Forty-four What is the Way?
Not very good, Lu Yinche thought.
But the Lu Yinche in the dream actually thought about it seriously, his expression becoming more serious. "Why did you suddenly make such a decision? If you wanted to ascend, you could have done it a thousand years ago."
"Now that your master's wife's matter is settled, I've been thinking about this," the puppet sighed solemnly. "I thought that people like me would have no chance of becoming a Daoist in this life, let alone ascending to the sky. But the Heavenly Dao has been urging me to do so. The capacity of this world is limited, and I can't stay for long. So I wanted to ask your opinion on whether ascending to the sky is a good thing or not."
"Although I have reached Guixu, I am still far from ascending." Lu Yinche laughed. "Master, if you have such troubles, you should go to your old friends. What's the point of looking for me?"
The wooden face actually showed some emotion, as if puffing out its beard and glaring. "If it weren't for my old friends ascending or falling, would I bother to come to you, a talkative person? You are also a favorite of the heavens. I know you have been gifted many times and are no match for others in this endeavor. That's why I ask you this question."
Lu Yinche quickly apologized, saying sternly, "I'm not a favorite at all. I just have sharp ears and keep hearing the Heavenly Dao nagging. You want to ask me about my ascension, but I really need to think about how to answer you."
"Then think about it quickly."
How can you push people on this? Lu Yinche shook his head.
The most common explanation of the so-called cultivation of immortals is to go against the will of heaven and change one's destiny. It sounds like an endless struggle and is not rebellious, but in fact it is still within the scope allowed by the way of heaven. Starting from the Golden Elixir stage, every breakthrough in the great realm must accept the test given by the way of heaven, using thunder tribulations to refine the body and illusions to refine the mind. No matter what way is cultivated, one must have some understanding of the "Tao" in order to make progress.
The way that Xiaoyao practices is not common, and is called "the way of a hundred schools of thought". It is the path of being knowledgeable and well-informed. There are too many things to learn and understand, which tests one's qualifications and perseverance. It is a path that ordinary people cannot achieve.
It just so happened that he was born with a Taoist body, so he was able to walk through such a difficult path - who would have known that he originally just wanted to live together with his wife and reincarnate together, but he first learned alchemy to prolong his lover's life, and then researched refining equipment to summon her soul. In the end, he was really bored with life, so he learned a little bit of everything and used it, and actually walked this path to the point where the Heavenly Dao urged him to ascend.
Lu Yinche became his disciple, learning a vast array of subjects, a reflection of his own youthful curiosity. However, their understanding of the Dao differed. Lu Yinche didn't cultivate these skills with the goal of comprehending the Dao through his various miscellaneous studies. Ultimately, he learned them simply for fun, like an immortal descending to earth to pick a flower and smell its fragrance, without purpose or sincerity.
This is different from using it to kill time and indulging in it.
He did this to practice his own way - which is to move forward.
The road is full of ups and downs, and he passes through it. What he sees and hears are all experiences, and what he does are all past, and he does not stop.
The room looked simple, but it was actually built with a heating array. With the doors and windows closed, Lu Yinche felt a bit stuffy, so he got up and opened the window a crack. The cool smell of snow reminded him of Ranchuan and Yan Yanshu's Chengxiao Sect.
If the time point of this dream could be traced, one would not know whether Yan Yanshu had already emerged and stood out from his seventy-two fellow disciples, and whether he had already taken over the Kuxue Peak. However, he was still sleeping in a large bunk bed with others, relying on manpower for warmth and practicing sword cultivation. It was no wonder that only a few of the sons of aristocratic families were willing to practice this.
The puppet's fingers drummed on the table. Lu Yinche sat down again and said, "As for the benefits, ascension is the lifelong pursuit of cultivators like us. It is the highest point that can be achieved through cultivation in this world. Master, you suppressing your own cultivation and living on the Immortal Island is displeasing to the Heavenly Dao. Coming here personally to urge you on is really too much force. I can't stop you."
