Being knocked down by the Heavenly Dao while ascending

Shang Nanyi took a deep breath and said, "Okay, that's it."

Pei Mingyan applauded him repeatedly, "You have great self-restraint. You didn't even stand up to beat me up. If it were me, even if I didn't beat you up, I would still treat you to a few glasses of enhanced laxatives."

"you--"

Pei Mingyan rolled back to his stool and sat down. "Don't worry, don't worry. It's not proper for me, the eldest son of the Mei family, to buy laxatives. Tell me, what is the relationship between Tiandao and the fishing village? How do you know about Fang Qing and Shu Yu?"

Shang Nanyi looked at Pei Mingyan deeply, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long time, he slowly spoke.
"That year, my parents passed away. The elders in the sect discussed with me and said that I was still young and it was too young to succeed the sect master. It would be best to let the elders take over the position of sect master temporarily, and let me succeed the position when I am old enough." Shang Nanyi smiled, "The elders meant well. There is no real sect master in Xuantian Sect now. Several elders discuss and make decisions together, and I am the young master, becoming the freest person in the sect."

Pei Mingyan rubbed the mask on his face, "Then what? How is this related to the fishing village?"

"That night, I couldn't sleep and went to the cemetery. I leaned against my mother's tombstone and had a dream that was not a dream."
"In the dream, after my parents passed away, the elders of the sect recommended a new leader because I was young. Although I was not the new leader's biological son, he treated me very well." Shang Nanyi paused, "Later, when I was eighteen, the new leader proposed that I succeed him in the sect meeting. Although I am not a casual person by nature, I have never thought about succeeding him. After I declined, the matter was over."
"Later, the disciples of the sect went out to train, and I was one of them. Because of my special status, the disciples of the sect were not close to me, so I never went with them during the training."
"After parting ways with them, I helped the weak and led a carefree life. One day, while tracking down a thief, I came to a dilapidated temple, where I met a dying woman."
Shang Nanyi paused for a moment, "She is Fang Qing."

"and after?"

"Later, I asked several people in the ruined temple what happened and why a group of people would target an ordinary woman with no magic skills. Maybe because I always have a serious face, several practitioners were scared by me and left one after another. But I showed up too late, and the woman was already in time for treatment. In less than a moment, she died."

Pei Mingyan seemed to be thinking about something. "So when you knew Fang Qing was going to make a deal with you, you agreed to meet her, and that's why you kept looking at her, right?"

"That's right." Shang Nanyi nodded. "Before I had the dream, I was sure that I had never seen her. Not to mention that such a person actually appeared, with the same name and even the same appearance as the person in the dream."

Pei Mingyan pondered for a moment, then asked, "When did you start monitoring Fang Qing?"

"I found her not long after I left Xuantian Gate. She was exactly the same as in my dream, so I didn't show up and didn't bother her until the temple destruction incident happened."
Shang Nanyi paused and said, "I delayed my visit to the ruined temple, so when I arrived there, the ruined temple was gone. Only a pile of broken walls and ruins were left after being burned by fire."

Pei Mingyan wanted to ask the other party why they delayed their trip to the ruined temple, but he instinctively felt that this question was not appropriate to ask.
He changed the question, "What did you see in your dream? If you only dreamed about this, there is no need for you to leave Xuantianmen."

Shang Nanyi sighed, "In the dream, in that dilapidated temple, after Fang Qing died, I wanted to bury her, but during the burial process, something happened that I didn't expect."

Pei Mingyan understood, "Fang Qing has become a weapon."

"That's right. A good corpse suddenly turned into a long sword. This is something I have never heard of or seen before. After confirming that I was not under the illusion, I was surprised and happy. I looked at the sword again and again. Although I don't have much experience, I know that this is a rare magic weapon. At the same time, I was very curious, so I interrupted my training and returned to Xuantianmen."
"After arriving at the sect, I reported the matter to the sect leader, who also found it strange. After everyone discussed it, they all agreed that the weapon should not be used and suggested that it be taken back to the sect and sealed. Although I was reluctant, I agreed."
"After I handed it over, everyone unexpectedly discovered that the sword would flee from the Xuantian Sect's warehouse on its own and actively look for me, which caused me a lot of trouble. Later, I was cleared of suspicion of theft, and everyone finally came to the conclusion that this spiritual sword had recognized me as its master."
"In desperation, the sect master gave me the sword as a reward, and punished me to train for three more years before returning. So I left the sect, and took it with me to travel all over the mountains, rivers and seas, dealing with injustices."

"In that case, this is actually a good thing," said Pei Mingyan.

Shang Nanyi nodded, "But, since the day I got the sword, people have often chased me for unknown reasons. They came for the sword."
"I set up a trap and pretended to be seriously injured. As I wished, I was rescued and taken to a paradise to recuperate." Shang Nanyi glanced at Pei Mingyan, "That place is Yongshan Academy."

