Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 166 The Cause and Effect of the True Dao
For Zhao Yifu, last night's senseless battle actually brought him considerable gains.

At least he found a new way to cultivate Yang Shen.

Turning yin into yang, having top-level inheritance is different.

When the Yin Spirit returned, he clearly felt a sense of comfort in his Yuan Spirit.

But when they walked on the land of Liao State in the Northern Dynasty, they were not in a good mood.

They gradually saw that the vast fertile plains had been turned into horse racing grounds, the population density had dropped significantly, and the wilderness was dotted with graves, corpses abandoned by the roadside to be eaten by wild dogs, and large piles of bones abandoned under mounds somewhere...

To be honest, the oppression brought to Zhao Yifu by this northern land was no less than that in the underworld last night.

Zhao Yifu asked, "Master, is this all the fault of our sect?"

Liang Zhongzhi nodded gravely and said, "I guess so, but in fact, we are just a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of the general trend."

Zhao Yifu asked, "Is the Central Plains dynasty destined to be destroyed by the Liaohu?"

Liang Zhongzhi said, "We cultivators don't believe in fate... If we bow to fate, what's the point of cultivation?"

"So, although the Yuanxiu Sect Leader became the Imperial Master by accident, he was also trying to fight against fate."

"What do you think of this leader for our Danqing Sect?"

Zhao Yifu couldn't help but think carefully when he heard this.

He discovered that all Jin Hui did as prime minister was to focus on the economy, promote education, and reform and strengthen the military...it was just that he failed.

Zhao Yifu said quietly, "He is a qualified leader. At least he is leading our Danqing Sect on the right path and not in the wrong direction."

"He just failed."

Liang Zhongzhi looked over and asked, as if testing him, "Even if we fail, is this the right path?"

Zhao Yifu said: "Those of us who practice cultivation only seek to have our thoughts clear."

"I can't imagine the whole of China being occupied by barbarians. Fortunately, half of the country still exists."

Liang Zhongzhi said with a smile: "What if this half of the country is also lost?"

Zhao Yifu said without hesitation: "Then I will go down the mountain and join my Zhou army to become a general! No, even just a soldier will do."

Liang Zhongzhi asked, "What if Zhou Su also fails?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Then I will go home. When Da Xu was around, my father was only the owner of Shenhe Villa. If Da Xu were gone, it's not impossible for my father to become emperor!"

Liang Zhongzhi was speechless by this answer.

He had thought that his apprentice was noisy, but he had not expected him to be so noisy.

He said unhappily, "Do you think conquering the world is that easy? There are so many things to consider..."

Zhao Yifu said: "I know that in conquering the world, we must consider the people's hearts, production and construction, and the interests of many parties, etc."

"Fortunately, when Master Zhou was teaching me, he often explained government policies and practical matters to me. At least I have a good understanding of local affairs. I think I can at least support the structure of a state government."

"Once I get used to it, a province won't be a problem."

"And since they can already support an entire province, then having a few more of them won't be a problem. At worst, I can just go on a fast, not sleep, and fight them off."

"Once everything is sorted out, it shouldn't be difficult to re-organize a centrally operated model..."

Liang Zhongzhi saw that Zhao Yifu seemed to be seriously thinking about how to govern the world, so he quickly pulled his thoughts back and said, "Alright, you still have Da Xu and your Master Zhou to support you, and you have so many fellow disciples in the officialdom. Don't let your imagination run wild."

He decided to nip all of Zhao Yifu's messy ideas in the bud.

Zhao Yifu thought about it and felt that it was right. He still had so many people to rely on, so there was no need to worry about what to do when he went it alone...

So he said, "Then let's talk about the matter of Difei Mountain. I don't know what kind of trouble the Demon Subduing Sect will bring this time."

Liang Zhongzhi nodded and said, "Yes, let's talk about the Difei Mountain again."

