Sugar Sage's First Sermon: The Dao of Non-Action

Lin Shen slept exceptionally soundly that night.

He had a very long dream.

In my dream, I became an enormous candy, drifting slowly in the dark universe.

Many, many little stars flew over like fireflies, sticking out their bright little tongues and happily licking him.

"So sweet! So sweet!"

He heard the stars cheering.

When he groggily opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed.

The bed is woven from the softest clouds; with the slightest movement, your body sinks into its gentle embrace.

The blanket covering me had a warm, sun-dried smell.

Grandpa Hongjun, his three Masters, Sister Nuwa, Uncle Fuxi, and the two new grandfathers were all gathered around the bed.

Seven pairs of eyes stared at him without blinking.

Their eyes were burning with undisguised anticipation, and they stood ramrod straight, like soldiers awaiting inspection.

"Shen'er, are you awake?"

Taiqing Laozi was the first to squeeze forward, a warm smile spreading across his face. With a flick of his sleeve, a candy appeared in his palm as if by magic.

The candy beans were crystal clear, with rainbow-colored shimmering light flowing slowly inside.

"Here, First Master has prepared a new flavor of candy for you, would you like to try it?"

Lin Shen rubbed his sleepy eyes, took the pretty candy, and subconsciously popped it into his mouth.

"Hmm!"

The candy melts in your mouth.

A refreshing, sweet and sour orange flavor explodes on the tongue, activating every taste bud.

Immediately afterwards, a gentle force supported his body.

He floated up uncontrollably, slowly twirling three times in mid-air before gently landing back onto the soft cloud bed like a feather.

Wow! It's a flying candy!

Lin Shen's eyes lit up instantly, and all his sleepiness vanished.

"Do you like it?" Taiqing Laozi laughed so hard his mustache stood on end.

"I love it!" Lin Shen grabbed the blanket and nodded vigorously.

"Since you like it, then... when First Master tells you a story later, you must listen carefully." Taiqing Laozi coaxed patiently, his voice containing a hint of ingratiation.

"Okay!" Lin Shen agreed without hesitation.

This promise caused the expressions of Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Jiaozhu, who were standing nearby, to change instantly.

You're such a good boss!

They actually used this kind of sugar-coated bullet to launch a sneak attack! How shameless!

"Alright, alright, now that Shen'er is awake, let's begin our 'preliminary discussion'."

Hongjun smiled and sealed the deal with a single blow.

He waved his wide sleeves toward the center of the Kunlun Mountain Peak.

In an instant, countless stars fell from the sky, converging into a huge, dazzling platform that seemed to be sculpted from the Milky Way itself.

The seven newly appointed Sage flashed by and took their seats below the platform.

"The rules are simple," Hongjun's voice echoed across the mountain peak. "Each person has the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to expound their own Dao. Finally, our Little Lin Shen will judge who gave the most entertaining and interesting presentation."

"Whoever receives the highest evaluation will be the first to speak when the sermon is officially held at the Zixiao Palace."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere among the seven Sage changed abruptly.

Invisible gazes collided in the air, and Battle Intent surged.

"So, who wants to go first?" Hongjun asked with a smile.

"I!"

"I'll do it!"

"I'll go first!"

Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Qiankun jumped up from their seats almost simultaneously, each refusing to give way.

"Stop arguing."

Lin Shen's childish voice rang out as he stretched out his chubby little finger and pointed firmly at Taiqing Laozi.

"First Master, you go first! Because First Master's candy is the best!"

This reason is simple and pure, yet it carries an unquestionable authority.

The excited expressions on the faces of Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Jiaozhu froze instantly, as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and they wilted.

Taiqing Laozi stood up with a calm and collected expression and nodded slightly to the crowd.

That smile was full of the composure and calmness of a victor.

He took a step forward, and his figure appeared in the center of the platform, where he sat down cross-legged.

At the same time, through the "Destiny Live Broadcast Room" evolved by Fuxi, billions of living beings in Kunlun Market and even the entire Primordial World held their breath.

Seven Sages preach the Dao together (preview)!

Lecture 1!

Let's begin with the lecture by Sugar Sage Taiqing!

All living beings pricked up their ears and widened their eyes, ready to listen to the legendary, supreme path of the Sage.

However, after Taiqing Laozi sat down, he did not speak.

He simply stretched out his hand and gently gestured towards the void.

A wisp of gray air came as summoned and hovered in his palm.

The air currents were filled with an aura of violence, death, and destruction; just looking at them made countless living beings tremble.

It's Chaos Qi!

"There are three thousand great paths, but they all lead to the same destination."

The voice of the Sugar Sage finally rang out, gentle and melodious, like a spring breeze in March, soothing the tense hearts of all beings.

"Today, this humble Daoist will not discuss profound principles or speak of Daoist practices."

"This humble Daoist priest offers you all a single piece of candy."

Be a piece of candy?

The millions of living beings below the mountain were completely stunned.

When Sage preach, aren't their sermons always filled with dazzling rhetoric, Golden Lotuses Springing from the Earth, and profound truths uttered from their mouths, leaving people Divine Soul?

Why did the style suddenly change when we got to Sugar Sage's place, turning into a food tutorial?

