Myriad Paths

In the ancient times, martial arts and witchcraft were the first paths of humankind.

Practice martial arts to strengthen your body and face countless challenges in the wilderness.

However, warriors can only serve as vanguard warriors. The excessive casualty rate has also led to the emergence of fault lines, making it impossible to lead the remaining people for a long time.

Therefore, the most primitive 'witch' was born.

The original witches roamed the earth, lobbying among the powerful gods, using their wisdom to exchange for the gods' protection of the weak humans through transactions and various ingenious strategies.

At this time, the witches are the leaders of the crowd. They are the core of the tribe, spreading culture, treating the injured, divination of celestial phenomena, communicating with gods, protecting the people, and almost simultaneously serving as leaders, teachers, doctors, magicians and other responsibilities.

This is how the so-called names like ‘witch doctor’, ‘witch historian’ and ‘wizard’ come about.

Yunfang was polite and thoughtful, and replied in a loud voice: "I have read humane classics, among which "Guoyu" says:"

“In ancient times, the people were not as brilliant as others, but they were able to be solemn and upright. Their wisdom compared the meanings up and down. Their holy power was bright and far-reaching. Their intelligence was able to illuminate people. Their intelligence was able to hear clearly. In this way, the gods were enlightened. To surrender, it is called a 觋 among men, and it is called a witch among women. "

"It is to make the place where the god is controlled be the second master, and to sacrifice and serve it, and then to make the ancestors and saints have glory and strength, so that they can know the names of mountains and rivers, the master of the ancestors, the affairs of the ancestral temple, the era of Zhaomu, Qi Those who respect the gods diligently, with appropriate etiquette, dignity, appearance, loyalty, and clean clothes are considered as blessings.”

"Enables people to know the life of the four seasons, sacrifices, jade and silk, the ceremony of collecting clothes, the quantity of Yi utensils, the measure of the secondary master, the position of the screen, the place of the altar, the gods above and below, and the origin of the surname. , and the old classics are regarded as the origin.

"Although the sages are not self-absorbed in their observations, they set up divination divinations to interrogate the gods. The virtues of the hexagrams are round and spiritual, and the virtues of the hexagrams are based on wisdom. They can be used to assist government, indicate ghosts and gods, and those who understand themselves, use them as divination."

"So there are heaven, earth, gods, people, and things like officials. This is called the five sense organs, each of which has its own order and does not interfere with each other. This is how the people can be loyal and trustworthy, and how the gods can be virtuous. The people and gods have different careers, so they should be respectful and not blasphemous. Therefore The people will enjoy the blessings brought by the gods, and disasters will not come, and they will not be in need of anything.”

This passage means:

In ancient times, among the human race, there were people who were focused, solemn and upright. Their talents made the world suitable for everyone. Their saintliness could shine far away, their eyes were bright and could see everything, and their hearing was sensitive and could understand everything. From all directions, the gods will come to him. Such people are called 觋 for men and witches for women.

There are also differences among these people:

Some people can determine the sacrificial positions and the order of precedence of gods, stipulate the animals, sacrificial vessels, and clothing used for sacrifices, and can understand the names of mountains and rivers, the gods of ancestral temples, the affairs of ancestral temples, the order of the times, and solemn seriousness. , proper etiquette, majestic rules, appearance modification, loyalty and honesty, clean clothing, and the ability to communicate with gods are called "blessings".

Some know the growth of the four seasons, the animals used for sacrifices, the types of jade and silk, the etiquette of purchasing clothes, the number of sacrificial vessels, the order of honor and inferiority, the location of sacrifices, the location of altars, the gods above and below, the origin of surnames, And those who can follow the Dharma are called 'Zong'.

Some people are in the rear. Although the saints, sages and gods are shrewd, they cannot be arbitrary, so they use divination methods to question them and use divination and wisdom to let them understand themselves. Such people are called "divination".

The rest are the shamans who are in charge of heaven, earth, people, gods, and things. These are the five sense organs, each of which is responsible for different tasks and is not confused with each other.

Therefore, in ancient times, the people could be loyal and faithful, the gods could be virtuous, the people and the gods would not be confused, and they would not be scornful or hostile. Come, there is no shortage of supplies.

(Note: This paragraph's summary of the "Zhu" Zong and "Five Features" in witchcraft comes from "Guoyu", and the summary of "Bu" comes from "Lunheng", one is from the Zhou Dynasty and the other is from the Han Dynasty) , it can be seen that Wu Jin was actually the original bearer of Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese Taoism, philosophy, theory, literature, and history were all constructed by Wu Jin, although they gradually declined and were replaced by more advanced Bai School of Thought. , but the thoughts of witchcraft have also penetrated into the thoughts of various schools of thought. Taoism, Confucianism, and law have all been influenced by these primitive witchcraft cultures, forming an important part of China's multicultural culture. Because of this, it is said that humanity is born out of (Yu Wu Dao)

"It can be seen that the ancient humanistic sages also highly praised the witchcraft. Looking at historical data, the humanistic way also developed from the witchcraft. Why do people today despise witchcraft and treat them as barbarians?"

