Chapter 56: Reversing the Small Heaven and Conforming to the Great Way

  Xiao Qiu sat at the edge of the table eating rice, distractedly counting how many times she had chewed, but what she was really thinking about was the matter of Deng Fengding. Shen Xiuming, who was sitting next to her, refused to speak during meals and kept his eyes straight ahead.

  Just as lunch was over, a disciple of the sect stood up and walked over to sit in the empty seat next to Xia Qiu. "My name is Zhou Ping, I hope we can talk."

  The disciples who were originally going to leave in line sat down again, they had not yet reached the point where their curiosity was gone, especially the young men from Ye Lin Town, who stared at Zhou Ping tightly.

  "My name is Mu Xingqiu, nice to talk to you." Little Autumn stood up straight facing him.

  Zhou Ping looked like he was fifteen or sixteen years old, and it was clear that he had been on Yangshen Peak for more than a year. His pale diet did not seem to have affected his development, as he was tall and sturdy, with his Taoist robe tightly stretched over his body, resembling a smaller version of Lin Suo, except that his broad face lacked the habitual smile that Du taught him.

  "You may not have noticed, but you're ruining the atmosphere here." Zhou Ping was indeed a disciple who had cultivated for several years, and when he spoke, his tone was calm and peaceful, as if this were just a kind reminder.

  "Me?"

  "Hmm, you. I heard that you were punished with a month of reflection for fighting on your own, but it seems like you haven't learned from it. Since you arrived at Yangshen Peak yesterday, you've broken many rules, and the most serious thing is that you've spread rumors everywhere, disturbing everyone's minds and directly affecting the cultivation of hundreds of disciples."

  Even the calm tone couldn't hide the accusatory meaning behind these words. In the past few months, Xiao Qiu had indeed learned something, one of which was not to rush into anger. He turned his head and took a glance: the companions from Ye Lin Town looked anxious and uncertain, clearly not knowing how to respond, while the other disciples were expressionless, seeming to support Zhou Ping's words even more.

  "Have I spread rumors here?"

  "It's true, now everyone is saying that you want to take revenge, even with murderous intentions. They also say that you claim to be the master of the Three Tomes, and are trying every means possible to leave the Spiritual Peak. It's these baseless rumors that have affected everyone's cultivation. The Spiritual Peak was originally a place as calm as still water, where everyone had no distracting thoughts. But since you arrived, distracting thoughts have emerged."

  "I will put an end to all rumors."

  "Very good." Zhou Ping stood up, "This is a clever move."

  Xiao Qiu also stood up, half a head shorter than the other party, but his momentum was not inferior at all. He loudly declared: "Everyone should stop discussing rumors from now on. The fact is that I will indeed take revenge, whether or not to kill someone will be said later; about breaking through San Tian? You can just think of it as me bragging; but I want to walk out of Yang Shen Peak, and I will try again and again until I succeed. That's all."

  Zhou Ping's face turned red from his forehead to the base of his neck, and his breathing became heavy. The years of cultivating his heart were almost destroyed in an instant. Then he raised his head high, using a strongly suppressed tone of contempt to say: "You are indeed someone who has been invaded by the demon species, fearing the Great Way from the beginning, and even wanting to destroy the cultivation of the righteous way."

  The people offended by this sentence are not just Xia Qiu, but all the young men of Ye Lin Town stood up, they most taboo someone discussing demonic breeds and regard those who have come into contact with demonic breeds as another kind.

  "Master believes in us." Da Liang plucked up his courage, but still stood behind Xiao Qiu.

  "Without our interference, your cultivation wouldn't have progressed this far." Shen Hao slammed his fists on the table and shouted loudly.

  "We are not afraid!" Lengzi's eyes turned red with rage and his veins bulged.

  Zhou Ping ignored others and stared at Xiao Qiu, "Look, this is the kind of person you've brought with you. I won't stand idly by and watch you cause trouble."

  "Nobody taught me and nobody managed me." Xia Qiu's anger was rising gradually, he couldn't understand why others interfered with his own business.

