Chapter 101 I go my own way, I see and hear what I hear Guifeng Peak is located at the bend of the “乚 (yǐ)” shape in the Dadong Mountain Range. From here, it takes 18,000 miles to get to the capital city. There are four main roads, all of which are national highways directly connecting the center of the Celestial Empire. They are extremely wide and flat, with pedestrians and merchants coming and going in an endless stream, and the road is bustling and bustling. There are also dozens of small paths to walk on. Some of the small roads are not really small roads. In fact, they are state roads, prefectural roads, and county roads paved by government offices at all levels in the Celestial Empire. They are also flat, but slightly narrower than national highways. There are also many pedestrians, many businessmen, and a lot of bustle. Some of the paths are real paths, which are made by people themselves for the convenience of transportation. They are rugged and bumpy. There are no roads in this world, but when more people walk on it, it becomes a road. This is what it means. When Tao Tie left the foot of Guifeng Mountain, he was already behind the candidate geniuses of Team 42.
He did not take the national highway, state highway, prefectural highway, county highway or other official roads, but randomly chose a small road with bumpy surface and overgrown weeds on the roadside. So all the excitement was theirs, and Tao Tie had nothing. But when I look up to the bright moon and my shadow, we make three, so I don't feel lonely at all. Doing this is not to be eccentric or to advocate working alone, it is purely a matter of intention. If you want to do it, just do it. There is no need to worry or think too much about it. Tao Tie did not use any magic such as "controlling the wind", "leaping over rocks" or "moving without a shadow", but walked steadily on foot. Just like an ordinary person, measure the world with your own feet. Anyway, the Celestial Empire has given each state two months to select talents, and Tao Tie wants to take a good look at the world, so he might as well take the opportunity to go on a hiking trip whenever he wants. Walking in the middle of the night, with the bright moon and stars above your head, the breeze blowing around you, and insects chirping in the grass and mountains, it is quite a wild and interesting experience. However, Tao Tie does not recommend ordinary people to do this. If you walk too much on the road at night, you will encounter ghosts. Seeing a ghostly fire, Tao Tie stepped forward and skillfully performed the earthly magics [Tongyou] and [Jieyou], chanting the mantra for rebirth to save the lonely soul. Less than two hours after leaving Guifeng, this was the fourth ghost fire that Tao Tie had encountered. There are usually two sources for these roadside ghost lights: One is that someone died on the roadside, and the ghost was not taken away by the underworld ghost in time; One is that something went wrong when the ghosts of people who died in foreign lands were recorded and sent back to their hometowns by the local city gods and underworld. Tao Tie learned from the four ghostly spirits he had saved through [Knowing All Things] and the Earthly Evil Technique [Tongyou] that these two common sources were not valid. The Lord of Mount Dadong already had authority over the underworld, and before the three southwestern states annexed the Heavenly Dynasty, he established the underworld at the foot of Mount Dadong. After the surrender, the Datongshan underworld was abolished on the surface, but it was still operating secretly. The real collapse occurred not long ago when the Lord of Mount Dadong was arrested and brought to the capital by an imperial edict from the Heavenly Kingdom.
If he is not in his position, he will not seek his government. The officials who were ordered to arrest the Lord of Dadongshan had no need and no authority to care about the chaos that might be caused by the collapse of the Dadongshan underworld. This is the work of the governors/prefects of the three southwestern states and the city gods and land underworld system of the three states. Just like the Immortal God Department of Liuxian County beheaded eighty-seven gods, arrested eleven chief officials and monks, and handed them over to the City God Ke Youqiu for handling. After the collapse of the Dadongshan underworld, the City Gods of Cangyun, Lianyun and Hengyun took the opportunity to take back the authority that should have been divided among them long ago but had never been divided, and at the same time sorted out the yin and yang and clarified the universe. However, there is always a loophole in the best plan, and there are always things that are not sorted out in time. These four ghostly spirits are the product of this negligence. “There’s a problem.” After saving the fourth ghost of the ghost fire, Tao Tie realized something was wrong. The fundamental responsibility of the City God-Land God Underworld Transfer System is to ensure the stability of the yin and yang order. In the past, with the presence of the Lord of Mount Dadong, who was not very active in the Celestial Empire, it was understandable that the yin and yang order of the three southwestern states was slightly disrupted. But now that the Lord of Mount Dadong has been captured, and such low-level negligence and mistakes have occurred, do the gods of the City God-Land God Underworld Transfer System of the entire three southwestern states want to be replaced again? Especially the city gods of the three states! If something goes wrong or the Celestial Empire calls for accountability, they are the first ones to be looked for. With this doubt in mind, Tao Tie continued to move forward until the dawn of the Yin hour, when he stopped. During this period, he encountered two ghostly spirits and helped them to be liberated. If it weren't for his good concentration, Tao Tie would have wanted to use the Earthly Evil Technique [Tongyou] to find the local underworld messenger and inquire about the situation. However, he was not a great sage, nor had he learned the art of exorcism, nor did he hold any official position to investigate yin and yang or monitor the underworld, so it was not easy for him to do such a thing, so he gave up the idea. Being able to find lonely souls and help them to be reincarnated and sent to the local underworld is the limit of what Tao Tie can do at the moment. If you do more, you will easily offend people and gods. Tao Tie found a place sheltered from the wind facing east, and with an idea, he summoned a gust of wind to blow away the debris on the ground, and then summoned a rain to wash away the dirt on the ground. He then used light and heat to dry the ground. Then start morning lessons. There are naturally no statues of the Three Pure Ones in the wilderness, so it’s enough as long as the intention is there. After practicing till now, daily morning prayers have become a habit. If I have time in the evening, I will not miss the evening classes. Reciting scriptures and gaining enlightenment early in the morning and evening can bring you peace and tranquility. "Tao Dao is friendly and elegant." Just after the morning class, Tao Tie heard a cheerful voice. But when Tao Tie was halfway through his morning prayers, Dong Shou and Dong Guinian, who were nearby, came and made the noise.
