Chapter 45

Lin Fan was very curious and asked, "Then what happened?"

"Then..." Ximen Shuai felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart, the pain was particularly intense. After a moment of thought, he slowly said, "Then you would be a substitute, she would be by your side without any resentment, even though she knew you didn't like her, that she was just a substitute. Only when you lost her would you realize you were wrong... What kind of tea are you drinking? A real man should drink alcohol."

Ximen Shuai took out two wine flasks, threw one to Lin Fan, and then leaned against a pine tree, staring at the sky in a daze, lost in thought. After a long while, he said, "Lin Fan, don't care about things that don't belong to you; it will make you lose a lot. If it were someone else, even if Sanzhen proposed on your behalf, there would still be a chance. But Shangguan Feiyan is not only already promised to someone, but her heart is also taken."

"Oh." Lin Fan suddenly understood, "Guan Guan zhi ju... I get it, I must have fallen for her. I thought I was possessed. I know, the first time you like a girl, you have a lot of unnatural reactions."

Ximen Shuai was puzzled, "How do you know that?"

"Books say so," Lin Fan replied.

Ximen Shuai was thunderstruck, "This帅 has never heard of any literature that records such things about men and women." It's either a romance novel with detailed action descriptions or something like the Book of Songs.

"There is," Lin Fan nodded firmly, "The Ten Taboos of Cultivation."

"Who wrote it?" Ximen Shuai asked, seeing that Lin Fan wasn't lying.

"Meng Sheng."

Ximen Shuai countered, "Meng Sheng?" Who the hell is this guy?

Far away, Sanzhen sighed, "Why does no one know my real name?"

Ximen Shuai asked, "What are the ten taboos?"

"The first taboo: Men and women's feelings can exist, but they must not be disordered. The general idea is that everyone will go through this once, but the world has its own order. What is yours will not escape, and what is not yours should not be forced. It also adds that the first time men and women's feelings appear, nine times out of ten, it doesn't end well... I've always suspected that this literature was written by our sect, but if so, it should be in his or Zhang Lao's handwriting, which it isn't."

Sanzhen: I wrote it with my left hand.

"Who is Zhang Lao?"

Ximen Shuai's question made Lin Fan lose his interest in men and women's feelings. Zhang Lao... Zhang Lao should still be alive, probably on his way back to Yunqing Mountain. Lin Fan shook his head lightly, "Actually, one reason I came out with you this time is that I didn't want to wait for Zhang Lao to ascend. I always thought Meng Sheng was writing nonsense, how could a girl affect me so much? Now it seems it's true."

Ximen Shuai was curious, "What about the second taboo?"

Lin Fan looked down, "I don't even believe the first taboo, why would I look at the second? I'll check it out later."

Ximen Shuai quickly said, "Copy it for me." It sounds interesting.

"No problem." Lin Fan asked, "That demon sect protector today, Nangong something, was really powerful."

Ximen Shuai nodded, "Not just powerful, but extremely powerful. He is four hundred years old, was the first disciple of the previous Demon Lord, and achieved a perfect Yuan Ying at forty. If he hadn't been severely injured in the evil path war and cultivated an ordinary Yuan Ying, he might be the strongest in the Demon Mountain."

Lin Fan asked curiously, "Yuan Ying can be ordinary and special?"

"Of course. Not only Yuan Ying, but also Jin Dan. This帅's Jin Dan is a rare twin Jin Dan, allowing me to use two minds. When I reach the Lesser Enlightenment, I can roam the heavens and earth." Ximen Shuai asked, "Didn't you know?"

"No, no one cares about what kind of foundation I have, as long as I have one."

Ximen Shuai seemed to understand, "Sanzhen is indeed a dragon among men." Not forcing, not deliberately, what is yours, whether ordinary or extraordinary, is yours, and that cannot be changed. Why worry about it? Thinking about how he proudly introduced his twin Jin Dan, he felt a bit ashamed.

Ximen Shuai asked, "Is everything okay now?"

"Um... I'm still thinking about Feiyan, but I should be fine."

Ximen Shuai nodded, "Good, a real man should be able to let go. We've wasted a lot of time, so we'll rest here today and pass through Zhentian Pass tomorrow. Calculating the time, in three days, the leader of Zitong Sect, Baiyan Demon Lord, will leave Cuilv Valley, and we can take action."

"Um."

"There are six female disciples of Zitong Sect serving the thousand-year-old fox. Five of them have low cultivation and are not a concern. But one is a direct disciple of Baiyan Demon Lord, responsible for the daily affairs of Cuilv Valley."

Lin Fan asked, "How do we handle it?"

"If there were two Ximen Shuais, they would definitely call for help when they saw us," Ximen Shuai said. "But if it's a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the righteous path, the female disciple can take care of it alone, and she won't bother to call for help. You need to pull her away and kill her, while I take the opportunity to attack the thousand-year-old fox and capture her."

"That sounds very dangerous."

"It is dangerous, but I think you can handle her."

"Oh?" Lin Fan asked.

"Even Nangong Wuheng might not be at ease dealing with a Zitong Sect disciple, because it's about breaking and enlightenment. To break the illusion, you must first understand it."

Lin Fan asked, "Can we not go?"

Originally, it was just a few ordinary disciples, but now there's a direct disciple of Baiyan Demon Lord, and he's the bait. Fishing is about skill and luck, but the bait often doesn't come back.

Ximen Shuai looked down, "Cultivation is not about fighting bandits."

"Alright," Lin Fan said, "But don't blame me if I run away when I can't handle it. Don't say I'm not loyal." Lin Fan now found Ximen Shuai quite likable.

"You just need to hold her off for the time it takes to burn an incense stick."

...

They passed through the pass smoothly. Lin Fan still occasionally got distracted, thinking about that stunning moment and Shangguan Feiyan's appearance and laughter. Lin Fan pondered why these emotions appeared, and the answer was desire. Ordinary people have many desires, but cultivators are not without desires. Except for those who practice asceticism, who may or may not be fortunate, they see through the world and have no desires.

The sage said, "Food, sex, and nature are human nature." Some say, "As long as the sage lives, the great thief will not stop."

Thinking about Zhang Lao, Lin Fan suddenly felt a bit lost. What is cultivation for? Longevity? To eliminate the pain of the mortal world and achieve immortality? But that is a very basic goal. After achieving it, one might pursue a higher realm or greater power. Cultivation is about both realm and cultivation. Cultivation is purely for the survival of the strong. But what about the realm? A pure realm can make one desireless.

Lin Fan asked, "What do ascetics think about?"

Ximen Shuai replied, "You should ask them, but those who know the answer are not interested in answering your question. Those who would answer are not ascetics."

"Do they have no other pursuits?" Lin Fan asked.

PS: Starting tomorrow, two updates a day, three updates a day. Eight days left on the new book chart, please give me recommendations.