by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
Ever since Long Chen had arrived at the Xuantian Dao Sect, the sect had basically been flipped by him. Now he had only left for a short time, and he had provoked unprecedented trouble. It was like he was intentionally trying to prove his ability to cause trouble.
“Xuan Master, what is your opinion?” asked Liu Cang.
Li Tianxuan slowly opened his eyes and lightly said, “There’s nothing to do. We’ll just watch for now. If there really is no other option, then there’s no need for the Reincarnation Mirror to maintain our karmic luck. I will bring it out and kill them until heaven and earth are flipped.”
“What?!” Liu Cang and the Tower Department Head’s expressions changed.
The Reincarnation Mirror and the Xuantian Tower were the Xuantian Dao Sect’s sect-protecting divine items. They were also what maintained the sect’s karmic luck and could not be used lightly. Using them would damage the sect’s karmic luck.
Last time in the eastern sea, because the Reincarnation Mirror had to be used to maintain the sect’s karmic luck, Li Tianxuan had merely used the Reincarnation Mirror’s projection. If he had used its true body, it would have caused major damage.
“Long Chen must stay alive. Even if the price was greater, it would have to be done. That little fellow once said an interesting thing: the weak fear the strong, the strong fear the stronger, and the stronger fear the fearless. If the Pill Tower wants to play, we’ll accompany them. My Xuantian Dao Sect has been silent for too long, making others think we’re a toothless lion. We need to prove our teeth are still sharp.” Li Tianxuan smiled slightly. That smile contained confidence and resolve, showing how serious he was.
Liu Cang and the Tower Department Head’s hair stood on end. It seemed the Xuan Master was truly infuriated. Perhaps the Central Plains were about to be shaken.
Just at this time, light flashed through the room, and a runic letter appeared in front of them.
“A secret message from the Huayun Sect?” Li Tianxuan couldn’t help being shocked. This was a secret communication method between the Huayun Sect and him. It usually wasn’t used except in urgent cases.
Li Tianxuan pressed a finger against the letter. The letter immediately turned to dust, while a formless wave of energy spread.
“Haha, that little fellow Long Chen has some skill. We don’t need to worry about it.” Li Tianxuan suddenly laughed, causing Liu Cang and the Tower Department Head to look at each other blankly.
…
In a distant place, there was a high mountain with a sharp cliffside. It was like a heavenly blade that had been stabbed through the ground.
Atop the cliff was a simple wooden room. The cold wind was like blades sweeping through the peak, bringing with them a whistling sound.
The wooden room had countless scars on it like blades had slashed it. If a Forging Master saw the room, they would definitely be shocked.
That was because this room was actually made of an extremely rare golden thread spirit wood. Its hardness was comparable to a King item, and its toughness was even greater than a King item.
Such a powerful material had actually been made into a shabby room. Those scars on it were from the wind, showing just how terrifying these blades of winds were. Even a Soul Transformation expert would be annihilated without defending.
In front of the room was an elder with drooping white eyebrows and gray robes. He was sitting with his eyes closed, shockingly ignoring the terrifying wind.
“Old man, it seems Long Chen is in trouble,” reported a very tall and large muscular man.
“Is it big trouble?” asked the elder lightly with his eyes still closed.
“So-so.”
“Can he handle it himself?”
“I doubt it.”
“Then tell old seventh to take a trip. It’s still the old rules. If he doesn’t have to, he’s not to interfere. Children need to mature on their own. Taking advantage of when they’re still young to suffer a bit isn’t a bad thing,” said the elder.
“Is he to be brought back this time?”
“Up to him. Don’t force him.”
The large man nodded and his figure disappeared from the cliff. The elder was still sitting with his eyes closed, as if nothing had happened.
…
Returning from Tu Qianshang’s home, Long Chen felt especially relaxed. He had finally managed to get Tu Qianshang to agree to help him.
In truth, Tu Qianshang’s enmity with the ancient races was deep. In the past, he rarely mentioned what happened, even when drinking. But this time, it was unknown if he had drunk too much, but he had gotten emotional and told Long Chen a bit about what had happened.
