The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 221 Discussion
However, Wu Chengyu's desire to cause trouble was restrained from the very beginning.

Hao Datong stayed by his side all day, so Wu Chengyu could only calm down and find a copy of the Tao Te Ching, as well as several commentaries by Taoist sages, and even Wang Chongyang's handwritten annotations.

These things were not something he could collect in Suzhou. After all, he was just a junior member of a family in Suzhou at the time. Although there were many Taoist temples in Suzhou, they would not easily give him the Taoist scriptures they collected; they were all just common items.

The Quanzhen School, adhering to Wang Chongyang's doctrine of the unity of the three teachings, was exceptionally ambitious and attached great importance to Wu Chengyu. Therefore, all the Taoist scriptures in the Sutra Repository were open to Wu Chengyu to read. In Hao Datong's words, since it was about spreading the religion, how could they keep these Taoist classics to themselves and not let others see them?

He also hoped that Wu Chengyu would one day enter the Dao, so that they could address each other as fellow Daoists.

The day passed quickly as Wu Chengyu read Taoist scriptures and discussed Taoism with Hao Datong, and he didn't find it boring at all.

Hao Datong truly deserves to be called the founder of the Huashan School. Although he was always the one who got beaten up in The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes, he was kind-hearted, highly cultivated, and had his own unique insights into Taoist classics and Taoist practices.

Hao Datong felt that his aptitude was average and his talent was limited, so he could not inherit Wang Chongyang's mantle and could only devote himself to studying one branch of Taoism.

His research on Taoist scriptures mainly focused on the Zhouyi Cantongqi. If this were placed within the Huang Yi novel system, it might have cultivated another Huang Jian Yanfei.

Therefore, he was not good at fighting, but he had unique insights into Yin and Yang, calendar, and divination. He emphasized internal alchemy cultivation, cutting off external distractions, cultivating truth and nourishing the body, and preserving the spirit and guarding the Qi.

Although no martial arts were mentioned in his conversation, Wu Chengyu could tell that he had made great progress in refining his internal energy and cultivating his inner core, and had basically already developed the prototype of the Zixia Divine Skill.

In the evening, Hao Datong was preparing vegetarian dishes for Wu Chengyu when Qiu Chuji unexpectedly showed up at his door with roast chicken and strong liquor.

Hao Datong was quite helpless when he saw the roast chicken. He had always been averse to such things, but Qiu Chuji never took the precepts seriously.

"Since he is a guest, it is not right to serve him only vegetables and tofu. That would be a breach of etiquette by Chongyang Palace. If you are not happy about it, junior brother, you may leave. I invited this guest, so I will entertain him."

Hao Datong had no choice but to bow to Wu Chengyu, shake his head, and turn to leave.

"Let's not worry about him. My junior brother is the most honest and kind person in the world. He is inevitably a bit pedantic. He cultivates the Daoist arts, unlike those Confucian scholars who talk about preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires all day long. In my opinion, if human desires are gone, what need is there for heavenly principles?"

"Come on, you're young, you should drink and eat meat. Otherwise, when you get old, you'll see things you want to eat but won't be able to digest them, and you'll just be sighing in vain."

Wu Chengyu was originally afraid of eating only vegetables and tofu every day. Even after two lifetimes, he would never be able to control his appetite.

The two did not speak at first, but simply ate meat and drank wine. After a while, Qiu Chuji sighed and said.

"This time, my Quanzhen Sect is truly indebted to you. Our Sect Leader will surely repay you. I, Qiu Chuji, also owe you a favor. From now on, as long as it is not against chivalry, you, Wu Chengyu, need only give me a letter, and I, Qiu Chuji, will summon you without hesitation."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chuji raised his wine cup and toasted Wu Chengyu. Wu Chengyu did not stand on ceremony and immediately drank it all in one gulp. He was worthy of this toast.

Qiu Chuji never mentioned the current status of the two spies, nor whether they had revealed any other spies or potential threats within the Quanzhen Sect. Wu Chengyu did not ask either, leaving everything unsaid.

Qiu Chuji continued, "Damn it, these imperial dogs are truly determined to destroy me. I wish I could take up my sword and march to Zhongdu to take that dog emperor's head."

