Chapter Sixty: The Stable Sutra

Chapter Sixty: The Stable Sutra

"Any other way... What other way could there be..."

Bathed in the morning light, Li Changshou drove his cloud leisurely towards the mountain gate of the Duxian Sect.

Today was a beautiful day with gentle breeze and fragrant flowers, truly a good day to return to the mountain gate...

On the second day after entering the "Return to the Mountain Rational Period," he couldn't wait to fly back.

It was just too dangerous outside.

It was better to bathe under the radiant protection of the people, which gave him some peace of mind...

Taking out his token for going out, when he arrived at the mountain gate, Li Changshou bowed to the immortal guarding the gate and said:

"I, Li Changshou, a disciple of Xiaoqiongfeng, have returned today to end my worldly ties."

The immortal took the token from Li Changshou with a smile and asked, "Did you gain anything from this trip?"

Li Changshou replied, "Actually, I didn't gain much. I just feel less burdened in my heart, and now I can wholeheartedly pursue the path of immortality."

"Good," the immortal smiled and waved his hand, "go back to the mountain and cultivate well."

"Yes, disciple still needs to report to the Baifan Hall."

Li Changshou bowed again, controlled his cloud at the appropriate height, and headed towards the Baifan Hall on the Peak Breaking Peak.

The immortal guarding the gate nodded with a smile, feeling that this was indeed a promising young disciple.

At the Baifan Hall, Li Changshou found the elder on duty and finally concluded his trip back home; thus, his journey of tribulation outside also ended satisfactorily.

Satisfactorily... nonsense...

Li Changshou sighed inwardly and secretly calculated. It had been one hundred and thirty-two villages in one night, and two more villages had started worshipping the Sea God...

He really hadn't done anything at all.

With a sigh in his heart, Li Changshou asked the elder on duty at the Baifan Hall, "May I pay my respects to the ancestor's statue in the hall?"

"Of course," the elder smiled, "the ancestor's statue is there for disciples to worship. Just go ahead. Although there are many rules to follow in our Duxian Sect, the pursuit is actually one of non-action and freedom. Just be respectful and don't offend the ancestor."

"Thank you, Elder. I understand."

Li Changshou replied solemnly, then carefully adjusted his robe and walked to the center of the hall to bow to the statue above.

In the painting, an old Taoist with a blurred face sat on a green ox, with precious light shining behind him.

This was the image recorded when the Supreme Pure Sage appeared.

The reason for the blurry face was that no one dared to paint the true face of the sage, as doing so might incur his wrath and punishment.

Li Changshou first bowed with both hands, then slowly bowed, lit incense, made offerings, took three steps back, lifted the hem of his robe, and knelt on the cushion.

There were two stewards and an elder at the Duxian Sect who happened to see this scene, and they all nodded slightly.

It was rare for disciples to come and worship the ancestor on ordinary days.

After a while...

"Why is this disciple still kneeling there?"

"Sincerity is effective. He must want the ancestor's blessing for a smooth journey on the immortal path."

After a while, more than ten elders and stewards came out of the "partition rooms" in the hall and looked curiously over.

"Could this disciple have encountered some difficulty?"

"We've eaten quite a bit of this disciple's spirit fish. Should we go and ask if he needs help?"

"Well, if he doesn't seek help proactively, we shouldn't pry. Who doesn't have troubles?"

Half an hour later.

"Everyone, you can go back now. Don't stare too much. This disciple just ended his worldly ties and returned, so he must be unsettled and wants to calm his mind."

The people around gradually dispersed;

Several elders secretly thought to themselves that when Li Changshou came to collect his monthly offerings and seek advice on cultivation later, they would secretly give him some benefits...

This disciple seemed to have encountered some difficulties, but how could the ancestor bother with such trivial matters?

In the end, Li Changshou worshipped for an hour, slowly got up, and felt much calmer in his heart.

To confront a saint, one could only cling to the thighs of other saints!

That was the only solution he could think of.

Even if he attracted some attention within the sect due to the rules, he had to come here to worship the sect leader of the People's Teaching, just to have a little presence in front of the leader.

—According to the sect rules, one couldn't privately hang the ancestor's portrait for worship. The only available ancestor's portrait was here.

