Chapter 945 — Asking the Dharma Before the Toad, Seeking the Way Among Men

A Daoist is one who cultivates the Way and has few desires; the disciples of the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect merely came to study the sect's arts and methods of calculation, treating it as a place to learn Daoist powers and divine abilities. As for the core of the Dao Sect's teaching, they cared nothing for it at all. They were no true Daoists; rather, the powerful of the Heavenly Court sent their descendants here to be gilded. The Jingping Dao Sect, by contrast, still preserved the core of the teaching that the Dao Ancestor had established when he founded the sect, and upheld it with all its strength; both the old Dao Master of former days and the present Dao Master Lin Xuan had done very well by it.

Of course, there were also some Daoists in the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect who wore Daoist robes, with the bones of the Way and the air of an immortal—but their number was truly too few. Walking along, Shen Mu was filled with emotion. Among monks there are true monks and false monks; among Daoists there are true Daoists and false Daoists.

If one merely puts on the outer garment without inner cultivation, one is nothing but a fraud.

"The true transmission of the Dao Sect is not within the Heavenly Court.

" Shen Mu looked at the young men and women in bright clothes and on fine horses, and thought: 'No wonder the Dao Ancestor does not often return to the Dao Sect. ' Just then a Daoist came hurrying up and whispered a few words to the Heavenly Court's Dao Master. The Heavenly Court's Dao Master nodded slightly and smiled: "Heavenly Venerable, and all of you, the Dao Ancestor has left seclusion.

Hearing of the Heavenly Venerable's visit, he has ordered me to invite you over. Please follow me.

" Shen Mu was delighted, and followed him forward, the others trailing behind.

Yun Chuxiu laughed: "Heavenly Venerable Mu went to visit each of the Heavenly Venerables, and not one of them dared receive him. The Dao Ancestor is bold indeed, to dare meet Heavenly Venerable Mu.

" The Heavenly Court's Dao Master said hurriedly with a smile, "The Dao Ancestor is only the Dao Ancestor of our Dao Sect—how would he dare rank himself with the Heavenly Venerables?

When the Heavenly Venerable comes visiting, how would the Dao Ancestor dare not to see him? " They came to the Dao Sect's main hall.

This main hall stood where the Lingxiao Hall of the Dao Sect's Jade Purity Heavenly Palace should be, yet it had not been built on the Lingxiao Hall's plan.

On the contrary, this main hall was unexpectedly shabby: a Daoist temple built of thatched huts, some six or seven zhang across, with no divine beast guarding the door. Shen Mu saw two toads squatting on the stone steps before the door, one to the left and one to the right.

The two toads seemed to have spirit.

Hearing footsteps, they pushed their eyes out of their heads, slowly lifted their eyelids, glanced at them, and croaked once. Then the two toads slowly drew their eyes back into their heads, covering them up tight and neat.

Yan'er hopped down from Shen Mu's shoulder and tapped her beak on the skull of one of the toads. The toad slowly pushed out its two eyes again and said unhurriedly, "What is it?

" "It can talk! " Yan'er was startled, hopped back two steps, and said warily, "Are you monsters?

" The toad rolled its eyelids and said with displeasure, "Don't you talk too? " "I am different. I am a demigod, and you are a toad!

" Yan'er hopped forward and laughed: "If you were of the common breed, you could not speak—unless you had cultivated into a spirit. " The toad said, "I am the Way, not a toad, so of course I can speak.

" Yan'er was astonished. The Dragon Qilin brought its great head close and asked curiously, "You are the Way?

Who told you that?

" "The old Daoist said so.

" The toad said with a solemn face, "He said the Way is a toad.

He wished to seek the Way, and since he had need of us, he brought us here to make a show for him.

You do not understand.

Withdraw.

" Yan'er and the Dragon Qilin stared at each other, wide-eyed. Shen Mu followed the Heavenly Court's Dao Master into the little broken temple.

The Dao Master turned and said apologetically to Yun Jianli, Qi Jiuyi, and the others, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Dao Ancestor will see only the Heavenly Venerable.

I must ask the rest of you to wait here. " Yun Jianli and Qi Jiuyi said hurriedly, "We would not presume.

Please go ahead, Dao Master.

" They all knew that although the Heavenly Court's Dao Master seemed a bowing, scraping old Daoist with no mind of his own, his strength was unfathomable—in the Dao Sect he was second only to the Dao Ancestor. Only Yun Chuxiu was somewhat displeased; she too wanted to go in and hear what the Dao Ancestor and Shen Mu would say. But the Heavenly Court's Dao Master stood guard inside the door with a smile on his face, plainly not intending to let anyone but Shen Mu enter.

"This slovenly Daoist is so mysterious and furtive—what is he up to?

" Yun Chuxiu gave a cold snort. Shen Mu walked into the thatched hut and saw a slovenly old Daoist sitting beneath a green lamp. Seeing him come, the old Daoist rose and smiled: "Heavenly Venerable Mu, it has been a long time.

" Shen Mu smiled: "It has indeed been a long time.

" The old Daoist pulled out his wooden hairpin, trimmed the lamp wick, and smiled: "Too many people, too many ears. Come with me into the lamp to talk.

" The green lamp burst into a lamp-flower, its light dazzling. When the light returned to what it had been, the old Daoist and Shen Mu had vanished without a trace! When Shen Mu's sight returned, he saw that they had come into one of the heavens within the lamp wick.

At the entrance to that heaven could be seen a flame shaped like a lamp's tongue, but this flame rose ten thousand zhang high, a fearsome sight. The Dao Ancestor was at his side, and said unhurriedly: "When the Jingping Calamity broke out and the Jingping Reform was cut short, Heavenly Venerable Mu came alone into the Heavenly Court.

Hearing this news, this old Daoist hurried back, meaning to lend a hand, to repay the kindness of your guidance in years past. I did not expect the Heavenly Venerable's methods to be so surpassing that you would dissolve your own crisis with such ease.

Only, the Heavenly Venerable's way of handling matters wounds the harmony of heaven too deeply.

Heavenly Venerable, you have thrown the Heavenly Court into disorder—do you know how many people, how many gods and demons, will die because of your actions? " Shen Mu gave a cold laugh: "The Dao Ancestor is merciful—do you know how many died in the Jingping Calamity?

Not one in ten survived! Billions of lives, gone to dust and smoke!

Did the Dao Ancestor ever pity them? " The Dao Ancestor sighed: "When the Jingping Calamity broke out, I too was helpless. " Shen Mu said, "The Dao Sect exalts non-action, but in this world of ours, non-action means people die!

You cannot save the countless beings of the world, yet you would blame me because a few Heavenly Venerables' disciples died when I threw the Heavenly Court into disorder? " "I would not dare. " The Dao Ancestor said, "But flowers, grass, trees, and wood are all living things. . . " "Foolish!

Hypocritical! " Shen Mu shook his head: "Dao Ancestor, you helped the Heavenly Court study the great dao divine abilities of the ancient gods—how many died because of you? So many died in the Jingping Calamity, and you are guilty too.

Are those lives worth less than the flowers, grass, and trees in your mouth?

I did no more than wreck the Langxuan Divine Palace and the Ancestral King Palace, and you come to call me to account—who will call you to account? You say the Way is a toad, but a toad does not understand the Way; people do! And people not only understand it—they can create the Way.

Dao Ancestor, you have asked the Way of the blind!