The Daoist held a compass in his hands, muttering under his breath as the compass spun with a clicking sound, shifting through various symbols.
The monk pinched a string of prayer beads in one hand, turning them as two beads knocked together with a soft tap. In his other hand he held a black iron begging bowl containing a few spirit pills, presumably received as alms.
Both were dressed in ragged clothes—the Daoist’s robes washed so often they’d turned white and patched in several places, though still fairly clean; the monk’s garments seemed never mended, full of holes and letting the wind through.
Clearly, neither of them was having an easy time of it.
Quinn Shepherd couldn’t help but wonder, “Were there already monks and Daoists in this era?”
Kai Keane also noticed the monk and Daoist, and was momentarily taken aback.
Quinn edged closer, and Kai Keane hurried to follow. They overheard the monk and Daoist talking—the monk said, “It’s always best at the Jade Pool Grand Assembly. I managed to beg a few spirit pills, so at least I won’t go hungry.”
Quinn’s expression turned odd.
The Daoist said, “Don’t talk yet. I just thought of a numerology problem—let me work it out.”
The monk chuckled, “What’s the use in all those calculations? You should follow me instead. I enter the Dao through dreams—within dreams, anything is possible. The myriad worlds shift and change, and therein you can find the true meaning of the Dao.”
The Daoist didn’t even look up, still working his compass. He said, “A dream of a thousand autumns is but illusion; only numerology is the true great Dao. I believe the universe and all things are founded upon numerological calculation. If I master numerology, I’ll understand all the mysteries of heaven and earth. Numerology will shine brilliantly in the future!”
The monk was about to speak when he saw Quinn and Kai Keane approach. He quickly held out his black iron bowl to them, shaking it so the spirit pills inside clinked together.
“Fated or not, spare us a couple of pills? My brother and I have been hungry for days,” the monk said.
Kai Keane’s expression was odd. He rummaged through his bag and dropped a few spirit pills into the iron bowl.
“Good deeds receive good returns,” the monk said with a smile, then looked at Quinn.
Quinn also took out some spirit pills and filled the iron bowl to the brim.
The monk shook his head. “That’s too much. Alms are part of my cultivation—I only need enough for a day’s meal. Too much would disrupt my practice in the days ahead.” With that, he took out the excess spirit pills and returned them to Quinn.
Quinn didn’t take them back, smiling. “Great monk, these are yours by right. We’re deeply fated. When you meet someone named Shepherd in the future, you’ll understand.”
The monk looked at him. “Why not just say it plainly, benefactor?”
Quinn shook his head. “A dream of a thousand autumns—how do you know you’re not dreaming right now? Why be so direct? In dreams, there are worlds without number; all beings are but illusions. Great monk, you’ll understand one day.”
The monk was puzzled but smiled. “A dream of a thousand autumns? That’s exactly the essence of my Dao.”
Quinn looked over at the Daoist, who was still immersed in his calculations. The Daoist’s compass was extremely complex, the mathematical changes already touching on the core problems of the Supreme Mystery Numerology Canon. But to invent an entire numerology scripture from scratch was unimaginably difficult.
Starting from nothing is always the hardest—especially since in this era, no one has yet managed to deduce a complete numerology classic.
Quinn reached out and flicked the compass.
The Daoist was about to slap his hand away, but when his eyes fell on the compass, he froze, then burst with delight. “Ah—! The numerology problem that’s stumped me for days is solved, just like that! Wonderful, wonderful! Brother, how did you come up with this solution?”
His eyes shone as he looked at Quinn, eagerly waiting for him to explain his reasoning.
Quinn answered seriously, “It was your insight that inspired me to find this solution. Thank you!”
He bowed in thanks.
The Daoist hurriedly said, “You solved the problem for me—why thank me?”
Quinn smiled. “You’ll understand someday. Daoist, when you meet someone named Shepherd in the future, he’ll mention this moment to you.”
The Daoist was stunned.
Quinn smiled faintly and left them behind, heading toward the palace complex ahead.
