Chapter 15: The Great Dao in the Center, the Gods Stand on Both Sides

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Great Dao in the Center, the Gods Stand on Both Sides

He could tell that this woman possessed quite formidable Martial Arts.

However, she was just a woman coming up the mountain to burn incense. Naturally, Chen Sha had no reason to overthink it, so he replied politely, "I am indeed the Dao Yi Sect Leader. May I ask who you are, layperson..."

Though he asked the woman, he looked toward his Eldest Senior Brother, Song Yu.

"I am Yao Qingru from Jiangnan. Greetings, Sect Leader Chen."

The beautiful woman, whose delicate eyebrows resembled distant mountains, curtsied gracefully.

Song Yu stroked his beard beside them and explained, "This female layperson’s family has believed in Daoism since she was young. Unfortunately, her childhood was fraught with misfortune. Her younger brother went missing in his early years, and there has been no news of him since. Therefore, her mother would come up the mountain every year to pray for her son, seeking the Dao’s blessing for the safe return of the child who has been missing for many years."

Chen Sha nodded. He thought, "Jiangnan’s Yao family. I’ve actually heard of them. They are a famous Martial Arts Family. No wonder Eldest Senior Brother is receiving her personally."

Yao Qingru picked up where Song Yu left off, her expression lonely. "I should have accompanied my mother here, but her health has been deteriorating these past few years. She can no longer come in person to pray for my poor brother. I had to come alone to chant scriptures and pray for him for a month..."

As she spoke, she revealed a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Chen Sha asked, "Will you be staying on the mountain?"

He looked at Song Yu. "Our mountain is a place of ascetic cultivation. With this female layperson... won’t it be a bit inconvenient?"

Song Yu chimed in, "Junior Brother, our Dao Yi Mountain has always had the custom of receiving pilgrims. It was like this when Master was around. We even allowed some Fire-dwelling Daoists to reside in the palaces and temples at the foot of the mountain. These people all stay in the Daoist Temple located halfway up the mountain. It won’t affect us at the summit."

He stopped just short of saying that Dao Yi Mountain needed the incense offerings. Especially now, after the previous Sect Leader’s passing, their reputation had plummeted, and the Sect’s operations desperately needed Silver Coins.

Hearing this, Chen Sha nodded. "I see."

Thinking back, these mundane affairs were tasks he had delegated to his Eldest Senior Brother anyway, so he genuinely lacked some understanding of them. He had only sensed that the woman possessed considerable Martial Arts, hence his extra vigilance.

Then, he took another look at Yao Qingru and decided not to mind it. She was just a woman. Even if she knew Martial Arts and stayed on the mountain for a few days, what could possibly happen? Being overly cautious and calculative would only cause them to lose the demeanor befitting the number one Major Sect in the world.

"Then I will leave it to Eldest Senior Brother to arrange things for this female layperson." Without saying much else, Chen Sha added, "I was just taking a casual stroll. I’ll be heading to my next destination now."

With that, he nodded to the two of them and turned to leave for the next location.

The female pilgrim, Yao Qingru, watched Chen Sha’s retreating figure, her gaze lingering a bit too long. This scene was caught by Song Yu, who asked, "Is Miss Yao very curious about my Junior Brother?"

Hearing this, Yao Qingru turned around and smiled sweetly. "After all, he is the young Sect Leader at the helm of the world’s number one Major Sect. It is only natural for a humble girl like me to be curious. I just didn’t expect Sect Leader Chen to actually be this young."

Song Yu laughed. "It’s just a pity that my Junior Brother Sect Leader is already betrothed to someone else."

Yao Qingru was momentarily stunned. She quickly realized what Song Yu was implying. Indeed, for a young woman like her to continuously stare at a man’s retreating back was truly improper. Song Yu was reminding her that she was being somewhat discourteous.

These words were completely overheard by Chen Sha, who hadn’t gone far.

He thought to himself, "Eldest Senior Brother... what is he saying now?"

After all, he had Grandmaster Cultivation. His physical capabilities and True Qi far exceeded those of ordinary people. With Cultivation in the Upper Three Grades, his senses of hearing and sight were extremely acute.

Inside the hall, Yao Qingru seemed very poised. She didn’t show any sign of shyness; instead, she directly changed the subject.

"By the way, Daoist Song, I have been very puzzled since I walked in just now. Across the world’s Daoist palaces and temples, various Daoist Divine Spirits are enshrined to varying degrees. For instance, the Jade Emperor Sect, the Queen Mother Sect, and the True Martial Sect—which share the title of the Four Great Daoist Sects with your noble Sect—all enshrine these Ancient Divine Spirits and emperors, worshipping them..."

As she spoke, she looked toward the Divine Hall and continued, "Yet in your noble Sect, although there are also numerous Divine Spirits in these Divine Halls and palaces, they merely stand to the sides. Why is the central shrine completely empty?"

