141: Chapter 141, Fifth Debate
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Inside Zixiao Palace, Zhenyuanzi's question continued to echo.
"The paths you have walked, the things you have done, the Dao you have attained—is it 'Xiao Yao' or 'not Xiao Yao'?"
Lu Mingyuan stood there, looking at Zhenyuanzi.
Zhenyuanzi looked back at him.
The old immortal's gaze was very gentle. It was as gentle as an old friend, a Senior, or someone looking at an interesting junior.
But within that gentleness, there was something else.
There was a clarity that only someone who had lived for a hundred million years could possess.
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment and spoke.
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"Senior Zhenyuanzi, I will answer you."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"The paths I walk, the things I do, and the Dao I attain—it is Xiao Yao, and yet it is not Xiao Yao."
Zhenyuanzi did not speak; he only watched him.
That gaze was waiting.
Waiting for him to continue.
Lu Mingyuan said:
"To say it is not Xiao Yao is true. At The Rift, demon soldiers charge every day, Loose Cultivators are injured and die every day, and new rifts open every day. There isn't a single day to rest, nor a single moment to relax. That is not Xiao Yao."
He paused.
"To say it is Xiao Yao is also true. Because when standing before The Rift, there is nothing else in my heart. I do not think of the past, the future, fame and fortune, or eternal life. I simply stand there and do what must be done. That is Xiao Yao."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"Xiao Yao is not about doing nothing. It is about having no mental burdens while doing it."
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Zhenyuanzi listened and remained silent for a while.
Then, he asked:
"Then how do you know if there are mental burdens in your heart?"
This question was very deep.
Inside Zixiao Palace, everyone watched Lu Mingyuan.
Lu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.
He thought for a moment.
Then, he said:
"Senior Zhenyuanzi, I do not know how I know. But I know when there are mental burdens and when there are not."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"At The Rift, once, the Demon Tide receded. I sat in my tent, thinking about what to do tomorrow. I wondered if The Rifts would expand, if we had enough Loose Cultivators, and when the demon generals would return. At that time, there were mental burdens in my heart."
He paused.
"But when the Demon Tide came, when I stood at the front facing the demon soldiers, my heart was actually free of mental burdens. Because I couldn't afford to think about those things. I could only do the task before my eyes."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"So I think Xiao Yao might not be the absence of tasks. It is when, while doing a task, there is only the task in one's heart, and not oneself."
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A light appeared in Zhenyuanzi's eyes.
It was the light of someone who had seen something interesting.
He continued to ask:
"Then this humble Daoist asks you again—is that 'only the task, not the self' you speak of truly Xiao Yao?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"It is, and it is not."
Zhenyuanzi raised an eyebrow.
"How so?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I say it is, because in that state, there are no stray thoughts, no attachments, and no self. That is Xiao Yao."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"I say it is not, because that state is forced out of you. When the demon soldiers charge, you are forced to have only the task and not yourself. It is not a choice; it is a necessity."
He paused.
"True Great Xiao Yao should be the ability to have only the task and not oneself even when one has a choice. When there is nothing to do, one's heart can still be free of burdens."
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Zhenyuanzi looked at him for a long, long time.
Then, he suddenly smiled.
That smile was very gentle.
As gentle as an old friend.
But within that smile, there was something else.
There was the joy of finally finding someone worth talking to.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little Friend, this humble Daoist has lived for a hundred million years and has seen countless people ask about Xiao Yao. Some say Xiao Yao is being unrestrained. Some say it is doing whatever one wants. Some say it is hiding in the deep mountains, away from people. Some say it is Immortal Ascension, leaping out of the Three Realms."
He paused.
"But what you have said is something this humble Daoist is hearing for the first time."
Lu Mingyuan asked:
"Which part?"
Zhenyuanzi said:
"Xiao Yao is when, while doing a task, there is only the task in one's heart, and not oneself."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Your way of putting it is interesting."
