From a carp to a dragon god

Chapter 222: Huangliang Dreamland
The Taoist Alliance’s recruitment for entry into the Dao begins on the first day of the first lunar month. Every time the sun sets and the moon rises, the bell for entry into the Dao in the Dao Palace is rung.

As the Taoist bell rings, all those who pass the Taoist recruitment will be led into the Huangliang Dreamland, where they will undergo the Taoist entrance examination.

Yu Shuyang was attracted by the sound of the bell, and his mind was led into the Huangliang Dreamland. This place is deep in the dreamland, shrouded by a huge spiritual root - Meng Huangliang.

The so-called Huangliang is just ordinary sorghum rice, and the spiritual root of Huangliang is the same as sorghum. This Huangliang dreamland originated from the Huangliang dream.

He was the real immortal from the Upper Cave, Zheng Yangzi. When he came down to the mortal world to preach and convert Taoist priests, he steamed yellow millet rice for them and led them into a dream to test them.

Leaving behind a beautiful story: The yellow rice is not yet cooked, but I dream of Huaxu.

As Hui Taoist's cultivation became higher and higher, Huangliang's dream in the dreamland created the spiritual root of heaven and earth - Meng Huangliang, thus creating the Huangliang Dreamland.

Yu Shuyang's mind transformed into a cloud-covered turtle and snake, emitting a magical rhythm of yin and yang in the clouds, and his body was surrounded by a clear natural breeze.

He looked up and saw countless grains of grain on the Dream Yellow Millet spiritual root, which was emitting the dreamy aroma of yellow millet like a steamer.

Then I saw a series of phantoms, like small black dots, being drawn into the dreamland along with the Huangliang dream energy, and cast under the shadow of the Dream Huangliang spiritual root.

Before he could take a closer look at the ant-like black spot, he heard a clear bird song, followed by the flow of the surrounding environment, the rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind and the sound of raindrops falling on the eaves.

Yu Shuyang looked carefully and found that he was in a courtyard with crabapple blossoms all over the courtyard. A window was open under the blossom trees, and a white-browed boy was playing chess.

The chess record is very interesting. It is a dull game. Both the black and white sides have no desire to compete for the throne. They do not fight for the edge, block or encircle. They are like two black and white lines that do not blend with each other.

Since ancient times, Go has been played as a game of military tactics, a way for black and white to compete for victory. The four corners of the board represent the four directions, the ninety points in each corner represent a season, the seventy-two lines around it represent the climate, and the three hundred and sixty-five lines horizontally and vertically represent the celestial sphere.

The more Yu Shuyang looked at it, the more interesting it seemed. The round chess pieces represented the number of heaven, the square chessboard represented the number of earth, and the black and white chess pieces represented yin and yang.

Unconsciously, the chess game absorbed all my attention. I walked to the window involuntarily and put my head in to look.

At this time, the black chess pieces on the board represent the principles of Liang Yi, while the white chess pieces represent the principles of Tai Chi. The black and white pieces are intertwined on the chessboard, like clouds and wind.

In chess theory, the sky is vast, the earth is boundless, and the black and white connect like mortise and tenon joints, just like the combination of heaven and earth, and the match of wind and snow.

The white-browed boy played chess with a frown on his face. The more the chessboard changed, the uglier his expression became, until his face turned into a bitter melon. He stared at the chessboard and couldn't help feeling sour and bitter in his heart.

At this time, the chess game is a draw. The chess record uses black and white chess pieces to explain the Tai Chi theory of yin and yang, integrating the principles of yin and yang.

Yu Shuyang stared at the chessboard and gave a heartfelt exclamation of admiration, his heart filled with joy.

It also woke up the boy who was looking at the chess record.

"Who are you? Why are you in the backyard of Taiqing Palace?"

Yu Shuyang also laughed in silence, and couldn't help muttering in his heart that this Taoist alliance entrance examination was so weird. Didn't his junior brother say that all he needed to do was memorize the scriptures?

Could this be a enlightenment in a dream? He couldn't help but patiently play along. Many of the legendary enlightenments were tests of one's character.

"I'm here to take the entrance exam. May I know the name of this fairy boy?"

The white-browed boy stared at Yu Shuyang again and again. The man was covered in clouds and could not be seen clearly. He could only feel a sense of yin and yang.

