The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 188 Primordial Qi Transforms into the Purple Mansion
Zhou Yan looked around but didn't see the white jade lion cat, which was a little disappointing. He saw the old woman alone there, burning paper money and crying softly as she burned it, saying, "Brother, brother, this money is for you."

“You will have a better life with the Lord of Mount Tai.”

As luck would have it, the wind blew by, and some of the unlit or only partially lit paper money flew out and towards Zhou Yan.

"Does it have to be this accurate?"

Zhou Yan's lips twitched slightly.

He stretched out his hand, his five fingers moved slightly, and the Wind Control Technique was naturally unleashed. After using this kind of minor seventh or eighth-grade spell and supernatural power many times, Zhou Yan naturally understood the principle behind it.

The best way to learn is to use it; for example, he learned the art of controlling the wind on his own.

Only the two slightly special supernatural powers, Karmic Fire and Hunger Flames, and the Multiple Shadows of Lamps, are difficult to learn.

With a swift grasp of his five fingers, the wind in the air transformed into a net, catching all the paper money. With a shake of his hand, he pulled it into his own hand, walked over, and placed the paper money into the stove.

The silver-haired old woman said, "Young Taoist priest, why are you burning paper money here too?"

"I weep for my brother, but who will you burn these offerings for?"

Zhou Yan was stunned. The question was asked casually, but he instinctively wanted to answer it. He paused for a moment, thinking of what he had seen along the way, and said, "Burn it for the innocent people and lives in this chaotic world..."

Upon hearing this, the Old Mother of Lishan's expression softened somewhat, though she still sobbed, and said:

"In that case, let's burn it together."

Zhou Yan helped the old woman burn the paper money and asked if there was a white cat there. The old woman shook her head and said, "My eyesight is not good, but my memory is still good. I have never seen a white cat or a black cat. I have only seen this little cat."

Zhou Yan had no choice but to be invited in for a cup of tea. Sitting in the courtyard, he saw that it was a very small but quiet place, which looked like the kind of place where people came to escape the war.

The old woman brought over a plate of snacks and handed it to Zhou Yan, saying gently, "Little Taoist priest, where have you come from again?"

"Come, have some snacks."

Zhou Yan looked at the old lady; she had brought the offering from the incense burner that had just been set out.

The white jade lion cat hiding at the door also saw it. The Old Mother of Lishan brought this stack of incense from in front of the shrine for her brother. This person has a close relationship with Nuwa, and her brother is Fuxi.

Even the white jade lion cat was stunned, its mouth unconsciously widening.

They ate the pastries that Nuwa herself made and offered to Fuxi, right in front of Fuxi's divine tablet.
Venerable Manjushri is above!
It stretched out its claws, silently crying out, "No, don't eat!"

But then I thought about this guy, chatting and spending time with different women every day. One had a cold, aloof look and wielded dual swords; another was gentle and kind, yet possessed a sharp edge; and yet another... well...

She is small in stature.

In short, three, three!

The white jade lion cat retracted its claws, which it had intended to use to stop the attack. It had been taught by Manjushri that the Buddha was compassionate and could not stand by and watch someone die.

So the white jade lion cat turned around, its back to Zhou Yan.

Its tail is held high on its back, indicating it's in a good mood.

Zhou Yan said, "Grandma, these are your brother's snacks. It's not appropriate for me to eat them."

The old lady smiled gently and said, "It's alright, it's alright. My brother is gentle and sincere. If he knew you were coming, he would definitely have let you eat."

Zhou Yan then ceased to doubt.

The plate of pastries wasn't particularly exquisite, but it had an extremely strong aroma. Normally, Zhou Yan would be wary of strangers or people of unknown origin, but when facing this kind and gentle old lady, his wariness vanished.

Zhou Yan ate a piece.

I felt a warm sensation inside my stomach, and then I wasn't hungry anymore.

This was unbelievable to him.

Despite the negative effects of the Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman, which had increased Zhou Fujun's appetite to the equivalent of three soldiers—Shen Cangming, Li Zhenyue, and Pei Xuanniao—a single, thumb-sized, delicate pastry was enough to fill him up.

The lion cat also secretly looked back. That was a snack made by the Old Mother of Lishan. A single bite could restore a person's vitality. Theoretically, it could make up for all the deficiencies caused by insufficient vitality and nutrition since birth.

This kid actually ate a whole piece, enough to fill thirty people with energy.

