The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 191: The Thought of Huangting Ancestral Land, Divine Powers of Heaven and Earth

A ray of light came from the horizon.

From far to near, turning into a real person

Chang Hongzi and his men greeted them warmly. Some were responsible for receiving gifts, while others helped lead the way. The division of labor was clear.

The appearance of the first guest was like a key that unlocked the shackles of the banquet, and many guests followed.

The sky was filled with lights and the earth was filled with chariots.

Xuanming's banquet for Zhenjun was far better than that for Zhenjun Chaoguang and Zhenjun Xianyue. More than half of the famous cultivators from the four counties came.

In addition to Taoists, there are also Confucian scholars, Vajra and Legalist practitioners. Confucian scholars mainly ride in horse-drawn carriages and are very particular about etiquette; Vajra either makes lotus flowers grow with every step or shrinks the earth into an inch. The former is a master and the latter is a practitioner.

The Legalists came in carriages of different styles. The great scholar's carriage was oval in appearance, with many paintings and elegant decorations, implying that a gentleman should be round on the outside and square on the inside; the Legalists' carriage was square in appearance, with horizontal and vertical lines, and many mirrors hung on it, implying that a legalist should be square on the outside and round on the inside.

Changjiangzi led some disciples to welcome the guests and cooperated well with Changhongzi. Although they were only Zhoutian Zhenren, they were confident in their hearts. They were neither humble nor arrogant when facing fellow Taoists with higher cultivation than themselves. Their attitude was warm and elegant, and they knew the right measure.

Zhoutian, Xiantian, Jindan, and Shengtai!
As time went on, the cultivation level of the guests at the banquet became higher.

The participants had various identities, including immortals, Vajra, great scholars, Dharma practitioners, warriors, farmers, etc. No matter who they were, after entering Floating Cloud Mountain, looking at the several fourth-generation Taoists who had achieved immortals and made their mark, they all felt that the Qiuzhen Temple had successors.

Someone who was attentive counted silently and found that this Taoist sect, which came later, already had fifteen real people. The number of people practicing Qi had far exceeded that of ordinary sects, and was only slightly weaker than the top Taoist sects. They could not help but look up to the Qiuzhen Temple.

An ordinary horse-drawn carriage drove slowly over, and Hai Fengming brought his two disciples Hai Yannian and Bao Renyi, and entered the Qiuzhen Temple with ease.

Near noon, the great cultivator of spirit training appeared.

A big sun and a bright moon were hanging in the sky. True Lord Chaoguang and True Lord Xianyue were close to each other and arrived first together.

Buddha's light shines everywhere, Sanskrit sounds are chanted, and an old white-haired monk riding a white jade elephant comes, with long eyebrows and kind eyes. This is Miaode Arhat from Vajra Temple, who has been practicing spiritual training for a hundred years and has a profound foundation.

The sound of reading can be heard loudly, and the majestic spirit is like clouds. A white-faced scholar in a green robe holds a scroll in his hand and walks on the water. He comes to the gate of Qiuzhen Temple, takes the book, and is welcomed into the temple by Xuanxu himself. This great Confucian scholar is the master of Baichuan Academy: Ningchuan.

The sound of Dharma was resounding, and a long boat broke through the air. A middle-aged man with a square face appeared. His body was as straight as a pine tree, and his aura was majestic and upright. Wherever he passed, people could not help but be solemn and dared not be presumptuous. This man was the owner of Chongfa Tower: Shi Chongming.

Zangdao Peak, Daoyuan.

Under the leafy spiritual pine tree, Xuanming looked at the spiritual practitioners from the other three counties and recalled the information they had revealed when he had talked with True Lord Chaoguang and True Lord Xianyue before.

The four counties have their own merits in cultivation:

Taoism flourished in Fengyang County, Legalism was dominant in Diyang County, literary style was strong in Shuiyang County, and Buddhism and Zen were practiced in Huoyang County.

In the past, Canglong Mountain had a special status. In order to prevent the four Taoist sects from completely controlling the four counties, control the Dragon-Suppressing Formation, and monitor the top Taoist veins in each county, the garrisons stationed in the four counties were all transferred from other places by the Daxuan court.