This rhythm of Dharma is pure and unmixed, with the movement and stillness of turtles and snakes, as well as yin and yang, water, fire, and clouds. It is impossible to see the foundation of the Dharma lineage, let alone judge the origin of the inheritance.

"This is the backyard of Taiqing Palace. You candidates are not supposed to be here. If you want to take the exam, go to the front gate."

The boy with white eyebrows pointed in a direction and spoke politely. He didn't know why Yu Shuyang came here, and when he heard him say that he came for reference, he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Thank you so much, Fairy Boy. May I ask the name of the chess game just now?" Yu Shuyang thanked him politely and asked curiously.

The white-browed boy frowned again and said angrily, "Dust."

After saying that, he lowered the open window and sat back in front of the chessboard, sulking.

Yu Shuyang stood outside the window in a daze for a moment, not knowing whether he had failed the test or succeeded.

He then remembered that the boy had just pointed the way for him to go to the gate of the outer courtyard, so he started to walk outside. When he walked out of the courtyard, he heard the sound of a bird again.

A flash of light passed before my eyes, and then the scene changed. I saw the land in front of me undulating into mountains, and an old man with white beard and gray hair was riding a green sheep and walking slowly.

This green sheep is also strange. Unlike ordinary sheep, it has mouse ears, ox body, tiger claws, rabbit back, dragon horns, snake tail, horse mouth, sheep beard, monkey head, chicken eyes, dog belly, and pig buttocks.

It actually combined the twelve Yuanchen into one, which was exactly the same as the Chensui secret method of the Bailin Zhanyuan Sword. I couldn't help but take a second look at it.

Yu Shuyang was surprised by the development. He couldn't even see the old man's face. He was very surprised and wondered if this was a test for salvation.
Just as he was about to go forward to talk to him, he found that Qingyang had already gone far away. He hurried forward to chase him, but he heard the old man singing a poem in the correct rhyme of the Tao.

“People in the world do not know that the mind has the Way;

It is said that the truth is wonderful elsewhere.

People at that time did not know the towering tree.
Only when you reach the sky will you know the truth."

The four lines were so profound and ancient that Yu Shuyang felt dizzy after hearing them. He did not understand the true meaning of the lines. When he wanted to chase them again, they were gone.

At this moment, his heart began to beat fast, thinking that he might have missed some great opportunity, and he couldn't guess who the old man riding the green sheep was.

My heart was beating fast for a moment. I had just watched a chess game played by a man named Wei Chen at the White-browed Boy's place, so I had gained something from it.

The old man riding the green sheep couldn't see the face of the old man, but he could see the green sheep that looked like the Twelve Yuanchen. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he had been at a disadvantage.

This time there was no one to show him the way. He looked around but saw no one. Just as he was about to continue chasing, he saw a shepherd coming down the mountain.

The man was holding a sheep whip in his hand, with a turban on his head and a sheepskin coat worn inside out. He walked towards Yu Shuyang.

"Fellow Daoist, you invited me here, but why did you come here?"

Yu Shuyang was speechless for a moment and could only tell the story of taking the Taoist examination again. After hearing this, the man let out a long laugh towards the sky, and his laughter echoed in the valley for a long time.

"Fellow Daoist, don't you know the real gold? I have something to say to you.

To make gold one needs water, and to test jade one needs to burn it for three days.

Go and rest, go and rest."

After the man finished speaking, he shook the sheep whip in his hand. There was a loud bang, and then white stones appeared all over the mountains and fields.

The sheep-driving whip was flicked, and there was another sound. The white stones rolled and turned into white sheep. Looking around, there were tens of thousands of sheep, and they followed the man.

Yu Shuyang was stunned for a moment. So many white stones appeared from the ground and turned into white sheep. They looked much more powerful than the green sheep and the old man just now.

Fortunately, he wasn't stupid. The four lines the old man chanted in the rhyme of the Great Dao were so profound and difficult to understand that he couldn't figure them out for a moment, but he understood the words of the free-range man. Alchemy and testing jade are often used to describe the pursuit of truth in the Dao. Alchemy requires water, and it doesn't involve refining true gold with fire. It refers to refining cinnabar with lead and mercury, and is sometimes referred to as harmonizing dragon and tiger.