Kai Keane hesitated, then followed after Quinn. He whispered, “You’re too calculating—a bit unscrupulous, really. Weren’t that monk and Daoist the future titans? You gave them a few spirit pills and tweaked the compass because you want to borrow their power someday. If you put all that scheming into…”
Quinn cut him off. “If you’d spend less time guessing at my motives and more on your own future, maybe you wouldn’t…”
Kai Keane blinked. “Wouldn’t what?”
Quinn’s expression dimmed; he shook his head. “Never mind. I’m guessing those two are destined to become the future Lord Brahma and Daoist Patriarch. You should befriend them—they’ll repay your kindness one day.”
Kai Keane mused, then probed, “You know me? You know what I’ll face in the future? Are you from an era after mine?”
He was extremely clever—even though Quinn had only said a few seemingly trivial things, Kai Keane could deduce much more from them.
Quinn shook his head. “I don’t know which is the real you—I’ve never met you before. You should go back and talk to those two.”
Kai Keane hesitated, then shook his head. “I’m not like you—I won’t do things deliberately. If I went out of my way to befriend them, it might change the future. The future could shift so much that I might never be born, might cease to exist. I’ve said before—I’m just a bystander, here to witness history. I only want to meet the founders of later civilizations.”
Old Ox followed behind them, overhearing their conversation. He couldn’t help but frown—just a moment ago these two looked ready to kill each other, and now they were chatting like old friends.
“A man’s heart is like the weather in June—changes in an instant.”
Old Ox hesitated, glanced at the monk and Daoist, and thought, “Should I go and make friends? Maybe I’ll get some benefits out of it in the future…”
Quinn and Kai Keane had already walked off, so Old Ox didn’t have time to make friends with the monk and Daoist. He hurried after Quinn, thinking, “There’s still a few months left. Once their emotions settle, I’ll befriend these ancient sages and rake in the rewards! Heh, then even the boss will see me in a new light…”
The monk and Daoist watched them leave, shaking their heads. The Daoist said, “What a strange man. His mastery of numerology is probably even higher than mine, but he doesn’t seem to care about it. Brother, after his guidance, I feel I’m close to finding my Dao!”
The monk nodded, smiling. “I’m close to finding my Dao too.”
The two exchanged glances and burst out laughing.
Quinn, Kai Keane, and Old Ox entered the palace complex of the Jade Pool secret realm. The place was bustling, but they couldn’t find Prince Umbral anywhere—he’d probably gone to meet Heaven-Guide Venerable.
Heaven-Guide Venerable had invited him to the gathering—their relationship must be close.
There were so many attendees this time that everyone was speculating about what Heaven-Guide Venerable would announce. Some said he’d unveil an eighth Divine Treasury, others claimed he’d found a way for Primordial Spirits to achieve immortality, and some even gossiped that he was planning to get married. The rumors were endless.
Quinn looked around and saw many cultivators gathered in small groups, passionately sharing their recent insights and understandings. They demonstrated their newly comprehended spells and Daoist techniques before the crowd.
He and Kai Keane listened for a while. The current Daoist arts and spells were still crude and simple, far less refined than those of later generations, and held little meaning for them.
But for this era, such things were extraordinary.
"If I revealed the spells and techniques of our future era, it would cause a massive upheaval."
Quinn shook his head. The Daoist arts of later generations were far too intricate—if he shared them with people of this era, shocking the world would be the least of it. The changes to the future would be terrifying.
He couldn’t take that risk.
He glanced at Kai Keane. After guessing that Quinn was also from the future, Kai Keane had advised him not to try changing the past. Thinking it over, Quinn realized Kai Keane’s advice made sense.
The attendees listened with rapt attention. More and more people explained their Daoist arts and spells—it was a true hundred schools of thought, a hundred flowers blooming.
Some of the ingenious ideas left Quinn and Kai Keane stunned, listening intently—these were forms of Daoist arts and spells they’d never even imagined.
People of later generations, living within an established system of Divine Treasury cultivation, could reach great heights simply by following the methods passed down by their predecessors. As a result, they lacked creativity.
But people of this era weren’t bound by so many rules, so it was easy for them to break out of the Divine Treasury cultivation system and come up with Daoist arts and spells that Quinn and Kai Keane found incredible.
