,” answered Harmony. “This is the most energy-dense treasure I can award you and is coincidentally quite ugly. You have three days to recover. Use them well.”