What is the Tao?

Lao Tzu said: "Man is the law of the earth, the earth is the law of the sky, the heaven is the law, and the Tao is the nature." ”

The laws of nature are revealed by Tai Chi, and the Tao is natural, that is, the Tao is Tai Chi.

Infinite and Tai Chi. Tai Chi is the opportunity of movement and stillness, the mother of yin and yang, and the foundation of all things; movement gives birth to yang, moving pole and stillness, static pole produces yin, static pole repeats, and the cycle is infinite.

Taiji emptiness, that is, the emptiness of the Tao, is drawn as a picture, then it is "○", which is an empty circle.

Some people say that the origin of the name of Kongtong Mountain is taken from the saying that "the road is empty", and some people say that the mountain is full of caves, so it is named "hollow". Because of the mountain, next to the word "mountain", take its homonym, and the name is "Kongtong".

Although the status of today's Kongtong faction in the martial arts is declining day by day, however, for hundreds of years, the prestige created by countless senior masters is still not to be underestimated.

Wendao Palace is located in the Xuanyuan Valley of Kongtong Qianxia, facing Jingshui in front, and the environment is very lonely. According to legend, this place is where the Yellow Emperor asked Guangchengzi.

Thirty years ago, in the battle against the Tang Sect, none of the Kongtong elders of the thirty-seventh generation of the previous generation survived; among the thirty-eight generations of disciples, except for Duan Hongzi, only Hyacinth and Yun Lingzi remained.

Hyacinth was pierced by an arrow in the shoulder, and the wind in his leg swept away the cloud sand, fortunately the blessing of the ancestor of Feihongzi and the gods, and he picked up a life; Yun Lingzi was still young and did not go down the mountain to participate in the war, but also was blessed by the ancestor gods and escaped a catastrophe.

Hyacinth is one of the "Thirteen Heroes of the Daomen" of that year, although it ranks at the end, it can be as famous as the six sons of Wudang, Quanzhen Jinzang, Huashan Sansheng, and Zhang Liuyun, the head of Longhu Mountain, etc., and its martial arts are strong, which can be seen.

He is the first master among the thirty-eight generations of disciples of the Kongtong faction, and he is good at the double flying sword stunt, which is similar to the Kunlun faction's double flying ring stunt.

Originally, Hyacinth was the thirty-eighth generation head of the thirty-seventh generation of the head of Chishazi, but because he was seriously injured and disabled for life, he could only tilt the kang all day long, so it was naturally inconvenient to take charge of Kongtong again. But whether it is Duan Hongzi, who is the head of the sect, or Yun Lingzi, they are all respectful to him and obey his words, so invisibly, he is the real head of the Kongtong faction.

——The reason why a powerful person can become a powerful person is, of course, not a blessing.

※※※

Dozens of disciples were practicing their swords in the open space in front of the Dao Palace. Yun Lingzi slowly walked into the queue with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn, and he reviewed them one by one.

"You Zhixiong! How did you do it?!" Yun Lingzi's face showed anger, he stepped forward, pressed his right leg into a lunge with his left hand, and raised his elbow fiercely with his right hand, "How many times have you said it?!"

You Zhixiong was busy posing according to the gist, but because he was nervous, although his legs were arched and his arms were straight, he pouted his buttocks, and his situation was very funny, and many disciples covered their mouths and laughed when they saw this.

"Get out!" Yun Lingzi kicked the buttocks, grabbed the long sword in his hand with his hand, shook his wrist, and in the sound of "buzzing", three sword flowers trembled out early, smacked lightly, strode diagonally stab, like a bow full of strings, and suddenly fired sharp arrows, both chic and powerful.

"Good!" all the disciples thundered, their eyes flashing with admiration.

Yun Lingzi grimaced, smug in his heart, threw the sword in front of You Zhixiong, and shouted: "Practice hard!"

"Yes. You Zhixiong bent down and picked up the sword, wanting to learn from his uncle to shake the sword flower first, but he couldn't shake it round, and he was very depressed. Yun Lingzi sighed lightly, shook his head, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

"Uncle Shi!" a disciple guarding the mountain gate ran over quickly, panting a little, "There are five people coming down the mountain, saying that they are from the Qingcheng faction, and they want to see you, Uncle Shi." ”

"Oh?" Yun Lingzi was slightly surprised, and asked, "Is there a Zhenguan master?"

The disciple said, "Probably not." Three men and two women, all very young, the eldest woman is only in her forties...... The young man who greeted him was surnamed Shen, what was Shen Lingxiao called......

"Shen Lingxiao?" Yun Lingzi tilted his head and thought about it, he really didn't have any impression of this person, so he raised his hand and said, "Please ask them to come up!"

Shen Lingxiao and his entourage followed behind the two Kongtong disciples to the front of the Wendao Palace.

On the open space in front of the view, dozens of disciples had already put away their swords and stopped their hands, and they all looked at these uninvited guests. A gray-robed Taoist in his fifties came out of the crowd, stepped forward unhurriedly, and arched his hand: "In Xiayun Lingzi." Dare to ask all Qingcheng Daoists with their surnames?"

