Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

A few days later, a worried Zhang Daniu led the others back into the mountains, searching for any trace of Li Chang’an amidst the ashes that now blanketed the slopes.

It was then that they were stunned to discover that the giant rock, which had always stood by the cliff, was gone…

No, that wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t completely gone.

It just looked vastly different from before.

——After being scorched by the fierce flames, the once rough, giant rock had completely transformed into a sparkling, solid Jade Stone. Though its volume had shrunk, it somehow looked even more substantial.

On closer inspection, its jade-like surface appeared to be covered in dense scales, and its interior seemed to have even grown blood vessels and organs.

As a rock, for Li Chang’an to gain life, he had to achieve his Transformed Form.

According to his original, predetermined destiny, his Transformed Form was meant to be an azure ox.

However, Li Chang’an was clearly not satisfied with the prospect of ending up as an ox.

’It was far too undignified.’

Thus, after long deliberation, Li Chang’an decided to go all in and began shaping his body in the image of a legendary dragon.

The farmers who came up the mountain gazed at Li Chang’an’s body, finding it wondrous and strange.

After all, the last time they’d seen him, Li Chang’an had been nothing more than an inconspicuous rock. Who would have thought that a great fire could transform him into his current state?

Still, the fact that their Guardian God, Li Chang’an, was unharmed was certainly good news. The villagers gathered around him and held another grand sacrificial ceremony.

Once the ritual was complete, they began to descend the mountain in twos and threes.

…

Li Chang’an was in high spirits as he watched their departing figures.

He focused again, carefully sensing the changes within his body.

He was now completely transformed from the being he had been at his birth.

First, in terms of hardness and Divinity, his current body, which resembled a Jade Stone carving, could clearly store several times more than his previous stone form.

Second, the scales and organs on his surface were no mere decoration. As long as Li Chang’an continued to refine them, he would evolve into a special life form rarely seen in this world.

The gamble had been risky, but the rewards were more than satisfying.

After this, thanks to his body’s transformation, Li Chang’an’s local renown grew even greater. It wasn’t just the hunters who saw him as their Guardian God; even ordinary villagers would now occasionally come up the mountain to worship and make offerings.

Of course, the most diligent in their worship were still Zhang Daniu and his family.

「Another ten years passed in a flash.」

Li Chang’an was now fifty. He felt he was gradually growing accustomed to a rock’s existence. By simply stretching his thoughts out, casting them far and wide, he could endure the long, tedious passage of time.

One day, Li Chang’an was performing his usual routine: facing the morning sun, breathing in the clouds and mist.

Zhang Daniu ascended the mountain, supported by his two sons.

Zhang Daniu was, in fact, only forty years old, but he already appeared ancient and frail. In an era with such primitive means of production, the lives of common people were often brutally short.

Reaching thirty was considered a full life.

To live to forty was considered a blessing from Heaven.

Zhang Daniu had a Horn Bow slung across his back, and by the time he reached the foot of Li Chang’an’s form, he was already gasping for breath. He stopped before Li Chang’an, knelt reverently, and bowed twice.

He then took the Horn Bow from his back, handed it to one of his sons, and said, “Zhang Chuan, Zhang Wu, this will likely be the last time I hunt in the mountains with you. This Horn Bow was passed down to me by your grandfather, and now I pass it to you. From now on, you must rely on it to provide for your families…”

He spoke very slowly, pausing for a long time between each sentence, as if every word was a struggle. “Remember, no matter what, as long as you are alive and have food to eat, you must come to the mountain and worship the Mountain God. The Mountain God saved my life twenty years ago, which is the same as saving our entire Zhang Family. He is your savior, and the savior of your children and your children’s children… Do you understand?”

Zhang Chuan and Zhang Wu had grown from boys into two strong, capable men. But hearing their father’s final instructions, they couldn’t stop their eyes from turning red.

After saying this, Zhang Daniu turned his gaze back to Li Chang’an. “O, great Mountain God,” he pleaded, “for the sake of our devout faith, I ask you to protect my two children!”

Li Chang’an did not respond.

But Zhang Daniu was not disappointed. After so many years of worship, he had come to understand the temperament of the Mountain God he revered.

He knew that as long as it was within the god’s power to help, he would not stand idly by.

With that, Zhang Daniu did not linger. He had his sons help him up, and together they headed deeper into the mountain range.

Watching his retreating back, Li Chang’an felt as if in a trance. He saw again the vigorous young man from twenty years ago, whose stride was as swift as the wind.

He saw the man with the Horn Bow on his back, holding his catch, his face beaming with excitement as he knelt in worship, recounting all he had seen, heard, and harvested in the mountains.

He seemed to see again the image of a younger Zhang Daniu supporting his own father into these same mountains, his father’s steps just as faltering, his face just as full of reluctance, looking back with every step.

’This feels like reincarnation.’

The hunters lived their entire lives by the hunt. When their time came, they would use their last breath to climb the mountain and be buried there, becoming nutrients for the mountains and its creatures.

Three days later, the two brothers, Zhang Chuan and Zhang Wu, emerged.