On the Dao (Part Two)

Li Feng retorted without the slightest fear, "Can't magical treasures fall from the sky? Then where did my Vermilion Bird Crescent come from?"

Xiao Longzi inhaled a mouthful of saliva into his throat and broke into a violent coughing fit. He felt utterly stifled and could not help wondering, Did I take on the wrong disciple? What kind of disciple is this flighty and unruly? I, I, I—did I owe him something in a past life? But karma and reincarnation are Buddhist notions. We're Daoists; do Daoists have that kind of retribution too?

Drawing up a breath of True Essence to suppress his coughing, Xiao Longzi shot Li Feng a vicious glare and said furiously, "If I stayed with you for a year, this Daoist's cultivation would regress by ten years! Infinite Life Buddha, Three Pure Ones above, this humble Daoist has lost his composure... Listen carefully. You are not allowed to spout nonsense again. Mm, mm, we won't talk about sword sects anymore. Just remember this: among sword cultivators, if one out of a hundred Qi Refiners might ascend to the Immortal Realm, then perhaps only one out of two hundred sword cultivators can do so."

Li Feng paid no heed to Xiao Longzi's warning. He grabbed Little Cat's wildly swishing tail and wrapped it around his neck as a scarf, then yawned. "Ah, I get it, I get it. They like competing with swords, right? So they hack each other to death early on, and more than half of them die. Where would anyone be left to ascend as immortals? Hahaha, Master, I'm clever, aren't I? Hey, don't look at me like that. Your disciple is a little scared."

Within the bamboo grove, Xie Yuezi, Gu Lingzi, and a young Daoist with a bald crown and several sparse strands of hair hanging beside his ears exchanged looks. Wearing stunned expressions, they shook their heads, let out a simultaneous sigh, and tiptoed away. After a long while, Gu Lingzi finally said, "Luckily, that kid isn't my disciple." Xie Yuezi and the young Daoist nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing.

Xiao Longzi sat down on the bamboo chair, grinding his teeth, and said loudly, "The most fundamental Daoist Magic of our Yiyuan Sect is to communicate with Heaven and Earth, embody Heaven's will, and comprehend the profound principles behind the digestion, growth, and transformation of all things since Heaven and Earth were born from chaos. Merge one's mortal body with Heaven and Earth, gather Heaven and Earth's primordial qi to replenish our own deficiencies, temper flesh and bone outwardly, nurture the Nascent Soul inwardly, and in the future unite spirit and flesh to naturally attain the Dao and ascend... But what I am explaining to you today is the origin of it all, and it is not quite so simple. This..."

Li Feng raised his hand. Only after Xiao Longzi nodded in permission did he ask, "Master, let me ask something. You said our Yiyuan Sect gathers Heaven and Earth's primordial qi to make up for our own deficiencies, right?"

Xiao Longzi nodded and said proudly, "Precisely. Sword cultivators use Sword Qi to drive Heaven and Earth's primordial qi in tempering themselves; outer-pill cultivators use the medicinal strength of herbs, trees, medicines, and stones to replenish themselves. Those are merely minor paths. Our Yiyuan Sect directly becomes one with Heaven and Earth, reaching the supreme wondrous state of Unity of Heaven and Man. With every gesture, one may unleash boundless might and obtain supreme wondrous methods. That is the supreme Golden Core Great Dao."

Li Feng asked quietly, "Then when we gather Heaven and Earth's primordial qi to replenish ourselves, how is that different from gathering yin to supplement yang? They must be lacking yang qi too, so they gather yin... This... supplement yang... This... Master, why has your face turned purple?"

