Chapter 1114: Descension Sutra of the Queen Mother of the West

“Not bad. Not bad.”

A few breaths later, the bull-riding Taoist nodded smilingly and said, “You’re not bad, young one...”

Ye Qing wasn’t expecting this at all. Before he could react though, the bull-riding Taoist let out an amiable chuckle, and the sea of purple qi descended. It transformed into a black-and-white, yin-and-yang painting.

“Time to go, my bull...”

The old Taoist slowly walked into the painting after that.

Right before he stepped inside the painting, the old Taoist spoke up suddenly, “Oh right. Beware of Xuanyuan Kun, young one. Yes, I’m talking about the celestial. He is plotting something nefarious.”

“May I know who you are, senior?” Ye Qing hurriedly asked, his mind already arriving on an obvious yet seemingly impossible answer.

“The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. You already know the answer, don’t you?” The old Taoist smiled.

“It really is you, Taishang Laojun?!”

Stunned, Ye Qing’s yang god hurriedly stood up from his throne, descended to Taishang Laojun’s level, and bowed deeply. “Junior Ye Qing greets Taishang Laojun.”

“Laojun is I, but I am not Laojun.”

The old Taoist guffawed. “The Great Way is full of danger, and the arts know no bounds. Be ever careful, young one. If fate wills it so, then we will meet again.”

Before Ye Qing could say anything else, the old Taoist rode his bull into the painting. A bull-riding Taoist appeared inside the black-and-white painting after that.

It was as if the black-and-white painting had come alive after the old Taoist entered the painting. Yin and yang manifested, and the Great Way took shape. What sounded like the voice of the Great Way itself spoke inside his head:

“The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name...”

“Naming is the origin of all particular things. The unnamable is the eternally real...”

“The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible. It gives birth to infinite worlds. It is always present within you. You can use it any way you want...”

“The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities...”

“Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace...”

“The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to Two. Two gives birth to Three. Three gives birth to all things [1]...”

A scripture appeared on the painting as the recitation of the Great Way continued. At the same time, the painting floated over to the yang god’s head.

The Earthly Sovereign Bell was originally suspended high above the yang god’s head, but now, it descended until it was three inches lower than the painting and swayed slightly, filling Ye Qing’s headspace with a melodious chime. It was both an expression of respect and celebration.

Ye Qing was fully absorbed in the profoundness of the recitation and the scripture. Because of this, he did not see the celestial slumbering suddenly opening his eyes in the real world. He did not see the sea of stars shattering, the sun and the moon falling, or the infinite universe falling apart until all that was left was darkness and chaos.

The grand and majestic Kunlun Divine Palace had suddenly become broken and disheveled as well, tethering on the brink of collapse.

It was at this moment the celestial boy named Bai Yun appeared next to the celestial. He asked, “How much longer must you wait, Imperial Lord?”

Bai Yun no longer looked like the flawless, winsome celestial he was before. His entire body was covered in cracks like broken porcelain, and his face was contorted into an expression of malice and resentment.

“No hurry, no hurry. My rebirth can wait until after he has grasped the ‘Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull’.”

The celestial did not look like the noble, mysterious, and dignified existence he was before either. His countenance had become ancient and ugly. His face was covered in wrinkles deep enough to be called crevices, and most of his teeth were missing from his mouth. He was also giving off a smelly and disgusting stench like a sick old man with one and a half feet in his grave.

“The ‘Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull’ is an unparalleled art and inheritance Taishang Laojun had left behind for humanity. ‘The Tao never does anything, yet through it all things are done.’ Taishang Laojun is most proficient at eliminating calamities and evading tribulations.”

The celestial said excitedly, “If I had practiced this martial art back then, I could have mastered the yin and yang, eliminated or evaded the tribulations, and enjoyed immortality without any worry. I would not be experiencing the Five Decays of Celestial [2]and tethering on the brink of absolute demise.”

“That is why I need this mortal to practice the ‘Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull’ first. It is so that I would have this unparalleled art when I am reborn in his body.”

“With this unparalleled art to protect me, I will surely regain control of the Great Way and the world during the age of chaos. I will surely advance further than I had before, escape my accursed fate, become the founder of a Way, and become forever immortal!”

