PDLP Chapter 16 The Sacred Maiden
Chapter 16 The Sacred Maiden
On this day, after finishing his daily practice at his own dojo, Xuan Yao rode a cloud of auspiciousness and, as usual, went to the inner mountain of Xikunlun to listen to the Dharma and inquire about the Dao.
Although the Queen Mother of the West has now gone to the Zixiao Palace, which is thirty-three heavens away, to listen to the Dao, there is no great master in Yaochi to preach the supreme Dharma.
However, Xikunlun has a profound cultural heritage. The Sutra Repository contains many cultivation notes and insights on the Great Dao left by the Queen Mother of the West, and many fellow disciples also practice in seclusion in the mountains.
Xuan Yao knew that working in isolation was a major taboo in cultivation, so every now and then he would return to the inner mountain to either read the classics or exchange and verify with his fellow disciples.
When he reached a jade platform overlooking the water on the outskirts of Yaochi, his previously gentle escape light involuntarily stopped.
On the shimmering, blue water, stood a fairy maiden dressed in snow-white robes.
This woman has clear, beautiful features. She doesn't wear makeup, yet she possesses an indescribable and unparalleled elegance.
What is most peculiar is that she naturally exudes a pure and ethereal aura, unique to her being.
She simply stood there casually, and with every gesture, the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to be drawn by some mysterious force, with auspicious signs of yin and yang flowing and harmonious music manifesting.
Xuan Yao's gaze sharpened, and he immediately recognized the identity of the female immortal.
She was Su Nu, a highly regarded disciple of the Queen Mother of the West.
Although Xuan Yao had seen this senior sister Su Nu a few times from afar when he listened to the Dao at Yaochi, he did not have any deep relationship with her.
However, he knew very well that this senior sister Su Nu had an extraordinary background.
Legend has it that she was formed from the first pure and ethereal energy that separated heaven and earth at the beginning of time!
This lineage, though not as authentic as that of Pangu, the primordial spirit of the Three Pure Ones.
However, he can definitely be considered a rather extraordinary innate deity in the primordial world.
She was not only well-versed in the principles of Yin and Yang, but also possessed unparalleled mastery in music, and cultivated virtue and fortune in various ways.
His cultivation level had already crossed the threshold of Golden Immortal at a very early stage.
He cultivated to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, where the five elements converge in the heart!
Throughout the entire Western Kunlun Mountains and even the vast and desolate lands surrounding it, Su Nu enjoys an extremely high reputation.
Xuan Yao dared not be negligent. He immediately descended from the clouds, took two steps forward, and bowed respectfully in a manner that was neither humble nor arrogant.
"Xuan Yao, an inner disciple, greets Senior Sister Su Nu."
Su Nu turned her head at the sound, her clear eyes, which seemed to be able to see through all the yin and yang, purity and turbidity in the world, quietly fell on Xuan Yao.
She looked Xuan Yao up and down, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"So it's Junior Brother Xuan Yao."
Su Nu returned the greeting slightly, her voice as clear and melodious as pearls falling onto a jade plate.
"When the Empress was preaching and accepting disciples, I saw my junior brother dressed in black tiger armor, exuding a fierce aura that seemed to reach the heavens."
Unexpectedly, in just tens of thousands of years, my junior brother's cultivation has not only improved, but the blessings and evil spirits on his body have also become so well integrated, with yin and yang complementing each other perfectly.
"Junior Brother's ability to turn danger into order is truly eye-opening."
"Senior sister, you flatter me. It was only thanks to the profound mystery of the 'Golden Palace Mysterious Demon True Explanation' bestowed by our master, plus a bit of luck," Xuan Yao replied humbly.
Su Nu saw that although this black tiger was of demonic origin and was naturally bloodthirsty, it was rare to find one that lacked arrogance and had a calm and reserved temperament, which made her feel quite fond of it.
She then took the initiative to speak with him on the jade platform overlooking the water.
During their conversation, the two naturally drifted into discussing the principles of fortune and virtue, and yin and yang.
Since he began studying the "True Explanation of the Golden Palace Mysterious Demons," Xuan Yao has explored his own unique path of "concealing sharpness within fortune and nurturing purity within evil" through life-and-death battles and secluded cultivation.
But in the end, he was still a relatively young practitioner, and his cultivation was something he had learned through trial and error.
His understanding of blessings and the principles of Yin and Yang is mostly based on his intuitive combat experiences and the insights left by the Queen Mother of the West when she preached.
Now that he has the good fortune to meet Su Nu, a truly innate and divine being who is close to the Dao, Xuan Yao will naturally not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from her.
So, he straightened his expression and asked a series of questions about cultivation that had troubled him for a long time.
Su Nu saw that all his questions pointed directly to the essentials of cultivating the Great Dao, without a trace of empty talk, and knew that he was truly seeking the Dao.
He readily offered his advice, smiling as he answered all his questions.
"Junior brother believes that fortune and evil are incompatible, like water and fire, so he uses fortune to suppress evil and evil to protect fortune. This statement is reasonable, but it is a poor approach."
The maiden gently raised her delicate hand, a wisp of pure air and a wisp of impure air swirling around her fingertips.
