Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 516 Three Favors
"hiss!!"

Looking at the six eyes that were hit, Xiao Ran couldn't help but take a deep breath and thought to himself, "What kind of magical method is this? The Five Finger Mountain of Tathagata Buddha?"

As if he could see what Xiao Ran was thinking, Plum Blossom Taoist picked up the cup and explained:

“The Tao follows nature, is formless and invisible, and its wonders are infinite.

The Dharma is tangible but intangible; people can borrow the power of heaven without falling behind.

The art of magic has form and image, and may seem amazing and ingenious, but in reality it is just a trick. "

What the Plum Blossom Taoist said revealed the truth about the art of Taoism.

The so-called art of magic is ever-changing, strange and difficult to understand. It seems incredible to outsiders, but in fact it is just a trick.

It’s just that some of the sleight of hand are more advanced.

Xiao Ran thought about it carefully and realized that he was also a master of magic. Although he was not as good as the Plum Blossom Taoist, he also had a deep understanding of magic. After hearing the Plum Blossom Taoist's advice, he suddenly had an epiphany.

Looking at the six eyes in the cup again, I suddenly felt that this magic didn't seem so mysterious.

Although I couldn't do it, I probably knew what was going on.

This world is all illusion. Since you are in the illusion, what you see and hear is not real. Since nothing is real, there is naturally nothing to worry about.

even……

Xiao Ran looked up at the Plum Blossom Taoist in front of him. He was a little doubtful whether the Plum Blossom Taoist in front of him was real, otherwise why couldn't he remember his appearance? ?
Seeing that Xiao Ran seemed to have understood, Plum Blossom Taoist stopped talking about this topic and just gently played with the cup with one hand, letting the cup flip under his fingertips. The six eyes inside also fell to the ground. He said calmly, "Now, we can talk about business."

Taoist Meihua put down his wine glass and said, "You should be the Yin-Yang Patrol Envoy now."

"Correct!"

Xiao Ran pointed to his forehead and saw a golden mark there. It was the dragon banner given to him by the emperor on Youshan Mountain.

Taoist Meihua nodded slightly and said helplessly, "This job was originally given to me, but I can't take it. Although I have my reasons, I agreed to this job after all, so I have to find someone else to take it for me."

“So that person is me.”

Xiao Ran had no intention of settling accounts with Plum Blossom Taoist for this. Collecting the four sects' magic skills was originally his own idea.

"This is a fixed number. Since I made my great wish, I have already owed a debt. Someone will naturally come to take over from me, but this also means that you have to bear a few more debts for nothing. This is what I owe you."

Taoist Meihua took out three things and placed them in front of Xiao Ran.

One contained a plain golden book, a bell, and a scroll.

"This is my compensation to you, and it's what you deserve." Taoist Plum Blossom pointed to the yellow golden book on the far left.

"This is the golden book and precious scroll given to me by the imperial court. With this golden book, you will officially become the Plum Blossom Taoist and the owner of Plum Blossom Manor."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran picked up the golden book and opened it to take a look.

The above is the imperial court, in the name of Emperor Yongzheng, conferring on Plum Blossom Taoist the title of Shangyin Zhengjun Zhenren, granting him the authority to command forty-eight judges, burn incense and perform rituals, and ferry the souls of the dead.

There is also the seal of Emperor Yongzheng on it.

It is a formal proof of approval by the imperial court.

With this golden book, Xiao Ran can clear his name in the underworld and the world of the living from now on. In addition, with his identity as the Yin and Yang Inspector, at least officially speaking, Xiao Ran has the final say on all matters involving Yin and Yang and ghosts. Not even Fengdu and the underworld can hold Xiao Ran hostage.

Of course, these are all official statements.

Whether or not he can exercise this power depends on Xiao Ran’s own strength.

However, with this golden book, Xiao Ran's legitimacy as the Plum Blossom Taoist is beyond doubt.

Taoist Meihua picked up the copper bell on the table and shook it. The bell made a hollow sound.

"This bell is used to control the spirit demons outside. It can ensure that you can enter and exit without hindrance. However, if you want to use this bell to control the spirit demons in the future, you will need to practice the Washing Away Record to the second level and master the method of opening the Yin Gate in reverse."

"This... is a bit difficult."

Xiao Ran took the bell, frowned for a moment and asked, "What is the second level of the Return to the Womb Realm in the Record of Clearing Wrongs? And what does the third level mean? I don't understand it at all."

"When truth is false, falsehood is true. When the art is deep, truth is true and falsehood is false, falsehood is false and truth is true. Even the caster cannot distinguish truth from falsehood. Therefore, the true soul needs to be kept in one. That is why I created this art of cultivating the soul."

Taoist Meihua told Xiao Ran the core idea of "The Record of Clearing Away Wrongs" without hiding anything.

The art of magic is unpredictable.

When he was learning the art, he made rapid progress, but as he understood the art more and more, he found that the art was full of traps, just like the alchemy known to people.

Obviously, it is a trick to deceive people, but sometimes, some people just wishfully believe that as long as they have advanced their skills, the gold they can turn out will become more and more real.

