The plane landed at an airport in Beijing.
Gu Hai did not contact any of his old friends. He simply exited the airport with Zang Yulian. He also did not use any of his previous bank accounts. Gu Hai had houses in Beijing, but he drove a car out of Beijing, leaving discreetly with Zang Yulian.
He vanished into the sea of people.
Leo felt incredibly depressed.
I lost him?
I lost Gu Hai just like that?
“Inform all departments to keep their eyes out for any information about Gu Hai. As long as there are any records about him in planes, trains, or hotels, they are to report it to me immediately,” Leo said gloomily.
“Yes!” a group of black-clad men answered.
——
Three days later:
Director Zhang suddenly trembled as he recalled everything that had happened previously.
In a large hall:
“Chief, I recall everything. Is it true? They all lost their memories?” Director Zhang asked worriedly.
“It’s fine. They only had a portion of their memory sealed.” The old man nodded.
“Then, Gu Hai…,” Director Zhang said worriedly.
“They have already wiped out all records of Gu Hai’s return. He is pretty good at hiding. It has been three days, and there is still no news of him. Those people must be going mad searching for him.” The old man smiled.
“Gu Hai is gone?”
“He is only in hiding. From now on, you will be in charge of the connection to Gu Hai. I will bring you to a place later, a secret organization, an organization that deals with these immortals,” the old man said gravely.
“Yes!”
“I have already diverted your phone number. If Gu Hai calls you, it will be diverted to this phone. After all, your cell phone might be monitored.” The old man handed over a cell phone.
“Yes!” Director Zhang nodded.
——
Outside Qingyang Palace, Chengdu:
Wearing hats, sunglasses, masks, and casual attire, Gu Hai and Zang Yulan stepped into Qingyang Palace.
“The person you are looking for is here?” Zang Yulian asked curiously.
“Qingyang Palace? Indeed. When I previously returned, I was at Qingyang Palace.” Gu Hai nodded.
The tour guides in the surroundings continuously explained the history and culture within Qingyang Palace. Gu Hai looked at Laozi’s statue. There were many people around bowing to it.
“Gu Hai greets Mister Li Er!” Gu Hai bowed to Laozi’s statue.
“This is just a statue?” Zang Yulian frowned.
Gu Hai waited for a while, but there was no reply.
After going around Qingyang Palace, he walked out, bewildered. Laozi did not show up?
The moment Gu Hai stepped out of Qingyang Palace with Zang Yulian, a young Taoist altar boy suddenly said to the two, “Would you two like to divine your marriage fate? My Daoist master’s divination is very accurate.”
A nearby security guard’s expression sank. There are fortune tellers soliciting customers at Qingyang Palace’s entrance? This will affect Qingyang Palace’s reputation. The guard wanted to stop this.
“Please lead the way, then,” Gu Hai said with a smile.
The young Daoist altar boy immediately led the two away.
“Humph! Don’t let me see you again!” the security guard shouted with a furious glare.
However, the three had already gone far away.
After making many turns, they arrived at a tranquil, private house.
“Please, come in,” the Daoist altar boy invited respectfully.
Gu Hai and Zang Yulian stepped into the courtyard. The Daoist altar body promptly closed the door.
A white-haired old man stood in the center of a large hall in the courtyard. His eyes widened with surprise as he looked at Gu Hai.
“Welcome, honored guests. Sorry for not receiving you earlier. It is just that Qingyang Palace has been under surveillance ever since you last came, so I can only receive you here. Please forgive me,” the white-haired old man said with a smile after sorting out his emotions.
“He isn’t the earlier statue?” Zang Yulian said in surprise.
However, Gu Hai immediately recognized this person. It was the Laozi that he had seen previously.
“Gu Hai greets Mister Li Er.” Gu Hai bowed gravely.
“You actually returned with your physical body? Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” Joy flashed in Li Er’s eyes.
“I am indebted to you. The Classic of the Dao and Virtue that you passed on to me benefited me greatly. I am infinitely grateful for it,” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“The Classic of the Dao and Virtue? He was the one who gave it to you?” Zang Yulian exclaimed.
Zang Yulian looked at Laozi and suddenly discovered that Laozi gave off an unusual aura—one very similar to that of the Myriad Age Daoist Sect.
