Chapter 26: The Fundamental Heart of Tao

  Yü Zé Chēng was received by Shí Tiān Lóng himself, who held a grand banquet to celebrate their victory and treated Yü Zé Chēng with great hospitality. During the feast, Yü Zé Chēng noticed that Lè Huáng and Yǔ Dié were absent and asked:

  "Big brother, where's Lele and Yutiao?"

  Shi Tianlong said:

  "They received news yesterday that their mother was critically ill, so they left suddenly. They were both red song girls I invited from Chen Guo, and since they didn't sell themselves to me, there's nothing I can say, all I could do was see them off."

  They left, and they just left like that. Yu Ze Cheng had specially selected several high-quality jewelry for the two of them, wanting to brag about his big battle yesterday. Who knew that today they would leave like this, without saying a word?

  Suddenly, I felt a sense of loneliness. After my father's death, I took on the heavy responsibility of taking care of this family alone. My former playmates gradually drifted away, and no one knew about my hardships, no one to share my loneliness with, no one to enjoy my happiness with. Even if I grew up too quickly, my heart still ached.

  Only when Lele and Yutiao accompanied him did he have a happy feeling, as if they were old partners who understood each other. Now that they suddenly left, he felt an inexplicable sense of loss in his heart.

  Suddenly, Yu Ze Cheng's heart moved, and he thought of the green rose that appeared in his body, as well as the strange energy, and the crazy night before with Yu Die. He remembered Le Xiang's words, "Huh, Yuan Yang hasn't been lost?" And he thought of his special attitude towards them.

  In an instant, Yu then suddenly understood. This state of understanding was very strange. He wasn't angry or sad. Perhaps all of this, including his own feelings, were manipulated by them, manufactured by them, perhaps not, perhaps so. Actually, he had long since understood in his heart, but just refused to imagine it, because this was his first love.

  Today's affairs are like water without a trace. Tomorrow what evening, you have already become a stranger on the road.

  Shi Tianlong saw that Yu Ze Cheng's mood was not good and said:

  "It won't be long before they come back, why bother about a few whores, it's actually good for you that they left. There are plenty of women, let's go have some drinks and call over Zui Wei and Man Qiao to keep my brother company."

  "Do you know how many people you killed yesterday? The heating squad doesn't buy coffins for the dead, they're all cremated, but each person is wrapped in a white cloth one zhang long. Yesterday they bought 243 zhang of white cloth."

  Yu Ze Cheng then became stunned and said in a gloomy tone:

  "Killed two hundred and forty-three people? Looks like this vendetta is settled."

  Shi Tianlong caught the implication of Yu Zecheng's tone and couldn't help but tremble, saying:

  "It's not certain, 243 people died, more than 400 were injured and disabled. It can be said that the warming-up is done, they don't have the heart to avenge now. What they are defending against now is the annexation by other gangs, such as the Medicine Collection Gang."

  Yu Zhen then let out a long sigh and said:

  "I won't harm you if you don't harm me, blame yourselves if you must."

  Before long, two beautiful women, no less than Le Xiang and Yu Die, appeared. They accompanied Yu Ze Cheng on either side, although they were very beautiful, but they didn't have the same aura as Le Xiang and Yu Die. Yu Ze Cheng was laughing and chatting with them, but he didn't have the same feeling as before. It was really just a pretence.

  The excess jewelry was then processed by Yu Zhen as a stone dragon, leaving only over ten pieces of fine jewelry for himself to give as gifts.

  Two red card girls accompanied Yu Ze Cheng, very curious about this young hero, constantly asking questions, Yu Ze Cheng responded to the two of them, on this wine table, in the rouge building, with the strict protection of the Shi family. This time Yu Ze Cheng thoroughly let go, venting out all the fatigue of yesterday's big battle, finally Yu Ze Cheng got drunk.

  This time he had a dream, this time there was no scene from his previous subconscious, he seemed to be riding a horse, galloping, and venting.

  Everything gradually subsided, and I was left standing alone in a desolate wilderness with only the clear wind and cold moon. Before me lay a road, rugged and uneven, but stretching far into the distance, towards that unknown world.

  Yu Ze Cheng continued on the road, stumbling and staggering. After a while, the road forked, and to the left, a courtyard appeared in front of him, with golden walls and white jade beds, resplendent and luxurious beyond compare. Le Xiang and Yu Die were there, along with many other beautiful women whose faces he couldn't quite make out, frolicking and playing together. When they saw Yu Ze Cheng, they called out to him loudly, inviting him to come in and rest.

  On the right is the grand hall of Hei Hu Dian, Ma Laohei kneels before him listening to his orders, countless disciples are ready to be dispatched, waiting for his command, with one order, countless heads will fall to the ground.

  In the middle of one side is still that rugged mountain road, only leading to the sky, and the front will always be an unknown that cannot be said.

