Under One Person: The Sea Emperor Who Shattered Heaven and Earth

Zuo Ruotong continued, "He said that a road with an end is not worthy of reaching the heavens. Three layers, three layers. What if you really reach the third layer? Wouldn't it be the end for you to be reborn against the current? Can you imagine what it would be like to walk the path to heaven until it ends?"

Zuo Ruotong gave a bitter laugh, his chest making a rattling sound like a bellows being pulled: "He said that the path to heaven has more than three levels, and why it has to have three levels. When I heard this, my heart was truly... torn apart."

The atmosphere inside the cave was extremely oppressive.

Zuo Ruotong took a breath and suddenly looked at Si Chong and Cheng Zhen, asking them a question that caught them off guard.

"Both of you... once tried to emulate me. When you were in seclusion within the sect, you both maintained a state of reversed life for extended periods, ranging from a few days to several months. But why did you both give up in the end?"

Si Chong was stunned, and quickly lowered his head to reply, "Senior brother, it's because my aptitude is not enough. I can't concentrate like you. Over time, the Qi in my body will be difficult to sustain."

Chengzhen hurriedly added, "Yes, Master, my aptitude is far inferior to that of my Uncle. Maintaining the Reverse Life state requires extremely high concentration; the slightest distraction will cause it to regress. I... I am incompetent."

"Qualifications?"

Zuo Ruotong coughed lightly, interrupting the two of them from their self-reflection.

“When I see you practicing your internal energy, your expressions and movements are all correct. You can maintain this for days or months, which means you have thoroughly mastered the technique. The so-called longer duration is nothing more than accumulating it day after day. In terms of skill and aptitude, they are not really obstacles.”

He paused for a moment, his eyes becoming deep and bitter: "You just got restless after a while, didn't you?"

Si Chong and Cheng Zhen exchanged a glance and lowered their heads in shame.

“I am different from you.” Zuo Ruotong’s voice was low. “I am doing this to survive. I wouldn’t be alive today if I hadn’t relied on the triple suppression of reversal of life to suppress those hidden injuries from back then. So I have to maintain that state at all times. In the end, I simply took this as my ‘Dao’ to explore the path to heaven.”

"I have been maintaining reverse growth for a long time, as if I have a smooth sphere on my head."

Zuo Ruotong made a gesture, “As long as you have enough skill and a calm mind, you can naturally hold on for a long time and be stable enough. I always thought that as long as I keep holding on like this, for a year, ten years, a hundred years... one day, I won’t have to hold on to this ball anymore. It will grow on my head by itself and become my second head.”

"But now it seems that the ball is still the ball, and I am still me. Once the external force is removed, or my spirits are broken, the ball will fall."

He looked at his hands and said self-deprecatingly, "It seems our triple technique really isn't enough..."

"Let's stop for a moment."

Jiang Zhen, who had been listening nearby, suddenly spoke up.

Staring at Wugensheng's swollen face, he asked, "Wugensheng, let me ask you, have you ever read any books, or rather, how many Taoist classics have you actually read in your life?"

Wugensheng paused for a moment, then shrank his neck and answered in a low voice, "Replying to Master Jiang... I was adopted by an old Taoist priest when I was young, and I read... read a little bit."

Jiang Zhen reacted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

These days, he had been constantly bombarded with Taoist theories by Fang Dongtian, a top disciple of Quanzhen Taoism, and by now he had accumulated quite a bit of knowledge.

"Then how dare you interpret the text literally and spout nonsense, acting like a teacher indiscriminately?"

Jiang Zhen stared at Wugensheng, his tone unfriendly, "You say you know from the name that the Reverse Life Triple Level is no good? You think the number three is too small, too narrow a path? Since you're so smart, why don't you ask the ancestors of the San Yi Sect why they didn't call it the Reverse Life Quadruple Level or the Reverse Life VIII when they founded the sect? Why didn't they set their sights further, or even call it the Reverse Life Ten Thousand Levels? Wouldn't that be closer to the heavens?"

Wugensheng was speechless for a long time, and could only awkwardly shift his buttocks.

Jiang Zhen continued, "You've read a little? I think you haven't even grasped the most basic concepts. Taoism values ​​the number 'one' and 'three' the most. Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things."

"Three is the beginning of all things, the cardinal number representing infinity! To use the infinite three to transform into the finite numbers four, five, and six is ​​to truly put the cart before the horse, and that is to fall into a lower realm!"

Jiang Zhen tapped the table, making a dull sound: "Whether reversing one's fate can lead to heaven, I don't know. But I do know that all paths in this world are made by people walking them. The predecessors established the three levels to provide a ladder for future disciples, not to draw a circle around this method. You, with your half-baked understanding, try to deny the hard work of generations of people. What kind of person are you?"

"Well said!"

Si Chong jumped up abruptly, his eyes wide, panting heavily, staring intently at Wu Gengsheng: "Did you hear that, you monster! This is the great principle of Taoism! Your twisted and heretical theories are nothing but bullshit in the face of the true orthodox methods of the Xuanmen!"

Jiang Zhen ignored the excited Si Chong and turned to look at Zuo Ruotong sitting in her seat.

"Wugensheng, that wild and unorthodox Zen practitioner, doesn't understand the intricacies of this matter. Could it be that you, senior brother, also don't know the deeper meaning behind the word 'three'?"

Zuo Ruotong looked at Jiang Zhen, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes at first, then a sense of clarity gradually emerging.

He remained silent for a long time, so long that the candles inside the cave burned down.

"Of course I know." Zuo Ruotong's voice regained a bit of strength.

After glancing at Wugensheng, he sighed, "I wasn't fooled by his claim that 'three levels are too few.' If we're really talking about the Dao, his skills aren't even worth my attention. What truly brought me to my senses was that he made me realize my mistake..."

Zuo Ruotong straightened her back a bit, her eyes becoming sharp: "The reason I'm heartbroken is because I've realized that I've always regarded the 'Triple Tri ...

“I thought that reaching the third level meant becoming an immortal, and that reaching the third level meant perfection. So after I reached that level, I found that I was still affected by his ‘divine spirit’.”

Zuo Ruotong shook her head with a wry smile, "Actually... the third level is just the beginning. The beginning of an infinite number. I was wrong from the very beginning, no, perhaps it started from some ancestor, we took 'breaking through the third level' as the sign of perfect merit. And I, I never woke up in time, instead passing on this wrong idea to you exactly as it was."

He looked at Si Chong and Cheng Zhen, his eyes filled with regret: "The pain of misleading young people is more heartbreaking than when I understood the truth of the three realms."

Wugensheng sat on the ground, listening to the conversation between Jiang Zhen and Zuo Ruotong. His expression changed in surprise, and his eyes revealed a hint of confusion and reflection.

"That's why I said that the current Triple Reversal of Life can't reach the Heavenly Realm."

Zuo Ruotong's voice turned low again, "Because, I don't know when it started, everyone's cultivation philosophy has gone astray. We cultivate 'returning,' but what we really want is 'transcendence.' If you go astray, no matter how hard you try, it's all in vain. I, Zuo, am incompetent and have misled others; I deserve to die!"

Before he could finish speaking, he coughed violently, curling up on the stone chair as if he were coughing up his lungs.

Chengzhen quickly stepped forward and gently patted his back.

Zuo Ruotong waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. He calmed his breathing, as if he had made up his mind.

"Since this path cannot lead to the heavens for the time being... then the Three Ones Sect need not embellish its reputation any further. The current Reverse Life Triple Technique is merely an extremely profound extraordinary technique. Although it cannot lead to the heavens, it is still unparalleled in the world, but that is all it is in the end."

He looked at Si Chong and said in a serious tone: "From now on, we no longer need to call ourselves 'Xuanmen'. If we cannot find the truth, we are not worthy of being called Xuanmen."

"Senior brother!"

Si Chong immediately became anxious. He disregarded etiquette and shouted, "How can this be! Since its founding, our Sanyi Sect has always been a legitimate sect of Xuanmen. Our sect's etiquette and cultivation path are all based on Taoist traditions. How can we lower ourselves to this level?"

At this moment, Jiang was shaken.

He stepped forward and walked up to Zuo Ruotong.

Si Chong quickly stepped aside and looked at Jiang Zhen hopefully.

Jiang Zhen looked at Zuo Ruotong, this time changing how he addressed her.

"Left Gate Chief."

Zuo Ruotong raised her head and looked at him quietly.

"I am an outsider to the internal affairs of the Trinity Group, and it is not appropriate for me to get too involved. Whether you want to take down the sign or keep it up is your prerogative."

"But if you have really decided on your next path, please remember... make sure you have things settled before you die."

Upon hearing the words "aftermath," both Sukō and Sōjin's faces turned deathly pale.

"But I have something else to say. I heard a senior colleague say it to you now, and I hope it will be of some help to you."

Jiang Zhen paused for a moment, then said, enunciating each word clearly:

"Those who seek the Way cherish life most; when they can no longer endure, that is precisely the time for cultivation."

Zuo Ruotong sat on the stone chair, repeatedly pondering the words "Guisheng" and thinking about the saying, "The time when you can't bear it anymore is the time to cultivate yourself."

Chapter 77 If all else fails, we can always start over.

“Life is precious…those who seek the Dao are most precious in life…”

Zuo Ruotong muttered to herself, looking at her hands, which were like withered tree bark, and feeling the excruciating pain in her body caused by the leakage of Qi, which was almost tearing her meridians apart.

This pain is real; it is the true feedback of being human as we age and crumble.

He once used that jade-like white light to cover them all, but that was just painting a layer of white paint on the wood rotting in the foundation. No matter how thick the paint was, the wood was still rotten.

Zuo Ruotong suddenly took a deep breath.

"Yes...it's the time for cultivation."

He then looked up at Jiang Zhen, a self-deprecating smile appearing on his lips: "I have cultivated for decades, yet I lost my spirit because of a temporary setback. I have truly wasted my cultivation. Fortunately, my junior brother enlightened me—at worst, I can start over."

Zuo Ruotong revealed a magnanimous smile, and her body, which had been completely dimmed, began to glow faintly again.

Jiang Zhen looked at it and realized that he had successfully fooled him.

At this moment, Zuo Ruotong no longer regarded "triple" as the end.

The so-called triple stage is merely the beginning of pushing open that door. Since the journey is not yet over, and since the path can extend infinitely, why rush to destroy this physical body?

He wanted to use this last bit of time, this broken body, to re-examine this set of reversal techniques that had been misunderstood for countless years. It wasn't for the sake of reaching the heavens, but to leave a truly viable path for future disciples of the Three Ones.

Zuo Ruotong's breathing gradually stabilized. Although she was still old and weak.

He turned his head, his gaze passing over the two disciples kneeling in front of him, and looked at Wugensheng, who was sitting restlessly in the corner.

“Wugensheng.” Zuo Ruotong spoke, her voice still a little hoarse, but no longer broken.

Wugensheng shuddered and stood up somewhat awkwardly.

"You go."

Zuo Ruotong's expression was calm: "Junior Brother Jiang's punch has already made up for your transgression of breaking through the mountain."

"From this day forward, the Trinity Sect will have no further connection with you or the Quanxing Sect."

Wugensheng bowed deeply to Zuo Ruotong: "Sect Leader Zuo... I apologize for the offense."

Then, he turned to Jiang Zhen: "Master Jiang... so, am I really leaving?"

Jiang Zhen didn't even lift his eyelids, he just waved his hand casually.

Without lingering, Wugensheng darted out of the cave like a blur. Once outside, he spotted Li Muxuan huddled behind a stone pillar, shivering. He grabbed Li Muxuan by the collar, then, with a quick flick of his toes, disappeared at the end of the mountain path.

"Senior brother..." Si Chong felt a little unwilling when Wu Gensheng left, but he was more worried about Zuo Ruotong.

"It seems like a gust of wind." Zuo Ruotong stood up with Chengzhen's help. "Summon all the disciples on the mountain. Go to the main hall."

Half an hour later.

Inside the main hall of the Sanyi Gate, incense smoke swirled, but the atmosphere was more somber than ever before.

The disciples stood in order of seniority, each with tear stains on their face, and they dared not look at the aged sect leader above them.

"Look at me, everyone." Zuo Ruotong's voice echoed in the empty hall.

"I have called you here today to tell you a truth."

He took a deep breath and said resolutely, "Regarding the Triple Rebirth... this method we've practiced our whole lives can't reach the heavens."

This single act caused a huge uproar. The disciples below instantly erupted into chaos, some even losing their footing and collapsing to the ground.

Zuo Ruotong continued, “Our philosophy is wrong. The threefold path we have been pursuing is not the end, but just the beginning. What I have called the path to immortality all these years is nothing more than drawing a circle around myself. It is my incompetence, Zuo Ruotong, that has misled people for decades, making you live with me in a false dream.”

He slowly bowed his head and apologized to his disciples below.