Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 189 Hidden Dragon in the Abyss, Divine Tree of the Qinling Mountains

Upon hearing Guo Zu's introduction, Lü Qian's eyes flashed with surprise. "What kind of great master dares to practice this method?"

"If I remember correctly, the Heavenly Origin Alchemy Path not only has extremely high requirements for the cultivator's innate talent, but the first thing to do on this alchemy path is to understand one's mind and nature."

"With the innate nature of a sage, one governs the entire life of the body and the universe, emulating the heavens and the cosmos, and mimicking the changes of the universe."

"If the Human Yuan Inner Elixir only stays at the level of Yin and Yang in the human body, then the Heavenly Yuan Great Elixir also evolves the principle of Yin and Yang giving rise to all things in the process."

As they were talking, Lü Qian suddenly had a flash of inspiration and frowned, asking, "Wait a minute, this method... why does it look so much like Feng Hou Qi Men?"

"I didn't realize it back then, but now it seems I've also incorporated some Heavenly Origin Pill Dao techniques?"

When Zhou Sheng passed on the Feng Hou Tu to him, Grand Master Zhou Meng used the term "cheek" from "Journey to the West" to guide him to use the yin and yang climate of heaven and earth to temper his own life.

Later, he received the teachings of the various patriarchs of Quanzhen, and integrated those paths to enlightenment, thus forging a path of mutual support between life and death.

Later, the three grandmasters of Wudang even used the Golden Summit as a furnace to replenish his Qi and blood, thus perfecting his foundation.

In fact, it all started with "Feng Hou Qi Men"!

Thinking of this, Lü Qian suddenly looked up at Guo Zu, his eyes shining brightly, "Master, are the Eight Extraordinary Techniques just a starting point?"

"Is it a trap to lure people in?"

Feng Hou Qi Men appears to be a Tian Yuan Dan Fa (a method of alchemy), but it lacks the methods for understanding one's true nature and cultivating the innate nature of a sage.

The Dual-Hand Technique has reached the pinnacle of achieving both life and death, but it can only benefit others; using it on oneself would only turn it into a pair of demonic hands.

The Six Treasures Immortal Thief achieved an immortal body, but lacked the mindset for longevity, ultimately transforming into a monster consumed by physical desires.

The Tongtian Lu only contains the talisman, but no talisman. In the end, drawing it is just a waste of time and effort.

The word 【符箓】 is composed of two characters: 符 first and 箓 second.

This is why Zhang Lingyu, in the original novel, achieved enlightenment of the Tongtian Talisman after combining the talismanic techniques inherited from Longhu Mountain.

……

Seeing Lü Qian's sudden realization, Guo Zu smiled and said, "It's good that you understand. There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"The so-called Eight Extraordinary Techniques are all part of a scheme. The being in the Southern Frontier wants to use these so-called opportunities to lure people into breaking through the [Tongtian Valley]."

Hearing this, Lü Qian asked with some doubt, "Master, what exactly is Tongtian Valley for? Does it have other functions besides selecting successors for Master Ziyang?"

"And what exactly is this being from the Southern Frontier that made all the patriarchs call him a beast?"

Upon hearing Lü Qian's question, Guo Zu stroked his beard and sighed, "Let's talk about the origins of that being first. To be honest, even I don't know which era he lived in."

"Whether it was a shaman who created the Dao and expounded the methods in ancient times, or a Qi practitioner who discussed alchemy during the Qin, Han, Wei and Jin dynasties, even the patriarchs couldn't be sure."

"The Dao of Heavenly Origin Alchemy was actually widely circulated long before Lu Zu attained enlightenment. There were always one or two exceptionally talented individuals who did not understand the scriptures, or who considered themselves extraordinary."

"Just like the Sanyi Sect you encountered before, they interpreted the final 'Return to Emptiness and Merge with the Dao' as truly becoming nothingness, so the Sanyi Sect's Threefold Reversal of Life is fundamentally wrong."

"Going back to what we were saying earlier, that being had completed half of the Heavenly Origin Pill Path, but he went astray on the other half."

"The Heavenly Origin Alchemy Dao requires one to emulate the heavens and the universe with one's own body, and ultimately seize the destiny that belongs to one person from between heaven and earth."

"But the other party actually merged with a mountain and river, disintegrated himself and merged his primordial spirit into the earth's veins, and used the energy of heaven and earth to cultivate, ultimately attempting to seize the creation of a region of heaven and earth."

