Chapter Nineteen: Desire Is Like the Sea, Impossible to Calm

As the direct disciple of the sect master, he naturally represents the face of Azure Mystery. If this senior brother cannot even gain entry to the true path, I think it would be better not to remain the sect master’s personal disciple."

The man in white spoke only a few words, yet every phrase carried a thin, biting mockery of Lu Shouyi.

He was a prince from an island kingdom three thousand miles beyond Azure Mystery’s borders. Though newly admitted to the sect, he had already attained a modest level of cultivation. Even though he had been taken in as a personal disciple by an elder upon entry, he was not pleased, because before him, Lu Shouyi had been taken directly as the sect master’s own disciple.

Within the entire world of cultivation, aside from the rarely seen immortals of long life, Sect Master Zhang Ruxu was already among the most supreme cultivators. What merit did Lu Shouyi possess to be accepted beneath the sect master’s seat?

Moreover, he believed that with his own talent and cultivation, the position of Azure Mystery’s sect master might not necessarily be beyond his reach in the future.

Shen Lian gave a casual laugh and said, "If you think Senior Brother Lu should not be the sect master’s disciple, then go speak to the sect master himself. Tell him he was blind to favor Senior Brother Lu—or else say the old man was blind not to favor you."

The man in white had his thoughts exposed, yet showed no shame or anger. Calmly, he said, "Within Azure Mystery, in both the upper and lower courts, among those roughly my age, there is indeed no one stronger than I am. The sect master has his considerations, and I have my own dissatisfaction."

Shen Lian suddenly asked, "Have you taken a master?"

The man in white’s expression changed.

Shen Lian smiled faintly. "From the look on your face, you already have. If I were your master, I’d be tempted to cast you out of the sect."

"I never said my master was not good. I merely refuse to accept this Senior Brother Lu. If he has the courage, let him make a wager with me: one year from now, all the disciples of the upper and lower courts will take a dao examination, and we will see who places higher."

First he defended himself, then he set the wager, staring straight at Lu Shouyi.

Lu Shouyi said, "I can agree. If I lose to you, I will naturally have no face left to remain a disciple of my master. If you lose, you will apologize to me."

"Naturally. My name is Zhao Siming. Remember it." The man in white gave a cold laugh and turned to leave.

The moonlight was silent. Lu Shouyi hammered hard against the gate of the dao courtyard, making it creak.

"Senior Brother Lu, I thought you were about to fight him just now," Shen Lian said with a light laugh.

"The rules of the Discipline Hall have all been memorized. Among fellow disciples, unless there are special circumstances, how could one strike another?" Lu Shouyi said sternly.

"So admitting you can’t beat him is very hard?" Shen Lian said in all seriousness. "If you ask me, I’d definitely help you. So long as no killing blows are used, at most I’d give him a little lesson."

"In the presence of others, there is always struggle. The sect rules cannot possibly bind every conflict between disciples. Back then, didn’t Chen Jianmei also make a move? So long as one keeps proper measure, how could an immortal ever be petty over such trifles?" Lu Shouyi said.

"Rules are not meant to make people rigidly obedient to doctrine, but to let them know when to advance and retreat, and how to act with proper measure."

Lu Shouyi laughed until he bent over, never expecting Shen Lian to have such a humorous side.

When his laughter subsided, Shen Lian said, "Senior Brother Lu, I still ought to say this: in the path of cultivation, what matters most is naturalness. If you force yourself for the sake of other people’s gazes, you will always fall into a lower realm. Even if you achieve something for the moment, it will do no good for the future."

"I know this principle too, but once one is in the midst of it, anger and resentment rise naturally. How are they to be resolved?" Lu Shouyi shook his head. If he lacked even a little insight, then no matter how pure he was as a person, Zhang Ruxu would not have chosen him.

Shen Lian was unexpectedly at a loss for an answer. His own achievements were partly due to his temper, which was naturally detached and well suited to the Dao, but another large part came from the mental cultivation method of the Supreme Mystery Treasure Natural Heart-Sealing True Interpretation.

In this world, there were many who knew what they wanted. Yet amid the illusory red dust, how many could avoid losing their original hearts?

The sea is vast; a slight wind is enough to stir up waves, and even with means to calm the sea and subdue the surges, it lasts only for a time.

He had seen Lu Shouyi disheveled and mentally exhausted, and had looked down on him. Yet in truth, the heights and depths among men lie in only one place.

Every person has a point where others fall short.

Shen Lian did not point anything out to Lu Shouyi. Instead, he felt that he himself had been sailing smoothly with the wind, and had grown somewhat arrogant.

At that thought, he gave Lu Shouyi a slight bow.

Lu Shouyi was baffled. "What are you doing, Junior Brother Shen?"

"You have given me cause for self-reflection, Senior Brother Lu, and for a moment I was foolish. So I thank you for it." Shen Lian’s manner was easy and unrestrained; if thanks were due, then he gave them.

Lu Shouyi sighed. "Brother Shen, I truly envy your temperament—so free and unburdened, yet with your own pursuit."

Shen Lian shook his head. "I am weary. We shall meet again tomorrow."

Shen Lian felt there was no benefit in saying more. Turning around, he entered the deep and lonely dao courtyard and went to rest on his own.

Lu Shouyi was tired as well. After the interruption just now, he no longer concerned himself with cultivation and returned to his quiet chamber.

Seated cross-legged on the bamboo couch, Shen Lian felt his spirit full and vigorous. In his mind, the visualization of the innate deity holding a wish-fulfilling scepter was clearer than at any time before.

Yet on closer inspection of that face, it remained distant and elusive, impossible to discern in its true form.

After Zhang Ruxu’s reminder, he increasingly felt that this method of visualization was wondrous beyond measure. And now, when he visualized, he did indeed feel a greater sense of solidity than before; his soul no longer had that ethereal, insubstantial drift.

He studied the deity carefully and faintly sensed that the deity and the talismanic script shared some similarity: they were always changing. Even with his current strength of mind, even with the ability to divide his attention, he could not recreate within the sea of spirit another deity to suppress the spiritual terrace.

He searched through his memories, yet could not discover how the former Shen Lian had managed to visualize that innate deity. It seemed to have been forced in from outside directly into the spiritual terrace, not something that belonged to his memories at all.

In the grand hall of Azure Mystery, the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror hung high in the air. On its surface appeared the scene of Lu Shouyi and Shen Lian from earlier.

Chen Jianmei was also in the hall, standing casually before Zhang Ruxu as he said leisurely, "You took him as a personal disciple, gave him only the method, and never explained it. I thought you did not care about this Lu Shouyi."

"Shen Lian’s nature is free and unrestrained, exactly in accord with the essence of Azure Mystery’s cultivation. So any effort to temper his heart would have little effect. What he needs most is broader experience, the ability to draw analogies from all things, and to walk a path that belongs only to him. Even if he cultivates a little more slowly now, when he reaches the crucial thresholds of forming the golden elixir and breaking delusion in the future, he will be easier than others to advance.

"Lu Shouyi studied the classics from childhood. Though his talent is high, much of it has been wasted on affairs of governance and practical use. He lacks reverence for cultivation, treating it only as a means to cultivate. If he is not tempered, then forming the elixir is mere empty talk, much less attaining long life." Zhang Ruxu spoke with cloudless ease, calmly explaining the temperaments of the two men.

Thanks to Melody, 588 reward; thanks to the 588 rewards from the SOS group member; thanks to the 200 reward from Dark Tide at Night; and thanks for the gifts from I Wander the World with Ease, Three Apples, and Still There in the Gentle Clouds. The recommendations and rewards have fallen off badly lately; I ask everyone for support.