Evil Master and Disciple

Chapter 267: The most precious treasure of Confucianism, the Ruyi Golden Hoop Pen?

Yan Rijing was completely stunned.

The demise of the Confucian and Taoist lineage in the world was a huge blow to him.

Since ancient times, the six most prosperous branches of human society have been Confucianism, Taoism, Demonism, Buddhism, Demons, and Spiritualism.

Among them, Confucianism and Taoism have always ranked first throughout the ages.

Confucianism and Taoism can help one cultivate the truth and become an immortal, reaching for the moon in the sky; they can also help one govern a country and catch turtles in the five oceans.

For countless years, Confucianism and Taoism have flourished.

When I woke up, a fellow villager from Haozhou came in and told me that the Confucian and Taoist traditions had disappeared for thousands of years. How could I accept this?

Ye Feng looked at Yan Rijing with a distorted face and felt a little scared.

I thought, would this guy suddenly get furious and strangle me to death?

No, I am in the state of spirit now, without a physical body, so he should not be able to strangle me to death. At most, he can beat me to pieces.

Then he turned into a ghost!

Just as Ye Feng was daydreaming, Yan Rijing said, "Master Ye, when did Confucianism and Taoism disappear? And why did they disappear?"

Ye Feng said: "I heard from my fellow disciples that the previous dynasty, the Dali Dynasty, respected Buddhism and Taoism. During the two thousand years of its existence, the Dali Dynasty had always suppressed Confucianism and Taoism.

After the fall of the Dali Dynasty, the world went through a long period of chaos, with heroes vying for supremacy and demons rampant. Unlike Taoism and Buddhism, which lived in seclusion in the mountains, Confucian monks accompanied the fortune of the dynasty. During that chaotic period that lasted for hundreds of years, rituals and music collapsed, and the country was in chaos. After more than two thousand years of suppression by the Dali Dynasty, the Confucian lineage had become very weak, and it was severely damaged during that chaotic period.

Two thousand four hundred years ago, a war between gods and humans took place near Lingshan Mountain.

After that battle, the few remaining great scholars and sages in the world all died, and the Confucian lineage of cultivation withdrew from the human stage.

However, our Daqian Dynasty was quite friendly to Confucianism. We used Confucianism to govern the world, and the imperial examination system further promoted Confucianism.

But this is only limited to the Confucian doctrine of governing the country. Regarding the art of cultivating the truth, it is completely incomparable to the current branches of Taoism, magic, Buddhism, witchcraft, spirits, ghosts, and monsters."

After Ye Feng came to this world, he has been trying to understand this world.

He knew something about Confucianism.

Once upon a time, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism all had very powerful cultivation systems.

The righteous spirit that is cultivated is upright and upright, and is the nemesis of all demons and monsters.

But later, the Confucian lineage of cultivation declined, and now Confucianism and Taoism are used by the imperial court to select officials and talents based on the eight-legged essay.

As for Confucian monks, they certainly still exist in the world, but they have already declined. They are no longer involved in the world of cultivation and are only tied to the dynasty.

In fact, in Ye Feng's view, the decline of the Confucian cultivation system was not accidental, but inevitable.

The Dali Dynasty was not the only dynasty that suppressed Confucianism and Taoism in history.

The righteous spirit cultivated by Confucianism comes from books and learning.

But this is only the early stage of Confucian practice.

If you want to improve your cultivation, you must accumulate merits and absorb the luck of all living beings.

Which emperor would allow a group of scholars to absorb the fortune that should belong to the true dragon emperor all day long?

Because of luck, Confucianism, Taoism and the dynasty are completely tied together.

Unlike the cultivation techniques of Taoism, Buddhism, and Demonism, it has nothing to do with the fortune of the dynasty and does not require the fortune of all living beings.

In the early stages, tap into your own potential and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

In the later period, he comprehended the creation of heaven and earth and the natural laws of the universe.

If the world were in chaos, Confucianism and Taoism would certainly suffer a huge blow, while other factions of cultivation sects were hidden in deep mountains and old forests where few people could go. The change of dynasties would not have much impact on these sects.

The most important point is that it is difficult for people with great luck to live long.

This is also a major drawback of Confucianism.

The masters of cultivation from other factions can easily live for four to five hundred years, while the Confucian and Taoist monks can only live to eighty or ninety years old, and the best ones can live to one hundred and fifty-six years old, which is already the maximum lifespan.

