Chapter 182: The Logic of Immortals; Chen Changsheng You Go
Chapter 182 – The Logic of Immortals; Chen Changsheng You Go
“A Life-Bound Dharma Treasure is a weapon forged and nourished by a cultivator’s very own heart’s blood.”
“Such a Dharma Treasure typically eclipses others of the same tier, bending to its master’s will with absolute fluidity.”
Hearing this explanation, the fog of confusion in Chen Shisan’s eyes only thickened.
“Sir, if Life-Bound Dharma Treasures are so formidable, why did you mock them?”
Chen Changsheng tossed aside his empty melon seed shells and procured another handful of dried fruit.
“They possess numerous advantages, yes, but their flaws are equally glaring.”
“They are bound too intimately to the cultivator’s soul. Should a Life-Bound Dharma Treasure shatter, a light consequence is coughing up blood; a heavy one is a crippled foundation.”
“Any genius backed by a formidable sect will rarely forge one so carelessly.”
“After all, a broken weapon can be replaced. A shattered life is gone forever.”
Chen Shisan lowered his head, mulling over these words before speaking.
“Sir, if the world knows these flaws, why not correct them?”
“If the fear is destruction, simply forge an indestructible Life-Bound Dharma Treasure.”
“Sound logic. But where do you intend to unearth such an invincible Dharma Treasure, or the peerless materials required to forge it?”
“Take me, for instance. How many earthly materials could endure even one of my strikes?”
“Do you truly believe such divine metals are left lying around for just anyone to claim?”
“These fools forge Life-Bound Dharma Treasures out of pure desperation.”
“They lack premium materials, and mundane iron grants no edge in life-and-death combat.”
“Thus, they sacrifice their life force to temper these weapons, just to scrape by.”
“Against the disciples of great sects, they are utterly outmatched.”
“Their single Life-Bound Dharma Treasure might be sharp, but a sect heir carries a mountain of wealth. Break one Dharma Treasure, they simply summon another.”
“In a war of attrition, an ordinary Life-Bound Dharma Treasure will inevitably fracture.”
Comprehension dawned on Chen Shisan’s face. “So that’s the truth of it!”
“I never imagined immortals were so bound by wealth. I thought they viewed gold as mere dirt.”
“Heh.”
“Immortals crave wealth far more rabidly than mortals. The four pillars of cultivation are ‘Wealth, Companions, Dharma, and Land.’ Wealth sits at the very apex. What do you think?”
His doubts resolved, Chen Shisan returned his intense gaze to the “immortals” exchanging blows above.
Their techniques were undeniably destructive, yet something about them felt entirely hollow to him.
Catching Shisan’s subtle frown, Chen Changsheng clicked his tongue and went back to enjoying the “performance.”
A considerable amount of time had passed since Chen Shisan departed Jinshan City, yet Chen Changsheng had not imparted a single stance of swordsmanship.
It was not out of reluctance, but sheer inability.
By all logic, given his fathomless cultivation and aeons of insight, ushering a mortal to the Novice stage should have been as simple as breathing.
But after witnessing the single strike Chen Shisan unleashed back in Jinshan City, Chen Changsheng realized the boy was beyond his instruction.
The strike itself lacked raw power, but it contained the terrifying, embryonic spark of his own sovereign Dao.
Confronted with such a staggering, unpolished Dao, Chen Changsheng had scoured his vast memories and found not a single manual worthy of him.
Forcing even the most supreme sword manual upon Chen Shisan would only shackle his boundless potential.
“I’ve seen this kind of path before,” Chen Changsheng mused inwardly.
“Calculating the variables, there is only one monster in this world qualified to be his master.”
“Looks like I’ll have to make a detour. How utterly troublesome.”
Venting his mild annoyance, Chen Changsheng channeled his frustration into his appetite, aggressively devouring his dried fruits.
Chen Shisan stared in silence.
Legends claimed immortals abstained from mortal sustenance, yet this man ate like a starved ghost fresh out of the underworld.
……
The martial displays at the Mount Buzhou banquet soon drew to a close.
With heavy, grinding steps, several brawny cultivators wheeled an iron cage onto the platform.
“Fellow Daoists! Today’s Mount Buzhou Sword Discussion is a monumental gathering for the sword cultivators of our Western Continent!”
