readytorunbook Chapter 1003 A New World (5)
Chapter 1003 A New World (5)
“What Yuan’er just said is that beauty is not the ‘beauty’ in the eyes of the world… To have such an understanding in just three days shows that you have thought about it carefully.”
Master Yunshui changed the subject and continued the previous topic.
"While this statement isn't entirely wrong, it's not entirely wrong either. The reason lies in the fact that if we broaden our perspective and look at it from a long-term viewpoint, beauty... can actually be described as the pursuit of all beautiful things in the world..."
"The pursuit of all beautiful things..." Han Yi fell into deep thought.
"Yes... the pursuit of beautiful things... here it doesn't just refer to tangible things like beautiful scenery and color, things that can be seen and touched, things with a definite form."
Master Yunshui continued to explain.
"It is a more obscure, more mysterious, and more ambiguous existence. It may be difficult to understand, but you can think of it as a wish."
"Wish?" Han Yi repeatedly chewed on the word.
“A wish is what the heart desires, the fulfillment of what the heart longs for, the most primal and complete yearning from the bottom of one’s heart. This is a wish. And at the same time, this is the most beautiful thing in the world.”
Master Yunshui paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice.
"My Illusionary Water Palace uses 'beauty' as the standard for selecting disciples. The reason why we choose beauty as the basis for cultivation is because our wishes are too mysterious."
Those who have the ability to face their inner selves and successfully uncover their true desires hidden deep within are few and far between, extremely rare. Yuan'er, if you choose this path, I suggest you…”
............
............
Boo!
A white-feathered, black-clawed crane cried out as it descended from a great height and gently landed above the light blue eaves.
The drizzle was like sand.
White mist swirled above the Misty Rain Square, creating a hazy, indistinct scene.
"Fragile glass is easily broken, the sea of illusion is difficult to cross. Like a mirage, like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water, I am but a fleeting scene..."
On the high platform in the square, an elder in white robes wearing a veil muttered incantations and casually tossed out handfuls of white powder.
The powder fell gently, mingling with the raindrops and landing on the people below.
call......
Inside the enormous three-legged bronze censer, a candle as thick as an arm suddenly ignited, its blue smoke rising slowly, unyielding to the wind and unmoved by the rain.
on the ground.
It's covered with a dense, chaotic circle of symbols and patterns, looking like a child's random scribbles. Yet, it also seems to conceal some kind of pattern and twist within it.
The blood-red lines of the pattern are deeply imprinted on the floor, exuding a mysterious and chilling aura.
A large group of disciples who had passed the sect's assessment sat in the middle of the square, all with their eyes closed and their expressions somewhat dazed.
"..."
Han Yi stood on a pavilion to the side, looking at the hazy scene below with a somewhat inscrutable expression.
More than a month passed quickly.
The sectarian assessment was also carried out smoothly as scheduled.
The disciples in the plaza below.
Those who passed the sect's assessment were the new batch of disciples who joined the Illusionary Water Palace.
What is taking place now is the final baptism ceremony for the new disciples.
The reason Han Yi is standing here is...
It's because he didn't participate in the assessment at all, so naturally he couldn't undergo the baptism.
of course.
The absence of an assessment does not mean that one cannot enter the field.
With the help of Yunshui Shangren's connections.
Han Yi, as an ordinary person, became a formal disciple of the Illusionary Water Palace, and even became the senior disciple of this generation.
He didn't want to use this back door, but he had no choice.
From entering the Illusionary Water Palace to the end of the assessment, a full three months passed.
Han Yi's cultivation of the "Illusory Water Heart Canon" is still without any progress, and he is stuck at the stage of observing color.
On the surface, he is still an ordinary person through and through.
Although he received special instruction from Master Yunshui, he obtained another method of cultivating the mind.
but.
Han Yi still doesn't understand it.
Find what you think deepest in your heart, what you yearn for, and the fulfillment of your most primal and unconditional desires.
My wish here.
What exactly does it mean?
Literally speaking.
A wish is something you want to accomplish.
If you understand it that way, then there are indeed many.
To expel physical pollution, pinpoint the northern direction, and even surpass the limits of current strength...
These things.
In fact, they can all be attributed to wishes.
But no matter how Han Yi tried.
It still doesn't meet the entry requirements for the Heart Classic.
“My wish…” Han Yi’s eyes became somewhat profound. He didn’t think that what Yunshui Shangren said was a lie.
no need.
If the other party doesn't want him to cultivate the Heart Sutra, they should just not say so. There's no need to waste so much breath and explain so much.
and so.
Provided that the information is accurate.
Han Yi thought it over and over.
The cause can only be attributed to itself.
Could it be...
He thought of a possibility.
what! ! !
However, before Han Yi could think further...
In an instant.
The white-robed elder on the high platform in the square screamed, opened his arms, and began some kind of mysterious dance.
