Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 374 The Beginning of the Divine Wish
When the sun was at its zenith, dozens of people practiced swordsmanship in the front and back courtyards.

Although they were of different ages and had different physiques, they all trained hard and sweated profusely, but never stopped.

The Thirteen Deadly Swords: guide power with intention, and nourish the spirit with moves.

As long as the practitioner is willing to put in the effort, the process of connecting the moves will naturally make them more focused.

Of these people, the seventeen who had been tortured by demonic arts performed the best.

Because of their intense focus, their pores seemed to open and close in an orderly fashion, and their minds were clear and calm.

Even someone like Zhou the carpenter, who had worked his whole life and developed various health problems in his old age, and a young girl who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, sweated far less than others.

Indeed, they all chose to learn all thirteen sword techniques, become disciples of Chu Tianshu, and are willing to abide by the sect rules and shoulder their responsibilities in the future.

Tan Yu knew about these people's backgrounds and pasts when he chose to harm them.

Firstly, they need to have perseverance, and secondly, it's to rule out the possibility that they have powerful backers who could pose a risk to Tan Yu later.

Therefore, these are all people with perseverance and hard work, but who previously lacked opportunities.

Given the opportunity, they absolutely cannot allow themselves to miss it.

Chu Tianshu accepted all the heartfelt requests from the close relatives who accompanied them.

Now, everyone has been practicing swordsmanship for several days, and they are all very hardworking.

The first thirteen swords of the Thirteen Deadly Swords are not as difficult to master as the fourteenth and fifteenth swords.

These thirteen sword techniques can be learned by first mastering the external form and posture, which is commonly known as the "showy moves".

As for when you can truly develop the corresponding power, that depends on yourself.

"This sword technique is truly wondrous, as if it uses sword moves to hone one's mind and spirit, and uses one's mind and spirit to generate internal strength."

Lu Yuande sat in the hall, marveling, "But if you can't grasp the essence, then this sword technique isn't actually that effective for health and wellness."

"Fellow Daoist Chu, most of the people you have taken in are probably the kind who, even after practicing for three to five years, may not be able to generate their first wisp of internal energy."

"Only those seventeen people can be considered promising talents."

Chu Tianshu sat in the main seat, playing with a crystal bead, and glanced outside upon hearing this.

“It’s not only developing internal strength that can be considered a skill for making a living. Once these people have mastered the sword techniques, they can also help teach newcomers in the future.”

Lu Yuande was slightly taken aback: "Fellow Daoist, do you intend to recruit many disciples?"

If the number of disciples is within a reasonable range, it is not unusual for a skilled practitioner to be able to train fifty or sixty people.

In this situation, there is no need to take in dozens of inexperienced first-batch disciples just to lay a foundation for newcomers.

Therefore, Chu Tianshu's statement indicates that he intends to recruit a large number of disciples in the future.

However, once your kung fu skills reach the third or second tier, you should gradually start to pay attention to moonlight pollution.

Third-rate and second-rate martial artists are far from even touching the essence of heaven and earth.

However, the nutrients they absorb when eating and breathing are far more efficient than those of ordinary people.

The moonlight shines on all the plants in the world, and the plants are then eaten by poultry, livestock, fish, and shrimp.

Whether martial artists eat grains or meat, once their ability to absorb nutrients increases, they will inadvertently absorb some of the moonlight pollution.

At this point, the practitioner must gradually come into contact with the method of refining the moon.

Even in the demonic path, teaching disciples the Refining Moon Technique is quite laborious and troublesome, far exceeding that of ordinary martial arts. A skilled practitioner can only teach five to ten novices at a time, which is considered quite a lot.

As for the external Dharma Pivot and the Seeking the Dao Shennong, they consume even more resources, and if one truly wants to teach disciples, it is even more necessary to limit their number.

Those powerful families raise soldiers, and prestigious sects train ordinary followers. As long as they serve for a few years, they don't care about their lives afterward and are irresponsible. They can recruit people in large numbers.

"I am indeed planning to recruit a large number of people."

Chu Tianshu smiled and said, "But I have no intention of turning them into the kind of useless, cowardly soldiers from aristocratic families."

"Once they pass their prime, they are laid off. They know nothing about the subsequent training and cultivation methods, and they have already been raised to have bad tempers, leaving them at a loss."

"This is simply feeding the people a constant stream of trapped beasts. It's not a good thing for anyone, regardless of their stance. Only a bunch of short-sighted people would do something like this."

Even though the path of cultivation in this world is rapidly reviving and expanding, and many masters have emerged.

Top powers are likely confident that as long as they send out their best fighters, they can quickly defeat and suppress any unrest that occurs among the people.

However, all trades and all forms of production and transportation still rely on the power of the people.

Even if they can defeat a hundred or a thousand upheavals, how much production and support will the people have left after a thousand failed upheavals?

The size of a practitioner's group will also be limited and shrink, hindering its development, concentration of wisdom, and pursuit of a higher future.

Everything in the world, from the smallest speck of dust to the largest mountain, is interconnected.

Few people realize that as the fine raindrops relentlessly pound on the mountain, it's as if the mountain is about to collapse.

The so-called right path is never just a slogan, but because it is the right path, it brings more long-term and broader benefits.

Chu Tianshu did not explicitly use the term "this world," but he casually mentioned the general meaning.

