Chapter 33 Gongkong IV

　　—Temptation is a forest of proliferating desires; once one falls into it, no one fails to lose the way.

　　After learning of his origins Gongkong began to practice martial arts with great effort.

　　Everything had been caused by the Green Clan celestial gods; he would kill the Green Clan celestial gods and avenge his parents, Little Kui, Little Tian, and the tens of thousands of humans who had died at the hands of the Green Clan.

　　Yet no matter how hard he trained he still could not defeat Gong Kang. No matter how he studied archery he still could not shoot better than Gong Yi.

　　He was deeply disappointed in himself. “What kind of halfgod am I? With my ability, do I still think of revenge?” Every day he spent in selfreproach.

　　Finally, one night of torrential rain, his suppressed emotions erupted. He slipped secretly out of the city, took a sword, and hacked wildly at a tree, venting his dissatisfaction with himself until the blade was notched beyond use and he collapsed upon the ground, utterly exhausted.

　　He pounded the earth with both hands in heartrending grief, then raised his head, clenched his fists, and roared at the night sky; rain and tears blurred his eyes.

　　At that moment he suddenly heard a roar behind him. He rose hastily and looked back; in the pouring rain of the night a pair of eyes glowing green stared fixedly at him.

　　His cry had attracted a wild beast. The animal confronted him for several seconds, then suddenly sprang.

　　He hurriedly dodged to one side; the rainsoaked ground was slippery and he staggered and fell. His hand groped wildly upon the ground and happened to find the notched sword with which he had been hacking the tree.

　　He rose, holding the broken sword, and waved it wildly, trying to frighten the beast away.

　　Yet the beast was truly starving and would not abandon this rare prey; it sprang at Gongkong once more.

　　Gongkong gripped the hilt with both hands and struck with all his strength at the beast’s head. Unexpectedly the animal’s copper head and iron bones were unharmed; instead the sword in his hand was jarred from his grasp.

　　The beast’s claws were already before Gongkong’s face. He ducked sharply and sat down hard upon the ground. Fortunately he avoided the claws, yet the yellow headcloth wrapped about his head was swept away.

　　In the pouring rain of the deep night, emptyhanded and alone in the forest, facing a starving fierce beast, Gongkong already knew he was in mortal danger with no one to save him. He therefore ceased to panic, sat crosslegged upon the ground, fixed his gaze upon the beast’s eyes, and awaited the arrival of death.

　　The beast was first startled, unable to understand what the human before it intended. When it again fixed its eyes upon the seated human and prepared for the final spring, it suddenly saw a beam of light shoot furiously from the vertical eye upon the human’s forehead.

　　It was a soulcapturing yellow radiance. From the moment the beast’s eyes were struck by that yellow light its consciousness began to grow hazy; its ferocity was gradually worn away until at last it became as gentle as a kitten and, with a soft mew, walked away.

　　This was the first time Gongkong had used his third eye, and the first time he knew that the eye was so powerful.

　　Thereafter, whenever he was alone, Gongkong would often lift the yellow headcloth that covered the third eye and practice the eye’s abilities.

　　He discovered that the moment the third eye opened he seemed to become a different person; his entire body was filled with energy, and his strength, speed, and the powers of sight, hearing, and smell increased many times over.

　　The eye seemed able to pierce the clouds and behold the brilliant universe of stars; the sound of an ant climbing a distant tree was like the beating of a drum; the fragrance of meat cooking in a certain household of the outer city could be smelled even from the inner city.

　　The eye also seemed to possess the ability to control the will of any living creature; at times his spiritual body could accidentally leave his physical form and attach itself to another living being.

　　As the power of the third eye continually increased, his entire vital spirit underwent a marked change. He secretly told Gongdian of his abilities; Gongdian therefore entrusted him with the management of the clan’s intelligence system—the scout unit.

　　Gongkong’s thoughts, like cotton floating in the air, finally drifted back to the ground. He opened the celestial eye and stared fixedly at the old woman.

　　He could sense that while he had been recalling the past in his mind the audience had included not only himself but also the old woman; she seemed able to enter his consciousness at will.

　　The old woman nodded toward him: “Child, you have suffered.”

