Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 164 Xuanmen Method

After Guo Shan finished speaking, he ran out and told Taoist Dachun that he wanted to leave with Chu Tai and continue studying with Chu Tai.

Hearing these words suddenly, Taoist Dachun was a little surprised. He looked at Chu Tai with some doubts in his eyes.

Chu Tai did not hide too much from this person. After briefly informing the other party of his plans, Taoist Dachun expressed his joy for Guo Shan's future.

"I didn't expect that Fellow Daoist Chu has inherited the Xuanmen heritage. Although it is a little dangerous to practice due to the influence of foreign lands, it is better than us practicing alone and crossing the river by feeling the stones. You will have a chance to become an immortal in the future."

As he spoke, Taoist Dachun also started to prepare some things for Guo Shan that would be useful for his future practice. After blessing him a few words, he sent him away.

After the three people left, Mingxia Divine Lord appeared and said, "This Taoist has some virtues, but unfortunately he did not accumulate enough and entered a side door. If he wants to become a righteous person in the future, he will have to go through more changes."

Upon hearing this, Guo Shan hurriedly asked why this happened.

Both Feiquan and Mingxia cared very much about this disciple who would inherit their sect's tradition in the future. They were happy to explain many secrets to him so that he would have a clearer understanding of his own way of cultivation.

"Anything in the world that has nine orifices can cultivate to become an immortal. There are many ways to become an immortal, such as drawing talismans to sense spiritual inspiration, practicing to inhale and exhale vital energy, sitting in meditation, visualizing, eating and drinking, listening to the breath, fasting, keeping one's mind focused, and so on."

“But the way to become an immortal is not to simply follow a prescription and practice step by step. You can succeed. The road of practice is not a smooth one. There are thousands of ravines and gullies, temptations from outsiders, human vendettas, heavenly disasters, and the rotation of the earth. Countless disasters emerge one after another, which is why there are the three disasters and nine difficulties.”

When Guo Shan heard this, he immediately recalled what Chu Tai had said to him and answered.

"I know this. The three disasters are the three disasters of heaven, earth and man. They are the human disasters of war, plague and famine; the earth disasters of fire, boiling water and wind; the natural disasters of demonic trials, thunder tribulations and burning contracts. The nine difficulties are the failure to make the elixir, the pressure of food and clothing; the heavy karma of past karma, the invitation of the elders; the shackles of love and affection, the worry of the fire courtyard... the years are wasted."

Hearing this, Feiquan Divine Lord beside him smiled and nodded, and continued: "In order to deal with these three disasters and nine difficulties, many predecessors told the younger generations how to proceed and how to avoid pitfalls, but these things can only be used as a reference. In the end, the practitioners still need to go through them step by step to achieve something."

"And these experiences are a major difference between the orthodox Xuanmen and the unorthodox sects."

Chu Tai interrupted and Guo Shan immediately looked over, his expression becoming more serious. Fei Quan and Ming Xia saw this and immediately changed their teaching philosophy, choosing to focus on Chu Tai.

The true Qi of Fu Xiyao in Nanyan Cave surged up and manifested as a cloud. The cloud light was restrained and gradually rose, turning into tall, majestic and steep mountain peaks. Among them, the mountains were steep, with many dangerous cliffs, deep mountain ravines, blocking the way to the summit.

Chu Tai pointed to several peaks in the middle and said, "If we want to climb this peak, we need to break through many barriers before we can hope to achieve enlightenment and become immortals."

"Except for some of the orthodox Xuanmen schools that originated from the immortal methods passed down from Daluo Heaven, which are top-down construction systems, most of them were built by countless predecessors who sacrificed their lives."

As he spoke, a ray of light appeared in Chu Tai's hand and split into two in mid-air, one from top to bottom and the other from bottom to top, forming two winding mountain roads.

These two roads are not straight up or down, but winding, with many twists and turns, passing through dense forests, crossing mountain streams, and bypassing dangerous cliffs and sheer cliffs.

On some unavoidable cliffs, stair railings are built, and pavilions and caves are built halfway up the peak.

Guo Shan understood what Chu Tai wanted to express as soon as he saw it.

The authentic path of Xuanmen is these two mountain paths. Although it is dangerous to climb, the future is stable and there is a way to rely on every step.

Even if you are affected by external forces such as wind, frost, storm, thunder and rain and are temporarily unable to reach the summit, or you lack physical strength and find it difficult to move forward, you can stay in a pavilion or a cave to recuperate.

Then, you can either rely on the supplies in the mountains and move forward slowly, or go down the mountain calmly and wait for the next climb.

