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

Chapter 162 Yang Shen Proves the Dao

After putting away the books, Zhou Sheng patted his sleeves and pushed the books further inside. "Young man, all I ask for in this life is to leave behind a good name. I don't care if the name is good or bad. I just hope that future generations will remember me, Zhou Sheng."

At this point, he sighed, "The sages said there are three things that can be immortalized: establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words."

As Zhou Sheng counted on his fingers, he muttered to himself, "The first rule is to establish virtue. I don't consider myself to have much virtue; I'm just a monkey wandering the world."

As he spoke, he pushed away one finger, then another. "The second merit is out of the question. The name of the Thirty-Six Thieves of Jia Shen is well-established. They have wreaked havoc on the entire world of supernatural beings, causing turmoil and chaos."

"That leaves only the third principle of establishing a doctrine."

He raised his only remaining index finger and pointed it in Lü Qian's direction, saying, "You are my last and only path to immortality."

Lu Qian stood quietly in place, watching this old man, who was like a playful child, ramble on and on about his obsessions and ideas.

"If you, little Lu Zu, achieve enlightenment, I will become one of your guides, a reputation that will be passed down through the ages, perfectly suited to a prince like myself!"

Zhou Sheng became increasingly satisfied as he spoke, and he couldn't help but slap the table in admiration for his idea, "Hehehe... With the illustrious name of the Marquis, I will surely contribute to the future lineage of Wudang!"

He closed his eyes and rubbed his beard, as if imagining his name appearing near the top of the Wudang ordination certificate in the future.

"Isn't what you're earning just what worldly people call 'the first page of the family genealogy,' or 'the first incense offering at Qingming Festival'?"

Lu Qian suddenly understood Zhou Sheng's plan; it was similar to vying for the so-called ranking in ancestral worship in the secular world.

"nature!"

Zhou Sheng lowered his hand, his expression returning to calm. "Alright, these are all just daydreams. I still need you to help me make my dreams come true."

"I've taken care of the matter with the 'Art' sect for you, but you'll have to deal with the rest of the trouble yourselves."

As he spoke, his figure became ethereal, dispersing into streams of wind that soared into the sky. "I, King Zhou, am departing!"

"Respectfully bidding farewell to Grandmaster Zhou Sheng!"

Lu Qian watched the other person leave, and in the blink of an eye, his body glowed with golden light, transforming into a dazzling stream of light that flew towards the distant horizon.

Now that the Art Sect has someone to back them up, the rest is up to Wang Ye to handle.

Everyone has their own path to follow. Wang also has his own trials to endure, and Lü Qian also has his own cultivation.

In the days following his arrival at the Wang family's mountain estate, Lü Qian was treated to a warm welcome by the Wang couple, and the matter of funding for the future development of Wudang Mountain was also resolved.

Three days later, Lü Qian sat cross-legged on the back of the white crane and waved goodbye to the Wang family couple and Wang Ye who had come to see him off.

"Wang Shanxin, thank you for your hospitality. This humble Taoist should now continue his cultivation."

"唳~"

As soon as he finished speaking, the white crane beneath him spread its wings, and wisps of breeze gathered around the crane, stirred by its broad wings, and flowed in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the white crane carried the Taoist priest straight up with the wind, soaring into the sky amidst the gentle breeze.

"This humble Taoist priest is departing!"

"Take care, Taoist priest!"

Below, Wang Weiguo and his wife stood in the pavilion watching the white crane and the handsome young Taoist priest depart into the distance. In the blink of an eye, their figures disappeared into the clouds, as if they had ascended straight to the heavens.

"Alright, Mom and Dad, everyone's gone now, you should snap out of it."

Seeing his parents gazing at the horizon in a daze, Wang Ye helplessly waved his hand in front of their eyes. "Senior Brother Lü has his own things to do. He's much more serious about his cultivation than I am."

"You know they're serious, so why don't you adjust your own attitude?"

Wang Weiguo glanced at the slouching Wang Ye and snorted, "What about you? Yesterday I asked you to teach me a couple of Tai Chi moves, and you turned it into cutting a watermelon."

"Look at you, you even fought with me back then when you wanted to become a monk, how come you've become a completely different person now that you're a monk?"

"What else can we do? You men, once you get something, you don't cherish it anymore."

Madam Wang also covered her mouth and chuckled, "Alright, cultivation is something that can be left to fate. If you old man want your son to carry you, just say so."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Wang Ye, "Xiao Ye, don't listen to your dad. He just sees other people flying on cranes and wants you to try it out for him. Speaking of which, Mom is also quite curious, can you fly?"

