“Great fullness seems empty, yet its use is inexhaustible. Great perfection seems flawed, yet its use is endless.” Laozi looked at the words spoken by the Dragon Master, a smile gracing his face.
“To be profoundly one with the Dao, to blend with its light and dust.”
“Only by shedding human desires and forgetting emotions, by becoming one with the universe, all things, and the laws of the Heavenly Dao, can one achieve true immortality.”
“The only thing in the world that can be called immortal is the Dao.”
Although he still held different views on some points, the Dragon Master’s overall message largely coincided with his own.
“Perfect immortality will inevitably lead to spiritual decay. the Vidyadhara can endure for myriad generations precisely by relying on the method of shedding scales and transforming into eggs, thereby achieving self-sufficient reincarnation…”
“Such a profound method truly aligns with the Great Dao, complete and flawless.”
Laozi watched with curiosity as the elderly Vidyadhara in the image leaped into the sea, their forms gradually dissipating and transforming into pearl-like eggs.
This perfectly aligned with the concepts he advocated.
However, he still wasn't very optimistic about the future of the Vidyadhara. As the Dragon Master in the heaven's curtain had just said,
the Dragon Lords also possessed mortal hearts. The Imbibitor Lunae seemed to have been affected by some external force, leading to the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion, and was forcibly regressed and expelled from the Xianzhou.
This implied that the so-called Dragon Race was far from having eliminated the stubbornness of human hearts, nor could they eliminate the boundaries of individual distinction.
Ultimately, they were constrained by different worldly concepts and could not be called ‘one with the Dao.’
If so, how could they be called 【Immortal】?
“I wonder what kind of demeanor the Lord of Myriad Dragons, who roams the primordial chaos, possesses.”
Meanwhile, Confucius, who was beside him, seemed indifferent to the method of longevity. He was more interested in the character introductions that appeared alongside the five Dragon Lords.
More precisely, he was interested in the knowledge contained within them.
“At the Xiongli Earth Mound, the Yinglong resided at the South Pole, slaying Chiyou and Kuafu, and could not ascend again. Therefore, there were frequent droughts, and when drought occurred, people would make images of the Yinglong to bring heavy rain.”
Confucius’s eyes revealed an extremely strong thirst for knowledge.
“This Heavenly Wind Lord, with wings on her back, holds the legacy of the Yinglong. Could the ‘South Pole’ mentioned in the records be the location revealed in the heaven's curtain?!”
“The Fiery Court Lord, a Qiu Dragon. The Huyan Lord, a Flood Dragon. The Kunlun Lord, an Earth Dragon.”
“If one learns the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening without regret. If only I could explore the knowledge revealed in the heaven's curtain….”
Beside the two great sages, Confucius’s other disciples had already begun to discuss.
They attempted to debate the Dao conveyed in the heaven's curtain.
On the other side, Zhuangzi, who was fishing, also made comments very similar to Laozi’s.
“So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is. I had underestimated these immortal dragons.”
Zhuang Zhou sat up, grabbing the fishing rod that was shaking uncontrollably, dragged by a fish.
He slowly reeled in the line, following the direction the fish was swimming.
“The immortality spoken of by this Dragon Master surprisingly aligns with the ideas of that ancient sage, Laozi.”
“The Dao should be a cyclical process, with each Death being the beginning of new life. Only by fully experiencing birth, growth, aging, and Death can one be said to be close to the Dao.”
With a splash, a large fish leaped out of the water, flopping on the ground.
“Without experiencing Death, how can one understand life? If there were no concept of Death, where would the concept of life come from?”
“Without perishing, how can there be immortality?”
Zhuang Zhou shook his head, carrying the large fish towards his home, completely disregarding the mud on himself.
“I think, perhaps, these so-called immortal dragons will one day willingly embrace their own demise, integrating themselves into the Dao through self-annihilation.”
“A cyclical process, self-sufficient reincarnation. One dragon perishes, and all things are born. Immortality, oh immortality….”
It must be said that Laozi and Zhuangzi were indeed renowned Taoist and philosophers throughout history.
Although separated by about two hundred years, they, through their words, deduced everything done by this Immortal Aeon.
If Laozi and Zhuangzi had known the subsequent plot, and learned that the dragon, as an Immortal Aeon, had one day mysteriously perished (disappeared),
they would probably clap their hands and laugh, praising it endlessly.
Perhaps the demise of the Dragon Ancestor was precisely because it understood the true meaning of immortality and thus actively perished, like the Vidyadhara, undergoing self-reincarnation.
Only by conforming to the Dao, integrating into the Dao, and becoming the Dao can one achieve true immortality.
After all, the plot repeatedly mentioned the Immortal disappearing, rather than explicitly calling it 【Death】.
(I believe that concepts need to be contrasted with each other to be highlighted. Just like life and Death, if there were no Death in the world, where would the concept of life come from?)
If these two were in the world of Honkai: Star Rail, they would probably instantly attract the attention of certain Aeons.
In Daming, during the Hongwu era.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the beggar emperor, was discussing the scenes shown in the heaven's curtain with several court ministers.
“Bowen, you are most knowledgeable about these things. Let me ask you, have you ever heard of the five Dragon Lords mentioned in the heaven's curtain?”
Zhu Yuanzhang, with his face turned, sat on the dragon throne, looking at the ceiling of the main hall.
This heaven's curtain could be seen directly, even through buildings.
“Your Majesty, the books your servant has read do not record the names of these immortals.”
Liu Bowen quickly bowed and replied.
It was evident that he greatly feared Zhu Yuanzhang.
“I do know the words ‘Vidyadhara.’ When I was a monk, I occasionally heard the masters in the temple mention it.”
“Vidyadhara is the translated meaning of the Sanskrit word ‘Dharani,’ also known as mantras or true words. There is even a Bodhisattva in the scriptures called the Immortal Vidyadhara Immortal.”
“Could this Vidyadhara be from a different world, as spoken of by the Buddhists?”
Zhu Yuanzhang held a jade ruyi scepter, tapping it against his palm.
In fact, at first, when Zhu Yuanzhang saw the heaven's curtain appear, speaking of immortality and longevity,
he also held the mentality of seeking blessings from the Dragon God.
However, as the images gradually played, he realized that the beings in the heaven's curtain probably weren't in this world at all.
So he regretfully gave up.
Ultimately, he had also come from being a monk. After years of fighting, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer believed in gods or ghosts.
In his view, Buddhism and Taoism were merely tools for governing the people.
Qin Dynasty
Ying Zheng had just finished the sacrifice and returned to the palace with his officials.
Upon seeing the names and introductions of the five Dragon Lords appear, he became even more convinced of the truth of what the heaven's curtain was showing.
This was consistent with the legends recorded in some royal treasured books he had seen.
“Yinglong, Qiu Dragon… these are all names recorded in legends.”
“The Kunlun Lord suppresses the self-growing soil used by Yu the Great to control the floods?!”
“Could it be that during the time of Yao and Shun, the Dragon Lords still walked on the earth and interacted with the ancient sages?!”
(The above are merely personal opinions and do not represent game settings. If there are different opinions, welcome to discuss them, but please do not use abusive language.)