"Could it be that you have betrayed the sages of humanity? Have you forgotten your ancestors, have no rules, and have you even forgotten where humanity was born?"

Yun Fang said sternly.

Although the two sides couldn't fight, they would never stop talking, so Yun Fang seemed a bit aggressive.

Therefore, when the great wizard Yunfang said the story about father and son, the expressions of the most powerful people in humanity became gloomy.

However, since he was the Supreme Being after all, he only remained silent for half a second and immediately replied:

"Witches have the virtue of saving the ancestors. This is naturally true. However, the theory of father and son is nonsense. Don't you see that in the past, the virtues of Jiuli were chaotic, and the people and gods were mixed and incompatible?"

"Husbands and witches enjoy themselves, their families are witches and history, they have no essential qualities, the people are in need of sacrifices and do not know their blessings, their enjoyment is excessive, the people and gods are in the same position, the people are desecrating the alliance, there is no majesty, the gods follow the people's rules, and there is no If you don't do what you want, good life will not come, you will have nothing to enjoy, and misfortune will bring you success, don't use up your energy. Isn't this the disaster caused by Wu Jian? "

The meaning of this sentence is that in the past, the Jiuli clan who respected witches and witches disturbed their moral conduct, mixed the people and gods, and could not distinguish the names from the real ones. Everyone in the witchcraft and sects used the excuse of holding sacrifices to collect sacrifices, and every family was free to do so. For the history of witchcraft, there is no integrity in making appointments.

The people suffered from the sacrifices and tributes, but could not receive blessings and protection. There were no laws for the sacrifices, and the people and the gods were on the same footing. The people despised their oaths and had no reverence, and the gods were no longer interested in the ways of humans. Interest, sacrifices are no longer clean, grains are not blessed by the gods, there is no food to offer sacrifices, disasters come frequently, and the energy of the human race is exhausted. Aren't these things the disaster caused by witchcraft?

Having said this, the Supreme Master bowed towards the direction of the Central Plains and said in a respectful tone: "Fortunately, Emperor Zhuanxu came down after being ordered to do so. He ordered Nan Zhengzhong to be responsible for the sky to belong to the gods, and Huozheng to be responsible for the Li to belong to the people. Returning to the old state without intrusion or encroachment is called the ultimate heavenly power!"

Then, he turned his head and shouted sharply at Yun Fang:

"After the emperors of later generations, Yao revived Chong and Li, and did not forget the old ones, so that they could be restored to canon. By the time of Xia and Shang, the Chong and Li clans were divided into heaven and earth, and they were separated from each other. From then on, Wu Zuo There is no more enjoyment, the obscene worship of wild gods is eliminated, and humanity is prosperous! The orthodoxy of witchcraft is in the Central Plains, and you barbarians can only steal the title of witchcraft, how can it be compared?"

This is a serious statement.

Yun Fang's expression became a little uncomfortable.

The general meaning is that the way of humanity was finally born. Zhuanxu, the emperor of the time, accepted this and ordered Nanzheng Zhong to be in charge of Huihe on the god's side, and Huozheng Li to be in charge of Huihe's affairs. Restoring the original order, no longer violating each other and scorning each other, this is the so-called "Jedi Tiantong", which aims to cut off the communication channels between humans and gods and eliminate the influence of witchcraft on humans.

Wu Jin is the middleman who communicates between heaven and earth, gods, humans and ghosts. Without the middleman, it will naturally be difficult for the two sides to communicate with each other.

When the later Emperor Yao re-nurtured the descendants of Chong and Li, he did not forget their ancestors' deeds and allowed them to take charge of sacrifices again. Until the Xia and Shang countries, the Chong and Li families were still in charge for generations. He is in charge of heaven and earth to distinguish the sacrifice positions and order of people and gods. In this way, obscene worship of wild gods, which wasted money and wasted people and money, was stopped, and witches and monks used the method of sacrifice to make profits for themselves no longer.

Therefore, the orthodox witch clan is the original Zhong clan and Li clan, and these two witch clans have served as ministers of the Human Emperor in the Central Plains and have been responsible for sacrificial affairs for generations. And your Wushen Mountain lineage just stole the witch clan. It's just a title, how can it compare with the orthodoxy of my Central Plains place?

The implication is, of course, that the Wushen Mountains are all wild witches whose names are not justified. There is nothing wrong with humanity being born out of the witchcraft, but the orthodox witchcraft is not you, the Wushenshan. You are just the original group of scourges that harmed people and the country. It is the beginning of disaster.

