Chapter 1670: Test Gold Stone at the Top of Holy Mountain, No Friends Invincible Awaits 10_3
You little brat, you've crossed the line!
You're just a mere insignificant transmitter, what qualifications do you have to ask questions?
Do you dare ask? My Feng family's nine tribes can't bear the answer from the Evil Sin Bow!
Yet, the youth, boundless in spirit, rides through the martial arts world. Feng Zhongzui was chosen to carry this Mother Mirror of the Dao Imparting Mirror and is hailed as the role model of the next generation of Feng family youth.
It is precisely because he is "blind to gods and Buddhas!"
He is unrestrained, and at this moment, setting aside the traditional family views, ignoring the distant curses and denunciations from Feng family members, he seeks an answer.
An answer that perhaps he dares not mention to Hallmaster Dao, nor even whisper to Hallmaster Xuanji, but feels hopeful might be honestly answered by Lord Ai Cangsheng.
"Lord Ai Cangsheng, from the perspective of all beings, do you think Lord Shou is right?"
Ai Cangsheng's startled gaze fell upon the young man, appraising him more highly.
This guy doesn't even fear Yue Bei Hua Rao Dao, carrying a mindset lighter than his own.
Not just him—Sacred Mountain Gui Zhe's saints, Five Domains spectators, and even Xu Xiaoshou were all caught off guard.
"It's not puppet manipulation thread."
Feng Zhongzui voluntarily explained, but it seemed more like an explanation he was compelled to give by Lord Shou.
Ai Cangsheng knew it wasn't the case.
But how could he answer?
This is an answer directed at the Five Domains!
Amid the expectant sea of gazes, his mind suddenly recalled the most adept equivocator, Dao Qiongcang, and comprehended the answer Elder Dao the Flamboyant might deliver:
"Both correct."
But Ai Cangsheng is not Dao Qiongcang.
Faced with such a courageous youngster, he refused to give a wishy-washy answer that he himself disliked.
Ai Cangsheng smiled and said, "He is right because that is what I used to believe as well, so I did not stop or interrupt his speech."
Feng Zhongzui's hands trembled with excitement. He had indeed waited for an honest answer.
The image in the Five Domains Preaching Mirror shook—not due to his trembling—but erupted with a thunderous uproar before the Mirror.
"Lord Ai Cangsheng!!!"
"Damn, he really answered?!?"
"Lord Ai Cangsheng, your talent and magnanimity are truly befitting of this Hallmaster position!"
"Ai Gou, oh Ai Gou, I feel like supporting you now—but alas, you also support my Lord Shou. Supporting you equates to supporting Lord Shou, so let me just keep supporting Lord Shou… Lord Bao, charge on!!"
Suppressing his excitement, Feng Zhongzui asked again, "That's how it was before—what about now?"
"Now, more than anyone else, I hope Xu Xiaoshou will succeed."
Feng Zhongzui stood stupefied at this unforeseen reply.
The saints in the square gasped, and the Five Domains fell silent in sudden stillness.
Ai Cangsheng's words caused a stir, though he himself was unaware. He merely sighed lightly.
"But alas, this is merely my personal view of 'right and wrong.' My answer does not represent 'all beings' and certainly does not represent 'correctness.'
"Yet if you believe Lord Shou's path is correct, and the Eighth Sword Deity is deeply embodying this path, does this suggest that the path of the Saint Servant is indeed the right one?"
Feng Zhongzui's question was posed with skill—it encapsulated the expectations of the Five Domains and the concerns of the saints in the square.
Ai Cangsheng harbors a hint of rebellion!
For a gentleman walks with frankness, and Ai Cangsheng seems to have no reservations about avoiding taboo:
"'He is right,' 'I hope he succeeds,' including my personal views toward him—all of these do not mean that the path of the Saint Servant is correct."
Ai Cangsheng paused, then rhetorically asked, "If the overarching momentum leads to this, does that make it correct?"
Feng Zhongzui was rendered speechless.
He sensed a hidden meaning in Lord Ai Cangsheng's words.
First, the Saint Servant is not the current overarching momentum of the Five Domains; it merely encapsulates the will of two individuals—the Eighth Sword Deity and the Number One Sword Deity—and those who support them.