Xie Yuezi and the other two had only just walked a short distance away when they saw a massive bolt of Heavenly Lightning descend from the sky, crazily bombarding the spot where they had been peeping. More than a hundred enormous bamboo stalks turned to dust in an instant, and a crater seven or eight zhang wide appeared in the ground. Then Xiao Longzi's miserable roar came from there: "Shut your mouth for this Daoist! If you dare spout nonsense again, this Daoist will strike you to death with lightning! You bastard, listen carefully! The supreme Great Dao of our Yiyuan Sect is—"

Li Feng swallowed hard as he watched Xiao Longzi, his face wreathed in purple qi, wave his arms and roar as though performing a shamanic rite to exorcise ghosts. "What our Yiyuan Sect gathers is the purest, most refined breath of Innate Primordial Qi that has filled Heaven and Earth since chaos first opened, nourishing the growth of all things. Its essence is contained within oneself and never leaks outward. Gathering Heaven and Earth's primordial qi for one year surpasses what those jade-maiden arts gain in a thousand years. Those jade-maiden arts exhaust the essence of one's own mortal body to gather some mixed and impure yin essence, then must carefully temper it with true fire within the body before it can become one's own primordial yang. Often, the True Essence gathered is not even as great as the essential vitality one expends. This is..."

Li Feng hurriedly nodded. "Master, I understand, I understand. It's a losing business, right? Those idiots who gather yin to supplement yang choose mortal women, and naturally there isn't much on them worth gathering. But we do not choose mortal women—we choose the primordial qi within Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth's primordial qi is so abundant and plentiful, and it is also the purest and most refined, so naturally it is very beneficial to our cultivation, right?"

Xiao Longzi finally calmed down and nodded repeatedly. "What you said is somewhat off the mark, but the general meaning is more or less correct."

Li Feng sighed. "So that's how it is. In that case, Master, what you said is really the same thing after all. Those who gather yin to supplement yang whore after women, while our Yiyuan Sect whores after Heaven and Earth. The targets are simply different. What is the essential difference?"

Xiao Longzi's entire body stiffened. His eyes went blank, and his fingers twitched repeatedly like chicken claws in the wind. After a long while, he felt sweetness rise in his throat, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell backward with his face turned to the sky.

Li Feng shrieked, "Hey, hey! Master, don't scare me! Your disciple is terribly timid! You—you've got blood hanging from your mouth! Don't scare your disciple! Your disciple only took one Vermilion Bird Crescent from you, you can't be this heartbroken over it, can you? Ah? Master! Master! You—you're not breathing?"

At the words "Vermilion Bird Crescent," another surge of evil fire rose in Xiao Longzi's belly. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted completely.

When Xie Yuezi and the others heard Li Feng's loud cries from afar, they had no idea what had happened and hurried over. They saw Xiao Longzi lying on the ground with blood all over the front of his robes, while Li Feng was helping him regulate his breath. Li Feng's method was somewhat peculiar, however. When ordinary people helped regulate someone's breath, they pressed hard downward with their palms from a point roughly two inches below the throat. Li Feng's two hands, on the other hand, darted in and out of Xiao Longzi's robes, sleeves, and belt as though Xiao Longzi were a corpse and Li Feng were collecting the body.

The moment Li Feng saw the three of them suddenly appear, he immediately shouted as naturally as breathing, "Martial Uncles, come quickly and see what is wrong with my master!" His right hand had already smoothly slipped a copper shard glimmering with spiritual light into his sleeve.

Xie Yuezi rushed forward in a panic, fumbling medicinal pills out of his sleeve to treat Xiao Longzi. Meanwhile, Li Feng had already noticed the young Daoist with the bald head and several strands of hair hanging down from the back. He said in surprise, "Strange, strange. Martial Uncle, this is an immortal residence. How did a monk get in?"

The young Daoist's whole body froze. Looking at Li Feng, he was utterly speechless.

The following evening, after Li Feng sat in meditation and circulated his qi through thirty-six full Great Cycles, each cycle making a full eighty-one revolutions, the smiling Xie Yuezi hauled him to the edge of the pine grove. The arrangement was the same as yesterday's. Beside the stream at the edge of the grove stood a bamboo table covered in books, with three small bamboo chairs beside it. Li Feng, Xie Yuezi, and the Daoist Li Feng had called a monk sat side by side.

Xie Yuezi smiled and said, "Fengzi, you should call this one your Third Martial Uncle. His Daoist name is Ling Houzi. He has just emerged from seclusion, having achieved great completion in the Nascent Soul realm. You must seek much guidance from your Third Martial Uncle in the future."

