Ancestor Qu Ping was devastated and walked to the Miluo River. His face was haggard, his appearance was withered, and his eyes were blank.
Sometimes he looked at the river, sometimes at the mountains in the distance, and sometimes at his own reflection in the river.
Wherever you look, everything is stained with endless sadness.
The originally cloudless and clear sky suddenly became gloomy and dark, and it began to rain continuously.
The distant mountains that were originally clear and green suddenly lost all color and turned into gray.
The Miluo River, which was originally bordered by Zhi Ting Lan, suddenly lost all its vitality. The river turned into a torrent, and the angry waves crashed on the shore. Just like the heart of ancestor Qu Ping at this moment, he could not calm down.
"Hey! It's so good, why did it suddenly rain!" There were many Chu people fishing and working on the riverside. When the weather changed, they all ran to a hut on the riverside to take shelter from the rain.
Ancestor Qu Ping did not take shelter from the rain. He stood like an alien in the rain, out of tune with the whole world.
Seeing this scene, some of the people sheltering from the rain in the thatched shed laughed, while others sighed.
"Is this Dr. Sanlu really crazy as rumored? He doesn't hide when it rains, and he's not afraid of getting sick from the rain."
"Be careful! Dr. Sanlu is a noble of Chu... He is just sad and depressed. How dare you call him crazy!"
"The news that Yingdu was broken was a huge blow to him..."
"It's pitiful. If the late king was willing to listen to Dr. Sanlu's advice, how could our Chu country end up like this..."
"Huh? Look over there. There is a little baby who didn't take shelter from the rain. He doesn't know how to take shelter when it rains. Could it be that he is also a fool?"
The little doll that everyone was referring to was Ning Fan, who was now transforming into a child.
Ning Fan went ashore and walked slowly along the river. The water splashed by the torrent occasionally splashed onto his body, but he did not wipe it away.
The rain from the sky fell on him, but he did not avoid it. It was as if his body was in harmony with the Tao, as if he was integrated with the rain between heaven and earth, as if the rain was a part of his body.
Whether it's water splash or rain, it's all cold. With Ning Fan's cultivation level, he actually felt a bit of a bone-chilling chill.
In fact, what is cold is not the rain or water, but the Taoism and sorrow imbued in it.
"Is this person the target of my Dao Nian battle... This person's Dao Nian is very strong! This person's cultivation has clearly not reached the third step, but the strength of his Dao Nian has already reached the third step..."
Ning Fan's expression remained unchanged, but he was a little surprised in his heart.
The old man in front of me, who looked haggard, desperate and sad, turned out to be such a powerful person!
The cultivation level has not yet reached the third step, but Tao thoughts have penetrated the heavens and the earth!
"If this person is at his peak, in this Dao Nian decisive battle, even if I have all the advantages, I only have a five-point chance of winning. Three points is a draw, and the remaining two points are a defeat..."
"Unfortunately, there is no greater sorrow than the death of the heart. This person's heart has died, so his Taoist thoughts have lost all warmth. It is not difficult to defeat such a decadent Taoist thought..." Ning Fan's eyes flashed with green light, and he saw the clues.
Although he has not yet remembered who he is, he can use certain magical powers instinctively.
Ancestor Qu Ping seemed to have not seen Ning Fan in the distance.
He did not think that he was in the midst of a Dao Nian war at this moment.
He only had a half-remembered idea of who he was.
I only remembered the first half of his life, but failed to remember the second half of his life.
In the first half of his life, he was Qu Ping, the Sanlu official of Chu State, and a sinner who was exiled twice.
But what crime did he commit?
hehe.
If it is a sin to be loyal and forthright, and if it is a sin to refuse to go along with this troubled world, then he is really guilty of a heinous crime.
In the past, he still hoped that the king of Chu could wake up, understand his loyalty, and restore the country's declining fate...
But now, nothing matters.
The moment the capital of the Chu Kingdom was breached, his heart completely died.
The king abandoned the capital and fled in panic. Although the current state of Chu is relatively safe for the time being, the moment the country's capital was destroyed, all the destiny of the country was taken away by the Qin people.
