Zi Yang

  Everyone rushed out to hear the news, only to see Guyangzi standing outside the door with a pale face, next to him was that forty-year-old cripple, no doubt this guy had gone to report again.

  Knowing the mistake but not changing, showing anger on one's face, facing the wall for four periods of time. After seeing that everyone who went out was glaring at the crippled informant, Gu Yangzi immediately extended the time for facing the wall.

  Everyone heard and hastily turned around to run towards the main hall, behind them came Gu Yangzi's shout again, "A cultivator should have a degree of movement and stillness, calm and composed, what are you running for?!"

  Everyone immediately slowed down their pace and proceeded cautiously, but Gu Yangzi shouted again from behind, "Are you an official's master? Do you still want to take big strides?"

  Mo Wen's temper was relatively gentle, but at this time, he couldn't help but frown. This Gu Yangzi was too demanding, no matter what he did, he couldn't satisfy him.

  The others also frowned at this time, but no one dared to offend Gu Yangzi, because Gu Yangzi's responsibility was to supervise everyone to strictly follow the Taoist rules.

  After everyone entered the East Hall and walked towards the east wall, they sat down against the wall. Gu Yangzi followed behind them and shouted loudly again, "Who allowed you to sit down? Are you monks? Stand up!"

  Mo Wen and others immediately stood up in a hurry, standing against the wall, not daring to turn their heads back, nor even dare to take a breath.

  "Yu Hengzi, have you eaten today?" Gu Yangzi walked behind Baili Kuangfeng.

  Baili Kuangfeng was frightened, yesterday the one who licked the bowl was him, he had eaten porridge before, and might have been seen by that cripple.

  "Second Brother, Master wants to see you." Qingyangzi walked in from outside the door and helped Baili Kuangfeng out of his predicament.

  "These villains are incorrigible by nature and must be executed with a heavy axe." Gu Yangzi coldly snorted and left the grand hall.

  After Gu Yangzi left, the lame Taoist also followed him out. Qing Yangzi walked to the gate and closed the temple door.

  "Alright, alright, turn around." Qingyangzi waved his hand at everyone.

  Qingyangzi has a round face and small eyes, he is extremely kind to others, everyone wants to get close to him, upon hearing his voice, they all turn around and stand by the wall.

  "Previously, Master Zhang has told you all that a Taoist is someone who practices the great Tao. As a representative of heaven to carry out the Tao, our status is revered and respected. Our words and actions must be dignified and composed at all times. Only then will the world respect us, the disciples of the Taoist family. If we behave improperly, people will look down on us." Qingyangzi looked around at everyone.

  "Obey the teachings of the great way." The crowd responded in unison.

  "Those acts of raising eyebrows, winking eyes, picking noses and coughing up phlegm, scratching ears and cheeks must never happen again in the future." Qingyangzi said.

  Everyone heard and responded again.

  "Most of you came from poor families and were frugal with food, which is not wrong. However, once you entered the Taoist sect, you should take pride in being a Taoist disciple. How can a Taoist disciple behave like this?" Qingyangzi made a motion as if licking a bowl.

  Everyone present couldn't help but laugh at the sight, and Baili Hongzhuang's face turned red as she said, "I know I was wrong."

  "You folks are indeed a problem, but never mind, let's just shout it out for now. If someone can become an Upper Clarity disciple in the future, I'll call you back." Qingyangzi said with a smile.

  People with different temperaments have different relationships. Qingyangzi is an old and kind person, without any airs, and people genuinely like him from the bottom of their hearts.

  "Jia Zidao, go and call Tianxunzi over." Qingyangzi spoke again.

  Mo Wen heard the words and felt a slight sense of doubt, earlier he had already known everyone's names, he knew that Tian Xuanzi was Ah Jiu's Taoist name, but there was no one here called Jia Zidao.

  Qingyangzi finished speaking, and the sound of footsteps came from outside the hall. The footsteps went from near to far, and it was clear that the lame Taoist had been eavesdropping outside the hall all along. The crowd didn't notice, but Qingyangzi's cultivation had reached a high level, so he heard his breathing.

