Chapter 272: Preaching in the Pavilion

Strictly speaking, right now he was seriously injured… having just been slashed by an assassin from the Path of Heaven…

Even if he wasn’t seriously injured, wasn’t it unreasonable for someone at the Golden Core Realm to come “challenge” someone at the Light Condensation stage?

Besides, the situation has already changed. If he shouted once… this person probably wouldn’t even get the chance to challenge him?

…

Looking at Lu Xiao, his eyes bloodshot and emanating nothing but despair, Fang Cun felt rather helpless.

Wanting to pretend to be the seriously injured victim of the Path of Heaven assassin… felt a bit too late now. Seeing his current state – brimming with vigour and radiating health – he really couldn’t say he was grievously wounded. Moreover, he understood in his heart: while many could be fooled about his surviving the Path of Heaven’s assassination… many others knew the truth.

The Divine Eye Young Master before him now was clearly the type who could see through it. Pretending to be injured would be a flimsy act.

As for Golden Core versus Light Condensation…

Fang Cun actually believed Lu Xiao genuinely intended to “challenge” him.

This Golden Core cultivator seemed to view him, a mere Light Condensation stage cultivator, as a formidable rival.

One he couldn’t possibly defeat!

When Lu Xiao himself was a whole realm higher! And he was acting all full of sorrow…

Shouting and calling others for help? Too embarrassing, beneath his dignity!

…

As these thoughts flickered through his mind, a faint smile gradually surfaced on Fang Cun’s face.

His gaze grew calm and relaxed. Slowly, it swept over the stand-off: the Little Fox facing down Lu Xiao’s giant crimson mastiff, her pupils shrunken into razor-thin lines, looking like she might pounce any second, ready to tear into a brawl. Fang Cun gently stroked her small head, offering a little reassurance. Then his gaze settled on Lu Xiao’s face, and he said softly, “You asked me a question before.”

Lu Xiao closed his eyes and after a long pause, nodded.

Before this, Fang Cun had sought his guidance regarding the cultivation of the Twelve Meridians. Lu Xiao had dedicated an entire night, answering with utmost seriousness, even consulting three Grand Elders of the Nine Immortals Sect. Yet, at the end of the scroll, he had appended a question of his own. It was a gesture common among Qi Refiners – an elegant exchange of learning and enlightenment, though also a subtle contest conducted without animosity.

The question he had posed then was his deepest concern. Yet now, having witnessed the imminent collapse of the Seven Clans’ power under Fang Cun’s schemes, consumed by grief and indignation, how could he possibly still care about cultivation matters?

So, while he nodded slightly, his look towards Fang Cun remained one of confusion.

“Before, you asked me: ‘After breaking through to Light Condensation and forming the Golden Core, my Dao Heart was pure, my cultivation advanced rapidly. Yet upon reaching the Golden Core Realm, my Innate Qi has become discordant, a bottleneck seems to have suddenly appeared. I know not how to break through it, my cultivation struggles to progress, and I even sense a risk of regression…’”

As Fang Cun spoke, he suddenly stood up.

That simple movement instantly charged the pavilion’s atmosphere; the red-furred mastiff crouched low, radiating hostility.

But Fang Cun merely swept his wide sleeve lightly, patted Lu Xiao’s shoulder, and declared, “Now, I shall answer you.”

Lu Xiao’s despondent face showed even greater confusion. He seemed puzzled.

His bewilderment wasn’t about the question itself. It was Fang Cun actually choosing this moment to answer it.

“The reason is actually quite simple,” Fang Cun said very naturally, clasping his hands behind his back and pacing slowly within the pavilion. “This isn’t even a problem with your cultivation base. It’s a problem with your Dao Heart.”

“Before, you were merely a sheltered bloom, nurtured in the embrace of the Seven Clans and the Nine Immortals Sect. Shielded from worldly strife, your Dao Heart remained pure, enabling your cultivation to soar. But as your strength grew, so did the Seven Clans and Nine Immortals Sect’s great expectations of you. They started having you handle affairs. You thought you understood it all, grasped the Way of doing Good Deeds and being a Good Man, convinced everything you did was right…”

“But it seems… you weren’t.”

“People say one can deceive human hearts, but not the will of Heaven!”

“Actually, both Heaven’s intent and human hearts can be deceived. Even an utter scoundrel, if he performs good deeds his whole life… in others’ eyes, he remains a good man. Yet, deep down, he isn’t truly content. Just like you, Lu Xiao. Even if you could find countless justifications to convince yourself that what you did was right, that you protected everyone… deep inside… do you truly carry no sense of guilt?”

Lu Xiao’s body stiffened slightly. He glared hatefully at Fang Cun. “That’s utterly unreasonable! If it were as you say… then wouldn’t all Great Qi Refiners, all great cultivators… all be paragons of integrity? Wouldn’t that mean only truly good men could enter the Divine Realm?”

“Who said Great Qi Refiners have to be good men?” Fang Cun looked directly into Lu Xiao’s jade-like eyes. “A villain, purely evil… can likewise harbor a straight Dao Heart, enabling rapid progress!”

“But you are different!”

He smiled at Lu Xiao. “You destroyed yourself… because you are simply too impure!”

