Volume One: The Revival of All Things, Eternal Spring in Every Season Chapter Thirty: The Truth of the Covenant of Dao, Secrets from Pre-Qin Times

As the old saying goes, wine is poison that passes through the bowels, and lust is a steel blade that scrapes the bones. At this moment, Mo Wen felt this deeply. Lin Xi, utterly exhausted, had fallen into a deep sleep, while Mo Wen, after an afternoon of turmoil, had entered a sage-like state.

As dusk approached, Lin Xi slowly awoke, murmuring softly. She turned to gaze at the evening light outside the window, leaning lazily against Mo Wen’s chest, her fingers playfully tracing circles on his broad chest.

The phone rang, as always, at the most inconvenient moment. Lin Xi pursed her lips, grumbled, and answered the call, immediately adopting a serious tone.

“There’s something strange about the Zhuo family. Tell that boy not to act rashly!”

Lin Tianci was concise and direct. He spoke only this sentence, then hung up.

Mo Wen and Lin Xi exchanged smiles. Facing the Zhuo family was a matter of time; causing them some trouble first was rather amusing.

Thinking again of Madam Zhao’s disappearance, Mo Wen grew restless. In the note Madam Zhao left behind, she had written, “They are here.” But who were “they”?

When uncertain, consult the dean!

He called the dean and learned that Zhao Tiansheng had already returned to the Magic City. Ignoring Zhao Tiansheng’s laughter and scolding, Mo Wen shamelessly went to disturb him.

Inside the academy’s small building, Zhao Tiansheng clearly looked displeased with Mo Wen. Wearing a loose nightgown and slippers, his eyes bleary with sleep, he was evidently unhappy to have been awakened.

“What is it now, you rascal? I just got back from the Northern Capital this afternoon, wanted to catch up on sleep, and you’ve ruined it!”

Mo Wen grinned cheekily, leaving Zhao Tiansheng exasperated: “Teacher, I have some questions.”

After gathering his thoughts, Mo Wen put away his playful smile and solemnly requested, “What exactly is ‘Breaking Delusion’? Please enlighten me, teacher.”

Zhao Tiansheng was momentarily stunned, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. He performed his signature gesture of pushing up his glasses, pondered for a long while, then spoke slowly:

“‘Breaking Delusion’ can be likened to a carp leaping over the dragon gate. Below Breaking Delusion, all are mere ants—this is no empty saying. You are the most promising young man I’ve seen to achieve Breaking Delusion. Don’t squander it; in the near future, humanity will need you.”

Mo Wen was startled, noting that Zhao Tiansheng had said “humanity,” not “China.” This meant that in the near future, the coming changes would concern the survival of humanity itself, not merely China.

Zhao Tiansheng hoped Mo Wen would achieve Breaking Delusion soon, to meet the times, while Madam Zhao’s note seemed to urge him not to pursue it. Mo Wen looked at this teacher who held such high hopes for him, feeling deeply conflicted.

After some thought, recognizing the dean’s kindness, Mo Wen took out the small note from the brocade pouch and handed it to Zhao Tiansheng.

“Teacher, you must have investigated my background. Madam Zhao raised me, and has always been prudent. She would not write such words without cause.”

Zhao Tiansheng contemplated for a moment, examining the note carefully. Inside, his mind was in turmoil—“they”!

Mo Wen watched Zhao Tiansheng’s shifting expression, feeling uneasy, hardly daring to breathe.

The small building was silent as death. Zhao Tiansheng closed his eyes as if asleep, then slowly opened them, his hand trembling as he adjusted his glasses.

“They came faster than I expected. Mo Wen, let me ask you: before you now are two paths—will you face the challenge head-on, or retreat and seek self-preservation?”

Mo Wen was confused, silent for a long time, his voice dry: “Teacher, what do you mean? What happens if I face the challenge? What if I retreat?”

Zhao Tiansheng regarded Mo Wen with gravity and spoke passionately, “To face the challenge, you must break through every boundary, and Breaking Delusion is far from enough. Supreme Freedom might barely suffice. If you choose to retreat, I can arrange a government post for you—a comfortable life for the rest of your days.”

He seemed somewhat melancholy, quite different from the domineering Sword Immortal at the Lin family banquet in the Northern Capital.

