Chapter 491: Have You Realized?

Array?

This wasn't a particularly advanced array. It was simply that the yin and yang energies in this place were exceptionally powerful, making the Qiankun as sturdy as a defensive spiritual treasure, impossible to breach directly.

Did the Feng Clan lack the foundation of ninety thousand years of cultivation guidance?

He still possessed that level of knowledge and insight.

Upon realizing he was trapped in the array and that forcing his way out was futile, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird rampaged for several hours before quickly calming down.

Since he could not break out by force, he had to find the array's life gate...

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird smirked coldly, his eyes glowing with golden light, clearly mapping out the spiritual power flow paths of the array in his mind.

He found it—the life gate!

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird flashed forward and appeared before the life gate, but... he hesitated again.

Would the Water God set up such a simple array?

After a moment of silence, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird tentatively stepped forward. The surroundings changed instantly, and his body dropped several zhang, plunging him into another trapping array.

Multiple layered trapping arrays?

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird let out a breath of relief, feeling somewhat more at ease.

He continued to carefully probe each area, searching for the life gate while guarding against any hidden killing mechanisms.

Thus, he advanced with extreme caution, step by step, his gaze sharp as lightning, scanning everything alertly.

In the Lingxiao Hall, an immortal deity sighed, "To reduce such a master to this state, only the Water God could manage it."

Li Changshou smiled calmly and replied,

"It's merely due to his own flaws in temperament, not my doing.

Watch, everyone; when he sees me in the array later, he'll likely attack without a word."

The immortals in the hall grew interested and fixed their eyes on the large bronze mirror.

In the linked great array of the Fourth Heaven, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird had already found the second life gate. This time, he was a bit more decisive, observing for a moment before stepping in.

The scenery changed again, revealing yet another trapping array.

If not for the fact that each great array was slightly different, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird would have suspected he had entered some sophisticated looping formation.

But what followed was...

Trapping array after trapping array, life gate after life gate...

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird moved faster and faster, his brows furrowing deeper. After breaking through over twenty trapping arrays in succession, his figure suddenly halted.

He saw it—the old Daoist drinking tea under the crooked-neck tree, and the hanging wooden sign.

Lost?

"Hmph!"

Furious, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird manifested two shadowy golden wings behind him, unleashing dozens or even hundreds of golden feathers that riddled the old Daoist's form and the wooden sign with holes!

The old Daoist, now full of gaping wounds, calmly set down his teacup, shook his head slowly, and dissolved into mist.

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird snorted again and continued searching, only to realize this was still a trapping array. His mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Water God! What game are you playing?"

"Don't think a mere array like this can trap me!"

"You might confine my physical form, but you can't trap my spirit!"

Li Changshou paid no attention. After Jin Chi Dapeng Bird found the life gate and left, he condensed another faint incarnation under the crooked-neck tree and replaced the identical wooden sign.

Thus, two hours later...

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird returned to the same spot in the great array, seeing the old Daoist, the crooked-neck tree, and the "Lost?" wooden sign. He froze on the spot.

There were many subtle details here—for instance, Li Changshou's incarnation had the exact same expression and movements as before, without any difference.

"What exactly are you plotting?"

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird roared in anger, summoning a dark aura that shredded the person and tree into pieces.

Then, the bird cursed a couple of times and turned toward the array's life gate.

Once Jin Chi Dapeng Bird had left, Li Changshou's Dao rhyme reappeared, restoring the same crooked-neck tree, wooden sign, and old Daoist.

Seeing this, the immortals in the Lingxiao Hall were quite puzzled.

Mu Gong asked, "Water God, what is the purpose of this?"

"Mu Gong, please be patient," Li Changshou laughed. "Just keep watching.

This Jin Chi Dapeng was born with incredible speed; his loops will get faster and faster, so it won't take long.

The truth will reveal itself within a month."

Question marks appeared over the heads of the immortals, and even the white-robed Jade Emperor was thoroughly confused.

True to Li Changshou's words, this time it was only half an hour before Jin Chi Dapeng Bird returned to the crooked-neck tree for the third time.

Though his expression remained coldly fierce, his eyes now held a hint of hesitation. After destroying the crooked-neck tree, he hurried away.

