Above the Great Dao-Chapter 1358 - 635: Benevolence, the Way of Humanity (Part 2)

Chen Shi surveyed the village, noticing many villagers sitting in the sun, basking in its rays. They were dressed warmly, squinting their eyes as their cheeks turned red from the sunlight.

For those who have already achieved immortality, five hundred years pass in the blink of an eye, but for mortals, it's a passage of many cycles of life and death, their past lives reduced to ashes.

"I was the one who led Jiang Guo into the gates of Golden Turtle Island. He was a genius, learning everything quickly. Even in a place like Penglai West, where cultivation is nearly impossible, his progress was astonishingly fast. Before he entered, I taught him the Mixed Yuan Dao Scripture and Sword Scripture, making an agreement that once he reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm, he would come to Golden Turtle Island to find me. Later, I forgot about this matter."

Master Jiao was cutting some bamboo as he spoke of Jiang Guo's origins, "By the time I remembered him, decades had passed. When I went to find him again, I discovered he was already a Heavenly Immortal. However, he didn't seek me out; instead, he stayed at home to care for his aging parents. I didn't force him to come with me and left. After his parents passed, he kept his promise and came to Golden Turtle Island, and I led him into the sect. He wore a jade pendant on his waist, which was of poor quality but was a relic of his parents."

As he spoke, he carved twelve bamboo rods of varying lengths, the longest being nine inches and the shortest four inches and seven tenths, inserting them into the ground so that the length exposed above was uniform.

Master Jiao then took some reed pith and burned it to ash, carefully sprinkling it into the bamboo rods.

Chen Shi squatted beside him, watching his busy work.

Master Jiao said, "Stay here and watch these bamboo rods; you will naturally comprehend the Human Dao contained within the Earth Qi Cold Greeting."

Chen Shi stayed by the twelve bamboo rods, while Master Jiao walked away with a cane.

As night fell, the villagers returned home, and soon, smoke curled up in the air, carrying the aroma of food.

Chen Shi continued to stare intently at the twelve bamboo rods until he heard the gentle sound of footsteps behind him. A child carefully approached, carrying a bowl of food with two mixed-grain buns alongside.

"My mom asked me to give this to you. Eat, eat." The child wore a pure and innocent smile on his face.

Chen Shi hesitated but did not refuse. He thanked the child solemnly, then picked up the bowl and, like a villager, squatted and nibbled at the bun and vegetables. Before long, he finished the meal.

He wanted to return the bowl, but worried about missing something, he placed the bowl and chopsticks beside him instead.

Not long after, the child returned to collect the bowl and chopsticks.

The moon rose, casting an enchanting light. Under the moonlight, shadows and snow mingled, making the air feel increasingly cold.

It was extremely quiet here, with only the occasional bark of a dog or the creak of a wooden gate opening.

Chen Shi continued to fix his gaze on the twelve bamboo rods. Unconsciously, dawn arrived; the village began to stir with life again, people rising early to greet each other as smoke curled up from each household.

The child came once more to bring him breakfast, and Chen Shi did not refuse.

After eating, the villagers grew curious about this outsider. Many watched him from a distance, whispering among themselves, but they dared not approach.

The children were bolder. They would run up to Chen Shi, squatting beside him to observe, with some daring to reach out and touch his Purple Gold Crown.

They were soon called away and scolded by their parents.

Chen Shi focused solely on the twelve bamboo rods, his patience unwavering. Before long, the villagers grew accustomed to his presence, their curiosity waning.

Chen Shi became completely absorbed, as if merging with the village.

After six or seven days, the weather warmed, and the ice and snow in the shadows began to melt, the earth becoming more pliant. Green grass buds sprouted at the corners of the walls.

One morning, Chen Shi still sat there like a wooden or clay figure. A man stretching and yawning walked past him, muttering, "Today is the Spring Equinox."

At that moment, Chen Shi sensed the flow of Yang Qi deep within the earth. It was indeed the Yang Qi of the earth, the melting of deep-seated ice and snow, the breath and circulation of roots within the soil, and the awakening of creatures in their burrows, accelerating their metabolism.

