Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 74 The Way of the Yang God, Cranes Dancing in the Morning Sun

"Yang Shen?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Qian lowered his head and began to ponder.

Those that are purely Yin without Yang are ghosts; those that are a mixture of Yin and Yang are Yin spirits; and those that are purely Yang without Yin are Yang spirits.

Wait, there's a problem.

Lu Qian reviewed the classic texts he had read before and compared them with reality, and suddenly discovered some contradictions.

The Taiji and Yin-Yang principles are the foundation upon which all things in the world exist.

When a person is born, it is from the union of yin and yang of the parents, the two energies combine, and the essence and blood are transformed into a fetus, which takes three hundred days to fully develop and be born.

In this process, yin and yang combine and the two energies generate each other.

This is a human being, carrying the yang and embracing the yin.

The Pure Yang Path of Quanzhen involves the process of "tempering the Yang Soul" and "refining the Yin Spirit." During this process, one's Yin essence is continuously refined, and one's life cultivation is improved, ultimately leading to the attainment of the Yang God.

Moreover, as Lü Zu said, once the Yang spirit emerges, the work is accomplished.

Throughout history, how many people have been able to cleanse themselves of all impurities and transform into pure Yang, thereby achieving the Yang spirit?

However, according to Lü Qian, in reality, many disciples of the Quanzhen Sect began to manifest their Yang Spirit in broad daylight after accumulating a certain level of cultivation in their life force.

Are the Yang spirits that these disciples manifest truly Yang spirits?

Thinking of this, Lü Qian raised an eyebrow; he seemed to have found the answer.

Seeing the change in Lü Qian's expression, the old woman opposite him immediately understood that this exceptionally talented junior disciple had noticed the clue.

"Kid, you're right. The Yang Shen technique used by those Quanzhen disciples doesn't actually produce the Yang Shen."

The old woman sat cross-legged in the void with an air of composure, and she touched Lü Qian's forehead.

"If a cultivator's yin energy is not fully exhausted and they prematurely manifest their spirit, it is called a yin spirit. Although they may have an air of immortality, they are still not far removed from the realm of ghosts."

"Those little ones can take form but not split into forms. Although they can roam the human world, they cannot fly or transform. They have not yet fully refined their Yin essence; instead, they are Yin spirits that are a mixture of Yin and Yang."

"They call it the emergence of the Yang spirit, but in reality, it's just the emergence of the Yin spirit!"

At this point, the old woman sighed, "If achieving the Yang Spirit was so easy, I've cultivated for hundreds of years, grinding away at it for who knows how long, and yet I'm still only at the Yin Spirit level?"

"Moreover, the world is filthy and full of dregs. If too many Yin spirits emerge and become tainted by the filth of the world, then all their efforts will be in vain. No matter how much they refine themselves, they will never be able to become Yang spirits."

"Young man, be careful. Although the Yang Spirit is wondrous, you must not be tainted by the filth of the mortal world before you have fully refined your Yin Soul."

"Thank you for your guidance, senior!"

Lu Qian nodded; he now understood how to proceed on the path to becoming a [Yang God].

Fortunately, he had just come into contact with the Dragon Gate Sect's [Burning Body and Refining Spirit] technique. Although his primordial spirit had grown considerably stronger, he had not yet had time to condense his Yang spirit.

But then Lü Qian realized a problem: "Senior, as the [Body Burning and Spirit Refining] technique progresses, the Yin Soul is continuously refined, and the Yang Qi of the Primordial Spirit grows stronger and clearer. If there were no restraint, wouldn't it just leave the body through the seven orifices and the skull?"

"Speaking of which, I can't help but sigh at the cruel twists of fate."

The old woman looked at Lü Qian with a complicated expression. "Originally, Baiyun Temple had methods to lock the vital points and trap the Yang spirit."

"The Twenty-Four Secrets of the Golden Gate and Jade Lock?"

"Brilliant! But the secret has been lost in Baiyun Temple, and the disciples today don't understand it either."

As she spoke, she smiled mysteriously at Lü Qian, "But don't be discouraged, you still have a chance to learn this secret technique."

Looking at the smile on the other person's face, and recalling Guo Zu's manifestation earlier, Lü Qian instantly understood, "The successive patriarchs of Baiyun Temple?"

