Death the Eternal Dao
Guys, today is a great day since I finally reached 1 million views on this fanfic, honestly I didn't even think that i would ever reach this number so thanks!
Well, as is usual here and also to celebrate 1 million views a little, I'm going to post a second chapter after I earn another 100 power stones after posting this chapter, so be sure to give your power stones to this fanfic of mine
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"In death, we all become equal..." murmured Chen Wei softly as he looked at the lifeless body of the girl who was once one of the beauties of the He An clan.
Not only that, she was also the daughter of one of the most influential rank 2 Gu masters of the clan, a leader of an elite team, which eventually led her to marry the heir of one of the clan elders.
But now, her body lay on the ground in a pool of her own blood, just like many others, indistinguishable from the body of a mortal servant despised by all or a mangy dog that lived in the streets starving.
"...I would say it's a beautiful poetic lesson," Chen Wei, who only glanced distractedly at the dead girl on the ground, continued on his way.
Of course, this was something he had pondered for a long time after reading the novel and experiencing war firsthand, but this was the first time he saw such a large-scale massacre, realizing how pathetic the notions of beauty or honor were.
"...Did their lives have any meaning? All their actions and choices... some chose to be sinners, others decided to be good people. But now that they are all dead, who can tell who was what?" Chen Wei himself couldn't distinguish between the bodies, their beliefs, emotions, and life experiences.
"For them, these few years were everything, but for the river of time, it was such a short moment that it is impossible to know if it really happened... and now this short moment they called life is over due to forces beyond their control," Chen Wei spoke as he looked at the body of an old woman who died trying to protect her grandson, a child under ten who also perished in the end.
Between these two bodies, one would expect the old woman and the child to have had a completely different understanding of life, but now, in Chen Wei's eyes, they were equivalent, not only in the significance of their lives but in every aspect of their beings, as they were equally dead.
These thoughts made Chen Wei, who was walking through blood-soaked streets full of bodies, feel increasingly empty as he pondered his own existence in the Gu world and the purpose of his life up to this point. For after his death, what would all of this matter?
"No... in truth, death is the only thing that gives life, not only to me and these people but to everyone in the world, any meaning..." Chen Wei reached this conclusion, which was his understanding after his recent actions and his entire life up until now.
This understanding of Chen Wei can be further justified when looking at the life goals of Limitless Demon Venerable and Heaven Refining Demon Venerable, whose existences were focused on fighting against the decree of fate called death.
"Death... a decree of fate... this doesn't sound right..." Chen Wei didn't understand why, but this thought seemed inappropriate when he pondered it.
"Now! Kill that demon!"
"Quick, save the clan leader's body!"
"Mother!! I will avenge you!"
Interrupting Chen Wei's thoughts, a group of Gu masters advanced against him with desperate expressions, like men on the brink of death facing the Grim Reaper.
"Ahh... it seems you chose to waste the opportunity for salvation I offered you," Chen Wei, of course, had already noticed these Gu masters hiding among the rubble or ruined houses and knew of their intentions to attack him for his actions but had done nothing about it until now.
The reason he did this was to give all the Gu masters or mortals he encountered a choice: to surrender their hearts to anger or revenge and try to kill Chen Wei, or to surrender their hearts to fear and self-preservation and choose to flee or do nothing against him.
Of course, Chen Wei was not doing this out of altruism or good intentions and kindness. His primary objective was to deepen his understanding of the human heart, divided by feelings of vengeance and fear of his own death, as a basis for his future development in the Human path.
"Arghhh!! Die!!" One of the Gu masters used almost all his primeval energy, using the Water Disc Gu to launch dozens of flat, lethal discs at Chen Wei, which would be deadly to anyone caught off guard.
Chen Wei, seeing this, didn't even bother to dodge, deflecting the water discs with the blood sword in his hand before easily killing those who attacked him using blood arrows that killed the Gu masters as if they were flies.
For these Gu masters, who had overcome their fears and internal conflicts juat to try and seek revenge for their loved ones and the destruction of their clan, dying so inconsequentially without even making Chen Wei flinch would be the greatest pain if they could feel anything after death.
"...I admire your determination to die for revenge... few have it," Chen Wei said with a simple smile on his face as he spoke to the bodies of the dead Gu masters, especially one who was trying to sneak towards a blood creature carrying the clan leader's body.
"Hahaha... hahahaha... ahhh..." Chen Wei, realizing the simple smile on his face, began to laugh louder and louder as if he were a man who had lost his sanity.
"Now I understand... eternal life is nothing more than a rejection of the Dao... since Death is the Eternal Dao!" Chen Wei said these words while a feeling of enlightenment surged in his chest.
"Death is the first instant and the final judge... from which no one can escape and all are governed by..."
