Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way Chapter 153

Published at 30th of January 2023 01:22:32 PM

Chapter 153 - What Is…The Way?

“That was vicious.”

“He’s so good-looking, and he looks like a decent man, but he turns out to have such a malicious heart.”

“I don’t blame him. Wang Changsheng wanted to step on him in hope of moving up the ranks. He didn’t die for nothing, in that sense.”

The Sword Plain quieted immediately after Wang Changsheng died. Still, once Gu Suihan sat down and shut his eyes in silence, the other disciples began to whisper among themselves again.

This time, however, their voices were cautious and fearful, unlike how they had been so snarky earlier. They were afraid that Gu Suihan might suddenly turn his attention to them, and they’d become the next Wang Changsheng.

“Humans are really pathetic creatures,” snorted Gu Suihan to himself when he heard the 180-degree change in attitude among the disciples whispering behind him.

Immediately after he uttered that, he felt his heart tremble, and he shut his eyes so that nobody would see how badly he was panicking inside.

“Why did that happen? Why did I kill him? I’ve never even killed a chicken before! Why don’t I feel any uneasiness after I just murdered someone? Why…why did I look at the rest of the disciples with such contempt?”

Gu Suihan felt terribly afraid, and the ominous feeling in his heart only grew stronger. The period between his splitting headaches was getting shorter and shorter lately.

Sometimes, when he was all alone, he would even go into a complete daze and would only snap out of it suddenly when someone came close enough.

“What…what exactly are you?” he asked himself as he looked inside his consciousness and observed the shadow that took up nine-tenths of the space in there, looking deeply at the long crack that resembled a trench in his head.

The sinister gaze peeking out from behind the crack did not answer him at all, but he could sense that it was no longer as murderous as it was earlier. It now seemed to look mockingly at everyone else with a lofty and arrogant gaze.

“I don’t care what you are. I am Gu Suihan, and I am myself. You cannot wipe out my consciousness,” growled Gu Suihan quietly as he glared fiercely at the eyes behind the crack.

“Elder Zou is here!” announced a voice from afar. The entire plain fell silent.

Gu Suihan took one last deep look at the crack, then turned his attention back to the outside world.

Meanwhile, almost a thousand people were sitting neatly in rows, attentive as they looked at the kindly, otherworldly old man in front of them. They didn’t even dare to blink, as if they were afraid to miss anything he did or said.

“What…what happened here?” asked Elder Zou as he scanned the disciples and spotted Wang Changsheng’s corpse on the ground.

Everyone immediately turned to look at Gu Suihan, who was seated right in front. Their lips trembled, but nobody dared to say anything.

The only ones taking the lesson today were external disciples and the very few internal disciples remaining. The bulk of their internal disciples had died inside the secret realm.

“You’re the one who did this? Do you know what sort of punishment you will suffer for fighting your peers or killing them for no reason within the sect?” asked Elder Zou in a deep voice as he frowned at Gu Suihan.

“At most, I’ll die for it. Besides, I won’t die either,” said Gu Suihan flippantly as he glanced indifferently at the elder.

The skin on Elder Zou’s face trembled as he snorted. “At most, you’d die for it? And why won’t you die?”

“None of you…would let me die.” Gu Suihan grinned. His pearly whites shone so brightly in the sun.

“What a joke,” said Elder Zou with a snort before a thought suddenly struck him. His expression became solemn again as he asked, “Wait. You are Gu Suihan?”

“That is correct.”

“It’s true that you wouldn’t die.” Elder Zou had intended to chide the young man, but when he saw the frosty look in Gu Suihan’s eyes, he just sighed. He waved his hands and sent sword qi howling toward Wang Changsheng, turning the corpse into mere powder. A wind blew past and blew everything off the cliff. There was no trace left behind.

Everyone else was shocked and rather afraid when they saw that Elder Zou not only spared Gu Suihan a scolding but also helped to destroy Wang Changsheng’s corpse without looking too bothered by what happened.

“The extent to which Gu Suihan is special to the sect is way higher than we thought. We must make sure we’re never enemies with this fellow.”

That was the thought that ran through the minds of everyone on the plain. They weren’t stupid, after all. Elder Zou’s reaction was basically a warning to them. If anyone tried to challenge Gu Suihan, they’d end up dead, and nobody would know or even care.

Nobody dared to even think about challenging Gu Suihan anymore. Who would dare to behave like Wang Changsheng? That fellow got himself killed, and his body was destroyed just like that.

“Today, I would like to explain the Origin Core stage.” Elder Zou deliberately glanced at Gu Suihan. He could see that Gu Suihan was already at Beginner Foundation Establishment. It was just a matter of time and experience building before he would continue to rise up the stages.