In the end, you will get yourself deeply involved, hurting others and yourself.

This is the case with the alchemy technique, not to mention some techniques that involve great temptation, such as immortality and rejuvenation, which seem very mysterious, but in fact they are all fake.

That's right. In the art of martial arts, the most important thing is to have the ability to detect the truth.

So how can we achieve this?

Meihua Taoist has tried practicing Taoism, Buddhism, reading books and studying Confucianism, and finally came to the conclusion that these are all possible, but any one of them requires half a lifetime of energy to specialize in, which is not suitable for a jack of all trades like himself.

He did not have the means to combine the strengths of the three schools like the ancient sages did, so the Plum Blossom Taoist thought of the simplest way, which was to cultivate the soul.

The soul is true and pure, and no matter how things change, it remains essentially the same.

These three levels are respectively Soul Purification.

Cleanse your soul of distracting thoughts and cultivate your soul to return to the true self.

The second step is to return to the fetus, which is to let your soul return to the state of being in the embryo, reversing from the acquired to the innate.

"If you can get a breath of innate qi, you will live forever. When you reach this stage in soul cultivation, all the magic in the world will be in front of you. There will be no secrets. Even the mysterious magic of Taoism and the magical power of Buddhism cannot hide their ingenuity from your eyes."

After hearing what Taoist Meihua said, Xiao Ran suddenly understood.

I didn’t expect this soul cultivation technique to be so powerful.

If [Soul-Breaking Sword], [Corpse-Record] and [Soul-Saving Sutra] are equivalent to the unique skills of their school, then [Record of Clearing Wrongs] is the core technique of this school.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran couldn't help but ask curiously; "What about the third floor?"

The Plum Blossom Taoist fell silent. Xiao Ran looked up at the Plum Blossom Taoist. Although his facial features were clear, Xiao Ran could not leave any impression on his face. However, he could feel that the Plum Blossom Taoist was smiling.

A very smug smile.

After a while, he said, "You can only find the third level by yourself. Everyone's third level state is different, just like me at this moment, but not at that time or moment. There is no form, no shape, and no self."

After saying that, Plum Blossom Taoist suddenly noticed Xiao Ran's bewildered expression, frowned slightly, sighed, and explained in plain language: "To put it bluntly, at this point, the nature of your soul has changed. It is no longer as fragile as a ghost. Taoism has a method to produce Yang Shen, but although your soul is not a Yang Shen, it can become a Yang Shen. Not only a Yang Shen, but even a human, god, ghost, demon, spirit, monster, can be transformed at will. The physical body is no longer important."

In order to make Xiao Ran understand, Plum Blossom Taoist also cooperated by constantly changing his form and showing it in front of Xiao Ran.

The aura of the Plum Blossom Taoist was constantly changing. Sometimes he seemed bright, sacred and inviolable, sometimes he seemed sinister and murderous, sometimes he seemed celestial and had an immortal demeanor, and sometimes he seemed like a demon with such domineering aura that Xiao Ran felt as if his soul was about to fly away.

The ever-changing world is just a thought of Plum Blossom Taoist, which opened Xiao Ran's eyes and made him think: "No wonder this guy hides on purpose. If I have such ability, I will hide there too. The world is so big that I can do whatever I want. Why do I have to do such a hard job?"

After just looking at it for a while, Xiao Ran suddenly frowned and asked, "Is this also a trick?"

The body of the Plum Blossom Taoist quickly returned to its original state. He was very pleased and praised Xiao Ran: "You are a teachable boy. The end of the art is still a trick. It's just that at this point, you are deceiving the heavens."

Afterwards, Taoist Meihua passed on all his experience on how to practice the second level to Xiao Ran, which benefited Xiao Ran a lot. Many things that he didn't understand before suddenly became clear to him.

As for the third level, Taoist Meihua could only give Xiao Ran a general direction. As he said, whether one could break through this level depended entirely on personal luck.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Ran told out all the doubts he had encountered in the other three sects.

He took out his little notebook and began to write down all the thoughts and experiences that Plum Blossom Taoist had passed on.

It seemed like several days had passed during this conversation, and it also seemed like several months had passed.

Taoist Meihua taught Xiao Ran patiently and tirelessly without hiding anything, which enabled Xiao Ran to make great progress in all the techniques of the Four Yin Sect, and even in his own magic of exorcism.

I have to say, there is really a difference between having a master to teach and not having a master to teach.

After receiving guidance from Taoist Plum Blossom, Xiao Ran had a clearer idea about his future plans, and he even felt eager to try.

Finally, the Plum Blossom Taoist picked up the scroll and opened it. Inside was a plum tree and a table, and nothing else.

"This is the last favor I'll pay you back."

Taoist Meihua stretched out his hand and lightly touched a blank spot on the scroll. The next second, a Taoist figure appeared on the scroll.

The Taoist's figure was hazy, like a mirror image, making it hard to see clearly. The Plum Blossom Taoist handed it to Xiao Ran and said, "If you encounter danger in the future, open this painting. I can help you three times to keep you safe."

(End of this chapter)