Sword Saint Yin Ruozhuo had been practicing the Dao for many years. His heart was firmly planted in enlightenment. Ordinary events rarely stirred his emotions anymore.
However today Alex's philosophical discussion with him had combined reasoning and storytelling perfectly. His words were genuinely profound and deeply moved the Sword Saint's previously unshakeable heart.
While it would not cause his heart to completely collapse, it did allow him to see another distinct possibility for understanding the Dao.
The Sword Saint lowered his head slightly while pondering inwardly. He wondered if entering the Dao and his so-called personal feelings were truly incompatible.
If entering the Dao truly required abandoning personal feelings entirely then his choices over all these years had been correct. But if abandoning personal feelings simply made it easier to enter the Dao rather than being an absolute obstacle, then his choices back then had been completely wrong.
And more importantly why had his Master always emphasized the importance of abandoning emotions to enter the Dao?
"Senior Brother are you alright?" the Drunken Sword Immortal beside him asked with obvious concern. He carefully observed the Sword Saint's deeply contemplative expression.
He had never seen the Sword Saint look like this since he first successfully entered the Dao.
"Well it is nothing serious. I just have some doubts that need resolving. That is not a bad thing. I simply need to think things through carefully" the Sword Saint replied calmly. He waved his hand slightly in response to the Drunken Sword Immortal's concerned question. He then turned around and prepared to leave.
"Hey old man I absolutely have to go save Ling'er. Where have you imprisoned her?"
Seeing the Sword Saint ready to leave without answering, Li Xiaoyao refused to give up. He shouted loudly while emphasizing his position.
"You kid do you really have to talk about this now?" Seeing Li Xiaoyao brazenly shouting at his senior brother yet again, the Drunken Sword Immortal who stood beside him said to Li Xiaoyao with a mixture of anger and frustration.
In actual fact the Drunken Sword Immortal was very fond of Li Xiaoyao. Simply put their personalities were very similar.
Of course there was another point worth noting. When Li Xiaoyao encountered a problem he did not dwell too much on the pros and cons. He simply followed his heart. Regrets? That was something he would only have time to ponder after he had already done it.
In this particular regard the Drunken Sword Immortal felt that Li Xiaoyao was a better person than himself. Back then he had been far too indecisive...
Originally the Sword Saint viewed Li Xiaoyao's emotional outbursts like a wise parent looking at a rebellious child. He felt neither anger nor excessive concern. But now as he was about to leave the Sword Saint suddenly paused in his steps.
After a brief moment of silence the Sword Saint said without turning back "I have imprisoned Zhao Ling'er within the Demon Locking Tower. If you truly wish to rescue her then go ahead and try. Let me see the strength of your conviction and your actual ability."
With that final statement the Sword Saint departed calmly.
Li Xiaoyao however raised his fist high and declared firmly "Hmph just wait and see. I will definitely rescue her and show you."
"Senior Brother actually told that brat Zhao Ling'er's exact whereabouts and did not even try to stop him from attempting to rescue her?" The Drunken Sword Immortal who stood nearby watched the Sword Saint's departure with absolute astonishment. His voice echoed with disbelief in his mind.
Having known the Sword Saint for so many years the Drunken Sword Immortal believed he understood his senior brother's character quite well. However it was precisely because of this deep understanding that he found his senior brother's behavior extremely unusual.
After a moment's thought the Drunken Sword Immortal's gaze quickly fell upon Alex with a strange expression appearing in his eyes.
"What do you mean by looking at me like that all of a sudden? I am telling you I am running quite low on wine..." Alex was slightly startled by the Drunken Sword Immortal's strange penetrating gaze. Then he shook his head.
The Drunken Sword Immortal always found creative ways to beg for fine wine from him. So seeing his gaze Alex instinctively felt that he was craving wine again.
However this time the Drunken Sword Immortal was not asking for wine. Instead he looked at Alex with genuine surprise and said "I did not expect you to be so eloquent. You could actually change my senior brother's firm decision?"
"How can this be a problem with my eloquence? He is trying to use Li Xiaoyao's case to test the so-called path of compassion is he not?" Alex secretly resented the Drunken Sword Immortal's words.
"Hmph this old man is quite reasonable after all. But if that is the case then why did he not just let Ling'er go directly? Why did he go out of his way to test me?" Li Xiaoyao who stood nearby had a slightly better impression of the Sword Saint after learning about Zhao Ling'er's whereabouts.
As he spoke Li Xiaoyao's gaze fell on the Drunken Sword Immortal and said "Hey where exactly is that damn Demon Locking Tower? This young knight..."
"Do you even know what the Demon Locking Tower is?" Before Li Xiaoyao could finish his boastful words the Drunken Sword Immortal interrupted him sharply. His expression became more serious than ever before.
"Whatever place it is even if it were the Eighteen Levels of Hell itself I would still enter without hesitation!"
Li Xiaoyao was no fool. He could of course guess that the Demon Locking Tower must be extremely dangerous. But he feigned complete indifference as he answered seriously.
"You brat you truly do not know your place or the danger. The Demon Locking Tower is a forbidden area of our Mount Shushan. It imprisons countless demons and monsters. Even if I were to enter let alone you, I would not be able to escape completely unscathed..."
Seeing Li Xiaoyao's nonchalant expression the Drunken Sword Immortal spoke bluntly. Then he meticulously recounted the various dangers of the Demon Locking Tower.
"So serious?" Hearing the Drunken Sword Immortal's grave words Li Xiaoyao feigned fear. Then he smiled calmly "Will you come in with me? What if I cannot handle it alone?"
"I cannot go inside. Mount Shushan has a strict ban prohibiting disciples from entering. If you are afraid then simply do not go in" the Drunken Sword Immortal said bluntly while waving his hand dismissively.
In actual fact selfishly the Drunken Sword Immortal also hoped Li Xiaoyao would not go inside. She had only been imprisoned for twenty years not sentenced to a life-or-death separation. They would meet again sooner or later anyway.
Well if the Drunken Swordsman would not go in Li Xiaoyao could not possibly beg him. Immediately Li Xiaoyao fixed his gaze on Alex. He opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing...
The Demon Locking Tower was fraught with extreme danger. Given Li Xiaoyao's close relationship with the Drunken Swordsman he felt comfortable asking him for help. However Alex and he did not have a particularly close relationship. Li Xiaoyao did not feel comfortable asking him to accompany him into such a dangerous place without any compelling reason.
Li Xiaoyao did not offer to ask and Alex hesitated as well about volunteering.
Just then a Mount Shushan disciple trotted quickly into the main hall.
"A woman calling herself Lin Yueru has come up the mountain. She is specifically looking for Master Alex..."
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