Investiture of the Gods: I am Bigan, the Master of Conspiracy

Chapter 149 The Heavenly Dao and Literary Fortune, Dividing the World into Four Parts!
The Old Man of the South Pole once taught Ji Chang, but Ji Chang's downfall caused the Old Man of the South Pole great distress, and he did not enjoy the good fortune because of Ji Chang.

After meeting the burly man named Confucius, he was deeply impressed by his profound understanding.

The Old Man of the South Pole sighed inwardly, "He truly is a being born to fulfill the destiny; his comprehension is unbelievably high. These sixty-four hexagrams will be perfected in his hands!"

At this time, Confucius took the sixty-four hexagrams as the core of the laws of heaven and earth, wrote commentaries on them, and spread them far and wide, which naturally caused a great sensation.

His reputation quickly surpassed that of Laozi, and he personally visited Laozi, who also personally guided him, making the teachings of Confucius even more perfect.

Soon, many people came to study under Confucius, and eventually there were three thousand students.

At the same time, the Western religion also began to spread its teachings. Subhuti personally traveled to various countries and found a person who was born in response to the times, named Mozi.

The Three Realms had already undergone tremendous changes by this time, but this person still appeared because he was born in response to the times and was created by the Heavenly Dao.

In order to promote the prosperity of the West and spread the Great Way of the West, if one wants to believe in the Buddha of the West, one must break down all clans and sects so that when one travels to the West in the future, one can wholeheartedly believe in the West.

So, Mozi broke the constraints of clan and proposed universal love, which means that the one who loves universal love loves all people in the world as if they were his own children.

This is the core of the Dao. Now that all humans are mortals, we will teach them the art of mechanical engineering, using it as a supplement to make them useful and facilitate the spread of the Dao.

The so-called mechanisms are minor paths in the Three Realms, but they are valuable to mortals who can no longer cultivate.

"Since the decline of the Zhou dynasty, why did the rites and music collapse? It was because of the lack of mutual love. The disrespect of subjects and sons towards their rulers and fathers is what is meant by chaos... If the world were to love each other universally, loving others as one loves oneself, would there still be those who are unfilial? If one regards one's father, elder brother, and ruler as oneself, how could one be unfilial? Would there still be those who are unkind? If one regards one's disciples and subjects as oneself, how could one be unkind... Therefore, if the world loves each other universally, there will be order; if it hates each other, there will be chaos. Loving the world and loving the world are similar, and universal love is similar. Loving the world and loving the future are the same as people in the world today."

Mozi preached the Way of Universal Love, the essence of which was that all beings should extend love to everyone, including the ancients and future generations!

Eliminate blood ties, class, race, etc., and love all people and all living beings in the world.

It's somewhat similar to a 0% version of the Buddhist concept of sweeping the floor without harming ants and cherishing moths by covering lamps with gauze.

Love itself is finite; how can one love everyone beyond parents and children? If that were truly the case, then these close kinship relationships would cease to exist, directly dismantling all stable order.

That is, it dismantles all order, making it atomized, and the final result is only love for Mozi.

This contrasts with Confucius's concept of benevolence, which begins with parents and children and gradually spreads outward to the clan and the world, following this order and bound by blood ties.

It advocates a benevolent approach that starts with those nearby and extends to those further away.

This is to reshape the Zhou ritual order and the bloodline order, so that all living beings can follow this order.

The Taoist school of Taishang expounded on the Great Dao, but did not address the change of order, while Mozi and Confucius began to discuss the opposition between different orders.

At this moment, Yin Ziyu and the others from the Jie Sect saw the change of order and couldn't help but understand.

Luo Shen asked, "Ziyu, isn't Mozi a follower of the Western religion? He loves everyone. How could you do this?"

Yin Ziyu nodded and looked at everyone, saying, "Confucius took the Zhou rites as his foundation and the sixty-four hexagrams as his way, thus establishing order in all directions. His way of benevolence is better than Mozi's in any way. This universal love is impossible; it is nothing more than dismantling all order and ultimately laying the foundation for the eastward transmission of the Western way. Now, we can simply oppose these two ways!"

