The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 167 Nanhua Daozun, Taiping Daoist Master

The Taiping Sect has existed for more than 8,000 years and is one of the oldest Taoist sects in the world. It existed long before the establishment of the Dasheng Divine Dynasty, but it was not called the Taiping Sect at that time, but was called the Nanhua Temple.

The origin of Nanhua Taoism is mysterious and unpredictable.

In movement, wander with nature; in stillness, be in harmony with the great harmony.

Be free from life and death, and roam freely in the realm of gods.

What’s more, he has the nine elixirs and can easily return to the void.

The founder of Nanhua Temple is Nanhua Daozun. He learned from Wuliang Tianzun and was a disciple of Daozu. He once held a wild goose stick and cut through thorns for the human race in the dark ages. He had profound Taoism and great supernatural powers.

Later, he slept for three years on Xiaoyao Mountain and wrote the legend of Nanhua Butterfly Dream. He attained enlightenment in his dream, achieved great power of heaven and earth, and won the position of Taoist master.

He revealed the secrets of heaven in Qiyuan, uttered lofty theories, and made magnificent and bizarre remarks. He investigated the strangeness of Qixie and talked about the fish in the North Sea. He taught in Xiaoyao Mountain, often lectured on scriptures and discussed the Dao, and taught the methods of Xinzhai, Zuowang, and Xiaoyao, spreading the Dao throughout the world.

The "Nanhua Jing" he left behind is grand in spirit, profound in artistic conception, ethereal and infinite, with mysterious principles and every word being a gem. It explains the laws of the universe, tells the evolution of the universe, discusses the changes in the universe, and covers everything from the origin of the great way to the growth of flowers and plants. It is all-encompassing and is regarded as a treasure by various Taoist sects in later generations. They are studied repeatedly to assist in their practice and to prove their own Taoism.

The status of Nanhua Daozun in Taoism is second only to Wuliang Tianzun. He is worshipped by Taoists all over the world, respected and admired by the world. In his later years, he founded his own sect on Xiaoyao Mountain, established the Nanhua Temple, accepted disciples to pass on his teachings, and left behind a legacy.

Nanhua Temple keeps in mind the teachings of the Taoist Master, takes the world as its own responsibility, teaches everyone without distinction, eliminates demons and defends the Way, protects all living beings, and has made great contributions to the prosperity of all spirits, with immeasurable merits.

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Talented people emerge in every generation, and each of them leads the trend for hundreds of years.

Three thousand years later, Taizu of the Great Sheng Dynasty appeared out of nowhere. He was a man of extraordinary talent, having learned from hundreds of schools of thought. He was knowledgeable and versatile, proficient in both civil and military strategies, and had an outstanding talent for cultivation. In just sixty years, he became a great Yangshen cultivator.

He was even more talented and strategic, and with the remaining strength of nine generations, he formed alliances and made all kinds of alliances. He used long-term strategies to rule the world externally and treated the wise and humble people internally, recruiting talents regardless of their background. In just a hundred years, he annexed a hundred countries, ended the chaos in the world, and ushered in the first great unified era in Middle-earth.

Later, he united hundreds of families, expelled ferocious beasts and wild demons, sealed the extraterritorial demons and the Nine Netherworlds, repelled the ancient hundreds of tribes, and worked together to refine the strategy of conferring the gods to restrain practitioners and benefit all living beings. This led to the Great Sheng Divine Dynasty, which flourished for three thousand years, in which humans and demons coexisted peacefully, all nations came to pay tribute, and the country was prosperous and wealthy.

Nanhua Temple made great contributions to the establishment of the Great Sheng Dynasty. In addition, it was the sect of the Great Sheng Taizu. After the Great Sheng Dynasty truly conquered the world, it was regarded as the state religion and became part of the country.

After the death of Taizu of the Great Sheng Dynasty, he taught Taizong of the Great Sheng Dynasty to govern by inaction, to recuperate with the people and to create a prosperous and cultural era. Taizong personally wrote a poem in front of the gate of Nanhua Temple: "When the world has Tao, the heart is at peace; when it governs by inaction, there is peace."

