The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 91: Cultivating Taoism Begins with Action, Refining Equipment Begins with Nothingness

Respect the Tao and value virtue.

Taoism has followed this rule in all past and present lives.

In the past, Xuanming did not feel it deeply; but now, he deeply understands: Why don’t wise men cultivate virtue and live long?
The further one progresses in practicing Taoism, the more emphasis is placed on virtue. Virtue of the mind and virtue of action are both indispensable and complement each other. This is linked to the path to immortality. Practicing Taoism with virtue, staying close to good and staying away from evil, is the right way.

At this moment, he understood why the legends of his previous life always emphasized three thousand merits and eight hundred good deeds when those who practiced Taoism were listed in the immortal class or promoted to the rank of immortal.

After realizing it, Xuanming went down the mountain and returned to the Taoist temple. He sat cross-legged on a cushion and carefully experienced the differences of the Great Thunder Method.

The next morning, he went down the mountain to tell fortunes.

Reading scriptures and fortune-telling, traveling by mountains and rivers, delving into supernatural powers... Xuanming is immersed in it. While he is wandering between the two mountains and enjoying the peaceful years, undercurrents are surging in Fengyang County, and they will not stagnate just because the Qiuzhen Temple stays out of it. One party will finish his performance and another will take his place.

An ordinary house in the south city of the county town.

The plain-looking woman with a thorny hairpin stopped weaving, and a young man with a mole behind her, who had an ordinary face and figure, bowed respectfully and said:
"Your Highness, I have given up my body and successfully faked my death. I have also escaped, and at the same time, I have diverted the blame to the underworld. Now, whether it is the Wang family or the Great Xuan court, their attention has been successfully diverted. My Taiping Sect can continue to lie dormant in the muddy water."

Hearing this, the woman turned around.

"A drop of water should be repaid with a spring. The underworld has infiltrated Fengyang County for ten years. If it weren't for the secret protection and cleanup by our Taiping Sect, they would have been discovered long ago. Now is the time for them to repay their kindness."

The young man with the mole immediately complimented him, "Thanks to the guardian for his foresight and foresight, he prepared for a rainy day ten years ago."

"Okay, no need to say more nice things. Wang's family does have some smart people. Since they are relentless in pursuing us, let them confront the underworld head-on. The Lord of the Underworld has a bad temper, which is enough to make Wang's family suffer."

After thinking for a while, the woman ordered:
"It is easier to fish in murky waters, and chicken with added ingredients is more delicious. Now that the conflict between Wang and Chu has been provoked, it cannot be settled. Go and add some ingredients to the two families. I want to make the Wang family anxious and exhausted, so that they will be easily blinded and make mistakes in a hurry."

After the young man with the mole respectfully left, the woman looked at the prosperous county town and murmured to herself, "This Fengyang County is still too peaceful."

After sighing, the woman turned around and continued weaving. The three thousand strands of black hair seemed endless. They fell on the loom and turned into countless silk threads. Under her skillful hands, they were woven into cloth, which vaguely exuded the beauty of the mountains and rivers, and the various human emotions.

---

The sun and the moon jump like a ball, and half a moon appears in the blink of an eye.

On this day, all the Taoists from Qiuzhen Temple went down the mountain together. Except for Changningzi, the three generations of Taoists including Xuanming were no exception.

They split up and started from the village, begging from house to house in the hope of getting a penny and a little lamp oil. They delayed their action until today because the spring ploughing in the mountains has ended. The Qiuzhen Temple has always been self-sufficient and has cultivated its own crops. Having experienced the hardships of the busy farming season, they would not disturb the villagers during the busy farming season.

Taoism is prosperous in Fengyang County, and there is no trace of Buddhism. The Qiuzhen Temple has always had a good reputation for hundreds of years, and often stands up to the people in times of crisis. Most of the people in Fuyun County are benefactors of the Qiuzhen Temple, and they don't have much money, so this unique alms-begging went relatively smoothly, and successfully collected alms from thousands of households in Fuyun County.

After the Taoists returned to the mountain, Xuanming took the copper coins and began to retreat to refine weapons.

In the quiet room, the white-haired Taoist calmed his mind and regulated his breathing. When his energy and spirit reached the peak, he opened his eyes and looked at the sleeping dragon and phoenix: Xuanyang and Xuankong, who were already asleep on the cushions on his left and right.

Upon learning that he wanted to refine a weapon, Xuan Yang begged him to do just that and insisted on watching. Seeing this, Xuan Kong also joined in and said that refining a weapon was similar to cooking in that both emphasized the changes in temperature, so they were different paths to the same end.

Xuan Su also wanted to watch, but he was too embarrassed to do it, so he suffered a loss of face.

He rolled up the whisk and knocked it down without any hesitation, waking up the two Taoists. Xuanming waved his sleeves to send out a magical power, activated the formation, and lit the magic furnace.

Xuanyang was making fire and Xuankong was blowing the wind, doing the work of a boy. Seeing this scene, Xuanming stroked his beard and smiled: An older boy is also considered a boy!
It's not possible for me to work hard while you two sit back and enjoy the results, without wasting your efforts.

When the fire was ready, he waved his whisk and opened the furnace. He began to put in the spiritual materials that he had prepared in advance. He saw a thousand swords and then recognized the weapons, and played a thousand songs and then understood the music.

The Qiyun Spirit Tool was of great importance, so Xuanming did not rush into refining it. He continued to practice with the magic tool, melting it into liquid, refining yin and yang, and shaping it into a tool...