The fate of the country has been lost and its strength has been exhausted. Sooner or later, this Chinese state will fall into the hands of the Qin people. This is a destiny. It is too difficult to contend.
"What else can I do, what can I do... Do you want me to die for the country? Hahaha, it's so easy to die for the country. As long as the king calls me, even if the great Chu spirit has been exhausted, I will follow The king is on his side and will die with his own life!”
"Wear a long sword and carry a Qin bow. If your head and body are separated, your heart will not be punished!"
"Yi Yu's heart is kind, and even though he died nine times, he still has no regrets!"
"What a pity! Hateful! Tragic! Until now, the king still doesn't need me and treats me like a piece of grass. My loyalty has always been just wishful thinking..."
The grief of Patriarch Qu Ping became more and more painful and desolate.
He was walking madly by the river.
Sometimes they lament, sometimes they roar, sometimes they recite sad and heroic poems.
In the hayloft in the distance, some people laughed at him, some sympathized with him, some pitied him, but no one understood him.
"It's pitiful. Doctor Sanlu's health was not good to begin with. After the rain, he became even crazier." Some sighs came from time to time in the hut.
"No! Why is he getting closer and closer to the river? Could it be that he wants to throw himself into the river!" Some people discovered the clues.
Immediately, several men stood up and rushed out of the hut, trying to grab the ancestor Qu Ping and prevent him from throwing himself into the river.
But it's inaccessible!
Ancestor Qu Ping's Taoist thoughts were so strong that just three or five mortals could not overcome his layers of Taoist thoughts and get close to his body.
That aura was as if if he wanted to live, God couldn't let him die!
If he wants to die, God cannot let him live!
Haha, why not go back! It’s better to go back!
Ancestor Qu Ping stepped into the river step by step.
Seeing that the target of his Dao Nian war actually wanted to die, Ning Fan was stunned for a moment, then thoughtful, and then, his expression changed slightly, and he quickly stepped forward, trying to grab Qu Ping and prevent him from throwing himself into the river.
Why!
But it turns out that although Patriarch Qu Ping did not expect to be in a Dao Nian war, at this moment he had thoughts of death, and his Dao Nian was all about seeking death. If this person succeeds in his death wish, Ning Fan will be considered defeated!
[This is the first level of my Taoist thoughts, so I named it Miluo! 】
At this moment, Ning Fan seemed to be touched and remembered more things. He remembered what Patriarch Qu Ping said before the start of the Dao Nian War.
Since this person mentioned the first level of Dao Thought, there must be a second level of Dao Thought, and there may even be a third and fourth level of Dao Thought... In other words, this Dao Thought war cannot be just one confrontation, it is very possible There will be multiple confrontations.
What we are facing now should be the first confrontation between Dao and Nian.
We must overcome this man's desire to commit suicide by throwing himself into the river!
Boom boom boom!
It was the sound of Ning Fan's thoughts colliding fiercely with the opponent's thoughts!
Ordinary people can't get close to Ancestor Qu Ping, but Ning Fan can, and he is pushing forward against the boundless thoughts of Ancestor Qu Ping!
This clash of Taoist thoughts was extremely loud, but ordinary people could not see this scene.
The Chu people in the thatched hut could only see a fisherman boy slowly walking towards Ancestor Qu Ping, and then they felt strong winds and thunder roaring between the heaven and the earth.
But the strange thing is that there is no trace of lightning. I wonder if the thunder comes from a very far away place?
The closer Ning Fan gets to Patriarch Qu Ping, the greater the obstacles he faces.
The collision between the two people's Dao thoughts is becoming more and more intense, and it has a tendency to penetrate the world!
If the world collapses, this Dao Nian battle will probably end in a draw.
"Hmph! Little Heaven and Earth, do I allow you to collapse?" Seeing that this Dao Nian battle is likely to be forced to draw due to the collapse of Heaven and Earth, one person was not happy.
