Old Man Baoshi looked indignant. With death approaching, he had few remaining scruples. Decades of resentment toward the Daoist Sect gave him an urge to pour it all out, even if doing so would not do a damn bit of good.
"We sensed qi ourselves, found our own resources, and explored cultivation methods and paths ourselves. The Daoist Sect refused to accept us, but we weren't so lowly that we had to cling to them. Even so, they still treated us as burdens, as sacrifices for begging Heaven's favor...
"With the Daoist Sect's prayer, life and death hang in the balance. On the surface, all we have to surrender are our Heaven-bestowed spiritual roots, but in fact, there's still an extremely high chance of dying when those roots are stripped away. Even if we scrape through alive, we've made countless enemies over all these years of cultivation. Once we lose what we rely on, where is there any path to survival?
"Right here in Divine Capital City, countless people with designs of their own are already watching in secret. Even if these people make it out alive, none of them will escape the Divine Capital!
"Among those people are killers hired by those children's lineages, waiting for me. There must also be assassins from your Fufeng City who want to cut out the grass by its roots!
"That's why I say this so-called Daoist Sect prayer is the gateway to the underworld. Those hypocritical Daoists keep their own hands clear of karmic entanglements while pushing us into eternal damnation!"
Hou Niao had nothing to say. The old man had already grown a little deranged. But as a man who enforced the law, he had one deeply ingrained habit: he trusted only his own judgment and treated other people's words merely as reference. The Daoist Sect concealed things, but wasn't this old man extreme and impulsive too?
He had been a city criminal investigator for only a few years, but he had handled countless cases, great and small. They all shared one feature: the husband claimed he was right, and the wife claimed she was right. Different positions brought different views. Especially among those who loved to burrow into a dead end, it was nothing new for someone to have long since strayed onto the wrong path without knowing it.
His contact with the Daoist Sect was also extremely limited. He simply had no opportunities; his encounters with Chongling and the other two over the past dozen or so days were almost the entirety of it. As he saw it, the Daoists were indeed heartless, but were they really so vicious and evil? He honestly had not seen that.
One fact remained: he had indeed killed people, executing them outside the law. In that sense, he had knowingly broken the law. He had brought his present predicament upon himself and could blame no one else.
Breaking the law deserved punishment. He ought to bear the consequences of his own impulsiveness. He was a man who accepted responsibility, though, of course, he really could not escape either.
Whatever impression this conversation left him with of the Daoist Sect, at least he now roughly understood what the Anhe Prayer was. He would not end up dying an ignorant ghost.
...The days passed like this, one after another, and Hou Niao discovered that he had actually put on weight again during this time. Perhaps "put on weight" was not quite right, but he had completely recovered his original condition.
Apart from Old Man Baoshi, none of these people awaiting punishment wanted to communicate with anyone. They were more accustomed to silence and restraint, quietly passing through the final stage of their lives. This was completely unlike the hysteria of condemned prisoners awaiting execution that he had so often seen in ordinary prisons. He had to admit that cultivating the Dao profoundly changed a person's temperament, allowing them to begin taking life and death lightly.
Just as he began worrying that living off meals and waiting for death like this might turn him into a fat man, the date of the prayer was finally confirmed: three days later, with Xiao True Person personally presiding.
What cultivation realm was a True Person in? He was not too clear on that. He only knew it was very, very high-so high he might not even be able to reach their toes to lick them.
The meals became exceptionally lavish, like a prisoner's last meal before execution. Any reasonable request would be granted, even certain physiological needs.
Old Man Baoshi grew agitated again, cursing the Daoist Sect for its hypocrisy. The fine food and drink were only meant to put the sacrifices in better condition, rather than leave them filled with resentment. But his body was honest, and so was his appetite...
Hou Niao did not know how the others were spending these final days. He had always believed that the Daoist Sect must have placed some invisible restraint on these people. Why had they not done the same to him? Simply because he was not even qualified to be restrained. He was too weak.
On the evening before the prayer, there was another lavish feast as usual. Even Old Man Baoshi, who loved company most of all, did not come, choosing to spend the time alone.
The last supper. Just as he began lamenting his ill fortune, an unexpected visitor walked in: Daoist Chongling.
"Don't get any ideas. I'm not here to help you break out of prison. I just felt I should come and keep you company. Even if you go to the underworld, don't carry so much bitterness with you!" Chongling said.
Hou Niao noticed that the present Chongling was somewhat different from the man he had been a month ago. It was as though his face shone. No, that was not quite right. His entire body seemed to glow faintly, giving him a completely different impression, as though he had shed his old flesh and bones.
Noticing his gaze, Chongling smiled faintly. "I had some good luck. I've now reached Profound Connection, so I can just about count as someone of standing in the Anhe Kingdom. That's thanks to you, too."
Hou Niao felt little envy and no jealousy at all. When the distance was too great, such a gap was merely fifty paces versus a hundred; there was no difference. Other people advanced easily and routinely, changing from month to month, while he remained sprawled on the floor, the same year after year. The difference was heaven and earth.
He served the food and poured the wine as usual. "That was your own good fortune, Daoist Master. Please don't say it was thanks to me. If it really were, remaining stuck would have been the normal outcome."
Chongling stood on no ceremony either, raising the wine cup before him. "A cultivator should face his own heart. Help is help. Why refuse to acknowledge it? Especially when it happened three times?"
Hou Niao remained unmoved. He would not deny what was his, nor would he claim credit for what was not.
"The people of Liupanshui City were the ones I helped! Besides, Daoist Master, you said three times. I don't quite understand."
Chongling remained composed and unhurried. He had to make this visit, or he would be unable to face his own heart. Cultivating the Dao meant cultivating the heart. Without clarity in the heart, there was no light ahead.
"Profound Connection is a major barrier for cultivators, different from the five minor barriers before it. You could say that only after taking this step does a cultivator truly enter cultivation of the Great Dao, and take a small but substantial step on the road to longevity. Gaining several decades of life is no joke. It is the foundation that determines how far you can go.
"To pass this barrier successfully, there are countless requirements in every respect. Perfecting one's own character is especially important among them. It doesn't mean you must achieve something, but you cannot leave yourself with the regret of failure. And on this journey to Guangchuan Continent, I nearly made a terrible mistake!"
He looked at Hou Niao, his expression solemn. "So I cannot ruin myself! I cannot save you, because it would affect my Dao Path!
"So I had to come and explain the obstacles involved to you. Whether you can understand or not, at least once I've said it, I can gain some measure of release!
"Do you think I'm selfish? If that's how you feel, then you don't have a correct understanding of cultivation!
"Cultivation is inherently selfish!"
Hou Niao listened quietly. He had never expected this Daoist to offer him any special help anyway. Even if he helped him escape, what meaning would such help have? Nothing but clinging to life!
But he had not acted mindlessly throughout all this. He was simply waiting for an opportunity, one that might come, or might not!
He did not know what that opportunity was, but it certainly was not fleeing with this Daoist's help.
Years immersed in all manner of complicated cases had taught him one thing: do not be impatient. Nothing he had done was in vain; things simply had not yet reached the threshold where change would occur!
Do all that lay within human power, and know Heaven's decree.
Before attaining the fruit of the Dao, first forge bonds of goodwill.