Chapter 218 – How Much Do You Know About the Past? (Part One) (1/2)
Chapter 218 - How Much Do You Know About the Past? (Part One)
Chen Changsheng had finished with his story.
After a moment of silence, the area erupted with discussion. The gazes directed towards Ji Jin were now rather complicated. Previously, this Senior had harshly asked if, among the countless methods of comprehending the Reflecting Monolith from ancient times up until now, there existed a correct path that deviated from the ocean. But now it would seem that the method which the Duke of Wei had used to comprehend the Heavenly Tome Monolith back then was completely different from the orthodox methods. How could he respond?
Ji Jin’s face grew unsightly, as he had also just recalled the legend about Duke of Wei viewing the monoliths. He could not deny the existence of this story. While the history books had no records of it, the Mausoleum of Books did. As a Monolith Guardian, he had personally seen them. The Duke of Wei truly had comprehended the Heavenly Tome Monoliths as being laws, which was why he later on became the protector of the rites of Zhou, the admonishing king, before finally becoming a trusted minister. Only Ji Jin was unwilling to be convinced by this junior. With a heavy voice, he said, “When the Duke of Wei saw the lines of the Monolith Inscriptions and understood them as laws, he still formed his ideas by observing its shape, and then used these ideas to stimulate his spiritual sense.”
Everyone grew restless at these words. Several young examinees at the back of the crowd shook their heads. The shape and idea spoken of in the three mainstream methods were completely different from the shape and idea said just now. The Duke of Wei had never cultivated once in his entire life. He had only relied on his courage and insight, not any sort of spiritual sense. With these words, it seemed like Ji Jin had just resorted to sophistry.
Seeing people’s reactions to his words, Ji Jin got even angrier. But before he could say anything else, Gou Hanshi spoke up once more.
“I have also thought of a story. This story was recorded in the “Tales on Returning to the Origin”, not within the Daoist Canons. I read it when I was small. If it wasn’t for Chen Changsheng bringing up the Duke of Wei, I probably would have forgotten about it. This story was about the Leader of the Way, who posed a question to a woodcutter.”
Everyone was astonished. The Leader of the Way asked a question to a woodcutter? How had they never heard of this before?
Gou Hanshi continued, “In those days, the world was strife-ridden. The teachings of the Way had not yet been established, much less the Orthodoxy, but the first leader of the Way was already a powerful expert at an extremely high level of cultivation. He had entered the Mausoleum of Books to view the monoliths multiple times, attempting to comprehend a part of the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao each time. But although he obtained some gain every time, he found himself well short when he wanted to ascend to the summit of the mausoleum. On a certain day, the Leader of the Way was stroking a monolith while looking at the peak of the mausoleum, filled with regret that his career as a Daoist had finally reached its limit, that in this life, it would be incredibly difficult for him to proceed another step. Then, to his surprise, he saw a woodcutter descending from the mausoleum summit, a bundle of firewood on his back. The Leader of the Way was struck by the oddness of this scene. “If I could not reach the top of the mausoleum,” he thought to himself, “The other experts of the continent who have similar cultivations also can’t reach it. In that case, how did this woodcutter, who clearly can’t cultivate and whose body is aged and feeble, walk to the mausoleum summit as he pleased?”
The hut fell into silence once more. Their minds had all been mesmerized by this never before heard story. “Could it be,” they thought to themselves, “That this woodcutter was really an expert of the Heavenly Dao, that perhaps he had even entered into the legendary Realm of Grand Liberation?”
“The Leader of the Way sincerely asked for instruction. The woodcutter replied that his ancestor had made their living off cutting wood from this mountain since ages ago. The Leader of the Way strenuously inquired, how was he able to find his way through the mausoleum? After a long period of hesitation, the woodcutter brought the Leader of the Way in front of a monolith. He told him that the path through the mausoleum was all on this monolith, that he woulde just need to walk according to its instructions…After he said these words, the woodcutter descended from the mountain.”
Gou Hanshi paused, then continued, “The Leader of the Way pondered before that monolith for dozens of days and nights, but he failed to find any sort of path amongst those lines. Then, one night, he had a sudden realization. He gave three hearty laughs, and with a brush of his sleeves, he flew straight to the summit of the mausoleum. There, he comprehended the entirety of the Heavenly Dao, and founded the Daoist school. Even after he’d reached his later years and had finally returned to the sea of stars, he still could never forget how he could never see the path on the Heavenly Tome Monolith that the woodcutter had seen…”
This story had also come to an end.
Only silence surrounded the monolith hut.
Ji Jin’s face extremely unsightly as he retorted. “Leaving aside what sort of method the woodcutter used to see the path in the inscriptions and only speaking about the ‘Tales of Returning to the Origin’ that this story was recorded in…What sort of book is ‘Tales of Returning to the Origin’? If it is not to be found in the Daoist Canons, how can we trust it? Don’t tell me you randomly made up a story to prove that I was wrong?”
Chen Changsheng shook his head. “The ‘Tales of Returning to the Origin’ is a collection of the First Leader of the Way’s conversations from the one hundred years before he returned to the sea of stars. As for the why it wasn’t included in the Daoist Canon, it’s because one thousand five hundred thirty-seven years after the establishment of the Orthodoxy, the descendants of the first Leader of the Way attempted a schism within the Way. They were then accused of the sin of treason, and their traces were purged. That is why this book is not included in the Daoist Canon. However, it is still a true part of the Canon. The original copy is still probably in Li Palace. We can consult it at any time.”
Gou Hanshi had wanted to say exactly this. He exchanged glances with Chen Changsheng for a second, and slightly nodded his head. They were both young people that had read the Daoist Canon in depth, so they could respond off of each other. It really was a good sort of feeling. While the troubles, or even grudges, between Chen Changsheng and the Mount Li Sword Sect were hard to resolve, Gou Hanshi held no enmity for him. Chen Changsheng also saw Gou Hanshi in an increasingly better light. The reason why they liked each other was largely because of their knowledge of the Daoist Canon.
Everyone knew that Gou Hanshi’s knowledge of the Daoist Canon was profound. After the first night of the Ivy Festival, Chen Changsheng’s reputation in this field had also become widespread. At this moment, the former narrated while the latter supplemented. And when Chen Changsheng explained that the original copy could be found at the Li Palace and could at any time be consulted, everyone there believed it without a doubt. At this point, Ji Jin’s face had grown extremely unsightly, and even seemed a little ashen.
“Enough.” Accompanied by a cold voice, a white-robed Monolith Guardian appeared.
This Monolith Guardian’s hair was all white and his age advanced. Those young examinees who knew him spoke in disbelief. “Mister Nian Guang.”
Chen Changsheng had to ask Gou Hanshi before he understood. This Mister Nian Guang had originated from the Temple Seminary. He had cultivated since he was a child and had become rather well-known in the cultivation world. Yet, for some reason, after he had obtained qualifications from a certain Grand Examination, he had entered the Mausoleum of Books and took the vows to become a Monolith Guardian, and never again emerged.