Chapter 420: On the Dao and Kui Niu Seal
The artistic conception of Tao and the artistic conception of Yuanshen actually have some similarities, but the difference is not small. Yuanshen artistic conception focuses on the smooth growth of the Tao embryo seed cultivated by oneself, and finally merges with the artistic conception of Yuanshen to achieve the Tao embryo. The artistic conception of Tao, however, focuses more on the spiritual comprehension in a certain field, and has nothing to do with the Tao embryo seed.
The so-called Tao embryo seed, for a cultivator, is the golden elixir, demon seed or evil elixir that is condensed in the dantian by the cultivator's continuous absorption of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and refining his own essence during cultivation.
To put it more clearly, the comprehension of the artistic conception of Yuanshen is actually to enable the Tao embryo seed to advance to a higher realm of cultivation, while the artistic conception of Tao has nothing to do with the Tao embryo seed. It is purely the comprehension of the rules of a certain field of all things in nature. Even if you are not a cultivator, you can also comprehend the artistic conception of Tao. As long as he has achieved extremely high attainments in a certain field of skills or techniques, he may comprehend the artistic conception of Tao.
In the mortal world, craftsmen with their own skills or techniques in all walks of life have the possibility of comprehending the artistic conception of Tao.
And immortal cultivators also have this possibility. For example, cultivators who are proficient in magic arrays, making talismans, refining tools, refining pills, refining puppets, etc., these minor Taoist magical arts, have a great chance of comprehending this artistic conception of Tao.
Comprehending the artistic conception of Tao, for these miscellaneous cultivators, can reach an unprecedented height in the field they are familiar with.
In short, if a formation master can comprehend the artistic conception of Tao in making formation tools in the formation he is familiar with, then the formation he refines can definitely achieve an extremely high achievement that even top formation masters will be dumbfounded, and then become the legendary formation master.
With every cut of the carving knife in the hands of Taoist Xuan Ya, the carved wood in his hand shows a bit of Taoism.
Gradually, the originally ordinary piece of yellow wood, under the carving of the black raven Taoist, turned into a lifelike statue of a strange beast.
The strange beast, which looked like a cow, had a single horn and a single foot. It stood on a ball of water and raised its head to swallow clouds and spit out mist.
At this time, in Wu Yan's eyes, the statue of the strange beast seemed to really swallow and spit out clouds and mist, lingering around the black raven Taoist.
Wu Yan stared at the black raven Taoist silently for a long time, as if he had forgotten to breathe, forget time and space, forget everything, and his whole mind was empty and he had entered that kind of blue and vast world, unable to distinguish colors and hear sounds.
"Haha, I didn't expect that Master Wu Ling also understood the meaning of Tao." A clear voice suddenly came into Wu Yan's ears, causing him to tremble all over and suddenly return to reality from that kind of empty artistic conception.
At some point, Taoist Xuan Ya had already carved the statue of the strange beast and placed it on a stone platform in front of him, looking at Wu Yan with a smile on his face.
Wu Yan quickly bowed to Taoist Xuan Ya and said, "I am Wu Yan, and I meet Master Xuan Ya!"
"What master or junior master? I am just a common Taoist, and my Taoist name is Xuan Ya. Master Wu, please sit down!" Taoist Xuan Ya did not stand up. Hearing Wu Yan's address, he smiled self-deprecatingly, pointed to the straw mat on the ground opposite the stone platform, and said to Wu Yan.
"A Da, serve tea. I want to discuss Taoism with Master Wu and exchange ideas. You guys, just wait on the side and listen to what he has to say."
Wu Yan responded politely. He had just sat down opposite Taoist Xuan Ya and heard what he said. He was slightly startled, but his expression did not change at all. He just smiled at Taoist Xuan Ya opposite him.
Wu Yan was not very good at discussing Taoism. However, Wu Yan had read many records of high-level monks, had some contact with some powerful monks, and now he had comprehended a trace of the Netherworld, so he naturally had some understanding of the Mysterious Dao, and was not afraid of being asked.
The eight people outside the thatched pavilion respectfully agreed at the same time, and then the Taoist priest with the wooden crown went straight to a thatched pavilion next to it and prepared tea brewing utensils. The other seven people sat silently on the ground around them, looking respectfully into the pavilion, waiting to watch their master and Wu Yan talk about the Mysterious Dao.
The Taoist priest with the black crow seemed to have a sense of praise for Wu Yan's performance and nodded to him. Wu Yan smiled.
The Taoist priest with the wooden crown carried the tea tray and walked to the stone platform. After respectfully serving tea to the two, he knelt down beside the Taoist priest with the black crow and served.
"Master Wu Ling, please." The Taoist priest with the black crow took a sip from the teacup and motioned Wu Yan to taste it.
Wu Yan smiled politely, thanked him, and took the teacup to take a sip.
"I heard from Ah Da that Lord Wu Ling came to give me a gift? Where is the gift? What does Daoist Wu want?" Taoist Xuan Ya looked at Wu Yan with a cunning look on his face and asked.
This move surprised Wu Yan. The Taoist Xuan Ya was still talking about discussing the Tao with him, showing the appearance of a master of the Tao, and the next moment he directly showed a mercenary appearance and talked to Wu Yan about mundane matters.
Wu Yan smiled, but did not take out the wooden box that sealed the green grass, nor did he make any other movements. He just sat still, blew on the few green tea leaves floating in the teacup, took another sip, and said: "Good tea, I wonder what this tea is called?"
Taoist Xuan Ya frowned, as if he was displeased. The seven monks around the thatched pavilion all opened their eyes wide and stared at Wu Yan unkindly, except for the Taoist monk with a wooden crown who was kneeling cross-legged next to the Taoist Xuan Ya, who looked thoughtful.
