Chapter 526 - 235: The Dao of Non-Action

Chapter 526: Chapter 235: The Dao of Non-Action

"Bring it on!"

He attacked this time with fury, holding nothing back.

But it was useless... He was quickly defeated once again.

Still, he refused to concede and wanted another round.

Fang Shuwen didn’t refuse. At first, he used both hands to fight back, but as he grew more familiar with the old Daoist’s Martial Arts, he switched to using just one.

By the end of the fight, the old Daoist was starting to question his own existence.

He had already used every skill he possessed—Fist Technique, Palm Technique, Swordsmanship... Though he had no sword and his Duster had been shattered, he still had his fingers and could still use Sword Qi.

But... it was all useless.

He used every trick in the book, yet he couldn’t even defeat one of Fang Shuwen’s hands.

Instead, he was beaten back step by step.

Again and again... Finally, the old Daoist had all the fight beaten out of him and plopped right down on the ground.

"I’m done! I’m done fighting!"

"You kid, I don’t know what kind of freak you are, but this Daoist Master is no match for you!"

"So, do you concede or not?!"

Fang Shuwen asked.

"I do not!"

"...You can’t win, but you won’t concede?"

"I can’t beat you, that’s true, but what does that have to do with conceding? Anyway, this Daoist Master refuses to yield!"

The old Daoist sat on the ground, huffing and acting like a sore loser.

Fang Shuwen shook his head.

"So, pick one of the two choices I gave you earlier."

The old Daoist fell silent. After a glance at Fang Shuwen, he asked:

"What about the people who were on the ship before?"

"Since I’m here, they’re naturally dead."

Fang Shuwen said.

"I spared their leader, but the rest have all been sent to the bottom of the sea to feed the Dragon King."

Only then did the old Daoist nod.

"Good. Seeing as you’re a decisive man, this Daoist Master is willing to befriend you."

"This humble Daoist is the Temple Master of Wuwei Temple of the East Sea... My Daoist name is Wuyi!"

Fang Shuwen subconsciously glanced at Luo Shuqing.

Luo Shuqing shook her head, indicating she had never heard of it.

He turned back to Daoist Wuyi, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Are you lying to me?"

"Who names their temple after their own Daoist name?"

Daoist Wuyi laughed heartily.

"And why not? Once this humble Daoist establishes this Daoist Temple, what’s wrong with naming it after myself?"

"So this so-called Wuwei Temple of the East Sea is nothing but a plot of empty land?"

Fang Shuwen was speechless for a moment.

"Then where did you learn all your Martial Arts?"

"From the Daoist scriptures and the teachings of the Xuanmen!"

"You’re self-taught?"

"Precisely!"

Fang Shuwen suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. ’If what this old Daoist says is true, have I just met a living genius?’

’Albeit a genius who’s a bit on the older side...’

But if he truly studied the classics of the Taoist School, grasped a Divine Technique and a Secret Technique on his own, and then went on to found the Wuwei Temple...

’Then decades or even a century from now, whenever anyone in the Jianghu mentions Wuwei Temple, they’ll have to think of him, the founding master Wuyi.’

’And when they recall the legend of how he comprehended a Divine Technique on his own and founded a new school, countless future generations in the Jianghu will surely look up to him.’

He carefully studied the old Daoist’s expression and felt that he wasn’t lying.

He couldn’t help but smile.

"Well, at your age, you’d better hurry up and establish that Wuwei Temple. Otherwise, I’m worried you don’t have many years left."

"Nonsense."

Daoist Wuyi flew into a rage.

"This humble Daoist can eat and drink, sleep and shit! I’m quick on my feet and agile with my hands. My body is countless times nimbler than those sixteen or seventeen-year-old youngsters."

"I might not live another eighty or a hundred years, but another thirty to fifty is no problem at all."

"With that much time, you think I can’t establish one Wuwei Temple?"

"Let’s put Wuwei Temple aside for now."

Fang Shuwen said.

"Tell me about this Black Island."

Daoist Wuyi’s brow furrowed.

