Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

Even without Zhuang Sheng, the Great Harmony Path still exists, and the students help and support each other, but ultimately, there is still one less person who can shoulder the heavy responsibility.

With three near-saints willing to protect them, most of the surviving students felt much more at ease.

Through the network of relationships among the three saints, their future lives have new possibilities, with a faster and more convenient option.

The prospect of a bright future filled the students of Datongdao with hope.

No one wants to be a wanted criminal, and no one doesn't want to live in the light and be admired by the world.

They believe in the ideals of universal harmony, but they also hope to gain worldly recognition and achieve success in a worldly sense.

This is only human nature; even if Zhuangzi were still alive, he wouldn't have said much about it.

Moreover, principles are just principles; to put the ideals of the Great Harmony into practice, one must eventually go through the officialdom.

To succeed in officialdom, one inevitably needs connections and a strong background.

Even though many of the students at Datongdao are idealists, they understand that to realize their ideals, they must first face reality.

Only those in high positions have the ability to influence more people.

As for whether they will succeed in the future, or whether they will become the very thing they once hated, the students have no idea.

At least for now, these students are full of enthusiasm and they firmly believe that even if they enter officialdom, they will not collude with others.

They will practice the ideals of the Great Harmony, fight against darkness to the end, be like the lotus that rises from the mud unsullied, and change the lives of the people.

Once they reach high positions, will they become unrecognizable, and will they forget their original aspirations? Will the future be another endless cycle of change?

No one can really explain it clearly.

The students were unaware, the three literary sages were unaware, and Mu An was equally unaware.

Or perhaps, Mu An never had any expectations of it.

The cyclical nature of life, which runs through history, is inherent in human nature and is difficult to overcome.

Throughout the history of the Nine Realms and the nations of the world, countless reformers have emerged, but none have escaped the vicious cycle known as reincarnation.

The dragon slayer may become the dragon himself, and the future of passionate students is an uncertain matter.

Generation after generation, passionate young people will become the stubborn old men they once saw, but ultimately, the good and evil in people's hearts depends on themselves.

All of this is simply a matter of the mind.

Mu Ling'er also came to see this scene.

She saw the three sages of literature and Taoism vying to recruit students of the Great Harmony Path into their respective factions, recruiting them in an almost competitive manner and promising various conditions.

The three literary sages are all high-ranking figures in the Nine Domains, wielding immense power in the world outside the Great Enlightenment. The conditions they can offer are far more favorable than those for Mu Ling'er.

Of the nine domains under heaven, only the Tianqi Domain, where the Great Qi resides, is the most complex, and can be described as a "monster's den".

The Celestial Master, the Mysterious Spirit Bodhisattva, the Painting Sage, Mu An...

The strongest forces in the world have gathered in Daqi, bringing Daqi's top combat power to the highest level among the nine domains, crushing any other domain.

Correspondingly, the situation in Daqi is the most solidified, with neither side willing to make any rash moves and acting within the tacitly agreed-upon boundaries.

Fortunately, Mu Ling'er herself did not intend to compete with others; she only recruited a dozen or so students whose bottom lines were relatively flexible.

Having been in charge of Qishan Dao for decades, Mu Ling'er had a clear understanding of the situation. The students of Datong Dao might have their merits, but they could also be potential future threats.

Ideals are just ideals; reality inevitably involves compromise.

In Mu Ling'er's view, the students of Datongdao are useful but not to be given important responsibilities. It is enough to let them do some practical things for the people; anything more would be inappropriate.

Zhuangzi's ideas are good, but very few people can apply them flexibly; most people are rigid and inflexible.

Qishan Road has no shortage of talent; there's no need to make things difficult for yourself.

Moreover, Qishan Road's own philosophy is not bad either, and its governance over the years has earned praise from others, earning it the title of "Pearl of Central China" in the present-day Daqi.

Mu Ling'er does not believe that the governing philosophy she learned from Mu An is inferior to that of the Great Harmony Path; however, the future will ultimately require time to prove.

She respected Zhuang Sheng as a person and also recognized some of the ideas of the Datongdao, but she had even more faith in the results of Mu An and her nearly seventy years of hard work.

If the glory of Datongdao lies in the future, then Qishandao is the best benchmark for the present.

……

On the 30th day of the third month of the ninth year of Ningtai, at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM).

Zhuangzi taught the Tao.

At the moment of transformation, the students of Datongdao felt a sense of connection, and together they clasped their hands towards the sky, performing the etiquette of Wendao.

"Respectfully seeing off the Master!"

Emotionally charged shouts echoed along the edge of the Changjiang River, lingering for a long time.

Countless students knelt on the ground, bowing deeply in the direction where Zhuangzi had passed away.

The original sin village members, who had been stripped of their "sinner" label and thus became villagers of "Butterfly Village," were moved to tears.

Some people performed the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows, while others made longevity tablets in the style of Zhuangzi and kept bowing to the tablets.

Mu An, Xuanling Bodhisattva, and others arrived in Changzhou City half an hour early and saw Zhuang Sheng off on his final journey together outside the hut.

In accordance with Zhuang Sheng's will, Wan Shu did not build a tomb for him.

None of them said much, but watched as they held the plaque written by Zhuangzi during his lifetime and hung it on the door of the small house.

"Home"

There were no grand pronouncements, no elaborate displays, just the simplest word: "home."

This was Wan Shu's last request to Zhuang Sheng.

In front of the Bodhisattva Xuanling and the three sages of literature and Taoism, Mu An handed the "Book of Great Harmony" to Wan Shu.

This can be seen as a declaration to the world that the "Book of Great Harmony" was lent out by Mu An, and anyone who dares to make things difficult for the holder of the "Book of Great Harmony" is going against Mu An.

In this way, all benevolence and righteousness have been fulfilled.

The core functions of the "Book of Great Harmony" are only two: one is to unite the will of the Great Harmony Path and to control literary energy for one's own use. The holder of the book can directly reach the realm of a half-step terrestrial immortal, far stronger than ordinary martial saints.

The second is to communicate with heaven and earth and nature. Those who hold the Great Harmony Book can converse with all spirits, communicate with the spirits of nature, and are naturally drawn to the spirits of nature.

With this book, Wan Shu, as Zhuang Sheng's student, has the ability to take over Zhuang Sheng's responsibilities and shoulder the future of the Great Harmony Way.

Correspondingly, as the foundation of the Great Harmony Way, the more glorious and brilliant the Great Harmony Way becomes, the more powerful the Great Harmony Book will be.

It is not impossible that one day, the one who possesses this book will be able to fight against the immortals on land.

As for what choice Wan Shu will make and what she will do in the future, Mu An does not intend to interfere.

……

Riverside, small hill.

A mound of earth was erected, and a brother and sister knelt before the grave, bowing repeatedly to the lonely earthen mound.

Sunlight filtered through the trees, illuminating the grave and the inscription above it.

The Tomb of Scholar Qin

Caterpillars crawled in the shadows on the ground, butterflies fluttered overhead, everything was so natural.

Further away, Mu Ling'er sighed, looking slightly regretful.

"Xiucai is a capable man. Although he talks about insects and damn things all day long, he is indeed a talented person."

Uncle Wang is getting old, and Wang Pingshan is also getting on in years. I was originally thinking of having the scholar come to our Qishan Road to be our military advisor.

What a pity...

……

"Let's go, we've been out for so long, it's time to go home and rest."

"Here it comes!"