Chapter 17

“May I ask Your Excellency what is celestial, Dao, and immortality?”

Upon arrival, Patriarch Dugu threw out a huge proposition.

What was a celestial?

What was Dao?

What was immortality?

As soon as he said these three sentences, the aura on the patriarch’s body soared, forming a pressure that seemed to be material.

The ground next to him almost cracked, and the white clouds in the sky were rolled up by the pressure.

The air was almost frozen, and it was difficult to breathe.

Yan Jin, who was watching the Dao discussion, couldn’t bear the pressure and took another ten steps back.

However, Chen Xuan was completely unaffected.

Instead, he looked at the old man curiously. This man before him was already so old. He was already half a step into the coffin, yet he was still thinking about seeking immortality?

Chen Xuan couldn’t help but sigh.

He had received a modern education and was well-versed in Chinese history, so he knew very well that since ancient times, those who pursued immortality had never had a good ending.

Just look at how many people the first Emperor of Qin killed in his later years just to seek immortality. In the end, he was killed by Zhao Gao.

There was also the Han Dynasty’s Wu Emperor who sent people to find Penglai Island to get the medicine for immortality. In the end, those people simply went out for a spin and came back, lying to him that the time was not right.

The old man’s clothes were extraordinary, so he should be from a rich family. If he didn’t make the old man give up on his pursuit of immortality, he was worried that the latter would lose all his assets for the sake of the elixir of immortality. In the end, the one who will be implicated would be his poor granddaughter who was at the side.

With such a thought in mind, Chen Xuan decided that he would use the topic of immortality to criticize the old man and make him stop while he still could.

However, if one wanted another to believe one’s debate, one had to first continue the topic that the other had provided and make the other convinced. Otherwise, one would just be unreasonable.

Chen Xuan was well-versed in the skills of debate, so he followed the topic and said, “What is a celestial? What is Dao? What is immortality? As the saying goes, destiny is not discussed in enlightenment, and cultivation doesn’t mean searching for the true scripture. Sorrow, joy, and glory, which one was destined in the previous life? There is no purity in the cassock, and the mortal world is full of obsessions. When the thousand-year-old bell in the ancient temple rings, you will find that everything is just a fool’s dream…”

Chen Xuan recited a poem.

Patriarch Dugu was stunned after hearing this and muttered to himself.

Sorrow, joy, and glory, which one was destined in the previous life?

Moreover, when the other party recited the poem, it seemed as if there was a faint resonance with the Heavenly Dao. It was as if every word the other party spat out was the truth of the great Dao and the will of the Heavenly Dao. For the other party to be in such a realm, whether it was in terms of aura or realm comprehension, he had completely suppressed him.

An expert.

He was definitely an expert.

It would not be embarrassing to discuss the Dao with him.

Chen Xuan raised his head and stole a glance at the other party. Seeing that the other party was stunned, he knew that he had achieved the desired effect, and all that was left was to convince the old man.

“What is a celestial? What is the end of life? Looking back at the vicissitudes of life, the hatred in life is endless while the wind gushes like the sword past and moon. Looking past mortal life, even the different paths of celestial cannot be all stated, but the mortal world can be explained. Human greed is desire, and thus we are mortal. As for celestials, they have no desires and are thus celestials.”

“What is Dao? Tao can be spoken of, but is not the Tao of whom we commonly speak; A name can be given, but not a common name. He can be called non-being because he preceded Heaven and earth; He can be called pre-being because he gave birth to all that is. Therefore, since he is non-being, his wonders can be meditated upon; Since he is being, his track can be seen.”

Chen Xuan pondered for a moment before reciting the Tao Te Ching.

He couldn’t explain what Dao was anyway, but from the novels he had read, he knew that as long as he could recite the Tao Te Ching, he could intimidate others.

As such, reciting Tao Te Ching was enough.

However, he didn’t know that the moment he did so, the Dao rhythm between Heaven and Earth gathered like a tidal wave. A sense of oppression suddenly came and Patriarch Dugu was forced to kneel. Yan Jin, who was at the side, seemed to have been enlightened by Tao Te Ching’s profoundness. Her Dao heart had never been more solid.

