Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 98 - 85 Luo River to Take the Surname Gu

Chapter 98: Chapter 85 Luo River to Take the Surname Gu

The Three Religions of the Human Race—Buddhist, Taoist, and Demon—stood in equilibrium.

The Buddhist Sect emphasizes the universal salvation of all beings, the pursuit of enlightenment, and the elimination of greed, hatred, and ignorance within the heart to reach the state of Nirvana. Thus, Buddhist Cultivators tend to lean towards goodness and are more concerned with their reputation, controlling a large amount of popular incense offerings and excelling in the way of Divine Souls.

Yet, often a fraction of monks unable to endure the strict teachings defect to the Demon Path, and just as often, capacious monks aim to enlighten Demons, for which they are criticized for being hypocritical.

The Demon Sect pursues one’s own heart’s desire, striving to return to the divine origins, to seek the power of Innate Gods. As a result, Cultivators from the Demon Sect tend towards evil, often resorting to blood-drinking and Soul Refining in their quest for power without the constraints of rules, and are not infrequently seen among the Demon Sect’s great powers.

There are also tales of Demons who discard their butcher’s knives to immediately achieve Buddha’s Position, although their sins are not erased by laying down the knife, they do align with the Buddhist idea of eradicating greed, hatred, and ignorance, and thus many achieve the position of a Buddha through this.

Hence, there are frequent exchanges between the Buddhist and Demon factions, often intermingling their outstanding students for academic exchange.

The Daoist Sect prizes the comprehension of the vast Way of heaven and earth, becoming one with heaven and man, and achieving supreme transcendence. Hence, Daoist Cultivators are neither wholly good nor evil, not always intent on universally saving beings like the Buddhist Sect, but certainly never harming others like the Demon Sect.

Unrestrained and at ease, cultivating immortality and inquiring the Dao, neutral and moderate in action.

Yet, it is not uncommon for sects like the Yin Yang Sect to emerge, learning from and emulating the Joyful Union Sect, taking its essence and discarding the dregs, neither entirely righteous nor evil.

Yu Hua, as Gu Wen’s mentor in cultivation, had always instilled in him the exceedingly orthodox thoughts of the Mystical Sect such as "To become an Immortal, a Daoist must," "What’s it to me, what’s it to you," and so on.

Therefore, Gu Wen did not feel like there was anything wrong with his behavior; on the contrary, he felt that the two prodigies from the Demon Sect before him were the ones with issues.

To leave the grass uncut at the roots, would cause endless troubles!

In that instant, He Qing and Lu Chan both fell silent.

He Qing felt that Lu Chan was too impulsive. Although the struggle within the Demon Sect was fierce, and it was not uncommon for the older generation to suppress rising stars, generally, everyone was relatively restrained. Otherwise, if the new and old generations were always at odds, it would only be a matter of time before the mighty would decline.

To exterminate a sect was to weaken oneself and further sour the relationship with one’s own sect.

Lu Chan felt that He Qing was too conservative. According to the rules, everything in the Immortal Land was there to assist those entering the world. She needed a vast amount of resources to condense her Dao foundation and secure a future as a pinnacle of the Fourth Realm. A delay now could mean that she might never be able to make up for it in her lifetime.

Gu Wen felt they were both not aggressive enough.

"This doesn’t seem proper, does it?"

Lu Chan showed hesitation, the aggressive faction thought he was too aggressive, but somehow it caused a rush of excitement within her.

Not excitement towards Gu Wen, but rather a thrill for the act of slaughter, of trampling over the older generation.

"No!" He Qing shook his head firmly, saying, "Among the five major families of Luo River, there are three True Monarchs, the strongest of whom only possess a Seventh Level Dao foundation, Second Level Perfection, but are by no means someone we can handle."

Gu Wen said, "The Three Pure Guardian possesses an Eighth Level Perfection Fourth Level Dao foundation, I can ask him to make a move."

Although Yu Hua would not act, there was no reason Ao Tang could not. Previously he had refrained from summoning him to avoid revealing too much in front of the other party and had no reason or authority to compel the other party.

Furthermore, it’s the unspoken rule that the elders do not interfere in the younger generation’s fights, or else things would descend into chaos.

Now that there was a matter of extermination, this concern was irrelevant. Yu Hua had promised her support in anything, and he believed Ao Tang would not refuse either.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chan was swayed and even eager to try saying, "If that Seventh Level Perfection old timer is restrained, then indeed it might be worth a try."

"This..."

He Qing was quite uneasy, as this was not the situation he wanted to see. Unlike the Qianfeng Sect situation, his relationship with his own sect wasn’t as rigid, it was merely unequal in the distribution of interests.

But now, it wasn’t a matter of what he was willing to do, but whether he would join the venture or not. Failing to join might not stop Gu Wen from wanting to erase the Rong family.

’He probably had it planned all along.’

Catching a glimpse of Gu Wen, He Qing felt a chill down his spine just from his smile.

Suddenly, a spirit light flashed in his mind, and he caught on to the key to breaking the situation, saying, "They are the powers that the sects embedded among the commoners to balance the court’s influence. If they are gone, the Lord Emperor will completely control this place. Fellow Daoist wouldn’t want to see that, right?"

Unexpectedly, Gu Wen responded with a light smile, "Cowards die many times before their deaths, while mediocrities are thwarted by their fear of the strong. Since in the Immortal Land, the most talented rise to the top, why should I be concerned?"

He must obtain this thousand jins of Spiritual Medicine. Gu Wen never believed that living incognito equated to safety, nor did he believe that avoiding the Lord Emperor would delay death.

Others fear the Lord Emperor because they don’t know if they can reach his level, but Gu Wen had no such worries; his only concern was whether he was growing fast enough.

"Cowards die many times before their deaths, while mediocrities are thwarted by their fear of the strong?"

Both were taken aback, a wave of madness rolling over them.

They had both witnessed Gu Wen’s audacity—daring to kill the Lord Emperor’s offspring in front of him, facing a True Monarch of the military family with only a Third Level Dao foundation, and even battling Xiao Yunyi despite being a level lower.

As two among the top ten of their own rankings, they both possessed pride, but it seemed somewhat insufficient before Gu Wen.

Lu Chan stated with sparkling eyes, "If we are to take action against the five great families of Luo River, I need to secure eighty percent of the Wang family’s Spiritual Medicine."

"What is your level of cultivation?" Gu Wen raised an eyebrow; he did not refuse her a larger share—specifying the Wang family was tantamount to taking eighty percent of one-fifth.

Lu Chan slightly revealed her Dao foundation aura, and in a flash, a shadowy figure seemed to form in the minds of the two men, the inn’s second waiter crashed into a beam, and outside even the dogs were bedazzled.

In the sixth position of the Earth List, Fox Fairy, her Illusion Technique was the strongest of her time.