Chapter 44: Discussing Dao, Blocking Laozi's Appointment for Four Hundred Years

  Zhou Cheng saw Laozi from afar in mid-air, quietly landed on the ground and prepared to see how Laozi would deceive humanity.

  The place where the crowd was gathered was a large square, with the ground paved with gravel. In the middle were three jade stone carvings, two women and one man. They were indeed the images of Nüwa and Hou Tu, standing in a triangular formation around a central jade pillar. On top of the jade pillar were several golden characters that shone brightly, reading "Those who recklessly move the human tribe within 500 years will die".

  "I am the one from outside the sky, the Purple Palace of the Sky, Hong Jun's first disciple, and I am Laozi." Laozi stroked his white beard with one hand and held half a crutch in the other. It was because one foot had been sneakily attacked by Dong Huang Taiyi with the Dong Huang Bell and had not recovered to this day. He also did not want to recover, as it seemed that Laozi's personality was such that although he boasted about his own Taoist methods being natural, it didn't mean he could actually achieve a state of naturalness. He considered himself to be superior, Hong Jun's first disciple, and had lost so much face, how could he recover from the injury to his leg?

  "My great method, once learned, can transcend life and death, and not be transformed into nothingness; summon the wind and rain, and turn stones into gold. If you learn three parts of it, you can enter and exit the blue sky as if treading on flat ground; move mountains and seas, and transform all things. Those who learn its profundity can, with a mere thought, slay gods and spirits, and make ghosts and spirits submit; transcend cause and effect, and attain the ultimate reality. This is truly something that will not be worn away in countless kalpas, nor destroyed in infinite kalpas. Have you ever heard of such a great way?" Laozi finished speaking with a smile on his face, not without pride. He waved his hand and pointed at someone in front of him, instantly transforming him into a wild deer, and then with another point, restored him to his original form.

  Everyone heard this great method and saw what the old man was doing, but they were also inexplicably excited. At that time, humans had just been born for a hundred years and had not yet experienced the cruelty and helplessness of natural death. Two hundred years of age was still insufficient. However, in daily life, many people fell ill like mountains collapsing, and one illness would lead to losing their lives; or they would go out to work, encounter mountain spirits, wild monsters, ferocious beasts, enter a tiger's mouth, and lose their lives. Husbands and wives were separated, bones and flesh parted, which made the human tribe suffer greatly. At that time, hearing what this lame old man said was also inexplicably exciting, really not dying would be great.

  "Are you a divine being, and is the great method in your mouth truly something that can be passed on to our human tribe?" A relatively astute person asked, their own tribe having seen several great gods before - Nüwa, Houtu, and the Qinglian Daoist of Mount Qingqiu. However, only the Qinglian Daoist had given their tribe some basic cultivation techniques, barely enough for them to cultivate up to the Return to Void stage. This self-proclaimed "Old Master" was offering to teach such a great method right from the start? Was he truly being benevolent? Or was this just a case of "no good deed goes unpunished", with ulterior motives at play?

  "What I say is true. You only need to follow me back to the Sun Mountain, and teach for me. Later, there will be opportunities." Laozi said lightly, with a tone of disdain.

  "Dare I ask, Immortal One, with such a mighty technique, how is it that you can't even heal your own injured leg?" A very abrupt voice rang out.

  The old man's expression changed instantly, his face turned purple and twitched uncontrollably. This was his greatest pain, usually he was restrained by his own dignity as the leader of the primordial spirits, but no one dared to mention it to his face, pretending not to see. Now that someone had exposed his wound, he was furious, looking around for the person who spoke, and saw a young Daoist in green robes smiling at him with a pleased expression. Everyone else was curiously sizing up this stranger, but he seemed completely unaware, only lightly laughing and staring at the old man.

  "This is it, this is..." "Isn't it that a god accidentally fell and bumped into something?"

  Everyone heard this and almost burst out laughing, but earlier they themselves had not discovered that the old man had such a flaw. This mysterious Taoist priest's mouth was quite formidable.

  "Hmph, I don't want to give you the chance to show off, and you'd better not humiliate yourself. I am Laozi from the Hongyuan Gate, the Old Master of Mount Qingyang. May I ask, fellow Daoist, where is your sacred mountain?"

  "Hmph, so it's the Hong Jun Gate, what a great signboard. Relying on others' power, but that's enough." The person was actually Zhou Cheng, who was quietly standing aside. As a saint with shape-shifting abilities, he couldn't be seen through by someone who hadn't yet become a saint. Moreover, Zhou Cheng's cultivation was higher than his, so he wasn't afraid of being calculated later on, and it was just the right opportunity to humiliate him.

  "Hmph, I am a true cultivator of the Way, and will not bother to show you my understanding." Laozi had not forgotten the purpose of this visit from the human tribe. He had already calculated that his own chance at becoming a saint was related to the human tribe. Although he would enjoy the benefits of the creation of heaven, destined to become a saint, he still needed an opportunity to become a saint, and act as the catalyst.

  "My leg, though injured by others, my Tao is natural and doesn't need repair. I'm telling you this, but you won't understand." Laozi saw that everyone was looking at him with inexplicable disdain, so he randomly explained a bit.