"Well," Pei Mingyan seemed to be thinking, "and then what?" "The person who saved me was a guardian of the academy. She was a very kind girl. She was gentle and considerate, and she loved to take care of flowers and plants. I spent a very peaceful time there."
"But I found that my memory began to have problems. Every evening, my head would feel empty and confused, as if I didn't know where I came from or what I was going to do. I just cooked and ate, and went to bed when the time came. But after waking up, I would immediately remember why I came here."
"After several attempts, I finally understood that there is an extremely powerful spell in the academy that can make people forget everything, calm down, and eliminate all their reluctance and unwillingness."
"I also observed many people in the academy because of this. They were not as lucky as me. Under the influence of magic, they had become accustomed to this peaceful and tranquil life. I thought this magic was against humanity, so I tried my best to find out why I could wake up. Finally, I found that it was the long sword that allowed me to recover my memory again and again and even stay awake."
"I began to pretend to have lost my memory and took the opportunity to get close to the head of the academy. Gradually, my disguise won everyone's trust, and I finally had the opportunity to meet the head of the academy."
Shang Nanyi's eyelashes trembled. "The master is approachable and fearless. He is different from everyone I have ever met. He can be seriously injured in order to save a spirit beast, and he will still try his best to help the servants in the academy to chop firewood and make fire even when he is seriously injured. He is proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is especially good at listening to other people's pain and confusion."
His voice became more and more hoarse. "But I understand that everything in the academy is just an illusion. The academy master just wants me to forget everything and take away the long sword. I talked to him about the piano music and the effects of different piano pieces after playing with magic."
"I gained his trust, and finally, I pierced his abdomen with my sword—"

"Stop talking!" Pei Mingyan interrupted.

Shang Nanyi suddenly came back to his senses, his eyelids still trembling, and he gasped for breath. He said in a hoarse voice that was almost inaudible, "I killed him."

Pei Mingyan looked at the person in front of him, and beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead.
Things are very clear at this point. One of the reasons why Shang Nanyi couldn't come out was not just about Mei Xucheng, but might also include Xue Qingyu.

Xue Qingyu was his first good friend.
He was also the friend whom he killed with his own hands.

Looking back at the Xiaokong incident, charging Xiaokong was actually a risky move.
If Xue Qingyu had noticed it at that time, Shang Nanyi would have been exposed.

But it is precisely because of Shang Nanyi's contradiction and pain.
Even though he knew that Xue Qingyu was a bad guy, the regret of killing his friend still affected the judgment of the then young Shang Nanyi, so he controlled Xiaokong.
Because Xiaokong is Xue Qingyu's medicine.
But Shang Nanyi also refused to admit that he was soft-hearted. He told himself that Xiaokong was just a chess piece he placed in Yongshan Academy.

He wanted Xue Qingyu to die, but he also wanted him to live.

He allowed the mastermind to act and let Xue Qingyu die. When Xue Qingyu was really in danger of his life, he couldn't bear it, so he asked Xiaokong to guide him to find the truth, not only for the mastermind, but also to let Xue Qingyu survive.

And now, he succeeded.

While Pei Mingyan was thinking, Shang Nanyi calmed down and continued, "At that moment, the dean became a harp."
"I felt like I had done something wrong, but wasn't his ultimate goal to kill me? I told myself I had done nothing wrong. But... I knew in my heart that I had killed the wrong person. He was just a tool being used."
"I began to regret it, but God didn't give me time to regret it. Just as I squatted down and hugged the harp, the guardian stabbed my chest with the shovel I used to tend the flowers and plants."
"I fled in a panic, but was still hunted down by nearly a thousand people from the academy."

Shang Nanyi laughed, "I didn't understand at that time why I saved them from being brainwashed and controlled, but instead of being grateful to me, they wanted to kill me."
"The guardian's cultivation is not as good as mine, but she is my savior after all, and I have never had the heart to kill her. Therefore, I don't know how many holes there are on my body. In the process of hunting her down, in the torment and regret in my heart, I began to miss the peaceful days in the academy. Suddenly, I understood why these people hated me so much and even wanted me to die."

"That year, I heard that Master Mei, the rising star of the Mei family, had ascended to heaven. I was deeply moved. After a narrow escape from death, I finally made up my mind. I killed the guardian and followed the clues all the way to Xuantian Gate, and found the real mastermind behind the scenes."
"He is a guest elder in the sect, named Jiang Yuanse. He is the elder who protected me and allowed me to keep the title of Young Master of Xuantian Sect."

"Ha." Shang Nanyi laughed again, "I cleaned up the sect and began to retreat. After another three years, I realized the great Dao and ascended to heaven on the spot."

Pei Mingyan was also silent, but his concerns began to deviate - so, Shang Nanyi was neither reborn nor traveled through a book, he just had a dream and dreamt of part of the truth?
He thought about it and finally came to a conclusion.
The story told by Shang Nanyi may be the only story without the intervention of the false heaven. That is, it is what would really happen if there was no time travel, book travel, the author traveling through time, etc.

He asked again: "What about the Heavenly Dao?"

Shang Nanyi paused, "I woke up on the tombstone and felt that this was my mother's reminder to me. At that time, Jiang Yuanse came. I was still young and couldn't hide my fear of him. He must have noticed it. The elders in the same sect said to take me out to relax. Because I have always been close to him, the elders didn't stop me. Later, he took me to a small fishing village."

(End of this chapter)