Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 230 Discussion of the Dao, the Eastern Emperor Appears

"The greatest sound is silent, the greatest form is formless."

"Being fixated on appearances and unable to judge right from wrong, you drag others into your karma for your own selfish reasons."

"The Yin-Yang School treats human life like dirt, acting superior and aloof. What kind of Tao do they cultivate?!"

"You have three breaths. If you don't come out, you'll face the consequences!"

Shunjun stood there, cold sweat pouring down his face, because he had lost the ability to move, not even the ability to blink.

"The world has lost its color!"

He then thought to himself that something was wrong. Although he had heard of this unique skill of the Taoist Heavenly Sect, the exaggerated effect was still beyond his expectations.

Recalling the intelligence from within the sect, Shunjun secretly groaned. Wasn't it said that this grandmaster of Taoism usually used diplomacy before resorting to force? How come he had resorted to direct violence?

This time, Qingxu used the Heavenly Sound Transmission Technique to send his voice deep into the bamboo forest, and also into the heart of Lady Xiang.

There was no sound in my ears, but the voice in my heart was like a thunderclap, shaking me to my core.

Lady Xiang's expression changed. From this heavenly voice transmission alone, she could sense that the newcomer's strength was unfathomable.

"Master!"

"A master of Taoism!"

The Heavenly Sound Transmission technique is a secret art of Taoism, and ordinary people in the martial arts world do not know it. The fact that the person who came here used this technique so freely already reveals some clues.

If she were facing an ordinary person, perhaps Lady Xiang wouldn't be so nervous, but facing a Taoist master, she was not so calm.

Just as people in the martial arts world view the Yin-Yang School, the Yin-Yang School views the Daoist School in the same way. In their eyes, those madmen who only pursue the Dao are not much different from them, and are even more terrifying in some ways because the Daoists are pure of heart and have few desires.

When a person can take life and death lightly, what is there that they wouldn't dare to say or do?
Therefore, at this moment, she dared not gamble on whether the person who came was a saint who had transcended emotions or a demon who had taken life and death lightly.

Just as she reached the edge of the bamboo grove, Lady Xiang found Shun Jun standing there motionless. The moment he saw her, he was frantically winking at her.

Recalling her grudge against this man, Madam Xiang snorted coldly, pretending not to see him, and then looked to the other side.

On the other side of the bamboo forest stood a young man, dressed in a blue robe, exuding an air of otherworldly refinement. Every move he made subtly aligned with the principles of creation. With just one glance, she could tell that the man before her was a Taoist, specifically from the Heavenly Sect of Taoism.

"May I ask who this master is?"

Lady Xiang first looked at the person in front of her and, seeing that the other person's face was somewhat unfamiliar, asked a question.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Qingxu's eyes lit up.

It must be said that the elders of the Yin-Yang School are all extremely good-looking. Even the Grand Master of Fate, whom Tianming jokingly called the "Red-Handed Monster Woman," is a rare beauty.

This Lady Xiang had long, flowing hair and a dignified, elegant demeanor; she was a quintessential classical beauty of the East.

However, the thought of the other party's ruthless methods made Qingxu shake his head inwardly.

Originally, he didn't intend to interfere much in the matter between Shunjun and Xiangfuren, but since this matter involved disciples of the Daoist Tianzong sect, it would be inappropriate to stand idly by. After all, he was an elder of the Tianzong sect, only he was relatively young!
Having witnessed Shunjun's previous reaction, he didn't ask any further questions, but instead answered directly: "The Daoist Heavenly Sect—Qingxu."

When Lady Xiang heard these words, her expression changed immediately. It seemed that she was the same as Shun Jun. Shun Jun had never met him, but he had heard of his name. Lady Xiang was the same.

"The second Grandmaster of the Heavenly Sect."

It must be said that Lady Xiang and Shun Jun have some things in common; their first reactions are almost identical.

"Now that you know my identity, Lady Xiang should be able to guess why I've come,"

Qingxu gazed at the woman before him with a leisurely look.

Lady Xiang's face darkened. The Grandmaster of the Taoist Heavenly Sect would not come to her door without a reason. These madmen who were obsessed with the Great Dao of the Unity of Heaven and Man would not meddle in other people's business.

"Is the master referring to that disciple of the Heavenly Sect?"

Lady Xiang placed her hands folded in front of her abdomen. Although it was a question, her tone was very certain.

