NOVEL WEB Chapter 1152: The So-Called Taboo
Small village.
A new day, sunny and radiant.
Li Fan woke up groggily, rubbing the cat in his arms.
Xiao Bai also woke up, stretched lazily, meowing affectionately at Li Fan, nuzzling his hand intimately.
He got up and went through his morning routine.
In the small courtyard, Long Zixuan and Dugu Yuqing were already busy with their own activities—Long Zixuan guarding the pond while Dugu Yuqing practiced calligraphy.
Gong Ya served breakfast: simple yet hearty porridge, eggs, and beef noodles made from yesterday's leftovers.
After eating, Li Fan, bored, retrieved two ancient lamps from the study and placed them under the sun.
He wiped the lamps with a cloth and examined the inscriptions on them.
"Master, these lamps…"
Dugu Yuqing and Long Zixuan, intrigued, turned to look.
As Li Fan cleaned the ancient lamps, he said:
"They've been around for years."
"Every lamp carries the imprint of a space-time fragment."
He spoke while placing the lamps down, adding:
"A few lamps are still missing; otherwise, one might glimpse the past of an entire space-time."
Li Fan, with his eclectic knowledge—including some training in archaeology—could tell that the inscriptions on the two lamps were strikingly similar!
There must be some connection between them, though he couldn't fully decipher it.
However, the inscriptions reminded him of the calendar hanging on Uncle Zhang's wall last night…
Immortal, Saint, Divine, Chaos—all torn away, symbolizing the decay of those eras?
And the inscriptions on these lamps seemed eerily similar to the patterns on the "Immortal Path" calendar…
Hearing this, Long Zixuan said:
"Master… should we go search for the other lamps?"
Li Fan pondered for a moment and replied:
"The lamps are secondary; you two apprentice brothers could seek out some others instead."
With that, he casually plucked a leaf and used a technique to locate people or objects.
—Although he found this technique unreliable, last time it had indeed led him to Dugu Yuqing.
So, it was still worth a shot.
The leaf drifted to the ground, and Li Fan deliberated before saying:
"You two brothers may head southeast."
Dugu Yuqing and Long Zixuan nodded and promptly prepared to set out.
"Woof, woof, woof…"
At this moment, the Big Black Dog barked at Long Zixuan and Dugu Yuqing, as if it wanted to go with them.
"Master, the Big Black?"
Dugu Yuqing asked.
Li Fan waved his hand dismissively and said:
"Let it go with you."
With the dog's keen nose, it might come in handy.
The Big Black Dog, delighted, suddenly barked a few times at the corner where Su Baiqian had planted the Two-Leaf Clover.
Li Fan noticed, somewhat perplexed. Had this dog developed sentience? Barking at a mere plant…
"Take this plant with you as well."
Li Fan made the call immediately; he had invested considerable effort into this plant previously.
At once, Long Zixuan and Dugu Yuqing nodded, taking the Big Black Dog and Su Baiqian's Two-Leaf Clover along.
…
At this moment.
Dugu Yuqing, Long Zixuan, and the Big Black Dog had already left the village.
At the village entrance, Uncle Zhang and Second Elder were burning joss paper.
Apparently, Uncle Zhang also thought that the Divine Jumper people were likely gone, and so burning paper was a way to find solace and peace of mind.
Meanwhile, Long Zixuan and Dugu Yuqing, gazing at the heavens and earth, saw that Samsara was renewing itself, and the authority of Samsara had seized the Heavenly Heart Seal of You Continent!
Samsara… had already taken control of two continents!
"It won't be long before the Realm of Samsara descends…"
Dugu Yuqing remarked.
The Grey Mist Sea, Ancestral Mist Realm, Yang Realm—all had been shaped by Commander Hei Bai into a Secret Realm of Samsara composed of White Mist Origin.
Now, the Secret Realm of Samsara was beginning to seize the Heavenly Heart Seal of the Forbidden World.
"Samsara begins to protect all beings…"
The Big Black Dog spoke, saying:
"When all Nine Continents are enveloped by Samsara, even if the Nine Continents crumble into ruin and all living beings perish, life's seeds can still regenerate from Samsara…"
Its canine eyes grew somber as it continued:
"When the nine lamps are lit, and Samsara governs the Nine Continents… the Fifth Great Extinction… will arrive as scheduled."
Hearing this, Dugu Yuqing and Long Zixuan were stunned.
"Nine lamps? Wasn't it twelve lamps?"
They asked.
The Big Black Dog paused for a moment before replying:
"Three of the lamps are no longer in the Nine Continents… They're in the Dark Firmament."
"After the End of Myriad Paths became the End of Myriad Paths, it took three lamps to the Dark Firmament…"
Hearing this, Dugu Yuqing and Long Zixuan were both deeply shaken.
