People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 292: The Romance of the Heavenly Book
"Master, regarding the theory of alchemy, is your theory correct, or is the theory of elements correct?" On a mountain path, a young Taoist in his early twenties asked the old man beside him while reading a book in one hand.

The old man was dressed in a dark green suit, his hair and beard were all white, and he had an extraordinary temperament. He was truly as extraordinary as a god descended from the sky.

This person was Zuo Ci, one of the most famous alchemists in the late Han Dynasty.

And this young Taoist priest was Ge Xuan, Zuo Ci's direct disciple.

Hearing his disciple's question, Zuo Ci frowned, looking dissatisfied.

"Master has told you several times that this 'Natural Scripture' is not an orthodox doctrine, but a strange theory created by Xu Chen. You can just take a look at it, but don't get too obsessed with it.

Now I see you holding on to the book every day and refusing to put it down. You have been completely bewitched by it. How can you listen to what your teacher says at all?"

After saying that, Zuo Ci finally lost his patience, reached out and snatched the "Natural Classic" from Ge Xuan's hand, then threw it down the cliff, and soon the book disappeared.

Ge Xuan subconsciously stretched out his hand, but in the end he could only shake his head helplessly. He still felt regretful in his heart because he hadn't finished reading it yet.

Turning back, he quickened his pace to catch up with Zuo Ci. Even though he no longer had the book, he still did not forget the question he had just asked.

“Disciple, look at the theory of elements. The world is made up of basic elements, and the reactions between the elements form everything we see before our eyes.

For example, alchemy is actually a direct manifestation of elemental reaction. The materials we add react and combine under specific conditions to produce new substances.

Different elements have different properties, and the reaction conditions between elements are also different. If we can explore all the basic elements in the world and experimentally record enough elemental reactions, then we can also utilize this original power of the world.

At that time, humans will be able to master the power that transcends themselves. For example, the improved gunpowder is the most direct example. It is not impossible that one day humans will be able to glimpse the secret of immortality.

Listening to Ge Xuan's nagging voice, Zuo Ci, who was walking in front, felt veins throbbing on his forehead. Finally, he could no longer bear it and shouted angrily: "Enough!"

Ge Xuan shut up immediately. Although he was a chatterbox, he was also intimidated by the majesty of his master Zuo Ci.

Zuo Ci glanced at Ge Xuan, and seeing that Ge Xuan was still unconvinced, he sighed helplessly.

This beloved disciple of mine is good in every way except that he likes to get to the bottom of things. Oftentimes, he asks questions until he is at a loss for words.

But just ignoring it like this is not an option. If I don't give him a direct explanation, it would be counterproductive if he starts to overthink and go astray.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Master and Gan Shi are old acquaintances. He never said such things before. Now that he was abducted by Xu Chen, he started to write such a perverted theory. He must have been bewitched by Xu Chen. The Natural Book is a false doctrine, and the Theory of Elements in it does not need to be taken seriously."

Ge Xuan frowned upon hearing this. It was obvious that this answer did not satisfy him. After secretly glancing at Zuo Ci, he coughed and said, "Master, I feel that refuting the good and evil is not enough to gain your trust. It would be more convincing to directly refute the truth."

Zuo Ci became even more furious when he heard this, but he managed to calm himself down with his sufficient self-control.

I have to say that Gan Shi's theory is still very convincing. Compared with traditional alchemy theory, it seems to be more self-consistent, but there is no way to refute the right or wrong, true or false of this kind of thing.

There is actually no basis for refutation of something that cannot be falsified or verified, and in the end it will all be in vain.

Of course, Gan Shi’s "Theory of Elements" could not be argued clearly, and his own theory of alchemy could not be argued clearly either. Instead of foolishly arguing about other people's right or wrong, it would be better to give others a headache.

"There are three theories in my Taoism: Taiqing Dan Jing, Jiuding Dan Jing and Jinye Dan Jing. Do you think this theory is right or wrong? Can it guide the way of alchemy?" Zuo Ci raised his eyebrows and asked Ge Xuan back.

Ge Xuan was stunned for a moment, but answered without hesitation: "Of course it is right."

Zuo Ci snorted coldly and said calmly: "Since we are right, then Gan Shi's "Theory of Elements" is definitely wrong."

Ge Xuan opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It must be said that Zuo Ci did not refute the right or wrong of "Element Theory", but let Ge Xuan refute the right or wrong of his own theory, which really left Ge Xuan speechless. He couldn't say that everything his master taught was wrong.

However, this was only a victory in terms of words. In fact, the doubts in Ge Xuan's heart were not resolved.

Is The Theory of Elements really wrong?
Ge Xuan doesn’t know the answer to this question now, but this novel theory has indeed planted a seed in his heart. Of course, the Naturalism Sect and Xu Chen are also remembered by him.

The master and his disciple left like this. They were going to look for materials for alchemy in the mountains, but something they left behind caused a huge cause and effect.

Under the cliff, a young man in his late twenties was searching for prey. He held a spear in his hand, a long knife on his waist, and a bow and quiver on his back. With such careful preparation, he could easily deal with other wild beasts as long as he did not encounter any predators that were too ferocious.

At this moment, what he was staring at was a wild sheep that was eating leisurely.

The young man was approaching on tiptoe. He put down his spear, replaced his hand with a bow and arrow, and drew the string in preparation for shooting. When he was at a certain distance, he held his breath and drew the bow to shoot.

But just as he was aiming at the critical moment, he suddenly heard a noise above his head, and before he could react, something hit him on the head.

He cried out, loosened his grip on the bowstring, and the arrow flew away.

"what!"

He hurriedly got up and touched his head, only to find that it was intact. He breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was no falling debris, his head would have been smashed.

The next moment he looked forward and the wild sheep that had just been eating leisurely had disappeared.

He cursed inwardly in frustration and anger, and then he had the mood to check what had hit him. Looking around, he saw something at his feet, which turned out to be a paper book.

What kind of book is this, with such a strange style?

He picked up the book and looked upward, but the mountainside was as high as clouds and he could not see anything. He couldn't help but wonder how could this thing fall from the sky? It couldn't be a book from heaven, right?
He put away his bow and arrow in frustration, then took the book in his hands and read it carefully.

Although he came from a poor family, he could read and write. When he saw the three big words "Natural Classic" on the cover of the book, he immediately frowned.

What kind of scripture is this? I have never heard of it.
Soon he lost interest, threw the book away, picked up the spear and continued hunting.

But after walking a few steps forward, he stopped, stood there for a while, suddenly turned around and picked up the book again.

In this era, most people have some superstitious ideas about ghosts and gods, so he can't help but think too much about such a weird thing.

A book fell from the sky in broad daylight. It's a bit weird. I'd better go back and study it.
Although this book ruined his hunting results, fortunately he had plenty of experience and skills, and he continued hunting, and successfully hunted a small wild boar weighing over 100 pounds.

So he carried the wild boar all the way down the mountain and soon returned home.

When the villagers saw Lü Meng leading the wild boar back, they all praised him. Lü Meng also called on the villagers to bring more things to exchange for the meat.

His family was poor, and it was very difficult for Lu Meng to get such prey, so he dared not waste any of it.

After such a lively moment, the wild boar was quickly divided up, but Lu Meng still left a piece and took it to his brother-in-law's house. As soon as he pushed the door open, he heard his brother-in-law's voice.

"Ziming, have you thought about it when I asked you to follow General Sun with me last time?"

(End of this chapter)