Under One Person: I Have a Billion Taoist Gods Within Me

Chapter 61 Zhang Sanfeng: No one understands Wugensheng better than me

As the sun rises higher, the morning light turns bright.

The official road gradually became more crowded with peddlers carrying loads on their shoulders, traveling merchants, farmers carrying bundles to visit relatives, and occasionally a donkey cart or two slowly passing by.

When people walked past Li Yuan, they would always unconsciously slow down and take a few more glances.

There was curiosity, awe, and an indescribable sense of bewilderment in that light.

It was as if what I saw was not an ordinary Taoist priest, but something that should not have appeared in this mortal world.

But when they saw the disheveled, messy-haired young man behind Li Yuan, their gazes turned to confusion.

One is pure and the other is vulgar; one is spotless and the other is covered in mud. Walking together, they are too conspicuous.

Wugensheng didn't care.

He talked nonstop the whole way.

"Daozi, why do people in this world always seem to be in such a hurry?"

He looked at the hurried pedestrians, his eyes full of curiosity.

Li Yuan continued walking, saying calmly, "Each has their own reasons."

Wugensheng scratched his head: "But when I look at them, it seems like none of them know why they're in such a hurry."

"It's just getting anxious along with everyone else."

"If the people in front walk fast, the people behind will follow suit."

"But when asked where they were in such a hurry to go, they couldn't tell."

As Wugensheng spoke, he suddenly laughed: "I used to be like that too."

"The old man said to me, 'You kid, what are you running around for all day?' I said, 'I don't know, I just feel like I should run.'"

"Later, after running more, I gradually realized that running is not the goal, but where I am going is."

Li Yuan glanced at him sideways: "So now, do you know where you're going to run off to?"

Wugensheng thought for a moment and said seriously, "I know a little."

"Not a specific place, but a..."

He paused, as if searching for the right words: "It's that feeling."

"Just like following you today, I feel that this is the right path."

"Even though I don't know what's ahead, I'll just keep going."

Li Yuan nodded slightly: "It's already commendable that you can understand this."

Wugensheng grinned and scratched his head again.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something: "Daozi, what do you say happens if someone goes down the wrong path?"

Li Yuan said, "Turn around."

Wugensheng was taken aback: "It's that simple?"

Li Yuan said, "It's simple, but it's not simple either."

"Looking back, we need to admit that we've gone astray."

"Admitting it takes more courage than continuing on."

Wugensheng seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly said, "I've also taken the wrong path before."

Li Yuan didn't speak, but listened quietly.

Wugensheng continued, "When I first came out, I didn't know anything. I would run to any place where there was a master."

"Once, I heard someone say that there was an old immortal in the deep mountains who could teach people how to live forever, so I went in alone."

"After walking for three days and three nights, we ran out of food and water, and our legs were too tired to walk anymore. Only then did we realize that it was all a lie."

"At that time, I was wondering whether to keep going in and take a gamble, or turn back?"

"Later I thought, if I went in, I might die; if I turned back, at least I could live."

"I turned back."

"After walking for two days, I almost starved to death on the way, but was saved by an old woodcutter."

As Wugensheng spoke, he grinned, a smile devoid of any lingering fear, only a sense of composure: "From then on, I knew that if I went down the wrong path, I had to turn back."

"It's not shameful to turn back; what's shameful is knowing you're wrong but still stubbornly continuing down that path."

Li Yuan looked at him, a hint of approval flashing in his gentle eyes.

"You understood this earlier than many others."

Wugensheng scratched his head and laughed, "That's because I suffered a lot of losses."

"You'll understand once you've suffered enough losses."

The two continued on their way.

The scenery along the official road changed subtly and imperceptibly.

Farmland gradually thins out, vegetation grows thicker, and the distant, undulating mountain shadows begin to appear faintly.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, and also with the unique solitude of the mountains and fields.

Wugensheng stayed by Liyuan's side, talking non-stop the whole way.

From the embarrassing incident of stealing Master Feng's wine as a child and being chased and beaten, to the various strange people and events he encountered while traveling all over the country;

From the shock of those extraordinary people displaying their abilities to the confusion of secretly trying to imitate them but never quite getting the hang of it.

