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

At this point, Li Yuan paused slightly and looked directly at Zhang Zhiwei.

"Junior Brother Zhiwei, have you ever thought about this?"

Ultimately, what you "believe" in is yourself.

"You hone yourself to the extreme, concentrate your will to the extreme, and manifest your existence to the extreme."

"Then, all things in heaven and earth will naturally revolve around your 'Great Sun'."

"This is your path, your path of faith, and the fundamental reason why you have come this far."

"This is the right path."

"Moreover, you've taken the right path, the correct one, and the pure one."

Zhang Zhiwei listened quietly without interrupting.

Li Yuan continued:

"But the path I took was different from yours."

"I don't see myself as the 'center'."

"I regard the universe and all things as the 'center'."

"Everyone has their own path, every matter has its own reason, every leaf has its own place to fall, and every cloud has its own destination."

"I observe them, perceive them, and understand them, but I do not easily interfere with them according to my own will."

This is not "inaction".

Li Yuan's voice remained calm, yet it carried a deeper meaning that was difficult for others to perceive:

"On the contrary, this is a deeper kind of 'doing'."

"Only when you truly see the true nature of something, understand its origin and destination, and recognize its place in the cause and effect of heaven and earth—"

"Only then can we gently nudge it at the most opportune moment, in the most appropriate place, and guide it in a better direction."

"This is the true meaning of 'doing nothing, yet nothing is left undone'."

"Wuwei means not acting arbitrarily out of personal desire, and not forcibly altering the natural course of the universe."

"Doing nothing is when the sun and moon reach a certain point in their cycle, when cause and effect converge at a certain moment, and when that tiny 'variable' just needs to fall—"

"You are already in that position, you have seen everything clearly, and you are now capable of making that move."

"Then, you fall."

That's all.

Zhang Zhiwei was stunned.

He looked at Li Yuan, and for the first time, a look of near realization appeared in his bright eyes.

"So, senior brother, you—"

Li Yuan nodded slightly, interrupting his unspoken question:

"That's why I see it."

"Only by seeing clearly can we act accurately."

Only by seeing things clearly can one settle down and maintain stability.

"See through the true nature of all things, yet do not act rashly; understand the cycle of cause and effect, yet do not participate in its manifestation—"

"Until that 'just' moment arrives."

"I was already there then."

"At that time, I only needed to give it a gentle push."

"Everything will naturally flow to where it is meant to go."

At this point, Li Yuan paused slightly, his gaze falling on Zhang Zhiwei. His gaze remained gentle, yet it seemed to penetrate to the deepest recesses of the heart.

"Junior Brother Zhiwei, do you know why you've been waiting?"

Zhang Zhiwei did not answer.

Li Yuan answered for him:

"Because you are waiting for someone who can 'see' you."

"It's not that I see your strength, your sharpness, or the aura of your status as the Little Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain."

"But I see you—Zhang Zhiwei himself."

"I see the seriousness beneath your laziness, the loneliness beneath your carefree attitude, and the desire to truly compete behind your 'don't care' attitude."

"I've been waiting for this day to see you for a long time."

"And I—"

Li Yuan paused slightly, a very faint smile appearing on his lips:

"Coincidentally, I've been watching this all along."

Zhang Zhiwei fell silent.

A very long silence followed.

No one dared to make a sound.

Everyone stared at the two figures in the arena, at the young celestial master who was famous throughout the world and had never been defeated, and saw him show such an expression in front of others for the first time.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Zhang Zhiwei finally spoke, his tone unlike any he had ever used before.

There was no laziness, no carelessness, and no casualness of "anything is fine".

There is only one—

It felt like a sense of relief, as if I had finally been understood.

"Senior Brother Li Yuan."

"Junior brother has never submitted to anyone in his life."

"My master said I have extraordinary talent, but I don't think it's anything special."

My peers say I'm invincible, but I don't think it's anything special.

"Everyone sees me as an insurmountable mountain, but I don't feel anything about it."

"Because I know that what they all 'see' is the mountain, not me."

"What they saw was Zhang Zhiwei, the Little Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, the successor of Thunder Magic, who was famous throughout the world—"

"It's not me, this 'person'."

"But you just sat there and did nothing."

"But I can see clearly what I haven't been able to figure out in the past twenty years."

"And then you tell me you just 'saw' it."

That's all.

Li Yuan looked at Zhang Zhiwei quietly, his gaze containing neither pride nor satisfaction, only his usual gentle and peaceful demeanor.

"Junior Brother Zhiwei, do you know why I need to 'see'?"

Zhang Zhiwei shook his head.

Li Yuan raised his head slightly, his gaze passing over Zhang Zhiwei, over the crowd in the courtyard, over the eaves and brackets of the Lu Mansion, and towards the faintly visible northern horizon.

