Chapter 8 Preaching
The Wudang Sect, apart from Zhang Sanfeng's reputation in the Cultivation World, is actually a small sect. If not for their strong combat power due to their unique cultivation method of "Wu Entering Dao", they might have been overlooked by the Cultivation World. Although the Wudang Sect only belongs to the middle-to-lower level in the ancient Cultivation World, their influence in the secular world is considerable, second only to Shaolin. Many members and leaders of special forces within the Chinese government, such as the Dragon Unit and Leopard Unit, are from the Wudang Sect. They also have some involvement in various industries. As the second disciple of Qingmu Daozhang, the leader of the Wudang Sect, I sometimes have to act as a troubleshooter, going down the mountain to resolve thorny issues. Inevitably, I've made some friends in the secular world. Zhao Liya is the daughter of the wealthy Zhao family's CEO, who is also a good friend of Song Feng's in the secular world. Lin Ling is the daughter of another good friend of Song Feng's, Lin Qiming.
As soon as she saw Song Feng, Zhao Liya poured out the events that had occurred at the foot of the mountain. Song Feng listened and was secretly shocked, he was well aware of Zhao Liya's abilities, even he himself wouldn't be able to subdue her without using his hands, let alone the Taoist priest who had supposedly subdued her with just a gentle force. That was something that could only be achieved by someone at the level of their master, how did Wudang Mountain produce such a formidable young expert without him knowing?
After comforting Zhao Liya, Song Feng also sternly warned the two of them not to provoke that young Taoist priest. Seeing Song Feng's expression so serious, Zhao Liya asked in a tone of disbelief: "Can't even Uncle Song beat him?" In Zhao Liya's heart, Song Feng was an unparalleled master, and even his father wasn't a match for Song Feng, let alone that stinky Taoist. Lin Ling also looked at Song Feng with expectation.
Although Song Feng wanted to say that he could, he knew that according to Zhao Liya's description, someone who could bind Zhao Liya with his own power was at least in the Xiantian realm. But he was still struggling in the Houtian realm, how could he be an opponent of the Xiantian realm? Song Feng shook his head and said: "Maybe my master can defeat him!" If he knew that the Taoist he mentioned was Zhang Sanfeng's disciple, I wonder if he would still say so, or simply find a crack in the ground to hide.
"Ah!" The two beauties couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. They had never thought that the seemingly ordinary and lecherous Taoist priest would be so powerful, able to rival the leader of the Wudang Sect. It seemed that asking Song Bo to take their side and teach a lesson to that stinky Taoist was no longer possible. The two beauties completely lost their excitement from when they first arrived at Mount Wudang, and hastily followed Song Feng to glance around the Encounter Palace, pay respects to Zhang Sanfeng's statue, but it's unknown whether they would still be so sincere if they knew that Zhang Huiban was actually Zhang Sanfeng's disciple. Then they conveyed their fathers' greetings to Song Feng, as well as their hopes for him to meet up with them at West Lake at an appropriate time, before hastily bidding farewell and returning to Hangzhou.
Just after seeing off Zhao Liya and Lin Ling, Song Feng saw the slightly chubby body of Qingteng walking towards him. As the second disciple of the current Wudang Sect leader, Song Feng still knew some deeper things about Wudang. For example, he knew that the young fat Taoist who was walking towards him was the closed-door disciple of his never-before-met master ancestor. They were all cultivating in the back mountain of Yougong Palace, but that place was covered by a fairy array, and it was said that only the seniors of Wudang Sect lived there, all of whom were like gods. Song Feng had always yearned for that place, but unfortunately, only his master and a few masters could enter and exit. Of course, even if Song Feng's cultivation allowed him to enter, he would still be unable to open the fairy array, after all, he was still a mortal body, a later-generation flesh.
"Master Qing!" Seeing Qingteng approaching, Song Feng hastily and respectfully greeted him. The Wudang Sect was also a sect that highly respected its masters and teachings. Although Master Qingteng was only a 15 or 16-year-old Daoist, Song Feng didn't dare to be the slightest bit neglectful.
"So it's Master Mingde's junior! Excuse me, is Master Qingmu in?"
"Look, Master is cultivating in the Profound Gate Temple!" Song Feng said, pointing towards the back temple.
"Thanks, Mingde Shishu! I have some business with Qingmu Shixiong, so I'll take my leave!" After saying that, Qingteng nodded at Songfeng and hastily headed towards the Xuandian Temple, leaving Songfeng bewildered. He muttered to himself, "What's gotten into Qingteng Shishu today? His attitude is so good!" In the past, Qingteng had always acted superior because he was Qingmu's junior brother and often lived with legendary figures from Wudang, even if it was just sweeping floors. But that was enough to make him arrogant. Before, he would never look at his fellow disciples straight in the eye, but after being lectured by Zhang Hupan, the old ancestor, he didn't dare be haughty anymore!