Leaving the Baifan Hall, Li Changshou drove his cloud towards Xiaoqiongfeng.

Actually, upon further thought, he might have been overthinking things;

A grand saint wouldn't lower himself to deal with a small celestial like him from the People's Teaching, right?

After becoming a saint, if he could avoid catastrophe, what he needed to fight for was reputation and the sect's fortune.

But what if?

Saints were still 'human' with the word 'saint' added in front. Didn't that imply they still had 'human nature'?

Of course, the saints were not human beings born in ancient times. The leaders of the Daoist Three Teachings were all transformed by the primordial spirit of the Pangu Great God, and the other three were congenital spirits with unknown origins.

What if those two big shots from the Western Sect suddenly got a bit reckless for some reason and wanted to deal with him like a small shrimp...

"Hey, you dare to cause trouble with just your little status?"

Li Changshou's mouth twitched a few times.

It seemed that the composite array on Xiaoqiongfeng needed some concealment of heavenly secrets!

However, the diagrams of such arrays might not even be available to the head of the Duxian Sect, let alone the rare treasures needed to set them up...

The world was full of difficulties.

Lost in thought, Li Changshou had already floated above Xiaoqiongfeng. Looking down, he saw Ling'e meditating under a tree.

"In fact, it's just a probability problem. Just focus on your cultivation."

Li Changshou took a few breaths, adjusted his state, and then slowly descended towards the isolation array below.

Soon, Ling'e under the tree cheered and ran up a few steps;

But Li Changshou made a hushing gesture to her, indicating her to stand still obediently. Then he walked to the grass hut of his master, bowed to the grass hut, and announced that he had returned after ending his worldly ties.

A few laughs came from inside the hut, and Zhiyuan Lao Dao encouraged Li Changshou a few words before continuing his seclusion and activating the several layers of array outside the hut again.

The master was in a critical moment of comprehending the Sutra of Non-Action.

"His divine sense swept through, imprinting the scenery of Little Qiong Peak into his mind, and Li Changshou's unease faded considerably...

No matter what, cultivation still had to be done, and days still had to be lived.

Though he had thought about it before, going to the South Sea to smash his own idols, but just thinking about it made him realize that revealing himself could lead to even more unknown events, so he decided to let things unfold...

"Brother!"

Blue Ling'er blinked her bright eyes, raising her hands to her sides, fluttering them like a fledgling bird, "Yeah?"

But Li Changshou just put on a serious face, "You, come with me."

Blue Ling'er shivered and immediately put on a miserable face, lowering her head as she followed her brother into her own grass hut.

Moving the cushion, sitting cross-legged, bowing, making expressions...

The routine was still very familiar.

Li Changshou sat in the circle chair, activating the array around the grass hut;

Looking at the figure in front of him, who had already concealed her appearance and figure, he sighed softly:

"I've been gone for three years, and you!"

Blue Ling'er immediately closed her eyes tightly, grabbing her earlobes with her hands, and quickly said:

"Brother, I know I was wrong!

The conflict between Senior Brother Liu Sizhe and Senior Brother Wang Qi was because of me!

I didn't expect it to turn out like this. That day, I just casually came up with an idea, really just wanted to send them away, but it backfired, and things got out of hand!"

"Hmm?" Li Changshou was taken aback, "I was asking you about the incident where a third of the spiritual fish in the lake went missing..."

Blue Ling'er paused, then twisted her body and slumped down.

Oh no, she had spilled everything...

...

That day over a year ago, after Liu Yan'er left with her two junior brothers, something happened the next day.

Liu Yan'er informed Wang Qi, informed the Master and the Peak Master in advance, and then, using a strategy, told Liu Sizhe that she was pregnant, intending to stop Liu Sizhe from pursuing her, but she didn't expect Liu Sizhe to go directly to Wang Qi and have a fight.

The fight didn't result in serious injuries for either of them; it was evenly matched, but they were punished by the sect for fighting privately.

Liu Sizhe was sentenced to twenty years of introspection, not allowed to step out of the Dulin Peak half a step;

Wang Qi was also punished with a three-year suspension of monthly offerings, and then became Dao companions with Liu Yan'er, practicing on Xiao Ling Peak...

"Brother...I was wrong..."

"Where were you wrong?"

