Volume One: The Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Chapter 19: On the Way of the Dao

It seemed as though he had always lived beneath the shade of his parents’ legacy.

For so many years, whenever someone mentioned Wang Chuan, what they spoke of most was that he was the son of the Lord of Jin, the son of the Grand Princess.

His memories of his mother grew increasingly faint. He never expected, after so many years, that her name would surface again.

The visitor claimed to be a friend of his mother.

“Then you are Lady Yue?” Wang Chuan asked.

The woman nodded, acknowledging it.

“My Imperial Grandmother also helped me leave Wei Capital. She possessed certain means—those means are you! On the last day I saw her, she handed me a slip of paper, a note permitting me to ask your help. Everyone knows, if Lady Yue, renowned as a Grandmaster, were to assist me, I would surely escape Wei Capital,” Wang Chuan said. “This was my grandmother’s thoughtful intention, the last thing she did for me.”

Lady Yue of Moon Spirit Mountain, famed throughout the realm.

Wang Chuan had heard her name as well. Over a decade ago, she was already recognized by all as a Grandmaster, her strength extraordinary.

She was connected to the Empress Dowager, too. Rumor had it she was born to an official’s family, but for reasons unknown, her family fell into ruin and she was imprisoned. The Empress Dowager pardoned her, and later, a master took her as a disciple, teaching her until she became accomplished.

So, if the Empress Dowager requested Lady Yue to escort Wang Chuan from Wei Capital, she would certainly act, and all would follow its course.

“But you never used that note. You didn’t ask for my help,” Lady Yue said.

Wang Chuan nodded.

In any case, the Empress Dowager was gone now; she believed Wang Chuan could leave Wei Capital on his own.

They said she passed peacefully.

In truth, it was once again to leave the choice with him, to let him decide for himself. If he stayed, he wouldn’t be in danger; the Lord of Wei would not trouble him greatly in his lifetime. Yet everyone understood: if he returned, it would become a battle for the crown prince.

“You’ve been following me these past days. Why?” Wang Chuan asked.

Even if she was his mother’s friend, he disliked such behavior—being watched, stalked, always with hidden intentions.

“I wanted to see what kind of person the famed Crown Prince of Jin really is,” Lady Yue replied. “For over ten years, you were unremarkable, feigning madness in Wei Capital, dispensing small favors to the people. Then, suddenly, as if enlightened, your poetry soared, as though the Literary Star shone upon you—your verses unmatched. Then you fell gravely ill, incurable, only to be transformed by a sage’s intervention… Now you stand before me.”

“And now you’ve seen,” Wang Chuan said calmly.

“I’ve seen,” Lady Yue nodded. “But I still cannot see through you.”

“All things, all people—why cling to what is before your eyes and ears?” Wang Chuan said, unperturbed. “Earlier, I encountered a revered monk, and gained insight. I have no wish to quarrel with you. Why do you persist in appearances?”

Lady Yue nodded, as if she agreed, then continued, “Your martial prowess is beyond my perception. This is the second time I've felt like this—the first was as a child, learning from my master. When I looked at her, it was like gazing up at a lofty mountain. She was already famed as a Grandmaster then.”

“I always wondered: when I became a Grandmaster, how would I perceive my master? But I never had the chance. Today, seeing you, I don’t know why I am reminded of my childhood. Though you seem ordinary, your presence gives me the very same feeling.”

Back then, she had just begun her studies, gazing up at the Grandmaster like a mountain.

Now, as a Grandmaster herself, when she looked at Wang Chuan, it was still like gazing up a mountain.

Thus, she found herself unable to fathom him.

“Before I broke through, I asked my master what it meant to become a Grandmaster, what that realm truly was,” Lady Yue said. “She told me that the Grandmaster’s realm depends solely on one’s spirit and energy, communicating with heaven and earth—a mysterious state of unity, cultivating oneself. She said that once you reach that communion with heaven and earth, you realize the vastness of the universe and your own insignificance. You glimpse part of the universe’s secrets, yet cannot see the whole.”

Beyond this step lies breaking through the void, becoming a deity or a saint.

The legendary state of immortality.

Over the years, many sought after it, but true success was exceedingly rare.

Only one in ten thousand could cross that threshold.

That is why Grandmasters stand at the pinnacle.

Even so, upon reaching that realm, the urge to break through is irresistible.

Becoming a deity or a saint holds unimaginable allure for them.

Deep within, an unimaginable urge exists.

Lady Yue’s master, too, must have pursued that faint hope, seeking that elusive opportunity.

“I am strong, I know it,” Wang Chuan said. “If you came simply to tell me these things, then you’ve said enough.”

He had his own martial path.

He cared nothing for others.

“The world claims you are the reincarnation of a sage, that you were revived by divine intervention, breaking through to Grandmaster in a single day, turning decay into wonder! But, are there any sages left in this world?” Lady Yue looked at him, questioning. “I came too late, missed what happened that day. Hearing the Empress Dowager was gravely ill, I rushed over but arrived too late, and learned you were quietly sent out of Wei Capital. When I caught up, I was again too late, and now the world says you were touched by a sage.”

“What does that have to do with you?” Wang Chuan sneered. “Surely you wouldn’t be like those vulgar people wishing for guidance and gain, hoping for effortless success, for instant sainthood. You have your own martial path, but perhaps that’s why you doubt it, wondering if you can truly break through the Grandmaster’s realm? Is there really a higher level beyond Grandmaster?”

