Chapter 188

Chapter 188: Ye Tianming’s Tribulation!

Hearing Liu Sha’s words, Ye Tianming was immediately taken aback. This sect of his was no simple matter!

Surely he wasn’t the weakest one, right?

No, wait!

Ye Tianming’s gaze fell on Liu Sha. He still wasn’t sure whether this little martial uncle was a cultivator, because he couldn’t sense any aura of cultivation from Liu Sha.

As if thinking of something, Ye Tianming asked again, “What about Senior Brother?”

Liu Sha smiled bitterly and said, “Senior Brother is someone who loves to reason with people. He has so many reasons for everything, and once he starts talking, it’s endless. Even Master finds him annoying sometimes…….”

After saying that, he paused, then added, “But he’s a good person, as long as he’s not lecturing you.”

Ye Tianming smiled and said, “I think reasoning things out is pretty good.”

Liu Sha glanced at him, “Little martial nephew, once you meet him you’ll know how terrifying it is. His reasoning……when he starts rambling, it’s truly unbearable.”

Ye Tianming: “…….”

After chatting for a while, Ye Tianming asked, “What about the Founding Ancestor? What’s his background?”

Liu Sha shook his head, “I don’t know.”

Ye Tianming was immediately puzzled, “You don’t know?”

Liu Sha nodded.

Ye Tianming said, “The Founding Ancestor has never told you?”

Liu Sha said, “I’ve never asked either.”

Ye Tianming looked at him, “Aren’t you curious?”

Liu Sha shook his head, “Not curious. Regardless of the Founding Ancestor’s background, I would never look down on him.”

Ye Tianming’s expression froze.

Later, Ye Tianming came to understand what Liu Sha meant.

In Liu Sha’s eyes, the Founding Ancestor was simply an elderly man who needed to be looked after, and as for cultivation, Liu Sha had no real concept of it. Of course, he had never cared about it either.

After returning to the monastery, Liu Sha hurried off to cook.

Ye Tianming wasn’t idle either. He helped Liu Sha wash vegetables and prepare the meal. Once the food was ready, the two of them went to the elderly monk’s room. That day, there was a guest in the elderly monk’s room.

It was a woman of extraordinary beauty, dressed in a light cyan long skirt, with two blades hanging at her waist.

When she saw Ye Tianming and Liu Sha, the woman was briefly startled, then quickly rose to her feet and gave them a cultivator’s salute.

Ye Tianming and Liu Sha returned the salute.

After returning the salute, Liu Sha looked toward the elderly monk and said, “Teacher, it’s time to eat.”

The elderly monk gave a slight nod, “Mm.”

Liu Sha quickly brought the food over. Ye Tianming also sat down, and he noticed the woman standing there looking somewhat awkward.

He said politely, “Would you like to join us?”

The woman was first startled, then nodded eagerly, “Sure.”

But after saying so, she glanced over at the elderly monk beside them.

Ye Tianming fell silent.

He had only meant to be polite……because this woman gave him a sense of unfathomable depth. One had to know that he was currently at the Dao Establishment realm, yet she still gave him that feeling of immeasurable depth. It was clear that her cultivation and strength far surpassed his.

He had truly only meant to be polite, but he hadn’t expected her to take him up on it without any hesitation. It seemed his Founding Ancestor’s background was quite extraordinary indeed!

A powerhouse of this caliber was actually so nervous and uneasy in his presence.

Beside them, the elderly monk smiled faintly, “Join us.”

Seeing the elderly monk’s approval, the woman finally let out a breath of relief. She gave Ye Tianming a grateful look, then sat down.

Liu Sha served the woman a bowl of rice as well, and the woman quickly stood up to express her thanks.

Ye Tianming and Liu Sha ate normally, completely at ease, but the woman was very careful and cautious.

The elderly monk suddenly looked at Ye Tianming, “How did today feel?”

