Chapter 7: Cultivating Spirit

  But the dragon tribe was a little afraid, Mr. Zhuo said: "Don't be afraid, this big roc is protecting you and won't eat you."

  Then Mr. Zhuo descended the mountain with me and I asked: "Is there an even more powerful creature that can eat a dragon?"

  Mr. Zhuo nodded: "Yes, originally the Roc was a specialist in eating dragons, and later almost wiped out the dragon clan. A wise man who begged for his life mediated this dispute, and later the Roc and the dragon got along well. However, this time several Rocs don't know what happened, and they actually came to harm the dragon clan again."

  I'm really curious: "Why does the Roc eat the dragon? Can't the dragon beat the big bird?"

  Mr. Zhuo patiently explained to me: "What is called the Roc, it's the royal family of birds, birds eat insects, and dragons are the royal family of the middle, naturally can't rival the Roc, both have the Tao of all living things, but in front of the Roc, the dragon can't show any magical powers, only being scared to curl up there, waiting to be eaten. Only the Dragon King can release some toxic fog to barely resist, but still can't rival the Roc."

  It turns out that the plot in the story actually appeared in my reality. I thought dragons were the most powerful creatures, but it turned out that their arch-nemesis was the Roc.

  "What should we do?" I was afraid for a moment that I would drag Mr. Zhuo down.

  "I'm just a low-ranking spirit, and resolving these matters requires reporting to the Heavenly Court." Mr. Zhuo revealed his true identity next.

  At that time, I didn't know what a spiritual animal keeper was. Later, I learned that a spiritual animal keeper is someone who specializes in raising and managing spiritual animals, such as the Roc, Dragon, Turtle, and Snake. These creatures all have spiritual natures, with the dragon being the most diverse of all.

  Some elephants die and become dragons, which is the true meaning of what people call "dragon elephant". Some carp occasionally cross the heavenly river at specific times and places, transform into dragons. Some snakes also become dragons after thousands of years of practice, but after becoming a dragon, **at that time all the scales on their body fall off, revealing their original shape, turning into small snakes**, so in the end, dragons belong to the insect tribe.

  Mr. Zhuo pulled me forward quickly, and I asked Mr. Zhuo: "Just now we went to Kunlun Mountain and only saw many dragons, but didn't see anyone, why can't we use our powers?"

  Mr. Zhuo said, "If your heavenly eye is opened to a certain level, you can see that there are countless Taoist practitioners in the Kunlun Mountains, some in caves, some at the foot of the mountain, some in trees, and some inside a large stone. After achieving success in their practice, they can ascend directly to heaven; if they fail, they will die inside and be reborn again due to karma, becoming a Taoist practitioner once more and continuing their cultivation."

  "I really don't get it: 'Won't they suffocate? Being in the mountains for so many years without coming out, not eating or drinking?'"

  Mr. Zhuo heard me say that I was hungry and thirsty, so he took out a grain of rice from his pocket and gave it to me to eat. At the time, I thought how could one grain of rice be of any use? But after eating it, I surprisingly felt full and not hungry at all.

  Mr. Zhuo replied, "Have you ever heard of a separate paradise? Those who cultivate to a certain level can open up another world in a mountain cave or a large stone, where birds sing and flowers bloom, with towering mountains and flowing water, everything is available, don't think that being in a cave is dark and gloomy, it's actually very wonderful, this is the true meaning of a separate paradise."

  I suddenly felt that I was too small, before I always thought that the realm of those who cultivate the Tao is unattainable to me, it's a realm of sacrifice and endurance, but people in the red dust don't understand, their world is truly pure and solemn, wonderful and happy, without worldly troubles, yet possessing the whole world, just like pigs looking at humans, thinking that humans are tired, not knowing how to enjoy themselves, humans looking at pigs, thinking that pigs are deeply mired in the mud, confused and numb.

  I love to follow Mr. Zhuo on his adventures, with every step he takes, I can see all sorts of worlds flashing before my eyes, some with blue skies and vast oceans, others dark and terrifying. Sometimes I think that Mr. Zhuo can also run into many different worlds to a certain extent, but in the blink of an eye, we arrived at Mount Tai.

  At the foot of Mount Tai, Mr. Zhuo stored his power and solemnly told me: "You can't talk nonsense here, because gods gather at the top of Mount Tai."

  We started climbing up, actually according to Mr. Zhuo's ability, he could reach the top of the mountain instantly, but he thought his power was low and didn't want to show off in front of Guan Gong, so it would be more respectful to climb up in this way. This is one reason, secondly, each sect is also unwilling to talk too much, although they all uphold justice and punish evil, but after many years, they still can't unify which sect is the strongest. If Mr. Zhuo shows off his power here, others will naturally know that he belongs to the Xiling Sect, who knows if it will make others jealous.

  It must have been Mr. Zhuo who helped me, this high mountain, I climbed up very easily, but afterwards Mr. Zhuo told me that it was not him using his power to help me, but after eating one of his rice grains, the strength in my body also became stronger.