Yu Shuyang thought about it and felt that the mystery might be in three days, and it might be the next scene, so he followed the direction of the shepherd.

I thought that after walking a few steps, I would move on to the next test, just like before, with a change of scenery. Unexpectedly, I walked for seventy or eighty miles and didn't see any changes.

My heart began to beat fast again. Could I have gone the wrong way? I turned around and started walking back. I walked another 70 or 80 miles like this and finally got back to the bottom of the hill.

Looking at the hillside, he wondered if he was running up the mountain, so he ran again until he reached the top, but there was still no change.

Only then did he go down the mountain disappointed, wondering if he had failed the test.
When he walked down the mountain, he found a sesame field at the foot of the mountain. The sesame here was different from ordinary sesame. The sesame stalks were all purple.

The sesame field was also filled with mist, and purple air gathered in the air to form auspicious clouds with Ganoderma lucidum patterns. As the auspicious clouds rubbed against each other, bits of jade chips floated down.

The jade dust was like starlight, and as soon as it fell to the ground, it turned into water droplets, which were absorbed by the purple sesame seeds, and then spit out wisps of purple air into the sky.

This cycle repeats itself over and over again, constantly using the power of nature to nourish the growth of purple sesame.

Yu Shuyang could see it clearly now. He had just realized the yin and yang of clouds and could see the mystery of the purple auspicious clouds of Ganoderma lucidum.

The scattered jade dust is the water formed by the light of the sun, moon and stars, which is the famous Three Lights Divine Water.

The purple air and auspicious clouds of Ganoderma lucidum gathered the three lights. The mystery of the technique was unprecedentedly exquisite, which made Yu Shuyang feel itchy in his heart, and he cast a spell to attract a wisp of purple air.

He divided the purple energy into two parts, one was the image of Tai Chi carrying Yin and embracing Yang, and the other was the image of the balance of Yin and Yang in the two yin and yang.

The purple air rose slightly and disappeared into the sky, turning into a cloud of auspiciousness. The cloud patterns were so messy that it was difficult to distinguish their true shapes. This also showed that Yu Shuyang had insufficient understanding of Tai Chi and Liang Yi.

The two purple clouds did not absorb the purple qi from the purple sesame, but only relied on sunlight to create yin and yang clouds bit by bit, and slowly grew the two purple clouds.

Yu Shuyang recalled the chess record of Wei Chen that he saw at the place of the white-browed boy, and arranged his fate according to the chess game. Each move of the chess game was considered a move, and the first nine moves in the chess record of Wei Chen were considered a calamity point.

Therefore, Tai Chi and Liang Yi each undergo nine changes. For a moment, the two clouds hold each other and repel each other. The Tai Chi cloud generates a harmonious energy, while the Liang Yi cloud generates a clear and tranquil wind.

When the harmonious energy and the pure and quiet wind meet, the yin and yang will start to create continuously, and thunder will be generated at the junction of wind and energy.

The rushing Qi generates Tai Chi thunder, which breaks through the chaos in the void, separates the clear and the turbid to transform into Yin and Yang. The clear Yang rises to become Qian Yuan, and the turbid Yin descends to become Kun De.

Purity and tranquility give birth to the two-pole thunder, which creates the Qian clear and Kun turbid, dividing the Yin and determining the Yang to transform into the Four Symbols, namely: Taiyang, Taiyin, Shaoyang, and Shaoyin.

In an instant, the yin and yang, the universe, the two poles and the four images were constantly creating. The meeting of the two thunders was like the creation of the world, and then a force of life appeared between the two clouds.

Yu Shuyang tried his best to hold on, unable to make another move. If he wanted to move forward, Liang Yun would have to add nine more moves and create a second calamity point at the eighteenth place.

Gradually, the two clouds grew larger and larger, and the power of creation between the clouds became stronger and stronger.

Eventually, the purple Ganoderma lucidum auspicious clouds in the air were drawn in little by little, and the Tai Chi clouds and the Liang Yi clouds grew larger and deformed.

The Tai Chi cloud turned into a four-hoofed unicorn, and the Liang Yi cloud turned into a four-hoofed two-horned beast. However, Yu Shuyang did not know the true form of the two clouds, so he was unable to stabilize them.

