Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 71 True Biography
Zhao Yifu watched the incense stick slowly burn out. Although he knew there was no hope, he gradually felt aggrieved.

He recalled how much trouble he had put into this incense and how much he cared about it, but in the end he was ignored by the Painting Saint... Perhaps this was a so-called test, but he really felt wronged.

The original joy of entering the world of cultivation gradually cooled down.

It was not until the incense burned out that he realized that he was actually very disappointed with this. He was so disappointed that he felt irritated and his determination to seek the truth that he had worked so hard to find was almost shattered.

It’s not that he’s pretentious.

The truth was that he had not understood the situation before. He had already put too many of his expectations into this incense, and it could even be said that it embodied his faith in spiritual practice.

Therefore, for him, showing sincerity is not just a matter of doing it a few more times. This time is his most sincere one!
The incense burnt to the gods has gone out.

Zhao Yifu also felt lost for a moment.

Nothing happened.

Then he found himself quite funny. He actually had to rely on others to express his faith in spiritual practice?
But even though he told himself this, he was still very restless inside.

He stood up and looked at the dirty Taoist temple, and suddenly an idea came to him.

So he went to the utility room next to the side hall and found the broom.

He started cleaning by himself.

His heart was in turmoil, so he subconsciously wanted to do something to calm himself down.

He thought about going home directly, but he felt that he didn't want to face the family's cats in such a bad mood.

Although the cat is healing, he wants to be alone.

So he quietly swept the floor in this Taoist temple.

The Taoist temple was not big, and it took him less than half an hour to sweep the ground of the temple.

But his heart was still in turmoil.

When he looked up and saw the dirty statue, he tore off a piece of his Confucian robe and began to wipe the statue.

His current light-weight skills ensured that he could climb steadily to a high place to clean the statue.

But when he cleaned the statues of the Five Wenchang Gods in the main hall, he found that the roof was also very dirty.

So he simply climbed onto the roof again and swept the dust off the roof.

But then the dust settles and the statue has to be cleaned again.

He was not discouraged. He cleaned the statues again and swept away the new dust on the ground.

During this process, he gradually calmed down, as if what he was sweeping away was not the dust in the Taoist temple, but the dust in his heart.

Then he found peace again.

Looking at the four saints enshrined in the side hall, Zhao Yifu really felt that his previous anxiety about gains and losses was ridiculous.

Why does he want the approval of the Saint of Painting?

No need.

If you have no place to use the Yang and spiritual energy, just store them for yourself.

So what if my painting skills haven’t improved?

As long as he can still use painting to express his inner thoughts, there will always be people who appreciate his paintings and people who need his paintings.

Thinking of this, he simply pulled out the small incense stick made of scraps from his sleeve.

Looking at the Taoist temple that had been cleaned thoroughly, he lit the incense stick and placed it in the incense burner in the main hall.

He did not specifically worship any Emperor Wenchang, but simply lit some incense and bowed once to show his respect, and then prepared to turn around and leave.

He felt that he had gained a lot from this trip up the mountain. Even if he could not become friends with the Saint of Painting, he had gained a true heart that was untainted by worldly desires.

Zhao Yifu felt that this clear heart seeking the Tao was more important than anything else.

However, just as he gathered his thoughts and prepared to go down the mountain, the Wenchang Temple behind him suddenly lit up with a soft light.

Zhao Yifu stopped his foot as he was about to step out of the palace door, and turned his head back abruptly, almost twisting his neck into the classic shot in horror movies: turning back and turning head.jpg.

He twisted his neck and quickly turned around to look at the glowing statue in the Wenchang Hall...

Well, it wasn’t Emperor Fuyou, the ancestor he thought it was.

But it is Emperor Wenheng, who is also known as Wu Wenchang!
If the statue of Emperor Fuyou carrying a sword can be explained as a gentleman's weapon, then the image of Emperor Wenheng is simply that of holding a big knife.

Just outrageous.

Is he related to the Emperor Wenchang, who is famous for his martial arts?

Oh, it seems there is.

Zhao Yifu suddenly remembered that he had shamelessly taken advantage of the situation and worshipped a great scholar as his teacher.

It is rumored that this teacher is the reincarnation of the spirit of a certain Wenchang Emperor.

It’s incredible when you think about it.

But considering that this teacher's own daughter is born with a rebellious nature and is a female general...it all seems to make sense.

Of course Wu Wenchang's daughter wants to be a female general!
Let’s review the legend of Emperor Wenheng… He was an ancient divine general who was extremely loyal and righteous and had a passion for reading. After his death, he was revered as the Martial Saint by later generations.

Of course, there are always many divine duties in the gods of heaven these days. This martial saint is deeply loved by scholars of later generations because of his loyalty and righteousness, and thus he has become a symbol of integrity among scholars.

