Volume One: The Young Men Meet in Their Humble Years Chapter 149: The Path of Feigned Death, Part Four
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Among the countless strange and bizarre things witnessed by cultivators, Elder Chen had encountered many that were bizarre beyond imagination and uncanny in the extreme. Yet this was the first time he had ever seen anything like this.
The Eye of Heavenly Sight could perceive things as they truly were, and no illusion could endure before it. If the headless figure before him were merely an illusion that had existed in Heavenly Gate Town, there was no reason he should have been unable to see through it. However, if this person had once truly existed, then the Eye of Heavenly Sight should have shown him only an image of that person. There was no reason for the other party to be able to see him as well, much less converse with him.
Such a bizarre experience was entirely unprecedented. Moreover, according to his senses, this was not merely an image of some fragment from the past. The figure had crossed the river of time and appeared before him, speaking with him directly.
If that was truly what had happened, then the other party’s power must have been terrifying beyond measure. Even if he had died in the distant past, his existence at that moment could still influence space and time, allowing him to cross through the ages and arrive in the present.
The headless figure was about to continue questioning him when Elder Chen, unsure how to respond, suddenly saw a streak of dazzling light fly across the distant horizon. After a burst of brilliant radiance that nearly blinded him, he awakened from his vision. This time, he did not spit blood, but his complexion was deathly pale, as though he had just endured something unimaginably dreadful.
Li Zhonghong and the others stared at Elder Chen, each of them eager to know what he had seen.
“What exactly did you see?” Li Zhonghong asked anxiously.
After catching his breath, Elder Chen said, “I did not try to look for Daoist Lin just now. Instead, I wanted to begin with the people of Heavenly Gate Town and search in reverse. Unexpectedly, I saw none of them. I only saw Heavenly Gate Town shrouded in mist. Then, in a daze, I saw Daoist Lin. He cast a spell and summoned a beam of intense light, forcibly driving me out of my vision and injuring my spirit.”
He told half the truth and concealed the other half; half of his words were true, and half were false. Though everyone harbored suspicions, Elder Chen was currently the only one capable of using the Star-Gazing Art of the Heavenly Secrets Sect to open the Eye of Heavenly Sight and observe events of the past. Thus, they had no other means of proving that he was lying.
After a brief pause, Li Zhonghong asked again, “Then did you find the person I asked you to find?”
Elder Chen shook his head apologetically. “No. To begin with, Daoist Lin himself is immensely powerful. With my current strength, it would be impossible to find anything or anyone connected to him. Heavenly Gate Town itself is also exceedingly unusual—so unusual that I feel what we are seeing now is merely the tip of the iceberg. The true Heavenly Gate Town may be far more mysterious than we imagine.”
By this point, Li Xiyan had absorbed enough dead spirits to supply Elder Chen with cultivation power. Asking Elder Chen to act again would cause him immense harm.
Seeing that Elder Chen had accomplished nothing toward finding Li Yu, Li Xiyan began to feel displeased with him.
The City Lord had always turned a blind eye to their actions. After they returned, he merely ordered people to provide them with some food and healing pills, then sat quietly to one side and meditated upon what he had gained during the day.
He had consequently entered a state of deep meditation, paying no attention to anything happening around him.
Li Zhonghong wanted to ask the others for help, but he vaguely understood Mount Qing’s usual attitude: it would rather seek what was straight within the straight path than pursue what was crooked through indirect means. Getting Mount Qing to help would likely be harder than ascending to heaven. As for Cao Xihe of the Hall of Imperial Extremity, his attitude was even more impossible to discern.
That left the City Lord as the only person they could ask for assistance. Yet, judging from his current state, he was clearly immersed in a moment of enlightenment. If Li Zhonghong disturbed him, the City Lord would probably not help after awakening. He might instead simply decide to kill him.
After analyzing the situation, Li Zhonghong felt that they had no reliable way to find Li Yu. Could it be that they truly had no choice but to search every corner, shattering the last traces of tranquility in Heavenly Gate Town?
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He had considered such a course of action before. But when he remembered that this was the place where Daoist Lin had transformed into the Dao, as well as the bearing and arrogant words he had displayed before doing so, a trace of fear toward Heavenly Gate Town arose within him.
What kind of state existed after one transformed into the Dao? He had no way of knowing.
The ancient texts said that one would exist alongside the Dao and be born together with heaven and earth. But whether this coexistence was conscious or unconscious, he did not know.
Then again, since he wanted to find Daoist Lin’s disciple, if Daoist Lin still possessed consciousness, conflict with the Daoist who had transformed into the Dao was inevitable. No matter what method he used—whether the Eye of Heavenly Sight from the Heavenly Secrets Sect or some other means—he would ultimately have to endure Daoist Lin’s wrath.
But if Daoist Lin had lost his consciousness after transforming into the Dao, then whether Li Zhonghong chose to shatter the last tranquility of Heavenly Gate Town or employ some other method, none of it would cause him trouble.
No matter how he looked at it, if he wanted to find Daoist Lin’s youngest disciple, whichever path he chose would lead to consequences he had to face. The second path was merely somewhat easier.
Only after reaching this conclusion did he secretly think, “It seems my state of mind has developed a serious problem. I actually hesitate and shrink back over such a matter. Even if I can recover my cultivation in the future, I fear my path will end at the level I had previously attained.”
