Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Sermon of a Sage, a Contemporary Great Virtue

Confucius?

Lu Xuan’s heart tightened.

Although history in the Current World was fractured and most classical texts and historical records had been lost, the name of Master Kong had, against all odds, been passed down!

He was, after all, the founder of Confucianism. Even in the Current World, there were still many who revered Confucian teachings, some Great Cultivators even using them to enter the Dao!

’Is it just someone with the same name? Or is this burly man before me the legendary Master Kong?’

“May I ask, sir, for what purpose have you come seeking the Keeper of the Records?” Although a thunderclap had just exploded in Lu Xuan’s mind, his face remained as calm as a placid lake as he asked softly.

Beside him, Yin Xi remained vigilant, sizing up the man who called himself Confucius. He had heard the name before—it had recently become quite famous, but…

The burly man returned the courtesy with a gentle smile.

“I have heard that the Keeper of the Records for the Zhou Dynasty possesses knowledge that is first-rate in all the world, and so I have come to ask for guidance.”

“That would be me,” Lu Xuan said openly, then gestured with his hand. “Mr. Kong, let us speak inside.”

There was no surprise on Confucius’s face, only a flash of understanding in his eyes. He did not enter the room directly, but instead bowed again and said:

“I have come to ask for guidance and am not worthy of being called ’sir.’ My courtesy name is Zhongni. You may simply call me Zhongni.”

With that, he stepped aside to let them pass.

Confucius, courtesy name Zhongni…

’It really is Master Kong!’

’The First Saint of Confucianism!’

Even with Lu Xuan’s state of mind, great waves surged within him. Fortunately, he was a Grandmaster, after all, with precise control over his body, so he did not lose his composure.

’But… but this is Master Kong… asking *me* for guidance?’

Feeling a little unnerved, Lu Xuan led Yin Xi through the door, with Confucius following closely behind.

Inside the Guardian Storage Room, the three of them sat on cattail cushions. Lu Xuan prepared water, Yin Xi remained vigilant, and Confucius looked around at the collection of books, a hint of envy in his eyes.

“Zhongni, what is it you wish to ask?” The youth straightened his robes, his gaze clear as he asked softly.

Confucius sat up straight and solemn, speaking seriously.

“I currently serve as an official in the Lu Kingdom. I have seen much deceit and scheming, much chasing of fame and fortune. I have also seen many common people displaced, suffering through partings and deaths. My heart is filled with confusion.”

“Please, speak.”

“I have contemplated this many times. An ordinary person’s life is but a hundred years, and even ordinary Immortals and Buddhas have a time when their lifespan ends. From birth, troubles never cease, and suffering is plentiful. So… what is the ultimate purpose of a person’s life?”

He sighed.

“’The passing of time is like this river, flowing day and night without cease.’ A person’s years are few. From the moment they are born, most people are walking toward death, never stopping for a single moment… How sorrowful is that?”

Lu Xuan thought seriously, recalling his master’s words and the Path of Non-action that his sect revered.

After a moment, he said softly,

“Man comes from between heaven and earth and is fundamentally one with all of Nature. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are like spring, summer, autumn, and winter—they are the laws of Nature. What is there to be sad about?”

He paused for a moment before continuing,

“Therefore, an ordinary person need only follow the course of Nature and live in the world through Non-action. If one follows their heart’s desires without overstepping boundaries, how can they be troubled by suffering? But if one is bound by fame and fortune, or rushes about for the sake of benevolence and righteousness, sorrow will naturally arise… Zhongni, why do you sigh?”

Yin Xi, who had been listening quietly, was stunned. He caught a glimpse of purple qi swirling around them, and the phantoms of Golden Lotuses and celestial flowers, and his heart trembled.

Confucius did not notice the changes around him. He simply maintained his formal posture and spoke again.

