Volume One: Meeting in Youth during Humble Times Chapter 117: The Daoist's Choice 3

The great Dao attacks of the five saintly spirits all surged toward the Daoist. Bai Ling’s fierce and relentless Way of Life forcefully poured into the Daoist’s realm. The growth power of the Way of Life caused the Daoist’s entire world to expand in a strange, almost explosive manner.

The other four saints’ great Daos supported the assault from the sidelines, each wielding their own cultivated Dao, having ascended to the saintly rank through their respective paths. Together, these six represented the pinnacle of Tianmen Town’s combat strength — the very apex of their cultivated Daos.

When the Sword Saint first appeared, the great sword master Qing Shan had yet to earn his title; at that time, all sword cultivators lacked a unified sect, adhering instead to the tradition of a master leading a disciple, guiding them through the path. After entering the sword path, each disciple was sent into the world to gain experience and find their own suitable Dao.

The Sword Saint eventually discovered the Path of Solitude — a subtle, formless Dao. To reach its peak required immense time and effort, beyond the reach of ordinary men. Yet those who mastered it possessed power beyond measure.

Although the Sword Saint had previously struck against the Daoist in a test of Dao heart and sword, he knew he was no match for the Daoist’s strength alone. But if the five attacked together, using their most unyielding methods to annihilate the Daoist, there might be a chance.

At this moment, the Sword Saint no longer wielded his blue steel sword. Instead, he transformed his hand into a sword, condensing his entire Dao into a single finger, mingling it with Bai Ling’s Way of Life. The Way of Life served as a catalyst for all Daos, amplifying even the slightest Dao a hundredfold, even a thousandfold.

Thus, as the Way of Life poured into the Daoist’s realm, not only did it cause an abnormal expansion of the space, but the Daoist also sensed a gradually emerging aura of solitude and transcendence within his domain. This aura brought an overwhelming sense of loneliness and detachment, as if all worldly things had lost their meaning, fostering a profound weariness of life.

The Confucian scholar no longer held back either. This time, he cut his fingertip and used his blood to write words suspended in the air. Soon, a phrase appeared: “The great journey of Dao is for the common good of the world.”

Originally, this phrase meant that when the great Dao is enacted, the world belongs to all people. The scholar aimed to restore the Daoist’s world to its original state through this phrase, thereby returning the source of the great Dao.

The phrase did not attack the Daoist directly but gradually dissolved into the void. As it dispersed, the deep, resonant sounds of ancient bronze bells filled the air.

The Confucian method seemed gentle, yet their approach was the most direct. In the contest of great Dao and destiny, Confucians always held the upper hand.

The old monk formed a lotus hand seal and silently chanted the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law: “I recall countless kalpas of the past, when a Buddha, honored among men, named Sun-Moon Lamp Bright, expounded the Dharma to save infinite beings, countless bodhisattvas entering the wisdom of the Buddha... Now, all present, join hands and hearts in waiting. The Buddha shall rain Dharma rain, fulfilling the seekers’ desires. Those seeking the Three Vehicles, if harboring doubts or regrets, the Buddha will sever them, leaving none remaining.”

The Lotus Sutra teaches that regardless of poverty or wealth, all can attain Buddhahood; it emphasizes simultaneous flowering and fruiting, purity emerging from filth, and restrained humility.

Its power resonates through all Buddhas, boundless and inconceivable. “If I were to use this divine power to expound on the merits of this sutra over countless kalpas, it still would not suffice. In brief, all the Buddha’s laws, all his sovereign divine power, all his secret treasures, and profound matters are revealed in this sutra.”

As the old monk chanted, azure lotuses blossomed in the air, blooming until thirty-three flowers adorned the space, then their growth ceased.

The scent of the lotuses filled the air, drawing people involuntarily into meditation, causing them to lose their grasp and perception of the great Dao.

Finally, the old Taoist made his move. Watching the Daoist trapped amidst the four great Daos, he spoke with some reluctance, “You and I share the same sect and origin, yet I never imagined you would walk the Primordial Path.”

Then, closing his eyes in lotus position, he recited an ancient scripture:

“To utmost emptiness, to steadfast stillness, all things arise together; I observe their return. All beings flourish, returning to their roots. Returning to the root is stillness; stillness is returning to life; returning to life is constant. Knowing constancy is enlightenment; ignorance of constancy leads to folly and harm. Knowing constancy allows tolerance; tolerance leads to justice; justice leads to kingship; kingship leads to heaven; heaven leads to Dao; Dao endures forever, deathless.”

