The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 580 So What If You're Innate?

In April, the spring breeze is gentle and warm, and most of the chill left by winter has dissipated. With the flowers just blooming, Chang'an, located in the northwest, is also adorned with many splendid colors.

After another month of fleeing and chasing, Wu Chengyu and Bai Yuchan are now standing in front of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It is almost dusk, and the moon is rising above the willow branches. They have arrived as promised.

The pilgrims of Da Ci'en Temple had all left, and most of the monks were having their vegetarian meals at Jixiang Pavilion. Most Chinese monks do not have the precept of not eating after noon, so the bustling scene during the day had become somewhat quiet and desolate.

Occasionally, monks would pass by the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, but for some reason, they would ignore Bai Wu and his companion, as if they were from a different dimension.

The two entered the city yesterday, and Bai Yuchan no longer followed Wu Chengyu, disappearing somewhere unknown.

Wu Chengyu found an inn, took a comfortable bath, had a hearty meal, and then slept until noon, completely dispelling the fatigue of more than a month of long journey, before heading to the appointment feeling refreshed.

Bai Yuchan was the same; he had changed into a new Taoist robe and was now fully recovered, regaining his ethereal and otherworldly demeanor.

Neither of them played any tricks this time. Wu Chengyu did not take the opportunity to escape, nor did Bai Yuchan launch a surprise attack. Scheming and plotting were one thing, but respecting each other during the actual duel was another.

Wu Chengyu spoke first: "The other day in Suzhou you asked me what Buddhism talks about, and what Taoism talks about. There's no need to answer that question. Taoism talks about karmic consequences."

The Zhuangzi, in the chapter "The Great Master," states: "The Way has things it bears and things it does not bear; things it accomplishes and things it does not accomplish; things it inherits and things it does not inherit."

The Taishang Ganying Pian states: "A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings; a family that accumulates evil deeds will surely have abundant calamities."

In Taoism, the concept of "inheritance of karma" often refers to the blessings bestowed upon descendants for the good deeds of their ancestors, and the misfortunes of their descendants for the lack of virtue in their ancestors. It is a transmission of one's aura and moral character.

Many of the Daoist scriptures left by Zhuangzi referenced my Quanxing teachings, yet he was the one who attacked my Quanxing most fiercely. However, his views on the concept of bearing burdens are unrelated to my Quanxing teachings.

My philosophy is to benefit the world by sacrificing even the smallest amount, and to give up the whole world for one's own benefit, without taking a single penny. Therefore, I have no concept of bearing any burden or responsibility.

Old Bai, your Golden Elixir Sect Southern School is one of the orthodox schools of Taoism, and it has always emphasized the importance of succession.

But Lao Bai, your concept of "bearing burdens" seems to differ from the Daoist concept of "bearing burdens."

You are deliberately confusing the Taoist concept of karma with the Buddhist concept of cause and effect. The gist of your argument is that by killing your lineage, I have created a karmic connection with you, so you must kill me to settle this karmic debt in order to attain true peace.

You're putting the cart before the horse. The truth is probably that Bai Yuxian has long been a burden to you, an obstacle in your mortal world.

In your view, as long as Bai Yuxian is alive, you cannot sever your ties with this mortal world. If you want to break through to the Innate Realm, Bai Yuxian must die.

However, the person who kills her cannot be you, and it must be someone who, despite your best efforts, is powerless to protect her and ultimately dies as retribution for their grave sins. In this way, the burden on your shoulders will cease, and all the sins will be borne by Bai Yuxian, allowing you to advance further.

Am I right? The living immortal, Master Bai.

Bai Yuchan smiled bitterly after hearing Wu Chengyu's explanation: "Young friend, you are very perceptive. When I said I would take responsibility, I was just trying to find an excuse for Xian'er's death. Who would have thought that you would use this opportunity to deduce my true thoughts?"

More than forty years ago, I was stuck in the realm of the innate for a long time. My cultivation had not progressed at all over the years, so I had to change from being otherworldly to being worldly in order to find a way to break through.

Later, I met Xian'er's mother, and for a moment my Daoist heart was disturbed. In the end, I gave birth to a daughter and was finally tainted by this mortal world.

At that time, I had a sudden inspiration and thought that I could break through the predicament by having a daughter and experiencing true human emotions. Perhaps this was also a way to break through the innate level.

Who would have thought that I was not a sentimental person after all? When Xian'er turned ten, I was convinced that this path was blocked, and the path of sentimentality became a burden for me.

But the Great Way is without regret. Since I have embarked on the path of love, I cannot turn back so easily. As long as Xian'er is alive, I must continue on this path of love.

Since we value genuine human affection, I cannot abandon Xian'er; I must protect her. But if she is safe, I will have nowhere to go.

Wu Chengyu continued, "So you used another method. Spoiling a child is like killing a child. You raised Bai Xian'er to be extreme and willful, and to act without regard for the consequences. One day she will suffer retribution."

