"Since heaven and earth were created, there has been no catastrophe that endangers the lives of everything in the four seas and eight wildernesses. If that day comes, it will then be the day that I die." - Dong Hua (Pillow Book, TV series, episode 33.)

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Heavenly Realm, Kunlun - early morning.

Second day since Fengjiu died.

Mo Yuan—--------------------------------------------------

Dong Hua's words 'the task of killing me' were still echoing in the room as the man continued to speak.

"I had not thought that the greatest threat to the realms since your parents and I fought in the chaotic era would be myself, the irony is palpable." Dong Hua noted wryly.

"As things are now, I pose the greatest threat to the continued existence of the universe, and reality itself. This needs to be corrected." Dong Hua stated.

"I can unravel the fabric of reality and shatter the very anchor of order and meaning in the universe, reverting everything back into formless chaos."

Dong Hua rarely spoke so much, or in such a detailed manner. This was the closest thing Mo Yuan had seen to something that might be described as 'hurried'. Mo Yuan would not waste time asking things such as how or why.

"What do you need me to do?" Mo Yuan asked.

"Learn," Dong Hua replied, then paused for a moment before elaborating, "I will teach you how to kill me properly; Once I am gone, there will be no possibility of any further universe ending calamities."

Dong Hua paused for a moment to sip his tea, he was clearly unused to speaking so much. After a few moments Dong Hua continued.

"Fortunately you already have unconscious knowledge of some elements. Teaching you enough to destroy the foundation of my soul and existence should take no more than six months. Deeper understanding should take only ten thousand, perhaps thirty thousand years. I do not expect it to be a linear process, it has never been taught before. There will be steps and understandings that will need you to rest and meditate on them for large amounts of time, else there is a danger you might...unravel." Dong Hua finished speaking after pausing a brief moment to try and find the right word to explain the danger.

"Unravel?", Mo Yuan queried.

"You'd die, after a fashion," Dong Hua elaborated, "Your soul and energies would lose cohesion and join the energies of the world, existing until existence itself ceases, unable to return to nothingness or join the wheel of dharma."

"A lamentable fate." Mo Yuan noted.

Such a fate would be worse than simply dying, at least with true death there was hope for a different existence in the future.

Dong Hua 'mhm'd in agreement, then continued speaking, "I will first focus on the areas and techniques that will allow you to kill me, the rest can come later. If fate permits, I will teach you the deeper knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of reality, the universe, the Threads of Creation and the Pillars of Heaven."

The words 'Threads of Creation' held no meaning for Mo Yuan, but he knew of the Pillars of Heaven. His mother's sickness, weakness and miscarriage of Mo Yuan's younger twin brother Ye Hua and her early death had been a result of holding up and then repairing the Pillars after all.

"If this seal breaks within a year, there is a respectable chance I will retain my sanity and reason. Any longer than that then it is likely I will emerge without either. Should that occur, it will fall to you to do a respectable job of permanently annihilating my soul before I destroy all of creation." Dong Hua said, seemingly unconcerned at this potential eventuality occurring.

"What of the other elder generals, could they not learn this also?", Mo Yuan asked.

"They cannot," Dong Hua paused a moment to sip his tea, then continued, "Currently you are the only one with the ability to know, understand and interact with the Threads of Creation, and therefore the only one that can learn to utilise and the technique required to properly erase my soul from existence." Dong Hua finished explaining.

"Why is such a measure needed?" Mo Yuan queried.

"If you fail to utilise this technique properly my death will be less permanent than your own demise by way of that Donghuang Bell of yours."

"Even though it took you seventy thousand years, you were able to reform your soul from its shattered state. With me, it is likely to be less than a year until my soul reforms. I will say this now, I will not willingly reform my soul. If you do this improperly and my soul reforms, the 'me' that returns will be the greatest calamity creation has faced since before you were born." Dong Hua's words were serious and weighty, but the tone was very matter-of-fact.

Dong Hua had likely seen a thousand similar situations occur and had overcome them, he'd never been one for dramatics either.

"Without any of the bindings and seals I have placed on myself in this lucid state, you will be hard pressed to kill 'me' before I use the Threads of Creation to unweave reality, and shatter the Pillars of Heaven.", Dong Hua finished explaining.

"I understand.", Mo Yuan replied succinctly.

Dong Hua finished drinking his tea and then spoke again.

