Chapter 145: The Great Dao teaches people to stop thoughts first; if thoughts don't stop, it's all in vain

Liang Qu gathered his entire body's Qi and blood, turning instead to the courtyard to practice spear techniques.

His tendons, bones, skin, and flesh were tempered a thousand times like refined steel, and the shaking of his spinal column was like the roar of a dragon and the cry of a tiger.

The Qi and blood dragon traveled through his entire body like water, the whole process not leaking a single bit of Qi, all power vented on the Fubo spear.

The big spear stirred up a cold wind, causing the jujube tree to sway, ripples in the water vat to be constant, and scaring away the birds drinking water.

"Cinnabar Field Technique."

The old monk didn't know when he had stood before the west wing door, silently counting prayer beads.

He wasn't very familiar with Ge Jiantai, the Daoist master of Louguan Terrace, but he had a deep friendship with his younger brother, Ge Jianhong.

Divination techniques harmed the heavens, and excessive use would damage the heart's blood and shorten one's lifespan.

The old monk being able to come to Huaiyin was enough to prove their relationship, and naturally, he knew the mystery of the Cinnabar Field Technique.

The "Cinnabar Field Technique" wasn't easy to practice, especially for martial artists, because its lethality was limited and it was difficult to enter.

Many people had a misunderstanding about cultivation techniques, which was that the better the technique, the stronger the fighting and killing.

This was wrong, or rather, not entirely correct.

Daoism pursued attaining the Dao and ascending to immortality, while Buddhism pursued certifying the fruit and becoming a Buddha.

Ordinary martial artists pursued longevity and long-term vision, enjoyment and continuity; these were the fundamental purposes.

Killing was a process, not a result. The fundamental purpose of becoming stronger was to carry out one's own will.

The "Cinnabar Field Technique" was just like this; it didn't pursue external lethality, but focused on the internal, emphasizing the harmonious unity of essence, Qi, and spirit, so that power wouldn't be consumed internally, Qi wouldn't leak externally, and it would be long-term full, greatly increasing energy.

Compared with cultivation techniques of the same level, this method was very detached, with many advantages, but its explosive power was insufficient and its fighting was weak.

Most importantly, it was difficult to practice.

The first step of this technique was to guard the spirit and calm the heart.

The heart monkey was unstable, the intention horse galloped everywhere, and the spirit and Qi were scattered outside.

Too many thoughts would cause mental distress, and labor and running around would cause Qi and blood to scatter, leading to an inability to maintain fullness and peace.

For this reason, the Great Dao taught people to stop thoughts first; if thoughts didn't stop, it was all in vain.

But how difficult it was to stop thoughts.

Many martial artists were half-way monks, falling behind one step, falling behind every step. Everything needed to be fought for and snatched, wasting great effort and time to cultivate one's character, and by the time they came to their senses, they had already fallen far behind their peers, fundamentally unable to do it.

It wasn't a question of whether they could learn it or not, but that it fundamentally wasn't suitable.

Only aristocratic children with a certain background had that water-grinding effort, exercising from childhood, with a solid foundation.

It was just...

Liang Qu's big spear was fierce, stirring the courtyard into unrest, truly mighty.

"This isn't the 'Cinnabar Field Technique', it still has the shadow of the 'Hundred Battles Method', the two combined, actually so harmonious..."

The old monk counted his prayer beads, constantly pondering. A moment later, a flash of light passed through his eyes.

"So that's it, so that's it. Internal cultivation is achieved, and then external kingship, turning to the way of the world, this method is called Wansheng? Good, good, good!"

Under the willow shade, under the pine shadow, straighten the spine and end all conditions.

Lock the heart monkey, capture the intention horse, the bright moon and clear breeze only speak of longevity.

The old monk became more and more delighted the more he watched.

Liang Qu currently couldn't be called a high-level realm of locking the heart monkey and capturing the intention horse, but he had also achieved stopping thoughts and stabilizing the spirit.

In terms of the span of his martial arts practice, he could be called naturally gifted!

Over thousands of years, the three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism had merged, mutually influencing and changing each other. Many things were just different ways of saying the same thing, pursuing the same realm.

It was not strange for many great Confucian scholars to be proficient in Buddhist and Daoist methods, and it was even easier for them to switch to practicing them.

Like this Daoist Cinnabar Field, the "Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Vajra Sutra" also had a similar realm; wouldn't it be better to practice it?

"Hoo, heh."

Liang Qu put down the Fubo spear, his strength consumed quite a bit.

After "Wansheng Baoyuan" reached the Stabilize Spirit realm, the feeling of using moves was completely different.

Power wasn't consumed internally, Qi didn't leak externally, and when swung and released, naturally there wasn't the slightest waste.

Ten percent of the power was all hit on the enemy, and the power between fists, feet, and weapons naturally greatly increased.

