Chapter 1166 - The Lie of Heaven
No cultivator of the Origin Sect noticed what had happened in the southern courtyard. The southern courtyard was a forbidden land, so no disciple would dare to enter. Even Lu Yanfei and company would only come if called, and they wouldn't dare to break in.
After instantly killing a rank 8 beast and telling the rank 6 sect cultivators to scram, Wang Lin was like an ancestor to the Origin Sect disciples. They were filled with respect and awe toward him.
Lu Yuncong's expression was extremely ugly as he stared at Wang Lin. He was in a dilemma. Before the eyes of this man in white, he couldn't step forward or backward. If he stepped forward, he felt like the world would collapse, but if he stepped backward, his dao would collapse. It was as if his dao was mere child's play before this man in white.
Sweat came out from his forehead. Lu Yuncong had never seen a person who had a dao like this. Everything seemed like an illusion, but if the other party wished, everything would be real.
He even had a feeling that this world would change along with this person's will.
"If he sits there, he is dao!" A strange thought appeared in Lu Yuncong's mind.
Li Qianmei's words came at this moment. Her voice was soft and beautiful; there was even a sense of elegance in it that made people calm down. When Wang Lin's gaze moved from Li Yuncong to Li Qianmei, Lu Yuncong let out a breath of relief. He retreated several steps and his expression turned gloomy.
Wang Lin calmly looked at Li Qianmei. This woman's cultivation was unfathomable. Although she was hiding her cultivation level, Wang Lin could see that she was at the Nirvana Shatterer stage.
"Who is this fellow cultivator?" Wang Lin's eyes were calm, but his mind began to think.
A gentle breeze blew by, causing a few strands of Li Qianmei's hair to flutter before her. She pulled those strands of hair behind her ear as she looked at Wang Lin and softly said,
"Heaven Breaking Sect, Li Qianmei!"
Wang Lin's mind moved, but his expression didn't change and he slowly said, "Why did Fellow Cultivator Li come here?"
Li Qianmei chuckled as she blinked and smiled. "I came to ask Elder Brother three questions to help ease Qianmei's doubts."
"Why should I resolve your doubts?" Wang Lin's words were calm.
Li Qianmei's expression was still calm. After pondering a bit, she said, "Qianmei can play a song on my flute for you."
Wang Lin frowned and calmly said, "I don't need it!"
Li Qianmei smiled and softly said, "Qianmei can resolve your issue with the Purple Dao Sect."
"I don't need it!"
Li Qianmeh was distressed as she looked at Wang Lin and softly said, "Dao Brother seems to misunderstand. Qianmei just met Brother Lu and just happened to come together. I didn't come here to fight Dao Brother. Qianmei won't participate in the matter between you and the Purple Dao Sect. I just want to ask three questions that I have had for a long time. I have no other intent." Li Qianmei rarely explained things in such detail. She naturally saw that Wang Lin thought that she had come with Lu Yuncong, so she explained everything.
After looking at Li Qianmei for a bit, Wang Lin frowned and asked "What kind of doubt?"
"It is related to dao." Li Qianmei smiled.
Wang Lin slowly said, "One doubt for one item."
When Lu Yuncong heard this, he revealed a wry smile. He didn't think of asking for an item. He would've instead listened to her music for fun and with the intent of getting on good terms with her.
Li Qianmei was also startled. She chuckled and nodded. "If Dao Brother can solve Qianmei's issue, that is possible."
Wang Lin lowered his head to look at the rank 8 pill in his hand and calmly said, "Ask!"
"Dao Brother, Qianmei's first question: what is heaven?" Li Qianmei's eyes lit up. The most satisfactory answer she had heard was Lu Yuncong saying that the heavens were a cage. At this moment, she really wanted to know how this ordinary-looking man in white would answer.
Not only did she have expectations, even Lu Yuncong became serious. He wanted to know how someone with such a powerful dao domain would answer this question. Lu Yuncong always thought that his answer was perfect, or else he wouldn't have been the first person to make Li Qianmei ask the second question.
After hearing Li Qianmei's question, Wang Lin smiled. He looked at Li Qianmei but didn't speak.
Seeing Wang Lin's smile, Li Qianmei was very puzzled, but she wasn't in a rush, so she waited for Wang Lin to answer. Lu Yuncong frowned. He didn't know why this man in white had smiled after hearing this question. The way Lu Yuncong's saw it, that smile was filled with sarcasm and ridicule.
Wang Lin shook his head and calmly said, "Ask the second question."
Lu Yuncong looked at Wang Lin and said, "You haven't told her what heaven is!"
Wang Lin looked at Lu Yuncong and casually said, "Oh? Then what do you think heaven is?"
"Heaven is a cage! The opening of the well is heaven! The surface of the water is heaven!" Lu Yuncong's words were calm but filled with confidence.
