Chapter 62: She Chose the Path of Emotional Detachment

This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation

Lan Zi Yu wanted to tell Zhou Jin Yue that this wasn’t the same.

But he feared Zhou Jin Yue might ask what exactly was different, and he wouldn’t be able to explain it.

He had never thought there was anything wrong with Yu Zhao getting injured during a sparring session with Quan Ye.

Just as Zhou Jin Yue had pointed out, getting hurt during training was common. Which disciple of the Five Elements Dao Sect hadn’t been injured? Even he and his senior brother occasionally sustained minor injuries while sparring.

Why, then, did the same situation become unbearable when it involved his junior sister?

Lan Zi Yu felt his head splitting from the confusion. He looked to Fang Cheng Lang, hoping for some clarity, but Fang Cheng Lang avoided his gaze entirely.

He was left speechless and unsure of what to do.

“Hmph,” Zhou Jin Yue sneered coldly. “Speechless already? Fine, let’s set aside the matter of sparring for now. Let’s revisit your first accusation: you claimed Yu Zhao badmouthed Ye Cong Xin behind her back. But haven’t you been badmouthing Yu Zhao as well? In fact, you did it directly in front of her face without a shred of shame. What words should we use to describe your actions, then?”

Under Zhou Jin Yue’s sharp gaze, Lan Zi Yu felt as though his very soul was laid bare, exposed to the searing sunlight with nowhere to hide.

A tidal wave of shame washed over him, making his face alternately flush red and pale.

“She started it…”

“Enough!”

Fang Cheng Lang finally couldn’t hold back any longer.

Previously, when he had been in the thick of things, he hadn’t realized there was anything wrong with Lan Zi Yu’s behavior. In fact, he had been influenced by Lan Zi Yu, developing a bias against Yu Zhao.

Looking back now, all he felt was how foolish and laughable he had been.

Such baseless rumors had completely clouded his judgment.

He turned to Zhou Jin Yue, his eyes full of regret and hope. “Senior Sister Zhou, I was wrong. It was my failure that caused Little Six so much pain. I’ll do anything to make it up to her. Please, help me convince her to return. The Lone Moon Peak cannot be without her.”

Fang Cheng Lang choked up several times as he spoke.

In the past, when Yu Zhao had been right before his eyes, he hadn’t paid much attention to her. Only when she left without hesitation did he realize that she had already become an integral part of his life. He couldn’t imagine living without her.

His face was pale and stricken, his figure lacking the uprightness it once had. Zhou Jin Yue could clearly sense the sincerity and remorse emanating from him.

She sighed inwardly.

If only he had realized this sooner.

“I can’t help you,” Zhou Jin Yue said plainly, shaking her head.

“Senior Sister Zhou, don’t you trust me? I’ll swear on my Dao heart—if I ever…” Fang Cheng Lang began to plead anxiously.

Zhou Jin Yue rolled her eyes and pinched his lips shut with her fingers.

“Be quiet and listen.”

Fang Cheng Lang meekly nodded.

“Three years ago, after Yu Zhao’s Dao foundation was damaged, she chose to abandon her old cultivation method and start anew. She’s no longer practicing Bright Moon Over the Sea, the technique of Master Qing Yan, but rather the Illusory Tides Technique, created by a predecessor known as Bright Moon Hermit.”

Fang Cheng Lang and Lan Zi Yu both fell silent, confusion flickering in their eyes. Clearly, they didn’t grasp the significance.

Zhou Jin Yue clicked her tongue impatiently. “The Bright Moon Hermit pursued the Path of Emotional Detachment, abandoning all attachments and severing ties to worldly emotions to focus solely on self-cultivation.”

Fang Cheng Lang and Lan Zi Yu’s eyes widened in shock.

Techniques and one’s Dao heart are deeply intertwined, each shaping the other.

If Yu Zhao had chosen to practice the Illusory Tides Technique, her Dao heart would inevitably align with the principles of the Path of Emotional Detachment, making it her ultimate goal.

Cultivators on this path were known for their emotional indifference, showing little to no sentiment even toward their closest kin.

Fang Cheng Lang suddenly understood.