Li Yuan mostly just listened, occasionally nodding slightly, with a hint of interest in his eyes that was hard for others to detect.

Wugensheng didn't care whether he responded or not, as if it was enough to have someone listening beside him.

We walked for a while longer.

The terrain ahead gradually rises, and the official road splits into two at this point.

One road continues forward, its surface smooth and wide, clearly a major thoroughfare frequently used by merchants.

Looking along this road, the outline of a town can be vaguely seen in the distance, with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys and the population gradually increasing.

The other road branches off diagonally to the northwest, becoming much narrower and more overgrown, with wild grass peeking out from the cracks in the rocks, clearly indicating that few people travel there.

The road wound its way into the distance, eventually disappearing into the rolling mountains—

Qinling.

Li Yuan paused slightly at the fork in the road.

His moon-white Taoist robe fluttered gently in the wind. He raised his eyes to look at the two roads that stretched in different directions, his gaze calm and serene.

Wugensheng also stopped, looked at the wide official road on the left, then at the wild path leading into the deep mountains on the right, and scratched his head: "Daozi, which way should we go?"

Li Yuan did not answer immediately.

He simply gazed quietly at the wild path leading to the Qinling Mountains, at the winding road into the mountains, and at the heavy mountain shadows hidden deep in the clouds and mist.

Inside the interior, deep within the Daluo Palace.

On the shrine of Zhuge Liang, the illusory figure with a feather fan and silk turban seemed to move slightly once more.

Those eyes, which seem to have seen through the ages, also seem to be gazing in the same direction.

Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Wu Gensheng.

In those gentle eyes, there was now a deeper meaning that was hard for others to detect.

"This is the path I must take."

He slightly raised his head, pointing to the road leading to the plains and the densely populated areas.

Wugensheng looked in that direction and nodded: "Then, Daozi, if you take this path, I'll follow."

Li Yuan shook his head slightly.

"You One"

His gaze fell on Wugensheng, his eyes still gentle, yet seemingly able to penetrate the heart: "The path you must take is that one."

He pointed to another path—the one leading to the Qinling Mountains, and to the Twenty-Four Sections of the Heavenly Valley created by the True Man Ziyang.

Wugensheng was stunned.

He looked at the road, then at Li Yuan, scratched his head, and said, "Daozi... are you trying to send me away?"

Li Yuan shook his head slightly: "It's not about rushing."

"Yes."

Wugensheng was puzzled: "Divide? Divide what?"

Li Yuan did not answer directly, but instead looked up at the mountain road leading to the Qinling Mountains.

There, clouds and mist surged, mountains rose majestically, and deep valleys and steep cliffs were faintly visible.

That road leads to a place you should be going right now.

"The answers you need are there."

Wugensheng's eyes lit up: "What answer?"

Li Yuan looked at him, his gaze carrying a hint of mystery: "You'll know when you get there."

Wugensheng was stunned.

After a long pause, he suddenly asked, "Daozi, is that place you mentioned far away?"

Li Yuan said, "It's very far."

"Moreover, it is a secluded and hidden place, difficult for ordinary people to detect."

"but--"

His gaze fell on Wugensheng's bright eyes: "You can find it."

Wugensheng felt a strange sense of certainty upon being looked at by that gaze.

He scratched his head, looked at the mountain road leading to the Qinling Mountains, and then at Li Yuan, seemingly still hesitant.

Looking at him like this, Li Yuan suddenly spoke up: "You just said that you wanted to become someone who could help others."

Wugensheng nodded.

"Then first, make yourself a capable person."

Wugensheng was taken aback.

Li Yuan continued, "Now, you have the will, but not the power."

"To help others, you must first have the strength."

"If you want to go somewhere, you first need a road."

To understand this, you must first—

"See."

Wugensheng chewed on this word.

see.

What are you looking for?

See that place?

To see what one is meant to see?

He suddenly understood.

I understand why this Daozi wanted him to go by himself.

I understand what this Daozi meant when he said, "Some roads can only be walked alone."

He took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Li Yuan.

"Feng Yao has remembered Daozi's words."

"I'll go that way."

Li Yuan nodded slightly.

Wugensheng straightened up and turned to walk towards the mountain path.

After taking two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Michiko..."

He scratched his head, seemingly a little embarrassed, but still asked, "Can we...see each other again?"

