Chapter 229 — The Fifth Epoch

Little Jade Capital, in the heavens above.

The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping and his wife had been here more than ten days now; this city in the sky was like an immortal realm, holding sights the mortal world seldom saw. "Has the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping been lodging comfortably these past days? " An old man in a white robe came over and asked with a smile.

The Imperial Preceptor said gravely, "Little Jade Capital is worthy of its name. The air of this place is surpassing fine; it makes a man linger and forget to go home.

Yet good as it is, it lies far from the mortal world, and my ambitions are not here. In the end I must still leave. I ask Qingyou the Mountain Hermit to forgive me. " The old man, Qingyou, laughed.

"There is no hurry, Imperial Preceptor. This mountain hermit invited you here as a guest, and has not yet told you of Little Jade Capital's origins. " Curiosity stirred in the Imperial Preceptor.

"Pray tell.

" Qingyou led the way himself, bringing the Imperial Preceptor and his wife onto a rainbow bridge. The bridge was carved from jade of seven colors and spanned the empty sky, so that standing on it was like standing atop a rainbow. At the middle of the bridge the scenery of Little Jade Capital looked different again from what they had seen below: the mountains suspended in the heavens were arrayed like a natural formation, and the palaces upon those mountains seemed the dwelling places of immortals. "Little Jade Capital's origins are older than the Imperial Preceptor imagines. " Qingyou smiled. "The history of this place can be traced back to the Kaihuang Era. " "Kaihuang?

" The Imperial Preceptor had truly never heard of Kaihuang.

"Which kingdom was the Kaihuang Era?

No emperor of Jingping was ever called Kaihuang.

" "Kaihuang is not Jingping. Kaihuang was a land, and it was called the Kingdom of Kaihuang. " Qingyou said, "The Imperial Preceptor must know the Kingdom of Kaihuang.

It is what is now called the Wasteland Ruins.

" The Imperial Preceptor's frame trembled slightly, and he breathed out a mouthful of turbid air. "The Wasteland Ruins.

" Qingyou led the couple across the rainbow bridge, toward an immortal mountain that floated in midair, speaking unhurriedly.

"Kaihuang is the Daoist term; the Buddhist schools call it the Era of Emptiness. The Buddhists say that all things form, abide, decay, and empty; the Era of Emptiness is the fourth age, and we Daoists call it the Kaihuang Era. And now that Jingping has risen, here in Little Jade Capital we call it the Jingping Era. In Kaihuang's day the Wasteland Ruins flourished and prospered in great abundance. That great calamity which destroyed Kaihuang, we of Little Jade Capital call the Kaihuang Cataclysm; and before the Kaihuang Cataclysm there were three further cataclysms. " The Imperial Preceptor's wife's eyes flickered. "Elder, you speak of the kingdom of Jingping and say you call it the Jingping Era. Then if Jingping should fall, will you call it the Jingping Cataclysm? " "The lady is quick-witted.

" Qingyou smiled and pointed into the distance, where a jade mountain drifted in midair and several Daoists were raising a palace. "That palace is meant to hold the history of the Jingping Era. When Jingping falls, the whole course of the Jingping Cataclysm can be set in order and left for later generations to consult.

" The Imperial Preceptor's wife could not hold back.

"Elder, what place is Little Jade Capital, exactly? Is it good or is it evil? What do you intend toward the two of us? We have been here some while now, and all this time you have let us wander and look about. Now you should speak Little Jade Capital's true mind.

" "We of Little Jade Capital have no mind in it. We wish only to observe the Imperial Preceptor, to observe the reforms, and to record what we judge useful, and leave it for those who come after. " Qingyou smiled. "We style ourselves immortals; we are not gods, and we have no wish to meddle in the running of worldly affairs. " The Imperial Preceptor said, "Immortal and god, how are they told apart?

" Qingyou said, "An immortal is a man. A god is not. " The Imperial Preceptor fell to thinking.

"You mean that a man cannot become a god, only an immortal? " Qingyou smiled.

"The Imperial Preceptor has cultivated to the Divine Bridge realm.

Standing upon the divine bridge, what did you see?

" The Imperial Preceptor said nothing. The Divine Bridge realm was the Wall-Breaking Divine Bridge Divine Treasury, the seventh realm of cultivation, and the highest.

"The Divine Bridge Divine Treasury: that divine bridge is the bridge to the realm of the gods. But every man's divine bridge is broken, and does not reach the far shore.

The Imperial Preceptor should be no exception? " Qingyou said, "Nor are the immortals of Little Jade Capital.

We have looked into the divine treasuries of more men than we can count, and the divine bridges are all broken. Standing upon a broken bridge, one cannot reach the far shore, and so cannot become a god. In truth, in cultivation we are already fit to stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods; it is the realm itself that has been cut off.

" The Imperial Preceptor nodded. "Many years ago I discovered this matter, and it troubled me sorely. I searched out many ancient texts, but found no way to mend it. Does Little Jade Capital have records of re-joining a broken bridge? " "We do. " Qingyou led them up to the palace upon the jade mountain.

"But Little Jade Capital cannot do it either. Because we cannot become gods, we turned our thoughts to becoming immortals, and that is why old relics such as we dwell in Little Jade Capital. We call ourselves immortals, yet when our allotted span runs out, our souls still return to the Yellow Springs; death is not to be escaped. All we seek is a little peace and quiet.

Imperial Preceptor, Lady, this way, if you please.

" The couple followed him into the palace upon the mountain. Jade halls and jeweled towers they were; for all their immortal airiness, they were cold and still, with never a person to be seen. Such a cold, still place was Little Jade Capital. Qingyou led them down long corridors and through round gateways, into the depths of the palace. "Yet in Kaihuang's time there was in truth a company of people who joined their broken divine bridges. They built a god-dynasty at its blazing height; afterwards that dynasty was utterly destroyed and ceased to be. The ruins of that dynasty are what is now the Wasteland Ruins.

" The Imperial Preceptor was stirred. "People joined the divine bridge? So they could become gods?

" Qingyou nodded and smiled faintly.

"But such people are few now. They are called the Forsaken of the Gods. " The Imperial Preceptor was taken aback. "You mean those forsaken folk in the Wasteland Ruins? " "No.

Of the forsaken in the Wasteland Ruins, scarcely any possess a whole Divine Bridge Divine Treasury. The immortals of Little Jade Capital have gone to inspect them.

" Qingyou pushed open a doorway and brought them inside. "Jingping once received a divine oracle, did it not?

That the forsaken of the Wasteland Ruins were strictly forbidden to leave.

In truth, what the oracle bids you guard against is not the forsaken folk in the Wasteland Ruins, but the remnant people who dwell there, in Carefree Township. Their divine bridges are whole.