The Holy Mother Jinling nodded and said, "In that case, taking this sliver of hope as our foundation, the Jie Sect should pass on the path to transcendence to all living beings!"

Soon, the members of the Jie Sect began to take action, while Yin Ziyu left Luo Shen behind alone: ​​"Fellow Daoist Mi Fei, the Chan Sect has already begun its planning. This is a time of great opportunity. If one can obtain great fortune, even becoming a Primordial Golden Immortal is not impossible. The Antarctic Immortal is now preaching to Confucius. If he succeeds, he will surely become a Quasi-Saint. Mi Fei must also take advantage of this opportunity to spread the Dao far and wide. If she succeeds, then attaining the Ninth Rank will be no problem at all!"

After hearing this, Mi Fei nodded solemnly: "Zi Yu, how should I pass on my teachings?"

Yin Ziyu pondered for a moment, then said, "This time, there should be a path that can rival the universal love of Mozi and the benevolence of Confucius! Let this path be the love of one's own heart!"

"Isn't the love from one's heart the conscience of Ziyu's path?"

Now that Mi Fei has followed Yin Ziyu for so long, she has been greatly influenced by the Dao that Yin Ziyu upholds. It can be said that she has fully comprehended it. However, Yin Ziyu deals with immortals and gods, and follows the original path of the Chan Sect, the Human Sect, the Jie Sect, and the Western Sect.

Yin Ziyu's original way emphasizes the true self, and emphasizing the true self leads to the evolution of sentient beings.

Now that we are in a period of intellectual ferment, and we need to engage with ordinary people, we can focus on them. If we want to compete with Confucius and Mozi, then we need to make changes.

Yin Ziyu nodded: "That's right. Just as one feels compassion upon seeing a child fall into a well, this is conscience. True love must break free from the veil of selfish desires, returning to the clarity of one's true nature, allowing love to transcend worldly gains. Love is not something imposed from the outside; it is inherent in our hearts. We cannot allow Mozi's universal love to shackle our true nature, nor can we allow Confucius's benevolence to become a constraint. Our true nature distinguishes between benefit and harm, making it impossible to love all beings universally. When filial piety and brotherly love become the rules of heaven and earth, it gives parents the power of life and death over their children, which is a great evil. Only when our true nature feels love can we truly love others. The essence of this love lies not in conceptual debates, but in the clarity of our true nature."

Yin Ziyu's concept of "love according to one's heart" is a response to the hypocrisy of universal love, which makes people love everyone, and it advocates choosing love based on one's own heart.

While benevolence, love, and filial piety seem correct in relation to the constraints of Confucius's order, if they become the rule, there will inevitably be no love, because parents have the power of life and death over their children, and children will also enjoy the power of life and death after they grow up, thus having children and keeping slaves, which will form a terrifying shackle.

The love of one's own heart needs no explanation. If one feels the love of one's parents, one will naturally love one's parents. One's own heart will also naturally love one's children selflessly. Why is there any need for such constraints to create order?

Yin Ziyu explained this principle to Luo Shen, who immediately understood it.

Mi Fei looked at Yin Ziyu with immense gratitude: "I don't know how to repay Ziyu's kindness to me!"

Yin Ziyu said helplessly, "Fellow Daoist Mi Fei, why say such things? We have come this far together. Fellow Daoist Mi Fei is also a loyal minister of the Great Shang. How can we let the Great Shang have no capable people among the human race? This is for the public good. There is no need for thanks between us!"

"."

Yin Ziyu then shared his own philosophy and how to pass it on to Mi Fei.

Yin Ziyu was planning for the future Ghost Festival, but for now, he wanted to give Mi Fei this opportunity to bloom into a ninth-grade flower.

Nowadays, the Great Shang must cultivate more talents who are famous throughout the three realms, and Mi Fei has been the number one person in the Great Shang besides Yin Ziyu since the Luo River began to flood Xiqi.

