Chapter 84 "Tao Sheng Yi" from another world
Waiting for the right person... Outside the soup cake shop, Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes.
He looked through the steaming soup bowl on the table and the white water vapor emitted, and carefully looked at this uninvited guest.
Confirm that you have never seen it.
The instinct from his body reminded him that the old man in front of him was anything but simple, but he did not feel any hostility.
"May I ask your name, sir?"
Zhao Duan understood that there were so many masters in the capital, and the temples and officialdom had always been just a corner of the world.
Zhang Yanyi smiled and shook his head:
"The old man's reputation is not good, he is just a scattered official in the Tianshi Mansion."
Tianshi Mansion!
Zhao Duan was startled. Is this mysterious and sneaky Lao Deng a warlock from the Tianshi Mansion?
As for the word "loose official", he has heard of it.
In the Tianshi Mansion, the priests are divided into two categories:
The first category is the "deacon priests", that is, they are responsible for the daily operation of the Tianshi Mansion and many practical affairs.
The first category is "casual officials", that is, priests who only focus on practice and do not hold any official duties.
The latter tend to have higher cultivation levels. Although they have no power in their hands, they have a high status. Jin Jian is classified as a "casual official".
"I don't have much contact with the Tianshi Mansion, but I don't know what your purpose is?" Zhao Duan was confused.
Zhang Yanyi looked at him with interest and said:
"I heard from Priest Zhu Dian that there was a martial artist in the capital who was born with a powerful soul. It just so happened that the path I took was very demanding on the soul, so I came to take a look."
Sure enough, it was Jin Jian, who liked to be invisible and peeping, and also had a big mouth... Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and said with a strange expression:
"Sir, what do you mean by this? You can't be here to take on a disciple."
When he said the second half of the sentence, he used a teasing tone.
But Zhang Yanyi just smiled and looked at him quietly.
"..." Zhao Duan's teasing expression gradually subsided, and his expression became more and more strange:
"Sir, are you serious?"
Zhang Yan smiled and said: "If you find a good young talent and want to take him under your wing, shouldn't you?"
No...this is not a question of whether it should be done or not. You are blatantly poaching the royal family...and are you so careless? Just a word from someone and people come?
Zhao Duan was unable to complain, but soon realized that this seemed to be the style of "loose official".
As the "orthodox state religion", Tianshi Mansion is very strict in recruiting students. The deacons and priests are okay, but the "casual officials" accept very few disciples.
For example, the legendary "Zhang Tianshi" lived for hundreds of years and could only accept a mere six disciples.
Shenlong Temple is similar.
Therefore, when they learn that a spiritual genius is born somewhere, the priests of Tianshi Mansion and the monks of Shenlong Temple will compete for him.
Just like Tsinghua University and Peking University competing for the top spot in the college entrance examination...
The more powerful a monk is, the more he does not abide by human etiquette and has an eclectic style of conduct.
"Thank you, old sir, for your consideration. However, this junior has joined the royal family and has left the inheritance of Emperor Taizu's Martial God." Zhao Duan declined.
Zhang Yanyi leaked domineeringly:
"How many years has Taizu Dayu been dead? What can I teach you? If you join the old man's sect and teach him personally, wouldn't it be a hundred times better than visualizing some broken painting?"
Damn it... Zhao Duan almost broke out in white hair. Are all the priests of Tianshi Mansion so willful?
Dare to say anything?
Of course it was impossible for him to guess the true identity of the old man in front of him.
After all, that is too unbelievable. Zhang Tianshi is a god-like figure, even the empress highly respects him.
Not even Yuan Li or Li Yanfu had the opportunity to see his true appearance, but he was one of the most powerful men in the world.
He is a land immortal who has rarely set foot on the human world a hundred years ago.
As a "traveler", although he has unique self-confidence, at least at the moment, he does not think that he has the qualifications to see Zhang Tianshi.
What's more, you want Master Zhang to block people late at night and ask him to be his disciple?
I wouldn’t even dare to dream!
In his opinion, the old man in front of him probably did have some status and ability in the Tianshi Mansion, and he could talk to Jin Jian.
But it would be too outrageous to lure him out of the royal family with just a few words.
"Old sir, be careful what you say!"
Zhao Duan glanced left and right, made sure that the conversation volume was low enough, and said with a serious face:
"This junior is fortunate enough to be favored by the saint and be brought into the martial god's company. I am satisfied. Sir, please don't mention the matter of accepting a disciple again!"
