blogombal Chapter 241 Longevity Mountain Five Manors and Temples, Virtue and Taoism
Chapter 241 Longevity Mountain Five Manors and Temples, Virtue and Taoism
Faced with Lü Qian's seemingly reprimanding words, the bewildered and childlike "Zhang Chulan" did not understand.
He simply tilted his head, curiously observing the scenery and people around him, his attention shifting quickly, like a newborn monkey infant imitating the four directions of heaven and earth.
"Hehehe..."
The childish laughter emanated from his seven orifices, which glowed with blue light. The voice was ethereal and natural, but it was too pure, which made it all the more unsettling.
At this moment, what dominates Zhang Chulan's physical body is no longer his original "nature," but the "pseudo-navel" formed from the Dao seed that originally resided in his dantian.
That "seed of Tao," or rather this method, was the "Old Farmer's Skill" that his grandfather, Zhang Huaiyi, passed on to Zhang Chulan through Feng Baobao before his death.
At first, Zhang Huaiyi did not reveal the name of this "Tao Seed". The name "Old Farmer's Skill" was chosen by Feng Baobao herself based on the characteristics of this skill.
This practice is like planting a seed and then naturally waiting for the harvest, just like a farmer planting crops and finally reaping the fruit.
However, the "fruit" that the seed of Dao produced after it matured was a vivid and lifelike "false nascent soul".
Furthermore, this "fake Nascent Soul" can neutralize other people's spells, dispersing them back to the original "Primordial Qi".
Inside the abdomen of the "fake nascent soul," there is a fragmented passage that mentions the words "divine spirit."
In his previous life, many people speculated that this cultivation method was the [Qi Body Source Flow] created by Zhang Huaiyi, but many others suspected that it was the [Divine Spirit] left behind by Wugensheng.
But now, in Lü Qian's view, while those guesses were somewhat correct, they only hit one side of the story and were not the real answer.
At this moment, Lü Qian tucked his hands into his sleeves, his fiery golden eyes fixed on the bewildered and curious "Zhang Chulan".
The other person first glanced at Lü Qian, then turned to look at the others around him, his gaze lingering on the stone walls of the surrounding valley.
As he moved, his initially uncoordinated physical movements became increasingly skillful.
From an infant who was initially forced to wear adult clothes and toddled around, he gradually transformed into a toddler with steady steps.
It was as if in that short moment, the other party had experienced several years, growing at a rate far beyond what ordinary people could comprehend.
After carefully observing for a moment, Lü Qian blinked, the light in his pupils fading, and he had made up his mind.
"I don't know what kind of 'divine spirit' is, but Zhang Huaiyi's 'Qi Body Source Flow' is indeed the herbal elixir of ginseng fruit."
"A fake Nascent Soul is actually a ginseng fruit. It hastily returned the elixir, but it could not restrain the five elements and five virtues, making it difficult to achieve true enlightenment."
In the "Wushou Mountain Wuzhuang Temple" episode of "Journey to the West", the calamity caused by the "ginseng fruit" made the four masters and disciples suffer a lot.
This scene actually refers to a principle in the Doctrine of the Mean, which is also the original meaning of the profound Taoist alchemy.
The Doctrine of the Mean states, "It occupies the position of Heaven and Earth, nurtures all things, and establishes the great foundation of the world, thus it can be compared with Heaven and Earth."
This statement sounds mysterious, but it actually describes the relationship between heaven, earth, and humanity, which is similar to the concept of mutual harmony and mutual theft among heaven, earth, and humanity in the "Stealing Celestial Immortals" method.
However, the interpretation is slightly different here. The key to understanding this passage lies in the final word "参" (cān).
The character 参 has two meanings here.
Firstly, the character 【参】 is the same as the ancient character 【叄】, which means "the Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things".
【叄】In this process, it connects the initial one with the final myriad things; it is both a figurative number and a state.
For ordinary people, the path they follow is one of following the will of Heaven and destiny, naturally progressing from one to three, and then from three to ten thousand.
However, for cultivators throughout history, they follow the path of defying fate and changing destiny, pursuing the transformation of all things into three, and then returning from three to the original one.
The first is the primordial Qi, which is also what Taoists refer to as the "Golden Elixir Realm".
The primordial energy comes from the vast and boundless void, without distinction of yin and yang or the five elements. It refers to the innate spiritual root born at the beginning of the universe, before the separation of heaven and earth—the ginseng fruit!
The ginseng fruit in the book is a symbol of the "golden elixir".
How can one reverse the cycle of ten thousand to three, and then return three to one, thereby achieving the Golden Elixir?