Her dance moves were somewhat stiff and mechanical, as if she were possessed. Her eyes were lifeless, and she muttered incantations, occasionally emitting hissing sounds like insects and snakes.
The screams fluctuated in pitch and even acquired a strange rhythm, as if they were communicating with some mysterious being.
Numerous afterimages were brought out in the rain, and even the incense and candle flames inside the bronze censer suddenly shot up more than three feet high.
Rumble...
The sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds, and the sky instantly darkened.
The bronze furnace in the square thus became the only source of light.
Han Yi's thoughts were pulled back, and his gaze was immediately drawn to it.
Regarding this so-called baptism ceremony.
Han Yi didn't pay much attention at first, thinking it was just a formality to announce the sect's philosophy and showcase its heritage.
If you can't participate, then you don't participate; it's no big deal.
But now I see...
The piercing screams, the bizarre dances, the strange whispers, and the fanatical expressions on the faces of the crowd.
No matter how you look at it, something just doesn't seem right.
It didn't look like a proper welcoming ceremony.
It actually resembled a bizarre ritual of some kind of cult.
Chi!
Han Yi's gaze sharpened.
The wisps of smoke swirling above the incense and candles suddenly stopped, then split into countless white incense flames that flew out in unison, landing above each disciple's head, slowly sinking into their skulls, and disappearing from sight.
Suddenly.
The disciples sitting in the square all shuddered.
His life force rapidly declined, like a candle flickering in the wind and rain; the old man was about to disappear from this world.
"That is......"
Time passed slowly, and Han Yi's gaze gradually became serious.
A subtle, unseen fluctuation arose in the air. The nature of this fluctuation was indescribable; it was neither malevolent nor peaceful. It was like utterly bland fresh water, utterly ordinary and unremarkable.
Time passed slowly, and the ripples gradually gathered and spread.
Han Yi was taken aback.
Suddenly, shadowy figures appeared in the square.
Behind each disciple, there was a phantom image moving in the exact same way, silently clinging to their back.
These phantoms seem to have no physical form, floating and drifting without any fixed shape. Their appearances are unclear, and they can only be distinguished by their shapes.
As the phantom appeared in the square.
The crowd slowly opened their eyes, as if they had gone through countless reincarnations. Their gazes were clear, devoid of sorrow or joy, like enlightened monks, calm as still water.
They seemed completely oblivious to the illusory figures on the field, their expressions serene, their demeanor subtly conveying a sense of otherworldly refinement.
laugh......
The incense and candles in the large bronze incense burner slowly burned out at this time.
The illusory figures vanished silently, like wisps of air.
call......
A gentle breeze rippled through the air.
The dark clouds dispersed, and the sky gradually cleared.
The light drizzle actually stopped at that moment.
"This time, thirty-six new disciples have been admitted..." the white-robed elder solemnly announced from the high platform, "...and thus...the ceremony is complete..."
Her tone was solemn at this moment, showing no trace of the fervor she had shown just moments before; she was completely a different person.
"Farewell, Elder!"
The thirty-six disciples sitting in the square bowed in unison, like a group of emotionless puppets, their voices clear and loud.
The ceremony is over.
A group of people stood up in unison and filed out in an orderly fashion.
As everyone left the square, they all saw Han Yi standing on the pavilion next to it.
But they all remained calm and indifferent, their hearts unmoved.
Among them were many female disciples who admired Han Yi in the past.
At this moment, the gazes directed at Han Yi were no longer filled with emotions and desires, but instead were filled with a calm and open look.
Even in the past.
Xiao Teng harbors great resentment and dissatisfaction with Han Yi, which can even be described as bitterness.
Upon seeing Han Yi's figure, she not only remained calm and pure-eyed, but also revealed a gentle smile.
It seems that for him...
Since the past is past, let's turn the page and put aside our hatred from today onwards, and make peace.
"..."
Han Yi's eyebrows twitched at the sight before him, and he felt a chill run down his spine.
He felt a chill in his body.
It's not this body that's feeling cold; it's the physical body itself that's feeling cold.
Given Han Yi's physical strength, the fact that he felt a chill at this moment was not because he actually felt cold, but because his heart was cold.
A chill ran through me for no reason.
Obviously.
Not right.
There are big problems.
If hatred could be let go of so easily, there would be no saying, "Lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot."
Can a simple baptism truly enlighten a person, make them repent and turn them into a saint?
impossible things.
Can't explain.
There must have been some influencing factor that Han Yi was unaware of, which played a role in this.
Those eerie phantoms that appear and disappear just as mysteriously...
moment.
Han Yi had a bad feeling about it.
Of everyone present, including the elders watching from the sidelines, it seemed that only he saw those phantoms.
And the reason why only he could see it was because of this.
It's still because it relies on the sensory abilities of the physical body.
As an ordinary person, Han Yuan naturally couldn't sense the existence of the illusory figure.