Chapter 631: The Wager

"I wonder how the Ghost King views the righteous and evil paths?" Yu Liancheng said with a faint smile.

The Ghost King picked up a cup of wine and sneered, "Righteous and evil paths? Heh, how can there be any righteous or evil path? It is merely a difference in stance. You call us the Demon Sect, but from our perspective, don't your Tianyin Temple, Qingyun Sect, and Fenxiang Valley, which slaughter the disciples of our Holy Sect, also count as the evil path?"

"The Holy Sect and the three great sects of the world indeed have different stances and are mutual enemies," Yu Liancheng smiled. "However, from the perspective of the common people, your so-called Holy Sect kills and burns without scruples. To refine a single magic treasure, you would take the lives of hundreds or thousands; does that not deserve to be called a Demon Sect?"

The Ghost King sneered, "So, according to you, everyone in your righteous path is kind-hearted, orderly, and just? And everyone in our Holy Sect deserves to die, to be hacked to pieces? I don't think that is necessarily the case."

Yu Liancheng said leisurely, "In my view, it is nothing more than sand and rice."

"Oh?"

Yu Liancheng said unhurriedly, "The evil path is rice mixed with sand, while the righteous path is sand mixed with rice. There is no lack of heinous villains in the righteous path, but they are ultimately the minority. Even when they do evil, they still have reservations and cover their tracks, fearing that their lifelong reputation will be ruined in an instant. While your Demon Sect certainly has people of righteousness and kindness, the vast majority are demons who take evil as good, treating killing and arson as something to boast about, acting without any restraint."

"Heh, so that makes me, the Sect Leader of the Ghost King Sect, the demon among demons."

The Ghost King set down his wine cup, his sneer deepening, and his deep eyes suddenly became as sharp as blades: "I wonder if the Divine Monk Puzhi also possessed a heart for upholding justice and eliminating demons?"

The Ghost King was very good at hoodwinking; in the original timeline, a bit of rhetoric was enough to shake Zhang Xiaofan's perception of the righteous and evil paths.

However, it was merely a trick of swapping concepts. He knew those tricks were useless against the peerless debater Divine Monk Puzhen, so he simply laid his cards on the table.

And as these words fell, the originally relaxed atmosphere in the room was swept away, and a trace of killing intent permeated the air.

Bi Yao tugged at her father's sleeve.

The Ghost King, however, continued to sneer incessantly.

"In the past, I did have one, relying on a three-foot sword to uphold justice in the world."

Yu Liancheng said with a tone of lament: "It is just that sometimes I feel the only thing I can truly grasp is myself, and yet even myself, I cannot grasp."

To Bi Yao, these words sounded somewhat pretentious.

Yu Liancheng was a Divine Monk of the 'Pu' generation, the most famous Divine Monk in the world. His cultivation was heaven-defying; if he were willing, how could he be unable to grasp even himself?

But to the ears of the Ghost King and Zhou Yixian, it had a different flavor.

Especially for the Ghost King, whose wife and daughter were trapped in Six Fox Cave years ago; had they not been saved, they would have been separated by the divide between Heavenly Humans and mortals forever. Even if he were the Ghost King Sect Leader, even if his cultivation were heaven-defying, what use would that have been?

Yu Liancheng said slowly again, "I am not trying to argue with the Ghost King about good and evil; I just want to tell you a fact."

"Please speak," the Ghost King returned to being calm and unruffled.

"Good and evil are but a single thought; the three religions are one family." Yu Liancheng's tone was flat, but the content was no different from a thunderclap on a clear day.

"What!?"

The Ghost King frowned.

Yu Liancheng said, "I said, the three religions of Buddha, Demon, and Dao are originally one family. The techniques of the three religions appear vastly different, yet they all come from the same source and have intricate connections."

The Ghost King's expression was slightly solemn: "Divine Monk Puzhen, why do you think so?"

Yu Liancheng pondered for a long time: "Ghost King, do you know of the 'Heavenly Book'?"

"Of course," the Ghost King nodded. "How could I not know? This 'Heavenly Book' is the classic of our Holy Sect, passed down from ancient times to the present. All the supernatural powers and techniques of the Holy Sect disciples are comprehended from this Heavenly Book."

Having said this, the Ghost King looked at Bi Yao again: "I have already brought the Heavenly Book. As long as the Divine Monk is willing to forgive Bi Yao's offense, I will naturally offer the Heavenly Book."

