Chapter 35
After listening to Mi Yi, Heng Yu had only one thought: the Hehuan Sect wasn’t just full of players; it was also full of heartbreakers.
How heartless could she be?
While seducing and tempting him, she hadn’t found him dull or boring. But after getting what she wanted, she considered him a “monotonous and pale existence.”
“So you seduced him, tempted him to betray his sect, and then abandoned him a hundred years ago?”
No wonder Yuanjing had said, “In this mortal world, the smiles and words of demonic women cannot be trusted.”
Three hundred years ago, he must have been deeply trapped in the lies Mi Yi wove with her smiles and words.
Mi Yi’s eyes shimmered with allure.
Even nearing the end of her life, she was still captivating.
“I know what you’re thinking. Do you think I deceived Yuanjing? No. Back then, as the chief disciple of the Hehuan Sect, I had many men, but Yuanjing was always special to me. At the peak of our love, I was willing to abandon the sect for him.”
Three hundred years ago, Mi Yi was the most brilliant disciple of the Hehuan Sect, renowned throughout the eight major righteous sects and five major demonic sects.
She had been carefully nurtured by her master, the Hehuan Sect Leader, and the Grand Elder.
She reached Nascent Soul before she was a hundred years old. If she had continued on that path, she would have reached Spirit Transformation within three hundred years.
But while traveling, she met Yuanjing, who was preaching in the mortal world. Captivated by his handsome features, gentle demeanor, and aloof temperament, she fell in love and spent decades seducing him to break his precepts.
Later, the Undying Sect came to the Hehuan Sect to hold Yuanjing accountable, wanting to take him back for punishment.
To be with Yuanjing, she defied the Hehuan Sect and abandoned her readily attainable status.
Her past actions were genuine.
“But then I realized that what I loved was his restraint and aloofness, the thrill of the forbidden when being with a holy man. And after obtaining all this?” Mi Yi stared blankly ahead. “What else was there to cherish?”
“You know, I’m a seductive cultivator, practicing the path of dual cultivation. Yuanjing alone couldn’t fully complement my cultivation.” Mi Yi stood up, her voice slightly agitated. “After being with Yuanjing, my cultivation stagnated. In two hundred years, I only advanced from the early stage of Nascent Soul to the mid-stage.”
“Put yourself in my shoes. If you were me, would you be content?”
“Those I had once surpassed, those who could only look up to me, had all surpassed me in cultivation.”
“Cultivators steal the essence of heaven and earth, seeking immortality. I was once among those most likely to achieve immortality, but in the end, I could only watch as my peers reached the late stage of Nascent Soul, even Spirit Transformation. How could I be content? The feeling of discontent grew stronger and stronger. I felt guilty when I took that step, but I still did it.”
Considering the path of dual cultivation, it wasn’t difficult to guess what “that step” meant.
“Yuanjing seemed to have sensed something and treated me even better. But his kindness only made me feel more discontent and guilty. When love is mixed with guilt, one can’t help but want to escape. So, one day, I ended things with him and set him free.”
Heng Yu scoffed. “Set him free? Do you think he’s truly free?”
Mi Yi’s eyes flashed. “That wasn’t my intention.”
Heng Yu’s expression was mocking. “You know Yuanjing’s character better than I do. Couldn’t you have guessed what he would become after you left?”
“…”
Mi Yi took a few deep breaths and avoided answering.
She looked towards the door. “Yuanjing, you’re standing outside, aren’t you? Come in. Let’s talk about everything today.”
Heng Yu looked towards the door.
No wonder Mi Yi had suddenly started talking about the past.
It seemed she had sensed Yuanjing’s presence.
Yuanjing was the most powerful cultivator in the restaurant. If he wanted to eavesdrop, their conversation couldn’t be hidden from him.
After Mi Yi spoke, silence fell outside the room.
Then, the door creaked open.
The force used to open the door was slightly uncontrolled, making the otherwise sturdy door creak loudly.
Yuanjing stood there silently, still in the posture of pushing open the door, his figure like a statue frozen in time.
Liaowu, in his gray monk robes, stood beside him.
“So the Buddha-son is here as well. Why not come in together?” Mi Yi invited with a soft laugh.
Liaowu didn’t speak.
He simply looked at Mi Yi with a calm and indifferent expression, his eyes like those of a Buddha sitting on a lotus platform in the immeasurable Buddha realm, looking down at the mortal world.
Liaowu, born with innate Buddha bones, had been sent to the Undying Sect shortly after birth. For decades, he had only studied Buddhist teachings, lacking experience in worldly matters and often unable to understand the struggles of sentient beings.
However, he was naturally insightful. Many things, once Heng Yu had pointed them out to him, he could understand and apply to other situations.
Recently, he had been patiently observing Yuanjing and Mi Yi.
“Fellow Daoist Mi,” Liaowu said, “Buddhist cultivators and ordinary cultivators are all just ordinary people seeking the Great Dao.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Heng Yu: These were her words.
“The ‘holy man’ you speak of is just a cultivator who has embraced faith and can control their desires. If you don’t understand what you truly seek, why ruin another’s path of cultivation? No matter how eloquently you speak now, you’re just making excuses for betraying him, only making onlookers who see through you laugh secretly.”