Is this guy a complete idiot?!
Zhou Yan looked at the plate of pastries, which were extremely tempting. The lion cat knew many secrets. The food of Nuwa was just ordinary for other living beings, but it had a great effect on the human race.

The Old Mother of Lishan said kindly, "If you want to eat, then eat more."

Zhou Yan said, "This, this isn't appropriate..."

Lord Zhou looked at the pastries on the table and swallowed hard.

Urged by the old lady, he reached out to take the snacks, but just as his palm touched the snacks, the young Taoist's pupils instantly rippled with fine golden light, and the Five Sacred Mountains True Form Pattern between his brows was activated on its own.

The posture of the Lord of Mount Tai unfolds.

Zhou Yan subconsciously raised his head, his gaze shifting to the divine tablet.

Somewhat suspicious, he thought he had just seen the wooden statue over there stare at him.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be an illusion, so Zhou Yan withdrew his gaze and continued eating. Even with the blessing of the Lord of Mount Tai, he could only eat four pieces. Zhou Yan could sense that even with the blessing of Mount Tai, Zhou Yan, the Lord of Mount Tai, could only eat four pieces.

After all, this is not Mount Tai, and it doesn't have the blessing of Mount Tai's geological veins.

Zhou Yan looked at the plate. There were nine pieces in total, and five pieces remained.

Encouraged by the old lady, Lord Zhou exhaled and formed the Taoist hand seal—

Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman - Open!

So, with the blessing of the Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman and its magical power, Zhou struggled to the eighth piece. There was only one pastry left, which was placed there. Just as Zhou was about to give up, it was suddenly stuffed into his mouth.

The Old Mother of Lishan picked up the last piece and placed it in Zhou Yan's mouth, saying gently:
"We're already close to eight, how can we not take another step forward?"

"How can one not eat [nine]?"

Zhou Yan struggled, and the Lord Prefect sat there thrashing about for a while before finally managing to eat nine pastries. The white jade lion cat was staring at him blankly.

The number nine has always carried a completely different meaning. Eating eight pieces and eating nine pieces are completely different.

This is no ordinary human idiot!
Even when Taotie was still in human form, it couldn't eat this much!
This is on par with Yu the Great, who supposedly devoured a book called "Classic of Mountains and Seas"—a complete glutton!

What merit or ability do we possess to have produced three incredibly gluttonous creatures in human history: Taotie, Yu the Great, and the Lord of the Underworld?

Lord Prefect sat in the rattan chair, almost too full to move. The Old Mother of Lishan chuckled and said, "It's rare to see a child who likes to eat so much. The last time was a long time ago. Back then, that child also used a knife similar to yours."

Zhou Yan caught his breath and tried to get up, but he was just too full.

He stood up, then sat down again.

The old lady asked, "Young Taoist priest, why don't you rest here for a while, read a book, and digest your food before going back?"

Zhou Yan had no choice but to do this. While chatting with the old lady, he took out a book and started reading. It was the original text of the Tao Te Ching. To be honest, he really didn't want to read it.

The written word is the secret to the true transmission; everyone in the world knows this, but few can actually put it into practice.

The flow of energy in the original text contains superior breathing techniques.

Zhou Yan felt as if he were looking at an incredibly complex mathematical formula; it was so complex that even a glance would hurt his eyes. However, he knew that he had to improve his strength, as his sixth-grade Dao foundation required extremely high levels of Dao comprehension.

If one cannot truly comprehend the Great Dao, one can only remain trapped in this realm.

Leaving aside the grudges they already had, just the secret conversation between Qin Shi Huang and the Duke of Taishan a thousand years ago gave Zhou Yan a vague sense of worry and urgency. However, in the cultivation of the Great Dao, the more you rush, the less time you have.

The old woman looked at it for a while, then smiled and said, "Young Taoist priest, what book are you reading? Why are you frowning?"

Zhou Yan replied, "It is the Tao Te Ching."

The old woman said, "Oh, it's the principle of Yin and Yang, the two polarities of the Great Dao."

Zhou Yan asked curiously, "Grandma, you know about these things?"

So the silver-haired old lady put down the scroll in her hand and said with a smile, "Of course I don't understand it, but coincidentally, my elder brother has some understanding of the Yin and Yang principles."

“I remember he did leave some notes. Please have a seat, young Taoist.”

"I'll go and get it for you right away."

Zhou Yan hurriedly said, "How can this be?" He tried to stand up, but found that his stomach was still bloated. The Old Mother of Lishan smiled and said, "Why not? I live here alone. You can keep me company and talk to me to relieve my boredom."

