Reading poems from Teyvat

It would be better to say that he still doesn’t have the Eye of God!

"I thought that the reason why you were clearing out the sea demons everywhere was probably just to improve your martial arts..."

When Yae Shenzi heard Shen Zhigui admit so frankly that he was afraid, he was also a little surprised:

After all, according to her knowledge over the past few hundred years, Inazuma's warriors place great emphasis on spiritual endowment, and even regard spiritual perfection and fearlessness as the necessary foundation for all superior martial arts. Even if the physical conditions are difficult to meet, they will never be afraid in spirit, but firmly believe that they can do it. Moreover, these warriors have been moving towards the ideal and complete realm shaped by the spirit from beginning to end, from birth to death. Even warriors like Liyue are almost the same. Therefore, she was a little surprised that Shen Zhigui, a young and gifted warrior, did not create the corresponding sword heart but frankly admitted that his current spiritual realm was lacking. However, she soon recovered her usual calm demeanor and said:

"In that case, it is obvious that you are not the right person. However, if you are free, you should come with me to visit Narukami Taisha for a few days. After all, you did clear the sea demons in Inazuma and let the people of Inazuma have some peace."

Chapter 69: Exchange (Part 2)

Yae Shinto must have ulterior motives.

Shen Zhigui also didn't believe that this fox was really so polite and well-mannered.

But he had nothing else to do, and his schedule was not so urgent that he had to return to Liyue immediately. He was also a little curious about places like shrines. After all, in this world where gods really existed, it was actually quite puzzling whether the shrine maidens were responsible for communicating with the gods and publicizing the gods' will. After all, Lei Yingying himself was in that state. He didn't even want to see the Eightfold God Child, let alone ordinary shrine maidens.

Although in the invitation mission of Jiuqi Shinobu, it seems that most people do not really expect to get the actual blessing of the gods. They just ask for an amulet from the shrine to get some psychological comfort, and the shrine maiden is just playing a role to help them deceive themselves.

But no matter what, Shen Zhigui had no reason to refuse.

So he accepted Yae Shinko's invitation and accompanied her to visit the Narukami Taisha Shrine located on the top of the Image Mountain for a few days, and by the way, he sorted out his recent progress and figured out how to break through the last barrier of "refining qi into spirit".

However, on the way, Yae Shinko discussed martial arts with him.

"You mean to say that when Baalzebul was still Baal's shadow warrior, she called herself a warrior, and as her best friend, you knew some of her martial arts philosophy?"

"Yes, General Raiden is the undisputed martial arts master of the country of Inazuma. All of Inazuma's sword and gun skills are basically developed from what she taught. Not to mention, you have been to the Wuxiang Blade Room, right? Aren't you curious about the principle of her 'Wuxiang Yidao'?"

"But she is like this now. Knowing her martial arts philosophy, how can I guarantee that I won't become as stubborn as her in the future?"

Shen Zhigui faced the bait given by Yae Shenzi, but he had no intention of taking the bait. He just said:

"Not to mention, the so-called 'Thoughtless Knife', in fact, you can tell what the principle is just from the name, right?"

"Oh, then in your opinion, what is the principle of 'The Unthinking Sword'?"

"It's 'no thoughts, no ideas'," Shen Zhigui said absentmindedly, "and the so-called 'no thoughts, no ideas' means to empty one's mind and integrate the instinct of swinging the sword into one's body. After the moves have been refined, the human mind is emptied and cannot 'interfere' with or control the elemental forces. Therefore, the 'thoughtless sword' can be turned into the ultimate sword with the body that has turned sword swinging into an instinct. This is the so-called 'state of no self'."

At this moment, Yae Shinko's eyes, which seemed to be shining with the color of Mingcao, suddenly rippled: "But according to what you said, since you already know the principle of this sword, why don't you reproduce it?"

"Because that is not my path. Needless to say, it is extremely difficult to achieve the 'state of no self' without the participation of elemental forces. In addition, the hardship of controlling elemental forces of her level requires countless years of accumulation before one can gain the corresponding experience. I am a person who likes to be lazy by nature. I have no interest in doing such hard training."

"Although I also think that my old friend is really stupid, and I'm not a warrior, so it's not easy to jump to conclusions, but is there really a smarter way in the world than that?"

Yae Shinko asked.

"That's my problem."

Shen Zhigui just said.

Yae Shenzi had originally only wanted to use Lei Dianying's martial arts philosophy to lure him to stay in Inazuma, but she didn't expect that Shen Zhigui's vision or talent was indeed as he showed. It's better to say that she shouldn't be surprised by this. After all, no matter how you look at it, even if Shen Zhigui really has the Eye of God, it is very difficult to imagine that he can completely sort out the sea ghosts in Inazuma within three months. And this young man can do it at such a young age. Obviously, he must have his own unique insights into martial arts. She has counted the young talents among the martial artists in Inazuma, but can't even find a suitable candidate——

Perhaps the Tengu adopted son of the Kujo family might have some talent, but her martial arts were not at the level that could be compared with Shen Zhigui.

