The Seed Has Been Planted

Chapter 75 The Seed Has Been Planted

"Up to this point in the plan, everything is proceeding very smoothly."

Li Yuan said softly.

The sound was as soft as a sigh, dissipating into the silent night.

"The seed has been planted."

"The road ahead"

"It all depends on how you choose to go."

2

Deep in the Qinling Mountains.

Wugensheng finally stopped pacing back and forth.

He stood before the walls covered with poems and inscriptions, and took a deep breath.

He took a deep breath, very deep, all the way to the depths of his dantian, to every part of his body, to every pore that opened, to every hair that stood on end.

It was as if they wanted to inhale the air in the cave, along with the meaning of those poems and texts, into their bodies.

It was as if it wanted to absorb the aura of the cave, along with the mysterious will of heaven, into its very soul.

Those eyes shone brightly.

That light was not external light, not the light of a torch, not the light of any external object.

It is a light that springs from the heart, a fire that ignites from the depths of the soul.

The light only appears after you see the road ahead.

The light only appears after you know the direction.

It is the light that appears only after you have decided to keep going, even though it is difficult.

It is the light that appears only after one has knowingly done something impossible.

"OK."

He muttered to himself, his voice carrying a reckless air.

That kind of energy is unique to people from the martial arts world.

It's a fearless spirit, a spirit of knowing there are tigers in the mountains but still venturing into them, a spirit of never turning back even after hitting a wall.

They have this drive to force their way out.

That energy is the energy of youth.

It's the fearlessness of a newborn calf, the "Is there anything in the world that is difficult or easy?"

The spirit of "If you do it, even the difficult becomes easy" is the spirit of making something that seems impossible possible.

That energy is the energy of a seeker of the Way.

It is the spirit of "If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die content in the evening," the spirit of "Even if there are thousands of people, I will go," and the spirit of "I will not change my expression even if Mount Tai collapses before me."

"It's settled then."

"If I can't figure it out myself, then I'll find someone to figure it out with me."

"There are always like-minded people in this world."

"There are always people willing to come to this valley and ponder this so-called Golden Elixir Path together."

"I'll keep looking, I'll find it eventually."

As Wugensheng spoke, he suddenly laughed.

In that smile, there was relief, expectation, determination, and a hint of pride that even he himself couldn't quite explain.

That passion is the passion of youth.

That heroic spirit is the heroic spirit of those who live the martial arts world.

That heroic spirit is the heroic spirit of a seeker of the Way.

That heroic spirit is the spirit of a person who still stands tall when facing the vastness of the heavens.

That heroic spirit is the spirit of taking steps forward even when facing an unknown future.

That kind of boldness is the boldness of someone who, when faced with numerous difficulties, still says, "I'll take it."

"Li Yuan Dao Zi, the difficult problem you've presented to me..."

95

Wugensheng looked up at the wall covered with poems and texts, at the words and phrases he couldn't understand but was determined to understand, at the verses that held endless mysteries and secrets.

He gazed at those truths that he couldn't understand now, but would understand one day.

He gazed at those mysteries that he couldn't see now, but would one day see clearly.

He gazed at the great roads that he couldn't reach now, but would one day reach.

"I accepted it."

Two words, spoken with resounding force.

Wandering through the empty cave, again and again.

It crashed into the stone wall and then turned back.

It crashed into the sky and then fell back down.

It crashed against the walls covered with poems and inscriptions, then scattered.

It lasted for a long time.

For a long time, without ceasing.

Li Yuan sat quietly by the window, watching the faint, almost imperceptible figure disappear into the night.

The way that ray of sexual light departed was exactly the same as when it came.

It did not fly away, nor did it dissipate; rather, it was like melting snow entering water, slowly dissolving into the depths of the night.

Without a trace, without a ripple, it was as if it had always been born from the darkness of the night, and was now simply returning to its origin.

Outside the window, the night breeze grew cooler.

The chill wasn't the usual kind; it carried a hint of late autumn desolation and the quiet stillness of midnight.

The wind blew through the windowpane, carrying a barely audible sobbing sound, like some faint sigh in the world.

He withdrew his gaze, slowly stood up, and walked to the table.

The oil lamp on the table had burned out, leaving only a wisp of smoke rising.

The wisp of smoke was extremely thin and faint, almost invisible in the darkness.

But it does exist, twisting and swirling, like a soul about to dissipate.

Li Yuan reached out and gently brushed it away.

