A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 358: The Debate
Duan Rong walked slowly in a valley.

This valley is like a huge crack, stretching for twenty or thirty miles, and there are steep cliffs at the ends on all sides.

There are towering trees in the valley, and from time to time, the sounds of cranes and monkeys can be heard faintly.

This is the location of the third test.

The third test is to explore and search for the Taiyi Order in this rift valley.

Taiyi Ling is the sect token of Taiyi Sect.

Outer disciples follow the sect's orders and travel around the country with them, having the power of life and death on the spot.

Although Duan Rong was walking alone in the dense forest, his steps were very leisurely and his expression did not show any nervousness at all.

Because in this third assessment, killing each other is prohibited.

In other words, all registered disciples must rely on their own abilities to explore and find a Taiyi Order in this Rift Valley, then they will pass the assessment and advance to outer disciples.

But even if you cannot find it through exploration, you cannot rob the token from your fellow disciples, otherwise you will be killed on the spot!

Duan Rong knew very well that these rules were not just given out casually. He had just entered the valley and walked a short distance when a divine sense swept over him.

Once killing occurs, the consequences can be imagined.

At this time, Duan Rong was alone, because every person who took the assessment was placed into the valley from different locations. Duan Rong had no idea where Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan and others were at this time.

However, he was not anxious. First, killing was prohibited in the valley, so their safety was guaranteed. Second, it was said that the passing rate of the third round of the test was more than 80%. If this was the case, Duan Rong believed that Xiao Yu and the others would definitely pass.

As Duan Rong was walking, he suddenly heard footsteps not far ahead, and then a figure walked out. Duan Rong looked up and saw that it was a fellow disciple he didn't recognize. The man also looked at Duan Rong coldly and walked to the other side.

Duan Rong followed his original direction, walked out of the dense forest, and came to a rocky beach.

Here, the bluestone is jagged and it seems to be a barren hill.

I saw that at the top of the hill, there seemed to be an abandoned Taoist temple, with a dilapidated gate and collapsed buildings. And on the abandoned land, there were many black spots moving.

Duan Rong's eyes moved, that was obviously a chance point. There must be a Taiyi Order in that abandoned Taoist temple.

Duan Rong walked quickly towards the abandoned Taoist temple.

As we approached the abandoned Taoist temple, we suddenly saw a blue stone standing not far away, with words engraved on it: the ruins of the Wuming Temple.

Duan Rong walked to the gate of the temple, but saw a man standing on top of the gate. The man was thin and stood with his back to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong raised his eyes and saw a badge hanging around the man's waist. This man was not a registered disciple taking the assessment, but a supervisor of the Internal Affairs Department.

The man stood there, apparently looking at the people who were searching inside the Taoist temple, in the collapsed buildings and the dilapidated square.

Duan Rong stepped into the mountain gate.

As soon as you enter the square, you will see dead branches and withered grass everywhere.

Before Duan Rong could take a closer look, he saw a rather large butt sticking up high in the collapsed building. The person had put his head into the gap between the fallen beams and was looking inside.

Duan Rong looked at that butt and smiled. He had kicked that butt countless times. It was Ximen Kankan.

Duan Rong walked over and said with a smile: "Aren't you afraid of Kana?"

As soon as Ximen Kankan heard the voice, he knew it was Duan Rong. He wanted to get out, but the gap was a little small, so he slowly moved his big head out.

Ximen Kankan got his head out, with a spider web sticking to his head. He punched Duan Rong and said, "As soon as we met, you cursed me, didn't you?"

Duan Rong said: "Don't make a move. No attacking is allowed here."

Duan Rong said this and pointed his chin at the figure above the Taoist temple's gate.

Ximen Kankan turned his head and found that the man was looking at this side.

"I just touched you, and that counts as an attack?" Ximen Kankan sounded very unconvinced.

Duan Rong snorted coldly and said, "If you dare to touch me again, I will lie on the ground and roll over."

"Okay. You're really cruel." Ximen Kankan said, "Who wants to touch you?"

Afterwards, the two began searching in the abandoned Taoist temple.

This place, on the top of the hill, is quite eye-catching, so many people come here.

Duan Rong then discovered that not only was there a person with a badge standing on the Taoist temple's gate, but there was also a person with a badge standing next to the ruins of the collapsed building.

He and Ximen Kankan searched around but still found nothing.

Ximen Kankan wondered, "Where is this Taiyi Order hidden? Do I have to dig three feet into the ground to find it?"