Li Feng gave a muffled snicker. Ling Houzi twisted his mouth and said angrily, "Hmph, hmph. Your martial uncle is a monkey, but aren't you a madman?" Li Feng was stunned speechless and could only let Xie Yuezi mock him endlessly from the side. Li Feng carefully sized Ling Houzi up from head to toe, and an odd smile suddenly appeared on his lips again as his right hand stretched out without the slightest courtesy. But Little Cat was faster than him. Little Cat's two front paws had already reached Ling Houzi, and the paws rubbed lightly together.

Cold sweat covered Xie Yuezi's forehead, while Ling Houzi wore an equally vacant expression. In a daze, he took a jade bottle from his belt, placed a green pill on Little Cat's paw, then obediently took a jade ring from his robes and gently placed it in Li Feng's hand. Only then did Li Feng smile respectfully and say, "Third Martial Uncle, you are truly generous." Little Cat was even more shameless. After swallowing the pill, it rubbed its huge head desperately against Ling Houzi's thigh.

Ling Houzi stiffly turned toward Xie Yuezi. Xie Yuezi let out a scream, grabbed Little Cat by the scruff, and hurled its several-thousand-jin body over a hundred zhang away. Xie Yuezi roared, "Little Cat, you—you—you—you've learned bad habits! You're a tiger demon, yet you have learned how to extort people! Who did you learn that from? Go sit down and meditate properly! This is outrageous! Heavens, this—you are a tiger demon, a tiger with status! How could you..."

Li Feng had long since tucked the jade ring into his robes. With a wicked grin, he said, "Ha, Little Cat has learned to be clever. How can it follow immortals without taking a few benefits? Right, Third Martial Uncle? This disciple will definitely seek much guidance from you in the future. I only ask that Martial Uncle not be stingy with your instruction."

A smile surfaced on Ling Houzi's stiff face. He laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha, of course, of course. Our Yiyuan Sect has only you as a fourth-generation disciple now. The entire sect has placed its hopes on you. Little Martial Nephew, whatever questions or needs you have, feel free to come to your martial uncle... Ah, your martial uncle remembers finding an immature Thousand Tribulations Orchid on Verdant Mountain ten years ago. Hahaha, I should go see whether it has matured now. If the time is nearly ripe, your martial uncle will guard it there until it emerges from the earth."

Ling Houzi leaped up in a streak of golden light and shot away, leaving behind an ethereal voice. "If Martial Nephew has time, come find your martial uncle on Verdant Mountain. Your martial uncle will not return until the Thousand Tribulations Orchid ripens. Hehe, hehe. Martial Nephew, do not fear troubling your martial uncle. Feel free to come find me." His voice still drifted through the air, but he had already gone more than two hundred li away.

Li Feng looked at Xie Yuezi. "Martial Uncle, where is Verdant Mountain?"

Xie Yuezi stared in the direction Ling Houzi had flown, his face filled with disbelief. "Martial Nephew, you truly are impressive. You scared Third Senior Brother away in one go. This is his first time leaving the mountain in nearly two hundred years. Ten years ago? Ten years ago, he was still in deathly seclusion. Did he sleepwalk to Verdant Mountain?... Hehe, hehe. Where is Verdant Mountain? I know where Verdant Mountain is, but as for your Third Martial Uncle's Verdant Mountain, I fear even the Jade Emperor does not know where it is."

After coughing softly, Xie Yuezi first raised a stream of True Essence to protect his heart meridian with exceptional care. Then he secretly activated a Heart-Clearing Spirit-Concentrating Talisman to calm his blood and qi, furtively laid down restrictions all around to keep heart demons from taking advantage of the chance to invade, and only then said gently, "Martial Nephew, your master... well, the True Essence within his body is a little disordered. He will likely need to enter seclusion for quiet cultivation for a time. Therefore, your lessons will be taught by your martial uncle instead."

Li Feng opened his mouth, but Xie Yuezi immediately slapped a Silence Talisman onto him. Only then did he smile and say, "Ah, Martial Nephew, you only need to listen to your martial uncle with your ears. As for questions... mm, your martial uncle is only a minor cultivator too, and there are many questions I do not understand. If you wish to ask questions, go find the sect master, or Second Martial Uncle, or Fourth Martial Uncle, or Fifth Martial Uncle. Ha."