“But I am one who reveres benevolence and righteousness. My worries lie with the great path of the Human World. Benevolence and righteousness are not practiced, the nations are plagued by endless wars and disasters, and Immortals and Buddhas reside high in the nine heavens, viewing the countless masses as ants… My path is that of Action. I lament that I cannot contribute to the world, that I cannot act for the people!”

As he spoke, he looked up at the youthful-looking Keeper of the Records, awaiting an answer, awaiting enlightenment.

Another moment passed. Confucius watched as the youth before him straightened his clothes, his gaze clear. He gently stroked the small table, then picked up his water cup.

“Zhongni, please look.”

Lu Xuan pushed the cup forward and asked,

“What is in this cup?”

Zhongni answered,

“Water.”

“Good.” Lu Xuan set the cup down, his expression also growing solemn. “I once heard my master say something… Now, I will tell it to you.”

He paused with every word. As he spoke, the illusory Golden Lotuses and celestial flowers around them solidified into reality, the sound of the Dao echoed, and Immortal Music drifted through the air!

Yin Xi’s pupils contracted sharply.

“Water is one of the myriad things, and it, too, has its virtue. Water follows the course of Nature. It does not cling to what living beings desire, nor does it halt for what they despise. Such virtue, is it not closer to the Great Dao?”

“The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contention.”

The youth gradually entered a profound state, beginning to expound upon the Dao and principles he had comprehended. What had started as a debate with Confucius had now truly become a ’lecture.’

Every word he spoke was a pearl of wisdom. At first, his voice was faint, but it gradually grew immense, starting from the Guardian Storage Room until it resounded throughout the entire three-thousand-li Luoyang City!

After a long time, his words ended. The youth asked faintly,

“Now, do you understand?”

Confucius, filled with admiration, rose and performed a deep bow, a grand gesture of respect.

“Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your teachings!”

Lu Xuan froze, suddenly realizing who was standing before him!

’Confucius!’

He was slightly startled and wanted to avoid the bow, but after a moment’s thought, he sat upright again and accepted it calmly.

At that moment, outside the Guardian Storage Room, the color of the sky changed. Vast purple qi surged, celestial flowers rained down, and Golden Lotuses sprouted from the earth!

The sound of the Great Dao was boundless. Pedestrians and merchants listened intently. Officials and nobles wore expressions of shock. In the high Ming Hall, the Celestial Son rose to his feet, staring dumbfounded at the swirling purple qi, the blossoming Immortal Flowers, and the blooming Golden Lotuses overhead, speechless for a long time.

After a long while, the Celestial Son of Zhou asked,

“From where does this sound of the Great Dao come?”

“It should be from our Great Zhou’s Guardian Storage Room.”

“Who is the current Keeper of the Records?”

“The eighteenth Keeper of the Records is Lu Xuan!”

The Celestial Son sighed softly.

“Mr. Lu is a Great Virtue of this age!”

The assembled ministers agreed, and the Historian recorded it with his carving knife.

[During his sermon, the eighteenth Keeper of the Records of Zhou, Lu Xuan, caused celestial flowers to rain down and Golden Lotuses to sprout from the earth. The common people listened with reverence, and the Celestial Son was moved.]

[He received the praise of the Celestial Son of Zhou, who said: Lu Xuan is a Great Virtue of this age, a saint and a sage!]

And as the Historian carved this record,

The purple qi, Immortal Flowers, and Golden Lotuses in the sky converged, transforming into a brilliant golden radiance. Like a shooting star streaking across the heavens, it plunged into the Guardian Storage Room and fell upon Lu Xuan’s head.

The youth, bathed in the vast light, sat upright on his cushion, looking just like a saint or sage.

In that single breath, he opened seventy-two Acupoints.

……

Lu Xuan’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up abruptly in bed.

“Master Kong…”

He let out a soft breath of turbid air, his mind in a daze, a wry smile on his face.

’I don’t know what that vast light was, but after it poured into me, it opened seventy-two Acupoints in a row. And I’m cultivating the Supreme Foundation Establishment Chapter! According to my master, the Acupoints of someone practicing this Chapter are ten times wider than an ordinary person’s!’

