Against the Gods

Chapter 139 – What is the Great Way

The profound room in the Profound Gathering Tower was much bigger than Yun Che expected and it was surrounded by a strong profound energy seal. When entering the room, it felt like an entire new world compared to the outside. The atmosphere and sound from the outside could not be heard in the room.

The atmosphere of the profound energy aura was also saturated to a shocking extent.

A red figure shook in front of Yun Che and slowly, Jasmine appeared. She eyed the environment and gradually nodded: “Not bad, this place is completely isolated from the outside world. We aren’t affected by any sound or movement from the outside. It’s an exceptionally good place to cultivate.”

“After three months, it will be your arranged match with Murong Yi. If you rely on all fifty four open profound entrances of your Evil God’s Profound Veins, and train hard on improving your profound strength in this three months, with the aid of Evil Soul and power of the Phoenix Flame, you might barely beat Murong Yi. However, while training your profound strength within these three months, if you are able to achieve the first stage of cultivation of the ‘Great Way of the Buddha’, at that time, it would not be a case of where you can barely beat him. Instead, it would be a crushing, absolute victory that transcends ranks!”

“However, ‘Great Way of the Buddha’ is an extremely difficult skill to cultivate. If one’s comprehension ability is insufficient, merely understanding the skill would take huge amounts of time. Even an absolute genius like my brother took an entire thirty three days to be able to initially comprehend it. Therefore, for you to obtain the first stage of cultivation for the ‘Great Way of the Buddha’ in just three months might indeed be a difficult task, but it’s not impossible.

Initially at the grounds of the Phoenix Trial, you were able to bypass the initial stages of the power of the Phoenix’s flame and forcefully understand the fifth and sixth stage of the World Ode of the Phoenix’s Flame Techniques. This proved that your comprehension ability isn’t weak.”

As Jasmine finished, she placed her tender hands behind as her petite figure stood upright in front of Yun Che. There was coldness behind the extreme cuteness on her face and her tone was aged: “Now, sit on the floor, close your eyes. I will imprint the profound formula of the Great Way of the Buddha’s first stage into your mind. How long it takes for you to actually comprehend and find out the methods of cultivation is based on your level of comprehension.”

Yun Che sat down in the centre of the Profound Room, calmed himself down and closed his eyes.

Jasmine went forward, held out her youthful thin finger, and gently poked Yun Che on the head.

In the silence, the profound formula of the ‘Great Way of the Buddha’s first stage was imprinted in Yun Che’s mind.

When he intentionally interacted with the profound formula, Yun Che entered a state extended confusion. Even though the profound formula was so clear in his mind, it still seemed to be so vague. Whether he used his heart, his concentration, his profound strength…… No matter what method he used to try to understand the profound formula, whenever he touched upon it, he felt that it was a clearly visible yet untouchable mist. The more he probed, the more vague and scattered it became.

Yun Che’s heartbeat and breathing became lighter and slower. It was as though he had become more calm. His five senses were completely isolated from the outside world. All of his conscious focused on capturing the profound formula. However, the more he focused, the more vague it became…… He felt that his mind was in the center of the vast ocean, and he did not know what to do in order to find the shore.

Then, an elderly voice suddenly rang inside his mind.

“Sixteen year old youngster, you, do you really have the ability to comprehend the ‘Great Way of the Buddha’?”

The voice did not come from his ears. Instead, it came from deep inside his soul.

“Yes.” Yun Che replied in his mind.

“Then, what is your understanding?” The elderly voice continued to ask.

“I desire strength. The strength that exceeds everyone. The strength to protect all those I want to protect. That is what I have comprehended.” Yun Che replied truthfully.

“Very good.” The elderly voice revealed some admiration: “That is indeed the comprehension the deepest part of your soul has. You are truthful enough. However, if you really want to practice the ‘Great Way of the Buddha’, you must first understand what is the ‘Great Way’, and what is ‘Buddha’. Then, can I ask you to tell me what your understanding of the ‘Great Way’ and ‘Buddha’ is?”

What is the Great Way? What is Buddha?

Yun Che thought about it long and hard, before slowly saying: “The Great Way, is the fundamental law that governs heaven and earth. The Way, exists within nature and all beings. It exists in every space and time between heaven and earth,”

“A person is born as a baby before he grows up. If he were a normal person, his lifespan would not exceed a hundred. And that is the way. The fact that water can extinguish fire, grass is unable to grow taller than a tree, the world having not just earth, but also the skies and the seas… These are the way! It is the most fundamental law that governs this world. When these ways come together, they become the base of this world, supplementing the contents of the world. It causes the world to have law and order, allowing the world to function based on the ‘way’.

“That is my understanding of the Great Way.”

“As for Buddha, it is the symbol that represents the epitome of kindness, benevolence, forgiveness and similar qualities.

“Heheheheh.” The elderly voice laughed calmly: “Young one, at your age, you already have such a comprehension of the ‘Great Way’. This is rare. How about I bring you on a journey through your life?”

Yun Che: “!?”

The darkness in front of Yun Che suddenly vanished and was gradually replaced by a vividly colored image.

It was a place of scenic mountains and rivers. The grass was green and the river flowed noisily. A kind looking man who was nearly fifty carried a medicine basket and walked along the small river, until he saw a small baby by the river. The baby looked to be not more than a few days old and was completely naked other than an intricate ornament hung on his neck……

“Master……” Seeing the man walk towards the baby and carefully picking him up, Yun Che uttered out loud.

The elderly voice rang again: “That is Azure Cloud Continent. This scene was from the third day of your birth. What is the way you have encountered?”