But in a moment he felt something was wrong again, because the problems of the Demon Subduing Sect were essentially caused by this guy!
Wow, the nickname was indeed right. This guy is truly a 'ghost-fearing' guy. He causes trouble wherever he goes.

However, Zhao Yifu was analyzing seriously.

He said, "Strictly speaking, this is the Chunyang Sect's problem, but it's not our problem."

Liang Zhongzhi asked: "Why is this?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Because we ourselves also worship Emperor Wenheng."

Liang Zhongzhi thought it made sense when he heard it. Most of the disciples of Danqingmen took the imperial examinations, and those who took the imperial examinations would inevitably worship the Five Wenchang Emperors.

He said, "But the three Pure Yang meridians are connected by the same energy. If we were to pluck it out ourselves, I'm afraid it would no longer be tolerated by the three meridians."

Zhao Yifu said, "They didn't really take us out to play in the first place. Maybe in their eyes, we literary geeks aren't worth paying attention to at all."

Liang Zhongzhi said: "So what? The Pure Yang Three Meridians have always been like this. I'm used to it."

Zhao Yifu thought about it and it made sense. He could just follow the leader of his own sect and make a cameo appearance.

As for helping the sect to make a splash at the Three Veins Conference?
Are you kidding me, would that kind of thing be good for him?

What's more, the Danqing Sect is out of place in the Chunyang Sect. What it pursues and practices are all secular, and it does not need their recognition at all.

So he smiled and said, "Master, why don't you tell me what sects there are in the Three Veins?"

Liang Zhongzhi responded: "Okay, I need to talk to you about this."

"My Pure Yang Three Veins have seven major sects established in the world."

"Among them, only our Danqing Sect has a cultural heritage. You can see the reason. Our Danqing Sect is actually all-encompassing and can fully bear the cultural heritage."

"The Danding lineage has four sects. Among them, the Wanshou Sect, which stays in the ancestral land of Difei Mountain, considers itself the leader. Then there is the Jingyuan Sect, which practices indifference to worldly affairs, the Yaowang Valley, which excels in medicine, and the Zhenyi Sect, which is a single-line sect that pursues the principle of following the laws of nature."

"There are two sword sects: the Pure Yang Sword Sect, which claims to be the direct descendant of the founder, and the Yang Ling Sword Sect, which is said to have inherited the founder's legacy by chance."

Zhao Yifu nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then Liang Zhongzhi analyzed the characteristics and tendencies of each sect.

"There's actually not much to say about the two sword sects. They're just the sword ways passed down by their ancestors. However, the Pure Yang Sword Sect is an orthodox inheritance, so it's dignified and upright, while the Yang Ling Sword Sect takes a light, agile, and dangerous path."

Zhao Yifu commented: "The founder's swordsmanship is the combination of strange and orthodox. These two schools can actually be regarded as the founder's true teachings."

Liang Zhongzhi rolled his eyes. Does a junior like you need to comment on this kind of thing?

He continued, "As for the alchemy cauldron veins, they are more complicated. The Wanshou Sect focuses on external alchemy, so they are very popular in the cultivation world and even in the secular world. The Jingyuan Sect, on the other hand, practices the method of internal alchemy with great effort, using one's own body as the furnace and the five qi of the internal organs as the medicine to refine the golden elixir."

"Medicine King Valley also practices external alchemy, but it focuses on medicine and poison techniques and does not participate in the struggle for orthodoxy."

"It is the True Dao that has been passed down from one lineage to another that is actually the most orthodox."

"Why is it that the True Dao is passed down from one lineage to another?"

"That's because each generation of their descendants must be the best. They must also follow the example of their ancestors, taking the Dao of Alchemy as their foundation, cultivating the Dao of Sword to perfection, and possessing astonishing literary talent."

Zhao Yifu was surprised to hear this and said, "With the strength of three meridians, isn't that a natural leader?"

Liang Zhongzhi was stunned for a moment, because the Chunyang Sect had no leader, and he habitually didn't think about it in this direction.

