Chapter 364 — The Azure Heaven Alliance
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The measurement of the height and thickness of the sky dealt Shen Mu and the others a heavy blow, but it struck Daoist Master Linxuan hardest of all. The doctrines of the Dao Sect, its cultivation methods, its divine powers — all were founded on the principle that the Dao models itself on nature: to seek the essence of all things in nature, and so bring one's arts and powers, and even one's state of mind, close to nature and thus close to the Dao.
Suddenly he had discovered that the celestial phenomena of nature were false. No wonder his mind had collapsed! To comprehend a false nature — what great Dao could one possibly grasp from that?
Not a fart's worth.
Walking on alone, lost in himself, Daoist Master Linxuan's legs suddenly gave way; with a thud he dropped to the ground in a kneeling heap, his face blank, his eyes dull.
Several Daoists hurried forward to help him up, only to hear their Daoist Master murmur: "The Fourteenth Chapter of the Dao Sword has never been mastered by anyone. My master spent a lifetime comprehending the fourteenth sword; his talent was beyond all question, and yet he could not master it. . . So it was not that he could not master it — it is that even nature itself is false. Comprehend a false nature, and how could one ever master it. . .
cough, cough! " He coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, every hope in him turned to ash. "The Dao models itself on nature" — this was the creed of the Dao Sect, and now nature itself was false; the blow to him could well be imagined.
Shen Mu looked at Xu Shenghua. "Is the sky of your High Heaven the same as the sky here?
" Xu Shenghua raised his head and looked at the sky, then nodded.
The same sky, the same stars.
High Heaven was no exception.
Shen Mu had called him one of the forsaken, and the words were no lie. The sky was a cage; whether High Heaven or the Desolate Ruins, all were birds in that cage — only the birds did not know they were caged.
Shen Mu steadied himself, walked to Daoist Master Linxuan's side, helped him up, and said in a low voice: "The truth is cold and hard to accept. It is best not to make it public. Daoist Master, catch up with those few Daoists who ran off and tell them not to spread word of it. We must leave people some hope, at least. " Daoist Master Linxuan stared fixedly at him, an odd look on his face, and said in a hoarse voice: "Do you think anyone would believe them if they told?
" Shen Mu smiled. "But people would believe you.
" "You are telling me not to speak of it?
" A self-mocking look came over Daoist Master Linxuan's face, and he laughed, heh-heh: "Every Daoist Master of my sect, countless Daoists down the generations, all wanted to unlock the Fourteenth Chapter of the Dao Sword.
They wasted untold effort comprehending heaven and earth and nature. The fourteenth sword of the Dao seemed an unclimbable peak, a riddle that could not be solved. And in the end, it was because the celestial signs were wrong. Heh-heh. Ironic. Ironic as hell!
" Though he was the Daoist Master of the Dao Sect, that holy ground, at heart he was still a youth, and could not help letting a few curses slip. Shen Mu said with meaning: "The Daoist Masters of old did not know where the error lay, and so could not master the fourteenth sword.
But you do know. Perhaps Daoist Master Lin will be the first to master the fourteenth sword! " Daoist Master Linxuan's heart gave a small jolt, and he looked at him.
"Crisis, crisis — danger and opportunity go together; it is both peril and chance.
" Shen Mu smiled.
"Ordinary men see only the danger, but the wise see the opportunity that comes with it — and only those with the ability can seize that opportunity. Which kind of man is the Daoist Master? " Daoist Master Linxuan's chest heaved violently.