Zhao Yifu blinked, and his previous calmness was completely forgotten. Only the glittering statue in front of him remained.

However, as if they were unwilling to let their descendants be fooled by others, not long after the statue of Emperor Wenheng lit up, the statue of Emperor Fuyou, the main deity enshrined in the Wenchang Hall, also lit up.

The bright light from the two statues shone on Zhao Yifu, making him fall into a kind of happy trouble.

One is the ancestor, the other is the teacher’s true self, how should he choose?
What a happy trouble...

Gan!
Why was he so worried? He didn't know how to refuse.

The two big guys can take pictures of whoever they want, it’s not his business.

He didn't even know what to do next.

In the end, he could only wait helplessly until the two big guys stopped shining...

But the man no longer glowed, but what followed was two pieces of information stuffed into his brain.

One came from Emperor Fuyou, and the other came from Emperor Wenheng.

Does this mean that he was marked by two emperors at the same time?

Emperor Fuyou: [A gentleman is sincere, and sincerity should be rewarded.]

Emperor Wenheng: [The origin and gathering of things are determined by fate, and this is the meaning.]

Look, it becomes very clear all of a sudden.

Emperor Wenheng had clearly stated that his connection with him was due to fate, which was exactly in line with the teacher-student relationship between him and Zhou Su.

Emperor Fuyou said it was in response to his sincerity.

As for where he is honest?
Is it because he cleaned up this Taoist temple?
He felt that this was probably not the case, because the gods in heaven would never be so formalistic.

Zhao Yifu thought about it carefully and suddenly felt that it might be because he was in a sincere and selfless state from the time he cleaned the Taoist temple to the time he lit the incense stick.

Perhaps for some immortals and gods, it means: If you have nothing to ask for, you cannot be saved.

But for the true sages, it means: ask for nothing, and be sincere.

As for the power blessings these two Wenchang Emperors brought him...

When Zhao Yifu focused his attention on the line "A Gentleman is Sincere", he quickly saw three branches that could be exchanged for Yang and spiritual energy: the first was the sword path, the second was the alchemy path, and the third was the pure Yang fire.

Well, this is very ancestral.

It’s a pity that there is no content about the cultural context. It seems that the Chunyang cultural context cannot be regarded as the true teachings of the Chunyang Sect.

Zhao Yi Fu grumbled silently in his heart, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, the position of Wenchang Emperor, the ancestor's god, was actually raised by people in later generations. Before the old man ascended to the immortal world, he probably never thought that he would become Wenchang Emperor.

Zhao Yi Fu was actually quite satisfied with this. After all, the skill tree of [Sincerity as a Gentleman] was very suitable for his future practice.

So what about the skill tree under Emperor Wenheng’s [Fate and Gathering] note?
The first is the way of the sword, the second is the way of the military, and the third is the holy body of martial arts.

Good guy, Zhao Yifu kept saying in his heart, good guy.

If Emperor Fuyou's skill tree can be said to be the skill tree of a serious cultivator, then Emperor Wenheng's skill tree is a purely violent route.

There was a mouthful of gruel stuck in Zhao Yifu's throat, and he felt uncomfortable if he didn't spit it out, but he didn't know how to do it.

The two Wenchang Emperors, who have been worshipped by scholars for generations, don’t have the skills of a scholar, right?
Maybe there are some unruly people among the Wenchang Emperors, but why are the two he met so unruly?

Zhao Yifu was stunned.

How could he explain this to his master?

He thought about it and decided not to say anything, so as to avoid his master losing his smile.

Anyway, his master didn't seem to care whether he had completed the bond or not, and just let him do what he wanted.

Forget it, let’s go find Senior Shi Ling.

I always feel that among all the people in Danqing Sect, only Senior Shi Ling is reliable.

He sighed softly, then went down the mountain and came to the Dharma Teaching Cave again.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the cave, he saw the stone spirit already waiting for him there.

It said seemingly nonchalantly, “It seems He is very optimistic about you.”

Zhao Yifu was stunned. He was seen through like this?

Shi Ling said, "If I can't even distinguish His aura, then my thousand years here would have been wasted."

Zhao Yifu was surprised. He didn't expect that Senior Shi Ling had been here for a thousand years.

He had previously thought that the stone spirit was the reincarnation of a senior in the sect who stayed in the human world after his death, but now it seems that is not the case.

Zhao Yifu said respectfully, "Senior, it is true that the master and I have formed a bond, but I never imagined it would be this way... This really happened unintentionally..."

He tried to explain, but the stone spirit said, "No need to elaborate. Fate is fate. Now that you have entered the door, go to the second floor of the cave to choose your basic skills."

Zhao Yifu was a little surprised when he heard this. He asked, "Where is the second floor of the grotto?"