Wen Zhong's background is not as good as Mi Fei's, and Shang Rong's aptitude is not good, so she mainly focuses on governing the government.

Mi Fei possesses both excellent background, talent, and opportunities. Therefore, given the opportunity, and being the daughter of Fuxi, she can improve rapidly.

By giving important positions to Fuxi's daughter, one can directly bind Nuwa and Fuxi together, letting them know Yin Ziyu's attitude, and they will support him to the greatest extent possible.

If the Mi Fei flower were to bloom in nine grades, its potential would be limitless. Nuwa and Fuxi would naturally be overjoyed and would certainly grant Yin Ziyu's every request.

At this time, other independent cultivators also entered Luoyi to begin spreading their teachings, and the Hundred Schools of Thought began. Under this opportune moment, any school of thought could gain some fortune.

Beyond Luoyi lies the Luo River, which at this time possessed the greatest prestige in the world. Countless people swore oaths here, and after swearing them, they dared not break them. Thus, the gathering of people's hearts endowed it with immense sacredness.

While the Supreme Being descended to the mortal realm through various sects like Chan and Western Sects, who typically recruit disciples, Mi Fei directly manifested her true form in the Luo River to impart the Way of the Original Mind. Over several decades, she and Luo River recruited three thousand disciples, spreading the Way far and wide according to Yin Ziyu's method of teaching. This contrasts sharply with Mozi's concept of universal love and Confucius's concept of benevolence.

Countless people who revered the Goddess of the Luo River naturally obeyed their beloved.

Soon, it caused a huge sensation in Luoshui, and it had a huge impact on Confucius, who was a variant of the Zhou rites and whose concept of universal love was unreliable.

In an instant, the Goddess of the Luo River was surrounded by immense fortune, and the wider her popularity, the greater her prestige and fortune.

The Jie Sect, relying on a sliver of hope, integrated Yin Ziyu's teachings and finally established its method of spreading its doctrines, finding a destined person named Yang Zhu.

This path also incorporates the last vestige of hope from the Jie Sect, breaking free from constraints, while simultaneously containing the principles of compassion.

Both the Confucian ideals of benevolence and propriety, and the Mohist ideals of universal love, have their own unique path.

With the support of the Jie Sect members, Yang Zhu spread his teachings far and wide.

At its core, it is not to sacrifice even a hair for the benefit of the world, nor to accept the world's wealth and honor. It is to preserve one's true nature and not to be burdened by material possessions.

This way is to avoid using righteousness to force people to sacrifice, and also to avoid using one's own rights to take what belongs to others. This is a fortunate way to protect oneself.

Maintain your innate natural disposition and avoid being tainted by worldly rules and utilitarian thoughts.

Protect the purity and authenticity of your heart, and do not be hypocritical, pander, or lose your true self.

To live freely and naturally, one must keep one's mind and body in a relaxed and authentic state, without being disturbed by the outside world and losing oneself.

At its core, this doctrine targets Confucius's rule of rites and Mozi's universal love, advocating that individuals should awaken and break free from the shackles of hypocrisy in the name of benevolence, and seek a glimmer of hope for self-realization.

Whether it is universal love or benevolence, both will impose great constraints on the self. When the constraints are endless, the vitality of the self will be extinguished. Only by valuing oneself can one have a glimmer of hope.

When one falls into Mozi's concept of universal love, the self will be extinguished; when one falls into Confucius's concept of benevolence, family ties will transform from the oppression of filial piety and brotherly love into the enjoyment of filial piety and brotherly love, thus creating a cycle that continues generation after generation.

Only by upholding one's true self and freedom can all beings have a glimmer of hope.

Hundreds of years have passed in the blink of an eye. At this time, countless schools of thought emerged, but only these four truly stood out among them, forming a huge ideological opposition.

It began to have an impact on all living beings; however, Yin Ziyu's beloved Dao merged greatly with the teachings of the Chan Sect.