Dong Shou said in a clear voice: "Fellow Daoist Tao, I am Dong Shou from Sanli Prefecture in Lianyun Prefecture. I apologize for disturbing you." Tao Tie stood up and replied calmly: "This place is not mine, why did my friend Dong disturb me?" One of them was a Confucian scholar, and the other was a Taoist monk. When addressing each other, people should be polite and courteous. If one person calls the other "fellow Taoist", the other should respond by calling the other "friend". Tao Tie learned about this ritual when he was studying in the missionary college. But he never used it, especially against Tan Jinxuan! "Ha ha……" Dong Shou laughed out loud, "Fellow Daoist Tao is broad-minded, it is me who is narrow-minded." With a smile, he changed the subject and said seriously, "Let's not beat around the bush. Dong came here specifically to see Daoist Tao." "Why?" Tao Tie was not surprised at all. Traveling long distances on foot like an ordinary person does not mean that one has to use all the means of a practitioner. Tao Tie naturally had to pay attention to all movements, big or small, within a certain area around him. In order to avoid stepping into danger or falling into an ambush trap. When you go out, be sure to protect yourself first before talking about other things. So when Dong Shou was still a long distance away from here, Tao Tie noticed him, but he was too lazy to pay attention and just concentrated on doing his own thing. Dong Shou was not surprised by this and said seriously: "I would like to ask Daoist Tao to go with me to explore the ruins of a land underworld." Tao Tie shook his head: "No." When Tao Tie discovered that the source of the ghost fire and lonely souls was not right, he had already found it by combining his physical supernatural power [Clairvoyance] and the earthly magic [Tongyou]. Just as he had given up the idea of finding the local underworld officials to inquire about the situation, he had no plans to explore the ruins of the land underworld. Some things must be made clear and cannot be vague. Sometimes, it's rare to be confused. Dong Shou frowned slightly and asked doubtfully, "Is Daoyou Tao worried about something, or has he already known something?" Tao Tie asked back: "Do you and I know each other well?" Dong Shou replied frankly: "This is the second time we've met, so we're not familiar with each other. But I've heard about Daoist Friend Tao for a long time, and we've been friends for a long time." Tao Tie grinned and said, "Unfortunately, I have only seen friend Dong's name on the Hidden Dragon List. I don't know anything about his deeds. I'm sorry." However, he would rather exchange meaningless pleasantries than talk about the ruins of the land underworld. While smiling and talking, Tao Tie continued walking towards the capital. Dong Shou thought about it and did not mention the matter of exploring the ruins of the land underworld. He followed Tao Tie and asked curiously, "Why doesn't Daoist Tao use magic to travel faster?" Tao Tie asked back: "Why don't you use magic?"
