"By the way…where am I?" Could it be that he had unknowingly walked to a certain immortal sect's spiritual mountain? Li Dong didn't retreat. Instead, he continued to walk up the mountain.
Li Dong felt that this place was very familiar. As he thought about it, his footsteps became faster and faster. In the end, he used the Sun and Moon Like Shuttle to arrive in front of the Dao Sect's execution ground at the top of the mountain.
"Who are you?" Two Dao Sect disciples, who were dressed in an ancient long robe with ink and green pine prints on it, shouted in unison when they saw the person who suddenly appeared in front of them.
Just as they were about to send out the warning signal to enter the mountain, the two of them saw that Li Dong's face was somewhat familiar, especially the aura on his body.
" Why does this aura feel like..." One of the disciples frowned and said to the other disciple.
The disciple guarding the mountain continued disciple A's words and said,""He looks like Youngest Uncle."
The two disciples guarding the mountain stared at Li Dong blankly for a few minutes before exclaiming,""It really is Little Uncle-Master!"
"Grandmaster! Master! Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers, come quickly! Little Uncle-Master is back!”Guard Disciple A shouted and shouted as he ran around the sect to tell everyone.
For a moment, the huge Taoist Sect was in a state of chaos. Countless noises tore apart the quiet atmosphere here. The originally calm flow of primordial qi was stirred up in an instant…
Mount Helan, Xuanmen Barrier, Daoist Sect, Human Sect, Dao Field
Several colorful lights suddenly rose from the sky and descended in front of the empty space in a flash. The leader was an old man who was almost sixty years old. He had a youthful face and white hair, and his limbs were thin. He looked refined. If he wore a pair of old-fashioned glasses, he would think that he was an old scholar from the old school.
The age of this group of people was quite large. The youngest looked to be only seven or eight years old, and she was riding a big buffalo. The only woman among them was mature and beautiful. Her movements were the style of a big family, but her expression was cold and gave off a feeling that strangers should not approach her.
Looking at these extraordinary experts, Li Dong knew that he must have accidentally entered the dojo of some immortal sect. Thinking of this, he suddenly had a headache. He had never asked the Headmaster what the consequences would be if he encountered such a situation, but Li Dong thought that the nature of this situation should be similar to the nature of the underworld. It was probably very difficult to be kind.
Suddenly, Li Dong realized that these people's clothes were somewhat familiar. After carefully recalling, he was secretly shocked."They're wearing the same clothes as Sect Master Han.”
The masters of the immortal sects who came on the flowing lights were all wearing the same ink and pine long robes as the disciples guarding the mountain. However, the difference was that there were many neat and beautiful running-script words written on the long robes, and the contents were different. The old man in the lead was the fourth chapter of the Tao Te Ching, the Dao Chong chapter: Because the road is blocked, there is no way to use it. Deep ah! Like the root of all things. To file the dust, to dissolve the confusion, to reconcile the light, to reconcile the dust. Oh! It seems to exist. I don't know whose son it is, but it is like the ancestor of the emperor.
In addition, there were also the personal understandings of ancient and modern sages on the Dao Chong Chapter, such as Wang Bi's annotation of the Three Kingdoms: Those who hold the measure of a family cannot control the whole family. He who holds the measure of a country cannot build a country. Lifting weights with all his strength, but he couldn't do anything…
Su Zhe of the Northern Song Dynasty,"Lao Tzu's Interpretation": Tao is so strong that it has no ears, but it is suitable for everyone. Although heaven and earth are big, mountains and rivers are wide, and there is nothing that cannot be covered, it is invisible, so it seems to be full...
These annotations took up most of the area of the green pine gown, but because the Chinese characters were beautiful and the lines of the components were smooth, the entire green pine gown looked full of classical aesthetics.
Li Dong vaguely remembered that Sect Master Han's Daoist robe had the words " Xiaoyao Wandering " written on it.
Could it be that everyone had a different book?
Before he could think further, the old man in the lead interrupted Li Dong's train of thought.""Child, you…"
"I'm sorry for my rudeness. I'm a rogue cultivator, Li Dong. I was invited by the Central Bureau Chief and accidentally barged into your Daoist sect's gate. I hope you can forgive me for my rudeness.”Li Dong bowed slightly and raised his hands in front of his chest. He folded his left palm over his right palm and both his thumbs faced up as he performed a Zhou Li.
The old man in the lead had a complicated expression as he looked at the humble youth in front of him. He held a horsetail whisk in his left hand and returned the greeting with his right hand."Little Fellow Daoist, you are too polite. I am the head of the Daoist sect, Su Zhe, and also the sect master of the Heaven Sect. My Daoist name is Yingbin Sanren, and I am a guest from afar.”
"Then…Junior will respectfully accept.”Li Dong wanted to apologize and leave, but seeing how enthusiastic the Taoists were and how he was an uninvited guest, it was hard for him to reject them.