Yu Liancheng pondered, "After leaving Tianyin Temple, Bi Yao and I went to Kongsang Mountain, found the Didi Cave, and even retrieved that volume of the Heavenly Book from the former Blood Refining Hall."

The Ghost King looked toward his daughter, Bi Yao.

Bi Yao nodded, shook the bell at her waist, and said with a giggle, "Not only did we get that volume of the Heavenly Book from the Blood Refining Hall, but also the Hehuan Bell of the former Madam Jinling."

"This is Heavenly Book Volume One." Yu Liancheng waved his sleeve in the air, and lines of golden text immediately appeared in the void.

When heaven and earth were created, it was called the time of chaos, ignorant and undivided; the sun and moon contained their brilliance, heaven and earth mixed their shifts; once it changed, the clear and the turbid were set forth...

The Ghost King's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately scanned the text.

This volume of the Heavenly Book was not an actual cultivation method; the entire text was profound and difficult, but it was the general outline of the Heavenly Book and had an indescribable function.

After memorizing all the text, the Ghost King let out a soft breath. Obtaining this volume of the Heavenly Book would be a great boon to his cultivation. His peripheral vision inadvertently swept to the face of his old friend Zhou Yixian, only to see his old friend's face full of astonishment and disbelief, as if he had seen something that was absolutely impossible to happen.

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" Xiaohuan also noticed something was wrong and shook Zhou Yixian's body.

Zhou Yixian finally came to his senses, still muttering to himself: "Impossible, impossible, impossible..."

"Old friend, what is this..." the Ghost King asked in confusion.

Zhou Yixian suddenly looked at the Ghost King: "Are you sure this is the Heavenly Book passed down through the generations of your Demon Sect?"

"Correct," the Ghost King nodded. "My Ghost King Sect has Heavenly Book Volume Two. By comparing them, I can be certain this is Heavenly Book Volume One; there is no mistake."

Zhou Yixian turned his gaze toward Yu Liancheng.

Yu Liancheng nodded.

Zhou Yixian let out a dejected breath and slumped into his seat, as if all his spirit and energy had been drained away.

"This is..." the Ghost King was a bit baffled, and Xiaohuan looked at her grandfather with even more concern.

"Let me explain," Yu Liancheng said calmly. "Years ago, I once went to Qingyun Mountain. Although I did not look at any cultivation techniques, through the thousands of books in the Qingyun Sect and my exchanges with their disciples, I glimpsed a thread of the secret of Daoist cultivation. The Daoist school emphasizes drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body, becoming one with nature. Whereas my Buddhist school is about the self forming a world of its own, seeing one's own nature."

"However, the Buddhist and Daoist schools appear different, but in reality, they complement each other and are two sides of the same coin. This Heavenly Book Volume One encompasses both the Buddhist realization of self-nature and the Daoist becoming one with nature, and even has a trend of different paths leading to the same destination."

"In fact, during my three years of seclusion, I also contemplated the Wordless Jade Wall of Tianyin Temple. That Wordless Jade Wall is the source of all my Buddhist supernatural powers, and it is precisely another volume of the Heavenly Book. Therefore, if I am not mistaken, the Qingyun Sect also hides a volume of the Heavenly Book, which is the source of all the Daoist arts of the Qingyun Sect."

"Without a doubt, the 'Heavenly Book' is the greatest secret of this world and the source of all magic."

"That is why I said the three religions are one family."

Boom!

It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded.

The room fell into silence, sinking into stillness.

Even the youngest, Xiaohuan, understood the great significance contained within this.

Yu Liancheng suddenly stood up and said, "Ghost King, shall we go for a walk outside?"

The Ghost King hesitated for a moment, then stood up: "Very well."

The others did not follow, knowing the two had important matters to discuss.

In the backyard.

Ghost King and Yu Liancheng walked side by side.

Yu Liancheng then said slowly, "Ghost King, I know you have ambition, intending to unify the Demon Sect and destroy the three great powers of the righteous path. Yet Buddha, Demon, and Dao have always been one family; after years of turmoil, today, there should be a capable person to take charge of the universe and bring the three teachings into one."

"Oh, I wonder what thoughts the Divine Monk has?" Ghost King said.

Yu Liancheng clasped his hands behind his back, and the aura belonging to an enlightened Divine Monk vanished, replaced by the dominance of a peerless hero, as if this person were born to control the fate of all people under heaven. Even someone as strong as Ghost King could not help but glance at him sideways.

"How about we make a bet, a bet sufficient to overturn the entire cultivation world, a bet closely related to both you and me."

"I am all ears."

"It is very simple..."