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

Chapter 260 Guess Who I Am? (4k)

With that strike, the stone platform shattered!

Although the five people on the stage were shaken and looked disheveled, each of them possessed considerable cultivation.

Logically speaking, even if the stone platform fell, with their skills they should have been able to leap into the air and not fall into the river below with it.

But things didn't go as planned: without exception, all five of them fell into the river along with the stone platform at that moment.

They hurriedly tried to activate their magic to take flight, but as soon as they did, it vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea.

Everyone was shocked and confused until their bodies were completely submerged in the water, at which point the vanished magical power suddenly returned.

Seeing this, the group hurriedly leaped out of the river, but dared not take another step into the air—fearing that the strange scene from before would repeat itself.

The five of them could only look at each other and reach out to grab the protruding rocks or old tree roots on the cliff face, barely managing to hang in mid-air and stabilize themselves.

By the time the group had finally calmed down, the three young men and women were already pale with fright. They had never imagined that they would encounter someone with such profound cultivation in such a remote place.

The middle-aged woman and the old man were in no better shape; their faces were full of apprehension, their eyes fixed on Du Yuan standing on the opposite bank, both deep in thought:

Who exactly is this person? Is he the venerable Confucian master who arrived late? Or a hermit monk from another mountain retreat?

No matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't recall any figure in the martial arts world who matched the person in front of them.

However, this is not too surprising. There are countless cultivators in the world. Even when a great calamity occurred before, there were always many cultivators who managed to escape alive.

It's perfectly normal not to recognize someone unless they're among the top cultivators in the world.

Thinking of this, the old man, whose palm had been pierced, endured the excruciating pain and gritted his teeth as he spoke:
"We are outmatched and admit defeat today. But since you have already taught us a lesson, do you intend to continue to annihilate us and press us further?"

"If you are willing to let this matter rest, we know we are in the wrong and will not mention it again; but if you refuse to yield and insist on driving us to our deaths, then don't blame the Shaking Mountain Sect for fighting you to the death!"

Since it's obvious they can't win, they can only resort to using the sect's name to save face.

Even so, the old man was actually all bark and no bite.

After all, the other party's cultivation level is too high. If he really doesn't care about anything, even if their sect wants to settle accounts with him, he can just find a place to hide and they won't be able to find him at all!
Du Yuan, sitting opposite, gently shook her head, her tone calm:

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you all over something like this."

These words made the five men breathe a sigh of relief, secretly glad that the other party still knew his limits and did not intend to kill them.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengye hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

He had wanted to warn them that the feud was already established, and letting them go now would be tantamount to releasing a tiger back into the mountains. But upon further reflection, he realized that the matter couldn't be kept secret any longer, and that handling it this way was actually the best solution.

But today, the young master has already shown them his power. Even if they want revenge in the future, they will probably be wary of his prestige today.

In that case, if they want to vent their anger on someone, wouldn't I be the only one left? At this thought, Wang Chengye felt his eyes twitch uncontrollably.

But when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he didn't know how to tell Du Yuan—after all, the two of them had no real relationship, and he even owed her his life.

While he hesitated for a moment, Magistrate Han suddenly spoke up urgently:
"Young master, you mustn't! These people only heard a couple of unpleasant words, yet they acted so cruelly. They've suffered such a loss today; once they get back, they'll probably only become more ruthless!"

These words made Wang Chengye feel relieved, and he even found Magistrate Han much more agreeable.

But the five people opposite them instantly changed their expressions and shouted angrily:

"You wicked scoundrel! We've already said we'd stop here, and we'll keep our promise. You have no past grudges or recent feuds with us, so why do you utter such vicious words?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man hurriedly turned to Du Yuan, his tone earnest:

"Your Excellency should not listen to this fool's nonsense, lest it ruin the relationship between our two families. Besides, you should know better than us that with your cultivation level, as long as no one is killed, who would really hold a grudge?"

Magistrate Han's face grew increasingly grim. He had forgotten that these people were no ordinary mortals; they could hear him clearly even from such a distance. His heart sank, and all he could think was, "It's over, it's over."

But how could Du Yuan not see through the tricks of the trade? How could she not know that if she let them go now, they might not repent, but instead become even more wicked?

However, Du Yuan already had a better plan in mind!