Li Yuan looked at Wu Gensheng, and a very faint smile appeared in his gentle eyes.

That smile was as faint as a distant mountain, yet it seemed capable of melting away the barriers of thousands of mountains and rivers.

"If we are destined to meet, we will meet again."

Wugensheng nodded vigorously.

He turned around and took his first step toward the road leading to the Qinling Mountains.

Then he stopped.

Because behind them, Li Yuan's voice rang out again.

"Feng Yao".

Wugensheng turned around and looked at the figure in the moon-white Taoist robe.

Li Yuan stood in the middle of the fork in the road, the mountain wind fluttering his clothes, making him look like an immortal who might ride the wind away at any moment.

He looked at Wugensheng and slowly said, "Although our journey together is short, our meeting is fate."

"For the sake of our connection today, before we part, I, this humble Taoist priest, will give you two poems as a final gift."

"A rootless tree, its flowers in full bloom, who would relinquish their greed for glory and wealth?"

Life is like a boat adrift on a sea of suffering, tossed about and never free.

"Boundless and shoreless, it is difficult to moor; it often swims in dangerous places where fish and dragons roam."

"Look back and you'll find the shore; don't wait until the storm wrecks your boat."

Wugensheng was stunned again.

He stood there, motionless, letting the verses sink into his heart and stir up ripples.

Rootless tree...

His name appears in this poem.

No, not his name—

His name was Feng Yao, and "Wugensheng" was the pseudonym he gave himself, simply because he did not know where he came from or where he was going, like a rootless duckweed, drifting in the world.

And this poem seems to have been written for him.

But he had never mentioned the name Wugensheng to anyone.

However, Li Yuan Dao Zi actually...

Before Wugensheng could continue thinking about it...

Li Yuan's voice continued to ring out.

"A tree without roots, flowers without blossoms, formless and shapeless, difficult to depict."

"Nameless, yet called out, they were captured and thrown into the furnace of creation."

"Activate the Samadhi Fire of the Heavenly Cycle, forge the void and return to the Great Nothingness."

"Only by paying homage to the Heavenly Capital and receiving the Heavenly Mandate can one be considered a true man."

The last sentence fell.

Wugensheng remained completely still, as if frozen in place.

Those bright eyes were now churning with turbulent emotions.

Formless and shapeless...nameless and without surname...

But then I heard a cry...

He recalled the countless times he had asked himself in the dead of night: Who are you? Where do you come from? What is your name?

He had no answer.

All he knew was that the old Taoist priest named him "Feng Yao".

He himself called himself "Wugensheng" (meaning "rootless").

But these are all just titles given to us by others, titles we gave ourselves.

He never knew his true "name".

And at this moment, Li Yuan Dao Zi's poem revealed all of this—

Formless and shapeless, nameless and surnameless, yet its call is heard.

It's as if it's saying: You may not know who you are, but when you hear someone calling you, you know that they are calling you.

You may have no roots, but you exist.

Though you are formless and nameless, you are here.

Wugensheng stood there, staring blankly at Liyuan.

Something was subtly stirring in those eyes.

It was a profound and deep feeling that he had never experienced before.

Li Yuan watched him quietly.

Those gentle eyes seemed to reflect the eternal night, yet also seemed to contain boundless compassion.

"This poem"

He spoke, his voice still as calm as ever: "It was written by the sage Zhang Sanfeng."

"Name—"

"A tree without roots."

Wugensheng trembled all over.

A rootless tree.

He named himself "Wugensheng" because he felt like a rootless duckweed, drifting aimlessly in the world.

At this moment, the poem that Riyuu Michiko gave him not only shared the same name as him, but also fully expressed the deepest confusion and longing in his heart.

"Michiko..."

He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, but he couldn't utter a word.

Li Yuan shook his head slightly: "No need to say."

"You just need to remember..."

He paused, his gentle eyes looking directly at Wugensheng: "Those without roots may not necessarily have nowhere to go."

"Your journey to that valley today marks the beginning of your search for your roots."

"As for how much you can find and how far you can go, it's all up to you."

Wugensheng took a deep breath.

He bowed deeply to Li Yuan once again.

This time, he didn't straighten up for a long time.

Li Yuan stood quietly and accepted his bow.

a long time.

