Volume 2 Chapter 47 Quasi-Sage Realm
Since he had already been awakened and exited the Tao realm, Zhuang Xiong simply watched quietly as Kong Xuan was born. After all, there was no hurry for the time being. Kong Xuan was also considered to have a deep foundation, with great luck, and as the son of the Phoenix, the first peacock in the world, he had absorbed the essence of the five elements before his birth, accumulating five-colored divine light that could illuminate everything. Thinking about the legend of Kong Xuan's birth, Zhuang Xiong even maliciously wondered if Kong Xuan would swallow a few guests from the Zixiao Palace this time? Or was it going to be Hong Jun? However, Zhuang Xiong also knew that this was just speculation, and according to the signs of the five-colored divine light being depleted when he first saw Kong Xuan, it showed that Kong Xuan should have descended into the world long ago. But the essence of the five elements had dried up, so Kong Xuan delayed his birth for countless years. After his birth, he was eager to make up for what he needed and was in a state of instinctively devouring countless living beings. At this time, the spiritual energy of the Zixiao Palace was abundant, enough to meet his needs after descending into the world, and with Hong Jun present, it was unlikely that Kong Xuan would do evil.
The cracks on the giant egg grew more and more, and the fragmentation accelerated. Zhuang Xiong had already seen a sharp beak poking out, as if eager to be born. After squeezing for half a day with no effect, suddenly a burst of colorful light flashed, and a colorful halo enveloped the entire giant egg. When the halo dissipated, Zhuang Xiong saw that a three-foot-long colored peacock was already standing on the spot, but the eggshells were gone without a trace, and it was unknown whether Kong Xuan had eaten them quickly or put them away first. Kong Xuan knew that this place was not an ordinary venue, so as soon as he came to his senses, he transformed into a small bird less than a foot long, looked at the little Qilin on Zhuang Xiong's shoulder, and without being polite to Zhuang Xiong, lightly jumped onto Zhuang Xiong's other shoulder.
Zhuang Xiong finally came back to his senses in shock, looking at Kong Xuan with disbelief and said: "Why did such a big egg produce someone as small as you? But that's not the point, why are you a little bird? Shouldn't you be human-shaped?" Zhuang Xiong was heartbroken, my child, how could you become a little bird? Having a small qilin is already troublesome enough, I didn't want a mount.
Kong Xuan seemed to have also learned from Zi Yu, and with a disdainful gaze at Zhuang Xiong, said: "Have you ever seen an egg that can directly produce a human?"
Zhuang Xiong rolled his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "Didn't the egg of Hun Dun Qing Lian directly give birth to Pangu?"
Kong Xuan rolled his eyes and was speechless, but Zhuang Xiong still wanted to ask again. However, in his ear, he suddenly heard Hong Jun's voice: "Since he has been born, let him understand the Tao well, do not make a racket."
One person and one bird suddenly came to their senses, at this moment the opportunity was rare, all around were laws manifesting, it was the best time to enlighten the way. Wasting half a moment was already a sin, if not now, when would they enlighten the way? So they immediately adjusted their posture, threw away the nonsense from before, and quietly meditated on the Tao. The two of them were both deeply rooted and widely connected, naturally they immediately sank into the realm of the Tao, unable to extricate themselves.
Among the crowd, Sanqing and Zhuang Xiong's progress was the most rapid. Sanqing had been stuck at the Daluo Jinxian level for countless years, while Zhuang Xiong was also roughly the same. At this time, they found a way out, and the laws swarmed in, immediately breaking through with a speed that left everyone in the dust. However, what was suffocating was that Hong Jun only taught the Great Dao Laws at this time, but did not pass on the technique of beheading the three corpses. Zhuang Xiong felt his own cultivation rising all the way to the quasi-saint later stage, yet he was unable to behead the corpse, and countless thoughts entangled him. If it weren't for the fact that he was originally the spirit of the earth, thick and heavy, with merit protecting his body, he would have probably gone mad long ago.
That stroke of luck elevated him all the way, building up his foundation framework, and only then did he slowly decrease his speed. Countless principles were left for him to comprehend, constantly filling in the gaps, solidifying his Late-stage Quasi-Saint realm. The Three Purities also had merit protecting his body, and at this point, he was roughly on par with Zhuang Xiong. However, others couldn't keep up; without Hong Jun's "Slashing the Three Corpses" technique, everyone else stalled at the peak of Early-stage Quasi-Saint, feeling stifled and uncomfortable. Some people stopped there, while others tried to force a breakthrough, hoping to consolidate after breaking through. But most had unstable Dao hearts, and before they could even break through, they almost fell into the trap of "Fire Entering the Devil's Realm". Hong Jun merely let out a soft sigh, and with a wave of his hand, a beam of spiritual light swept over, startling those on the verge of entering the devil's realm back to their senses.
