Martial Cultivator

Yun Jianyue listened to those words, his expression deeply conflicted. After a long moment, he forced out a single word.

”Scram.”

What Chen Chao said was true, but it stung.

The previous Daoist Yinli and the current Daoist Wuyang were both Yun Jianyue’s martial uncles. The former had already been killed by the combined efforts of the three of them, while the latter... was now plotting something.

Yun Jianyue suddenly said, “You’ve seen the Demon Emperor but not my martial uncle. I’ve seen my martial uncle but not the Demon Emperor. Shall we discuss in detail which of the two is easier to kill?”

“I’ve even been thinking, if I were to persuade my martial uncle, could I make him join forces with us to kill the Demon Emperor?”

Yun Jianyue paused for a moment and then said calmly, “We could even add the Sword Sect’s Sect Master and the others.”

Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue. He did not explain anything, only said one sentence.

“You may not know exactly what happened at Yixian Tide back then, but Daoist Wuyang certainly does. The Demon Emperor was injured and returned to the Demon Realm. If he had such intentions, I’m afraid he would have gone there already.”

Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue and said, “Actually, your question is easily answered here. The Demon Emperor was injured, and yet Daoist Wuyang still didn’t take action. That alone shows that the difference between them is not small. Though both stand above Nepenthe, Daoist Wuyang is obviously easier to kill than the Demon Emperor. Moreover... I don’t think he’s interested in killing the Demon Emperor.”

Yun Jianyue frowned and was about to speak, but Chen Chao had already continued, speaking softly: “My uncle once told me an old story. When he first fought the Demon Emperor and returned to Great Liang, he once met Daoist Wuyang.”

That matter was actually known to quite a few people. After all, back then many had invited Daoist Wuyang to kill the Great Liang Emperor.

But in the end, although Daoist Wuyang met the Great Liang Emperor, he never took action. The two merely chatted idly for a while before parting ways.

After that, Daoist Wuyang never mentioned the matter to outsiders, but once, when the Great Liang Emperor was casually chatting with Chen Chao, he brought it up.

At that time, the Great Liang Emperor was not in good condition. Having returned from the desolate north, he had encountered a large-scale assassination attempt. Though he escaped unscathed, his state was far worse. When he met Daoist Wuyang then, if the latter had wanted to strike, his chances of success would have been high, but he never did. Instead, he let the Great Liang Emperor return to the Divine Capital.

“At that time, the two of them chatted about something, whether it was possible for them to join forces to kill the Demon Emperor. You must know, the Demon Emperor back then had yet to step beyond Nepenthe and was actually easier to kill than now.”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, “That question was raised by Daoist Wuyang.”

Yun Jianyue frowned, not quite understanding what Chen Chao meant. From the way he put it, it seemed Yun Jianyue still didn’t really understand what kind of person his martial uncle was.

Chen Chao continued on his own, “My uncle said that before Daoist Wuyang spoke those words, he had already shown killing intent toward him. But in the end, he hesitated and did not dare to act. As for bringing up that idea afterward, it was because he wanted to borrow the Demon Emperor’s hand to eliminate my uncle.”

Chen Chao told this story to Yun Jianyue to make one thing clear.

Daoist Wuyang was such a man and would forever remain such a man. He would never change.

Yun Jianyue was silent for a moment, then said, “Everyone has something they most want to accomplish. Only after completing that thing can they move on to other matters. Martial Uncle may well want to kill the Demon Emperor and spread Daoism northward, but before that happens, you must die first, and I must step down from the position of temple master.”

Chen Chao opened his mouth but said nothing, though his lip movements clearly spelled out cussing.

Yun Jianyue said calmly, “Cultivators always talk about so-called ‘purity of heart and freedom from desire,’ especially the idea of crossing from the Bitter Sea to the Great Beyond. If you cannot let go of attachments, you cannot reach the Great Beyond. But in reality, how many people can truly abandon their attachments? Those who can cross the Bitter Sea do so because of even stronger attachments.”

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

He was actually interested in this idea. Although he was not a daoist cultivator, he had at least some subtle connection with Daoism.

“Take Daoist Yinli as an example. From the very beginning when he entered the sect, he harbored some hostility toward my Martial Uncle, from small matters like how teachers should treat disciples, to large matters like who should hold the temple master position at the Infatuation Daoist Temple. Throughout his life, he cared deeply. If attachment truly prevented someone from crossing the Bitter Sea, he would have spent his entire life stuck in it. There would be no crossing to the Great Beyond, and he certainly could never have stepped into Nepenthe, let alone reached the end of Nepenthe.”

“Besides him, I have long been told by the elders in the temple that I was deeply attached to my Senior Sister, that I’m a hopelessly infatuated fool. By that logic, I too should have remained in the Bitter Sea all my life.”

“And Martial Uncle, who is said to embody the Dao naturally, in fact has deep obsessions in his life as well.”

“Other people in the world have simpler obsessions - they seek immortality, or the Great Dao, so they can cross.”

“The temple texts always say that attachments prevent one from attaining the Dao. Now I can say they are entirely wrong. How one should attain the Dao is unclear, but cultivation should never be about having no desires or aims.”

Yun Jianyue spoke slowly, his words filled with what he had learned and felt over these days.

He paused, then said matter-of-factly, “Martial Uncle acts this way because of his obsessions - he cannot allow the Infatuation Daoist Temple to change. I do this because I feel it is wrong. As someone cultivating the dao, my heart must contain compassion for all beings. Between him and me, the Great Dao diverges, and in fact, our paths of the Dao conflict.”

Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue and, for some reason, felt a certain aura emanating from him, making him appear almost sacred.

In all these years, Daoism has had only one Dao Ancestor who founded the lineage and was revered by all. Even now, when cultivators speak of the Dao Ancestor, they do so with genuine respect. But in all these years, the daoist order has never produced anyone who could rival him. Now it seemed that Yun Jianyue might be the second.

The weight of the words “founding a school and calling oneself as ancestor” is self-evident.

Chen Chao said sincerely, “Calling you a daoist sage doesn’t even seem enough. I even think you should study the classics. That way, if someday someone calls you a Saint, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.”

In Confucianism, reaching the end of Nepenthe made one a Saint, but outside of cultivation, the title carried even more weight.

Yun Jianyue said calmly, “That’s going off-topic.”

Chen Chao chuckled and didn’t continue in that direction. After looking at Yun Jianyue, he said, “The Demon Emperor is in the Demon Realm, surrounded by great demons and an army of millions. Killing him is impossible. But Daoist Wuyang, is he all alone?”

Everyone knew the weight of the Infatuation Daoist Temple in the world. Why it carried such weight was simple: aside from the deeds done by past generations, it was also the foundation of the temple itself.

Even now, who could say how many at the end of Nepenthe resided within the temple?

Probably no one could say for certain.

As the temple master of his generation, it was unclear whether anyone in the mountains still supported Daoist Wuyang.

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