But who are you, Bai Yuchan? You are a dignified innate being and a patriarch of the Daoist sect. Since you must protect Bai Xian'er, you must step in to resolve the trouble she has caused. Unless someone is under your protection, you can still deal with Bai Xian'er and make her pay for her misdeeds.

But such people are extremely rare. Those who can oppose you are generally at the Innate Realm; the rest don't even have the qualifications to fight you. And there are only a handful of people at the Innate Realm in the world, so nobody bothers to pay attention to a willful little girl.

Bai Yuchan nodded helplessly: "Although Xian'er often causes trouble, it's never too serious. No one can really kill her and free me from this predicament."

Later, she met Lü Fang and fell in love at first sight. After marrying Lü Fang, she actually calmed down and stopped causing trouble. You can imagine how anxious I was at the time.

Fortunately, her eagerness to practice led her to suffer a qi deviation, yet she miraculously survived until she discovered the evil martial arts manual in my study.

Wu Chengyu sneered, "I'm afraid you secretly placed this manual in your study and deliberately let Bai Xian'er see it."

Bai Yuchan did not deny it: "After that, she practiced evil arts, her personality changed drastically, she would kill people and suck their blood at will, and finally she became very sinful. It was at this time that my friend appeared."

Although you are not a congenital genius, you are still a prodigy. At such a young age, you are only one step away from being a congenital genius. Most importantly, young people always have the heart to eliminate evil and protect the righteous path. In order to kill Xian'er, you did not hesitate to confront me.

In the end, he even tricked me with his own schemes, using Lü Fang to kill Xian'er, which finally freed me from this predicament.

Now that I'm free from the burden of Xian'er, I can naturally detach myself from the path of emotions and attain great tranquility. I was on the verge of a breakthrough, but alas, my young friend is too clever; he saw through my scheme in a single sentence, preventing me from achieving my goal.

Wu Chengyu shook his head and said, "Even if I hadn't interrupted you, you wouldn't have broken through. Let alone whether people above the Innate Realm are allowed to exist in this world."

You've fooled everyone, and you even thought you'd fooled yourself. But the great principles cannot be deceived, and the heart is even harder to deceive. Deep down, you know what all this is for, and that you will inevitably fail at the final moment; there's no way you'll break through.

Bai Yuchan nodded and said, "Yes, if you hadn't said that, I probably would have thought I had really fooled myself."

However, it is true that I am now free from all ties. As long as I kill my young friend, there will be no one in the mortal world to form karmic connections with me, and perhaps I will still have a sliver of hope.

"It's a pity, young friend. I can see you're not far from the Innate Realm, yet you will ultimately die here, helping me transcend."

Bai Yuchan stopped speaking, but his eyes flickered. Wu Chengyu, who was opposite him, immediately felt disconnected from the world. The sky above, the ground beneath his feet, and even everything around him pressed down on Wu Chengyu.

This was not some kind of force, but the suppression of the great forces of heaven and earth, the repulsion of nature, so the exhilarating wind that swept across a thousand miles was useless at this moment. Wu Chengyu was like someone trapped in a quagmire, completely unable to extricate himself, with nowhere to release the immense strength in his body, and his internal energy was completely unmobilizable.

Previously, Bai Yuchan used a soul-guiding thread that imitated Wu Chengyu to control him, but compared to the method he was using now, it was completely inferior.

Fortunately, Wu Chengyu was still able to speak at this moment: "As expected, this is your innate power, turning the three zhang around your body into your own world, and everything is under your control."

Back at the prefect's residence, I had my suspicions when I was about to make a move against Bai Xian'er. My perception is extraordinary; no one in the world can appear behind me when I activate my perception and completely hide from me. Even after I sense your presence, I still can't see you in my perception.

Furthermore, the fight between you and me outside Bai Xian'er's room was short-lived but quite noisy, and would inevitably have alerted others in the dead of night. I even used sonic power later, a sound powerful enough to shatter eardrums, yet Bai Xian'er and Lü Fang, separated by only a wall, remained completely unaware.

It must be said that this innate power is truly terrifying. It can separate everything within three zhang (approximately 10 meters) from the surroundings, so that people outside cannot hear or see it. Just like at this moment in the Great Ci'en Temple, so many monks, yet not one of them has noticed you and me.

As long as you are within three zhang (approximately 10 meters), the opponent is not you, but the power of heaven and earth in this area.

What should I name this innate power of yours? Is it "Your body merges with heaven and earth," or "You are invincible within three zhang," or perhaps "You have severed your connection with this world"?

Bai Yuchan's expression grew increasingly calm, but his killing intent was palpable: "Even now you're still using such clever words and flattery. It seems you're truly unafraid of death."

As he spoke, the pressure from the power of heaven and earth grew stronger and stronger. Wu Chengyu used his own body to withstand it, but in the end, the power of heaven and earth within three zhang was not enough to crush him immediately.

Wu Chengyu struggled to say, "I'd like to play a game with you now. Isn't your Soul-Locking Technique supposed to be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood? You can tell whether what I say is true or false."

