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Yi Huawei's words were not alarmist; they revealed her deepest fears! Pegasus Ranch, seemingly powerful, was actually like a child carrying a gold brick in a bustling city! In this chaotic world, without sufficient strength, possessing treasures was itself a sin!
Liu Zongdao listened from the side, his single eye filled with worry and solemnity. He understood the ranch's predicament better than anyone else, but no one had ever pointed it out so bluntly and incisively before!
"Sir...what can I do for you?"

Shang Xiuxun's voice was slightly hoarse, and the look in her eyes as she looked at Yi Huawei had been replaced by a panic and confusion that came from being seen through.

Yi Huawei did not answer directly, but instead gave her a deep look:
"In the midst of chaos and torrents, no one can remain unscathed. Will one drift with the tide and become fish on someone else's chopping block, or will one actively choose to fight for a truly peaceful future for oneself, for the pasture, and for all these living beings?"

He left behind this profound statement, said no more, and turned to walk slowly toward the quiet courtyard.

That's all I have to say. Shop owner, take care of yourself.

Shang Xiuxun stared blankly at the figure that disappeared behind the courtyard gate. Her pearly teeth, hidden beneath the light veil, bit her lower lip tightly. An unprecedented pressure and a choice weighed heavily on her heart.

...............

Yi Huawei did not immediately leave Pegasus Ranch with the refreshed and excited Lu Miaozi and Shan Wanjing.

"The Heavenly Demon Strategy is profound and mysterious. I need to find a quiet place to study it for a few days."

Yi Huawei's calm voice broke the silence outside the courtyard and interrupted Shang Xiuxun's chaotic thoughts: "Mr. Lu, Wanjing, let's stay at the ranch for a few days."

Lu Miaozi was taken aback upon hearing this, then a complex look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

He understood that this wasn't about comprehending the secret strategy at all. Clearly, this unfathomable leader was giving him, the incompetent father… a final chance. A chance that might mend the rift, even if it was just to let Xiuxun know he wasn't entirely heartless… A chance filled him with mixed emotions, gratitude mixed with profound shame.

When Shang Xiuxun heard that Yi Huawei wanted to stay, her lips, hidden behind the light veil, moved slightly, but she ultimately replied in a cool tone, "There is a secluded place in the back mountain of the ranch. If you don't mind, sir, you may make your own way."

Her mind was in turmoil. Yi Huawei's words, "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime," swirled in her mind like a curse. The heavy pressure of the ranch's future left her no time to think about anything else; she only hoped these uninvited guests would leave as soon as possible. She assigned Liu Zongdao to take care of their arrangements, and then, with complicated and incomprehensible feelings, she rode back to the castle, her back view carrying a hint of barely perceptible panic.

Instead of choosing a quiet courtyard near the castle, Yi Huawei had Liu Zongdao take him to the most dangerous place in the back mountain—behind the Pegasus Ranch Castle, at the edge of a sheer cliff.

Here, jagged rocks abound, a fierce wind howls, a bottomless abyss of clouds hangs beneath your feet, and the vast, boundless sky lies above. With your back against the cliff and your face towards the sea of ​​clouds, far from the hustle and bustle of the world, alone with the heavens and earth, it is the perfect place to contemplate the mysteries of nature.

Liu Zongdao arranged a simple futon and some water, then respectfully withdrew. Shan Wanjing stood guard not far away, with the chestnut horse lying quietly beside her. Lu Miaozi, on the other hand, was left by Yi Huawei in the quiet courtyard halfway up the mountain, given the pretext of "organizing his life's learning and insights," but in reality, he was left anxiously awaiting the slim possibility of communicating with his daughter.

Yi Huawei sat cross-legged on a futon atop the cliff, his green robe motionless in the howling mountain wind. He slowly opened the small black box that held the supreme secrets of the Demonic Sect.

Inside the box were no books, only a strange bone fragment, thin as a cicada's wing, neither gold nor jade, and cool to the touch. The bone fragment was dark gold in color, covered with countless fine natural patterns so fine they were invisible to the naked eye. These patterns were not carved, but rather seemed to be a manifestation of some kind of cosmic principle, containing profound, eerie, yet fundamental and powerful information!

The sixth volume of the ten-volume "Heavenly Demon Strategy" records the most core "Great Method of Planting Demons in the Dao Heart" of the Demonic Sect, as well as many lost secret techniques!

Yi Huawei's deep gaze fell on the bone fragment, his mind sinking into it.

