Chapter 558 - Human Sacrifice
Outside the temple, the wind and rain showed no signs of stopping, whereas, inside the temple, it was peaceful. Ah Lian was unsure when the wind and rain would erode the temple.
Suddenly, there was an unexpected guest in the temple. Ah Lian saw a flash of light and it reduced the darkness in the temple. It was a pair of eyes.
Ah Lian recognized this unexpected guest. It was the celestial"s mount, the black tiger. It rarely leaves its master but it was alone.
The black tiger"s eyes lit up brightly like the stars in the sky. It told Ah Lian, "My master had treated you well, it is time to repay him."
Ah Lian understood the unresponsive portrait. The celestial was in trouble.
She was delighted as she was able to help the celestial. Regardless of the consequences, she was willing to give in. Hence, she said, "I am willing to do anything in my ability."
The black tiger pulled a serious face and said, "My master is in trouble. I could only think of a solution that is to light this lamp. This is the only object which has the closest connection to my master. My master once said that cultivation is like lighting, a light in one"s heart. It will brighten the path and clears all obstacles. Although this lamp is not my master"s Lamp of the Mind, it is condensed by the incense from the devotees. Hence, it will function the same."
Ah Lian said, "I do know how to light it up."
The black tiger said, "It is lacking a lamp wick and the lamp wick is you."
Ah Lian s.h.i.+vered. Suddenly, she understood that the greatest sacrificial ritual to the deities was not blood sacrifice but a body sacrifice. This lamp was the medium between her and the celestial.
However, there was a point that she did not understand. Hence, she asked, "From the start, the celestial would have known the ending as he gave me this lamp. I was not worried about death but I was worried about my daughter. The celestial knew this, but why did he not explained it to me?"
The black tiger answered gravely, "That was the path given by my master. You have become his most loyal devotee so it would be hard for you to enter the karmic cycle. Human flesh is something detachable. As you transform into the lamp wick, you will become the soul of this treasure. Hence, it is just another form of living in this world. Besides that, my master would have a way to create another human form for you if you decide to experience the life as a mortal."
Ah Lian whispered, "What should I do?"
The black tiger said, "Hold this lamp."
Without hesitation, Ah Lian held the lamp. Soon, she felt that she became a void. The process was not difficult.
Then, there was light.
Her blood was the oil lamp while her body was the lamp wick. The lamp originated from the path of Dao, leading people to eternity. At the same time, Ah Lian "saw" the black tiger covered with blood. None of its furs were clean. She understood its brightly lit eyes. It was because the black tiger was burning its soul.
The reason behind the black tiger survival was his undying determination. He was willing to burn his soul so that he could bring itself to this temple. All these just to enable Ah Lian to lit up the lamp. He was afraid that if he was late for even a minute, his master would not return.
The black tiger was lazy and afraid of death. Nonetheless, it was willing to sacrifice everything for its master. After following Shen Lian, he managed to know a lot of things and it allowed the black tiger to view the world in a different perspective.
Regrets filled the black tiger. He should have made extra effort to practice and cultivate. Subsequently, he would not be injured badly and be able to contribute.
The light from the temple chased away the rain and the wind outside the temple. Within the range of the light, the disordered spiritual vigor became neat. Many from the family of Wuzhong noticed that.
They started to move closer to the temple. At the same time, they quietly uttered the celestial"s Daoist name, Qing Xuan.
The black tiger laid by the temple"s threshold, observing the people. Looking at the glowing light, it murmured, "My master, can you feel it? Come back quickly!"
It still remembered the destruction of Shen Lian"s human flesh which vanished in a blink of an eye and the unforgettable arrow.
The black tiger could not believe that his master could be easily annihilated. It accompanied Shen Lian for many years and knew of the theory that his master mentioned. That was to transform life into a dream to prevent any harm.
However, this would cause one to be lost in the dream and hard to wake up. Hence, an external force was needed to wake him.
While Shen Lian vanished, the black tiger immediately thought of this. His master could turn into a dream without a trace.
As Shen Lian told the black tiger this, it could be an unintentional act. To construct the lotus-like lamp from the path of Dao, he would never think that the lamp would be his life savior.
The lamp was intended to save the people but it could also save Shen Lian.
...
Shen Lian pa.s.sed through a blurry time and arrived in a time zone where he could not imagine. The land was filled with mighty mountains. Some of the lands were larger than the Qing Xuan Star. The widespread of flatlands were harder to cross, compared to the galaxy.
There were many formidable vital forces from the sky and land, causing him to feel small and negligible.
However, he could not move to any place and had to stay on the mountain.
This mountain was a young man"s colonial. Shen Lian clearly knew the young man. He was Da Yi. He was the person closest to the undefeatable powerhouse after the Emperor.
Da Yi seemed like he was unable to see Shen Lian. In fact, every living creature in the mountain could not see Shen Lian. It was as if he was the pa.s.serby of the time, quietly observing the happenings in the mountain but could be part in it.
Shen Lian saw with his own eyes a fierce creature from the state of heavenly immortal easily hunted by Da Yi. However, this did not spark an interest in Da Yi.
Da Yi did not have many friends but he had many tribesmen. He treated his tribe well. Every prey he killed was pa.s.sed to the tribe but no one dares to go close to him.
This was because he had a naturally born arrogant temperament, so much so that the world could not accommodate him.
The temperament was unlike the unworldly and refined celestials, it"s something that the world could not accommodate. Shen Lian could see strings of Dao techniques that transformed into invisible chains, twining around Da Yi.
If the celestials were as strong as Da Yi, they would hide their temperament and communicate with the others. However, Da Yi did not do so. He was being himself. Hence, the world could not accommodate him while he did not take the heaven and earth seriously.
Compared to Da Yi, Emperor Xia was considered as weak.
Although the person was strong, once you got used to it, he could hardly affect you. Moreover, Shen Lian was in a state of a pa.s.serby.
He could see and hear but could not get involved.
This might be his state of dream. He could only be a lonely sober but could not get away from the dream. Furthermore, he did not understand the meaning of this dream.
He could only feel the time pa.s.sing in this boundless never-ending solitary.