All the inconsistencies he’d noticed in Yu Zhao’s behavior now made perfect sense.

“No, that’s not right! If Yu Zhao truly practices the Path of Emotional Detachment, why does she act the same as always with you, yet treat us so coldly?” Lan Zi Yu seized upon the inconsistency, his voice sharp with accusation.

Zhou Jin Yue chuckled, unfazed. “It’s simple. The emotions you bring her are useless, burdensome attachments. What we provide for Junior Sister Yu is warmth and acceptance—a peaceful kind of affection. It’s clear which one she’d choose to let go.”

Every cultivator perceives the Dao differently.

What Yu Zhao pursues through the Path of Emotional Detachment isn’t emotionlessness in the literal sense, but rather the detachment of the grand Dao.

Just as the heavens and earth treat all equally, regarding all creatures as mere tools, individual emotions and affections seem insignificant under the vast heavens.

Yu Zhao refuses to be constrained by narrow, possessive emotions. What she seeks is a state where all beings stand equal under the Dao.

Even Zhou Jin Yue didn’t fully grasp Yu Zhao’s path, but she understood this much: Yu Zhao’s break with Fang Cheng Lang and the others was definitive. She had let go of the past and would not look back.

For Fang Cheng Lang, there was no reclaiming what was lost.

Unless Yu Zhao chose to abandon her Dao heart.

But Zhou Jin Yue doubted Yu Zhao would ever make that choice. She would likely prefer death over betraying her own convictions.

“The Path of Emotional Detachment… She’s been cultivating it all along…”

Fang Cheng Lang stood there, stricken.

So, Yu Zhao had made her decision three years ago.

How laughable it was that they hadn’t noticed. They’d thought she was just being temperamental and believed a few casual words could bring her back.

“Hah! Hahaha! Hahahaha! How ridiculous! How utterly ridiculous! Fang Cheng Lang, you call yourself a noble swordsman? You’re nothing but a joke! A coward! A fool!”

Suddenly, Fang Cheng Lang burst into wild laughter, his demeanor unhinged.

“Eldest Senior Brother!” Lan Zi Yu’s face turned pale with fear.

Had Eldest Senior Brother succumbed to madness under the weight of the blow?

“Hahahahaha!”

Fang Cheng Lang seemed oblivious to everything. His face twisted with a manic grin, yet tears streamed ceaselessly down his cheeks.

As he laughed, he stumbled down the mountain.

After just a few steps, he tripped and fell.

Unperturbed, he clambered back up and continued his staggering descent, his figure desolate.

“Eldest Senior Brother! Wait for me!”

Lan Zi Yu couldn’t care about anything else anymore. He hurried after him, panic gripping his heart.

Yu Zhao had already chosen the Path of Emotional Detachment, and if Eldest Senior Brother truly lost his mind because of this… What could he possibly do then?

Lan Zi Yu’s headache intensified.

Zhou Jin Yue watched their retreating figures, her expression complicated.

…

At the mountain’s base.

Inner sect disciples were gathered on the flat clearing, whispering amongst themselves. Zhang Jun stood guard at the path leading up the mountain, occasionally glancing toward the trail.

His task was to ensure no one disturbed the proceedings.

He wondered how things were going between the Grand Senior Sister and Fang Cheng Lang.

Would it come to blows?

Should he go up and help?

The thoughts circulating among the other inner sect disciples weren’t all that different. They were all trying to guess what Zhou Jin Yue and Fang Cheng Lang were discussing.

“It’s true! Grand Senior Sister is close to Yu Zhao and came specifically to stand up for her!”

“I told you before—Yu Zhao saved Grand Senior Sister’s life. It was a perilous situation, and Yu Zhao nearly died. They say she was unconscious for seven days and nights before waking.”

“Is that so? I heard it was half a month!”

“No, you’re both wrong. What I heard was that Yu Zhao sacrificed herself willingly for Grand Senior Sister!”

“…”

The rumors grew increasingly outrageous until the tale evolved into Yu Zhao harboring a long, unrequited love for Zhou Jin Yue and willingly giving her life to save the one she secretly adored.

“Stop talking! Look, someone’s coming down the mountain!”

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