Chapter 561 – The Human Seal and Heavenly Seal, The Old World and the New - Part 1

That year, the flying ships of the Arcane Supreme Sect and Five Spirits Institute brought back a wave of visitors from the mortal realm. For over a thousand years, only Ping'an's family had ever made such a journey. But times were changing, and with the changing era came new arrivals.

That year, Ping'an, now a third rank cultivator, finally found Master Wang and relayed the order of the hall master. He requested a third rank weapon, specifically, a formation banner.

Master Wang didn’t outright refuse him, but he said it would have to wait. The reasons were many. Materials were scarce, his hand was injured, his condition was off, and there was still unfinished work ahead of him... Every excuse imaginable, every delaying tactic one might hear in a crowded market stall, he used without shame.

As a weaponsmith, Master Wang already held a position of prestige. Initially, he just wanted to put the kid in his place, to teach him the proper deference between guest and host. But when he learned that the flying ships were returning with a significant number of new arrivals, his intentions grew sharper.

Ping'an would have to bow his head. He’d have to bend, to flatter, to offer without question. And if he couldn’t even give up a woman that a mere local clan heir had set his eyes on, then what kind of submission was that?

Cui Huayin was stunning, a beauty of rare caliber even in the Immortal Domain. What began as a petty affair involving a local dandy had now become something else entirely, a barometer for whether these outsiders would kneel or not.

But Ping'an said nothing. He endured in silence. He was waiting for an abode, for a proper title, and for a recognized identity.

That same year, the Princess grew ever more unruly, ever more outrageous. She no longer remembered what her father looked like. Vaguely, she recalled that when she was little, there had been a man who used to play with her. But his face was now just a blur, obscured by the grandeur and spectacle of the Central Capital itself.

Fortunately, those who doted on her were all solid, dependable people. For a princess who could not cultivate and would be lucky to live a century, or even a few decades, who could bear to criticize the child of that man?

After all, the rich, fertile land of this realm was a gift from that very man. The most powerful forces within the Myriad Lineages Academy had been founded by him. Whatever blessings now graced his daughter, who could possibly complain?

And so, the utterly unreliable Princess was molded into a paradox, a domineering young lady whose every outrageous whim ended up, somehow, as an act of kindness.

Not just in the Central Capital, the surrounding territories and even distant provinces all came to know her as a kindhearted princess. She had done so many good deeds, helped so many people, both directly and indirectly, that those who owed her their survival numbered in the tens of thousands. And the ones whose lives had improved because of her were too many to count.

In the end, every good thing, every noble act on this land, somehow got attributed to the Princess. Even the Human Emperor had developed a taste for playing the villain first, then staging his own redemption arc through her gentle persuasion. Disaster relief, allocation of martial resources, there was no corner where her influence didn’t reach.

To the people of the world, the Princess was nothing short of a living Buddha.

Within the Central Capital itself, more and more people had begun calling her the Little Buddha.

And the Princess? She thought it was absolutely hilarious.

She kept right on living wildly and recklessly. Whatever she wanted, she got. A single word from her lips would send tens of thousands scrambling to make it happen. But ironically, that very label gradually steered her character off course...until she somehow ended up back on the right one.

These days, whenever she traveled, whether among commoners or martial artists, everyone welcomed her with warm, genuine smiles. People practically fought each other to offer her their best wares, just for a glimpse of her approval.

Faced with so much goodwill, so many kind intentions, with people calling her Little Budha left and right, how could she bring herself to be willful? How could she bear to do anything cruel?

If the headstrong princess couldn’t find it in herself to be kind to the world, then fine, let the world show kindness to her first. And in time, she would naturally soften in return.

This was the life the Human Emperor had designed for her.

Such a luxurious and outrageous arrangement, only the Human Emperor could have pulled it off.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙.

And in the blink of an eye, five years passed.

During these years, Li Yuan continued to ponder

that

character. He contemplated the

wood

radical, and he meditated on the

vortex

.

He was waiting for the Human Emperor, and for changes in the Immortal Domain.

He didn’t go around stirring up trouble anymore.

After all, anyone who played chess had to have patience. He wouldn’t slam down a piece, and before the ripples have even settled...leap into the board himself in a panic.

In the meantime, he secretly met with Empress Dowager Xie, and watched over Xie Yu and his daughter from afar countless times.

But he remained patient. Clear-headed. He knew he could not show himself.

Too many people had already begun to suspect something strange about

Ximen Gucheng

. If that name were to reappear under the blazing spotlight of the capital, all sorts of secrets would come spilling out.

A chess master should never sit in the center of the board.

If he were just some nameless nobody, perhaps it wouldn’t matter. But Ximen Gucheng was far too conspicuous. Too visible to withstand close scrutiny.

Still, while he lay low, he continued studying the mysterious golden character.

He had asked Sheng'er to quietly look into Heaven Soul and Earth Soul skills. They apparently required rare artifacts, likely ones that only existed in the Immortal Domain.