Wugensheng straightened up and looked at Liyuan.

In those bright eyes, there was no confusion at that moment, only one thing—

It was as if they had finally found their direction with unwavering determination.

"Feng Yao will keep Daozi's words in mind."

"Go into the valley, whether you find something or not—"

"Feng Yao will never forget that today, I was here, and I had the pleasure of meeting Daozi and hearing this poem."

Li Yuan nodded slightly.

He didn't say anything more.

Wugensheng gave him a deep look, then turned away.

I strode towards the road leading to the Qinling Mountains.

His coarse cloth clothes fluttered in the wind.

Her messy hair was blown even more tangled by the wind.

But his steps were more resolute than any of the steps he had taken on his way here.

Li Yuan turned around.

His moon-white Taoist robe fluttered gently in the wind, and his steps remained calm and unhurried, as if the pause and farewell just now were nothing more than the most ordinary stop on a long journey.

However, if someone with sufficiently profound spiritual cultivation were present and observed closely, they would perceive something rippling slowly in the depths of those gentle eyes.

It's not a sigh, nor is it a sense of loss.

Instead, it was immediately clear.

Inside, the Daluo Palace stands eternally.

All the gods are in their proper places, and each is protected by them.

On the divine tablet of Ancestral Master Zhang Daoling, the vast and majestic light flickered slightly, as if sensing something.

On the divine tablet of Zhuge Liang, the phantom of the man with the feather fan and silk turban slowly raised his eyes, his eyes, which had seen through the ages, looking into the depths of the Great Luo Palace, towards the slowly flowing thread of cause and effect.

On the divine tablet of Guan Sheng Di Jun, the crimson-gold light suddenly blazed, as if a thousand years of loyalty and righteousness had been gently touched at this moment.

And deep within that moon-like radiance, an extremely fine thread of cause and effect was quietly emerging from nothingness.

One end of that line was where Li Yuan had just been standing.

One end of the line was tied to this fork in the road.

The other end points into the depths of the Qinling Mountains.

Pointing to that grand scheme of heaven and earth laid out by the Purple Sun Immortal Zhang Boduan with his life's work—

The Twenty-Four Heavenly Valleys!

Li Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

The mind sinks into the inner landscape, merging with that radiant light.

And so, he "saw" it.

I saw that line of cause and effect winding upwards along the mountain path that Wugensheng had walked.

Countless tiny, almost imperceptible points of light were now entwined around that line—

Those are the karma that Wugensheng carries, the mystery of his unknown origins, his innate spirituality and confusion, and every person and event he has encountered during his twenty years of traveling around the country.

Those points of light were originally scattered and disorderly, drifting like duckweed.

But at this moment, they are following that line, slowly converging towards the depths of the Qinling Mountains and towards that valley.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

In those gentle eyes, there was now a glimmer of light that was hard for others to detect.

He knew that once this thread was tied, it would be difficult to untie.

But he knew even more that this thread had to be tied.

because-

That's placing a piece.

From the moment he descended the mountain, he used the mortal world as a chessboard and cause and effect as the warp and weft, gently placing one piece after another into its proper place.

Zhou Sheng is a pawn.

Xia Liuqing is a pawn.

Wang Ai is a pawn.

Lu Jin, Zhang Zhiwei, Lü Ren, Lü Ci, Feng Ping, Qin Muting—those young faces who had met him briefly at the Lu family's birthday banquet and received a few words of advice from him were all pawns.

Liang Ting was merely a pawn.

Every piece has its designated place.

Every piece has its purpose.

The disheveled young man who had chased him halfway and asked a bunch of "stupid questions" was Feng Yao, also known as Wugensheng.

They are both chess pieces.

It is even more important and crucial than the previous ones, a key move that can affect the whole situation.

Li Yuan kept walking, but his heart was as clear as a mirror, reflecting everything.

He recalled Wugensheng's eyes from earlier.

Those eyes were incredibly bright.

That was not the divine light inherent in those with profound cultivation, but something more authentic and pure—an innate spirituality, a vitality that cannot be extinguished by anything, a light that still burns brightly even in the most wretched and desperate moments.

He had seen a bit of those eyes when he first met Lu Jin in the back mountains of the Daluo Palace.