“Laozi’s breath became the Three Pure Ones. It was he who passed the Classic of the Dao and Virtue to me.” Gu Hai nodded.
Laozi felt surprised as he looked at Zang Yulian. “Young lass, your cultivation technique is extraordinary as well. To think that it is very similar to mine.”
“Six Paths Immortal Firmament’s Supreme Ascendant,” Gu Hai introduced.
“Oh?” Laozi showed a surprised look.
“This understudy is Zang Yulian. I am just a disciple that inherited the Supreme Ascendant’s legacy, not the Supreme Ascendant himself. I do not dare to call myself the Supreme Ascendant. Greetings, Laozi!” Zang Yulian said in surprise.
“Indeed, there is another Supreme Ascendant? Haha! My Dao is not alone!” Laozi suddenly laughed.
“Please, sit!” Laozi invited.
The Daoist altar boy quickly served tea.
While Laozi looked at the two with curiosity, the two looked back at Laozi with curiosity as well.
“How did the two of you come here?” Laozi asked out of interest.
Then, Gu Hai looked at Zang Yulian.
Zang Yulian took out a guqin and started plucking it.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The Supreme Ascendant Longevity Piece immediately rang out. While Gu Hai could not understand it, Laozi closed his eyes and listened carefully.
Keeping his eyes closed, Laozi did not say anything until the piece was over. Only then did he open his eyes again.
“Mister Laozi, this piece is called the Supreme Ascendant Longevity Piece. Could you make out anything from it?” Zang Yulian looked at Laozi.
“This is an interaction piece connecting the Supreme Ascendant Dao to the immortal firmament? The Supreme Ascendant…what a peculiar Supreme Ascendant! To think he managed to find a resonance through the void, connecting two immortal firmaments?” Laozi said in shock.
“The Supreme Ascendant Longevity Piece is a tunnel connecting two immortal firmaments?” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“No, that’s not right. It is not a tunnel that connects two immortal firmaments. Logically, one can only send their will and consciousness at most. There is no way for the physical body to come over, just the consciousness at best. Furthermore, it would require someone who had heard the Supreme Ascendant Dao of both immortal firmaments,” Laozi said, finding this strange.
As Laozi spoke, he shifted his gaze to Gu Hai.
“It can only send our consciousness? However, our physical bodies came over!” Zang Yulian exclaimed.
“It cannot. This piece only interacts with another immortal firmament and cannot send the physical body. Mister Gu, how did you get sent here?” Laozi looked at Gu Hai with curiosity.
Gu Hai felt slightly shocked and fell silent for a while. Zang Yulian also looked at Gu Hai.
After some thought, Gu Hai narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Play it again.”
Zang Yulian played the Supreme Ascendant Longevity Piece again. This time, Gu Hai waved, and a black hole immediately appeared in space. He had activated the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal this time.
When the black hole appeared, Laozi suddenly narrowed his eyes and extended his hand to touch it.
Whoosh!
Laozi failed to touch it.
“The time is not right. Although the passageway is here, it is not at this time,” Laozi said with a frown.
“That can’t be!” Gu Hai extended his hand to touch the black hole.
When Gu Hai touched it, his hand entered.
“Hey?!” Laozi’s eyes suddenly narrowed, taking in this scene with surprise.
Zang Yulian and the young Daoist altar boy at the side also tried touching the passageway. However, they failed. They only saw it but could not touch it; only Gu Hai could.
“How strange!” Laozi frowned.
“Doesn’t that mean only you can travel through the passageway?” Zang Yulian said in shock.
Only me? Is it because of the black Go stone? The black Go stone is the one that can construct the passageway? The Supreme Ascendant Longevity Piece gives the directions while the black Go stone constructs the passageway. Furthermore, only I can travel through the passageway? However, Zang Yulian came with me previously.
“A Go Dao ritual array’s aura?” Laozi looked at Gu Hai in surprise.
“This humble one is pretty skilled at the Go Dao. This passageway does indeed have a connection with the Go Dao.” Gu Hai nodded.
“It’s the same as what Yi Qiu said?” Laozi suddenly raised his eyebrows.
