Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 320 The Lu Family, Now Bound, and Lü Ci's Teaching of Her Son

Between the vast expanse of sea and sky, the azure color connects the sky, sea, and air into one. The scenery here is not as magnificent and vibrant as in the promotional movies; instead, it is quite desolate and empty.

The waves on the sea below had subsided, and there was no sign of seagulls in the sky above. Only the howling sea breeze whispered between heaven and earth, as if silently telling the story of the sea and sky.

"brush--"

In this vast expanse of azure, seemingly frozen in time and space, a morning star suddenly shone from afar, shimmering with colorful rays of light, gliding across this silent expanse.

A cluster of auspicious clouds, radiating a rosy glow, flew across the sea and sky, breaking the silence of the place. The auspicious clouds moved swiftly, skimming over the calm sea surface without creating ripples, leaving behind only a magnificent and immortal color.

Above the rapidly moving auspicious clouds, a young Taoist priest sat cross-legged, somewhat lazily.

He lifted his left leg and placed it on his right knee, his right leg dangling down, swaying on the edge of the auspicious clouds. The hem of his robe fluttered in the sea breeze. Although it was just an ordinary Taoist robe, it had a unique air of immortality.

Behind him was a dark red peach wood sword with a crimson tassel on the hilt and a silver-faced bronze mirror at the end of the tassel.

The young Taoist priest sitting cross-legged on the auspicious cloud was none other than Lü Qian. He had his eyes half-closed, one hand holding a whisk, and the other hand holding a phantom talisman. The talisman shimmered with light, and several ropes extended from it, binding a disheveled old man who was hanging behind the auspicious cloud.

Between the sea and the sky, the bright sunlight unabashedly revealed its brilliance, and the intense sunlight shone on the silver-faced bronze mirror on the sword hilt, reflecting the unadorned true appearance of the young Taoist in front of him.

This "Bone-Illuminating Mirror," a gift from the founder of the Three Demon Sect, can reveal a person's three corpses and three poisons, allowing them to glimpse the depths of the human heart.

But at this moment, Lu Qian's figure was reflected in the image. That figure had nothing extraordinary about it. It had neither the appearance of a demon with three poisons and three corpses, nor the appearance of an immortal with fair skin and jade bones. It was just the most ordinary appearance of a mortal with flesh and blood.

"Uncle Qian, Xiao Ci is calling you! Uncle Qian, Xiao Ci is calling you..."

Just as Lü Qian was half-closing his eyes, seemingly enjoying the sea breeze, his cell phone, which was tucked in his pocket, rang with a peculiar ringtone.

This ringtone was specially set for one person. In Lü Qian's view, this specially made ringtone could vividly express his deep respect and love for that person.

"Phew, finally we have a signal. In this vast ocean, it's really easy to get lost without a guide."

Sitting atop the auspicious cloud, Lü Qian gazed at the faint outline of the land in the distance, slowly took out his phone, looked at the profile picture of Lü Ci's old face, and listened to the specially made ringtone in his ear, and smiled knowingly.

Look how filial I am!

After finishing his internal reflection, Lü Qian pressed the answer button and looked at Lü Ci on the screen, whom he had only parted from a few quarters of an hour earlier, and asked a question.

"Grandpa, what's wrong? Why are you calling me before I even got back to the mainland?"

As Lü Qian observed the distant outline of the continent and calculated the direction according to the weather, he adjusted the flight path of the auspicious cloud while teasing Lü Ci on the other end of the phone.

He had just ended the video chat with these old guys when Lü Ci made an urgent call, probably with some other instructions. But that didn't stop him from joking around with Lü Ci for a bit.

"Hmph, I'm just worried that you, a landlubber who's never been to sea, might get lost on the vast ocean with a living person in tow."

Lu Ci retorted calmly, his words no longer sharp and assertive as before; at this moment, he resembled a retired old man next door.

With his exceptional hearing, Lü Qian could even hear the delicate zither music coming from Lü Ci's end of the phone.

"Tsk tsk tsk, brewing tea, burning incense, playing the zither, shouldn't your next step be to consult some scriptures with my grandmaster or the old Celestial Master?"

"I never expected that the ruthless patriarch of the Lü family, who used to kill without blinking an eye, would be so cultured."

"Hmph, I have a lot of self-restraint. How much have you youngsters seen? I am a young master from a prestigious family, and I am not only good at fighting."

Lu Ci remained unperturbed by the repeated veiled sarcasm and said directly, "Alright, I'm not going to argue with you about this nonsense."

"With Li Muxuan by your side, are you planning to go directly to the former site of the Trinity Gate next?"

"That's right. This old man has lived his whole life but hasn't accomplished anything. The only thing he can do is use his 'Reversing Eight Directions' technique. The rest of his life has been nothing more than being a punching bag for Grandpa Lu Jin."

Lu Qian glanced at Li Muxuan, who was hanging behind him, with some disdain and some confusion. "I really can't understand how someone like this could almost cause chaos in the world."

"It even caused great damage to the Lu family and the Sanyi Sect's lineage to be cut off."

"When emotions run high and there is no self-control, those who cultivate themselves become trapped on the path of cultivation. The Lu family and the Sanyi Sect are only reaping what they sowed."

Listening to Lü Qian's question, Lü Ci, like a wise observer, gave his answer in a casual manner.

"There is nothing wrong with cultivating virtue, but when virtue becomes a constraint, even the most powerful person will be crushed in the filth of the human world."

"The Trinity was wrong about this point, but they ran into two hotheads who lit the powder keg."

"Waaah—"

As soon as he finished speaking, the small teapot on the charcoal stove on the tea table began to boil, with unstoppable bubbles rising violently from the bottom of the pot, and the wispy boiling steam pressing against the lid of the pot, producing a crisp hum.

Lu Ci handed the phone to Lu Xiao next to him, reached out and picked up the teapot from the charcoal stove, pouring it into the tea set that had been prepared beforehand.

At this moment, his four children were in the pavilion in the mountains, and on the other end of the phone was a descendant whom he regarded as the pillar of the Lü family.

Zhongxiao Pingyi, along with Lü Xiao who answered the phone and served him, had three other children who played the pipa or the zither, transforming the originally dark place of the Lü family into an elegant and bright pavilion.

Lu Ci's technique was very skillful. After several infusions, the originally scalding hot tea water gradually calmed down, gently and calmly brewing the tea leaves in the cup.

During the few minutes while waiting for the tea leaves to steep, Lü Ci stared at the tea leaves swirling in the cup and, in a teaching tone, imparted some wisdom to Lü Qian, who was in the pavilion and on the other end of the phone.

"When a person who practices spiritual cultivation or manages a household forgets why they practice spiritual cultivation or manage a household, and instead takes simply practicing spiritual cultivation or managing a household as their goal, then that person and that household are not far from disaster."

"The Lu family established itself on morality and passed down its virtues through generations, but they were also held hostage by the morality recognized by the world, and rarely adhered to their own morality and virtues."

"The reason I called Lu Jin 'hypocritical' my whole life is because he has been bound by so-called morality, and his actions and desires are mostly based on the morality of the world and the virtues of others."

"This old fellow has traveled all his life, mostly making choices for others, and has never carefully considered his own situation."

"The same goes for the Sanyi Sect. Immortal Daying was a figure recognized by the world and admired by everyone. The Sanyi Sect he trained was a model of the Xuanmen and a paragon of virtue for the world."

"But this immortal being stands too high, and the Trinity Sect stands too high, as if they are all saints who have forgotten their own selfish desires."

"They never lived for themselves."