Chapter 63

This farce came to an end with the reconciliation of both sides.

I made a request, one of which was: if Fang Xin finds out the whereabouts of the troop talisman, he must severely punish the Cat Immortal no matter what, since Qingqing was killed by her—I cannot let the murderer go free.

Fang Xin agreed to my request without hesitation, saying that once this matter is settled, he will personally go to the south to give me an explanation.

Gu Tian Tong seemed to have more questions for Patriarch Tai Zu, and at his gesture, all the immortals left the hall.

Meanwhile, I and Fan Tian Sheng, along with the other Yin masters, stood guard outside the door, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

At this moment, I still feel extremely guilty; this very second, I began to deeply resent my impulsiveness—I acted without clarifying the circumstances, which led to this great disaster.

Speaking of which, I am the true culprit, owing a great favor to the Northeast Immortal Hall.

"Actually, neither of you owes the other; this is all due to karma. You are destined to take this step, destined to realize this point. And the Northeast Immortal Hall is likewise destined to face this calamity—you are merely the person fated to endure this tribulation."

Fan Tian Sheng wore a black robe, standing behind me. He seemed to have seen through my thoughts.

However, his words only brought me greater doubt.

"Grandmaster Fan, am I not wrong? The Dao should be like water—beneficial without striving, acting without contention. My heart is filled with confusion; I feel I have violated the essence of the Dao, and everything I have done goes against the Dao."

"Your direction is correct; you are merely on the way," Fan Tian Sheng said with a light smile. "In fact, Patriarch Tai Zu has long seen through everything; he is doing this merely to lend a hand to the Northeast Immortal Hall, and at the same time, to give a stern lesson to those petty scoundrels who dare infringe upon the Yin Mountain Dao lineage."

"Moreover, it is to properly temper you..."

If I was completely bewildered at first, now I am utterly dazed.

"As the yellow-robed youth said, any sect that rises greatly will head toward decline. The weakening of these great sects is not necessarily caused by outsiders; it could also come from within the sect itself. The Northeast Immortal Hall, dominating a region, has already reached the point where it can contend with the Daoist Sect and the Buddhist Sect. Consequently, some petty scoundrels have arisen, using the Northeast Immortal Hall's name to play the fox borrowing the tiger's might; they often impersonate heavenly righteous deities, possessing ordinary people without scruple to seek younger martial brothers and collect money and incense."

"If this continues, even if the Yin Mountain Sect does not intervene, a clash with the Daoist Sect is likely. By then, it will probably be the calamity of the Northeast Immortal Hall."

"Therefore, this tribulation appears harmful but is actually beneficial! If the Northeast Immortal Hall can promptly rectify the improper conduct among its disciples, it will surely be able to advance further," Fan Tian Sheng said, word by word.

I nodded, half-understanding, and seemed to glimpse a hint of the way; involuntarily, I thought of a Chinese dynasty—the Qin dynasty.

Taking the Qin dynasty as an example, back then Qin Shi Huang unified the six states and became the first emperor in the history of the Yan and Huang peoples. In its later years, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang led a peasant uprising, proclaiming they would overthrow the Qin dynasty. It is astonishing that this massive entity actually fell apart because of it. Finally, the Qin lost its deer—meaning the empire was lost—and all under heaven chased after it, to be replaced by the Han dynasty.

On the surface, the Qin dynasty lost—lost to Chen Sheng, lost to Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. Yet what truly caused its decline was the Qin dynasty itself. After a dynasty rises greatly, it is inevitable that corrupt elements breed; after eliminating all external threats, it is inevitable that arrogant thoughts arise. If there is no tribulation along the way, if it is not tested, and if it lets down its guard, then the dynasty is not far from collapse.

This saying also fits the Northeast Immortal Hall perfectly. Over the years, the immortals have gradually gained recognition from the world. Finally, a folk proverb emerged: "Everyone in the Northeast believes in the spirit-mediums," showing how swiftly the hall developed.

However, in the present age, the immortals have changed. Many animal immortals, having cultivated spiritual intelligence under the blessing of the Heavenly Dao, are no longer the benevolent spirits that exorcise evil and guard homes while collecting incense. Some have become excessive, seizing and plundering; when they take a liking to a disciple, if you refuse, they cling to you, afflicting your whole body with illness, forcing you to become a spirit-medium and to leave the hall.

When encountering Daoist practitioners, they often spout grandiose words, impersonating the names of certain righteous deities, in order to destroy others' Dao lineages.

Of course, one cannot thus judge the immortals' hall as good or evil. After all, the teachings of the Shaman Immortal Hall are correct; any sect has those who violate precepts, knowingly committing wrongdoing. However, a single lapse can cause these bad elements to become a significant factor in a sect's decline. Moreover, the ignorant may, because of one person, label this great teaching as an evil cult.

Therefore, what Fan Tian Sheng said is correct. After this tribulation, if the Northeast Immortal Hall can promptly mend its ways, it will surely be able to advance further.

"But... even if we unintentionally helped the Northeast Immortal Hall, am I really not wrong? Have I truly not deviated from the Dao's direction?" I still felt somewhat confused.

"How can you be so stupid!" Even though Fan Tian Sheng is now wearing a cloak, I could still hear his helplessness from his tone.

I gave a hehe laugh, humbly asking him for guidance.