Shen Lingxiao hurriedly bowed and saluted, and said with a smile: "The junior Qingcheng is the last to learn from Shen Lingxiao, and meet Yun Lingzi's seniors." ”

Yun Lingzi saw that he was polite and polite, and liked it in his heart, so he hurriedly took his hand and said with a smile: "Shen Shaoxia doesn't need to be polite!"

At that moment, Shen Lingxiao introduced Mrs. Fang, Yin Tianjin and others to him. Yun Lingzi was full of suspicions, and invited the five people into the hall to sit down. Shen Lingxiao did not tell him about Hongzi's death and last words, but only briefly explained to him the intention, and then said: "Senior Yun Lingzi, this is the case, I don't know...... Is it convenient to take me in?"

Yun Lingzi was noncommittal, thought for a while, and said, "That's it: everyone, please sit back and wait for me to ask Senior Brother." ”

After not long after, Yun Lingzi returned to the hall and beckoned with a smile: "Shen Shaoxia, senior brother is invited!"

Shen Lingxiao followed him through the side hall, bypassed the corridor, and arrived at a quiet room. On top of the wooden collapse in the room, a scrawny old man was lying crookedly, with deep eye sockets and a face like white ash, giving people a kind of dead air.

The old man glanced sideways at Shen Lingxiao and tried his best to sit up.

"Senior brother, don't move, I'll help you!" Yun Lingzi hurriedly stepped forward to help him.

"The junior Qingcheng is the last to learn Shen Lingxiao, meet the hyacinth senior!" On the way here, Shen Lingxiao had already asked his Taoist number, and he was busy stepping forward to salute.

"Okay, good!" Hyacinth gasped slightly, and said apologetically: "Shen Shaoxia, the old man is incapacitated, he can't get up to see him, look at Haihan!"

"The senior is too polite!" Shen Lingxiao said.

"Shen Shaoxia, listen to my junior brother, your Qingcheng Mountain and Chaotian Fort have been captured, and Brother Zhenguan Daoist has also been killed, but is there such a thing?"

"Yes. Shen Lingxiao's expression was solemn, and his eyes were slightly red, "Not only that, on the way to escape, the younger generation also vaguely heard that our senior uncle was also martyred......"

"Really?" Hyacinth shook his head, "Shen Shaoxia, let's mourn and change." Not only do we belong to the same lineage as the Daomen, but your Qingcheng faction and my Kongtong faction are also brothers and sisters, so you can live on Kongtong Mountain with peace of mind!"

"This ......" When he told Hyacinth before, he didn't express his position, but just said that he wanted to meet the other party, but as soon as they met, he immediately agreed to Shen Lingxiao's request, which caught Yun Lingzi a little off guard, "Senior brother, do you want to ...... Do you want to wait for the senior brother in charge to come back...... Make a decision again?"

"Hmph, I can't do this little thing!" Hyacinth was a little displeased. He is a bit emotional, and when he saw Shen Lingxiao, he had a good impression, so he immediately agreed.

"Alright then!" Yun Lingzi's tone was a little helpless. After all, this is not a trivial matter, but it is related to the interests of the entire Kongtong faction, once it is taken in, it is really unpredictable whether it will be a blessing or a curse.

"Two seniors......" Shen Lingxiao thought about how to speak, "There is one thing that should have been told a long time ago...... It's just that...... Hey......"

"If you have anything to say, just say it!" Hyacinth gave him an encouraging look.

Shen Lingxiao plucked up his courage and said in a deep voice: "Such: the head of Broken Hongzi...... I have already died! Please mourn the two seniors!"

"What?!" Yun Lingzi almost couldn't believe his ears, grabbed Shen Lingxiao's sleeve, and said in a trembling voice: "You...... What did you say?...... Who are you listening to?...... Say it again!"

Rao is hyacinth is very good concentration, and he was stunned when he heard the news, and after a while, the sleeves of his robe finally trembled.

Shen Lingxiao explained in detail the causes and consequences of Duan Hongzi's death, and finally burst into tears and choked up: "He is an old man, he died for my Qingcheng...... Junior...... The younger generation is extremely guilty......"

Hyacinth finally calmed down his agitated mood and asked in a deep voice: "Shen Shaoxia, in this way, did you bury him in the Valley of Providence?"

"Yes. On the top of the middle wall of the valley of providence, there is a karst cave, and there is a huge stone Buddha at the entrance of the cave, and his old man is buried next to a beech tree diagonally opposite the right side of the cave, about 300 steps away from the mouth of the cave. On the trunk of the beech tree, the juniors carved a gourd-shaped sign with a dagger. ”

Hyacinth glanced at Yun Lingzi, turned his head to look at him, and said slowly: "Shen Shaoxia, you said that the last words of the senior brother of the head of the sect are to make my junior brother Yun Lingzi the head of the family?"