[TL Note: Yi Qiu was a Go grandmaster. He is known to be the first recorded player of Go. Here is a Wikipedia entry on him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Qiu.]
“Yi Qiu?” Gu Hai echoed in confusion.
“That’s right, Yi Qiu. He once said that our immortal firmament was not the only one. There is black and white in Go; there is yin and yang in the sky. Naturally, the immortal firmament has its corresponding counterpart. If this immortal firmament is positive, then there is naturally another immortal firmament that is negative. That means there is another immortal firmament out there. Back then, no one accepted his theory. After all, it is too far-fetched. Now, this proves he was right?” Laozi frowned heavily.
“Yi Qiu? I recall that he is a Go sage from the Spring and Autumn period?” Gu Hai said, nonplussed.
[TL Note: The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC. Here is the Wikipedia entry on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_and_Autumn_period.]
“That’s right. Back then, he exhausted himself physically and mentally to forge a black Go stone. However…hah…I’ll go and find his writings from before he died. Let’s see if there are any records about it,” Laozi said with a frown.
“Forge a black Go stone?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows. Is it the one I have?
“However, the black Go stone is gone. He also died of mental and physical exhaustion. How unfortunate! How lamentable!” Laozi sighed.
“Indeed!” Gu Hai nodded with some suspicion. However, he did not mention the black Go stone he had merged into the Heaven Suppressing Divine Imperial Seal.
“That’s right. Why did you come and look for me this time?” Laozi looked at Gu Hai.
“I have the souls of two people I would like to revive. Might I ask if Mister Laozi has any items for revival? This humble one would like to borrow it. I will definitely repay you in the future,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“The souls of two people?” Laozi looked at Gu Hai.
“Yes. One of them is a female. I have her corpse, but there is no blood. The other is a man, but I have nothing else of him.” Gu Hai nodded.
“Might I ask who these people in the Six Paths Immortal Firmament are and if there are any parallels to them in our immortal firmament?” Laozi looked at Gu Hai.
“One is a person with a human torso and snake body, the Supreme Wa. The other is a sovereign, Long Zhanguo,” Gu Hai explained.
“The Supreme Wa? Nuwa?” Laozi suddenly raised his eyebrows.
[TL Note: Nuwa is a figure in one of the Chinese creation myths. Here is the Wikipedia entry on her: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCwa.]
“Huh? Perhaps,” Gu Hai said with a bitter smile.
“Perhaps it really is a coincidence. Nuwa died in a calamity, but we have her blood. I can ask for it. As for the other one, a sovereign? Long Zhanguo? What did he do?” Laozi frowned slightly.
“Long Zhanguo, the sovereign of the Qian Heavenly Dynasty. He has a set of cities called the thirty-three layers of heaven. His assembly hall is called the Rising Heaven Throne Hall. He seems to correspond to Earth’s legendary Jade Emperor. However, that is just a legend,” Gu Hai said with a bitter smile.
[TL Note: The Jade Emperor is the leader of the Chinese pantheon. There are many stories about his origins and deeds. Here is the Wikipedia entry on the Jade Emperor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Emperor.]
“Who said that the Jade Emperor is only a legend?” Laozi shook his head.
“Oh?” Gu Hai appeared somewhat confused.
“The Jade Emperor? It is indeed somewhat troublesome. If we were to forge a physical body for him according to the Jade Emperor’s specifications, it would be quite troublesome. We would need some extremely special ingredients. However, it’s still alright. Siddhārtha and Jesus have those. I’ll just borrow from them,” Laozi said pensively.
[TL Note: The Siddhārtha Buddha is another name for the Gautama Buddha. Here are the Wikipedia entries for the Siddhārtha Buddha and Jesus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus.]
“Siddhārtha? Jesus? They are still alive? Then, do I have to go to India and Vatican City to seek them out?” Gu Hai asked.
“There’s no need.” Laozi shook his head.
“Then, how…?” Gu Hai felt confused.
At a wave of Laozi’s hand, the Daoist altar boy brought out a computer. Then, Laozi started typing. Soon, two video windows appeared before Gu Hai.
“We can just video call them. Just wait,” Laozi said as he slowly connected the video calls.
Gu Hai: “…”