"The Tao follows nature, acting without acting, yet moving with the flow of fate. Now that I have encountered them today, it is not just that disciple of the Heavenly Sect, but everyone on this journey. I ask Lady Xiang to ensure their safe departure."

Upon hearing this, Lady Xiang's hands involuntarily tightened.

“Those people are weak-willed, lustful, and greedy for fame and fortune. They would be a menace in the martial arts world. Master, do you know that sometimes saving the wrong person is tantamount to killing someone?”

Qingxu chuckled.

He couldn't help but laugh at the man's eloquence and said, "I didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me. The logic is sound, but it doesn't apply to the current situation."

Upon hearing Qingxu's words, Madam Xiang frowned. She had guessed the meaning behind his words, but she had never heard of Boren before.

"What does the master think?"

Qingxu slowly exhaled, as if expelling all the pent-up emotions from his heart.

"Lady Xiang, have you ever heard of the principle of eradicating evil completely?"

When Lady Xiang heard the words "eliminate evil completely," for some reason, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Do your best to eliminate evil.

These four characters are not difficult to understand literally. "除" can be interpreted as "to cut off" or "to remove". It means that the removal of evil people must be thorough, otherwise, a moment of kindness may lead to the evil people's revenge.

Such efforts to eliminate evil are meaningless.

Standing on the other side, Shunjun's pupils shrank slightly. Qingxu had told him some things before, and this grandmaster from the Taoist Heavenly Sect seemed not to be very satisfied with, or rather, somewhat disgusted with, the two's actions.

Therefore, the phrase "eliminating evil completely" doesn't refer to any江湖人 (jianghu people, people from the martial arts world), but rather to the couple themselves.

Although Lady Xiang's mind had become twisted, she was not stupid. From Qingxu's words, she sensed a murderous intent, a very faint but very real murderous intent.

Sensing this situation, Lady Xiang subconsciously took two steps back and came to the center of the great formation.

"Human beings are born into this world with seven emotions and six desires, and with greed, anger, ignorance and hatred. Many things are unavoidable. The difference between a virtuous person and a petty person is always in a single thought."

"Humans are always complex individuals, with good and evil thoughts coexisting. Just as there is no absolutely good person, there is also no absolutely evil person."

"Lady Xiang used the great formation to arouse a person's most primal desires, which is equivalent to infinitely amplifying a person's evil thoughts. Is it really reasonable to use such a method to distinguish between a person's good and evil?" Qingxu's words were like a sharp knife, cutting through the woman's carefully woven lie. She said that if there was no problem with her state of mind, she would let the other party leave, but was this method really without problems?

"The way of Yin and Yang, in theory, emphasizes the balance of Yin and Yang. Isolated Yin cannot exist, and isolated Yang cannot grow. However, the Yin-Yang school has taken a different approach, pursuing the extreme and arbitrarily breaking this balance. Over time, this will cause great distortion to one's mind and character."

Upon hearing this, Lady Xiang's eyes showed a hint of displeasure.

No one likes being lectured, and she was no exception. If the person in front of her were the same ordinary people as before, she probably would have already taken them away.

"Isn't the master meddling too much? We can decide for ourselves which path the Yin-Yang School should take."

Qingxu looked at the other person and suddenly raised his hand slightly.

"Is the path Lady Xiang spoke of the strewn with white bones in that bamboo grove beneath your feet?"

Lady Xiang paused, seemingly surprised that Qingxu knew about these things.

"What on earth do you want to do?"

"Eradicate all evil!"

As soon as Qingxu's words came over, Madam Xiang suddenly felt as if something was pinching her throat, and then a feeling of suffocation came over her body.

For a moment, a hint of despair appeared in the eyes of this elder of the Yin-Yang School's Water Department.

She knew perfectly well that her situation was the work of this young man, but his methods were impossible to guard against, and she didn't even know how she had fallen victim to his scheme.

Shunjun, who was standing to the side, seemed to have noticed the situation and his eyes were full of anxiety.

The difference in their levels of cultivation between him and his wife and the young man before them was too great. The young man had only made a thought, and they were immediately imprisoned without any chance to resist.

Perhaps only now does he truly understand what the intelligence from headquarters really means!

Just then, a sound broke the silence and echoed through the bamboo forest.

"The technique formed by combining the 'Autumn Waters of Ten Thousand Rivers' and 'Heart Like Still Water' is indeed powerful. The master used this technique when he last visited Mount Li!"