Qingmu was the one who took over as the master forty years ago after his master's son, Daozhang, retired. Twenty years ago, Qingmu finally entered the Xiantian realm through his tireless efforts and is now in the late stage of Qi induction. Although he is already over a hundred years old, his face looks like that of a sixty or seventy-year-old, and if it weren't for his snow-white hair, no one would believe that Qingmu was actually over a hundred years old. At this time, Qingmu was also surprised by the spiritual energy that had suddenly burst out from behind the mountain and was preparing to go and investigate, after all, he was a true cultivator and still very sensitive to spiritual energy. When he saw Qingteng coming to find him, he didn't say a word and went with Qingteng towards the back of the mountain. As they walked, Qingteng explained what had happened to Qingmu in an excited tone, while Qingmu listened with bated breath, his eyes seemingly already seeing the spiritual energy-filled elixir and the powerful spiritual sword.
Qingteng and Qingmu arrived at the Taoist temple in the back mountain, and upon entering the main hall, they found that the 200-300 year old elderly Taoists were sitting cross-legged on straw mats like primary school students, listening attentively to Zhang Huban's explanation of Taoist teachings. The scene looked extremely comical and peculiar, with a group of white-haired, crane-haired, and youthful-looking elderly Taoists thirsting for knowledge, staring at the young Taoist who sat cross-legged on the mat with a gentle face, listening intently, and even some old guys took out their notebooks to take notes.
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Nameless is the origin of heaven and earth. The Named is the mother of all things. Therefore, always desireless, one observes its wonders; always desiring, one observes its manifestations. These two are the same but differ in name when they are referred to as unity. Holding no desires, it is possible to observe its subtlety; holding desires, it is possible to observe its manifestations. The gate of all subtleties is called the mysterious female. The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more it is used, the more it produces; the more you talk about it, the less you understand. Hold on to all you have received from Heaven, but do not think you have got everything. It was from the Nameless that heaven and earth sprang; the Named is but the mother that rears them, once they have appeared.
Both are also the judgments of Taiji's yin and yang. Although the two names are different, they actually come from the same source, which is called Xuan by the Supreme. Xuan means profound and far-reaching. Those who want to attain the Xuan Dao must be quiet and still, calm and settled, with no thoughts or desires in their minds. This is the observation of wu yu (no desire). When the vital energy moves, although there is awareness, it does not give rise to a single thought or perception; although there is movement, it does not retain a single idea or thought. With one heart and no second thoughts, this is the observation of you yu (having desire), which is another Xuan.
In short, the origin of thought is mysterious and subtle, but in reality it is the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, and the birth and growth of all things. Since ancient times, all gods and immortals have been created by this one awareness. It is also said that to observe the subtlety without desire is to observe the mysteries, while to observe with desire is to observe the manifestations. These two are mutually rooted in each other, one being still and the other moving, hence they come from the same source but have different names...
A sentence of profound and mysterious heavenly words made these old guys listen like crazy, and the green wood and green wisteria outside the door had already joined the ranks of students listening to the Tao. Poor Green Wisteria and Green Bamboo, due to their relatively low cultivation, could not understand these profound heavenly ways, fully demonstrating the truth of the famous saying "good memory is not as good as a rotten pen head", constantly scribbling away.
It's not just Qingteng and Qingzhu, the two young Taoists who couldn't understand. Even many of the dry leaves who had reached the middle stage of fermentation were temporarily unable to comprehend some of the words. It's no wonder they didn't understand - Zhang Huban was a master of the half-immortal body in the yuan infant period, and his teacher was none other than Zhang Sanfeng, who had already become an immortal before passing on all his knowledge to Zhang Huban. You could say that Zhang Huban now possessed the knowledge and insights of an immortal, but his cultivation was still stuck at the yuan infant stage. It's like a child who knows the techniques of dancing with knives and swords, but can't lift those heavy giant swords. Now, asking someone as knowledgeable as Zhang Huban to teach these junior students who were at most in the middle stage of fermentation was like taking candy from a baby - easy as pie. The only pitiful ones were these older students who were being bombarded by Zhang Huban's knowledge bombs and felt dizzy and confused, realizing for the first time that they were so ignorant, a shame to the cultivation world and a failure of the Wudang sect. Luckily, those guys had some sense of shame and also possessed the Ah Q spirit described by Mr. Lu Xun. "Damn it, I don't understand, but others might not either!" Other Taoists from different sects hadn't even had the chance to hear such profound lectures on the heavenly way! After comforting themselves like this, these guys finally didn't bite their tongues off in frustration and quietly listened to the lecture with rapt attention.
The sun had quietly set behind the mountains, but all the Taoist priests were immersed in the profound and mysterious Heavenly Way. A whole day of lectures had brought enlightenment to many of the priests, clarifying their doubts and elevating their understanding to a new level. Almost every priest discovered that they had unknowingly advanced to a higher realm, for it was sudden enlightenment that was the key to their cultivation. These old priests, who had been practicing for hundreds of years, had long since accumulated a rich store of spiritual energy and absorbed the essence of heaven and earth. All they lacked was this moment of sudden awakening, which Zhang Huquan's words now provided, like a spring shower that brought seeds to life, allowing them to begin their growth in the sunlight. Of course, Qingteng and Qingzhu, being mere mortals, could not attain this level, for Zhang Huquan's teachings were too profound, too mysterious for them. Nevertheless, his words left a deep impression on their minds, greatly aiding their future cultivation. The two young priests would eventually achieve a remarkable level of spiritual attainment, thanks to the lesson they learned today.
