Mistakes are extremely commonplace occurrences.
If a gentleman inadvertently makes a small mistake, it is not only not a bad thing but also an opportunity to cultivate virtue.
For only by making mistakes can one recognize their errors, reflect on them, and thus sharpen oneself.
Shen Xingzhu once heard a teacher at Freedom Mountain say:
"Rejoice upon hearing of mistakes, acknowledge them without concealment, and correct them without hesitation—that is the way of a gentleman."
But at this very moment, for Shen Xingzhu herself, there is no doubt she has made a colossal mistake that sullies her Dao Heart and is nearly irreparable.
She should not have acted.
Shen Xingzhu thought she was clearly very calm, feeling that her thoughts and consciousness remained unwavering, her Primordial Spirit high above her Sea of Consciousness, like Guanyin gazing at all beings, clear and discerning, under no circumstances should she have acted impetuously.
However...
Shen Xingzhu's gaze moved along the sword blade.
Her hand holding the sword was trembling.
The tremor was so slight as to be nearly undetectable, yet it was an undeniable objective fact.
She was still too young...
Even as the contemporary Daoist of the Mystic God Daoist Sect, reaching the pinnacle of the Grandmaster Realm at just twenty-two years old, half a step into the Upper Three Grades, unmatched and dominant among her peers.
She was destined to attain sainthood with a flawless body and lead the Mystic God Daoist Sect, her eyes free of any speck, her heart without distraction.
Nothing in the world was supposed to be her shackle.
Yet when that once invincible facade, that illusion that no one could see through, was pierced, she could not restrain her emotions.
Anger, even a murderous intent.
Especially when the one who pierced that illusion was not her master, who had, with one sword, cut through three hundred years and destroyed the Daqi Dynasty, nor was it a prodigy she had befriended in the past.
It was actually a cultivator at the Enlightenment Realm, hardly different from an ordinary person!
Even more so, this person was now a prisoner in shackles, unable to save himself!
She was an eternal star in the sky, a candle illuminating the world, vastly different from such a despicable person, a disgrace to her.
Shen Xingzhu could not bear being exposed by such a person, all coverings torn away with just a glance.
The darkest side she was most proud of yet ashamed of was grasped in this person's hand as leverage.
How could this be allowed?
The opportunity to silence him was only once.
He was trying to blackmail me, a vile character, unworthy of pity in death.
The battle outside the city was delayed seven days because of him, bringing disaster to all, all due to his selfish desire to live.
He is a cultivator, yet those who died because of him were mortals, a betrayal of the higher over the lower, deserving of death.
She could have temporarily deceived her Dao Heart, effortlessly erasing her only blemish.
But unfortunately, Chen Kuang evaded that sword.
So...
She made a mistake, a colossal mistake.
The nascent Dao Heart that stood so high was covered in a thin layer of dust the moment Chen Kuang uttered that sentence.
The Sea of Consciousness surged with turbulence, crashing against the jade-like Primordial Spirit in the Sea of Consciousness, "crack," breaking a fissure open.
The white jade shattered, no longer flawless!
No killing, no saving, no hearing, no advising, with Dao encourage, without Dao kill.
She broke all four of these.
She had already destroyed her Dao.
Chen Kuang watched as the once composed, ice-cold woman in black before him, indifferent to the sky falling, had her gaze ripple intensely, her hand holding the sword beginning to tremble.
Her slender, jade fingers, balanced shoulders, and then her graceful, slender figure.
To the extent that the ever-blurred layer of blue veil on her face was about to tremble and fall, vaguely revealing the outline of that absolutely beautiful, cold face.
If Chen Kuang were to describe this scene, perhaps he would be more precise—
She broke down.
Chen Kuang's smile was brilliant as he placed a hand on the sword stabbed into his body, feeling the pain echoing through his chest with his silent laughter.
From the moment Shen Xingzhu made her move, he knew in his heart, it was secure.
He had gambled and won!
Indeed, Chen Kuang did it deliberately.