The movement was extremely light and gentle, as if it were merely brushing away a speck of dust.

But with that flick of the wrist, the wisp of smoke dissipated—not blown away, but dissolved, returning to the formless void.

It's time to go.

Li Yuan pushed open the door and walked down the stairs.

Footsteps creaked softly on the wooden stairs.

The sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet night, yet it didn't seem abrupt, as if it were an integral part of the night, something that was meant to be.

In the lobby of the inn, the innkeeper was dozing off behind the counter.

The head bobbed up and down, then suddenly jolted awake, rubbed its eyes, changed position, and went back to sleep.

An oil lamp on the counter was half-extinguished, its dim yellow light illuminating only a small area, leaving most of the space hidden in darkness.

Hearing footsteps, the shopkeeper was startled awake. He blinked his sleepy eyes repeatedly before he could make out the figure in the moon-white Taoist robe coming down the stairs.

"Sir, what brings you here so late at night...?"

His voice was still sleepy and mumbled.

"Check out."

Li Yuan placed a few silver coins on the counter.

The sound of the silver coins falling on the wooden board was extremely soft, yet extremely clear—ding, ding, ding, three times, like the dripping of a water clock at midnight.

His voice remained as gentle and peaceful as ever, like the still waters of a deep pool.

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment. He looked at the night outside the window, which was so dark that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. Then he looked at the Taoist priest in front of him who had an extraordinary demeanor.

The Taoist priest stood there, seemingly shrouded in a faint light, making him difficult to see clearly. One couldn't help but ask, "Sir, it's so dark; are you traveling alone?"

"How about... how about we wait until dawn before we leave?"

There was a hint of concern in his words, but also a hint of confusion.

Li Yuan shook his head slightly.

There was no explanation.

He simply turned around, pushed open the door of the inn, and stepped into the night.

As the door opened and closed, a gust of night wind blew in, causing the nearly extinguished oil lamp on the counter to flicker twice, almost going out.

After the shopkeeper steadied the oil lamp, he looked up again—

The figure in the moon-white Taoist robe had already disappeared into the depths of the night.

It's as if it never existed.

The shopkeeper stood behind the counter, watching the direction where the figure had disappeared, muttering to himself, "Strange person... really strange person..."

The sound echoed in the empty inn lobby, but was quickly swallowed up by the night.

The night wind swept by, carrying away his last words.

Li Yuan continued westward along the official road.

Behind me, the lights of that small town gradually faded into the distance.

Those scattered lights, like fireflies in the darkness, flickered and were eventually swallowed up by the night.

Ahead lay the vast darkness of night and the endless road stretching out before us.

He didn't use any movement techniques or escape skills; he just walked normally.

Step by step.

Each step was firm yet incredibly light.

So real that you could hear the faint sound of your feet hitting the ground, so faint that the sound was instantly swallowed by the night breeze.

He walked on, blending into the night, into the long wind, into the most natural rhythm of the world.

The Tao Te Ching says: "Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature."

His walking at this moment is this "nature".

Neither hurried nor slow, neither welcoming nor rejecting, simply walking, simply existing in harmony with heaven and earth.

This departure lasted all night.

As dawn broke on the horizon, he had already traveled over a hundred miles.

The first hint of dawn was just a thin line, like a long, narrow crack at the very edge of the sky.

Gradually, the crack grew larger and brighter, tinged with a faint crimson, then a light golden hue.

Finally, a red sun leaped from the horizon, showering the earth with its golden light.

As dawn broke, he arrived in a county town.

The county town was small, with low walls that had collapsed in many places and were simply surrounded by wooden fences.

However, due to its strategic location, there was a constant flow of merchants and travelers, and a long queue had already formed at the city gate: peddlers carrying loads, merchants driving carts, pedestrians carrying bundles, and several old men riding donkeys.

Li Yuan followed the flow of people into the city.

The city streets are narrow, lined with shops on both sides.

There were vendors selling cloth, grain, and groceries, as well as a few tea stalls and restaurants, each with a canopy and a few tables and chairs set up at the entrance. The shouts, calls for sale, and sounds of bargaining blended together, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Li Yuan found a tea stall, ordered a bowl of tea and a few vegetarian buns, and ate them quietly.

The tea stall owner, a talkative middle-aged man, poured him tea while grumbling, "Where are you going, Taoist priest?"

The voice carried a strong local accent, yet it possessed a warmth unique to the common people.

"West side."

