The copy of the universe from the journey to the west

Chapter 204: On the Dao, Identity (asking for monthly votes)
Zhongli Quan did not listen carefully to what Cheng Gongxing said. In Zhongli Quan's eyes, Cheng Gongxing was not a great practitioner, but a complete madman!
Zhongli Quan turned his gaze towards those little green snakes.

The surrounding space vibrated even more violently due to the movement of these little green snakes.

This is a sign that the foundation of the cave is being destroyed.

Zhongli Quan was both unwilling and helpless, with a complex expression. How could he be the helper in unsealing the ancient monster?

Where is the Xinglin inheritance here? There is only an ancient snake demon suppressed by the cave!
"Why don't you release the snake demon yourself? It's not a difficult task for you." Zhongli Quan asked with a slightly gloomy expression.

"Because of the rules, we outsiders must abide by the rules. There are some things we can do, and some things we can't do."

Cheng Gongxing said: "When you first came, I did think about driving you out, but as time went by, I found that your existence could destroy the stability of the cave. I can't break the rules, but I can use you to destroy the foundation of the cave."

"I track the development of the great trends of heaven and earth, and when I find something wrong, I will intervene to deal with it."

"For example, if Dong Feng is killed, then the Green Snake King will never be able to escape from the suppression of Xinglin Cave Heaven."

"This is also a violation of the rules, but when I kill Dong Feng, I am actually maintaining the general trend of the world."

"The rules restrict him to only promoting the development of the world's general trend, and he cannot change it directly."

"For example, I cannot destroy Xinglin Cave Heaven and release the ancient great demon King Qingwo personally, because if he does so, it will be regarded as directly interfering with the course of the great situation of heaven and earth."

"Dong Feng has already fulfilled his mission in the great trend of heaven and earth, so let's just kill him."

"But the Green Snake King's historical mission has not yet begun. Its birth involves too many things, so if I take action myself, it would be considered breaking the rules."

Cheng Gongxing explained to Zhongli Quan in a very confident manner.

It seemed that Zhongli Quan's question gave him great pleasure.

"Rules? Haha, ridiculous rules!"

Zhongli Quan gritted his teeth.

This is to graft all the causes and effects of the birth of the ancient great demon onto oneself!

Cheng Gongxing, the main culprit, was able to stay out of the matter!
If the incident really happened because of him, how should he face his master and the countless living beings in the world?
"Even if I commit suicide here, I will not let the snake demon be born!"

As he spoke, Zhongli Quan raised his hand, ready to sacrifice himself to strengthen the seal. Cheng Gongxing, who was watching from the opposite side, watched indifferently.

The order and rules of the cave heaven have been touched, and the collapse of the cave heaven is a matter of time, unless there is a powerful immortal who is willing to sacrifice himself like Dong Feng did in the past, to strengthen the seal and extend the seal of the cave heaven for another sixty years.

The sacrifice of an immortal Taoist can only last for a few years at most, which is nothing to Cheng Gongxing.

At this moment, Cheng Gongxing suddenly raised his head, raised his eyebrows and looked into the distance.

"Someone else came in."

Cheng Gongxing laughed and looked at Zhongli Quan: "This aura seems familiar, is it here to find you?"

Zhongli Quan's expression changed, and he also sensed the movement of the paper crane in his sleeve.

"Why is this brat here?" Zhongli Quan was stunned.

Turning around, he saw a beam of light rushing towards him and landing next to Zhongli Quan.

"Senior Zhongli."

The escaping light revealed itself, and it was Lu Chen.

Zhongli Quan's expression changed: "Why are you here? Did the little guy from Shangqing Sect notify you to come here? Didn't the Taoist priest leave a note, telling you not to come in?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "I have seen the words that the senior left behind, but I cannot put the senior in danger and remain indifferent."

Zhongli Quan said helplessly: "You shouldn't have come."

He could see that Lu Chen's cultivation was different, and it seemed that he had made a breakthrough.

But what’s the use of a breakthrough?
Even he, an immortal Taoist, had to fall on the spot, let alone Lu Chen?
"Since we are here, let's make the best of it."

Lu Chen smiled and looked at Cheng Gongxing opposite him: "I guess the senior is Cheng Gong?"

Cheng Gongxing smiled and nodded: "Young man, you have good self-cultivation. Just call me Senior Cheng. I cannot bear the name Cheng Gong."

Lu Chen bowed his head and said, "Mr. Cheng is too modest. There are not many gods and immortals in the world, and Mr. Cheng is one of them. He can be called a great sage of the world. What's more rare is that Mr. Cheng taught Kou Tianshi of the Northern Tianshi Dao, and made great contributions to the development of Taoism. The younger generation should show respect."