"What is Xuan? What is Tao?" Taoist Xuan Ya relaxed his brows and stared at Wu Yan.
Wu Yan did not answer, but took out a wooden box from the storage bag, pushed it in front of Taoist Xuanya, and said: "This is Xuan, you and I are Tao now."
Taoist Xuanya chuckled, without even looking at the wooden box, and said, "So you don't understand."
"Why Xuan? Why Dao?" Wu Yan was unmoved, smiled lightly, and asked.
Taoist Xuanya was stunned and said: "Xuan is nothingness, Tao is truth. Lord Wu, it seems you haven't answered my question yet."
"Master Xuanya, you don't seem to have answered Wu's question." Wu Yan smiled slightly.
Taoist Xuanya seemed to realize something. He suddenly laughed, shook his head and clapped his hands and said, "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."
"Xuan, Xuan, Xuan." Wu Yan also laughed, and the two of them suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed.
"Okay, okay. There is really nothing to talk about this mystery. How can we explain something clearly? Let's talk about Tao. Fellow Taoist Wu, what do you think is Tao?" Taoist Xuanya seemed to agree with Wu Yan, but he didn't realize it. Even the title changed accordingly.
Wu Yan still smiled, and then recited: "The Tao can be the Tao, but it is not the eternal Tao. The name can be the name, but it is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of all things; the name is the mother of all things. Therefore, there is no desire forever, To observe the desire; to observe the desire. The two come from the same place, have different names and the same name. "
Xuan Ya's expression moved slightly, he pondered for a long time, and then sighed: "The great road always speaks, I have nothing to say. Is this not what Wu Daoyou understands?"
"Yes, this was passed down by the sages of the Dao, and Wu just chanted it casually. We monks can't understand these eternal words of the Dao, so how can we talk about the Dao?" Wu Yan said with a bitter smile.
"Of course." Taoist Xuanya sighed and pondered in silence for a moment, then turned his eyes and pointed at the statue of the strange beast on the stone platform, saying, "What do you think of this Taoist Taoist Wu?"
"The skills are perfect. Wu was impressed. I wonder what kind of strange beast this statue is carved on?" Wu Yan stared at the wood carving on the stone platform, shook his head and sighed, and asked casually.
"This beast is the ancient strange beast Kui Niu. It's a pity that I have never seen this beast with my own eyes. I just carved it based on the style of an ancient seal. No matter what, I can't carve out its charm." Taoist Xuanya showed a sad look on his face. , his voice sounded vaguely sad.
Wu Yan's expression moved slightly, his eyes turned from the statue to Taoist Xuanya, and he opened his mouth to speak.
Taoist Xuanya raised his hand slightly to stop Wu Yan from speaking. He turned to the surrounding disciples and said, "You step back. The Taoist method that I will discuss with fellow Taoist Wu as my master is not yet able to be understood by your current state. After listening to this, On the contrary, it will hinder your growth and cultivation.”
All the disciples respectfully agreed, stood up one after another, walked down the mountain one after another, and disappeared at the foot of the mountain, as if they had walked out of this illusory formation.
Taoist Xuanya raised his sleeves and swept away. Dark clouds gathered over the entire island. In an instant, the entire top of the mountain was covered by thick clouds. Except for the thatched pavilion in the center, it was impossible to see anything else.
Wu Yan sat still, as if he had expected this situation, and just waited quietly for Taoist Xuanya to answer his questions.
"Fellow Daoist Wu, Brother Ziyan expected that you would come to look for me in the next few days, so you found me in advance and said that no matter what, you would let me see you. Do you know why?" Taoist Xuanya activated all the signals around him. After the formation, his expression turned solemn and he looked at Wu Yan with bright eyes.
"But because of the Kuiniu Mountain River Seal?" Wu Yan pointed to the wood carvings on the stone platform.
"That's right. My ancestor is the master in charge of the Kuiniu Mountain River Seal here. But when I was avoiding disaster, my ancestor's tribe was divided into two groups. One of them fled here, and the other fled elsewhere. I don't know where they are now. Is there any descendant alive? It is a pity that most of the people of this clan who fled here following the legacy of the Ji family died at the hands of the Xumihai monks. It is even more deplorable that only the old man and eight disciples are left alive. "Moreover, I have even had the Kuiniu Mountain River Seal passed down from my ancestors taken away. I really can't feel at ease even if I die!" Taoist Xuanya sighed, his voice choked with sobs, and when he talked about the sadness and anger, his eyes could not help but flow out. Turbid tears.
Wu Yan looked at the old man with a look of shock in his eyes. He felt compassion and sympathy for what happened to the old man in his heart. At the same time, he also felt the anger of the same enemy. He took a deep breath and said, "Who robbed this seal?"
Taoist Xuanya shook his head and said: "What's the point of talking about it? I don't have the strength to compete with that man at all, and I will in vain bring death to Ada and the others. Alas..."
Wu Yan frowned, glanced at the wooden box on the table, and said, "Why do you feel so sorry for yourself, Brother Xuanya? According to Wu, you are now in the late stage of pill formation. If you focus all your energy on cultivation, If you are fully prepared, you may not have the opportunity to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, right? Before now, the problem of longevity may have been the biggest factor that hindered you, fellow Taoist, but with this green grass, if it is refined properly, it can extend your life by at least three years. Ten years. As long as you advance to the Nascent Soul stage within these thirty years, your lifespan will be more than doubled. Do you still worry about not having the opportunity and strength to take revenge? "