Death… and me

1368 Tianya Discusses The Way of The Tao

The supreme gateway of the Great Tao!

Chu Yang was stunned by these few words. He unwittingly found himself righting his state of mind even further.

If even Ning Tianya was saying this, then it must definitely be no simple matter!

Before he even realized, Chu Yang had also straightened his back. Both his ears were cocked sharply, for fear of missing even a single word.

Ning Tianya inhaled a long breath of air before exhaling another long breath of air. Heaving a heavy sigh, he said, “This is something that I’ve comprehended only recently. However, even though I have comprehended it, I myself no longer have any hope of reaching the peak…”

“Isn’t that simply ironic and tragic to the extreme!”

Ning Tianya’s countenance was unbelievably dejected as he sighed forlornly.

Chu Yang sat upright. He did not answer but only listened with full attention.

“If one were to compare this mountain to life, then the path up the mountain would be the journey of life. In the journey of life, there are too many side roads.”

Ning Tianya went on slowly. “Side roads will interfere with your progress and limit your speed. However, the side roads can also allow you to broaden your horizons, teach you lessons and let you gain experience…”

“Since olden times, there has never been anyone who reached the peak without stepping onto side roads!”

“But here, the side roads that I’m talking about now are not the same type of side roads as those.”

“Rather, they are experiences; they are the many precious things in life that we have no choice but to do and no choice but to protect!”

“Some of these side roads are one’s parents, sisters, brothers; they are relationships, kinship, one’s wife and children… etc… If one is to consider these as side roads that impede his progress in his journey of life, then they are also the most precious side roads!”

“Take note: What I’m saying is side roads that affect one’s progression speed. Just the speed and not the progression… Do you understand?”

Chu Yang nodded. “Absolutely!”

Life wasn’t something that went according to one’s will and allowed a person to disregard everything else. There were always things that would mess up one’s state of mind and cause one to become lost at times of him challenging a breakthrough or at the start of his journey…

Such as instructions entrusted to one by their parents, the tears of a lover…

All of these could turn a heart made of steel soft and tender in an instant.

Ning Tianya said, “A lot of people hold an extremely resolute heart toward the way of martial arts. You must understand that when a heart reaches the pinnacle of resolution… Nothing would remain other than heartlessness! When one reaches that point, no matter what happens or who it is, nothing would be able to cause him to waver!”

“These people are known as martial arts maniacs! The only things they can see are their own goals and the pinnacle of the way of martial arts! Because he wishes to climb further, he gives up everything around him to step onto this path!”

“His eyes are forever fixated on the path ahead. Hence, whenever he walks past the entrance of a side road, he is never distracted. He only walks firmly past it; he never cares about whether his family or other things that he’s concerned about are at the entrance of the side road or not…”

Ning Tianya went on. “Therefore, these people will become powerful martial artists! They will become skilled experts! They are like hard and solid sabers; they will continue to swing their saber down, all the way until the moment where the saber breaks!”

“Will the saber break? Yes, it will! Because he is too hard!”

As Chu Yang listened, he seemed to have understood something.

“A person’s conduct and the practice of martial arts is as one. If you can’t even conduct yourself well, how can you even talk about the pinnacle of the way of martial arts?” Ning Tianya sighed emotionally. “The reason why a person practices martial arts is for the sake of protecting something, and not purely for the sake of becoming strong.”

“What is the purpose of becoming strong? Is it just to kill? If there is nothing in this world that you wish to protect and nobody whom you wish to care for and protect, then you will not have anything to work hard toward. Thus, even if you become a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist, even if you surpass a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist, in the end… without even needing an enemy, you yourself would be able to defeat yourself!”

“Because at that point, you no longer have a reason to win!”

“Even for those martial arts maniacs, the reason for them starting on cultivation in the beginning is the same — To protect. There is absolutely nobody who, when still a child, would already say, ‘I want to become strong, so I will cultivate!’ Hurhur… it is the same for everybody; cultivation is for the sake of protecting something. And protecting is equivalent to love. However, as they walked on, they have instead forgotten all about it.”

“And that is the point where they start digging their own graves!”

Ning Tianya went on. “When I was young, I also had parents and family. I also had a wife and children. I always thought that I had treated my family very well, but they passed away one by one.”

“I was full of regret, because I could’ve done better! If I had cultivated a little less and cared more about my family, I could have extended their lifespans, all the way until I could no longer extend it any further… Then, I would not have any regrets. But I didn’t. At that time, I spent more effort in charging to the peak, in walking the martial world carefreely and in standing at the top of the martial world!”

“I’ve managed to do that, but when I was able to walk the martial world carefreely and stand at the top of the martial world, there was nobody by my side to cheer for me. Those who cheered for me were people I didn’t know; people who were completely unrelated to me. In that case, what was the point of all these cheers?”

Chu Yang understood by now.

“Therefore, the true supreme gateway to the Great Tao is that you must first conduct yourself well as a ‘person’ before you talk about other things. How do you conduct yourself as a ‘person’? In front of your parents, you must be a good son. In front of your wives and consorts, you must be a good man. In front of your children, you must be a good father. In front of your friends, you must be a good friend. Only in front of your enemies are you a King of Hell!”