After the Great Sheng Dynasty collapsed, Nanhua Temple was divided into two: one part lived in seclusion in the mountains, founded the Taoist hidden immortal lineage, and maintained the purity of Taoism.

A part of them protected the royal bloodline of Da Sheng and escaped, hiding in darkness, calling themselves the Taiping Sect. For more than a thousand years, they have never forgotten to restore Da Sheng. Although they have been severely damaged several times, they are like weeds, with strong vitality, and can always revive after lying dormant for a period of time.

The Taiping Sect has always used "spreading the teachings of heaven and saving the world" as its slogan, boasting that it has a profound foundation and strong strength. It divides the levels according to the one qi, two yin and yang, three talents, four images, five elements, six combinations, seven stars, eight trigrams and nine palaces:
The One Qi is the Taoist Wuliang Tianzun, and the Two Symbols are the Taoist Nanhua and the Taoist Taiping. The Taoist Nanhua has long disappeared, and the Taoist Taiping was the last national teacher of the Dasheng Divine Dynasty and the last great elder of the Nanhua Temple, a powerful being who once fought against three enemies alone when the Dasheng Divine City was destroyed. It's just that he has not been concerned with worldly affairs for a thousand years.

The real people in charge of the Taiping Sect are the three Taoist monarchs: the Lord of Heaven, the Lord of Earth, and the Lord of Man. They are the three direct disciples of the Taoist Master of Taiping. They suffered severe losses when the three great dynasties were established a thousand years ago and were rescued by the Taoist Master of Taiping. No news has been heard from them since then.

Even though five hundred years ago, the Taiping Sect had launched a ten-year-long rebellion of the Heavenly Kings in the three divine dynasties of Daxuan, Dajin and Daqian, the Three Talents Taoist Lord never showed up.

The guardians of the Four Symbols are usually from the demon clan, or at least the immortal demon kings who have entered the second stage of spiritual training. They have boundless magic power, powerful supernatural powers, and each has their own strengths.

The elders of the Five Elements are also from the demon clan, commonly known as the Five Poisons among the people, and are called the Five Spirit Envoys. Each of them is outstanding and is the best among the Yin Gods.

The deacons of the Liuhe position and the priests of the Qixing position are all cultivators who have reached the threshold of cultivating gods. Once they have accumulated enough, they may enter the realm of cultivating gods at any time.

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True Lord Chaoguang kept his word and did not hide anything from Xuanming, telling him all the information he knew about the Taiping Sect, some of which was collected by the Xuri Sect over thousands of years, and some of which was recorded in the handwritten letter left by Great True Lord Chaomu.

The common founder of the Rising Sun Sect and the Water Moon Temple was born into the Chongxu Sect, an ancient Taoist tradition. He had achieved the state of Three Flowers Gathering at the Top of the Head during his lifetime. He lived for eight hundred years and witnessed the demise of the Great Sheng Dynasty. He also listened to the preaching of the Taiping Taoist Master and knew a lot about the Taiping Sect.

Chaoguang Zhenjun walked and talked, and when they arrived at Diyang County, they just finished introducing the Taiping Sect. Xuanming listened and thought along the way. The more he understood the Taiping Sect, the more he feared it. No wonder they dared to rebel. This ancient Taoist sect really had the capital and confidence. In addition to its own strong strength, it also held part of the legacy of the Great Sheng Dynasty, and had the help of the ancient Qin royal family. The forces related to it were even more complicated and immeasurable.

More importantly, Xuanming also associated the Taiping Sect of this life with the Taiping Dao of his previous life. I wonder if it is a coincidence or if there is a connection?

He didn't think about it for too long. When he couldn't figure it out for the time being, he put the thoughts aside and looked at Diyang County carefully.

The four major counties along the Canglong Mountain each have its own advantages. Shuiyang County is humid, Huoyang County is hot, Fengyang County has four distinct seasons, and Diyang County has a long cold season, fertile land, and vast farmland.

But now large tracts of land are barren, and the people are displaced, either dying or fleeing. Xuanming and Zhenjun Chaoguang are subduing demons and monsters as they go. As Zhenjun Lianshen, even a powerful demon like the Holy Embryo is a piece of cake in their eyes and does not delay their progress at all.

