The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 208 Natal Character (4k)

Their greatest reliance was something belonging to others, which, let alone in a life-or-death struggle, was a deadly hidden danger even in ordinary times.

How dare you, you shameless scoundrel, only bring this up now?!

In a fit of shock and anger, the two men, seeing the massive dragon charging towards them without any fear of the overwhelming force, immediately withdrew their palms and retreated. The old Taoist priest, in particular, swiftly swung his palm back, slapping the man in front of him away, hoping to buy the two men a moment to catch their breath.

The already precarious Three Talents Formation collapsed almost instantly.

The man was struck suddenly in the back, and before he could react, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and was thrown forward. Watching the approaching dragon, filled with grief and rage, he roared backward:
"Today, all six of us have perished at our own hands!"

In this situation, he didn't even struggle, letting himself be swallowed by the dragon.

Admittedly, he could have risked destroying his magic weapon and exhausting his cultivation to sacrifice himself to the Golden Dragon Compass—with its natural ability to suppress dragons, forged from the leftover materials of the Dragon-Slaying Platform, it could have easily broken a few of the dragon's teeth.

But he didn't. Because he couldn't have made it clearer: the six men didn't die at the dragon's mouth, but at their own hands!

They wronged him, and he would not let them get away with it!
If you try to buy me time with my life, then I'll show you an even more formidable dragon!

As the figure that did not struggle was swallowed into Hualong's belly, Hualong, who originally had no eyes, suddenly had eye sockets.

Having eyes but no pupils, still falling short by a hair's breadth.

It all happened so fast that Du Yuan only had time to whisper one sentence:
“That is not my possession.”

Upon hearing this, the remaining two almost immediately broke apart.

It's unbelievable that someone with such a illustrious reputation could make such a fool of themselves!

The old Taoist priest who personally delivered that palm strike widened his eyes and exclaimed, "What?!"

Du Yuan shook her head repeatedly as she listened:

“I said, that’s not mine.”

The saying "The six states were destroyed by the six states themselves" never seems to be outdated!

"And you guys are too disloyal, aren't you? Even at a critical juncture, you're still scheming against each other."

Upon hearing Du Yuan's words, the two men's faces flushed red and then turned pale.

This slap hurt more than any of the previous ones.

The Taoist priest moved his lips a few times, but ultimately did not utter a single word—this was truly a disgraceful act.

If it were anyone else, he could still put on a brave face, saying that among cultivators, the strong are respected and the victor is king. But in front of this person, he had no confidence whatsoever and was at a disadvantage in everything.

He couldn't even shout "This is fate" like he used to.

Otherwise, what will I do if I really lose?
He could only look at the great dragon, his face alternating between red and blue, and ponder his next move.

It would have been better if I hadn't looked, because once I did, I felt a bitter taste in my throat—the great dragon had not only swallowed the man from before, but also his compass.

Just as it had previously seized the Buddha's treasure and reversed the thunder, the power of the compass was now forcibly taken away by the great dragon!

Although no unusual phenomena have manifested, a simple calculation reveals that even if another magical artifact capable of suppressing dragons were produced, it would likely be completely useless in the short term!

The only "lucky" thing was that, apart from the compass, they had no other magical artifacts to suppress the dragon.

But those dragon-taming techniques he had previously learned would likely become useless.
If a cultivator wants to live a long life, he should plan ahead and anticipate all possible situations.

Dragons are a powerful race in the world, and ordinary cultivators rarely encounter them. However, at their level, the probability of meeting one is much higher. Therefore, each of them has one or two ways to deal with them, only differing in strength.

But now, they are truly living up to that man's dying words—they are about to lose their lives at their own hands!

Thinking of this, the Taoist priest couldn't help but look at the scholar behind him.

He just used underhanded tactics, will this guy follow suit? Should we strike first?

But if that's the case, wouldn't we be even less likely to survive?
Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly heard the scholar say coldly, "Are you a fool to kill your own people?"

The Taoist priest chuckled awkwardly and said:

"What are you saying, fellow Daoist? How could I, an old Daoist, be so foolish? Before, hehe, it was merely a last resort!"

Just as he was about to continue explaining, a chill ran down his spine. He turned around and saw that the giant dragon was staring straight at the two of them.

As if scrutinizing the food on the plate!

After considering it carefully, he said:

"This old Daoist's Void Dust is an old artifact of the Heavenly Court, left behind by my sect's ancestor. I dare not speak of anything else, but its binding ability is truly profound. And you, fellow Daoist, if I remember correctly, have cultivated a Natal Character?"

Confucian scholars read the books of sages and cultivate a noble spirit.

This scholar was different from him. His sect was not included in the ancestral lineage and genealogy; it could only be considered a branch of Taoism and was ultimately not part of the ancestral lineage.