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Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"Senior, this is not something I thought up. It is something I walked out."
Zhenyuanzi asked:
"How did you walk it out?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I walked for two years at The Rift. Only after walking for two years did I learn what is a burden and what is not. Only then did I know when the self is in the heart and when it is not. Only then did I know what is forced Xiao Yao and what is true Xiao Yao."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"Forced Xiao Yao is when the demon soldiers come and you are forced to have only the task and not yourself. True Xiao Yao is when there is nothing to do, yet your heart can still be free of mental burdens."
He paused.
"But true Xiao Yao is too difficult."
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Zhenyuanzi asked:
"How is it difficult?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"Because when there is nothing to do, it is easy for a person to think. To think of the past, the future, gains and losses, life and death. Once you think, mental burdens arise. Once burdens arise, one is no longer Xiao Yao."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"At The Rift, when the Demon Tide receded, it was the hardest to endure. Because with nothing to do, I would think of those who had died. I would think of Iron Bull, of those Loose Cultivators, and the light in their eyes when they died. Once I thought of them, my heart would ache. Once it ached, mental burdens arose."
He paused.
"But later, I discovered something."
Zhenyuanzi asked:
"What did you discover?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I discovered that thinking of those who died is not a mental burden. It is not thinking of them that is the burden."
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Zhenyuanzi's eyes lit up.
"How so?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"At first, when I thought of them, my heart ached. I thought that was a mental burden and wanted to forget them. But after forgetting them, my heart felt even emptier. And in that emptiness, it felt even more painful."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"Later I understood. When I think of them, the pain is because they are there. When they are in my heart, they exist. When they exist, I am not alone. When I am not alone, I am not empty. When I am not empty, I do not need to think of anything else."
He paused.
"Therefore, thinking of them is not a burden. Not thinking of them and forgetting them is the true burden. Because at that time, there is only oneself in the heart. When there is only oneself, one will think of oneself. Thinking of oneself leads to thinking of gains and losses, life and death, and everything one shouldn't think about."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"Xiao Yao might not be having nothing in the heart. It is having whatever is there, and once it is there, not wanting anything else."
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Zhenyuanzi fell silent.
For a long, long time.
Then, he suddenly stood up and made a deep bow to Lu Mingyuan.
Everyone in Zixiao Palace was stunned.
Zhenyuanzi, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, a man who had lived for a hundred million years, was bowing to a junior of the Taiyi Realm.
Lu Mingyuan was also stunned.
He hurriedly returned the gesture.
"Senior, this..."
Zhenyuanzi straightened up and looked at him.
"Little Friend, this bow of mine is for myself."
Lu Mingyuan asked:
"For yourself, Senior?"
Zhenyuanzi nodded.
"Yes. For myself."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"This humble Daoist has lived for a hundred million years, always thinking about Xiao Yao. I thought for a hundred million years and never understood it. Today, with a few sentences, you have explained Xiao Yao thoroughly."
He paused.
"Having whatever is in the heart, and once it is there, not wanting anything else. That is Xiao Yao."
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Zhenyuanzi looked at him, his eyes shining.
"Little Friend, do you know why this humble Daoist has always thought about Xiao Yao?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
Zhenyuanzi said:
"Because this humble Daoist has no attachments."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"I am an Earth Immortal, not governed by the Heavenly Court or the Netherworld, not entering Reincarnation, and not subject to Calamities. I live alone in Wuzhuang Temple, guarding that Ginseng Fruit Tree. I have no relatives, no friends, no enemies, and no Karma."
He paused.
"I thought that was Xiao Yao. But after living for a hundred million years, I finally realized that it wasn't Xiao Yao, but loneliness."
His eyes grew slightly red.