Li Feng cursed furiously in his heart. Damn it, Third Martial Uncle is your senior brother, so you just don't want me going to him with questions, do you? Damn it, you really are a piece of work. Hmph, just wait. Tomorrow I'll go find that old fellow True Man Miaomiao... But honestly, am I, Li Feng, really that terrifying? If I were truly that terrifying, I wouldn't have been so scared of Tiger Boss and the others in Suzhou Prefecture.

Xie Yuezi chuckled a few times and looked at the speechless Li Feng. "Mm, yesterday Junior Brother Xiao should already have explained our sect's general cultivation outline to you. It is to draw in Heaven and Earth's qi and strengthen our bodies. What your martial uncle will explain today is another aspect."

"In Daoist cultivation and Qi Refining, there are four great realms: qi, pill, spirit, and void. Each realm has three lesser realms, each divided into early, middle, and late stages. For example, you, Martial Nephew, are currently at Late Qi Induction within the qi realm. In Qi Refining terms, you have already reached the second lesser realm of the qi realm. This is not bad cultivation... So long as you cultivate according to our sect's increasingly profound Cultivation Methods, you may naturally emerge from qi into pill, nurture spirit from pill, lead spirit back to void, and finally perceive Heaven and Earth clearly, ascending to the Heavenly Realm."

Xie Yuezi picked up the teacup before him and took a light sip of clear tea. Then he gazed gently at the Cold Night Orchid he had worked so hard to replant in the pine grove behind him before smiling at Li Feng. "However, Qi Refining chiefly cultivates the body, while Dao cultivation values the heart above all else—the cultivation of the Dao."

"Fundamentally speaking, the chief purpose of Qi Refining, even after one produces a Nascent Soul, is only to let oneself live longer and gain greater power to resist the incursions of external demons. What truly allows you to ascend to the Heavenly Realm is your cultivation of the Dao. The so-called Dao is your comprehension of the profound principles of Heaven and Earth, as well as whether you can better merge into Heaven and Earth. Most of this is something you can only comprehend yourself; outsiders cannot help you."

"Hehe, I see much confusion in Martial Nephew's eyes. Your martial uncle understands what confuses you. Indeed, if you wish to become an immortal and attain the Dao, you must rely upon this cultivation of the Dao. You are currently at Late Qi Induction. Then you should be able to sense that feeling of communicating with Heaven and Earth, of a tranquil and peaceful state of mind, yes? That is the entryway to the Dao. You have already stepped across the threshold of the Dao."

Xie Yuezi pondered for a moment before slowly nodding. "If a Qi Refiner lacks sufficient cultivation of the Dao, then in bodily cultivation—in the cultivation of qi, pill, spirit, and void—it is impossible to reach too great a height. Even if you use all manner of Heavenly Treasures to force your bodily cultivation forward, your Dao heart's foundation will ultimately be lacking, its roots unstable, and it will bring no benefit to your future Dao cultivation. This is why, although our Yiyuan Sect has spiritual medicines everywhere, apart from Senior Brother Gu, Gu Lingzi, who enjoys refining pills, the rest of us merely refine ordinary medicinal pills."

Li Feng was so angry that he stomped his feet. He wanted to ask a question, but his mouth had been sealed by magic. How could he make a sound? He could only arrange Xie Yuezi's mother into seventy-two different poses in his belly, yet he could do nothing about Xie Yuezi.

Xie Yuezi smiled and said softly, "Martial Nephew, do you understand now? Mm, I can let you speak, but if you say anything that dissatisfies your martial uncle, I will seal your mouth again. All right?" Seeing Li Feng nod repeatedly, Xie Yuezi waved his hand. Li Feng immediately opened his mouth and let out a string of popping sounds.

"Martial Uncle, you said that the most fundamental thing for us Dao cultivators is to comprehend the Dao. Does that mean we can become immortals without going through Qi Refining?"

