Dao Equaling the Heavens

"Shall I bring your clothes over, so you can live here permanently?"

Yu Hua looked down at everyone, her voice calm and cool, her face showing no emotion.

Jun Yan, Xiao Yunyi, and Hee Huan shared a tacit understanding, communicating quietly about trivial matters, as if each one had something urgent to tend to.

"Isn't it true that after years apart, when finally reunited, we should catch up to prevent our feelings from fading?"

Gu Wen stood up and approached, wanting to embrace her, but was immediately stopped by Yu Hua who raised her hand to keep him a step away, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, showing a hint of disdain.

When outsiders are present, Yu Hua steadfastly avoids any intimate gestures.

She said, "Then I won't disturb you any further."

With that, her white robe fluttered, dispersing the spiritual fog on the ground.

Yu Hua left the Immortal Mansion, riding clouds and mist into the distance.

The crowd inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, then exchanged glances and broke into mysterious laughter.

As they recalled their youthful days.

Jun Yan remarked, "The Heavenly Girl is as oppressive as ever. I wonder how you manage to live day-to-day? Facing such a Daoist Couple inevitably brings a mountain of pressure."

Compared to her, Chi Yu Zi appeared endearing and charming.

Gu Wen couldn't help but defend Yu Hua, saying, "She's just too shy."

Privately, he felt that Yu Hua was even more clingy than Chi Yu Zi, especially when they were alone.

The others were skeptical, unable to associate Yu Hua with "shy" no matter how they thought about it.

It's said that a wrong name is not as bad as a nickname miscalled.

In the eyes of outsiders, Yu Hua is an untouchable Heavenly Girl, and peers don't even dare to compare themselves to her. As she is equivalent to the Qingcang Immortal, who has never tasted defeat to this day.

Gu Wen didn't explain, nor could he explain.

That night, Gu Wen didn't feel right staying longer, so he bid farewell.

——————————

In the Little Heaven and Earth, there are seventy-two Spiritual Mountains, and the smallest, most secluded Spiritual Mountain is named Ninghan Peak.

It is also where the Gu family resides.

Originally, everyone suggested Gu Wen live on the central Jade Emperor Peak, as anyone else living there would fail to impress the crowd and could cause disputes.

But with just a few family members, their daily cultivation needs are met, and there's no need to occupy large spiritual mountain blessed lands. Gu Wen, Yu Hua, and Chi Yu Zi all prefer quiet and solitude, thus insisting on finding a secluded and peaceful place.

The Immortal Mansion looks unremarkable, its interior decoration plain, without much glamour and gem-like aura.

The Jade Sword Buddha sat serenely within, eyes closed, nourishing the mind, feeling somewhat melancholic. As Gu Wen entered, she didn't even open her eyes, emitting a slightly discontented cold hum.

But it seemed she had been calmed.

Since, with the temperament of this little nun, if she wanted to go back, she wouldn't be sitting here.

"Such matters are best left to Yu Hua,"

Gu Wen mused internally, feeling that with a wise wife at home, he didn't need to worry about many things.

Yu Hua's voice echoed from the kitchen.

"Chi Yu Zi is not here, make it a bit less."

Gu Wen gave a reminder and then found a place to sit down. Just as he settled, the little nun beside him let out another cold hum.

She opened her eyes, and in her glazed gaze, there was a clear displeasure, devoid of any high monk demeanor.

Gu Wen ignored it, making the Jade Sword Buddha even more upset.

"Lunch will take a while, please wait a bit longer."

He found a chair and sat down; the Gu family had no lengthy rituals. The table, a simple square, could only accommodate four people.

The little nun coldly hummed again.

Gu Wen feigned deafness, as he was not good at coaxing women, especially one with a broken Dao Heart and a lost Buddha Heart.

Yu Hua served three dishes and a soup on the table, saying, "Eat. Now that you've left monastic life, I suppose you don't avoid certain foods?"

Left monastic life?

Gu Wen looked at the Jade Sword Buddha with some surprise and curiosity about what they had discussed during these months.

The Jade Sword Buddha nodded slightly, picked up a piece of meat and put it into her mouth.