Xiaoyao controlled the puppet: "Can you blame me for that? If you don't make progress in cultivation, you will regress. Besides, your master is naturally powerful. He can gain enlightenment and improve his cultivation by just reading two pages of a book. What can I do?"
"Yes, yes, you're amazing." Lu Yinche also knew that he was going to suppress his cultivation. Just thinking about the theoretical implementation made him feel that it was really troublesome, so he said, "As for the disadvantages, it's just like the mortal view of death. I don't know about the soul, I don't know about consciousness, and the future is bleak, so it's inevitable to feel a little fear. If those ancient books that record ascension to the immortal realm are all false, then what is called ascension is actually a fall, wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
Xiaoyao said, "That's not necessarily the case. The will of Heaven is clear, urging everyone to practice cultivation and take ascension as a guide. It should be true."
Lu Yinche was skeptical: "Heaven's Way..."
He lowered his eyelashes, chuckled softly, and stated his conclusion, "I believe the rumors of ascending to the upper realm and enjoying a life of immortality are all false, but the way of heaven is not deceiving us. Ascension is real."
"Why do you say that?" Xiaoyao asked him for evidence.
Lu Yinche simply said, "Things go round and round, matter is conserved. Where there's income, there's naturally a way out." He dipped his finger in water and drew a circle on the table. "Changing the form of existence is still existence, isn't it? Master, you know much more than I do. You can sense whether there is a God or not, right?"
Xiaoyao remained silent.
He wasn't unaware of the significance of Heaven's urging. Not only was this world unable to accommodate a cultivator of this magnitude, but he could also faintly feel the uncontrolled drain of spiritual energy from his body. However, the rate of absorption in this environment was far inferior to the natural accumulation rate of a Half-Step Ascension master. If spiritual energy in the world were finite, then if he had more here, there would be less elsewhere.
But if he left, ascended to heaven, and took such a huge power away from this world, wouldn't it mean a huge loss for this world?
"You mean, I shouldn't accept the Ascension, continue to suppress my cultivation, or even artificially drop a realm or two..."
Lu Yinche objected, "No. I think I should ascend. This isn't just based on my understanding of the Tao. Even if I take a step back, no matter how good it is, I'm going to move forward. As for what's forward and what's right, that's up to me. Judging from the current situation, if I don't go there, I won't know anything. I have to have this choice before I can decide whether to go left or right, instead of squatting here and wasting my life for an unattainable choice."
"Besides, I just think there is a way out in the upper realm."
No matter what form it takes, there is always another way out in the upper realm.
Ascension is not a dead end, at least it is not a dead end created by the Heavenly Dao to recycle great energy.
Xiaoyao looked at him, a strange expression on the puppet's face. He asked, "Is this the gift from heaven that you gained by returning to the present, even at the cost of your soul being torn apart, to go against the will of heaven?"
Lu Yinche was shocked.
His voice flowed out naturally, even with a playful smile: "Please keep your voice down. This is not a gift from heaven. It can't be known to it."
"If it's not God-given, then what is it?"
"Do you know the legends about country goblins? They're like fox spirits that suck the essence of mortals, and some even appear in dreams." Even through the puppet, he could imagine the big eye roll on Xiaoyao's face at this moment. He smiled and ended his nonsense, "I can't say."
"You know what's going on, alright? Young people are always adventurous," the puppet shook his head solemnly. "When you reach my age—never mind. You're different. I can see it. Your soul is different. You know you're different, right?"
Lu Yinche thought, what's the difference between my soul and mine? Is it that my soul is more beautiful when it's broken into pieces? Is it priceless?
"Yes, I know." The Lu Yinche in the dream smiled faintly, "Everyone is different. There are no two people in this world who are exactly the same. Maybe I am more different than others, but what's the problem? Now that I like a man, I don't have to worry about not being able to have children."
"Do you really like him?"