So many years, Grandmasters have fallen one after another.

Many once thought the same.

They were lost, shaken, plagued by inner demons.

So many years, no one has become a deity or a saint.

Thus, gradually, it became legend.

Is there truly another realm beyond Grandmaster?

For so many years, Grandmasters have been trapped.

If Grandmaster is truly the utmost, what meaning is there in striving further?

Some chose to fall, to drift.

Some still seek, but with doubt, climbing onwards...

Day after day, many lost hope, fell into darkness, became consumed...

Today, Lady Yue’s curiosity was the same, as if she hoped to get an answer from Wang Chuan.

If deity and saintly realms truly exist, if there are sages, her martial heart would be steadfast.

Even if she herself could not reach sainthood.

Otherwise, it is as if wandering an endless sea.

Is there truly a distant shore?

“So, do you want me to say yes or no?” Wang Chuan sneered again. “Do you really want an answer from me?”

“Forget it, there’s no need,” Lady Yue shook her head. “I remember my master—she took her own path, and I must seek mine. Regret? No regrets in this life. Wang Chuan, in my lifetime, I hope to witness your rise to deity or sainthood. I may not reach it myself.”

Lady Yue’s face showed sorrow, her eyes moist.

Wang Chuan nodded. “The martial path is lonely. Since you’ve chosen it, persevere through wind and rain, never stop. Perhaps, there will never be a true peak.”

“The world’s energy converges on Fucheng, and tonight Mars guards the heart—something is about to happen,” Lady Yue gazed at the sky. “Wang Chuan, is that why you’ve come to Fucheng?”

Wang Chuan watched her sleeves flow, her ribbons flutter, evoking the demeanor of a peerless immortal.

Ordinary people might not notice, but now it was becoming evident.

Above Fucheng, it seemed a vortex was drawing in fortune from all directions, converging at the center like rivers flowing to the sea.

Wang Chuan had sensed it on his journey from Wei, which is why he headed west, all the way...

He had his own agenda, inevitably.

“Man follows earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Way, the Way follows nature. Heaven, mankind, deities, mortals, the Great Way, martial arts, the void—all are one. Your earlier insight into the universe was apt: without knowing the tiny, one cannot know the Way,” Wang Chuan said slowly. “The changes in Fucheng this time are both irrelevant to us, and intimately linked.”

Lady Yue nodded.

Opportunity is indeed mysterious; if it is meant for you, you will obtain it, otherwise, don’t force it.

“Everyone is like this: at our level, to go further is nearly impossible. Many don’t know how to break through, so they try all sorts of methods, and inevitably some fall into the demonic path,” Lady Yue said. “This phenomenon in Fucheng gives me a sense of foreboding.”

“Those with intent are making moves. At your Grandmaster’s realm, you can respond to all changes with constancy, more than enough to protect yourself,” Wang Chuan said slowly. “If something happens, just don’t get too involved.”

“It would violate my martial heart,” Lady Yue shook her head.

There are countless sufferers in the world; there’s no true saintly mother.

But Grandmasters like Lady Yue walk the righteous path—if she passes through a place and sees the weak being bullied, she helps as a matter of course.

That is her path.

No Grandmaster has achieved their status without enduring hardship, thus they do not fall easily.

“At first, I suspected someone was seeking the dragon vein,” Wang Chuan crouched down, placing his hand on the earth.

Now, at least, he had someone to discuss it with.

Today, he seemed to speak more than usual.

“The dragon vein?” Lady Yue was startled. “That is audacious beyond belief.”

“That’s what I thought. If true, it would shake the world! First, the dragon vein is crucial: the Son of Heaven is the ruler, governing the realm. The imperial aura covers the land, not easily disturbed. Generations of emperors have accumulated the dragon vein, its network spans the realm; if its foundation is harmed, calamity and disaster would ensue!” Wang Chuan said calmly.

“Moreover, the dragon vein is so formidable, ordinary people cannot touch it. It is blessed by heaven, shaped by the earth, gathered by human harmony, thus forming the strongest fortune in the world. Not even Grandmasters can glimpse it,” Lady Yue’s face was grave. “That power is not of the mortal world, it does not exist within heaven and earth.”

So, if there truly are people scheming for such things—

They must be gods, saints.

Powers no mortal can contain.

But they are beings above the world.

“Yes, the dragon vein—though earth and humanity combine, its mysterious energy can grant extraordinary abilities. But it cannot be done; ordinary people cannot swallow burning coals,” Wang Chuan said. “The dragon vein has a strong aura and energy, not fragile like a newborn, impossible to bully. Ordinary people cannot approach it; it is like the blazing sun, capable of reducing one to ashes. The dragon vein is equally unfathomable—even Grandmasters cannot touch it, invisible and intangible, yet it is there.”

At this level, arduous practice is useless; every move is already perfected, flawless.

Wang Chuan knew: to break through, one must move heaven and earth, invert the cosmos, swallow the sun and moon.

Before Grandmaster, cultivation was always in harmony with heaven and earth.

But to shatter the shackles, one must defy heaven.

Grandmasters are trapped in a cage, and truly, it is heaven and earth that binds them.