No abstraction, no cultivation

Chapter 10 Yan Kaiyan

The cranes cry loudly.

Xu Shun looked up and saw a black and white crane circling in the sky with a person on its back.

As if seeing Lan Daoren and Xu Shun, the crane turned and fell from the sky.

With the wind brought by its wings, the crane gracefully landed in front of Lan Dao Ren and Xu Shun.

A man came down from the crane. He had a handsome face, a Hunyuan scarf on his head, and a blue and white Taoist robe. When he saw Taoist Lan, he bowed and said, "Don't go west to see Uncle Lan!"

"It's you!" Lan Dao Ren helped Xi Bian Mo up, looked at the crane next to him, and said, "And Brother Baili Dao's crane, no wonder it was able to find me."

"Brother Baili, how are you these days?"

When the crane heard someone talking about him, it raised its head and cried out.

Xu Shun looked at the crane with his eyes lighting up.

There is no other reason, the cranes are just too elegant.

With its slender body, pure white feathers, a touch of bright red on its head, and black feathers on its body and wings, it looks like an enlarged version of the red-crowned crane at first glance.

The crane is half a body taller than Xu Shun, and its straight long legs are more than one meter long. These are really long legs!

The black beak was slender and sharp, gently scratching the wing feathers.

For those who have never seen a crane, it is really hard to imagine that there are creatures in the world that are so perfect in line with the Chinese aesthetic.

In his previous life, Xu Shun went to the zoo and only saw parrots, vultures and the like, but had never seen a red-crowned crane.

Seeing this, Xu Shun looked like a pervert and couldn't help wanting to touch the crane.

Sorry Tigger, this is the mount a monk should have.

The crane spread its wings and gracefully patted away Xu Shun's dirty hands. It tilted its head and looked at Xu Shun with contempt.

From his eyes, Xu Shun read two words.

Homeless.

I was actually looked down upon by a crane.

Xu Shun was about to argue when he saw Mo's eyes turn red and he said, ""

"Master...Master is going to hold a 'Yan Kai Banquet'."

"..."

Lan Daoren was silent for the first time in a long time.

"So, he has already reached this point." Lan Daoren said, "Which day?"

"Three months later, the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month." Xibian Mo said.

"Okay, I'll be there on time!" said Lan Dao Ren, nodding.

"Xibian Mo, take your leave!" After saying that, Xibian Mo bowed again and then flew onto the crane.

The crane lowered its head, and Taoist Lan patted the crane's head. Then the crane let out a long cry, flapped its wings and took off.

When it flew into the air, the crane stretched out its long legs backwards, forming a straight line with its body, and flew into the sky, disappearing without a trace.

Elegant, so elegant!
"Master, a mount like this..." Xu Shun was about to say something when he saw that Lan Daoren's face looked unusually unhappy.

Although most of the time, Lan Daoren's chubby face was happy or had no expression at all.

Taoist Lan also had no expression on his face now, but Xu Shun could still tell that he was in a bad mood.

Don’t ask, all I’m asking is the basic workplace skills of a person in his thirties who has worked as both the client and the contractor.

Observe words and colors.

"Does 'Yan Kaiyan' have any explanation?" Xu Shun asked Lan Daoist who remained silent.

Taoist Lan has had this expression ever since he heard Yan Kaiyan's words.

What kind of banquet is Yan Kaiyan?

Could it be that the banquet was hosted by someone named Yan Kai?

Why does Lan Dao look so embarrassed?
"Disciple, what is considered the happy event in life?" Taoist Lan said, looking at the leisurely white clouds.

"After a long drought, a shower of rain comes; meeting an old friend in a foreign land; the wedding night; the day when one's name is on the list of successful candidates!" Xu Shun blurted out.

"Are these really happy events?" Taoist Lan asked back.

"Uh..." Xu Shun thought for a while and said, "These are happy events for mortals. For cultivators, the greatest happy event should be ascending to become immortals." "Ascending to become immortals is indeed a great joy. There is another thing that is also a great joy for cultivators." Lan Dao's tone revealed sadness.

"What?" Xu Shun was curious.

"die!"

die?

Xu Shun did not expect that death was also a happy event for monks.

Still happy!

What joy is there in death?

Xu Shun was puzzled and looked at Lan Daoist, who then said, "If a person does not become an immortal, he will eventually die."

"Only after a cultivator successfully builds his foundation and reaches the state of spiritual enlightenment can he live for two hundred years."

"When you tame the dragon and tiger and become a golden elixir, you will have a lifespan of 500 years."

"If you can see the truth and understand yourself, and become a primordial spirit, you can enjoy a lifespan of a thousand years."

"But, if you can't become an immortal, all cultivators will eventually die."

"It's just a few years early or late."

"Some monks cry and wail when facing death, avoiding this and that. Some monks try every possible way to prolong their lives."

"Others hold grand banquets to celebrate their own deaths."

Xu Shun was puzzled and asked, "Holding a big banquet to celebrate his death?"

This is too hard to understand.

"Have you ever heard of a happy funeral?" Taoist Lan asked again.

Xu Shun nodded, he knew about happy funerals.

For an ordinary person, being able to live peacefully until the age of eighty or ninety without any troubles or disasters in life is a "full life"!
A large population and a harmonious family are the ultimate happiness!
Not being tortured by illness at the time of death is a “perfect death”!
There are so many people in the world, how many can live a complete life, have complete happiness, and die in peace?
If you can get one of them, it will be a happy event, enough to hold a happy funeral.

When such a person dies, his family will hire a stage to hold a grand funeral, making it very lively.

There was music and singing on the stage, and it was so festive that it didn't even seem like an old person had died in the family.

When he was young, Xu Shun didn’t quite understand.

Isn't it supposed to be a sad thing when someone dies?
But as he grew older, Xu Shun began to understand the customs of happy funerals.

Life is so hard. It is better to live it without any disaster or catastrophe and die without any pain or suffering.

How lucky I am!

The family should be happy for such a person.

Is there such a custom in the world of immortal cultivation?

Taoist Lan saw Xu Shun nodded and continued, "In one's life, it is a happy thing to live peacefully until the end of one's life span."

"If I can become a disciple and become a Taoist, it will be a happy event."

"Even if you don't become an immortal, but you have been practicing diligently to become an immortal throughout your life, doing what you like, isn't that also a happy thing?"

"To die doing something you love, what else can you do but great joy?"

"But they didn't become immortals after all?" Xu Shun was still puzzled.

For monks whose goal is to become immortals, they celebrate when they die.

Aren't they supposed to be losers?

"The purpose of cultivation is to become an immortal, but not everyone can become an immortal." Lan Daoren said:

"There are so many cultivators, but only one in ten thousand can become an immortal, very rare."

“Those who cannot become immortals are actually the majority.”

"Facing your own failures and outcomes calmly is also a form of spiritual practice."

"Practicing for a lifetime, but with no results. When the end comes, do I still have to face it with a sad face?"

"Why not invite all your relatives and friends and have some fun together."

"To smile from ear to ear is the 'Yan Kai Yan'!" said Taoist Lan.

(End of this chapter)