"Indeed, indeed. It is said that one who comprehends the Dao in a single day may ascend at once. So long as you can comprehend it, you naturally become one among immortals. But the Heavenly Dao is vast and indistinct, and all things revolve within it in cycles. How many people can comprehend it? Understand it? And how much time does it take to do so? Thus, Qi Refining is what I said before: it merely lets you live longer, giving you more time to comprehend the Dao. If one year is not enough, ten years do not suffice, and a hundred years still fall short, then through a thousand years of bitter cultivation, surely you can comprehend something, can you not?"

Seeing Li Feng's incredulous expression, Xie Yuezi laughed. "Therefore, Martial Nephew, never put the cart before the horse. In Dao cultivation, what matters is the heart, not the body... The Buddhist sect has eminent monks and virtuous masters who, in merely a hundred years, sit in a single session of withered meditation and ascend to the Buddhist Realm. Confucianism has great sages and saints who walk the mortal world for decades, then receive divine offices after death. Daoism too has countless ancient sages who ascend directly in less than a hundred years, sparing themselves who knows how many years of circulating qi and nurturing pills. This is because they can comprehend, because they comprehend the most profound truths between Heaven and Earth. That is the foundation of attaining the Dao."

"Each person comprehends something different, but as long as you can comprehend it and receive Heaven's recognition, you have succeeded."

Li Feng snatched the cup before Xie Yuezi and gulped down several mouthfuls of tea, then cursed loudly, "Damn it! Then why do Dao cultivators all use the so-called realms of the body to determine the depth of someone's cultivation, instead of using the realms of the heart?"

Smiling, Xie Yuezi smacked Li Feng on the head and shouted, "You still do not understand? The Dao heart determines one's realm of Qi Refining, while the realm of Qi Refining can roughly reflect the level of one's Dao heart. The realm of the Dao is drifting and indistinct—how can it be described in words? 'The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao.' If it can be spoken in words, then it is not that thing."

"In Qi Refining, when you throw a punch, how much can you destroy? When you activate a talisman, how great is its power? These are things that can truly be seen with the naked eye. But what of the Dao? Could you possibly say, 'I comprehended such-and-such chapters of the Dao De Jing, while he comprehended such-and-such chapters'? That would be absurd, absurd... Thus, using Qi Refining realms to indicate one's level of Dao cultivation is merely a rough concept."

Li Feng froze. Something flashed through his mind like lightning striking flint, and enlightenment suddenly dawned on him. "The Great Dao is formless."

Xie Yuezi smiled. "Only the heart knows for itself."

A gentle breeze drifted by, thin mist winding around the two of them. It seemed as though some mysterious principle had become entwined within it as well.

Li Feng suddenly laughed. "Ha, ha, ha! So that's how it is. Qi Refining is Dao cultivation, yet Qi Refining is not Dao cultivation. If one cannot communicate better with Heaven and Earth, then one cannot refine qi well either. Qi Refining is really heart refinement... Mm, and one must not use herbs for assistance either... But this disciple only wants to be able to throw one punch and make everyone too afraid to argue with me. Whether I become an immortal or not, I do not care." Li Feng muttered softly, "Whoring after Heaven and Earth requires caring about the heart too? Wouldn't that be like visiting a brothel and having to talk feelings with the girl? Wouldn't that invite her husband to come knocking?"

Xie Yuezi felt the urge to cough up blood as well. Looking at the moon about to set in the west, he suddenly could not understand why he had worked so hard to explain so much to this fellow in the simplest possible terms.

Xie Yuezi wailed inwardly, Forget it, forget it. I might as well let this kid do as he pleases. He swallowed a full jin of Candle Dragon Grass. With some spiritual medicines to assist him and several martial uncles and senior brothers guarding him, it would be good enough to help him form a Golden Core quickly and send him down the mountain to take disciples... This kid belongs to the mortal world of eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, murder, and arson. He is not the sort who single-mindedly cultivates in purity within the realm of immortals... Second Martial Uncle was right. This kid has far too much Sha Qi. Daoist qi is utterly absent from him.

The wind suddenly grew stronger. Li Feng shivered and asked, "Strange, why did it suddenly turn so chilly? Which bastard is cursing me behind my back?"

Xie Yuezi stared blankly, unable to say another word.