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

Chapter 20 Inner Sage, Outer King: Mastering One's Own Yin and Yang, Seeking Within

As the sun gradually rose, the eaves cast a shadow under the sunlight.

Wang Ye and Lü Qian stood in the shadows, standing in a row, motionless like stakes.

"Hmm, very good!"

Master Yunlong strode over in a cheerful mood, his beard slightly upturned. He nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the two figures.

"Greetings, Master!"

"Greetings, Daoist Yunlong!"

As he approached, Daoist Yunlong saw that the gradually forming Qi around Wang Ye was slowly solidifying, a significant improvement over before.

He stroked his beard in surprise. "Hmm? So fast?"

"It seems this kid's talent is even better than I thought."

As his thoughts raced, Daoist Yunlong walked up the stone steps in front of the hall, and looked at the two men's calm demeanor with even greater satisfaction.

"Very good, keep it up."

After saying this, Daoist Yunlong swept his sleeves and sat cross-legged behind the two of them.

A silent atmosphere gradually filled the area in front of the hall, and the three of them focused their inner energy without saying another word.

Once you enter a meditative state, the passage of time becomes blurred.

The sun soon approached its zenith, and it was noon.

"Alright, let's go to the dining hall. Wudang people believe in not eating after noon, so if we go too late, there won't be any food left."

Master Yunlong opened his eyes, stood up with force, and led the way toward the dining hall.

"yes!"

Wang Ye and Lü Qian finished their practice at the same time and followed Master Yunlong to the dining hall.

The dining hall was packed with Wudang disciples who had just finished their midday meditation. They gathered together to discuss the source of Master Yunlong's anger that day.

"Deping, did you let something slip?"

"How could that be? De'an, don't wrong an innocent person. Everyone in Wudang knows you have the biggest mouth. If something happens on the mountain, the vegetable vendors down the mountain will know about it in less than three days."

"You! Don't laugh, I'm talking about you, Deqing. You're no better than me. Did you gossip about me to Master Yunlong?"

"screw you!"

Master Yunlong led the two to the dining hall, and before they even entered, they could hear a heated discussion coming from inside.

"Master, please go first!"

Seeing the expression on Daoist Yunlong's face change from sunny to stormy, Lü Qian quickly ran ahead and shouted loudly, pretending to lead the way.

Before Lü Qian's voice had even finished, the dining hall fell silent again, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"snort!"

Master Yunlong glanced at Lü Qian with annoyance, then strode into the dining hall, flicking his sleeves.

"Greetings, Master!"

"Greetings, Martial Uncle!"

"Greetings, Senior Uncle!"

As soon as Yunlong stepped one foot across the threshold, the disciples inside, who were eating with their heads down, immediately looked up, greeted Daoist Yunlong, and then quickly lowered their heads to eat again.

"Wang Ye, come in."

Master Yunlong entered the dining hall, followed by Wang Ye and Lü Qian.

"This is the vegetarian hall of my Wudang sect."

"Since you want to cultivate at Wudang for a period of time, you must abide by Wudang's rules and regulations."

He led Wang Ye to the window, took two light meals from the Fireworker, and handed one of them to Wang Ye.

"I understand, thank you Master Yunlong."

Wang Ye took the food from Master Yunlong and followed Lü Qian, who was also holding food, into the group of disciples.

After watching Master Yunlong disappear into the dining hall, the disciples became lively again.

"Junior brother, is this the one who came to the mountain to cultivate?"

"My name is Wang Ye, you can just call me by my name. I'm just here on the mountain to practice my boxing and take care of my health."

Wang Ye greeted the crowd in response to their questions.

The disciples nodded at the polite Wang Ye. "There aren't many rules on the mountain. Apart from some regulations that are beneficial to cultivation, there aren't many restrictions. If you don't understand something, just ask us."

"Alright, thank you all, fellow disciples."

"polite."

Lunch ended in a cheerful atmosphere.

In the afternoon, Wang Ye followed Yunlong in practicing standing meditation as usual, hoping to strike while the iron was hot and help him master the feeling of Qi as soon as possible.

