Chapter 12: The Promise

Upon hearing these words, the Pure One was momentarily taken aback, then gave a soft laugh and shook his head.

“Redcloud, you jest. I have already divined it: Eldest Brother’s current batch of elixirs will reach completion in accordance with the subtle patterns of the eight and nine, but only eighty thousand years have passed—there are still several millennia left…”

Before he finished speaking, the Pure One sensed something, and turned his gaze toward the distant gates of the Kunlun Golden Hall. An old man stood at the entrance, half-veiled mysteries glimmering in his eyes.

It was none other than his elder brother, the Supreme Pure One.

“Did you not say you would wait for me? I am here now. Why not speak plainly?”

With a mere thought, a cloud-carriage rose beneath him, and he drifted over to Redcloud’s side.

“You are truly skillful, my friend. It seems my elixir furnace failed at just the most opportune moment.”

Redcloud smiled gently. “You give me too much credit. What I calculated was not the timing of your emergence, but rather the tribulation of that elixir itself.”

Having said this, he saw the three of them lost in thought, their expressions growing pensive. He pressed on:

“You are all Da Luo beings—able to stand upon the banks of the river of time and space, to gaze into the future and peer into the past, wielding the full means of what it is to be Da Luo. In our deductions, it is only natural to discern fortunes and calamities.

But the calamity I speak of is not a calamity of lifespan, nor of fate, nor even the heavens’ thunder—nor any calamity visited upon things. I speak of calamity itself.”

At these words, the Three Pure Ones—already at the pinnacle of Da Luo—grew grave.

“We beg you to enlighten us.”

Redcloud knew he would have to reveal some true skill, so he paused a moment, then sighed:

“Do you three still recall the Primordial Gourd Vine, one of the ten great roots of the ancient world?

Such a peerless root, born of the primeval chaos, was surely prepared for tribulation at its birth—yet when the heavenly tribulation fell, why was its true spirit still scattered?

Because, at that time, it was not permitted!”

His voice changed, growing low and forceful:

“The Gourd Vine might not have matched you three in fortune, but in terms of the power it wielded—master of seven gourds, each enhancing the next—it was at the very summit of Da Luo.

We all saw its ambition: to reach beyond Da Luo, to ascend to a higher realm.”

Seeing their tacit understanding, Redcloud sighed softly.

“Because… the calamity forbade it.”

When he finished, seeing the Three Pure Ones deep in contemplation, Redcloud pressed on:

“Supreme Pure One, if your furnace of elixirs—refined in accordance with the eight and nine—had succeeded, would you not be reaching out to that realm beyond Da Luo by now?”

…

“You mean to say, the great cycles of calamity in the ancient world—even the immeasurable, boundless calamities—possess consciousness?” The Supreme Pure One was first to recover, his snowy brows drifting downward.

“We Da Luo, of course, know that heavenly tribulation possesses its own will, but to say that calamity itself now forbids any living being from surpassing Da Luo… that is…”

“Truly, it is a preposterous thought,” Redcloud interjected, knowing their disbelief, and sighed again.

“Have you ever considered, outside of those ancient gods and demons before Pangu split the heavens, has any being among the countless aeons of the primeval world ever surpassed Da Luo?”

This…

Hearing this, the Jade Pure One’s beard quivered, and whatever he meant to say, he left unspoken.

Redcloud, sensing the moment, went on to expound what he could of the ‘logic’ of calamity. Though he did not touch the ultimate root, he spoke now and then of the superficial insights he had gleaned from the Yellow Court Sutra of Calamity—enough to suffice.

As for perceiving the true essence of calamity itself… Redcloud knew this secret was best kept to himself.

The reason he could predict the Supreme Pure One’s early emergence was that he had sensed a tendril of calamity’s aura reaching out within the Purple Firmament Palace—a place usually devoid of such energy—which then stole and devoured the elixir’s spirit before vanishing.

As for when the others might discover this, he no longer concerned himself.

Thus, Redcloud lectured on—for three hundred years.

…

“Your words have been truly illuminating,” said the Jade Pure One, deeply moved as Redcloud paused, realizing his guest had reached the utmost he could reveal. Whether or not Redcloud had held anything back, that was not their concern.

The Three Pure Ones knew it was not the time to press for more. Redcloud’s cultivation matched their own, or at most was slightly beneath it; if he had seen so far, surely they would not be left behind.

“And what of your request for alliance?”

The Supreme Pure One, his expression unchanged, pondered deeply, unable to read the man before him, and so asked directly.

“Alliance… is for my own protection.”

Redcloud glanced around at the three and smiled, unabashed.

“I may have wandered the ancient world and seldom earned a good name, but that does not mean I am without foes. Today I come to forge an agreement:

Would you three be willing, should calamity befall me, to aid me in my hour of need?”

The Three Pure Ones exchanged glances. He had spoken so lightly of the possibility of his own misfortune, yet they could sense the gravity. Each turned their mind to divination.

At their level, they were acutely sensitive to their own looming calamities. Should they become entangled, they would feel its approach.

Yet…

Each attempted their own methods, but none could discern any looming disaster around Redcloud, and each was quietly perplexed.

“Heaven and earth are impartial; all creatures are but straw dogs. Though I act without striving, I do not refrain from action. Should misfortune befall you, and you come to my side, I will lend you my aid and see what means I can muster.”

“Elder Brother is mistaken. The way of heaven is constant; those who follow it prosper. If calamity falls upon you, so long as you do not betray the way or rebel against heaven, my Jade Pure Seal shall fall in your aid.”

“Hahaha! Redcloud, you are already a top Da Luo immortal—few in the world could challenge you. But if misfortune truly comes, even if but a sliver of hope remains, my Azure Apple blade shall cleave that hope free for you.”

Hearing their responses, Redcloud’s heart settled.

He took no offense at their indirectness; rather, he was well pleased.

Each reply echoed their own path of cultivation, and could not be false.

His visit, he thought, had not been in vain.

At this, he clapped his hands and laughed, the aura of Da Luo rippling gently around him. As the Three Flowers opened and auspicious clouds gathered, the great red gourd within them rose and fell.

“Your words are truly wonderful. Since that is so, perhaps I shall refine this treasure anew, face the lightning tribulation once more, and affirm the great Dao.”