"You cannot fail this task.", Dong Hua stated, a hint of the seriousness of the task he was placing on Mo Yuan shone through his tone at last.

"Please teach me.", Mo Yuan requested.

"We will start with the knowledge of what you do have awareness of, even if unconsciously; the Threads of Creation." Dong Hua said.

"I have not heard of this before." Mo Yuan replied.

He did not know if these threads were a thing, a technique, a form of magic or something else, he truly had not heard of it.

"After you ascended to High Immortal rank, you might remember that I secretly started mentoring you as you tinkered with magic and mechanisms." Dong Hua said.

"I remember."

"Irritatingly, you skipped ahead and created something you could not fully control or easily stop once activated, the Donghuang bell."

Mo Yuan had not known who had been mentoring him until he'd heard his clearly furious mother scolding Dong Hua for doing so; He'd named the bell 'East Emperor' after Dong Hua.

"You could not control it, or limit other powerful people from using it, among other reasons, because you had unknowingly used traces of the Threads to make it, without any conscious understanding of them. I was going to teach you more, but your mother made me swear not to do so while she still lived." Dong Hua admitted.

Mo Yuan's mother had been weak, sickly and practically bed bound until her death. That she was able to make Dong Hua promise anything in that state was clearly a result of the respect Dong Hua held for her.

"When your soul had shattered, the first thing you would have experienced in the immediate aftermath was likely you hearing the sound of music. For you this was likely the sound of bells, possibly a guqin, or both." Dong Hua stated, with the world ordering confidence he was known for.

Mo Yuan was learning of many things he had been ignorant of, but even among those, this was surprising. He had never told anyone of the specifics of what had occurred after his soul had been shattered, not a single word, Though if anyone in the universe would have knowledge of things they shouldn't, it would be Dong Hua.

"I heard ringing bells," Mo Yuan said, "I assumed the music was from the Donghuang Bell."

At the time he had not possessed enough of a sense of self to think or understand anything, when he'd returned to life he'd simply assumed it was related to the Donghuang Bell.

"You have it the wrong way around, the Donghuang Bell was related to the music."

"I don't understand." Mo Yuan said.

He had the feeling that would not be the last time he would use that sentence today.

"When you created the Donghuang Bell, it's likely you thought of many other things and shapes your creation could have taken, but could not bring yourself to craft it into any shape other than a bell." Dong Hua stated matter-of-factly.

Dong Huas confidence was not misplaced, he was right, to Mo Yuan it had felt wrong to think of other forms for it to take. Dong Hua was again speaking of things Mo Yuan had never spoken of to anyone, not even his parents.

"You are correct." Mo Yuan admitted.

"The universe and existence itself began with sound, a profound music. Each being interprets the origin and sound of the music differently, according to their soul, for you this was the sound of bells. As you were unconsciously using base knowledge of the Threads of Creation that weaves reality itself, you would naturally replicate your interpretation of it, thus, a bell.", Dong Hua languidly explained.

As Dong Hua refilled both their cups, then sipped his tea, Mo Yuan was attempting to absorb information that was overturning his understanding of the universe, reality and existence.

"The fact your soul was shattered by the Donghuang Bell; an object you created with unconscious knowledge of the Threads was the only reason you were able to reform your soul." Dong Hua stated.

Just before Mo Yuan had sacrificed himself to stop his creation from destroying the world, for a reason he did not understand, he simply knew he would be able to return, eventually. This had been why he'd said 'wait for me', before he'd entered the Donghuang Bell.

"You would have pulled yourself toward the music, and slowly collected the fragments of your soul, this was you unconsciously using the knowledge of the Threads from when I mentored you." Dong Hua explained.

This helped him understand many things that had previously been a mystery even to himself.

—------------------—------------------

There weren't many occasions when he actually used his brain, and so his brain had always been a bit rusty. - Dong Hua, pillowbook 2

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Heavenly Realm - Kunlun - Late morning (four hours later)

Second day since Fengjiu died.

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With Dong Hua's careful guidance he had just finished attuning himself to the round token that had belonged to his father. It had been one of the few items that had retained the soul memory of his father, Mo Yuan allowed himself a moment to mourn its loss.

He was also gaining an understanding of what Dong Hua had meant when he mentioned rushing any part of this process could lead to him unravelling. His very soul felt shaky, like a piece of fabric pulled apart so that it was no longer solid, but see through, fragile.