After laughing, Du Yuan asked a meaningful question:
"I want to ask you, who do you think I am?"

Who do you think I am? This question immediately startled the old man.

What does this mean? Is it asking if I recognize you, or if I know your mountain?

After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke carefully:

"Your Excellency is quite discerning; my eyesight is poor, and I cannot recognize anything about you."

Du Yuan shook her head and said:

"It's alright, it's alright, you can guess whatever you want."

What kind of trick is this? The old man was increasingly puzzled, but the male disciple with a female appearance beside him suddenly had a flash of inspiration and whispered with a hint of timidity and fear:
"Uncle-Master, this...this person wouldn't happen to be here on behalf of the Confucian Temple, would he?"

A word to wake up the dreamer!

Incidentally, it nearly scared several people hanging nearby so much that they fell into the river.

The three religions are towering mountains that all cultivators can only look up to. However, each religion has its own territory and rarely interferes in the affairs of the other's region. Therefore, cultivators from the Buddhist and Taoist schools generally don't care much for them, but rather fear their imposing stature.

But the Confucian Temple is different; this is the grounds of the Confucian Temple!
Although they claim to be a major sect, in reality they are nothing more than people who rely on the Confucian Temple for survival. Therefore, if the other party is indeed from the Confucian Temple, this matter has become a huge scandal.

The old man's expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly asked:

"Could you be someone from the Confucian Temple?"

It's that sword again, and at this time of year. If it really is someone from the Confucian Temple coming, then it must be a momentous event!
Du Yuan shook her head and asked with a smile:

"Guess again?"

Do we still need to guess?
Could it be that the other party's identity is not just as simple as "someone from the Confucian Temple"?
The old man's eye twitched involuntarily. He suppressed his panic and said in a deep voice:

"Could it be that you have come on behalf of the Confucian Temple?"

This sounds similar to "someone from the Confucian Temple," but in reality, they are worlds apart, and their significance is worlds apart!

The former might simply be a way for the Confucian Temple to check on things, fearing they might cause trouble; the latter, however, clearly received the Confucian Temple's decree and was acting on its behalf.

Anyone who dares to disobey will be openly challenging the authority of the Confucian Temple! If they really anger the Confucian Temple's lords, they won't even have anywhere to hide on the temple's territory.

Du Yuan, however, continued to shake her head with a smile, her tone tinged with amusement:

"Sigh, guess again, guess again!" Still have to guess?!

The old man was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He glanced instinctively at his palm, where silvery-white blood was still dripping.

This person's cultivation is unfathomable, and he is clearly from the Confucian school. If the previous two guesses were both incorrect...
The old man's throat bobbed, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly:
"Could it be that you are a gentleman who came all the way from the Confucian Temple?"

At this moment, he was filled with fear, afraid that Du Yuan would casually toss out another "Keep guessing." If he continued guessing, he would have to think about the accompanying saints in the Confucian Temple, but he didn't even dare to think about such identities!

Fortunately, Du Yuan also felt that the time was right, and said with a smile:
"No, neither."

As soon as the first half of the sentence was uttered, the old man felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, nearly fainting and falling into the river. Fortunately, after a violent bout of dizziness, he didn't pass out completely before hearing Du Yuan's second half of the sentence slowly drift over:

"Although I belong to the Confucian school, I have no connection with the Temple of Literature."

This sudden reversal nearly caused his blood and qi to flow in reverse and burst through his skull.

For a moment, he almost burst into a tirade:

"If you're not a lord of the Confucian Temple, what are you pretending for!"

But the thought that he couldn't beat his opponent made him swallow the words back down.

Cultivators, especially those who have survived to this day, are most familiar with the meaning of "bowing down".

Just then, Du Yuan slowly spoke again:

"I just don't know if you know about the monk and the Taoist who caused some trouble in Qingzhou and the southwest not long ago?"

"You mean this?" The old man was completely confused, but he still nodded subconsciously.

"How could we not know? That Buddhist monk in Qingzhou forcefully pried open the Great World; that Taoist priest in the Southwest even dared to defy the Heavenly Law! Who in the world doesn't know about the deeds of these two? It's just that ordinary people are still kept in the dark!"

As he spoke, the old man's expression changed again, and he exclaimed in surprise:
"Are you perhaps someone sent by one of these two?"