What is the purpose of human practice of Taoism?

It’s immortality!

Practicing Confucianism hardly increases lifespan, unlike other sects, where each advancement in realm can add at least several decades to one's lifespan.

As one grows, the other declines, and naturally the number of people practicing Confucianism and Taoism decreases.

After listening to Ye Feng's story, Yan Rijing did not collapse and go crazy as Ye Feng had imagined.

Instead he calmed down.

Yan Rijing sighed deeply: "It's time, it's fate."

Ye Feng said cautiously, "Actually, I quite like Confucianism and Taoism, and I'm a great poet. I'm known as the Contemporary Poet Immortal. Senior Yan, don't worry. Since I've come here and cracked your Zhenlong chess game, it proves that I, Ye Feng, am the chosen one of Confucianism and Taoism."

Give me the rare treasure, and I will find time to revive Confucianism."

Yan Rijing looked at Ye Feng, who had a somewhat obscene expression.

He said calmly, "You're great at poetry? Okay, let's compete in poetry recitation. You don't have to win, as long as I think you have potential."

Ye Feng's eyes rolled around a few times.

He said, "You want to test me on poetry and I'll give you a couplet, how about that?"

Yan Rijing said calmly, "Okay, you can come up with the first line."

Ye Feng shook his head and said, "I need to think about it, so you should ask the questions first."

Ye Feng felt helpless. In his previous life, he had been taking exams since he was a child and had been taking them for more than ten years.

I didn't expect that I would have to face exams after coming to this ghost world.

Fortunately, in his previous life, in order to prepare for the exam, he memorized 300 Tang poems and was tested on poetry... Hehe... Ye Feng felt that this world was not very literary, and he could shock the literary world by just picking out a few poems.

But it won’t work if it comes in pairs. Who knows what kind of pairs Yan Rijing will come up with?

So Ye Feng cunningly suggested that he would write poems and let Yan Rijing write couplets.

Yan Rijing was a great scholar with profound learning. He walked slowly with his hands behind his back and said, "Since you and I are both scholars, please write a poem on the theme of encouraging learning to see if you have any literary talent."

Ye Feng already has corresponding poems.

But he still shook his head and pretended.

"The lights are on at midnight and the rooster crows at dawn, it is the time for men to study.

If you don’t study hard when you are young, you will regret it when you are old.

When this poem came out, Yan Rijing was stunned and looked surprised.

Obviously, he also thought that the poem Ye Feng recited was very good and wonderful.

From the perspectives of the meaning, role and attitude and methods of learning, we hope that people will attach importance to acquired learning in order to strengthen their own behavioral cultivation.

Encourage young people to cherish their youth, study hard and achieve something; otherwise, when they grow old, they will have accomplished nothing and it will be too late to regret.

Yan Rijing felt that he could not make such good words of encouragement to study.

He muttered a few words in his mind and said, "It's still worthy of being a first-class rank."

"It's only acceptable to the first rank?" Ye Feng was speechless. He thought that this was Yan Zhenqing's famous quote, and this guy's comment was only acceptable to the first rank?

However, this also made Ye Feng feel uneasy.

As a Confucian and Taoist, Yan Rijing was able to find such a hidden fairyland underground. He must have been a master of Confucianism and Taoism ten thousand years ago, and his knowledge must have been very impressive.

Perhaps in Yan Rijing's opinion, Yan Zhenqing's poem encouraging learning is indeed not very amazing.

Yan Rijing said: "You have passed the test with this poem, but it is not easy to get my approval.

Ten thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye. Confucianism and Taoism have declined, and the vast sea has changed into mulberry fields. Please use this as a theme and compose a poem to express my current state of mind. This topic is very difficult, so you can choose to give up.

"Give up? No, no, no, I'm the Immortal Poet! Wait a minute, let me think it over!"

Ye Feng pretended to be serious again and said, "When the sea turned into mulberry fields, the Crimson Palace and Jade Palace still remain majestic.

As long as the people of Yingzhou remain in the territory, there should still be earth-walking immortals."

Yan Rijing was stunned.

He stared at Ye Feng in a daze.

This young man looks to be in his teens.

How come every time you open your mouth, it’s a classic masterpiece?