And as for a cultivation technique to reach third rank Human Soul, that too seemed to require something external, something also from the Immortal Domain.

But Li Yuan had no intention of going there.

Even back when he’d been desperate to find a sixth rank cultivation path, he’d managed to hold himself back. He’d carefully set up channels, laid the groundwork, and only acted once the whole picture had come into view.

There was no reason he should be more reckless now than he was then.

From his past conversation with Ying Zhuoyao, he had pieced together a rough understanding. The Immortal Domain was a colossal entity that had existed for around 30,000 years. Compared to its vast heritage, the combined might of Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties paled to insignificance.

Of course he wouldn’t go.

In the game of chess, once a player stepped onto the board, they would either be the general or the king. No one crossed the river just to become a disposable pawn.

If Li Yuan were captured, everyone tied to him would become nothing more than meat on the chopping block, served up to whoever was hungry.

So yes, he was starting to grow cold. Too much sentiment would only lead to losing the whole board.

Using his connection with Empress Dowager Xie, Li Yuan traveled extensively through the human realm, always in her shadow.

His art of disguise had reached a masterful level. When he acted the part of a servant, no one ever suspected a thing. Unless the Human Emperor himself stared long and hard, there was no risk of exposure.

The Empress Dowager moved in the light. Li Yuan stayed in the dark.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

On this day, the Empress Dowager set out with her full retinue, guards and maids flanking her, as she made her way to the Myriad Lineages Academy.

The purpose of her visit was to meet the Grand Heavenly Master of the academy’s daoist court on Li Yuan’s behalf, to discuss a single topic, the mysterious golden character.

The Grand Heavenly Master, a man of vast knowledge and deep mystery, always seemed to have insight into such arcane matters.

But this wasn’t about the golden character that flowed around the Human Emperor when he made a move. No, the Empress Dowager came to ask about the character found in the

ancestral seal.

The ancestral seal was more than just a symbol. Drawn with the shadow blood of a sixth rank martial artist, the symbol could ward off ghosts and repel ghost servants. If applied to the body, it could accelerate healing, and even reattaching limbs was routine.

The Myriad Lineages Academy occupied an enormous tract of land, far larger than even the imperial palace. It was a veritable city in its own right, with hills, lakes, and streams integrated into its grounds.

And unlike the rigid, uniform style of the palace, the academy’s architecture was a glorious patchwork, some structures lavish, some elegant, others quiet and secluded.

It was the gathering place for talents from every major power of the old world, and the birthplace of the first and most important of the imperial ministries, the Ministry of Martial Arts.

To study here was to be counted among the future elite.

Even those who failed to become the Emperor’s personal disciples would still carry the prestigious title of Academy Scholar, a name that opened doors no matter where one went.

To the north of the academy stood seven verdant peaks. Nestled among them was the new location of the daoist court.

And at the heart of those peaks stood the central summit, home to the Grand Heavenly Master’s residence.

Within a serene little study, the Grand Heavenly Master brewed fresh spring tea, just harvested that spring.

The Empress Dowager sat quietly nearby, patient and unhurried.

The old man finally spoke, “What would Your Majesty like to ask?”

“The ancestral seal,” the Empress Dowager replied casually. Then she smiled. “Lately, I’ve found myself pondering it more and more. Why is it that on our vast Zhou Dynasty soil, no one has ever broken through from fourth rank to third?”

She said it under the banner of national interest, but in truth, it was for Li Yuan, to glean whatever secrets could be found.

The old man continued to brew tea slowly. The kettle gave a gentle pop, like fish eyes surfacing, followed by a bubbling stream like pearls rising through a spring. He poured the vibrant green tea into a jade cup, and only then did he speak, slowly:

“The ancestral seal is the will of man.”

The Empress Dowager asked, “So, something written on paper and capable of producing real power, that’s just...human will?”

The Grand Heavenly Master had been prepared to give a straightforward answer, but the peculiar angle of her question gave him pause. He remained silent for a moment before replying slowly.

“Since it is Your Majesty asking, this old one dares not answer lightly. But what’s written on paper and can wield power isn’t limited to human thought alone.”

“Oh?” The Empress Dowager tilted her head slightly, her curiosity pitched at just the right note. “Please enlighten me, Grand Heavenly Master.”

The old man replied, “The daoist scriptures record that what manifests on paper and holds real power is called a

talisman

. And long ago, the power of talismans came not from people, but from the heavens. Only later did that power gradually become rooted in humanity.”

“So then,” the Empress Dowager mused, “one might say there’s the will of heaven and the will of man.”

“But the will of heaven is no longer merely a

will

; it’s the

Dao

,” The Grand Heavenly Master said. He paused, then corrected himself with solemn reverence, “Actually, you could say it’s the

Heavenly Dao.

”

“The Heavenly Dao?” The unfamiliar term intrigued her. “If Heaven possesses a Dao, wouldn’t that make Heaven a cultivator too? And if so...are we all just living inside this cultivator’s belly?”