Cheng Gongxing smiled brightly at Lu Chen's praise, and said to Zhongli Quan beside him: "Look, we are both from the Taoist sect, but this young man has a much better temper than you."

"Humph! What great sage of the time? He should be called the great devil of the time!"

Zhongli Quan said coldly: "Lu boy, do you know what this old demon did? He actually wanted to release the suppressed ancient demon!"

Lu Chen shook his head: "Senior Zhongli, let's put things in perspective. It was indeed wrong to release the ancient monster, but he taught Kou Qianzhi, which made the future development of the Dao Sect more organized and orderly. This laid the foundation for the growth of the Dao Sect and prompted changes in other scattered and disordered Dao Sects. This is also a credit."

Zhongli Quan was shocked.

You kid, which side are you from?

"Hahahaha! You're from the Lu family, right? I like you."

Chenggong Xing laughed and said, "How about this, you become my disciple, and I will pass on everything I have learned to you!"

When he said this, Zhongli Quan was shocked.

"Lu boy, don't be fooled by this demon. This demon has harmed countless people. Even Dong Feng died because of his conspiracy."

He looked at Lu Chen nervously, fearing that Lu Chen would agree.

After all, Cheng Gongxing was a great cultivator in the ancient immortal realm, comparable to his ancestor!

If a being like this personally offers to accept him as a disciple, how many people would be unwilling to do so?
Cheng Gongxing smiled at this time and said, "It is true that I have harmed countless people. However, the people I have harmed are all those who hinder the development of the great trend of heaven and earth. They are harmful to heaven and earth. Isn't it the heaven and earth that are pleased when I eliminate them? Otherwise, how could I achieve such a level of cultivation without relying on the cave heaven? This is the heaven's pleasure."

Zhongli Quan was speechless for a moment.

That's true. For example, he has been practicing in the cave, but his cultivation level is not as good as Cheng Gongxing's?

This makes him feel so embarrassed!
But the words "Tian Xizhi" also relieved some of the burden on his heart.

It's not that I didn't work hard, but I was dealing with 'Tian Xizhi'.

The most common idea that poor students have is that top students study well simply because they are born to be good at studying.

This is also a way to comfort myself.

Lu Chen said curiously, "Senior, have you ever thought that the reason you have today is not because of the help of God, but because of your own efforts?"

Cheng Gongxing's expression suddenly froze, and then he laughed: "How could I not know my own talent? Without the help of heaven, how could I have achieved enlightenment?"

"That's wrong!"

Lu Chen shook his head, "Senior, you are too self-deprecating. If you say that only when heaven is pleased can one achieve something, then people in the world don't need to do anything else. Wouldn't it be better to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth every day? If heaven and earth will reward you only if you do things that benefit heaven and earth, then why bother to say 'Heaven moves vigorously and never ceases to strengthen itself?' Lao Tzu said: The way of heaven is to reduce the surplus and make up for the deficiency. The way of man is different. It is to reduce the deficiency to serve the surplus. Senior, you are obviously following the way of man, not the way of heaven! Could it be that the Taoist master Lao Tzu was wrong?"

Cheng Gongxing's expression froze again, and he said in a slightly stiff tone: "Old man... Old man..."

He didn't know how to answer for a moment.

The meaning of Lao Tzu's words is very clear. The way of heaven is to take away what is in surplus and give more to those who are in need, while the way of man is the opposite.

It doesn't mean that if God likes what you do, he will love you and make you stronger.

On the contrary, the more powerful you are, the more the law of nature will suppress you!
Heaven and man are in opposition, and the way of man is the opposite. The stronger a person is, the stronger he becomes, and the weaker a person is, the weaker he becomes.

Can he say this is wrong?

Doesn’t that mean that what the Taoist master said was wrong?
Lu Chen did not give him a chance to organize his words, and continued: "I have also heard that the so-called immortality is to go against the will of heaven and earth, steal the opportunities of heaven and earth, and steal the fate of all living beings. Therefore, those who go against the will become immortals, just as the so-called three disasters and nine difficulties are. This is the enterprising posture of practitioners and goes against the will of heaven and earth."

Instantly, Cheng Gongxing found the loophole in Lu Chen's words and said directly: "What you said is that the way of heaven is to act. If heaven and earth do not like it, why would there be three disasters and nine tribulations? One disaster and one tribulation will eliminate the cultivators in the world, and heaven and earth will return to nature."

This is to find a theoretical basis for your own approach.

But these words were equivalent to handing Lu Chen a machete.

"Heaven's will?"