He suspected that this was not written by Ye Feng, but by someone before him. Ye Feng had just seen it and then recited it.

But on second thought, it seems unlikely.

I always make up the questions impromptu, and the poems and essays this kid writes can also contain the meaning of the questions.

As a cultivator, it is unlikely that he is familiar with ancient Confucian poetry.

"Senior, are you satisfied with this song?"

Seeing Yan Rijing staring at him in a daze, Ye Feng couldn't help but ask.

Yan Rijing came back to his senses and did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Master Ye, what do you think is the purpose of studying?"

Ye Feng was stunned.

This is too simple. It must be Zhang Zai’s Four Sentences of Hengqu.

The last time I used these four sentences, I scared even the head master, a peerless master.

No matter how powerful Yan Rijing is, can he be as powerful as the head master?

Ye Feng's expression became serious, and he slowly said, "Replying to Senior Yan, I believe that the purpose of studying is to establish a mind for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to carry on the lost knowledge of the past sages, and to bring peace to the world for all eternity."

"hiss……"

Yan Rijing could no longer suppress his inner emotions, and his cheeks began to twist and deform again.

Said: "You...what did you say? Say it again!"

When Ye Feng saw Yan Rijing’s expression, he knew that his rare treasure was safe.

So he repeated the four sentences of Hengqu.

After listening to this, Yan Rijing couldn't help himself for a long time and kept reciting these four sentences.

His expression changes, sometimes happy, sometimes hesitant, sometimes excited, sometimes sad...

Ye Feng looked at Yan Rijing, whose body was constantly twisting and deforming, and felt a little scared. He quietly moved away from this old man who had been dead for more than 10,000 years.

It was unknown how long it took before Yan Rijing calmed down.

He looked at Ye Feng who was hiding far away and smiled, "Young Master Ye, you are the person I have been waiting for for many years. However, to be fair, you still have to give me three first couplets."

Ye Feng laughed dryly and said, "Since you have recognized me, this... is not necessary."

"No, it's necessary. You should leave the alliance."

Seeing how stubborn he was, Ye Feng said, "Senior, please listen carefully. The first line of my couplet is [Lonely and helpless, alone in the cold window]."

"That's it? Haha... lonely and alone in the cold classroom... lonely... lonely..."

At first, Yan Rijing's expression was somewhat casual, even a little disdainful.

When he carefully savored Ye Feng's first couplet, his expression gradually changed from casual to solemn, and then, just like when a certain author played the role of Monkey King fighting the big-headed doll in Black Myth, he entered a red-hot state.

This couplet may not sound difficult at first, but if you think about it carefully, it is very difficult.

It is a perfect match throughout the ages, and no one has been able to match it perfectly so far.

"Lonely... lonely in the cold classroom..."

"Senior, it's been a long time. If you can't match it, forget it. This couplet was not thought up by me, but was written by an ancient person. For thousands of years, no one has matched it."

"I see... Interesting, interesting. The person who came up with this couplet must be a woman."

Ye Feng nodded and said, "Her name is Li Qingzhao, the greatest female poet in history."

"Li Qingzhao, the poetess... It's a shame that I, Yan, was born at the wrong time and was unable to witness the beauty of this Miss Li. What a pity."

Yan Rijing sighed again, and after a moment, he said, "Master Ye, my ten thousand years of waiting are worth it. You are worthy of inheriting my legacy and treasures. I hope you can pass on the Confucian and Taoist lineage and restore the glory of Confucianism."

Ye Feng rubbed his hands together and said, "Don't worry, I, Ye Feng, am a man who keeps his promises. Senior Yan, what is that rare treasure?"

Yan Rijing's body suddenly turned into countless streams of light again.

These light bands surged and entangled rapidly, actually forming a pen.

A huge brush with a white barrel and a black tip.

The brush was huge, and Ye Feng standing under it was like Sun Wukong standing under the Dinghai Shenzhen.

Ye Feng stared in amazement at this giant magical brush that seemed to be able to write the world, and murmured: "What a big brush! Hmm, it fits the temperament of a Confucian scholar..."

He reached out and touched the brush, saying, "Can you make it smaller?"

It was just a try, but he didn't expect that the brush actually understood what he said and quickly became much smaller.

"Ah? It really can shrink? This... could this be the Ruyi Jingu... pen?"