As he followed Su Zhe into the Dao Sect, Li Dong noticed that many gazes were focused on him.
The female Daoist outside the door walked to the boy riding the water buffalo and said,""Senior Brother Ou, Dong 'er is back.”
"Yeah, he's finally back." The boy's eyes were glistening with tears." It's been seven years. He's already grown so big.”
"Senior Brother, what are your plans?"
"…I will wait for him at the Blacksmith Hall.”As he spoke, the boy riding the water buffalo turned into a stream of light and disappeared from where he was.
Along the way, Li Dong was filled with a sense of novelty. The layout of the Daoist temple was completely different from that of an ordinary Daoist temple. It was as if it was an independent world. From the moment he stepped through the door, he entered a brand new space.
"I keep feeling that this place is somewhat similar to the Universal World.”Li Dong thought to himself.
There was a stone path that seemed to be paved with granite in the air in front of him. On the huge platform connecting the stone path was an ancient temple that towered into the sky. It was hard to imagine how this stone path could support such a huge high-rise building in the air.
There were also those island pavilions floating in the air. They seemed to be pulled by some invisible force and slowly floated in different directions.
" This feeling is…a formation?" Li Dong, who had comprehended the laws of the Great Dao, could already vaguely sense the trajectory of the array formation. He could clearly sense that the complexity and difficulty of the array formation used by the Daoists were not inferior to the spatial teleportation array formation in Mount Helan.
"Little Fellow Daoist, you have good eyesight. The entire dojo is operated by a formation. The immortal sects of the cultivation world are different from the secular world. They are usually isolated from the world. Some are even completely independent spaces, so outsiders can't enter if they can't find the method.”
Recalling the Green Wood Immortal Realm of the Headmaster, Li Dong nodded in understanding.
"Little Fellow Daoist, are you a rogue cultivator?”
" Yes, I don't belong to any sect. It was the Headmaster who introduced me to the path of cultivation…" Li Dong replied.
"Then…Little Fellow Daoist, are you interested in joining my Daoist school?”Su Zhe grabbed Li Dong's wrist and said excitedly,""I believe you have met Sect Master Han Que. He is lacking a personal disciple. Why don't…"
Li Dong subconsciously wanted to dodge, but he didn't know if it was the difference in cultivation or another consciousness in his body that affected him. His wrist was firmly grabbed by Su Zhe's hand.
In the face of Su Zhe's kind invitation, Li Dong had no reason to refuse. Moreover, according to the standards of the Headmaster and Sect Master Han, Taoism was not an ordinary cultivation sect. At least, it was not as unreliable as the multi-level marketing organizations in the human world.
If Li Dong, who did not have any family background, could rely on this backer, he would have a great guarantee in terms of cultivation and traveling in the martial world.
Could they really be trusted? Li Dong looked at the kind old man in front of him. His earnest expression was filled with an indescribable light. There was no hostility or killing intent in the gazes that were staring at him. There was concern mixed in his gentleness.
Li Dong was a suspicious person, so he would never trust someone easily. However, when he completely trusted someone, even if that person stabbed him in the chest in the end, he would still trust him unconditionally.
Are these people worthy of my trust?
His rationality told him not to trust people he met for the first time, but there was a voice in his heart that kept telling him: "Leave your back to them. They are your closest family!”
Li Dong solemnly bowed to Su Zhe and said,""I am indebted to your esteemed sect for thinking highly of me. However, this matter is sudden, so please give me some time to consider.”
He couldn't refuse! However, he couldn't go along with the atmosphere, so Li Dong could only take a step back.
"There's no need to be so polite. This old Daoist was rude. Speaking of which, little fellow Daoist has just entered the cultivation world not long ago, so there are still many things that you don't know.”Seeing that Li Dong didn't reject him immediately, Su Zhe smiled and said," In order to let Little Fellow Daoist have a better understanding of Daoism, I'll tell you about the current basic situation of Daoism.”
"I'm all ears." Li Dong bowed again.
"I believe you know that the cultivation world is divided into old and new Daoists. Besides being products of the old and new eras, the biggest difference between the two is their ideology.”
"An ideology?" Li Dong was puzzled.
" Thoughts are intangible, but sometimes they can give a person great strength, courage, faith, and persistence…Humans are weak creatures. The characteristics of living in groups mean that it is difficult for humans to survive alone, especially when they cannot compete with other creatures in terms of strength and cannot find other companions. In order to survive, they can only strengthen their hearts. At this time, a certain faith becomes the last spiritual pillar of a person, which is originally a good thing. However, some people misinterpreted or guided part of the meaning of faith for some purpose. Then, those who relied on this faith and belief to survive would become narrow-minded.”