But for the moment they were discussing other weighty matters, he would not be able to continue learning until at least two hours from now, or else there was real danger his soul could lose its form. He'd had quite enough of such experiences, and so he was content to spend the remaining time learning of other matters and knowledge from Dong Hua.

He was tempted to ask Dong Hua of other matters, Fengjiu, his children Gungun and Xueyu, or even about the seal he'd placed on himself. But he was not a fool, to question Dong Hua's actions or lack of them would not bring any good result for him.

He might have done so, if this were the old Dong Hua, who'd made a deliberate effort to stop using his brain in the long years since the prehistoric era. But that was not the man before him now, the version of Dong Hua before him would have a logical reason for every thought and action.

If there had been a way to save Bai Fengjiu this version of Dong Hua would have done so, even if only to quell the inevitable troublesome acts of vengeance the Bai family would now enact.

Whenever Dong Hua actually used his brain fully he would instantly solve whatever the issue was, robbing him of whatever mild amusement he'd found.

Lian Song's Haotian tower was a good example of this. Dong Hua had disassembled and tinkered with the tower quite happily for days. That was until Lian Song had accidentally trapped Dong Hua's loyal steward Zhong Lin inside it. Lian Song's knowledge and skill in the arena of weapon making paled in comparison to Dong Hua's, and he'd pleaded with Dong Hua to fix it. Dong Hua now with a reason to think had nonchalantly waved his hand and a relieved and slightly dishevelled Zhong Lin appeared. He had instantly repaired and improved the Haotian tower as soon as he put a single thought toward doing so.

One moment the mass looked like the perfect structure, logical and ordered. The next it was chaotic; a writhing mass of senseless nothing.

Pressed for time, control and sanity Dong Hua had fallen back on...whatever this was.

"If you want to comprehend it, I can begin to show you."

Mo Yuan was far too old to be startled, but it had been rude of him to stare.

"What is this?" Mo Yuan asked, old as he was he'd never seen anything like it.

"Close your senses."

Mo Yuan wordlessly complied, shutting off all of his senses until the only thing he could perceive was the magic barrier surrounding their spirits, and his own thoughts.

Eventually even that awareness faded. In the nothingness he gained an awareness of himself, a tiny spark from a great flame, fleeting, ephemeral, finite, but also infinite in possibility, able to bring forth future flame.

An interesting interpretation

Dong Huas mind spoke to his own, mildly intrigued, this was mindspeech. Something Mo Yuan had not experienced since his mother had passed, on the days she'd been too weak to speak, they'd used this ancient way of communicating.

Your self-concept is both humble and somewhat arrogant

Mo Yuan was about to ask why his concept of himself was so, but then he realised his spark-self was not alone in the nothingness, he was surrounded by a soap bubble.

This new understanding was utterly bizarre, but also completely logical, and good?

I am currently shielding your soul from joining the formless void, a soap bubble is apt enough

Dong Hua's mildly amused voice rang out in his mind.

Mo Yuan was quite glad for Dong Hua's protection, he'd rather not die, again.

He also realised what had occurred, complex concepts too advanced for a being to comprehend would often be simplified by the mind until it reached a level where it made sense. Unfortunately for Dong Hua, his current understanding was not enough to comprehend anything in a clear manner, thus Dong Hua-the-soap-bubble.

Time passed in silence, or did it?

Eventually his spark-self and Dong Hua-as-soap-bubble faded from his awareness, but it did not engender panic.

Mo Yuan became aware of a noise, it was infinitely close and infinitely far away.

Clarity came slowly. A buzzing noise morphed into humming, then it gained something of a sound like music.

An eternity passed and Mo Yuan realised the sound was coming from himself, but also from everything-that-was-nothing. As he completed the thought, the nothingness shifted, and suddenly there were threads of light, resonating in such a way that Mo Yuan would have cried, if he were not currently a spark of flame.

Echoes of the Beginning

Dong Hua's voice appeared, but it was commanding, each word spoken held the weight of one ordering the universe to his liking.

In a blinding flash Mo Yuan suddenly understood. Like most others he'd always thought the beginning of existence had begun with light, heat or pressure, these things made sense.

The beginning of the universe had not started with any of those things. Creation had begun with sound, a music so profound that Mo Yuan could only perceive it as threads of light, dancing and humming in their strange way.

You understand enough for now, we return

All at once Mo Yuan was aware of Dong Hua-the-shield. No longer a bubble of soap, but something that was all too much to try and look at at once, beautiful and terrifying, music and light.

