The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 258 The Tao of Lying Down: Non-Contention is Contention

Hidden Peak, Seeking the Way Academy.

After everyone took their seats, Xuanming took out an item, which was the Ruyi Pouch given to him by the great wine connoisseur.

"Senior brother, what is this?"

The mysterious question was asked, and all the Daoists listened attentively.

It is a consensus among all the cultivators that what Senior Brother Xuanming has brought out must be extraordinary.

Without keeping him in suspense, Xuanming said directly:

"This is a million volumes of Taoist scriptures donated by the Taiping Sect. I trouble you, junior brother, to make proper arrangements for them. I have already taken out some of the ancient texts and scriptures personally written by great masters and stored them separately. They will be put into the scripture pavilion at an appropriate time."

"How much... how much?"

Xuanxu's voice trembled, and he stammered.

Xuan Kong and the other masters also swallowed hard.

Li Zizai was dumbfounded.

It wasn't that they were ignorant, but the news was too frightening: the Taiping Sect had just given away a million volumes of Taoist scriptures?

Silence fell over the temple for a moment. After a few breaths, the Taoists came to their senses, their faces filled with worry.

When you treat others with courtesy, you must ask for something.

The Taiping Cult is spending so much money.

Preaching, offering sacrifices to the gods, and sending Taoist scriptures—there's a considerable risk that my senior brother might have to step in to protect me in the future.

"Brother, this..."

Before Xuanxu could finish speaking, Xuanming waved his hand to interrupt him.

"I am well aware of your concerns. Rest assured, I will not overestimate my abilities."

If that day comes, and I have not yet achieved great power, I will not easily take risks, but will only act secretly to protect some living beings; if I have achieved great power, the risk will be greatly reduced.

"Besides!" Xuanming paused, then said:

"The Taiping Sect gifted me a million Taoist scriptures and even gave me their sacred Taiping Scripture, not only to ask me to protect the creatures of that land, but also for the sake of its inheritance."

Nothing in this world is impossible, and the affairs of the world are ever-changing and unpredictable. Even someone as powerful as the Master of the Way of Peace cannot have everything go his way. If he were to encounter an unexpected event, as long as the Temple of Truth remains, the lineage of the Way of Peace can continue, albeit under a different name.

If my conscience were more upright, perhaps I could find a true successor for the Taiping Sect.

Upon hearing this, the Taoist priests nodded. Although they were still worried, they were not as anxious as before.

---

Put away the lucky bag.

The Taoist priests did not leave.

Xuanxu said, "We already had something to discuss with our senior brother, but we didn't expect him to summon us first. In that case, we might as well tell him everything at once to avoid trouble."

Xuanming: "Junior brother, please speak freely."

Xuanxu: "There are two things in total."

Firstly, my Seeking Truth Temple has gradually accumulated rich resources. We have been preparing for this for many years. Now we have the Immortal Mountain, my senior brother has gathered the Three Flowers at the top, there are more than 20 Qi Refining True Persons in the sect, the fifth generation disciples are gradually growing up, we have spiritual roots and magic treasures to suppress our fortune, and there are three great gods sitting in charge.

My Seeking Truth Temple should be promoted to a top-tier lineage.

Secondly, we are getting old, and our disciples have been trained for many years and are now capable of handling things on their own. We all want to put down our responsibilities, step down and give way to the more capable, and join our senior brother in pursuing the Dao, living a carefree and unrestrained life. We plan to pass on our positions at the promotion ceremony.

What does Senior Brother think?

Xuanming flicked his whisk and said casually, "I no longer concern myself with worldly affairs. You can decide for yourselves. When the time comes, I will just preach the Dao and arrange everything else as you see fit."

Seeing their senior brother acting more and more freely, the other cultivators were filled with envy, but thankfully they too would soon be free.

Since his senior brother had no objections, Xuanxu and the others quickly took their leave. After giving Li Zizai some pointers on his cultivation, Xuanming sent him away and then comfortably lay on a rocking chair to bask in the sun.

Drinking, tasting tea, reading scriptures, appreciating scenery, practicing meditation, swordsmanship, learning skills... half human, half self, half free, half awake, half drunk, half immortal.

He didn't deliberately pursue the easy way out, as forcing it was useless. He let everything take its natural course, seeking enlightenment when he had it, and practicing daily cultivation and carefree wandering when he didn't.

