Then, was the reason why Ye Baiyi had left the mountain alone in the name of the ancient monk because the actual ancient monk was unable to carry out these actions, or was it...because he was no longer of this world?

These thoughts stayed for less than a second before they flashed past. Long Que continued, “We all read that half of the ancient text. Its contents were really too profound, and no one could grasp it completely. In that period of time, every one of us forsook food and sleep to scour ravenously for information in the vast sea of classical manuals. We hoped to find any minute trace that would help explain that cultivation mantra--its attraction was too great. Rong Xuan said that if we had a complete grasp on the knowledge in that book, we would have a complete grasp on the universe[2], and achieve true oneness with it.”

That was a state of existence that had been passed down by legend since the ancient times. Everyone was pursuing that level of lofty existence at the top of the world, and no one could resist that sort of temptation.

However, these things never had their so-called “shortcuts”. Just as how the rarest and most precious ingredients always grew in the most perilous places, the more powerful an object could make someone, the more mercilessly it tested their psyche. The more profound the martial technique, the easier it was to qi deviate.

Even Ye Baiyi fell silent this time round.

“Among us, Rong Xuan had gone the furthest, and was the one whose obsession was most deeply-rooted. He was almost fanatically besotted with that cultivation mantra, but none of us noticed, because at the time, we were all fanatically besotted--until one day, he declared that he had finally understood that the fundamental theory of the Six Harmonies Cultivation Mantra was to ‘Reforge after destruction; without termination, the new cannot exist’.”

Ye Baiyi was thunderstruck. He murmured, “What…”

Long Que’s hand was trembling a little--his whole body was trembling. “In the Six Harmonies Cultivation Mantra, it’s said that ‘At the most extreme point of one’s journey, one can glean the secrets of the universe.’ What was this ‘extreme point of one’s journey’? It could be ridding yourself of martial ability, it could be severing your own meridians, or it could even be ending your own life…”

The oddest expression surfaced on Ye Baiyi’s face as he asked, “All of you thought so?”

Long Que had just nodded when Ye Baiyi suddenly laughed out loud. Even when he laughed heartily, his face was still stiff, and the corners of the eyes were unable to crinkle no matter what. Instead, they twitched unnaturally, generating a vague sense of tragedy. “Ridding yourself of martial ability, severing your own meridians, ending your own life...haha, to think that you could come up with that.”