In the distance, Old Man Han stood on the fishing boat with a displeased look on his face, glaring at the sky and the earth. With just one look, the yin and yang between heaven and earth were actually locked, making it impossible for heaven and earth to collapse.
"With Ning's personality, he would never be happy for this Dao Nian war to end like this..." Old Man Han said to himself, but he was actually a little confused in his heart. He didn't understand why he knew Ning Fan's character so well.
There are still ten steps to go.
Nine steps.
Eight steps.
Ning Fan is getting closer and closer to Ancestor Qu Ping.
Although Patriarch Qu Ping's Dao Nian was strong, he could not stop his approach!
Three steps.
Two steps.
step.
Ning Fan finally came to Ancestor Qu Ping, stepped into the river, and pulled Ancestor Qu Ping back.
Almost at the moment when Ning Fan stopped Patriarch Qu Ping from jumping into the river, the two Dao thoughts that were originally clashing between heaven and earth ended their collision.
The winner was determined.
Ning Fan wins.
But it only counts as a victory.
This Dao Nian battle is by no means limited to the current round. A temporary lead cannot determine whether Ning Fan will win in the end.
"Little baby, why are you stopping me?" Ancestor Qu Ping asked in surprise.
He himself didn't seem to realize that he had inadvertently released boundless Dao thoughts, and he didn't even know that Ning Fan was having a Dao thought war with him.
Nothing came to mind.
Everything happens unconsciously.
"How can he be so tyrannical if he only releases his Dao thoughts unconsciously? If this person is conscious and his Dao heart is not dead, what kind of posture will he be in..." Ning Fan suppressed the solemn feeling in his heart.
Since the other party did not think of him as his opponent at this time, he would not take the initiative to reveal his identity.
He bowed his hands politely, as if he was really just an ordinary fishing boy, and asked, "Aren't you a doctor from Sanlu? Why do you want to seek death here?"
Apparently, Ning Fan heard passers-by's comments about Patriarch Qu Ping and knew the identity of this person as Doctor Sanlu.
This sentence is just an ordinary question.
However, this sentence made Patriarch Qu Ping even more confused, and he felt as if he was in another world.
It was as if the same scene had happened a long time ago, and someone had asked similar questions when he threw himself into the river to think.
[Zifei Sanlu, a doctor with whom? Why? 】
Strange things.
"My child, you are still young and do not understand how difficult the world is. There is a kind of pain that is more torturous than death, that is, when the whole world is turbid, I am alone pure, when everyone is drunk, I am alone awake..."
Ning Fan frowned slightly.
He thought he had defeated the other party's desire to throw himself into the river, but it turned out that he still had the will to die in his words.
His previous victory did not leave any cracks in Patriarch Qu Ping's Taoist heart, nor did it even waver in this man's Taoist heart.
"What is drunk? What is awake?" Ning Fan was silent for a while and suddenly asked.
Qu Ping was startled and looked at Ning Fan carefully, as if he was curious about why Ning Fan asked this question.
Seeing that Ning Fan's face was serious and did not seem to be asking random questions, Qu Ping felt surprised and had a rare conversation, "In ancient times, there was Lin'er, named Xiang Luo, who was able to become a saint's teacher at the age of seven. Now it seems that you It seems that he is not an ordinary child. I am afraid that he wants to argue with me when he asks this question. In that case, I will just chat with you and then go to seek death."
"You asked me what does it mean to be drunk? What does it mean to wake up? This question actually reminds me of some past events."
"When I was traveling to study in my youth, I once passed by Yunmengze and met a god. At that time, the god was drinking wine in the clouds, and the sun and the moon were shining together. I was delighted to see the god, so I went up to seek knowledge and asked, this god But he didn't say much to me, he just descended from the clouds, came with wine in hand, pointed at the wine in the glass, replied, 'All living beings are drunk and dream of death,' and then drifted away."
"I didn't understand it at that time, but now, I vaguely understand it. Drunkness is life, and dreaming is death. There are people in the underworld who live in the endless and distant dream world, and they live forever. Life; and there are countless immortal gods in the real world who live forever, but live in drunkenness throughout their lives and never really wake up... Some can't wake up, and some just go with the flow and don't want to wake up. My answer , may it satisfy you?”
