No abstraction, no cultivation

Chapter 6 On Immortality
It sounds so romantic, but in fact it’s just walking around here and there.

Go to the market here today, and go to that town to eat local specialties tomorrow.

Very laid back.

If they were to record their experiences during these days as master and disciple, they could potentially become food UP hosts.

Yes, they are master and disciple.

Xu Shun discovered that Taoist Lan did not just eat wind and dew and not eat rice, but he would only eat when he saw something delicious.

"Master, you are about to ascend to heaven, why are you still eating?" Xu Shun was eating the local glutinous rice cake in Renli Town. Looking at Taoist Lan who was also wolfing down his food, he couldn't help but asked.

Could he not ask?
Don’t even taste the dry food, just eat the delicious food.

Is this a Mahayana monk?
"Because it's delicious!" Lan Dao said as a matter of course.

The glutinous rice cake is soft and sticky, rolled with a little red bean paste and powdered sugar. It is especially sticky, sweet and fragrant when you take a bite.

Very delicious.

"There's also a lot of oil in it, otherwise it wouldn't be so fragrant." Taoist Lan commented.

"Master, don't Mahayana cultivators not eat grains to avoid being contaminated by foul air?" Xu Shun was puzzled.

"Who told you that?" Lan Dao Ren ate a piece of glutinous rice cake, glanced at Xu Shun, and said, "Is cultivating immortality just to not eat grains?"

"I heard..." Xu Shun thought for a moment and said nothing. He couldn't say that he read this in a novel.

"My disciple, you are good in everything except your preconceived notions about cultivating immortals." Taoist Lan took the glutinous rice cake and dipped it in the yellowish sugar sand, stuffed it into his mouth and said:

"People have been eating grains since they were young. How come I can't eat grains now that I'm about to become an immortal?"

“Isn’t this unreasonable?”

Xu Shun thought about it and it seemed~it seemed a bit unreasonable?
But it’s a little hard to explain…

"If I practice Taoism and still eat cereals, then wouldn't my practice be in vain?" Xu Shun said.

"Is it so inconvenient to cultivate immortality? Can't I eat grains after cultivating immortality?" Lan Daoist asked himself and answered: "I can call the wind and rain, I can split mountains and seas, but I can't eat grains."

"How ridiculous!"

It seems ~ that makes some sense.

"Disciple, what do you think an immortal is?"

In the busy town of Renli, at a glutinous rice cake stall, Taoist Lan looked at Xu Shun, who had a confused look on his face, and asked.

"Isn't this simple? Immortal is..." Xu Shun was about to say something when he was suddenly stunned.

What is a fairy?
Is it just people with magical powers?
When he was a teenager, Xu Shun read traditional fantasy novels, such as Strange Stories of Immortals and Swordsman of Shu Mountain.

Most of the immortals are chivalrous, have strange tempers, and live in seclusion in the mountains.

When he was older, online literature was just emerging.

From the futile pursuit of immortality to the gangster looting and burning, there is everything in the world of cultivating immortals and all kinds of immortals.

Those are the fairies in other people’s hearts, but in Xu Shun’s heart.

What is a fairy?
Is it for a so-called "immortal fate" that they fight to the death and become unrecognizable?

Or are you still pursuing immortality? Wouldn't it be impossible for you not to go crazy for it?
Or can you become an immortal just by taking medicine and gathering resources?
After a long while, so long that Lan Daoist asked for two more plates of glutinous rice cakes, Xu Shun finally said, "Immortal, will you live forever and live as long as the heavens?"

Longevity is what every living being desires.

"Stones are immortal and have the same lifespan as the sky. Are stones immortal?" Lan Daoist asked. "Can people be the same as stones?" Xu Shun felt that Lan Daoist was just arguing.

"Does longevity mean becoming an immortal? Disciple, you have also seen zombies." Lan Dao Ren said with a smile: "Those freaks born from death have escaped life and death. Are they immortals?"

Xu Shun shook his head and said, "They are just monsters, but if they could keep their sanity, there are probably many people who would be willing to become such monsters just for the sake of immortality."

"Impossible! Zombies are extremely evil creatures born from the bodies of dead people. It is impossible for them to retain their consciousness as before they died." Lan Daoist said, "But your idea has been tested by our predecessors."

"What's the result?" Xu Shun asked curiously.

"Neither alive nor dead, neither human nor ghost, it's worse than death." Lan Daoren shook his head and said, "It's pitiful."

"Longevity is the most basic ability of an immortal. Few people cultivate immortality for longevity. Disciple, you... forget it. You will know it naturally after you build your foundation."

Taoist Lan turned to the owner of the glutinous rice cake stand and said in the local dialect: "Boss, two more plates of glutinous rice cakes."

"Come here, sir, eat slowly!" The boss brought two bamboo plates quickly.

The boss could hear the conversation between their masters, but he thought it was crazy talk.

Does Taoist Lan look like a god?
"Of all the techniques, I only ask if they can lead to immortality?" Xu Shun looked at Lan Daoist, who was already full. He was talking about the philosophy that was circulated among the immortals in the previous life.

"He is very utilitarian and afraid of death!" Taoist Lan commented.

"Live in seclusion, away from the mundane world, with boundless magical powers, and ascend to heaven in broad daylight!" Xu Shun thought for a while and said.

"Incompetent, coward." Taoist Lan smiled, his tone mocking.

This is not right, and that is not right either. Xu Shun really didn't know what Lan Dao was talking about as "immortal", so he said in self-abandonment:
"No taboos, do whatever you want! Blow up the whole world with your own strength!"

"You're a little extreme, but you hit the point."

Unexpectedly, Lan Daoren nodded and said.

"Huh?" Xu Shun was stunned.

I'm just making this up!

"Immortals, one person per mountain, people in the mountains are also people." Lan Dao Ren patted his thigh and said:
"Whether in the human world or in the mountains, immortals should be free and unfettered!"

"But he also stayed true to his heart, not relying on the majority to bully the minority, not relying on his success to dominate others, and not seeking trivial matters. He did not regret missing opportunities, nor was he proud of catching up with opportunities."

"I don't know how to enjoy life, nor do I know how to hate death; I am not happy to be born, and I don't refuse to die; I leave without restraint, and come back freely."

"I have my own persistence and my own way."

"Even if there are thousands of people, I will go. Among the three thousand rivers, I will choose the one I want."

"This is the immortal!"

Xu Shun understood what he heard and felt longing in his heart.

"This is how cultivating immortals works!" Xu Shun patted his thigh and said in admiration.

It’s like in the previous life, you worked to earn money, but after earning money and achieving financial freedom, you still have to work in a servile way, being ordered around by others.

Wouldn’t that be working in vain?
Longevity is a byproduct of cultivating immortals. During the process of cultivating immortals, cultivators cannot achieve longevity just for the sake of it.

Immortals are also human beings. They have their own lives and things they want to do.

Otherwise, there will be nothing I want to do, and every day will be as boring as a stone, meditating and cultivating immortality, then I will really become a stone!
"I am the master now, but you are not yet." Taoist Lan looked at the enthusiastic Xu Shun and poured a basin of cold water on him.

"Practice is not a simple matter. Practice is about practice and the realization of action."

　What do you think a fairy is? (I can’t control my hand. I accidentally posted this yesterday. Fortunately, I deleted it quickly.)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)