  Yu then became vaguely aware that all these represented something, they were his own dreams. In the dream, the road on the left represented being accompanied by countless beauties, achieving wealth and prosperity, and living a carefree life. The road on the right represented having great power in one's grasp, being the master of the world.

  And the road in between represents one's own path to immortality, rugged, dangerous, with no possibility of success. However, it allows one to travel all over the world and experience feelings that can never be imagined.

  It's all about one's own dreams and choices. Without hesitation, Yu Ze Cheng walked towards the middle path, cursing to himself as he went down this bumpy road.

  "Are you stupid? I've cultivated immortality, my magical powers are boundless. When I want power, I have power; when I want money, I have money; when I want beautiful women, I have beautiful women. Even a fool knows what to choose."

  Yu Zecheng took a big step forward, and on the road, there were many stones. Upon closer inspection, the stones suddenly turned into the head of that young man who had been beheaded by Yu Zecheng himself, staring at him with an innocent expression. He was probably around the same age as Yu Zecheng, maybe he would have made a good son, maybe he would have become a good father in the future, but now he was just a ghost killed by Yu Zecheng's own knife.

  The road gradually changed, and countless human heads began to appear on the ground, all of whom were killed by themselves. Li Da Guan Ren, Hu Tian Ma, that young man, the young father, all were enemies who were beheaded by their own hands, and they had an unusual understanding of them.

  These people's heads seemed to be shouting, as if they were howling. They seemed to be saying something to Yu Ze Cheng, wanting to stop his advance.

  Yu Ze Cheng looked at them with a cold smile and said:

  "Sorry, I killed you, really sorry, I apologize to you. However, if I were to do it again, I would still kill you. Don't block my way, whoever blocks my way, I will kill them. My path is decided by myself, no one can change my decision, my life is mine, not heaven's."

  At that moment when Yu Ze Cheng was speaking, the Frost Snow Knife appeared in his hand. Yu Ze Cheng swung his knife and beheaded the young man once again, chopping him into pieces. Then he sang loudly:

  "With a sword in hand, I walk alone, amidst the red dust of ten thousand miles. Don't look back, the road ahead is treacherous, cut through thorns and brambles, shatter bones to dust, never turn back. A good man's life is spent in vain, all hesitation and melancholy will be cut down. Even if the red lotus of extinction is right before my eyes, I'll still move forward."

  As his song echoed, an endless sea of blood appeared beside him. The sea churned and wherever it reached, everything turned to bloodwater. The world was gone, only this road remained, everything had vanished.

  Yu Ze walked forward firmly and suddenly woke up from his dream.

  In a secluded spot in Shanzhu City, a crisp sound of something breaking suddenly rang out. An old man slowly said:

  "Bai Xiazi's recommendation is indeed reliable, this young man's determination to seek the Tao is so strong that it shattered my Heart-asking Symbol. I'll go back to the sect and report, this person can be accepted as a disciple."

  Another young voice sounded:

  "Yes, disciple understands, but what is the bloody sea that Master appeared in at the end?"

  The old man replied:

  "I don't know either, I use the Heart Symbol to point directly at my heart, everything I get is the most original choice in this person's spiritual sea, but the human spiritual sea is also the most mysterious, and anything can appear."

  The young voice continued:

  "I heard that Old Man Yu recently discovered a Tianling Root girl in Linhai City, although she was kidnapped by a high-ranking member of the Hunyuan Sect. However, this is still a discovery made by Old Man Yu. Moreover, Chen Huofa found a disciple with a Hundun Spirit Root and also possesses Wisdom Root. The Shu Country side also discovered a pure Wood Spirit Root disciple. If we report this, he's just a fake Five Elements Spirit Root, will it be approved..."

  The old man listened and said:

  "Alas, power is overwhelming. Is there a pure land in this world? Let's record it first and observe, observe, wait for a while before saying anything."

  Just as the question mark symbol shattered, Yu Ze Cheng woke up. This dream was still vivid in his mind, and his whole body seemed to have broken out in a cold sweat. However, compared to last night's clarity and freshness, it felt like he had found a direction for his life.

  Woke up to find myself lying in a boudoir, with two women sleeping beside me. They were none other than Wei and Qiao. It seemed that the horseback riding in my dream was actually them, and I had taken them down last night.

  Looking at their delicate bodies, Yu Ze Cheng suddenly had an epiphany. The shadow of the butterfly in his heart slowly dissipated. A man should be like this: when there is wine, one must get drunk; when there is beauty, one must appreciate it. With a sword in hand, he can sleep soundly on a beauty's lap.

  Yu Ze Cheng didn't know that he had been changed by Shi Tian Long and Yu Die without realizing it. It wasn't until much later that Yu Ze Cheng found out that the technique was called Miao Hua Xiao Hun Shou.