Chapter 170: Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man, the Martial Dao of the Golden Immortal

After a month, Zhou You felt he was about to get sick from idleness; he couldn't go on like this.

He secretly circulated his Qi and Blood to add a bit of color to his face, then found his parents to say he was feeling better, adding that he hadn't visited Ceng Fuzi in a while and wanted to pay a call to learn some culture.

If it were to practice boxing or visit fellow disciples, his parents certainly wouldn't have agreed.

But mentioning the highly respected Ceng Fuzi and saying he was going to learn knowledge and culture from him, the situation was immediately different.

"Learning is good. You shouldn't have learned boxing in the first place; look at the mess it's turned into now."

"Take these few bags of snacks; we can't visit empty-handed, it would be disrespectful to the master."

"You'er, let Father call a carriage for you, so you can avoid the sun and wind; your health just got better, don't let it get worse again."

Many eyes hidden outside the gate saw Zhou You leave, and after he boarded the carriage with his parents' help, they became even more convinced that he had not yet recovered.

What a pity, a dignified expert at the Qi and Blood 4th Stage, weakened to this point.

Zhou You gripped the snacks with both hands, thinking his parents were truly thoughtful; one must not neglect etiquette!

Zeng Fu...

After Pan Jinshan opened the door and saw Zhou You, he was slightly taken aback, surprised at why he had appeared.

"I've come to visit the master; is the master at home?"

Ceng Fuzi had been home during this period, so it could be considered a timely arrival.

Zhou You handed the snacks to Dujuan and, led by Pan Jinshan, entered the estate.

"Zhou You, I've heard about your affairs; truly extraordinary."

Pan Jinshan was also an expert at the middle stage of Qi and Blood; he knew that reaching this level was not easy, and everyone who did was a ruthless character.

In fact, Zhou You had become famous after one battle and could be considered a figure in the boxing and martial arts circles of Gongliang City.

The great name of the Winged Tiger had truly entered the eyes of many high-level figures, becoming a target for recruitment.

Otherwise, why were there so many eyes observing around his house? The study was the place where Ceng Fuzi met with Zhou You to impart Seal Script.

When Zhou You entered the study, Ceng Ruyu was holding a book; she gave him a shy smile upon seeing him, bowed, and walked away slowly.

His mood instantly improved; having such a stunningly beautiful junior sister to feast his eyes on made life quite pleasant.

"You've come. Your health is poor, sit down and talk."

Ceng Fuzi finished writing a few strokes, set aside his brush and ink, and walked to the desk to examine Zhou You's complexion.

"Hmm, not bad! Young people recover quickly. I have an old mountain ginseng in my room; you can take it later to nourish your body."

He did not mention any pedantic remarks about the dangers of dueling or how one shouldn't kill people.

Ceng Fuzi was the kind of scholar who possessed great wisdom hidden behind a simple appearance; his heart was clear, he understood the ways of the world, and his conversations were always measured, never making anyone feel uncomfortable.

Regarding Zhou You as a 'registered disciple', he also didn't ask too much about martial arts, focusing instead on teaching Seal Script.

"Today, I will tell you about the differences between ancient and modern scripts."

"Hmm, the tracing of the origin of writing goes back to before the founding of dynasties, when writing already existed in the era of tribes."

"The inheritance and evolution of writing are more powerful and enduring than the reproduction of any species; the lineage is clear, distinct, and continuous."

"However, there are places where ancient and modern scripts do not correspond."

"With the turmoil and changes, a large number of ancient characters were lost, with no way to evolve or inherit them, leaving no corresponding modern characters."

"Correspondingly, many modern characters were born with the times, and there were no corresponding written records in ancient times."

"Seal Script, carved on stone walls, jade, and metal, is the origin of writing left behind by ancient times. The oldest Seal Script in the world comes from the rubbings of nine great bronze cauldrons, known as... the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man."

"It is said that when Heaven and Man descended to the world, the seventy-two most powerful tribes between heaven and earth collected all their weapons and farm tools to melt them down, casting nine great cauldrons as ritual vessels to sacrifice to the Heaven and Man."