The next loop took only a moment, and Jin Chi Dapeng Bird rushed to the crooked-neck tree...

Lost?

The wooden sign swayed gently, creaking incessantly.

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird's once-solid Dao heart began to waver slightly...

"I refuse to believe it!"

He destroyed the tree and flew off.

After Jin Chi Dapeng Bird left, Li Changshou reappeared, restoring the setup.

The fifth loop, the sixth loop...

The tenth loop, the eleventh loop... the eighteenth loop...

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird's speed in circling the linked arrays grew faster and faster. Later, upon encountering the crooked-neck tree, he simply phased through the misty incarnation and crashed into the next array's entrance.

On the nineteenth loop, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird paused.

By now, his eyes were bloodshot, his long hair disheveled, his breathing ragged, and his magical power scattered. Yet, for the first time, he stopped in front of Li Changshou.

Li Changshou smiled, maintaining his repeated actions, lifting his teacup for a sip, and said softly,

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird was stunned for a moment, stood there for a while, then showed a fierce expression and struck out with a palm, dispersing the scene into mist. He lowered his head and continued charging ahead.

"Just with this, you think you can disturb my Dao heart?"

Li Changshou remained unhurried, condensing the same setup once more and waiting quietly.

After seven more loops, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird stopped again, but this time at the 'previous node' before the crooked-neck tree.

"No, this is an illusion array; everything around is an illusion!"

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird looked at the crevice where the only life gate lay, stepped back two paces, his voice rising from a murmur to a roar...

"It's all fake; this is all fake!"

"This is an illusion; it's all delusion! Delusion! Only my true Dao exists! Only my true Dao exists!"

His figure turned into a burst of golden light, charging wildly through the great array, only to be blocked repeatedly by Taiji diagrams formed from yin and yang energies, leaving him battered, bloody, and his long hair in disarray!

In the Lingxiao Hall, the immortals actually...

Felt a touch of sympathy.

Li Changshou shook his head slightly and said, "This divine bird's mental cultivation is truly lacking. I thought he could endure eighty-one loops, but he couldn't even make it to thirty before his Dao heart began to collapse."

Mu Gong couldn't help but cover his face with one hand.

An immortal deity sighed, "Even as mere observers, we can feel a sense of helplessness."

"The Water God is truly masterful. A linked trapping array alone could only confine this divine bird, but each appearance of the Water God and every expression provides subtle hints, gradually breaking down his defenses."

"If it were us in there, we probably couldn't last thirty loops either."

"Now I see that thunder and heavenly fire are mere trifles, and the eighteen levels of hell still leave room for mercy."

Li Changshou smiled faintly and said nothing more. He glanced discreetly at the Jade Emperor's expression before turning his mind back to the trapping array.

At that moment, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird had passed through the life gate again, his eyes somewhat vacant as he looked at the crooked-neck tree and the old Daoist beneath it.

Li Changshou repeated the question, but Jin Chi Dapeng Bird showed a fierce expression and rushed past the crooked-neck tree, plunging into the array's life gate and entering the next 'cycle'.

At this point, Li Changshou began adding new elements.

At the core of the linked arrays, he deployed several paper Daoists to recite Daoist texts of moral guidance, filling the arrays with the sound of chanting.

Thus, three days later...

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird had lost count of how many loops he had made, how many times he had seen the words "Lost?", or how many incarnations of the Water God he had destroyed.

His mind was growing hazy; he stumbled to the rocky peak, feeling waves of emptiness in his body.

Like one possessed, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird unwittingly entered the rocky peak again, seeing the identical setup and hearing,

His legs went weak, and he knelt on the cloud path, looking up and murmuring, "What am I supposed to realize? Can you tell me what to realize? Water God, what exactly do you want me to realize?"

Li Changshou's face showed disappointment. He shook his head and said nothing more.

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird had lost his ferocity, but he stood up trembling, trying to strike out with a palm, only to feel it was pointless. He lowered his head and flew past to the side.

After ten more loops...

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird knelt before the crooked-neck tree, tears streaming from his eyes as he looked at Li Changshou.

