"At that very moment, someone behind them shouted, 'Brother Dongfang, was it truly you who sent people to capture me?' The man's voice was aged, but his Internal Energy was vigorous. His words rang out, and the echoes reverated through the great hall, making him seem extraordinarily imposing. This must be Wind and Thunder Hall's Master, Tong Baixiong..."
Chen Luo stretched lazily. After a full day, he had finally finished writing another third of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, bringing him a little closer to the day its Book Spirit would condense.
Advisor Li hastily snatched the pages from beside Chen Luo and began reading with relish. He looked exactly like Chen Luo himself as a child, standing by a bookstall and reading "free books."
You're really waiting right by the author for updates! By Blue Star's rules, wouldn't it be unacceptable not to reward him with a Golden Alliance...? Chen Luo grumbled inwardly. But then he thought about how a Poem Creation Realm expert had sold himself to him for a year, and his feelings balanced out.
During his writing, Chen Xuan had called him outside once and had him show his face in front of several dozen servants and retainers. Chen Luo sensed that Chen Xuan was deliberately bolstering his authority as head of the family. Perhaps his performance over the past two days had made Chen Xuan view him in a new light. In addition, because of her eye problem, Chen Xuan seemed to have some intention of transferring the household-managing authority to him.
The apricot Wei Yan had given him was not entirely useless. After eating it, Chen Xuan could sense light, but that was all.
"A Barbarian Bone Pill..." Chen Luo's heart ached. In the short time since he had crossed over, he had felt Chen Xuan's wholehearted devotion to him. Though it was partly because of this body, those emotions had nevertheless landed solidly in his heart. If there had been no cure, he could have let it go. But there was a cure, and he could not obtain it.
"From a transmigrator's perspective, obtaining a Barbarian Bone Pill should be a piece of cake!" Chen Luo thought. He then reached out, and another small cluster of Seven-Colored Mist condensed in his palm.
Chen Luo had thought about it carefully. Whether Confucianism, Daoism, or Buddhism, all of them took "qi" as their foundation. His Seven-Colored Mist should also be a kind of qi. Perhaps it might even be an entirely new path of cultivation.
That would fit the setting of him counterattacking the Great Emperor and cutting across the ages in the future.
Ahem, I'm getting ahead of myself. I still haven't found any clue about this path...
Chen Luo turned around and saw Ji Zhong reading the novel with an excited look on his face. His eyes shifted. He had not been very familiar with Advisor Li before, so it had been inconvenient to ask too much. But now that he had a Confucian genius beside him, he had to get to the bottom of Confucian cultivation.
As the saying went: a Stone from Other Mountains could polish jade.
"The Confucian path of cultivation?" Ji Zhong raised his head and glanced at Chen Luo. "Young Master, you don't possess any Righteous Qi. Why are you asking about this?"
"This Young Master plans to study the hundred schools. Is there a problem?"
"I understand now. Young Master, do you want to add a Confucian expert to this story?"
"Uh... yes, I had that thought."
"You should have said so sooner!"
Ji Zhong immediately became interested. "What did you know before this? That way, I'll know where to begin."
"Hmm. I previously heard Advisor Li at the county office mention the first three realms. They're called the Self-Awareness Realm, the Writing Realm, and the Poem Creation Realm!"
Ji Zhong frowned slightly and shook his head. "That isn't accurate."
"Young Master, the path of cultivation has the concepts of major and minor realms."
"The major realms refer to breaking through one's original limitations as a life-form and reaching another level of life."
"The minor realms, meanwhile, are each crucial advance made during that breakthrough process."
"As far as I know, the peaks of cultivation for Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and even the Demon Race are becoming a Saint, a Celestial Venerable, a Buddha, or an Ancestor Demon. Before that, each path has three major realms."
"Take the Confucian school, for example. Its three major realms are the 'Scholar Realm,' the 'Master Realm,' and the 'Great Scholar Realm'..."