  "Tell the truth, Old Dao, can you blame Jia Zidao?" Qingyangzi asked with a smile on his face.

  Everyone heard this and looked at each other in dismay. To be honest, no one doesn't hate a backstabber, but these words can't be spoken out loud.

  "Jia Zidao was so angry that he stuttered and spilled the beans. If I get a chance, I'll beat him up." Baili Kuiyang's anger was overwhelming, but in the end, it was he who spoke out.

  "Alright, dare to think and speak." Qingyangzi nodded repeatedly, but after nodding, he changed the subject, "I'd like to ask you, what is your current identity? What is Jia Zidao's identity?"

  "I am a disciple of Shangqing, he is just a gatekeeper." Baili Kui Feng spoke bluntly.

  Mo Wen heard this and slightly furrowed his brow. Bai Li Kuang Feng was telling the truth, but he had said it too directly, with a hint of arrogance, which might not be to Qing Yang Zi's liking.

  "It's reasonable to say that you are a disciple of the Upper Clarity, while he is just a gatekeeper. You have a higher innate talent than ordinary people, so you were chosen to stay and study the Taoist arts. Jia Zidao was limited by his innate talent and had no chance to comprehend the Great Way in his lifetime. As disciples of the Upper Clarity, you cannot treat him as an equal, or else it would be a mixture of clear and muddy waters, which would lower your status." Qingyangzi said.

  Qingyangzi finished speaking, and everyone nodded in agreement. Just then, the sound of knocking on the door and Ah Jiu's announcement came from outside the hall. Qingyangzi allowed him to enter, and Jia Zidao took the opportunity to stick his head in and look around, his beady eyes darting back and forth like a thief.

  Everyone saw that Jia Zidao's behavior was despicable, and they all frowned. Some people's appearance was disgusting at first sight, and Jia Zidao was one of them.

  Qingyangzi waved his hand to dismiss Jia Zidao, turned around and looked at the crowd, "Eight years ago, when the side hall caught fire, this man bravely rushed to put out the fire, but was hit by a burning beam and broke his right leg."

  Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this, and the disgust in their eyes momentarily decreased.

  "Yu Hengzi, why did you nod?" Qingyangzi asked with a smile, Bailing Kuangfeng.

  "Master Dao is using Jia Zidao as an example to explain the principle of Tao to us. When looking at people and things, we cannot just look at one side, but should observe from multiple angles and weigh the pros and cons." Ba Li Kuang Feng replied.

  "Tian Shu Zi, why are you nodding again?" Qing Yang Zi asked with a smile.

  Mo Wen heard this and was slightly surprised. In fact, his understanding was similar to that of Bai Li Kuang Feng, but since Qing Yang Zi asked him, it was natural that Bai Li Kuang Feng's answer was not entirely correct.

  "Previously, I thought that those who are pitied must have a despicable side and aren't worth saving. Now I understand that even those who are hated also have a pitiful side, and taking action to punish them requires careful consideration." Mo asked, hesitating for a moment before responding.

  Qingyangzi nodded slowly after hearing the words, and then spoke again, "At the beginning of the fire, this person did not rush to rescue, but saw us coming and pretended to be brave in order to take credit."

  As soon as this was said, the crowd's hostility towards the cripple, which had just dissipated, surged back onto their faces.

  "When interacting with others, one should have their own views and not be swayed by what they see or hear. One cannot be indecisive and wavering. Do you understand?" Qingyangzi said with a serious expression, suppressing his smile.

  Mo Wen was shocked by the words, and the previous few sentences of Qingyangzi made everyone's impression of the cripple change one after another. This is a shortcoming of human beings, who are easily influenced by others. Qingyangzi's intention was to tell them that they should have their own opinions when doing things, and cannot be swayed by the words around them.