In order to avoid private collusion between the same Taoist sects, the four great guardians cannot communicate with the top Taoist sects. That is why the great Confucian sages will guard Fengyang County and the Arhat Huineng will sit in Diyang County.

In Xuanming's opinion, one of the duties of these garrison commanders was similar to that of the Tongpan of the Song Dynasty in his previous life. Fortunately, after the Dragon Suppression Formation was broken, the special characteristics of the four counties had disappeared, the garrison commanders of the four counties had left, and the newly appointed inspectors had only condensed the holy fetus, and their power was reduced.

The four counties' spiritual masters have gathered together, and it's time for him to make his debut.

Thinking of this, Xuanming gathered his thoughts, stood up, walked forward, and walked out of the Asking Dao Institute.

---

Zhenxuan Peak, Xuanfa Hall.

The place is decorated with lights and full of auspicious atmosphere.

The hall was filled with cultivators and guests.

Five great spiritual practitioners sat high on cloud beds. Although the three generations of immortals in Qiuzhen Temple were only innate immortals, they benefited from Xuanming and were the hosts, so they had a special status and sat opposite the group of holy fetus practitioners.

There was a sound of Taoism outside the hall, and the spirit beasts all over the mountains were excited. Deer were calling, cranes were spreading their wings, Chongming were crying, and fish and dragons were singing. Everyone heard the noise and stood up. Xuanxu smiled and invited the guests to leave the hall to welcome the protagonist of today's banquet.

When he walked out of the Xuanfa Hall, he saw the sky blooming with thousands of rays of light. With Floating Cloud Mountain as the center, a Tai Chi diagram covered an area of thousands of miles. The yin and yang energy circulated, blessing all living beings.

The mountains are covered with luxuriant vegetation, hundreds of medicinal herbs are fragrant, and many rare birds and animals are enlightened; the fields are full of grains and lush vegetables; the waters are full of fish and turtles, and shrimps and crabs are jumping; the people are either hearing and seeing clearly, or their minor illnesses are cured, or their serious illnesses are getting better. Flowers, birds, insects, fish, scholars, farmers, merchants, and so on are all jubilant, some flap their wings, some roar with excitement, some kneel and kowtow, some bend over, and express their gratitude in various ways.

There is a golden bridge in the Tai Chi diagram, one end of which connects to Zhenxuan Peak and the other end to Cangdao Peak. Xuanming steps onto the golden bridge under the protection of many spirit beasts. His white hair is flying, his clothes are fluttering, and he is holding a whisk. He walks as if he is leisurely strolling in a garden. His steps are so light that the distance can be shortened to an inch. Even if he slows down intentionally, he can reach Zhenxuan Peak in three steps.

"You fellow Taoists have honored me with your presence at this banquet. This truly brings honor to the humble Qiuzhen Temple. I am deeply grateful."

"You are so kind, Master. It is an honor for us to be able to attend Master's banquet."

The golden bridge dissipated, the Tai Chi diagram disappeared, Xuanming bowed his head and saluted to express his gratitude, and the guests returned the greetings one after another, not daring to be negligent.

"I haven't seen you for a few years. You Taoist friends are even more elegant than before."

"Fellow Daoist Xuanming has made further progress in his cultivation, which makes us all envious."

Xuanming also greeted several great spiritual practitioners. They had met once on Canglong Mountain when they were confronting the Taiping Sect in the past. Now that they met again, they chatted with a little more ease.

Without staying outside for long, Xuanming led everyone back to Xuanfa Hall. After everyone took their seats, Xuanming did not give a long speech. After a few simple polite remarks, he ordered the banquet to officially begin.

Plates of delicacies were brought in and appeared on the table, and jars of spirit wine were brought up and poured into wine jugs.

Xuankong entered the Tao through food, and was a rare immortal with the innate ability of food in the four counties. Xuanyang was addicted to wine and had an extraordinary talent in brewing wine. In addition, the Qiuzhen Temple had no shortage of spiritual objects, so the two immortals let go, used all their skills, and carefully prepared these spiritual foods.

The delicacies are colorful, fragrant and delicious, with outstanding effects; the spirit wines are either mellow, strong or sweet, and they are pure magic power and nourish the body.