  "They are just guides and caregivers, they are not on the same path as us, only I can stop you, only we can stop you."

  "Welcome," said Xia Qiu.

  "We all welcome." Shen Hao jumped over the long table and stood with Xiao Qiu. The other boys also got up.

  Zhou Ping was not afraid at all, and instead showed the courtesy of Taoist unity. He walked out of the dining hall with his head held high, and the other disciples took a look and also left.

  The young men of the Ye Lin Town gathered around Xiao Qiu again, and the first thing they did was to swear that they were not the ones who leaked the secret. They hated the act of leaking secrets, and it was this leak that made them bear the strange gaze from their fellow disciples, no matter how standard their movements were during meals, or how hard they tried to shake off the various concerns.

  It was from that day on that seven boys from the Wild Forest Town sat together for meals, thus breaking the small habit of entering and dining according to room numbers.

  Although he gained a lot from Xin Youtao, Xiao Qiu refused to become a conspirator who acts according to the "palace rules", so he didn't suspect any of his companions. Before revealing the new plan, everyone swore to keep it confidential. Then, Xiao Qiu said: "I want to climb to the top of the mountain and walk out from there to Yangshen Peak."

  His companions looked at him in astonishment, and he added: "This is what Lin Du told me."

  This sentence moved all partners, only Da Liang Shen Xiu Ming still had doubts. "Once you enter the Yangshen Peak, you won't leave the valley for three years. What can we do when we go out? We have food and shelter here, and we can also practice Taoist rituals. Isn't that good enough? Little Autumn Brother, do you think you... broke through the Three Fields?"

  "Three years without leaving the valley, it's not that you 'can't' leave the valley, but rather you 'can't' leave the valley. Putting other things aside for now, aren't you curious?"

  "It's heavily snowing outside, but Mount Yangshen is warm like spring. If anyone is curious, it's the people outside who are curious." Daliang spoke out everyone's thoughts, "What if we go out and can't come back?"

  Xiao Qiu didn't refute, smiled and said: "You all focus on cultivating, surpassing Zhou Ping and those people, bring honor to Ye Lin Town; I'll go try myself, if I don't come back, let's meet again in three years."

  Yangshen Peak is not a Mirror Lake Village lodge. Nothing bad has ever happened here, so while everyone was angry about Zhou Ping's threat, they weren't particularly worried.

  The afternoon lesson was Lin's lengthy lecture, continuing to narrate the long history of Daoist lineage. It had been a month since Xiao Qiu started attending and they hadn't gotten very far, only just beginning to touch on the stories of the first three ancestors.

  The Demon Clan once ruled the entire world, at that time humans were almost all reduced to slaves, only a very small number of people hid in the most harsh environment of the wilderness barely maintaining their freedom, the three initial ancestors were from a desolate desert with no human habitation...

  Even the most enthusiastic boys from the Wild Forest Town soon fell into a drowsy state, too many strange names and places, too many ancient and mysterious words filled their ears, gradually merging into a chaotic noise with little distinction. The experienced Liu Yang disciples were not listening to the lesson for the first time, they immediately entered a meditative state, making full use of this period to cultivate themselves.

  Xiao Qiu sat down and took a nap, he wanted to conserve his energy, planning to climb to the summit tonight. Nurturing Spirit Peak wasn't as towering as Old Ancestor Peak, it shouldn't be too difficult to climb up.

  He had originally let Da Liang call him awake, but when he opened his eyes, what he saw was Dou Jiao Lin Suo, and everyone else had already left. The entire hall was empty except for the two of them.

  "I wanted to have a word with you alone, so I didn't let them disturb you." Lin Sa patted her rounded belly, her face full of smiles.

  "Sorry, I...I fell asleep."

  "It doesn't matter, I also relearned the history of Taoism after becoming a disciple of the Secret School. In my early years, I would often fall asleep during lessons, haha, that's how my big belly was nurtured."

