I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 525 Rules
Listening to the words of the Great Freedom Demon, an idea flashed through Zhang Chen's mind. He remembered a sentence from his previous life: Establish a life for the people and establish a heart for the world. Carry forward the lost knowledge of the past sages and bring peace to the world. The so-called great way is probably like this, and if you keep going forward unswervingly and keep practicing, you will eventually be able to see the legendary nature.

However, this was not Zhang Chen's way. In his opinion, the unique knowledge of sages was too vain. Benevolence, righteousness, morality, propriety, justice, integrity and shame were the ways of sages. Zhang Chen knew that he did not have the state of mind of a sage, and could not hold himself to the standards of a sage.

If people want to live like saints, it would be too tiring.

"So what kind of rule should I set and stick to it?" Zhang Chen fell into deep thought.

The principles that Mahadeva said were the best of all truths, but even for a person with extraordinary talent, it would take ten or even dozens of years to comprehend such principles and see their true nature. Zhang Chen could not wait that long.

"So what is my Tao? I am not a Confucian, so I don't have to abide by Confucian rules. I am not a Legalist, so naturally I don't have to abide by Legalist rules. I am not a follower of the Hundred Schools of Thought, so I cannot follow their rules. Those rules are too old-fashioned and too pedantic, and they are like chains on me." Zhang Chen kept torturing himself.

The so-called enlightenment is actually a principle of being a human being, a set of standards for being a human being.

"Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, morality, integrity and shame are too false and empty to me. What rules should I follow?" Countless thoughts flashed through Zhang Chen's mind.

Zhang Chen thought about it all night, but still hadn't figured it out when dawn came. However, after a night of inner questioning, he did gain some insights.

The donkey cart was still moving slowly, and from time to time it met some refugees fleeing on the road. Those refugees walked in the yellow sand with bitter faces, dragging their families together, and without knowing when they gradually gathered into a team again.

When the yellow sand on the ground turned green again and the entire barren land was covered with green grass, bursts of shrill screams were heard. Zhang Chen looked in the direction of the sound and saw a dozen big men with steel knives in their hands surrounding a family of five and killing them, torturing the unarmed men, women, and children.

"Looking at his skills, he seems to be a retired soldier, with some resemblance to the northern army. It should be the fleeing army of the Pingbian Palace. After suffering a defeat or being overwhelmed by a flood, he took the opportunity to escape from the battlefield. Look at the steel knife in the hand of the strong man, which is clearly the standard weapon of the Pingbian Palace." Although Cheng Yu is young, he is knowledgeable and he spoke.

At this time, a dozen strong men holding steel knives surrounded the family of five and teased them. The man knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for mercy, but was kicked to the ground by one of the strong men. Then another strong man tried to pull the girl out of the five people. Seeing this, the strong man roared: "I will fight you!"

He pulled out the handle of the pickaxe beside him and wanted to rush forward to fight, but the next moment his heart was pierced by the steel knife.

"father!!!"

"Husband!!!"

"My son!!!"

A shrill scream was heard, making everyone cry.

"All the old ones have been dealt with, so we can play with this girl for a few days." The leading man sneered.

As he finished speaking, his men smiled grimly and approached the family with steel knives in their hands. At this moment, a drop of blood emerged from the ground and entered the body of the dead man. The next moment, the man suddenly opened his eyes, turned into a bloody shadow, and pounced towards the man opposite.

The massacre, which happened without any suspense, ended in just a moment, leaving only corpses on the ground.

"Dad! Are you okay?" The girl looked at the man standing in the grass, her eyes showing a touch of ecstasy, but also a bit of fear. After looking at the girl, the Blood God Son turned into a drop of blood and left, drilling into the mud and sand without a trace. The man fell to the ground and lost his life.

"Dad!" The girl screamed miserably and threw herself on the corpse, howling.

There were cries of grief in the distance, and the refugees around were watching it all with numb faces, but Zhang Chen was staring blankly at the scene in front of him, his whole body seemed to be electrocuted and he seemed to be lost in thought.

"I roughly know the path I will take in the future! I also know how to enlighten my mind and see my nature." Zhang Chen sat on the donkey cart, thinking.

"Have you really understood it?" The Great Freedom Demon asked curiously.