"After being lonely for a hundred million years, I finally know that having someone to care for, something to do, and a place to stand is true Xiao Yao. Because at that time, there is something in the heart. When there is something there, one does not need to think about Xiao Yao. Not needing to think about it is true Xiao Yao."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little Friend, you said just now that true Xiao Yao is being able to have no mental burdens when there is nothing to do. But now I think true Xiao Yao is when the heart is full of things, yet one does not need to think about Xiao Yao."
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Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, he suddenly felt as if something had clicked.
It wasn't a sudden realization of a new truth.
It was the opening of something that was already there, but previously unseen.
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"Senior, I think I understand."
Zhenyuanzi asked:
"What do you understand?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I understand that Xiao Yao is not a state, but a relationship."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"It is a relationship with Heaven and Earth, with people, with tasks, and with oneself. When there is a relationship, there is something in the heart. When there is something there, one does not need to think about Xiao Yao. Not thinking about Xiao Yao is true Xiao Yao."
He paused.
"Those who died are in my heart. The matters of The Rift are in my heart. Master Xuanweizi is in my heart. Bai Ze is in my heart. Sun Wukong, Yang Jian, Fa Ming, Zhang Lingyun, Li Haoran, and Yue Wushuang are all in my heart."
He looked at Zhenyuanzi.
"Because I have them in my heart, I do not need to think about Xiao Yao. Because I am within them, and they are within me. That is Xiao Yao."
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Zhenyuanzi looked at him for a long, long time.
Then, he smiled.
That smile was very gentle.
As gentle as a child who had finally found his way home.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little Friend, you have finished answering this debate of mine."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior."
Zhenyuanzi shook his head.
"It was not guidance. It was validation. Xiao Yao was already in your heart; this humble Daoist only helped you say it aloud."
He turned and walked toward his seat.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
He did not look back.
"Little Friend, this humble Daoist has lived for a hundred million years and only today learned that Xiao Yao is not in the distance, but close at hand. It is not in having nothing to do, but in having tasks. It is not in being alone, but in being with everyone."
He continued walking forward.
"Thank you."
He walked back to his seat and sat down.
As he sat, the light around him changed.
It was no longer a cold, aloof immortal light.
It was a warm light with a human touch, like an old friend.
But within that light, there was something else.
There was the relief of finally no longer being lonely.
There was the joy of finally finding the answer.
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Inside Zixiao Palace, there was a profound silence.
Then, someone sighed softly.
It was Yuanshi Tianzun.
He looked at Zhenyuanzi, his gaze full of meaning.
"Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi, congratulations."
Zhenyuanzi looked up at him.
"Senior Brother Yuanshi, what are you congratulating me for?"
Yuanshi Tianzun said:
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on attaining Great Xiao Yao."
Zhenyuanzi smiled.
That smile was very light.
As light as the wind.
But within that wind, there was something else.
There was the clarity of finally understanding how to live.
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Yuanshi Tianzun's voice rang out.
"The fifth debate is concluded."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
There was something in his gaze.
Something increasingly unfathomable, yet increasingly full of appreciation.
"The sixth debate: Summary."
He looked at the assembly below.
"Fellow Daoists, who else wishes to ask?"
Inside Zixiao Palace, there was total silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Everyone was looking at Lu Mingyuan on the stage.
Looking at this young man who had come from the Dharma-Ending Age.
Looking at this practitioner who had crawled out of The Rift.
Looking at this junior who had debated with the schools of Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Martial Arts, and Loose Immortals.
His cultivation was still at the Early Stage of the Taiyi Realm.
But his Dao was already beyond anyone's understanding.
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Lu Mingyuan stood there, under the weight of those gazes.
He did not panic.
He simply stood there.
Waiting.
Waiting for the next question.
Waiting for the next debate.
Waiting for the next validation.
Because he knew that the debate was not for the sake of winning.
It was to make the truth clearer.
It was to understand oneself better.
It was to walk further.
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Outside Zixiao Palace, Chaos was silent.
Inside Zixiao Palace, the ten thousand immortals were silent.
The sixth debate is about to begin.