From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 279 Five Paths
Dugu Ying once said that this book contains the insights and experiences of the predecessors in the past who advanced from the sixth rank to the fifth rank, and from the fifth rank to the fourth rank.

There was no writing on the cover. Meng Yuan turned a page and saw five large characters: A Discussion on Cultivation in Ancient and Modern Times.

Meng Yuan read it carefully and found that it did not only talk about the mysteries of martial arts, but also about Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, as well as the matters of demon cultivation.

Let’s start by talking about how various ways of spiritual practice emerged in ancient times.

It means that humans coexist with all things in the world. Both were originally ignorant and stupid. Then the wild beasts obtained the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and unknowingly entered into the practice. Although their intelligence gradually opened up after they started practicing, their animal nature was hard to change, and they have always been enemies with humans.

Because of this, the ancestors of the human race overcame all difficulties and slowly figured out the path of the warriors, and then they broke through it with one force.

After that, humans and demons occupied different places, fighting and sometimes joining forces. Because humans were smart, they first used slash-and-burn farming, and then there were human emperors who gathered the strength of countless people to drive the demons into a corner.

After the world prospered and demons were no longer a threat, countless fights broke out between people. Not only physical fights, but also literary fights, which later evolved into many theories.

In ancient times, human beings were in constant conflict and various theories emerged one after another. As a result, many ways of practice were developed, and Taoism was just one of them.

It is rumored that there are lineages of farmers, doctors, military strategists, and even alchemists, but the inheritance of many paths can only shine at special times.

For example, the military strategist, in addition to cultivating one's own martial arts, also has to join the army and practice the military strategist's method. The third level of the three levels of ascension is called "breakout". This path is against the harmony of heaven and has long been banned and burned, and no one practices it anymore. Even if someone secretly keeps it, but without a great struggle and wars in all directions, this path will not go far.

History is endless, and many paths have been gradually lost, but there are still a few words left.

For example, many medical books today were left by their ancestors.

Nowadays, the path of medicine has long been in decline, because this path is not an ordinary practice, but requires swallowing herbs and practicing medicine to achieve success. There may be people practicing it in the world, but they are very few.

Although today’s medical practitioners still worship the great doctors of ancient times, they themselves only understand the medical theory but do not know the medical practice methods.

In ancient times, apart from martial arts and demon cultivation, Taoism always remained, and then saints opened the Confucian path, and then Buddhism rose. Over the past thousands of years, the three religions have long been intertwined, and the doctrines have gradually improved, but the methods of cultivation have not changed much.

Countless sages and people with lofty ideals in ancient times worked hard to practice, but apart from Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, martial arts and the cultivation of demons, no one has opened up new paths now.

This book first examines the changes in spiritual practice from ancient times to the present, and then lists the five most important paths today.

The laws of nature are constant, but they are also unpredictable. Throughout history, countless people have sought the secret of longevity.
Among the five paths of cultivation, the higher you go, the stronger you can become and the longer your life will be.

It is possible to prolong one's life, but it is difficult to achieve immortality. Among them, demon cultivators are the best. Even a seventh-grade demon can live for two hundred years. If it reaches the fourth grade, it can live for a thousand years.

However, the path of demon cultivation is too difficult, because their method of cultivation is somewhat different from that of the other four. Although they become stronger the more they practice, not only can they develop their own methods and master magic skills, their bodies are as strong as those of warriors, and their methods are as wonderful as those of Buddhism and Taoism, but the effects are extremely slow to appear and the progress is also very slow.

If a warrior is fast, he can reach the fifth level or even the fourth level in ten years, but a demon cultivator may only reach the eighth level in ten years, and it will be even slower after that.

It is said that once a demon cultivator reaches the upper third level, his lifespan will be extended and he can live for thousands of years.

The opposite is Confucianism. Although the higher the Confucianism is, the longer the life span can be, it is far from the path of demon cultivation. Even if it reaches a high level, it can only live for two hundred years. The Confucian saint who opened the Confucian path in ancient times only lived for 180 years, and this was a Confucian saint of the first level.

