Chapter Eleven: Merit and Virtue

  Then, Xu Xian asked about Pan Yu's illness again, which he didn't have time to ask last time. When he came here this time, he didn't even feel the urge to ask. But unexpectedly, he had already understood the cause and effect of it all.

  Yu Xuanji said, "That must be a kind of spell from the South Seas. Once it's cast, it's very troublesome to get rid of. If you know how to dispel it, even an ordinary person can use something like black dog blood to remove it. But if you don't know how to dispel it, then you have no choice but to kill the caster. The token your master gave you is extremely unusual. It can transform the intangible virtues into real power, which is truly remarkable. According to legend, it was created by the founder of Taoism and is a divine object that rivals the Buddhist Wheel of Six Paths."

  Xu Xian said strangely, "Something so powerful, how could it be sealed in this book?" He didn't believe in things like dimensional portals, protagonist halos, or divine artifacts being readily available.

  "It's not just a divine object, but also a useless thing."

  "Trash?" Xu Xian's face was filled with surprise, he was very clear about what level San Qing was.

  "Cultivators, more or less, all value merit because it relates to one's fate. Merit is also known as good fortune. The most direct manifestation of this is that those with deep merit will have a weak heavenly tribulation, while those with shallow merit will have a severe heavenly tribulation. But how difficult it is to accumulate merit! There are countless ways for immortals to get by, who would willingly spend their merit? It's not necessary. No matter how famous the person making this merit card is, no matter how much effort they put in, if it's useless, then it's useless. Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn't want it."

  Xu Xian smiled and said, "I told you, how could I have such good luck?" He took a look inside and found that his merits had increased by nearly 10,000. Now he had over 10,000 merits inside. Xu Xian was puzzled, as he didn't seem to have done anything good recently. But he didn't know that it was because of his actions the night before, when he had punished evil and promoted goodness. This was the benefit of being a god, making it easier to accumulate merits.

  Those two sentences "Have a heart to do good, and do good without reward. Have no intention of doing evil, and do evil without punishment." are exactly the explanation of the principle between the gain and loss of merits, all in one word "heart". If you want to get merits, you can't have a utilitarian mind, the heavier the utilitarian mind is, the less merits you will get. Just like saving people, if it's for getting material or even spiritual rewards from others, it will weaken the merits gained from this kindness.

  There is a story that says, an official entered the underworld and saw King Yan. The emperor's face was stern. The official knew that he had accepted many bribes during his lifetime and was trembling with fear. King Yan suddenly became very happy and invited him to take a seat. The corrupt official was puzzled. King Yan said, "In a certain year, month, and place, there was a great flood disaster, and the people were suffering everywhere. You sympathized with their misfortune and wrote a letter requesting that the government warehouse be opened to provide relief. Your heart had no intention of benefiting yourself, which is equivalent to 100,000 merits." The official said in surprise, "But my letter was not approved!" King Yan said, "What a pity it wasn't approved; otherwise, it would have been more than 100,000 merits."

  This is the true meaning of merit, doing one's best with a sincere heart, even if nothing is achieved, it is still merit.

  This is also the reason why the merit badge was sealed in the Tao Te Ching. If ordinary people take it, they will have to weigh how much merit has increased when doing good deeds, and doing good deeds becomes doing good deeds for the sake of gaining merit, which can only be harmful and useless.

  Xu Xian was able to accumulate such great merit, and it was all because he practiced kindness with a single heart. He put himself in others' shoes and felt their pain. No matter how hesitant he was before doing something or how much he complained afterwards, his heart always remained pure and understood others' suffering, wanting to help them. Similarly, when practicing kindness, Xu Xian gained merit that far surpassed those who did good deeds for the sake of a good reputation, by more than tenfold.

  Last night, Xu Xian was completely in a state of "awakening", and his heart had only one thought of self-preservation besides his pursuit of the Great Way. There was no utilitarian mind, so he gained not a little merit.

  Yu Xuanji didn't know how much merit and virtue Xu Xian originally had. In this world, there is no magical method to see someone's power and the color of their underwear with just one glance. She only vaguely felt that Xu Xian's aura was a bit more pure and clear, but she didn't understand the power of the sun star very well, so it was difficult for her to make an accurate judgment. If she knew that Xu Xian had reached the realm of Yang Shen Chu Niao, and had quickly completed the step of "practicing Qi to transform into a god", she would be shocked beyond words!

  The end of the road is just fate, the calamity of heaven and earth.

  Yu Xuanji stabilized her mind, wanting to lead Xu Xian to the great way, but she still needs to take it slow. She doesn't believe that Xu Xian will one day truly understand the vastness of the universe and still think about worldly matters.

  Yes, to what extent must a frog be foolish to jump back into the well after seeing the vast blue sky and guard that one pool of clear water alone. On this trip, Xu Xian's greatest enemy will not be Fa Hai, but the heart in his heart that is gradually changing.

  Yu Xuanji asked, "What do you want to learn? The same Tao, may know the fate of heaven and earth, or create the universe, or transform into countless bodies. As it is said, 'The Great Tao has three thousand branches,' and the derived methods are endless. What else can you learn?"

