Chapter 360: Debating the Dao with Sharp Wit

Duan Rong walked slowly within a mountain valley.

This valley was like a massive rift, stretching twenty or thirty miles, and the ends on all sides were steep cliff walls.

Inside the valley, straight trees towered toward the sky, and the sounds of cranes crying and apes howling could be faintly heard from time to time.

This place was the location for the third trial.

And the third trial was to explore and search for a Taiyi Order within this rift valley.

The Taiyi Order is the Sect token of the Taiyi Sect.

Outer Sect Disciples, acting under the Sect's orders, carry it to patrol the world, possessing the authority to kill on the spot as the situation demands.

Although Duan Rong was walking through the dense forest alone, his steps were very leisurely, and his expression held not the slightest sense of tension.

Because this third trial strictly forbids mutual slaughter.

That is to say, all Registered Disciples must rely on their own abilities within this rift valley to explore and find one Taiyi Order, and then the trial is considered passed, allowing them to advance to Outer Sect Disciples.

But even if one cannot find it through exploration, one must not rob the tokens in the hands of fellow disciples; otherwise, they will be executed on the spot!

Duan Rong knew very well that this rule was definitely not just empty talk; he had only just entered the valley and walked a short distance when a Divine Sense had just swept over him.

Once slaughter occurs, the outcome can be imagined.

At this moment, Duan Rong was alone, because every person participating in the trial was placed into the valley from a different location; where Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan were at this time, Duan Rong did not know.

However, he was not anxious. Firstly, since slaughter is forbidden in this valley, their safety was guaranteed. Secondly, it is said that the pass rate for this third trial is as high as over eighty percent; if this ratio is true, Duan Rong believed that Xiao Yu and the others would certainly be able to pass.

As Duan Rong walked, suddenly there was a rustling of footsteps not far ahead, and then a figure walked out. Duan Rong raised his eyes to look and saw it was a fellow disciple he did not recognize; that person also looked coldly at Duan Rong before walking toward the other side.

Duan Rong followed his original direction, walked out of the dense forest, and arrived at a stone beach.

Here, the blue stones were craggy, appearing to be a barren hill.

He saw that at the top of the hill's slope, there seemed to be an abandoned Daoist temple, its mountain gate dilapidated and the buildings collapsed. And on that patch of ruins, many black dots were moving about.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted; that was clearly a point of opportunity. In that abandoned Daoist temple, there must be a Taiyi Order.

Duan Rong walked quickly toward the abandoned Daoist temple.

Approaching the abandoned Daoist temple, he suddenly saw a blue stone standing not far away, with words carved in intaglio on the stone: "Wu Ming Guan Ruins."

Duan Rong walked to the temple gate, but saw a person standing on top of the gate; that person had a thin build and stood with his back to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong raised his eyes to look and saw an Escort Waist Token hanging from that person's waist; this person was not a Registered Disciple participating in the trial, but a supervisor from the Inner History Department.

That person stood there, clearly watching the crowd searching among the collapsed buildings and the dilapidated plaza inside the Daoist temple.

Duan Rong stepped through the mountain gate.

Once inside the plaza, there were withered branches and decaying grass everywhere.

Before Duan Rong could look carefully, he saw a rather large pair of buttocks stuck high up in the air at the site of the collapsed buildings. That person had their head thrust into a gap in a fallen crossbeam and was peering inside.

When Duan Rong saw those buttocks, he smiled slightly. He did not know how many times he had kicked those buttocks; it was Ximen Kankan.

Duan Rong walked over and said with a smile, "Aren't you afraid of getting stuck there?"

As soon as Ximen Kankan heard that voice, he knew it was Duan Rong. He wanted to come out, but the gap was a bit small, and he only managed to move his big head out slowly.

Once Ximen Kankan got his head out, with a wisp of spiderweb tangled into a dusty strand on the top of his head, he punched Duan Rong and said, "The moment we meet, you curse me with getting stuck, right?"

Duan Rong said, "Don't be handsy. In here, attacking is forbidden."

As Duan Rong spoke, he pointed his chin at the figure above the Daoist temple gate.

Ximen Kankan turned his head to look and sure enough discovered that the person was looking toward this side.

"I just touched you, and that counts as attacking?" Ximen Kankan's tone was very unconvinced.

Duan Rong gave a cold snort and said, "If you dare touch me again, I will immediately lie on the ground and roll around."

"Fine. You win," Ximen Kankan said. "Who would want to touch you?"

Afterward, the two of them began searching within the abandoned Daoist temple.

This place, being on top of a mountain slope, was quite conspicuous, so there were quite a few people who had come here.

Duan Rong discovered at this time that not only was there a person with an Escort Waist Token standing on the temple gate, but there was also a person with an Escort Waist Token standing beside the ruins of the collapsed buildings.

He and Ximen Kankan searched a circle, but still had no discoveries.

