hotmtlnovel Chapter 296 Techniques convey the Way, and laws elucidate the Way.
Chapter 296 Techniques convey the Way, and laws elucidate the Way.
(The previous chapter has been completed, please check it out!)
On the deck, the rotating Qimen Dunjia formation enveloped Lü Qian and Zhuge Qing, while the figures of everyone else around them seemed to have vanished into the formation, leaving no trace.
Lu Qian sat cross-legged in the central position, rested his whisk on his arm again, pointed his finger downwards, and asked about the Qimen Dunjia formation below.
"Zhuge Qing, look at this situation from the perspective of [Wuhou Qimen Dunjia]. Tell me, and tell yourself, what is the Dao of Zhuge Liang?"
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Qing's eyes shone with a bright light, as if two flames were burning within them. This was the Qimen Manifestation Technique, a method used by sorcerers to observe Qimen phenomena.
He tried to observe the Qimen Dunjia chart using the principles of Wuhou Qimen Dunjia, but discovered something unusual: the current chart was too simple.
"Master Lü Qian, your situation seems to be one of near-death experiences."
"It may seem like there are many dangerous obstacles, but there is always a glimmer of hope. However, to obtain this glimmer of hope, one must break with common sense and defy the heavens...etc."
Zhuge Qing, a genius of Qimen Dunjia, looked at the overly simple Qimen Dunjia formation and was about to deduce it carefully by citing classics when he suddenly frowned, as if he realized something.
"Is it merely a matter of conforming to fate and obeying destiny, while defying fate and changing one's fate is the true essence?"
"Indeed, when did Zhuge Liang ever accept the Mandate of Heaven?"
"How could a sorcerer be one to resign himself to fate?"
With his head down, Zhuge Qing couldn't help but cover his face with his hands, muttering to himself while letting out a slightly maniacal laugh, "Hahaha, as a descendant, I don't know the way of my ancestors, presumptuously claiming to be from the Marquis of Wu family, indifferent and arrogant, yet I have long been mixed up in the world."
"Oh, so it seems you finally realize what you've lost?"
Lu Qian looked at Zhuge Qing, whose words seemed somewhat incoherent, and nodded in understanding.
Sorcerers are a group of practitioners who use magic to study and deduce the laws of nature, taking time and space as their starting point.
They are even more eccentric than ordinary practitioners, because their practice is to confront the essence of the world—the Way of Heaven.
This group of people usually claim to follow the will of Heaven, stay away from worldly affairs, and avoid karmic consequences. They claim to have taken seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, as well as cultivating themselves and preserving their lives, to the extreme. But this is only their outward appearance.
This facade has not only deceived most people, but also most sorcerers, who are lost in it.
In their hands, magic techniques are no different from those used by ordinary cultivators in battles, having long lost their original meaning and principles.
True sorcerers are not bound by this superficial appearance; they go straight to the essence of magic and use this means of fighting and competing as supernatural powers that can change the world and transform in countless ways!
"The Wuhou Qimen is not like that; Wuhou's way is not narrow."
As he talked to himself, the light in Zhuge Qing's eyes became increasingly bright and clear, with divine meaning flowing and accumulating within them.
"Whoosh!"
When the divine intent accumulated to a certain degree, Zhuge Qing's eyes flashed with light. This divine intent, like a celestial river bursting its banks, gushed out from his eyes, transforming into two sharp swords that cleaved through the Qimen formation that enveloped the surroundings.
"The Wuhou Qimen Dunjia technique can seize the power of heaven and earth, and alter the balance of yin and yang, life and death. This is the way of the Zhuge family."
The divine light flashed and faded in an instant, and Zhuge Qing's pupils returned to normal. He looked at Lü Qian and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for your explanation, Daoist Lü Qian. Please also pass on a message to Daoist Wang Ye: Zhuge Qing will definitely visit Wudang Mountain to exchange ideas in the future."
"Alright, I'll grant your challenge on behalf of Junior Brother Wang Ye."
Lu Qian accepted Zhuge Qing's challenge with a hint of schadenfreude, then changed the subject, asking, "Zhuge Qing, do you now understand the true nature of [Zhuge Qimen]?"
"I understand. My family's Qimen Dunjia is not fundamentally used for fighting, or rather, fighting is only a minor aspect of it."
Zhuge Qing's tone was quite arrogant, as if he had transformed back into that precocious genius of Qimen Dunjia.
"Indeed, the skills of Zhuge Liang are far more than just fist and foot techniques. The Stone Gate Eight Trigrams Formation, the Wind and Rain Summoning Technique, the Seven Star Life-Borrowing Lamp..."
Lu Qian roughly recounted Zhuge Liang's deeds on his fingers, then shook his head with some doubt, saying, "A miraculous technique that reached the heavens has been ruined by you descendants. Should I say your Zhuge family was too leisurely?"