Li Qianmei was still frowning on the side and still thinking. She couldn't see through Wang Lin. When she heard Lu Yuncong's words, she softly said, "Qianmei has asked a lot of fellow cultivators this question, but Elder Brother Lu gave the most convincing answer. Why did Dao Brother laugh? Is there something wrong with Qianmei's question?"
Wang Lin looked at Li Qianmei, and after a long time, he calmly said, "Is there a heaven?"
After he spoke, Li Qianmei was startled in place. She had asked many people, but none of them had responded like this. Even Lu Yuncong's pupils shrank, and he subconsciously looked up at the sky.
Lu Yuncong coldly snorted. "What nonsense. Heaven is all around us. What kind of nonsense is asking if there is a heaven!"
Li Qianmei pondered for a bit and softly said, "Where is there no heaven?"
Wang Lin didn't speak but raised his right hand and waved. A breeze blew through the courtyard and a circle appeared on the ground around Li Qianmei and Lu Yuncong. It was as if someone had drawn a circle around them with a stick.
"This is the circle is the heaven both of you think exist. Because you believe that there is a heaven, the heavens exist. You regard yourselves as ants that struggle to break out from the heavens, which is your cage. This is your belief and your faith. However, even if you walk out from the circle, what's the use?"
Wang Lin shook his head and waved his right hand, then another circle formed around the circle from before.
"Once you come out, there will still be another heaven, and the cycle of karma continues without end until… The heaven in your heart is erased by the heavens, and this is the lie of the heavens! I was thinking about this hundreds of years ago. So why must there be a heaven?"
After Wang Lin finished speaking, he calmly sat there and no longer spoke.
Lu Yuncong's body trembled violently, as if someone had hit his head with a bat. His ears buzzed as if countless bolts of thunder had exploded in his mind, and he subconsciously took a few steps back. He stepped out of the first circle but was still in the second. He stared at the two circles as Wang Lin's voice echoed in his mind.
"Lie of the heavens…"
His face gradually grew pale and his mind became chaotic. The dao he had cultivated all his life began to crack. He wanted to refute the words of the man in white, but he was powerless.
The two circles outside his body seemed to expand forever and eventually became the heaven in his heart, a cage. He spent all his effort to get out of the first cage only to find that he was in another one...
This strange feeling made his face pale, and blood came out from the corner of his mouth. He revealed a self-deprecating smile.
Li Qianmei slowly closed her eyes, and her mind trembled. Wang Lin's words were like a rune that danced in her mind and was gradually engraved into her heart.
She originally thought that the confusion in her dao was like the clouds. No one she had asked along the way could lift it, only Lu Yuncong's words were like lightning that made the clouds dissipate a bit.
However, at this moment, she understood that Lu Yuncong's understanding of dao was simply ridiculous! He had fallen into the lie of heavens and was unable to pull himself out.
Wang Lin's voice was like a storm. It turned into two invisible hands and swept away all the confusion and clouds in her mind, revealing the blue sky!
Her eyelashes trembled lightly as Li Qianmei opened her eyes. She looked at Wang Lin for a long time and admiration appeared in her eyes.
Li Qianmei bowed and softly said, "Can Dao Brother tell me your name?"
"Lu Zihao." Wang Lin's voice was still calm without the slightest fluctuation.
"Brother Lu's answer has enlightened Qianmei. Qianmei would like to ask the second question. I hope Brother Lu can clear Qianmei's doubts…" Li Qianmei looked at Wang Lin with bright eyes.
"For the first question, I want one of the highest quality pills you have!" Wang Lin looked at Li Qianmei.
Li Qianmei blinked and revealed a smile. Her little girl smile was very alluring, but at this moment, Lu Yuncong was bitterly thinking, so he didn't see it. Wang Lin saw it, but he was indifferent.
"Bother Lu has miscalculated. Most of the pills on Qianmei are half-complete and need to be refined back at the sect. The highest I have is only rank 10, and it isn't a Soul Parting Death Pill, but a healing pill. Since Brother Lu asked for it, I'll give it to you." After Li Qianmei spoke, her right hand reached at the void and a crack to her storage space appeared. A pill flew out into Wang Lin's hands.
Wang Lin frowned as he accepted the pill and put it away after looking at it.
"Qianmei's second question: what is heaven?" Li Qianmei's eyes were very bright. Her heart pounded as she waited for Wang Lin's answer.
She had never felt this kind of feeling before. Even when Lu Yuncong was answering, although she was looking forward to it, there wasn't this level of expectation.
After hearing Li Qianmei's second question, Wang Lin raised his head to look at the blue sky. There was a hint of melancholy on his face as he softly said, "The first question was asking about the limit of dao. The second is asking about the will of the heavens…"
After he spoke, Li Qianmei's eyes became even brighter and fixated on Wang Lin. He was the first person she had met that was able to guess the different meaning behind the two same questions!
Lu Yuncong took a deep breath and suppressed the chaos in his mind. After hearing Wang Lin's words, he was startled, but he understood why he wasn't qualified to answer the third question even though he felt that his answer was perfect.