"Master, what do you want me to realize? What exactly do you want me to realize? Please tell me—I'll realize whatever you say!"

Li Changshou shook his head again and said calmly, "When you truly understand what you need to realize, you will find the answer yourself.

Go on."

"Ah—"

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird cried out in despair, stamped his feet, and flashed away quickly, continuing the cycle.

After another ten loops, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird's heart trembled as a sudden realization struck him.

Lost?

This was the question he had encountered countless times, the one the Water God kept asking him.

By now, he had calmed down enough to think clearly, and all that needed thinking had been thought.

If the Water God wanted to kill him, there was no need for such elaborate effort. Reflecting on every conversation with the Water God, the other had said it was out of old friendships that he spared him...

It must be Kong Que—that ambiguous figure, neither brother nor sister!

The repetitive arrays, the repeated appearances of the Water God, the constant questioning of whether he had realized, and the gently swaying wooden sign...

"Jin Peng, are you lost?"

In that instant, his Dao heart echoed with that question.

Voices he had heard before now rang out one after another, pushing him back, all asking the same thing.

His vision turned pale, and faint scenes emerged, from near to far...

"Hmph, Kong Que, just wait—I can lead the Feng Clan to revival too!"

"Mortals are weak, and Daoists are frauds; I, Jin Chi Dapeng, will forge my own path."

"Kong Que, you go to the primordial chaos; those three drops of Feng Clan true blood are yours. I'm just a phoenix variant, not important."

"I, Jin Chi Dapeng, will be the fastest creature in the heavens and earth!"

Scene after scene, moment after moment.

Everything since entering the Three Realms, and even before...

The flattery he received was merely others using him; the praises were just poisons fed to him.

Who truly respected him?

As a son of the primordial phoenix, how could he not understand this? Yet, the flattery and praise were like toxins; he had gradually lost himself in the Western Teachings' calls of "fast one."

This elaborate setup here...

Was telling him that indulging in such vanities was merely stagnation, merely losing oneself.

The Water God's constant guidance...

Suddenly, a soft call reached his ears. Jin Chi Dapeng Bird snapped back to reality and found himself standing under the crooked-neck tree again, before the Water God and the "Lost?" wooden sign.

Thud!

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird knelt down, tears filling his eyes, his once-proud head bowing low to the cloud path.

"I was wrong...

I joined the Western Teachings out of momentary pride, just to prove I'm not inferior to Kong Que.

I've already lost my way; I don't know where to fly anymore.

I was born with speed, yet no one ever told me where to fly or what to do!"

Li Changshou: ...

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Jin Chi Dapeng Bird was pretending.

Better to play it safe and follow the plan.

Li Changshou sighed slowly and said,

"Realizing the error of one's path, returning with a reformed heart—all things ultimately good, as per the natural Dao.

Go another round, but this time without using your magical power.

Listen, observe, and think."

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird looked up at Li Changshou, his eyes full of confusion, and bowed again,

"Yes."

With that, he stood up unsteadily and walked into the next life gate.

Following Li Changshou's words, he slowed his pace this time, wandering through the familiar arrays. Soon, he noticed details he had missed before.

—Naturally, these were newly added by Li Changshou.

Such as a scroll painting, a stone tablet, and simple sketches carved on the rock walls.

Stories of the creation of the world, scenes from the dragon-phoenix war, and the conflicts among the witch, demon, and human clans...

Some scriptures, some ambiguous phrases, and soothing chants that calmed the Dao heart.

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird's gaze gradually cleared.

He realized the insignificance of living beings, the vastness of the heavens and earth, his own past as a mere clown, the grandeur of the Heavenly Dao, and the wisdom of the saints.

Speed had become a shackle; true transcendence wasn't just flying out into the chaotic sea. His existence in the world had its own purpose.

Half a month later, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird returned to the crooked-neck tree.

He smiled faintly.

Previously, his mind restless and clouded, rushing through the linked trapping arrays, even at top speed, he was just going in circles.

Now, with his malice gone, he had strolled back in half a month. Though he returned to the starting point, he saw a different world, a different heaven and earth—his heart had completely changed.

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird lifted the hem of his robe and knelt firmly before Li Changshou.