But if that's really the case, aren't these two just showing a huge disregard for the rules of the Confucian Temple?

Du Yuan, as always, said something that was sure to shock:

"How could they have sent them? I know them well, and we often get together to discuss things."

When these words reached the ears of the five people, they all felt a "buzz" in their heads and froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

This is hardly a "mutual discussion of the Dao"! It's clearly saying that he is on equal footing with those two extraordinary figures, the Buddha of Qingzhou and the Daoist Master of the Southwest!
“You you you you you!”

The immense shock shattered the old man's composure. He pointed at Du Yuan, his lips trembling as he managed to utter five "you"s, but he couldn't finish his sentence.

Deep down, he didn't want to believe it, but he dared not gamble!

After all, he was truly no match for the person in front of him, and dared not harbor even the slightest bit of wishful thinking!
Just then, the smile on Du Yuan's face vanished abruptly, and her tone turned serious:
"I spared your lives today in the hope that you will learn from this experience, correct your mistakes, and repent, not so that you will go back and think about how to regain the 'face' you lost today!"

The old man didn't dare to reply, but stared at Du Yuan intently for a moment without blinking, his eyes filled with scrutiny, yet unable to hide his deep fear.

At this moment, only one thought kept running through his mind: Could this person really hold a high position?

Buddhism seeks the fruit, Taoism seeks the surplus, and Confucianism seeks the refinement.

Those who attain any one of these three great positions are true immortals in the world, truly celestial beings!

There is a fundamental difference between them and the people in the mountains.

Moreover, this difference is even greater than the difference between them and the people down the mountain!

The other four were so frightened that they dared not breathe, shrinking back and waiting in fear for Du Yuan to continue.

Du Yuan pointed at them:
"After you return, you must repent and correct your mistakes. If you dare to repeat them, even if I am not here, I will find ways to teach you what is right and wrong, and what is serious!"

After saying that, Du Yuan waved her hand, her tone softening somewhat:

"Go, go. Whether you believe what I'm saying or not is up to you."

Finally, Du Yuan looked at them with a meaningful gaze and slowly said:

"If you believe me, that's a good thing. Whether you're genuinely repentant or just pretending, as long as you heed my words today, you'll be safe and sound. But if you don't believe me, well..."

Although the consequences of not believing were not explicitly stated, the five people were already terrified, a chill running down their spines to the top of their heads.

The old man swallowed hard, then abruptly stood up and stepped onto a protruding rock by the river. He hurriedly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Du Yuan and said:
"We'll take our leave!"

Du Yuan did not respond, but focused her gaze on the confluence of the rivers, as if she did not care about their departure at all.

Seeing this, the old man dared not make any unnecessary movements. He hurriedly led his disciples behind him, covered in dust, and used magic to quickly disappear at the end of the river.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

Du Yuan seemed indifferent to the five people's whereabouts, but in reality, he was concentrating intently on probing—he wanted to see if he could penetrate the barrier of the river and glimpse deeper secrets.

Whether or not he could do this would be the only way to verify whether the five people had truly believed him.

As a result, just as the third breath was about to end, Du Yuan's vision actually broke through the obscuring murky river water, revealing everything underwater clearly before her eyes.

It was as if the river had become a transparent barrier, with no obstacles whatsoever.

It was at this moment that Du Yuan successfully found the sword.

The sword had an exceptionally simple and unadorned design, devoid of any exquisite ornamentation. Its entire body exuded a rustic and profound quality that had been refined over time, as if it were created solely for the purpose of "durability" from the very beginning.

At this moment, it lies quietly in the silt at the bottom of the river. Although it stands beneath the silt and has been washed by the river, its sharpness is still hard to conceal.

Upon seeing this scene, Du Yuan thought of a phrase that seemed out of place yet perfectly suited the moment:

"Rising from the mud yet remaining unstained, washed by clear ripples yet not becoming seductive?"

Both Magistrate Han and Wang Chengye were well-educated. Therefore, when these words were spoken...

Both of them looked at Du Yuan with slight surprise and said:

"Young sir, that's a very insightful remark, but I'm not sure what you mean?"

Du Yuan withdrew her gaze from the sword and turned back to say:

"lotus."

(End of this chapter)