“You betrayed the sect that nurtured you; this is heartless and ungrateful. You broke your vows and said those words just now; this is shameless and despicable.”
He spoke the most contemptuous words in the calmest tone.
Mi Yi’s face turned deathly pale, and she coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
Then, Liaowu looked at Yuanjing beside her —
Yuanjing’s brow was furrowed, his expression sorrowful.
Hearing Liaowu’s rebuke of Mi Yi, he finally snapped back to reality.
“When you were moved by that demonic woman and wanted to be with her, did you ever consider the challenges of your relationship? Ordinary couples face the difficulties of daily life, while you and she had countless differences, your sects and paths of cultivation being just two of them. If you betraying your sect and Buddhist path could have led you to what you truly sought, I might have respected you a little.”
“But you were the Enforcement Elder, just a step away from becoming a Buddha-son, respected by all Buddhist cultivators, a brilliant talent with a promising future. Now, as a late Nascent Soul cultivator, you’re trapped in the sea of suffering of love, without a trace of your former glory.”
Liaowu took out Yuanjing’s travelogue from his storage ring.
He had intended to throw it at Yuanjing, but before letting go, he remembered it was a gift from Heng Yu and put it back in his storage ring. “This poor monk thought the Buddhist cultivator who wrote this travelogue would be an insightful person. But these three hundred years, were they truly worth it?”
Three hundred years, were they truly worth it?
Yuanjing’s biggest mistake was becoming more and more confused!
Questioned like this, shame appeared on Yuanjing’s face. “I—”
He wanted to defend himself, but he quickly closed his mouth, the shame intensifying.
Shame and pain flickered across his face, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Liaowu looked away from Yuanjing and at Heng Yu.
Heng Yu, stunned, met his gaze.
His rebuke was flawless. No wonder the “Continental Records” documented Liaowu’s unparalleled debating skills at a gathering of the eight major righteous sects and five major demonic sects.
Heng Yu could now imagine his brilliance that day.
But as they stared at each other, Heng Yu wondered: Would the Buddha-son scold her as well?
“Lord Luo,” Liaowu’s voice was cold, like the music of strings from heaven, “Lord Luo, do you agree with Fellow Daoist Mi’s words just now?”
“What words?”
“In Lord Luo’s eyes, are Buddhist cultivators devoted to their faith all monotonous and pale existences?”
This question had the potential to be deadly.
Heng Yu had initially wanted to tease him, but seeing his serious expression, she also became serious. “I don’t know about other Buddhist cultivators. But after traveling with you for months, Buddha-son, you personally made Bodhi cakes for me, taught me how to play chess, gave me plum blossoms, and protected me when I was in danger. Everyone is born a monotonous and pale existence, but time and experience shape them into mountains and rivers, vast and magnificent landscapes.”
“Buddha-son, residing in the temple, chanting scriptures and striking the wooden fish, you are more insightful and gentle than ordinary people. You are already a mountain, a vast landscape, but not everyone can appreciate it. I taught you about the sufferings of sentient beings to enhance your already moving scenery, not out of disdain.”
As she spoke, Heng Yu unconsciously defended herself.
Precepts, wooden fish, scriptures, these were the choices of Buddhist cultivators. They controlled their desires and devoted themselves to cultivation. They might appear simple, but their inner worlds were rich.
Frankly, Mi Yi was just spoiled and pampered.
What she was experiencing now was the consequence of her own actions.
Liaowu’s expression was cold, but after hearing Heng Yu’s words, a hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes. The helplessness softened his coldness, and his expression became gentle again.
“Lord Luo.”
Liaowu called her name again.
Under Heng Yu’s puzzled gaze, he walked towards her and extended his right hand.
In his palm, adorned with black prayer beads, lay a wooden bracelet.
The bracelet was exquisite, with a purplish hue.
Intricate lotus patterns were carved on it, making it appear both holy and beautiful.
“Shall this poor monk put it on for you?”
His proactive offer stunned Heng Yu.
She quickly raised her hand, her sleeve slipping down to reveal her slender wrist.
Liaowu lowered his gaze and gently put the bracelet on her.
Yuanjing, standing silently outside the door, slowly came back to his senses. He watched their interaction and suddenly remembered the Buddhist stories and the Sanskrit book Heng Yu had shown him yesterday.
Did Mi Yi love him?
At least once, her feelings were genuine.
Did Luo Heng Yu love Liaowu?
She had said she didn’t have any romantic feelings for him.
But Mi Yi had loved him and, in the end, ruined his Buddhist path, making him suffer for centuries.
Luo Heng Yu didn’t love Liaowu, but she wanted to help him achieve enlightenment. Her words, “You are already a mountain, a vast landscape,” were more powerful than any love confession.
If time could rewind to three hundred years ago, Yuanjing suddenly wished Mi Yi had never loved him.
This way, she would still be the chief disciple of the Hehuan Sect, the carefree demonic woman pursuing the path of dual cultivation; and he would still be the Enforcement Elder of the Undying Sect, sitting on a lotus platform, devoted to Buddhism.
Yuanjing slowly closed his eyes.
Tears streamed down his face.
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