’In other words, if I weren’t practicing the Supreme Foundation Establishment Chapter, would all my Acupoints have reached Perfection by now?’

’And then there’s Master Kong…’

A troubled look crossed the youth’s face. He had gotten through it this time, but Master Kong said he would come back for more guidance after a while…

“Ah, whatever. I’ll deal with it when it happens!”

Lu Xuan got up, sensing the changes within his physical body. The one Acupoint he had opened himself, plus the seventy-two he had just opened, made a total of seventy-three shimmering Acupoints.

Not only that, but his physical body also seemed to have undergone some inscrutable transformation. Looking closely at his skin, he could see a faint, brilliant golden luster beneath it, and a special kind of qi seemed to be coiled around his entire body.

Lu Xuan tried to guide the special aura attached to him. As he carefully perceived it, he felt its rhythm was magnificent and majestic.

’I just don’t know what it’s used for, though.’

“I’ve opened seventy-three Acupoints now. The efficiency of drawing in Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to flush them has dropped significantly. Without Spiritual Objects, I’m afraid the speed at which I open new Acupoints will slow down drastically…”

As he muttered to himself, Lu Xuan suddenly recalled Uncle Wu’s description of Acupoints.

“Junior Cultivators have to train them, and Immortals have to train them too. The difference is that Cultivators temper their Form, while Immortals train their true essence, refining them into vast worlds!”

’Vast worlds…’

’Why not give it a try?’

At this thought, Lu Xuan immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and turned his focus inward, performing Introspection on the first Acupoint he had pioneered in his left hand. He could ’see’ it filled with Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, and a thick ’shell’ also surrounded the Acupoint.

Curious, he tried to break open the ’shell’ around the Acupoint, but he couldn’t budge it in the slightest.

After a moment of thought, Lu Xuan tried a different method. He carefully activated his Mediation of Creation and applied it to that single Acupoint.

Mediation of Creation could evolve heaven and earth and create all things.

And the goal of an Immortal’s Acupoint cultivation was to refine the Acupoints into heavens and earths…

In the next second, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit began to drain away frantically. The youth’s face turned visibly pale.

But as his Essence, Qi, and Spirit drained, the ’shell’ around that one Acupoint actually rippled!

’Still not enough!’

Lu Xuan activated the true intent of the Wood Splitting Form and channeled the Slaying Sword Form, combining their supreme sharpness with his Mediation of Creation in an attempt to shatter that ’shell’!

This time, it truly worked. With an indescribable shattering sound, the ’shell’ broke, and the scene within was revealed.

“This is…”

Inside the Acupoint, there was only muddled Chaos where clear and turbid qi coexisted. The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi he had absorbed was stored in the narrow gaps between the clear and turbid energies, and nothing more.

An idea struck Lu Xuan. He tried to use the Slaying Sword Form to cleave the Chaos apart!

’DONG!!’

Ripples spread through the Chaos within the Acupoint.

Immediately, he used his Mediation of Creation again, in concert with the Slaying Sword Form, attempting to transform the Chaos and the clear and turbid qi within the Acupoint into Innate Spiritual Qi.

The Chaos began to vibrate violently, showing signs of splitting apart!

’It’s working!’

Lu Xuan grew excited. His theory had been proven correct. Just as he was about to use his Mediation of Creation to transform the Chaos and the Slaying Sword Form to cleave it again,

He was struck by a powerful wave of dizziness. His Essence, Qi, and Spirit had been completely drained. The exhaustion he felt now was no less than when he had created that wisp from the Peach of Immortality!

No, in terms of consumption alone, it was far, far greater than that time!

“Oops, went a little overboard…”

His spirit exhausted, he fainted.

And while he was unconscious, his Primordial Body, of which he had only grasped the barest rudiments, began to slowly, gradually, change.

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