In fact, it wasn't her first time eating meat; she had often been bullied by Gu Wen before, forced to consume meat dishes.

To say the forbidden words against the Buddha Ancestor, actually, the Jade Sword Buddha didn't dislike eating meat; instead, she found it quite delicious. Every time she recalled it, she would mentally recite Gu Wen's refrain, "Wine and meat pass through the intestines, Buddha ancestor remains in the heart."

As for the Buddhist Sect's commandments, they are inherently ineffective.

Moreover, she was not following the path of the Incense Fire God, focusing her cultivation on herself, without causing problems.

But tasting now, the sense of forbidden taboo was absent.

The Jade Sword Buddha unconsciously glanced at Gu Wen.

"Must you exchange glances while eating?"

Yu Hua asked softly, and the Jade Sword Buddha immediately withdrew her gaze, lowering her head to eat quietly.

They ate in silence, lacking the usual light-heartedness.

Perhaps because Chi Yu Zi was not there.

After clearing the table, Yu Hua spoke to Gu Wen, "From now on she'll be living with us; you have no objections, right?"

More of a notification than a consultation.

Gu Wen helplessly replied, "Whatever you say."

He spoke again with the Jade Sword Buddha three months later, and they didn't exchange anything special, merely some casual conversation.

When asked why she left monastic life, the Jade Sword Buddha responded, "It's to better understand suffering, so I can save those in distress."

"Doesn't it exhaust you people to live like this?" Gu Wen shook his head, "You haven't even sorted your own life, yet you plan to save others."

The Jade Sword Buddha replied, "With you here, there's no need to think about it; in this realm, no one needs saving."

Three years later, Chi Yu Zi successfully refined Chi Ling for personal use, with the hope of becoming an Immortal, free from mortal danger.

Gu Wen held a banquet, inviting friends and family to gather at the gates.

Few came, but those who did were great powers in cultivation; among them were Immortals such as Li Yunshang, the Fox Fairy, and the City Lord of Two Realms City. Others, like Xiao Yunyi, had at least Mahayana cultivation.

Without such cultivation, it would be difficult to live to this age.

"Though not transcendence, refining the Immortal essence isn't much different from becoming an Immortal. From now on, endless longevity awaits, allowing one to remain alongside disciples."

Li Yunshang held Chi Yu Zi in her arms, then raised her high, causing Chi Yu Zi's face to flush red.

She wished to rebel, but was powerless.

Chi Yu Zi looked at Gu Wen with hopeful, pleading eyes.

Gu Wen shrugged helplessly.

-----------------

Time flowed like a stream, and Gu Wen had become a Saint, yet lived like a mortal, enjoying life's sparse simplicity.

On Spiritual Mountain, he calmly observed the world.

Society constantly evolved, civilization continually progressed, etiquette and law constantly improved.

Ritual and shame became qualities one needed to possess.

Objects named Spirit Root emerged, making cultivation no longer determined by innate attributes.

Guided by the Universal Unity development direction, the Little Heaven and Earth went through cycles of prosperity and anti-corruption, inevitably scrutinized continually.

The population in Little Heaven and Earth also grew daily. Despite family planning, when time extended over millennia, planning couldn't control it.

Among a million people, if a few thousand have excess births, then those extra thousands would, within a century, grow into tens of thousands.

Thus, repeating over thousands of years, Little Heaven and Earth's population reached five hundred million, and human dwellings spanned across visible mountains and marshlands.

As summer turned to autumn, fallen leaves carried messages.

Gu Wen rested his head on Yu Hua's lap, eyes closed, nourishing the mind, while she played with his hair, sometimes wrapping it around her fingers, sometimes caressing his face, quietly watching him, sensing his breath.

Yu Hua said, "Now there's no mortals in the Little Heaven and Earth, fifty million true cultivators, they intend to break free of our control."

Gu Wen opened his eyes, lazily twisting his body, casually asked, "What do they want to do?"

"Raise arms, battle the outside world, liberate those beyond the heavens, and all beings, achieving ultimate Universal Unity."

Yu Hua, with some concern, questioned, "Will you not stop them?"

"The children have grown; you can't hold them back."

Gu Wen shook his head, yawning, then slowly closed his eyes again.

"Let them be."