The Word of Heaven

Chapter 319: The Grandmaster Doesn’t Like

"Please don't misunderstand me, this is not my disrespect for you."

Lin Qianshui said sincerely, "On the contrary, it is precisely because I have the utmost respect for you that I will come straight to the point at this time."

She paused, then added, "Of course, you can also understand this as a means to win your favor by being honest, just like I have seen many girls in the capital pretending to be generous in order to make men feel close to them. I will not feel uncomfortable or sad about this, I know exactly what I am doing."

Gu Zhuo looked at her and suddenly said, "There must be people who don't understand."

Lin Qianshui was slightly startled, and subconsciously thought that this sentence was meant to be a warning to her, but when she thought about it more deeply, she felt that this was not the case. Perhaps it was just pure curiosity.

After a moment of contemplation, she said, "Judging from what I have seen, most people know what they are doing, but are unwilling to admit what they are doing."

It was quiet under the dim lights.

“I used to be this kind of person.”

Lin Qianshui smiled, a very light smile, and said: "I would tell myself that everything I did was forced by life, and it was not my true thoughts. As long as I become truly great, all of these can be exchanged. Until one day, I looked back and realized that in fact, the moment I did not flatly refuse, it already meant that I was willing to accept those proposals... Often not once or twice."

Gu Zhuo asked: "Then why do you think you are different now than you were before?"

Lin Qianshui was still smiling, and said self-deprecatingly: "The reason is not special at all, it's very tacky, it's because this mountain is too boring and too quiet, so quiet that I can't calm down at all, and can only think wildly... The more a person thinks about the past, the easier it is to discover the childishness of the past, and then secretly make up your mind to cut ties with yourself, that's it."

"If I hadn't come to Xuandu, with my family broken up and homeless, I don't think I would have had the truth I have now in my life. Or... the falsehood of my youth will become my truth when I am old."

The mockery in the corners of her lips faded, no longer with such complicated meanings, and she smiled and said: "When the false is made to appear true, the true becomes false. Your words are very suitable for this kind of thing."

Gu Zhuo thought to himself, did I actually say this?

This conversation ends here.

Just as he was about to walk out of the library, Lin Qianshui's voice sounded again, with a sincere tone.

"During the days of thinking about these issues, I finally thought of a question: if my past self is old and sees my current young self, when I disdain to mock myself, I ask myself how I feel when I look at my current self. Will the old me be ashamed to the point of being embarrassed?"

"Ok?"

Gu Zhuo was somewhat interested and looked back at the woman behind the door.

Under the light, Lin Qianshui smiled happily, probably really proud of herself.

Her smile gradually became reserved, like that of a noble lady, and she said to herself gently: "Don't worry, you will also grow old one day. I hope I can live to see you come to me for tea and chat."

Gu Zhuo thought about the scene and felt that it was indeed interesting, so he nodded slightly.

Lin Qianshui put away her smile and asked seriously, "I'm curious, what do you think your past self would say to your present self?"

Until the moment she could no longer see his back, she still couldn't get Gu Zhuo's answer.

After leaving the library, Gu Zhuo followed his old memories and walked towards the Tiandao Sect’s ancestral hall.

Night had fallen, and the palaces scattered across the mountains were all dark. Covered by the gloomy sky, they looked like countless dead giants.

Stepping over the corpses of the giants, it was as if a faint candlelight deep in his pupils reflected into Gu Zhuo's eyes. That was the ancestral hall, or perhaps a god who was unwilling to die.

Gu Zhuo walked to the front of the hall.

A wind blew, lingering around him and unwilling to disperse, but not a single wisp blew into the hall.

The images of the predecessors and ancestors of the Tiandao Sect were like murals, and had not changed at all with the arrival of Gu Zhuo.

Gu Zhuo looked towards the depths of the Taoist temple, his eyes fell on the back of the young senior brother, and gradually saw the well, and then he also saw the souls of those great figures hidden in the well.

He just stood at the threshold, not caring that the night was getting darker and the smell of death in the silence was getting stronger.

During this long silence, many memories emerged and surged up. Those memories were scattered over most of his previous life... It was so long that it made him feel bored.