Duan Rong also frowned slightly. In fact, if he used his spiritual sense to investigate, he would be able to find it in an instant. But using the spiritual power here was almost blatantly telling others that he had practiced the Taizang Sutra.

Duan Rong said: "Let's retreat. I think this place is reserved for people who are well versed in the secret mechanisms."

"Brother Duan's words are exactly what I want to say!"

Duan Rong turned his head and saw Liu Shushan walking towards him with a smile.

Ximen Kankan also looked at Liu Shushan, who was as thin as a monkey but had a smile on his face like a flower.

"However, in addition to Brother Duan's opinion, I have other discoveries." Liu Shushan changed the subject.

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan both looked at Liu Shushan with curiosity.

Liu Shushan said: "This place may seem messy, but in fact, the layout contains the knowledge of geomancy and strangeness. If someone is proficient in this, just take a look and you will know where the token is hidden. If you don't start with this method, you will just be like a headless fly flying around, how can you find it?"

Ximen Kankan rolled his eyes at Liu Shushan when he heard this. He was beating his head like a fly without a head. Wasn't that referring to him and Duan Rong?
Duan Rong smiled and said, "Brother Liu is indeed very knowledgeable. I wonder if Brother Liu can tell where the pass is?"

Liu Shushan smiled shyly and said, "I am also a layman. I just have a friend from my hometown who is good at this. We have been in contact and have learned some basic knowledge from him. I just look at him and I don't know where the barrier is."

Ximen Kankan mocked, "You monkey, your words are beautiful, but they are useless."

Liu Shushan was not angry when he saw Ximen Kankan calling him Monkey. In his hometown, several of his close friends all called him that. At this moment, he actually felt that it was somewhat intimate.

Seeing that Liu Shushan had a very good temper, Ximen Kankan began to have some favorable impressions of him.

Soon, the three of them started chatting, and they left the abandoned Taoist temple while chatting.

After searching around and still having no clue, it was obvious that, as Liu Shushan had said, this opportunity point was reserved for those who were proficient in geomancy and the art of divination. So why should they waste their time here?
After climbing over the top of the slope and going down to the bottom, there is a deep pool. Beside the pool stands a blue stone with four words engraved on it: "Ji Feng Debate".

Under the bluestone, there was a cushion, on which sat a man with white hair and a youthful face. The old man's eyes swept over the crowd like lightning.

There are actually quite a few people here, so this is obviously another point of opportunity.

Not far in front of the old man with white hair and Taoist robes, between two pine trees, there was a rope hanging, and on the rope was a wooden board. On the board, there was a cursive script with flowing fonts: "It is said in the sect: "To know without thinking is the second best; to know by thinking is the third best." May I ask, how can one get the first chance?
The crowd watching, looking at the words on the wooden board, all frowned in thought, but no one dared to open their mouths to answer.

Although Liu Shushan was a smart person and was always quite conceited about his knowledge, he was still speechless when he looked at the question on the wooden board.

Ximen Kankan scratched his head even more, he couldn't understand it at all. What does it mean to know without thinking, to know by thinking, what does it mean.

Duan Rong stood beside Ximen Kankan, but his heart was slightly moved.

In the past few months, he had read almost all of the Daoist scriptures in the Sutra Collection Institute, and at least three Daoist books mentioned this issue. However, those yellowed books covered in dust had obviously not been read for many years.

Duan Rong slightly turned his head and looked at the man with white hair and Taoist robe again, and saw the four words "Jifengbiandao" written on the big bluestone beside him.

He already understood in his heart that the opportunity here was to test people's knowledge of Taoist scriptures, and judging from the question, it was a very unpopular and remote one.

Although he had only passed two opportunity points, Duan Rong had basically understood the idea of the third assessment. The sect obviously required that outer disciples, in addition to cultivation, also have certain additional skills.

However, most of these outer disciples are from aristocratic families in the secular world, and are generally proficient in all six arts.

Even so, if we only look at these two opportunity points, the requirements are still very high, and it is definitely not something you can pass with just a little knowledge.

According to this standard, how could it be possible for more than 80% to pass? I'm afraid even 10% is a bit far-fetched.

Duan Rong thought that if he went further down, there should be simpler opportunities.

However, since he knew the answer to this question, why should he miss the opportunity?

It’s better to get a Taiyi Order first.

Duan Rong suddenly took a step forward.

The crowd that was originally whispering suddenly became quiet.

They all looked at Duan Rong who walked out of the crowd.