Lu Chen shook his head and smiled, "The way of heaven is to do nothing. Therefore, Zhuang Zhou said: If the saints don't die, the thieves will not stop. There were saints first, and then the thieves. If there were no saints, there would be no thieves. Saints are made by people, so this is the way of man, not the way of heaven. Laozi also said: When the great way is abandoned, there is benevolence and righteousness; when wisdom emerges, there is great hypocrisy; when the six relatives are not harmonious, there is filial piety; when the country is in chaos, there are loyal ministers. Is this the way of heaven? No, this is also the way of man, and it is different because of the differences between people. The three disasters and nine difficulties of the way of heaven are because people go against it first, and then there are disasters. It is not that there are disasters first and then there are immortals, so this is the way of man."

Cheng Gongxing and Lu Chen started to debate with each other.

There was a very heated debate about the action and inaction of the way of heaven.

Of course, this proposition is unfair from the beginning.

The Way of Heaven is to be inaction. This is something that many sages have already determined. The Way of Heaven is inaction, but people are actionable.

If Lu Chen wanted to find a theoretical basis, he could find countless sources directly from the words of Laozi and Zhuangzi.

But Cheng Gongxing was different. In fact, he also knew that the way of heaven was inaction.

But as long as he admitted that the Way of Heaven is inaction, he would be unable to explain the so-called "trend of heaven and earth".

Heaven and earth have power, but doesn’t that mean that Heaven is effective?

The emergence of a general trend is itself a manifestation of "being proactive"!

Therefore, he was like a duck that fell into the water, constantly struggling in the water, in a state where he could neither drown nor swim.

Such a strange scene made Zhongli Quan, who was standing by, dumbfounded.

No, how did we end up talking about this?
Is this the order in which things should develop?

And... kid Lu actually made Cheng Gongxing stutter in his debate?

This was somewhat of a shock to his visual nerves.

However, Cheng Gongxing quickly realized the problem and ended the discussion.

He is a powerful person in the ancient immortal realm, why should he waste words with Lu Chen? "That's it."

He smiled and said to Lu Chen: "My friend, you are a good speaker. I almost got fooled by you. It's meaningless to tell others whether the way of heaven is inaction or action. I just need to know it in my heart."

Seeing this, Lu Chen nodded and said, "Can the junior make a guess for himself? Senior has always insisted on promoting the great trend of heaven and earth and following the development of heaven. Is it because there is someone above you... or is it that you are trying to please someone?"

As he spoke, he pointed his finger to the sky and asked, "Are those people?"

Cheng Gongxing was not fooled. He just looked at Lu Chen with a smile, and said in his heart: "Little fox, do you still want to trick me?"

Seeing this, Lu Chen cursed in his heart: "Old fox, you have learned to be smart and don't fall for it."

He flattered Cheng Gongxing from the very beginning in order to bring them closer together, and step by step he set language traps for him.

It’s just that Cheng Gongxing reacted a little too quickly. He realized something was wrong and immediately stopped the topic. But if Lu Chen still wanted to get more questions, it would be more difficult.

Cheng Gongxing said slowly at this time: "My friend, I still say the same thing. As long as you join me as a disciple, I will pass on to you everything I have learned in my life. Is that okay?"

Lu Chen smiled, his eyes narrowed into a line: "Then is there the "Taiping Sutra", the Butterfly Transformation Technique, and the One Heart Three Treasures Method?"

Cheng Gongxing was stunned for a moment, the smile on his face disappeared for a moment and then reappeared: "Amazing! It's really amazing that you can guess all this."

"What do you mean?"

Zhongli Quan was stunned at this moment. He looked at Cheng Gongxing, then at Lu Chen and said, "The Taiping Jing? Which Taiping Jing?"

There is not just one Taoist "Taiping Jing" but three. To be more specific, they are "Taiping Yaoshu" by Zhang Jiao of Taiping Dao, "Taiping Qingling Jing" by Yu Ji of Langya Dongtian, and "Taiping Dongji Jing" by Zhang Ling of Tianshi Dao.

The three classics have the same origin, and are all refined from the real "Taiping Jing". Among them, "Taiping Yaoshu" has the highest level. At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were many followers of Taiping Dao, which pushed "Taiping Yaoshu" to the level of Qingyao Zishu.

This is similar to the "Three Emperors Sutra" of Tianshi Dao and Sanhuang Sect. They are of the same origin and are all products derived from the real "Three Yellow Sutra". Then, over the long years, they have each been promoted to the real Qingyao Purple Book, which is the scroll of the god position of the heavenly god.

As for the later technique of transforming into a butterfly and the method of One Mind Three Treasures, they are both very normal and belong to the level of Dharma.