In an instant, countless profound and unpredictable thoughts, images, and mental techniques surged into his sea of ​​consciousness like a flood bursting its banks! These were not words, but the manifestation of the most fundamental principles of the Dao!
All things in heaven and earth, embracing yin and yang, achieve harmony through the interaction of these energies. The demonic path, though unorthodox and perverse, seeks to break free from barriers and constraints, directly pointing to the primordial demonic nature that existed before the separation of heaven and earth and the beginning of chaos!
Its core essence lies in "seizing the creation of heaven and earth and invading the mysteries of the universe", replacing the will of heaven with the will of the human heart, and turning all things into a demon kingdom!
Yi Huawei's mind was as firm as a rock, unmoved by the torrent of demonic doctrines. He was not misled by its strangeness and extremism, but rather, with his already transcendent state of "birth and death arising from the mind," he calmly analyzed the core truth contained in this torrent of demonic doctrines, which, though distorted, still pointed to the Great Dao, like a deity high in the clouds.

The Great Expansion Number is fifty, but its application is forty-nine.

This profound truth, derived from the Book of Changes, suddenly shone like a spark of inspiration in his vast sea of ​​consciousness, colliding and merging in a wondrous way with the surging demonic principles.

Fifty is the number of perfect completion for heaven and earth, symbolizing the perfect order in which all things in the universe operate without ceasing. In this state of perfection, all things return to their proper place, the laws are constant, and everything operates within the framework of "Tao," without change or vitality. Like a perfectly closed circle, without beginning or end, yet... eternally still and silent.

And the "one that has vanished" is the variable that breaks the eternal silence! It is a spark of light in the chaos, a trace of disorder in the order, a tiny crack on the perfect circle!
It is precisely because of the absence of this "one" that the seemingly perfect "forty-nine" can flow and change, with yin and yang alternating, the five elements generating and restraining each other, and all things being conceived, growing, decaying, and reincarnating! Heaven and earth have the changing of the four seasons, the waxing and waning of the sun and moon, and life has birth, aging, sickness, death, love, hate, and passion! This "missing one" is the source of change, the mechanism of creation, and the fundamental reason why the universe can be ever-renewing rather than stagnant and lifeless!
Yi Huawei's eyes flashed with a sharp light! The surging torrent of demonic Dao principles in his sea of ​​consciousness, illuminated by the "Great Evolution Number," suddenly became clear in its essence!
The Demonic Sect's pursuit of "breaking down barriers," "transcending constraints," and "seizing creation" is rooted in its attempt to control that "elevated One."
Planting a demonic seed in the heart of the Dao is not merely planting a demonic seed, but forcibly creating a variable within the limited space of the human heart—a "disappearance" that does not belong to the order of Heaven! Using this as the core, it infiltrates, distorts, and even replaces the original laws of Heaven and Earth, ultimately transforming the world into a demonic realm! What a domineering and heaven-defying method this is!
However, the methods of the Demonic Sect were too extreme, focusing only on the destructive and controlling power of the "vanished one," while neglecting that it was also the source of life and change. Forcing control backfired, leading to a disastrous outcome, much like Zhu Yuyan's relationship with Lu Miaozi, ultimately resulting in destruction.

Yi Huawei's "birth and death are determined by the mind" is at a higher level. He does not forcefully try to control that "one," but rather he himself is close to the embodiment of "Tao." With the flow of his thoughts, birth and death cycle, and he himself is the source of change and the maker of order! He does not need to deliberately "plant demons." With a single thought, all things can be born; with a single thought, all laws are silenced.

He himself is the perfect unity of "fifty" and "one", which is harmonious and unobstructed yet contains infinite possibilities!
At this moment, having absorbed the domineering and profound interpretation of "the one who has vanished" from "The Heavenly Demon Strategy," Yi Huawei's understanding of his own state of "birth and death arising from the mind" instantly reached an unprecedented peak. He slowly closed his eyes.

On the cliff edge, a strange phenomenon suddenly occurs!
Centered on Yi Huawei, within a radius of ten zhang, the howling mountain wind suddenly subsided! The drifting clouds and mist seemed to be frozen by an invisible force! Even the scattered moonlight seemed to become viscous.

It is not stillness, but a deeper, more profound rhythm!

The moonlight, like water, flowed around him, faintly forming forty-nine clearly visible, dazzling bands of light that followed some kind of ultimate principle! These forty-nine bands of light, like a microcosm of the cosmos, cycled endlessly, representing the near-perfect laws governing the universe.

However, within this seemingly perfect and flawless core composed of forty-nine light bands, there always exists an extremely subtle yet real "emptiness"!
That is not nothingness, but an ineffable state of "nothingness"! It does not participate in the cycle, yet it is the very foundation upon which the entire cycle exists and changes! It seems not to exist, yet it is everywhere! It is that "vanished one"!
Yi Huawei's mind sank into the core of "emptiness." He was both the variable and the bearer of order. With a single thought, the forty-nine light bands flowed and accelerated, evolving into endless phenomena, like the changing of the sea and the birth and death of stars; with a single thought, the light bands instantly returned to silence, returning to the perfect and almost lifeless number of forty-nine.