He paused and said, "Although my Chunyang Great Sect is a large sect, it is just a pretext for the three veins and seven sects to have a sense of belonging and restraint. In fact, it does not have a true sect structure."

"But if we really want to say what the leader said... it is indeed the 'Zhenyi Taoist' of the Zhenyi Sect who are qualified. Whenever they encounter any difficult things, it is the Zhenyi Taoist who takes the lead in integrating the three forces to get things done." The master and disciple talked about some more stories of the Zhenyi Sect. The more they listened, the more magical it seemed to them, and there was even a sense of mystery.

Legend has it that there seems to be nothing in this world that the Zhenyi Dao cannot do. They can always mediate conflicts within the Chunyang Sect in their own way, and even make both sides feel grateful.

Anyone from the three sects who comes to them for help will definitely get help to solve the problem.

In other words, Zhenyi Dao has great favors for the three Pure Yang meridians.

Zhao Yifu couldn't help but ask, "Master, does Zhenyidao have any favors for our Danqing Sect?"

Liang Zhongzhi hesitated for a moment, then said, "The greatest favor that Zhenyi Dao has done for our Danqing Sect is that during the chaos a hundred years ago, they preserved the sect's fortune to the greatest extent possible."

He said solemnly, "Back then, Master Zhenyi was already a Yangshen master who was only one step away from becoming an immortal. But when he heard about the Danqing Sect, he resolutely offered his help."

"Back then, Da Xu was able to hold onto half of the territory because Zhen Yi was the one who made the final move behind the scenes, turning the tide and preventing Da Xu from collapsing."

"You should know that at that time, Emperor Dao Zong had already fallen into the hands of his enemies, and the head of the Danqing Sect, Master Yuanxiu, took on the enormous karma alone and passed away on the spot. All his fellow disciples in the court were heartbroken."

"Everyone thought that Danqingmen was finished."

"It was Master Zhenyi who almost single-handedly saved the day from defeat and showed the world what it means to be a peerless national hero."

Zhao Yifu quickly asked, "What's the price? What's the price?"

Liang Zhongzhi said: "The price is that he has never appeared again in the past hundred years."

Zhao Yifu felt heavy in his heart when he heard this.

He said, "In this case, Zhenyi Dao is our Danqing Sect's great benefactor."

Liang Zhongzhi nodded and said, "That's right. Regardless of whether the Taoist Zhenyi from a hundred years ago is still alive or has been replaced by a new one, this kindness cannot be forgotten."

"It's just that for this Three Veins Conference, we don't even know if Master Zhenyi will be present."

Zhao Yifu said, "Regardless of whether it happened or not, this conference is just a formality for us. Danqingmen has never been the main character."

Liang Zhongzhi nodded, he agreed with this point very much.

The master and disciple moved forward again.

However, this time they did not go straight to Difei Mountain. Instead, after entering Tianyuan Prefecture, they found an uninhabited and secluded place and built a temporary camp to live in.

It was still early for the Three Meridians Conference, and it would be uncomfortable for them to go there now.

They planned to stay here for a while and wait for news from the leader and others.

As for where they set up camp...

But it was in a stream.

In the crack of pebbles at the bottom of a rock in the stream!

A water seal was used to prevent the stream water from entering the crack, and the master and disciple had already expanded the air crack space into a 500-square-meter "large flat".

As the master and disciple became more proficient in the "Boundless Universe Art", the operation of expanding space became more and more handy.

Zhao Yifu even said playfully, "Master, do you think I should build a fairy palace in the future to shock future generations?"

Liang Zhongzhi raised his hand and touched his forehead, then said, "Have you ever thought about the source of spiritual energy to maintain such a fairy palace?"

"Without you and me maintaining this place, I'm afraid it will collapse in a few days."

Zhao Yifu said unconvincedly, "I think this kind of question can be answered in the array tradition of my Danqing Sect."