"Yin alone cannot produce life, and Yang alone cannot grow."
All things in heaven and earth exist within the cycle of Yin and Yang, their mutual generation and restraint. Virtue and fortune are Yang, representing purity. Darkness and malevolence are Yin, representing turbidity.
The two are not mortal enemies, but rather complement each other.
She talked about the interaction of Yin and Yang, and the continuous flow of good fortune and luck.
She then used her expertise in music as a metaphor:
"Just like the harmonious sound of a zither and lute, each with its own distinct tone."
If one only seeks gentle sounds, the melody will be languid and lifeless. If one only seeks sounds of war and battle, the melody will be too violent and easily break the strings.
Only by varying the pitch and rhythm, and perfectly harmonizing the sounds of battle and peace, can one produce the divine music of the Great Dao that stirs the very essence of heaven and earth.
"The same applies to my junior brother's fortune and misfortune. Too much fortune leads to weakness, while too much misfortune leads to violence."
Use blessings and virtues as the body of the zither, and dark energy as the strings. Plucking at the whims of the heart, one can harmonize the vital energy of all things.
Xuan Yao stood on the jade platform, listening with rapt attention.
He felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind, and then the clouds parted to reveal the sun!
Many of the things that he had struggled with in his cave, knowing only the surface but not the underlying reasons, suddenly became clear to him through Su Nu's casual discourse.
His innate mysterious energy and blessed energy even began to circulate spontaneously again after this enlightenment, becoming more and more harmonious and unobstructed.
After the discussion concluded, Xuan Yao bowed deeply and solemnly presented a grand salute to Su Nu.
"Thank you so much, Senior Sister, for your guidance and enlightenment. Your words are more valuable than ten thousand years of arduous cultivation!"
Su Nu smiled slightly, accepted the greeting with composure, and then drifted away.
Watching Su Nu's snow-white figure disappear into the distance, Xuan Yao stood on the jade platform by the water for a long time, his heart filled with countless thoughts and deep feelings.
During the conversation just now, Su Nu did not deliberately reveal her terrifying cultivation level, nor did she display any innate divine power.
However, this simple discussion alone made Xuan Yao deeply and cruelly realize just how terrifying the gap was between lineage and inheritance in this primordial world!
He had struggled for hundreds of thousands of years, fought life and death battles, and received the supreme Dharma bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West. He also consumed the top-grade Ren Water Peach, which even the Great Luo Golden Immortals would envy, to cleanse his marrow and strengthen his tendons.
After going through countless hardships, we have finally managed to find our way to this path of good fortune and protection from evil.
But what about Su Nu?
These sacred beings, nurtured by the first wisp of pure and ethereal energy, are naturally close to the Great Dao.
Many profound and mysterious principles that Xuan Yao found incredibly deep were, for Su Nu, almost innate instincts!
She doesn't even need to scheme and plot like I do, risking my life for a few opportunities.
All she needs to do is cultivate peacefully in this Western Kunlun Mountain, follow her nature, and attaining the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm in the future will be a natural outcome for her!
Thinking of this, it would be a lie to say that Xuan Yao felt no envy at all.
"The primordial world has never been a place that values fairness."
Xuan Yao murmured to himself, a resolute glint flashing in his dark golden tiger eyes.
One's origins determine a being's starting point, while one's fortune determines its upper limit.
Although he had consumed the Ren Water Peach of Immortality, which made up for his acquired deficiencies and gave him the foundation to seek the Dao of the Great Luo.
But I am not a born saint.
If you don't have the awareness to desperately plan, lay out in advance, and snatch food from the tiger's mouth.
Even though he is now an inner disciple of the Queen Mother of the West, he will never be able to truly catch up with or even surpass the footsteps of these innate deities!
The foundation of the Great Luo is by no means equal to the position of the Great Luo!
To truly attain the immortality of the Great Luo Golden Immortal, or even to glimpse the lofty Primordial Chaos Realm, even greater opportunities lie ahead.
Since one does not have such a naturally endowed foundation, one can only rely on scheming and planning to seize, plot, and make up for it time and time again!
Xuan Yao raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the layers of immortal mist of Xikunlun, looking towards the boundless primordial land.
Previously, Su Nu had seen him deep in thought and silent, and seemed to have guessed some of the disappointment and resentment in the heart of this acquired demon.
Before he left, I smiled gently and advised him not to underestimate himself.
He said: The Great Way is infinite, and the Way of Heaven is impartial. The innate deities have their own path, and the beings born after birth also have their own path.
Once you overcome all obstacles and forge your own path, it becomes your own supreme path.
Xuan Yao bowed and thanked him.
But at that moment, a thought had already quietly arisen in his mind.
The Dao Ancestor Hongjun has only recently become a saint, and the sermons at Zixiao Palace have only just begun.
This means that there are still many great opportunities and supreme treasures in the primordial world that will surely shake the world in the future, but they have not yet been truly manifested in the world!
"Although I cannot go to Zixiao Palace to hear the teachings, I possess foresight that they lack!"
"If I continue to stay in my own little corner of the world, working in isolation, I will only be able to watch helplessly as those supreme treasures capable of defying fate fall into the hands of other virtuous and powerful innate deities..."