Yinshan Record

Chapter 196 Grains
The room was quite nice.

Although this middle room is the worst in Tongdelou, it has a hidden secret.

Upon entering the room, a small table is placed directly in front, complete with all kinds of wine and tea sets. Landscape paintings hang on both sides, giving it a rather elegant feel. In addition, there is a bookshelf with many books on it.

There are orthodox books such as "Taiji Diagram Explanation" from Bailudong and "Renyi Zhenglun" from the Imperial College, as well as miscellaneous books such as "Louzhou Zaji" and "Jinyong Jiushi".

The room is divided into two areas, separated by a screen. Behind the screen is the bedroom, where the brocade couch and silk quilts are carefully selected, showing that meticulous care has been taken.

Su Che sat quietly at his desk, took a copy of "On Benevolence and Righteousness" from the bookshelf, and casually flipped through it.

The Confucian school of today, in terms of its origins, actually originated in the medieval period.

At that time, a hundred schools of thought contended, one of which was called Confucianism. Its founder was said to have been a member of the Xuanmen sect and had once visited Xuandu Palace to inquire about the Dao.

However, he believed that the methods of Taoism had inherent flaws, so he opened up his own path, which became the Confucian school.

As time passed and the sun and moon changed, the various schools of thought gradually disappeared, while Confucianism became the mainstream ideology in China.

This book, "On Benevolence and Righteousness," discusses the most fundamental principles of Confucianism: benevolence and righteousness.

This book compiles the interpretations of the two words "benevolence" and "righteousness" by great scholars throughout the Imperial Academy. One of their articles caught Su Che's attention.

The author of this article is Li Zun, and his article compares the differences between Confucianism and Buddhism and Taoism in terms of thought.

According to him, since he began studying at the Imperial Academy, his self-cultivation has increased daily, and he has been constantly striving to improve himself. However, whenever he sees the words "benevolence" and "righteousness," he always has a question.

Why did the ancient sages and worthies of yesteryear bring up these two words?

He said that in ancient times, Buddhism and Taoism flourished, and immortals and Buddhas emerged one after another from these two schools. They had superb magical powers and subtle teachings. Why did the sages still mention the words "benevolence and righteousness"?

So this Mr. Li Zun traveled east across the East China Sea, south to the desolate wilderness, and west to the Buddhist kingdom, surveying the prosperous lands of both Taoism and Buddhism, and finally came to a conclusion.

The reason why ancient sages spoke of benevolence and righteousness was to make up for the deficiencies of Buddhism and Taoism.

The Taoist school emphasizes morality, while the Buddhist school emphasizes cause and effect.

The immortals of the Xuanmen seek transcendence, even transcending heaven and earth. The common people in the world are neither more nor less important to the Great Dao. They truly "act without relying on others, nurture without using them."

Although Buddhism has the great vow to save all sentient beings, sentient beings are merely one of the six realms of reincarnation, one of the many kinds of sentient beings, and just a name and form that needs to be broken out of the cage.

The human element is important, but not entirely important, in the eyes of these two families.

The important thing is the practitioner; if you remove the word "practice," then the person becomes unimportant.

This is why the sages of the past upheld the virtues of benevolence and righteousness. "The benevolent love others," and this benevolence is meant for the most numerous yet most ordinary people in the world.

Upon reading this, Su Che suddenly had some thoughts and silently activated the Azure Emperor's Treasure Garden, appearing inside the Eastern Palace.

Layers of warm, yang energy spread out. Su Che looked at the enormous alchemy furnace before him. This Eastern Pole Palace was indeed a sacred place for cultivators.

"Little Saint".

The spirit of the vessel, Chang Le, stepped forward and bowed.

"Ah."

"Is the young sage here to find that ghost cultivator? These are the notes he prepared beforehand."

Chang Le pointed and found that a thick stack of notes had been placed next to the jade throne in the Dongji Hall.