Wu Chengyu took a bite of a chicken leg and casually said, "I've always heard that you, Daoist, are known for your fiery temper and your hatred of evil. Why don't you go?"

In fact, it's plausible that the Quanzhen Sect, situated within Jin territory and secretly resisting the Jin, was like someone whose heart was with Han while serving Cao Cao. However, Wu Chengyu always felt there was a hint of double-dealing. Historically, local powers like the Quanzhen Sect rarely met a good end.

The fact that the Jin state could tolerate the existence of a sect founded by a former leader of an anti-Jin resistance army under its jurisdiction suggests that there was some tacit understanding between the two sides.

Just like when he was in the Wu family, he could do whatever he wanted on his own, but once it came to the family, he was trapped by various interests and had no choice in the matter. Wu Chengyu, taking Qiu Chuji's words as an example, subconsciously felt that Qiu Chuji was not being sincere.

Therefore, Wu Chengyu's words actually carried a hidden sarcasm.

Qiu Chuji gave a bitter smile, pulled open his shirt, revealing a palm print on his right shoulder.

"You think I haven't? Who knows what kind of experts are in the Jin Dynasty's imperial palace?"

When they moved their capital to Zhongdu, my mentor was still alive. He went there once but returned empty-handed.

Several years ago, feeling confident in my martial arts skills, I went again. Unexpectedly, a young lama appeared in the palace. After less than ten rounds, I was knocked down by a single palm strike. If that man hadn't only intended to repel me and had no intention of killing me, my head, Qiu Chuji, would already be hanging on the city gate of Zhongdu.

Wu Chengyu remained silent. Since there was a Guhua in the Southern Song court, it was inevitable that there were experts in the Jin palace. The three experts who accompanied the delegation to Hangzhou earlier were certainly not the top experts in the Jin.

This is a martial arts world with these top masters. Unless the emperor himself is a top master, like the Southern Emperor, how could they dare to sleep peacefully in the palace every day?

However, there are at most one or two such experts, who are usually responsible for protecting the emperor.

Some people in later generations have said that Wanyan Honglie only recruited second-rate experts. Is it possible that he was just a prince and could not command the top experts of the Jin Kingdom?

After several rounds of drinks, Qiu Chuji pulled Wu Chengyu aside to discuss Taoism. His understanding of Taoism was completely different from Hao Datong's.

Hao Datong emphasized self-cultivation of Qi, while Qiu Chuji also focused on internal alchemy, but he emphasized the dual cultivation of body and mind, and advocated engagement with the world, aiming to bring peace and benefit to the people. Judging from his poems and his actions, Qiu Chuji's Dao was about compassion for humanity and spreading the Dao to save the world.

In the following days, Wu Chengyu was visited by the Seven Masters of Quanzhen in turn, who discussed the Dao with him. He even forgot why he came here in the first place. He forgot about the Big Dipper Formation and the ancient tomb. His mind was filled with their understanding and interpretation of the Dao.

Tan Chuduan was a major scholar of the Tao Te Ching, emphasizing the exploration of the essence of life through self-cultivation and enlightenment, and the illumination of the vast void.

At this time, Liu Chuxuan was annotating the Yin Fu Jing, emphasizing the cultivation of the mind and believing that the essence of the Dao lies in reducing desires and maintaining peace of mind and body.

Wang Chuyi advocated non-action, entering the world and then abandoning worldly affairs to seek spiritual cultivation to see the truth, namely true nature, true skill, and true conduct.

After more than ten days of such discussions, Ma Yu finally appeared, accompanied by Sun Bu'er, and they continued their discussions.

Ma Yu specializes in the Qingjing Jing (Classic of Purity and Tranquility), advocating tranquility and non-action, and the unity of heaven and man. Although Sun Bu'er is impatient, she specializes in female internal alchemy, emphasizing slaying the red dragon and subduing the white tiger.

The Seven Masters of Quanzhen were all disciples of the same master, but their understanding of Daoist teachings differed, leading them down different paths.

This completely stumped Wu Chengyu. He was already a complex person who studied Taoist magic, and after being instilled with various different ideas over several days, he suddenly felt a splitting headache and his internal energy gradually became unstable. The nameless Taoist divine skill he was practicing actually showed signs of going into qi deviation.

(End of this chapter)