They understood that this conflict with the Daoist was no longer a mere contest of spells and powers but a battle of great Daos.

Though each seemed to strike without lethal force, the struggle of the great Dao was formless and intangible yet perilous beyond measure. A single misstep could mean the scattering of the Dao and death.

The old Taoist intended to resonate with the Daoist’s world through this scripture, aiming to seize his Dao — a method that could preserve the Daoist yet destroy his foundation.

The five saintly spirits were all striving to seize the initiative in the Daoist’s world, fully aware of the difficulty. Not to mention the Daoist’s Primordial Path, even his three supernatural abilities could no longer be suppressed by ordinary Daos.

The Daoist, gazing at the five surrounding great Daos, remained utterly fearless. He glanced calmly around before fixing his eyes on Li Yu’s position, transmitting a voice message to him:

“Little Fish, your master walks the Primordial Path, a Dao not among the current Daos. If you want to understand his Dao, the answer lies hidden in the 3,600 Daoist scriptures I asked you to read. Master must now leave. From now on, live well and never be as willful as you were seven years ago. Master will become the wind of the world, always by your side. If you ever face uncertain decisions, ask the spring breeze. The spring breeze speaks no words; just follow your own heart.”

Li Yu listened to the Daoist’s words, a wave of sorrow swelling in his heart. At this moment, his master’s figure appeared so tall and majestic — never before had he felt such reverence.

His eyes reddened, and several times he wanted to rush out and fight alongside his master, but Shen Yuan’s suppression held him firmly, leaving no room for slack.

In this moment, memories of the past seven years spent with his master flooded his mind: fishing at sea, setting up a fortune-telling stall, gathering herbs in the mountains, going on house calls.

Through those days and nights, Li Yu and the Daoist had shared every moment. Li Yu read Dao scriptures under lamps, beneath trees, beside pools, while the Daoist meditated nearby, seeking resonance with heaven and earth.

Those leisurely times were now forever lost.

At this moment, Li Yu vowed to remember all these people firmly in his heart. He had never been one to repay evil with kindness.

He recalled a phrase heard in the academy: “Repay evil with virtue? How so? The master answered, ‘Repay evil with justice, repay virtue with virtue.’”

Though the book’s teachings were few, this saying stayed with him, and he believed it entirely true.

It made no sense for someone to break in with hostility, yet be welcomed with warmth and smiles. Li Yu’s attitude was that even if he could not retaliate now, he would remember it well and, when opportunity arose, strike back with full force.

Otherwise, those people would always believe themselves right, imposing their subjective will and forgetting that each person has their own independent will.

Li Yu memorized their appearances and silently vowed, “One day, I will bring you all back to Tianmen Town and make you repent for your past deeds.”

As Li Yu made this silent oath, those who had secretly sought to destroy Tianmen Town’s terrestrial power located the very lifeblood of the town.

The five major clans and a handful of scattered cultivators, looking at the mountain range before them, finally made up their minds.

“There’s no time to delay. Let us act quickly. If we destroy Tianmen Town’s earth vein power, this space will destabilize, and the Daoist will no longer be invincible.”

After Wang Zhong spoke, the other clans nodded in agreement. They pushed their cultivation to the extreme, forming a great formation overhead that inverted yin and yang.

Though it was their first time deploying this formation and somewhat raw, it operated methodically.

The formation rapidly took shape and merged into the earth veins at the fastest pace.

As it entered, Tianmen Town seemed to emit a silent lament — a wordless accusation.

Tianmen Town had a spirit; it knew who struck first. Yet precisely because of this, it felt sorrow and grief.

It wished to resist, but on one hand, Zhang Helun controlled Tianmen Town with the formation’s pivot, preventing distraction or movement; on the other, having sheltered these people for many years, the spirit could not bear to strike heavily against them.

Under this subtle perception, the people of Tianmen Town sensed something slipping away — something essential to their daily lives and constant companion, unseen and intangible yet undeniably present.

Li Yu sensed this even more clearly. Born with eyes that could see what others could not, he now watched as Tianmen Town’s yin-yang energy dissipated at an exaggerated rate.

In its place came the loss of pure energy and the rise of turbid qi.

The people’s vitality and spirit became strangely thin and fragile.

With the lifeblood of Tianmen Town destroyed, its spirit could only look on helplessly. Even those who once lived there would lose the spiritual energy they had drawn from the town; what was gained must now be lost.