The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 138: Watching Fish Breakthrough, Half-Step Spiritual Training

Ask for advice in the thatched cottage.

After digesting what he had gained from listening to the teachings, Xuanming resumed his previous pace of practice. He gathered purple air in the morning, refined moonlight in the evening, swallowed spiritual fruits, read scriptures to gain enlightenment, honed his supernatural powers, set up formations and drew talismans. In his spare time, he would travel through the hundreds of counties in Fengyang County, stroll through the mountains and rivers, or go deep into the world, change his identities, and experience the worldly life.

The reason he didn't travel far was that after what happened to Master Chaoguang, he felt uneasy. He always felt that something big would happen in Fengyang County. He was afraid that if something unexpected really happened and the disaster affected Qiuzhen Temple, he would be too far away to do anything about it. So he decided to stay in Fengyang County and wait until the uneasiness in his heart subsided before traveling far away.

Fortunately, Fengyang County has a vast territory, and he has never traveled through it all before. This time, walking around and reflecting on it can not only fill in the gaps, but also be beneficial to his cultivation. It's killing two birds with one stone, so why not do it?

Moreover, it is not a big deal that his magic power and Taoism do not match. The sooner they match, the more he can become a true half-step spiritual practitioner and lay a solid foundation, which will help him practice spiritual cultivation in the future.

Moreover, through reading "Xu Ri's Experience in Practicing Spiritual Practice", Xuan Ming knew that it was not easy to achieve great spiritual practice. In addition to reaching the threshold of spiritual practice in terms of cultivation and condensing the embryonic form of his own Tao domain, he also needed to accumulate enough luck.

All things are born from heaven and earth, and are combined with qi and luck. There are five lucks in heaven and earth, namely qi luck, end luck, killing luck, interception luck and disaster luck. The five lucks are further divided into five virtues, namely sage virtue Taiyi, virtue Taichu, merit virtue Taishi, yin virtue Taisu and morality Taiji.

The paths are different, the fortunes are different, and the fortunes accumulated when achieving spiritual cultivation will naturally be different. If you cultivate the way of killing, you should accumulate killing fortune; if you cultivate strategy, you should cultivate robbery fortune, and so on. The five fortunes have no clear boundaries, and they often complement each other and appear together. They only manifest differently because of their different emphases.

The reason why True Lord Chaoguang of the Xuri Sect and True Lord Xianyue of the Shuiyue Temple were able to achieve the state of spiritual training was, on the one hand, because they had accumulated merits and virtues for decades, and on the other hand, because of the responsibility of Heaven and the protection of the legacy of Lord Chaomu and the two founders of the sects.

This is where the virtuous live.

In addition to practicing, Xuanming wanted to accumulate merit and fortune, bring benefits to the mountains and rivers, bless the people, educate all living things, and accumulate luck for practicing the spirit. Sometimes he would live in the mountains, calm his mind, and think carefully.

---

The shadows of Xianyuntan are lingering, and things change for a few times in autumn.

A few months later, the wheat waves in the farmlands at the foot of the mountain were golden, swaying in the wind and emitting bursts of wheat fragrance. On the Floating Cloud Mountain, the waves were surging and splashing. The manta rays swam downstream, controlled the water to leave the Floating Cloud Mountain, and swam around the farmlands, revealing their traces from time to time.

The hunchbacked old man who was harvesting the wheat fields relied on the knowledge and experience accumulated over the years to recognize the identity of the manta ray and know that it was an auspicious sign symbolizing a good harvest and literary fortune. He was immediately overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow. When the other farmers heard this, both men and women, old and young, were overjoyed, dancing with joy, and hurriedly kowtowed to offer sacrifices.

My feet are steaming with damp earth, my back is burning with scorching heat, I feel no heat even though I am exhausted, but I regret that the summer is so long...

Farmers work from sunrise to sunset, plowing the fields and weaving cloth, leaving home early and returning late, digging for food in the soil all their lives, exhausted with sweat and back pain, all in the hope of a good harvest, more crops from the fields, so they can feed their families and not starve or freeze. Now that they encounter such a auspicious beast, how can they not be extremely excited?
Some people were smart and realized that the manta ray came from Floating Cloud Mountain. They guessed that the gods on the mountain deliberately sent out a good omen to benefit the people. After worshiping the manta ray, they kowtowed towards the misty Floating Cloud Mountain with gratitude on their faces and pious expressions.

The manta ray lived up to its reputation as a auspicious beast, it flapped its wings and swam around the farmland. Wherever it passed, grass and trees grew, feng shui gathered, and the grains of the wheat ears that had not yet been harvested became fuller, their color became more golden, and even their fragrance became sweeter.