“Take note of the order — Your enemy is placed last!” Ning Tianya asked, “Do you understand?”

Chu Yang replied solemnly, “I think, I have understood.”

“Only when you have achieved all these can you be considered a complete person. When you have a path of retreat, no matter where you go, your roots will exist!”

“A tree can only live if it has roots. A person can only go far if he has roots.”

“Therefore, when you are advancing in the way of martial arts, you must take note of the side roads around you and remember them well. Such that when you become tired later on, you have the means to retreat safely and return to your roots to recuperate.”

“If you abandon your roots while you advance, you will not be able to retreat. In that case, you can only die all alone on that road!”

“Some people are utterly devoted to their wives, their love for them undying even in death. They think that they have taken the Path of Sentiment, but does the Path of Sentiment only apply to their love for their wife? Did they not need to hold love toward their parents, their family, their children and further descendants?”

“Therefore, that is the Path of Heartlessness nonetheless! And therefore, they will still be destroyed in the end!”

When Ning Tianya reached this part, Chu Yang’s heart was tremendously shaken.

He thought of the old Elder Master, Chu Xiaoxin. Was Chu Xiaoxin sentimental? His love was indisputably as deep as the ocean! But was he heartless? He was certainly heartless enough too. For the sake of his love for his wife, he had abandoned every other emotional tie. For the sake of his past love, he abandoned all future love. In that case, was Chu Xiaoxin walking the Path of Heartlessness too?

He thought of Lang Yilang and Wei Wuyan…

“The Path of Heartlessness…” Chu Yang heaved a deep sigh.

“Therefore, the gateway to the Great Tao is — Doing everything that you can do to the best of your ability and protecting everything you can protect to the fullest of your ability, allowing your heart to be complete and intact. When your heart is clear and beautiful, you will have the strength to challenge any kind of pinnacle!”

Ning Tianya said solemnly.

Chu Yang replied seriously and quietly, “But if we were to accomplish all of these, what time is there left to cultivate?”

Ning Tianya’s eyes widened incredulously. “Why wouldn’t you have the time? Are you not enjoying the peace of your inner mind when you interact with your parents? Is this sense of peace in your inner mind not a form of cultivation? Are you not enjoying warmth when you are with your friends and brothers? How is this sense of warmth not a form of cultivation of the mind? When you are with your lover, are you not able to feel bliss? Is this form of bliss not cultivation of the mind?”

“All these will not take up much time. In fact, there are times when you need only to let them know where you are and that would suffice. Your cultivation would suffice as well!”

“Why do people have feelings and desires? It is only when your feelings are fulfilled will life then be life! A life of fulfillment is the true Great Tao. The Great Tao is fulfilled because of the existence of one’s roots!”

“There are several side roads in the human heart. However, these side roads are your different emotions and they progress as one. It’s fine if you insist on choosing one as your main path. However, you mustn’t neglect the others. Otherwise, the further you travel in your way of martial arts, the further you will stray from the fulfillment of life. When you get so far ahead that you can no longer see it and are no longer able to return; which is to say, the moment of your breakdown… then you will be destroyed.”

“When one possesses roots, he possesses the way of the Great Tao!”

“This is the true Path of Sentiment; meaning, the true gateway to the Great Tao, the gateway to Heaven’s Way, and the gateway to the way of the immortals!”

“The Path of Sentiment includes every type of sentiment. When you have achieved it, that would be the Great Tao!”

“The reason why Chen Feng and Liu Yun are able to stay strong without falling is because they have roots! They are each other’s roots! Even after tens of thousands of years, they were still able to rescue Wu Juecheng at the time of the Nine Tribulations nourishing the Heavens. They were even able to take care of their kin for tens of thousands of years… Therefore, their consciences are clear and their hearts fulfilled.”

Ning Tianya went on seriously. “Such a fulfilled state of mind is an incredible strength when one is challenging the Great Tao and when one is facing his inner demons! Since time immemorial, an unimaginable number of experts have fallen in the face of their inner demons; this is not because they were not strong enough, but because they were too strong instead! They faced off with their inner demons time and again as they walked on, up until the day they break down. This shows that they do not have roots!”

“The two of them, Chen Feng and Liu Yun, so long as they do not meet with sudden death, they will definitely be able to catch a glimpse of the Great Tao!”

Chu Yang heaved a sigh. This matter was truly one where different people would hold different views. Chen Feng and Liu Yun might have done the best of what they could have, but they ultimately did not understand the truth. And so, Wu Juecheng… instead ended up in an even more sorry plight.

But Chu Yang then thought, “If Wu Juecheng’s physical body had been destroyed during the process of the Nine Tribulations nourishing the Heavens and he had really gone to the extraterrestrial battlegrounds, would he really be happy?”

What about their Boss?

Heaven’s will could actually play people for fools to such an extent.

“Chu Yang, I’ll tell you only this — Do not underestimate your training in the material world! Which part of the world isn’t a part of the material world… Even if the way of the immortals exists and even if the Imperial Court rules over the world, as long as one is alive and his heart is not yet dead, one remains within the material world.”

Ning Tianya sighed lightly. “As long as regret and guilt remain within your heart, you will never be able to reach the peak of the Great Tao… Even if you can enter the Nine Heavens Imperial Court, nothing would change!”