The copy of the universe from the journey to the west

Chapter 171: The great catastrophe of the world, imbalance of yin and yang! (asking for monthly votes)

Lu Chen's words made Zhongli Yunfang silent.

He certainly didn't intend to kill Lu Chen, but he also didn't expect to be exposed by Lu Chen so soon!
Lu Chen was right, this was a test for him.

Moreover, this test was planned after Zhongli Yunfang discovered Lu Chen's identity.

The same is true when tampering with the Lu-character jade pendant.

But what he didn't expect was that before the night was over, Lu Chen guessed that it was the Shaoyang Sect that took action.

He forced him out through provocation and even guessed his true identity!

As we all know, Han Zhongli's surname is not Han, but Zhongli.

The so-called Han Zhongli because he lived in the Han Dynasty.

Han Zhongli, whose real name was Zhongli Quan, was also known by his courtesy name Yunfang and his Buddhist name Zhengyang.

Looking at Lu Chen with a smile on his face, Zhongli Quan realized that he could not fool Lu Chen.

The palm-leaf fan in his hand flashed slightly, and Lu Chen felt a flash before his eyes.

When I came back to my senses, where were the dark clouds and fallen trees around me?
Everything is just an illusion.

At this time, some faint light had appeared in the eastern sky, and the scenery was just right with the rosy clouds covering the entire sky.

The surrounding trees are tall and straight, and there is no chaos.

Everything seemed like just a dream.

And Zhongli Quan's true appearance was also revealed in front of Lu Chen.

He was wearing a green robe, which was fluffy and natural. His body shape had not changed much, except that he was no longer dressed as a Taoist priest. He looked... well, a lot more wild and unrestrained.

Lu Chen himself was not injured, his clothes were intact, and he was holding a jade pendant with the word "Lu" in his hand.

"Lu Xiuchen, meet Senior Zhongli."

This time, Lu Chen bowed very respectfully.

Zhongli Quan waved his hand: "Alright, stop bowing. When I see you bowing, I feel like you are plotting against me."

Lu Chen was helpless: "I'm afraid the senior has misunderstood me."

"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, don't I know it myself?"

Zhongli Quan smiled at first, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Lu boy, sometimes being too thoughtful is not necessarily a good thing."

Lu Chen also smiled and relaxed a little, then said: "Senior, if I don't have a little trick, how can I pass your test?"

"Do you think the trial is that simple?"

Zhongli Quan smiled mysteriously: "I, Taoist priest, have come to you on the orders of the ancestor. I am not here to save you, but to test you to see if you are qualified to be called a disciple of Shaoyang."

It would be fine if we didn't talk about this. Once he started talking about it, Lu Chen couldn't help but ask, "Senior, are you going to accept me into the Shaoyang Sect?"

"Why, you don't want to?" Zhongli Quan asked back.

Lu Chen immediately waved his hand: "Of course not, it's just... things happened a little suddenly, I... I'm still a little scared."

"Hahaha! Frightened? You are such a cunning boy, how can you be scared?"

Zhongli Quan laughed when he heard this, but when he saw Lu Chen's slightly embarrassed expression, he restrained his smile and said meaningfully: "Speaking of which, I also have some doubts. You are not the descendant of my Shaoyang lineage, why can you cultivate the morning glow purple energy? And where did you know the news of Shaoyang lineage? Don't think of making up excuses. I have already investigated your origin and family background clearly. I just couldn't find anything about your whereabouts when you went to Chang'an, but I know everything else clearly."

Lu Chen looked at Zhongli Quan and realized that he was not lying.

After a little thought, Lu Chen asked: "Senior, do you know about preaching in dreams?"

"Preaching in a dream?"

Zhongli Quan was stunned at first, then frowned: "Lu boy, the Taoist has told you not to make up excuses. Don't mention the matter of immortals and Buddhas passing on the Dharma anymore. In this world, there are no real immortals."

"Please forgive me, Senior."

Lu Chen said helplessly: "However, I really didn't lie. In fact, it was just like a dream. Well, I went to another world. In that world, there is all the inheritance of Shaoyang Sect, including Shaoyang Emperor and Zhengyang Emperor."

