131: Chapter 131 The Intercepting Sect's Words
"I am one who came from a path of survival."
These words fell into Zixiao Palace like a pebble dropped into a deep pool.
Duo Bao looked at Lu Mingyuan, his gaze filled with something new.
"A path of survival? What path?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"The path of survival at The Rift."
He looked at Duo Bao, and then at the people below the stage.
"You all know of the Dharma-Ending Kalpa, and you all know of that Rift. But you don't know what it feels like to stand at the edge of that Rift."
He paused.
"When the demon soldiers swarm over, there is no path of survival. Black smoke is everywhere, full of those hollow eyes, full of things that want to devour you. You run, they chase. You kill, more appear. You stand still, and they pounce."
Zixiao Palace became so quiet it felt as if no one was there.
Lu Mingyuan continued:
"Yet, among those who lived, three hundred and seventy-two survived."
He looked at Duo Bao.
"Those three hundred and seventy-two people found a glimmer of hope from certain death."
Duo Bao was silent for a while.
Then, he asked:
"What was that glimmer of hope?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"It was standing."
Duo Bao frowned.
"Standing?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Yes. Standing. Not running, not killing, not waiting for death. Standing. Standing there, letting those demon soldiers rush at you. Standing there, letting those demon generals charge at you. Standing there, letting that Rift look at you."
He looked at Duo Bao.
"By standing, there is a path. By standing, there is light. By standing, those who are alive will see you and stand with you."
Duo Bao asked:
"One can live just by standing?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"Standing doesn't guarantee survival. But running guarantees death. Killing won't save you either. Only by standing is there that tiny bit of possibility."
He paused.
"That glimmer of hope is nowhere else. It is right where you stand."
Duo Bao looked at him for a very long time.
Then, he asked:
"Do you know the Dao of Jie Jiao?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I know a little. To seize a glimmer of hope."
Duo Bao nodded.
"Yes. To seize a glimmer of hope. Heaven and Earth are heartless, treating all things as straw dogs. The Heavenly Dao does not care for the life or death of men; men must find their own path of survival."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"But do you know how the people of Jie Jiao find their path of survival?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"Please enlighten me, Senior."
Duo Bao said:
"The people of Jie Jiao learn everything. Demons, devils, ghosts, monsters, humans, immortals—as long as there is Dao, they learn it. The disciples of Jie Jiao come in all forms. to teach all without discrimination is the rule of Jie Jiao."
He paused.
"Why? Because hope doesn't know where it's hidden. It might be in a demon, it might be in a devil, it might be in someone you look down upon. If you don't learn, you won't find it. If you don't look, you won't survive."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Where did you learn that 'standing' from?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"I learned it from the Daoist Sect."
Duo Bao raised an eyebrow.
"The Daoist Sect? They speak of quietude and non-action, not of standing and fighting for one's life."
Lu Mingyuan said:
"The Daoist Sect speaks of carrying the Dao through talismans and guarding the shouxin with the sword. I stand because I am protected by talismans and guarded by the sword."
He paused.
"But while standing, something else began to emerge."
Duo Bao asked:
"What thing?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"The Emptiness of Buddhism. The Heart of Confucianism. The Sword of the Martial Dao. And the light in the eyes of those who have died."
He looked at Duo Bao.
"I do not stand alone. I stand with the things those people taught me, the things those who died entrusted to me, and the things those who are alive look to me for."
He took a step forward.
"Senior Duo Bao, you said the people of Jie Jiao learn everything. I understand now. Because hope doesn't know where it's hidden. It might be hidden in the Daoist Sect, in Buddhism, in Confucianism, or in people you don't even know."
He looked at Duo Bao.
"That path of survival I stood upon was walked out from these places, step by step."
Duo Bao fell silent.
For a very long time.
Then, he suddenly laughed.
That smile was different from his previous seriousness.
There was something in that smile.
Bitterness.
Relief.
The kind of feeling that said, 'So that's how it is.'
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little friend, do you know of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"I do."
Duo Bao asked:
"Do you know how many people from Jie Jiao died during the Investiture?"
Lu Mingyuan remained silent.