All his words just now were not about reasoning, rather deliberately repeatedly mentioning "I am going to reveal your true face to the world," magnifying the risk of this matter to provoke Shen Xingzhu.
In the experience imparted by Huo Hengxuan, it was mentioned that the "Dao" was not an illusionary concept, but the key to attaining sainthood.
Only by cultivating the Sea of Consciousness and its state of mind, consolidating the Dao Heart, unifying knowledge and action, and earning the recognition of this world, can one attest to the mysterious "Dao."
This is the threshold of the Upper Three Grades, the Profound Profound Realm.
Upon realizing Shen Xingzhu had lied, Chen Kuang understood that he had this one and only opportunity to try and manipulate Shen Xingzhu.
She used the Dao as bait to fish all beings.
And Chen Kuang used himself as bait to entice her into the urn.
Of course, he wasn't recklessly risking his life, he gambled on the "sudden impulse," a passive ability to save him at critical moments.
Relying on his abnormal recovery ability, giving him a high probability of survival.
The victor of this match is decided by but one sword.
"Cough, cough... Fairy Shen, can you pull out the sword now?"
Chen Kuang lightly chuckled, feeling his mouth already filled with blood, along with a breathless feeling of leaking air.
This feeling was something he was quite familiar with.
He estimated that this sword had perforated his lung.
Before his death in his previous life, he survived for ten minutes with this very feeling, cooking himself a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
The shadow of death was naturally there, but at this moment, the joy brought by a turning point was stronger.
Although the process deviated somewhat, fortunately, the result wasn't bad.
Even better than expected.
There was no longer any need for incitement and discord, he had now become an insurmountable obstacle on the path to Fairy's Dao enlightenment ahead of him.
If she could not have Chen Kuang affirm her Dao sincerely from the heart, or find a way to deceive her Dao Heart again.
Then she would have no further hope of achieving Dao realization and sainthood in her lifetime.
Because her mismatched words and deeds, and this world no longer recognized her Dao.
In other words, no matter what, until the Dao Heart is repaired, Shen Xingzhu must ensure his survival!
For a long moment.
Shen Xingzhu took a deep breath, finally stopped trembling, and fixed her beautiful eyes on Chen Kuang.
Holding the sword, she slowly pulled it out bit by bit.
Blatant torment.
Chen Kuang almost burst out laughing.
This precisely proved that his idea was correct; this grand candle was already at her wits' end with him.
Shen Xingzhu pulled out the sword, silent.
Chen Kuang clutched his wound, spat out a mouthful of blood, pale-faced, and deliberately said:
"Fairy Shen, with your compassion, wanting to save all beings, why not save me?"
He blinked his eyes:
"Nothing else matters, but this wound, it was your own hand with the sword that hurt me..."
He was also inching forward, initially addressing her as Immortal Master, and seeing that Shen Xingzhu did not object, assuming she had no objection, switched to using the more flippant term 'Fairy.'
"..."
Shen Xingzhu closed her eyes, feeling her dust-covered Dao Heart silent as death, and the extent of her fractured Primordial Spirit enlarging.
She suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze icy and chilling, no longer a gentle compassion.
With a light wave of her hand.
The wounds on Chen Kuang's body healed in an instant, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
He was still a bit afraid that Shen Xingzhu would realize his peculiar constitution.
Upon looking up again, Shen Xingzhu had already flashed to the cell door, her back as cold and graceful as when she had arrived, ready to open the door and leave.
Chen Kuang touched the ancient zither on his knee, and leisurely said:
"Li Hongling once said, when seven days are up, whether or not I give her what she wants, I will die."
Shen Xingzhu opened the door to leave.
The candlelight in the cell reignited.
In the moment where darkness and light intersected, an ancient piece of jade appeared in front of Chen Kuang.
At the moment he picked it up, a message appeared in his mind.
—"Other Mountain Divine Jade."
Chen Kuang lifted his head to look at the narrow window, the starlight dim, nearly on the verge of falling.
The turning point had arrived, how much longer could this cage hold him?