Lü Qian was taught Tai Chi Chuan by Master Yunlong.

And so, another day on Wudang Mountain came to an end.

Night fell once again over the mountains and valleys, but the moonlight did not accompany the stars in its radiance tonight.

The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, which made the mountain seem even more serene.

The mountain wind was particularly strong tonight, and the mountain path was filled with the constant rustling of leaves.

On a dark and windy night, when murder is committed and no one is around, treasures are stolen.

Zhou Meng sat cross-legged on the mountain path behind the mountain, the slightly biting mountain wind causing his Taoist robe to flutter in the air.

He closed his eyes, placed his hands loosely on his lower abdomen, as if he were in a meditative state.

"Master!"

Master Yunlong nimbly traversed the mountain path and quickly stood beside Zhou Meng.

He didn't bring a lantern with him today.

"Please have a seat. It seems there aren't many guests at Wudang Mountain tonight."

Zhou Meng remained seated without moving, and spoke with his eyes closed.

"yes!"

Master Yunlong sat cross-legged on the steps beneath Zhou Meng, entering a meditative state just like Zhou Meng.

The mountain breeze blew across the deserted mountain path below, and the rustling of leaves filled the air.

The two remained undisturbed by the surroundings, sitting motionless on the mountain path as always.

……

The two main pillars of Wudang Mountain were guarding the mountain at this time, but Lü Qian was completely unaware of this.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged on a futon in the room, a thoughtful look on his face, his hands slowly moving in front of his chest, circulating his qi.

"Tai Chi has a very high concept, and it truly deserves to be the core method of a Taoist lineage."

"Taiji originates from Wuji, is the mechanism of movement and stillness, and is the mother of Yin and Yang."

He opened his eyes and looked at the glowing Qi in his hands. "Ordinary people see Tai Chi energy as just a technique, a skill, or a method, but Tai Chi is actually the Dao!"

"The interplay of Yin and Yang constitutes the Dao. All things carry Yin and embrace Yang, and through the interaction of these two forces, harmony is achieved."

"On the surface, Tai Chi energy is a skill that evolves from the interweaving of two kinds of energy, softness and hardness, into thousands of different kinds of energy."

"Just looking at the surface level is already remarkable. If one were to cultivate it to a higher level, the control over one's strength would naturally be superb and reach its peak."

"As for the deeper aspects, I think I have some clues now."

As he spoke, Lü Qian stood up from the ground, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, his palms constantly intertwining and pushing, just like the two yin and yang fish on the Tai Chi diagram.

The interplay of soft and hard forces in his hands was constantly evolving and transforming. Although his movements were slight, they generated a considerable amount of powerful palm force around him.

As Lü Qian moved his body slowly with the movement of his palms, his movements appeared extremely gentle yet powerful, perfectly embodying the interplay of yin and yang.

The air around him circulated with his movements, gradually becoming more harmonious around Lü Qian, eventually forming a wind barrier three feet in diameter.

"No, that shouldn't be the case. One should be a sage within and a king without!"

"We should look inward and explore outward."

As soon as Lü Qian changed his movements, the airflow around him dissipated as if it had lost its pull.

"The ultimate goal of cultivation techniques is to control oneself. Only by completely controlling one's human body can one master this precious raft for saving the world."

His every move became fluid and natural again, and the strange phenomenon of the accompanying gale was no longer present when he swung his fists and palms, but he gave people a feeling that was even more unpredictable.

"Yes, although I can be compared to the world, this is only in terms of completeness. In terms of quality, I am completely incomparable to the world."

"Using one's own Yin and Yang to influence the Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth puts too much pressure on oneself, and the power gained in this way is limited. But one's own being is infinite, and I possess infinite possibilities."

"Refining my life is a continuous process of strengthening this precious raft that carries me across the world, and enhancing my control as its helmsman."

"Thus, the Great Way can be achieved!"

Lu Qian finished his work and stood up. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, which shone with a brilliant light.

He has found his direction.