"Instead of comprehending the Dao passed down in your own family, you greedily seek out unorthodox and heretical paths. No wonder you, Zhuge Qing, developed inner demons after just one defeat."
"Master Lü Qian, a young man should not be arrogant and reckless. We should all experience some hardships and bitterness when we are young."
Hearing Lü Qian's teasing and sarcasm, Zhuge Qing waved his hand and chuckled, "After all, how can one measure one's own path and way by relying solely on one's own physical and mental journey without personally overcoming hardships and obstacles?"
"The so-called inner demons are nothing more than my greed, anger, and ignorance. Now I have no more delusions."
He stood up from the deck, and the sea breeze blowing in his face seemed to be drawn by Zhuge Qing's movement, swirling and flowing around him.
At this moment, he seemed to have become the eye of a storm. As the wind and waves increased, the storm around the eye became clearer and more turbulent.
"Master Lü Qian, as someone who practices Feng Hou Qi Men, you must know that the Eight Trigrams correspond to all things in the universe, and everyone can find their own natal position from the Eight Trigrams."
Zhuge Qing slowly raised his hand, and wisps of wind were drawn out from the surrounding swirling wind, dancing and swirling in his palm, as clear and lively as real living things.
"I am unworthy, but like my ancestor Zhuge Liang from a thousand years ago, I was born with the Xun position in the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams."
The swirling waves around him rose and fell with his slightly amused voice, as if the wind and waves were providing accompaniment and following his command.
"Those in the Xun position are close to the acquired winds of their destiny, and can also be close to the cause and effect of their innate nature."
Zhuge Qing dispersed the wisp of wind in his hand, then spread his arms. The originally turbulent and surging wind and waves flowed freely with his arms, gradually transforming into a ribbon that hung behind him in mid-air.
As the ribbon swirled and danced, the invisible waves gradually took on a faint, indistinct form amidst the shifting winds and waves.
This form was slender and snake-like, with scales, claws, horns, and whiskers. As it soared, it created a misty atmosphere, seemingly turning into clouds and smoke, which accompanied this unknown form as it swirled around Zhuge Qing.
"roar!"
As the clouds and smoke gathered and dispersed, a majestic low roar emanated from within, followed by what seemed like two beams of brilliant golden light shooting out from it, overlooking everything around them.
"Come!"
Zhuge Qing squinted, his smile growing even more pure and sincere. He waved his hand towards the sky, and from the vast expanse of clouds and mist, that incredible form emerged and moved within his palm.
"A dragon, that's a dragon?"
After the Qimen was broken, the surrounding extraordinary people stared in astonishment at the figure moving in Zhuge Qing's palm, and exclaimed in surprise.
Hearing the exclamations around him, Zhuge Qing waved his arm, and the dragon's form dissipated, transforming back into swirling waves.
He said, feigning nonchalance, "It's just some minor tricks to control the wind and water, nothing to mention."
"Really not worth mentioning?"
Lu Qian looked at Zhuge Qing's upturned lips, waved his whisk, and the silk threads disturbed the surrounding wind and tide. The wind and waves that Zhuge Qing had been playing with suddenly lost control and poured over him.
"Ahem, Daoist Lü Qian, why expose me like this? My clothes are all soaked."
"Didn't you say it was nothing to worry about? Besides, I have a fire here; would you like me to dry your clothes?"
As he spoke, a ball of blazing, bright flame appeared in Lü Qian's hand, the flames leaping and surging as if they were about to pounce on Zhuge Qing at any moment.
"No need, I have my own fire."
Zhuge Qing took two steps back, and as he moved, tiny, shimmering blue sparks rose from the deck. In an instant, these sparks transformed into a massive fireball, protecting Zhuge Qing within.
The shimmering blue flames danced and swirled, as if invisible waves of fire were rising up, scorching Zhuge Qing's soaked hair and clothes clean.
"Zhuge Liang's Samadhi Fire?"
Lu Qian put away the raging flames in his palm. The crimson-gold patterns in his eyes flickered and swayed, reflecting the bright blue flames. Within them, Daoist runes and talismans seemed to be continuously analyzed.
"Unlike the true fire of my Taoist sect, your fire is considered the fire of the Three Powers."
"Using Zhuge Qimen to manipulate the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man, man moves creation within them, borrowing a wisp of formless fire from Heaven and Earth, and using the three treasures of human essence, energy, and spirit as a catalyst, man transforms himself into tangible fuel, thus igniting this fire of the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man."
"Zhuge Liang was truly exceptional, but also truly insane. This method, though effective, is deadly and shortens one's lifespan."
From the moment a person is born, the primordial Qi combines with the acquired essence and blood to form a fetus, from which life and nature differentiate, and then the three treasures of essence, Qi, and spirit are formed.
These three treasures are stored within the upper, middle, and lower elixir, which are invisible to ordinary people. Since they cannot see the three elixir, they naturally cannot distinguish the three treasures.