In short, the earth seemed to awaken.

As he marveled at his perception, a current from the depths of the earth blew upward from beneath the base of the bamboo rods, lifting the ash from the reed membranes within.

The lightweight ash ascended from the exposed ends of the bamboo rods, dancing in the air, accompanied by a soft sound emanating from the bamboo.

The sound was very faint, to the point of being easily overlooked if not listened to closely.

But it was indeed music from the depths of the earth.

It was the pitch of Huangzhong from the Twelve Lü.

In the other bamboo rods, ash also rose, with Earth Qi blowing through rods of different heights, producing twelve pitches, including Dalu, Taicu, Jiazhong, Guxian, Zhonglü, and others.

This sound seemed like the earth itself was speaking, announcing to the world that spring had arrived.

The sound seemed to awaken life in the world, infusing the once desolate and barren Penglai West with the breath of countless reviving lives!

This is the Earth Qi Cold Greeting, this is Heaven Inverted Life Killing!

Behind Chen Shi, the village also seemed to awaken from the dead of night: people busied themselves with tasks, children frolicked, hens exited their coops in search of food, and yellow dogs ran about marking their territory.

The child who often brought him meals approached again with a bowl of food.

Although Chen Shi had long grasped this technique through the Heavenly Mechanism Strategy, the personal experience of sensing the earth's revival, the transition of all things from death to life, still moved him to tears.

He had understood.

He realized what the Teacher meant by benevolence—not splitting people in half, but the relationship between people and the heavens and earth, and between people themselves.

He comprehended the mystery of the Human Dao within the Earth Qi Cold Greeting!

He understood why he was struck by a sword at Candao Cliff.

"Don't cry."

The child delivering the meal said, "Are you hungry? I have more at home. Let me get you some more."

"Thank you."

Chen Shi thanked him, stood up, and smiled, "Having eaten your family's food for so long and been cared for all this time, I must repay you."

With a thought, he spread out the Yin Yang Dojo, enveloping the small village.

Chen Shi activated the Yin Yang Dojo, absorbing and refining the Outer Dao here. Before long, he completely refined the Outer Dao in the village and said to the child, "If Grandpa with the limp comes looking for me, tell him I'm going to enter the world for some time. When I am perfect, I will return." With that, he gracefully departed.

From then on, the village became rich in Spiritual Energy, Righteous Qi endured, the villagers' lifespans increased, and the crops grew better.

Not long after Chen Shi left, Master Jiao and Jiang Guo arrived here. When the villagers saw Jiang Guo, they hurriedly called him the Old Ancestor—after all, Jiang Guo, though appearing young, was nearly six hundred years old, so being addressed as such by fellow villagers was only natural.

The two examined the village, each showing expressions of surprise.

With their deep cultivation, they naturally could see that the earth-shattering changes in the small village were due to Chen Shi altering the Heaven and Earth Great Dao here!

But how was this achieved?

"Where did the boy watching the bamboo go?" Master Jiao asked eagerly.

The boy who brought meals recounted Chen Shi's words, causing Master Jiao and Jiang Guo to frown.

"Comprehending the Mixed Yuan Sword Scripture takes such a long time—who knows when he will return?" Master Jiao murmured.

Unawares, Chen Shi had departed from Penglai West, observing and perceiving the Heaven and Earth Great Dao along the way, experiencing local customs, realizing the complexity of the Wind Marquis Cen Ci, comprehending the Lili Cyan Flame, witnessing the rise and fall of nations and the change of dynasties in the chaotic world, or venturing deep into the desert where he braved sandstorms, or enduring the autumn winds and rains to understand the frost and snow.

He traveled far and wide, unsure of how many miles or days he had traversed.

Master Jiao, Jiang Guo, and others, including the Black Pot, waited on Golden Turtle Island for several months but did not see him return. After two years, Chen Shi still hadn't come back.

One day, the gourd dog lying in front of the mountain gate suddenly twitched its ears and looked up to see a bearded man, dusty from his travels, approaching with a smile before heading up the mountain.

"Master Jiao, I'm back."

The man smiled at Master Jiao, saying, "I want to challenge Candao Cliff once more."