Chapter 161 Unwilling:
Things have progressed to this point.
"Since Elder Bai has said so, we naturally have no objections."
"If Lu Yingqi can truly sever his emotional ties with his sword, then we will believe that his resolve to follow the Dao is unwavering."
"All his punishments have been revoked."
"Just like... Elder Bai and you who stayed behind back then."
The trial of Lu Yingqi was temporarily suspended, and the sect leader and elders left the cliff edge and returned to the hall of Tianji Altar.
Lu Yingqi and Xiaozhi were not allowed to leave; they could not leave the rocky platform at the bottom of Wenxin Gorge until the "proof results" were available.
Elder Bai, the guide, and Rong Xie descended the path and arrived at the rocky platform.
Elder Bai strode towards Lu Yingqi, and the two stood on one side of the platform talking.
Rong Xie watched them from afar, unaware of what Elder Bai had said to Lu Yingqi. Lu Yingqi's face remained expressionless. After a while, Elder Bai finished his instructions, turned around, and showed a satisfied expression. Behind him, Lu Yingqi's gaze fell on Xiao Zhi to the side.
Xiaozhi stood far away, with her back to everyone.
Xiao Zhi's thin figure evoked pity, but Elder Bai never explained anything to him from beginning to end, as if the person who sacrificed the most in this enlightenment should accept his fate and was not worthy of expressing his opinion.
Elder Bai quickly returned to Rong Xie and the guide: "Ying Qi has indeed lived up to my expectations. He has agreed to do as I say. Rong Xie, it's time for you to step up your game."
"What about Xiaozhi?" Rong Xie asked. "What did he say?"
"Xiaozhi?" Elder Bai asked, puzzled. "What does he need to say?"
“Lu Yingqi’s path to enlightenment isn’t based on a tree or a blade of grass, but on a person. We should at least understand what this person is thinking,” Rong Xie said.
Elder Bai was about to say something when he suddenly stopped, waved to the guide, who understood and quickly walked away.
Only Elder Bai and Rong Xie remained in the corner at the foot of the cliff. Even so, Elder Bai was still worried and added a soundproof barrier around them.
"What are you thinking? If we hadn't given him a way out, he would be dead by now! Do you think the attack formation of Wenxin Gorge is made of paper? These stone spikes can cripple a Nascent Soul cultivator, and they can annihilate a Foundation Establishment cultivator!" Elder Bai said impatiently. "If he doesn't cooperate with Ying Qi, he will die anyway. So why doesn't he cooperate?"
"But he doesn't know that the Dao Proving Formation can spare his life. Isn't this a closely guarded secret of the Ruthless Dao Palace? Only Elder Bai knows this, I know this, but Xiaozhi doesn't."
Elder Bai was taken aback. He had forgotten about this matter, but it did not affect his judgment: "So what! If it weren't for his furnace physique, Ying Qi wouldn't have ended up like this today, not only disgraced but also expelled from the sect! All the cultivation he worked so hard to build will be wasted! If he had any conscience, he would know what he should do."
"..." Rong Xie was speechless for a moment. "His furnace physique was not something he chose himself. If it weren't for Madam Mei's heinous act, Xiao Zhi could have grown up like an ordinary child. In the end, Madam Mei was also a result of the factional strife in your Ruthless Dao Palace. Elder Bai, you probably can't escape responsibility either."
"You—" Elder Bai pointed at Rong Xie in anger.
"What I mean is, we should talk to Xiaozhi and try to tell him something to put his mind at ease."
"No! Absolutely not!" Elder Bai flicked his sleeve. "Those of us who assist from the sidelines can know the details, but the two at the core of the formation cannot. Otherwise, the formation will lose its effectiveness, and what's the point of talking about proving the Dao?"
Rong Xie had actually guessed this possibility.
Then... wouldn't Xiaozhi have to be prepared to die in order to accomplish this?
This is far too cruel for him.
“Even so, I think we should communicate beforehand, at least to soothe Xiaozhi’s emotions,” Rong Xie said. “If Xiaozhi harbors resentment and shows it, it will have some impact on Lu Yingqi.”
This really hit Elder Bai where it hurt.
"What?!" he exclaimed. "Our Ruthless Dao Palace provided him with food and lodging, and nurtured him to this point. He only sacrificed himself for Ying Qi. What resentment or dissatisfaction could he possibly have?!"
Rong Xie looked at Elder Bai without saying a word.
Elder Bai collapsed, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "What you said makes sense."
The people of the Ruthless Dao Palace never consider other people's feelings. For them, killing someone is much easier than comforting someone.
Elder Bai stared intently at Lu Yingqi and Xiaozhi. The two hadn't exchanged a single word, standing apart without even glancing at each other. Only Lu Yingqi was looking at Xiaozhi, but Xiaozhi didn't respond.
Rong Xie's concerns were valid.
Elder Bai withdrew his gaze and looked at Rong Xie: "You... can comfort Xiaozhi?"
Rong Xie sighed; he didn't have that ability.
“I can’t, but I think it might be better if he expresses his thoughts.”
Elder Bai adopted this idea. He waved his hand to remove the soundproof barrier and led Rong Xie toward Lu Yingqi and Xiao Zhi.
"Is there... anything you'd like to say?"
Elder Bai stood between Lu Yingqi and Xiaozhi, but for the first time turned his gaze to Xiaozhi, staring intently at him, and asked as if fulfilling a duty.
Xiaozhi looked up in surprise, his face deathly pale, his lips almost transparent: "I..."
Elder Bai waited patiently for his reply, which was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"I……"
Lu Yingqi kept staring at Xiaozhi, and at this moment, his gaze became deep and unfathomable.