Qu Ping replied.
His expression revealed infinite reminiscence, as if he was recalling the scenes of his encounter with that god that day.
"Not satisfied." Ning Fan shook his head.
"Why?"
"Because this is the answer of the God in the Cloud, not yours. Since you assert that you are awake and all living beings are intoxicated, you must have your own judgment."
"Haha, he is a clever little guy, but he cannot be dealt with in a few words." Qu Ping smiled bitterly.
It seems that today, I have to spend some time with this kid.
"Little brother, have you ever seen a drunk person? The more drunk a person is, the more he says he is not drunk, then he is really drunk. There are also some people who are clearly awake, but pretend to be drunk for various reasons, making it difficult to tell. . People's hearts are unpredictable. Who is really drunk and who is fake? How can you tell with just one pair of eyes? Please forgive me for my previous lies. I said that I was sober and all living beings were drunk. It was probably just my drunken words. As for being awake, I don’t know what sobriety is, and I don’t know who is really sober. It’s even hard for me to tell whether I’m awake or drunk. Maybe I can only understand the truth after dying once... Do you feel satisfied with this answer?”
"Alright."
"Is it just acceptable? My little brother's requirements are really strict." Qu Ping smiled casually and didn't take it seriously.
"Because these are specious, but they are still not your inner thoughts." Ning Fan can communicate with all things, and can roughly hear whether a person is speaking his or her inner thoughts.
"Oh? My little friend seems to know me very well? According to my little friend, what is my innermost thoughts?" Qu Ping was greatly surprised. This time, he really regarded the child in front of him as his equal.
"You don't know that all living beings are drunk and I am alone awake, you just believe it. After all, this is a world that can exist if you believe it!" Ning Fan's words were like thunder, exploding in Qu Ping's heart.
His eyes were shocked. This was the first time in his life that someone had directly penetrated his heart!
"Huh? If you take a closer look, my little friend seems familiar. Have we met somewhere before..." Qu Ping asked puzzledly.
"Maybe." Naturally, Ning Fan would not take the initiative to say that I am your opponent in the battle of Dao Nian.
Then he asked, "What is pure? What is turbid?"
"There are clouds in Taoism. The pure ones rise and the turbid ones sink. This sky is pure. This earth is turbid." Qu Ping replied.
"This is not what you really think." Ning Fan shook his head.
"But this is what the world thinks. If the whole world thinks like this, what's the use of my thoughts alone?" Qu Ping asked rhetorically.
"If you have different Taoism, do you want to seek death?" Ning Fan.
"If the Tao is different, it is better to die!" Qu Ping.
"Oh? What you said seems to be paranoid. It turns out that what fellow Taoist cultivates is to hold on to the Dao!" Ning Fan seemed to have confirmed something after some testing.
But it turns out that the Patriarch Qu Ping in front of him is also a practicing cultivator, and he is a paranoid who would rather be straight than bend.
"You are not afraid of death, why should you be afraid of life?" This was to persuade Qu Ping to give up his desire to die.
"My little friend, do you want to discuss with me who is better and who is worse in life and death? If so, I'm afraid the topic will go too far, so we'd better continue talking about purity and turbidity." Qu Ping said with a smile.
This smile was really from the bottom of my heart, I was happy to have met a true Taoist friend.
"I would like to hear some good opinions." Ning Fan nodded and stopped talking about life and death.
The rain in the sky is getting heavier.
The two returned to the shore, braved the heavy rain, and sat on the ground, as if they were sitting and talking.
"Since Taoist friends want to hear my point of view, let me explain it. What is clear and what is turbid? Isn't the answer written on it from the beginning? Whether it is clear or turbid, what I am talking about is water. . This water is clear, and this water is also turbid." Speaking of this, Qu Ping pointed to the Miluo River.
"When the wind and waves are calm, the water of this river is clear; when the wind and waves rise and the sand rolls, it turns into muddy water. The water can be extremely clear or extremely turbid, and the same is true for the Tao."
