Chapter 103: A Super Big Lie
A Super Big Lie . . .
Wan Zheng-Hao and Gu Jin-Long looked at each other.
['My master'!]
Cha Eun Xiao's words contained so much information.
That meant Feng Zhi-Ling didn't have the ability to make supreme dan beads. Only the guy hidden behind him could make it.
And that guy must be a superior master of making dan beads!
Gu and Wan had thought about it earlier. Feng Zhi-Ling looked much older than Cha Eun Xiao, but he was only about 30 years old. A 30 years old man could hardly be a dan-making grandmaster. So in their opinion, it was rather reasonable that there was a master behind Feng Zhi-Ling!
Wan Zheng-Hao laughed and probingly asked, "Brother Feng, I wonder… Except Pei-Yuan dan beads, what kind of dan beads with a supreme level can you master make?"
Cha Eun Xiao stayed quiet for a while and then raised his head immediately. It seemed like he had made a decision about something and said, "I have a pleasant relation with Ling-Bao Hall in the previous cooperation. Since Brother Feng has asked me this question, I think I should just give you the truth."
Gu and Wan were both spirited.
They thought Feng Zhi-Ling was about to tell them something very important.
"My master started making dan beads from last year." Cha Eun Xiao's first sentence had stunned them both.
[What? Last year?
That means in only one year, his master successfully made supreme dan beads?
What is this bullshit? Truly bullshit? Or seriously bullshit?]
"You may think I am lying or raising his stature, but I can only say that it is the truth. The supreme dan beads are the perfect proof!" Cha Eun Xiao spoke.
"Please go on." They nodded and asked.
"My master is 397 years old now. He was in the ninth level of the Grade of Diyuan. He could only go this far as his talent is limited. He is about to pass away within the next three to five years."
Cha Eun Xiao continued, "My master was born in a family of dan-makers. He has heard and seen a lot of dan-making since he was born. However, his father only let him read books about dan beads. Even though he has kneeled and begged for practice, his father had never allowed him to."
While Cha Eun Xiao spoke of that, Gu Jin-Long actually frowned.
Gu Jin-Long didn't want to talk, but he wanted to figure out something.
So Wan Zheng-Hao became the perfect person to ask for him.
He asked, "Why is that?"
Cha Eun Xiao answered, "Please be patient. Listen to me carefully."
Wan Zheng-Hao shut his mouth right away.
"After that, during my master's first dozens of years, he had read all the books about dan beads that could be found in the world. After he had done so, he thought he could finally practice what he had learned. Yet his father still didn't allow him to. Instead, his father made an extremely harsh request which was totally unbelievable."
"What was it? How was it extremely harsh and unbelievable?" Wan Zheng-Hao asked in just the right time.
"It was… to recite all those books without a single mistake. All of them! No mistake on even one single word!" Cha Eun Xiao said, "If you get in our sect, the first thing you should do is reciting books. We have collected the biggest amount of books in the Land of Han-Yang. We hardly missed any book. All our books… If you put them together, they could nearly filled up several houses… I have been in our sect for nearly 20 years, and I am still unable to finish all the books. My master's father requested him to recite all those books without a single mistake being made! That was as difficult as reaching the sky!"
Gu and Wan both sucked in a deep breath. They really couldn't understand why this father wanted to do such a thing.
"And then?" Wan Zheng-Hao asked.
"And then my master actually went on reading and reciting… Before he could recite all those books, his father passed away. Before his father died, his father told him, 'I have been working on making dan beads for my whole life. I am already a dan-making grandmaster in people's eyes. There won't be many people who can be better than me. However, I am the only one who knows that I am not qualified. I am very, very far from it.'
In the area of dan-making, there is no limitation. I have only walked one or two steps on a path that is a hundred miles long.'
'It is such a pity that I figured out the truth when I was already too old… It is that when you start with it, you have to calm your heart! If you don't, your heart will hold you behind!'"
Gu Jin-Long was so concentrated when Cha-Eun Xiao spoke of that.
[Maybe, the biggest secret about the supreme dan beads is just hidden in this story.]
