His strength and lifespan were drained away. He was no longer a priest, but an ordinary old man who would fall to the ground with a gust of wind.
"Teacher, are you okay?" Suleiman hurried over to support Chen Xu.
"I'm fine." Chen Xu shook his head.
He didn't have enough power to bless so many terracotta warriors and horses, even with the help of the Necronomicon's power. So he sacrificed himself, sacrificing his own strength and lifespan in exchange for the power of Anubis, the god of death. With his help, he blessed the terracotta warriors and horses and cast an immortal curse upon them.
"Your Majesty, I have already blessed your terracotta warriors and horses with an immortal curse. From now on they will be invincible and unbreakable; they are truly an army that cannot die. They can sweep across all under heaven."
The immortal curse protected their souls so that physical decay did not affect their continued existence. In ancient Egypt, this spell was used to protect pharaohs' souls by turning them into mummies that could not die. Now Chen Xu used it to bless the terracotta warriors and turn them into immortal ones.
Modern weapons could destroy regular terracotta warriors at best; without immortality they were only slightly stronger than laborers. But with this spell cast upon them, these armies became truly terrifying forces that made people tremble in fear.
"Why do you do this?" Qin Shihuang looked at this young man who had recently discussed philosophy with him somewhat puzzledly.
Yes - in Qin Shihuang's eyes Chen Xu was still just a boy who hadn't grown up yet.
"Just because of my dream." The people of this era did not know that soon there would be a brutal war against Japan looming ahead; but he knew it well enough to want to stop it. The best way to do so was to kill all the Japanese and eliminate future troubles, for which he was willing to pay any price.
"And I have not lost anything."
Chen Xu turned his head and looked at Suleiman, his disciple. He asked in a deep voice: "Suleiman, are you willing to sacrifice me?"
Sacrifice - only gods could enjoy sacrifices; sacrificing oneself meant treating oneself as a god. This was both a great power and an act of blasphemy.
Without hesitation, Suleiman replied: "Teacher is my deity."
The ancient Egyptians had long since disappeared; Suleiman was not a pure-blooded Egyptian either. For him, the Egyptian gods were just myths and legends that he neither believed nor feared even after becoming a priest. So when Chen Xu asked him to sacrifice himself, he readily agreed.
"Very well." Chen Xu handed over the Necronomicon. "It belongs to you now."
"This is the Necronomicon." Suleiman was shocked. "Teacher, how can this be?"
"Why not?" Chen Xu spoke slowly.
He didn't need power anymore; with sacrifice he would never lack strength again. Therefore the Necronomicon wasn't as important to him anymore; what he really needed was knowledge - knowledge that could reveal everything's essence.
"Listen, Sulaiman," said Chen Xu. "Strength is not the only way to the great path, and it can't even be considered a way."
"The world is a sea of suffering, strength is the boat, knowledge is the one who controls the boat. When people cross the sea of suffering and reach shore, they must abandon their boats. Do you understand?"
Chen Xu was afraid that Sulaiman would become obsessed with power and forget about the true meaning of Tao and pursuing its origin.
"Yes," replied Sulaiman resolutely.
"What are your plans for the future?" asked Qin Shihuang.
"To worship oneself is to worship all gods. I am all gods, and all gods are me," smiled Chen Xu faintly.
"What about your innate Five Elements technique? Have you refined it yet?" Qin Shihuang frowned; this was his first time frowning since he had been resurrected.
"Of course I have to refine it." Chen Xu said: "The innate Five Elements technique is my foundation; naturally I have to refine it to perfection."
Understanding the innate Five Elements technique alone isn't enough for perfection; one also needs strength and resources. Strength is like a boat while resources are materials used in building boats - only when combined can a sturdy ship be built.
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Even after crossing over from sea of suffering into enlightenment, there will still be times where one needs a boat when re-entering that same sea again.
The Sun Gold Scripture fell into his hand as golden light shone brilliantly around him.
"My knowledge accumulates like small pools of water but someday it will accumulate into an ocean."
"Knowledge increases in tandem with strength until we surpass both suffering seas and worldly matters together with gods and immortals alike - sharing eternity while seeking proof on our journey towards Tao."
"I too shall follow this path of worshiping oneself. What do you think?"
Two thousand years ago, Qin Shihuang collected books from all over the world and studied Tao with a group of cultivators, searching for the path to immortality. At that time, he looked down on the West and believed their ways were barbaric and insignificant.
However, today he realized that there is also wisdom in Western philosophy; with eight hundred different paths available, one can still seek proof towards Tao. Thus his heart was moved.
"All methods are just branches," Chen Xu smiled faintly. "On our journey towards enlightenment we are fellow seekers of Tao - why should there be any 'can' or 'cannot'?"
"Can you share your insights on worshiping oneself?" asked Qin Shihuang.
