Tao and Heaven

Chapter 200: Wandering in the World
Luodu.

The fallen water flows eastward around the towering city walls. Ships come and go at the ferry terminal, and the merchant caravans never stop even during wartime.

The cold wind of mid-November has already arrived, the autumn is chilly and the sun is shining brightly. At this moment, there are no clouds in the sky over Luodu City. It should be a rare good weather.

Boom!
Accompanied by the sound of a loud gong, the entire Luoshui Ferry became noisy.

Hundreds of ships, large and small, had already docked, and wide, thick wooden planks were laid on the shore. Those who were good at arithmetic counted the cargo, and helpers worked hard to carry the large and small boxes.

Gu Wen and Qing Cang, who was temporarily using Yu Hua's body, came to the ferry. They cast a magic on their bodies that ordinary people could not see. The latter looked around curiously, as if he had never seen it before, with a gleam in his eyes.

She pointed forward and asked, "Disciple, what is that?"

Gu Wen followed his gaze and saw boats, helpers, and all kinds of people. He had no idea what this new and perhaps only elder wanted to ask.

Qingcang seemed to see his confusion and said with a smile: "What are all these things I see and hear? What are these woods? Are they transporting food?"

Gu Wen then explained what a ship is, what is on the ship, for what purpose it is transported, as well as the helpers, accountants, merchants, etc.

Most of them were the baggage of the Nanchun Army, transported by caravans coming from various places.

Because the Nanchun Army offered a high price and always paid in cash and never defaulted.

After several times, the reputation quickly spread, and these businessmen dared to take a gamble by participating in the war as it was profitable.

"I remember you were also doing business when you were in Bianjing."

"They are just trying to make a living. In Daqian, except for the literati and the emperor, everyone else is a slave. It is true that human nature does not exist in absolute fairness, and we cannot expect these common people to be fair, but the people of Daqian pay ten years of land tax and ten years of salt tax. Animals can still take a breath, but people are toiling endlessly."

At this point, Gu Wen fell silent again, because complaining was not as good as taking action, but he seemed to be unable to help himself.

But Master doesn't have much time left. Given her love for humanity, will she allow the people to suffer?
Qing Cang looked around Jing City calmly without expressing any opinions. His eyes, as calm as the night, did not stir up a single ripple.

Like a bystander, I watch this era quietly without making any good or bad judgments about it.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Enlighten the people, enforce the rule of law, and..." Gu Wen paused. He knew what to do and had seen such a society.

But not for this world.

In a world of individual power, it is too unrealistic to talk about human rights and the rule of law, and equality for all is even more impossible. A powerful person can easily live for thousands of years and has the ability to move mountains and fill the sea. His strength, knowledge, and time are equivalent to those of tens of millions of people.

Can humans be equal to ants?
He changed his words and said, "I heard that the world outside the sky is dominated by the sects, but the sects are ultimately just courts of different sizes, and the rulers are just monks. In this case, follow the example of our master in unifying the human race and formulate a feasible law."

“The ultimate enforcers of all rules are people, but unification will inevitably bring benefits to the majority of people.”

Qing Cang nodded in agreement with great satisfaction: "You are indeed smart."

One of the reasons why she unified the three religions back then coincided with what Gu Wen said, but she did not do it through detailed and strict laws, but rather the benevolence that is now recognized by all human beings.

For before this there had never been any law, and the present law is derived from benevolence.

Only by drawing a line between good and evil can people be encouraged to do good.

The demon race also has various rules, but only the human race uses the weak as the boundary.

The two continued walking forward, left the ferry, entered the city and came directly to the West Market.

Luoshui officials, holding books in one hand and pens in the other, stood on both sides of the ferry's entrance to the city, and enforced the law impartially, which was rare in the past ten years, and checked the customs documents and goods. The only difference was that this time they did not want the documents issued by the court, but the special documents issued by the Nanchun Army.

The first principle that Gu Wen set for the Nanchun Army was to fight for the world, so whenever he arrived at a place, he would always destroy the big landlords, let the small landlords go, kill the county officials and keep the clerks. In this way, he would have a large amount of land and wealth to maintain the huge military pay, and he could also directly utilize the original local ruling machine of Daqian.