Fan Tian Sheng pondered for a moment; after a while, he drew a yin-yang fish (the Taiji diagram) on the ground.

"The Dao gives birth to One; One gives birth to Two; Two gives birth to Three; Three gives birth to all things. All things arise from the Dao, but ultimately return to emptiness; after emptiness comes a new beginning..."

I calmed my mind and quietly contemplated his words. At that moment, I could not clearly express my feelings—I felt agitated, my body heated, and my blood seemed to circulate along with the Taiji diagram on the ground.

The wind blew softly; I closed my eyes and quietly sought to comprehend. When my blood throughout the body shifted from agitation to ease, I then understood Fan Tian Sheng's meaning.

It turned out he was not wrong; I was. I had simply gone along with everyone else, believing that the Dao must be like water—beneficial without striving—and that a Daoist must be without contention, unable to have even a trace of temper.

Little did I know, life and the Dao are both a gradual process, just like the Taiji diagram on the ground: from nothing to being, from being back to nothing, and from nothing again giving rise to all things, cycling endlessly, everlasting.

No one is born a qualified cultivator; no one is born able to sever the seven emotions and six desires. Only after you have taken them up do you learn to let go. Only after you have wept, laughed, suffered, and hated—after you have experienced all seven emotions and six desires—will you see through them.

I have never been able to comprehend this point; even ordinary people think that after studying the Dao, even if the heart is not divided, they must still suppress themselves tightly. Little do they know, this has fallen into an extreme of the Dao, going against the Dao. The Dao speaks of nature—you cannot cry, cannot laugh, cannot speak of sorrow, cannot express joy outwardly. If this continues, with long-term psychological repression, one day you will be unable to hold back and will erupt, becoming nothing but a nervous wreck.

"The mortal world is a furnace; traveling a thousand miles, experiencing myriad things, undergoing all kinds of karma, amidst the bustling market—if one can maintain a mind undisturbed between motion and stillness, then one truly transcends the world, incomparable to ordinary folk. Dwelling outside mountains and forests, in remote wilderness, one appears to have withdrawn from the world. But if the heart harbors greed, ignorance, or hatred, and still clings to attachments that cannot be let go, then in truth one is immersed in the world, no different from ordinary people."

"Remember, whether Daoist law, Buddhist law, or any other law, they all originate from worldly law and ultimately return to worldly law. Daoists, Buddhists, and all cultivators under heaven were initially ordinary mortals among the myriad beings; in the end, they too return to the secular world. Only after gradual transformation does their heart become that of an infant, a fetal breath, having returned to simplicity and truth, back to nature's essence."

Fan Wu Chang stood behind me, his voice devoid of sorrow or joy, yet with a hint of natural tranquility; his words flowed like exquisite melodies, leaving me enlightened.

"Do you understand?" Finally, he patted my shoulder and said, "You are not going against the Dao; you are merely on the way."

"I understand!" I grew even more respectful toward Fan Tian Sheng. Who says the Yin Mountain Sect values law but not the Dao? Who says all teachings under heaven are heterodox? Our Dao is forged by walking with our own feet, not by contemplating in a closed room.

This conversation, this discourse on the Dao, has advanced my state of mind by a step. At the same time, my reverence for the heavenly Dao has grown; the word "Dao" in my heart has become ever more mysterious. I thought I was close to the Dao, but now I realize I still have a very long, very long road ahead.

As Fan Tian Sheng said, the spirit-medium hall has gradually changed because of me, and my state of mind has advanced a step due to this experience. If one were to ask who owes whom, there truly is none. Rather, we are all caught in this web of karma, unable to untangle or explain it clearly, yet each bears their own responsibility.

Truly, it is hard to fathom! I stretched lazily and sighed lightly at the white clouds and blue sky.

Not long after, the five ghosts carried out Patriarch Tai Zu's bronze coffin.

To be honest, I have always been curious about Patriarch Tai Zu's true appearance, but he has kept himself well hidden; even when he appeared, he never emerged from the coffin, and even if I wanted to look, I dared not pry.

"Junior, cultivate well; do not weaken the reputation of the Yin Mountain Sect!" After a long silence, Patriarch Tai Zu actually said these words to me.

I was about to respond respectfully when suddenly my head felt heavy and I nearly fainted. When I dazedly regained consciousness, Patriarch Tai Zu and the other Yin masters had already vanished.

At that moment, I felt as if something had appeared in my mind. When I tried to sort out clearly what had arisen in my thoughts, I could not help but be greatly startled; after the shock came an overwhelming joy that was hard to contain.

What appeared in my mind turned out to be a cultivation method, and moreover, it was Patriarch Tai Zu's famed martial art—the Thousand Catties Thrust.

Within the Dharma teachings, martial arts share similar effects despite different forms. For example, the Thousand Catties Drop used by Elder Yang Seven is actually just one branch that spread from the Thousand Catties Thrust. The true Thousand Catties Art can not only be used to weigh down objects and bind ghosts, but also for self-defense, breaking evil, fighting in Dharma, and exorcising demons—it has myriad wonderful uses.

Now, Patriarch Tai Zu has actually transmitted the complete Thousand Catties Art to me; it is as if a pie had fallen from the sky for no reason, hitting me and leaving me nothing but dazed and dizzy.