Nightfall

The light surrounding his stick-like fingers gradually faded away as it swayed like a small heatless fire. It reminded one of the little lamplights on a windy and stormy night that seemed to extinguish anytime yet it would never extinguish.

Ye Hongyu gazed at the holy light between Master Lotus’ fingers, her eyes perplexed. Mo Shanshan was not any better than her as her eyes filled with shock. They could clearly feel the holy aura emitting from the light and couldn’t help thinking over Master Lotus’ words. They could not keep calm.

Ning Que’s cultivation state and knowledge were not as high as the two ladies. Hence, he did not appear as shock as them. He was only surprised why the old monk’s enigmatic Divine Skill was not pressurizing at all despite his advanced state? It was as if his existence was fictitious.

The light emitting from the old monk’s fingers was translucent, warm and bright. It was not blazing, neither was it scorching. It was similar to how the sunshine shone onto all the living things on earth, depicting an indescribable high state.

Mo Shanshan mumbled, “When Taoism connected with Devil, they would join the Gods?”

The old monk smiled and looked at her. His eyes filled with admiration as he said, “For the past decades, I have been brainstorming about the differences between Taoism and the Devil. I’d used the Taoists Law outside my body to confine a world and the Devil’s law within my body to confine another world. Finally, I’ve discovered a possibility, which what you’ve mentioned just now.”

Upon hearing these words, Ye Hongyu was finally awakened from the shock. She then recalled that whether the connection between the Taoism and the Devil could enable them to join the Gods, one would need to attempt to join the Devil first. She stared at the old monk in the Bone Mountain distressingly and felt that her own judgment was too absurd. How is it possible that the Divine Lord Lotus…

“Your guess is right. I have indeed joined the Devil.”

In the midst of the Bone Mountain sat a skinny stick-like old monk. For the past decades, the air had been dry and cold. Only the thin cracks at the ceiling of the room in the Bone Mountain revealed slight moisture. It was unclear how many days did those moisture take to accumulate and form a tiny drop of water.

The old monk slowly lifted his head as he gently raised the corner of his mouth. A drop of water fell from the ceiling and onto his cracked dry lips, which formed a smile on the skinny old monk’s face. That smile was full of compassion, which made one’s heart ache upon watching it.

The old monk grinned as he stared at her and said, “That year, I was worried that Ke Haoran joined the Devil. It was unexpected that I’d join the Devil in the end as well.”

…

…

At this point of time, Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu were too stunned and shook up by the fact. Each of them was in their own deep thoughts, and only Ning Que alone was still observing every movement of the old monk.

The moment they stepped into the main hall of the Devil’s Doctrine and followed by meeting this legendary man who had been isolating himself to atone his sin for decades, Ning Que had many doubts on his mind. How did this Master Lotus manage to survive without any food and drinks for decades? However, after noticing that Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu did not have such doubts, he guessed that perhaps this master was already in a state that was beyond average mortals’ imagination, a state that made him an inediate.

Now that he observed how the drop of water that was formed from the moisture accumulated at the cracks of the ceiling dropped and landed on the old monk’s cracked lips, he couldn’t help but be in a daze. He thought that this old monk must have been very clear about the regular pattern of the water droplets. For the past decades, he must have repeated this process for numerous times, or perhaps, missed this drop of water for numerous times, which made him full of regrets. Else why would he be so proficient in this?

The moisture in between the cracks had been serving this legendary man who had been atoning his sins for decades. Whoever seen this scene would feel pitiful and respectful towards this old man. Yet Ning Que’s heart was hard as steel. He raised his brows and thought, if he was here to atone his sins, then why did he even attempt to survive? If he had planned to atone for his sins via suffering, then why would he feel miserable when he missed the drop of water, which made him master the habit of raising his head to catch hold of that drop of water at the right moment?

As Ning Que was thinking of these things, Master Lotus had already begun his argument and analysis about the highest level in Taoism cultivation with Ye Hongyu and Mo Shanshan. He couldn’t help but frowned, as he thought that since Master Lotus could brilliantly debate at Lanke Temple till the hierarch of the Divine Hall came to visit, his standard was certainly not similar to that of Prince Long Qing. After all, he had locked himself up in the Devil’s Palace and debated with himself every day for several decades. Who could possibly win him in the argument then?

Indeed, as time went by, only the old and sorrow voice was heard in the room.

“If there’s true logic on earth, debating will make things clearer.”

“What exactly is a cultivator searching for? If what we are searching for is the method to know the world better and the strength to change the world, then why would strength be classified into good and evil? Only the person using the strength can be classified as good or evil.”

“A knife can be used either to chop vegetables, sculpture the carrot or to kill people. A stone can be used either for play, to build foundation or to kill people as well. A lake can be used either to breed fishes, to row boats or to kill people too. A mountain can be used either to climb, to build a temple on it or to kill people.”

“Everything on earth that can be used to help people, can also be used to kill people. However, these things are not at fault. Instead, humans are the souls of everything. They give spirits and purposes to everything. Thus, the blame should only go to the humans. The differences between Taoism and the Devil come from the method or the path taken, which is similar to all things on earth. As such, why should we blame them? Hence, the one and only to blame is human.”

The old monk’s words were not complicated nor deep at all. There was no hidden meaning nor was there a need to read between the lines. He had slowly put across a pure and simple logic, allowing the three youngsters to listen to the cultivation world he knew about.

The old monk sounded weak. His slight hoarse voice and tone were filled with his passion and compassion towards this world. Though his voice was calm, it was very convincing. Whatever he said sounded like golden words.