Liang Zhongzhi was speechless for a moment, because Zhao Yifu was right, but he didn't want to admit his mistake and could only force himself to say: "You can't chew too much. If you learn so much, it will only distract you."

Zhao Yi Fu was not convinced and wanted to say more, but he felt a commotion inside his sleeves, and then a scroll flew out of his sleeves.

Invite the gods picture.

The scroll unfolded, and Patriarch Chunyang appeared calmly in the painting.

Zhao Yifu and Liang Zhongzhi bowed at the same time and said, "Greetings, Grandmaster."

The Patriarch Fuyou Miaodao Tianzun then said: "Fu Yinzi, and Liang Fengzi, there is a very urgent task here that needs you to complete."

Zhao Yifu and Liang Zhongzhi did not hesitate at all. Based on their familiarity and trust in the master, they both responded in unison: "Respect the master's order!"

The Grandmaster paused for a moment, his eyes softened, and he said, "I want you to rescue someone who is in danger."

Zhao Yifu responded, "Okay, where is he?"

The ancestor said, "It's in a village on the edge of Tianyuan Prefecture, about sixty miles away from here. I will tell you the exact location."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Yifu and Liang Zhongzhi already felt that there was a cause and effect guiding them in the dark.

The master and disciple looked at each other, and at the same time chose to let their Yin Spirits leave their bodies and fly along this cause and effect to the cause and effect that the ancestor had mentioned... It was daytime at this time, which meant that only the master and disciple who had both cultivated pure Yang in their Yin Spirits could do this.

Their Yin Spirits arrived at the place in an instant.

It turned out to be a village with about a hundred people, but now the flames had set the entire village on fire, and the villagers were surrounded by a group of Liao soldiers and brutally massacred.

Just this scene was enough to make Zhao Yifu angry, and their target was a disheveled young man.

He was covered in wounds, but he still protected the four children behind him and rushed left and right under the siege.

This young man has very exquisite swordsmanship... No, this swordsmanship is simply the authentic Pure Yang lineage!
Originally, ordinary soldiers should not be his opponents at all, but there were three cultivators from the Liao army who kept casting various insidious spells to distract the young man.

However, even so, the young man was still able to hold on.

But no one knows when he will die.

Zhao Yifu said, "Master, the situation is urgent, so leave it to me. Please quickly return to your original form and bring our original forms here. I'm afraid that I can't delay with just my Yin Shen body."

Liang Zhongzhi understood what he said and said, "Be careful. If all else fails, just save this girl's life."

That’s right, some of the young man’s little secrets in the Yin Shen state were completely clear at a glance.

Zhao Yifu said, "Don't worry, Master. I'm still confident if it's just a delay."

As soon as he finished speaking, his Yin Spirit had already controlled the surrounding water vapor, forming a thick fog.

Seeing this, Liang Zhongzhi understood Zhao Yifu's plan and felt relieved. He returned to his original body as he had said before and brought Zhao Yifu's original body with him.

They all did this with all their heart and soul, because they had discovered that the cause and effect of the Patriarch's manifestation this time was exactly related to the True Oneness that they had discussed a few days ago.

Since this is a matter of true Dao, how dare everyone in Danqing Sect not give their all?

In the thick fog, Zhao Yifu performed an illusion that he rarely used, which immediately made all the Liao soldiers surrounding him dizzy.

Correspondingly, a passable passage appeared in front of the young man.

As long as they follow this passage, the young man can take his four children out of danger.

But the young man did not move, he just looked around and asked, "Which Taoist friend is willing to help?"

Zhao Yifu hesitated for a moment in the thick fog, then revealed his silhouette and said, "People in the Jianghu call him Ghost-Seeing Sorrow. I'm honored to meet you, my fellow Taoist. Please act quickly. I can't cast spells for long with only my Yin Spirit."

The young man was stunned, but said "thank you" decisively, and then led the children out along the passage indicated by Zhao Yifu.

(End of this chapter)