Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

Wang Anshi pointed to the valley and said, "If we talk about national destiny, I need this valley as a boundary to preserve the destiny of the Song Dynasty!"

Fu Yuan blinked and suddenly understood.

After the Song Dynasty moved south, the Southern Song Dynasty was able to survive in a corner of the country. Could it be because of this valley in the Qinling Mountains?

As for the topic of national destiny, Wang Anshi did not go into details.

Fu Yuan did not ask further questions, but just asked in confusion: "Why Zhang Boduan?"

Wang Anshi laughed heartily and said, "In this world, Heaven will certainly bring difficulties to us. It will bring difficulties to saints and heroes with worldly affairs, difficulties to scholars with morality and literature, difficulties to officials with fame and honor, difficulties to merchants with money and profit, and difficulties to ordinary people with food and clothing.

It’s not that I chose Mr. Pingshu, but Mr. Pingshu trapped himself here!”

Fu Yuan understood that from his perspective as a future person, it was Wang Anshi who had betrayed Zhang Boduan.

But from the current perspective, Wang Anshi did not specifically target Zhang Boduan. He just threw out a bait, and it was just that the future Zi Yang Zhenren Zhang Boduan took the hook himself.

The valley is here, the deity's throne is here, and the sealing stone is also here. As for who will join the game, it all depends on your own choice.

Seeing that Fu Yuan understood, Wang Anshi stood up and said, "I have to go to take up my post now. I will take my leave now. I look forward to seeing you again in the future!"

Fu Yuan saluted: "Please!"

……

Heaven and earth have laws, and all things are derived from the laws.

There is no big or small Dharma, it all depends on one's own understanding. Some people watch a falling leaf and understand the law of birth and death of all things, while others watch the sky collapse, but end up with their minds shattered.

Fu Yuan sat on the boulder, just staring at the words on it, feeling the lofty meaning behind them. Apart from that, his mind was empty, as if he had forgotten all the worries and troubles in the world.

Flowers bloom and fall, snow covers the green mountains, and I don’t know how many years it has been.

Fu Yuan's noble spirit became more and more condensed and sharp. Snowflakes slowly fell in the gray sky, and that leisurely feeling just matched Fu Yuan's mood.

There is no irritation at all. The rustling sound of snowflakes, the gurgling sound of flowing water, and the sound of water dripping on leaves, all of these are reflected in my heart.

In a trance, the clouds in the sky dispersed and gathered countless times.

On this day, Fu Yuanfu looked up at the dense forest covered with snow.

In the vast expanse of white, a figure floated over, as if riding the wind, without leaving any footprints in the snow.

The person who came was an old Taoist priest, his beard and hair were all white, but his face was rosy, like a baby, and his eyes were bright and reserved, he was a real immortal!

The old Taoist priest was a little surprised and said, "Without any incense or offerings, you're still here?"

Fu Yuan sat on the stone without moving, saying, "Zhang..."

The old Taoist waved his hand and said, "I have already received the ordination certificate and been granted the title of Ziyang!"

Fu Yuan said, "Zi Yang Zhenren."

Although Zhang Boduan was also called "Zi Yang" in the past, that was just his Taoist name. But nowadays, "Zi Yang" is a title bestowed by imperial decree and recognized.

True Man Zi Yang seemed to be seeing an acquaintance and was quite interested in conversation. He said, "After we parted ways, I wanted to continue my search for immortality and the Way, but unexpectedly, I was recruited by Lu Jiefu and had to return to the officialdom. Now that Jiefu has passed away, I have come across this opportunity by chance. After much deliberation, I decided to return here."

Fu Yuan said calmly: "This place has no owner!"

Still took the bait.

Chapter 99 Inheritance

True Man Zi Yang was in high spirits and talked a lot with Fu Yuan.

Not only his experiences over the years, but also the opportunities he had obtained were told without any concealment.

It turned out that on his way to take up his post with Lu Jiefu, he met Liu Haichan, the successor of Lu Dongbin, at Tianhui Temple. Liu Haichan was taught the "secret of the temperature of the golden elixir medicine", which made him suddenly understand the things he didn't understand before.

Today's True Man Zi Yang can be said to be an enlightened person who has mastered the art of inner alchemy, and is only one opportunity away from becoming an immortal.

But this opportunity could not be found anywhere, so he placed his last hope in this valley.

From then on, True Man Zi Yang really settled down in the valley.

Fu Yuan still sat on the boulder, observing the words, observing the meaning, observing the clouds gathering and dispersing, observing the sun rising and setting...

At the same time, I am also paying attention to Zi Yang Zhenren.

Every day, Zi Yang Zhenren would sit in meditation in the innermost cave for half a day, and then walk the entire valley from inside to outside three times...

He doesn't eat or drink, just eats clouds and drinks dew every day, just like an immortal!

But the increasingly irritated expression on his face ruined everything.

At this time, the inner alchemy technique was still a simple life-cultivation technique, and there was no such thing as "cultivating both nature and life".

Zen Master Pu'an once commented on Lü Dongbin, saying that he was "a ghost who had been guarding corpses for a thousand years and flew over Dongting Lake."

It’s a “ghost”, not a “god”!

The "corpse-guarding ghost" who guards an immortal body is the best description of Lü Dongbin's inner alchemy.

Therefore, even if Zi Yang Zhenren achieved great success in inner alchemy, he had only achieved success in "life work". His body was immortal and indestructible, and he had great magical powers, but inside, he was still an ordinary person's "ghost".