The Old Mother of Lishan knew about Zhou Yan's actions on Mount Tai and admired him greatly.

She took out the notes written by her brother, which expounded on the Great Dao. Originally, they were engraved on jade. With a flick of her hand, the white jade book in her hand transformed into a roll of silk cloth, covered with densely packed text.

"Come here, little Taoist priest, take a look."

Zhou Yan took it and read the text on it. However, this was not a text about the Daoist scriptures, but rather a description of the hexagrams. The first hexagram was Qian. Zhou Yan had previously read the original Daoist scriptures and found them dazzling. This book about the hexagrams was also difficult to understand, but he still found it very interesting.

But I came across a passage that read: "The hexagrams have images; use them as metaphors to clarify principles."

Therefore, it is used as a metaphor for the Way, not the Way itself!
Suddenly, it resembles the original text of the Tao Te Ching.

Zhou Yan's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the scroll of notes. He saw in the notes extremely plain text: "The ability to seek the Dao is to understand its principles through analogy. Initially, one should not be bound by images; changing images is acceptable. Once the Dao is understood and the principles are clear, one should not cling to images either; abandoning images is also acceptable."

Zhou Yan's experiences and insights over this period of time led to a sudden realization.

He murmured, “Confucianism says to forget words, Taoism says it cannot be spoken; Buddhism says not to be attached to forms—they all mean the same thing. When you reach the shore, you discard the raft; when you see the moon, you suddenly point at it; you catch the fish and rabbit, but discard the trap; you grasp the meaning and forget the words. I’ve been too attached to the original text of the Tao Te Ching, and I’ve neglected the others…”

So Zhou Yan let out a breath, letting go of his obsession with immediately succeeding in his cultivation. He simply flipped through the old lady's brother's notes, reading them with great interest. Once his stomach wasn't so bloated anymore, he got up and helped the old lady clean the house and cook.

In his spare time, he would casually read the Tao Te Ching, enjoying the text and his notes. When it got dark, the old lady invited him to stay there. Zhou Yan thought for a moment, then used magic to summon the local earth god and asked him to go back and tell everyone that he was safe outside. So he stayed in the side room.

Over the past few days, Zhou Yan has been helping the old lady relax. The frequency of reading the Tao Te Ching has also changed. At first, she was always engrossed in the book, but later she would only occasionally flip through it, and finally, she almost forgot to read it. On this particular day, Zhou Yan was fishing in front of the river in front of the house.

Seeing the water flowing and changing, moving from top to bottom, changing as it encounters rocks and vegetation, naturally, I felt a sense of joy. I don't know why, but suddenly I burst into laughter, and my long whistle was clear and melodious, seemingly in harmony with the myriad phenomena of the mountains.

Therefore, I know that Heaven is Qian (乾) and Earth is Kun (坤), and I walk within them.

The long howl echoed through the mountains for a long time before stopping. Zhou Yan was slightly taken aback, only then realizing that his essence, energy, spirit, physique, magic power, and primordial spirit had naturally mixed together while he was reading the Daoist scriptures, without any other interaction.

When the three are combined, the primordial harmony is achieved.

The majestic gate of nature opens, and the primordial energy transforms into the Purple Palace.

Within the Taoist school, profound realms are thus naturally comprehended.

The old lady was quite surprised.

"...Even in this place, to have such insights in such a short time, young Taoist, your temperament and comprehension are both top-notch."

Zhou Yan sensed the changes within himself. His cultivation level hadn't advanced by leaps and bounds, but he had actually mastered the ancient Qi-refining technique recorded in the original text of the Tao Te Ching. However, when he clenched his fist, Zhou Yan didn't feel any difference.

His magical power did not increase by leaps and bounds; his supernatural abilities did not suddenly surge.

However, I always feel very relaxed and at ease.

Zhou Yan stretched out his hand, and naturally, a fallen leaf landed on his fingertip, swirling around. Zhou Yan's temples were slightly gray, but he suddenly sensed something and turned his head to look at a certain place, where a wisp of air suddenly appeared.

The white mist swirled and transformed into a local earth god, who, upon emerging, wept and cried:
"True Lord! True Lord!"

"We've finally found you! But something terrible has happened!"

Zhou Yan was stunned: "I was only gone for five days, what major incident happened?!"

The land deity cried out, "What?"

"You've been missing for a full fifty days!"

(End of this chapter)