These four schools, plus Taoism, make five in total. However, Taoism did not participate in the struggle and remained aloof at the highest level, while Xin'ai and Yang Zhu clashed most with Mozi and Confucius.

It basically achieved a scenario where the four paths divide the world among all living beings.

The conflict between Yang Zhu and Mozi was the most intense, with the two being completely opposed to each other, almost to the point of irreconcilable differences.

At the same time, it contrasts with Confucius's idea of ​​sacrificing oneself for righteousness, saying, "Don't morally blackmail me into dying," and the clash between the two is quite intense.

The philosophy of mind, however, did not clash fiercely with Mozi and Confucius. Instead, it simply expounded on following one's own conscience and innate moral sense, making it much more moderate than Yang Zhu's philosophy.

On this day, the Old Man of the South Pole said to Confucius, "Your Way is complete; it is time to establish your teachings!"

Confucius bowed and said, "I will obey my teacher's command!"

On this day, atop Mount Ni, Confucius, wearing a tall hat and wide belt, held a jade tablet and bowed to the heavens.

The Old Man of the South Pole waited quietly for the establishment of his teachings.

From this day forward, the teachings of Chanjiao will be transformed and integrated into all living beings, and its foundation will be truly solidified.

The sixty-four hexagrams began to falter during the time of Ji Chang, but Confucius brought them to their true perfection, transforming them and making them famous throughout the three realms.

Confucius stood atop Mount Ni, when suddenly the wind and clouds rose, and three thousand disciples lined up on both sides, their bamboo slips gleaming with a bluish light.

When Confucius raised his head and spoke, his voice was like a great bell, so powerful that it seemed to shake the stars: "Heaven is ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. But the sage is benevolent, and should establish the ultimate principle of propriety and righteousness!"

In an instant, the eight characters "self-discipline and restoration of propriety, benevolence and love for others" shone brightly, piercing straight to the heavens.

"My name is Confucius. Today I attain enlightenment and establish Confucianism. I use rites to rectify my character, music to harmonize my mind, and poetry and books to clarify my aspirations! I will subdue myself and return to propriety, and the benevolent will love others and educate all living beings under heaven!"

After Confucius finished speaking, he took a half step forward, and the totem of the Six Arts of Zhou appeared under his feet.

"The relationship between ruler and subject is not a shackle, but the guiding principle for good order in the world; the relationship between father and son is not a fetter, but the foundation for the continuation of human relations!"

These words were directed at the Way of the Mind and the Way of Yang Zhu.

"Confucianism, establish it!"

When Confucius made the great vow to educate all people with Confucianism, boundless fortune gathered and golden light of merit descended from the sky, like a golden waterfall enveloping Mount Ni.

Confucius raised his hand and caught a wisp of merit, which condensed into his natal magic treasure, the Jade Scroll of the Analects, in his palm. The literary energy on the scroll merged with the Dao of Heaven, transforming into a rainbow bridge that connected the human world with the literary fortune of the Dao of Heaven.

"The sacred site of Mount Ni is here!"

This scene naturally astonished all parties in the Three Realms. They never expected that establishing a religion would bring such great merit, and Confucius himself gained even greater merit as a result, achieving a meteoric rise in his cultivation.

Suddenly, all parties began to stir with excitement.

Meanwhile, Taishang was riding a green ox westward.

Laozi of Taiqing Heaven looked at Duobao and said, "You shall descend to the mortal realm and lead my ox westward in my avatar. Your time has come; it is time to transform the barbarians!"

"This disciple will humbly obey the decree of my Grand Master!"

Duobao quickly traveled from the Chaos Taiqing Heavenly Realm to Li Er's place to respectfully lead the ox for Li Er. The two then traveled westward, heading straight for Hangu Pass!
Mozi immediately decided to establish a religion, and Yang Zhu and Luoshen immediately took action.

The Heavenly Fortune of the Three Realms has now reached its peak, and establishing a religion will naturally bring great fortune.

(End of this chapter)