“And this item shall serve as the grand prize for the victor!”
With a dramatic flourish, the presiding cultivator ripped away the heavy black tarp covering the cage.
Boom!
The instant the cloth fell, a violent tremor shook the iron bars.
Trapped within was a massive, azure bird, its majestic plumage matted with blood. The tremor was the sound of its battered body throwing itself against the unforgiving iron.
Thwack!
SKREEE!
A barbed steel whip viciously lashed through the bars. The sheer agony tore a piercing, mournful shriek from the creature’s throat.
Encountering something entirely beyond his comprehension, Chen Shisan adhered to his usual stubborn curiosity and whispered.
“Sir, what manner of beast is that?”
“A Xuan Bird. A lineage of profound nobility among the demon race.”
“A few days ago, the human domain exterminated their entire clan. This one is likely a spoil of war, captured alive.”
“What?”
Chen Shisan’s face twisted in stark disbelief.
In his mortal mind, murder was a grievance of the highest order. What terrifying blood feud could possibly demand the total annihilation of a race?
“Why? Do our two races harbor some ancient, irreconcilable hatred?”
“No grand hatred at all. They were eradicated simply because they were far too valuable.”
“A Xuan Bird is a walking treasury. Their feathers forge peerless Dharma Treasures, and their flesh is a supreme tonic for bodily refinement.”
“Even their marrow and bones are sublime catalysts for refining Pills.”
“When an entity is a walking, breathing cultivation resource, their extermination is simply the natural order of things.”
Faced with this cold, utilitarian logic, Chen Shisan’s mind rebelled.
“Sir, does the immortal realm operate completely devoid of reason?”
“To casually slaughter an entire lineage—that cannot be justified under any heaven!”
Chen Changsheng stared at the boy’s naive outrage, his voice devoid of warmth. “What are you prattling about? The immortal world strictly adheres to reason.”
“At least, the vast majority of actions are governed by it.”
“But what logic permits the casual butchery of an entire race?!”
“Such an act is purely…”
“‘If they are not of our kin, their hearts must harbor ruin’—is that law reason enough for you?”
Chen Changsheng’s chilling interruption cut the boy’s protest short.
Smothered by this brutal ‘reason’, Chen Shisan fell utterly silent.
Observing the boy’s shock, Chen Changsheng mercilessly drove the point home. “The immortal realm is infinitely more savage than your mortal world.”
“The only ‘reason’ that matters here is the logic used to justify slaughtering your competitors.”
“If the demon race were to govern the heavens tomorrow, it would be humans stripped naked and locked in those iron cages. That is an immutable law of the Dao.”
“You find this excessive only because you remain too weak to shoulder the fate of our race.”
“Let us pose a hypothetical. Suppose tomorrow, a Peerless prodigy is born to the demon race.”
“A being whose innate talent guarantees they will eventually rise to become the absolute sovereign of this world.”
“If presented with the chance, would you drive a blade into its heart before it fully matures?”
Chen Shisan looked up. “Does this prodigy harbor a grudge against me?”
“No. It holds no malice toward any human.”
“But upon its ascension, the demon race will inevitably flourish, and humanity will be ruthlessly suppressed and pushed to the brink of extinction.”
“Because even a benevolent demon sovereign cannot cage the predatory instincts of every lesser demon beneath them.”
“Then I would not strike it down. If I harbor no enmity with it, and humanity fails to compete… then that is a failure of humanity’s own making.”
“Hahaha!”
Chen Changsheng threw his head back and genuinely laughed at the boy’s sheer, uncompromising stubbornness.
“A beautiful sentiment. If the world shared your Dao, rivers of blood would never flow.”
His laughter faded into a cold smirk. “Excellent. Now, go bring that Xuan Bird back to me. I have a use for it.”
Chen Shisan blinked.
“Sir… you want me to rob a prize from a gathering of immortals?”
“Correct.”
“But I cannot possibly defeat them.”
“I am well aware. Now, are you going or not?”
Chen Shisan stood speechless.
How can such chilling commands flow so easily from your lips?
After a breathless moment of silence, Chen Shisan gripped the hilt of the True Martial Sword and rose to his feet.
Watching the youth march toward certain doom, Chen Changsheng’s predatory grin widened. “A stubborn mule has its uses. I do enjoy an impossibly thick-skulled youth.”
……