227: Before attaining enlightenment, one must first learn to let go.

Seeing Zhou Yan's confusion, the Fifth Elder, maintaining the appearance of an old cadre, struck a seductive pose and gave him a wink.

“I know you have questions about this appearance of mine, but it's nothing, just the application of a Divine Ability.”

“After all, I have too many enemies, so when traveling, I always have to hide my identity. This trick allows anyone who sees me to instinctively see the person they trust the most.”

“This makes it easier for me to... *cough*, anyway, that's how it is. You'll get used to it.”

Watching the Elder's cringe-inducing actions and unreliable tone, Zhou Yan showed a pair of dead fish eyes and couldn't help but speak.

“Junior Martial Uncle Fifth, you really are just like Master said.”

The Fifth Elder was curious and quickly pressed for details.

“What did Fourth Brother say about me?”

Zhou Yan replied plainly.

“He said, if you had even a shred of decency, you wouldn't be completely shameless.”

Hearing this, the Fifth Elder's amused expression froze. What surprised Zhou Yan next was that the Elder covered his face and began to weep.

No way, such thin skin? Did I speak too harshly?

Just as Zhou Yan was thinking this, the Fifth Elder spoke while shedding tears.

“Fourth Brother... that guy, he really has a sharp tongue but a soft heart... He usually acts like he despises me, yet when mentioning me to a Disciple privately, he's actually so restrained.”

...You really... I'm so touched, I could cry.”

Zhou Yan looked at the Fifth Elder with an “old man, subway, phone” expression.

Damn it, the wrong guardian showed up—it's a weird uncle!

After crying for a while, the Fifth Elder gently wiped away the tears from his eyes and casually explained to Zhou Yan.

“Actually, you don't know, but when your Master used to mention me, he couldn't hold a normal conversation without including a few swear words and mentioning a few unsavory organs.”

“Those 'gentle' words you just relayed? He probably only says things like that when he's beating me up and is too lazy to think of insults.”

“Uh... well, you two... wow, you have such a good relationship.”

Zhou Yan genuinely thanked the Fifth Elder, as his appearance immediately dispersed the pressure Zhou Yan had been feeling, reminding him of the Sect's “abstract” style.

Hearing Zhou Yan, the Fifth Elder broke into a smile through his tears, wiped his snot, and reached out to grab Zhou Yan's wrist.

Zhou Yan trembled all over, hastily pulled his hand away, and immediately performed several backflips to create distance.

But the moment he landed, he found himself back in his original spot, his wrist firmly grasped by the Fifth Elder's indescribable hand.

Hmph hmph, ah ah ah!

Feeling the touch on his wrist, Zhou Yan felt like dying.

“Alright, let's go. I'll take you to the nearest Kaifeng first.”

Saying this, he started to pull Zhou Yan away.

Forgetting his disgust for a moment, Zhou Yan quickly asked.

“Wait! Why are we leaving? The guy inside hasn't been dealt with yet!”

The Fifth Elder looked at him strangely.

“Didn't Li Wenbo tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Zhou Yan was confused.

“Our Qingxu Grotto-Heaven does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Northern Territory. As long as the situation hasn't escalated to a certain level, we firmly refuse to intervene.”

“Huh?”

Seeing the Elder's casual expression, Zhou Yan instinctively frowned.

“That guy inside called Kun Gou, he's that strong, and you still won't intervene?”

At this moment, Zhou Yan felt a vague sense of unease.

And his premonition was quickly confirmed.

“Kun Gou's main body is not here; he was invited in as a collaborator of the Great Yu Imperial Family.”

“And right now, it's merely a case of their negotiations breaking down.”

“Only the recent Alias reached the standard requiring our intervention.”

“If it had successfully descended just now, I would naturally have acted, but it didn't succeed, did it?”

“Moreover, you resolved it personally.”

“I must say, a hero emerges from the youth; you saved me a lot of trouble.”

“Junior Martial Uncle Fifth thanks you very much. I'll let you treat me to a meal later.”

Ignoring the shamelessness in his words, Zhou Yan violently shook off his hand.

“Wang Yao and the others are still inside! Kun Gou is going crazy with killing; if we don't intervene, they will be in danger too. Is that still not reason enough to act?”

The Fifth Elder looked at the agitated Zhou Yan and waved his hand.