Song Yu smiled faintly. "This is exactly where our Dao Yi Sect differs from other Daoist Sects. Daoist Sects like the Queen Mother and Jade Emperor enshrine tangible Divine Spirits. Our Dao Yi Sect is different; we enshrine the very essence of the word ’Dao’."

"The very essence of the word ’Dao’..." Yao Qingru said in sudden realization. "Dao Yi, Dao Yi... I see.

"The Dao sits in the center, while the gods stand on both sides. Other Daoist Sects worship gods, but only the Dao Yi Sect comprehends the Dao. No wonder your noble Sect’s previous Sect Leader was invincible in the world."

Song Yu said seriously, "Miss Yao, you have profound insight."

A woman with such insight must rank at the very top, even among the influential families of Jiangnan Dao.

However, the two of them were unaware of one thing. It was exactly Yao Qingru’s interpretation of the words "Dao Yi" that brought sudden enlightenment to Chen Sha, who hadn’t gone far and could still overhear their casual conversation.

"The Dao sits in the center, while the gods stand on both sides!"

Chen Sha, who had been frowning in distress and struggling to comprehend the crucial points in cultivating his Sect’s "Great Yellow Court", was instantly moved by this phrase. He felt as though the entire heaven and earth had suddenly opened up.

He thought, "So that’s how it is! So that’s how it is!

"Yellow represents the center of the earth element, while court represents a dwelling, a place of residence.

"Our Dao Yi Sect’s Great Yellow Court cultivates nobility and orthodoxy. Just like the divine statues in those Divine Halls, the human body also has many acupoints acting like Divine Spirits. This is recorded in the ’Great Success Chapter’ of the Yellow Court Scripture: For those cultivating the Great Yellow Court, there is the hurdle of the Body Gods. If one can see the Three Parts, Eight Sceneries, and Twenty-four Gods, they can achieve Great Success."

This was a concept of the Great Innate Realm, too far removed from him, and originally, he had no use for it. But Yao Qingru’s single sentence had suddenly made everything clear.

He thought, "As I cultivate the Great Yellow Court, if I want to see the Body Gods in the future and witness the Three Parts, Eight Sceneries, and Twenty-four Gods, I must first cultivate the inherent nobility and orthodoxy of the Yellow Court itself.

"It’s just like the layout in the Divine Hall: ’The tangible Divine Spirits stand on both sides, while the formless Great Dao stands in the center.’

"Only by cultivating the ’orthodox majesty’ of my own Great Yellow Court can I eventually guide the Twenty-four Gods within my body to pay homage to me. Sitting within the Yellow Court, it is the gods who will worship me, not I who will worship the gods."

This was the Martial Arts philosophy of the Dao Yi Sect.

The Dao produces One, One produces Two, Two produces Three, and All Things and sentient beings arise from the Three.

Sentient beings went to temples to worship gods.

The Dao produces One, and my Dao Yi is consistent throughout.

I sit upright in the temple, waiting for the gods to worship me.

This was the aura that would automatically manifest in a practitioner who cultivated the Divine Skill "Great Yellow Court" to its pinnacle: nobility, majesty, and the orthodoxy of Dao Yi.

Having figured this out in a flash, Chen Sha was no longer a headless fly without a sense of direction. Now that he had a path, he could immediately cultivate within the Cosmic Light Fragments with this goal in mind, focusing on comprehending the inherent aura of the ’Yellow Court’ itself.

Naturally, he would then be able to step into the Grandmaster Realm.

Just as Chen Sha returned to the mountain from the palace temple, sat cross-legged in his room, and immediately began his Martial Arts practice behind the Southern Heavenly Gate...

***

Meanwhile, inside the palace temple at the foot of the mountain.

Within a few separate guest rooms enclosed by red walls and black tiles, Yao Qingru was led here to stay, accompanied by several servants.

The servants began cleaning and tidying up the residence for her. Only Yao Qingru stood by the window of the guest room.

Looking out at the empty courtyard, Yao Qingru muttered to herself, "Mother, you surely wouldn’t have expected that I would see him on my very first day up the mountain. His appearance is seventy percent similar to the man in the painting hanging in your room. The other thirty percent somewhat resembles you."

Listening to Yao Qingru’s soft murmurs by the window, an accompanying elderly servant raised his head slightly, saying with a hint of surprise, "Saintess, you have already met the Holy Son?"

"Yes." Yao Qingru smiled. "Just now in the Divine Hall, he noticed that I possess Martial Arts, and I likewise gauged the depth of his Martial Arts and True Qi. Just as the rumors said, he defeated Li Jianzhou. At the Grandmaster tier, he is nothing to fear."

"Then is he on guard?" the elderly man frowned. "Should we alter the plan?"

Yao Qingru replied, "We came specifically for him. We just need to wait for the right moment."