Dao heart, small success.

Dao heart, great success.

Dao heart, perfected!

“No wonder the Empress often comes to visit this senior. The senior is truly an expert. A simple poem from him can help me perfect my Dao heart. Such an existence is simply unimaginable!”

Yan Jin could hardly conceal her excitement.

Chen Xuan, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the changes in the Dao rhythm around him as he continued, “What is immortality? The so-called immortality is nothing more than the desire of people. Some people are insignificant like a feather even when alive, while some people weigh as much as Mount Tai even when dead! One’s life and death are not determined by the length of time one stays alive, but by the height of one’s life!”

One’s life and death are not determined by the length of time one stays alive, but by the height of one’s life!

Some people are insignificant like a feather even when alive, while some people weigh as much as Mount Tai even when dead!

Patriarch Dugu murmured over and over again.

Ah!

Suddenly, he had a headache.

He was wrong. All wrong.

Not only was his understanding of celestials wrong, but his Dao was also wrong, and even his pursuit of immortality was wrong!

Pu!

Patriarch Dugu kneeled on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

After Chen Xuan was done with his lecture, he peeked at the old man once more and saw him kneeling.

“Although you lost, you don’t have to be so polite.”

Chen Xuan stepped forward to help the old man up.

However, the moment the old man raised his head, Chen Xuan was shocked.

He was finished. To think a debate had made the old man so angry that he vomited blood.

It seemed he had done something bad again.

“This, this?” Chen Xuan looked to the left, then to the right, and finally to Yan Jin.

“This is not your fault. I was heading in the wrong direction.”

Patriarch Dugu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he recalled what Chen Xuan had just said.

His Dao heart had collapsed!

“Hahaha, wrong, it’s all wrong. I may have reached the Dao Entry realm, but I have entered the wrong Dao… Hahaha, wrong, all wrong!” Patriarch Dugu said sorrowfully as he walked down the mountain like a walking corpse.

“Old man,” Chen Xuan stopped him, “As long as one’s heart has no obsessions, one can be open-minded.”

Chen Xuan knew that the old man was troubled by his obsession with the pursuit of immortality. Now that he had told the latter that immortality did not exist, it was naturally a huge blow to him. However, if the old man could understand his efforts and free himself from his cornered vision, his heart would naturally be cured.

“I haven’t finished this mountain and river painting yet, but the mountains and rivers in the painting are vast. You can become more open-minded by looking at this painting.”

Chen Xuan rolled up a painting and passed it to the old man.

On one hand, it was an apology. If anything happened to the old man, this painting could be considered compensation. After all, the painting skills rewarded by the system were still decent. It should sell for a lot of money.

On the other hand, he felt that this painting might really make the old man open up a little. It would be fine as long as he didn’t think about immortality.

“This is for me?”

Dugu Sheng was stunned. He thought, “Although this painting is incomplete, the mountains and rivers in it contain the Supreme Great Dao. If I look at it every day, I might be able to reform my Dao heart and reach the Dao Entry realm again.”

“Oh right,” Suddenly, he thought of another possibility, “This is the true intention of the expert!”

Patriarch Dugu was enlightened.

“The expert first used the truth of the Supreme Great Dao to shatter my Dao heart, then gave me the mountain and river painting. He knows that I have entered the wrong Dao and is helping me to re-cultivate my Dao heart. In that case, the reason why my celestial fortune was blocked was also because of this. He was afraid that I would ascend to the wrong path and be consigned to eternal damnation! It’s truly touching for the expert to have put in so much effort.”

Dugu Sheng was so grateful that tears were streaming down his face.

On the other hand, Chen Xuan felt a little guilty.

To think the old man even cried.

It seemed that he had really hurt the old man’s heart.

It was said that old people had to be treated gently in their old age. How could he have shattered the old man’s beautiful fantasy?

Sighing, Chen Xuan realized that Yan Jin was still there.

“I’m afraid this young lady is still here to get revenge on me for her grandfather.”

Just as he was thinking such, Yan Jin knelt with a plop, “Respected senior, please accept my bow and take me in as your disciple!”