Chapter 11: The Holy Teacher Kong Xuan, Spreading the Teachings of the Three Religions

  After Nüwa created the human race, Hongyuan settled the newly born human tribe in a place suitable for humans to live near the East China Sea, and immediately sent his disciple Kong Xuan to take care of the human tribe.

  Kong Xuan knew that the human race was created by the holy mother Nüwa, and respected his teachers as saints. Therefore, he took great care of humans and did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

  The human race is newly born, extremely fragile, and does not understand the way of survival or the method of cultivation. As a result, survival is difficult, and many people die frequently. Kong Xuan originally wanted to pass on the technique of cultivating immortality and understanding the Tao to humans, but then remembered that Hongyuan had said before he left that it was not permissible to teach humans the way of cultivation, only the ways of survival and strengthening their bodies could be taught.

  Kong Xuan didn't understand, and asked Hongyuan about it. But Hongyuan just replied with a sentence "You will know later", then urged Kong Xuan to go down the mountain.

  Kong Xuan was helpless, although he couldn't bear to see the massive deaths of the human race, but every time he remembered Hongyuan's words, he had to force himself to hold back and use his divine powers to help the human race overcome their difficulties. He carefully remembered Hongyuan's words, except for protecting the human race from being harmed by demons and other creatures, as well as teaching them the necessary ways of survival, they were not allowed to interfere with anything else.

  The heavenly court's numerous demons and gods knew that the human race was created by Nüwa, so they did not harm them. The witch tribe saw that humans were weak and small in number, so they also didn't pay attention to humans. Therefore, with Kong Xuan having obtained the title of Daluo Jinxian, he is able to protect humans from being harmed by those ferocious beasts and birds. When humans first emerged, their nature was pure and simple, knowing that Kong Xuan was sent by the Holy Father to teach them the way of survival, protecting them from harm caused by the surrounding ferocious beasts and strange creatures. Thus, they revered Kong Xuan even more, calling him the Holy Teacher, and whenever they saw him, they would treat him with the rituals due to a teacher, not daring to show any disrespect.

  At that time, people all lived in caves and covered their bodies with leaves. Every winter, the cold wind blew into the cave, and many people froze to death overnight. The leader of the human tribe came to Kong Xuan's cave dwelling to ask for advice. Kong Xuan took him to a tree and pointed to a bird's nest, asking: "Why do birds live (in nests)?"

  The leader of the human tribe pondered for a moment and suddenly enlightened, respectfully bowed to Kong Xuan and said: "Thank you, Holy Master, for your teachings!"

  Kong Xuan waved his hand and said: "As the leader of the human tribe, you have a great responsibility. Now that you've figured it out, hurry up and go!"

  The leader nodded and bowed again, then bid farewell to Kong Xuan and returned to the human settlement. He led his people in cutting down trees and building nests for shelter. From that day on, humans knew how to build houses, which could withstand the cold winds of winter and keep them alive. The tribe revered their leader as "You Chao Shi" (meaning "the one with a nest"), who was thus considered the first ancestor of humanity.

  At that time, the new-born of the Shi Ren tribe did not know how to cook and lived on wild fruits and raw meat. One day, a young leader of the tribe happened to eat a spiritual beast struck by lightning and found it tasted delicious with oil flowing from his mouth and fragrance lingering at the corner of his lips. He thought it was heavenly food and went to ask for advice from Kong Xuan in his cave dwelling. Kong Xuan gave him two pieces of wood, saying: "The five elements generate and overcome each other; wood can produce fire." Having said that, he paid no more attention to him but turned back into the cave, closed the door and meditated.

  The leader pondered for half a day, using a stone knife to whittle a piece of wood into a sharp point, and then rubbing it against another piece of wood with both hands. After a short while, smoke and fire emerged from the wood, and soon the flames grew stronger. From that time on, humans mastered the art of making fire, using it to cook their food, no longer eating raw meat and drinking blood. The tribe revered the leader as "Sui Ren Shi".

  After a thousand years, Hongyuan transformed into an illusory form and arrived at the human tribe. Along the way, he walked through the human tribe's villages, looking at the scene of people living in peace and prosperity, with a thriving population. Hongyuan nodded his head in satisfaction. He then transformed into a gentle breeze and arrived outside Kong Xuan's cave mansion. As soon as he transformed back to his original form, he saw Kong Xuan hastily coming out of the cave to pay respects to him, saying: "Disciple Kong Xuan greets Master, disciple didn't know Master had arrived, losing the chance to welcome you from afar, disciple is guilty."