Shi Ling said: "Just follow me."

As he said this, he walked into the stone chamber that Zhao Yifu had entered twice.

They went all the way inside, passing by the bookshelves along the way, and Zhao Yifu's eyes couldn't help but drift over here twice.

To be honest, he was really envious of the magic tricks here.

However, the stone spirit walking in front seemed to have eyes behind it. It said, "Since you have entered the door, the contents of this stone chamber are now open to you."

"It's a pity that these are all practical and wonderful methods. They are really hidden in the Danqing Sect."

Zhao Yifu understood immediately.

The bigwigs in this field simply disdain these practical methods.

But now he has no interest in the practical methods here. What he hopes to see more is the advanced training methods that he can learn from Danqingmen after getting started.

What he had been using before was actually the basic Qi training technique passed down by the outer sect, and the speed of practice was really slow.

Soon Zhao Yifu followed Shi Ling to the end of the stone chamber where the scriptures were stored, and then there really appeared an entrance that he had never discovered before.

In other words, only when led here by the Stone Spirit can one see this entrance.

Entering the door, I saw that there were no bookshelves. There was nothing in the empty stone chamber...

No, Zhao Yifu saw the difference in the walls of the stone chamber through his spiritual vision.

There are five walls in the stone chamber.

And there are seal carvings with a glowing aura on every wall.

On the middle wall, Zhao Yifu saw an article called "Pure Yang Seeking the Tao Sutra".

Shi Ling said: "This 'Pure Yang Seeking the Tao Sutra' is the fundamental law of our Pure Yang Great Sect. Every disciple must study it carefully."

"And the four scriptures on both sides of the 'Pure Yang Seeking the Tao Sutra' are 'Wonderful Sound and Pure Spirit Chart', 'Dou Zhuan Xing Palace Formation', 'Ink Brush Finger Technique', and 'Painting All Things Method'."

"These four correspond to the four wonderful uses of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and can be used by practitioners of this school."

"Now that you are a formal disciple, this Dharma-transmission cave is completely open to you. You may freely explore and study it."

Having said that, Shi Ling quietly left the stone chamber.

Even though Zhao Yi Fu was very excited at this moment, he still did not forget to bow and say goodbye.

Then he could not wait to go to the "Pure Yang Seeking the Tao Sutra" in the middle, which was the fundamental Dharma, and began to read it.

He read word by word, with only one feeling in his heart, that is: profound and extensive.

Many of the difficulties he encountered in his daily practice were almost easily solved, and Zhao Yifu's understanding of his body and true qi was constantly improving.

Perhaps because he was reading with doubts in mind, when Zhao Yifu finished reading "Chun Yang Seeking the Tao Sutra", he felt that his understanding of spiritual practice had been greatly improved.

Zhao Yifu couldn't help but sigh that although spiritual practice is indeed a personal matter, it would be wonderful to have guidance from predecessors.

The Pure Yang Quest for the Tao Sutra does not contain any specific content for cultivation, but in fact, when combined with basic Qigong techniques, it is an all-encompassing outline for cultivation.

Zhao Yifu immediately understood what to do next and also knew the secret of the circulation of true energy in his body.

Even the true energy in the body that was originally only circulating in the Ren and Du meridians is already stirring, wanting to circulate in a new track.

But Zhao Yifu resisted the urge; after all, it was not the right time yet.

He carefully memorized the entire "Chun Yang Seeking the Tao Sutra" and repeatedly confirmed that there were no omissions.

There was no way. In his opinion, the value of "Pure Yang Seeking the Tao Sutra" far exceeded everything else.

Then he had time to read other scriptures.

But this time I took a much more cursory look and just took a general look.

Among them, "Miaoyin Qingshenpu" has very magical soul attack and auxiliary capabilities, but Zhao Yifu can't understand the details, after all, he doesn't understand music.

The "Dou Zhuan Xing Gong Formation" is more like a method of formation cultivation, which he also cannot understand. It is a secret method that requires people with high IQ to practice.

The Ink-Tip Pen Finger Technique is an offensive method that uses ink as the tip. Its mystery is extraordinary. Zhao Yifu even vaguely saw a bit of the feeling of kendo.

Finally, the "Danqing Wanxiang Fa" he matched was an extremely profound water-attributed illusion secret technique.

After understanding these, Zhao Yifu remembered the 'Eight Styles of Renshui' and 'Secret Art of Mirage' that he had learned, which were the methods recommended to him by Liang Zhongzhi.

Now it seems that this is actually the prerequisite practice of "Danqing Wanxiang Fa"!

"Teacher..."

Zhao Yifu couldn't help but recite it softly.

He felt that although Liang Zhongzhi was a little incompetent, he was truly impeccable as his master.

(End of this chapter)