But this scholar was a true Confucian orthodox scholar—even when he was expelled from the Confucian school, the old masters of the Confucian school did not want to destroy his literary talent or his noble spirit; they merely removed him from the official register.

In addition, he was exceptionally talented. Although he was not able to prove the "Three Imperishables", he did read out a character that belonged to his destiny - this is a great supernatural power of the Confucian lineage!
Even an ordinary great scholar can be so powerful and awe-inspiring as to control the heavens and the earth with just a single character in his birth chart.

In the past, when Tianshui was flooded and devastating, a sage who was enshrined in the Confucian Temple was born. With just the word "suppress," he managed to suppress the Tianshui River, which even several dragon kings combined could not subdue.

He also remembered that when he was young, he followed the crowd to fight against evil spirits. The group was confident in their numbers, but they fell into the evil spirits' trap and were about to perish. Suddenly, the scholar who had been hiding at the end of the crowd uttered the word "move" and moved mountains and split rivers, carving out a path to their survival!
These two events left an indelible mark of awe on him, deeply impressed by the divine power of the Confucian natal character.

He also wants to use this to break the deadlock today.

However, we still need to see what the scholar's birth character actually is.

If used for warfare, it has great potential!

Conversely, then...
The scholar knew what he was thinking, so he transmitted his voice and said:
'I did indeed decipher a natal character, and it is indeed for offensive purposes. But, can your magic weapon truly give me time to unleash my full power?'

The old Taoist priest said earnestly:

"This item is an old artifact from the Heavenly Court. Legend has it that it was once used to trap a mountain-splitting divine ox! That divine ox possessed the power to split mountains; if it could restrain such a monster, then this dragon painting, which is ultimately just a step behind, should naturally be able to as well!"

"Alright, my words need time to unleash their power. As long as you hold on, both of us can survive!"

Having said that, the old Taoist priest no longer hesitated and directly flicked out the whisk in his hand, saying:

"I'll lead the charge!"

In an instant, golden light splashed down, and the floating dust suddenly split into countless strands, swirling towards the painted dragon like a golden waterfall, determined to bind it tightly. But the painted dragon merely struggled casually, and the dust that rushed forward cracked and shattered into fine dust. Seeing this, the old Taoist priest was filled with urgency, knowing that only a desperate fight was possible! He immediately slapped his chest three times, forcing out three mouthfuls of blood, which he spat onto the floating dust. With this blood sacrifice, the countless dust strands finally bound the painted dragon like iron chains, tightly binding it.

"Hurry up and make your move! This dragon is too ferocious, I can't hold out for long!" The old Taoist's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared, spitting out blood and foam from his throat.

Without wasting any time, the scholar bit his fingertip and wrote the character 'Eclipse' in mid-air on the dragon!

This is the character he pronounced as his birth name, and it was also the fundamental reason why he was expelled from Confucianism in the past.

He studied at Sima Academy, which was affiliated with Pyeongchang Confucian Temple.

Many scholars praised him, saying he had the talent to govern the world and should be a gentleman!
That early winter, the ginkgo leaves fell in abundance at Sima Academy. As he walked through it, he was deeply impressed by the magnificent scene.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of one of the trees—its branches and leaves were still as dense as a canopy. But when I reached out and gently tapped the trunk, I was shocked to discover that the inside had been hollowed out by insects and ants, leaving only a thin layer of bark to hold it up.

He was greatly surprised: how could there be a tree that was hollow inside yet still supported by lush branches and leaves? The thought had just arisen when, in an instant, he followed the branches of the tree trunk and saw the gate and walls of his own Sima Academy.

From then on, he seemed to be possessed by a demon.

He began to annotate heretical statements on the scriptures: questioning "investigating things to acquire knowledge", saying, "If you investigate all things but cannot find a way to fill the hole, how is this acquisition of knowledge different from self-deception?"; refuting "transforming nature to create falsehood", he wrote, "No matter how brightly you pretend, the worm-eaten roots and bones cannot grow new flesh. It is better to let nature erode through than to try to transform nature, so as to avoid the need for concealment."

The teachers at the academy saw this and were very worried. They tried to persuade and advise, but to no avail.

It has even backfired many times.

So much so that one day, he actually said to the theory of "righteous war" that "the skillful warrior erodes the will of the enemy and subdues them without fighting, not only by force!"

This enraged the academy's teacher, who then confined him to his quarters!

He remained unchanged, and in the following year's policy essay, he wrote: "The way of the sage is not a stubborn rock; it must be 'eroded' to become new. If it remains unchanged for a thousand years, how is it different from rotten wood?"

These words spread and almost alarmed the entire Pingchang Academy. The teachers were so angry that they slammed their fists on the table, and some of the more hot-tempered ones even smashed the writing implements on the spot.