Zhang Yan had a strange look in his eyes:
"Young man, don't refuse in a hurry, why not ask, which god is this old man cultivating?" "...Which one?"
The old master with a ruddy face and narrow eyes raised his fingers, dipped his fingers into the soup bowl in front of him, and wrote two correct words on the table.
"Tiandao?" Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows and asked:
"Is it the one corresponding to the 'World Honored One' of Shenlong Temple?"
When the Emperor was chatting with the Empress upstairs, he made some insinuations and learned some secrets.
When I opened my eyes in front of the sky and watched the sky at night, the vast blue sky above the Tianshi Mansion was the main god of the Taoist sect: the Tao of Heaven.
According to the Empress, the Way of Heaven and the World Honored One are two paths of cultivation that are no less inferior to those of the "God of War".
"As far as I know, in the Tianshi Mansion, there are not only a lot of priests who cultivate the way of heaven, but at least one person...Old sir, don't bully the younger generation for not understanding." Zhao Duan looked down upon him.
He felt that this old man was trying to pull a banner and deceive him.
Zhang Yan smiled, did not explain, and asked:
"Isn't the way of heaven stronger than the god of war?"
How did I know... Zhao Duan shook his head and said casually:
"The way of heaven may be powerful, but unfortunately, this junior believes in the way of humanity."
He mainly wanted to find a reason to make this stubborn old man give up and stop pestering him.
Zhang Yanyi laughed: "You are so young, but you like to talk big words, but you seem to be able to distinguish between the way of heaven and the way of humanity."
Normally, Zhao Duan would not argue with him.
But I was drunk tonight and my head was still a little dizzy. I gave this strange old man another lecture. I felt unhappy and said casually:
"What can't be distinguished? In my opinion, the way of heaven is to make up for the deficiency when there is excess. The way of man is not the same. If there is not enough loss, there will be more than enough. Who can have more than enough to serve the world, only the Tao."
This is a famous sentence in Laozi's "Tao Te Ching". Almost everyone knows the first two sentences, but the second sentence is not very famous.
In his previous life, when Zhao Duan was studying traditional Chinese studies for his official career, he knew the five thousand words of Laozi by heart.
At this moment, I was drunk and threw it out casually without any calculation in my heart.
Unexpectedly, it fell into the ears of the stubborn old man, causing him to be temporarily stunned.
The way of heaven is to make up for the deficiency if there is more damage... The way of man is to make up for the deficiency if there is no loss...To serve the world, only the Tao...
Zhang Yan chewed for a moment and looked at the boy opposite him with slight surprise.
Given his state of mind, he certainly wouldn't be surprised by this statement.
What surprised him was that such a concise and profound sentence came from the mouth of this drunken mortal prodigal.
Things seem to be getting interesting.
Zhang Yansheng was thinking about taking the exam and asked:
"Oh? In your opinion, what is 'Tao'?"
Zhao Duan recited casually: "The Tao can be Tao, it is not Tao, it can be named, but it is not named... Nameless, the beginning of heaven and earth, there is name, the mother of all things, so I always have no desire to see its wonder..."
Zhang Yanyi listened with great interest at first, but gradually, the master no longer seemed lazy and casual, and his narrow eyes slowly narrowed.
Zhao Duan stopped carrying it.
"Why don't you say it anymore?" Zhang Yanyi felt as if he had been cut out of context.
Zhao Duan said matter-of-factly: "That's all I have to say. That's it."
Zhang Yan thought for a while, shook his head and said:
"What you said is too mysterious to be truly understood. If you can condense it into one sentence, you will understand."
One sentence? Explain it in one sentence?
Zhao Duan snorted, taking advantage of his drunkenness, imitating the old master, raised a finger and dipped it into the sobering soup.
He leaned against the rotten wood desk and wrote one stroke after another in poor handwriting:
"Daoshengyi..."
Just as he wrote these three words, there was sudden lightning and thunder in the clouds above the capital.
"Boom!"
The hideous spiderweb-like lightning tore through the dark night.
Then, crackling, big raindrops fell down without any structure.
One stroke, shocking.
…
I have something to do tomorrow, so the update may be later.
Thanks to Momo o for the hundred-coin reward~
(End of this chapter)