Chapter 171: Foundation
I don’t have much time left? I looked at the man quietly… In my messy memories, I knew who he was. He was the real head of the Snow Mountain Sect before I took over.
The strength of this old man is unfathomable… As he walked towards me step by step… I already had a judgment in my heart about his strength.
Facing the statement that time is running out, I was very calm… After waking up from the coma, I remembered what had happened… With the Snow Mountain Sect’s token out, six days… not causing a ripple in the circle of cultivators outside the sect, that would be abnormal!
The four major powers led by Yang Sheng were very strong… Behind the four major powers, there may not be anyone who supports the Li clan, but the circle is complicated. Sometimes, some righteous sects have already entered a misunderstanding, and they regard the inheritance of the Dao as more important than the righteous sects in the world.
As for the other forces, they may be able to see clearly that even if they disregard the Daoist tradition, they cannot make a splash… It is better to observe in a low-key manner, so as to avoid having their insignificant power destroyed in this frenzy…
Now that the Snow Mountain Sect has issued a token, it is a signal… Just as someone can integrate the four major forces that have their own agendas… then the righteous way must also have a strong force that can integrate the righteous way… the Snow Mountain Sect obviously meets this condition… to be clear, this signal is an attitude… in addition to allowing the forces that have always supported the Old Li Sect to finally have a righteous and righteous reliance, it is also to allow those forces that are neutral or have been waiting for a long time to stand on the team… under the overturned nest, how can there be a complete egg?
In a fight between such powerful forces, no one can sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight. The righteous are at ease, but the evil are not at ease either. In the end, it may be both a disaster and an opportunity.
Therefore, before the two giants officially collide… the forces that have already lined up have already begun to collide… This is a declaration of loyalty, a declaration of loyalty that expresses one’s attitude and alignment.
As for why it was already six days later, I was a little confused about this question… After coming out of the underground cave, I knew that I had been unconscious for three days.
My memory has always been excellent… This is because in the world that many people desire, my spiritual awareness is also excellent, otherwise I would not have been accepted by the master… As his personal attendant, I teach and preach… Why can’t I remember those three days?
Could it be that the will that has already sunk has not opened up its memories to me? Or could it be that I told him not to give up, and he really is persisting? But why can’t I feel his presence? That guy Chen Chengyi… is so unpredictable, sometimes he’s so silly.
“I didn’t expect the Taoist monk to be so clear-thinking. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of it.” Just as I was thinking about where Chen Chengyi had gone, a thought suddenly popped into my mind… In that moment, I was a little confused. Which me was I? Or which one should I say is me?
But at this moment… the old head of the Snow Mountain Sect who was walking towards me was already standing in front of me, and his gaze seemed to penetrate me… and suddenly he said, “Head of the Sect, you seem to be a little different.”
His voice interrupted my chaotic thoughts… At that moment, my chaotic will subsided, and I sighed softly… Chen Chengyi, it turns out that you are still here, but you are a little weak. In the process of integrating these memories… it is inevitable that there will be confusion in the will. Even if it is passive, the will will resist…
Chen Chengyi… are you really passively resisting, or are you just keeping a clear head and choosing to remain silent because you don’t want anything to go wrong at this time?
I frowned slightly, then bowed to the old head of the Snow Mountain Sect, and then said, “There have been some problems on my side… but they won’t affect what I’ve always insisted on. For now, let’s not talk about it. My strength is really a bit weak, and I can’t do many things… I want to…”
“In the remaining days, I will be your mentor… I can’t be considered a master, but I can also mutually verify the techniques with you. In addition, the resources of the Xueshan lineage are completely open to you, so you should try your best to improve yourself.” What I didn’t expect was that the old head of the Xueshan lineage looked very indifferent, and he didn’t ask me too much about my chaotic situation, but just explained it in such a simple way.
“That would be great. Thank you, old master.” My heart was at peace. Naturally, I longed for the opportunity to improve my strength. In fact, my heart was cold, and I no longer valued life and death… But that guy left behind too many wishes. He was me, and I couldn’t do it properly.