Half a month later, a magical weapon took shape. It was still a Bagua mirror, but compared with the previous two, its quality was much higher, the Bagua runes were more primitive and obscure, the surface was more seamless, it was full of inspiration, and obviously more powerful.

Xuan Yang had been watching for a long time and wanted to take it with quick eyes and hands, but Xuan Ming picked up the whisk and hit the fool.

Xuan Kong grimaced and his mouth twitched when he heard this, but he immediately obeyed when his senior brother cast a look at him, and the Bagua Mirror was quickly put into Xuan Ming's pocket. After a rest, he started refining the weapon again.

---

Day and night passed, and three months flew by in the blink of an eye.

At Lieyang Peak, after refining the eight-sided Bagua mirror, Xuanming finally changed the materials. In the refining room, Xuanyang and Xuankong, who looked a little tired, were overjoyed and immediately became energetic and eager to help.

When Xuanming was refining the ninth artifact, Xuansu took some disciples down the mountain to attend the founding ceremony of the Yuhuan Sect five hundred miles away. Changqingzi returned from his rest and went with them.

In a battle at the Daoyuan event in the past, he and Cijiu Taoist, a top disciple of Sanhuan Zhenren, became acquainted with each other after a fight. Afterwards, they worked in the Tiandi Academy together and had a good relationship. They were considered good friends, so naturally he had to go and congratulate them.

The other Taoists were also busy with their own things.

Xuanxu wanted to hold several memorial ceremonies for the victimized children. No one expected that the person behind the scene had such wide-ranging connections, affecting half of Fengyang County. The County Magistrate's Office, the Pantheon and the Guangfa Division were all furious and ordered a thorough investigation, with the Tiandi Court cooperating closely.

The reputation of Qiuzhen Temple grew rapidly, and as it had experience in holding rituals for the suffering children in Fuyun County, the results were quite good. County officials who had no real master in charge nearby heard from the local city god in their dreams and came to invite Xuanxu Zhenren to liberate the children and eliminate their resentment.

Xuan Yin was quietly taking care of the spiritual medicines in the mountains and the young spiritual root seedling in the Taoist temple that had only grown one inch tall, and comprehending the principles of killing and destruction in the vitality of life.

Xuan Yu listens to thunder, Xuan Tong watches the rain.

Lieyang Peak, this time the refining time was longer. Until Xuan Su returned to the mountain, the ninth instrument was still not out of the furnace. From starting the fire to turning off the fire, it took a full three months, and the ninth instrument was finally successful.

On the day when the furnace was opened, the entire refining room was filled with inspiration, the power of magic was intertwined, and a faint dragon roar was heard. A shadow that looked like a dragon but was not a dragon flew out of the furnace, vivid and emitting a powerful pressure. It eventually turned into an ancient mirror, which was green in color and had a handle like a dragon beast.

Xuan Yang and Xuan Kong were bent over by the pressure, but they tried their best to raise their heads, staring at the hanging treasure mirror with burning eyes.

"This is... a spiritual weapon!"

Xuan Yang's lips trembled. He actually personally participated in and witnessed the refining and birth of a spiritual weapon.

Even though he had been prepared when his senior brother threw in the dragon snake's corpse, Xuan Yang still couldn't help getting excited when the fact really happened before his eyes. For the past forty years, his greatest wish in life was to refine a spiritual weapon.

Xuankong was equally excited. The temperature required to refine spiritual weapons was completely different from that required to refine magic weapons. He felt something in his heart, but it was still weak and he needed to continue observing.

The precious mirror felt a little heavy in his hand. After carefully examining this Four-Elephant Mirror and Dragon Mirror, Xuanming was quite satisfied.

This time when he was refining the weapon, he incorporated some of his understanding of the Four Symbols into it, and with the help of extraordinary materials, he was able to successfully refine a spiritual weapon. Although it was hard work and extremely mentally taxing, he was rewarded with great rewards.

Not only did he obtain a spiritual weapon, his attainments in weapon refining also advanced by leaps and bounds. By analogy, he gained a more detailed grasp of the mechanism of yin and yang, and realized that weapon refining was like practicing Taoism:

Practicing Taoism is from the inside out, following the techniques, absorbing inspiration, and comprehending the principles. It is the spontaneous action of wise beings. Refining weapons is from the outside in, absorbing inspiration, and injecting principles. It is creation out of nothing.

In other words: the practice of Taoism begins with the active method, while the refining of instruments has the shadow of the passive method, which makes the created unique instruments become natural and reasonable, and can be accepted by heaven and earth.

"Congratulations, senior brother!"

"Congratulations, Brother, for refining a spiritual weapon!"

Xuan Yang and Xuan Kong were delighted, and they came to Xuan Ming's side, each with a brighter smile than the other. Xuan Ming handed the spiritual weapon to them: "Observe carefully and experience it with your heart."

Xuan Yang was quick and took it immediately. He agreed repeatedly and got together with Xuan Kong to whisper.

Xuanming sat cross-legged on a cushion, doing two things at once. On the one hand, he practiced the Zhoutian Yangshen Jue to restore his energy and spirit, and on the other hand, he digested what he had gained. The acupoints in his body were lit up like stars, and his mind was full of thoughts.

A few days later, he opened his eyes, and in the depths of his eyes, yin and yang were spinning, and the two yin and yang were giving birth to each other.

After taking back the dragon mirror, Xuanming cleared his mind and began to refine the spiritual weapon to calm people. Xuanyang and Xuankong knew the pros and cons and were also dedicated and helped with all their strength. Since it was related to the inheritance of the Qiuzhen Temple, the three of them dared not be careless.

(End of this chapter)