Chapter 37: Action Through Inaction (Bonus Chapter)
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Chapter 37: Non-Action Yet Omnipotence (Bonus Chapter)
To endure is not to live ignobly, but to hide one’s ambition, to bide one’s time, to nurture one’s light in the shadows. It is not to betray one’s heart, to kneel, or to bend one’s spine in submission.
I desire to ascend to the heavens as an Immortal of Endurance, not to dwell long in falsehood and become a dog in spirit.
In years past, I recited the Classic of the Way and Virtue, seeking the ultimate truth. In its five thousand words, the Way and Virtue speak of heaven and earth, the world of men, the human heart, and the Great Dao.
From it, I gleaned a single phrase, regarding it as the supreme maxim and my guiding principle:
“The Supreme Daoist Ancestor said: The Dao is ever non-acting, yet nothing is left undone.”
Thus, only through non-action can one achieve omnipotence.
It does not mean doing nothing at all, but rather acting with boundaries, with measure, with stratagem, and with security.
Were one to do nothing, what difference would there be between the living and the dead? Inaction, like a puppet, is to be but a walking corpse.
Therefore—
Only through non-action can one achieve all things, restraining desire to seek the peace of the Great Dao.
The Supreme Daoist Ancestor is truly the consummate master of the Path of Endurance.
At this thought, a revelation dawned upon Luo Feng.
The Daoist Ancestor wrote the scriptures, and I have studied the Classic of the Way and Virtue.
By this reckoning, the Supreme Daoist Ancestor is my teacher in words.
By this reckoning, I am also a disciple of the Supreme Dao.
Whether you believe it or not, I, Luo, believe it.
Whether the Daoist Ancestor acknowledges me or not, I acknowledge him!
In that instant, Luo Feng was thoroughly enlightened.
Like the wind, he descended from the mountain peak to the Hall of Ten Thousand Blessings in the blink of an eye and casually found a Daoist on duty.
Clapping the man on the shoulder, Luo Feng said, “Revered Daoist, I have a matter I wish to trouble you with.”
“Mr. Luo, it’s you,” the Daoist of the Supreme Purity Sect exclaimed, then bowed respectfully.
Some days earlier, the sect leader had summoned the disciples and instructed that Luo Feng was an honored guest of the Supreme Purity Sect; should they encounter him, they were to treat him with the courtesy accorded to an elder.
Luo Feng smiled warmly, “No need for formalities. Do you perhaps have a portrait of the Supreme Daoist Ancestor here?”
“I would like to take one for worship.”
The on-duty Daoist chanted a blessing and gestured, “Sir, please follow me.”
It cannot be denied—having connections makes things smoother.
With the sect leader’s personal instructions, the Daoist dared not delay and promptly produced the most precious scroll of the Supreme Daoist Ancestor’s portrait.
Painted and crafted by a master of the Hundred Arts, the portrait was impervious to water and fire. The scrolls on either side were made of rare purple sandalwood.
Such portraits were typically gifts from the Supreme Purity Sect to devout patrons and distinguished guests as a gesture of goodwill.
...
Luo Feng hung the portrait of the Supreme Daoist Ancestor reverently on the wall, lit incense, and bowed deeply: “Disciple Luo Feng, having heard the true words, is greatly enlightened and bows in thanks for the Daoist Ancestor’s great virtue!”
After a round of worship, a burden seemed to lift from his heart, and he let out a long breath. He then respectfully put away the portrait.
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Gazing at the portrait, a full foot in length, Luo Feng fell into deep contemplation.
Should he seek out a spatial treasure to make it easier to carry the portrait and worship day and night?
“Spatial treasures are easily lost; it’s better to cultivate spatial arts,” Luo Feng murmured.
In his youth, while reading Journey to the West, his greatest admiration was not for the Buddha or Sun Wukong, but for the Great Immortal Zhenyuan of the Five Villages Temple, whose art “the universe in a sleeve” left Luo Feng full of longing.
As for how to cultivate spatial arts, Luo Feng had already found a path.
Among the extraordinary, there were those known as Artifact Refiners.
They crafted spatial tools—Devouring Bags, Space Rings.
Though these could only store the dead or inanimate, they were enough.
Luo Feng did not long to open up chaos or hold a blessed realm within his sleeve.
He only wanted a space to store things.
...
While Luo Feng was paying respects to the Daoist Ancestor, the Supreme Purity Sect had already extracted the list of those behind the scenes.
But Luo Feng’s whereabouts were unpredictable and he could not be found.
Now, as soon as he returned to his residence, Luo Yuan was sent to invite him.
As they walked the mountain path towards the Hall of Three Purities, Luo Yuan suddenly asked, “Uncle Feng, was it truly for Tian Ce’s revenge that you acted?”
Luo Feng paused, smiled faintly, and said, “Of course. What else would it be for?”
Luo Yuan blinked mischievously, “You can fool Uncle Zheng, since you two have only corresponded by letter these years, but I’ve been by your side for ten years. You can’t fool me, Uncle Feng!”
“I may be inexperienced, but I’m not a fool!”
“Even if you acted in anger, at most you would sweep away the rabble. Though Eastern Sea is weak, it is still a nation. You would never brazenly make a public spectacle and declare your actions before all.”
Luo Feng stopped and gazed at the sky for a long time before replying, “Because of destiny!”
“Destiny?!”
Luo Yuan was perplexed and followed after him, suspecting some hidden secret.
What is destiny, after all?
“Destiny!” Luo Feng sighed inwardly. The reason for his direct confrontation, without subterfuge, was twofold.
Confronting the Eastern Sea was a matter of political correctness.
As long as you are of Huaxia, at this moment, what must be done is to confront the Eastern Sea—nothing else.
If that were the only reason, Luo Feng would hold fast to the path of endurance and counter the extraordinary of Eastern Sea with poison, assassination, ambush, sowing discord—using every shadowy method.
Disguising himself, layering identities, disguising again and again...
Every action would require digging escape tunnels, preparing for top-level extraordinary support, or at the very least, several cannons for backup.
But there was another factor influencing Luo Feng’s decision.
The second reason is a hypothesis.
Destiny? Ha!
What is destiny in this era?
The Thirty-Six Bandits? The Uprising of Jiashen? Turmoil in the extraordinary world? Or even the Eight Marvelous Arts?
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No, none of these!
In this era, there is only one destiny!
That is: the invasion by the Eastern Sea, the rise of Huaxia, rebirth from ashes, and the restoration of glory!
This destiny has already become established history.
No one can change it.
If Luo Feng’s guess is correct, anyone who tries to alter this history will face absolute retribution.
Even those mighty enough to cause his transmigration and shatter the main deity’s space.
For this stretch of history is guarded by powers of equal rank.
To confront the Eastern Sea is the trend of the times; to do so openly is favored by “Heaven’s Will.”
Deeper still, it is to win the support of certain unfathomable, unnameable powers.
In other words: to choose a side!
The Supreme Daoist Ancestor is but an example, a guide.
If the scriptures are correct, the Daoist Ancestor is at least a neutral party, the embodiment of the Dao.
Today, Luo Feng was feeling vastly inflated.
Yes, his words were full of bravado; his coming actions even more audacious, his methods to be outright bold.
But this did not mean he was reckless.
His outward arrogance and aggression were, at heart, a means to endure more deeply.
Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?
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