However, the reason these arts and spells disappeared in later generations wasn’t that they were inferior, but because they lost out in competition with the Divine Treasury system—and so were forgotten.
The Divine Treasury system was the easiest to learn and accept, having stood the test of time. Once most people practiced Divine Treasury cultivation, those who followed other paths became a minority, and their traditions grew harder to maintain and eventually vanished.
Quinn and Kai Keane squeezed through the crowd, hoping to glean more useful ideas from these ancients. Just then, they heard a voice: “Venerable Ling! Venerable Ling! You just said time doesn’t exist—what do you mean by that?”
Quinn and Kai Keane looked over at once, seeing many cultivators gathered around a woman. She wore plain, ancient clothes, a peachwood hairpin stuck carelessly in her hair, grass sandals on her feet, and a leopard-print skirt with a short jacket.
Though she was unkempt, she had a unique beauty—wild and untamed.
"The one who opened the Six Directions Divine Treasury, Venerable Ling, is a woman?" Quinn and Kai Keane were both slightly taken aback.
The woman was explaining her theory, speaking calmly: “Everything, including space, is material. Spells are arrangements and sequences of material, formed from primordial energy particles in various combinations to express the principles of the Dao and create power. Is time material? It isn’t—you can’t touch time, so it doesn’t exist.”
The crowd pondered her words. Some shook their heads, but no one could think of a rebuttal.
Quinn stepped forward and asked, “Venerable Ling, then why do we grow old? People are born, age, get sick, and die—isn’t that because time passes and we grow old?”
Venerable Ling looked at him and suddenly pulled out her hairpin—the peachwood was already dry and withered.
“Brother, do you think this hairpin is already dead?” she asked.
Quinn nodded.
Venerable Ling activated a spell. The peachwood slowly turned green, then red, sprouting new shoots and tender flower buds. Peach blossoms bloomed on the revived branch, and a few young leaves unfurled.
“Did I just reverse time?” Venerable Ling asked with a smile.
Quinn was stunned, then shook his head. “You just used a creation spell to change the structure of the dead wood and bring it back to life… Wait, I understand your meaning now!”
His expression was one of disbelief. He exclaimed, “You mean time is an illusion! Birth, aging, sickness, and death are just changes in our physical bodies—time doesn’t exist; it’s a false impression caused by material change!”
Venerable Ling looked at him in delight. “I’ve finally met someone who understands me! I’ve told Heaven-Guide Venerable and the others about my theory, but they said I was just making trouble. You’re my Dao companion! Yes, time doesn’t exist. If it did, there would be time spells in this world—but there aren’t, only illusions caused by changes in matter. You called my spell a creation spell? What a wonderful name—truly wonderful!”
Her mind was simple and sincere—when she said 'wonderful,' she truly meant it, without any embellishment.
Quinn was shaken to his core, standing there in a daze. He muttered, “Then is it possible for someone to return to the past?”
“The past doesn’t exist. All that exists is changing matter.”
Venerable Ling’s eyes sparkled. “If matter can return to its previous state, then one could go back to ancient times—or so I believe. Do you understand me?”
The crowd still struggled to understand her. There was a buzz of discussion, mostly critical. Someone whispered, “Venerable Ling has lost her mind…”
Venerable Ling grew indignant and declared, “Someday I’ll create a spell that will freeze matter for eternity. As long as you stand on it, you’ll be able to see the entire universe—past, present, and future!”
—A massive chapter of 3,700 words. The urban omnipotent tome by Alliance Leader Helangkuan goes online today. Helangkuan is an old reader—after reading so much, he wanted to write. Congratulations on the launch! Interested readers, please support him. Writing isn’t easy, and Zhaizhu sincerely hopes Helangkuan can stick with it and finish this book!
Also, the romance book by Melbourne Miss, a female channel author, goes online today. Melbourne Miss is a Silver Alliance Leader for 'Tales of Herding Gods.' Zhaizhu has always been too shy to chat with her in the group (waits until wife isn’t around, sighs in relief). Recommended!