In the past, their master had comprehended Samsara in the Ancestral Mist Realm, but when the Darkness struck, he was forced to fight.
After he left, the End of Myriad Paths followed him.
Yet Li Fan ultimately returned, returning to the small village, while the End of Myriad Paths seemed to have perished, born again through reincarnation.
The End of Myriad Paths had taken three lamps back then… and this was their first time learning of it.
"What is the Fifth Great Extinction?"
The Big Black Dog replied:
"Across the boundless ages, there have been five phases of life's great flourishing and renewal—but the first four faced unparalleled extinctions… The Immortal Path, Saint Path, Divine Path, and Chaos Path… all annihilated."
"And the fifth is the great flourishing of forbidden life, the Forbidden World!"
"The Forbidden World originates from the master… Do you know why this phase of life's origin is called 'forbidden'?"
The Big Black Dog's face was solemn as it elaborated.
"Because the Path of the Forbidden… is infinite variables!"
"In the Daoist Scenery Void Land, from nothingness to existence, from the void it undergoes Five Elements Generation, earth-shaking transformations, and ultimately reaches the creation stage. At that point, the realm within the Path-Scenic Land gives birth to an entire world—a Pure Land of Life!"
"Thus, the Pure Land of Life will never be exhausted…"
"What does an Ascendant Path matter? The end of the Forbidden Path… is where all are Great Emperors, where all are Creators!"
"That… is the true meaning of the word 'forbidden'!"
After hearing this, Dugu Yuqing and Long Zixuan couldn't help but shudder!
The end of the Forbidden Path… All are Creators?
This… was unimaginable.
"Does that mean the current Thunder Emperor, Water Emperor, and others have already become Creators?"
Dugu Yuqing wondered aloud.
The ultimate end of the Forbidden Path meant the Great Emperor could be called "creator!"
With the completion of the Five Elements and the passing of earth-shaking transformations, the Path-Scenic Land should have already borne a world.
"Through the ages, ever since the master created the Path of the Forbidden, there have only been thirteen true Creators!"
The Big Black Dog spoke with utmost gravity:
"You twelve… and the End of Myriad Paths."
The Twelve Firebearers, ancestors among the forebears who walked out of the darkness.
"This is also why the darkness targets you… Only you have experienced the master's teachings firsthand, knowing precisely the complete Path of the Forbidden."
"After your deaths, the cultivators in this Forbidden World have long lost the foundation they need; they start cultivating at Najin but do not know the master's Path of the Forbidden begins with the Immortal Path!"
"Thus, even Great Emperors in this era cannot be Creators; they can only hope to survive… and a Great Emperor who cannot create is powerless!"
Having heard the Big Black Dog's explanation, there was instant clarity in the hearts of Dugu Yuqing and Long Zixuan.
In that moment, countless doubts that had troubled them became clear.
The path they cultivated… was the complete Path of the Forbidden!
Starting from the Immortal Path, progressing through the Saint Path, Divine Path, Chaos Path, then opening gates to the Daoist Scenery Void Land, stepping into the true Path of the Forbidden.
Only then could the worlds they created in the Void Land become true Pure Lands of Life, endowed with supreme power.
"So, we only need to disseminate the cultivation methods of the Immortal Path, Saint Path, Divine Path, and Chaos Path throughout the Forbidden World for its beings to train successfully, right?"
Dugu Yuqing suggested.
The Big Black Dog shook its head solemnly and said:
"It won't work; the Primordial Qi of the Immortal Path, Saint Path, and so forth is long extinct, leaving only remnants in the village…"
"Unless the civilizations of the Immortal Path and Saint Path reappear and their corresponding Primordial Qi returns to the heavens and earth, no one can cultivate them anymore."
"You… are the only hope!"
"After Breath Soil and Pi Shui comes the Life Wood Realm…"
The Big Black Dog whispered, saying:
"This realm is crucial; should either of you advance, it might trigger earth-shaking events…"
As it spoke, it waved a paw confidently, proclaiming:
"Let's go! This emperor will lead you to suppress the darkness!"
…
Back in the small courtyard.
After Long Zixuan and Dugu Yuqing departed, Li Fan stared at the two ancient lamps in silence for a long time, lost in thought.
"Master, what's the matter?"
Gong Ya asked.
Li Fan responded:
"Bring me ink and brushes."
Gong Ya, puzzled, complied at once, preparing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Li Fan began drawing.
Stroke by stroke, though not finished, the outline began to emerge… resembling a calendar.
It was…
The Immortal Path calendar from Uncle Zhang's house, torn away…
…
Writer's block is killing me; setting up a grand finale is truly challenging…