Until the auspicious clouds in the purple sesame field were completely swallowed up, the Tai Chi and Liang Yi clouds were still changing.

The purple sesame field no longer had the auspicious clouds scattering the three-light holy water. Instead, two clouds in the air absorbed the purple air like an exhaust fan. For a moment, the sesame field was in disaster.

The purple qi of the purple sesame seeds was drained away, and they turned into withered ones. These withered sesame stalks scattered like ashes even without wind.

Fortunately, Yu Shuyang was not stupid. He finally realized that the green sheep he had just seen looked similar to the four-hoofed, two-horned beast of Liangyi Yun.

Then he cast a spell with his mind, and the Yin-Yang Clouds were no longer scattered. A green sheep in the shape of the twelve Yuanchen appeared, and the Tai Chi Cloud that matched it also gradually stabilized.

Yu Shuyang looked at the appearance of Tai Chi Cloud and couldn't help but chuckle. Isn't this his junior brother Li Taiping - the Si beast?

Only then did he come to his senses. The Si beast, also known as the Green Ox, was the mount of the Great Sage of Innate Morality. What about the Green Sheep? Could it be a mount as well?

Thinking about it this way, my heart couldn't help but beat fast. Sheep means auspiciousness. There is a saying that the God of Fortune leads a sheep to bring blessings, and there is also an old story that the three yangs bring good luck.

Before he could think clearly, he heard a scolding.

"You little thief who stole sesame seeds, I will kill you today."

I saw a girl of about eighteen or nineteen years old. She had a bun on her head and the rest of her hair hung down to her waist. She was wearing gorgeous clothes and was dazzling.

In one hand, the woman held a bamboo basket filled with three liters and three dou of rice, and in the other hand, she held a thin-handled Ganoderma lucidum flower hoe.

Yu Shuyang was guessing about the old man riding the green sheep. When he was feeling excited, he saw such a beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes. He was not sure about her identity for a while.

"You little thief, you're still destroying sesame seeds. I won't let you off today."

After saying this, he picked up the Ganoderma lucidum flower hoe and flew it towards him. The hoe had a thin stem like a lotus stem, and the hoe head was like a half-moon with three Ganoderma lucidum auspicious clouds piled on it.

Yu Shuyang looked at the flower hoe coming at him like a flying sword, and he was panicked for a moment because he had no magic weapon on his body. He hurriedly urged the Tai Chi Green Ox and the Liangyi Green Sheep to block it.

As soon as the two clouds floated down, the flower hoe disappeared, and countless purple sesame stalks, like ropes, tied the two clouds tightly.

"Haha, I scolded you to death, you little thief, for destroying my sesame seeds. Today, I will use this cow and this sheep to pay you back." The woman said with a smile.

As soon as Yu Shuyang heard this, he knew he had been tricked. He was so angry that he didn't care about anything else and tried his best to perform the second calamity and activate the nine changes.

In an instant, wind, thunder and fire were generated. When the green ox and green sheep collided, thunder and fire splashed everywhere, igniting the purple sesame stalks.

Two clouds, the Green Ox and the Green Sheep, wrapped up Yu Shuyang and flew towards the mountain.

The girl gritted her teeth, grabbed a handful of white rice from the bamboo basket and scattered it. When the rice met the wind, it turned into pearls as big as balls, each one round and translucent.

Yu Shuyang dodged in a hurry. The first time he saw the pearl, he felt a sense of vicissitudes of life. He had an intuition that the pearl might have been refined by the True Water of Universe Light.

However, he couldn't dodge in time and was hit in the face by a pearl. Then everything went black and he knew nothing.

I don’t know how long it took, but I felt myself being pushed awake, and there was a man and a cow in front of me.

The bull-headed man looked familiar, and it was Li Taiping. He had a fair complexion and was wearing a white Taoist robe and holding a palm-leaf fan.

"Fellow Daoist, you are finally awake. How did you end up in the Qingxu Illusionary Realm? If it weren't for Junior Brother Li's guidance, I'm afraid you would have been lost in the cosmic light."

　Finally finished writing. From yesterday afternoon until now, I was still looking through the Biographies of Immortals and Biographies of Immortals at 3am this morning, but I still couldn't find out who the guy selling the Green Sheep wood carving was. I'm so pissed!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)