"About Black Island... This Daoist Master can’t quite figure it out."

"It’s a long story. What first felt wrong to this Daoist Master was that the number of pirates in the nearby seas had dropped significantly."

"An ordinary person might not have noticed, but this Daoist Master’s Daoist arts are profound..."

Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow.

"Speak plainly..."

"Anyway, it just felt wrong."

Daoist Wuyi shot Fang Shuwen an annoyed glare.

"The pirates wouldn’t just disappear for no reason, and I hadn’t heard of any masters wiping them out."

"So, this Daoist Master decided to investigate."

"And as it turns out, this Daoist Master discovered that these pirates had been recruited by someone."

"The ones who recruited them were from Black Island."

"And for them to gather so many pirates, they must be plotting something big."

"If I didn’t investigate this matter, find out what they’re up to, and take precautions, I feared it would lead to another catastrophe if their plans came to fruition."

"So I exhausted all my efforts trying to find them."

"Unfortunately, this Daoist Master investigated for half a year and still couldn’t find where those bastards were hiding..."

"Last night, I came to Nameless Island by coincidence, only to find chaos breaking out."

"That’s how I ended up on that ship from before."

"I never expected it... sometimes what you seek eludes you, while what you aren’t looking for falls right into your lap."

"This Daoist Master searched everywhere for Black Island to no avail, and then they just stumbled right into me."

"...If that’s the case, why didn’t you torture the information out of them?"

"I tried. It didn’t work."

Daoist Wuyi spread his hands.

"This humble Daoist is a man of peace."

"I may be capable of killing, but I don’t have the stomach for torture."

"Their lips are sealed as if wired shut; I truly couldn’t pry them open... That’s why I resorted to this poor plan: feigning serious injury, intending to follow their ship and infiltrate Black Island."

At this, he gave Fang Shuwen a helpless look.

"But now, it seems that plan has failed too."

"You kid had to stick your nose in, and now that willow I happened upon has been uprooted."

"If I hadn’t stuck my nose in, those people on the ship would have been in mortal danger."

Fang Shuwen said coolly.

Daoist Wuyi froze.

"That can’t be right. Weren’t they just looking for someone? Don’t tell me... they wanted to kill people too? This Daoist Master only let them bring me here because I overheard them say they were looking for someone... This... Are the people on that big ship alright?"

"Right, right, since you stepped in, of course they’re safe and sound."

"That’s good, that’s good... My Daoist heart has been unsteady lately. This Black Island business has nearly driven me to obsession. It’s a good thing I didn’t cause a major disaster, otherwise... otherwise... *Sigh*..."

Fang Shuwen gave Daoist Wuyi a deep look before finally saying softly:

"As it happens, I was also planning a trip to Black Island."

"That black-clothed leader must know where Black Island is. Let’s go ask him. I refuse to believe he won’t talk."

Daoist Wuyi wanted to call Fang Shuwen’s bluff, but he had just fought him and truly couldn’t win.

So, after hesitating for a long moment, he swallowed his words.

When he followed Fang Shuwen and Luo Shuqing out of the lower cabin, the deck had already been cleaned up.

Seeing the old Daoist, both Zuo Xuan and Zuo Hong were taken aback.

They clearly hadn’t expected such an uninvited guest to be on board...

However, after a glance at Fang Shuwen, they both relaxed.

Fang Shuwen hadn’t said anything, so naturally, they wouldn’t ask any questions.

Fang Shuwen, meanwhile, walked directly up to the black-clothed leader kneeling on the deck.

"Take us to Black Island, will you?"

Daoist Wuyi was stunned.

’That’s it?’

He had exhausted every method he could think of and still couldn’t dig up Black Island’s location.

How could Fang Shuwen possibly get an answer with such a simple, unremarkable question?

Then, he heard the black-clothed leader sneer without a hint of hesitation:

"Since you wish to walk to your own death, how could I refuse to grant your wish?"

"I’ll lead the way for you..."

Daoist Wuyi: "?"