Zangdao Peak, Daoyuan.

Looking at the happy and carefree manta rays at the foot of the mountain, Xuanming stroked his beard and smiled. The soil and water of a place nurture the plants and trees of that place. The manta rays have the ability to give the wheat fields a good harvest because they have the power to adjust the feng shui. The manta rays like to appear during the harvest season, and they can benefit from the sincere prayers and wishes of the people. Seeing the manta rays continue to swim to other places, Xuanming did not stop them. Seeing them appear in various places in the village, the people cheered and told each other that the harvest per acre was one more load than before.

In the courtyard, Xuanming was sipping tea and looking at the celadon cup in his hand. He felt that today's tea was particularly sweet. Perhaps this was the joy of sharing happiness with the people.

At this moment, he sat upright in the mountains, watching the world without leaving his house, but he had a deeper understanding of the stability of life, the prosperity of the people, and the fireworks of the world. He lived in the mountains and knew the world outside. Although his Taoism did not increase, his Tao heart became purer and more spotless.

He separated a strand of his spiritual sense and followed the manta ray. He watched how far the auspicious beast swam, and stayed in the yard for as long as the beast was away.

During this period, some cultivators coveted the auspicious virtue and good fortune of the manta ray and wanted to capture it secretly, but Xuanming warned them with a sword. A faint sword intent followed the manta ray, rising from Floating Cloud Mountain and falling thousands of miles away, frightening many people with ulterior motives. Knowing that this auspicious beast belonged to Floating Cloud Mountain, they dared not have any more delusional thoughts, let alone catch it and take it for themselves.

A month later, the manta ray returned, and the fortune of Floating Cloud Mountain increased slightly. This was a gift from the people and the wish of the heart. After sitting in meditation for a month, the white-haired Taoist priest who looked like a sculpture finally moved. He stood up, moved his wrists, and stretched his muscles.

Xuanming placed his mind on the manta ray and spent more than a month in the courtyard in meditation. He benefited greatly from it, and his mana was boiling. He was making great progress. However, he did not return to the house immediately. He first glanced at the dusty teapot.
As soon as the thought came to his mind, Xuanming raised his hand and scooped up a handful of water. After washing the teapot clean, he circled his fingers to summon the magical water and brewed tea himself. The fragrance of the tea was lingering and refreshing.

Pouring a cup of spiritual tea, Xuanming picked up the cup and sprinkled it into the mountain stream, giving the first cup of tea to Wen Manta ray as a reward for this meritorious official. Then he poured the second cup and sprinkled the tea into the sky. Dark clouds gathered, lightning and thunder appeared, and a sweet rain was brought to the people to moisten the fertile fields.

After finishing the remaining spiritual tea, Xuanming hung up the sign of retreat, got up and went back to the house, sat cross-legged in the thatched cottage, began to regulate his breathing and concentrate his mind, practicing the "Hunyuan Yiqi Jue", moving the Qi around in his body, and increasing his magic power.

---

The withered lotus leaves turned yellow, the maple leaves turned red, and time flowed slowly like water during Xuanming's retreat.

The people living at the foot of the mountain replanted taro, and the fruit trees on the mountain were laden with fruits. The persimmons were orange-yellow, and the fresh dates were bright red, which were extremely tempting. The Taoist priest on the mountain allowed the people to go into the mountain to pick fruit, ginseng and herbs. Although they could only go halfway up the mountain, the people were still happy.

Taoists from outside the county also returned one after another, and each made progress. Xuantong made great progress in his cultivation, Xuankong created the supernatural power of the food path, and Xuanyang also made further progress in the path he sought. Even Xuanyin returned with Chang'anzi, Changqingzi and others. This time they rested for several months and returned to the mountains specifically for reunion and cultivation.

The autumn wind is bleak and the weather is cold, and the grass and trees are shaken and dew into frost.

In late autumn, Fuyun Mountain is ablaze with red and yellow, the water is gurgling, the bamboo forest is lush, and the pines and cypresses are evergreen.

On this day, inspiration surged across a thousand miles of land, like hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea, converging at the Taoist Temple. The entire Qiuzhen Temple was alarmed, and all Taoists came here one after another. The third generation Taoists guarded the Dharma, and the fourth generation Taoists also stood with swords in their hands to guard the Cangdao Peak.

When night falls and the sky is filled with stars, a large amount of starlight falls like waterfalls and lands in the thatched cottage. They are absorbed and refined by the white-haired Taoist priest and turned into magic power.

When the energy accumulated to a critical point, the bottleneck was broken through naturally. Xuanming broke through smoothly and a powerful aura suddenly burst out from his body. The black and white Tai Chi Dao domain appeared.

(End of this chapter)