"Wait a minute, Emperor Zhengyang?"

Zhongli Quan's mouth twitched and he asked, "You're not mistaken? It's Emperor Zhengyang?"

Zhengyang is his Buddhist name. Shaoyang Emperor and Zhengyang Emperor, one can tell at a glance that they are referring to his master Wang Xuanfu and himself.

"Yes."

Lu Chen nodded: "Maybe it's a fantasy, but there are indeed people who call you the Emperor."

"Oh, what's the matter? I am called the Emperor, are you still dissatisfied?"

Zhongli Quan sneered and said, "I am at least an immortal Taoist, and I am practicing both my body and soul. I may even reach a higher level, the realm of ancient gods and immortals. So, what's wrong with calling me 'Emperor'?"

"..."

Lu Chen felt a little numb when he looked at Zhongli Quan, who was a little bit arrogant.

Your expression changes so fast that I can't keep up!
"Well, Senior, that's not what I meant."

Lu Chen explained awkwardly: "What the junior meant was just to explain the senior's status in that world."

If you think about it carefully, yes!
The Taoist Master Changsheng is comparable to the land immortals in the world of Journey to the West, that is, earth immortals. One step higher, they are gods, heavenly gods.

Even in the world of Journey to the West, the status of the gods in heaven is extremely high. They are all truly big shots in the immortal class.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that many gods in heaven look very humble in front of Monkey King.

But in fact, the status of the gods is extremely high.

They are only a level lower than those celestial immortals, but those who truly possess the strength of a celestial immortal are basically beings with the status of great emperors, and they usually do not show up.

People like Li Tianwang who holds the pagoda have only the strength of Three Flowers Lifting the Top of the Head, and have not yet cultivated to the celestial realm of Five Qis Converging to Origin.

Therefore, there are many gods who are called emperors.

Lu Chen didn’t know whether Zhongli Quan in the Journey to the West world became the Emperor of Zhengyang.

But the Zhongli Quan in this world, let alone a breakthrough in the future, even if he said now that he was a living emperor, no one would refute it.

Kou Qianzhi was only a Yuanshen Zhenren. His power in the Northern Wei Kingdom was unmatched at the time, but he was still just cultivating his nature.

However, Zhongli Quan is practicing both sex and life!

They have lived for hundreds of years, but in the end they are still the same as normal people.

The fate of other Yuanshen Zhenren in this world that Lu Chen knew was completely different. Whether it was Zhang Ling, Zhang Jiao, Ge Xuan, or Wei Huacun, these ancestors of the Taoist sects in the world seemed to practice the talisman way!

Only cultivate the nature's merits, not the life's merits.

If there really is a world where heaven exists, the art of talismans is definitely a good option. It is easy to practice, and one can accumulate merits to ascend to heaven, shed the skin, reshape into an immortal body, be included in the immortal class, and live freely and at ease.

However, in this world, there is no real heaven!

As such, their physical lifespans are rubbish; at best they can only live to a hundred years or so before their physical bodies are no longer able to support their souls.

At this point, Lu Chen quickly changed the subject and continued, "Although the Inner Alchemy Dao is not mainstream now, but in another world in the dream, the Inner Alchemy Dao has shared the world with the Talisman Dao, and the Inner Alchemy Dao is even more well-known than the Talisman Dao."

Zhongli Quan nodded, fanning himself with the palm-leaf fan in his hand. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "You are talking about the future, right?"

Lu Chen nodded without any hesitation.

The future Quanzhen Sect will indeed be just as Lu Chen said, the Inner Alchemy School will be much more prestigious than the Talisman School.

Many literary works are also based on the practice of Neidan Taoism, and those on talismans are very rare.

"What I said is not false at all."

Lu Chen said sincerely, "Senior is practicing both body and soul cultivation. If you spend some time with him, you will know that what I said is true."

But Zhongli Quan's next sentence made Lu Chen a little confused.

"I originally thought that this news should be known only in the blessed land of the cave, but I didn't expect that an ordinary kid like you could actually sense the future. No wonder so many people pretended to be the descendants of the inner elixir, and the ancestors never paid attention to it. But you just mentioned it casually, and the ancestors arranged for me to find you."

