Song Daren was initially a teacher, and when he saw Zhang Xiaofan with his hands supporting his cheeks, listening intently, he couldnt help but become enthusiastic, speaking eloquently.
The Taiji Xuanqing Dao cultivation process goes from easy to difficult. The Yuqing Realms first layer can be cultivated by most people within the first year, but afterwards, the difficulties and hardships begin to appear. The second layer generally requires five years of cultivation for ordinary people, while the third layer is a watershed - those with slightly inferior qualifications may stagnate at this level for their entire lives, and even those who are better off may not be able to progress beyond this point after 50-60 years of cultivation.
Zhang Xiaofan was speechless, Song Daren smiled slightly and continued speaking.
The main practice of Taiji Xuanqing Dao is roughly completed by the third layer, and afterwards it depends more on individual talent and self-cultivation. A highly cultivated master may occasionally offer some guidance, but that is just a matter of personal experience, allowing disciples to avoid taking a few detours. Of course, the "detours" referred to here are often measured in centuries.
Those who cultivate Taiji Xuanqing Dao to the fourth layer of Yuqing Realm, have grasped the fundamental principles of all things, and can begin to practice other extraordinary skills and cultivate their own magical treasures. The secret of the magical treasure is profound and has a long history, in mythological legends, all heavenly gods and spirits have their own divine instruments, with unparalleled power. In the mortal world, those who cultivate truth and refine Dao, initially grasp the creation of heaven and earth, also having boundless power. Small ones can ride on air and move swiftly, while larger ones can shake the heavens and shatter the earth, destroying mountains and rivers.
The material of the magic treasure is also varied and strange, but one thing is certain: the material of the magic treasure determines its power after cultivation. If you use ordinary iron to practice "Divine Sword Thunderbolt Technique", before you even attack the enemy, the sword will have turned to ashes along with its master.
As for the Qingyun Gate, because in those years, the ancestor of Qingye obtained the ancient sword "Zhēn Xiān" in the "Huàn Yuè Dòng Fǔ", and relied on it to dominate the world, with almost no one able to match him. The majority of his later generations admired and emulated him, mostly cultivating the immortal sword. After a thousand years, the emergence of numerous swordsmen had almost become an unwritten rule for the Qingyun Gate, and it would not be inappropriate to rename it the Qingyun Sword Sect.
However, its worth mentioning that Dà Zhú Fēng Zuò Tián is not easy to deal with. He himself practices swordsmanship and his protective artifact "Red Spirit" is one of the famous swords in Qingyun Gate. However, for some reason, he doesnt encourage his disciples to practice immortal swords at all. On the contrary, he often persuades them to practice other types of artifacts, which has caused quite a bit of controversy within Qingyun Gate. But since theres no rule against it and Tianyis disciples are mediocre in talent and few in number, people generally let him do as he pleases.
Among the numerous disciples of Dàzhú Fēng, the eldest brother Sòng Dàrén has cultivated the deepest, having already reached the fifth layer of Yuqīng Realm in his practice of Taiji Xuánqīng Dao. Next is Lǎo Sì Hé Dàzhì, who has reached the fourth layer. Although he entered the gate later than Wú Dàyì and Zhèng Dàlǐ, he is the smartest among all disciples, so he has achieved more in less time.
As for Wu Dayi, Zheng Dalie, Lü Dashin, and Du Bishu, they were all struggling in the third layer of the Jade Clear Realm. On the other hand, Tian Linger was exceptionally intelligent and had been taught by her parents since she was young. Although she only started practicing the bamboo-cutting technique at the age of ten, she had already been studying the Taiji Xuanqing Dao for many years. At just thirteen years old, she had reached the fourth layer of the Jade Clear Realm and could wield magical artifacts. She was one of the most renowned child prodigies in the Qingyun Gate, and her parents doted on her, as did all the other masters. Su Ru even gave her his famous "Amber Brocade" as a protective artifact.
"Wow, Master is so powerful!" Zhang Xiaofan couldnt help but exclaim at this point.
Song Daren smiled and said, "Thats right, Little Sister is extremely intelligent and has a natural talent for cultivating the truth. Whatever Master and Mistress teach her, she picks up immediately. Her innate ability far surpasses us brothers. Now, she just lacks experience in cultivation and hasnt reached the required level of fire refinement. Given time, her achievements will be boundless and far surpass ours. The glory of the Dazhu Peak lineage is all on her shoulders."
After finishing speaking, his eyes were full of hopeful color, obviously very fond of this lovely and delicate little junior sister.