Although this is probably also the reason why she has not found a suitable candidate yet and can only choose Shen Zhigui.

After all, if there was such a person, why would she set her target on Shen Zhigui?

And Shen Zhigui was obviously afraid of her old friend's martial arts.

"In that case, how long do you think it will take you to find the path you want to take?"

Thinking of this, Yae Shinko asked.

"what do you mean?"

"Don't you want to compete with General Raiden to see which is better, your path or the other? I can see that you are a warrior, and as a warrior, you obviously have to compete with others, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles from Liyue to Inazuma to fight with those sea ghosts everywhere. If you have found your own path, why don't you try to compete with hers?"

"Even if the price of competing is death?"

"Don't you Liyue people often say 'If I hear the truth in the morning, I am willing to die in the evening'?"

When Shen Zhigui heard this, he immediately shook his head:

"Since I have already found the path and 'heard the Tao', why do I need to prove that my path is correct? There is no superiority or inferiority in the Tao. In other words, the superiority or inferiority can be determined through competition, which is just to prove that she or I have a certain outstanding specialty and I can use that specialty to defeat her -"

"Specialty?"

Yae Shinko actually lowered his gaze and nodded thoughtfully:

"That seems to be a possible idea. That country girl has never been in a relationship before..."

Shen Zhigui immediately rolled his eyes:

"Have you read too many light novels?"

"How do you know that I'm the editor-in-chief of Yaedou, a light novel publisher, and that I need to review a large number of light novels?"

Shen Zhigui suddenly didn't know how to complain about this sentence, so he could only remain silent.

"But your statement is indeed quite interesting. In your opinion, victory or defeat is not only determined by the strength of swordsmanship and the level of martial arts philosophy. Are there other factors?"

"How much elemental force do you control and how skilled are you?"

Shen Zhigui replied casually.

"In your opinion, is there any way to solve this problem?"

"What do you mean by solution?"

Shen Zhigui asked.

"If your swordsmanship is better than hers, and your martial arts philosophy is more advanced than hers, who has been hiding in a pure land for hundreds of years without caring about the world, then the only thing left is this problem, right? If you can solve this problem, even if you can only suppress her temporarily, you can find a chance to wake her up, right? What do you think? If you can do this, maybe she will really be interested in you and want to have a passionate love affair with you! Then you will be second only to Inazuma and above everyone else, right?"

Chapter 70: The Clouds of Jade Fortress Change from Past to Present (Part 1)

Shen Zhigui just thought that the Eightfold Son of God was talking nonsense.

Although he was indeed a bit competitive, and wanted to compete fairly with Lei Dianying if he really had the chance, fairness was ultimately a false proposition. So in the face of the Eightfold Son of God's assumption, Shen Zhigui simply said, "In that case, why don't you just go find the Emperor? By then, the gods of the Liyue and Inazuma families will form an alliance, and maybe they can even merge into one country!"

He gave this advice with some malice.

The result, of course, was glossed over by Yae Godson calmly.

Of course, she couldn't really go find Zhongli to solve Inazuma's dilemma.

Because even if Shen Zhigui is really as she said, he is just a mortal. Even if he is really in love with Lei Dianying, the Thunder God of Inazuma is still Lei Dianying, and he is just Lei Dianying's lover in this country and can only rely on Lei Dianying's authority. But if they really follow his suggestion, I am afraid that Inazuma will have to change its name and become a place under the jurisdiction of Liyue.

Of course, Yae Shinko would not do such a thing.

But she still wanted to win over Shen Zhigui.

At least if there is such a person to help, even if he doesn't have to face Lei Diandian in person, it will be faster to end the Inazuma chaos.

Although she hasn't found Shen Zhigui's weakness yet.

So, the two of them tested each other on the way, or it could be said that it was only Yaezami who unilaterally tested Shen Zhigui, wanting to find out Shen Zhigui's desires, and thus find a way to control him. However, Shen Zhigui acted like he had no desires and was absent-minded all the way, which made Yaezami unable to figure out for a moment whether he was a martial arts fanatic who was focused on his studies, or a person with ulterior motives. Although it might be more to her liking if he acted more like he had ulterior motives, Shen Zhigui did not reveal his weaknesses in the end, and so the two of them arrived at the Narukami Taisha Shrine in a wonderful atmosphere.

After Yae Shinko personally took him to visit the shrine, Shen Zhigui stood under the sacred cherry tree in a daze.

"Are you interested in this sacred cherry tree?"

Yae Shinko asked.

Shen Zhigui just glanced at her without saying anything. He just observed the sacred cherry tree for a moment and thought that according to the plot, this tree was formed by Lei Dianzhen's final will, and the death of Lei Dianzhen was also the opportunity for Lei Dianzhen to pursue eternity.

Although Lei Dianzhen's understanding of eternity is completely different from that of her sister.

She believes that a moment is eternity.

To put it simply, it means enjoying life while you can.