Zhongli Quan was amazed. While Lu Chen was stunned, he laughed and said, "I'm not kidding you. I know exactly how the future will develop. I even know that your cousin Lu Xiujing is the real disciple of the Three Caves in the future."

"Ah...this..."

Lu Chen's eyes widened, somewhat unbelieving: "Senior knows?"

"Of course. Buddhists all have the ability to predict fate, so why don't the practitioners of our Taoism have the ability to see the past and the future?"

Zhongli Quan smiled mysteriously, "The Taoist told you so much just to see if you are honest. Since you are an honest child, the Taoist will not hide it from you. Yes, your title of 'Golden Pill Successor, Three Cave Successor' was indeed given to you by the Taoist. You are an anomaly in this world and should not have appeared. However, perhaps because of the chaos in the world and the lack of luck, coupled with your cousin Lu Xiujing trapped in the cave, the destiny of heaven appeared and let you be born."

Lu Chen was silent.

He was a little confused as to the situation.

If you don’t understand, ask. Lu Chen has a good character and quickly urged: “Junior…I have many questions, and I hope that the senior can solve them.”

Zhongli Quan had already recognized Lu Chen and did not intend to hide it from him, so he said: "The Lantian City God beside you should have told you the truth about this world, right?"

"Songdu has already informed this younger generation about the matters concerning the ancient gods, immortals, and gods of the earth."

Lu Chen nodded.

Lu Chen was not at all surprised that Zhongli Quan knew about the human face.

Zhongli Quan smiled slightly: "Part of what the Lantian City God told you is true, but part of it is actually wrong. It should be that he was born in a wild way. Although he has absorbed the memories of some contemporary practitioners, there are no high-level practitioners among them. So, he is just repeating what others say. Although he has lived for many years, most of the news is actually false. We want you to know this."

Lu Chen was stunned.

What does it mean to be 'we want you to know'?
Zhongli Quan didn't wait for Lu Chen to continue asking questions, and directly told Lu Chen the truth of this world: "The twelve gods and thirty-six immortals are the ancient gods and immortals. After they disappeared without a trace, the scriptures and books they left behind also turned into godhood. The successors can take advantage of the situation to gain enlightenment and occupy a place in the Yin-Yang world."

"These are not false, but you don't know that no matter whether they are gods or immortals, they are not actually practitioners of this world. They are all outsiders. To be precise, our world has always been the lower realm. The real upper realm is somewhere else."

Zhongli Quan's words made Lu Chen's head buzz.

"Does the heaven really exist in the upper world?"

"Of course there is a heaven, but it is not within our realm."

Zhongli Quan smiled and said, "Of course, this is just speculation. The coming of the ancient gods and immortals is also a speculation. Grandmaster Li Er once said that he is just like those ancient gods, an outsider, but he is just experiencing a catastrophe and reincarnation. When the catastrophe is over, he will ascend again and be among the immortals. Of course, the legends of these ancient gods and immortals are very far away from now, and it is just a speculation. It is not surprising. After all, the theory of reincarnation is not reliable."

"..."

Lu Chen really wanted to say that this might all be true.

Even if it's someone like you, you're probably just a different version of the real Zhengyang Emperor...

However, Zhongli Quan continued, "Before the ancient gods and immortals came, this world was full of demons and ghosts. Therefore, the Yin-Yang Realm was opened up in this world to sort out the principles of Yin-Yang and bring ghosts and monsters into the Yin-Yang Realm. He also took the laws of the Yin-Yang Realm and used his own divine position to condense the divine position of the earth to manage the chaotic Yin-Yang Realm. Later, he opened up the Twelve Cave Heavens to suppress the great demons in the world."

"Thus, Yin and Yang separated, and the world became clear. All spirits died and entered the Yin and Yang realm. The gods of the earth managed the ghosts and monsters. The Twelve Caves of Heaven were located in the human world, and the gods and immortals took turns to suppress them. This is how the human race rose up after being freed from the harassment of demons and monsters."

Lu Chen understood and nodded slowly, then asked, "Why is the Yin-Yang world so chaotic now?"