Then, Song Daren told Zhang Xiaofan some things to pay attention to in the cultivation process. Finally, he said seriously: "Younger brother, there is one more thing I must tell you: our sects cultivation values gradual progress and being down-to-earth. If you rush for quick results, you will not only be dissatisfied but also invite great disaster. Success or failure is predetermined by fate, do not force it. Like the demonic and evil paths, heretical and evil techniques, those who seek to fulfill their desires but are never satisfied, in the end mostly suffer heavenly punishment, pitiful and sad. You must be careful."
Zhang Xiaofan was shocked and hastily said: "Yes, Big Brother Master, I understand."
Song Daren nodded, stood up and said: "Thats it for now. The Taiji Cave is in the back mountain. Only disciples who have cultivated the Taiji Xuanqing Dao to three layers or more can enter to cultivate. Before that, you can practice in your own room first. Its very quiet here, and Master and Mistress usually dont come either. You just work hard."
Zhang Xiaofan stood up and said, "Thank you, Big Brother Master."
Song Daren burst out laughing and patted his head, then turned around and left.
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Zhang Xiaofan saw off Song Daren, turned around and returned to the house, closed the door tightly, and felt an indescribable excitement in his heart. Even the fatigue from chopping bamboo in the morning was gone.
He took a deep breath, calmed down, and slowly walked to the bed. He sat down in the posture taught by Song Daren, closed his eyes, and mentally went through the first layer of Taiji Xuanqing Dao Yuqing Jing from start to finish as taught by Song Daren. Just as he was about to practice it, his heart suddenly moved, and he abruptly opened his eyes, exclaiming: "Thats not right!"
Song Darens transmission of the first layer of Yu Qing Jing in Taiji Xuanqing Dao is originally the most basic and superficial cultivation method, with only two functions: practicing Qi. The cultivator sits quietly, opens up their mind and restrains all kinds of worries, guides the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body to circulate the large Zhou Tian, borrowing this to be in sync with heaven and earth, and further to comprehend the creation of heaven and earth. If one can guide the spiritual energy to circulate three times within the body, then their own meridians will already be stable, and they can cultivate higher realms.
This cultivation method, which has been refined over thousands of years in Taoism, is absolutely flawless and without any doubts or misgivings. However, at this moment, Zhang Xiaofans mind is like a stormy wind and rain, wavering non-stop. All of this is because what he heard today is completely opposite to the oral formula and cultivation method that Master Puzhi passed on to him back then.
On the eve of the Caomin Village massacre, Puzhi passed on his mantra to him, clearly telling him that when cultivating and refining ones energy, it is essential to cut off all connections between oneself and the outside world, and to understand ones true nature. This is what is meant by: All phenomena are empty appearances, neither born nor destroyed, neither tainted nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no consciousness, no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or mind, no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental phenomena, no realm of the eye, and so on up to no realm of consciousness, no ignorance, and also no end to ignorance, up to no old age and death, and also no end to old age and death. No suffering, no accumulation, no extinction, no path, no wisdom, and also no attainment. (Note: Quoted from the Heart Sutra)
Such profound and abstruse principles, Zhang Xiaofan couldnt understand clearly at this time, but the two cultivation methods were fundamentally different, he could distinguish them. At this moment, his mind was in a mess, and he didnt know what to do.
Actually, Zhang Xiaofan didnt know that Taiji Xuanqing Dao was indeed the supreme and mysterious method of Taoism, but Puzhi had great expectations for him, entrusting his lifelong hopes to him. The oral formula he passed on, however, was also the highest Dharma of Buddhism - Mahavairocana Prajna.
Two kinds, two completely different ways of practice, but must start from the root.
Buddhism and Taoism have a long history, with different origins for their cultivation techniques. Taking Taoism as an example, its main idea revolves around the concept of "Tao" (the Way), which is described as: The Tao gives rise to one, one gives rise to two, two gives rise to three, and three gives rise to all things. All things carry yin and embrace yang, with a harmonious balance in between (Note: From Chapter 5 of the Dao De Jing). Taoist teachings originated from Taoist thought, including the three realms of Taiji Xuanqing Tao, which were named after the Jade Pure, Upper Pure, and Great Pure realms in Taoist mythology, also known as the "Three Pures". In Taoist cultivation, it is emphasized that one should breathe in harmony with heaven and earth, be in tune with nature, use the body to control natural transformations, and transform into great power.
On the other hand, Buddhism emphasizes "the mind arises from the absence of dwelling on things, and all phenomena are not separate from ones own nature." It is also said: The self-nature is originally pure; the self-nature is originally without birth and death; the self-nature is originally complete; the self-nature is originally without disturbance; the self-nature can give rise to all phenomena! (Note: From "The Platform Sutra, Chapter 1") In Buddhist cultivation of truth, emphasis is placed on realizing ones own nature, illuminating the five aggregates, and "being able to give rise to 84,000 wisdoms through general knowledge", which is precisely this principle.