"It is, of course, the Taiping Jing of the Taiping Dao."

Lu Chen looked at Cheng Gongxing and said slowly: "I am also very curious, who is Cheng Gongxing's true identity? Is he also a person who escaped from another world? Or is he just a lucky person, and many adventures have found him, allowing him to become the Cheng Gongxing today."

Cheng Gongxing laughed and said, "Haha, I almost forgot who it was."

He did not refute that his current identity was fake, but asked generously: "How did you find out my identity?"

“It was just a suspicion.”

Lu Chen said, "Mr. Bai said that you are Zhang Jiao, the contemporary Heavenly Master. Since you can have two identities, you can naturally have three. Master Huiyuan just happened to say that a man named Cheng Gongxing had come to him, and he was introduced by Liu Yimin, and the relics he sent over happened to be Buddhayasas' relics. One coincidence is a coincidence, but multiple coincidences are problematic."

“Careful observation.”

Cheng Gongxing praised and nodded slowly: "These identities are correct, they are indeed all mine."

He just admitted all his identities, which made Lu Chen frown: "Senior, don't you want to refute it?"

Cheng Gongxing admitted it without any objection, which made Lu Chen feel extremely strange and he didn't feel any sense of accomplishment at all.

When Conan was investigating a case, the suspect would always shout "You have no evidence".

Cheng Gongxing admitted it directly.

No, are all big bosses so honest?

At this time, Cheng Gongxing said, "I don't understand. Zhang Jiao has been dead for more than 200 years. How can you still associate me with Zhang Jiao?"

When he asked this, Lu Chen immediately felt a sense of accomplishment and said with a smile: "Before I met you, I was still a little unsure, but after chatting with you, I am more certain."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Cheng Gongxing asked curiously, "Does this old man have any flaws? You have never seen Zhang Jue, so how can you be sure that this old man is him?"

Lu Chen said: "After Zhang Jiao founded the Taiping Dao, he preached mainly the Huang-Lao Dao, which represented the period of time when he believed in inaction. But at a certain point in time, he suddenly pushed Zhonghuang Taiyi God to the highest position of God, and even shouted the slogan 'Cangtian is dead, Huangtian should be established'. It is obvious that his philosophy has changed.

"This coincides with the philosophy of our predecessors. While talking about the impermanence of the Tao, we are also promoting the great trend of heaven and earth."

"In addition, Zhang Jiao was known as the strongest man in the world, and countless people avoided him. This marked the beginning of the Taoist sect stealing the destiny of heaven and earth. What the senior's disciple Kou Qianzhi is doing now is similar to what Zhang Jiao did back then. The most important thing is that the main god worshipped by Kou Qianzhi's Beitianshi Dao is called 'Taiping Zhenjun'. Taiping Dao, Taiping Zhenjun, these can't be coincidences, right?"

Cheng Gongxing smiled and nodded when he heard this: "Yes, that makes sense."

Lu Chen's speculation is a ridiculous theory in the secular world.

But this is a world where practitioners flourish. Some coincidences are not necessarily coincidences. Most of the same names have some connections.

Especially the places related to Cheng Gongxing.

Lu Chen continued, "If my guess is correct, the Taiping Jing should be related to Zhang Ling's Taiping Dongji Jing, right? Even Yu Ji back then might have had a connection with you? Is he your clone, or a pawn?"

Cheng Gongxing smiled, "Zhang Ling's Taiping Dongji Jing does have the same origin as Taiping Yaoshu. It was I who gave him some inspiration and made him write Taiping Dongji Jing. But Taiping Qingling Jing has nothing to do with me. Yu Ji, that bastard, thought that I was dead and his teachings were gone, so he wanted to usurp the destiny of Taiping Dao. I just went with the flow and included him in my plan. I didn't expect that this was just an unintentional move, but it caused a dispute among the four great cave heavens."

"I see."

Lu Chen nodded and continued to ask: "There is just one thing that I am not clear about. Since you have already faked your death and escaped, and have already completed the promotion of the great trend of heaven and earth, why do you still want to continue pretending to be Zhang Xiu?"

Lu Chen stared at Cheng Gongxing.

Zhong Liquan next to him was confused again: "Lu boy, what do you mean? What Zhang Xiu?"

Lu Chen glanced at Zhongli Quan and said helplessly: "Senior Zhongli, Zhang Xiu once rebelled against the Han Dynasty in Ba County. Didn't you notice that Kou Qianzhi has always said that Zhang Lu's method is useless, causing Zhang Lu's reputation in the north to plummet? Is this because of Senior Cheng's teachings?"

