Part 21: Stepping into Ordinary Abyss

Ren Zu started walking on the Road of Life. The surroundings were pure darkness, and under his feet was dirty mud. Ren Zu asked Self Gu, “Where is this?” Self Gu replied, “This is the ordinary marsh in the lowest level of Ordinary Abyss.” Ren Zu knew of Ordinary Abyss; his eldest son Verdant Great Sun had once been trapped inside. Ren Zu could not help but become excited: “Since this is the bottom of Ordinary Abyss, does that mean I have already left the Door of Life and Death and returned to the living world? Does that mean I am now reborn?” “In a way, that is true,” Self Gu said. “But how is this possible? I have not passed Luo Po Valley and have not charged through the Reverse Flow River,” Ren Zu said in an incredulous tone. Self Gu said, “Oh human, you should know that you are talking about the path Fate Gu traveled. And this path you have walked on is a completely new path, a path created by you. Where this path goes is all decided by your own intentions. Like I said before, as long as you want to walk, there will be a road for you to step on.” Ren Zu suddenly realized: “So it was like this.” He then felt doubtful: “Then how did I walk to this place?” Self Gu: “Humans are born ordinary. Although they are the spirit of all living beings, they do not have the claws of a tiger nor the ability to absorb nutrients from the earth like plants, and also cannot transform like clouds and rain. You came to the ordinary marsh; what's strange about it? It is not only you. Look at the mud under your feet carefully; you will see traces of many other footprints.” Ren Zu lowered his head close to the ground before he was able to see clear58

ly. Like Self Gu said, the ordinary marsh was filled with all kinds of marks. Claw prints of wild beasts, root imprints of vegetation, traces of water flowing, and also traces of stones rolling past. “How can there be so many marks?” Ren Zu asked curiously. Self Gu replied, “This is Ordinary Abyss. All living beings will enter here due to various reasons. All living beings are ordinary. But the absolute majority of them will be trapped in Ordinary Abyss for all their lives. Only a small portion can leave Ordinary Abyss through their own efforts.” “I do not want to be trapped here for my entire life. There is nothing here; it is completely dark, and the air stinks. I want to leave this place,” Ren Zu frowned. Self Gu laughed loudly: “If you think that being ordinary is an abyss, then it is an abyss. But if you think that being ordinary is heaven, then it shall be heaven. Since you do not want to stay here, then leave, use your two legs to walk out of the ordinary marsh step by step and become extraordinary.” Ren Zu took the first step. Suddenly, his body bent, his front leg was deeply embedded into the marsh. It was not easy to walk in the marsh; one step was deep, another was shallow. The path which looked almost uniform had some parts that were rather solid, while some were very loose. Ren Zu walked several steps when his eyes suddenly brightened as he thought of a trick. He purposely chose to walk on the spots which had the claw marks, since these spots could hold the marks; its soil texture was also much more solid. Thus, Ren Zu was able to walk very smoothly, almost like he was running when compared to his previous speed. He said with a burst of emotion: “So it turns out that in an ordinary marsh, walking in the footsteps of predecessors is much faster than finding the way on your own.”