Back then, he had had a little brother who had also been shockingly talented. Although he had also been someone with a fiery temper, he had been an upright person.
According to Tu Qianshang, the reason for his enmity with the ancient races stemmed from how the ancient races had once been making things hard on a beautiful female cultivator, and his little brother had helped her, killing several of the ancient races’ experts to save her.
Later, that woman had ended up becoming Dao-companions with his little brother. But good things rarely lasted. The ancient races surrounded them, and although his little brother fought valiantly, that female cultivator still died under their assault. In his grief, his brother started a slaughter, and as a result, he became surrounded by experts from the ancient races. The first son of one of the ancient races’ leaders was killed by him.
That infuriated that ancient race, and they established a heaven-encompassing net to kill him. Tu Qianshang had immediately rushed over to help when he heard the news, but he was still one step too late. He arrived just in time to see his brother die. The ancient race’s experts were about to take off his brother’s head and investigate his origins. They wanted to exterminate his entire family to defend the prestige of the ancient races.
Tu Qianshang had immediately exploded. He had not only killed all those experts, but he had also gone to hunt their race and annihilated them, even killing the race leader through a suicidal move resulting in a heavy injury.
His vengeance for his brother caused the ancient races to hunt him down. There was no room left for mediation.
The ancient races also didn’t care about any excuse. There was no reasoning that would stop them from their hunt. They just had one thought: those who offend the ancient races must die!
When he mentioned this matter, Long Chen could sense Tu Qianshang was still filled with resentment over it.
Even this many years of cultivating the Wine Dao hadn’t erased that hatred in his heart. Now that he had agreed to work with Long Chen, the two of them were immediately on the same page.
Returning to the imperial palace, Long Chen asked Xia Yuyang about the situation. He learned that all of Grand Xia City was under the watch of the Pill Tower.
There were also countless experts from many sects surrounding the Grand Xia. At this time, there was zero chance that Long Chen could leave. Furthermore, he heard that people from the ancient races had come, but they hadn’t entered the city.
“That’s all fine. This is just the start. If things go as I expect, they’ll quickly come and apply pressure to the Grand Xia. At this time, not even the Grand Zhou or Grand Chu sent people to communicate with us. That means that the Pill Tower has already used some kind of means to make them temporarily set aside their condemnation for the Grand Han. So in all likelihood, the Pill Tower’s next move is to build up public opinion, to make it so people think I am an irredeemable devil, a Heaven-Seizer, whatever fits… Hm? Have they already started?” Long Chen suddenly noticed that Xia Yuyang and the white-haired elder’s expressions became a bit odd.
“Yes, they’ve already started. Everywhere in the city, people are stealthily spreading propaganda about you. But how did you know they would do that?” asked Xia Yuyang.
“Hehe, the Pill Tower only has a few childish tricks. They know that if everyone in Grand Xia Cit
y is cursing me, my family, and my friends, I’ll have to either start killing them, or leave. Killing them won’t solve any problems, and with the pushing of a few people, it’ll just make me seem worse and cause more problems. So I’ll only be able to leave. They probably only know how to make such a simple strategy.” Long Chen spread his arms helplessly.
Xia Yuyang and the white-haired elder were speechless. Long Chen was practically more wily than a wily old fox.
But seeing how indifferent and prepared he looked for such a thing, they could only allow him to do what he wanted.
“Ah, senior, how is brother Yunchong? Has he rediscovered his Undefeatable Dao?” asked Long Chen. But after asking this, he saw their expressions become dim.
Chapter 1233 Youluo’s Suicide
Seeing their expressions, Long Chen had a bad feeling. As expected, the white-haired elder shook his head and sadly said, “Heart-devil.”
Han Wenjun had been killed by Xia Yunchong. Originally, by killing the person who ruined his Undefeatable Dao, there was a definite chance of recovering that Undefeatable Dao. But regretfully, Xia Yunchong’s heart-devil was too heavy.
“It might not just be Han Wenjun. I suppose I am also within his heart-devil!” said Long Chen.