"The inner and outer surfaces of the great cauldrons recorded with Seal Script the various strange phenomena of the Heaven and Man's descent, as well as the process by which the Heaven and Man imparted various knowledge and power."

Speaking of this, Ceng Fuzi emphasized, "It is said that the power imparted by the Heaven and Man allowed the weak bodies of mortals to become strong, to fight with wild beasts, and to survive in landslides and floods; this was later named—Wu."

This sentence rang through Zhou You's mind like thunder.

"Heaven and Man imparting Wu; this is the recognized origin of all Martial Dao in the world."

Zhou You's heart was stirred; what kind of Heaven and Man were they? Aliens, immortals, or high-dimensional beings?

Ceng Fuzi changed the subject, "Strange powers and chaotic spirits, let's not mention them for now! Although the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man are a legend, they have been unearthed more than once in later historical records, leaving behind handed-down Tuopian that are worth a thousand gold per character."

"Today, we will talk about two characters, using the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man as a boundary—two characters that did not exist before and were only created afterward."

He turned and wrote two characters on the paper: 'Shen' (God) and 'Xian' (Immortal).

"Of these two characters, one is common, and the other is relatively rare."

The rare character he spoke of was, shockingly... the character for 'Xian'.

"People in white robes are often seen on the streets; they belong to the God-Releasing Sect, believing that the Heaven and Man descended to save the world, so they interpret the Heaven and Man as God—supreme, with omnipotent divine power."

Ceng Fuzi scribbled a few strokes on the white paper, breaking the character 'Shen' into 'Shi' and 'Shen'.

"The meaning of 'Shen' must be analyzed from these two parts. 'Shen' is a variant of the character for lightning, implying that lightning is a long rainbow piercing the sun."

"From ancient times to the present, thunder and lightning have been considered the authority of deities, punishing evil and bringing rain for irrigation, possessing both wrath and compassion."

"When the Heaven and Man descended from the sky, they were surrounded by thunder, lightning, and clouds, showing themselves with thunder and lightning, representing authority; thus, 'Shi' and 'Shen' were combined into 'Shen'."

"Most people in the world believe that divine power is unfathomable and cannot be defied, otherwise, it will surely bring disaster."

"Interpreted from this perspective, the Heaven and Man are recognized as God."

Ceng Fuzi took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued.

"However, the interpretation of the Heaven and Man has never been dominated by one school of thought; for example, this... 'Xian' character."

Ceng Fuzi then broke 'Xian' down into the two characters for 'Mountain' and 'Person'.

"Legend has it that in the ancient era, heaven and earth were connected, with countless stone beams linking them like endless long bridges."

"The Heaven and Man came to the earth along these stone beams, benefiting the world. Later, a great catastrophe caused heaven and earth to shift, all the stone beams broke, and from then on, heaven and earth were separated, with no further contact."

"The countless famous mountains in the world are the remnants left after the ancient stone beams broke, and one can still see their majesty as they connect heaven and earth."

"Because the Heaven and Man came from the stone beams in those days, and now the stone beams remain as mountains, the Heaven and Man are people who came down from the mountains, so they are mountain-people, which is... 'Xian'."

Ceng Fuzi spoke up to this point and suddenly asked Zhou You, "Having listened for so long, do you consider the Celestial Beings to be gods, or immortals?"

Gods represent supreme majesty and authority, while immortals at least retain half of their humanity.

"Fuzi, there is no need to ask about the followers of the Liberation God Sect; they certainly view the Celestial Beings as divine spirits."

"If there were another group of people in this world who interpreted the Celestial Beings as immortals, would they huddle together for warmth, establish a similar organization, and put forward a slogan similar to 'Liberation God'?"

Zhou You did not answer; he was alert to the fact that this question was not simple, and answering rashly would involve taking sides to a certain degree.

Ceng Fuzi smiled, "Naturally there is, and its name is the Golden Immortal Dao."

(End of this chapter)