“As all of you know, cultivators will go through three disasters and six afflictions as they pursue the Way. If you don’t survive these, your physical body will perish, any cultivation progress made will disappear, and you will be subject to the process of reincarnation. The three disasters are divided into heaven, earth, and human. Heaven disasters are natural calamities. Earth disasters are others making trouble for you. Human disasters come from the karmic relationships you have with others. If you make it past these three disasters, your core will form automatically.”

“As for the six afflictions, there are many types, and they are all different. The one that is most commonly seen is the one involving the heart and emotions, including lust and romance. Cutting off your ties and keeping yourself unaffected by emotions will help you to get over this stage.”

Elder Zou purposely spoke in great detail about the various parts of attaining this stage, which addressed many of the questions that Gu Suihan had and made him feel a lot more enlightened. Every time a disciple raised a question, Elder Zou would answer each one with patience and detail. He didn’t look upset or annoyed by the questions at all.

“Elder Zou, I have a question,” said Gu Suihan suddenly.

Elder Zou had his eye on Gu Suihan for a long time now. In fact, you could even say that he was even conducting this class at the last minute, especially for Gu Suihan. What about the rest? The other disciples were just trash since their spiritual roots were below level six. These were disciples who would probably never even reach Foundation Establishment, never mind Origin Core.

“Go ahead and ask. I will try my best to answer.” Elder Zou was a fairly honest old man who was comfortable with saying what he knew and what he didn’t know.

“What is the Way?” asked Gu Suihan without thinking.

“The Way is a collection of rules,” said Elder Zou without even batting an eye. This was common knowledge among those at the Origin Core stage like himself.

“What is the Great Way?”

“The Great Way?” Elder Zou looked a little puzzled now.

Gu Suihan was strangely disappointed when he saw the confused look on the old man’s face, but he kept a straight face as he explained his question, “If the Way is a collection of rules, then the Great Way is something above those rules. What would that be?”

“There’s something above the Way?” Elder Zou was really taken aback. He looked straight at Gu Suihan and smiled. “The Way is infinite, and the rules are countless. They form a huge and dense net that forms the heavens and the earth. This is not done by humans.”

“Thank you, Elder Zou.” Gu Suihan bowed and thanked the old man. He was terribly disappointed for some reason, but he still bowed sincerely.

Elder Zou gave a kindly nod, then continued on the same topic as before. The disciples finally bowed and left reluctantly at around midnight.

“Gu Suihan!” Elder Zou called after him just as he was about to leave.

“Yes, Elder Zou?”

“Your level of aptitude may be exceptionally high, but don’t be too complacent just because you are favored. There are some things that…if made publicly known, will not do you any good.” Elder Zou patted Gu Suihan’s shoulder and smiled before flying off.

“Are you talking about…my reputation?” Gu Suihan had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The sky was already beginning to brighten a little by the time he arrived back at his courtyard. He was too lazy to walk into the house, so he decided to sit by himself in the tiny pavilion outside and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky with a dazed look on his face.

“I actually lost control twice today. The first time was when I killed Wang Changsheng. That was really weird. The second time was when I asked that strange question for no apparent reason.”

This problem was getting from bad to worse.

Gu Suihan let out a long sigh. Immediately after that, a glint started flashing in his eyes like lightning bolts, as if something was about to burst out from his sockets. At the same time, a peaceful yet mesmerizing red spider lily that resembled a tattoo in between his brows suddenly gave off a faint glow. He looked especially evil under the dim moonlight.

“Damn…it! Why…why is it…happening again so quickly this time?!”

He clutched his head in agony and felt like a piece of metal was just stirring everything inside his head. The excruciating pain seemed to come from inside his very bones, crashing into his consciousness again and again.

“What is the Way?”

“What is the Way of Heaven?”

“What is…the Great Way?”

Gu Suihan’s aura kept changing, and he sounded like he was possessed by a demon as he continued to chant these phrases.

“The Way…is alive…” His entire body stiffened suddenly, and the flower between his brows suddenly darkened. His previously quiet and elegant, gentle and learned aura changed completely. Dust and rocks flew everywhere, and the small courtyard looked like it belonged to a different world.

The clean ground looked like blood, the plants and branches looked like broken limbs, the chipped rocks looked like internal organs. There was a bloody stench in the air.

The entire front yard seemed to have transformed into the nether world.

“I am…Gu Suihan!”

A tall figure stood in the middle of the yard, standing as straight and unmoving as a pine tree in the wind. He looked up at the sky and sighed quietly. His eyes looked like two empty holes, yet they were so mesmerizing because it seemed as though nebulas and shiny blades were dancing and flickering at the back of those sockets.

His smooth face suddenly had a more pronounced jaw, and an indifferent smile was on his lips.

Chapter end