Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

"We just talked about the landscape painting school; next up is the humanistic school."

"The humanistic school draws its imagery from the everyday life, crafts, ritual objects, and calligraphy and painting in human society."

"They started with imagery and then developed literary techniques. This is a literary style that has only emerged in the last hundred years and is the preferred school of thought for many young people."

"Do you know why, junior brother?"

At this point, Gu Qing'e asked Chen Zhuo a question in return.

Upon hearing this question, Chen Zhuo did not rush to answer, but instead pondered it seriously.

Humanistic schools of thought depend on human relationships and society.

Chen Zhuo gradually understood some things by combining the books he had read.

As the old saying goes, "When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame." Only when the country and the government are stable will people first pursue material satisfaction.

According to his understanding of history, although the Great Zhou Dynasty had been established for a thousand years, the first three hundred years were a period of expansion.

Naturally, there wasn't much energy left to develop humanities.

After the Great Wall of Righteousness was finally completed, effectively isolating the long night from the outside world, the Great Zhou Dynasty and the demon race broke out into their first war.

Then came a decade of internal strife, followed by the second war between humans and transvestites after the rebellion was quelled.

It wasn't until the last few hundred years, when the human and demon races signed a peace agreement, that things began to develop steadily for several hundred years.

Considering this situation, Chen Zhuo spoke cautiously.

"Is it because the external environment has stabilized?"

Gu Qing'e pondered for a second and replied, "That makes sense too."

"Once the environment stabilizes, various musical instruments, books, paintings, textiles, pottery, and brewing all experience significant development."

"Some of the textual images did not have corresponding celestial or terrestrial characters created."

"A hundred years ago, there was a painter who combined the strengths of many schools of painting. He spent decades creating a masterpiece."

"When the painting is completed, heaven and earth resonate, all spirits rejoice, and the character 'painting' is directly imprinted in heaven and earth, becoming another new script of heaven and earth."

"And because he was the creator of the written characters of heaven and earth, he is said to have directly attained the status of a sage."

Gu Qing'e said with an admiring expression.

Chen Zhuo was also somewhat moved.

That's a saint, not only incredibly powerful but also living as long as heaven and earth. Unless fighting someone of the same level, they simply cannot die.

Not to mention a sage like him who proves the Dao with the characters of Heaven and Earth; as long as the character "画" (huà, meaning "painting") remains, he is an immortal being.

The saying "the lineage continues unbroken, and the sages never perish" means just that.

After digesting the information, Gu Qing'e continued:

"As for the court school, this is the simplest and easiest to learn, and also the one that relies most on the imperial court."

"He drew inspiration from laws, regulations, military campaigns, sacrifices, and court ceremonies in governing a country, and personified the rules of the state apparatus as written language. In the written language of heaven and earth, decrees, prohibitions, expeditions, sacrifices, rites, and punishments all belong to this category."

"They mostly advocate that literature is used to govern the world and law is used to establish rules. The literary arts of the court originate from the power of order and are the embodiment of collective will."

"Most of the court-style literati were government officials, like our county magistrate, who was a typical court-style literati."

"Others, such as the clerks and inspectors in the county government, also mostly practiced this kind of literary skill."

"This kind of literary skill does not require understanding the mysteries of heaven and earth, nor does it require mastering the craft. All you need to know is that orders must be obeyed without question and the law must be impartial. In this way, your strength can be improved rapidly."

"But at the same time, the upper limit is also the lowest."

Chen Zhuo understood this point to some extent: the power of the imperial court depends on the strength of the nation. When the nation is powerful, it can easily crush other schools of literary and Daoist practitioners of the same level.

When a nation is weak, it is easily crushed by other schools of thought.

Chen Zhuo originally disliked this kind of uncertainty.

He preferred to attribute strength to himself, and after hearing about these three types, he became somewhat curious about the final type, the Heart Source type.

Fortunately, the junior sister didn't keep us in suspense any longer.

"The last school, and also the most mysterious, is the Heart Source School!"

Chen Zhuo wondered if it was just his imagination, but when the topic of the Heart Source School came up, his junior sister seemed to become inexplicably more interested.

"The origin of the Mind Source School is a mindset that does not take external objects as its model, but seeks within one's own heart, such as courage, obsession, love and hate, and faith."

"Practitioners of this school directly manifest their inner power as writing techniques. This school does not have corresponding celestial scripts, or rather, each practitioner is the 'celestial script' themselves."

"This kind of person believes that there is nothing outside of their mind; their mind is the Way. Their writings are rooted in the will of the writer and are a direct externalization of the soul."

"This is also their most enigmatic aspect. Literary styles vary greatly and have no fixed rules. A person's inner literary style is their essence, which cannot be inherited or replicated."

"Before he makes a move, you'll never know what strange and wonderful mental techniques this person has mastered."

"Writers who can follow this path are often exceptionally gifted or have had special experiences."

"Their writing system does not rely on the written characters of heaven and earth, so their cultivation speed is not limited by inheritance, but there is no experience of predecessors to follow, and they have to explore every step on their own."

"Long ago, people could only rely on luck to understand and embark on this path, until a person of exceptional talent appeared."

"He summarized the eight-character mantra of 'Learn from nature and find the source within the heart,' pointing out a path for future generations to cultivate their inner source."

"Learn from nature and find inspiration within." Chen Zhuo murmured these eight words, feeling as if he had seen them somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place them.

A flash of inspiration crossed my mind, but I couldn't quite grasp it.

Upon closer reflection, it seems to vanish without a trace.

Chen Zhu then suppressed his thoughts, deciding to put aside what he couldn't figure out for the time being.

Did he eventually become a saint?

Gu Qing'e shook her head, her face showing regret.

"No, it was during the Second War between Humans and Demons, and this genius unfortunately perished."

Chen Zhuo was also somewhat silent upon hearing this. If this genius hadn't died, he could definitely have become a saint.

After Gu Qing'e finished speaking, the two of them walked out of the mine.

Gu Qing'e's regret instantly changed, clearly showing that she was also someone who didn't engage in internal strife.

"Junior brother! We're finally out!" she exclaimed excitedly, then muttered under her breath, "I'll never take on this kind of lousy mission again."

Chen Zhuo smiled but didn't say anything; as long as the final result was good, that was enough.

As soon as the two entered the camp, they found the atmosphere somewhat chaotic, with all sorts of people packing up their belongings.

It felt like we had just finished a farewell dinner.

Then he looked at Gu Qing'e.

"Senior sister, how long has it been since we exorcised the demon?"

"It should be around the 8th or 9th, right?" Seeing this, Gu Qing'e also became a little unsure.

She clearly remembered that the camp wasn't like this when she went to the mine on a mission!

"Hey, junior brothers and sisters are back! Let's hurry up and pack up and call it a day!"

The teasing voice of the second senior brother, Li Zhao, came from the side.

Before he could finish speaking, a scream rang out, "Ah Xue, why are you pinching me!"

"Hmph, serves you right for talking nonsense!"

Then, Senior Sister Zhao Xuelang looked at the two of them and said, "It's like this, Master sent word that this demon-slaying operation is ending ahead of schedule, and we'll be packing up and returning to the county government office starting today."