　　Although the old woman still sat there, Gongkong felt that she had come before him and was gently stroking his head with her hand.

　　After opening the third eye he this time saw clearly: floating in the air was the spiritual body of the old woman. Her spiritual body could freely leave and return to the physical form at any time.

　　He finally understood that the earlier snapping of the ropes that bound his hands and the removal of the yellow headcloth wrapped about his head had both been the work of this old woman’s spiritual body after it had left her physical form.

　　“Old Granny, for what matter have you summoned me this time?” After learning the history of the Tianyou Clan, Gongkong’s tone had softened considerably.

　　“Young Lord, after many years of cultivation this old one and the people of the Tianyou Clan, though still in human form, have acquired certain abilities possessed only by the celestial gods.

　　“In the War of the Gods, although we did not obtain the Yellow Clan celestial gods’ permission to join the fighting openly, we secretly dispatched many masters to the various tribes; some of them joined the forces of the Gongyou Clan and served the clan.”

　　The old woman coughed several times and continued: “You must not blame Yao Gang for not telling you the truth. Yao Gang was originally a member of our Tianyou Clan; because of his outstanding performance in the War of the Gods he gained the trust of Great Chieftain Gongdian.

　　“After the War of the Gods I conferred with Gongdian and decided that a maidservant of the Gongyou Clan and Yao Gang of our Tianyou Clan would together accompany and protect the Young Lord so that he might grow up safely.”

　　“Old Granny, on the road just now, when I attached myself to an eagle, another eagle flew over my head—that must have been you attached to that eagle.”

　　“Correct—it was this old one. Do you know why the Yellow Clan celestial god of that year placed the Young Lord to grow up in the Gongyou Clan rather than in our Tianyou Clan?”

　　“Old Granny, I wish to hear the details.”

　　“During the War of the Gods, Xuanjizi and I secretly paid homage to the Yellow Clan celestial god and proposed to bring the Young Lord, then still in swaddling clothes, to our Tianyou Clan so that we might protect him as he grew.

　　“After all, compared with the Gongyou Clan our Tianyou Clan is less conspicuous, and all our people are cultivated humans; masters of strange arts are numerous and could better protect the Young Lord as he grew.

　　“Yet the celestial god said: ‘A still more arduous task is assigned to you of the Tianyou Clan. There is an object that must be entrusted to you; you must keep it safely. This object is of the utmost importance; it concerns the safety and the very survival of the entire continent of Mu and must absolutely not fall into the hands of the Green Clan.’ Therefore in the end it was Gongdian and his people who protected you as you grew.

　　“According to the celestial god, the War of the Gods itself arose because of this object. If both the Young Lord and the object were in our Tianyou Clan, that would on the contrary bring danger to the Young Lord.”

　　“Old Granny, what object is so important?”

　　“It is a small rectangular stone casket. When the celestial god handed it to me he instructed me never to open the casket and never to look at what is inside, otherwise I would certainly suffer backlash and divine punishment.

　　“The celestial god once placed a spell upon the casket so that even the use of spiritual power cannot reveal what is inside. Therefore for many years this old one has not known what it contains. Now that the Young Lord has grown to adulthood it is time to return this stone casket to you.”

　　Gongkong saw the old woman turn a mechanism upon the teacup on the table; a small opening appeared in the cave wall. Then her spiritual body once more left the physical form, went to the rock wall, took a rectangular stone casket from the small opening, and placed the casket in Gongkong’s hands.

　　“In the War of the Gods of that year the Yellow Clan celestial god forbade our Tianyou Clan to join the fighting so that we might protect this stone casket and not attract the attention of the Green Clan.

　　“Our Misty Mountains are shrouded in mist the year round, and the Yellow Clan celestial god further placed a spell upon the casket; therefore even if the Green Clan use spiritual power for remote viewing they cannot see what is inside the casket.

　　“In those days our Tianyou Clan was the most ideal place to preserve this object. For the sake of this object the Yellow Clan celestial god truly expended every thought and showed the utmost solicitude.”

　　Gongkong looked at the object in his hands: “Old Granny, the responsibility of this object is so heavy; it had better remain with the Tianyou Clan. I fear I lack the ability to protect it.”