The white-haired elder and Xia Yuyang were both startled, but they quickly realized what he was saying. On one hand, Xia Yunchong had been forced to kneel. That disgrace was one thing. But also, in terms of combat power, he had been shaken by Long Chen’s power.
Within the Four Nations Ancient Remnant, he had instantly killed Li Wanji and Han Bijun. He had then fought against five powerful rank eight Celestials. And finally, when his opponents unleashed all their trump cards, unleashing Ancestral items and being supported by their powerful elders, they were still slaughtered. That had deeply shaken Xia Yunchong.
Of course, everyone else seeing it had also been shaken, but Xia Yunchong was the only one who cultivated the Undefeatable Dao. This had been a large blow to him, and adding on his previous humiliation, it had become impossible for him to recover it.
“Ah, people get foolish when they’re old. Why didn’t I think of this?” The white-haired elder sighed remorsefully.
In truth, the reason he hadn’t thought of this detail was because he had been in too much of a panic. Regretfully, Han Wenjun was now dead, and everything was futile.
“Don’t give up just yet. I have a method that might be able to work!” Long Chen stood and said goodbye to them, going to Xia Yunchong’s residence.
Once he was gone, Xia Yuyang and the white-haired elder looked at each other, feeling like they had lived so many years for nothing.
“We’re old now!”
They both sighed, but a trace of hope had now appeared in their eyes.
“According to the dragon vein calculations, Youluo was fated to run into a huge calamity. I thought something would have happened to her this time, but instead, she’s fine, and the calamity struck Yunchong instead. Is this because of Long Chen?” wondered Xia Yuyang.
“The dragon vein calculations are very accurate. But those calculations can only deduce the fate of your Xia family. Long Chen is not a member of your Xia family, and due to his arrival, everything has become muddled. There’s no way to calculate anything. Let’s just watch.” The white-haired elder looked at the wall, and an image appeared on it. Long Chen was walking into Xia Yunchong’s residence. Xia Yunchong was currently staring blankly at a pool.
“Did you come here to comfort me?” Xia Yunchong’s voice was bitter. This matter was a huge blow to him.
It felt like he had instantly gone from an unrivaled expert to a pitiful wretch. He had also become more sensitive.
“What would I comfort you for? You’re a man. I came to drink with you. I swindled quite a bit more wine from the Wine God Palace this time, so let’s drink.” Long Chen dragged Xia Yunchong into a small pavilion and took out a jug of wine.
Xia Yunchong originally wanted to say that he wasn’t in the mood to drink, but then he felt like declining would be saying he was weak, like he couldn’t handle his loss. So he sat down.
“Here, drink this one first. It was made by a female cultivator. It’s incomparably rich, with a long-lasting aftertaste.” Long Chen poured Xia Yunchong a bowl of wine.
Xia Yunchong drank it in one gulp. At this time, all he was doing was acting fine. There was no way for him to appraise how good the wine was. His heart was already filled with chaos.
Long Chen also drank a bowl. The two of them didn’t speak as they continued drinking. After over ten bowls of wine, Xia Yunchong suddenly collapsed on the table and began to bawl.
Long Chen didn’t say anything. He continued to pour wine and drink himself. He knew the wine’s energy had already taken effect.
This female cultivator’s wine focused on the heart, on stimulating the seven emotions and six desires. It allowed a person’s emotions to be released completely.
Xia Yunchong was an iron man. He had bled countless times in his life, but he had never cried.
He kept his sorrows in his heart. In that aspect, he was similar to Long Chen. They never said everything to others, simply suppressing what was within their hearts.
With his Undefeatable Dao broken, his heart in chaos, and the stimulation of this wine, all Xia Yunchong’s emotions poured out.
After a while, Xia Yunchong seemed to be feeling much better. He took a deep breath. “Brother Long, thank you for the wine. I feel better.”
“Do you want to rediscover your Undefeatable Dao?” asked Long Chen, putting down the wine.
“Brother Long, you…” Xia Yunchong looked at Long Chen with shock. If this question came from someone else, even his own master, he’d think they were just trying to comfort him. But coming from Long Chen, it made his dead hope rekindle once more.