"Really... hehe." Zhongli Quan smiled awkwardly.

He really didn't notice!

Lu Chen looked at Cheng Gongxing again: "Zhang Lu killed you back then, I'm afraid that was beyond your expectations, right? So Kou Qianzhi was deeply saddened by Zhang Lu's method, but why did you become Zhang Xiu?"

The latter smiled and said jokingly: "Why did this old man disguise himself as Zhang Xiu? You are so smart, don't you really know?"

Lu Chen asked: "Yuntai Mountain?"

"It seems that you still know it." Cheng Gongxing laughed.

Lu Chen nodded, and said with a gossipy tone: "There is a rumor that Zhang Lu killed you, Senior, because of Zhang Lu's mother?"

Cheng Gongxing nodded: "Yes, Zhang Lu always treated himself as my nephew in front of me... Hehe, I trusted him so much, but he secretly took action, recognized Liu Yan as his father, and sacrificed his mother to seize power. Although I was ready to abandon Zhang Xiu at that time, Zhang Lu's behavior was still hard for me to accept."

"So you want to completely overturn the Zhang family's Tianshi Dao?" Lu Chen said slowly.

"How can it be subverted? It just makes it develop better."

Cheng Gongxing said: "The existence of Tianshi Dao is a general trend, and the emergence of the new Tianshi Dao is also a general trend. This is how history develops."

"History is developing in this way..."

Lu Chen muttered.

Cheng Gongxing’s left sentence is about historical process, and the right sentence is about historical development.

Who is this guy?

Cheng Gongxing suddenly realized the troops and asked, "What did you do?"

Lu Chen looked at Cheng Gongxing: "Senior, don't you know? I thought you knew, so you deliberately talked to me for such a long time."

Cheng Gongxing looked at Lu Chen deeply and asked, "Have you suppressed the Green Snake King again?"

Lu Chen shook his head: "That's not the case. I don't have the strength yet. I just know a little bit about the Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams, so I have consolidated the foundation of the cave heaven... Well, I can still hold on for another two years."

Cheng Gongxing's expression froze for a moment, and then he said repeatedly: "Okay, okay! You are the first one who did something right under my nose without being discovered by me."

"No, I am the second one, and Zhang Lu is the first one." Lu Chen said.

Cheng Gongxing said calmly, "Zhang Xiu at the beginning was just an incarnation of me when I used the Butterfly Transformation Technique. His strength was only at the level of Yuanshen. In addition, Zhang Lu had the help of Liu Yan's luck. Otherwise, how could my incarnation be easily killed by him? But you are different. You have extraordinary comprehension and excellent eloquence. I really admire you more and more."

"That would be disappointing, Senior."

Lu Chen said helplessly: "If I had known you first, I would have definitely become your disciple. But now, Senior Zhongli has already offered you an olive branch, so I can't go back on my word, right? Besides, you are the villain who released the demons, and I don't want to be criticized by others."

"Haha, you dare to talk to me like this, aren't you afraid that I will kill you?" Cheng Gongxing narrowed his eyes, and his aura pressed towards the two like a tidal wave.

"Be careful... huh?"

Zhongli Quan was just about to tell Lu Chen to be careful, but when he turned around, he found that Lu Chen had disappeared.

When he turned around, he saw Lu Chen standing behind him pitifully: "Senior Zhongli, I am not even an immortal Taoist, so I can't withstand his harm. You have recovered for such a long time, you should be able to withstand it, right?"

"..."

Zhongli Quan nodded slowly: "You can handle it, just protect yourself."

Then he turned his head, took a deep breath, and swung the palm-leaf fan violently. Countless madness suddenly rose up, blowing away everything around him.

The same goes for those little green snakes.

But this is only a temporary solution.

Cheng Gongxing stood in the wind, motionless, watching Zhongli Quan cast the spell with a smile.

Lu Chen noticed something was wrong and said to Zhongli Quan, "Senior Zhongli, stop. He did it on purpose. The more you cast spells, the greater the impact on the rules of the cave, and the happier he is."

Zhongli Quan asked: "Can't you restore the cave?"

Lu Chen said helplessly: "This junior has only this little bit of Taoism, at most I can improve some minor aspects, which is useless to the overall situation."

The structure of Xinglin Cave Heaven is based on the River Map and Luoshu. In addition, he holds a jade pendant with the word Lu in his hand that can communicate with Xinglin Cave Heaven. Only then can he sort out the rules and order of the cave heaven under certain circumstances.

But he is just like an ordinary doctor. He can treat minor illnesses such as fever and colds, but he cannot treat terminal illnesses.

(End of this chapter)