Ximen Kankan asked in confusion, "Where is this Taiyi Order hidden? Does one have to dig three feet into the ground?"

Duan Rong also frowned slightly; in fact, if he used his Divine Sense to investigate, he could find it in an instant. But using a Soul Technique in this place would be almost blatantly telling others that he had practiced the Womb Treasury Sutra.

Duan Rong said, "Let's withdraw. I see this place is left for those who are proficient in mechanisms and hidden compartments."

"Brother Duan's words suit my heart perfectly!"

Duan Rong turned his head and saw Liu Shushan walking over from behind him with a smile.

Ximen Kankan also looked at this Liu Shushan, who was as thin as a monkey but whose face was smiling like a flower.

"However, besides Brother Duan's opinion, I have another discovery," Liu Shushan said, changing the subject.

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan both looked at Liu Shushan with curious eyes.

Liu Shushan said, "This place looks messy, but in reality, the layout hides the study of geomancy and esoteric arts. If one is proficient in this, just one look is enough to know where the token is hidden. If one does not start from this path, it is nothing more than a headless fly bumping around; how could one find it?"

Upon hearing this, Ximen Kankan rolled his eyes at Liu Shushan. A headless fly bumping around—wasn't that talking about him and Duan Rong?

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Brother Liu is indeed widely knowledgeable. I wonder if Brother Liu can see where the key point is?"

Liu Shushan smiled bashfully and said, "I am also a layman. It is just that a friend from my hometown is proficient in this path, and through our usual interactions, I have been influenced and learned a little bit of the surface. I only think it looks like it; as for where the key point is, I do not know either."

Ximen Kankan mocked, "You monkey, your words are pretty, but they are of no use at all."

Seeing Ximen Kankan call him a monkey, Liu Shushan was not angry; in his hometown, the few familiar friends around him all called him that. At this moment, he actually felt a bit of intimacy.

Seeing that Liu Shushan had a very good temper, Ximen Kankan developed some good feelings toward him.

Soon, the three of them began to chat, and as they chatted, they walked out of this abandoned Daoist temple.

Since they had searched a circle and had no clue, it was clearly as Liu Shushan said: this point of opportunity was left for those proficient in the study of geomancy and esoteric arts, so why should they waste their time here?

Crossing the top of the slope and heading downward, they walked to the bottom of the slope where there was a deep pool; by the side of the pool stood a blue stone, and on that blue stone were four words carved in intaglio: "Debating the Dao with Sharp Wit."

Beneath the bluestone lay a meditation cushion, upon which sat a person cross-legged, with crane-white hair and a youthful complexion.

That old man's gaze swept over the surrounding crowd like lightning.

There were quite a few people here; this was clearly another opportunity point.

Not far in front of the crane-haired, Daoist-robed old man, a rope was hung between two pine trees, and a wooden board was suspended from the rope. On the board were written elegant cursive characters: The Sect says, "To know without thinking is to fall into the second head; to know by thinking is to fall into the third hand." Dare I ask, what is the first opportunity?

The surrounding crowd looked at the text on the board, all frowning in thought, but not one dared to open their mouth to answer.

Although Liu Shushan was quick-witted and had always been quite proud of his scholarship, he also kept his mouth shut tight when looking at the question on the board.

Ximen Kankan scratched his head even more; he couldn't understand it at all. What "to know without thinking," "to know by thinking"—what did all this mean?

Duan Rong stood beside Ximen Kankan, but his heart stirred slightly.

Over the past few months, he had read almost all the Daoist Canon in the Scripture Repository, and this question had been mentioned in at least three Daoist treatises among them. However, those yellowed, dust-covered books had clearly not been flipped through by anyone for many years.

Duan Rong tilted his head slightly and looked again at the crane-haired, Daoist-robed person, and at the four characters "Debating the Dao with Wit" on the large bluestone beside him.

He understood in his heart that this opportunity point tested one's knowledge of the Daoist Canon, and looking at this question, it was quite obscure and niche.

Although he had only passed through two opportunity points, Duan Rong had basically understood the logic of this third assessment. The Sect clearly required that Outer Sect Disciples, in addition to cultivation, must also possess certain extra skills.

However, most of these Outer Sect Disciples were children of aristocratic families from the secular world, and generally, they were all well-versed in the Six Arts.

Even so, if one only looked at these two opportunity points, the requirements were still very high; it was definitely not something one could pass by knowing just a little bit.

According to this standard, how could over eighty percent pass? I'm afraid even ten percent is a bit shaky.

Duan Rong reckoned that as they went further, there should be simpler opportunity points.

However, since he knew the answer to this question, why let the opportunity before his eyes slip by?

Better to get a Taiyi Order first.

Duan Rong suddenly stepped forward.

The crowd, which had been whispering, immediately fell silent.

They all looked at Duan Rong, who had stepped out of the crowd.