Dong Shou took it for granted: "I am in the fifth stage of the Southwest Three States Tianjiao Conference to ward off disasters and relieve misfortunes. Naturally, I cannot use magic to travel quickly, so as not to miss anything that needs to be prayed for." At this point, Tao Tie became interested: "How do you Confucian scholars ward off disasters and resolve misfortunes?" Dong Shou was puzzled: "I heard that Taoist Tao loves reading very much, so it is impossible that he has not read relevant records. There are also many Confucian scholars among the inspectors of the Immortal God Department of Liuxian County, so they should have shown their achievements." Tao Tie smiled and said, "There is a difference between what you read in books and what you see with your own eyes. What they do is even more different from what Dong did." As for what the difference is, I won’t elaborate on it. I understand everything I understand. Dong Shou nodded slightly, as if he understood what Tao Tie really wanted to say. At this time, the sun has not risen completely yet, and the world is still filled with heavy yin energy. Not far ahead, there is a cluster of ghostly fire and resentful spirits that are about to disappear, so there is a ready-made opportunity to show off. The reason why it is a cluster is that there are quite a few will-o'-the-wisp fires, about fifteen or sixteen of them gathered together. The reason why they are called vengeful spirits is that these ghosts died by beheading, their faces are hideous and full of resentment, and they are showing a tendency to transform into evil ghosts. The will-o'-the-wisp fire was not located on the roadside, but directly blocked the wilderness path, causing chaos and preventing nearby villagers from passing. If a few days passed, it would probably not appear as a terrifying ghost, make weird and sinister ghost cries, and try to scare away people walking on this road, but would directly eat people! Dong Shou immediately stepped forward, used his right hand as a pen, and wrote in the air, what came out of his mouth was a letter to the ghosts: "Dong is forbidden to do something: It is clear that his evil thoughts brought him the wrath of thunder; his evil plans led to his punishment by the hammer and axe. We should just return to Wang Liang's heart and rush to repent; maybe we can wash the blood of the skull and escape from this damnation. You have already been punished severely while alive, and even after death you are still filled with evil. They came leaping and staggering, with their hair flying in disorder; they hesitated before, beating their chests and making fierce noises. The ears are blocked with yellow mud, and the devils are always acting violently; they are monsters in broad daylight, and almost block the way for pedestrians! The hills three feet away are governed by people; how can you be so cruel and stubborn as to let them be in the center of heaven and earth? After the instruction, return to the underworld immediately and do not persist in doing evil. The bones by the Wuding River are quietly waiting for reincarnation; the soul in the dream of the boudoir returns to the hometown. If you repeat the past mistakes, you will regret it later! " As soon as this manifesto was recited, it immediately caused changes in the surrounding weather. I saw a ray of purple air coming from the rising sun in the east, which turned into endless golden light and shone on the place where Dong Shou wrote in the air, reflecting the contents of the manifesto in bright golden light. The golden manifesto then fell down, covering the ghostly spirit of the ghost fire, and turned into a big net. Suddenly, the ghost fire and the resentful soul were sent to the local underworld, so that it could no longer harm the village. "Friend Dong has great literary talent and means!" Tao Tie, who witnessed the whole process, clapped his hands and exclaimed, "You can criticize with words and writing! Friend Dong is not far from the realm of saying what you mean and what you say." Confucians often fight with others through verbal attacks. There are means such as verbal criticism and written attacks, and having one's words followed by laws is the dream state for many scholars. As for the next level, "Without rules, there will be no order", it is difficult to achieve success without becoming a great scholar. The highest level of being able to do whatever one wants without breaking the rules is something that even a great scholar can achieve occasionally but cannot force.
Dong Shou is now at this age, with the title of provincial champion, and he can criticize so easily with his words and pen. He is far superior to people like Tan Jinxuan. Even if you do not participate in the selection this time and continue to take the imperial examination as usual, you will still be able to get a rank in the upcoming joint examination and palace examination. "Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Tao." Dong Shou's expression was natural, and he was not disturbed by Tao Tie's praise. He said modestly, and then abruptly said, "Fellow Daoist Tao, please take your time. I will go first." After saying this, he quickened his pace and left in the blink of an eye. Tao Tie stared at Dong Shou's back, and when he could no longer be seen with the naked eye, he continued to watch with his [Clairvoyance] and [Super Ear]. "Ugh!" After confirming that Dong Shou's destination was the local underworld, Tao Tie sighed. This person is also a gentleman. If you feel unfair, you will speak out. Even though you know there is a tiger in the mountain, you will still go there. After thinking about it carefully, Tao Tie still didn't follow. Everyone has his own path to follow. Dong Shou has his own way, and Tao Tie also has his own way. So Tao Tie continued walking, from dawn to noon, without stopping. The sun rises and the Yang energy is strong. Except for some natural or man-made places where yin energy accumulates, ghosts cannot survive for long. So along the way, I never encountered any ghost lights or lonely spirits again. I passed by several villages and found that the land temples and mountain god temples in the villages were moving out the old statues and replacing them with new ones. We also passed by an abandoned villa where a group of white-haired foxes gathered. At that time, the white foxes in this nest were giving lessons to the little foxes under the organization of the old fox, explaining the ways of being a fox, the ways of survival, and the ways of etiquette. Quite interesting. Tao Tie stopped and watched for a while, and the nest of white foxes were scared half to death. The old fox trembled as he ordered the little foxes to prostrate themselves on the ground. He then tremblingly held up an iron plate hanging around his neck and begged Tao Tie to show mercy. This iron plate is a certificate of good demon jointly issued by the Qingshui County Government and the Immortal God Department, to which this place belongs. This shows that this nest of foxes are registered friendly little demons that have never done any harm. The monks passing by cannot just kill them indiscriminately under the guise of slaying demons before they do any evil. Tao Tie only knew about this system, but had never issued it himself. Out of curiosity, he carefully examined it. This action frightened the old fox even more. I thought Tao Tie had the intention of slaying the demon, but was just considering whether to risk offending the Qingshui County Government and the Department of Immortals and Gods and forcibly eliminate the demon.
The old fox quickly pulled out a box from a hole, held it high, and wanted to use the treasure to redeem his life. Tao Tie chuckled at the time, returned the good demon certificate, and left quietly. Now, sitting under a camphor tree, taking a rest like an ordinary person, avoiding the scorching sun at noon, I can't help but smile when I think back to this incident. That's a fun thing, isn't it? (End of this chapter)