The Buddhist and Taoist schools of thought are vastly different, and the methods of cultivation naturally go in opposite directions. For thousands of years, they have each kept their secrets hidden from others. But at this moment, a small disciple named Zhang Xiaofan from the Qingyun Gates Dazhu Peak is being driven crazy by this matter.
"Which one is correct?"
Zhang Xiaofan jumped out of bed and walked back and forth in the room, feeling confused and disorganized in his mind, with a lot of random thoughts, but he didnt dare ask anyone, so he could only sit on the edge of the bed, let out a long sigh, and couldnt say anything.
He wasnt a clever person to begin with, coming from a farming family and being young, he had no experience or decisive power. He thought about it for half a day but still couldnt come up with a solution. In the end, Zhang Xiaofan said to himself in his heart: "Forget it, anyway Master Puzhi didnt say anything about this situation before, Ill just cultivate both together." He stopped thinking about it and felt a sense of relief in his heart, got back on bed, sat cross-legged, and started cultivating the Taiji Xuanqing Dao.
Its easy to think, but its a completely different story when you actually do it. Taiji Xuanqing Dao Lianqi requires opening up all the orifices and pores of the body, drawing in the spiritual energy from heaven and earth, running along the meridians to temper and solidify the bodys primordial energy and inner network of channels; while Dafan Banruo requires entering a state of stillness and extinction, sealing off all thoughts and mental activities, taking ones own body as a world, seeing only ones own nature, with a deep heart and true primordial energy, solidifying the foundation and cultivating the primordial energy.
Two sets of techniques were diametrically opposed, leaving Zhang Xiaofan at his wits end. For the next three months, he spent every day climbing the mountain to cut bamboo and devoted himself to practicing these two techniques. Just as he had made some progress in Taiji Xuanqing Dao, opening up all the apertures in his body and allowing spiritual energy to enter, he then had to forcibly close all the apertures again with Da Fan Ruo Ye, entering a state of stillness and emptiness, rendering his previous efforts almost entirely useless.
After March, Tian Bu Yi suddenly came to inspect Zhang Xiao Fans cultivation progress. He didnt expect that after asking a few questions and testing him, he was so angry that he almost died. According to common knowledge, ordinary people who practice Taiji Xuanqing Dao should have some small achievements after three months of practice in the first layer, and can initially guide the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into their body, running three to five cycles. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiao Fans talent was extremely poor, rarely seen or heard of. After cultivating for a full three months, he couldnt even control all the acupoints on his body at will, let alone guide spiritual energy into his body, not to mention running several cycles.
Tian Bu Yi glared at Zhang Xiao Fan with a furious expression, while the other disciples around him showed sympathetic expressions but didnt dare to speak up. Song Da Ren initially wanted to say a few words on behalf of Zhang Xiao Fan, but seeing that his own junior brother had reached such a state, he lost face and also didnt dare to speak. As for Tian Ling Er, she was smiling happily as she watched the commotion from the side.
Zhang Xiaofan was filled with shame, kneeling in front of Tian Buyi, feeling utterly humiliated. He thought to himself that no matter how his master scolded him, it would be well-deserved. Unexpectedly, after waiting for half a day, the surrounding senior brothers didnt make a sound, and even Tian Buyi didnt say a word. Zhang Xiaofan found this strange, and stealthily looked up to see Tian Buyis face filled with anger, which had transformed into a look of disappointment at some point. This truly fulfilled the saying: "There is no sorrow greater than the death of the heart!"
Only to see Tian not easily brush sleeves and rise, shook his head, moved his short and stout body, unexpectedly didnt say anything, walked towards the back hall. The disciples looked at each other in dismay, unclear about what was happening.
Song Daren followed Tian Buyi for the longest time, vaguely knowing what Tian Buyi was thinking in his heart, guessing that Master might have given up on this little brother. In these three months, Zhang Xiaofan, apart from practicing his homework, was busy helping others during his free time, and people liked him because he was honest. Living in seclusion was lonely, even the spoiled Tian Linger suddenly had a playmate around her age, although she often scolded him on the surface, but deep down she was also happy.
Song Daren furrowed his brow, stepped forward to help Zhang Xiaofan up, and said: "Younger brother, Master is just temporarily angry, its nothing serious. As long as you work hard at your practice, sooner or later he will come to appreciate you."
Zhang Xiaofan felt ashamed in his heart and nodded repeatedly, from then on he worked even harder.