Looking back now, the reason why he didn't want to come to this mountain in the years after he was resurrected was probably because he hated the inevitable reminder of the past at this moment?

I don’t know how much time passed before Gu Zhuo came to his senses.

He said to the ancestors, "I have a few words to say to you."

There was silence in the hall.

Gu Zhuo said: "The reason why the Dao Sect lost a hundred years ago was because you never thought about winning from the very beginning. I knew this fact in my previous life."

Still no response.

"Losing is of course a very bad thing, but winning is even worse."

Gu Zhuo said calmly: "I am not only the biggest obstacle you face when I am alive, but also the only person who knows the situation and cannot be controlled."

Xuan Shu, who was kneeling on the cushion, turned around and looked at him in silence, not understanding why he said those words.

"When I entered the stage of immortality and separated from the Tiandao Sect, you became extremely worried."

Gu Zhuo said: "A dream that took thousands or even tens of thousands of years to realize and embodies the hopes of so many people cannot afford such a huge risk. It is only natural for me to think about how to limit me."

Xuan Shu remained silent.

The difference is that his eyes are gradually getting older and have a familiar look.

"The best solution is war."

Gu Zhuo said indifferently: "So the war came."

Just as he finished speaking, the first gust of night wind finally blew into the Patriarch's Hall, and a portrait began to float up.

In his eyes, a great soul slowly crawled out of the ancient deep well that the young Taoist was carrying and returned to the human world.

An old voice followed slowly.

"If I were you, since I knew it but didn't say anything back then, I would never say a word again in this life."

Gu Zhuo turned a deaf ear to it.

Even though he knew that the person who was speaking was the ninth generation leader of the Tiandao Sect, who occupied an important chapter in the history of cultivation that could not be skipped, and had made great contributions to the Taoist tradition, he was honored by later generations as Guangyuan Zhenren.

He even clearly remembered that this great figure in the history of Taoism would become one of the Six Imperial Gods in Heaven and have an almost supreme status.

"Why did the Dao Sect, which originally had an absolute advantage, gradually fall into the quagmire after the White Emperor turned Wangjing into a wasteland? It's because you think that dividing the world into two and ruling by the river is the most appropriate situation."

Gu Zhuo said: "This is the truth of the so-called will of heaven that people have speculated about until now."

Another great man climbed out of that ancient well, his voice as cold and indifferent as the winter wind.

"If you want to use the current situation to mock the decision you made back then, why not recall that you were also part of the situation and have never been free from it."

This person's status is in no way inferior to that of Zhenren Guangyuan, and he also holds an important position in the Heavenly Court.

Gu Zhuo said softly: "Actually, these words are just my guesses."

"but……"

He paused, looked at the ancient portraits, and said, "It has now become a fact."

A new and brisk voice came, still coming from Xuan Shu's young body, but it was a woman's voice. "With your realm back then, you shouldn't have realized the truth tonight. This is not a mockery or sarcasm. My opinion remains unchanged. You have no fate with conspiracies and intrigues. Concentrating on cultivation is the most suitable way for you to live. It's a pity that you are still unwilling to listen to my advice tonight."

Gu Zhuo said to himself: "When I was standing in front of the palace and hadn't spoken yet, in addition to reminiscing, I was also thinking about a question, which is whether you have any backup plan in this world."

The answer came from the Taoist nun again: "Although the result a hundred years ago was not as expected and brought us unexpected and huge troubles, I can give you a clear answer. There are still many cards in this world that belong to us."

The Guangyuan Master said calmly, "Our sect has accumulated nearly ten thousand years of experience, and more than twenty people have worked hard to achieve enlightenment. How can this thousand-year-old Qin State destroy it all?"

"This principle is very simple. It's good that you realize it, but you shouldn't ask it out loud, because that would make you look stupid."

Another ancestor took over the conversation: "I can tell you clearly that there are people in the world who can continue our inheritance at any time. This is why we are willing to see you tonight."

Gu Zhuo said with some emotion: "Living long is indeed a very important thing."

I don't know when the wind dissipated.

In the silence, more than twenty sages and ancestors of the Tiandao Sect walked out of the portraits and stood in the world in Gu Zhuo's eyes.