The three dantians communicate and circulate, and the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit rise and nourish qi and blood. Qi and blood are the fuel for human activity and a direct manifestation of vitality.
Zhuge Liang's "Samadhi Fire" uses the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit as raw materials. In other words, this fire actually uses a person's lifespan as fuel and lifespan as firewood.
"Cough cough cough, it's not that exaggerated. It just means that using it for a moment will shorten your lifespan by three quarters of an hour."
Although Zhuge Qing said he didn't care, he immediately extinguished the flames on his body, then carefully examined his physical condition, rubbed his dry long hair, and picked out a white strand of hair.
He twirled the white hair between his fingers, his expression showing no fear or hesitation about shortening his lifespan, but rather radiant and eager to try.
Even before the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony began, he had been trying to master this martial arts technique, the Samadhi True Fire, under the guidance of the Zhuge family.
But in the end, he was seriously injured and failed to achieve his goal.
At that time, his father, Zhuge Gong, who was also the head of the Zhuge family, told him that he had not yet reached that level and should not be impatient.
He barely managed to calm himself down, but was ultimately defeated by Wang Ye at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, suffering a complete defeat at the hands of [Feng Hou Qi Men]. Later, he was tricked by Wang Ye and encountered [Shen Ji Bai Lian].
At that time, he began to doubt his family's tradition, believing that Wuhou Qimen and Wuhou Shenji were inferior to the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, and his inner demons grew stronger day by day.
Now he has finally overcome his inner demons, understood the Zhuge family's way, and mastered this unique martial art of Zhuge Liang.
If it weren't for the presence of Lü Qian, an even more perverted peer, he might have been overjoyed to celebrate. Although it was somewhat madness, it would have allowed him to properly vent his complex emotions.
As the saying goes, "No madness, no life." For sorcerers, these unconventional practitioners, a bit of madness is necessary to cultivate their extraordinary abilities.
Nine out of ten Qimen practitioners are madmen, and the last one is the madst of madmen.
Zhuge Liang was not only a genius, but the Wuhou Qimen he created also transcended ordinary Qimen techniques, using himself as the central figure to manipulate the creation of heaven and earth.
The Zhuge family's "Samadhi True Fire" uses their own three treasures as fuel and their own lifespan to ignite that Samadhi True Fire.
This shows that this ancestor of the Zhuge family was not a peaceful individual.
Moreover, who among true practitioners is confined to so-called common sense?
Thinking of this, Lü Qian smiled and said to the elated Zhuge Qing, "Zhuge Qing, you know whether what I said is true or not. To show my sincerity, I will still give you this advice."
"Be careful in the future, and don't indulge in lust and greed, otherwise you will damage the Three Jewels, and this Samadhi Fire will really be fatal."
As he spoke, his eyes darted playfully towards Fu Rong, the woman Zhuge Qing had brought back from Biyou Village, in the crowd.
Then, he winked meaningfully at Zhuge Qing and softly recited, "In youth, one does not know the wonders of vital energy, and wastes lead and mercury like flowing water."
"For the sake of the future succession of the Zhuge family, you must grasp the proper measure and degree of discretion."
These somewhat inappropriate words were like a bucket of cold water poured on him, successfully extinguishing Zhuge Qing's somewhat agitated emotions.
For scions of noble families, matters of the heart between men and women should not be treated with such embarrassment, after all, noble families also need to continue their lineage and bloodline.
If it weren't for Lü Qian's extraordinary talent, his single-minded pursuit of the Dao, and the fact that his cultivation had already surpassed Lü Ci's and he was about to attain sainthood, he would have been a different person.
He had no doubt that he would be captured by Lü Ci and used as a seed-planting machine to give birth to the Lü family bloodline that Lü Ci longed for.
Similarly, in the Zhuge family, which is also a family with a thousand-year history, Zhuge Qing is the most talented among the direct descendants of this generation.
He naturally had to make his own contribution to the continuation of the Zhuge family line.
Aristocratic families pass down their lineage through blood, inherit principles, and defend themselves with techniques and methods; this has been the rule of aristocratic families for thousands of years.
"Speaking of marriage between men and women, why has there been no news of Master Lü Qian's involvement to date?"
Zhuge Qing's smile faded slightly, and he squinted at Lü Qian, then joined in the lighthearted banter.
"If the Lü family releases this information, I'm afraid even some influential factions in the world of supernatural beings won't be able to sit still, right?"
"Moreover, if I remember correctly, although Wudang follows the precepts of Quanzhen and the rituals of Zhengyi, Wudang can be said to have established its own unique lineage and does not prohibit marriage."
Faced with Zhuge Qing's teasing and the gazes from those around him, Lü Qian smiled and shook his head, "I am about to attain enlightenment, why should I need the help of Yin and Yang?"
"My body enters the gate of mystery, and my heart follows; I am a practitioner on the path of cultivation."
"The path I've walked has never left room for anyone else beside me; I can only walk side by side with a few fellow practitioners."