　　“In those days Xuanjizi and I went together to pay homage to the Yellow Clan celestial god; he personally placed this stone casket in my hands and instructed me that when the Young Lord came of age I must return it to him with my own hands.

　　“Now that the Young Lord has reached adulthood, Xuanjizi and I have discussed the matter and must fulfill the promise; that is why we invited the Young Lord up the mountain.

　　“Young Lord, you possess a third eye and are born with the various abilities of the celestial gods; your potential is limitless. It is only that at present you still do not know how to use it.

　　“Ah! We humans cannot compare with you; we require continuous later cultivation merely to obtain a little progress, and even if we can reach onetenth of a celestial god’s power it is already extraordinary.” At this the old woman revealed a complex expression of both envy and regret.

　　The stone casket was very light; what exactly did it contain? Gongkong felt curious and asked: “Old Granny, may I look at what is inside?”

　　“The time is not yet ripe. The celestial god once told me that only at a moment of lifethreatening crisis may the Young Lord open the casket; in ordinary times it must never be opened, otherwise danger will follow.

　　“For convenience of carrying I had Xuanjizi make a leather sheath; the Young Lord may place it in the sheath and carry it upon the back.”

　　“Old Granny, have you ever seen the Green Clan of Evil Gods? I wish to avenge my father.”

　　“Young Lord, the time is not yet ripe. The Green Clan of Evil Gods are vastly powerful and are protected by the halfdivine EagleGod Clan and the Giant Clan. Even if our Tianyou Clan and you are added, we would still be no match for them.”

　　Though the old woman’s eyes were blind, her heart was as clear as a mirror. “Seeing” Gongkong’s unwilling expression she therefore asked: “Do you know how our Tianyou Clan cultivates, and why the Green Clan requires the Gongyou and FireWorship Clans to offer human sacrifices?”

　　Gongkong shook his head; he had only heard that the Green Clan required sacrifices in order to prolong their lives.

　　“It is said that when the celestial gods created us humans they fashioned an invisible ‘third eye’ upon our foreheads; this ‘third eye’ is also called the celestial eye. Yet in order to limit the abilities of the human race the celestial gods designed it so that after the age of six the celestial eye would automatically be locked.

　　“The celestial eye is the part that connects our self with the soul; it is the gathering point of all energy, the energy center. To lock it is to imprison the soul in a cage.

　　“Our Tianyou Clan, through continuous cultivation, gradually opens this ‘allpowerful eye,’ communicates through it with all things of the world, and absorbs the energy of all things. Though this old one’s physical eyes are already blind, through the celestial eye I can see the true face of the world even more clearly.”

　　Another fit of coughing; the old woman continued: “The celestial eye of us humans is a hidden, degenerate organ; only through continuous cultivation can we obtain a mere fraction of energy, and even that is far inferior to the celestial gods.

　　“The celestial gods themselves possess the external organ of the celestial eye and have the ability to view the universe remotely and to control all living beings; that is why we call them celestial gods.

　　“In those days even our great Yellow Clan celestial gods were no match for the Green Clan. After so many years of cultivation, and continually increasing their spiritual power by absorbing the celestialeye energy of the human sacrifices, they have long since become neither born nor destroyed. On a small scale they can swallow clouds and spit mist, summon wind and rain; on a large scale they can move mountains and overturn seas, reverse the stars.

　　“Although the Young Lord also possesses a celestial eye, you are still far from being a match for the Green Clan. If you wish for revenge there is still a long road to walk; therefore you must absolutely not go to seek revenge upon the Green Clan now—going would be nothing more than a useless death.”

　　Gongkong clenched his fists: “Damn them—must the Green Clan of Evil Gods be allowed to continue their evil and arrogance unchecked?”

　　“This old one has already seen that the age of peace is about to end. The future continent of Mu will be filled with blood and storm; the earth will run with rivers of blood; Mu Star will suffer landslides and earthshattering upheavals and plunge into an abyss of endless calamity.

　　“This is a heavenly tribulation that no one can avoid—a punishment from Heaven upon the continent of Mu. No matter who you are, every thing and every being, including the Green Clan, will be unable to escape this tribulation.” At this the old woman’s longblind eyes actually seeping a few tears.