  Hong Xuan laughed and said, "Kong Xuan, what crime have you committed? You are not only innocent, but also meritorious! This thousand years has been hard on you, but now the human tribe has gained the ability to survive in the Honghuang world. It's time for you to return to Fangzhang Island as a teacher!"

  Kong Xuanxi said: "This way, you can let your disciples handle the affairs of the human world and then follow me back to the island!"

  "Hong Xuan nodded and said: 'You go now, and also call Hanyou Shi and Sui Ren Shi to come with you. Let's take all three of them back to the island together!'"

  Kong Xuan led the way and left, and soon brought You Nao Shi and Sui Ren Shi to Hongyuan's presence. This human tribe was born for a thousand years, although their lifespan was not long, but after all, they had cultivated the strong body and healthy physique method passed down by Kong Xuan, and with the abundant spiritual energy in the Honghuang world, as long as there were no accidents, they could still live for over a thousand years. The two saw Hongyuan from afar, and when they approached, they hurriedly bowed to the ground, knocking their heads repeatedly: "Greetings, Holy Father, may your holy life be boundless!"

  Hongyuan waved his hand and exerted a gentle force to help the two up, saying: "You two have been through hardships for many years. Are you willing to follow me back to the mountain gate now?"

  The two of them were overjoyed and bowed again, saying: "Your disciples are willing!"

  Hong Xuan nodded and said to the three of them, "In that case, you three can follow me back!" As soon as he finished speaking, a golden light suddenly descended from the sky and landed on Kong Xuan's head. It was the Heavenly Way's reward for Kong Xuan's thousand years of protecting humanity. After absorbing the golden light, a black aura shot out from Kong Xuan's body, which instantly transformed into a person who looked 90% like Kong Xuan. He wore a black Taoist robe with intricate embroidery of flowing water and floating black lotus flowers. The black-robed man first bowed to Hong Xuan and said, "Xuanyuan pays respects to Master!"

  Hong Xuan smiled and nodded: "Kong Xuan, you can rely on the Northern Profound Yuan Controlling Water Flag to cut out the good corpse in one move, which is also a great blessing!"

  Xuanyuan heard this and instantly transformed into a black gas, returning to Kong Xuan's body. Kong Xuan bowed to Hongyuan and said: "Both are the teacher's teachings, the disciple is ashamed!"

  Hong Xuan shook his head and said, "This is all your fate, what does it have to do with me as your master?" After speaking, he no longer paid attention to the three of them, but instead rode a dragon towards Fangzhang Island in the East Sea. The three of them saw this and didn't say anything else, Kong Xuan and You Chao Shi and Sui Ren Shi followed closely behind Hong Xuan on a seven-colored auspicious cloud.

  After arriving at Fangzhang Island, Hongyuan then taught Gong the methods of Youchao and Suiren's cultivation, and bestowed some spiritual elixirs and wonderful medicines upon him. He no longer paid attention to them, but instead closed his doors and wandered in the vast emptiness.

  It's been another thousand years, and the human race has developed even more vigorously, with a population tens of times larger than it was a thousand years ago. The original place can no longer satisfy the survival of the increasing number of people, so many people moved out to find suitable places for survival, forming large and small tribes, each with their own tribal leader. From then on, humanity entered the tribal era.

  In the vast expanse of the Great Red Heaven, in the realm of Supreme Clarity, there is a palace with eight scenic views. The Greatly Superior Old Lord summoned his sole disciple, the Grand Master Xuan Du, saying: "The Dao has form yet is formless, it has emotions yet is emotionless, its transformations are unpredictable, and it communicates with all living beings. Within humans, it manifests as spiritual clarity, which is called the heart. Therefore, when teaching people to cultivate the Dao, one cultivates the heart; when teaching people to cultivate the heart, one cultivates the Dao. As the ruler of the human world, I have the responsibility to educate and transform humanity, so I must transmit the great teachings of the Dao to humanity. Today, you shall descend into the mortal realm to spread the Dao!"

  Xuantu Dafashi heard this and performed a grand ceremony to accept the order before leaving.

  Kunlun Mountains, Jade Void Palace. Yuanshi Tianzun finished teaching the Jade Pure Great Tao to his disciples and immediately said to them: "I will establish my teachings, assist the great master brother in enlightening humanity, now you all go down the mountain to the human world and spread my Jade Pure Great Tao!" The disciples heard this and accepted the order, one after another going down the mountain to the human world to spread the Tao.

  Jin Ao Island, Bi You Palace. Tongtian Sect Master stopped lecturing and swept his eyes over the disciples below, saying to Da Bo: "I have established the Intercepting Sect to assist the Great Master in enlightening humanity. Da Bo, you can lead your fellow disciples down the mountain to spread the teachings!" Just as Da Bo was about to take orders and leave, Tongtian Sect Master added: "After all, your four Shu uncles are the Holy Fathers of humanity, so go visit them on Fangzhang Island first!" Da Bo dared not disobey and took his leave.

