Chapter 71: Fangcun Is My Heart |
“Good!”
Li Shun agreed without the slightest hesitation. Seeing this, Wei Wuqi wasted no more words.
He raised a finger through the air and tapped it against the center of Li Shun’s brow.
In the next instant, streams of profoundly mysterious text, accompanied by a vivid vision, flooded into his mind.
It felt as though he were riding a small boat upon a violently surging river.
Upstream, another vessel was likewise being swept forward by the raging current, crashing directly toward him.
There was nowhere to evade.
Nowhere to flee.
Yet not the slightest trace of anger or panic arose within Li Shun’s heart.
“To cultivate this method is much like these boats.”
The moment enlightenment dawned within him, the vessel beneath his feet and the incoming vessel merged into one.
Only after a long while did Li Shun finally emerge from the illusion.
“The cultivation of Empty Vessel, Bereft of Self is not something accomplished overnight.”
“The longer the self is lost, the harder the Empty Vessel becomes for others to perceive.”
“But if your goal is merely to deceive Imperial Mausoleum Heaven, reaching the entry level is sufficient.” Wei Wuqi added in a faint, indifferent tone.
Li Shun respectfully cupped his hands in salute.
“Many thanks for Senior’s guidance.”
“Is there anything else? If not, then you may leave.” Wei Wuqi lowered his head once more and resumed polishing the long branch in his hand.
“This junior still has one matter he does not understand. This method, Empty Vessel, Bereft of Self, is clearly exceedingly precious. Why would Senior pass it on to me so casually?”
Having interacted with Wei Wuqi many times across several reversions, Li Shun had gradually gained some understanding of his temperament. As a result, his courage had also grown.
“Precious…” Wei Wuqi let out a faint snort.
“In this world, among all matters and all things, there is only one thing this old man truly cares about. As for everything else…”
“Forget this Empty Vessel, Bereft of Self method, which I obtained from another person in the first place. Even the Threefold Self-Reflection divine ability you rely upon is nothing remarkable in my eyes!”
At that instant, an incomparably sharp light burst forth from Wei Wuqi’s eyes.
The sword branch in his hand released a clear hum in response.
Like a divine sword leaving its sheath.
Yet the change lasted only for a fleeting moment before vanishing once more.
Lao Wei returned to his usual lazy demeanor, as did the sword branch in his hand.
Li Shun, meanwhile, thought of Li Qing, who had long received Wei Wuqi’s teachings.
“Slaying the Emperor?”
No sound left his lips. Li Shun merely mouthed the words silently within his heart.
Yet Wei Wuqi showed not the slightest restraint, openly admitting it.
“That’s right.”
“To slay the Emperor!”
Within the deathly silent Dongshan Town at night, those words sounded especially abrupt and piercing.
They echoed through the air again and again without fading.
Even Li Shun, merely an observer, felt his heart jolt when he saw Wei Wuqi so openly shout the words “slay the Emperor” without the slightest concern.
Yet what was truly bizarre was this:
Within Imperial Mausoleum world, despite Wei Wuqi brazenly uttering such treasonous words, not the slightest disturbance occurred.
It was as though the entire world had collectively chosen to feign deafness.
Li Shun likewise stood quietly at the side, remaining utterly silent, as though he too had heard nothing at all.
“Slay the Emperor. Heh…” Receiving no response whatsoever, Wei Wuqi seemed to find it exceedingly dull.
He resumed polishing the sword branch in his hand.
Only, Li Shun noticed that Lao Wei was polishing it with far greater seriousness than before.
Since Wei Wuqi no longer spoke, Li Shun took his leave.
On the way back, he recalled the scenes he had perceived when touching that slender sword branch, along with the dragon-like hum he had heard.
“I can basically confirm it now. Lao Wei cultivates the Dao of the Sword.”
“It’s just that…”
“In Great Qian, swords cannot harm others. Even if Lao Wei truly is a Heaven-Earth Realm expert, just how much of his cultivation he can actually display is difficult to say.”
At that thought, Li Shun’s train of thought suddenly halted.
In an instant, Li Shun understood.