  "The Supreme Clarity technique is extremely mysterious and wonderful. Once you master one of its doors, you can establish yourself and secure your life. You seven will later practice the six arts, and if you achieve great success, you will be able to roam freely under heaven. At that time, no one will be able to restrain you. Therefore, you must cultivate your mind and clarify your ambition, speak carefully and act cautiously." Qingyangzi spoke again.

  Everyone heard the words and responded in unison. Qingyangzi's intention was that once these people had mastered their skills, no one would be able to control them, so they must control themselves and not be swayed by others' instigation.

  "Starting from tomorrow, Master Zhang will teach you the scriptures. You must listen carefully, what I say is only a minor way, the scriptures record the great way. Master Zhang's speech is not fast, you need to be patient." Qingyangzi said.

  Most people can still nod in agreement.

  "Alright, stop standing around. There are several warm water pools on the east mountain, go wash and clean up. Tomorrow we'll listen to the scriptures." Qingyangzi joked while dismissing everyone from their meditation.

  "Still Qingyang Daozhang is kind and compassionate, Daozhang, Mo Wen and I were banned from eating for three days by Guyang Daozhang, you see...". Baili Kuangfeng made an inch of progress.

  "Rice is still to be eaten, how can one listen to scriptures with a dizzy head from hunger? I'll go and plead for you." Qingyangzi turned around and walked out, after taking two steps he turned back, "From now on address each other by Daoist name, do not call each other's secular surname again."

  Everyone heard the words and bowed their heads in gratitude, sending off Qingyangzi. They then returned to their rooms to fetch their clothes and headed to East Mountain for a bath.

  Ajiu couldn't go with everyone naturally. Qiansui didn't want to go either, but in the end was still dragged along by everyone.

  The sacred mountain has a complete five elements, the East Mountain has several hot springs, on winter days the hot spring emits mist, it's easy to find, soon many people found the hot spring in the eastern valley. Mo Wen didn't like being naked with others as it didn't conform to Confucian etiquette, but at this time he couldn't look for another place, after hesitating for a long time he could only follow the crowd into the water.

  After taking off their clothes, they couldn't help but size each other up. Among the six people, Bai Li Kuang Feng was the strongest, while Liu Shao Xing, Ye Xiao Yao and Mo Wen San were roughly similar. The one with the fairest skin was Liu Song, who looked like a woman, and his speech and mannerisms also lacked masculinity. However, after getting into the water, the others didn't tease him, but instead surrounded Qi Sui to examine him. Qi Sui's skin was different from the others, as it was covered in grid-like patterns all over his body, similar to the shell of a turtle. Moreover, his Adam's apple was smaller than that of a human, and everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing when they saw it.

  Previously, everyone had to go through screening and were not familiar with each other, so there was still a gap between them. Now that their identities have been confirmed and they are all acquainted, it's inevitable that they start causing trouble. The crowd surrounds Sen (thousand years) and asks him to reveal his true form for everyone to see. Sen is unwilling, and the crowd won't let up. Sen's personality is kind and gentle, but even when he's forced into a corner, he doesn't get angry. In desperation, he can only dive into the water to hide.

  The hot spring is not small, many people searched everywhere but found nothing, it must have shown its true form and dived into the depths.

  Mo didn't ask how long it had been since he last took a bath, the warm spring water was just right for bathing, but his heart always had a shadow, and being in the water always made him recall the scene of his family falling into the water, even though the spring water was extremely warm, he still felt icy all over.

  It wasn't until after noon that everyone came out of the water, and during this time Qian Shui had not appeared. However, no one was worried because he was a turtle-type being and would absolutely not drown in the water.

  Senbei might have been underwater watching everyone, and when they got out of the water, he also got out. He hastily put on his clothes, and everyone burst into laughter again. Everyone was very clear that after today's commotion, Senbei would never dare to take a bath with them again.

  Everyone returned to their own rooms after dinner and went to bed early.

  The next day at Chen time, Xuanyangzi arrived, and everyone gathered in the East Hall, facing Xuanyangzi with a serious expression, the formal teaching of the Six Arts began...