"What's the real or fake thing? Master, you need to replace the eyes of this puppet. It doesn't work well." Lu Yinche stretched out his hand to touch the glass beads on the puppet's face. They were sparkling, and he had been coveting them for a while.
The puppet had anticipated his clumsy moves and dodged them by turning his head away: "Nonsense again. He looks like a child. Don't bully me."
"What? We are already of adult age. When we have time, we will go to Tiandao to witness the wedding. He is a little younger than me. No, how can he be compared with me now? I am also a beautiful young man now." Lu Yinche was righteous and did not know what shame was.
Xiaoyao scoffed, accustomed to his disciple's shamelessness. "When I was pursuing your master's wife, I wasn't as righteous as you. I wanted to reveal my heart to her. Does he know who you are? What you're doing? Does he know the other you who's still wearing pants at this moment?"
"I'm almost an adult now, why should I wear crotchless pants?" Lu Yinche glared, but did not answer other questions.
Does Yan Yanshu know what he is doing?
Did Lu Yinche himself clearly understand what he was going to do?
In the dream, the wind and snow were hitting the window, and the melted water droplets stuck to the window frame. Lu Yinche reached out to wipe them and got his hands covered in them.
His head felt like it had been struck by something, a sharp pain erupted, and a ringing in his ears immediately overtook his entire consciousness. When it passed, his memory became more complex, a soliloquy of his own, with no idea when or under what circumstances it had occurred.
He said: "This is not the guidance of heaven, nor is it destiny."
"This is just an approximate ending. I don't like it. Who would like it? I have to wonder, if there is a god writing destiny, what kind of idiot would write such a play, teasing the fate of the world and destroying it? It would be better to write a clichéd story about a talented scholar and a beautiful woman, and how Yan Yanshu and I become gay."
He hated the fate written by humans.
But as long as there is human presence in this so-called destiny, destiny will be changed.
Xiaoyao seemed to be just reminding him, not issuing a mandatory order. After saying this, he continued, "You must remember that the way of heaven cannot be fully trusted. After all, it is a dead thing, how can it know what the living desire and love."
"Then why are you worried about it urging you to ascend? Isn't it better to just treat it as a fart?"
Xiaoyao didn't refute him and said, "I'll think about it. I'll come to see you before I ascend. Remember to bring your whore with me."
Lu Yinche knew he was talking about Yan Yanshu, and thought to himself, he was asking him to meet his parents. "He's not here today. He's in the sect and only came back for a day off." Then he changed the subject, "Have you been to see the reincarnation of Master's Wife?"
Xiaoyao could control the puppet thousands of miles away, so his abilities were limited. It wouldn't be difficult for him to find a soul to reincarnate into. But he shook his head in denial: "She has found a new home. She is no longer your master's wife. My love is gone."
Lu Yinche blinked, and after a while he said, "Ah, that's right. The soul and the person themselves can't be equated."
He couldn't tell whether that emotion was a remnant of a dream, a remnant of the past, or something that was happening right now.
Lu Yinche felt a little sad. A sense of loss.
If the soul is not equivalent to a person, then who is Lu Yinche, who now has only half a soul? What is his relationship with the other half of Lu Yinche, and the unconscious but complete Lu Yinche?
If he is in love with Yan Yanshu now, what is the status of Lu Yinche outside the dream, and who is whose lover?
Xiaoyao saw through his thoughts and advised: "You should take it easy and leave yourself some escape route. When the day comes, you will have accomplished your great deeds and your soul will have returned to its rightful place. Don't make your situation too embarrassing."
"I know. When I come back, maybe he won't like me, and I may not like him either." Lu Yinche replied calmly, "But it doesn't matter. Who gets to define who a person is? I am me, and I will always be me."
Yan Yanshu is so good, I will definitely like him.
And since I'm such a good person, Yan Yanshu must like me.
Lu Yinche is a confident person and he has no doubt about this.
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