Human Ancestor stepped onto a path uniquely his own, leaving behind the Gate of Life and Death, only to fall into the depths of the Ordinary Abyss.
He wandered at the bottom of the abyss, advancing aimlessly for a very, very long time. He wished to escape the Ordinary Abyss, but could never find a way out.
In his despair, Thought Gu offered him guidance: "Oh Human, oh Human, you've been following footprints left by other beings. That may be easier and safer, but if you want to be extraordinary, if you want to escape the Ordinary Abyss, blindly following someone else's path holds little promise. Since you've chosen your own road in life, you must face every trial yourself. You must innovate. You must leave your own footprints."
Upon receiving this guidance, Human Ancestor had an epiphany and was overjoyed. He resolved to follow Thought Gu's advice.
He abandoned the existing footprints on the surface and began to tread upon ground that had never been walked — ground without any solid footing.
The terrain at the bottom of the Ordinary Abyss was brutally difficult.
Some places were muddy swamps, where it was far too easy to sink in up to one's legs, and the stench was suffocating. Other places were thick with brambles, their thorns packed densely, leaving Human Ancestor covered in wounds. And in yet other spots, Blade Gu lay buried underground. When Human Ancestor stepped on them, the sharp edges slashed the soles of his feet, leaving wide gashes. Blood flowed freely, and every step brought agony straight to the heart.
The pain from the wounds on his feet compelled Human Ancestor to tread lightly.
But as he continued walking lightly, Human Ancestor lost his way in the Ordinary Abyss. Over and over, he retraced paths he had already walked, making futile progress.
He gradually noticed this problem, and it troubled him greatly.
How could he avoid getting lost in the abyss?
Thought Gu told him: "Human Ancestor, if you don't want to get lost, you can achieve this entirely on your own. You're afraid of pain, so you tread lightly. The footprints you leave on the ground are too faint and too shallow. The Ordinary Abyss is swept by ordinary winds that stir up common dust, and when it settles, your footprints are easily buried. If you want to avoid getting lost, you must leave deep footprints. Do you understand what I mean?"
Human Ancestor nodded, saying he understood.
And so he began to walk with heavy, deliberate steps, pressing down hard on the ground with every stride. He made each footprint deep and solid.
This way, after every stretch of walking, deep marks were left behind — perfectly clear. All Human Ancestor had to do was see these footprints to know he had already explored those paths, and that they held no exit from the Ordinary Abyss.
But good fortune never lasts. Over time, even the deepest footprints were gradually buried by wind and dust.
Human Ancestor was tormented by this and sought Thought Gu's counsel once more.
Thought Gu offered yet another suggestion: "Human, though you leave deep footprints, you deliberately avoid the brambles and sharp blades. Every time you encounter such places, you walk around them. This won't do. You cannot hope to be extraordinary while remaining comfortable."
Human Ancestor received this revelation and gritted his teeth. He deliberately walked the paths thick with brambles and lined with buried blades.
With every step, he pressed a deep footprint into the ground, regardless of how much pain he endured or how deep the wounds ran.
His sweat and blood trickled down the soles of his feet and were pressed deep into the ordinary soil.
When he lifted his foot and moved forward, a small sprout of grass emerged from the footprint he had left.
The grass was called — Achievement.
From every footprint, a small blade of grass grew.
These blades of grass could not be blown down by the wind, nor buried by dust. They grew with tenacious resilience, lasting far longer than the footprints themselves.
"Now I need not fear getting lost," Human Ancestor said, overjoyed. He gritted his teeth against the pain and walked stubbornly along the blade-and-bramble-strewn roads, no longer afraid of bleeding or sweating.
He ventured ever further, no longer getting lost, no longer circling back along paths he had already traveled. He reached places he had never been before.
The grass he had planted with his sweat and blood grew ever lusher, ever taller.
Gradually, what sprouted from his footprints was no longer mere blades of Achievement grass, but young Achievement trees.
As time went on, these saplings grew into great trees with dense, verdant foliage — they even bore fruit.
When Human Ancestor grew tired from walking, he would lie down beneath the shade of the trees to rest, plucking their sweet, juicy fruit to eat.
Over time, he had traversed nearly every corner of the Ordinary Abyss. Wherever he walked, a vast forest had taken root.
Human Ancestor looked upon the forests stretching out behind him and felt happiness and contentment. But when the forest spread to cover the entire Ordinary Abyss, he still could not find a way out.
Restlessness and despair filled his heart.
He picked a fruit and placed it in his mouth. It was no longer sweet and delightful — instead, it was bitter and hard to swallow.
Human Ancestor found this strange. He searched for the cause and soon discovered: without his realizing it, a second heart had grown inside his body.
This heart was called Unwillingness.
As the name implied, with this heart, anything he tasted could never be sweet.
Human Ancestor ate the bitter fruit and gazed upon the boundless forest, and could feel neither happiness nor contentment.
Then, from within his original heart — the Heart of Loneliness — came the voice of Self Gu: "Human, I have thought of a way for you to escape this abyss. You can grow a magnificent and towering Tree of Achievement. As long as this tree grows tall enough to surpass the Ordinary Abyss, you can climb its branches and leave this place behind."
Human Ancestor's eyes lit up at once: "Yes, that truly is an excellent plan."
But soon his brow furrowed again: "How, then, can I grow a tree so magnificent that it towers above the Ordinary Abyss?"
Self Gu replied: "You used the blood from your feet to plant this forest, and all of these are ordinary trees. If you use the blood from your heart instead, you should be able to grow a truly magnificent tree. Beneath the surface of the Ordinary Abyss, many blades are buried. Why not drive those blades into your chest, let your heart's blood drip, and use it to nourish a tree? Try it and see."