Lu Xiao was stunned. Waves of emotion surged in his eyes, as if endless words clamored to be spoken… yet not a single one emerged.

Meanwhile, Fang Cun turned lightly, a smile on his face. His wide sleeve brushed past the Little Fox, who had been fiercely glaring at the giant red mastiff beside Lu Xiao, radiating hostility and pent-up energy. Strangely clever in such moments, the Little Fox suddenly yelped, “Shoo!” A blur of motion, she pounced! Tail wagging fiercely, fierce expression fixed, landing a punch right on the red mastiff’s snout!

Crash!

The red mastiff was completely stunned. It was knocked clean out of the pavilion, curling into a ball mid-air. Seizing the moment, the Little Fox stomped relentlessly on the mastiff’s body, kicking it all the way down to the ground. CRASH! It slammed into a giant crater. She leapt atop it, grabbed the fur on its head, and started pounding fiercely with her tiny fists!

The scene was astonishing. The discrepancy in their sizes was immense; the tiny fox pinning the huge mastiff flat and thrashing it was a surreal contrast. And the commotion here was already deafening.

Instantly, countless eyes snapped towards them, towards the pavilion.

At this moment, Lu Xiao was trapped within overwhelming confusion and bewilderment, unsure how to react.

Fang Cun also acted as if he hadn’t noticed the two creatures fighting. He only slowly turned his head, looking at Lu Xiao with a smile, and sighed meaningfully. “People say you resemble my brother. Even the Nine Immortals Sect says your innate gifts surpass his. Indeed, your cultivation level rose faster than his initially. Your early cultivation conditions far outstripped his…”

“But when it comes to comprehending true understanding… you don’t even match half of him!”

“You… or perhaps even I… We belong to the realm of trying to understand existing principles. But he… has already begun comprehending their foundation.”

“…”

Hearing Fang Cun’s words, Lu Xiao’s lips trembled slightly. Seeming like he wanted to speak, yet nothing clear emerged.

“Do you know why?” Fang Cun looked directly at Lu Xiao.

Lu Xiao remained silent for a long time before slowly shaking his head.

“Because he entered the mundane world to comprehend the Way while still a teenager. Yet you… nearing thirty… still hide from it!”

Fang Cun smiled at Lu Xiao and sighed softly. “No true understanding arises from hiding in the mountains reading books. You are clever. You love reading. But precisely because you are clever, you cannot deceive yourself. Because you’ve read too much, you’ve confused your Dao Heart!”

“Therefore… I gift you a principle!”

He turned fully, his expression turning solemn. “Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles!”

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao paused briefly, then suddenly snapped his head up.

Fang Cun met his gaze. “The myriad principles in books? They’re other people’s principles. You can read countless tomes, ponder deeply, even imagine you’ve grasped some divine essence, forging a Golden Core… yet it remains but a false core. If you truly seek to understand what I have done, if you truly wish to fathom your own principle… first set aside your thousands of classics and scriptures. Go forth and truly see this mundane world. First find clarity in your own Dao Heart!”

“I—”

A tremendous change visibly swept across Lu Xiao’s face, as if his mind and heart had been struck.

His throat felt unnaturally tight. His expression seemed to flicker with a startling insight, yet an even deeper perplexity settled beneath it.

“You are not yet fit to challenge me!”

Fang Cun stared at Lu Xiao, the Nine Immortals Sect’s True Disciple, the Divine Eye Young Master, his expression grave and utterly earnest. “When you have truly found your own principle, when you have genuinely pushed open the doors of the true Divine Realm… come back. I will grant you the chance to challenge me!”

Hearing this, Lu Xiao snapped his head towards Fang Cun as if struck by lightning.

Fang Cun met his gaze directly then. His eyes held only encouragement and utter candor. He looked at him with perfect seriousness.

Though the muscles in his back were… a little tense right now…

Lu Xiao met Fang Cun’s intense gaze for a long, long moment. Slowly, inch by inch, his gaze retracted. Inch by inch, he bent his waist and offered a deep, ceremonious salute.

“Thank you, Second Young Master Fang… for imparting the Way.”

…

“Truly a fine young fellow…”

Fang Cun immediately grinned.

“However… before embarking on those ten thousand miles… you’d best visit the Seven Clans once more…”

Still smiling, he turned and walked towards the exit of the pavilion, his voice trailing back. “I bear no personal grudge against the Seven Clans. I do not seek their annihilation. Therefore, what you must do now is return swiftly to the Lu Clan. Before disaster strikes… salvage what you can. Make arrangements where possible. And of course, someone as clever as you… surely will not tolerate those who genuinely wish to wage war against the Six Sects… continuing to live…”

“After all… that choice alone leads to the Seven Clans’ utter ruination!”

By now, he had emerged from the pavilion. He plucked the Little Fox, still hammering the red mastiff furiously, off her stunned opponent.

Behind him, Lu Xiao remained frozen in his deep bow, offering an excessive amount of face.

A cool breeze swept past. Fang Cun’s back instantly felt icy cold… damp with cold sweat.

Only once he was considerably farther away did he dare sneak a glance back. He confirmed Lu Xiao had departed through the window, riding the clouds. Only then did he truly relax.

“That’s really shameless. A Golden Core challenging Light Condensation…”

“But fortunately… I managed to trick him…”