Qing Cang seemed to be thinking about it after hearing this, and then explained that three thousand years ago, the human race had some kind of social activities, but they were not as sophisticated as they are now.

Quantify the various regulations and refereeing methods instead of having them adjudicated by higher-level monks as they did.

After passing the city gate, there is a wide road with shops on both sides, from silk shops, iron shops, porcelain shops, rice shops, salt shops, etc., gathering goods from all corners of the world.

Luodu is considered to be the main supply channel for Longqiao. The difference between the two is that Longqiao only does business with nobles, while Luodu West Market does business with people all over the world.

Qing Cang showed a strong interest in all these things. Rather than being an immortal who had reached the top of the mountain, he was more like a young lady from a noble family living in her boudoir... No, perhaps this was the true way to be untainted by the mundane world.

He must be a true immortal from heaven who has never come down, but he is more friendly than all the powerful beings Gu Wen has ever seen.

After an hour, Gu Wen felt a little thirsty from talking, so he found a restaurant on the street.

Master Qingcang imitated Gu Wen and brewed, poured and drank tea in a very professional manner, and then tasted various dishes one by one.

After a good meal, Gu Wen asked, "Master, what should we do next?"

Qing Cang answered without hesitation: "I went to watch the tricks in the martial arts world. I remember the tricks used by ordinary people. In my time, they were mostly tricks used by people who pretended to be gods and ghosts. Now I am also a liar, but I have never hurt anyone. The changes of time are really amazing."

Then he thought of something and muttered:
"And those objects carved from broken stones look very valuable. A bowl of rice in this restaurant costs ten coins, and one thousand coins costs one tael of silver. A piece of stone like this costs dozens of taels."

"Why?"

Gu Wen naturally knew what the gravel the other party was talking about. He replied, "The price of a commodity is determined by people. As long as a considerable number of people think it is valuable, a stone with no actual value can be worth a fortune."

"Just as I have determined the benevolence."

Qing Cang looked thoughtful, then nodded as if he understood something.

She is constantly understanding and learning about this era. Her divine consciousness can instantly cover the entire Luodu. Her thoughts can read 100,000 words in less than one hundredth of a second and write them down.

In the less than ten thousand steps she walked from the ferry to the West Market, she had already fully understood the society three thousand years later.

But knowing is different from understanding, and understanding is different from solving the problem.

At this time, Gu Wen realized that he had been led astray, and asked again: "I mean, what should we do next? Should we go and kill Emperor Daojun directly?"

"Yes, right now."

Qingcang's tone was calm, as if it was a piece of cake.

"I can crush him to death thousands of miles away right now, but what if Master is not here in the future?"

"How long can you last?"

"One hundred thousand years."

The unexpected answer made Gu Wen, who had been looking rather serious, stunned for a moment. He raised his head and opened his mouth slightly: "Ah?"

His grandmaster had a smile on his face and a hint of teasing in his eyes, and Gu Wen felt quite helpless when he realized what was happening.

"I'm serious, please stop teasing me."

If it really takes ten million years, I can just lie down.

I don’t know whether it was Qing Cang who influenced Yu Hua, or Yu Hua who influenced Qing Cang. The two of them have similar personalities and both like to play tricks on people.

"Master, I did not lie to you. If I cut myself with a sword and travel far into the void, I can live for a hundred thousand years."

Qing Cang shook his head slightly, but the smile on his face did not fade. He said: "You must serve me well, otherwise I will really run away if I am not satisfied. Let's go and buy a candy man."

Then Qingcang pulled Gu Wen back into the downtown area.

Just as the previous battles between monks did not affect the lives of the people in Luodu, the Nanchun Army had no impact either. No matter how the world changes, as long as there is food to eat, people are willing to keep everything the same.

The downfall of Daqian was because people had no food to eat.

Qing Cang came to an old man's stall and said, "Child, give me a candy man, molded into a big tree."