Mo Wen gave a bitter smile. Retreat? Where could he retreat to? Not to mention whether the Zhuo family would let him go—the King of Fengdu from the Netherworld, the Black Crow King from the secret land of Mount Emei, once they emerged, the first they would kill would be Mo Wen.

Zhao Tiansheng’s gaze was earnest. Mo Wen gave him the answer he wanted: “Under a shattered nest, how can any egg remain whole? If you pillars of China fall, how can we younger generations survive? We must fight for a chance at life!”

Zhao Tiansheng’s face instantly brightened with smiles, praising repeatedly, “Good! I, Zhao Tiansheng, did not misjudge you. Enough, we’ve talked enough for today. Ask whatever you wish!”

Mo Wen had waited for these words. Ever since he began studying Buddhist scriptures, obstacles had arisen everywhere, as if he were a lone boat adrift on the vast sea. The feeling was truly unpleasant.

“Teacher, what is the ‘Dao Pact’?”

Mo Wen asked directly, cutting to the heart of the matter.

Zhao Tiansheng lifted his teacup, took a sip, sighed, and began.

Two thousand two hundred years ago, during the pre-Qin era in China, the First Emperor sought immortality, sending people to search ancient sites and secret lands. Finally, in the Kunlun Mountains, they discovered ancient internal cultivation methods, but the First Emperor himself could not practice them and died with regret. The millennia-long silence of Kunlun was broken, countless demons escaped, ravaging the people. Several hidden ancient cultivators emerged to fight the demon clans. After decades of war, they managed to seal the demon clans in various secret lands. The leader of the demon clan, the Celestial Demon Lord, had already reached the peak of Supreme Freedom in the pre-Qin era. The ancient cultivators sacrificed all their Supreme Freedom cultivators to seal him again in Kunlun. To prevent the demon clans from retaliating, the ancient cultivators and the demon clans made a pact with the Dao—the demon clans would remain dormant for 2233 years. This is the Dao Pact.

In the past hundred years, the demon clan’s seal has gradually loosened. After prolonged warfare in China last century, it took decades to recover. Originally, they hoped to rely on the inheritance of ancient cultivators to reseal the demons, but found it impossible. Thus began the era of universal evolution.

At this moment, Mo Wen finally understood—the root of today’s troubles lay in the disasters left behind from the pre-Qin era.

“That mist—is it also brought by the demon clan?” Mo Wen asked, for the mist shrouding famous mountains and rivers had long puzzled him.

“No. As for the origin of the mist, I do not know.”

To his surprise, Zhao Tiansheng shook his head. The sudden appearance of the mist was unforeseen, and recently, Breaking Delusion and Supreme Freedom cultivators in China have been researching it painstakingly.

“Then, the ‘they’ Madam Zhao mentioned—are they the demon clan?”

Mo Wen was concerned for Madam Zhao's whereabouts, hoping to trace her.

“They!”

Zhao Tiansheng drew a sharp breath, his face showing rare fear. After calming himself, he spoke reluctantly: “I do not know what they are. Not the demon clan, nor humanity. They are strange beings. Since the chaos of the demon clan in the pre-Qin era, every dynastic transition has seen their shadow. They seem to be hidden rulers, omnipotent! Their strangest trait is their mastery over the power of rules. You have already encountered them—the Magic City aviation incident—you were one of the involved, you should understand well!”

With so much new information, Mo Wen’s mind was in turmoil. Summing it up, the demon clan would break free in 2026, bringing chaos once more, while those hidden, mysterious entities—who knew their intentions? In any case, those not of our kind must have different hearts.

The only thing Mo Wen could do was to grow stronger, and since he was already entangled in these events, there was no retreat.

Bidding Zhao Tiansheng farewell, Mo Wen returned to Violet Garden. The Magic City’s night brimmed with allure, full of youth and energy. The dazzling lights gave everything a surreal feeling, as if the world were a bubble, awaiting a single needle to burst it.

Lin Xi joyfully gave Mo Wen a big hug, clinging to him like a koala. His pocket vibrated; Mo Wen reached for his phone and was thrilled.

Zhou Sheng!

“Mo, please take care of my mother. I’m counting on you!”