Chapter 3 Daoyan's Awakening

In front of the First Temple, Shen Yue's fingertips still had the touch of the second fake covenant fragment, and the heaviness and hope of "inheritance" lingered. The voice of the guardian spirit came as expected, this time with a solemnity and revelation that penetrated time and space:

"Shen Yue, you have witnessed the fragility of the contract and the difficulty of inheritance. Now, you will become Dao Yan and step into the dark era before the flood. When the turbid air permeates people's hearts, faith is the only torch. Your mission: live out the style of the spiritual covenant, preach the hope beyond destruction, reveal the final judgment and salvation, and leave eternal coordinates for the struggling soul."

Time and space twisted and folded again. Shen Yue's consciousness sank and merged into an ancient body. He found himself standing among the green mountains, and a village built on the mountain was curling with smoke. He became Dao Yan, a middle-aged man with an upright figure and a calm temperament. At this moment, he has been sixty-five years old and has just become a father. The arrival of a new life has added a bit of gentle weight to the invisible contract with the guardian spirit in his heart.

Daoyan inherited the memory of the lost holy garden and the spread of turbid air from his ancestor Arius. He deeply realized that the grace of the guardian spirit was not taken for granted. Every day, he was silent in the mountains, praying, and feeling the spiritual connection as natural as breathing. This long communion lasted for a symbolic three hundred cycles (in the spiritual world trial, this represented the complete dedication of his life), which made his trust and benevolence increasingly deep. His face often has a peaceful glow, which makes even those with evil intentions unconsciously lower their eyes.

He is not a hermit who retreats from the world, but a member of the village, fulfilling the duties of a husband, father, and neighbor. In ordinary work and life, he practices serving the guardian spirit. His love for his son made him realize more deeply the great and compassionate love of the guardian spirit - that love will eventually manifest as a plan of redemption for the entire fallen world.

One day, Daoyan was praying on the top of a mountain, and the night sky was suddenly illuminated by a strong light. A messenger from the spiritual world descended, bringing the decree of the guardian spirit: the flood of destruction is brewing, and it will cleanse the land polluted by turbid air.

The messenger also showed him a scene beyond the flood: the end of the world is coming, and people's hearts will still be troubled by turbid air, and arrogance and rebellion will grow again. However, the final judgment will also come - those who adhere to the spiritual covenant and do upright things will be resurrected from the dust and gain eternal life; while those who persist in evil will meet their end in flames. The messenger emphasized: "Death, for the righteous, is not a period, but a door to eternity."

Since then, Daoyan's life has a new focus. He began to walk between valleys and plains, telling the descendants of Seran and the descendants of Kell about the revelations he had received. He gathered people together, and under the starry sky and in the mountain wind, he told them the laws of the guardian spirit, admonishing them to stay away from sin and fear the origin of the creation of the heavens and the earth.

He stepped into the prosperous land where the Kells lived. There, material desires were rampant, and the turbid air almost condensed into substance. He faced the crowds who indulged in pleasure, faced their ridicule and hostility, and his voice was calm but full of power:

"Listen! The guardian spirit is not far away! His judgment is near! All ungodly behaviors and all secret sins will be exposed to the light! Repent before the flood swallows everything!"

His words were like a rock thrown into dead water, stirring up some ripples. Some people felt the long-lost fear of the sacred and began to reflect on their lives. But more people responded with laughter:

"Daoyan, old stubborn! Look at this feast, this wealth! The flood you mentioned? The city in the sky? Don't disturb our good days with those empty illusions!"

Daoyan was not shaken by the mockery, nor did he despair because of their hard hearts. He just continued to tell the story, and continued to use his own life as a silent comparison. He watched the turbid air penetrate people's hearts like a thick fog, watched the descendants of Kell sink in desire, and watched some of the descendants of Lianseran gradually deviate from the teachings of their ancestors.

The burden on his shoulders became heavier. Countless nights, he knelt alone on the rocks, confided his worries to the guardian spirit, and prayed for wisdom and strength. It was during a deep meditation that he was elevated to a higher realm and witnessed a clearer vision:

He saw the moment when the existence beyond time (or "Oracle") gloriously returned. Countless souls sleeping in the dust awakened, and the bodies of the righteous who walked in the light all their lives became light and translucent. They were led by invisible forces and slowly ascended to a glorious holy city that could not be described in words - that was the eternal home prepared by the guardian spirit for those who kept the contract. He also saw that those who refused to the end had nowhere to hide in the light of judgment and eventually dissipated.

This vision made him more convinced of the truth and importance of the message he had conveyed. He told the Seran clan in detail about this scene of ultimate hope, especially the young people who were willing to listen.

"Blessed are those who are pure in heart," he said gently and solemnly, "because they will eventually see the face of the guardian spirit and enter the city that will never fade."

The hustle and bustle on the plains remained. The descendants of Kyle regarded his words as the ravings of a crazy old man. "Death is death, Daoyan! Stop dreaming! Come and enjoy today with us!"

Daoyan just sighed. He understood that words are like seeds, and the outcome depends on the soil. What he can do is to sow faithfully.

Time flows in a unique way in trials, and the symbolic 365 years quietly come to an end. One morning, Daoyan prayed on the top of the mountain as usual. Suddenly, he felt lighter than ever before, as if the weight of the world had completely fallen off. Above the sky, a pure beam of light fell vertically, gently wrapping him. Under the astonished, awed, or sneering gazes of the villagers below the mountain, his figure slowly rose, merged into the light, and disappeared.

He was taken away by the guardian spirit. He went to the eternal light realm that he had preached and longed for all his life.

In the mountains, believers knelt on the ground, their hearts full of awe of God and confidence in the future; unbelievers forced themselves to remain calm, saying that he was hiding or that he was in danger, but Daoyan's figure never appeared again.

Shen Yue's consciousness was pulled out of Daoyan's life. This time, there was no violent pulling, more like a long and profound experience ended naturally. In his hand, the third fragment of the fake covenant has taken shape, emitting a steady and warm glow, as if it contains some kind of promise beyond the material. The inscription on it is simple and powerful: "Dao Yan's faith, the spiritual contract is immortal, and the righteous live forever."

He returned to the spiritual world, in front of the first temple.

The voice of the guardian spirit seemed to carry a hint of praise: "You have lived out Dao Yan's spiritual contract and declared the hope that transcends the world. The trial is completed. Your understanding of the contract has touched eternity."

Shen Yue felt an unprecedented calmness and determination in his heart. He understood that repairing the contract is not only to repair the rules, but also to rekindle the yearning and trust for the ultimate beauty.

...

Reality, the temple library.

Shen Yue wrote, and the ink flowed. He wrote new words on the parchment scroll, his pen strokes carrying a calmness that comes from a lifetime of experience:

"The third trial is complete. Daoyan ascended to heaven to prove his truth, and the apocalypse has been passed on. The spiritual contract points to eternal life, and hope lasts forever."

The chief Xuanji stood quietly by the side, and waited for him to finish writing before slowly leaning over to read. A rare look of relief appeared on his old face, and he nodded and said, "The path of Daoyan is the path of faith and hope. Shen Yue, what you have experienced is the key to maintaining the glimmer of light in the world. The grace of the guardian spirit is not only in admonition, but also in promise. Keep going, child, and bring this hope back to Edoria."