Chapter 732: The Deepest Shadow
That day when Old Eunuch Lin entered the National Academy under imperial decree, Chen Changsheng had said something similar.
Shang Xingzhou was in the Detached Palace at the time, conversing with the Pope, and his reaction was very similar to now.
"How naive."
There was still a hint of childishness between Chen Changsheng's brows and eyes, but anyone could see the resolve within.
He knew his view was correct.
The Heavenly Sea Saintess was dead, the Pope had returned to the Sea of Stars, the Demon Lord had fallen into the abyss, and Wang Zhice had retired from the world. In the present age, there were very few people who could stand as equals against Shang Xingzhou.
His Dao heart was clear, his Dao methods unimpeded, his cultivation realm unfathomably deep.
He ruled the Great Zhou Dynasty and possessed the friendship of the White Emperor City.
He seemed flawless, even nearly perfect.
Yet he still had cracks, had flaws.
That flaw was none other than his youngest disciple, Chen Changsheng, whom he had never liked.
Beside the old temple in Xining Town, there was a small stream. Flowers drifted on its surface, flowing downstream.
Within the temple were hidden three thousand Daoist scriptures, but the master and his three disciples cultivated only one method—all of it was Following the Heart's Will.
Following the Heart's Will was an extremely powerful divine ability of the Daoist sect.
Only by standing beneath the starry sky, with nothing to be ashamed of looking up or down, and no regrets looking back, could one be fearless, without dread, with a clear Dao heart and unimpeded Dao methods.
During the more than ten years in the old temple of Xining Town, Shang Xingzhou had never taught Yu Ren or Chen Changsheng any Dao methods. He only had them recite the Daoist scriptures. Yet once they began to touch upon specific cultivation techniques, they advanced at a breathtaking speed. Chen Changsheng broke through realms and gathered stars in three years, while Yu Ren freely walked among the Heavenly Book Stele—all of this came from this method.
Correspondingly, this Dao method placed extremely high demands on the heart and will, like a snow lotus atop a high mountain peak, unable to be stained by any dust or grime.
How could one avoid being misled by external things? How could one possess an unshakable will and confidence?
It all came down to one word: heart.
You only needed to convince yourself.
If you could convince yourself that what you were doing was right, that it aligned with your heart's will, then... naturally, you would be Following the Heart's Will.
This sounded simple, but in reality, it was not.
If you looked into the deepest depths of your soul, if you were in a sealed, dark room, how many people could truly say they had no regrets? Who could firmly believe that everything they had done was correct?
Several hundred years ago, Shang Xingzhou was still one of the orthodox successors of the national religion. He could have followed the predetermined path until he became the Pope, but he chose another road. He lived in this world under the guise of a Daoist named Ji, and when Wu Daozi painted portrait after portrait in the Lingyan Pavilion, Shang Xingzhou was responsible for sending those people in the portraits back to the Sea of Stars. Those in the portraits were all heroes of the human race, all meritorious officials of the Great Zhou, and they died in schemes. Among them, some, like Qin Zhong and Divine General Yu Gong, willingly went to their deaths. But what about the other dukes?
The spirits in the Lingyan Pavilion had always been watching Shang Xingzhou. Or perhaps even earlier, the resentful souls who had died in the Hundred Herbs Garden had also been watching Shang Xingzhou. The innocent people who died in this recent turmoil would surely be watching him too. Yet none of this could affect Shang Xingzhou's Dao heart, because he had many reasons to convince himself.
He looked down on so-called "heroic figures" who cut off all emotion and annihilated their nature. He most detested schemers like the Black Robe, who dared not see the light of day. He saw himself as the successor of Emperor Taizong, and with the world in his heart, he could naturally disregard small matters—for the sake of the Great Zhou Dynasty's eternal existence and the bright future of the human race, this was a necessary price.
But there was one thing that, up to now, Shang Xingzhou had still not found a suitable way to convince himself about, and that was Chen Changsheng.