"I shouldn't...I didn't think about how they would react, I just came up with this bad idea for Yan'er Senior Sister," Blue Ling'er said with her head bowed, "As a result, all three of them were punished by the sect."

Li Changshou sneered, scolding, "I've been teaching you for so many years, and you've only vomited out everything I taught you in a few years.

So be it!

Your character is just like this; it's my fault for expecting too much from you.

Sigh, forget it."

"Don't, don't give up! Brother, just ask me for anything!"

Ling'er panicked, "I won't cause trouble again in the future!

Don't abandon me, brother!

I'll quietly cultivate by your side in the future and won't say a word to strangers!"

"Then tell me, what did you do wrong?"

Blue Ling'er's eyes reddened, feeling a bit at a loss, "I, I..."

"You shouldn't meddle in other people's affairs!"

Li Changshou pointed at the table, sighed, "Do you know whether Liu Yan'er's fate is tied to Liu Sizhe or Wang Qi?

One had been secretly in love for a hundred years, the other they had only known for a few years.

Why couldn't Liu Yan'er make up her mind? Why couldn't she be ruthless to Liu Sizhe? It's because she hesitated.

Liu Yan'er is already a hundred and fifty or sixty years old, can't she think of any other way?

It's not that she can't, it's just that she doesn't want to!

By interfering like this, you're basically sealing someone's fate, making her originally undecided fate a certainty.

If you go along with someone else's destiny, it's fine, but if you change someone else's destiny, with one word you bear the karma of three people.

How much of your luck has this damaged?

Don't always think you're the smartest, the most clever, nobody is dumber than someone who likes to be clever!

This incident is a perfect reflection of your unstable temperament."

Ling'er pursed her lips, trembling, "Brother, how do I make amends?"

"Do more wrongs and make more mistakes.

After you apologize to Senior Sister Liu Yan'er, reflect on the mountain, and when Liu Sizhe comes out of seclusion, you can also come out."

Li Changshou stood up and added, "I won't punish you too much this time, just copy the Stabilization Sutra three hundred times on a slate.

When you really understand where you went wrong, then go apologize to Liu Yan'er."

With that, Li Changshou walked away with a black face, hands behind his back.

But Ling'er shouted again, "Brother, there's one more thing."

Li Changshou couldn't help but come back, pressing down on Ling'er's head, rubbing it hard, his face full of frustration as he messed up her carefully combed cloudlike hair...

"How many more troubles have you caused? Can't you just say them all at once?

You're making it difficult for me!"

"It's not trouble, it's an unexpected gain, I just caused this one trouble just now, really..."

Ling'er whispered, "It's about Master's injury from back then, because of Senior Sister Yan'er's matter, I heard a rumor...

Brother, lean closer."

Mumbling and whispering, like that.

Li Changshou bent down to listen for a while, then frowned slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

"Don't worry about this matter, go copy the Stabilization Sutra first, apologize later, and come to the alchemy room to find me after that."

"Oh," Ling'er replied, watching her brother drift in the direction of the alchemy room.

Damn, Brother's goodwill toward me just regressed by at least ten years...

Then she sighed softly, hugged the cushion, and went under the willow tree;

Taking out a slate, taking out a magic tool carving knife, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her hair scattered, she lay down, silently writing a certain scripture her brother had written more than ten years ago.

After writing it once, she wiped away her tears again, erased the inscription on the slate, and continued to write it a second time.

The branches of the willow swayed, caressing her swaying green hair in the wind, as if supervising her homework.

...

"Stabilization Sutra"

Ancient Times, Anonymous

Born to go, don't idle around, immortals are already determined, hard to vie for first.

Encountering injustice, think for yourself, facing difficulties, require self-reflection.

If friends are many, matters cannot be avoided, if friends are few, avoid calamities.

Do not make enemies, standing will be perilous, strike first, then ash will be formed later.

Don't be self-assured, don't be afraid, with everything stable, you can be at peace.

In the path of cultivation, retreat when necessary, seize opportunities, plan and decide.

In the past, there was a man, a good man, in the end he was calculated, how tragic.

There are demons who can scheme a lot, being knocked unconscious, roasted on a rack.

The old muddy clan...

(End of the hundred characters later)