Chapter 232: The Dao Body and Its Applications (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

"Pork in jar, dry-fried fish." Xu Yuan smiled and ordered two dishes.

Both are meat dishes.

Lin Wanmo went to wash his hands and cook.

Zhang Laoya stepped out, stared at Xu Yuan for a while, and grunted: "You've regressed. Get back to cultivation!"

Shang Fa's cultivation has regressed mainly because he used his own cannon-fire internal core to trade for the Dragon Pearl.

Xu Yuan grinned and replied: "Alright."

I don't need to cultivate—Tian Jing and the Jiao will cultivate for me.

Zhang Laoya tossed a bill to Xu Yuan: "Pay up for the debts you've racked up at Wuwei Pavilion these past few days."

Zhang Laoya lives here, and Wuwei Pavilion delivers all three meals daily.

Xu Yuan glanced at the bill, and his eyebrow twitched.

"Has your old rival not shown up yet?"

Zhang Laoya snorted and walked back inside, hands behind his back.

He had originally planned to drag Xu Yuan along for a couple of drinks.

But his stepmother was cooking for Xu Yuan, and Zhang Laoya looked down on it—he still wanted to eat at Wuwei Pavilion.

He was already scheming inside: find a way to get Fu Jingyu to drink with him.

Wuwei Pavilion's dishes are good, and so is their wine.

But neither is top-tier.

If he could charm Fu Jingyu, he could find a way to make him spend big to buy real premium wine.

Zhang Laoya paced back and forth in the courtyard of the Nancheng patrol station, hoping to bump into Fu Jingyu.

Xu Yuan called over Lang Xiao Ba and returned everyone's silver: "Make sure you give each person the right amount—don't mess it up."

This task could only be trusted to Fu Jingyu or Lang Xiao Ba.

If Zhou Leizi did it, he wouldn't embezzle, but he'd definitely treat himself to a few extra meals with the extra silver.

But Fu Jingyu was nowhere to be found, so it had to be Lang Xiao Ba.

Zhang Laoya circled the courtyard three times and still didn't find Fu Jingyu.

He was dragged inside by Song Lu: "Jingyu-ge, I'm writing a letter home—help me polish it."

A family letter? What's there to polish?

Song Lu's letter was addressed to two households, deliberately letting Fu Jingyu see it—he'd add whatever he wanted to say.

After finishing the letter, Song Lu pulled Fu Jingyu straight to Wuwei Pavilion.

In a private upstairs room, the two sat by the window—whether you're the Patrol Inspector or an old friend of the teacher, don't come disturb us.

Zhang Laoya's order arrived, and Lin Wanmo's meal was also ready.

A steady stream of aroma, as if sentient, slipped through Zhang Laoya's nostrils.

Wuwei Pavilion's food is decent, but after eating too much outside, people always crave a true home-cooked taste.

And Lin Wanmo was the undisputed master of "home-cooked goodness."

Zhang Laoya sat at the table, but his buttocks grew prickly—he squirmed and fidgeted for half a watch, then couldn't take it anymore. He leapt up, grabbed the wine jar, and marched to Xu Yuan's room.

If only Xu Yuan were there, Zhang Laoya wouldn't even bring the jar of wine.

It was pure freeloading.

But Lin Wanmo was there too—he dared not.

Lin Wanmo was eating when he saw Zhang Laoya's grinning head peek in from the doorway.

This man taught Xu Yuan Shang Fa—give him some face.

Lin Wanmo put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and said: "I'll add two more dishes."

Zhang Laoya took a pair of chopsticks for himself, sat down, poured wine for both Xu Yuan and himself, then immediately grabbed the largest piece of pork from the jar.

"Delicious!" Zhang Laoya praised repeatedly.

Xu Yuan tapped the table: "Eating for free?"

"I brought the wine."

Xu Yuan snorted: "I don't care for wine."

Zhang Laoya smirked: "Looks like I taught you well—you're already haggling with your master."

Xu Yuan: "You're not my teacher—we made that clear long ago."

Zhang Laoya regretted it—he'd already eaten a piece of pork.

Otherwise, he could've just walked away now.

Pay silver?

Not impossible—but after thinking it over, Zhang Laoya said: "From now on, whenever I want to eat something, you cook it for me."