He would either train his disciples, draw talismans and set up formations, study alchemical texts, cultivate spiritual herbs, gaze at the stars, or drift off to sleep amidst the galaxy. He lived freely and spontaneously, doing whatever came to mind, truly embodying the life of a hermit.

This is a sublimation of mindset, a transformation from the inside out, unlike before when it was something that was deliberately pursued; everything is driven by the heart.

As for matters within the sect, he didn't get involved at all, occasionally studying the "Huangting Neijing Yujing" in the entrance hall.

Unfortunately, the book remained unmoved.

However, Xuanming was not in a hurry; he had a plan in mind.

The exterior scenery, based on Taoist scriptures, is equivalent to the tangible world.

The middle ground emphasizes both the Daoist scriptures and the practice of the Dao, shifting from the tangible world to the intangible universe; it is a transition, a process.

The inner vision should be primarily about perception and understanding, observing the heavens and the earth, and should be truly formless.

Of course, you still need to read the Taoist scriptures.

The tangible carries the intangible, and the intangible gives birth to the tangible. The combination of the real and the virtual is the truth, the ultimate way.

Intangible and elusive.

Instead of creating trouble for yourself, it's better to let nature take its course.

This is also something intangible.

---

The promotion ceremony is scheduled for the third day of the third lunar month next year.

This was an auspicious day calculated jointly by Xuanxu and the others, and they even consulted the Three Gods for it.

Xuanming understood, said "oh," and that was it; he fell asleep while basking in the sun.

Under the sycamore tree!
Yes, a parasol tree was planted on the mountain's fire vein. It was a branch of the mother parasol tree and the dwelling place of Xuan Yan.

Xuanming and the Wutong Tree God joined forces to set up a teleportation array on the Wutong tree. As a Great True Monarch of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top Realm, a peerless master in heaven and earth, and a half-step Great Power, the teleportation array was naturally successful when they joined forces.

From then on, there was a new passage between Fuyun Mountain and Fengqi Mountain, and Xuanming had another place to sleep. He fell asleep to the sound of Xuan Yan and Feng Qi, and slept very soundly.

In his spare time, Xuanming also incorporated a thousand-year-old lightning-struck peach wood into a peach wood sword. This sword was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a magic weapon. Now that the shortcoming has been made up, it has quickly been upgraded to a magic weapon and even has a bit of vitality, turning from black to green, with an added touch of green.

Spring drowsiness, autumn fatigue, summer naps, and three months of endless sleep in winter—Xuanming was at ease for a whole year. His mind was as virtuous as water, and he grasped the meaning of non-contention as contention. His magical power increased by leaps and bounds every day.

One foot is already in the door of Taiyi:

Worries of the past, ease of the present, and no fear of the future.

In one year, he entered the true meaning of meditation, his mindset became more and more peaceful, he recognized his past hypocrisy, understood his true self in the present, and understood his future composure.

The old Taoist priest is no longer pretending; he's ready to lie down and relax.

Practice when you should, enjoy yourself when you should, rest when you're tired, sleep when you're sleepy, and read when you want to.

This is life.

The Tao is hidden in the smallest things and originates from life.

The Great Ease is formless, yet omnipresent.

Effort is useless; if you don't understand, you simply don't understand.

Lying flat is awesome; once you understand, you understand.

Late in the day, the country is beautiful, and the spring breeze is fragrant with flowers and plants.

The following spring, the entire Fuyun Mountain became lively.

A large number of cultivators arrived as scheduled, including independent cultivators and cultivators from sects and families; there were wandering martial artists and people from the imperial court; Buddhists, Taoists, Confucians, Mohists, and farmers all came.

All the renowned cultivators and forces in the four prefectures accepted invitations, and top-level cultivators from the five leading forces—Shuiyue Temple, Xuri Sect, Jingang Temple, Baichuan Academy, and Chongfa Tower—came in droves.

Hai Fengming also brought two disciples from afar. The Anhun Division was built and spread to the four prefectures. Hai Fengming made outstanding contributions and wrote "Yin Fa" to make the Yin and Yang in the four prefectures orderly. He broke through to the level of Lian Shen and was transferred to the capital after the new emperor ascended the throne.

At the Dao Asking Academy, Xuanming, who was lying in a rocking chair, glanced at the guests who had been attending his True Lord Banquet. Some had fallen, some were newcomers, and some had advanced in cultivation. They were all roughly the same.

Boo!
(End of this chapter)