Chapter 98 Help You, Let Me Help You
Words she had heard in the past churned in her stomach, burning her esophagus, and finally burst forth from her mouth as flames.
I've considered refuting it, but I lack the ability; I simply cannot. I want to say that time will tell, but I've been writing this book for ten years—ten years—and I still haven't reached the ending.
Shen Cangyu paused: "This story has no ending?"
What were all those things she went through in the past?
This world was created by the author, who controls the final direction of the story. But what does it mean if the author never writes a true ending?
A hypothesis came to her mind.
"Actually, the repeated cycles of this world have nothing to do with the protagonist's death, right? The reason why the world starts over again and again is because the author deleted his own documents, overturned all the past stories, and made everything start anew."
In a single thought of the author, a world and its characters are born; and in another single thought, a world collapses and repeats itself.
“I am your first protagonist, and what I experienced is the first version of your work, right?”
A cool and exciting story about a female protagonist. The protagonist is blessed with a life that attracts everyone's attention. Shen Cangyu fights against the Five Evils with her own strength, saves Kunlun from danger, and finally reaches the pinnacle of life and ascends to become a god.
But why was this story ultimately abandoned?
I can't write anymore. I'm lost too. Becoming a god is just a simple phrase, but I feel it shouldn't be that easy. If becoming a god is just about completing a task, it's too simple. I can't convince myself of that. It's unfair to everyone else in this world... Can you understand? They're no longer just simple characters to me. Every time I kill someone, they ask me in my dreams why. Are all the people in this world just tools to drive the plot? Yes, that's how everyone writes, but I can't do it.
Shen Cangyu recalled that in the first world she experienced, Senior Sister Qiu Sheng died, Senior Brother Chu Xun died, Wanwu Guixin, and the entire Kunlun suffered heavy casualties. It was a world stained with blood. Shen Cangyu was a sharp sword forged in the bloodstains. All of this was to forge Shen Cangyu's heart of stone and her supreme ruthlessness.
That's why the protagonist changed from Shen Cangyu to Shen Qingyan.
Shen Qingyan's appearance was in line with market trends and also with the author's heart. At that time, she wanted to write a lighthearted story about everyone living well and making dumplings.
All you need to do is add a really bad final boss to this story, turn it into a hero fighting a dragon, and the main characters will defeat the boss, and everything will end perfectly.
It's an inevitable trend, and this story is also very good.
But the author was still not satisfied. She revised her plot again and again, starting over time, determined to create a story that everyone would agree on. Then, she didn't finish her work for a full ten years.
Shen Qingyan, the protagonist in the author's work, is always disliked by others because the author doesn't love him at all; he is merely a product of the author's adaptation to the trends of the times.
She studied the formulas of wish-fulfillment novels, how to create a perfect protagonist, and how to ride the wave of trending topics. While frowning, she felt that a protagonist who reaps rewards without sowing was unacceptable, and looking at the perpetually zero clicks in her inbox, she realized, no wonder she couldn't make money.
She could only choose between the moon and pennies.
The tides of time will sift out too many people, including those who are unconventional.
History teaches us how to survive and how to make choices. As long as we follow the established path, even if we don't succeed, the outcome can be better.
But the author couldn't convince himself.
I am unworthy to be a creator. If my writing cannot satisfy myself, why should I show it to readers?
"Do you create art just to be seen by others?"
But people's feedback will tell me whether my writing is good or bad.
"Fearless of fame, indifferent to honor and disgrace—isn't that what you taught me?" Shen Cangyu said. "Have you forgotten what you once wrote? I've already done it, your protagonist has already done it, so what are you still afraid of? Besides, haven't you always known what you want?"
The author's messages stopped and did not reappear for a long time.
“Yes, Tianyin is on my side. As for Tianyin, I don’t care whether it is truly the Heavenly Dao or some kind of demon in disguise. What I want to do, no one can stop me, not even you,” Wan Qianzhong said.