Among them, however, there were a few people who broke through to the quasi-saint middle period. For example, Wu Tu's incarnation of Zhenyuanzi, who relied on steady progress, entered the quasi-saint middle period, but did not dare to break through again. Jie Yin also relied on his own great willpower, and perhaps had his own mysterious methods, to enter the quasi-saint middle period. On the other hand, Nüwa's sister surprisingly entered the quasi-saint middle period smoothly. Zhuang Xiong was speechless, but couldn't help but think that this was clearly a case of being led astray. The Way of the Law was bestowed upon them, but not the method to cut off the three corpses. It was like being told where the mountain peak was, but not being told where the road was, which was really misleading.
It's not that the quasi-sage realm must be inaccessible to the three corpses, but rather that once one enters the quasi-sage realm, all understanding is of the great Taoist principles, and requires quiet contemplation to gain insight. The three corpses, in Hongjun's words, refer to a person's good thoughts, evil thoughts, and obsessive thoughts - these jumbled thoughts prevent one from quieting their mind, especially when seeking enlightenment. At critical moments, they will invade like external demons entering the body; if one is not careful, they will fall into madness or be invaded by miscellaneous thoughts, never making progress in their lifetime.
While the three thousand great paths are not just one method of San Shi that can eliminate miscellaneous thoughts, but you have to have it? At this time, the most convenient and fastest way is undoubtedly Hong Jun's San Shi method. Although it's not as strong as using force to prove the Tao, breaking through miscellaneous thoughts and advancing vigorously, who wouldn't use a convenient method? Anyway, after the three corpses merge into one, you can still use miscellaneous thoughts to temper your will and yuan Shen, although the effect is slightly worse, but having a flat road is much better than walking on a steel wire. However, Gong De proving the Tao uses Gong De to protect the yuan Shen, directly ignoring all kinds of miscellaneous thoughts, but ultimately lacks a bit of tempering, and doesn't have the San Shi body's comprehension and condensation of the Tao, there is no San Shi method, but there is a middle way, Zhuang Xiong has never considered Gong De proving the Tao.
Three thousand years pass in an instant.
Hongjun stopped his sermon, and the laws that filled the Purple Mist Palace retreated like a tide, disappearing without a trace. Zhuang Xiong woke up from the Dao realm, only to see that many people had already woken up. He couldn't help but look at the people he knew one by one, but found that the many great gods in the Purple Mist Palace had just reached a turning point.
There are great merits and virtues protecting the body, Sanqing Zhuangyong naturally broke through the late stage of Quasi-Saint easily. However, for others, breaking through the middle stage of Quasi-Saint is already a stroke of luck. Jieying, Nüwa, and Zhenyuanzi's breakthroughs are still somewhat understandable. But as for Zhunti, Minghe, Kunpeng, and Hongyun, who also broke through to the middle stage of Quasi-Saint, Zhuangyong pondered for half a day. According to legend, Zhunti's true body is Bodhi, which has the effect of calming the mind and concentrating the spirit, so breaking through doesn't seem too strange. Minghe has the Industry Fire Red Lotus on his body, which should have some effect, and that's also somewhat understandable. Kunpeng has been preaching to the demon tribe in Honghuang for 30,000 years, and now is the time of the demon tribe's great prosperity, so he must have gained some merits, which is also somewhat comprehensible. But no matter what, Zhuangyong couldn't understand why Hongyun was able to break through to the middle stage of Quasi-Saint as well?
Here is the translation:
Next was Di Jun, who barely reached the critical point and was about to break through to the mid-Quasi-Saint stage. However, he retreated hastily, although not truly breaking through, but had already caught a glimpse of the path ahead. If there were any opportunities or merits protecting him, he could have broken through smoothly. On the other hand, Tai Yi had an unyielding and stubborn temperament, and upon reaching the critical point, he tried to force his way through, only to suffer a backlash injury due to overexertion. At this moment, he was taking a breather on the side. Although he also caught a glimpse of the mid-Quasi-Saint stage's mysteries, this time he retreated back to the peak of the early Quasi-Saint stage, but the Dao barrier had become even thicker, and it was a case of "losing the rice while trying to steal the chicken".
Others have also reached the early peak of quasi-sainthood, and some have barely broken through the quasi-saint boundary. Most are still stuck at the peak of Daluo Jinxian. It's just as Hong Jun said, people without fate. That Lantern is considered not to have wasted 3,000 years of hard work, and has finally managed to step into the quasi-saint realm with difficulty. As for the other people, although Zhuang Xiong later learned some of their names, they didn't have much to do with Zhuang Xiong, and his personality was just a glance, but he didn't take it seriously.
It was Emperor Jiang and Hou Tu who were staring at the crowd with wide eyes, seemingly very puzzled as to why they were being promoted. Zhuang Xiong couldn't help but shake his head in his heart. The divine abilities of the ancestral witches were mostly innate, and the two of them had also sensed the dense laws of the Tao in the Zi Xuan Palace, even feeling a sense of familiarity with the same source information. However, the witches' restless primordial spirits could not comprehend it, just like farmers cultivating the land without understanding why agricultural experts needed to study farming, or why they couldn't understand that even though they were naturally good at farming, they could only grow more crops through experience. Why could others grow crops and produce new varieties with higher yields? At this moment, Emperor Jiang and Hou Tu felt this way, confused and unable to comprehend.