Mingquan Mountain, with high mountains and surrounded by water, has beautiful scenery. It is one of the branches of Canglong Mountain and the location of the Legalist sect. However, this legal lineage that has been passed down for hundreds of years is now in ruins, with only broken walls and ruins. It was conquered by the Golden Toad King and his people, and the entire sect was destroyed. No one survived and the place was in ruins.

When Xuanming arrived, Zhenjun Xianyue was holding a jade plate on his head and stepping on the moonlight, displaying his magical power to create a bright moon on the sea. The Milky Way silently turned the jade plate, and a cool chill filled the air, condensing ice and frost. The sky and the earth were the same color, the mountains and rivers were all white, and there were thousands of miles of ice and tens of thousands of miles of snow. His power was extraordinary.

The Golden Toad Demon King was not to be outdone. He sacrificed his golden abacus, releasing a strong smell of copper and filled with vulgar desires: being greedy for money, killing for money, loving money like his life, being rich and powerful, being blinded by money, collusion between officials and businessmen, etc., polluting the full moon.

As he opened his mouth, he spit out a crescent moon. The crescent moon was like a sickle, growing taller against the wind, sharp and unmatched, and rushed straight towards the full moon. When it arrived in front of him, it was already magnificent.

The man and the demon are old rivals, and they are very familiar with each other's methods. The Golden Toad Demon King has many different attacks, such as crescent-shaped blades, money-obsessed, spitting out tongue and spitting poison, turning rivers and seas upside down, etc. His methods are endless, with tricky angles, and he uses every possible means. Xianyue Zhenjun responds to all changes with the same attitude. He fights against enemies with his generals and blocks water with earth. He defends the pass perfectly, and he is invincible.

Seeing that he could not defeat the enemy after a long time, the Golden Toad Demon King became jealous and used his Crescent Moon Magic to attack again. At the same time, he puffed up his cheeks, made a croaking sound, and emitted sound waves. He held a bell in his hand and shook it. The sound waves superimposed on each other, making it even more powerful and weirder.

Xianyue was not paying attention for a moment and was in a trance, so the Golden Toad Demon King seized the opportunity. The crescent moon was like a knife, which came in an instant and cut Xianyue Zhenjun's snow-white neck, but no blood flew out.

The beheaded corpse instantly turned into water and merged into the sea water condensed by magic power. The full moon on the sea was like a mirror, reflecting the figure of the Golden Toad Monster King. The next moment, a crescent moon flew out from it and hit the Golden Toad Monster King directly.

The water light condensed into the figure of Zhenjun Xianyue. Looking at her opponent who was enjoying her attack, her eyes were cold and filled with murderous intent.

The Shuiyue Temple is called Shuiyue, so of course there is not only the moon, but also water. The essence of the temple is that it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false.

Repay the other person with his own way!

This is the true meaning of water and moon!

The Golden Toad Demon King has a trump card, so naturally she has one too.

This round was a draw again.

True Lord Chaoguang was full of vigor and he swung up the sun, which dropped from the sky and smashed towards the Golden Toad Demon King. Fire burned the sky and the morning light broke through the moon.

Zhenjun Xianyue cooperated tacitly, and immediately turned his white hands lightly, controlling the jade plate and smashing it towards the demon king.

Water and fire appear together, the sun and the moon work together, the momentum is majestic and terrifying, the laws are surging, and they converge into a mysterious yin and yang picture.

"Damn it!"

The Golden Toad Demon King cursed and complained that the Lord of the Underworld was a waste. However, he knew that his chances of winning were slim, so he did not waste time and fought while retreating.

Just as he was about to retreat into the main vein of Canglong Mountain, a mountain-like Dharmakaya suddenly appeared on the road he had to pass. The Dharmakaya of Emperor Gou Chen was majestic, covered with thousands of rays of light, and his face was majestic without being angry, and sacred and solemn.

The moment he appeared, he swung the magic sword and slashed at the Golden Toad Demon King without hesitation. The white light contained the sun and the moon, and the purple air was like a bullfight. Wherever the sword pointed, there were golden weapons and iron horses, filled with murderous aura.

There are wolves in front and tigers behind. The Golden Toad Demon King knows that he has fallen into a trap. There is no way to escape and he can only fight.

(End of this chapter)