  "Good, good, very good." Zhou Chengyi heard this and immediately seized the flaw in his words, pressing him tightly: "I know that you will be able to recover from your injuries later on, but since you have made such a promise now, even if you are reborn countless times, this leg will never be able to be restored." As for the saying "golden mouth and jade words", it can't compare to the severity of the words of an accurate saint.

  The old man listened and the Taoist in green clothes heavily mentioned his own slip of the tongue, suddenly filled with regret. However, he was like a duck being chased up a tree, wanting to come down but only able to jump.

  "It's just a small matter, let's just pretend it's true." Laozi was furious in his heart, but in order not to lose face at the moment, he could only put on a strong front and pretend to be calm. However, later on, he would definitely be unlucky, with endless calamities, and his broken leg would never heal again.

  "My way is obtained from Hong Jun, it's called the Jade Disc Great Method of Hong Jun. I came to the human world this time with good intentions, wanting to teach you all a lesson. When the opportunity arises in the future, it will be convenient to take action." Laozi ignored Zhou Cheng and turned to speak to the crowd.

  He just wanted to quickly capture the humans and stably obtain the opportunity to become enlightened. When the opportunity arose, he would also become a saint.

  "Laozi, my friend, every word you speak is in line with the great Tao. I dare ask, have you understood a few parts of it?" Zhou Cheng, however, did not want to let him off easily and intentionally made things difficult for him. He had already become a saint and knew that Laozi, although destined to be the leader of that tribe, was only doing so as a matter of form, passing on the teachings, and competing for good fortune. Where was the thought of truly protecting the tribe, imparting magical techniques, and guiding all living beings? This time, the tribe was still weak and small, if they followed him, it would not lead to the disaster of extinction, but there would be a lack of guidance, causing harm for ten thousand years.

  In his opinion, it would be best to give the human race 500 years of development time. The tenacity of a civilization's life does not lie in its powerful military strength, but rather in its possession of an intact development process, and thus having a deep cultural heritage accumulated step by step. The soul of a nation is, after all, a spiritual inheritance. In the future, Confucianism will be somewhat similar to Laozi's philosophy, boasting about non-action and losing its vitality. For human civilization, harmful genetic inheritance in the flesh is not to be feared; what is truly fearsome is the harmful spiritual thought inheritance.

  "My way is the highest inaction. Where my way is, I am. Not using many to discuss few, not using few to discuss many; not using strong to bully weak, not using weak to seek strong." Laozi stroked his beard, gazed at the white clouds in the sky, and began to boast.

  "The supreme goodness is like water, can your way be compared to this? The great Tao has no name, is it not nameless because of its non-existence?" Zhou Cheng deliberately argued for a while, then said: "I have different thoughts. The great Tao is indeed a nameless thing, mysterious and even more mysterious is the truth. Non-action is not the way, non-action is also action. Can those who pursue non-action be non-action? The way of the Tao is above the heavens, below the nine hells; as vast as the universe, as small as a mustard seed. Nature is the Tao, following one's own nature is the Tao, having compassion for all living things is the Tao, entrusting one's emotions to heaven and earth is the Tao. Fish forget each other in the rivers and lakes, people forget each other in the Taoist arts." Zhou Cheng's words this time were sincere and heartfelt, not just to refute Laozi, but also to teach humanity a lesson.

  "I'm leaving, don't forget the words of Qingxian Mountain's Qinglian Daoist, within 500 years, those who recklessly move the human tribe will die." Zhou Cheng had already calculated that the human tribe would not be forced to migrate again, so he didn't bother and left directly.

  Everyone listened to what Zhou Cheng said, and they all had some epiphany. Such great words of the Tao, how could they have heard them before? Laozi was even more surprised, this person's words, although seemingly refuting his own face, yet truly listening to them was subtly enlightening. This person's origin was obscure, and it was unknown which sacred place he came from. In the vast expanse of time, there were also no lack of hidden high-ranking individuals who did not reveal themselves. He had not associated this with Zhou Cheng either. However, his parting words did have some reason to them. Although he acknowledged that he was not afraid of Qingqiu Mountain's Fourth Brother, behind the human tribe, there was still Nüwa. If he and Zhou Cheng were to engage in a life-or-death struggle for the sake of the human tribe, it was likely that Nüwa would also not stand idly by. In this case, it would be embarrassing, and it would only make the other disciples laugh at him.

  "It's all right, you lot should have been hidden for 500 years. Wait until the time comes, and then we'll settle accounts." The old man didn't say another word, and turned back to Mount Shu Yang.

  The principal had a class in the morning, so I couldn't escape. At 3 pm, my classmate unexpectedly lent me over 1,000 yuan and said to accompany me to buy a computer, and I was so touched that I almost cried. The school is an hour's drive from Hongqi Road Computer City, and after selecting computers, we didn't return until after 9 pm, without even having dinner. I quickly wrote a chapter on my friend's computer and uploaded it. That's all for today, please forgive me, everyone.

  Nothing more to say, tomorrow I'll pull up my broadband and resolutely code.

  Recommendation votes, hope everyone will vote more.

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