The old man was stunned for a moment when he saw Qingcang's young and bright face. Gu Wen put an ingot of silver on the stall, and he closed his mouth silently again.

As long as you have money, I can call you daddy.

Soon Qingcang got the candy man he liked, put it in his mouth and chewed it directly, and said as he walked: "Let's go watch the opera."

After a stick of incense, the two sat in the brothel and watched the performance on the stage.

Soon Gu Wen discovered something was wrong. The people singing on the stage were all Liqu, which were easy to understand and slightly vulgar operas for the general public to watch.

He even often attends banquets hosted by dignitaries in private.

The beauty of the place is appreciated by both the refined and the popular. But is it really a good idea to bring your master here?
Glancing at the person beside him out of the corner of his eye, Qing Cang remained calm and even stared intently.

She stroked her chin and whispered, "People all like other people's wives. Having affairs with others... well, it's human nature. There's nothing wrong with putting it on the stage, but will it create a bad trend?"

"But the people have very few things they like, and we can't take away what they like. What's the difference between overly harsh rules and the hierarchy in Jianmu Cave Heaven?"

I was worrying too much. Our master may seem ignorant of worldly affairs, but he is ultimately a giant who sees farther than anyone else.

As Gu Wen was thinking this, he heard cheers from his ears. Qing Cang tugged at his sleeve and said, "Disciple, reward."

"..."

An ingot was thrown onto the stage, and this small brothel in the market immediately attracted the attention of the whole audience.

Gu Wen hurriedly pulled Qing Cang away. As soon as he stepped out, he was pulled away by Qing Cang, breaking into one bustling city after another and seeing the prosperity of the world.

Finally, Qingcang stayed by the river. As the sun set, half of it sank into the river. The red glow shone on her face. Her calm and peaceful eyes seemed to contain all the truth in the world.

In the blink of an eye, only the tenderness and grace remain.

Gu Wen had a solemn expression, there seemed to be a cloud of darkness in his eyes, and his brows were always slightly wrinkled.

"If you always look sad, your luck will go away."

Qing Cang raised his hand and rubbed Gu Wen's brow with his thumb, as if to smooth it out and dispel the gloom.

Gu Wen asked for the third time: "Master, I want to know what to do next, what do I need to do?"

"You don't need to do anything. I just hope you can do what you want to do."

Qing Cang's answer was still to shake her head. Her expectations for Gu Wen had never changed from the beginning.

If you keep escaping, you will benefit greatly.

It is true that Gu Wen is her only successor, but being her successor does not mean a huge responsibility, nor does it mean that Gu Wen should do this or that.

"I hope you can become an immortal and travel freely in the world. When you feel cold, you can fly ten thousand feet high, rush up to the sky and dive into the sun's true fire. When you feel hot, you can enter Taiyin and live in Guanghan. When you want peace, you can find a desert and count every grain of sand."

"In the end, when you are tired, you can consider other things."

Qing Cang opened his hands slightly, and his arms seemed to embrace the heaven and earth. The Taoist rhyme attracted Gu Wen's mind and showed him a more vast world.

Yu Hua told him that there is always someone better than you, and Qing Cang told him what freedom is.

But has she ever experienced this? It took her 800 years to become an immortal, followed by endless conquests and battles, with the entire human race resting on her shoulders.

How can we talk about freedom?

Gu Wen was slightly awake, and Qing Cang said in a soft voice: "Disciple, I don't want you to become me. You are you, not anyone's successor."

"But what about the demon clan, Jianmu, and the twelve demon ancestors?"

Gu Wen asked, his mind quickly returning to reality.

Qingcang replied calmly: "When Jianmu gathers the power of a saint, it will inevitably exhaust its essence. Then, if Sanqing Mountain smashes into Jianmu, perhaps the problem can be solved."

"The twelve demon ancestors and Jianmu will prosper together. They are already injured and may not survive. Even if the immortality medicine becomes immortal at this moment, it only takes one palm."

Maybe, not necessarily.

Gu Wen grasped the key point and said, "You are not sure either."