"Exactly. ”

Hyacinth nodded and said, "Shen Shaoxia's words, I believe it." It's just that...... Shen Shaoxia, do you know: Whoever is the head of my Kongtong faction will be passed down by the previous generation of the head of the 'Blue Blood Pill Heart' jade pendant, which will be used as a token of the head. ...... Shen Shaoxia, since the senior brother in charge entrusted you to bring a message, didn't you entrust you to transfer the 'Blue Blood Pill Heart' back to my Kongtong faction?"

This question was the reason why Shen Lingxiao was reluctant to tell them before. He originally wanted to wait until the jade pendant was recovered, and then tell him, but whether he could really find it back was really uncertain.

As the saying goes, "A family cannot be left without an owner for a day, and a country cannot be without a king for a day." ”

- If you don't tell each other for a long time, the Kongtong faction will fall into a situation of no owner, and doing so yourself is a kind of deception, and in the future, if the other party learns the truth, what will be the face?

At that moment, Shen Lingxiao said how he was robbed in Taibai Mountain and how he lost his jade pendant, and while listening, he looked at each other a few times, and both saw the suspicion in each other's eyes.

"Really, what a coincidence!" Yun Lingzi sneered.

"Senior Yun Lingzi, whether you believe it or not, this is indeed a fact. Shen Lingxiao didn't understand his thoughts, and his heart was bitter.

"Shen Shaoxia," Yun Lingzi sighed, his tone turned gentle, and he persuaded bitterly: "Speaking of which, this 'Blue Blood Pill Heart' is just a slightly more valuable piece of jade, in fact, it is really not worth a few dollars, but it has a very different meaning for my Kongtong faction." - It is a token of the head of the house—— without it, my head of the house is not right, and my words are not good...... Shen Shaoxia, I think you should be clear about this truth. ”

Shen Lingxiao sighed lightly: "Of course! Senior Yun Lingzi, I'm really sorry...... It's just that what the juniors say is true! If the seniors still don't believe it, I can take you to Taibai Mountain to verify!"

"Alas...... Shen Shaoxia, I believe you!" Hyacinth waved his hand, looked at Yun Lingzi, and said, "Senior brother, I think so: you quickly lead a few disciples to the Valley of Providence, and welcome back the Dharma Body of the senior disciple as soon as possible......

"I'll go too!" Shen Lingxiao interjected and requested.

"Shen Shaoxia, Shu is full of enemy eyeliner, you don't have to go!" Hyacinth said: "You can stay with peace of mind...... There's nothing to do, just go!"

Shen Lingxiao bowed, his heart seemed to have been knocked over the five-flavor bottle, and he slowly withdrew from the quiet room.

※※※

"Senior brother, what do you think of his words...... Is it credible?" Yun Lingzi asked softly when he was far away.

"What's that?" Hyacinth smiled, "Make you the head of the house?" or did you lose the 'Blue Blood Pill Heart'?"

Yun Lingzi sneered, "Both." ...... Let's just talk about the establishment of the head of the family, how can I ...... my brother?"

"Hello ......" Hyacinth interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "This matter will never be fake! You know, I can't move, and I don't have a few days to live! Besides, who in our Kongtong faction doesn't know, I definitely don't want to be the head of the house! You say, if I don't set you up, who else will I appoint?"

"That'...... What about the loss of jade, what do you think, senior brother?"

Hyacinth's eyes flickered, and he said in a deep voice, "I think, he didn't lie. ”

"I feel the same way. Yun Lingzi bowed his head lightly, "However, let's ...... with him After all, I don't know ...... The so-called 'knowing the face but not knowing the heart'......"

"Yes. Hyacinth said in a low voice: "The words of the junior brother are not unreasonable...... Be careful in everything and keep an eye on them!"

"Senior brother, there is one more thing: the one surnamed Shen just said that Zhiling and Qinghong stayed in Wudang, and it has been more than twenty days now, but they ...... Why haven't you come back yet?"

"Yes! I should have come back a long time ago!" Hyacinth's eyebrows locked into a figure of eight, "It's weird...... Could it be...... Got some trouble, didn't you?"

"That's what I guessed!" Yun Lingzi shook his head lightly, "It's been so many days, not only the senior brother in charge won't return, but they won't either!

"What's the use of being anxious? Relax, Jiren is free!" Hyacinth comforted, pondered for a while, and said: "Senior brother, in this way: if you go to the Valley of Providence, you might as well inquire on the rivers and lakes to see if you can find out their whereabouts." ”

"Good. Yun Lingzi nodded, "Senior brother, I plan to leave immediately." ”

Hyacinth looked sideways at the sky outside the window and said, "It's almost dusk, let's leave early tomorrow morning!"

"Without further ado, I still want to go right away!"

"Alright then!" Hyacinth commanded, "Before leaving, set them up." ”

"Yes. ”

"Don't forget: send someone to spy on them. ”

"I care. ”

"Remember: don't let them find out if you don't see it!"