“Heaven is no cultivator. It is nature itself.” The Grand Heavenly Master chuckled. “The script of nature, the script of Heaven and Earth...when it falls onto paper, it becomes the talismans of the ancients.”

He added, “Writing is a kind of a

record

, a mark left behind. The natural world, Heaven and Earth, operate with their own rhythms and cycles. The ancient talismans followed these patterns, drawing out the mountains and rivers, shaping the land and stars.

“But nature is formless and intangible. Most people live within it all their lives without ever perceiving its patterns. Yet, once someone gains insight...they can begin to draw it. And when they do, the result is overwhelming, thunder crashing, mountains crumbling, and oceans splitting. That...is the heavenly seal.”

The Empress Dowager and Grand Heavenly Master sipped their tea in silence.

Then the Grand Heavenly Master continued, “The ancestral seal of humanity, that’s something different. In it, the human body becomes the vessel. Flesh and blood give rise to thought, and thought in turn nurtures the flesh.

“When the two align, a true

record

is formed. And from that record comes a script. That script is the

ancestral seal

. The term

ancestral

here refers not just to forebears, but to inherited thought, ideas that don’t originate from oneself, but are passed down from others. However, thoughts born from another will always have limits.

“That is unless...” he said, his voice steady and calm, “one casts off the self and steps into something greater, into the sea of spirit and breath. Only by witnessing the scroll of Heaven and Earth itself can one escape the cage built by one’s ancestors. That is how one

returns to the true self

.

“And once you’ve returned to the true self, then what was once the ancestral seal becomes something else entirely, the

human seal

.”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The Empress Dowager was hearing these concepts for the first time.

Though the world spoke in vague terms about the realms of fifth, fourth, and third rank being tied to the phrase Five Sources, Nine Ancestors, Return to the True Self, no one had ever truly explained what

returning to the true self

actually meant.

But now, in this moment, the Empress Dowager understood.

The Grand Heavenly Master paused again, then spoke with careful patience. “I’ve heard that beyond the third rank, there are five sub-realms, the False Realm born from the balance of Yin and Yang, followed by the True Realm revealing the beginning of form, and then the Three Paintings, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

“Among them...the False Realm is when flesh and soul align, nurtured constantly within abundant spiritual energy.

“The True Realm begins when one begins to see the form of the

paintings

. Not just any art, but those handed down from the Hall of Life, created long ago by powerful beings who copied the patterns of Heaven. Some say such paintings still exist in the Eastern Sea.

“As for the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Paintings, those are used to reflect on oneself. Each sub-realm reveals a new layer of insight. These paintings are glimpses of the world, fragments of Heaven and slivers of life. To embody the painting is to merge man and Heaven into one.

“If Man and Heaven ever truly become one,” the Grand Heavenly Master said, “then the

human seal

will gradually transform...into the

heavenly seal

.”

The Empress Dowager took those words to heart. With a gentle smile, she said, “The Immortal Domain has its own methods. That’s why they’ve taken so many of our Great Zhou outlaws and ferried them east.

“Their paintings...we can’t get our hands on those, naturally. But I wonder, does the ancient heavenly seal still exist? If so, then the Great Zhou might yet rise again. We wouldn’t have to live in fear of the western barbarians or the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain.

“Even if fourth rank cultivators lack the spiritual energy and paintings needed to reach the third rank, at least we would still have the heavenly seal.”

The Grand Heavenly Master sat in silence for a long while before letting out a heavy sigh. He slowly shook his head.

“Why not?” the Empress Dowager asked.

“Because Heaven...is no longer natural,” he murmured. “The patterns of the past have already been thrown into chaos. The heavenly seal of old is now no better than dead ink.”

He paused, then added, “Our ancient daoist scriptures may still record some of those talismans, but they’re useless now.”

The Empress Dowager smiled. “I would like to borrow those scriptures.”

The old man gave a soft chuckle. “Then I’ll fetch it for you.”

He rose, slowly and unsteadily, and retrieved a small box. Inside, wrapped in a length of violet silk, lay a single book.

“I copied this by hand,” he said.

The Empress Dowager accepted it, then asked one last question, “Why is it that Heaven is no longer natural?”

“I’ve heard that 5,000 years ago, there were no ghost domains, no meat fields.” The old Grand Heavenly Master sighed again. “When a person falls ill, it’s due to imbalance, something going wrong within. But when Heaven falls ill...ghost domains appear, and meat fields take root.”

Five thousand years ago—that was the Xia Dynasty.

The Empress Dowager let out a long sigh but asked nothing further. She stayed and chatted with the Grand Heavenly Master for a while longer, speaking of the daoist court and the state of the realm. Their conversation was lively and easy.

In her youth, she had trained as a shadow guard, eventually rising to lead them. Later, she became Empress Dowager, and then the enigmatic Lady White Plum.

So whether talking to lords and ministers or street peddlers, or even reclusive eccentrics, she could hold her own with ease.

After she left, the Grand Heavenly Master remained seated in quiet meditation.