If you fail to gain enlightenment for a long time, you will naturally become frustrated.

One day, True Man Zi Yang left the valley again. When he reached the valley entrance and was about to return, he suddenly stopped, turned his head and looked at Fu Yuan, and asked, "You have been sitting here for so many years. What are you looking at?"

Fu Yuan said: "I am looking at the 'principle'."

"What's the point?"

"The laws of nature." Fu Yuan pointed to the sky and said, "The rising and setting of the sun and the setting of the moon are laws, the gathering and dispersing of clouds are laws, the rain, snow, wind and frost are laws, and the rotation of the four seasons is laws."

Someone pointed ahead and said, "Flowers bloom and fall according to the laws of nature; the cycle of growth and decay is the laws of nature; the birth and death of all things is the laws of nature; the permanence of mountains and rocks is the laws of nature."

Finally, he pointed at himself and said, "I am right too."

Zi Yang Zhenren said: "If that's the case, how can the laws of nature ever reach their limit?"

Fu Yuan asked in reply, "Why not? If one studies things to gain knowledge and explores the principles, then one can fulfill one's nature!"

True Man Zi Yang was stunned and stood there in a daze, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

Fu Yuan ignored him and sat calmly on the boulder, watching the natural order unfold...

I don’t know how much time passed, but Master Zi Yang slapped himself in the face with a “slap” sound, and then burst into laughter, like a madman.

"Confucianism's pursuit of principles and fulfillment of nature, Buddhism's understanding of the origin and enlightenment... How could I have forgotten? Life comes first, nature comes second, only by cultivating both life and nature can one realize the truth... realize the truth... Hahahaha..."

True Man Zi Yang laughed wildly and rushed into the valley.

Fu Yuan suddenly understood that this was the first time the concept of "dual cultivation of nature and life" was mentioned.

There is one more kind of "reason" in this world!

……

The days are long and the years are long, and several more years have passed.

True Man Zi Yang had been staying in the valley and had never gone out, but he suddenly appeared in front of Fu Yuan today.

He appeared out of nowhere, without any prior warning, as if he were already there.

And the moment he appeared, the order of heaven and earth began to unravel. The withered flowers and plants inexplicably came back to life, and the invisible and intangible energy turned into tangible petals and tangible rays of light...

Although Fu Yuan couldn't feel the cold or heat, a heat surged in his heart...

True Man Zi Yang stood there, as if he had become the only natural law and truth in the world!

Fu Yuan thought about it, and finally stood up. For the first time, he left the boulder and saluted, saying, "Immortal Zi Yang!"

Zi Yang's eyes seemed to contain the vast starry sky. He stared at Fu Yuan and said after a moment, "So you are from the future."

Fu Yuan did not answer.

Zi Yang continued, "You are not a mountain god either, you are just a great spirit."

Fu Yuan is still not big.

Zi Yang continued, "You have always been sitting on the throne of God, but you have never truly sat on the throne of God."

The shrine is the huge stone where Fu Yuan has been sitting.

It was precisely because Fu Yuan had been sitting on it that it was not taken away by some ghosts and evil spirits.

But Fu Yuan did not inherit the throne, he was just guarding it.

Zi Yang also understood this at this point. He sighed and said, "So that's how it is! I was greedy and trapped myself here... Wang Anshi, what a scheme!"

Fu Yuan smiled and stepped aside again, taking a step away from the boulder.

The originally illusory figure became even more ethereal.

Fu Yuan never thought about how to escape because he had never been trapped!

The main reason why it was able to appear across thousands of years was the sealing stone left by Wang Anshi, which suppressed time and space, thus preserving his noble intentions!

As long as Fu Yuan stays away from the sealing stone, he will naturally be able to escape from this time and space.

Zi Yang looked at Fu Yuan, who was becoming increasingly ethereal, and asked, "Are you going back?"

Fu Yuan spoke, his voice as if coming from the distant future: "My mission is accomplished."

Zi Yang turned his gaze to the words on the boulder and said coldly, "One will weighs a pound, and can suppress all evil. What an arrogant tone! Do you think I'm a demon? I want to see how strong your noble will, Wang Anshi, is... Watch me overturn it!"

As he spoke, he took a step forward. However, as soon as he raised his foot, the words on the boulder emitted a dazzling light.

In the light, Zi Yang seemed to fall into a bottle of nothingness. The huge rock in front of him broke out of the ground and turned over. For a moment, it seemed as if the heaven and earth were spinning.

Zi Yang was shocked and wanted to escape, but he found that everything around him was hazy and he could not see anything.

There was a huge rock pressing down on top of his head, as if the sky was pressing down on him.

Zi Yang roared and stretched out his hand to hold on, but the moment the huge rock pressed on his hand, he instantly fell to his knees.

"what……"

Then he fell to the ground, the huge force pressing on his back made it impossible for him to get up.

Fu Yuan stood aside, silently observing the awe-inspiring spirit emanating from the words. He suppressed Zi Yang to the ground and could not help but whisper, "It's really heavy!"

A ray of brilliant light suddenly shot out from the suppressed Zi Yang, and he fled into the distance, but crashed into a light curtain, shattering it directly and turning into countless light spots that scattered in all directions.

After a while, the light spots gathered together again and formed an illusory human figure, which was Zi Yang.