Starting from a peasant family, he mastered the profound art of martial arts.

Chapter 59 Asking the Mystery

It's already January, but the north wind is still cold.

The wind was stronger at the mountaintop, making Meng Chen's clothes flutter loudly.

Because the ice and snow had not yet melted, the mountains were covered in a gray and white hue.

Meng Chen took three steps closer, stood before the stone prayer mat, bowed, clasped his hands, and bowed three times, saying, "Junior Meng Chen greets Your Excellency."

The crow stared at Meng Chen for a long time before asking, "Do you know about the changes of Yin and Yang?"

Meng Chen's recent reading hasn't been in vain; he does know some things.

The concept of Yin and Yang is relative. For example, in a marriage, the husband is Yang and the wife is Yin. Similarly, in a mother and child, the mother is Yang and the child is Yin. However, this is not static. If the child is young and strong, they are Yang; if the mother is old and weak, they are Yin.

Yin and Yang are changing, fluid, and capable of transforming into one another.

"This junior knows a little bit about it." Meng Chen bowed and clasped his hands in a very honest manner.

"In ancient times, there were demons who wreaked havoc on the world." The crow did not respond to Meng Chen's greeting, but continued to speak on its own, "Later, the Dao Ancestor descended to earth and exterminated nine-tenths of the demons in the world. Then, the Dao Ancestor observed the heavens and plucked stars, ascending to heaven at night."

"In the past, martial arts cultivation and spiritual cultivation were originally one. Martial arts cultivation is about exhausting one's own strength and releasing one's own energy, seeking within. Spiritual cultivation is about communicating with heaven and earth, taking from the outside. The two are one internal and one external, one yin and one yang. However, this path is too difficult, and few people achieve enlightenment."

"Before the Dao Ancestor ascended to heaven, he understood the difficulty of cultivation for people and feared the resurgence of great demons. Therefore, he divided Yin and Yang into day and night, so that martial arts and the study of the mysteries could be practiced in parallel, making it easier to cultivate both."

At this point, Hunya turned his sharp gaze to Meng Chen and said, "I've heard that the prime minister of a dynasty is responsible for regulating yin and yang, both internally and externally. But throughout history, how many virtuous prime ministers have you ever seen? Most of them are mediocre. And to cultivate both Xuanwu (the highest level of martial arts) is a hundred or a thousand times more difficult than being a prime minister."

"Does the envoy mean that this matter is difficult to accomplish?" Meng Chen asked sincerely.

"Yin and Yang are inherently interdependent and mutually reinforcing. After cultivation and spiritual exploration separate, they each become Yin and Yang. Now that you wish to regulate Yin and Yang, it will naturally be extremely difficult. The first priority is to regulate your own true Qi and the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth when entering the second realm."

The crow stared intently at Meng Chen, then continued, "The difficulty lies in the transition from the third to the fourth realm. This is the time of breaking through the realm, where both Xuan cultivators and martial cultivators face inner demons. If one cultivates both Xuan and martial arts simultaneously, the inner demon tribulation becomes more than ten times more difficult. This is why throughout history, most people who practice both have stopped at this point."

Upon hearing this, Meng Chen recalled his own Yin-Yang symbol. Wasn't this in accordance with the principles of Yin and Yang? Wasn't this perfect for dual cultivation?

"What is the highest realm a practitioner who cultivates both can reach?" Meng Chen asked curiously.

"I heard that a thousand years ago, a senior from the Mingzhi Mountain Taiyi Temple reached the fifth realm," Black Crow said.

That path is feasible, but it's just too difficult.

Meng Chen bowed and said sincerely, "Please, Your Excellency, impart to me the method of comprehending the profound mysteries."

The crow stared at Meng Chen for a while, then said, "Your heart is not sincere."

What's this talk about sincerity? Why are you arguing like a bald monk? Did you just say something for nothing? Meng Chen doesn't even know where he went wrong. Do I have to smooth things over with you again?

However, since he was asking for a favor and the other party hadn't thrown his shoe down the mountain for him to retrieve, Meng Chen sincerely asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what constitutes sincerity?"

Black Crow said, "Only by kneeling and kowtowing three thousand times can one show sincerity."