Back in the day, before the Great Tribulation struck all, the celestials had stolen the unparalleled “Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull” from the Laojun Temple via despicable threats and promises.

Descended from Taishang Laojun, the Laojun Temple was a humble sect with a long history. It was never prosperous, but it somehow always managed to get through an age of chaos unscathed. It was all thanks to the “Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull” they inherited from Taishang Laojun.

Over ten thousand years ago, right before the Great Tribulation occurred, the celestials realized that the Great Tribulation was an age of chaos that they could neither dodge nor resolve. Terrified for their lives, they decided to coerce the Laojun Temple into surrendering the “Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull”. Their plan was to practice the art and save themselves.

To their shock and horror, not a single person in the Kunlun Ruins was able to practice this art. Although they were celestials, they just could not understand or grasp it no matter what they tried. They became even more frustrated when they realized that some of the mortals of the outside world could practice it.

Long story short, they could not practice the unparalleled tribulation evasion art they possessed. Left with no choice, they could only bound themselves to their lofty realm and hide like rats.

But things were different now. The Great Tribulation had struck the Kunlun Ruins hard, and he himself had suffered grievous injuries and entered the Five Decays of Celestial due to various reasons. As if that wasn’t enough, he was nearing the end of his lifespan. Although spiritual qi was beginning to resurrect in the outside world, it would be many years before things returned to the state it was back in the olden days. He simply could not last until then.

The reason he refused to end his life and continued to struggle at death’s door was simple. How could he pass away peacefully knowing that if he lasted just a bit longer, he would be able to regain his former power and glory? So, he set his sights on a mortal from the outside world. He planned to rebirth himself in his body and live another lifetime.

To this end, he expended a tremendous amount of celestial qi, executed a great Magia, and cast down a celestial opportunity to the human world several hundred years ago. He divined that a destined one would enter the Kunlun Ruins and appear before him centuries later, allowing him to be reborn and fulfill his lifelong wish of living another lifetime.

Of course, the rebirth he sought was nothing pathetic like simple possession, or mundane like the simple transference of spirit after death. It was a celestial Magia of the Kunlun Ruins known as the “Descension Sutra of the Queen Mother of the West”.

The “Descension Sutra of the Queen Mother of the West” was an art that transformed a host’s body into a farm so to speak. It was all so that the caster could be reborn via the host.

To put it in more secular terms, it was a Magia that planted a celestial seed in the host’s body. Not only was the celestial seed completely undetectable by the host, the host would experience a major boost in talent and understanding and become an unparalleled genius.

The greater the host, and the swifter they climbed up the cultivation levels, the faster the celestial seed would grow. Once the celestial seed was fully matured, the caster would be able to consume the host’s mind and consciousness through the celestial seed and be reborn.

Since the celestial seed was one with the host and nurtured by the host, forget resisting the mental consumption, they wouldn’t even notice it until the very end. The caster would inherit the host’s talent and constitution, martial arts and cultivation perfectly. Their spirit would be perfectly compatible with their body, and they would not experience any difficulties in their future cultivation. This method completely circumvented the problem of one’s mind and soul not being compatible with the body they forcefully possessed, which resulted in the complete breakage of one’s martial way.

This was why they said that the Queen Mother of the West was eternal.

Out of all the celestial arts in the Kunlun Ruins, the “Descension Sutra of the Queen Mother of the West” easily ranked among the top. It was a top secret in the Kunlun Ruins and only taught to the direct descendants of the Queen Mother of the West.

1. Most of the translation is taken from this link. You can refer to it if you want to: https://docdrop.org/download_annotation_doc/-Perennial-Classics-Lao-Tzu-Stephen-Mitchell---Tao-Te-Ching_-A-New-English-Version-Harper-Perennial-Modern-Classics-2006-2-4--pDMw9.pdf ☜

2. It really just means the five signs of someone who is about to die, and it’s really ten since there are five major signs and five minor signs. I’m not going to translate them all here so just go to this wikipedia page and click translate if you’re interested: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-my/%E5%A4%A9%E4%BA%BA%E4%BA%94%E8%A1%B0 ☜