How can such a Wushen Mountain dare to say that it is "father and son" with the Tang Dynasty?

After hearing this, Yun Fang immediately retorted.

The two sides started to argue with each other, and the analysis of human nature and witchcraft began to quarrel at the beginning.

Zhu Fengdan looked irritated as he watched the two sides slander each other.

Although it quotes classics and has gorgeous diction, people who read it for the first time will probably think that both parties have excellent literary talents, but for Zhu Fengdan, it is really boring.

Such a dispute...

Wu Shenshan and Tang Guo had had an unknown number of arguments, but it was useless to argue.

How could the orthodoxy dispute have any outcome?

It's better to just go ahead and give him a beating.

but……

The other party has the handwriting of a second-grade official...

In the Tang Dynasty, even official positions were in the nine-rank system. Humanity had a special method. Using the luck of the dynasty as a guide, you could be promoted to a certain rank if you served in a certain rank.

For example, this Shangshu Ling is a second-grade official, so his cultivation level will naturally be promoted to second-grade officials.

Although it is only temporary and weaker than the ordinary second-grade, it is a second-grade without any falsehood.

When he leaves office, these accomplishments will naturally fade away and be left to the next successor.

This is simply an unbelievable method that requires no practice and no burden.

As long as you hold a certain official position and are granted a seal by the emperor, you will immediately possess the rank of this official position and all the magical powers required.

Of course, these magical powers and grades are possessed by this official position, not by the officials. They will disappear once they leave office, and their service time is also limited.

In fact, the general principle is similar to Shen Shuibi's formation. The official position is a Gundam, and the official is the driver of the Gundam.

No matter who gets up there, they can all use the Gundam to demonstrate their capabilities, but the difference will be based on their driving ability.

This series of measures led to a very strange phenomenon in the Tang State, that is, the total number of high-end combat forces remained unchanged, but the people kept changing.

Therefore, Zhu Fengdan looked down upon these idle Tang officials.

However, in addition to these ordinary people, there are also some truly strong people who have relied on their own ability to practice.

Some of them also work in the government and have their own official positions. They usually only use their magical powers and abilities based on their positions, but in fact, their true cultivation may be much stronger than their own Gundam.

Others, that is, the masters of the world, the sages of the country, and the imperial guards should not be underestimated.

However...the three levels in front of me, except for the Taoist Earth Immortal, are all promoted by their official positions.

The two Guardsmen, whose official positions are from the third rank, are in charge of the palace imperial army, and should be the emperor's cronies.

There is also the leading Shangshu Zuocheng, who is the one who read the handwriting just now. He is also from the third rank. He is an official of Shangshu Ling and Pu She, and is in charge of Shangshu Taiwan, money, valley and other matters.

As for the Dao Sect Earth Immortal, he is a genuine third-grade one, but I don’t know how he got involved. Do the Dao Sect and the Tang Kingdom still complement each other as before?

It is clear that Daomen Cave and Tianluofu Mountain have been destroyed, what is Daomen thinking? Or is it that when the Luofu Mountain lineage was cut off, the Taoist sect also intervened?

Why? Just because the sun and the moon are really like a lead? That's not necessary. Can't the Taoist sect come up with other second-grade magic weapons? Wouldn't it be enough to switch with her then?

While Zhu Fengdan was watching their bickering, he was thinking about the things hidden behind them.

Later, even the wrangling stopped.

After about a few hours, the content of quoting scriptures was over, and it was time to get started.

But they saw the two parties sitting on the same spot, no longer speaking, and the Taoist rhyme was swirling around them, telling almost infinite information to ordinary people.

This is a language that transcends language. As long as the existence of 'Tao' can be perceived, Tao rhyme can convey incredible information content in this way.

This is ‘discussing the Tao’.

Since you can't convince the other party with one or two words, a more convincing way is to argue.

These Taoist rhymes can even accurately show a future, a future obtained through deduction.

Discussing the Tao is to determine who is "right" through endless calculations and deductions of Taoism.

To put it bluntly, you and I each hold our own opinions, and the public is right and the mother-in-law is right, so why not show all the details of how you came to the conclusion, so that everyone can see the deduction process of one party, just like putting it on the table From the formula on the surface, it is clear whose deduction is more convincing.

This kind of argument generally does not lead to a decisive victory or defeat, because in the final analysis it is all probability, and the future is uncertain. Even if one side has a 90% winning rate, there are still 10% uncertain factors, so it can only be used to judge the winner. , and it is difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser.

However, the amount of information displayed in the discussion is so great that people below the fourth level will have their brains exploded when they see it, so it can only be used for communication between these high-level monks.

This discussion lasted four full hours.

Zhu Fengdan sat and waited boredly, watching Yun Fang fight one against four.

But, suddenly, he stood up and looked into the distance.

Where...is Bailin Country?

With this movement, is my apprentice performing a sacrifice?