There are words in the book which say that the reason why Confucianism has a short lifespan is because the ancient Confucian saints established their minds for heaven and earth, used the great and righteous spirit of the world, and borrowed a bit of power from the Taoist ancestors, and used a carving knife to forcibly cut off the lifespan of this path, making it difficult for Confucianism to live forever.

The other two are Taoism and Buddhism. The difference between the two is similar. The longer you practice, the longer your life span will be. But when you are at the lower third level, the difference between you and ordinary people is not that big. At most, it can be considered as prolonging your life. But when you reach the middle level, your life span will change. It is not difficult to live for two centuries. Especially after you reach the fourth level, it is not a problem to live for two hundred years.

As for the upper three grades, their life span is longer, and the third grade has a life span of 500 years. However, after reaching the second grade, no one knows the exact life span, some say a thousand years, some say six thousand years.

As for the first-grade realm, this is even more unknown. It is rumored that Daozu is at the first-grade realm, has already ascended to heaven, and lives as long as the sky. But in all these years, Daozu has never appeared. Some people also say that Daozu only lives for 6,000 years, and now he has already died.

As for the First Grade Buddha of Buddhism, he was the Buddha who created this path in the past. Buddhists revere him as an ancient Buddha, who passed away while sitting in meditation. It is said that he was harmed due to the disputes among Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. He left behind some predictive verses when he passed away, but the details are unknown to outsiders.

The other is the warriors. This approach is actually similar to Confucianism. The longer they practice, the longer they can live.

Generally speaking, as long as one practices diligently and makes some progress, and his muscles and bones become strong, the ninth level will not be much different from the eighth level and the seventh level. Lifespan can be prolonged, but not by much. One can just live a little longer and be more energetic than ordinary people.

But that's all.

Even after reaching the sixth or fifth rank, if one develops one's own potential and strengthens one's muscles and bones, one can live for hundreds of years without any illness or disaster. There are records of people living to be as old as one hundred and fifty.

The seventh rank is when a warrior begins to glimpse the secrets of heaven, while the fourth rank is fundamentally beyond the realm of ordinary people. It means that after experiencing the transformation of heaven and man, the secrets of heaven are fully opened, and the self is cleansed from the inside out, and man and heaven are united.

But even after reaching the fourth level, although the ability has greatly increased, the lifespan has not increased much and cannot be compared with Buddhism and Taoism.

Moreover, one must be free from disasters to live a long life. If one is seriously injured, it is hard to say.

Or even if he had used some violent divine powers, such as the Floating Light Cave Heaven, it was not a big deal when he was young, but if he repeatedly used it when he was old and weak, he would inevitably harm himself. As for divine powers such as the Nine Transformations to Return to the Gods and the Bodhi Destruction, using them too much would cause endless harm.

Therefore, for warriors, the lifespan of the fourth and ninth ranks is not much different. Ordinary people who live a life of luxury can live to be a hundred years old, or even longer.

The higher the martial realm, the second and third ranks, the life span is only two hundred years. As for the highest first-rank martial artist, there is no record of it, because throughout history, there have been many second-rank martial artists, but no first-rank martial artists. Even if some people have reached the rumored first-rank realm, it cannot be confirmed.

Nowadays, there are five paths running in parallel in the world. Since it is easiest for a warrior to enter the realm, and after entering the realm, one can strengthen oneself, the majority of people take the warrior path.

Among the disciples of the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, there are also many who enter Taoism through martial arts.

As for the path of demon cultivation, since progress is extremely slow and it takes a long time, fewer and fewer people take this path. Instead, most demons become martial artists, and there are even quite a few who practice Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

Meng Yuan read it carefully, looking through the changes in the paths of ancient and modern times, as well as the differences and similarities between them, and then he began to look at the important points of the warriors' six to five and five to four.

(End of this chapter)