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and surprise, Taiqing Laozi made a move.

He held the destructive Chaos Qi in his left hand, and with his right hand, his fingers pointed like a knife, he gently touched the energy ball.

It possessed no earth-shattering power, only a Daoist charm of "doing without doing," which seeped in quietly like mercury spilling onto the ground.

"The Way is like boiling sugar."

"Heat Control is the most important thing."

As he spoke, a wisp of golden flame, thinner than a hair, emerged from his fingertip and began to lick the Chaos Qi.

That was his Sage fire, containing his supreme and boundless principles.

"If the fire is too small, the sugar won't melt, and Chaos will remain Chaos, stubborn and unyielding."

"If the fire is too strong, the sugar will easily burn; the great way is as bad as moderation, which leads to destruction."

As he spoke, he precisely controlled every flicker of the flame with his divine sense.

Under the tempering of his Dao Fire, that raging Chaos Qi actually began to "melt" little by little. The entangled laws of destruction and violent will within it were like impurities in sugar, being precisely refined and removed.

The entire process was fluid and graceful, full of the beauty of Dao follows Nature.

At the foot of the mountain, countless creatures stuck in the bottleneck watched this scene, their minds reeling.

A golden crow demon who had been diligently cultivating the laws of fire had its feathers standing on end, and its voice trembled with excitement.

"I understand! I understand now! I always thought that the ultimate control of fire was burning mountains and boiling seas! I was wrong! The true ultimate is 'precision'! It's 'just right'!"

"Indeed!" A grandmaster weapon refiner beside him trembled violently, his hands, which had been hammering away at millennia-old black iron. "I always thought of using the most intense earth fire to temper divine weapons, pursuing ultimate hardness. But I forgot that excessive rigidity leads to breakage! A true divine weapon should combine strength and flexibility, like this refined syrup, moving at will and changing in countless ways!"

In an instant, countless living beings glimpsed their own "Tao" from this process of "boiling sugar".

On the platform, the Chaos Qi had been completely refined.

It transformed into a crystal-clear "Great Dao Syrup" that exuded a faint, pleasant fragrance.

"The syrup is ready; next, we need to shape it."

Taiqing Laozi's voice remained calm.

"Everything in the world has its form. A square is a square, a circle is a circle; this is 'having form'."

"However, the Great Dao is formless, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth. Water has no constant shape, thus it benefits all things without contention. This is 'non-action'."

"How do we choose between action and inaction?"

He did not provide an answer.

He simply tossed the "Great Dao Syrup" gently into the air.

The syrup floated in the air, without taking on any shape.

It simply changes freely, following the gentle breeze Kunlun Mountain Peak and the flow of spiritual energy.

Sometimes it transforms into a graceful, flowing cloud.

Sometimes it transforms into a bird with flapping wings.

Sometimes it condenses into a single, crystal-clear drop of morning dew.

It seems to have come to life, displaying the beauty of the Great Way itself in the most natural and expansive way.

"So... this is the way of non-action!"

"It's not about doing nothing, but about going with the flow and adapting to circumstances!"

"In my past cultivation, I always forced breakthroughs, defying the heavens, and repeatedly hit walls. Only today do I realize that sometimes, stopping, waiting, and letting the Great Dao come to me on its own is the true shortcut!"

Voices of sudden enlightenment rose and fell from the foot of the mountain.

Finally, the "Great Dao Syrup" that had transformed a thousand times seemed to have grown tired of playing.

It slowly drifted back into the palm of Taiqing Laozi.

Finally, it coalesced into a perfectly round and full candy, radiating a rainbow of colors.

The candy had no runes carved on it, yet it possessed an aura that encompassed all things and Dao follows Nature.

This sugar is named 'Nature'.

Taiqing Laozi held the candy in his palm and smiled slightly at Lin Shen below the stage.

"Shen'er, do you like it?"

Lin Shen was completely stunned.

He stared at the shiny, fragrant "Natural Candy" that was bigger than his head, his mouth watering.

"I love it! I love it! Lin Shen loves it the most!"

As he shouted, he took his short legs and stumbled as he tried to rush onto the platform.

"Bite!"

A stick of incense burned out.

The sermon by Laozi of Taiqing has ended.

He slowly walked down the platform and handed the huge "Natural Candy" to Lin Shen.

Lin Shen grabbed the candy, which was taller than him, and took a big bite.

"Mmm! It's so delicious! It's the taste of all the flavors combined!"

He squinted his eyes happily, like a kitten that had just stolen some fish.

Seeing this, Hongjun Daozu smiled and asked, "Little Lin Shen, how about giving your First Master's sermon a score?"

While struggling to eat the big candy, Lin Shen vaguely raised his two chubby little hands.

All ten fingers were forcefully raised.

"Perfect score!"

Taiqing Laozi revealed a gratified and profound smile.

Meanwhile, the face of the Yuanshi Tianzun beside him turned extremely ugly.

Brother, that was brilliant!

The supreme Tao is integrated into the simplest act of "making sugar," returning to simplicity and authenticity.

It not only enlightened all beings but also perfectly catered to the young disciple's preferences.

How was he supposed to explain that?

They've completely blocked the road!