Ye Tianming set down his chopsticks and said, “Founding Ancestor, the suffering of all living beings falls into two kinds. The first is the suffering of the world itself, where the path of life is harsh, the great dao is indifferent, and all beings are born into tribulation. The second kind of suffering comes from the heart. The heart gives rise to countless distracting thoughts, and each distracting thought is a tribulation. The more distracting thoughts there are, the more tribulations there will be.”

The elderly monk smiled and said, “Is there more?”

Ye Tianming nodded, “This disciple believes that half the reason for the suffering of the heart is because the world is harsh. If everyone’s lives were better, the suffering of the heart would naturally diminish greatly.”

The elderly monk shook his head, “The suffering of the heart stems from human nature. The nature of all beings is greed. Some people, once their lives improve, want more money. Once they have more money, they want power. Once they have power, they want even more power. And once their power reaches its peak, they want immortality……”

As he spoke, he looked at Ye Tianming, “Human desire is like a boulder rolling down a mountain. Once it starts, it can never be stopped.”

Ye Tianming said, “Founding Ancestor, how should this be resolved?”

The elderly monk smiled and said, “Restraint.”

Ye Tianming was stunned.

The elderly monk said, “The laws you and Guanchen wrote are a form of restraint on power. But have you ever considered that human desire is boundless and human greed is endless? If this law itself goes unrestrained, it may one day become the greatest ‘evil’ in the world.”

As he spoke, he smiled faintly, “It is easy to restrain others, but difficult to restrain oneself. Restraint is equivalent to power. Once you hold it in your hands, letting it go is no ordinary feat.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “This disciple still has a long road ahead.”

The monk smiled, a look of appreciation rising in his eyes. If Ye Tianming were to restrain himself now, it would undoubtedly be courting death. After all, going to restrain yourself before you’ve become invincible — wasn’t that just asking to die?

And Ye Tianming himself had already come to understand how he should walk his path in the future.

The elderly monk advised, “Restraint — you can place it at a more distant point on your future path of the great dao. There’s no rush to get there. Just keep that point in mind for now. As for the present, you should focus more on two things: first, the flaws in the Law of All Beings, and second, your own flaws.”

Ye Tianming rose to his feet and bowed deeply, “Please guide me, Founding Ancestor.”

The elderly monk extended his hand and gently pressed down, “Sit down. We’re family here, just having a casual chat. No need to be so formal. Formality creates distance.”

Ye Tianming nodded and sat back down.

The elderly monk said, “The Law of All Beings was created by Guanchen, and you continued it. On the surface it appears to be a continuation of the same lineage, but there are differences. Guanchen’s heart was with all living beings, and he started from the perspective of all beings. But you are different. You don’t truly start from the perspective of all beings — you start from your own perspective. There is nothing wrong with that, but you must understand……”

At this point, he suddenly became serious, “The great dao begins from the smallest of things!”

When she heard these words, the woman not far away suddenly narrowed her eyes sharply.

The great dao begins from the smallest of things!

Ye Tianming’s expression also shifted in that instant. In that moment, he suddenly understood something.

The elderly monk continued, “This is the current flaw in the Law of All Beings. If you were to encounter a truly top-tier powerhouse, they could use the flaw in your dao against you. At that point, you would be beyond saving, because for those who walk the path of cultivation, nothing is worse than the ‘collapse of one’s dao heart’.”

As he said this, he suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit.

When the woman beside them saw the elderly monk coughing, her face instantly turned as pale as paper, her eyes filled with utter disbelief. Was there truly a cause and effect in this world that even this old man before her could not intervene in?

The woman turned to look at Ye Tianming, her heart shaken to its core. Who on earth was this man, that he could prevent this old man from intervening in his future cause and effect?

The elderly monk looked at Ye Tianming and smiled faintly, then continued, “As for your own flaws, they are simply that you haven’t read enough books and your life experience isn’t rich enough. What you need to do right now is follow the philosophy of the ancient Zhezong: the knowledge of unknowing. Keep maintaining that mindset, and never be self-righteous. The moment a person fails to see themselves clearly is the moment disaster arrives.”