At first, Ning Que wasn’t even listening to the old monk, yet he was unknowingly being attracted by his words. He sat on the ground and began to listen to him attentively. Since he came from the Wilderness, he had been feeling tense. However, upon listening to his benevolent voice, he felt more relaxed and his body was less tense.

The Devil’s Palace seemed to have accumulated several years of loneliness as it had isolated from the world’s rowdiness. Only the old monk’s voice was gradually spreading like the lotus flower and echoing in the place. His voice and expressions were finally transformed into the dews on the lotus petals as they reverberated between the walls and his soul. A series of reverberation came one after another gradually, and the warm feeling somewhat made one uncomfortable.

A white bone with half-dried flesh was left in the midst of The Bone Mountain. The white bone was facing the sky and its dried fingers were stretched to the back of his head as though they were supporting his head. Its fleshless right leg was placed on top of its left knee. It seemed to be quietly and happily listening as well, and it looked extraordinarily at ease. Not sure if it was the creation of the wind or the water droplets, the head of the white bone would shake slightly, as though it was agreeing his words.

After an unknown amount of time, the teachings that were reverberating between the room and the souls had gradually stopped. The old monk gazed gently at the three youngsters, who were in deep thoughts. Upon seeing their troubled faces, he gently smiled and said, “The Front Gate is opened. Riots would certainly rise again in the world. By estimation, I believe it’s time for me to leave soon.”

Ye Hongyu raised her head in awe. She was lost for words.

The old monk looked at both his hands, which had formed into the lotus sign once again. He remained silent for a moment before he said briefly, “I’d seen the world using the secular eyes throughout my whole life and it was fruitful. I was born as a buddhist, practiced as a Taoist yet ended up joining the Devil’s Doctrine. Now that I’m coming to an end of my life, I recalled the words of that Great Divine Priest who had created the Devil’s Doctrine. He said if you know me, you will blame me. Yet as time goes by, one will feel that it doesn’t matter at all. After all, one will need to return to where he came from. Hence, why should I be mindful of who knows me or who blames me?”

“Only, who on this earth can really put down life and death totally? Even if one had gone through life and death, how certain that one would not leave any feeling for the world? Or even hope to leave some marks in the world? It’s the same for me.”

The old monk slowly raised his head and looked at the three youngsters. He grinned and said, “I’ve cultivated all three religions and had isolated myself from the world for several years to atone my sins. I dare not say that I have achieved a lot but I did obtain something from the past years. I hope to pass down the little strength that is left in my weak body. Not sure which of you is willing to gratefully accept my mantle.”

It was rumored that for Grand Cultivator who had cultivated to the highest point, due to their deep understanding towards the world, they could even know when they were going to leave the world. Master Lotus had locked himself in the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine to atone his sins via suffering for the past several years. In the end, he met with the few disciples at the Front Gate. This opportunity is probably a turning point of life and death. Hence, when the three of them heard him saying that he was about to leave this world, though they were shocked, they were not totally unprepared of it.

Yet, when they heard that Master Lotus had decided to leave his mantle with one of them, the cool and calm Ning Que could not help but be shaken by the idea. Ye Hongyu’s mind was wavering as well. She held her fist tightly and was speechless.

The two most important things in life were none other than knowing the way to understand the world and having the ability to change the world. Master Lotus’ way of understanding the world was already heard by all three of them previously for a long time. However, the ability to change the world was naturally dependable on the strength and state of a cultivator.

The right path of cultivation would never have a way to pass down the strength, only the strong ones from the Devil’s Doctrine could pass down their strengths to the chosen ones via initiations before they died. If Master Lotus wished to leave his mantle, then he should be using this method as well!

What kind of person was Master Lotus? Ning Que had never heard of him before, but now he was very clear.

He was a person who had cultivated in all three religions before and lived in two large Unknown Places before. He was once a protector of the Front Gate of the Buddhism Sect, a Great Divine Priest of Judgment of the Divine Hall, and had almost accidentally become the leader of the Devil’s Doctrine. He was qualified to be his Youngest Uncle’s traveling partner and had stayed in the forbidden mountain for numerous years to connect cultivation with the Devil’s skills to create the Divine Skill! He was such a legend, and thus, he was definitely the strongest human in the world!

If he was able to obtain his mantle, how many years could he save on this tough and long cultivation path? How powerful could he get? What type of world would he be able to experience after that?

Most importantly, Ning Que was certain that if he could obtain the old monk’s mantle, he would not need to wait for a long time before he could kill General Xia Hou, Prince Lee Peiyan and those sneaky shadows hiding behind them. He would not need to borrow the strength from the Academy and put his seniors into a tight situation. He would also be able to simply get his long overdue revenge.

His loving parents who had died in a pool of blood, his childhood friend who was stepped to death, his blood-stained chopper, the two people who had fallen in the woodshed, Darkie who was by the grey wall on a rainy day, as well as the innocent villagers who were slaughtered in Darkie’s hometown. All these scenes had suddenly appeared in his mind as they silently stared at him.

Actually, he had long forgotten the hatred he had for the massacre that year, but he was scared of this calmness. Hence, he felt the need to root this hatred deep within his bones. Though this hatred had already turned sour, it had also become the most vital pillar of support in his life. When this pillar was mixed together with his greed for power, it became a strong and an irresistible seduction.

This seduction was like an invisible hand that lifted him from the ground and encouraged him to spread his legs apart with difficulty as he moved his way into the Bone Mountain.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.