His spark-self hid his senses in this not-world, until slowly the experience faded and Mo Yuan was now aware of and in control of his soul and body, sitting opposite Dong Hua at a low table in his personal chamber inside Kunlun, senses fully returned.

The symbols at Dong Huas wrist were not runes or symbols at all, but more bound light and sound forming their own unknowable, ever-changing patterns. A faint echo of the music that had formed reality and the universe.

Mo Yuan now had an understanding of exactly what Dong Hua had done to himself, and selfishly wished he didn't.

Dong Hua had always been the most straightforward and pragmatic being he knew, an immutable constant of existence. No one had ever worried for Dong Hua, not even once. Not until Fengjiu, naïve, unworldly and a bit clueless, had decided to do so.

Mo Yuan had been confident that the spell Dong Hua had cast would eventually end in the not-distant future. Dong Hua was not Bai Qian, he would not drink the waters of the river of oblivion or lose himself to dreams, unable to handle reality. Dong Hua was also not Ye Hua, he would not cling desperately to a divine lantern to return his beloved. It would just take time, and Dong Hua would return to normal.

Mo Yuan was no longer certain that Dong Hua could overcome this.

Dong Hua, with his powers as a primordial being, had used the very fabric of creation to lock away his feelings, understanding and experience of love. But that did not mean that Dong Hua could not still feel the pain Fengjiu's loss, the seal had only prevented Dong Hua from reacting to it.

It was perhaps the most horrifying form of self mutilation Mo Yuan had ever had the misfortune of witnessing.

Dong Hua had always been one to use his body as a tool. In the ancient wars Dong Hua had been injured a thousand times over, but not because he lacked skill. It was because he saw his body as a tool, and pain and injuries were just the temporary inconveniences necessary to gain an advantage. But did he really need to take things to this extreme?

Mo Yuan had only just gained enough of an understanding of Creation to dimly perceive what Dong Hua had done. He did not have the knowledge, skill or experience to even begin trying to repair or change the seal at Dong Hua's wrist. Even if Dong Hua had the inclination to try, Mo Yuan doubted even he could unmake what had been created.When the seal would break, it was uncertain if Dong Hua would break with it, or overcome this calamity.

Dong Hua had held the very doom of the world at his fingertips, ready to tear apart the very fabric of the universe and reshape it to ensure a reality in which Fengjiu lived. To have the ability to bring back his love, but making the choice not to, to spare the world.

To Dong Hua it must have felt like he was killing Fengjiu himself, damning her a second time, to make that choice must have been agonising. Dong Hua had made decisions that damned trillions of lives and billions of worlds without remorse, for the sake of all creation. Now he had suffered this horrific loss, had placed the peace and safety of the six realms above his desire for his loved one. He was truly worthy to be worshipped and revered by all beings.

"How did you have the will to do it?", Mo Yuan asked.

"To do what?", said Dong Hua.

"To choose the world.", Mo Yuan clarified

"Duty." Was Dong Huas simple, yet profound reply.

"Is there truly nothing you can do for Bai Fengjiu?" Mo Yuan risked asking.

Dong Hua's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, Mo Yuan had annoyed the man. But Dong Hua nevertheless answered his question, likely so they could return to the task at hand more quickly.

"If she had been mortal, yes. If she had been an earth immortal, yes. A common immortal or high immortal, yes. But she was none of those.", Dong Hua answered.

Dragons, Phoenix and Nine Tailed Fox Clans were all a higher order of being, their fates linked far more closely with Heaven and higher planes than others. Celestial phenomena occurring when a member of one of these Clans died did not happen for no reason. They were blessed with greater power, and strength, their longer lives from ten to thousand times that of other immortals meant that ascending to High Immortal and later High God rank was more a question of time than anything else. Unfortunately it also meant that when they died, their presence was too interwoven with the order of the world to be brought back.

If a normal person died, for Dong Hua it would be like picking up a pebble from a stream to bring them back. But for the Dragons, Phoenixes, Nine Tailed Foxes, and a few others it was absolutely impossible to bring them back once their primordial soul dissipated.

He knew that in light of the burdens Dong Hua was placing on him, Mo Yuan was currently the only being able to continue asking questions such as this, and survive courting his ire.

"Is there any way to bring her back?" Mo Yuan asked, even if Dong Hua could not do anything, perhaps there might be something others could do?

"There is, It is likely you will be able to use the Threads to do so." Dong Hua said, but there was a hint of something dark in his voice.