Su Che walked over and flipped through a few books to look at them. Previously, he had transformed into the Ghost Ancestor of Beimang and asked Huang Kou to write down the Beimang cultivation method he practiced and to add his insights. It seems that Huang Kou had put in a lot of effort.

"Where is Huang Kou?"

"Reporting to the young sage, as the sage instructed me to choose an auspicious day to repair some divine restrictions, I am currently working on restoring the Twelve Yuan Chen Divine Restrictions and have sent him there to help."

Su Che picked up one of the notebooks and slowly flipped through it. These scrolls written by Huang Kou recorded various Taoist techniques passed down in the Ghost Ancestor Palace of Beimang, as well as some of his insights into the way of the sword.

It can be said to be a summary of this fifth-rank ghost cultivator's cultivation career. Although many of the descriptions have his strong personal color, they can also help Su Che to supplement his understanding of the Taiyin Dao.

Not to mention that Huang Kou himself was a master swordsman, and his understanding and mastery of sword energy allowed Su Che to gain a deeper understanding of the Taiyu Abi Sword.

Sword intent is used to draw upon sword energy, which condenses into malevolent energy. This malevolent energy then forms a sword embryo, which is used to nurture the sword intent anew.

With the help of this notebook, Su Che gained a systematic understanding of sword cultivation.

The first step in sword cultivation is to comprehend the intent of the sword. Then, based on that intent, one can develop sword energy.

Sword energy condenses into sword aura, which is then nurtured and condensed into sword embryo.

This is a process of continuously refining and accumulating sword intent.

The reason why his Taiyu Abi Sword was always just a hair's breadth off was ultimately because his sword intent was still not pure enough. Even if he managed to form a sword aura, it was still lacking.

Now I know where to focus my efforts.

Su Che put all these manuals into the Yinquan Nine Bends.

"I've come to see you today for something else."

"Please enlighten me, little sage."

"If I were to grow rice in the Spirit Garden, what would the yield be per acre?"

Chang Le pondered for a moment.

"May I ask you, little sage, what is rice, and what is yield per mu?"

Right.

Su Che recalled that Chang Le was once a capable assistant to the Azure Emperor Ling Wei Yang. He probably managed the spiritual roots of heaven and earth on a daily basis. If you asked him about the precautions for cultivating Jianmu, or whether fire-type spiritual birds should be raised on Fusang, he would definitely be able to talk about it at length.

As for rice, who would plant that stuff in the Green Emperor's Treasure Garden?

"I'd like to set aside a space within the Spirit Garden to house some people," Su Che asked Chang Le. "Is that feasible?"

"I wonder how many people the young sage wants to settle."

Chang Le frowned: "If the Xi Mu Divine Restriction is raised in the Spirit Garden, it can hold as much as needed..."

“The Ximu Divine Restriction won’t work. My idea is a long-term solution, ideally one that addresses birth, aging, sickness, and death.”

If it's just for simple population movement, Ximu Shenjin can certainly handle it; just put people inside first, and then release them when they arrive at their destination.

However, Su Che's idea was to create a separate pure land within the Azure Emperor's Treasure Garden.

"If all the halls in the Treasure Garden had been complete back then, it could indeed have been like a grotto-heaven, accommodating a large population. With its current layout, it is indeed lacking."

Chang Le explained, “It’s like trees growing. It’s not enough to just have water and soil; they also need enough space, sunlight, and moonlight. Some tree species prefer shade, while others love the sun. It’s easy to bring people into the treasure garden, but to make them live and work in peace and contentment is something that is beyond the current capabilities of a minor sage.”

Su Che thought for a moment and then took out a small pouch from his pocket.

"Then let's settle for second best. Can you try the seeds in here first? If they can survive in the Spirit Garden, then plant them for me."

"Is this rice?"

Chang Le looked curiously at the small bag in Su Che's hand.

"It's just some grains and cereals."

(End of this chapter)