I first met Zhang Zhiwei at Chengxin Water Pavilion, and I had seen much more.

But Wugensheng's eyes were different from theirs.

In Lu Jin's eyes was the awe and curiosity of a young person glimpsing the Great Dao for the first time.

In Zhang Zhiwei's eyes lies the composure and sharpness of a genius looking down upon all living beings.

In Wugensheng's eyes, there is only "nothingness".

It is a pure blank that has not yet been filled with anything.

It is precisely because of emptiness that everything can be contained.

It is precisely because it has no roots that it can grow the deepest roots.

The last few lines of that poem came to mind: "Activate the Samadhi Fire of the Heavenly Cycle, forge the void and return to the Great Nothingness."

"Only by paying homage to the Heavenly Capital and receiving the Heavenly Mandate can one be considered a true man."

The Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley was originally a Taoist temple set up by the Purple Sun Immortal Zhang Boduan for seekers of the Tao.

Those who enter the valley and can decipher its mysteries can sense the pivot of heaven and earth, glimpse the source of life, and even comprehend the extraordinary techniques that can change the world.

Wugensheng, who should have only crossed paths with that valley many years later, is now following the direction pointed out by Li Yuan, step by step, heading towards the source of destiny.

This was the most crucial move Li Yuan made.

Let Wugensheng enter the valley ahead of time.

To be exposed to principles that one would otherwise only encounter many years later.

in advance-

To become a true "rootless being".

Li Yuan raised his eyes and looked into the distance.

There, the shadows of the Qinling Mountains stretch endlessly, hidden in the afternoon mist.

He could almost see the ragged young man climbing the mountain path step by step.

Those bright eyes should be filled with determination at this moment.

The question that has been echoing in my mind should now have a vague direction.

Li Yuan withdrew his gaze.

There was no pride, no expectation, no superfluous emotion in those gentle eyes.

There is only one—

Like the moment of silence after a chess player places a crucial piece.

What kind of roots will this chess piece grow, what kind of flowers will it bloom, and what kind of fruit will it bear?

he does not know.

There's no need to know.

Because the person making the move only needs to make the move.

As for how the seed takes root, sprouts, and grows into a towering tree after it falls—

That's the pawn's own business.

It's also a matter of fate.

Li Yuan continued onward.

The moon-white Taoist robe fluttered gently in the wind.

His steps remained calm and unhurried, as if the move that had just affected the entire game was merely a routine pause in a long journey.

But he knew—

From this moment on, the game of chess is different.

Another line of defense has been added before that impending catastrophe.

Among those countless lives about to end, a glimmer of hope has emerged.

On that chessboard where cause and effect are intertwined, another crucial point has been added, one that can affect the entire game.

And it all started at a crossroads, a disheveled young man, and a poem called "The Rootless Tree".

Li Yuan's lips curled up slightly, revealing a very faint smile.

That smile held expectations for the young man's future.

They had a clear understanding of everything that was about to happen in that valley.

There are also—

This is the deepest promise he made to the land he swore to protect with his life.

The road ahead is still long.

But Li Yuan knew that the move that was meant to be made had already been made.

The rest—

It is simply waiting.

Waiting for those seeds to take root and sprout.

Wait for those causes and effects to blossom and bear fruit.

The moment he had been waiting for for eighteen years had finally arrived.

He was already there by then.

With just a gentle push.

Everything then naturally flows to where it is meant to go.

Li Yuan raised his eyes and looked westward.

There, there lies what he must protect.

There are also countless causes and effects waiting to unfold.

He strode forward.

The moon-white Taoist robe blended into the afternoon sunlight and gradually disappeared into the distance.

Behind me, the wind at the fork in the road continued to blow.

The last few lines of that song, "The Rootless Tree," seem to still echo in the wind: "To visit the Heavenly Capital, to receive the Heavenly Mandate, is to be a true man..."

at the same time...

That side road.

Wugensheng was climbing up the mountain path step by step.

He had no idea what awaited him ahead.

But he knew—

He has to go.

Because that was the path that Riyuu Michiko pointed out to him.

Because that poem touched his heart.

Because he had finally found something that could be called the "root".

Even now, that root is just a seed.

But the seed will eventually sprout.

After sprouting, it will eventually grow into a towering tree.