Even if I knew… even if this body died, it wouldn’t bring him relief, because the soul, without being destroyed, is eternal energy. After the barrier is broken, there will always be a will that is extinguished, and only then will it be in line with the way of heaven…
If possible… I hope you can be as strong as possible, so that I can see the meaning of my existence in this life, and make my confused heart clearer. Where did I go wrong?
Speaking of mistakes, I suddenly remembered the figure I saw before my will was suppressed… a strange face, a strange temperament… but I found the soul of Wei Chaoyu in her. However, although her emotions fluctuated violently, they had nothing to do with me, but only with Chen Chengyi.
She didn’t recognize me… even though my will had already appeared… and she definitely didn’t think of anything from the previous life, because apart from the familiar soul scent, there was nothing familiar about her.
I wanted to know all about her and Chen Chengyi’s past, but I never touched that memory… But for some reason, when I thought of Wei Chaoyu, my heart ached, and in the end I still didn’t touch it… At a time of war, what is the point of thinking about past grievances and entanglements?
When I came to my senses, I found that the old master had already walked deeper into the cave. I then realized that the cave I was in was actually a large room, but it had been left in its original state with no decoration. Although I was lying on the ground, the place where I was lying was very flat. In the depths of the cave, there was a branch road, and the old master was walking towards it.
“Where am I?” I asked softly, following him.
“At the top of the Snow Mountain, the cave you saw me come out of before.” The old master was straightforward.
“So where are we going now?” At this time, I realized that the place I was in was full of spiritual energy, but the place I had been in was just like any ordinary village… So I didn’t care. It seems that I still haven’t adapted to seeing everything through his eyes.
“The best place for training in the true Snow Mountain lineage.” The old master answered me like this, and in the meantime, he had already led me to an iron door.
The iron gate was very simple, but it was simply decorated without any decoration… The old headmaster stopped here, neither reaching out to push the door nor making any other movements. After a long pause, he turned to me and said, “Compared to before, you seem calmer and more indifferent, as if you are letting the waves crash against the shore, and I am standing tall and unmoving… However, this is an empty presence, because you have no foundation… Once it collapses, it will be shattered. In fact, in every way, you are more suitable to be the head of the Snow Mountain clan… but personally, I… prefer the old you.”
I looked very indifferent. The question of who others preferred didn’t affect me at all… But my heart was not at peace. The stone that made ripples in my heart was undoubtedly that sentence, because I had no foundation.
I was so familiar with this kind of thing… That year, heavy snow covered my mountain gate, and the master rarely left the mountain, but suddenly took me to enjoy the snow… But the snow scene was just like the clouds in the world to me. I respectfully followed behind the master, but I did not devote myself to the snow scene.
In my understanding, since the will of heaven is a set of absolutely fair and unchangeable rules, then one should stand at a distance and look at everything… In the process of seeking the Dao, I should peel away my emotions and desires layer by layer, and finally incarnate in the rules, in order to truly approach the Dao and reach the end of the road… Therefore, it was impossible for me to appreciate the snow. I thought it was just a test from the Master.
But I didn’t expect that the master would eventually realize that I was not paying attention to what he was saying. He sighed and said to me, “Cheng Dao, you seem to have a strong heart, but you don’t have a foundation. If you don’t have a foundation, even if a mountain is pressed down on the ground, it won’t sink deep into the earth. I’m afraid that a little disaster will cause you to fall into a bottomless pit. Because the mountain is too big, the stronger it is, the more shocking it will be when it collapses, and it will be irreparable.”
Now, in this strange world… an old master has said the same thing to me. What does it mean?
I am not someone who thinks he knows everything… and the Master once said, “Don’t be ashamed to ask questions…” So I took a step forward and asked, “What exactly is the foundation?”
The old master didn’t turn around, but pushed open the door in front of him, and then, in the face of the spiritual energy that came rushing at him, he said to me, “The foundation is a transparent heart. It is not a heart that is born transparent, but a heart that has been rolled in the mud, washed clean of everything, and is still transparent.”