After saying this, the crow flapped its wings, flew out of the small temple, circled a few times in the sky, cried out a few times, and then disappeared into the cliff below, never to be seen again.

The sky and earth were vast and boundless, the wind was high and the clouds were light, and Meng Chen was the only one left on the mountaintop.

This crow, like the monk Bujie, speaks in a cryptic and ambiguous way. It's clearly just taking advantage of knowing a little more than others to deliberately keep things mysterious and act like a wise man.

Meng Chen felt that Gong Ziming was right; this envoy was indeed of a terrible temperament.

If one were to kowtow three thousand times, wouldn't that mean kowtowing until nightfall? Wouldn't one's forehead be bruised from kowtowing? Wouldn't one's stone cushion be worn out from kowtowing?

Meng Chen looked at the stone prayer mat at his feet. It was grayish-brown from being exposed to wind and sun. Clearly, the mountain was high and the road was treacherous, and few people came to kneel and worship in front of the temple. If it were in the Caiyun Temple halfway up the mountain, this stone prayer mat would have been worn smooth as a mirror from being knelt on long ago.

Thinking this, Meng Chen squatted down, picked up the stone cushion, and tested its weight.

Then Meng Chen found a stone, placed it on one side of the stone futon, and then punched it, instantly breaking the stone futon. Although it was not hollow inside, a small bamboo slip was embedded in it.

The bamboo slip bears the four characters "Sincere Heart Sees the Moon" on it!

No wonder he made me take three steps forward as soon as we met; I was standing in the wrong place! And all that kowtowing three thousand times? It's just a bunch of pretentious tricks!

Meng Chen was still pondering those four words when the black crow cawed and flew up the cliff, then chased after Meng Chen's head and pecked at it.

"You're not sincere!" The black crow was clearly enraged, and its black feathers fell to the ground.

Meng Chen dared not resist, but simply spun around, protecting his head, and sincerely said, "I originally thought that kneeling on the rubble and kowtowing would show my sincerity more, please don't be offended, Your Excellency!"

The black crow chased Meng Chen and pecked at him for a while before finally stopping and landing on the small temple.

"Gong Ziming praised you for being honest and simple, but I never imagined you were such a cunning and wicked person." Black Crow ruffled its feathers and said irritably, "Go find Gong Ziming; he will convey my message on my behalf."

At this point, Black Crow looked at Meng Chen with his black eyes and continued, "If you can truly enter the Dao, or even the second realm, I will give you another opportunity."

The black crow didn't say what it would take to get the opportunity; it simply flew into the sky, circled once, and finally disappeared below the cliff, never to be seen again.

Meng Chen was an honest man, so he obediently bowed in the direction where the black crow had gone.

After waiting for a while, Meng Chen straightened up, cleaned the broken stone cushion, and bowed to the clay statue of the goddess in the small temple.

Following the old path down the mountain, they arrived at Caiyun Temple halfway up the mountain. Gong Ziming had not yet returned, so Meng Chen went into the temple, wandered around for a while, found a sheltered spot, took off his bundle, and took out eggs to eat.

They waited and waited until evening, and finally Gong Ziming appeared.

"Brother Gong." Meng Chen took out the bamboo slip.

"I thought you wouldn't be down until midnight." Gong Ziming took the bamboo slip, then looked Meng Chen up and down, asking curiously, "Why don't you even have a red mark on your forehead?"

Meng Chen touched his forehead, thinking to himself, "Were you also tricked by that black crow?"

"I kowtowed over six thousand times at the Xincheng Pass; my forehead almost shattered from the effort." Gong Ziming held up his thumb and little finger, chuckling, "How many times did you kowtow?"

Seeing Gong Ziming's expectant look, Meng Chen didn't want to hurt his feelings, so he said, "I've forgotten."

Gong Ziming had no doubts, and his gaze toward Meng Chen became even more affectionate, as if they were brothers. He said, "The envoy loves to mentor younger generations and also appreciates those who are sincere."

He sighed with emotion, "If it weren't for the old sage, I would still be gathering herbs on the cliff right now. You have no idea how difficult it is to gather Five-Spiritus Decoction. One wrong move and you're crushed to pieces. When I was fifteen, I accidentally got stuck on the cliff. When we ran out of dry rations, I survived for three days by eating flying squirrels."