Li Yuan's answer was brief and calm.

"West? That's a long way off!"

Upon hearing this, the boss's eyes widened, and he almost dropped the teapot in his hand.

"Go west, pass this county, and travel for another two days, and you will reach the Miao region."

"There are many mountains and dense forests over there, and the roads are difficult to travel. You must be careful, Taoist priest."

"Especially in those deep mountains and forests, I've heard there are poisonous insects and miasma, and also... something about the Miao people's Gu magic, it's really evil!"

He spoke in a low voice, looking mysterious.

Li Yuan nodded slightly in thanks.

The shopkeeper added, "Speaking of which, quite a few people have been heading west these past few days."

"Yesterday there was another group of people who didn't look like ordinary people. They were all acting mysteriously, and I don't know what they were up to."

Li Yuan paused slightly in the teacup he was holding.

The pause was so short that it was almost imperceptible.

But at that instant, there was an extremely subtle fluctuation in the Qi around him.

"What kind of person?"

The voice remained calm, but there was a subtle hint of concern.

The boss thought for a moment, then scratched his head: "His clothes are quite ordinary, but those eyes of his, tsk tsk, they're like knives."

"I felt a chill run down my spine just looking at them, so I quickly lowered my head and didn't dare to look any longer."

He gestured as he spoke.

"There were also a few carrying boxes, and I don't know what was inside them, but they were making a jingling sound."

"That sound... it sounded like metal, or maybe something else entirely..."

""

Li Yuan didn't ask any more questions.

He put down his teacup, paid the bill, and continued on his way.

For the next two days, he continued walking at a leisurely pace.

I walked through the county town, through the small town, and through one village after another.

Some of those villages are built at the foot of the mountains, some are hidden in the woods, and some are scattered in the fields.

Everywhere he went, he saw people who worked at sunrise and rested at sunset: farmers carrying hoes to the fields, shepherds herding cattle and sheep back to their pens, women drying grain in their yards, and children playing at the village entrance.

I've met all sorts of people on the road—

Farmers going to the market, peddlers carrying loads, itinerant performers, and several groups of strange people with distinct auras.

Most people would glance at him a few more times when they passed by.

The figure in the moon-white Taoist robe, with that extraordinary and refined demeanor, made one want to take a second look.

But I only glanced at it a few times.

Because the next moment, they will "forget" his existence.

This is what is meant by "blending with the world".

The Tao Te Ching says, "To blend one's light with one's dust is called profound unity."

That is an extremely profound realm—

It's not about becoming invisible or disappearing, but about blending yourself into everything around you, becoming the most ordinary and inconspicuous existence.

Like a speck of dust in the sunlight, like a drop of water in a stream, it exists, yet it is not.

He will be seen when he needs to be seen.

When he doesn't want to be disturbed, he blends in with all things.

Two days later.

Li Yuan arrived at a train station.

This is an important hub connecting eastern Sichuan to the three northeastern provinces. The platform is bustling with people coming and going.

Porters carrying large and small bags weaved through the crowd, calling out "Make way, make way" as they went.

The vendors were shouting their wares at the top of their lungs, selling tea eggs, sesame cakes, peanuts, and melon seeds, each one louder than the last.

The children weaved through the crowd, chasing and playing, eliciting bursts of laughter and playful banter.

The roar of the steam train came from afar, making the ground beneath our feet tremble slightly.

The huge black locomotive, pulling a long green carriage, slowly drove into the platform, puffing out large plumes of white smoke that enveloped the entire platform in a fog.

Li Yuan stood on the platform, his gaze sweeping over the long train.

In those days, the green-skinned train was the primary means of long-distance travel.

The green carriage gleamed dimly in the sunlight, and a layer of dust covered the windows, obscuring the view inside.

The iron chains connecting the carriages clanged and rattled as the train swayed.

He bought a ticket to the three northeastern provinces and boarded the train with the flow of people.

The carriage was crowded, and almost all the seats were occupied.

People were also standing in the aisle, some leaning against the back of chairs, others sitting on their luggage, making the already narrow aisle completely blocked.

The air was filled with a mixture of smells: tobacco, sweat, food, and the distinctive coal smoke of a train.

Li Yuan found his seat, a hard seat by the window.

He squeezed through the crowd and sat down in his seat.

The seats were old-fashioned hard wooden boards, which were uncomfortable to sit on.

But none of that mattered to him.

After he sat down, he closed his eyes and quietly waited for the train to start.