“Perhaps I’ve mistaken cause for effect. Lao Wei is so obsessively devoted to the act of regicide, and the path he cultivates is the Sword Dao. So…”
“That was why the Qian Emperor’s wrath descended, abolishing the Sword Dao itself, making it forever incapable of harming others?”
“If that is truly the case, then Lao Wei’s real identity is indeed worth pondering.”
“He failed in his attempt to slay the Emperor, yet he did not die. He was merely stripped of the divine abilities he relied upon and exiled to the Imperial Mausoleum…”
Li Shun could not help but let his imagination wander.
By the time he returned home, Li Qing had already awakened.
In truth, since the two still lived under the same roof, Li Qing had noticed the moment Li Shun slipped out into the night.
However, he had not followed after him. Instead, he simply sat quietly at home, waiting for Li Shun to return.
Seeing this, Li Shun took the initiative to explain.
“I went to see Lao Wei.”
“So that’s what it was.” Li Qing came to a sudden understanding and asked no further questions.
“I’m about to cultivate a secret art. Little Tuanzi, I’ll need you to stand guard for me,” Li Shun continued.
He was not certain whether he could successfully grasp the fundamentals of Empty Vessel, Bereft Self before the lifespan-reclaiming shadow descended. Li Qing’s protection was therefore absolutely necessary.
Otherwise, surviving countless calamities only to end up killed by the Imperial Mausoleum’s heavenly summons would be an utterly miserable fate.
“Don’t worry, Brother!” Li Qing replied solemnly.
Seated cross-legged upon the guest room bed, Li Shun closed his eyes as the cultivation method of Empty Vessel, Bereft Self surfaced within his mind once more.
Before long, he entered a state where self and world were both forgotten.
The distracting thoughts in his heart, the calamities soon to descend from the outside world, all drifted past like flowing water, leaving behind not the slightest trace.
An hour passed swiftly.
When Li Shun opened his eyes again, he had already reached the entry level of the Empty Vessel, Bereft Self technique.
“It seems I’m particularly suited for cultivating methods of calamity avoidance.”
“In fact, it even feels smoother than cultivating the Spring-Autumn Brush.”
“But the Spring-Autumn Brush was backed by Fang Xun’s nearly century-long cultivation experience…”
“What exactly is going on?”
A trace of confusion rose within Li Shun’s heart.
After pondering for a long while, his consciousness ultimately retreated into the Fangcun space once more.
Within the space, he carefully revisited every detail of his earlier cultivation.
“I don’t detect any signs that my mind has been tampered with. At least for now, the secret technique passed down by Wei Wuqi seems to have no issues.”
“However…”
“Even if he truly hid some kind of trick within the technique, it wouldn’t matter!” A surge of boldness suddenly rose in Li Shun’s heart.
“After all, the one cultivating the secret art is merely the physical body of the puppet ‘Li Shun.’ If something truly goes wrong, I can simply destroy it outright.”
“Though this has been my vessel for over twenty years, and it also possesses the talent of borrowing two hundred years of lifespan. Unless absolutely necessary, I’d rather not abandon it so lightly.”
Li Shun’s gaze fell upon the puppet within the Fangcun space.
Ever since the day he had been dragged into illusion by the Heavenly Being Codex stone statue and successfully broken free, Li Shun’s mentality had gradually undergone a fundamental transformation.
“Even though I’ve lived within Li Shun’s body for twenty-seven years, that body is by no means indispensable.”
“In truth, relying on the mysteries of the Fangcun space, as long as even a fragment of my consciousness remains attached somewhere in the outside world, I can maintain a form of immortality.”
“In fact, if I can discover a method for consciousness to exist independently, then I would no longer need to rely on any puppet body at all.”
“Fangcun is my heart.”
“Fangcun exists within me, not within ‘Li Shun’ or any other puppet vessel.”
“Though Great Qian is filled with danger, there is no need for me to remain overly cautious.”
“I must test what should be tested. Otherwise, I’ll end up just like the past twenty-six years of my life, lurking in silence for half a lifetime yet gaining nothing in the end.”