The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 236 On the Possibility of Wang Chongyang Being a Quanxing

So after all that, it turns out that Wang Chongyang, the Central Divine who never appeared in The Return of the Condor Heroes but was universally recognized as the greatest in the world, was actually a deeply hidden member of the Quanxing sect.
Wu Chengyu thought his idea was very bold, but he quickly dismissed it, which only meant that Wang Chongyang's martial arts version of the Innate Skill was derived from the original Innate Skill, which was essentially the Quanxing Daojing.

Wang Chongyang's personality was quite different from the Quanxing sect's requirements for cultivating life and nature.

There are also the doctrines of the Quanzhen School, which, although containing some of the doctrines of the Quanxing School, are fundamentally different.

On the other hand, which Taoist sect in the world doesn't have the doctrine of complete self-cultivation in its scriptures? They're just all generalized and simplified.

Wang Chongyang's Quanzhen School of Taoism is the true practice of purity and non-action, and the true practice of helping the world and benefiting people. He and his disciples have always practiced this in their own way, and this cannot be faked.

Later, he incorporated Buddhist and Confucian doctrines, pushing the Quanzhen School of Taoism to a new level. Wu Chengyu read through all of Wang Chongyang's works during this period, so there's no doubt about it.

There is absolutely no connection between Wang Chongyang and Quanxing in the doctrines.

Furthermore, Wang Chongyang's attitude towards relationships shows that he was not entirely devoid of humanity.

Where there is emotion, there is desire. All six desires must be properly fulfilled, including emotional desire. Moreover, people of the Quanxing sect place great importance on emotional desire.

Yang Zhu left behind fragmentary writings containing discussions about desire.

Humans are born with greed and desire; desire has emotions, and emotions have limits.

'The difference between sages and ordinary people lies in their understanding of human nature.'

"If one's emotions arise from the pursuit of nobility, then one has grasped the essence; if one's emotions do not arise from the pursuit of nobility, then one has lost the essence. These two are the foundation of life, death, survival, and destruction."

This statement means that humans are born with desires, and these desires can be controlled. However, this does not mean that desires are wrong; they are something that humans must possess.

The reason why those saints are saints is that they did not abandon their desires, but rather treated their innate desires as part of themselves and actively faced them instead of severing them. In doing so, they would lose their true selves, and a person without desires would no longer be human.

Looking at Wang Chongyang's attitude towards Lin Chaoying, we can see that he spent his whole life trying to sever his emotional ties and desires. Even though he struggled with this for a lifetime and acted coyly, he ultimately did not marry Lin Chaoying, causing both of them to regret it for the rest of their lives.

If Wang Chongyang were truly a hidden Quanxing (a sect of martial arts practitioners) who followed the Quanxing doctrine, he would never have treated Lin Chaoying this way.

Quanxing wouldn't resist lust, so he shouldn't have any psychological barriers to marrying Lin Chaoying. What if they had a secret marriage? With Wang Chongyang and Lin Chaoying's abilities, it would be very difficult for outsiders to find out.

Thinking about this, Wu Chengyu suddenly realized that the real reason why Wang Chongyang, who clearly cultivated Taoist divine skills, died so young might also be because of this.

It is certain that Taoist deities can prolong life. Some people previously speculated that Wang Chongyang's early death was due to serious injuries sustained in battle when he was young, which damaged his foundation, or that his innate qi was insufficient, and that his improper practice of innate qi cultivation led to qi deviation and demonic possession.

Now Wu Chengyu has a new guess: the innate skill that Wang Chongyang comprehended from the Quanxing Daojing must be derived from Quanxing, which requires that all six desires be properly satisfied. This is the most basic requirement for Quanxing to cultivate one's nature and life.

Therefore, it was wrong of him to deliberately maintain his virginity when he first comprehended the cultivation technique, and it was a huge mistake for him to abstain from all emotions and desires for the rest of his life.

The Innate Skill was Wang Chongyang's fundamental skill, from which his life and cultivation originated.