When Shen Zhigui thought of this, he inexplicably thought of "Life is not a hundred years" in "Nineteen Ancient Poems". After thinking about it, it seemed quite reasonable:

“Life is less than a hundred years, yet we always worry about a thousand years.

"The days are short and the nights are long, why not go out with a candle?

"Enjoy happiness while it lasts, why wait until now?

“Fools love to save money, but they will be laughed at by future generations.

"It is hard to wait for the immortal Liu Yunjun."

So Shen Zhigui recited the ancient poem under the sacred cherry tree.

Then, with a sense of humor, he changed the name Wang Zijiao in the original poem to "Liu Yunjun".

The Eightfold Goddess didn't know why Shen Zhigui suddenly wanted to compose a poem, but as the editor-in-chief of Eightfold Hall, she had sufficient literary literacy. When she heard Shen Zhigui reciting these verses, she immediately said, "If Zhen - I mean Baal, not her sister Baalzebu - were still alive, she would probably agree with what you said and take you as a close friend. But the Liuyun Jun you mentioned, is that the Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun?"

Shen Zhigui nodded.

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to use her here?"

"why?"

Yae Shinko just felt that it was not appropriate, but she couldn't explain why, so she just skipped this part and put her hand on the sacred cherry tree that had grown to block out the sun and overshadow the shrine. Thinking of the old friend, she couldn't help feeling a little melancholy:

She really thought that Lei Dian would really say and do that.

If she were still alive, Lei Movie wouldn't have turned out like that, and Inazuma wouldn't have to deal with so many internal and external troubles now, right?

However, that person is gone, and her old friend has fallen into the fear of losing the person close to her. Until now, she has been hiding in that pure land, not caring about worldly affairs. If Lei Dian was still alive, he would surely have pulled her out and criticized her for her misbehavior.

Thinking of this, a lonely smile suddenly appeared on Yae Shinko's face.

For some reason, Shen Zhigui suddenly saw an illusory light coming out from the depths of Yae Shenzi's soul, and the junction between her and the sacred cherry tree also emitted a faint glow. Shen Zhigui was a little puzzled for a moment, but soon thought of something, so he opened the perspective of "Tongyou Mingtong", and at this moment, he saw an illusory figure in luxurious kimono smiling at him!

Damn it!

Shen Zhigui was almost frightened to the point of stepping back.

"No, the so-called 'tongyou' means seeing ghosts, right?"

But then he reacted.

So the most fundamental function of “Tongyou Mingtong” is just to see ghosts?

Isn't this a bit tasteless?

And Raiden’s consciousness had actually disappeared a long time ago, right?

Although this tree grew from the seed that her last consciousness transformed into, and it does embody a part of her will, this does not mean that she can continue to observe the world like a ghost, standing outside a dimension that normal people cannot see, right?

So, what is her true nature?

Shen Zhigui stared at the figure.

Unexpectedly, she suddenly spoke up and said, "That depends on how you define a person's death."

"The death of a person?"

Shen Zhigui couldn't help but repeat her words.

At this time, Yaye Shenzi, who was still lost in her feelings, heard Shen Zhigui say this, and immediately thought that the young man saw through her thoughts, so she looked straight at him, but the young man's eyes at this time were only looking at somewhere in the void, as if there was a dazzling figure there, which took away all his mind and made him unable to deal with others anymore.

"Young Master Shen?"

Yae Shinto stretched out his hand and waved it in front of his eyes.

But the young man directly grabbed her hand and did not let her move. He just stared at there silently, and the figure just smiled, as if she had not said a word before. She was like a still portrait, standing there elegantly and generously, allowing the young man's eyes to fall on her.

"Does she say that because she can think that way, or because I think that way?"

Only then did Shen Zhigui remember the very literary concept of "three deaths" that he had seen before.

Chapter 71: The Clouds of Yulei Change the Past and Present (Part 2)

In a youth fantasy novel that was widely circulated among middle school students when Shen Zhigui was young, the protagonist has a cocky younger brother who is almost a second personality and can only be seen by himself. He tells the useless protagonist that a person will experience three deaths in his life. The first is physical death. From this moment on, the person's subjective consciousness can no longer feel the outside world, nor can it directly influence the outside world; the second is death at a funeral, which symbolizes the person's severance from social relationships; the third is the death of the last creature in the world who remembers the person. From then on, the traces left by the person in the world will be completely forgotten, and the person will no longer have any connection with the entire universe. [1]

Therefore, the ancients were extremely obsessed with leaving their names in history, trying to make their reputations attached to the history of this world and passed on forever. As a short-lived species, they even began to explore what immortality was early on - "The highest is to establish virtue, the next is to establish merit, and the next is to establish words." Sima Qian also said that the reason why he wrote books was that he "regretted that I had not fulfilled my selfish desires, died in obscurity, and my literary talent would not be passed on to future generations."

So the real death is to be completely forgotten.

but……

Shen Zhigui turned his eyes to the Eightfold Son of God standing on the other side.

"how?"

The pink-haired fox pulled back her hand that was held by the boy and asked nonchalantly.