"I...I don't want to..."
Xiaozhi took a deep breath, finished speaking, and lowered her eyes.
"What?!" Elder Bai thought he had misheard. "What did you say? You're unwilling?"
"..." Xiaozhi remained silent.
Elder Bai's patience, which he had finally managed to muster under Rong Xie's persuasion, was instantly shattered by Xiao Zhi's outrageous refusal.
"What do you have to be unwilling about? Who asked for your consent?!" Elder Bai roared in fury. "Whether you're willing or not, you're going to die anyway. If you are, at least you can save Ying Qi's life! Are you just going to watch Ying Qi's bright future be ruined because of you? He's destined for ascension, and now he's going to be reduced to an ordinary person—"
"Plop, plop," the little branch drooped its head, tears fell, and landed on the ground, leaving shallow marks like light rain.
"Master," Lu Yingqi finally spoke.
Rong Xie looked at Lu Yingqi with a complicated expression.
Actually, he had been wondering why Lu Yingqi had only spoken up now. Logically speaking, neither he nor Xiaozhi knew the details of the Dao Proving Formation, and he should have genuinely believed that he would kill Xiaozhi.
Even so, he still agreed to his master's request.
Is this trust in the master, or... is it truly heartless and emotionless?
After Lu Yingqi spoke, Elder Bai's imposing aura diminished considerably, and he even showed a relieved expression, but only for a moment.
Elder Bai patted Lu Yingqi's arm and turned to walk away.
Lu Yingqi looked at Xiaozhi, whose tears had already gathered into a small puddle in front of her feet.
Rong Xie knew this was their private conversation and he should leave, but for some reason, he was quite bothered. Even after taking a few steps, he secretly took out his "Hearing Ability" and used his sleeve to eavesdrop on their conversation. This feeling was like that of a prisoner about to be executed, always wondering what the person in front of him was feeling.
"You don't want to?" Lu Yingqi asked softly, his voice unusually warm.
Xiaozhi shook her head, pressed her nose, and let her emotions pass.
He choked up and said, "I...I don't know...I don't want to be separated from you."
“We won’t separate,” Lu Yingqi said. “Do you believe me?”
"What?" Xiaozhi was taken aback and looked up at Lu Yingqi.
Rong Xie was also surprised and puzzled upon hearing this. What did Lu Yingqi mean? Did Lu Yingqi know the details of the Dao Proving Formation?
“We are all born from heaven and earth, and we are originally one. As long as you are still in this world, we will not be separated,” Lu Yingqi said calmly.
Xiaozhi stared blankly at him.
Let alone Xiaozhi, even Rong Xie's mind went blank when he heard this profound truth.
Lu Yingqi actually thought that way! What can one say about him? He has the mental cultivation method engraved in his mind, and his enlightenment is still very high. No wonder he is a big shot who is about to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?
“Once I attain enlightenment and become one with heaven and earth, I will find you wherever you are and be with you,” Lu Yingqi said. “Once I get through this ordeal, nothing will be able to stop me.”
"..." Xiaozhi stared at him speechlessly.
"Would you lend me a hand?" Lu Yingqi asked frankly.
Although it was only a few words, it was a dialogue that Rong Xie had never expected.
As if a storm was brewing in her heart, Rong Xie felt that she had come to know Lu Yingqi anew, or rather, she had come to know Lu Yingqi more deeply.
Shen Bingsi would never say such a thing, so naturally, to persuade someone to sacrifice themselves for their own enlightenment, while spouting some grand principle of the unity of heaven and earth.
What could Xiaozhi say?
“But I…” Xiaozhi gritted his teeth, as if enduring intense pain. He spoke slowly, each word seeming to be branded from his burning heart, “I… I don’t know anything anymore… I can’t… feel anything anymore…”
"Why?" Lu Yingqi asked, puzzled.
“Because… I’m dead…” Xiaozhi smiled bitterly.
“You will not die,” Lu Yingqi said calmly. “No one will die.”
“Yes, they have all turned into… heaven and earth, grass and trees, the paving stones beneath our feet.” Xiaozhi laughed as if panting, “But I can’t even compare to them.”
Lu Yingqi looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“I…” Xiaozhi took a deep breath, “I’m so insignificant, of course I don’t deserve to become these things. No one paid attention to me when I was alive, and no one will pay attention to me after I die. I will become dust, become a drop of water, and then you won’t be able to find me.”
Lu Yingqi stared at him intently: "I will find you."
"..."
Rong Xie put away his all-hearing ears; he simply couldn't listen to any more of that nonsense.
If Shen Bingsi dared to fool him like that, he would slap him across the face on the spot.
It would be better to just stab him to death with a sword.
In the time that followed, Xiaozhi seemed to accept Lu Yingqi's statement, silently shedding tears and no longer raising any objections.
Elder Bai was overjoyed. He patted Rong Xie on the shoulder and praised, "You're the most resourceful little disciple of the Spirit Mirror Sect."
"Well, have you finished discussing it?" Shang Gan's voice came from the top of the cliff, still with that gloating tone. "The sect leader and elders are all waiting. It's time to make a decision, isn't it?"
Elder Bai waved his sleeve, and a beam of white light shot towards the top of the cliff: "Shang Gan, shut your mouth!"
With a loud rumble, the cliff face, as hard as iron, remained unmoved, but a lot of stones and dust fell down. If it weren't for the barrier at the bottom of Wenxin Gorge, they would have been covered in splattered dirt.
"Elder Bai," the sect leader's voice came from afar, carrying boundless pressure, "Stop acting like a child and start!"
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