"Water has two sides, clear and turbid, and Tao also has two sides, clear and turbid. This day can be the sky, but if the heaven and the earth are reversed, the so-called sky will become the earth."
"The rise of the pure does not rise because of purity, but because it rises to the Queen of Heaven before it can become pure. Please forgive me for my previous lies. I said that the world is muddy, but I am alone in purity. The fact may be exactly the opposite. In the eyes of the world, Maybe we are the only ones who practice cultivation and are the filthiest people in the world! Hahaha!"
"What is pure!"
"Those who are clean will be clean themselves!"
The rain is getting heavier.
Qu Ping, on the other hand, kept laughing in the heavy rain, as if he was crazy, making everyone in the hut sigh.
"It seems that Dr. Sanlu is really crazy..."
"I haven't asked my fellow Taoist for your opinion yet! What do you think is pure and what is turbid?" Qu Ping smiled, then turned to ask Ning Fan.
"I have already stated my point of view. Could it be that fellow Taoist people have forgotten that this is a world that can only exist if we believe in it." Ning Fan said with a smile.
"Hahaha! This is a great kindness! It should come to light!" Qu Ping became increasingly happy and looked at the children in front of him with sympathetic eyes.
It’s not children looking at it either.
It's the soul hidden under the child's body.
Is this the ancient great cultivator Zhao Jian who is famous in the north? What a great person!
But it turned out that after a conversation, Qu Ping had remembered everything. Even Ning Fan also remembered everything during this confrontation.
This was originally a battle of Taoism, where life and death had to be decided, but at the moment, neither Qu Ping nor Ning Fan wanted to fight anymore.
An old man and a fishing boy sat by the river and talked in the rain. They were in an indescribable harmony.
"Do you have any wine?" Qu Ping asked Ning Fan.
"During the Dao Nian War, you cannot bring alcohol." Ning Fan said with a smile.
"It's okay, it's easy." Qu Ping stood up, walked towards the straw shed not far away, and asked the men in the straw shed.
"Gentlemen, do you have any wine? Can you lend me a bottle?"
"There is only realgar wine that can repel insects and detoxify..." Several men were afraid that Qu Ping would go crazy, so they had no choice but to lend Qu Ping a bottle.
"Is there a wine glass?" Qu Ping asked again.
"Only a few broken bowls..."
"A broken bowl is enough. Lend me this wine and this bowl, and you'll be lucky in the next life!" Qu Ping glanced around and saw that several people had some connection with him in the next life, so he thanked him sternly.
"Ahem, cough, cough, it's just a drink. How dare you be the doctor of Sanlu? Thank you!" Several men said with a bitter smile.
They don't believe it at all, such ridiculous remarks about whether there will be an afterlife or not.
Isn't it just like being prostituted by Dr. Sanlu for a bottle of wine?
The doctor was planning to seek death, so this bottle of wine was used as a farewell bar for the doctor. If he offends this crazy doctor, he might become a ghost and come to haunt him... Hey, just thinking about it gives me a chill down my spine.
So there was wine, but this wine was realgar wine, which was used to repel insects and detoxify.
There are also wine utensils, but these wine utensils are just a few broken bowls, still stained with mud.
But in Ning Fan's opinion, this meal of wine was extremely valuable.
"You are an ancient great cultivator, and your karma is so important. Just to treat me to a drink, you promised karma to several people. Aren't you afraid of affecting your Taoism?" Ning Fan sighed.
The quasi-sage is as afraid of the cause and effect of the mortal world as snakes and scorpions, let alone the ancient overhaul.
Qu Ping stroked his white beard and smiled but did not answer. As a master, he should fulfill his duties as a landlord, so he took the initiative to pour wine for Ning Fan.
"Thank you, Master, for the wine." Ning Fan didn't care about the dirty wine bowl. He picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
"You're so polite, fellow Taoist. It's me who should say thank you. I had a great time discussing Tao with you today, which relieved the depression in my chest. It's a pity that what I encountered today was all an illusion in the battle of Tao. If I had met you back then, If I join Taoist friends, I might not choose to throw myself into the river..."