Even under the catalysis of Wansheng Baoyuan, his concentration was greatly improved, and there was no sense of time passing during full-effort practice.

"Benefactor has good martial arts, I wonder if this method has a name?"

"Master?"

Liang Qu looked over at the sound, only then discovering that the old monk had returned, seemingly having been watching him practice martial arts the whole time.

He stood up straight and smiled: "This method is called 'Wansheng Baoyuan', it was taught to me by my master."

There was nothing to taboo.

The circulation route of any cultivation technique was extremely complex, and just relying on observation was absolutely impossible to see the mystery.

The meridian system was so fragile; drawing a tiger by imitating a cat and rashly imitating would only lead to Qi deviation.

Not to mention that it was Liang Qu himself who invited the other party to stay; if he wanted to avoid it, he wouldn't practice martial arts in the courtyard.

"'Wansheng Baoyuan', no wonder, no wonder, it truly has the demeanor of the Great Huang Martial Emperor." The old monk sighed, then changed the subject, "It's a pity, this method is top-notch, but in terms of fit, it still doesn't compare to the 'Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Vajra Sutra' I gave you. If you practice both methods, it would be even more wonderful."

"Master is joking, where would an ordinary person have the opportunity to learn a martial art that is ten-tenths compatible? One in a million, I'm already satisfied with top-notch."

The old monk put his hands together: "Are there any parts of the 'Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Vajra Sutra' you don't understand?"

Liang Qu's eyes flashed. Had the old monk changed his nature?

He stepped forward quickly: "Is Master going to teach me?"

"Worship me as your master, and you will naturally obtain the true meaning."

"Can I be a registered disciple? I'll call you teacher."

"Registered disciples do not get the true transmission."

"Then forget it." Liang Qu waved his hand, "I don't want to be a monk, nor do I want to wander everywhere. I like eating meat, and in the future, I still want to marry a beautiful wife."

The old monk pondered for a long time: "If you enter my sect, you can still do that."

Liang Qu looked sideways: "Master, are you serious?"

"The Buddha's Dharma seal is not obtained from others; I adjust my own heart, what does it have to do with external matters?"

Liang Qu scratched his head. He hadn't gained nothing from reading books these past two days; he roughly understood the meaning of this sentence.

It was an allusion about the Second Patriarch, meaning that the Buddha's Dharma was not sought from others, but only required constant observation and adjustment of one's own heart, without needing to care too much about precepts.

There was a bit of the meaning of "wine and meat pass through the intestines, the Buddha remains in the heart" in it.

Wind stirred ripples.

The old monk stood still.

Killing, wine and lust, meat and fish.

If you haven't picked it up, how can you talk about putting it down?

The truth of the universe and life, knowing everything, feeling everything, without a single bit of confusion, without a single bit of error, perfect great wisdom and great awakening is Buddha.

If you haven't experienced it, how can you be called great wisdom and great awakening?

It's just deceiving oneself.

"How about it, do you want to worship the old monk as your master?"

Liang Qu just shook his head: "Forget it, forget it, I really have no interest. Breakfast is already made, just heat it up in the kitchen."

Being a monk was too boring. As for that cultivation technique, at worst, he would just put in more effort, and he would always be able to understand it.

There were so many Buddhist cultivation techniques circulating in the world, and many people practiced them; could it be that everyone went to be a monk?

The old monk said "good" and went to the kitchen himself.

Liang Qu picked up the long spear and practiced for a while longer.

A mason came in from the side door and went to look at the pool.

The pool had been built two days ago, just waiting for it to dry and harden.

Tapping and knocking left and right, confirming it was solid, the mason shouted: "Master Liang, it's ready, you can take out that stone and let the water in."

"Good, I know."

Liang Qu responded and jumped into the well mouth.

A solid, rounded giant stone was blocking the inside, ensuring that water wouldn't overflow while laying bricks and stones. Now it was time to move it.

Liang Qu held the Fubo spear, pushed the long spear with force, and stirred it with force. As the power burst, the entire giant stone shattered, turning into fine gravel and falling into the underground river, washed away into the distance.

The surging groundwater rose rapidly, and Liang Qu stepped on the well wall and jumped back to the ground.

The clear water flow quickly surged to the surface, overflowing the bricks and stones slightly piled up at the well mouth, and was finally blocked by the surrounding pool walls, turning into a large pool of living water.

The entire pool was shaped like a copper coin, and the well was the hole in it, only it was round.

In addition, both the bottom and the well walls were neatly laid with blue bricks, which was comforting to look at.

The craftsman brought a wooden basin, poured a large amount of pebbles into the pool, and at the same time put a few clusters of duckweed into it, letting the green plants float on the water surface to embellish it.

After standing still, several mottled bitterling fish swam out along the well mouth, came to the pool, and hid among the roots of the duckweed, breathing heavily.

From this point on, Liang Qu's home was completely connected to the Jianghuai River, coming and going freely! ===== CHAPTER 146 =====