  The world of bliss, Jieyin Dao people and Zhunti sat opposite each other in silence. After a long time, it was Zhunti who spoke up: "Master brother, I observed the heavenly machine's appearance after the sun, the human race will become the main character of heaven and earth, our transmission of the Tao is on the human body, now the three saints of the East have ordered their disciples to go to the human race to transmit the Tao, we have lost the first opportunity, what should we do?"

  The introduction is still that worried expression, heard the words: "Now the three saints of the East will not be happy for us to go east to preach, it's better for us to wait quietly for the opportunity, the heavenly way is fair, and there will be a time when the Western teachings will flourish greatly, Master brother don't worry!"

  Having heard this, Zhun Ti thought for a moment before saying: "If that's the case, then Master is in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. I'll go to the Eastern direction to bring some people who have affinity!" After speaking, he left the Land of Ultimate Bliss and headed east.

  But just as Dabao brought Jinling Shengmu, Guiling Shengmu, San Xiao and Zhao Gongming to Fangzhang Island, a young boy was already waiting outside the island. The boy saw the approaching group from afar and asked: "Are you friends of Penglai Island?"

  Duobao Shi Li answered: "Exactly, trouble Dao friend to pass on a message, saying that we have come to pay our respects to the Fourth Master Uncle under the order of our master."

  The young boy smiled and said, "Master knew you were coming, so he asked me to wait here. Let's go into the island with all of you." After speaking, he led the way into the island, and Duobao and others followed closely behind him into Fangzhang Island. Along the way, they took a look at the scenery of Fangzhang Island, and they all sighed that it was indeed an immortal island comparable to Penglai, and it was really extraordinary!

  Before long, they arrived at the central part of the island. From a distance, everyone saw a Taoist priest wearing an ancient simple robe, with a fish-tail crown on his head and nine-palace boots on his feet. His face looked about sixteen years old. He was standing quietly there. Everyone was shocked that they couldn't sense his presence, as if he had merged into the universe, mysterious and even more mysterious. Everyone knew that Hongyuan was their teacher's junior fellow apprentice, a future saint. Now, having seen Hongyuan's profound and unfathomable depth, they were even more respectful and didn't dare to be slightly impolite.

  When everyone finished paying homage to Hongyuan, Hongyuan said calmly: "You all wait for a moment! Have Nao and Sui Ren come."

  Youxiong and Suiren hurriedly paid their respects: "What instructions does the Holy Father have?"

  Hong Xuan smiled and said: "You are the ancestors of the human race, now you have been cultivating on the island for a thousand years, and you have also achieved some success. The treasure I gave you is for self-defense!"

  He then took out two treasures from his sleeve, emitting a faint five-colored glow. One was shaped like a whip and the other like a sword. Hong Xuan said to the crowd: "Nüwa created humans, and the Heavenly Way was moved by her virtue, so she bestowed upon me these two treasures. One became the Human Creation Whip after being absorbed by the vessel of creation, and the other I refined into a sword called the Sacred Extreme Sword. Both are sacred artifacts of human merit, although they were created later, they surpass those from before. Moreover, they can kill without leaving any karmic consequences. As the ancestors of humanity, you should wield these two treasures to protect your descendants in the future!" He then handed the Human Creation Whip to You Chao and the Sacred Extreme Sword to Zhu Rong.

  The two of them were overjoyed and took it, thanking him again before retreating. The crowd looked on with envy, but they all knew that it was a sacred artifact of the human tribe, not something they could touch, so they didn't feel jealous.

  Hongyuan said to the three of them, "Since it's Master Tongtian's intention, I won't go against his wishes either. You all should follow Duobao and the others to preach to the human race!"

  Kong Xuan only then knew that Hongyuan's reason for not allowing him to teach the human tribe's Dao Fa was because transmitting the Dao is a matter of the Three Teachings.

  Kong Xuan led the mission with You Chao's descendants and a group of Zheng Jiao disciples to leave the island for the human settlement.

  Because of the influence of Kong, Xuan and San in the human race, the spread of the teachings was much smoother. Although there were some minor setbacks and occasional small frictions with the teachings of the Intercepting Sect, they still managed to pass down their teachings in the human race, but it was not as successful as the Intercepting Sect. Unbeknownst to them, however, they had already unknowingly laid down a karmic debt.

  From then on, Taoism flourished among human beings!

  It is: The merits of the sacred vessel protect the human race, and the three teachings spread the way to resolve disputes.