Or rather, what kind of environment can nurture a ginseng fruit tree with innate spiritual roots?
The answer is Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Hill!
In the eyes of Taoism, numbers start from the beginning, reach five, and then escalate to ten thousand.
In other words, the primordial Qi first evolved into Yin and Yang, and then was divided into the Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
From then on, all things in the world are subject to the cycle of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
All things are the ultimate number, the number of ten thousand, the number of ten thousand, the mountain of longevity.
The Five Elements are the number five, which is the ultimate number in the Five Villages.
By gathering the power of the five elements and refining the essence of all things, the innate spiritual root, the ginseng fruit tree, can grow!
To put it simply, it means using one's own five elements to reverse and refine them, thereby achieving one's own "Golden Core Realm".
This is the first meaning of the character 【参】, which uses the innate spiritual root, the ginseng fruit, to represent the innate Qi.
As for the second meaning of 【参】, it is "to emulate or worship".
The Tao Te Ching says, "Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature."
The Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji states that practitioners who emulate the ways of Heaven and Earth can achieve immortality.
Whether they are spiritual practitioners or ordinary people, if they want to make progress, they must emulate the heavens and the earth and worship nature.
Humans live between heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of all things to nourish themselves, and comprehending the principles of heaven and earth to enrich themselves.
The concept of "the spirit of all things" can be simply understood as humanity's needs on the material level, while the principles of heaven and earth can be simply explained as humanity's needs on the spiritual level.
As humanity has progressed to this point, what spiritual needs have we developed, and what have we learned from the universe?
The Taoist patriarch Lao Tzu has left a perfect answer for future generations: morality, no, it should be called "virtue and the Way"!
Virtue and the Way are both morality and reason!
Since the universe has its own five elements, if we want to be on par with the universe, then do humans also have their own "five elements"?
Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are the five virtues!
Cultivators externally cultivate the five elements of heaven and earth, and internally refine their own five virtues. When these five internal and five external elements are combined into one, that is the true "Golden Elixir"!
In the original story, picking ginseng fruit requires following the principles of the Five Elements, but the four disciples did not possess the Five Virtues to match it: Tang Sanzang was fearful, Wukong was resentful, Bajie was greedy, and Sha Wujing was indulgent.
Therefore, the four masters and disciples were captured and whipped by the Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi, and the spiritual root ginseng fruit tree collapsed, symbolizing the self-destruction of the [Golden Elixir].
Later, Guanyin and the three immortals of Penglai combined the five elements externally, and the four disciples cultivated the five virtues internally. This led to the ginseng fruit banquet, which also symbolized the formation of the "golden elixir".
Now that he had achieved the Golden Core, why did Lü Qian still scoff at this method?
Because "ginseng fruit" also has another name, it is called "herb elixir"!
"Cao Huan Dan" means to return the elixir to its original state hastily and carelessly, implying that the process of returning the elixir to its original state was not perfect but rather too hasty and crude.
Therefore, the journey to the west did not end there; many more tribulations awaited afterward.
Just like Zhang Chulan's current situation, with an extra "fake Nascent Soul" inside his body, this is not a good thing.
Although that "fake Nascent Soul" was also a product of Zhang Chulan's own life and death, it was like the "ginseng fruit" that Zhu Bajie swallowed whole—hasty and tasteless.
Moreover, this fake nascent soul will also compete with him for control of the body, which means one life with two sexes.
If this "fake Nascent Soul" cannot be suppressed, Zhang Chulan's body will likely become incredibly chaotic in the future, never able to find peace again.
"Fine, it was me who fought for it after all. Let's give the Old Master some face and beat Zhang Chulan back."
As he spoke, Lü Qian slowly walked forward, a smile on his face as he coaxed the child, "Little one, look here, uncle will show you the stars."
His hands, which were originally tucked into his sleeves, moved slightly, as if he were about to pull something interesting out of his sleeves.
The oblivious Zhang Chulan seemed oblivious to the deeper meaning behind Lü Qian's smile, and instead excitedly approached him.
Seeing this, Lü Qian smiled even more kindly, his left hand, hidden in his sleeve, poised to strike, aiming at Zhang Chulan's cheek that hadn't been hit.
"Come on, watch closely, this time I'll fix the symmetry for you."
【Dragon and Tiger Secret Transmission • Cultivating Life and Nature Palm • Symmetrical Cultivation Form】
"Snapped!"
------------
This is the second update from yesterday!
The author is evolving tonight, a second-update beast—? ? ?
As for what it evolves into, that depends on the energy provided by you, dear readers!