"How can death be determined by Fate Gu when it too is subject to this end?" Chen Wei spoke with his eyes shining with a sinister light, as if he was finally understanding something he had always questioned.
"Even the Gu world is subject to death, as seen by the constant pressure of chaos threatening the existence of this world," Chen Wei began to walk quickly towards the clan gate, where he saw a Gu master trembling with fear, trying to hide.
"Please, sir, don't kill me! I'll give you everything you want, my Gu... my body, just please le--" The woman could never finish her words as her head was crushed by a blood claw created by Chen Wei.
"Ahhh... as I expected incredible!" Chen Wei said with a smile on his face as an indescribable sensation coursed through his veins like blood, nourishing every fiber of his being at that moment.
Of course, this was not because he took pleasure in the girl's death; he was not a sadist who loved the sensation of killing like Spectral Soul. In fact, with each act of killing, he felt even more indifferent, making it as natural to him as breathing.
In reality, this sensation was not new to Chen Wei, as it was the feeling he had when increasing his comprehension and exploring the depths of the Great Dao. However, even those moments in the past seemed shallow compared to now.
"Heaven's Will... suppressing Spectral Soul's Killing Path now makes even more sense..." Chen Wei now understood not only why the Killing Path was suppressed but also why Heaven's Will bet everything on sending Fang Yuan back five hundred years to prevent Spectral Soul's plan from succeeding.
Since in this world, the Killing Path, which was the great obsession that Spectral Soul dreamed of making a reality, seems to have been the one that most deeply touched the true essence of the Great Dao. This causes Chen Wei's already great admiration for him to reach unprecedented levels.
Now that he thought about it, he realized that every smallest detail of the Great Dao seemed to lead to one thing: death, without exception, as if it were its essence or its final and most absolute meaning. Even Eternal Life, in a strange and distorted way, could be seen in Death, in Chen Wei's eyes now.
Or is it not the human being, the wisest and most capable of refining and comprehending the Great Dao, who is always closest to death, whether due to his fragile body that can be easily destroyed or his lifespan that, compared to other species in this world, is as short as a blink of an eye.
Although he did not feel his attainment increasing at this moment, Chen Wei was still overwhelmed by an incredible sensation that quickly made every fiber of his being crave more.
"A mad seeker of the Dao... a crazed killer thirsty for blood," Chen Wei murmured faintly as his eyes shone with a scarlet glow, making him see every living being in the He An Clan, from the highest Gu Master to the lowest insect.
"Long ago, I decided to live my life for the study of the Dao... and recently, I chose to pursue this search for the Dao always according to my own will," Chen Wei said, looking up, his gaze fixed on the beautiful and desolate moon that seemed to illuminate the world with its majestic white veil.
This sight made Chen Wei feel a stirring in his heart as he remembered a statement declared by Fang Yuan to express his emotions regarding the human life:
"Humans only live for a hundred years, it is as unreal as a dream that ends in an instant. What is the point of a person living in this world? No more than just being on a journey, and witnessing interesting things. Although I do not want to die, I do not fear death. I am already on my right path, I have no regrets even if I die."
And now that Chen Wei thought about it, despite having his own desires to comprehend the Dao, he never had a great conviction like Fang Yuan or other Venerables like Limitless, who, even after thousands of years and countless failures, never wavered for a moment.
"I want to kill... I want to understand the Great Dao..." Chen Wei said these words as if they were something he had kept in his heart for a long time, like a person who had been bound finally being set free.
In fact, these words coming out of his mouth surprised even him, but now, with his new understanding of the Dao, it seemed to be not two desires but one that complemented each other, being the most logical and sane desire he could have.
Since the act of cultivating to understand the Dao involves using Gu, which are fragments of the Great Dao as he desired, then if he touches the essence of the Great Dao, which is Death, killing indiscriminately while he follows his journey in Gu cultivation, wouldn't that make his understanding even deeper?
"To understand the Dao, I will kill one person... a group of people... the human population of this world... maybe all living beings that inhabit the world," Chen Wei said, looking at the sky, his heart calm but also burning with the intention to kill. This intention did not come from a desire for cruelty or a love for slaughter and causing suffering but from the most innocent human curiosity he discovered fills his heart, driving him to an insatiable desire to understand the Dao.
"For the Dao, I will kill Heaven's ... and even myself if so i need so be it!" Chen Wei declared without the slightest fear of death or resentment against Heaven's Will, for the only thing that filled his heart was his goal of fully understanding the Dao.
"Ahhhh..." Chen Wei closed his eyes as he enjoyed the gentle light of the moon falling on his skin.
When he opened his eyes, instead of continuing his journey out of the clan and toward the lake of blood as he had planned, he turned back towards the interior of the He An Clan, which still housed a small number of Gu Masters trying to hide themselves who managed to survive since Chen Wei was not concerned with killing them all bofore but now... "I still have many more to kill!"