Then please carefully consider whether what I am about to say is the truth.

Can you believe it? I've flown at altitudes of several thousand meters, at least a hundred times, each time breaking through the clouds, and even encountering thunderstorms a few times that nearly struck me down.

Bai Yuchan's expression was strange: "Nonsense. Unless you are a god, how could you possibly ascend to heaven?"

Wu Chengyu laughed: "You say that, but you're probably feeling uneasy inside, because you've discovered that what I said is actually true."

Not only that, I used to have face-to-face conversations with people thousands of miles away every year, and I could see their expressions clearly. I could even watch pretty young women dance on the spot.

The Taoist school has a saying about transmitting sound over a thousand miles; I wonder if you, Bai Yuchan, this living immortal, can do that.

I also know that the distance from my feet to the moon in the sky is about 760,000 li (approximately 370,000 kilometers). Don't worry about how I know this; the number is roughly accurate.

By the way, there is no Guanghan Palace, no Chang'e, and certainly no Wu Gang who idly chops down cassia trees every day. It's just a desolate, pitted land.

I also know a very important person surnamed Yang. To be precise, I don't really know him, I just know what he looks like. He is extraordinary. He has truly traveled the world in his physical body and returned unharmed. How does that compare to you, a living god?
Your soul-locking technique can distinguish truth from falsehood; you should know that no matter how outlandish what I say may seem, it is absolutely true. So, are you starting to doubt yourself now?

Bai Yuchan's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression one of disbelief. The muscles on his face twitched involuntarily. Just as Wu Chengyu had said, he could tell that Wu Chengyu was telling the truth, but he just couldn't believe it.

If he believed it, it would be completely beyond Bai Yuchan's comprehension; but if he didn't believe it, it would mean that Bai Yuchan's soul-locking technique had been completely broken, and his confidence would inevitably be shaken.

The so-called innate state of mind must be extremely high. A person who can reach the innate state is spiritually perfect and must be extremely confident. However, once this confidence is lost, it means that there is a flaw in the mind.

Bai Yuchan had been constantly deceiving himself because of Bai Xian'er. He had walked the path of love but resolutely severed his true feelings. His spiritual realm could no longer be considered perfect.

All along, he had only suppressed Bai Yuchan with his superior cultivation level. But now, Wu Chengyu was using Bai Yuchan's own weapon against him and finally found a flaw in Bai Yuchan's spiritual cultivation.

At this moment, the overwhelming force of heaven and earth that had been suppressing Wu Chengyu seemed to have weakened somewhat, and Wu Chengyu realized that he seemed to be able to push open that door now.

At this moment, Wu Chengyu put aside his pursuit of the Innate Realm. His gaze became somewhat unfocused. Having traveled through many years, he had not thought of his past life for a long time, and it seemed that he had become one with this world.

His eyes were still fixed on Bai Yuchan, but they had lost focus, as if he were seeing all sorts of things from his past life.

"Dare to reach for the moon in the heavens, dare to capture turtles in the five oceans."

Sweep away all harmful insects, and you will be invincible.

The proletariat have lost their chains, but gained the world.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

ten thousand years is too long, fight for now.

Bai Yuchan, you are not as good as me. You have never witnessed the power of heaven and earth, never heard of those truly great people, and never seen the wheels of time rolling forward.

You regard the people as mere grass and trees, yet you do not realize that you yourself will eventually perish along with them.

You pursue immortality and enlightenment, yet you do not know that the great path lies in the hands of ordinary people.

I am truly sorry for my higher education, which I am fighting with you here today. What does it matter if I am born with it?
Someone like me should be fighting against all demons and monsters. Before, knowing it was you, Bai Yuchan, and that you possessed innate abilities, actually instilled a sense of fear in me. But now, when I'm no longer afraid of you, everything falls into place naturally.

With each word Wu Chengyu spoke, his resolve hardened; with each recollection of his past life, his aura surged, as if Bai Yuchan in his eyes was nothing more than one of the demons and monsters. Gradually, an unprecedented power burst forth from his body.

Bai Yuchan's innate power was already weakened by the flaw in his mind, and now it was further dispersed by the aura that suddenly appeared on Wu Chengyu's body. This aura seemed to carry the courage to despise everything, and the area within three zhang was no longer his domain.

Just then, Wu Chengyu stepped forward, his posture as straight as a spear, his face calm and indifferent, but Bai Yuchan couldn't help but take two steps back.

"You have actually stepped into the Innate Realm. You are only in your early thirties and you have already reached the Innate Realm. Young friend, you can truly be called the number one person in the Daoist sect in a thousand years."

Wu Chengyu's eyes showed neither sorrow nor joy: "I told you, being born with innate abilities is nothing special. I used to overestimate it."

You previously used your cultivation level to suppress me, but in the end, you are a cultivator who has never mingled in the martial arts world. If we were to fight now, I would have a better chance of winning.

The tables have turned now. I wonder if I can achieve invincibility among those of the same level and leave you, this living god, here, banished to the mortal realm.

(End of this chapter)