"Thank you, Teacher, for guiding me. I, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird, have committed several grave sins; please punish me as you see fit!

Yet, I still wish to serve the Feng Clan. Please spare my life, Teacher, until the Feng Clan’s bloodline flourishes again in the world, and I will face death willingly."

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, his figure dissolving into mist. But around him, an illusion appeared.

At the same time, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird sensed a familiar aura...

Kong Que...

The illusion showed a dense forest, with Kong Que's graceful silhouette emerging, and Li Changshou's voice echoing,

"Dao friend, rest assured; I will do my best.

But are you truly decided? Such a great sacrifice..."

"Yes," Kong Que glanced back slightly, revealing her mostly gentle profile. "He is still my brother."

"Dao friend, you endure the mortal world, guiding humans to restore some fortune for the Feng Clan, and now this... alas.

I, Li Changeng, will fulfill my promise to you with all my effort."

Kong Que smiled faintly, her expression a mix of resignation, hope, and longing, before transforming into the five-colored divine light and vanishing.

The surroundings filled with the songs of a hundred birds.

The great array slowly dissipated.

The blue sky was dotted with white clouds, and bright sunlight bathed the area...

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird knelt there, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

Before him, on where Li Changshou had sat, lay a shining golden bracelet.

The bracelet was etched with intricate Dao patterns, simple in design yet emanating an ancient and profound Dao rhyme.

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird showed a look of understanding, picked up the bracelet with both hands, and murmured,

"Teacher, I understand.

Once I wear this, I'll be bound to the Heavenly Court; my speed will serve only them from now on.

I'm a Feng Clan variant, like my sister, unable to pass on the bloodline, but I'm willing to continue the Feng Clan's fortune and serve the Heavenly Court, even in death a hundred times over."

With that, Jin Chi Dapeng Bird sighed softly, closed his eyes, and placed the bracelet on his head...

In the Lingxiao Hall, countless immortals stood up;

Filled with solemn respect, a few emotional old immortals were already in tears.

Mu Gong sighed, "Wearing the golden bracelet limits his speed; without it, he can't share his sister's burdens."

The Jade Emperor sighed even more, "To awaken in time is worthy of the Feng Clan's men. We must use him wisely."

In the bronze mirror, Li Changshou reappeared, walking to Jin Chi Dapeng Bird's side and handing him a scroll.

Heavenly Court Immortal Oath Template

"Teacher..."

"Yes," Li Changshou patted Jin Chi Dapeng Bird's shoulder three times. "Recite it."

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird smiled happily and nodded firmly, opening the template and reading aloud, invoking the power of the Heavenly Dao.

An hour later...

After reciting the text, golden light flashed around Jin Chi Dapeng Bird. He bowed deeply to Li Changshou again.

"Thank you, Teacher, for your guidance!"

But with a jingle, the bracelet on his head slipped off, leaving him stunned.

"Silly child," Li Changshou said warmly, "You are the fastest divine bird in the heavens and earth; what need is there for a headband?

This is something personally refined by Taishang Laojun... as an anklet."

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird paused, picked up the bracelet, and fitted it around his ankle. It slid on perfectly.

"Is it suitable?" Li Changshou asked gently.

Jin Chi Dapeng Bird's eyes welled with tears as he nodded, deeply moved. "Thank you, Teacher, for your care; it's just the right size."

Li Changshou responded softly, smiling as he gazed at the clouds in the distance.

He felt a slight twinge of guilt.

"Remember to thank your sister, but wait a few decades; she's in seclusion now."

"Yes, Teacher. Can I have one of those 'Lost?' wooden signs? I want to keep it with me as a reminder."

"Good."

In the Lingxiao Hall, the white-robed Jade Emperor couldn't help but smile and said gently, "I think this trapping array should be preserved as a form of heavenly punishment for moral guidance. What do you all think?"

Silence...

"Your Majesty... I believe it's unnecessary."

"Your Majesty, please reconsider; what crime deserves this!"

Li Changshou smiled calmly, already looking forward to the Immortal Alliance Conference in half a year, when Jin Chi Dapeng Bird, as the Heavenly Court's special envoy, would make his appearance... and what that scene might be like.