Duo Bao said:
"ten thousand immortals came to pay court, but in the end, fewer than a hundred remained. Those who died were all my Junior Brothers, Junior Sisters, and nephews. They called me Senior Brother, and I told them to cultivate well and live well."
He paused.
"But they died. They died before my eyes. They died in that calamity."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"At that time, I also stood. But I didn't find a path of survival. I only found a path of death."
Lu Mingyuan looked at him, something stirring in his heart.
He thought of those people at the edge of The Rift.
He thought of Tie Niu.
He thought of those nameless Loose Cultivators.
He thought of the light in their eyes when they died.
He looked at Duo Bao.
"Senior, you have stood. You stood for them. You survived."
Duo Bao was stunned.
Lu Mingyuan said:
"To live is to continue standing for those who have died. By standing firm, one can find the path of survival they could not find."
He looked at Duo Bao.
"I stand for one hundred and eighty people. For how many do you stand?"
Duo Bao stood there, motionless.
Then, his eyes suddenly turned red.
Inside Zixiao Palace, there was a heavy silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Everyone was looking at Duo Bao.
Looking at this Senior Brother of Jie Jiao.
This person who had watched countless Junior Brothers and Sisters die with his own eyes during the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
This person who was swept away by Laozi's Wind Fire Futon and forced to convert to Buddhism.
This person who stood here and heard a young man ask, 'For how many do you stand?'
Duo Bao closed his eyes.
For a very long time.
Then, he opened them.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little friend, thank you."
Lu Mingyuan was taken aback.
"Thank me?"
Duo Bao nodded.
"Thank you for making me remember that I am still standing."
He turned and walked toward his seat.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
He did not look back.
"Little friend, you understand half of the Dao of Jie Jiao."
Lu Mingyuan asked:
"And the other half?"
Duo Bao said:
"The other half is—seizing a glimmer of hope is not for oneself. It is for others."
He continued walking forward.
"Those who live must find that path of survival for those who have died."
He walked back to his seat and sat down.
As he sat, the light on his body changed.
It was no longer that sharp sword light.
It was a gentle, inclusive light, like springtime.
Whispers broke out again in Zixiao Palace.
Someone said, "Duo Bao actually cried?"
Someone said, "This kid poked Duo Bao's sore spot."
Someone said, "Does he really understand the Dao of Jie Jiao?"
Lu Mingyuan stood on the stage, listening to those discussions.
He did not speak.
He only looked in the direction where Duo Bao had sat down.
Looking at that old man.
That old man who stood for countless people who had died.
He suddenly understood one thing—
The Dao of Jie Jiao is not just about seizing a glimmer of hope.
It is to keep searching for those who could not find hope.
It is to keep living for those who have died.
It is to stand where they once stood, looking at this Rift, this world, and this mortal realm for them.
8
Yuanshi Tianzun's voice rang out.
"The second round is concluded."
He stood below the stage, looking at Lu Mingyuan.
There was something in his gaze.
Something complex and indescribable.
"The third round, Buddhism questions."
He looked at the old monk wearing a golden cassock.
"Jie Yin, you come."
Jie Yin?
The second leader of the Western Sect, Senior Brother to Zhunti Daoist, the one who guided three thousand mortal guests during the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
The one who, in legends, was the most compassionate and yet the most heartless.
Jie Yin stood up.
He walked to the edge of the stage and looked at Lu Mingyuan.
His gaze was very gentle.
As gentle as a spring breeze.
But within that gentleness, there was something.
The kind of thing that saw through everything.
"Little friend, this poor monk has a question."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands.
"Please speak."
Jie Yin asked:
"You say that by standing, there is a path of survival. But this poor monk wishes to ask—if the one standing dies, where is the path of survival?"
In Zixiao Palace, everyone was looking at Lu Mingyuan.
Waiting for him to answer.
Waiting to see how this young man would handle this question from Buddhism.
Lu Mingyuan stood there, under the weight of those gazes.
He did not panic.
He only thought for a moment.
Then, he spoke.
"Senior Jie Yin, I will answer you."
He looked at the old monk.
"If the one standing dies, the path of survival lies—within the next person who stands."