Meeting his parents' curious gazes, Wang scratched his head, fully understanding the Chinese people's yearning for flight.

After all, after he learned the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Wind, he used to fly in all sorts of different ways at night on Wudang Mountain.

I have to say, the feeling of soaring through the air and riding the wind is really exhilarating.

"Well, I can fly by myself, but I'm not very skilled at it yet."

Wang also spread his arms awkwardly and gestured, "I'm afraid I can't lead the two of you, and there are rules against doing random demonstrations."

"I'll set aside a few more small goals for your pocket money."

Wang Weiguo waved his hand, his tone full of pride, "We've only ever been ordinary people, never expecting to have a son like you who cultivates Taoism."

"Alright, we're coming! Please, you two, have a look around!"

Having entered the mortal world, Wang Ye eventually gained more popularity, and he felt at ease using his own labor to attract sponsorships for Wudang.

……

On the other side, high in the sky, a white crane spreads its wings and flies, carrying a young Taoist priest through the swirling clouds.

Lu Qian sat cross-legged on the crane's back, with a peach wood sword on his back. Amidst the drifting clouds and mist, his sleeves and hair fluttered in the wind, revealing his true nature.

But at this moment, he frowned and looked down from the crane's back, "Master Fang is about to pass away."

During his visits to various lineages, Lü Qian had met the kind old Taoist priest several times. The priest passed on to him the Quanzhen Longmen's method of "Burning the Spirit and Refining the Spirit" and also guided him to the Baiyun Temple.

Time flies, and seven years have passed in the blink of an eye. In this world, only time truly does not fail us.

"We've arrived at Baiyun Temple."

Looking down at the familiar temples, he made hand gestures and used the illusion technique from the [Feng Hou Qi Men], and in the blink of an eye, the two figures disappeared into the air.

Lu Qian directed the white crane to avoid the crowd and land in the backyard of Baiyun Temple, a place belonging to the extraordinary people.

After settling the white crane, he walked towards Fang Dongtian's courtyard. Just as he stepped into the small courtyard and saw the tightly closed door, Fang Dongtian's cheerful voice suddenly came from inside the room.

"Since you're here, come in."

"yes!"

Lu Qian smiled and continued to approach. He pushed open the door and went inside, where he met the kind old Taoist priest.

At this moment, Fang Dongtian had a rosy complexion and a long breath, showing no signs of being nearing the end of his life.

"sit."

He smiled and pointed to the prayer mat in front of him, then looked at Lü Qian and teased, "Your entourage is quite grand, arriving on a crane. You really do look like an enlightened immortal."

"Hahaha......"

"Not at all, I haven't reached that level yet. I'm just experiencing the feeling of riding a crane first."

Lu Qian closed the door again and sat down as Fang Dongtian instructed. A golden-red light shone in his eyes, and Fang Dongtian appeared to be radiating a light like a golden flame.

"Are you preparing to attain enlightenment and undergo the final step of refining emptiness?"

He asked in surprise, noting that the other party's current state was very similar to the description of the [Yang Shen] Dao in the "Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji".

In the "Collection of Teachings of Zhongli and Lü", Zhongli Quan, also known as Han Zhongli, once told Lü Dongbin that if one wants to return to the primordial Qi through the way of Yang Shen and achieve ascension, it generally requires two steps.

The first step is to refine all the yin essence in the soul, so that the primordial spirit can reach the state of complete yin and pure yang, which is to achieve the yang spirit.

The second step is to unite the body and spirit, taking the Yang spirit into the ancestral aperture, refining the wisdom light of the Yang spirit to generate divine fire, and then refining the body into the Yang spirit so that the divine light shines everywhere.

Finally, he refined his entire body into divine fire, causing his physical body to disintegrate, thus achieving unity of form and spirit and reverting to the primordial primordial energy.

The dazzling golden flames surrounding Fang Dongtian are proof that he is cultivating the Yang God.

Faced with Lü Qian's doubts, Fang Dongtian waved his hand and said, "Hehe, I have cultivated for decades. While I wouldn't say my cultivation is perfect, it can be considered flawless."

"Young Master Lü, you too will one day embark on your own path to enlightenment."

"I don't have any great abilities, so I can only go for you first and let you see the mystery behind it."

"I believe you can learn something from my experience as a predecessor."