Yes, the wooden basin floating in the stream, the infant within it, the golden dragon's whiskers hanging down—everything was a scheme.
But the first time he saw Chen Changsheng, he was not the Duke of Wei, not Wang Zhice, not the Heavenly Sea, not a powerful general, not a world-rich magnate, not a charming imperial consort skilled in manipulation, not a loathsome eunuch, not a passionate scholar who talked idly and ruined the state, not an experienced minister who cherished his reputation—he was just... an infant.
An infant who couldn't even open its eyes, an infant without awareness or consciousness, an infant without good or evil, without thought.
He could find no reason to convince himself that this was right.
Over those fourteen years, every time he saw Chen Changsheng, a doubt would arise, and another shadow would fall upon his Dao heart.
Life in the old temple of Xining Town was simple, but seeing each other was infinitely harder than not seeing each other.
Chen Changsheng had grown from an infant into a youth as gentle as the spring breeze.
The shadows on Shang Xingzhou's Dao heart had already grown as thick as the night.
...
...
"I know that you, Teacher, feel no guilt toward me. This matter has nothing to do with good or evil. It's just that you cannot convince yourself, and convincing yourself is always the most important thing."
Chen Changsheng looked at Shang Xingzhou and said, "So, my existence is a very frightening thing for you."
Before the Buddhist sect was destroyed, there was a concept called "heart barrier."
He was now Shang Xingzhou's heart barrier.
Shang Xingzhou wanted to use every means to remove this heart barrier, so that he could truly maintain a clear Dao heart.
He wanted Chen Changsheng dead, but he couldn't do it himself, because that would have no effect—it would only deepen the heart barrier, making it impossible to erase.
A few days ago, even if Yu Ren hadn't used such a decisive method to keep him in the Snow Palace, he wouldn't have gone to the North Military Commanders' Alley; he would have gone to the Detached Palace.
Back then, on the Divine Path of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, when he walked down the Divine Path without even glancing at Chen Changsheng, and didn't stop Chen Changsheng from taking away the Heavenly Sea Saintess's remains, he had already figured out what would come next.
He would use these matters as pretexts, naturally letting Chen Changsheng die at someone else's hands.
Several times, he had come very close to success.
For example, when Old Eunuch Lin wanted to clear obstacles and threats to the young Emperor's rule, using the matter of the Heavenly Sea Saintess's remains as a pretext, he made a private move to kill Chen Changsheng but failed.
For example, using Xue Xingchuan's experience and Zhou Tong as a lure, he made Chen Changsheng act first, then planned to kill him.
"Unfortunately, none of them succeeded," Chen Changsheng said.
"I didn't expect that you had already seen through all of this long ago, but it doesn't matter."
Shang Xingzhou's expression carried some regret as he said, "If it weren't for Wang Po, you would have died under Iron Tree's hand that day."
When Eunuch Lin suddenly struck in the National Academy, Chen Changsheng had already figured everything out. But now, seeing his teacher's regret, he still felt a bit sad.
Shang Xingzhou continued, looking at him, "I swore to your martial uncle that I would not lay a hand on you, and that is indeed the case. Whether it was Lin or Zhou, neither was a deliberate arrangement I made. Everything was natural. If you insist on staying in the capital, such things will only increase, and they will not be controlled by my will."
It was hard to tell whether this statement was true or false, and there was no need to distinguish truth from falsehood.
A person's heart always drifts between truth and falsehood. Even if you see through the colors of flowers, you cannot see through these things.
On the courtyard wall opposite Snow Lake, the figures of more than ten green-robed Daoists appeared.
Those green-robed Daoists had unfathomable cultivation realms, and as their sleeves lightly fluttered, killing intent was hidden within.
...
...
(Creation update success achievement unlocked! Now I'm just worried about whether it will sync to Qidian... If that happens, there will be duplicate chapters. Tomorrow during the day, I'll ask the website's technical staff to help handle it. If there really are duplicate subscriptions, I'll find a way to make it up to everyone.)