But in the end, it was only through the intervention of his mentor that he was told that he had only made a mistake for a short time, not for the rest of his life. Only then did the great Confucian scholar from the academy remove his name, without crushing his literary spirit or dispersing his righteousness.

On the day of his expulsion, a scholar named Shen Yan looked at the plaque above the academy that read "Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations" and suddenly laughed. He felt that these people were nothing more than guarding a gilded facade.

Since then, he has fully understood the meaning of the word 'eclipse'!

Now, as he wrote the character '蚀' (eclipse), he seemed to have unloaded a tremendous burden, saying:
"Though the flesh is eroded painfully, it allows you to see the true bone. I am not wrong; the only ones who are wrong are those who cling to rotten wood!"

Therefore, this word was uttered.

Those dragons that were just one step away from victory all cried out in agony.

Upon seeing this, the old Taoist priest was overjoyed:

"Great, great! It can work!"

This is truly a unique and powerful ability of Confucianism!
That's truly amazing!

Seeing that he had truly found a way out, the old Taoist priest went all out and punched himself twice more, spitting out two mouthfuls of blood from his heart.

The combination of the two actually made the dragon painting even more difficult to control.

But at that moment, Du Yuan shook her head at the scholar and said:
"You did understand something, but you really misread it!"

The scholar Shen Yan felt a sudden tremor in his heart. He had said these words before, when he had desperately tried to protect his mentor and the great Confucian scholar who came to question him!

Those two voices from the past seemed to echo in my ears again, but instead of evoking sighs of nostalgia, they stirred up an almost obsessive rage.

He suddenly looked up, veins bulging on his forehead: "What makes you think I'm wrong?"

"Most things in this world are beautiful on the outside but rotten on the inside! Just like these withered trees all over the mountain, they look like they're still standing, but their roots have rotted away long ago! They should have died long ago!"

"And you," he stared intently at Du Yuan, his voice trembling yet filled with a fierce edge, "what makes you think I'm wrong? You're a Taoist, your cultivation is higher than mine, your realm is deeper than mine, I acknowledge that, I know that! But what makes you think my knowledge is wrong?"

"Do you even understand what Confucianism's ultimate teachings are?!"

Seeing his loss of composure, Du Yuan, who was standing in front of him, glanced at what was behind him and then shook her head.

“I am not a Confucian, but I know,” he raised his hand and pointed to the withered trees all over the mountain, “that if there is still a trace of life in these withered trees, we should protect that life and wait for the spring buds; if they are really withered, we should let them turn into spring mud—instead of pointing at the withered branches and cursing them for deserving to die.”

Upon hearing these words, the scholar's heart trembled violently.

He seemed to understand but not quite; his heart felt as if it had been struck by something, faltering at the last layer of paper, itching with desire yet unable to break through.

Du Yuan's gaze returned to Shen Yan's tense shoulders, as if looking at a child holding a shard of porcelain and refusing to let go:

"My Taoist philosophy is that 'reversal is the movement of the Tao,' which means returning to the origin, but it does not mean rejecting all forms and substances; Confucianism is about 'self-discipline and restoration of propriety,' which means disciplining delusions and restoring one's original mind."

"You've read that everything is corrupt within, so you want to smash everything you see in order to end it all. But what happens after you smash it?"

"You can't control your delusions, to the point that you're going to turn everything upside down."

These days, Du Yuan has been diligently studying various classic texts.

After all, when you go out to show off, you have to have something real to offer. You can't just make everything up, can you?
The scholar was forced to retreat repeatedly by these words, his face turning pale; the old Taoist priest was sweating profusely, wanting to interject but was entangled by the dragon that was about to break free, leaving him with no strength but to watch helplessly.

Du Yuan didn't stop, and continued:

"Your mentor and that scholar said you misread it, not that you read it wrong, but that you took it as the end. It's like a festering sore that has festered through the skin and flesh to the bone, but it's meant to show you that the bone is still strong and can support an even straighter spine."

Du Yuan looked up at the scholar, then spoke each word with a sharp, resonant force, striking the scholar's heart:
"This is to make you make up your mind that even if it means cutting off your own arm, you must cut off the flesh and remove the rot to allow for new life! Instead of letting it be exposed to the wind and rain until it rots into mud."

"Tell me, even I, a Taoist, can see this principle clearly, so why can't you, a Confucian, understand it?"

The scholar felt a sweet taste in his throat, and his Daoist heart collapsed.

Da Long, no longer restrained, suddenly tore the whisk apart.

The Taoist priest then coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

"How could it be broken so easily!"

This is the treasure that trapped that divine ox in the past!

Unexpectedly, Du Yuan said to him with pity:
"You too, how can you not recognize that the powerful one back then was the person who wielded this thing, not this whisk?"

(End of this chapter)