In contrast, it seemed that Lord Ai Cangsheng might actually be referring to…the Holy Divine Palace?!
Unable to keep up with the conversation, Feng Zhongzui offered his boldest, pre-prepared question:
"Lord Ai Cangsheng, if a variable arises in the grand situation ahead, from the perspective of all beings, would it be possible for you to become Lord Shou's friend instead of his foe?"
This question caught even Xi off guard, prompting him to silently commend his younger sibling—someone even younger than himself—for his boldness.
The spectators of the Five Domains found their curiosity skyrocketing to its peak in one instant, given the earlier responses from Lord Ai Cangsheng...
If Lord Shou were to invite him, could he truly join the First Pavilion in the Sky?
Could it be that his opposition to Lord Shou was merely to draw Lord Shou's attention?
Ai Cangsheng shook his head calmly. "There's no need for you to append 'for all beings' to each sentence. An individual can never substitute for the whole of all beings. As for your question..."
He paused, extending his hand to point at the ground beneath him:
"I sit here atop Sacred Mountain Gui Zhe for over thirty years, neither saddened nor elated by external events—not because of Dao Qiongcang's invitation, but simply for my own reasons."
"I am no one's friend. Holy Divine Palace? Saint Servant? Nor anyone's enemy. Xu Xiaoshou? Yue Bei Hua Rao Dao? If I were to describe it...I am merely a self-proclaimed 'Daoist Guardian.'"
A Daoist Guardian?
Feng Zhongzui's face showed confusion, and the Five Domains appeared lost.
No one questioned further. Ai Cangsheng clearly had not finished yet. He turned towards the Dao Imparting Mirror, gazing upon all within the Spiritual Cultivation world with the Eyes of the Great Path, speaking in a muted tone:
"The Struggle for the Great Path has never had a definitive right or wrong. The victors often crush wolves, tigers, and leopards, leading to extensive flaws and harm."
"I sit here, drawing the line of right and wrong with bow and arrow, creating a test of courage at the highest point, yet what I protect is the bottom line."
"King cannot meet king… If there is someone whose ideals surpass mine, whose courage towers over mine, whose power eclipses mine, they may prove the Dao by trampling over me, and the world will cheer for them."
"Fail to surpass me, and the Evil Sin Bow will add another soul to its tally—a scene I have witnessed countless times across my thirty years."
Shifting his gaze, Ai Cangsheng locked onto Feng Zhongzui, delivering his final response to this brave youth:
"Dao Qiongcang doesn't dare proclaim his situation correct. Bazhun'an himself isn't certain it's correct. The Holy Divine Palace and the Saint Servant may wholly be wrong."
"But I am right!"
This statement, Ai Cangsheng delivered with resolute certainty.
Amid the astonished faces of all at the Sacred Mountain square, he serenely continued:
"I cannot guarantee I am absolutely correct. I have achieved relative correctness to about seventy or eighty percent—which has preserved about seventy or eighty percent of the Five Domains."
"I have sat atop this Sacred Mountain for over thirty years, waiting for the one who can reach eighty or ninety percent…or even a perfect ten."
"Someone who defeats me—will deserve a ten!"
"Ha—none yet."
With this sigh, Feng Zhongzui felt his heart hollowed out, as if stripped of something essential.
He stared at Ai Cangsheng in the wheelchair before him, finding him not so tall.
Seated on the wheelchair, positioned atop the stairs, he only barely appeared taller than Feng Zhongzui.
Rubbing his eyes and looking again.
Lord Ai Cangsheng—lofty amidst the clouds!
Feng Zhongzui carried the Dao Imparting Mirror, which transmitted Ai Cangsheng's Dao to the Five Domains. At last, Ai Cangsheng directed his gaze toward the mirror.
It seemed as though he was looking at Lord Shou.
Or perhaps he looked at all the young cultivators of the Five Domains.
"The Evil Sin Bow holds a bow but no arrows; it only releases—it does not recover."
"I only have myself—without friends, without foes… But I still hope that 'ten' appears, stepping upon me to emerge. I hope it's you, and it better be you."