"The Scholar Realm is further divided into three minor realms: the Self-Awareness Realm, the Writing Realm, and the Poem Creation Realm. Any Confucian disciple in these three minor realms may be called a scholar when dealing with outsiders."
"When a Confucian disciple continues forward from the Poem Creation Realm and accumulates sufficient knowledge, they can break through to the 'Master Realm.' A scholar in this realm can see the Mountain of Books and gaze upon the Sea of Learning within their sea of consciousness!"
Chen Luo was puzzled. "The Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning?"
Ji Zhong nodded. "There is a path through the Mountain of Books where diligence makes the way, and no shore to the Sea of Learning where hardship makes the boat. Confucian cultivation is the cultivation of learning, unlike Daoism and Buddhism. Confucianism emphasizes reviewing the past to learn the new, so from the Master Realm to the Great Scholar Realm, cultivation is essentially the process of climbing the Mountain of Books and crossing the Sea of Learning. That is why Confucian disciples also call themselves Mountain and Sea People."
"What does the Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning look like?" Chen Luo asked.
Ji Zhong shook his head. "I haven't reached that realm yet, so I can't see them. I've only heard rumors."
"The Mountain of Books is a towering mountain formed from countless classics. All kinds of texts written by the Confucian sages of every age can be found there. Only after reading a classic and gaining its recognition can that classic transform into a path beneath your feet. Once you reach the end of that path, you read the next book and gain another path. This repeats over and over until you cross the Mountain of Books."
Chen Luo thought about it. Isn't this just an online cloud library?
Ji Zhong continued, "After crossing the Mountain of Books, you can see the vast Sea of Learning. When a Confucian student enters the Sea of Learning and transforms their mind and spirit into a boat, they will feel tired, lost, and mentally exhausted. This is the suffering of reading."
"As you sail forward, waves will surge toward you. Those waves are all the doubts that arose in your heart while reading on the Mountain of Books. After being swept into the Sea of Learning by the waves, you must resolve your doubts amid the agony of drowning before you can climb back onto the boat and continue forward."
"Only when there are no doubts left in your heart and the wind and waves have stilled can you see the end of the Sea of Learning."
"That is one Mountain and Sea."
"Below the 'Master Realm' are three minor realms, which correspond to three Mountains and Seas."
"Crossing one Mountain and Sea is called the 'Enlightenment Realm.' It can enlighten young children and greatly increase the success rate of the 'Comprehensive Reading' talent."
"Crossing two Mountains and Seas is called the 'Enlightenment Realm.' It can awaken the intelligence of birds and beasts and prompt their Bloodline Awakening."
"Crossing three Mountains and Seas is called the 'Dao Transmission Realm.' It allows one to analyze classics and expound on one's own understanding. In other words, it is the beginning of writing and establishing one's own school of thought."
"After the Master Realm comes the Great Scholar Realm. I haven't learned much about it either, but the Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning of a Great Scholar are worlds apart from those of a Master. In them, incredible Divine Abilities can be born."
"That is what I know of the Confucian path of cultivation. Does Young Master have any other questions?"
Chen Luo smacked his lips. This path of cultivation sounded miserable as hell... climbing mountains and crossing ridges, wading rivers and sailing seas. Sure enough, in every world, studying was arduous.
It doesn't seem very useful as a reference! Chen Luo thought. If my own path of cultivation is designed to be this miserable, won't my dream of enjoying a wonderful life as a rich second-generation heir shatter?
"I'd better think it over some more..."
While Chen Luo and Ji Zhong were discussing the Confucian path of cultivation, on the official road a hundred li from Wan'an County, a snow-white steed pulled an ornate carriage forward. What drew attention was the striking blood-red pattern on the steed's forehead.
The creature pulling the carriage was astonishingly a Demon Beast that had reached the Blood Refining Level!
Spring Breeze Does Not Cross Yumen Pass. Please recommend, collect, and add it to your book list.
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