"Wow, it's so easy to understand!"

The old woman slapped her thigh and said, "When you were at Baiyun Temple, you had only just come into contact with the [Burning Body and Refining Spirit] technique, and your primordial spirit had not yet grown strong. Now, after a month of cultivation, you are almost able to condense your yang spirit. I must say, your talent is truly terrifying."

"That's why I was able to bring you inside."

As she spoke, she took a breath and said, "And your life cultivation is too tough. At the age of eighteen, you make me feel like I'm pulling a huge object. You've really exhausted me."

"By the time you return to Baiyun Temple, you should have already condensed your Yang Spirit. Then we'll see if you can impress those reclusive patriarchs!"

"Alright, alright, now that most of your questions have been answered, is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

"It's gone!"

"Okay, then I'll let you out."

After saying that, the old woman waved her whisk, and another breeze swept by.

Lu Qian looked at the ripples around him, as if he were separated from his surroundings by an invisible curtain of water.

"Kid, see you at Nine Peaks Ironclad Mountain!"

The old woman smiled as she looked at Lü Qian. Her figure was right in front of him, but her voice seemed to come from a distant void.

"This junior respectfully sees off my senior!"

Lu Qian bowed to the other party, and when he raised his head, the surrounding environment had changed back to the Guozu Temple where he was originally located.

On the altar, three sticks of incense were still burning in the incense burner, their wisps of smoke rising and dispersing into the air.

"This time the harvest was huge!"

He stood up from the prayer mat and bowed again to the two statues in front of him.

"Thank you both for your guidance."

After doing all this, Lü Qian returned to the futon. "Since even the founder of the Longmen Sect had something like a [grotto-heaven], what about my Wudang Mountain?"

He gazed at the statues on the altar, pondering new questions. "Never mind, I'll have to go back someday. I'll see then. I've been away for two months now. I wonder how the Grand Tutor and the others are doing on the mountain?"

After saying that, he closed his eyes and entered meditation again.

The main hall was dark and desolate, with only two flickering candles and three sticks of incense burning slowly on the offering table.

The night was past midnight, but the sun was still high in the sky.

……

Wudang Mountain at this time

It was still dark, but the mountain path was already crowded with tourists.

They were either carrying cameras or holding mobile phones, looking excitedly at the eastern horizon.

From time to time, Wudang disciples dressed in Taoist robes and tourism bureau staff walked through the bustling crowd to maintain order.

Zhou Meng and Daoist Yunlong stood side by side in the main hall at the end of the mountain path, looking down at the crowded people below.

"That traitorous disciple, he's been gone for so many days, but I never imagined that what he left behind would cause such a disturbance to the entire Wudang Mountain."

Master Yunlong looked annoyed, with dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't rested in a long time.

Standing beside him, Zhou Meng had his hands tucked into his Taoist robe, his eyes closed, and his breathing long and even; he appeared to be asleep.

"Master, Master, wake up! Don't sleep here!"

"Hmm? What's wrong? Is it finally dawn?"

Zhou Meng opened his eyes in confusion, but the noise around him and the yet-to-rise sun dashed his hopes.

"Hey, Yunlong, why did you wake me up? I finally managed to fall asleep, and you've disturbed it."

"Master, the mountain breeze is cool, and it's almost dawn."

As he spoke, Master Yunlong excitedly pointed to the east, where the color was beginning to turn crimson, a prelude to the rising sun.

"Oh, the cranes will be here soon too."

As soon as he finished speaking, the clear and distant cry of a crane echoed throughout the entire mountain path.

"唳~"

A flock of white cranes flew in from the distant mountains and forests, dancing in neat formation on the mountain path.

The sight of the flock of cranes against the backdrop of the rising sun in the distance caused the tourists on the mountain path to erupt in even louder noise.

"唳~"

The white cranes dance gracefully on Wudang Mountain with the rising sun behind them, their movements elegant and graceful.

As the sun fully rises, its crimson light turns to orange, and the white cranes cease their dance, disappearing once more into the mountains and forests.

"Alright, I'll leave the finishing touches to you, Yunlong. I'm going to take a nap."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Meng's figure disappeared in front of the main hall.