" It's just like how the Lord of Dao and Virtue proposed the concept of 'governing by inaction' back then," Su Zhe continued." How many people understand it as not doing anything and completely letting go of freedom? As more and more people held the same views on a single thing, organizations and religions gradually emerged.”
"…Rather than saying that it's a unity of thoughts and opinions, it's more accurate to say that most people don't have enough comprehension to understand the essence of things. They only accept other people's understanding of things one-sidedly. In the end, people just don't want to admit their stupidity and ignorance, which is why they are so easily brainwashed and manipulated by others.”Li Dong retorted disapprovingly.
"Haha, little fellow Daoist, you worry too much. The teachings of Taoism have not reached an extreme point. Although it is indeed possible to follow the old path of Confucianism if this continues, China has never been bound by religious beliefs since ancient times. Therefore, no matter how Taoism develops in the future, it will not be above all living beings.”
Li Dong thought about it and felt that it made sense. However, this made it even more difficult for him to understand what Daoism was, so he asked,"Then what kind of organization is the Taoist school?”
"Strictly speaking, Taoism is not a religious organization. If we have to classify it, it would be closer to describing it as a private school or a school.”Su Zhe stroked his beard and said with a smile," Taoism can be said to be the oldest sect that has been passed down since ancient times. It was born from the Great Way of Hongjun and gradually formed the old Taoist ideology under the management of Lord Dao De Li Dan. For thousands of years, the old Taoism rarely involved itself in the disputes between the secular world and the world of Cultivators. It has always maintained a neutral position and invited Cultivators from all over the world to cultivate in Taoism.”
"Hmm, I see. Then does that mean that Taoism is a school of thought, and Taoism is a religious organization founded on the basis of Taoism?”Li Dong asked.
"Not bad."
"Then how will Daoism develop? How do we recruit disciples?"
" After the ancient God-Sealing War, Taoism absorbed the doctrines of Buddhism and Buddhism, and they also adhered to the ideology of teaching without discrimination and quality over quantity. Therefore, at least three layers of Cultivators in the world of Cultivators have studied in Taoism. It can be said that the disciples and officials of Taoism are widely spread in the world.”
"Aren't these two doctrines in conflict?”Li Dong asked.
Su Zhe shook his head and said with a smile," There's no conflict. We Daoists invite cultivators from all over the world to cultivate in Daoism. We teach them without discrimination. We only accept people with good moral character and aptitude for cultivation as Daoism disciples. It's better to have quality than quantity."”
"…Then why don't there seem to be many Daoist disciples?”However, what puzzled Li Dong was that the popularity of the Human Sect seemed to be a little cold.
Su Zhe sighed and said with a slightly sad tone,"" There aren't many disciples in the Daoist Sect. In the past, the total number of inner sect disciples in the five sects was only 800. Later, because of a catastrophe, there are only 46 inner sect disciples left in the five sects. Among them, there are only 24 disciples in the Heaven Sect, 15 disciples in the Human Sect, and 7 disciples in the Earth Sect. The two sects, including the sect masters, elders, and teachers, have all died…"
It felt so heavy! Hence, Li Dong tactfully changed the topic. Although he was a little concerned about the catastrophe that Su Zhe mentioned, his EQ was not so low that he would casually expose other people's scars."Speaking of which, what is the status of the Headmaster of Academy and Sect Master Han in Taoism?”
"The Headmaster of Academy is the Grand Elder of our Taoism and the most senior senior. Although his cultivation is not high, his attainments in various fields of cultivation are outstanding. It's just that the Headmaster of Academy is stubborn and rarely asks about Taoist affairs. As for Junior Martial Brother Han, he is the Sixth Elder and also the sect master of the Human Sect. He is in charge of the appointment, dismissal, punishment, and rewards of the Taoism.”
"No wonder Sect Master Han took the initiative to look for me.”
Along the way, Su Zhe brought Li Dong around and introduced him to the various Daoist dojos.
When they arrived at the door of the Daoist Craftsman Hall, the two of them stopped. Li Dong reminded them,""Craftsman Hall, this place doesn't seem like a place that an outsider like me can casually enter.”
"Haha, little fellow daoist is overthinking things. Daoism is an open place, and there are no places that are absolutely forbidden. Of course, private places like the Hundred Herbs Fairy's sleeping quarters are excluded.”
He entered the Craftsman Hall with Su Zhe and walked down the stairs. After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at a spacious underground space. Half of the place was a crafting pool with rippling water, giving people a refreshing and comfortable feeling. The other half was an extremely hot lava pool. Even the ground emitted an astonishing temperature.
Soon, a burly man walked over. He bowed and said,"Sect Master Martial Uncle, Master is activating the earth fire and cold water inside. Please wait a moment.”
After saying that, the burly man stared at Li Dong for a long time before saying,"This must be Brother Li Dong. I am Master Ou Yezi's personal disciple. My name is Wang Yuan, you can just call me Wang Yuan.”
