Chapter 1303: Have No Fear

Over the past half month, Kong Ru had followed Chen Changsheng to many places.

Chen Changsheng's image grew increasingly vivid in Kong Ru's mind.

Through various events and newfound experiences, Kong Ru finally understood the words spoken when they had first met.

He was a bit naive, but he wasn't stupid.

Having seen it for himself, he understood.

The people on the road were exactly as Chen Changsheng had described—some good, some bad. Sometimes, sincerity could not be traded for sincerity. It was as simple as buying something on the street.

When you took out all your money to buy an item, treating the transaction with the utmost sincerity, the shopkeeper might seem to lower the price for you. In reality, the initial asking price was already far higher than the actual value, yet on the surface, they still pretended to be parting with a treasure at great personal loss.

If business was like this, human relationships were even more so.

"So Fellow Daoist Chen was deceiving me before?"

"Ah..." Chen Changsheng murmured. "I thought you would have realized that by now."

Kong Ru smiled helplessly. "And I thought Fellow Daoist was a good person."

"Is This Chen not a good person?"

"I suppose you are..."

Kong Ru changed the subject, adding, "I really thought I was entangled in some massive karma. I tossed and turned for days, completely unable to sleep."

Chen Changsheng smiled. "This is called learning from your mistakes. Shouldn't you thank This Chen?"

Kong Ru thought about it and felt he had a point. He nodded. "I really should thank Fellow Daoist."

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "You haven't gotten much smarter."

"Is that so?" Kong Ru asked. "I feel like I'm much smarter than before."

"The fact that you can say something like that proves you haven't made any progress at all."

"..."

"That makes sense."

Chen Changsheng couldn't help but rub his forehead. "Let's go. Stop overthinking it. Whether it makes sense or not, those were just words to fool you."

"Ah, how can Fellow Daoist act like this?"

"This is called the sinister nature of the world."

Whenever Chen Changsheng passed by an Immortal Mountain, he would always pay a visit.

Primarily, it was to exchange insights on Divine Abilities and Arts and Techniques, or to engage in a discourse on the Dao. His Dao Cultivation was truly lacking; he lacked the accumulation that someone like Jiuxiaozi possessed, so now he could only seek it out step by step, filling the gaps bit by bit.

Carrying his book box, Kong Ru followed Chen Changsheng, and many things opened his eyes.

It turned out that Immortal Mountains were not as remote as he had imagined; they were simply mountains thick with Spiritual Energy. Furthermore, many of these mountains were not crawling with cultivators as he had assumed. Most sects had relatively small lineages. Those exceeding a hundred members were few and far between. Only a few exceptionally large Immortal Sects boasted massive numbers of disciples.

Over the past few days, the Immortal Mountain they visited with the fewest cultivators had only three people—a sect master and two disciples. Other than them, there were only the chickens, ducks, and geese raised on the mountain.

"I thought all cultivators were incredibly free and unrestrained, the kind who look absolutely majestic riding swords and slaying demons."

"What?" Chen Changsheng looked at him. "Is the discrepancy from your imagination too vast?"

"A little," Kong Ru admitted, lowering his head.

Chen Changsheng took a sip of wine. "Cultivation is not a pursuit of power, but the refinement of body and mind. Because of this, most cultivators actually live very peaceful lives. It isn't as heroic or grandiose as you imagine."

"I've seen that now," Kong Ru nodded.

Chen Changsheng nodded. "However, there are some Immortal Sects entirely focused on the pursuit of power."

"Oh?"

"For example, Sword Mountain."

Chen Changsheng looked at him and explained, "Sword Mountain is one of the top-tier Immortal Sects in the Cultivation World. They focus entirely on the sword dao, but they do not do so for longevity. They only seek to break all laws with a single sword and attain the posture of a Sword Immortal. The vast majority of Sword Mountain cultivators cultivate only a single Natal Sword. They rarely dabble in Divine Abilities, Arts and Techniques, or the Way of Longevity and Immortality. They are considered anomalies in the Cultivation World. They should be closer to what you imagined."

Kong Ru pondered this before asking, "Does that mean a Sword Cultivator's lifespan is actually shorter than that of most other cultivators?"

"Correct."

Chen Changsheng nodded. "There are rarely paths in this world that offer the best of both worlds. There is always give and take."

"Oh..."

Kong Ru began to ponder silently, inevitably asking himself where his own dao lay.

Carrying this doubt, he continued on the journey.

Chen Changsheng guided him, as if teaching a student, showing him the true nature of this world and helping him understand the principles governing all under heaven.

By the same token, Kong Ru's honesty and purity were healing the emptiness in Chen Changsheng's heart, making the journey feel far less lonely and arduous.

Whenever he had free time, he would always impart some useful principles to the young man. This time, they were not words born of Chen Changsheng's own understanding, but drawn from the books he had seen and read.

"Confucius is truly worthy of being called a Sage. I would really love to meet him."

Listening to Chen Changsheng recite those words of the Sage along their journey, a deep sense of yearning inevitably swelled in Kong Ru's heart.

"You probably won't get to see him," Chen Changsheng said.

"Ah, why? This Sage Confucius..."

"He is not of this world."

"I see..."

Kong Ru secretly felt it was a pity. He truly wanted to witness such brilliance for himself.

Chen Changsheng patted him on the shoulder. "You share the same family name as Sage Confucius, and you even bear the character 'Ru' in your name. Who knows, perhaps you will be the next Sage Confucius?"

Hearing this, Kong Ru quickly replied, "Fellow Daoist flatters me too much! How could a mere kid like me dare to be compared to a Sage? I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

"What is there to not dare?"

Chen Changsheng smiled, a thought crossing his mind.

There was no Sage Confucius in this world. So, if the words of Sage Confucius were spoken from Kong Ru's mouth, wouldn't he become the Sage Confucius of this world?

The two might have their differences, but in essence, they were identical.

Because, to Sage Confucius, perhaps what mattered wasn't Sage Confucius himself, but the Confucian Studies that would be passed down for ten thousand generations. What mattered was not the person, but the 'teachings,' the 'dao.'

Over this recent period, Kong Ru's eyes had been completely opened.

In this Cultivation World that was fraught with danger on every front, under Chen Changsheng's protection, he had never once fallen into peril.

However, all good things must come to an end.

Chen Changsheng told him, "This Chen must leave."

"Leave?" Kong Ru was somewhat confused.

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Chen Changsheng explained, "This Chen also has moments of helplessness. Wandering the world is my desire, but trivial matters will always drag me down. You will have to walk the rest of this road on your own."

Kong Ru felt completely lost upon hearing these words.

It was far too sudden. He was entirely unprepared.

"Fellow Daoist, you... I..."

Kong Ru did not know what he should do, or even if he should try to urge him to stay.

"Remember what Sage Confucius said: the wise are not confused, the benevolent do not worry, and the brave do not fear."

"You still have a long road ahead of you. This Chen hopes that one day, you will come to understand exactly what your 'dao' truly is."

"The road ahead is long. Do not fear, do not dread."