Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 254 Divination! The True Meaning of Confucianism and Taoism!

Cao Zhi concealed himself in the air to protect the carriage, which continued its journey.

Through telling Cao Zhi's story, Zhu Ge himself also gained some insights.

The entire Book of Changes seems to be talking about one thing: destiny!

The so-called "Zhouyi" is traditionally believed to be the eight trigrams drawn by Fuxi. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, King Wen of Zhou evolved the eight trigrams into sixty-four hexagrams. Confucius then collected and organized them, and wrote the "Yizhuan" to explain the text.

This classic text is filled with hexagrams, admonitions, exhortations, and principles.

Overall, this is a classic work on fortune telling!

In fact, Zhu Ge could also sense that he was now able to use the literary energy within his body to perform fortune telling.

He even felt that this could be extended to areas such as feng shui, physiognomy, constellations, and birth charts.

While teaching Cao Zhi, Zhu Ge read the Book of Changes again, and felt as if he had made a mistake again.

The entire Book of Changes seems to be telling him that fate is predetermined.

Everything is fixed; it was fixed from the moment the universe was born.

Therefore, one only needs to do a quick calculation to know everything about astronomy, geography, and the past and present.

Zhu Ge was reminded of what some elders in his previous life meant by "fate."

However, upon rereading the Book of Changes, the opening sentence resonates deeply.

Tian Xingjian, the gentleman is self-improvement.

A simple sentence, yet it undermines the very meaning of the I Ching.

So, is fate determined by heaven or by "self-improvement"?

Reading it again, Zhu Ge believes that fate is determined by oneself.

Fate is the excuse of the weak.

Luck is a humble term used by the strong.

Everything must be responsible for its own choices.

There is no fate, no luck.

There is only choice, only the heart.

"The movement of heaven is ever vigorous—"

Thinking of this, Zhu Ge slowly closed her eyes.

Upon seeing this, the Annihilation True Monarch behind him widened his eyes.

He looked at Liu Jianjian, who was riding on horseback, and waved.

Liu Jianjian didn't know what was wrong, so she quickly came over and offered her ear.

"Is your master always like this?" the True Lord of Annihilation asked in a low voice, glancing at Zhu Ge, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

"What?" Liu Jianjian didn't understand. She glanced at Zhu Ge but didn't notice anything unusual. "Sleeping? Master doesn't seem to sleep much. He used to like lying in a coffin, but now he seems to like taking baths. Let me tell you—"

"No," said the Annihilation True Monarch helplessly.

This little hedgehog is really gossipy; it talks a lot.

"Didn't you notice? Your master has had an epiphany." The Annihilation True Monarch sighed, "I was a prodigy back in the day too. Just because I'm more handsome, does Heaven have to compensate your master?"

"Huh? An epiphany?" Liu Jianjian almost exclaimed, but quickly covered her mouth, surprised, "But didn't Master have an epiphany just a month ago?"

Did you just have an epiphany?

A month ago?

The True Lord of Oblivion has hardened.

The fist hardened.

"Truly, the heavens are jealous of talent." The Annihilation True Monarch sneered, "Forget it, it's normal for the heavens to be jealous of someone as handsome and talented as me."

As he spoke, he took a sip of wine, then lay back and coughed a few times.

He caught a cold, but he'll be better soon.

To conceal his lack of cultivation, he needed to use alcohol to mask his sickly appearance.

"It didn't last as long as that one sudden realization."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Ge slowly opened his eyes again, looked at Liu Jianjian and the True Lord of Oblivion, and smiled, "I just suddenly realized a true meaning."

It was just a sudden realization of a profound truth —

The True Lord of Oblivion remained silent.

Liu Jianjian didn't want to talk anymore.

Zhu Ge smiled, and then three copper coins appeared in his hand: "Want me to teach you?"

The true meaning of the teachings was created by the founder of a new Confucian path, and he personally taught it.

"Come, come, elder brother, have a drink." The Annihilation True Lord sat up and handed over a gourd of wine: "Wouldn't it be delightful to teach while drinking?"

Liu Jianjian simply sat behind Zhu Ge and massaged his shoulders, while even Ma Zhu in front of her turned around.

Even the powerful beings hidden in the sky perked up their ears.

When Zhu Ge preached and mentioned equivalent exchange, they didn't listen in order to avoid suspicion.

However, they were very interested in the method that Zhu Ge had described.

Although he wouldn't steal the technique, he wanted to see what effect it would have, so he began to sing the blessing song.

"From the Book of Changes, which I created, I have gleaned a profound truth, which I call—divination!"

Divination!

Or, in other words, divination, fortune telling, or divination by divination.

Generally speaking, it involves using some mysterious and profound principle to demonstrate what one wants to calculate.

For example, a cracked tortoise shell could be used to predict the outcome of a war.

For example, changes in celestial phenomena are used to predict fortune and misfortune in the near future.

Before this, there was actually no similar Dao in the world.

However, Zhu Ge brought over the Book of Changes.

Thus, he discovered this method of deduction and calculation.

"Knock knock"

Silently think about the question you want to ask, hold the copper coins in your palm, shake them three times, and toss all three at once to observe heads and tails.

Then, Zhu Ge recorded the results in order from bottom to top.

The first time is at the bottom, the sixth time is at the top, and six times form a hexagram.

While performing these movements, the body's internal energy slowly circulates.

In the sky, a phantom image of six lines of varying lengths, representing yin and yang, or the three harmonies, appeared.

The true meaning is revealed—the six lines form a hexagram!

The true meaning revealed in the previous blessing song was the true meaning of martial arts.

But now, Zhu Ge can be considered to have grasped the first true meaning of Confucianism and Taoism.

"You just taught someone else your own book once, and you think you've grasped the true meaning of Confucianism and Taoism?" The True Lord of Oblivion saw the phantom in the sky and was somewhat moved.

The true meaning manifests outwardly as a phantom image; this is the mark of a prodigy.

In the three realms, it is already quite good to be able to form true meaning.

Like the fisherman in the straw raincoat, whose true meaning manifests as a phantom in the three realms, he is considered a genius.

However, Zhu Ge not only manifested the true meaning of martial arts in the second realm, but also manifested the true meaning of Confucianism and Taoism so quickly.

This left even the Annihilation True Monarch speechless.

He himself was once a prodigy, which is why he knows the difficulties involved.

Of course, his remark left the people in the sky even more astonished.

"The manifestation of true meaning??"

"Cao Zhi, what exactly did you learn?"

"Sigh, Zhu Ge only gave Cao Zhi a few pointers for an hour, and Cao Zhi broke through. Zhu Ge also manifested his true meaning through this. How envious!"

.

"Envy is useless; you and I were both sent by the True Lord to escort us." Don't go down and ask for guidance, or you'll be punished!

"Zhu Ge's true meaning of the new Confucianism has been revealed; I must send this news back immediately."

"Indeed, indeed. It seems that this new Confucian path is developing faster than the others."

There was much discussion, and many people even took out their communication devices to inform their sects of the situation.

Below, Zhu Ge also calculated the result she had just wanted to determine.

What he just calculated was whether the cultivation of the Annihilation True Monarch could be restored.

The answer he received left him somewhat uncertain.

"Recovery is possible, but the destination is—"

"Shengjing?"