He went up the mountain with Tian Linger every morning to cut bamboo, and ordinary disciples could cut off black-jointed bamboo after three months of practicing Taiji Xuanqing Dao. Zhang Xiaofan surprisingly only cut off his first black-jointed bamboo half a year later. However, he practiced diligently every day, rain or shine, and his body had become quite robust, at least he would no longer pant like an ox when going up the mountain again.
From then on, Tian Buyi ignored Zhang Xiaofan and didnt ask about his practice. Song Daren initially asked him a few times about his progress, but as time went by, Zhang Xiaofans improvement was slow to the point of being almost non-existent, until even Song Daren lost heart and stopped asking him.
Zhang Xiaofan himself didnt mind, knowing that his innate talent wasnt good. Although he sometimes wondered if it was because of practicing two different methods at the same time, every time he thought about this matter, he would recall the sound and appearance of Pu Zhi Monk, and with a surge of enthusiasm in his heart, he continued to persist. Although the journey was extremely difficult, his stubborn and strong personality still managed to hold on.
He lived in seclusion, practicing Taiji Xuanqing Tao during the day and practicing Mahayana Buddhism at night. Time passed slowly, and before he knew it, three years had gone by.
During this period, Zhang Xiaofan also set a record for the worst performance in the history of Qingyunmen Jianpai: he spent three years, or three times the normal time, to finally complete the first layer of Taiji Xuanqing Dao Yuqing Realm, allowing him to control all the acupoints on his body at will and circulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for 36 weeks. However, what people didnt know was that he also practiced Mahayana prajna, which laid a solid foundation for his internal energy control.
When Zhang Xiaofan nervously announced to everyone at dinner that day, the disciples of Qingyunmens Dazhu Peak were stunned, as if they had seen a thousand-year-old iron tree bloom. Immediately, everyone burst out laughing, and Song Dahen even picked up Zhang Xiaofan, who was already quite big, and tossed him into the air several times, overjoyed.
The man sitting in front of him, Tian, gave a cold glance and snorted, muttering under his breath: "Big idiot!"
In these three years, Zhang Xiaofan grew to be fourteen years old. Due to chopping bamboo every day, his body became strong and sturdy. Although he was two years younger than his senior sister Tian Linger, he was already as tall as her. Tian Linger, on the other hand, had grown from a thirteen-year-old little girl into a sixteen-year-old young woman, with an even more beautiful appearance. Her smile and speech were elegant and refined, beyond compare.
Tian Linger had always felt that the other six senior brothers were too old-fashioned and arrogant, so she had always liked to stay with this silly and naive junior brother. Over the past three years, they had become very close. However, Tian Linger had always been in charge, and Zhang Xiaofan felt that his senior sister was indeed much stronger than him. Although she often ordered him around on a daily basis, whenever he was occasionally teased by their senior brothers, she would be the first to stand up for him and defend him.
Living in the mountains is quiet, but also peaceful. From time to time, Zhang Xiaofan would ask Tian Nanyi and Song Daren about the Grass Temple Village massacre, but that matter has been investigated to no avail so far. As time passed, Zhang Xiaofans heart finally slowly calmed down.
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This morning, Zhang Xiaofan carried his machete as usual and walked out of the house alone towards the back mountain. Tian Linger had already completed her bamboo-cutting homework two years ago and no longer went, so for the past two years, Zhang Xiaofan mostly went up the mountain alone. However, Tian Linger sometimes came to the mountain with nothing better to do and played together with him.
Today, Zhang Xiaofan didnt see Tian Lingers figure and wasnt concerned about it either. He went up the mountain road alone. In a little over a month, he would also finish his bamboo-cutting task. Now, he could cut down two black-jointed bamboos every day, but was still far inferior to Tian Linger. When Tian Linger was about to finish her task earlier, she could cut down more than ten black-jointed bamboos in a single day.
A month ago, he finally completed the first layer of Taiji Xuanqing Dao Yuqing Realm. Following that, Song Daren passed on to him the key to the second layer. He practiced for a month, and although it was much more profound than the first layer, somehow he felt that it was actually easier than the first layer. For example, in the first layer, controlling all the bodys acupoints took him three years to achieve small success, while the second layer required "transforming energy into essence", allowing the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy introduced into the body to transform into essence energy within the meridians. According to Dashis words, this was more than ten times harder than the first layer, but Zhang Xiaofan felt that it was unexpectedly easy. Upon reflection, it seemed to have some connection with the "Great Brahma Wisdom" he had been practicing daily for three years without interruption. His internal energy circulation had already reached a certain level of maturity, and essence energy belonged to internal energy. With the foundation of those three years, Zhang Xiaofans progress was extremely rapid.
He himself didnt believe in himself, when others practiced for a year he had to practice for three years, this time it was probably just an illusion. So he didnt mind either, anyway, he practiced on schedule every day, and no one came to disturb him.