Zhongli Quan said: "During the Three Kingdoms period, someone once said that the general trend of the world is that after a long period of unity, there will be division, and after a long period of division, there will be unity. This saying can also be said in the world of cultivation. Chaos and order always alternate with each other, which is the principle of yin and yang."

“Although the Yin-Yang Realm is managed by the gods of the earth, they are not true gods or immortals after all. So after the gods and immortals disappeared from this world, chaos has already appeared in the Yin-Yang Realm.”

"First, a group of earthly gods thought that after the gods and immortals left, there was no one to restrain them, so they began to act recklessly. In the Yin-Yang Realm, they conquered other areas in the name of Yama. The same is true in the human world."

"The Twelve Cave Heavens were originally places left by the gods and immortals to suppress demons. Each of them has its own heritage, but some of the inheritors are eyeing the human world outside the cave heavens. Therefore, they pretended to be the gods and immortals of ancient times and began to preach in the human world, frantically recruiting believers and plundering incense. In the later period, it even developed to the point where the cultivators of the cave heavens personally participated in the war."

“Like Penglai, Kunlun, Chicheng… and other caves, they perished because of this. Fortunately, although their caves were destroyed, the great monsters they suppressed had already perished in the long river of time. Even after the caves were shattered, only a little monster energy was transmitted into the world, and some monsters were derived. There is no big problem.”

"But some of the monsters suppressed in the caves have not perished. They are ready to move. Although they are still suppressed, the Twelve Capitals of Heaven formation is broken, and these monsters can already affect the human world."

At this point, Zhongli Quan's eyes were deep, and he slowly said: "The Five Barbarians Rebellion was the work of a demon. Although the demon has not yet escaped from the suppression of the cave, it has already begun to use its means to affect the energy of heaven and earth, causing a lack of luck. Under the chaos of the world, the Yin and Yang world is affected, the Yin and Yang are unbalanced, dragons and snakes rise from the land, and the catastrophe of heaven and earth begins. It has become inevitable!"

He stared into Lu Chen's eyes and said, "You may not know that there is also a cave in the west. It was originally a place of inheritance left by the ancient gods and Buddhas, and it is the place of eternal shock in the far west. However, since five hundred years ago, the cave has been unstable. Patriarch Li Er went west for that cave, but it's a pity..."

At this point, his expression was a little complicated. He obviously didn't want to talk about this moment, so he changed the subject again: "The monsters suppressed under that cave heaven are the same as the monsters suppressed under my Shaoyang cave heaven. They have all perished long ago. That's why the group of monks came from the west to the east to find the cave heaven again and rebuild the Taoist tradition."

"But we suspect that this group of people may have other tricks. They may not be the real them anymore. Maybe they are a group of old monsters who want to live again. In the cave, there are wonderful things left by ancient gods and immortals, which are said to make people immortal. These monks may want to find the cave and plunder its foundation to revive themselves."

Lu Chen thought of an item and murmured, "Seven Heart Pills?"

"Yes."

Zhongli Quan looked at Lu Chen deeply and said, "The Seven Heart Pill is the only divine object left in this world by the God of Treasures. It can make people immortal. According to legend, the God of Treasures once transformed into the God of Thunder and suppressed the monsters under the Gourd Mountain. There is also the God of Wudao, who left his descendants to guard the Gourd Cave Heaven. However, the Gourd Cave Heaven is the most mysterious place among the Twelve Cave Heavens and is also the foundation of the Twelve Cave Heavens. Therefore, I suspect that those monks who stayed in Mount Lu may have discovered the secret of the Gourd Cave Heaven, so I want you to explore it."

Lu Chen suddenly realized.

He was still wondering why Zhongli Quan insisted on forcing him to enter Longquan Temple. It turned out that there was this kind of relationship.

But why didn’t Zhongli Quan go in and check it out himself?

"Are you wondering why the Taoist doesn't go and investigate it himself?"

Zhongli Quan seemed to see what Lu Chen was thinking and smiled indifferently.

Lu Chen was stunned.

No, you can't read minds, can you?

(End of this chapter)