From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 10 Heavenly Book Worm Seal
The City God Temple is located between the human world and the underworld. It uses the power of the City God as its foundation to project a vast illusion.

The daily routine here is exactly the opposite of that in the human world.

When everyone in the world is asleep, the City God Temple is at its most active, with countless human and non-human creatures walking around. If it weren't for their strange appearances, one would think they had come to a bustling market in the human world.

With the help of the power of the city god, You Ming transformed himself into a boy in a green robe, walking among the crowd.

Compared to before, it is much more lively here.

There were many more human faces. Some of them wore Taoist robes, some carried long swords, and gathered in groups of three or five. Their auras were clear, peaceful, and upright. They should be disciples of the immortal sect who were participating in the opening of the [Canglang Small Spiritual Realm].

Shintoism seemed to be trying to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, and many vendors appeared nearby, selling various herbs, spiritual minerals, magic tools and other things that Shinto people rarely used.

You Ming was a little envious of these things, but he was a poor man. Even after receiving last month's salary, his current net worth was only thirty-one divine powers.

At present, any magic weapon is sold for forty or fifty divine powers or the essence of mountains and rivers, literary talent, etc. of equal value.

Well, the so-called essence of mountains and rivers is a touch of pure spiritual energy captured from the mountains and rivers, and literary talent is nurtured in the calligraphy and articles of some well-known writers. These are all good things that are of great benefit to the gods.

The little carp forced its head to turn away and not look at the good things around it.

I comforted myself in my heart that as long as I use the cheat device frequently, I will get all these!
He wandered around and soon arrived at the door of the Collection Department, where he saw the chief clerk busy moving tables and chairs and setting up shelves.

You Ming hurried forward and swiftly helped to straighten the table and started to play with the cloth banners.

The cloth banner swayed in the wind, with a line of large characters written on it: "Lectures in Heavenly Book and Worm Seal Script".

There is also a line of small words on the side: "Attend the class for free, and answer your questions with divine power."

"Oh, you are quite capable. There are not many people as eager to learn as you." The old clerk lowered his tortoise-shell glasses and smiled when he saw this very perceptive little carp.

"You are the teacher when you teach us, and we are the students. It is our duty as students to serve you."

A "shy" smile appeared on the little carp's face.

"Hey, you little carp can actually talk."

The old clerk stroked his beard and laughed. Normally, all the gods acted arrogant, and they were not as interesting as this kid.

The two of them had just set up the tables and chairs when some people came over one after another.

You Ming took a look and saw that all the people coming were human beings, and there was a faint magical power around them. It was obvious that they were disciples of the immortal sect, and none of them were from the Shinto sect.

"This Heavenly Book of Insect Seal is very helpful for practicing immortal arts. Those guys in the Shinto sect are not interested in learning it. As an old man, I can only come out to set up a stall at this time to earn some extra money."

The old clerk shook his head, feeling a little regretful that he had no way to display his talents.

You Ming suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the old man chose to set up a stall at this time. He must have known about the opening of the [Canglang Small Spiritual Realm] a long time ago.

Before long, twenty or thirty people gathered nearby.

Those who arrived earlier, like You Ming, could still sit on a cushion, but those who came later could only stand by.

Seeing that most people had arrived, the old clerk adjusted his glasses and began to speak.

"The insect seal script is the trace of the great Dao, the mysterious form, which cannot be fully described by pen and ink, nor can it be seen by ordinary eyes..."

"When first learning, one should begin with the basic brushwork, practicing the continuity of spirals, the sharpness of turns, the steadiness of draping, and the softness of arcs, striving for a coherent flow of energy and a sense of connection between each stroke..." "As one advances, one should control the brush with the heart, creating spontaneous strokes, observing one's own insights, and creating unique seal scripts to respond to the ever-changing world. Therefore, those who practice insect seal script must cultivate their resolve, strengthen their character, and work tirelessly for years, only then can they glimpse a corner of the great Dao."

The old clerk shook his head and spoke a long and eloquent speech.

But instead of feeling bored, everyone tried even harder to memorize.

Although "Heavenly Book of Insects" is not a profound knowledge, it is difficult for many ordinary Taoist temples or casual practitioners to access it on a daily basis.

You Ming's eyes were wide open, and he listened very attentively.

Why had he previously found it so difficult to copy the so-called Heavenly Book and Worm Seal? He even felt nauseous after looking at it for too long. It turned out that although the characters appeared to be a flat pattern, they were actually three-dimensional.

The flat pattern you see is nothing more than the projection of the three-dimensional structure on the paper.

If you don't form such a concept, this insect seal will look like a heavenly book.

He originally thought that such a complex script would have many strokes, but in fact, there are only four types of strokes in the insect seal script.

They are: spiral pen, folding pen, hanging pen, and arc pen.

Rather than being a stroke, it is more like a brush technique. In the connection and interweaving of brush techniques, there seem to be thousands of variations.

But this is difficult for You Ming to understand, because the four brushstrokes represent four concepts: continuity, cause and effect, transmission and balance.

In essence, these strokes have no fixed pattern, it is more of a feeling.

In the middle of the process, the old chief clerk gave a demonstration. He used his own magic power as ink and his fingers as a pen to draw traces in the void.

It may be winding, spiral, turning or arcing.

There is no commonality between these strokes. Even if the same content is written, the strokes may be different as long as the time or position changes.

You Ming originally thought that no matter how difficult the text was, he would be able to learn it, but after listening to this lesson, he was completely numb.

What is this all about?

This is too abstract.

In fact, it wasn't just him. Other people in the class were also confused. What on earth did I listen to in this class? What on earth was this old man talking about?
Although most people knew that the Heavenly Book of Insect Seal was difficult and complicated before coming here, it would be outrageous if they couldn't understand it at all.

The old clerk, on the other hand, looked calm and at ease.

If you understand everything I teach in class, how can I make money?

If you have any questions now, please come and ask me. The fee is cheap and I will give you divine power with one question.

But perhaps because no one understood, or even knew how to start, no one came up to ask questions for a while.

This made the old chief clerk feel depressed. Was he speaking too mysteriously? However, the Heavenly Book of Insect Seal was something that needed to be understood through comprehension. If you didn't have enough talent, no matter how hard you tried, it would be a struggle. This was how he had gone through that in the past.

"Ahem, Master Chief Registrar, I have a question to ask."

(End of this chapter)