The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua’s heart shook.

Patriarch Dugu continued slowly in an ancient voice:

”An ordinary person wishes to learn from a Saint. But Saints are virtuous, with farsighted vision, while ordinary people have shallow minds, entangled in worldly desires, with impaired understanding. No matter how much they learn, they cannot become a Saint; what will they do?”

Patriarch Dugu said, ”The only way is to sever oneself to become a Saint!”

”Sever the small self, achieve the great self.”

”Completely forget oneself, cut off one’s shallowness and pettiness, abandon desires, discard prejudice, and directly transform into a ’Saint’.”

”Think as the Saint thinks, act as the Saint acts, and naturally, one can become a Saint.”

”This is to sever the small self to achieve the great self.”

”The severing of the Life Soul in Sword Dao is the same...”

”You are a Sword Dao ’ordinary person’ wishing to achieve the Sword Dao of a ’Saint’.”

”But your insight is too shallow, entangled in distractions, your Taoist Heart not strong, and you have various erroneous obsessions with Sword Dao. If you wish to ’become a Saint’, it is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Even once a mistake is made, one will completely deviate onto the wrong path, never to reach the peak of Sword Dao again.”

”Therefore, the only way is to sever oneself!”

”Sever distractions, sever obsessions, sever errors, sever ignorance, sever the small self’s narrow way, to imitate the ’Saint’, to envision the ’Sword Stream’, to draw near to the Sword Dao’s origin, imprint this origin into the Divine Soul, achieving the true unification of human and sword, soul and Dao, allowing the Divine Soul to complete the transformation in Sword Dao.”

”Sever the small self, become the Saint.”

”Sever the inferior Dao, achieve the Great Dao of Swordsmanship!”

”Sever oneself to become a Saint, sever the soul to achieve the Dao!”

Patriarch Dugu’s words reverberated in his ears, powerfully resonant.

Mo Hua realized, as if suddenly enlightened, his heart shaken indescribably, unable to calm for a long time.

He remembered Patriarch Dugu’s words in his heart, pondering them carefully.

Yet before he could think deeply, he heard sudden intense coughing.

Mo Hua looked up and saw Patriarch Dugu, with withered hands covering his mouth and nose, brows furrowed, coughing severely.

Mo Hua immediately realized something, worriedly said:

”Patriarch, your old injury...”

Patriarch Dugu waved his hand, gradually calming, but his gaze darkened considerably, his voice faded, ”It’s no matter, this happens often...”

He said it’s common, but Mo Hua had never seen Patriarch cough as tiredly as today before.

It was like... a weary elderly person deeply afflicted by illness.

Mo Hua felt a pang in his heart.

Even as Heaven Void Ancestor, possessing vast cultivation, yet for the Sect, he exhausts himself, alive yet as if buried alive among these countless broken swords, interred in the Sword Tomb... ŗἁ𝐍Ô𝐁ȧ

Mo Hua felt unpleasant.

Patriarch Dugu sensed Mo Hua’s emotions, his gaze gradually softening, and said softly, ”It’s fine.”

Mo Hua looked somewhat worried.

Patriarch Dugu paused slightly, then asked, ”Do you understand what I just said?”

Mo Hua finally shifted his thoughts, gently nodding, but moments later, a doubt emerged in his heart.

Mo Hua frowned and asked: ”Patriarch, sever oneself to become a Saint, sever the soul to achieve the Dao, the ’small self’ must be severed, the insignificant swordsmanship must be severed, then all previous sword techniques were learned in vain?”

Patriarch Dugu shook his head and said: ”Without the small self, there’s nothing to sever, then where does the great self come from?”

”Similarly, without learning swordsmanship, even the smallest Sword Dao is absent, naturally there’s nothing to sever, and it’s impossible to advance and comprehend the Sword Dao origin.”

”In other words, without the small self, there’s no great self; without one’s own meager Sword Dao, one cannot comprehend the Sword Stream.”

”Though the small self is shallow and petty, hindered by demons, desires overflow, full of ignorance and prejudice, it is nevertheless the premise of ’becoming a Saint’.”

”Although one’s cultivated Sword Dao is insignificant and shallow, it remains the ladder to achieve the Sword Dao Origin...”

”Indeed, all the foundational Sword Dao of Taixu Gate was meant for disciples to cultivate ’small self’, ultimately to cut it off, to draw nearer to the Sword Dao Origin, and achieve the Great Dao...”

”So that’s how it is...” Mo Hua’s heart trembled, realizing suddenly.

If it weren’t for the patriarch telling him, he would never have understood this on his own.

The practice of one’s own Sword Dao is meant to be cut off...

The ancestor’s wisdom is indeed profound and extensive.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, but then his expression changed, suddenly realizing:

No!

Self-severing of Life Soul, is this the way to ’sever’?

Then I...

Mo Hua weakly asked: ”Patriarch, self-severing of Life Soul isn’t... directly using Sword Intent to ’sever’ one’s Life Soul?”

”Use Sword Intent to sever one’s Life Soul?”

Patriarch Dugu was taken aback, then frowned and said, ”A person’s Life Soul is extremely fragile, how could it bear severing?”

”Where is there an idiot who would really ’sever’ their own Life Soul?”

Mo Hua: ”...”

He did not want to admit he was that ”idiot.”

After all this time, he found he had practiced wrong.

Self-severing of Life Soul isn’t truly to ”sever” the Life Soul.

He misunderstood due to literal interpretation...

Mo Hua couldn’t help but sigh.

Patriarch Dugu observed Mo Hua’s demeanor, thought for a moment, then was stunned, incredulously said: ”You wouldn’t...”

”No!”

Mo Hua denied flatly, resolutely refusing to admit being a ”fool.”

Patriarch Dugu silently watched Mo Hua, not speaking.

Mo Hua weakly asked again: ”Patriarch, if truly, self ’severed’ the Life Soul, what would happen?”

”Truly self-severed Life Soul...”

Patriarch Dugu drew a sharp breath, frowning, just about to speak, but suddenly his expression froze.

On his ancient face, the features instantaneously transformed into void, as if it was a sheet of white paper.

Multiple shadows of human faces continuously manifested.

Yet this change was silent, and its appearance very brief, lasting only a moment, quickly returning to normal.