A man dressed in a wide black robe emerged from behind the bamboo forest. Underneath the robe, nothing could be seen, only the profound and unfathomable power emanating from it.

"Master Qingxu, it's been a long time!"

Upon seeing Qingxu, the newcomer greeted him in a somewhat distant voice.

Qingxu narrowed his eyes.

"It's Master Donghuang!"

The newcomer was none other than Donghuang Taiyi, the leader of the Yin-Yang School. He never expected to meet this elusive grandmaster of the Yin-Yang School here.

"The Tai Chi is profound and unified, Yin and Yang are boundless. When something comes to an end, it will inevitably reverse. If one can recognize the cruelest side of this world and then treat all people and things with equanimity, does the master think this method of cultivation is wrong?"

Donghuang Taiyi's voice was very melodious, and his unhurried tone carried his understanding of Yin-Yang techniques.

After the worst comes the best; when things reach their extreme, yin arises; when things reach their extreme, yang arises. By going from one extreme to another, and having witnessed the most extreme situations in the world, one can face what comes next with a calm mind.

It must be said that this is indeed a method of cultivation, but such a method of cultivation is not without requirements. In Qingxu's view, such a method of cultivation places extremely high demands on a person's character. If one is not careful, one's mind will be distorted by the power, and one will eventually become a slave to the power.

"Right and wrong are meaningless!"

Qingxu stood still, slowly raising his head. In truth, he felt little fear of this extremely mysterious leader of the Yin-Yang School.

"The same principle applies to Mr. Donghuang, but it may not apply to others."

Upon hearing this, Donghuang Taiyi remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"What the master said is true, but I also believe that this path is suitable for them!"

"Suitable for them? Master Donghuang is talking about killing to attain enlightenment?"

Qingxu's tone suddenly became somewhat sarcastic. He didn't know how Donghuang Taiyi cultivated, but the actions of Xiangjun and Xiangfuren, especially Xiangfuren's actions, were actually a way of proving the Dao by killing.

"That's absolutely not the case."

Seemingly sensing the dissatisfaction in Qingxu's tone, Donghuang Taiyi's voice also carried a hint of helplessness.

He had almost guessed what had happened. He learned from the astrological laws that the two elders of the Water Department were in trouble, so he came here in advance.

The Yin-Yang School has a plan that has been in the works for over a hundred years, which requires the power of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Lady Xiang and Lord Xiang are in charge of the water element and the earth element, respectively.

Their lives were tied to the Yin-Yang School's century-long plan, so Donghuang Taiyi could not stand idly by and watch them be killed.

Of course, upon seeing Qingxu, he finally understood why he had that feeling. When a Grandmaster made a move, especially one with extremely high combat power, Xiangjun and Xiangfuren would probably be unable to stop him no matter what methods they used.

"Everyone's destiny is predetermined at birth. Some people are born into wealth and honor, while others are born into poverty and hardship. It is impossible for everyone to be the same."

"Some lives may bloom into more beautiful flowers, but some lives can only wither, decay, and eventually sleep forever underground!"

"Meeting these people is fate's arrangement, and what Lady Xiang did was to let them go where they were meant to go!"

"Just as wolves in the world need to eat meat, this is a matter of course. If we don't allow wolves to eat meat because they are pitiful and weak, then who should we blame when the wolves die in the end?"

Qingxu stood aside and sighed softly in his heart when he heard Donghuang Taiyi's words. Compared with Xiang Furen, the leader of the Yin Yang School was not on the same level in terms of either realm or thinking.

If Lady Xiang and Lord Shun had answered the previous questions, they would never have done so.

However, Donghuang Taiyi was able to express his meaning clearly and concisely.

"Master Donghuang has quite the eloquence. He can even justify killing people in such a reasonable way. If others heard this, wouldn't those who went to the Yin Yang School to die gain even more?"

Donghuang Taiyi shook his head and then continued, "It's just a fact that Lady Xiang did not lie. If one is of strong mind, one will surely be able to pass the Questioning of the Heart without incident."

"The Taoist Heavenly Sect has extremely strict rules for accepting disciples. Ordinary people are not even worth the attention of those old immortals. Take Master, for example. He broke through to the Grandmaster realm at the age of thirteen. Such talent is unique in the entire martial arts world for the past two hundred years. If the disciples in the sect cannot even see this much, I think the Heavenly Sect should not accept such disciples!"

"The Heavenly Sect has its own path of self-examination!"

(End of this chapter)