Upon hearing this, Lü Qian looked at Guo Zu in shock, "His body is one with heaven and earth? Has this man gone mad?"

"Even a creator of magic wouldn't play like this; it's tantamount to courting death!"

"Moreover, a landscape carries far more weight than a person; that being is vying with heaven and earth for the very essence of existence."

Taoist cultivation emphasizes self-cultivation; no matter which path one takes, one will ultimately return to oneself.

Moreover, no matter how much one emphasizes following the will of Heaven, the essence of Taoist cultivation is still going against the will of Heaven.

The path to transcendence is about wresting ownership of oneself from the heavens and earth.

To transcend the Three Realms and be outside the Five Elements, simply put, means to separate one's own status from that of Heaven and Earth.

The path taken by this being in the Southern Frontier truly opened Lü Qian's eyes. It's already quite difficult for a person to become independent, but this being actually wanted to do such a big business.

That man must be a bandit, right?

Faced with Lü Qian's shock, Guo Zu nodded, "So that being is also trapped in a cage, unable to move forward or backward."

"If we give up now, the other party will eventually return to the world, but he is unwilling to accept it."

"The Way cannot be born if the mind does not die."

"Since ancient times, those who have created and expounded the Dao have never had the concept of giving up."

Guo Zu waved his whisk, and streaks of light flashed from the void, transforming into a map of the Nine Provinces beside the two of them.

On the map, the mountains and rivers of Kyushu are depicted, forming a scroll of dragons soaring through the sky.

"That person used the earth's energy as his body, taking the form of mountains and rivers, and cultivated the body of a small earth dragon."

"If you want to achieve enlightenment and ascend to heaven, you must seize the great dragon's fortune, which is the fortune of the Qinling Mountains."

As he spoke, Guo Zu pointed his whisk at the map, and a point of light appeared on the dragon's head of the Qinling Mountains.

"The Qinling Mountains are located in the Central Plains, where the wonders of creation from all directions converge. There is a mysterious place there where a divine tree grows."

"Tongtian Valley was built here because Patriarch Ziyang wanted to stabilize the earth's veins and protect the divine tree so that it could grow smoothly."

"But unexpectedly, it was almost destroyed by later generations. It can only be said that it was a matter of timing and fate."

With a flick of his sleeve, Guo Zu scattered the map in front of him, which then transformed back into a stream of light. This stream of light meandered and intertwined, eventually becoming a giant tree with gnarled and strong branches.

He stroked his beard, his eyes sparkling with a divine light. "That being led a troublemaker named Feng Yao to Tongtian Valley back then."

"And Feng Yao did not disappoint it, destroying the Seasonal Valley runes, scraping off the Purple Sun Enlightenment Scripture, and stealing the legacy left by the Patriarch..."

"Back then, you obtained the Feng Hou Qi Men technique, and it was fortunate that you had the guidance of Zhou Meng, the leader of Wudang, otherwise you might have suffered a calamity."

"Your Zhou Sheng from Wudang knows when to stop and didn't investigate further, but the others are not so well-behaved."

"Speaking of which, we still have a debt to Longhu Mountain. Junior, when you went to Longhu Mountain, did you not notice the entrance to the Inner Paradise?"

Lu Qian nodded. When he went to participate in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, he was captured by the Maoshan Patriarch, but the Longhushan Patriarch did not appear. This was one of the questions that puzzled him.

"They went to pay off their debts. It's really a shame that the descendants of Longhu Mountain are so unworthy, daring to get involved in such a thing."

"We, the ancestors who have ascended to immortality, may seem to possess great supernatural powers, but we are already trapped in our inner realm and can no longer descend to the mortal world. We are powerless to do anything about it."

Guo Zu snorted coldly, swept his whisk, and dispersed the radiance in front of him again. "That being is now like a dragon lurking in the abyss."

"Without a foot of wood, a dragon cannot ascend to heaven."

"What he was waiting for was that sacred tree in the Qinling Mountains."

Lu Qian stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then frowned and asked in confusion, "But if I remember correctly, there's more than one sacred tree. Why are they only focusing on the one in Qinling?"

"Are you talking about the one on the island in the Western Ocean?"

"That won't do. It has long lost the chance to attain enlightenment and can only be considered a piece of rotten wood clinging to life."

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Chapter One!

I wasn't feeling well today, but after a lot of editing, I finally managed to release the first chapter!

I'm asking for a gift!