Hong Jun saw that everyone had woken up from the Dao realm, and calmly said: "This time, the lecture on the Dao will still be in the Daluo Jinxian realm. However, next time is not necessary to come. Those who have just entered the initial stage of Quansheng can consider it themselves. As for others, it doesn't matter." After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for everyone's reaction and disappeared into thin air again. Zhuang Xiong couldn't help but speculate in his heart, guessing that Hong Jun's move was to select a batch of people who could be cultivated, or those who were useful to his plans, and would only transmit the San Shi Zhendao method next time. After all, the method cannot be lightly transmitted, and the San Shi method is not something that can be given to anyone who comes along.
The words of the Taoist ancestor caused a great stir, and everyone knew that Hong Jun had a great method. After thoroughly consolidating the Dajin Golden Immortal realm last time, they thought that this time should have been even more rewarding. Who would have thought that it still couldn't break through? Not only that, but also being told not to come next time. For a while, inside the Purple Cloud Palace, there were discussions and speculations everywhere. However, many people secretly made up their minds, thinking that they had no chance, but they would still come next time to listen and see if they could gain something by chance.
Haotian took a step forward at this time, and said in a loud voice: "Everyone is not allowed to make noise, quickly leave the Purple Palace, don't delay the closing time of the palace."
Zhuang Xiong saw that his apprentice had turned into a small bird and was about to make another move, teasing the heart of Huang Tian Yao Chi. However, seeing that there were still many people crowded inside the Zi Xiao Palace who refused to leave, he shook his head and simply greeted the second apprentice before leaving. At this time, Hong Jun might be watching from outside, and it would be unnecessary to cause trouble for him, provoking his displeasure.
Sanqing and Zhenyuanzi, Nüwa, Fuxi and others have also come out. Several people greeted each other, and Tongtian said: "I heard that Zhenyuanzi's friend said that Xiong's friend wants to go to the East Sea to find an immortal island as a Daoist platform? The East Sea is not bad, but I'm afraid it doesn't match the attribute of the earth spirit with my friend."
Zhuang Xiong's heart moved slightly, and indeed it was so. He had read many books from later generations, thinking that following the rules would be enough, but he forgot his own attributes. It seemed that he still needed to move his brain more, and couldn't take things from his past life for granted without thinking. He smiled and said: "It's me who lacked consideration, I wonder if Tong Tian Daoyou has any good suggestions?"
Tongtian was speechless, and in his heart he thought: "I'm also thinking of going to the East Sea, who knows if there's a good place in Hongyuan?" Yuanshi said on the side: "As a fellow Daoist, I think that actually Mount Zhou is the most suitable place for fellow Daoists."
"But it is indeed so."
Zhuang Xiong thought for a moment, shook his head and sighed: "Not Zhou Mountain is indeed not bad, but Not Zhou Mountain after all is a place of prolonged war, prone to trouble, not suitable for quieting the mind and cultivating the Tao, still need to find another place."
On the other side, Fuxi and Nüwa were a few steps away from the crowd. They wanted to wait for Zhuangzi to finish speaking before chatting with him for a while. At this time, they heard several people discussing and couldn't help but interrupt: "You silly bear are just being paranoid and having too many thoughts. No matter where you want to settle down, now that we've all gained so much from listening to the Dao, shouldn't we find a quiet place to contemplate? You've already lived on Mount Kunlun for tens of thousands of years, can't you just stay there for another two years?"
The old man also said calmly on the side: "This is reasonable, we three brothers have also been suppressed in the Daluo Jinxian realm for countless years. At this time, the breakthrough has not been consolidated yet, and it is necessary to return to the mountain to quiet the mind and close the door to comprehend the Tao. If the Taoist friend does not disdain, Mount Kunlun is also welcome at any time for friends to come as guests." Yuantong Tian also said in unison: "Good."
Zhenyuanzi smiled and said, "You have received invitations from the first sacred mountain of Honghuang, Buzhou Mountain, and the second sacred mountain, Kunlun Mountain. You also have fellow daoists with high cultivation to discuss dao with you. I suppose you look down on my small Wanshoushan now? The only thing that might be worth your while is those few fruits. Once you've finished comprehending the dao, you're welcome to come and try them. Last time, you passed by without entering, which left me puzzled for a long time."
Zhuang Xiong couldn't help but recall the scene at that time, and awkwardly said: "It's not that there was any special reason, it's just that last time I was indeed rude."
Zhenyuanzi didn't think much of it either. It's been over 10,000 years already, and it's still such a small matter. At this time, it's not suitable to bring it up again.
Tongtian laughed and said: "What's the point of mentioning this? Who would care about those trivial matters? At this time, we should hurry back to Kunlun to close our doors."
Zhuang Xiong couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly, thinking to himself: "You're definitely eager for me to go, aren't you? I've only talked to Laozi for a short while and already feel uncomfortable all over. What's more, you have to deal with him every day - I'm afraid he wants to take me along to liven up the atmosphere! Laozi's 'carefree' attitude and emphasis on following the natural order and rules are indeed annoying. But where should we go anyway?