"Confucianism has three levels, namely, establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words. The first level is to establish virtue, which should be understood as moral rules. Set your own rules and goals. For example, in various branches of Confucianism, some people cultivate benevolence, and some people cultivate righteousness. This is the process of setting your own goals and rules. Now that you have a goal, the second level is to establish merit. This "merit" should be understood as practice, constantly using actions to verify the rules and goals you have set, and do things according to these rules. Use actual actions to verify whether the rules you set at the beginning are correct, use actions to constantly verify the goals, and examine your heart. After acting according to your own rules again and again, after repeated verifications, after thousands of tempers, see if you are unshakable in the repeated verifications, you can see your heart and nature. After that, it is to establish words, which is the merit of education. This word should not be seen as writing a book for the benefit of the people, but as influence. Use one person to influence the world, and after one person verifies that it is correct, then use your own influence to influence the world, and use tens of millions of people to temper your own way." Zhang Chen seemed to have a ball of fire flickering in his eyes:

"The so-called writing books and biographies is nothing more than a form of establishing one's own opinions. If one can enter the imperial court, one can become a prince, a general or a minister, grasp the general trend of the world, and use the people of the world as a test. This process can also be called proving the truth, and is considered the third step of establishing one's own opinions."

Li Yan should be understood as influence!
"Start by setting goals and rules, then act according to the goals and rules, constantly examine your inner changes, and verify whether your rules are accurate. This process is personal cultivation. After that, whether it is telling stories and writing biographies, or preaching the truth to the world, or serving as an official in the court to educate people, it is all a process of proving the truth. The so-called third realm of meritorious service is actually the process of proving the truth!" The fog in Zhang Chen's heart dissipated: "Chen Sanliang has already seen his true nature. He has now begun to educate all living beings and practice his own great way. Chen Sanliang is in this realm."

"In the process of establishing virtue, merit and words, I have strengthened my heart again and again, tempered my heart, and made my heart as pure as steel and as unshakable as mountains and rivers. Everything is to prove the truth, to constantly cultivate my heart and temper my heart." Zhang Chen's thoughts were like a surging river:

"This is the correct way to prove the truth. The words "establish virtue, establish merit, and establish words" mentioned on the Internet in later generations are purely usurped by people, and they are too utilitarian. The real way to establish virtue, establish merit, and establish words is to understand the mind and nature, and to understand one's own heart, rather than to gain fame, fortune, and become a moral model. The real core is to cultivate the mind, cultivate one's own heart, and keep one's heart unshakable. From beginning to end, what is cultivated is only one's own individual, rather than doing all these things for fame, fortune, and wealth. If you cultivate your own morality with utilitarianism, let your morality influence the people around you, let yourself become a serious moral model for the people around you, and then make achievements to make your achievements remembered by the world, and finally write books and biographies to make yourself famous through the ages, this is the worst achievement, and you are nothing but a hypocrite."

"The so-called moral model, using one's own morality to influence the people around, to establish achievements and spread throughout the world, is nothing more than a side branch in the process of self-verification, just an incidental thing. One is a means and purpose, the other is self-verification, the two are incomparable." Countless thoughts in Zhang Chen's mind erupted like a volcano at this time:
"I'm on the road to becoming an immortal. How should I set rules for myself? And constantly verify and correct them?"

"What are my rules?" Zhang Chen kept asking himself this question. It was not until he saw the scene of slaughter that he felt something in his heart:

"I roughly know my rules! I also know the purpose of my practice."

"My way is the right way. In the process of 'doing the right things' again and again, I question my heart, verify my original intention again and again, and question my heart again and again, and finally I can see my true nature." Zhang Chen understood this truth and felt comfortable immediately.

"Many things in this world need to be done by someone, and someone needs to take care of them."

"To the extent of my ability, I will try to deal with all the injustices. This is probably the meaning of my practice as monks. If I say that I can only take care of myself, that's fine, but it doesn't fit with the soul that I have been nurtured in my previous life. The spirit of 'helping others when seeing injustice', the genes passed down by countless revolutionary martyrs, are engraved in my bones. They are the blood that I have been nurtured in for five thousand years in my previous life. When one has the ability, he should deal with injustices, and the strong should stand up for the weak." Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with memories. In his previous life, when the mountains and rivers were overturned, countless wealthy tycoons could have stood by and watched. Even if the country was destroyed, they could still be big capitalists. But for the fate of their country, they would contribute their strength even if they lost everything and even their lives.

"I roughly know my way. In this damn world, someone should stand up for the weak. In the previous life, there was an old man who swept across the mountains and rivers and opened up a road for the poor people in the world. I, Zhang Chen, dare not compare with that old man, but I also do something within my ability. This is the way I want to practice, the rules I want to practice!" Zhang Chen's eyes showed a gleam of light, and his spirit and energy transformed wildly at this time:

"The right way! Prove the way!"

At this time, Zhang Chen's magic power began to surge, the civil and martial arts skills began to operate, the elixir began to transform continuously, and his whole spirit and energy also began to transform.

(End of this chapter)