The river and sea rumbled, waves surged, mist billowed, and torrential rain crashed down from the clouds onto the sea, striking it with a crackling roar.
The two sat facing each other.
The Immortal sat upon the shore, occupying the high ground. Both the torrential rain and the roaring river and sea had been caused by him, seeking to drown the opponent before him.
He had already succeeded halfway.
On the other side of the shore, the scholar in a tall crown and square shoes sat in the sea, half his body submerged by the water. The torrential rain left him in an even more bedraggled state.
"Dao friend, do you truly have no regrets?"
The Immortal spoke, his voice distant and ethereal:
"I do not necessarily have to suppress you. If you join [Other Shore], I can grant you a fragment and give you a place. It would bring you nothing but benefits."
This was not a lie.
Toward the scholar before him, he would conceal things, scheme, and even kill—but he would not lie, because this was the only Dao friend he had ever acknowledged.
"Of course I have no regrets."
The scholar raised his head with a faint smile. "Dao friend, there is no need to say more. My heart is iron. If I truly wavered, then this [Dao Heart] would have been proven for nothing."
"I simply do not understand."
"You have already transcended, which means you have cast aside all Karma. That proves you are capable of letting go, so why do you refuse to?"
"Even taking ten thousand steps back."
The Immortal's tone remained unchanged as he continued, "Your disciples and friends hold meaning for you—I can understand that. But how many could there be?"
"Even if you spread your teachings throughout the Light