Mo Yuan realised he'd made an error when Dong Hua smiled; it was a thin, cold smile, and his eyes were sharp, pitiless, almost sinister.

Mo Yuan was reminded of a passage in one of the history books he'd made his eleventh copy, it described Dong Hua during the prehistoric era 'Merciless, without the slightest trace of kindness', this was the Dong Hua looking at him now.

"Go find mine and Fengjius daughter, then use the Threads to unbind the very fabric of her being. Tear it asunder and pick it apart, then dig around in the quivering remnants of the infants soul. Like a mole looking for grubs hunt for fragments, elements that might possibly be the tiniest fragments of Bai Fengjiu's lingering spirit, but more likely to be parts of the child itself, created as they were, from the mingling of her soul and mine." Dong Hua spoke sharply, coldly, without a single trace he minded at all the utter blasphemy of what he was speaking of.

Knowledge of the horror of what Dong Hua had just described was abhorrent. The rape of the very core of the soul, a deliberate invasion and live-dissection of the very fabric of the tiny Xueyu's being, death during that process would be merciful. Mo Yuan had met some of the most depraved and corrupted beings in creation during the chaotic era. Even those beings had never done such an abhorrent, sacrilegious and profane thing.

There was a chill in the air, and Mo Yuan did not know if it was coming from Dong Hua, or if his own mind was causing him to feel cold at the thought.

Even the horror that befell the ancient Phoenix Clan in the prehistoric era was not as repulsive and abhorrent as what Dong Hua had just described. The phoenixes that had been captured by that ancient foe had their souls twisted, corrupted and mishapen to such a degree that in the half a millennium since there had been no cure for their demonic and bestial states.

Still a kinder fate than what Dong Hua had just described.

"That was," closed his eyes to attempt to fight back nausea, "cruel.", Mo Yuan managed to say.

"'Mercy as the guiding principle' is Buddha's tenet, not mine.", came Dong Hua's blunt statement, "You wanted to know, I obliged, do with that knowledge what you will."

If it had been cruel of Dong Hua to tell him this, it would be far greater of a crime for Mo Yuan to tell those that had loved Bai Fengjiu of it. He knew no one that would even consider doing such a terrible thing, the knowledge would stain their mind and result in nothing but torment. That was an action that could be taken, but could not be taken for the horror of it, there was no benefit to telling others of it.

"I would hurry though, you have four days at most to decide." Dong Hua noted.

Soul dissipates instantly on death, but fragments of spirit could linger with a corpse for up to seven days afterward.

"And in the million in one chance a fragment of her spirit remains there, and she was eventually returned to life, you could have the honour of explaining the exact process you used to murder her child. I am sure she'll be delighted to hear it."

Now Dong Hua was truly twisting the knife, he had clearly infuriated the man with his continued questioning.

"It was wrong of me to ask, please accept my apology." Mo Yuan apologised in hopes Dong Hua would drop the matter.

"Accepted." Dong Hua mercifully did so.

Mo Yuan shifted his mind to another subject so he would not have to think of what Dong Hua had cruelly spoken of.

"You mentioned earlier a burden my parents wished to spare me from?", Mo Yuan changed the subject.

"It is natural for a parent to want to spare their child from pain, suffering and other burdens. Natural, but unrealistic. Still your father wanted to spare you this, he did not want the last hours of his life tainted with having to pass on the burden of this dark legacy."

The day his father died was still bright in his memory; it was not a wholly bitter remembrance, the man had gone to follow his beloved wife after all.. Mo Yuan had lost his father, but gained a little twin brother in the form of a golden lotus, and had been tasked to protect them.

Dong Hua had spent many hours secluded with his father on the day he passed, and whatever they had discussed had clearly removed some burden or another from his father's shoulders.

"Your soul will not be strong enough to receive the transfer of that legacy while you are learning of the Threads, such matters can wait until you have learned enough to kill me properly." Dong Hua said

"I will endeavour to learn swiftly." Mo Yuan promised.

Dong Hua's eyes reflected the fact he was mildly amused, and Mo Yuan realised he'd just promised to put full effort into learning how to kill the master of the universe as quickly as possible. It really was a bizarre situation, fate enjoyed irony too much.

"I can explain some elements of this legacy in the meanwhile." Dong Hua suggested, and waved in the direction of the teapot.

Mo Yuan began the process of brewing more tea.