The person sitting cross-legged on the futon beside the big bluestone also looked up at Duan Rong and asked, "What's the solution to this question?"

This question is really strange, and everyone watching wants to know the answer.

Duan Rong looked calm and answered, "Knowing without thinking is the second step; knowing after thinking is the third step; neither thinking nor knowing is the first step."

After Duan Rong finished answering, there was no sound in the crowd. Everyone looked at the old man sitting on the cushion. They didn't quite understand what he said, so they could only judge whether Duan Rong's answer was correct by the old man's reaction.

The old man looked at Duan Rong, was silent for a while, and suddenly said: "Young people are to be feared."

The old man came here just to do his job.

He was a master in charge of the Sutra Repository, and was assigned here to examine these registered disciples. He came up with a difficult question, and by asking it, he dismissed these registered disciples.

After waiting for the time and passing this test, he would go back to his Sutra Repository. But he really didn't expect that someone would answer this question not long after it started. The young people nowadays are so vigorous.

When the registered disciples heard the old man say that young people are to be feared, they immediately understood that Duan Rong was right.

Liu Shushan glanced at Duan Rong with a look of astonishment. He didn't expect that Duan Rong not only had a higher spiritual talent than ordinary people, but also had such a deep understanding of these metaphysical Taoist scriptures. "Not thinking and not knowing is the first opportunity", he was still thinking about what it meant.

A noisy voice began to appear in the crowd, and people were discussing the deeper meaning of Duan Rong's answer.

At this moment, the old man looked at Duan Rong and said, "Bring your sect certificate and assessment approval slip here."

Duan Rong took it out from his collar and handed it to the old man. The old man glanced at Duan Rong's name and then stamped his own name on the assessment slip.

This means that this person has already obtained a Taiyi Order, so that he will not claim it for someone else later.

The old man handed Duan Rong a Taiyi Order, his sect's cloud certificate, and his assessment approval slip.

Duan Rong took it, and a group of people gathered around to watch.

This is only the second opportunity point in this direction. These people have come here but have not seen anyone obtain the Taiyi Order. Duan Rong is the first person.

The token was only the size of a palm, pitch black, and wedge-shaped with a pointed top. In the center of the token were two characters written in relief: Taiyi!

At this moment, the old man suddenly stood up, took down the wooden board and held it in his hand.

The old man held the wooden board in his left hand and gently brushed the surface of the board with his right hand. With just one brush, all the words on the board disappeared.

The old man blew gently, and a cloud of fine wood chips fell from the wooden board.

Duan Rong looked surprised. He couldn't tell what level of martial artist the old man was at.

But he knew that no matter whether it was true Qi or the Qi of heaven and earth, this kind of exquisite control could already be called abnormal!

At least, he had reached the realm of great perfection in the Qi realm, but he could never do it. With one flick, all the words on the wooden board were brushed off, and all of them were reduced to a thin layer of sawdust.

The martial arts skills of the old man in front of him were obviously unfathomable.

The old man picked up a pen and wrote on the blank wooden board, then hung the board up again.

All I see above is a new problem.

There are only eight words: Question: All things return to one, where does one return to?
Those who had originally gathered around Duan Rong to look at the Taiyi Order now looked up and studied the questions on the wooden board. Those who could gather here were all people who had some knowledge of the Daoist Canon. When they saw that Duan Rong had answered a question correctly and received a Taiyi Order, they were even more eager to try.

At this time, the old man looked at Duan Rong and said, "Boy, you can go now. I warn you, don't mess up my place. Otherwise, I can destroy your qualification to advance."

Duan Rong bowed to the old man and turned away. He understood what the old man was warning him about.

Ximen Kankan's eyes flashed slyly, and he said, "This place is too literary, not suitable for a man!"

Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan and Liu Shushan all left this place and continued to move forward.

After Liu Shushan walked for a distance, he could not help but ask Duan Rong for advice, saying: "May I ask Brother Duan about the new question in the debate. All things return to one, where does one return to? What is the answer?"

Duan Rong smiled slightly but did not answer.

The reason why the old man used such harsh words to warn him was to prevent him from telling the answer to others, lest others take advantage of the situation and get the Taiyi Order from him.

Ximen Kankan blinked and said nothing. In fact, he had this idea before, but the old man's roar before leaving interrupted his thought.

As for the answer to that question, Duan Rong had seen it in several Buddhist scriptures. In fact, it was much simpler than the first question.

The answer is: All things return to one, and one returns to nothingness!
(End of this chapter)