The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 112 - 78: Disguise

Chapter 112: Chapter 78: Disguise

After sending off Fayue, Xu Qing lingered on the fluctuations of his Divine Soul.

The cultivation of the Divine Soul is quite interesting. If one continuously maintains a state of undisturbed tranquility, like an ancient well without ripples, it is beneficial for the Divine Soul to eliminate stray thoughts and maintain purity. When contemplating issues, one tends to be more rational.

"But this does not lead to a faster increase in the power of the Divine Soul than the drastic ups and downs of emotions."

The fluctuations of emotions, the enhancement of desires, and so on, can all strengthen the Divine Soul, but at the same time, the Divine Soul can become polluted, as if by foreign contaminants, falling easily into an irrational state and generating impurities...

Xu Qing unfolded a sheet of white paper, took up the brush on the desk, and wrote down a line,

"Subdue the heart’s monkey and tether the mind’s horse."

The "heart’s monkey and mind’s horse" refers to thoughts that jump around like monkeys and horses, running everywhere uncontrollably, leading to inner unrest and mind wandering all over the place.

This can disrupt one’s daily life, but if one can subdue them, it can harden and firm the inner heart, making the Divine Soul even more resilient and powerful.

What applies to the heart’s monkey and mind’s horse also applies to the Heart Demon.

In fact, a person’s Divine Soul inherently needs to wander and experience many things in order to absorb nourishment.

"Reading thousands of books is less enriching than travelling thousands of miles."

This is subtly aligned with the Confucian way of cultivating oneself and nurturing one’s nature.

Travelling thousands of miles does not literally mean to walk thousands of miles but essentially to experience many things.

Xu Qing continued to write on the white paper,

"Not knowing the taste of sorrow in youth, one falls in love with the upper floors. Fall in love with the upper floors, and feign sorrow to compose new verses.

Now that I know this taste of sorrow well, I desire to speak yet rest my case. Desire to speak yet rest my case, instead, claiming how autumn’s chill makes a fine season."

Real life experience is not the pretence of the youth; that taste is not pleasant, but rather painful. It’s precisely because of pain that there can be greater refinement. Once one has gone through it, there’s not much left to say.

It is good to cultivate oneself within the Court - aside from the advantage of resources, the Court itself is the place where the dust of the mundane world is the most complex, conducive to refining the Divine Soul and forging a will that’s firm and unwavering.

In the worldly society, one often has no control over their own fate.

What is the worldly society? People are the worldly society.

And within the Court, it has always been the most complex and insidious place of human hearts.

Where every day of the 360 days of the year, one faces harsh trials as if slicing winds and frosty swords press closely upon.

To be out of this world is to evade these trials; to be in this world is to face them head-on.

Only by entering and being able to leave can one achieve a superior state of mind.

Like facing fears and overcoming them.

Xu Qing set down the brush, stretched out lazily, and relaxed his body.

He was in no hurry to ask Fayue for the Golden Ray Monastery’s Secret Medicine and the Magic Door to Tiger Demon Bone Strengthening, because the time was not right; so first, he would request the Fertility Soup for his uncle and aunt, to resolve their concerns, and also to slowly boil them like a frog in warm water.

...

Fayue was a wise man and understood clearly what Xu Qing had said and how greatly it would benefit the Golden Ray Monastery.

This was also an important opportunity for the Golden Ray Monastery to transform.

From a broad and unfocused public temple to a specialized one, doing good deeds with a reputation that everyone speaks highly of. There is great merit in this.

After returning to the Golden Ray Monastery, he discussed with Abbot Yan Kong and Elder Yan Zhi, the monastery’s supervisors.

These were the two most powerful people in the Golden Ray Monastery.

Needless to say, the Abbot held great authority while Elder Yan Zhi was equivalent to the Minister of Revenue in the Court; anything at the monastery related to money had to go through the Elder Yan Zhi.

The two old Monks, after hearing what Fayue had to say, the monastery supervisor angrily retorted, "Absurd, this is completely unreasonable."

He pointed at Fayue and said, "Nephew Fayue, you are so muddle-headed, how can there be any logic in returning incense money?"

After his outburst, he felt this made him seem overly mercenary, and shameful for the image of a high monk, so he added, "Incense money is merit, it is devotion to the Buddha, it’s not business, not trade..."

Well, actually, the incense money was managed by him, and the thought of it being refunded was like cutting his own flesh. Cutting flesh was the Buddha’s work, and if he did it, wouldn’t that make him akin to the Buddha?

The Buddha is meant to be worshipped and respected!

Fayue didn’t respond, but just looked at the Abbot.

He had decided, if the Abbot didn’t agree, he would take the Abbot’s place to give his agreement.

Anyway, he did not want to take over a mess to rise to a higher position.

The Abbot pondered for a moment, brought his palms together and sighed, "This benefactor Xu truly has great wisdom. Such meritorious and good deeds, our Golden Ray Monastery would be honored to commit to."

Fayue internally breathed a sigh of relief, yet he also felt some disappointment.

When there was no money, the old Monk talked every day about giving up his position, but now that he had found a way to make the monastery bigger and stronger, it seemed like the old Monk could continue for another twenty years.

In another twenty years, he would be nearly fifty.

Is there ever a young Abbot who served fifty years?

Seeing that master and disciple were in agreement, the monastery supervisor Elder Yan Zhi was quite infuriated, "This cannot be allowed."

He didn’t want to know how beneficial this would be if it succeeded; all he knew was that the incense money which entered his pocket had no reason to go out.

The Abbot spoke gently, "Brother, this is not a trivial matter. You go down and think it over in peace, we’ll discuss this matter further later."

Thinking that in the hall now, the master and disciple’s two against one, he really couldn’t argue, the Elder Yan Zhi decided to go back and find people to discuss.

Refunding the incense money was really about underpinning his foundation. It was not a question of how much money was earned, but of the Abbot reaching into his territory.

After Elder Yan Zhi left, Fayue said, "Abbot, if Elder Yan Zhi disagrees, this matter will be difficult to handle."

The Abbot replied, "No worries, I have my own plans for this matter. Is there anything else you need?"

He saw that Fayue had more to say but hesitated.

Fayue then spoke of the Fertility Soup.

The Abbot pondered for a moment, "There are not many ingredients for the Fertility Soup left in the monastery. But such a secret recipe cannot be given directly to Xu Sanyuan. Go and take out the remaining few portions, and when our big issue is settled in a couple of days, we’ll deliver them to his doorstep."

"Acknowledged."

...

Midnight.

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