History has proven over thousands of years that the renowned Taoist practices left behind by Kunlun are the ultimate choice for people. Wan Qianzhong wants to overthrow Kunlun, start everything anew, and return the development of Taoist practices to their initial nascent state. Her actions are tantamount to trying to destroy the civilization left behind by cultivators over thousands of years. It is simply a fantasy and absurd.
The cultivators of Kunlun would not allow Wan Qianzhong to do this, and even the rogue cultivators would find it difficult to accept. Just as they said, Wan Qianzhong could only use his own rhetoric to deceive the ignorant mortals.
But Wan Qianzhong could not bear the world gradually becoming more homogenous, as if the people of the world were divided into two, one half being noble cultivators and the other half being ordinary mortals, with an insurmountable chasm between them, a chasm called class.
Nowadays, mortals can only bow down and obey the orders of cultivators, working like oxen and horses in Little Kunlun.
But when Taoism was first created, its purpose was clearly to help people introspect or to make the world a better place. When exactly did things begin to change?
Perhaps the author was aware of this problem when she was creating the story. In the first life, she asked Shen Cangyu to save Kunlun, but deep down she felt that Kunlun was beyond saving. Even if Shen Cangyu brought it back to life, it would only be a dying, nominal existence.
What the author wanted was the vibrant world described by countless people, the original form of Taoism thousands of years ago.
A work of art is a dream created by the creator, accomplishing everything that the creator could not do, and making up for their regrets.
Shen Cangyu knew that the author, like Wan Qianzhong, faced numerous difficulties in another world; otherwise, she wouldn't have written such a plot. But what they had in common was that they didn't know if doing so would lead to a better outcome, or whether their wishes could be fulfilled; they only knew to fight and resist relentlessly.
Shen Cangyu said, "I won't stop you. I came to cooperate with you not to save Kunlun, but for the sake of your men."
Wan Qianzhong passed on his mental techniques and Taoist arts to mortals, changing their lives. However, Bailongtan remained chaotic and disorderly. Wan Qianzhong wanted to spread the Copper Coin Eye technique throughout the world, hoping that, through this small example, the world would also descend into chaos and disorder.
“This is what I want,” Wan Qianzhong said. Only by restoring the world to its chaotic state can more possibilities emerge.
Shen Cangyu looked out the window of the tea room towards Yingxia Pass in the distance. The market was bustling with noise, and the chaotic sounds drowned out the complaints.
“Chaos is bound to bleed,” Shen Cangyu pointed downstairs. “Look at that woman buying fish. She saw through the cheating on the scale with her copper coin eye. She felt resentful, thinking that the fishmonger owed her too much. She felt indignant on her behalf, so she wanted to poison the vendor’s water. You gave them the power, but you didn’t teach them how to use it.”
"Chaos will hurt more people. You can't guarantee everyone's interests. And the injured won't remember what good things you did. They'll only remember that you overthrew Kunlun, and then society was in chaos, and they got hurt. Once this logic holds true, you will become the culprit, a new target that people want to overthrow."
Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.
“You only taught them to rebel, but forgot to teach them to restrain themselves,” Shen Cangyu said. “Power should be put in a cage.”
We do not rely on the charity of Kunlun, nor do we indulge in rampant desires. We ensure that strength and responsibility are equal, and that freedom and restraint coexist.
“You want change, I will provide you with order; you need partners, and I will help you,” Shen Cangyu said to Wan Qianzhong.
Then, she shut her mouth and asked herself, "Have you figured it out? How should I write the next part of the story? Will Kunlun fall, or will it remain standing?"
[...]
"There's nothing to worry about. Write however you want. There's no need to care what others think, nor is there any need to strive to create a perfect work. No work is perfect. When you see the flaws in a work, it means you're making progress. As long as you keep improving, you'll never create a perfect work. What you need is an ending."
[...]
"After ten years of writing, this story should finally come to an end, my dear author. It's time to wake up from your dream. What kind of plot do you want? I'll help you follow it. I'll fill in the gaps in your story. Let's finish this story together."
[...]
“Say something! Aren’t you the best at saying those weird and wonderful things? You should at least give some feedback.”
After a long while, Shen Cangyu saw a sentence appear on the live chat. --
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