The person sitting cross-legged on the cushion beside the large bluestone also raised his eyes to look at Duan Rong and asked, "How is this question solved?"

This question was truly somewhat tricky; the surrounding crowd all wanted to know the answer.

Duan Rong's expression remained as usual, and he replied, "To know without thinking is to fall into the second head; to know by thinking is to fall into the third hand; to not know without thinking is the first opportunity."

After Duan Rong finished answering, there was not a sound in the crowd. Everyone looked at the old man sitting on the cushion; they didn't quite understand, and could only judge whether Duan Rong had answered correctly by the old man's reaction.

The old man looked at Duan Rong, was silent for a moment, and suddenly said, "The younger generation is to be feared."

This old man had come here originally just to go through the motions.

He was a high-level expert stationed at the Scripture Repository, drafted here to assess these Registered Disciples. He had just wanted to come up with a difficult question, hang it there, and dismiss these Registered Disciples.

He was just killing time; once this assessment was over, he would return to his Scripture Repository. But he really hadn't expected that not long after starting, someone would actually answer this question. Are the young people nowadays all this fierce?

Those Registered Disciples, upon hearing the old man say "the younger generation is to be feared," immediately understood that Duan Rong had answered correctly.

Liu Shushan glanced at Duan Rong with a look of astonishment. He had not expected that Duan Rong not only had a Divine Soul talent higher than ordinary people but also had such a profound understanding of these metaphysical Daoist Canons. "To not know without thinking is the first opportunity"—he was still pondering what this meant at this moment.

In the crowd, a buzz of noise began to emerge, as people discussed the deep meaning of Duan Rong's answer.

Just then, the old man looked at Duan Rong and said, "Bring your Sect Cloud Token and assessment slip over."

Duan Rong took them out from his lapel and handed them to the old man. The old man glanced at Duan Rong's name and then stamped his own name's seal on the assessment slip.

This indicated that this person had already obtained a Taiyi Order, to prevent him from claiming one for others later.

The old man handed a Taiyi Order, along with Duan Rong's Sect Cloud Token and assessment slip, to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong took them, and a group of people crowded around.

This was only the second opportunity point in this area, and these people had not yet seen anyone obtain a Taiyi Order; Duan Rong was the very first person.

One could see that the token was only the size of a palm, pitch-black all over, and was a wedge shape with a wide bottom and a pointed top. In the center of the token were raised characters: Taiyi!

At this moment, the old man suddenly stood up, took down the wooden board, and held it in his hand.

The old man held the wooden board in his left hand and lightly brushed the surface with his right hand; with that one brush, the text on the board all disappeared.

The old man blew lightly, and a cluster of fine wood shavings drifted down from the board.

Duan Rong's expression was surprised; he could not tell for a moment what realm of Martial Artist the old man was.

But he knew that whether it was True Qi or Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, this kind of peak-level control was already terrifying!

At the very least, he was already at the True Qi Realm Great Perfection, but he absolutely could not do it—to brush off all the text on the board with a single stroke, and all into a thin layer of wood shavings.

The old man's martial arts cultivation was clearly unfathomable.

The old man picked up a brush, flourished it on the blank wooden board for a while, and then hung the board back up.

One could see that on it was a new question.

There were only eight characters: Question: Ten thousand methods return to one, where does the one return?

Those who had originally been surrounding Duan Rong to look at the Taiyi Order all looked up to study the question on the board. Those who could gather here were all people who had some understanding of Daoist Canon scholarship; seeing Duan Rong answer one question and obtain a Taiyi Order, they were even more eager to try now.

At this time, the old man looked at Duan Rong and said, "Kid, you can go. I warn you, don't wreck my stall. Otherwise, I can strip you of your qualification to advance."

Duan Rong cupped his fists slightly toward the old man and then turned and left. He understood what the old man was warning him about.

A cunning glint flashed in Ximen Kankan's eyes, and he said, "This place is too pedantic; it doesn't suit a real man!"

Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan, and Liu Shushan all left this place and continued walking forward.

After walking for a distance, Liu Shushan still couldn't suppress the doubt in his heart and asked Duan Rong for advice, saying, "Dare I ask Brother Duan, regarding the new question at the 'Debating the Dao with Wit' spot. 'Ten thousand methods return to one, where does the one return?' What is the answer?"

Duan Rong smiled slightly but did not answer.

The reason the old man used such severe wording to warn him was precisely to keep him from telling others the answer, so as to prevent others from finding loopholes to get a Taiyi Order from him.

Ximen Kankan blinked his eyes and said nothing; in fact, he really had had this thought before, but the old man's roar before he left had cut off this idea of his.

As for the answer to that question, Duan Rong had seen it in quite a few Daoist books in the Scripture Repository. In fact, it was already much simpler than the first question.

The answer is: Ten thousand methods return to one, and the one returns to Nothingness!

(End of chapter)