  Xu Xian thought for a moment and said: "I want to learn the way to defeat the enemy and win."

  Yu Xuanji said with a strange tone: "You don't have any enemies, what's the point of learning how to defeat them?"

  Xu Xian sighed and said, "A god blocks a killing god, a Buddha blocks a killing Buddha. Don't you think that's awesome?" Later on, when Fahai comes knocking on the door, Xu Xian originally thought that according to the plot, Fahai wouldn't take direct action, but would first lure him in, then force Bai Suzhen to flood the Golden Mountain before making his move. As long as he himself didn't fall for the trick, Fahai shouldn't have any way to succeed. But thinking about it now, Fahai has a personal vendetta against Bai Suzhen - will they really be able to avoid him? It's always better to be prepared.

  Yu Xuanji said, "Then you should go find Yan Chixia, the one who sent you the sword! His lineage, although not the Great Way and cannot achieve immortality, but when cultivated to a deep level, its power is incredibly great. From a hundred miles away, beheading someone is like reaching into a pocket to grab something." When he first came back, he had been here once, briefly mentioning his experience at Lanruo Temple, Yu Xuanji actually knew quite clearly.

  Xu Xian smiled wryly in his heart. If he left Hangzhou, what would Bai Suzhen do if she couldn't find him? But of course, this couldn't be said, so he only said: "I still want to live a few more years."

  Yu Xuanji said: "Greed." She waved her hand again, "Forget it, forget it. Who made me your senior sister? Do you want to learn the method of defeating the enemy and winning?"

  "Yes."

  Yu Xuanji's face turned serious and he said: "Alright, I'll teach you the method of heavenly machine calculation."

  With a thud, Xu Xian fell off the chair. What's going on with this dialogue? Did ancient times have nonsense too? He got up angrily and said: "I'm talking about defeating the enemy."

  Yu Xuanji's face rarely showed a hint of embarrassment "But I only know how to calculate heavenly machines! And, learning good heavenly machine calculations can avoid evil and bring good fortune, so there's no need to take action at all!"

  Xu Xian gritted his teeth: "There will always be a disaster that you can't avoid, let's see what you'll do then?"

  "I'll just return to Xing Su Hai." Yu Xuanji had an air of being perfectly natural, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed about returning to his sect to avoid trouble.

  Completely defeated, Xu Xian weakly said: "Then I'll just call it Tianji calculation." When the time comes to confront Fa Hai, he will blurt out the color of his underwear, embarrassing him to death.

  Yu Xuanji's face flashed with a hint of insight: "I forgot, the Heavenly Machine Numerology is not something that can be achieved without an extraordinary innate talent." Then he looked at Xu Xian with a difficult expression, as if saying "Someone like you who lacks this innate talent might as well give up on this idea early on!"

  Xu Xian entered a violent state, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, and he stepped forward step by step: "Shifu, do I look very much like a monkey?"

  "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Come any closer and I'll call for help! Quick, come here!" Yu Xuanji retreated step by step, casting a sideways glance. The eavesdropping bamboo shoots suddenly ran off in a flash, secretly scolding the little servant girl for being too naive.

  A sudden jolt behind him, he had retreated to the wall, Xian's face getting closer and closer, Yu Xuanji shouted "There is still a way."

  "Speak." Xian's expression didn't relax at all, and Yu Xuanji could already see his own reflection in Xian's eyes.

  "I have a book that might be helpful to you."

  "Perhaps?" Xuan Xian hummed. Yu Xuanji felt the hot air sprayed out by Xuan Xian.

  "Definitely, definitely." Yu Xuanji hastily assured.

  "That's more like it." Xian's expression relaxed, and he sat back down on the stone bench, sipping his tea with a carefree air.

  Yu Xuanji let out a sigh of relief, earlier she was indeed a bit flustered. As someone who excelled at the Heavenly Machine Technique and could calculate everything, she would never be forced into a desperate situation and could always maintain a calm demeanor. But in front of her was someone who couldn't be calculated, and she hadn't learned any fighting techniques or had the need to, so at that moment she felt helpless.

  Yu Xuanji was slightly annoyed: "Were you pretending just now?"

  Xu Xian took a sip of tea and said, "I don't mind pretending again. Eldest sister, you looked incredibly beautiful just now, I really want to see it again." Indeed, that eternally calm figure suddenly became flustered and trembled because of him, and there was an unusual beauty in that. Xu Xian almost couldn't resist the temptation and had some very lewd and violent thoughts. But in that instant, he also saw himself through her eyes.

  Yu Xuanji glared at him, determined to study some powerful techniques like the Five Thunder Spell to defeat his enemies. If he dared to do that again, she would chop him to death. Turning her head, she saw Chun'er's small face peeking out from behind the wall, watching the commotion. Thinking about how her own behavior had just been seen by this little girl, Yu Xuanji thought to herself: "Where is my dignity as a master?" Irritated, she said: "Chun'er, go find that book 'Mo Long Shu'."

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