On the desks of those who practice spiritual cultivation and those who practice holy fetus cultivation, there are Infinite Fruit and Green Lotus Seed. The former is the fruit of the Infinite Tree, and the latter is produced by the Green Lotus. Both are rare and mysterious spiritual fruits, which reveal part of the essence of the Seeking Truth View.

The cultivators enjoyed the spiritual wine and delicacies with gusto, praising the food from time to time. The falling leaves indicate the coming of autumn. The banquet made them realize that although the Qiuzhen Temple was established not long ago, it has a profound foundation and is not inferior to those major cultivation sects with a heritage of more than 500 years.

---

We clinked glasses and chatted with each other.

They drank and chatted with each other.

The banquet lasted for two hours.

When the cups and plates were cleared away, everyone sat up straight and focused their eyes on Xuanming, and the five great spiritual practitioners did the same.

They knew that the main event was about to begin.

On the cloud bed, Xuanming took off the bell from his waist and rotated it three times. The three-inch bell turned into a three-foot Jingming bell.

The ancient magic bell was hung above the heads of the cultivators. As Xuanming flicked his whisk lightly, a magical power was injected into the bell. The Jingming bell shone brightly, and a melodious, powerful, loud and sonorous sound rang out, reaching the ears of the cultivators, cleansing their hearts and making them feel shocked. All the messy thoughts in their heads were swept away, their attention was exceptionally focused, their minds were clear, and they felt at peace.

Xuanming preached the Tao, and the voice of the Tao came from his heart and entered the hearts of the people. He slowly recited part of the content of the "Huangting Sutra". Every word was like a pearl, and the subtle words were profound. It encompassed the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, narrated the creation and evolution of all things, explained the mysteries of the universe, discussed the Tao theory of the big and small heaven and earth, and explained the gods in human form.

"There is Huangting above and Guanyuan below, Youque behind and Mingmen in front. Breathing in and out enters Dantian, and the clear water of the Jade Pool nourishes the spiritual roots. If you can cultivate it carefully, you can live forever..."

The sound of Tao is everywhere, and the rhyme of Tao is clear and ethereal.

In the Xuanfa Hall, heaven and earth are in harmony, inspiration surges, and all kinds of mysterious Taoist phenomena are derived: dragons flying and phoenixes dancing, tigers roaring and apes howling, three-colored auspicious clouds, and thousands of auspicious auras hanging down.

Xuanming plans to talk about "Huangting Waijing Yujing".

If the "Tao Te Ching" is the first of all scriptures, then the "Huangting Jing" is the king of all scriptures and one of the five major Taoist classics in the previous life.

Although it had been circulated in the world before, it was incomplete and difficult to form a system. If the complete version was circulated at the Zhenjun Banquet, "Huangting Waijing Yujing" would very likely become a must-have book for the four counties.

As time goes by, this sutra continues to circulate in the world, and it will be able to be ranked alongside the "Nanhua Scripture", "Chongxu Scripture" and other classics left by the four great Taoist masters under the Taoist ancestor, bringing endless luck to the Qiuzhen Temple and Xuanming, and achieving a win-win situation with practitioners all over the world, especially with the Taoist sect, pushing the Qiuzhen Temple to take a big step towards the top Taoist lineage, and even laying the foundation for some holy places.

The Qiuzhen Temple has the "Huangting Sutra" written by him personally and blessed with Huangting Qi, and it will also become the ancestral land of Huangting. It is more blessed to comprehend and practice this sutra, far better than outside the mountain.

However, as the preaching became more and more in-depth, Xuanming was also sorting out his own observations, thoughts, insights and gains from the "Huangting Sutra", and gradually entered into a mysterious state of mind, as if he was connected with heaven and earth, but there was also a sense of incompatibility, making it difficult to achieve full success.

This layer of membrane always blocked his vision like a screen, making it difficult for him to see clearly, which made Xuanming's heart gradually uneasy. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the Jingming Bell from the corner of his eye, and he was blessed. He remembered the scene when he was refining the Bagua furnace. A clear light bloomed in the Niwan Palace between his eyebrows, and the soul guarding the entrance raised his finger and tapped lightly. His mind entered the void and activated the laws of heaven and earth.

(End of this chapter)