Chapter 570: The Convergence of Buddha and Dao, the Blending of Wisdom

The Frost Fairy of the Mysterious Maiden Palace even issued a formal manifesto: In view of the Heavenly Sword Sect's departure from the righteous path and their use of evil Dharma Artifacts to slaughter the innocent, the Mysterious Maiden Palace has decided to draw a clear line between itself and them.

Even Ancestor Jianchi of Wanjian Valley publicly stated: Wanjian Valley pursues the supreme realm of the Sword Dao and will never associate with forces that use evil means.

Overnight, the Heavenly Sword Sect became the public enemy of the Cultivation World; Yunxiaozi's insane actions completely isolated him.

In the ruins of Liuyun Valley, Xiao Yuan continued to heal the wounded. Her "Harmony Dao" constantly sublimated in the process of saving lives, and her power became purer and more formidable.

"Xiao Yuan, your cultivation has had another breakthrough," Lin Xuan said with pleasant surprise, feeling the gentle aura radiating from her.

"Yes," Xiao Yuan nodded, "After seeing these innocent lives suffer, I have a deeper understanding of the 'Harmony Dao.' True harmony is not about avoiding conflict, but about bravely standing up to protect those who need protection."

Her words deeply moved everyone present. This gentle and kind young girl, after experiencing so much suffering, had not been defeated but had instead become even stronger.

"Senior Sister is right," the rescued young girl said weakly, "Without the Reform Alliance, small sects like ours would always be at the mercy of others. Now that people like you have stood up to protect us, we finally have hope."

"We are willing to join the Reform Alliance!" the young male cultivator said firmly, "Although our strength is meager, we also want to fight for justice!"

The surrounding survivors expressed their willingness to join the Reform Alliance one after another. Although their individual strength was not great, this spiritual support was invaluable.

"We accept everyone's intentions," Lin Xuan said with emotion, "The original intention of establishing the Reform Alliance was to protect cultivators like you. We promise that we will never let similar tragedies happen again!"

As the rescue work progressed, more and more cultivators gathered near Qinglong Peak. Some were wandering cultivators fleeing disaster, some were disciples of small sects that had been wiped out, and others were righteous people angry at the atrocities of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The reputation of the Reform Alliance reached an unprecedented height at this moment. People finally saw clearly who was truly thinking about the future of the Cultivation World.

As the sun set, the rescue work came to a temporary pause. Lin Xuan and Xiao Yuan stood on the mountaintop of Liuyun Valley, watching the sunset in the distance.

"Brother Xuan," Xiao Yuan said softly, "Can we really change this world?"

"We certainly can," Lin Xuan replied firmly, "Look, even traditional forces like Leiyin Temple support us now. Yunxiaozi's insane behavior has instead made more people see the truth."

"Mm," Xiao Yuan nodded, the flame of hope reigniting in her eyes, "For the sake of these innocent lives, for the sake of a better future, we must persevere."

At the summit of Qinglong Peak, inside the Scripture Repository of the Harmony Academy, an unprecedented philosophical debate was underway. Huiming Fangzhang sat upright on a meditation cushion, with Xiao Yuan sitting cross-legged before him; simple and ancient tea sets were placed between the two, and the curling fragrance of tea rose slowly in the air.

Lin Xuan, Xingchenzi, Muerxiu, and other Core members of the Reform Alliance sat around them, quietly listening to this collision of wisdom. Even the usually lively Shuiyun Xianzi put away her usual playfulness and listened intently to the two seniors with profound cultivation discussing the Dao.

"Benefactor Xiao Yuan, this monk would like to ask a question," Huiming Fangzhang said with his hands pressed together, his voice gentle and profound, "Does the 'Accepting Imperfection' philosophy you proposed have anything in common with what the Buddha Sect calls 'all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature'?"

Xiao Yuan thought for a moment and spoke slowly: "Abbot, I believe the two indeed have common ground. 'Accepting Imperfection' emphasizes embracing everyone's flaws, while 'all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature' holds that every life has the possibility of becoming a Buddha. Neither judges a person's value based on external conditions."

"Well said, well said," Huiming Fangzhang nodded in approval, "Benefactor has high spiritual insight. The Buddha Sect believes that all sentient beings possess the wisdom and virtues of the Tathagata, but cannot attain them due to delusions and attachments. This coincides with your philosophy—imperfection is not a flaw, but a necessary path to perfection."

"But Abbot," Xiao Yuan continued, "I have a doubt. The Buddha Sect pursues transcendence from the secular world, while our Reform Alliance seeks to actively enter the world and change reality. Is there a conflict between these two attitudes?"

After hearing this, a look of admiration appeared on Huiming Fangzhang's face: "Benefactor asks this question extremely well. This monk also had such confusion when I was young. But later I understood that true compassion is not about avoiding the secular world, but about saving suffering within it."

He paused for a moment and continued: "The Buddhist scriptures say: 'Do not seek comfort for yourself, but wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering.' This is the spirit of entering the world to save it. If we only care about our own cultivation but turn a blind eye to the suffering of sentient beings, then what kind of compassion is that?"

Lin Xuan was listening intently on the side and suddenly spoke up: "The Abbot is right. I have practiced the Taiji Divine Art for many years, and only recently did I understand that the true meaning of Taiji is not just the harmony of Yin and Yang, but a kind of wisdom for living in the world."

"Oh?" Huiming Fangzhang and Xiao Yuan both looked at Lin Xuan, "Could Benefactor Lin explain in detail?"

Lin Xuan stood up and slowly gestured with Taiji movements: "Taiji emphasizes overcoming hardness with softness and advancing by retreating. But I misunderstood it before, thinking it was a passive attitude. After the trials of this period, I realized that this is actually a proactive wisdom."

"Just like our Reform Alliance," a light of realization flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes, "We are not trying to overthrow everything with violence, but to resolve contradictions with tolerance and understanding. This is the realm of Taiji's 'from Wuji comes Taiji'—seemingly doing nothing, yet in reality leaving nothing undone."

Huiming Fangzhang nodded in approval: "Benefactor Lin has extraordinary insight. The Buddha Sect also has a similar concept, called 'great compassion without conditions, and great mercy of the same body.' Not distinguishing between close and distant, not calculating personal gains and losses—this is true compassion."

Listening to their conversation, Xiao Yuan had a sudden realization: "So, the compassion of the Buddha Sect, the non-action of the Dao, and our tolerance are essentially the same?"

"Exactly so," Huiming Fangzhang said excitedly, "This monk has been thinking about a question recently: since the philosophies of the three schools are fundamentally the same, why can they not be fused into one to create a cultivation system suitable for the new era?"

This proposal made everyone present light up. If the essence of the three schools could truly be fused, it would be an unprecedented feat in the Cultivation World.