However, his personality and actions, as well as his strong restraint over his desires, fundamentally clashed with the true meaning of the Innate Skill. This was the real reason why Wang Chongyang died so young. Thinking of this, Wu Chengyu vaguely felt that he had grasped the truth, because he also practiced the Nameless Divine Skill of Quanxing, which, like Wang Chongyang's martial arts version of the Innate Skill, was a different version guided by the same theory.

His intuition told him that if he were to sever all desires for the rest of his life like Wang Chongyang, his final fate would inevitably be the same.

Others may not agree with Wu Chengyu's conjecture, but Wu Chengyu firmly believes that he has found the right direction.

Like the teachings of Quanxing, valuing life and cherishing oneself means focusing on one's own life and feelings, taking oneself as the most valuable thing, and enjoying the desires that life should have. These desires can be restrained but never resisted. This is the most correct path to cultivate Quanxing Gongfa.

Therefore, Wang Chongyang's ending means telling Wu Chengyu which path is wrong and a dead end, reminding Wu Chengyu that he must never take the same path.

Having understood all this, Wu Chengyu finally had a relatively clear direction for his path. The next step was to remove his extraneous attachments, which was not easy, but he was confident of making a breakthrough.

For the next three days, Wu Chengyu did not go anywhere. He stayed in his guest room, slowly studying the original version of the Innate Skill and verifying it against his improved version of the Quanxing Nameless Divine Skill.

Previously, he had only opened the hidden meridians in the heart and liver, and made no further progress. But after he understood the true meaning of the Quanxing Divine Skill, the hidden meridian in his spleen was immediately opened, and the Quanxing Nameless Divine Skill finally took another step forward.

Perhaps the nameless divine skill of Quanxing he practiced was the true innate skill.

Just as Wu Chengyu was preparing to make persistent efforts, a young Taoist boy suddenly came to announce that Qiu Chuji had invited him.

"Old Qiu is back?" Wu Chengyu asked, somewhat surprised.

In fact, when the Seven Masters of Quanzhen took turns discussing Taoism with Wu Chengyu, Wu Chengyu discovered that the Seven Masters of Quanzhen did not all stay at Chongyang Palace during that period.

The day after he arrived, Ma Yu and Sun Bu'er went down the mountain. After that, the others went down the mountain one after another. Those who stayed on the mountain discussed Taoism with Wu Chengyu, or like Ma Yu and Sun Bu'er, they only appeared in front of Wu Chengyu after returning to the mountain.

For example, Qiu Chuji went down the mountain once after discussing Taoism with Wu Chengyu. When he returned, it happened to be the time when Wu Chengyu brought him roasted sparrows. After eating the sparrows, he went down the mountain again the next day and did not return for several days.

Of course, Wu Chengyu was tired of discussing Daoist principles with them and didn't really want to see them, so he never took the initiative to look for them. In short, he just stayed in Chongyang Palace and wouldn't leave.

But this time when Qiu Chuji returned, he asked Wu Chengyu to see him again, and in a rather formal manner, which surprised Wu Chengyu. This old Taoist priest was not particular about formalities; in the past, he was the one who should have come to see him.

When Wu Chengyu arrived at Qiu Chuji's residence, Qiu Chuji's appearance immediately made him understand why Wu Chengyu had been asked to come by himself.

The old Taoist priest was injured. Qiu Chuji's face was frighteningly pale, and he had many bandaged wounds on his body. Every breath he took carried the smell of blood, which permeated the entire quiet room.

Wu Chengyu immediately reached out to take the old Taoist's pulse and quickly discovered that Qiu Chuji's wounds were secondary; his internal injuries were extremely severe, with even his internal organs shifting. It was fortunate that he had survived such injuries, and Qiu Chuji would need at least a year to recover.

"How did things get to this point? There aren't many people in the world who could hurt you like this."

Qiu Chuji wanted to speak, but coughed up blood first. He slowly regulated his breathing for a while before speaking.

"The Jin Kingdom sent spies to infiltrate our Quanzhen Sect with the intention of overthrowing its foundation. My fellow disciples and I went down the mountain to investigate this matter. Our sect leader kept telling us to be patient, but I just couldn't hold back."

(End of this chapter)