Speaking of his emotion, Qu Ping actually took off his sword, flicked it and sang.
"Don't say anything when you come in, don't say anything when you go out,
Riding on the returning wind carries the cloud flag.
Don't be sad because of separation,
Happy to meet new acquaintances. "
After singing, Qu Ping stood up, threw his sword into the Miluo River, and said calmly, "I lost this battle."
He actually surrendered in the battle of Dao Nian!
"You and I have just begun the first battle of Dao Nian Zhan. How can we say victory or defeat?" Ning Fan frowned.
After some discussion and a glass of wine, he had a good impression of the ancestor Qu Ping. If others took the initiative to admit defeat, he would be happy to win in vain, but he was unwilling to take any advantage of Patriarch Qu Ping.
"Fellow Taoist can defeat the first level of my Tao thoughts, this is the first victory."
"Fellow Taoist has seen through my true Taoist heart several times. This is the second victory."
"I can't even hide my deepest Taoist heart from my Taoist friends. How can I defeat my Taoist friends with my Taoist thoughts? I will easily be defeated by my Taoist friends. It's better to admit defeat and avoid being humiliated."
"These are not words from the heart." Ning Fan shook his head.
"Hahaha, I can't hide anything from my Taoist friends. As you expected, in addition to the first level of Miluo Thoughts, my Dao Thoughts also have the second level of Li Sao Thoughts, and the third level of Nine Songs Thoughts."
"This is the thought of Li Sao."
Ancestor Qu Ping's thoughts suddenly changed.
His thoughts no longer felt cold at all, but instantly became unpredictable.
Under the influence of his thoughts, the scenery between heaven and earth changed again.
The heavy rain stopped, and in the gloomy sky, there was a vision of the sun and the moon shining together.
Countless huge stars appeared between the sky and the earth. After a while, the stars began to evolve, turning into star characters one by one, emerging in the sky!
There are more than 2,800 star texts in total!
There is an unimaginable aura of Taoism!
Just like the ancient Tao Sutra, it is hovering in the sky, and the supreme Tao is permeating it.
"My desire to be Li Sao is to dare to fight against the First Saint. Unfortunately, fellow Taoists know my Taoist heart. I'm afraid it won't be too difficult to break my desire. What's the use of it?"
After saying this, Qu Ping withdrew his Dao Thought, but did not continue to reveal the third level of Dao Thought.
"Why not show Jiu Ge's Thoughts?" Ning Fan asked.
"I am still practicing this Taoist thought and cannot control it freely. If I use it, even if there are saints here to maintain it for you and me, I am afraid that it will be difficult to achieve a result. The world will still collapse, and we can only draw a draw in this world... If If this thought is transferred to the outside world and used, the damage will be too great. I am afraid that half of the north will collapse because of this thought. You and I are not mortal enemies, so there is no need to fight to that extent..."
Not only are they not mortal enemies, they are also excellent drinking buddies, hahaha!
This is the truth.
But Patriarch Qu Ping didn't say anything.
Although he didn't say anything, Ning Fan could understand and just shook his head helplessly, "Although you haven't used the Nine Songs Thought, I can see some clues and know how powerful this thought is. Today's battle between you and me can be regarded as It’s a tie.”
As a result, a fierce Dao Nian battle ended in an anticlimactic manner.
Once the Dao Nian War is over, Ning Fan can no longer stay in this world.
Before he even had time to say goodbye to Old Man Han, Dao Nian had already disappeared with a search.
"You bastard, you didn't even say goodbye before leaving!" Old Man Han cursed, feeling a little disappointed in his heart.
Strange things, strange things!
It was obvious that he just met a brat in his dream who he liked a little bit and almost accepted him as his disciple. Why was he so reluctant to let go of him when he left?
Could it be that I have reached the age where teacher love is overflowing?
Forget it, after waking up from the dream this time, go and recruit a few disciples you like to increase the popularity of Liang Yi Sect.