The cycle of birth and death, the very essence of life, is contained within this small space!
Dan Wanjing watched from a distance, her heart swaying, almost mesmerized. She could feel the vast, profound aura emanating from her master, an aura that seemed to encompass the entire universe's birth and death, filling her heart with boundless awe and longing. The chestnut horse king also seemed to sense something, snorting uneasily, yet daring not to neigh.

In the quiet courtyard, Lu Miaozi sat restlessly. He was organizing his manuscript, but his mind was already in the castle. The guilt he had felt over the years gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake. Several times he walked to the courtyard gate, gazing at the path leading to the castle, only to retreat dejectedly. He was ashamed to face his daughter, and didn't know how to begin speaking.

Just then, Yi Huawei's vast and serene thoughts, like invisible ripples, quietly enveloped the entire back mountain, naturally also enveloping the small courtyard where Lu Miaozi was. This thought was not a deliberate attempt to spy, but rather the "Daoist charm" that naturally dissipated when he comprehended the Dao.

Under the influence of this grand and tranquil Daoist aura, Lu Miaozi's surging guilt, self-reproach, and longing were amplified and guided by an invisible force, becoming incredibly clear and intense! He could no longer suppress the emotions he had held back for thirty years. Facing the void, as if facing his daughter who would never forgive him, he murmured in a voice only he could hear, filled with endless regret and desolation:

"Xiuxun... my daughter... I'm sorry... and even more sorry to your mother..."

“These past three years…every single day, I’ve been tormented by regret…watching you grow up, yet I dared not approach you…watching you build up the ranch, while I could only hide in the shadows…”

"Your father is a coward... a bastard... he betrayed your mother's deep love and righteousness... and... he also missed your growth..."

"How I wish... I could say sorry to you in person... How I wish... I could hug my daughter..."

His voice choked with emotion, tears streaming down his face. These words, which he had kept bottled up inside for far too long, now, stirred by the profound Daoist energy, poured forth like a flood bursting its banks. He was unaware that this surge of emotion, imbued with his most sincere feelings, was being conveyed silently, like ripples on water, across space and directed deep within the castle, into the heart of Shang Xiuxun, who was now suffocating under the weight of the ranch's future, gazing blankly out the window at the direction of the back mountain!
Shang Xiuxun gazed out the window, the moonlight outlining her cold and lonely figure. Yi Huawei's words and the crisis at the ranch left her in turmoil.

suddenly!

An overwhelming, undeniable surge of emotion, filled with endless regret, pain, and profound paternal love, unexpectedly flooded her heart like a tidal wave! That voice… it was Lu Miaozi's voice! So clear, so painful, so… humble!
"Xiuxun...my daughter..."

"I'm sorry, Dad..."

"Every day is filled with regret..."

"I so want to... say sorry to you in person... I so want to hug my daughter..."

Shang Xiuxun's body trembled violently! The teacup in her hand crashed to the ground and shattered! Beneath the light veil covering her face, her eyes, as cold as stars, widened instantly, filled with disbelief and shock! Immediately afterward, an indescribable bitterness, grievance, anger, and... a deep-seated longing for her father's love erupted like a volcano in her heart!
She clutched her chest abruptly, her body trembling uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, instantly soaking the light veil covering her cheeks!
"He He……"

Shang Xiuxun's voice trembled violently; she wanted to say something, but choked with sobs. That belated repentance, that humble and painful fatherly love, at this moment, in a way she couldn't resist, violently smashed open the frozen door of her heart!
She bit her lip hard, trying to hold back her sobs, but the surging emotions overwhelmed her like a flood, instantly shattering the coldness and resentment she had cultivated for years. It turned out… the person she had hated for three years wasn't entirely heartless, wasn't without remorse… he was just… cowardly hiding, suffering agonizingly…

At the edge of the cliff, Yi Huawei slowly opened his eyes. The forty-nine bands of moonlight flowing around him and the strange phenomenon of "emptiness" at the core quietly disappeared.

A faint, all-knowing smile appeared on his lips.

The secrets of the "Heavenly Demon Strategy" have been thoroughly understood, and the concept of "birth and death arising from the mind" has been integrated, elevating the realm to a higher level.

That "vanished one" exists not only in the great Dao of Heaven and Earth, but also in the human heart. The opportunity he left behind, that subtle guiding sentiment, is like a pebble thrown into Shang Xiuxun's heart. Whether they can truly break through that icy barrier ultimately depends on the father and daughter themselves.

Yi Huawei's gaze turned towards the castle, where a faint yet real ripple of emotion, like a wave spreading across a calm lake, quietly spread outwards. (End of Chapter)