“I know you're anxious~ but don't rush~. This matter of ours isn't about not handling it; it's about handling it slowly and deliberately, with order and adjustment.”

“It's too unsafe for you here, which is why I must first send you to a safe place.”

“As for Wang Yao and the others still being inside, while it is certainly dangerous, you don't need to worry. I brought plenty of Materials this time, enough to completely resurrect them.”

“Furthermore, I brought a heavenly balance.”

Saying this, the Fifth Elder gestured for Zhou Yan to look at the box he was holding in his arms.

In the past, Zhou Yan might have breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, the heavenly balance is one of the symbols of the Mahayana Realm. A Void Refining grandmaster emerging with a heavenly balance represents almost the peak fighting strength below Mahayana.

But ever since he became jealous of Xiao Sheng's Immortal Artifact, he specifically went to learn about the heavenly balance.

Immortal Artifacts are the Legacies of the Dao and Buddhist Sects, and he was unlikely to obtain one himself, so he had to set his sights on his own Sect's heavenly balance.

It was fine when he didn't know, but learning about it gave him a shock.

If the Law is a server, Mahayana is the administrator, and the heavenly balance is the administrator's auxiliary tool.

The administrator can directly modify and utilize the server, while the auxiliary tool merely improves efficiency.

But this is only true for Mahayana.

If handed over to others, the heavenly balance becomes a powerful weapon that is difficult to understand.

Below Mahayana, Cultivators fundamentally cannot understand how to use the heavenly balance, resulting only in the state Zhou Yan experienced when he previously used the Grand Elder's Sword Seal.

It can only be activated according to preset attack logic, making it impossible to dismantle the Sword Dao Law for other purposes.

The heavenly balance is much the same.

The Fifth Elder coming now with the heavenly balance, and specifically mentioning that he brought resurrection Materials... the matter was obvious: the Fifth Elder was never worried that Kun Gou would kill Wang Yao and the others.

Because whether Kun Gou succeeded or not, once the Fifth Elder made his move, everyone would die.

Zhou Yan's mind was a mess; he could barely believe what he was hearing.

“Then besides Wang Yao and the others, what about everyone else?”

Seeing Zhou Yan's unstable emotions, the Fifth Elder patted his shoulder again.

“Little Zhou Yan, Junior Martial Uncle Fifth just met you and hasn't been able to give you anything.”

“So today, I'll give you a piece of advice.”

“Before attaining the Dao, one must first learn to lose.”

“Your path is still long. In the future, if you aren't a Saint, you will at least be a True Disciple.”

“When you have traveled far enough and look back, you will find that life is merely the raft beneath your feet when crossing the river, not the opposite shore itself.”

“Our methods, our style of action, are the shortest detours exchanged with Heaven and Earth at the cost of 'missed opportunities' over countless years.”

“But... Kun Gou isn't that difficult to deal with, right? Why not just deal with him instead of dealing with everyone else too?” Zhou Yan still didn't understand.

One moment the Fifth Elder was cheerful, and the next he was ready to use a Great Weapon of Mass Destruction to wipe out the entire Kaifeng.

This was like using nuclear disarmament to deal with robbers, along with the hostages and everything within a hundred miles radius.

Why?

Seeing Zhou Yan's confusion, the Fifth Elder shrugged.

“Little Zhou Yan, you don't need to be confused.”

“Under the Heavenly Dao, everything has a 'price'. The 'price' of the Alias and Kun Gou is absolute 'nothingness'.”

“Kun Gou was able to fight for so long before because he was restricted by various forces.”

“Now that the restrictions are removed, he is, at this moment, the manifestation of 'Calamity' itself in the mortal world.”

“All the people inside combined cannot deal with such an opponent, even if you added me.”

“Using the heavenly balance is the command of the Old Ancestors.”

“What the Old Ancestors see is often not 'one person' or 'one Kaifeng,' but the knot on the Karma line that most needs to be cut.”

“In fact, if you hadn't resolved the Alias, I would have had to destroy you along with everyone else at that time.”

“Fortunately, you personally moved your own weight, shifting the balance to the other side.”

“So, to repay you and allow me to use the heavenly balance a few less times, I made a deal with that person inside whose surname is Song, promising to resurrect some people for him later, and only then did he send you out.”