“I asked if you wanted to rediscover your Undefeatable Dao!” Long Chen poured out another bowl of wine, repeating himself.
“I do, of course I do! Brother Long… please help me.” Xia Yunchong clenched his fists, filled with expectation.
“Then let me ask you, what is the Undefeatable Dao?” Long Chen looked at Xia Yunchong.
“It’s…” Xia Yunchong became stupefied.
Long Chen sipped his wine and smiled. “Your Undefeatable Dao depends on walking on a path of cultivation where you remain undefeated. But can such a thing truly exist? With an undefeatable Dao-heart, can you really be undefeatable? If you really were undefeatable, you wouldn’t just be undefeatable in the same realm. You would be undefeatable regardless of cultivation base, power, and rank. All experts should be cabbages waiting for you to harvest however you want. By pissing, you could drown them, by farting, you could blast them to death. That is the only way to be truly undefeatable.”
“But… that’s impossible.” Xia Yunchong shook his head.
Within the imperial palace, Xia Yuyang and the white-haired elder were calmly watching this scene to see how Long Chen would talk Xia Yunchong around. But this Undefeatable Dao he was describing was far too exaggerated.
“Exactly. So you shouldn’t care about some Undefeatable Dao, because that thing is just nonsense. Previously, you asked me if I also cultivated the Undefeatable Dao, and I said I didn’t. Back then, you didn’t quite believe me, but in truth, even I don’t know what exactly I’m cultivating. All I know is that whoever provokes me will die. Even if I can’t beat them, I’ll wipe some snot on their faces.
“On the other hand, just like you, I maintained an undefeated record against the same realm. But I never meticulously did anything to maintain that record. Even if there came a day when I was defeated, it wouldn’t matter. Because what I seek is not to be undefeated, but to protect the people by my side. Victory or defeat means nothing to me,” said Long Chen.
“To protect?” Xia Yunchong seemed to understand.
“Let me tell you a story from my childhood. It came from a drunk bald man bragging near the city gates. He said this: the body is
like the Bodhi tree, while the heart is like a mirror. It must be constantly and diligently wiped to prevent dust.
“Back then, I didn’t know what that Bodhi tree was. But that person said that it was a kind of legendary tree of wisdom. It is a symbol of wisdom and comprehension. You can be likened to that. Your Undefeatable Dao is like that Bodhi tree.
“You carefully grew it, defending it, afraid of any little bit of damage. But do you think if the Bodhi tree is damaged, a person would become an imbecile? Without the Undefeatable Dao, will you become a coward?” asked Long Chen.
Xia Yunchong was silent. It seemed Long Chen’s words were reasonable. At the same time, he felt like he truly had overlooked something.
“Then that baldie said this: the Bodhi had no tree, and the mirror had no back. Neither existed, so where did the dust come from?”
Hearing Long Chen say such a thing, Xia Yunchong’s entire body shook. He looked at Long Chen in shock, seeming to grasp hold of some crucial thing.
Even Xia Yuyang and the white-haired elder were shocked. Their eyes shone brightly as they comprehended something.
“Whether or not the Bodhi tree truly exists is something no one knows. It is just a metaphor for your Undefeatable Dao. For example, you planted a Bodhi tree and it grew with you, making you feel like the Bodhi tree made you smarter, wiser, capable of comprehending ten thousand Daos. Now that you’ve lost the Bodhi tree, you have no direction. You don’t know how you’re supposed to exist without the Bodhi tree.
“But without the Bodhi tree, your wisdom is still there. Without your Undefeatable Dao, your undefeatable heart still exists. You simply blinded yourself to its existence,” said Long Chen.
“Brother Long, I think I understand.” Xia Yunchong felt the knot in his heart weaken.
“No, you still don’t get it. Being undefeatable isn’t something you have to maintain all the time. That would just be a mental illness. Could it be that when we drink, you always have to drink more than me? That you always have to eat more than me? Could it be that when it comes to pissing, you have to make sure you can piss further than me?” asked Long Chen.