"Practicing is like climbing a mountain, and the wonderful Dharma is the path. If we regard the many bad weather conditions we see during the climb as the three disasters, then the many bad terrains such as cliffs and steep cliffs are the nine difficulties." "To deal with the three disasters, Xuanmen Zhengzong will tell you how to avoid and how to deal with them. As for the nine difficulties, Xuanmen Zhengzong will either avoid them or tell you how to build steps and guardrails."

“Although there are some self-righteous people who think they have learned the Dharma and build steps and guardrails at will, and then rush around on the mountain path, so that the steps and guardrails are unable to withstand it and fall into the abyss. But overall, the practice of the orthodox Xuanmen is not that dangerous.”

After saying this, Chu Tai didn't wait for Guo Shan to respond, and stretched out his hand again, saying: "Compared to the Xuanmen Sect, those who accidentally enter the Tao have to face many more problems."

As he spoke, the bright Qi of Nanyan Cave surged, and some human figures appeared among the mountains.

They ran around in the mountains, some climbing barehanded, some walking along the walls. Those who were a little more sophisticated might bring some equipment such as ropes, or occasionally find some winding mountain trails and tentatively go forward.

Most of these people had to give up before they even got halfway because they lacked the energy.

The luckier ones among these people were able to find a fruit forest in the mountains, rely on the fruit trees to survive, slowly accumulate supplies, and try the next attack.

Those with less luck may accidentally enter a valley and lose their way. They can only shuttle back and forth in the fog and cannot get out, but their lives are not in any danger.

If things are even worse, due to bad luck, or mistake, or taking a wrong step, one may fall off a cliff and die without a burial place, but one will have preserved his nature and will not be hopeless in the afterlife.

Even worse, for the sake of survival and progress, they frantically destroyed everything they could get in the mountains and forests, causing soil erosion, leaving them with nowhere to live, or they were buried by mudslides, or struck by lightning, and ultimately they didn't even have the chance to reincarnate.

Among these many independent cultivators, there are very few lucky ones who either accidentally stumble upon the mountain path opened up by the orthodox Xuanmen sect and are able to travel together for a while and advance a long way upward, or they accidentally find a suitable shortcut and suddenly walk a long way upward.

Then, those who had at least reached halfway up the mountain would guide those who came later to continue moving forward. Over time, people followed their path and created a narrow path.

These trails are muddy and winding, and there is no complete system. There are no railings in dangerous places, and there are no steps to help in climbing some difficult places. The most dangerous parts are that there are some dead ends that cannot be avoided, so people can only climb along the walls and endure the psychological pressure of being crushed to pieces if they are not careful.

The saddest thing is that when they reach the end, they may find that they have climbed the wrong mountain halfway, and there is no hope of reaching the summit in this lifetime. They can only stand on the top of the mountain and look into the sky.

Chu Tai pointed at the paths and said, "This is the side door."

"When facing the three disasters and nine tribulations, the Xuanmen would choose to retreat, or build defenses, or plant fruit trees early so that those who come later can get supplements when facing these problems, so as not to face them empty-handed."

"But the side sects are different. They don't have a systematic system, so they inevitably value the law more than the Tao, and they love the technique but forget the Tao. Their minds are often restless, so they are inevitably extreme. When faced with disasters, their first reaction is to practice stronger techniques and refine stronger magic weapons."

"This concept is also why they like to cut off the roots when facing natural resources and treasures, constantly consuming the good fortune of heaven and earth, and consuming the luck and blessings in the dark, causing their own calamity to become heavier day by day, until their magic power can no longer suppress the booming calamity. Under natural disasters and man-made disasters, they will fall into calamity and sink, or even be annihilated. Therefore, the first level for side sect cultivators is to stabilize their mind."

At this point, Chu Tai looked back in the direction of Jicui Temple on Qingqi Mountain outside Guanglu City, and Guo Shan seemed to be thinking about something.

"So this is why Senior Mingxia praised Dachun? But since Xuanmen Zhengzong has already repaired the road, what is the problem I am facing now?"

Facing Guo Shan's doubts, Chu Tai still pointed among the mountains and saw that there were many forks in the mountain road representing the orthodox Xuanmen. Most of these forks led to cliffs. Although there were steps and guardrails on the road, they were all incomplete. Walking on them was more frightening than exploring alone.

What’s even more terrifying is that even on the originally correct mountain road, there are thorny bushes and even fallen rocks blocking the way, which is equally dangerous.

"This is the problem you will have to face in the future."

(End of this chapter)