After a moment of silence, Ye Tianming smiled wryly, “Founding Ancestor, I understand all of this in principle, but this disciple feels that people can’t be taught by words alone — it’s experience that truly teaches. This disciple fears that in the future, I’ll need to go through some hard knocks before I can truly reach a state of complete enlightenment……”

The woman glanced at Ye Tianming, her eyes filled with both surprise and curiosity.

The elderly monk laughed. He looked at Ye Tianming, his gaze growing ever more gentle and kind, “You’re right. Without going through some hard knocks, it’s very difficult for anyone to reach true enlightenment.”

At that, he paused, then added, “Whether it’s human nature or desire, remember this: when the mind arises, the true nature is extinguished. When the mind is stilled, the true nature is revealed. The mind is fundamentally the dao, and the dao is fundamentally the mind. The mind has no dao outside itself, and the dao has no mind outside itself.”

The woman beside them lowered her head slightly upon hearing these words, her heart already in turmoil.

But at the same time, she sighed inwardly. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but glance at Ye Tianming beside her.

Ye Tianming carefully committed the elderly monk’s words to memory. He still couldn’t fully comprehend them all at this moment, but he felt that the path of the great dao ahead of him was becoming clearer and clearer.

The Founding Ancestor before him was actually helping him complete his own great dao!

The elderly monk suddenly said, “I’m feeling a bit tired. You all go about your business.”

Liu Sha quickly rose and helped the elderly monk walk to the side.

Ye Tianming gave a slight bow, then stepped out.

The woman also bowed deeply and rose to leave.

After the two had gone, Liu Sha said, “Teacher, does little martial nephew have a tribulation ahead of him?”

The elderly monk nodded.

Liu Sha said, “Should we have him come with us then? Teacher, don’t worry. As long as I’m here, I won’t let anyone harm little martial nephew.”

The elderly monk smiled faintly, “He has his own life to live. There are some things he must experience for himself.”

Liu Sha said solemnly, “Teacher, will little martial nephew’s tribulation be a difficult one?”

The elderly monk said softly, “It all depends on whether he can remember tonight’s words……”

As he spoke, he paused, then said, “Ah, Liu Sha, bring me a sheet of letter paper.”

Liu Sha quickly fetched a sheet of letter paper.

The elderly monk began to write.

Liu Sha was a little surprised, “Teacher, are you writing a letter to Senior Brother?”

The elderly monk gave a slight nod, “Although I trust this little one, I’m still a bit uneasy. I’ll have your Senior Brother come back when the time comes and escort him for a stretch……”

Liu Sha said solemnly, “Teacher, I sense there are unknown causes and effects surrounding little martial nephew……is there someone behind him as well?”

The elderly monk smiled, “Others are others, and we are we. Just do what we believe is right.”

Liu Sha nodded, “Understood.”

As he spoke, he paused, then said, “Should we also call Second Senior Sister back?”

The elderly monk shook his head, “Her temper is too volatile. If she comes back, she’ll ruin things.”

Liu Sha quickly nodded, “Right, right, Second Senior Sister can’t come back……”

Once Second Senior Sister saw blood, she’d kill anyone in sight!

Outside.

Ye Tianming was about to return to his room when the woman suddenly said, “Sir, please wait.”

Ye Tianming turned to look at the woman. She smiled and said, “Thank you for earlier, sir.”

Ye Tianming said, “Don’t mention it.”

The woman looked at Ye Tianming, “I owe you a favor!”

But Ye Tianming shook his head, “There’s no need to think so much of it. To me, it was just a meal — nothing worth calling a favor. To the Founding Ancestor, it was also just a meal. Nothing more.”

With that, he gave a cultivator’s salute, then turned and walked away.

The woman watched Ye Tianming’s departing figure, lost in thought.