Yun Che remained silent for a while before answering: “The way, is the rule…… I have been abandoned, but I did not die there. I was fated to meet Master. These are all the doings of the Great Way…… These are all the ‘way’.”

“Very good.”

The scene in front of him promptly changed, and soon, what he saw was the front door of Floating Cloud City’s Xiao Clan. He was walking out of the door with a rigid expression. He was suffering from insults, looks of disdain, sneers and gloating from others.

That was the scene from when he was expelled from Xiao Clan. Even now, he still clearly remembered the rage he had in his heart, and the worry he had for his grandfather and little aunt. He also felt angry and contempt at his own inability.

“That is Profound Sky Continent. You’re already sixteen years of age and had yet accomplished anything. Being expelled by your clansmen, other than your close relatives, the others all view you in contempt. They all sneered at your expulsion and would soon forget you. The you then, was so pathetic that you were not even worth remembering…… The you then, what is the ‘way’ on you?”

“Perhaps, that was a trial and test sent by Heaven’s Way.” Yun Che replied faintly.

“Hehe, based on what you understand from the ‘Great Way’, the ‘Great Way’ is the law that nature lives by. That means, you think that whatever you do in this life, even in your previous lives and your future lives, could never escape the control and the plans of the ‘Great Way’. Because no matter what you do, what you say, who or what you interact with, these are all the planned by the ‘Great Way’. These are within the laws and control of the ‘Great Way’. Am I correct?”

“…..” This stunned Yun Che, and he did not reply even after quite some time.

The scene in front of his eyes changed yet again. Now, he saw the greenery of a forest, except that the forest seemed to have gone through a thunderstorm, and was now in a mess. There were broken trees everywhere and in the midst of it, he was carrying a quiet weak girl, and was crying devastatingly. However, the girl had already passed on and could no longer answer his call……

“Ling’er……”

“This was the only person you have ever loved on the Azure Cloud Continent, Su Ling’er. In the entirety of your soul, this was the most painful moment. Even until now, the pain has not yet vanished completely; this pain is etched deep within your soul. If you truly believe everything in this world does not escape the ‘Great Way’, then, if you had a second chance, do you still believe that you and her would still be unable to escape the plans of the ‘Great Way’, and that she would still leave you at the same time, at the same place.

Yun Che: “…………”

The scene yet again changed. Now, it showed a cliff where one could not seen its summit, nor could one see the bottom of the abyss. And he, was not plummeting down in despair……

“This was your last moment in the Azure Cloud Continent. You had been forced into despair, and jumped into this bottomless abyss after swallowing the Sky Poison Pearl. You believed that that, was the last moment of your life. However, when you woke up, you realized you had been reborn. Furthermore, you were reborn in a person that had already died on another continent…… Your rebirth, what you went through, what is the ‘way’ in that? If you had just died, what would be the ‘way’ in that? After your death, what does the ‘way’ give you?”

Yun Che: “……”

Soon, the scene in front of him vanished and the elderly voice also stopped. Yun Che mind was in a chaotic mess right now. His conscious was writhing and his soul was in turmoil. The things that he previously thought was the truth, the things he subconsciously knew could not be changed. All these were in chaos in his mind…… His entire subconscious became the raging waves of a storm and was unable to settle down. The profound formula for the “Great Way of the Buddha” seemed to have washed away with the waves and disappeared amongst the chaos.

This chaos lasted for some time…… An uncertain amount of time passed before Yun Che’s thoughts finally calmed down. After calming down for some time, he suddenly laughed. He laughed with extreme satisfaction and relaxation. It was as though he had let down a huge boulder in his heart and released the emotional lock in his heart.

“How was it, what have you realized?” The elderly voice said.

“I understand.” Yun Che smiled faintly. At this moment, he felt that his body and soul was ever so relaxed. Even how he viewed the outside world had already changed. It was as though he jumped from one world into another entirely different one: “In this world, there is no such thing as the ‘Great Way’. If one insists on there being one, then the ‘Great Way’ is myself.”

“Because I was born, that was why I was able to speak of the ‘Great Way’ in my heart. If I do not exist in this world, then the ‘Great Way’ would not even concern me. This is because I am not born because from the ‘Great Way’. Instead, the ‘Great Way’ is born because of my existence. All the elements in this world: “Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Light, Darkness, Time, Space…… They all exist for me, providing me the means to survive. The people, beasts, things I encounter, enhance my life and also exist for me. My loved ones, the people important to me, all of them supplement my emotions, igniting my passion and determination. Similarly, they exist for me…… And I, am the center of all things, the ruler of all these!”

“Everything in this world is for my use, every being in this world exists because of me. This is my ‘Great Way’ and the only ‘Great Way’! And ‘Buddha’ similarly exists within me. I can create it at anytime and destroy it at anytime. It is all controlled by my desires and cannot be interfered by anything else. Because I, am the ‘Great Way’!”

“HAHAHAHA!” The elderly voice laughed heartily: “Young one, you surprise me. No wonder you had two lives, no, three lives! You actually realized it so quickly. Then, from now onwards, let heaven and earth be within your control, let all beings in this world exist only because of you. Go and seek your own ‘Great Way’ and ‘Buddha’.

Yun Che, who had already been sitting in the Profound Room of the Profound Gathering Tower for three whole days, suddenly laughed. When he smiled, a faint silver light suddenly appeared from the surface of his body. At the same time, a miniature silver pagoda appeared on his head, before slowing descending, and entering Yun Che’s body.

Jasmine silently looked at this scene in a state of great shock before softly uttering: “That year, Big Brother used thirty three days to comprehend it, but he, he only used…… Three days.”