"You're dreaming!" Xu Yuan glared: "I wouldn't even dare imagine that…"

Suddenly, Lin Wanmo also stuck his head in from the doorway, smiling: "Then what will you offer in exchange, Elder?"

Zhang Laoya grumbled: "This is the first time you've smiled at this old man since you arrived.

You two really are the type who won't act until they see the rabbit."

Zhang Laoya took another bite, then said: "I'll share all six branches of Shang Fa—but nothing higher. That would require real gold and silver."

Lin Wanmo immediately said: "Agreed."

Zhang Laoya then snapped: "Go cook more dishes! Are these two dishes enough for anyone?"

"Right away!" Lin Wanmo's temper suddenly became extremely pleasant.

Zhang Laoya ate and drank while Lin Wanmo swiftly cooked two more dishes.

Zhang Laoya was still not entirely satisfied.

Lin Wanmo said, "Drink first; today I'll make up eight dishes for you. It's auspicious."

Xu Yuan tapped the table and glared at Zhang Laoya: "Hey, that's enough! Eight dishes—can you even finish them?"

Lin Wanmo slapped him: "No problem, no problem. It'll be ready very soon."

Once the eight dishes were served, Zhang Laoya ate until his face was flushed red, let out a burp, and Lin Wanmo immediately handed him a toothpick made from green bamboo.

Zhang Laoya nodded in satisfaction, picked up a toothpick to clean his teeth, and said, "Law cultivators—though called law cultivators, what they emphasize is 'Dao as body, Law as function.'

No matter how strange or bizarre those laws are, or even if they belong to deviant paths, they all ultimately possess their own 'Dao.'

Without a sufficient understanding of the 'Dao,' and merely indulging in the power of the Law, one can never break free from the Third-Flow rank and advance beyond the Sixth Flow.

Now, returning to the Merchant Law we cultivate: what is the Dao?

Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants—the merchant has always been ranked last; even in these times, the imperial court suppresses us in every way.

But is 'commerce' truly as useless, or even harmful, as the world's prejudice believes?"

Xu Yuan followed Zhang Laoya's train of thought and thought seriously.

"The most fundamental Dao of the Merchant Law is 'exchange.'

For instance, the Eastern Sea produces salt, while the grasslands lack it.

The salt households of the Eastern Sea need to sell salt to exchange for grain; people on the grasslands, without salt to eat, lack strength and suffer from various diseases.

We transport salt from the Eastern Sea to the grasslands, exchange it for cattle, sheep, and furs, sell them in the Central Plains for grain, then transport that grain back to the Eastern Sea and sell it to those salt households.

Everyone obtains what they need, and we profit from it in the process—a happy outcome for all. So why does the court insist on suppressing us?"

Xu Yuan said, "In this process, merchants can profit multiple times, which could cause the prices of these goods to rise, making them unaffordable for everyone."

"That is indeed a risk—which brings forth one 'Dao' of the Merchant Law: balance.

Do not be too greedy; in every transaction, earn only an appropriate profit." Zhang Laoya added further: "This is very complex. Another important reason is that, in the eyes of others, merchants profit easily, which tempts people to imitate them. If too many engage in commerce, no one will farm, no one will enlist in the army, no one will study... and this will disrupt the stability of the world.

This brings forth another 'Dao' of the Merchant Law: the greater good takes precedence.

As a merchant, one must not think only of business; one must not truly burrow into the eye of money. One must also hold the world in one's heart.

If this world is lost, the great building collapses in a cataclysm, and no one can escape."

Zhang Laoya finished cleaning his teeth, changed his posture, and summarized: "Therefore, every Law contains more than one Dao. You must make a choice, determine your own Dao, and only then can you, upon this foundation, condense your 'Law Artifact.'

The Law Artifact is the foundation of the Dao. With this foundation, the Law can be built higher step by step."

Xu Yuan nodded, pondering his own "Dao" in his heart.

Zhang Laoya continued: "Although one can condense a Law Artifact at the Seventh Flow, many Law cultivators possess no Law Artifact because they have not yet discerned the 'Dao' they intend to practice.

Thus, they cannot advance to the Sixth Flow.

This is not merely a matter of Dao cultivation."

Xu Yuan nodded and asked again: "Then, if one has discerned the Dao they intend to practice, how does one condense a Law Artifact?"

(End of this chapter)