For a cultivator, the greatest fear was a flaw in one’s state of mind. Talent could be said to be determined by heaven, but so long as one worked hard enough, possessed sufficient fortune, and encountered great opportunities, there was still hope of reaching the highest realms.
But once a flaw appeared in one’s state of mind, one would block one’s own path. How could one continue walking forward?
Just as he was about to make his decision, the people of the Five Great Clans stepped forward. This time, all five of their ancestors had been dragged into the calamity of transforming into the Dao, causing them to lose a major pillar of support. Toward Daoist Lin, they harbored a hatred bordering on madness. As a result, they viewed everything connected with him with extreme loathing and wished nothing more than to erase all trace of him.
Yet, just as Elder Chen feared, they were also afraid that Daoist Lin still existed somewhere within Heavenly Gate Town after transforming into the Dao. If he learned that the people of the Five Great Clans had sold out his disciple, would they not be inviting disaster upon themselves?
Thus, they too remained silent. It was only when Li Zhonghong decided to take an extraordinary path that they finally found an excuse—one that could persuade Daoist Lin, or rather, persuade themselves.
“Everyone, in order to find Daoist Lin’s disciple, our Li Clan has no choice but to employ extraordinary measures. I need everyone’s help to capture every person currently in Heavenly Gate Town and bind them in the central square. Then we will use spell-enhanced voices to announce throughout the town that if he has not yet left and still refuses to appear, we will kill one person each day. I would like to see how the disciple whom Daoist Lin’s transformation into the Dao was meant to protect will choose between his own life and the lives of the people of Heavenly Gate Town.”
The moment he finished speaking, everyone present turned to stare at him. None of them had expected the Li Clan to go this far.
Moreover, judging from his words, he intended to drag everyone into this threat. If anything happened, neither the Li Clan nor those present would bear the full brunt of the consequences. Everyone would be forced to share the burden.
At that moment, the patriarch of one of the Five Great Clans stepped forward and bowed.
“Everyone, we can provide all the information we possess concerning Daoist Lin in Heavenly Gate Town. We only ask that you refrain from taking such ruthless action against the people and things within the town.”
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His words arrived like timely rain, rescuing everyone. They would neither have to play the villain nor worry about any future repercussions. All that would be required of them was to use their abilities to search for Li Yu.
The people of the Li Clan, however, were displeased. Li Zhonghong’s expression turned cold.
“If you knew this, why did you not say so earlier? Were you enjoying watching the members of our Li Clan flounder helplessly?”
Zhang Jingzhong of the Zhang Clan hurriedly apologized. “That was not my intention. The truth is, we do not know much either. At most, we know a few incidents from Daoist Lin’s life in Heavenly Gate Town. He was extremely low-key during all those years. Since the Five Great Clans each oversaw different affairs in the town, our Zhang Clan happened to know a little more than the others. Even then, I only ordered people to investigate after learning that your Li Clan wished to know everything concerning Daoist Lin.
“Now that I have heard your clan intends to take action against the people of Heavenly Gate Town, how could we stand by and watch them suffer such undeserved calamity? Even if we feared that Daoist Lin might have left some hidden measure behind in this world after transforming into the Dao, we had no choice but to reveal everything.”
Zhang Jingzhong’s words were flawless. He made it clear that he had immediately begun investigating after hearing of the Li Clan’s request, while also explaining that he had not intentionally withheld anything—their knowledge had been limited, and the investigation had not yet produced results. What he presented now was information they had only just uncovered. He further emphasized that he could not bear to watch the people of Heavenly Gate Town suffer undeserved disaster and that he feared neither the possible wrath of Daoist Lin nor the consequences it might bring.
His explanation was watertight, portraying him as a noble and benevolent man. Everyone present formed the same impression of him:
“This man must be just as meticulous in everything he does.”
After hearing this explanation, what could the people of the Li Clan say? Surely they could not retaliate against the Five Great Clans over such a minor matter.
If they did, they would likely provoke the anger of everyone present.
Zhang Jingzhong handed over the scrolls concerning Daoist Lin to Li Zhonghong. Li Zhonghong did not accept them at once. He glanced at the seemingly meek man before him, then laughed.
“Your clan is truly wasted in this little Heavenly Gate Town. If you are willing, once this matter succeeds, I can bring you back to the Li Clan.”
Zhang Jingzhong had never expected that this matter would earn him such an offer from Li Zhonghong. To be brought back to the Li Clan—what did that signify?
It meant that the Zhang Clan of Heavenly Gate Town could become an affiliated clan of the Li Clan. There would be advantages and disadvantages, but for the moment, the greatest benefit was obvious: his clan would gain the Li Clan’s support and possess the Li Clan as a powerful backer.
For the Zhang Clan, which had just lost its ancestor, this was an immense blessing.
After all, the prosperity of a clan required not only a sufficiently powerful core of experts and a new generation of talented disciples rising like bamboo shoots after the rain. Its greatest source of confidence was having someone at the highest realms of cultivation standing behind it.
With such a person as support, whether one wished to act or seek benefits for one’s clan, one would possess the greatest authority.
Ultimately, was the reason the Hall of Imperial Extremity, the Li Clan, and the Great Sword Mount Qing enjoyed such transcendent status not simply that they possessed so many high-level cultivators?
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