What is the Alaya-vijnana

Suye Zi-ye did not recognize the old man before him.

However, he sensed that the other party was formidable.

There was no specific reason; it was purely a matter of instinct.

Therefore, without a moment's hesitation, Suye drew the Blade of Annihilation, causing its crimson, slender edge to slowly flicker with starlike sparks.

Gazing at the Blade of Annihilation, the old man let out a long sigh. "Did Xia say anything when he handed that weapon over to you?"

Suye thought for a moment and ultimately shook his head.

Xia had indeed said some things back then, but presumably none of it was what the old man wanted to hear.

At the very least, Xia had never mentioned the Palace of Black and White located in the city of Kunka, nor the family residing within this palace.

"I heard you left the Stett Empire at the age of fourteen," the old man continued. "And very quickly joined the Academy."

"Later on, you left the Academy before graduation, and soon after, you became the target of the Empire's manhunt. By the time you reappeared in this world, you had already become the Crown Prince of the Dark Star."

The old man's gaze wandered to the black ceiling above, a hint of playful amusement dancing across his features. "In the span of four years, you have accomplished things that many people could not finish in forty."

"I do not know what you want from me," Suye said, looking calmly at the old man.

The old man chuckled, his laughter somewhat hoarse, before breaking into a fit of coughing.

He coughed for a long time.

Suye waited quietly.

"I am dying," the old man finally said.

Suye nodded. "Even saints must die."

"Yet not even saints have lived as long as I have," the old man said indifferently.

"Let me ask my first question: Why does the Dark Star want you to come to Kunka?"

Suye pondered for a moment before speaking, "Three things."

"To make me understand what the Alaya-vijnana is."

"To find out who the Alaya-vijnana actually is."

"And—if the Alaya-vijnana truly is born into this world, to ensure that the Alaya-vijnana bears hostility toward the Dark Star."

The old man listened quietly, then smiled faintly. "I can probably answer your first question for you."

"I am all ears," Suye said calmly.

"My name is Douglas Crawford, and I am the current patriarch of the Crawford family," Douglas said evenly. "I was also once a slave of Xia."

Suye remained silent.

"You should know that the ethnic group from which you were born is a powerful hidden clan known as the Radiance Clan," Douglas stated.

Countless terrifying forces descended upon this aged body the moment he uttered that taboo name, attempting to tear him to pieces, yet ultimately they dissipated into nothingness, powerless to stop him.

This was divine punishment, which would justly befall any living creature daring to speak those names aloud.

Except for those above the Heavenly Realm.

They possessed enough might to resist this destructive power.

"And the Crawford family originated from a lineage as ancient as the Radiance Clan, once even reigning above all myriad races. But in the end, that clan was destroyed, and its survivors were forced into intermarriage with ordinary humans, diluting their bloodline power until it was nearly shattered."

"As it happened, the Radiance Clan, for reasons of their own, preserved some descendants with relatively concentrated bloodlines, keeping them captive to serve as slaves. And this was the embryonic form of our Crawford family."

"The name of our clan is Vijnana."

"When the Vijnana clan perished, countless clansmen exerted their utmost effort and made endless sacrifices, yet ultimately they could not save the fate of their people. Only an ancient legend was passed down by word of mouth among us, the descendants of the old diaspora."

"A being as powerful as a god would be born into the Vijnana clan. He would be the savior of our people, possessing wisdom like a god's, erudition like a god's, power like a god's, and mercy like a god's."

"With his bare hands, he would raise the Vijnana clan back up from the ruins, just like a phoenix rising from the ashes, growing even stronger through the fire."

"And this child is called the Alaya-vijnana."

The old man looked at Suye as he recounted the tale in quiet tones.

Suye found it somewhat difficult to believe.

Why should any child be born a god?

Yet, judging by the immense importance the Dark Star attached to the matter, what Douglas said was very likely true.

"The Alaya-vijnana comprehends all karma and knows all knowledge. The causes and effects, the good and evil of the world, shall all enter from his left hand and slowly flow out from his right."

"Though not officially a saint, he stands among the ranks of saints."

"Those struggling Vijnana clansmen prayed and yearned thus for thousands of years, yet until the entire clan was exterminated and reduced to captivity as slaves, this savior of prophecy was still never born."

"The Vijnana clan's natural gift lay in their brilliant minds and eyes capable of piercing human hearts. But after the clan was enslaved by the Radiance Clan, even their masters grew wary of this power, yet were unwilling to destroy it entirely. Thus, they struck a compromise."

"They used commoners to dilute our family's bloodline. After three generations of intermarriage, once it was verified that each specimen retained only one-eighth of the Vijnana bloodline, they registered and cataloged each one. Thereafter, they forbade them from intermarrying with commoners to prevent the already thinned bloodline from being further disrupted."

"However, if left unchecked, generation after generation of inbreeding within the clan would cause those diluted bloodlines to reconverge, producing unimaginable consequences. Therefore, nearly every union within the Crawford family was meticulously engineered: their relation could neither be too distant, which would dilute and ruin the bloodline, nor too close, to avoid the pure concentration brought by aggregation."

"In this manner, several millennia passed, scarcely known to us."

"Throughout these thousands of years, the Crawford family existed as stewards of the Radiance Clan, managing the entire clan's commercial ventures and logistical transport—which had originally been the Vijnana clan's traditional trade. When the Initial Emperor established the Stett Empire, Xia, serving as the Initial Emperor's son and the slashing, trailblazing Marshal of the Empire, ultimately decided to untie the shackles of the Crawford family. To this end, he cooperated with me, and together we found this Palace of Black and White as the stronghold of the Crawford family, allowing them to recuperate, multiply, and develop rapidly on this land, ultimately becoming his greatest future asset."

"The asset to become the next Emperor of the Empire."

"Yet, the Initial Emperor indeed died, and the great chaos anticipated by Xia arrived in its wake. I waited for his summons so that I might throw every ounce of my strength into helping him ascend the throne."

"Instead, he renounced it himself."

"That night, he attained sudden enlightenment and transcendence, becoming humanity's very first saint. He cast aside his original name and bloodline, facing the world anew under the sole moniker of Xia, and likewise, he cast me aside as well."

Douglas said calmly.

"So, what is it that I ought to do now?"