webnovelfull Chapter 605 Questioning the Heart
Chapter 605 Questioning the Heart
Master Chonghua remained expressionless, his white robes fluttering, and said calmly, "Chonghua thanks Heaven for its grace."
Within the Five Elements Grand Formation, Xie Chang'an's aura surged, and an extremely powerful pressure spread out. The five spiritual plants, including the Rejuvenating Vine, were all subdued by this pressure and lay prostrate on the ground, unable to move.
They didn't know what was happening, and they were all trembling with fear.
With the seal gone, Chonghua Zhenren's soul naturally merged with Xie Chang'an.
Xie Chang'an today is both Xie Chang'an and Chonghua Zhenren, who is about to advance to the Nascent Soul True Monarch!
He gently lifted the sleeping Jiang Li into his arms, gazing at her beautiful sleeping face with endless affection. He pressed a kiss to her rosy lips and whispered, "Little fox, we have to go back."
Suddenly, a deafening roar resounded between heaven and earth. The once clear sky changed color abruptly, and dark clouds gathered rapidly as if swept by a gale, covering the sky and the sun. Within the dark clouds, purple lightning flickered faintly, emitting a chilling pressure.
Xie Chang'an, holding Jiang Li, stepped out of the Dragon Palace and stood in mid-air above the sea, looking up at the sky.
He clearly felt that the true essence within his body was resonating with the spatial power of heaven and earth, and that a spacetime passage was opening.
As expected, in the center of the dark clouds, two enormous heavenly gates slowly opened. At the edges of the gates, silver spatial turbulence shimmered, while inside was a dazzling galaxy.
Countless stars circulate within it, emanating pure spiritual energy; that is the passage connecting the mortal realm and the upper realm!
The dense spatial power, with its sharp edge capable of tearing everything apart, swept across the ground, leaving deep trenches. However, when this violent spatial power approached Xie Chang'an, it was soothed by the immortal light flowing around his body, and could not harm him in the slightest.
He could feel the summoning power coming from the upper realm, a mark etched deep within his soul, calling him back to that long-lost world.
The Heavenly Gate slowly opened, and one could faintly hear the sounds of bells and drums ringing out, accompanied by ethereal music.
A golden light descended from the sky, enveloping Xie Chang'an and Jiang Li in his arms, and the two rose slowly in the golden light.
At this moment, the surrounding space began to distort violently, the light refracted into strange arcs, and the distant mountains, rivers and cities became blurred, like reflections in water, swaying uncertainly.
Seeing that this small world was beginning to distort and blur as he had expected, Xie Chang'an shouted in a low voice, "Tai Xu!"
With a resounding clang, an extremely dazzling sword light shot out from the Heavenly Gate!
"Here I come!"
That snow-white longsword, like a lightning bolt cleaving through the night, was none other than the natal sword of True Man Chonghua—the Taixu Sword.
"Go and come back quickly!" Xie Chang'an shouted.
"Order!"
The Taixu Sword emitted a cheerful hum, and like an arrow released from a bow, it plunged into the small world beneath their feet that was constantly twisting, blurring, and gradually disappearing.
Before long, the sword light returned as swiftly as a shooting star, flying towards Xie Chang'an.
Xie Chang'an looked closely and saw four flickering orbs of light within the Taixu Sword. He smiled and reached out to the Taixu Sword.
Suddenly, a thunderclap rang out in the sky!
In an instant, dark clouds gathered, and lightning flashed and thunder roared!
As if the Heavenly Dao knew what he was doing, it was immediately enraged. The Heavenly Gate that was slowly opening in the air suddenly stopped and, with a "boom," began to close!
Xie Chang'an's eyes shone brightly, and all the true essence within his body erupted, transforming into a golden pillar of light that shot into the sky and sped toward the Heavenly Gate.
At the same time, the Taixu Sword transformed into a stream of light and plunged straight into his brow.
With two men and a sword, they rushed into the Heavenly Gate before it closed!
Xie Chang'an only felt a blur before his eyes, and Jiang Li in his arms had disappeared in an instant, the scene changed!
The deafening thunder was in his ears, and the purple lightning that tore through the sky was overhead. He sat cross-legged in the core of the thundercloud, his golden core shattered and his nascent soul just beginning to form, rising and falling violently in the lightning.
He returned to the place of tribulation!
The calamity clouds did not dissipate, and another phantom formed from lightning appeared before him—expressionless, without sorrow or joy, as if it had witnessed the blooming and withering of flowers, the cycle of life and death in the world.
The most dangerous trial of the heart is here again!
"Chonghua, you have cultivated the ruthless sword path for nearly a hundred years, and now you are about to transcend to the Nascent Soul stage. I ask you, what does 'ruthlessness' mean?"
The thunderous sound shook his mind, causing his consciousness to churn, but a sudden illusion appeared before his eyes:
At the age of five, he stumbled along, protected by his parents, among the fleeing crowds. His parents fell one after another, but he gritted his teeth and continued forward alone...
Dressed in rags, weak and helpless, he was locked in a dark room by a group of thugs, torn apart and bitten by countless rats, his body covered in wounds. He curled up in a ball, gritting his teeth...
As a secret agent of the Eastern Depot, he wielded his gleaming blade, ruthlessly reaping lives one after another...
Now the commander-in-chief, clad in armor, his horse gallops forward, its hooves pounding over the corpses and carcasses scattered on the ground…
In the illusion, joys and sorrows revolve like a revolving lantern, while illusory lightning and shadows relentlessly pursue: "To disregard the death of loved ones before one's eyes, to slaughter lives without compassion, to remain unmoved by the trampling of blood by iron cavalry—is this the way of ruthlessness?"
"No!"
Xie Chang'an raised his hand and tore apart the illusion before him, lightning crackling around his fingertips.
"The ruthless are those who see through illusions and are not swayed by emotions; they sever attachments and are not shaken by external things; they clearly distinguish between what to take and what to leave, and are not trapped by love, hate, greed, and anger."
The illusory figure of lightning nodded slightly, and the illusion reappeared, with scenes of his acquaintance, love, and growing affection for Jiang Li appearing before his eyes:
They made a vow to grow old together, forged a covenant of love, became husband and wife, consummated their marriage, and had twins born...
The illusory lightning crackled, "You cultivate the ruthless sword path, yet you have feelings in your heart. Aren't the two conflicting?"
"In my opinion, ruthlessness and compassion are not opposites, but rather coexist!"
Xie Chang'an smiled, "Emotions are like fuel, and the Dao heart is like fire; fuel fuels the fire, and fire refines the fuel. Without emotions, the Dao heart becomes water without a source and a tree without roots. How can one persevere on the path of cultivation? How can one make progress?"
"The path of ruthlessness is not about erasing emotions, but about mastering them! Having emotions in my heart helps me understand why I cultivate; acting without emotions helps me understand how to cultivate."
"Heaven and earth are ruthless, yet they nourish all things; the Great Way is ruthless, yet it carries all beings. Observe the world of emotions with a ruthless heart, without being biased by joy, without being disturbed by sorrow, without being attached by love, and without losing your wisdom because of hatred."
The lightning phantom gradually softened, transforming into countless points of light.
"To understand ruthlessness and compassion is the true path."
The light spots fell like rain, merging into Xie Chang'an's body.
His aura suddenly surged, the barrier of the Nascent Soul stage shattered, and the Daoist rhyme spread throughout the world like ripples.
Within his dantian, the nascent soul, which had been teetering on the brink of collapse, solidified instantly, its features becoming clear and its divine light shining brightly.
Xie Chang'an opened his eyes, his face beaming with joy. He had finally overcome the Tribulation of the Heart and successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage!