856 The Silent Wreck

The Abbey Dean was the man on the couch.

He had once been undefeatable but was now wrecked by illness. He looked like an ordinary old man who was on his deathbed. However, his gaze was still just as calm as if he could see everything.

Long Qing knelt before the couch and did not dare raise his head. However, he felt as if all his thoughts could not be hidden.

"I am not as good as the Headmaster and you're not as good as Ning Que. This is natural." The Abbey Dean looked at him and said in a weak voice, having to stop after every few words.

Long Qing looked up, not daring to look into the Abbey Dean's eyes nor the deep and light scars on his face. His gaze landed on the furnishing in the temple.

It was a simple temple and was similar to the cells of the You Prison in the Peach Mountain. However, he was surprised that he did not sense any inhibition in the Zhishou Abbey.

The Abbey Dean looked at his expression and knew what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "I learned about silence in Chang'an, and rejected Haotian's will in that instant. This is naturally disrespectful, which is why Haotian did not allow me to die, but made me feel this pain. You were right, there is no inhibition in this temple, and only Haotian's will. What I'm doing now, is like self-imprisonment. If I cannot reflect on my mistakes, I might leave, but I do not know what will happen after I do so."

The big tactical array in the Zhishou Abbey could stop outsiders from entering and leaving but was not able to stop Chen Mou. Haotian did not place any restrictions on him, and he was restricted by the respect and fear he had for Haotian. He reflected upon his mistakes and felt remorse. This lack of restriction was thus the greatest torture.

Long Qing bore the stench emitting from the couch and said respectfully, "Your disciple will care for you together with Uncle. When you are recovered, we can go and walk around the lake."

The Abbey Dean answered, "I thought that your eyes would turn grey immediately after entering the room. I never thought that your patience would be much stronger than before."

There was a skill in the world that would turn a cultivator's eyes grey. It was a skill that originated from the Devil Doctrine's Practice of Taotie and was called the Grey Eyes. It was written in the "Sha" Handscroll from the Tomes of the Arcane.

Long Qing kowtowed once more and said in a trembling voice, "How would your disciple dare to be so unfilial?"

The Abbey Dean looked at him and smiled, "The Halfman Taoist could also be considered half your teacher, didn't you also suck him dry? You are unfilial alright."

Long Qing knew that the Abbey Dean was now a useless wreck and that he could kill him if he just extended a single finger. However, he did not dare to look up. This was not because Chen Pipi had told him in the You Prison that the Abbey Dean no longer possessed any Psyche Power and that the Grey Eyes were useless on him. It was because he was truly afraid.

Back then, by the South Sea, he had decided to become an ordinary merchant and lead an ordinary life. However, he had seen that wooden boat and realized that he was indignant.

A black peach blossom grew from the starboard of the boat and swayed gently in the salty sea breeze. He studied under the Abbey Dean and was sent back to the Zhishou Abbey. There, he encountered several miraculous incidents and regained his powers; a black peach blossom grew from his chest, covering the hole that Ning Que had shot in it.

To him, meeting the Abbey Dean by the South Sea was his greatest Lucky Chance in his life. However, it was also from that day on, that the black peach blossom in his chest could only sway in the breeze of the South Sea.

He had thought of using the Grey Eyes to swallow the Abbey Dean's cultivation state, and even though Chen Pipi had already warned him, he still wanted to give it a try after entering the Zhishou Abbey. However, when he knelt before the couch, he realized that this was all wishful thinking. He had the courage to suck the Halfman Taoist dry, but did not dare to even glance at the Abbey Dean.

"I'm rather disappointed in you," The Abbey Dean sighed at him.

Long Qing lowered his head even more, trembling, and not daring to reply.

"Do you know why I took you as my disciple back then? It wasn't because of your talent, even though you were known for it in the secular world. You should know now that there are many more who have greater talent than you in every abbey, every temple, every sect and on the Second floor. It wasn't because of your determination and willpower, either. You gave up on yourself after Ning Que crippled you with his arrow. But have you thought of Ning Que's state of mind back then when he could not cultivate?"

The Abbey Dean looked at his pale face and said with pity, "I chose you because I thought I saw the destruction and madness in your bones. I thought that you'd do anything in order to reach your goals, no matter how cruel, how treasonous or unfilial. Because you do not have a heart, and thus, do not love. When you do not love, you do not fear and do not respect, and would thus be able to ignore all rules. And so, you could cross the threshold over to the Limitless State."

"I was pleased when you used the Grey Eyes to swallow the powers of the Halfman Taoist and to kill and maim, committing heinous sins on the Wilderness. Because then, you seemed to possess countless possibilities. However, today, you dare not lift your head and look at me. I am disappointed in you not because you once thought of lying to me, trying to kill your family and me. I am disappointed that while you have no heart, you still fear and did not grasp such a good opportunity."

When he heard that, Long Qing's body was drenched in cold sweat. Then, he asked in a hoarse voice, "It is because I still want to learn from you, and I thought that I could become sufficiently strong if I did that."