  Xiao Qiu also smiled, Lin Du Jiao was always relatively easy-going, and a few words could make people relax.

  "Are you ready to climb the mountain tonight?"

  "Yes." Xia Qiu cautiously didn't say anything more. Lin Du had only given him a hint that morning, so he also didn't spell it out.

  "Pang Shan rarely sees a disciple as stubborn and strong-willed as you."

  "Has Zhou Ping gone to report to the authorities?"

  Lin Daojiao smiled and shook his head, "Sometimes you think too much. I wanted to say that it's a pity that Meng Daojiao is not here, he particularly appreciates disciples like you."

  Xiao Qiu's expression turned gloomy, and she asked the question that had been stuck in her mind for two days: "Why did Mengdu teach the art of defying heaven, but everyone here is talking about following the will of heaven?"

  "Hmm, this is a problem." Lin Duojiao sat on the nearest cushion, Xiao Qiu looked at him and felt that this sentence couldn't be considered an answer.

  "Have you climbed Laozu Peak?" Lin Du asked.

  "Climbed, but didn't reach the summit."

  "Didn't Mengdu say that climbing a mountain is going against heaven? Only those with strong willpower and lofty goals can make it all the way to the summit?"

  "I've said it before, it's more or less what I meant."

  "Has he ever said that to climb a mountain one must take the mountain road?"

  Xiao Qiu was taken aback and slowly shook her head.

  "But you still go up step by step along the stairs."

  Xiao Qiu nodded slowly, already vaguely understanding Mengdu's meaning.

  "So you see, going against the heavens and following the heavens are not contradictory." Lin Xiao placed his hand on Xia Qiu's shoulder, "In the words of the Daoist sect, this is called 'going against the small heavens to follow the great Dao'. The 'small heavens' refer to your own laziness and indulgence, while the 'great Dao' refers to the path of cultivation paved by the thirty-seventh generation ancestor and countless ordinary Daoists. This road is not easy to walk, so you must go against your own preferences, remain vigilant at all times, and not deviate from the great Dao."

  Xiao Qiu lowered his head and didn't speak, Lin Daojie guessed what was on his mind and continued: "Teaching the Taoist way must be tailored to the individual's abilities. Meng Daojie thinks that people are naturally lazy and dislike hard work, so he specializes in teaching the art of going against heaven, encouraging everyone to cultivate diligently. Other teachers emphasize safety for new disciples entering the gate of Mount Peng, so they stress following heaven."

  "Could Mengdu teach in Siwu, is there still someone on Yangshen Peak who can lecture on the art of defying heaven?"

  Lin Xiao sighed, moving his palm away from Xia Qiu's shoulder. "It's gone. Some teach both the opposing and conforming ways at the same time, but most only teach the conforming way because it's safer, to prevent their disciples from becoming demons."

  Lin Suo stood up and walked out of the hall, but after a few steps, he thought that he had not said something, so he turned around and said: "Inversely small heaven and smooth big way, you can carefully experience it when you climb the mountain tonight."

  Xiao Qiu walked into the dining hall with a thoughtful expression, immediately drawing everyone's attention. The young men of Ye Lin Town all stood up, and Shen Hao asked worriedly: "Is everything alright?"

  Xiao Qiu smiled and said, "Nothing big. After dinner, I'll go hiking, who can tell me where the mountain road is?"

  The disciple of the Longevity Peak, Zhou Ping, who was sitting at the other end of the long table, spoke up, "There is no road to climb the mountain of Nourishing Spirit Peak, and I also do not allow you to climb the mountain. I want to stop your act of seeking fame by deceiving the crowd."

  Xiao Qiu pouted, "How can we stop it?"

  "I heard you like to fight, so let's have a match. If I lose, I'll keep quiet from now on. If you lose, you'll practice diligently and honestly, just like everyone else." Zhou Ping stared at the table for a long time before finally looking up, "Let's do it later."

  Xiao Qiu couldn't help but think about how Xin Yu Tao would view this matter.

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)