"Nothing is perfect, just like they are not sure whether they will be beaten to death by me."

Having said this, Qingcang raised his fist and said, "Do you need me to use this for you to understand?"

"..."

You have a big fist, you are right.

Gu Wen asked, "How is Yu Hua?"

"I let her sleep temporarily. The little girl is in a very bad condition. She only has a hundred years left to live. I will leave some foundation for her in the future. It should be no problem for her to break through to the semi-immortal level."

Finally, Qingcang turned his attention to Luodu.

"I took you through the streets, but you never bowed your head. You obviously don't take these strangers seriously. And my Dao Sect is not a Buddhist temple. You just need to know your nature and act according to your heart."

Gu Wen is not unkind, he just doesn't have great love yet.

Qing Cang thought of an old bald Buddhist monk. The old bald monk was too harsh on his successor, which led to the successor being possessed by the devil and eventually having to feed the devil with his own body.

Being harsh is not necessarily wrong, but the Buddhist sect and the old Buddha's discipline of their descendants are flawless. If I discipline Gu Wen, is it worth it for all the people of the human race to sacrifice their lives for it?
Obviously not all humans are good people.

True love is to clearly recognize the ugliness of human nature, but still be willing to sacrifice one's life for it. Evil already exists, so I can become good.

Gu Wen is only a few years old and still has a long way to go.

------

The sun has completely set, inn.

After returning to Jiu Zhenjun's inn, Gu Wen entered into a state of meditation and practiced, his mind focused on the eighth level of perfection of the Dao foundation.

[The perfection of the human immortal Dharma is based on the human form, the original essence is flawless, the spirit is complete, and it requires six hundred years of heavenly marrow]

【Six Hundred Years of Tiansui】

Now that the amount of Tiansui is sufficient, and after Gu Wen's dominance has been sealed, it would be best if the amount of Tiansui could expand rapidly like a snowball.

All of this is the return on his initial investment. When he was still in Bian Jing, he only had a few dollars of capital, which became tens of thousands of dollars after leaving Bian Jing, and hundreds of thousands of dollars after passing through Tianquan Mountain. Now he has tens of millions of dollars.

With tens of millions of dollars in capital, even if you just leave it there to earn interest, you can still get a lot of income.

This is just because Gu Wen did not squeeze them to the utmost. He could have turned around and raided Linchuan and Huoyun Cave, wiping out all the sects and forces in the Immortal Realm.

Gu Wen's mind moved, and six hundred years of celestial marrow surged towards the perfection of the eighth level of Dao foundation.

One hundred years... two hundred years... three hundred years.

Suddenly the Tiansui stopped.

Gu Wen only felt the internal Qi in his body flowing backwards, colliding with the internal Qi that was originally flowing down along his meridians, causing him to involuntarily groan.

Immediately afterwards, another magical power of the same origin and different body appeared, instantly calming the countercurrent of true qi.

"You have to eat one mouthful at a time. How can you not swallow the rice after you have swallowed several bowls of it raw?"

A soft voice came.

"First, the essence is flawless, then the spirit is flawless."

Gu Wen calmed down again and no longer demanded to accomplish everything in one go. With the help of his three hundred years of insights from Tiansui, he advanced slowly and continuously.

[The Dharma form of human immortal is half-perfect, the original essence is leak-free]

The next morning, Gu Wen opened his eyes and saw a woman in white sitting on the chair as usual.

What he was reading was no longer poetry, but the strange stories novels he had bought yesterday, most of which were erotic and erotic, otherwise no one would buy them.

Yu Hua was very unhappy, but Grandmaster Qingcang didn't mind. She had no objection to anything that didn't hurt anyone.

Qing Cang didn't look at Gu Wen, but continued to flip through the storybook with his head down.

Gu Wen's eyes moved to the white-haired girl three steps away from him, and Chi Yuzi telepathically said, "Jun Yan is in trouble."

"died?"

"No."

Gu Wen breathed a sigh of relief, and Chi Yuzi said word by word: "But I'm not sure if he is still him?"

(End of this chapter)