Because I Am the Best Proof

Boom!!

Chen Zhixing's words were like thunder, exploding inside the Clan Elder's mind.

He could not help retreating several steps, then took a few deep breaths before finally steadying himself.

"U-utter nonsense!"

The Clan Elder composed himself and challenged him, "Then if it is as you say, why was the Ancestor able to rely on this method to step into the Great Longevity Realm?"

The moment these words fell, the gathered Chen Family disciples could not help nodding slightly.

That was right. If things were as Chen Zhixing said, then how had the Ancestor entered the Great Longevity Realm? Chen Zhixing glanced at the Clan Elder and said flatly:

"The world is vast, and people differ from one another."

"The reason the Ancestor was able to rely on this method to enter the Great Longevity Realm was because the Ancestor himself had the Innate Five Elements Body!"

"With the Innate Five Elements Body, one can naturally blend the five origins of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth!"

At this point, Chen Zhixing's words paused, then he turned and gave a cold laugh. "May I be so bold as to ask, Elder, do you have the Innate Five Elements Body?"

"I..."

For a moment, the Clan Elder looked at Chen Zhixing and was actually left tongue-tied, not knowing how to answer.

Because exactly as Chen Zhixing had said, the Founding Ancestor of the Chen Family had indeed possessed the Innate Five Elements Body! "Y-you—you say it so easily. Who couldn't say such things? Do you have proof? This old man asks you again, are you the only clever one, able to see through this? None of the many profound cultivators in our Chen Family could see it? Then why are others still cultivating the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method?" the Clan Elder said angrily.

Hearing this, Chen Zhixing could not help laughing in anger.

Was this behavior not exactly like when you reasoned with him, he talked logic with you; when you talked logic with him, he played the scoundrel? Shaking his head, Chen Zhixing spat out a sentence coldly: "Why? Because there are too many fools like you who esteem the ancient and despise the present!"

Before the words had even fully fallen, the piercing word "fools" made the Clan Elder tremble all over with rage.

Without waiting for him to speak, Chen Zhixing had already continued, "People like you only know how to blindly imitate those who came before. You do not know how to combine it with your own circumstances. You believe ancestral laws cannot be violated, old precedents cannot be changed, and whatever the forebears said must surely be good, whatever methods the forebears used must surely be powerful! You even take the words of the forebears—even if they were wrong—and forcibly interpret them, twist their meaning, and insist they were right! Little do you know, in this world of myriad things, each generation is always stronger than the last!"

"The times are advancing. We stand on the shoulders of those before us, and are destined to stand higher and see farther!"

He paused.

Chen Zhixing looked toward the distant mountains and slowly said, "Toward those who came before, what is needed is honest appraisal and respect. They were trailblazers, and we must maintain the reverence they deserve, because it is precisely due to the Ancestor's existence that the Chen Family of today exists."

"But that absolutely does not mean taking every word and deed of the Ancestor as a golden canon! It does not mean forcibly pressing the cultivation art he cultivated onto yourself!"

"Take the essence, discard the dregs! This is the attitude and method of cultivation that a Chen Family cultivator should have!"

When Chen Zhixing finished speaking, the entire mountaintop had fallen silent.

All the Chen Family disciples stared at Chen Zhixing with wide eyes.

As for Chen Zhaosheng, he lowered his head thoughtfully.

"You..."

That Clan Elder, however, still had his thoughts fixed on the word "fools." He gave a cold laugh and said, "You Inexperienced Child, you're merely saying a few grand and high-sounding words. As if anyone couldn't do that? Proof? This old man asks you, do you have proof for what you have said?"

Chen Zhixing's gaze shifted to the Clan Elder. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly laughed in silence.

Forget it.

Why was he saying so much to him?

"Terminally ill." After Chen Zhixing spat out those final four words, he prepared to leave.

Just then, "No proof is needed."

"Because... I am the best proof."

A soft sigh rang out.

The next moment, an Emaciated Elder wearing an archaic Daoist robe, his face covered in age spots, his whole body exuding a decayed aura like a lamp with its oil exhausted, appeared on the mountaintop.

Hearing the voice, the Chen Family disciples all looked over, their faces full of confusion.

Who was this?

Only that Clan Elder, the instant he saw the Emaciated Elder, first froze, then an unbelievable wild joy burst across his face.

He was just about to speak respectfully, "Shh."

The Emaciated Elder gently shook his head at him, then looked at Chen Zhixing, who had turned to leave, and smiled kindly.

"Little friend Zhixing, this old man ventures to ask you one more question. Is there a solution for breaking through to the Longevity Realm?"

Chen Zhixing's steps paused. He looked back at this unfamiliar old man, then shook his head and said, "I said it before. The world is vast, and people differ from one another."

"If you want to break through to the Longevity Realm, then in my conjecture, imitating those who came before is not enough. Only by finding your true self, seeing the Great Dao that truly belongs to you, walking a path of your own, and then cultivating it deeply can you seek out that opportunity."

After he finished speaking, Chen Zhixing did not linger any longer and strode away.

The Emaciated Elder watched Chen Zhixing's departing back, a look of contemplation appearing on his face.

"He's just an Inexperienced Child, spouting wild nonsense here. I'll deal with him later," the Clan Elder hurried forward and said with a fawning smile.

Before he could finish speaking.

"No need. Perhaps... he is right."

The Emaciated Elder gave a soft sigh, and his figure gradually vanished.

Hearing this, the Clan Elder instantly stiffened all over.

"Elder, who was that?"

"Yeah, how come we've never seen him in the Chen Family before?"

"Is he a newly arrived Guest Elder?"

The Chen Family disciples immediately crowded forward and asked.

Only then did the Clan Elder snap back to himself with a shiver. Then his eyes widened as he said, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask! Continue cultivating!"

Back at Third Peak.

From far away, Chen Zhixing caught the aroma of cooking.

Bi Luo carried the freshly cooked Braised Lion Head to the table. Seeing Chen Zhixing return, she immediately gave a soft sound of surprise and said, "Eh? Young Master, why are you back so early today? Did that elder make things difficult for you again?"

"Make things difficult for me? He should be grateful I didn't make things difficult for him."

Chen Zhixing shook his head indifferently, then picked up his chopsticks, lifted a Braised Lion Head into his mouth, and chewed it a couple of times. His eyes instantly lit up as he said:

"Bi Luo, your cooking skills are getting better and better!"

Bi Luo lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "As long as Young Master likes eating it."

"I like it very much." Chen Zhixing smiled and said, "I think the most correct decision I ever made back then was asking Father and Mother to bring you back from Lin'an City. This cooking... is amazing."

Eight years ago, Chen Zhixing's family of three had picked up Bi Luo, a little beggar on the verge of freezing to death, from the streets of Lin'an City. Hearing this, she nodded and smiled. "That is also the thing Bi Luo is most grateful for."

After a pause.

As if she had thought of something, Bi Luo slapped her forehead and said, "Look at my memory... Right, Young Master, the person you asked me to look for—I really did find one recently!"

"Oh?" Chen Zhixing put down his chopsticks, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Who? Where is he now?"

Bi Luo quickly replied, "This person is named Ye Chen. His words and actions are extremely strange. Whenever he makes an enemy of someone, he mutters wild talk like 'you already have a path to death,' 'you lot are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs,' 'I, Ye Chen, cannot be insulted; sooner or later, you will regret what you did today,' and 'with but one word from me, I can make three-foot swords hang over the entire city—do you believe it?'"

"This person is currently in Lin'an City, but because he offended the Black Dragon Gang in the city, he has already been beaten half to death by the Black Dragon Gang's people and locked up."