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuande did not show any shocking expression, but only smiled helplessly. "Mozi spoke of universal love, Confucius and Mencius spoke of benevolence and righteousness, Xunzi sought to educate and transform, and we Daoists wish to make the sun and moon a pair of jade discs, the stars a pearl, to equalize all things, whether we are friends or enemies, and for all things to live in harmony in one place, without harming each other."

"Sages throughout history have long known the right path, but even those who have grasped these truths sometimes act in the opposite way."

"Human lifespan is still too short, and heaven and earth are still too cruel. Those who follow the righteous path may not necessarily have a good end, while those who do evil can enjoy great fortune."

"In such a situation, even if the principles of the right path are not empty talk, it is just empty words spoken by people."

Chu Tianshu was not affected by his negative emotions, but his attention was a little strange.

"Equal treatment for all things, regardless of personal relationships or enmity?"

Chu Tianshu asked, "Fellow Daoist Lu, where did you hear that from?"

Because Chen Ying was a disciple of the Southern School of Golden Elixir, Chu Tianshu had previously researched some information about the Southern School of Golden Elixir.

"Equal treatment of all things, whether one is human or a friend, and whether one is a friend or a foe" is a line from a poem by Ziyang Zhenren, one of the patriarchs of the Southern School of Taoism.

Lu Yuande was taken aback, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "No book explicitly said that. It's just that when I was browsing through the classics, I naturally had a train of thought in them, and I just blurted it out."

Chu Tianshu laughed heartily and recited the poem in a slow voice.

"Cultivate virtue beyond eight hundred, accumulate merit in secret three thousand, and treat all beings equally, including friends and enemies, only then can one fulfill the original vow of the immortals."

Lu Yuande's heart trembled violently, feeling that this line of poetry truly resonated with him: "This is..."

"These are lines of poetry by Master Ziyang, who practiced internal alchemy."

Chu Tianshu said, “Fellow Daoist Lu, your so-called Seeking the Dao Shennong has actually become too reliant on external objects. You are a complete practitioner of external alchemy. Have you ever thought about switching to internal alchemy? I think you have a great affinity for this.”

Lu Yuande asked in confusion, "What is the inner elixir? If someone is called a True Person, they must be a Taoist, right? Does Taoism have this lineage?"

Chu Tianshu learned a lot of the secrets of the Neidan School from Chen Ying, and he could talk about them.

The immortal path he wanted to build, the "True Scripture of the Mountain Man Boiling the Sun," was naturally of paramount importance. Once he had mastered its cultivation, he would try to create a simplified version.

In the early stages, in order to quickly build up combat power, the Thirteen Deadly Swords will definitely be included in the beginner martial arts.

However, if we want to create a trend, there are still many shortcomings in the underlying structure.

Lu Yuande is a master in this world. If he can connect with the essentials of local martial arts and then turn to internal alchemy, what he has researched and learned would be very suitable for filling the gaps in the core of this field.

"Counting breaths, entering stillness, introspection, setting up the furnace, budding, gathering herbs, controlling the heat..."

Lu Yuande listened with rapt attention, murmuring incessantly, "Medicine can also be extracted from the human body..."

As Chu Tianshu spoke, he also discovered that the "True Scripture of the Mountain Man Boiling the Sun" and the Neidan (internal alchemy) lineage did indeed have many similarities.

After all, they are all techniques for refining and cultivating Qi.

However, the True Skill of Chasing the Sun originally had two methods of practice: one was to focus on internal strength, and the other was to pass on the knowledge and skills, using the image of wandering the world to teach students and help them in their cultivation.

"The True Scripture of the Mountain Man Boiling the Sun" combines the two effects.

Chu Tianshu doesn't need to specifically cultivate the "Floating World of Peach and Plum Blossoms" technique. As long as he cultivates this true scripture, it will be beneficial for him to pass on his knowledge and teach others.

The more disciples one has, the more talented one becomes, and the more intense one's cultivation becomes.

This is a benefit that the Neidan school of thought in my hometown has never addressed.

As they were talking, the crystal bead in Chu Tianshu's hand lit up slightly.

"what?"

With a thought, his vital energy covered the round bead, suppressing the sensory connection.

This crystal bead is the relic of Qingsheng Temple.

Chu Tianshu was also curious about where the monk from Qingsheng Temple had gone. At the same time, he was eager to learn about the secret arts of the demonic path, so he took it and examined it carefully.

While one can indeed deduce demonic secrets from this relic, there are still some omissions.

It's likely that the relic was damaged.

On one side of the relic, there are dense, fine marks that look like they have been scrubbed with a steel brush.

Previously, there was no unusual activity regarding the relics; today, someone must have come to contact us to locate them.

"I'm going out."

Chu Tianshu got up to leave.

Lu Yuande said urgently, "Wait, we haven't finished talking yet..."

Chu Tianshu has disappeared without a trace.

Lu Yuande was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that he had been contemplating the principles of the righteous path. How did he suddenly become so engrossed in internal alchemy?

In reality, whether the right path is actually viable, whether it's pleasant or not, and whether it's comfortable or not are all questions that need to be addressed.

It's not something that can be decided by just verbal debate.

The truth cannot be understood without debate; it requires both intellect and communication. But the character "道" (dao, meaning "the Way") is only half head; the other half is legs. We must actually take a step and walk through it.

(End of this chapter)