Outside the palace, the night was extremely dark, covering the entire sky like ink, completely blocking out the moonlight and starlight.

"Do you know why we agreed to let Xuan Shu go to see you?"

The nun smiled and said, "The most important reason is, of course, that he likes you very much. This liking makes him always think that you may give up your persistence, but more importantly, we want to meet you."

"The purpose of our meeting is to have a meaningful conversation, not a meaningless quarrel or confrontation. Since you are willing to stand in front of the temple tonight, it means that you have thought about this conversation."

Master Guangyuan said seriously, "You should still remember what one of the younger generations said to you that year, the comments of the ancestor."

Gu Zhuo recalled for a moment and asked, "Everything that has lasted for thousands of years will eventually come to an end."

"good."

The Taoist nun looked at him and said softly, "We have been thinking about this for the past hundred years, wondering why we were defeated a hundred years ago, and why we both suffered losses and the Bai family took advantage of it."

A wise man said: "After all the planning, this result is a warning to us. But isn't it also the best reminder?"

Gu Zhuo said: "Reminder?"

"Without destruction there is no construction, without death there is no life."

A new voice emerged: "Reincarnation is certainly a Zen concept, but it is not necessarily a biased view."

Gu Zhuo understood.

At this moment, the familiar tired voice from the senior brother finally sounded, giving the final conclusion to this conversation.

“The Heavenly Palace is a flower blooming on the corpse of the Heavenly Dao Sect.”

"Only death can bring true living."

“Everyone should be in his place.”

"You should come back with faith."

"You will be the master of heaven."

"Everything you care about in this world will last forever or be destroyed according to your will."

A long silence.

Be it Gu Zhuo, the ancestors and sages of the Tiandao Sect, or even Xuan Shu, all were silent.

This was the first formal conversation between the two sides since their unpleasant parting that year, about the future of this world and the promise that was not made that year.

Yes, the reason why Gu Zhuo did not answer Yu Sheng’s question was not because of disgust or pretense of mystery, but because at that time he had turned around and left before the ancestors gave their conditions.

"I have one last question."

“If you are asking where the ancestors went, the answer is detachment.”

“Transcendence?”

"Yes, now that things have come to this, you should know that there is no need for us to deceive you. This conversation tonight is unprecedentedly frank because we have been waiting for your return."

Just a few simple sentences depict an infinitely bright future where everything is just around the corner.

Gu Zhuo put his hands behind his back and looked at the end of the hall, where the portrait of the founder of the sect was hung.

The handsome man in the portrait does not show any life at all. He is completely different from the sages who walked out of the paintings. He may have really ascended to heaven.

"Detachment..."

Gu Zhuo whispered these two words, recalling what he had said to Daoxiu in front of Weiyang Palace.

He told the monk that he had been able to attain immortality a hundred years ago, but he had never taken that step.

Faced with this fact, Dao Xiu was extremely confused and bewildered. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed absurd.

Gu Zhuo did not explain this.

the reason is simple.

"In fact, I don't have to be the Lord of Heaven as you promised."

He said: "Back then, I was able to ascend to heaven."

There was silence.

The old men looked in surprise and disbelief.

Gu Zhuo continued: "Why should I stay in this world?"

"Of course it's because I didn't like your views and was ready to destroy the heaven you dreamed of. And because of this, you almost killed me and put me into a deep sleep for a hundred years."

He said: "From this perspective, I have real admiration for you. After all, I still respected my teachers and was really wary of you at that time."

The Taoist nun frowned and said in a deep voice: "It doesn't make sense. If you had reached that point back then, there is no way we would have allowed you to fall into that situation."

As soon as the words fell, the ancestors suddenly realized a possibility and their expressions changed drastically.

"Yes."

Gu Zhuo smiled and said, "I think so too. You were just like this when you were alive. How could you let me be punished by heaven after death? So there is actually another explanation for this matter."

No one responded, everyone was silent.

"That's probably the only explanation..."

As he spoke, Gu Zhuo took a step forward and walked into the ancient hall with a calm expression.

He looked at the portrait of the master and finally said, "The master does not like the promises you made to me."

(End of this chapter)