"I have none," replied Qin Shihuang shaking his head. "The path of self-worship is something I've never seen nor heard before; I'm completely lost." After pausing for a moment, he continued: "You're my senior on this path of worshiping oneself; I'll follow in your footsteps."
He wanted to honor Chen Xu as his senior and follow him along the same path - like a disciple following their master's lead.
However, in the world of cultivation, the one who has achieved success is the teacher. Qin Shihuang's approach is not a matter of losing face or not. In Chinese mythology and legends, Ran Deng Dao Ren should have been on equal footing with Yuan Shi Tian Zun but chose to become his disciple at Yu Xu Palace. This is the reason.
"The way of sacrifice, I am ahead of you. But in terms of innate Five Elements Dafa, you are ahead of me. We can address each other as fellow cultivators."
After all, Qin Shihuang was an emperor with an extremely noble status. How could Chen Xu dare to be his imperial tutor? Moreover, according to "Han Shu: Jiao Si Zhi", when Qin changed Zhou dynasty it was during the time of Water Element Deity. In ancient times Duke Wen went hunting and caught a black dragon which was considered auspicious for water deity.
The Black Dragon represents killing and emperors' supreme power; how could Chen Xu dare to be his teacher?
"Fellow cultivator?" Qin Shihuang frowned again but then relaxed and said: "Alright then."
Chen Xu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Dealing with such an eternal overlord like Qin Shihuang was really exhausting because any slight mistake would offend him resulting in being attacked by soldiers and losing all their cultivation progress.
"However, before that happens we need to deal with these workers." Chen Xu pointed at the workers rushing towards them shouting for violence and murder saying: "Zi Yuan violated fate by summoning souls back into this world causing chaos between yin and yang; this method cannot last long."
To be precise both Terracotta Warriors and Workers were products that violated fate by disrupting yin-yang balance but since Qin Shi Huang was an eternal emperor whose imperial aura had yet dissipated so Terracotta Warriors could exist for a long time.
But Ziyuan was different. She sacrificed herself and her daughter's eternal life in exchange for the temporary existence of the migrant workers, but this method could not last forever. Once the sacrifice time passed, they would turn into ashes.
"My army is invincible. Even if these migrant workers come back to life, what can they do against me?" Qin Shihuang was arrogant and looked down on the migrant workers. However, he did have the capital to be so domineering. The six kingdoms were once powerful with many talented people, but ultimately they were all conquered by him one by one. Such a hegemon would not fear mere migrant workers.
If Chen Sheng and Wu Guang had rebelled during Qin Shihuang's reign, they would probably have fallen apart instantly.
The army that swept across the six kingdoms was absolutely elite.
"However, this world is no longer like it was thousands of years ago." Chen Xu said: "You may have felt it too - there is something called technology that has emerged in this world which can easily attack enemies from hundreds of meters away."
"Firearms are sharper than swords and crossbows; Terracotta Warriors cannot withstand firearms."
"Firearms?" Qin Shihuang frowned slightly. He certainly felt changes in the world but still remained unfamiliar with it. One thing he could confirm though was that his ambition for an everlasting empire might not be realized after all.
"I returned today having gained eternal life; my dynasty will never fall," said Qin Shihuang confidently.
"Don't underestimate this world," Chen Xu suddenly poured cold water on Qin Shi Huang: "Only when you know yourself and your enemy well can you win every battle. Your arrogance stems from ignorance about your enemy's background - it is a sin."
Chen Xu didn't elaborate much on original sin because it involved cultivation which required considerable explanation time to make sense to Qin Shihuang.
"This world has gone through many dynasties..." Chen Xu briefly recounted the events that had taken place in China, and hesitated for a moment before saying: "The Japanese have ambitions to invade us. Their desire to conquer China will not die; I have already foreseen that they will start the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and cause all kinds of atrocities."
"But what about Western prophecy?" Qin Shihuang asked.
Their mutual confirmation of each other's Dao mainly relied on understanding their respective interpretations of it. The cultivation methods were put aside because human memory was too vast - it was impossible to watch everything within a short period of time.
In Chen Xu's understanding of Western magic, there were records about divination techniques but he didn't know the specific cultivation method for this technique.
"Yes," Chen Xu pretended to use divination techniques and revealed all the terrible things caused by Japan after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. This made Qin Shihuang furious with anger as he roared repeatedly: "How dare you!"
After calmly finishing his words, Chen Xu asked back: "Does Your Majesty think that such a nation which causes such horrific tragedies against our Chinese people and descendants still deserves to exist?"
"Annihilate Japan." Qin Shihuang uttered these four words lightly.
Chen Xu smiled: "Your Majesty is sacrificing yourself anyway, why not use these Japanese people's flesh and souls as offerings? How does that sound?"
"Good."