Chapter 174: The Battle is Set

The expression on Elder Qiu’s face did not change much, but he said to me, “Master, you are still young, and it is normal that you know very little about the secrets of the cultivator world. Do you know that there are three iron rules in the cultivator world?”

I pondered, and from Chen Chengyi’s memory, I also knew some of the taboos in the world of cultivators, but I didn’t know what the three iron rules were… so I shook my head.

“First, you cannot harm the ordinary family members of cultivators. Although not all cultivators have secular family members, people cannot just pop out of a stone, so most cultivators, although they have already withdrawn from the world, still have relatives in this world. If you want to retaliate by recklessly harming the family members of cultivators, in the end, it is a bit like bullying people, and it involves a lot of things. Therefore, this first rule is recognized by the cultivator community… it is tacitly agreed by all cultivators and is a rule set by humans.” Elder Qi told me in detail.

I nodded in agreement… In fact, this rule is not only here, but also applies to the world I live in, and is even more stringent… That is, once you enter the mountain gate, you must sever all ties with your loved ones in the world, because in a sense, you have already entered a different world. The influence of the cultivator’s world on the world of ordinary people is not necessarily positive, and it is somewhat like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

As for the first iron rule, I don’t even doubt its “power.” In Chen Chengyi’s memory, even a crazy person like Yang Sheng wouldn’t dare to do it so blatantly, but would act cautiously… and even tried to erase the evidence, which shows the iron-blooded nature of this rule.

And Elder Qiu continued, “The second iron rule is simple to say, but in fact it contains too much. It is difficult to define this boundary, so many cultivators are tabooed. That is, things in the cultivator circle cannot be involved in the world of ordinary people.”

“This is easy to understand. How can it be taboo?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Because this rule, like the third rule, is not like the first rule, which is determined by all cultivators, regardless of good or evil, but is determined by forces outside the circle,” said Elder Qiu.

Outside the circle of power? I frowned slightly, as if I had grasped something.

In fact, this rule is indeed everywhere, and indeed, no matter how big the matter is, ordinary people are not involved… Even in the town of the eighteen ancestral villages, Yang Sheng’s forces dare not recklessly take the lives of ordinary people, and they use various methods to achieve their goals.

But that time, although they were looking for bloodlines, I wasn’t sure what they were really after… Maybe I’ll get some answers in the final battle with Yang Sheng.

It has never been the case that cultivators are reckless with ordinary people… just like ghosts, demons, and so on… But on second thought, as Elder Qi said, this rule is difficult to define. It’s like the practice of the Black Rock Miao tribe. They have indeed affected many ordinary people… but they have also isolated ordinary people almost completely, using secret methods to take people’s lives…

And many evil cultivators are the same… They act in secret, as long as they don’t cause waves in the world of ordinary people… It seems that…

“Do you understand?” Elder Qiu looked at me and said.

I nodded, as if I had some understanding.

“In short, this second rule seems to have no regularity to be found… but there is one obvious rule that everyone recognizes… that is, as long as things in the circle of cultivators do not cause a certain impact in the world of ordinary people, and make the secular people start to talk about it, they can generally avoid this iron rule. On the contrary, great calamity is bound to come.” Elder Qi’s expression was very solemn, and I followed suit, and my heart also inexplicably began to have a mysterious awe of this world.

“How does this disaster come? Since it is not the power of the circle of cultivators, the world of ordinary people obviously cannot have too much of an impact on the circle of cultivators, so is this power the will of heaven?” I asked seriously.

“The power of the heavenly way is unpredictable, and how can the calculation of cause and effect be so simple? It’s like good and evil. People often ask, since the rules of the heavenly way are the rules of good, why does it allow evil to exist? I think you have an answer to this question in your heart, and that is that these evils come from the heart of life… The heavenly way can only temper them with rules, but it cannot eliminate them… What the heavenly way cannot interfere with is the human heart, and it can only set rules for people to choose. Therefore, in the final analysis, the Tao is the rules. When the rules are violated, there will naturally be consequences… But the rules that the circle of cultivators cannot influence the ordinary world are obviously…” Elder Qiu frowned.

I looked at him and I could understand a little bit… but I was just guessing. I had to let Elder Qiu explain it.

“Well, let me put it this way. Because the entanglement of cause and effect is too complicated, in this world, there are its own rules. For example, the way of heaven is a general rule, and the rules set by the world are sub-rules set within the scope allowed by the general rule, and they are also part of the operation of the way of heaven. If this is difficult to understand, let’s say that in the world of ordinary people there are police officers. No matter whether the things they do have various problems, the general direction is always to cut off evil… A murderer is arrested by the police and then punished, which is also a manifestation of the way of heaven. In other words, the cause and effect of the heavenly way is the general operation, and all kinds of retribution will also be reflected through the various rules of the world! In the end, aren’t the mainstream and rules of the world also the embodiment and influence of the heavenly way? Why don’t people make laws to protect evil? Think about this question. So…” Elder Qi explained it to me clearly.

“So, the circle of cultivators also has its own sub-rules, and there are also such enforcers, who also represent the rules of the Tao. Is that what you mean?” Yes, just like the police in the world! It’s just that the rules are different, but they all conform to the Tao.

I understood at once, and was shocked to death… There is such power above the circle of cultivators?

My face changed, even though I was not Chen Chengyi, I was not a person of this world… I couldn’t help but ask loudly, “Then who is this power?”

“Who knows? It’s just a rule. Those who violate it are already in trouble… I can tell you from the clues that it’s a fairy. Do you believe it?” Elder Qiu said with a wry smile.

I was silent at once, but my heart was very uneasy. Immortals? What is the concept of immortals in this world? I can’t give a specific answer. Maybe in the world I’m in, the people who are considered immortals by the people on the higher level are even higher… How do they exist in this world?

“You are much more calm than before.” Seeing my reaction, Elder Qiu actually gave such a comment.

Yes, Chen Chengyi is definitely a guy who gets easily startled, but I… I suddenly realized why my emotions fluctuate so much. If I were my true self in the past, I would have been calm after hearing this, because it wouldn’t affect my pursuit of the Dao, and I wouldn’t go against the Dao… Since it has no effect on me, why should I care about immortals? Everything is equal, only the nobility of the soul is unequal… Now, why do I still have to learn from that guy to be curious and startled at every turn?

As I thought about this, I felt a little annoyed. I wasn’t used to being like this, so I could only look at the world to calm myself down… After a while, I finally calmed down and asked, “What about the third rule? Is it related to this booklet? Is it the so-called critical point?”

“Yes, that’s what it means… This third rule is an iron rule for the protectors… There are no specific rules, but the content is about the struggles in the circle of cultivators, and the number of deaths is limited. This is to prevent cultivators from being wiped out in this world for various reasons! The specific number of deaths is not stated in the rules, and the specific battles involved only refer to a certain battle… Whether it is our Snow Mountain lineage or Yang Sheng’s forces, it has almost stirred up the entire Chinese circle of cultivators… It has even involved the circle of cultivators outside of China… No matter how many collisions have occurred in the middle, they are all part of a battle, and too many people have died…” There was a sigh in Elder Qiu’s tone.

I took the booklet in my hand… and I couldn’t help but feel sad, so I asked, “How many have died?”

“On our side, the exact number is 867, and I don’t know about Yang Sheng’s side… What I want to remind you is that this collision is almost at the critical point, and no one can die anymore. Therefore, the only thing we have to face is the final battle, and neither we nor Yang Sheng have a choice.” Elder Qiu said.

After that, he looked at me and said, “Master, in three days, there will be an important piece of news… and then the war will be set!”