  After reaching the top of Mount Tai, I saw an unprecedented scene. The sky at the top of Mount Tai is incredibly wonderful. Stars and clouds surround the deep blue sky, constantly gathering towards a black hole-like opening at the top of the sky. The transparent and vast sky makes people feel that there is another world outside, and the black hole also has lightning flashing from time to time.

  I really wanted to ask what the black hole was at that time, but I didn't dare say anything because Mr. Zhuo had instructed not to ask questions randomly. At this moment, a dark blue six-pointed star pattern appeared on Mr. Zhuo's forehead, and I stared blankly.

  At this time, I also opened my yin-yang eyes and saw many tall shadows that appeared and disappeared from time to time. They were all sitting cross-legged, sometimes visible and sometimes invisible.

  Mr. Zhuo closed his eyes, and then a strong gust of wind blew around us, but it didn't reach us. The world in front of me became blurry, and I vaguely saw Mr. Zhuo hand over a paper full of words to an ancient warrior wearing golden armor, after which the wind disappeared.

  Mr. Zhuo's dark blue six-pointed star on his forehead gradually faded away, everything returned to calmness, and once again pulled me back into my own reality world.

  "I have already reported the dispute that our Xiling people cannot resolve to the Heavenly Court, and the Golden Armor Warrior told me that the one causing trouble is not the Dapeng Jincheng Bird, but a Shura King from the Ashura Realm, because the Dragon Clan refused to listen to orders, so they disguised themselves as Golden Winged Birds to invade them. I believe the Heavenly Court will react soon." Mr. Zhuo and I are in a dense forest, this place is Guilin, indeed the mountains and waters are wonderful.

  I don't know what kind of world the Asura realm is, I just asked: "Just now on Mount Tai, I saw a black hole at the top of the sky, what is that black hole for, and what's inside the black hole?"

  "Mr. Zhuo replied, 'That black hole is the passage connecting this world to the previous layer of the world. Our current world is the mortal realm, and within this mortal realm, there are countless other worlds intertwined. The boundaries of these worlds are basically on the same level, while above the black hole lies a higher-level world, and above that world, there are even higher worlds.'"

  He paused, then continued: "In the black hole, there is a flash of heavenly thunder. This is the divine spirit preparing to punish the demons and ghosts that wreak havoc in the mortal world at any time. If one is struck by heavenly thunder, they will turn into a puff of air, their soul scattered, never to be reincarnated again. Han Dong, sometimes when you feel a gentle breeze blowing by, it may just be the remnants of a great spirit being dispersed after being struck by heavenly thunder."

  I listened with rapt attention, but still had a question: "Then why didn't the heavenly thunderbolt strike down that inhuman creature that was harassing me?"

  Mr. Zhuo told me that not every demon who commits evil will be punished so severely, and heaven still has a benevolent heart. Although the non-human being has lost all sense of justice, it has also accumulated considerable merit by becoming human in this life. Heaven's punishment is precise and won't miss a single detail. Perhaps it already knew it would die under my peach wood sword, giving it an opportunity to reincarnate and be reborn, but it will certainly return to the underworld and undergo immense suffering for billions of kalpas before having another chance to be reborn.

  Even so, it's still better than having one's consciousness completely dispersed and never being able to reincarnate for eternity.

  I sighed at the justice and majesty of Heaven, as well as the wonder of this world. Suddenly I thought that above every layer of heaven there was another higher one, so I asked: "Mr. Zhuo, is there a highest heaven?"

  Mr. Zhuo furrowed his brow, I think I asked Mr. Zhuo a difficult question for the first time, he said: "I don't know what the highest state of the world is, most worlds are divided into yin and yang, one yin and one yang make up the Tao, and above yin and yang is Taiji, because Taiji gives birth to the two instruments, but above Taiji there is also a higher state, called Wuji, and above Wuji there is still a higher state, only I don't know, because I am just a mortal after all."

  Since I've been on vacation, I've also often followed my father to look at some Taoist things and listened to Mr. Zhuo's lectures, so my thinking can basically keep up.

  "But..." Mr. Zhuo's tone suddenly changed.

  I saw a glimmer of hope in Mr. Zhuo's eyes.

  "One day you will understand, because you possess the unparalleled Golden Eyes of Heaven, all the truths and falsehoods of the world can be seen clearly and transparently." Mr. Zhuo had mentioned the Golden Eyes of Heaven to me several times, but as someone who had just opened their Yin-Yang eyes not long ago, I couldn't imagine how I could possibly possess the Golden Eyes of Heaven.

  "Let's go! I'll take you to catch a salamander!" Mr. Zhuo pulled me and we set off.

  I'm quite curious, last time I followed Mr. Zhuo to find the Golden Cave, which is the Golden Winged Bird, and this time we're going to the Earth Dragon Cave, I'd like to see what the Earth Dragon looks like.

  Mr. Zhuo brought me to Guilin, not only because of its beautiful scenery, but also because this is the only place in the world where you can find earth dragons, which can indeed be found around the Li River.

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