“It's just that that fellow was too irresponsible. Seeing those little kids from the Joyous Union Sect also come to save you, he refused to act further, earning me all those resources for nothing... Thinking about it hurts my heart.”

“Can you send me back?” Zhou Yan said, taking a deep breath.

“What?” The Fifth Elder looked surprised, as if he hadn't heard clearly.

“Qingxu Grotto-Heaven theoretically should not interfere in the internal affairs of the Northern Territory.”

“Those were your own words.”

“Then, as an official of Great Yu, if I want to go back and join the fight, you can't stop me, can you?”

Looking at Zhou Yan's expression, the Fifth Elder was exasperated.

“You brat, I spent half a day trying to enlighten you, and you didn't listen to a single word!”

“I told you, I spent resources to redeem you.”

“If you go back in, I'll have to resurrect you again, and the resources I promised to get you out won't be recovered. Wouldn't that be a sheer waste of resources?”

“Such a huge amount of resources, just to bury your sentimentality?”

“Sigh, why did it have to be me... I'm the worst at teaching people. My explanation must have been flawed, making you misunderstand me.”

The Fifth Elder clutched his forehead, complaining incessantly.

“Junior Martial Uncle Fifth, there's no need to say more.”

“I know the Mahayana Realm is different from ours, and perhaps their decision truly is the best method.”

“But in reality, although I don't know why, I did resolve a Alias.”

“So even if my going back might be useless, can you at least let me try?”

“At worst, the subsequent resurrection Materials will be counted as a loan from me.”

“Even if I don't become the Saint, I will repay the Sect twofold.”

“At least don't make me lose my humanity this early.”

Looking at Zhou Yan's firm gaze, the Fifth Elder finally sighed.

“Anyway, once most of the people inside are dead, I will act immediately. Whatever you want to do, you'd better do it quickly, though you probably won't be able to achieve much.”

“This time, I'll pretend I never saw you, and you don't have to incur this debt. When I go back, I'll just say I took a kickback.”

“Just remember this: the 'price' you insist on paying today might be deducted later from something you cherish even more.”

“So I indulged you this one time, but in the future, you will have to pay the price yourself.”

“Thank you.” Zhou Yan nodded his acknowledgement, turned around, and slipped back into the dark hole that had not yet recovered.

Watching his retreating figure, the Fifth Elder's expression turned slightly odd. He then flicked his long sleeve, sweeping Mu Qianqiu and Meng Ke into it, and carried them back to the cliff edge where the others were waiting in the distance.

That Incarnation tossed the two onto the ground and returned to its main body. The light barrier in the air also switched to display the scene inside the cave.

The Joyous Union Sect Young Lord let out a sigh of relief.

“That was truly thrilling but safe. It seems Zhou Yan passed the Senior's test.”

The Fifth Elder looked at him with amusement.

“Thrilling but safe? I suppose so.”

“He certainly passed my test, but what I'm holding in my arms is indeed a heavenly balance.”

Hearing this, the young man stepped forward to shield the Joyous Union Sect Young Lord, but the Young Lord's tentacles gently pushed him aside.

“In other words...”

“The command is real. My purpose in coming here is exactly the same as what my Incarnation just said.”

“That is precisely why I was the one who came.”

“After all... among us, Fourth Brother and I are the ones with the most humanity left, enough to withstand the wear and tear.”

“As for Zhou Yan, what happened just now was truly just a casual test and won't change the outcome.”

“However, regarding the Materials, I lied to him.”

“The Materials this time were provided by the Old Ancestor and are enough to resurrect everyone in the entire Kaifeng, and even enough for me to pocket another kickback.”

“Kun Gou won't be able to jump around for much longer anyway. We might as well see what kind of miracle this kid can create.”

“Maybe I can avoid losing my humanity while also deducting a few more resources to stuff into my own wallet.”

Watching the Fifth Elder's casual demeanor, he couldn't help but marvel once more at the terrifying nature of the Three Sects.

Although their methods were cruel, their choices were always correct. It's just that the people making those decisions had too much Divinity and didn't seem quite human anymore.

But there was no helping it, just as the Fifth Elder had said.

“Before attaining the Dao, one must first learn to lose.”

This sentence wasn't spoken to the current Zhou Yan, but to the Zhou Yan of the future.