There, lies the Great Luo Palace, which he swore to protect with his life.

There, he spent eighteen years in solitary meditation.

There it is too—

That impending catastrophe that will burn everything to ashes.

"Because if we don't see—"

Li Yuan's voice remained calm, yet it seemed to carry a weight that was difficult to describe:

"The day has come when we truly need to 'see' it."

"It will be too late."

Zhang Zhiwei was stunned.

He looked at Li Yuan and, for the first time, sensed something indescribable emanating from this Daoist who had always been so calm and collected.

That was not sadness, not anger, not hatred.

It was a deeper, more subtle, and more indescribable emotion.

It's like a person watching an approaching storm in the distance, knowing they can't change the storm, yet still choosing to—

Stand there.

He shielded the person behind him from the first bolt of lightning.

Zhang Zhiwei suddenly understood.

Why did Li Yuan "look" at everyone like that from the very beginning?

Why is it that Li Yuan never takes the initiative, yet everyone can "learn" something from him?

Why did Li Yuan say, "I was there the whole time"?

Because he was indeed present the whole time.

In everyone's destiny.

In every impending calamity.

In every ray of light that needs to be "seen".

"Senior Brother Li Yuan."

Zhang Zhiwei spoke, his voice more solemn than ever before:

"Junior brother, I'm even more eager to ask you for a pointer today."

"It's not a friendly exchange, not a competition, not a contest."

"only--"

He paused, then raised his right hand, fingers slightly spread, palm facing upwards:

"Junior brother wants to truly experience how to walk the path after being 'seen'."

"and..."

"Junior brother, I've heard that Senior Brother Li Yuan has a special skill."

"No need for altars or rituals, no need for any specific procedures—"

"Then you can directly ask the gods for help."

"Even my master couldn't do something like that."

Zhang Jingqing raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Zhang Zhiwei withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Yuan again:

"Junior brother has long admired this for a long time."

"Today we are fortunate to meet and to hear the teachings of the Way—"

He clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed, and then offered another greeting:

"If I may be so bold as to ask my senior brother—"

"Let my junior brother broaden his horizons."

"Let's see for ourselves what it's really like to invite a god without setting up an altar."

These words caused an uproar in the courtyard.

"Invoking a deity?!"

"Invoking deities without setting up an altar or performing rituals?!"

"How is this possible?!"

Countless gazes converged on Li Yuan, their eyes filled with shock, disbelief, curiosity, and a hint of anticipation.

Qin Muting, who had just had a contest with Zhang Zhiwei, suddenly stood up, his face flushed, his lips trembling, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.

Because he suddenly remembered the records about "innate invocation of deities" in the Shenxiao School's scriptures—

"The perfect man has no self, the divine man has no merit, and the sage has no name."

"It can align its virtue with that of Heaven and Earth, its brightness with that of the sun and moon, its order with that of the four seasons, and its fortune with that of the spirits."

"Born in accordance with Heaven's will, one does not defy Heaven's will; acquired in accordance with Heaven's will, one follows Heaven's timing."

"In this way, God will follow without being summoned or asked."

He always thought that it was just an exaggeration by the ancients, an ideal state that was impossible to reach.

But at this moment—

He stared at the figure in the moon-white Taoist robe and suddenly felt a little dazed.

Perhaps that's not an exaggeration?

Perhaps there really are people in this world who can "come without being summoned, and arrive without being asked"?

Perhaps, the legendary "perfect man," "divine man," and "sage" are right before our eyes?

Zhang Jingqing sat up straight, and for the first time, a genuine sense of seriousness flashed in her deep eyes.

He looked at Li Yuan, his gaze complex.

He naturally knew what "no need to set up an altar to invite the gods" meant.

That was something even he, the current Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion, couldn't do.

It wasn't because his cultivation level was insufficient—he had cultivated diligently for nearly a hundred years and believed his cultivation had reached a state of perfection.

It wasn't because he lacked spiritual cultivation—he had been in charge of the Celestial Master's Mansion for many years, and his understanding of the Dao was undeniably profound.

Rather, it's because—

That's another road.

A road he had never traveled before, nor could he ever travel.

Li Yuan stood quietly, listening to the exclamations and discussions throughout the courtyard, his expression remaining calm and composed.

He looked at Zhang Zhiwei, who was bowing respectfully before him, at those burning eyes, and at the eagerness hidden beneath that open demeanor.

After a while.

He smiled slightly.

That smile was as faint as a distant mountain, yet it seemed to carry some indescribable meaning.

It's like a teacher looking at a student seeking knowledge, like a pioneer looking at a climber, or like a fellow traveler looking at another fellow traveler.

"Junior Brother Zhiwei."

"You really want to see it?"

Zhang Zhiwei raised his head, his gaze as bright as the sun in the sky, undisguised and fearless:

"think!"