"What? Oh, hello, Big Brother Wang Yuan. You seem to know me? I'm Li Dong, an itinerant cultivator who just stepped into the Dao. May I ask, Big Brother Wang Yuan, how old are you this year?”
"Hmm? He just turned thirty-two."
"Big Brother Wang Yuan is an inner sect disciple, right? Can you tell me your current cultivation?”Li Dong asked another impolite question.
Wang Yuan was honest and replied without hesitation,"Mid Aurous Core stage, spiritual sense equivalent to Jade Void Stage level eight.”
"So powerful." Li Dong sighed. He had learned from the Headmaster that cultivators who entered the Foundation Establishment stage could stay young for a hundred years, and their lifespan could be increased to two hundred years. Moreover, every small realm they advanced by would increase their lifespan by ten years.
In other words, a person who had reached the peak of the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm could have a lifespan of about 230 years. If one broke through from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Golden Core realm, their lifespan would increase to 500 years. Every small realm increase would increase their lifespan by 20 years.
Wang Yuan had entered the mid-stage Golden Core realm before he reached forty. This was probably an extremely rare cultivation genius in the various large sects.
Hearing Li Dong praise him, Wang Yuan smiled foolishly and scratched his head.""It's nothing. It's just that I'm a body cultivator, so it's easier and natural for me to absorb the origin Qi of heaven and earth. So I'm faster than other cultivators of the same cultivation level in the early stages. But with my aptitude and the flaws of body cultivation, the Yuanying stage is probably my limit.”
" That's already very powerful," Li Dong thought to himself. He was only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, and his Primordial Soul had yet to touch the threshold of the four Daoist realms. Therefore, he could only call his consciousness spiritual consciousness. Only when his Primordial Soul cultivation reached the Jade Void Realm would he truly have divine spiritual consciousness!
At this moment, a rather tender voice came from the depths of the forging pool,"Yuan, are you standing there and not working again? Hurry up and move the black iron to the Tool Spirit Platform.”
As if he had heard an imperial edict, Wang Yuan apologized to Li Dong and hurriedly ran in the direction of the forging pool.
Li Dong looked over and saw the boy he had seen in front of the Daoist gate slowly riding a water buffalo towards him.
Su Zhe introduced," This Taoist priest's name is Ou Huang. His Daoist name is Ou Yezi. He's the second elder of our Daoist school. He's in charge of the Forging Hall and is in charge of forging and refining weapons.”
Li Dong's gaze landed on the boy riding the water buffalo. He was a little puzzled. Such a young child was actually a Daoist elder, and he was even from the Blacksmith Hall. Speaking of which, could his small arms swing a hammer?
Ou Yezi stared at him for a long time with a dark expression. In the end, he shouted in a muffled voice,""Follow me."
"Little fellow daoist, I'll wait for you here. You can go in with second junior brother.”Su Zhe did not seem to have any intention of following them in.
Li Dong nodded silently and followed behind Big Yellow Ox. As he went deeper into the smithing pool, he was pleasantly surprised to see the countless weapons placed in the two pools with different attributes. There were knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, axes, hooks, forks, whips, maces, hammers, daggers, spears, rods, spears, spears, and paladins. There were eighteen types of weapons that were dazzling and countless.
"Taoist priest, what are these?" Li Dong asked curiously.
"Some are semi-finished products, some are failed products. In short, they are all ownerless items. They are left idle in the forging pool and slowly rot and die.”
"Isn't this too wasteful? Why didn't he just smelt it and recast it?”
"Magic tools are also alive. They have their own consciousness and emotions like humans. If you directly smelt and reforge them, it's equivalent to killing them. This will definitely cause resentment. Even if you successfully reforge them in the future, the magic tools will not be able to produce a pure artifact spirit.”
"A mere tool is actually so troublesome.”Li Dong complained in puzzlement.
"Fool's thoughts! A cultivator's magical equipment, especially a life-bound magical equipment, was a companion who entrusted his life to him. He would rise or fall together with them. Could it be that he treated his life so casually?”Ou Yezi's face was filled with anger and his tone was filled with disappointment.
This puzzled Li Dong, but he didn't show it. He only said indifferently,""I'm a realist. I won't casually entrust my life to a tool. A tool should have its proper position and settings, not treat it as a person.”
“……”
Li Dong's tone changed and he said disdainfully,""Maybe they still look down on people in their hearts. They don't even know the true thoughts of a tool and are just bootlickers.”
Ou Yezi did not say anything. He only shook his head slowly and turned around. He sighed to himself," Xiaodong, you're still as imaginative as before, but you've changed in the end. In the past, you treasured everything around you. You swept the floor for fear of hurting ants, and you cherished moths and gauze lamps. Where did you go…"
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