Chapter 163: Discourse

“Not bad! With your strength at just the Mortal Realm, you could actually walk all the way here on foot. Truly not easy!”

An aged voice came, startling Mu Feng out of his brief daze.

He looked up and saw a yellowish prayer mat placed high atop the pagoda. Sitting cross-legged on it was an extremely old-looking Daoist priest.

His beard, eyebrows, and hair were all completely white. His long beard stretched all the way down to the ground. He looked very old and frail, and not a single ripple of power could be sensed from within him. Yet, the man sat leisurely atop the pagoda, completely indifferent to the continuous, deafening thunderclaps striking down around him. His strength was unfathomable.

Besides the old Daoist, there were also several skeletons on the pagoda’s summit, nothing but bare bones left. It was impossible to tell how long they had been dead.

“I am Mu Feng, a Jianning Scholar traveling abroad for studies. I arrived here unintentionally. Thank you for your guidance, Reverend!”

Mu Feng stepped forward a few paces until he stood before the old Daoist, then respectfully bowed.

Unity of Heaven and Man. This was the key for his Spiritual Soul to leap forward once more, allowing him to break through to the Mortal Realm Peak. He had been stuck at this bottleneck for quite some time, unable to make the breakthrough. It wasn’t because his internal Spiritual Power was insufficient or his cultivation was shallow. It was because a state like the Unity of Heaven and Man was incredibly difficult to comprehend. One could not force it; it required a great opportunity.

Many cultivators remained at the Late Mortal Realm their entire lives for no other reason than failing to ever comprehend the Unity of Heaven and Man. Even if they were royalty, even if they practiced the highest-grade techniques, in the eyes of true powerhouses, they would forever remain mortals, as insignificant as ants!

Under the oppressive force of the rolling thunder, Mu Feng had a sudden epiphany. He finally understood what the Unity of Heaven and Man meant and broke through the long-standing bottleneck. Speaking of which, he owed this breakthrough to the white-bearded old Daoist before him!

“A scholar traveling abroad for studies?”

The white-bearded old Daoist looked Mu Feng up and down, tugged at his long beard that reached the ground, and nodded appreciatively. “Not bad, not bad. Your demeanor and movements indeed carry the air of a scholar, the poise a learned person should have. Young man, sit!”

“Thank you. Then this junior will not stand on ceremony!”

Mu Feng did not decline. Neither subservient nor arrogant, he sat down openly and confidently before the old Daoist, sitting cross-legged on the ground. He asked, “Might I ask how I should address you, Reverend?”

“A name is merely a label. I have been sitting here for a very, very long time. Many things, including my own name, have become blurry, even forgotten.” The old Daoist paused, then slowly continued, “Life is like a dream, an illusion. Young man, from now on, you may call me Ruoxu.”

Reverend Ruoxu?

Mu Feng frowned. It seemed like he had heard this name somewhere before, but he couldn’t recall it no matter how hard he tried.

“Young man, you say you are a scholar traveling abroad for studies. Then you must have read many ancient books and traveled to many places. Can you answer an old Daoist one question?” Reverend Ruoxu tugged at his white beard as he spoke, his eyes fixed on Mu Feng.

An accomplished expert, asking him a question?

Mu Feng was somewhat surprised and felt honored. He said respectfully, “Please speak, Reverend Ruoxu!”

“At the beginning of human life, is human nature inherently good, or is it inherently evil?” The old Reverend said while looking at Mu Feng, as if he had long been puzzled by this question.

Inherently good, or inherently evil?

Mu Feng fell silent.

The question Reverend Ruoxu asked was very simple. So simple that even a three-year-old child could answer immediately.

At the beginning of human life, nature is inherently good!

The widely circulated Three Character Classic started with exactly this phrase. Not to mention a scholar who had read poetry and books since childhood and was full of learning, even an illiterate mountain dweller who grew up in the hills could probably recite it. Such a simple question, who didn’t know it?

Precisely because it was so simple, Mu Feng hesitated when the old Daoist asked. Thinking carefully, he pondered without speaking.

Human nature is complex and most difficult to fathom. At the beginning, is it evil or good? Who in this world could truly explain it clearly!

“Young man, have you thought it through?” After waiting a while and seeing Mu Feng still deep in thought, the old Reverend asked lightly.

“Good!”

Mu Feng thought for a moment, then slowly continued, “At the beginning of human life, nature is inherently good. Everyone says so, the ancient books all say so. There must be a reason for it.”

The old Daoist looked at Mu Feng sitting cross-legged opposite him and asked, “Oh? If nature is inherently good, then why do we need to establish so many strict laws and regulations, forbidding this and forbidding that? If nature is inherently good, then why are there so many bad people, evil people in the world?”

“At the beginning of life, shortly after birth, even before growing up, all crying and demands stem from instinctual needs, without a trace of evil intent. At this time, it is good. Nature is inherently good.”

Mu Feng paused, then continued, “However, when a toddling child begins to grow up and develops an independent self-awareness, under the influence of environment or family, forming their own views on things, developing evil thoughts like selfishness, greed, and tyranny, that is when nature becomes inherently evil. At that point, various laws and regulations become necessary to restrain their behavior!”

“Not bad, what you say makes sense. However, if instinctual needs are considered good and forgivable; then, if a wild wolf, due to hunger, eats a passerby, is that wolf good or evil? And if the one doing the evil deed is not a wolf, but a person who does such a thing due to hunger, then how should that be judged?”

The old Daoist paused, not waiting for Mu Feng to answer, and continued, “For thousands of years, those who committed such acts, whether a wolf or a person, were considered evil and severely punished. Moreover, to prevent similar tragedies, strict laws were established. But no matter how strict the laws, no matter how severe the punishments, can such things be completely eradicated?”

Here it comes!

This was the question the old Daoist truly wanted to ask, or rather, the test he intended for Mu Feng!

Mu Feng remained silent in thought, not rushing to answer. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

The old Daoist’s words sounded absurd, even somewhat laughable. But upon careful consideration, it really was like that. The Tongtian Dynasty had strict laws, covering everything from major state affairs down to trivial matters like commoners worshipping ancestors or sisters-in-law getting along. Compared to the chaotic Warring States era, the laws were countless times stricter, yet all sorts of evil deeds still emerged endlessly, repeatedly defying bans.

Why?

This was indeed worth deep reflection!

“Reverend Ruoxu, then what do you think should be done? At the beginning, is human nature good or evil?” After pondering a while, Mu Feng countered by asking the white-bearded old Daoist.

“Whether it is good or evil is not important. What is important is what we should do.”

The old Reverend tugged at his white beard and slowly continued, “No matter how strict the laws are, they cannot block the evil in human nature. On the contrary, excessively harsh laws might backfire, causing greater and more injustice and evil. The Way of Heaven is natural, free and unconstrained. Cultivation should follow nature’s course. Governing a country, managing a family, personal conduct – it’s all the same. Instead of having strict laws and numerous rules that create more sin, it is better to govern by non-action, letting everything follow its natural course!”

Follow nature’s course? Govern by non-action?

Mu Feng raised an eyebrow.

The Buddhist Path prided itself on compassion. On Puyang Mountain, Master Kongwu, using the pretext that Mu Feng’s killing intent was too heavy, subtly attacked his mind, trying to convert him and make him join the Buddhist Sect. The Way of Immortals prided itself on being free and unconstrained. This old Daoist before him advocated governing by non-action. Could it be that he also calculated that Mu Feng would come here, intending to use this to shake his Great Sorcerer’s will and make him join the Immortal Sect that sought freedom and ease?

While deep in thought, Mu Feng’s heart grew secretly more alert.