The Abbey Dean said expressionlessly, "I am now a useless wreck, what can you learn from me?"

Long Qing lifted his head with difficulty and answered, "You still possess wit that is as wide and deep as the sea."

The Abbey Dean thought of the hundreds and thousands of blades in Chang'an and said distantly, "Wit is not as mysterious as we think it is. It is just a way of doing things. Compared to absolute strength, it might seem extremely weak at times."

Long Qing replied, "I still have power, and...I will gain more and more power. So I wish to gain your wit and learn how to use this power."

The Abbey Dean looked at him silently and said, "What will you do after learning these powers?"

Long Qing looked at the scars on the Abbey Dean's face and said, "I want to challenge Ning Que."

The Abbey Dean asked, "All these for such a boring reason?"

He had been crippled by Ning Que in Chang'an. And by right, should hate Ning Que for it. However, his expression remained cold and distant when he listened to Long Qing, and he even seemed bored.

Long Qing could not understand what the Abbey Dean was thinking. After thinking about it, he spoke, "This is something I want to do badly. It might seem pathetic, but I seem to be living for that person right now."

"That is indeed pathetic." The Abbey Dean said.

Long Qing said, "We all need a reason to live."

The Abbey Dean replied, "It makes Haotian laugh when mankind tries their hardest to find a reason for their behavior. Since she thinks I'm disrespectful, how will she allow you to study under me?"

After a moment of silence, Long Qing answered, "She knows that I'm loyal and cowardly. Furthermore, perhaps... she needs my reason. So even though she might laugh at me, she will not stop me."

The Abbey Dean said, "If she does not need a reason to kill Ning Que anymore, what will you do?"

Long Qing paled, not knowing what to say.

The Abbey Dean looked at him quietly, and then, suddenly said, "Let me tell you what to do. You can only find a reason belonging to yourself if you find a reason for your own behavior. You have already turned your back against Haotian once, so why not betray again? You can only be loyal to yourself. The source of your cowardice can only be because of your selfishness. What are treason and heresy if you don't even dare to defy the Heavens and Haotian Taoism?"

Fear emerged in Long Qing's eyes, and he looked out of the window subconsciously, as if he felt that someone might be evesdropping.

After being made a wreck by Ning Que's arrows on the Wilderness, he had painfully and viciously abandoned his faith. Then he used the Grey Eyes to swallow the Halfman Taoist's powers and jumped off the cliff, deciding to stand on the side of darkness and not pursue the light. However, in the end, he realized that the dark night that he had chosen belonged to Haotian. At that moment, he felt a relief he had never felt before and his respect for Haotian became unshakable.

"Do not worry about her listening to our conversation."

The Abbey Dean said, "Haotian is omnipotent and omnipresent. That is because she stood at a place that is high enough above the mortal world. She is but just a little higher than us after coming to the mortal world."

Long Qing seemed to have understood, but found it hard to hide his fear.

The Abbey Dean slowly stretched out his left hand to Long Qing and said, "Return to your room."

Long Qing heard this and was certain that the Abbey Dean was allowing him to cultivate in the Zhishou Abbey. He was overjoyed, and quickly pulled out the "Sha" Handscroll that he had stolen.

The Abbey Dean did not take the scroll, but said, "The seven Tomes of the Arcane are weapons that Haotian had bestowed upon Haotian Taoism. These weapons are knowledge and wit. Since you want to study my wit, the scroll shall stay with you. You can take and read the other five scrolls as you wish. What I want, is something else."

Long Qing vaguely understood what the Abbey Dean wanted, but did not understand why he wanted it. He took out the black peach blossom inside his chest and placed it in the Abbey Dean's hand respectfully.

The Abbey Dean twirled the petiole of the black peach blossom in his hand and asked, "What is this?"

Long Qing did not understand, but he answered honestly, "This is your disciple's natal peach blossom."

The Abbey Dean replied, "What will happen to it if you die?"

All cultivators understood what their natal items meant. This was a knowledge that cultivators had to know when they started cultivating. As such, Long Qing did not understand why the Abbey Dean would ask such a simple question. He answered, "The peach blossom will wither when I die and will not come back alive again."

The Abbey Dean pointed at the black peach blossom and asked, "What if it is another natal object?"

Long Qing said, "If it is a natal sword, one can make another, but even then, it would mean that the person had died once."

The Abbey Dean signaled for him to leave the temple. Then, the temple was silent once more. Wind entered through the window, but it did not manage to dispell the stench that spread from the couch.

He got up with difficulty and inserted the stem of Long Qing's natal peach blossom into the sand table in front of the window. He watched as the black peach blossom swayed slightly in the wind and thought of the mountain full of peach blossoms on Peach Mountain and smiled.

Haotian had come to the mortal world while the Zhishou Abbey had become an abandoned prison. The strongest cultivator in the mortal world had become a useless wreck. But the true story was only just beginning.