"My master's father spoke in a serious voice, 'Now I am not reading those books for learning; I am… looking for the mistakes in those books."
"And the way I make dan beads has become a certain pattern. It has become a part of my habit. I can no longer change anything about it. So I am unable to make the legendary supreme dan beads all my life!"
"There all millions of books about dan beads in the world. They all have their significances. However, every book contains the personality of the author… If you learn by following one's book, you are never gonna do better than the author. You can't have the experiences and understandings of a grandmaster! So you are never going to be outstanding by learning from others."
Gu Jin-Long nodded slowly.
[That is so true. That is actually the truth amongst the truths.]
It was like the a master and two disciples practicing the same sword-play. They could never show it the same way. This was the same situation.
Three men play the same art of sword. They were actually executing three different sword-plays!
Even though they made the same movements, the power and the inner spiritual influences would be completely different.
Cha-Eun Xiao continued.
"His father made a final request to my master before he died, 'I want you… to fully understand every word in those books after you successfully recite all of them. You have to know everything about every way to make dan beads. After then…'
'After that, you throw away all those books and only keep what you have experienced all these years. Figure out your own way of making dan beads. Create a brand new way for the dan-makers!'
'Maybe you can do it; maybe you can not… However… That is the only way you should proceed in the area of dan-making…'
And then after he finished his last words, he died."
"What words?" Wan Zheng-Hao asked.
"He said… 'If one day, you have figured out your own way and you are sure that it only belongs to you, you can start bringing it into practice! If one day you produce some supreme dan beads… You come to my tomb, burn incenses for me and tell me about your success."
Cha-Eun Xiao finished that with a few sighs.
Gu Jin-Long and Wan Zheng-Hao were both immersed in the story, so they sighed too.
[That's the story…]
"After that, my master kept all those words in his mind. All these years, he has been working on it and searching for some materials in the mountain. During those 300 years, he had never touched the dan stove ever."
"Until last year… My master had finally figured out something. He laughed three times on the top of a mountain and then he started making dan beads! He started to make the first group of dan beads in his life!"
"My master was 395 and a half years old that day!"
"I had been following my master for 18 years in total. I can still vividly remember that he said…" Cha-Eun Xiao acted like he was lost in the memory and spoke gently, "… 'After these fascinating four hundred years, the little boy has gone. My eyes are dim-sighted now when I look at my life, but I have never changed my mind about making dan beads. There will always be a way out at the end of my rope; when it shows up, it will open all the gates to the night heavens. My life of dan-making has started today, and I will stick to it until I die!'"
(恍惚人生四百年;当初幼童已云烟;两眼昏花看来路,一心不改蕴神丹;山穷水尽终有路,一念洞开九重天;丹道之路今日始,亦从今日近黄泉!)
"Fleeting life of four hundred years; Once a young child, now like smoke in the distance; Eyes dimmed, looking at the path ahead, Determined to refine the divine elixir without change; When mountains are exhausted, and waters run dry, there's still a way, With a single thought, open the gates to the ninth heaven; The path of alchemy begins today, Also drawing near to the yellow springs!"
Wan Zheng-Hao and Gu Jin-Long exchanged thoughtful glances.
In the realm of Diyuan, the maximum lifespan was a strict limit set by the divine forces - no one could live beyond 400 years. Feng Zhi-Ling's master had experienced this great epiphany when he was 395 and a half years old, which meant he had merely four and a half years to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
The brevity of those years made the accomplishment even more extraordinary in their eyes.
"That is the story of the supreme dan beads, isn't it? The process of crafting these dan beads spanned nearly 400 years. The challenge of creating supreme dan beads is truly unimaginable," remarked Gu Jin-Long, deeply moved by the tale.
"It may have taken even longer," Cha-Eun Xiao replied. "If my master hadn't uncovered the true essence of dan-making, those 400 years would have been in vain."
"Oh? The true essence of dan-making?" Gu Jin-Long inquired, clearly piqued by Cha-Eun Xiao's revelation. Ordinarily, he was calm and collected, but the story had stirred his curiosity to a point where he couldn't contain his questions.
Cha-Eun Xiao didn't take offense; instead, he responded calmly, "The secret my master unearthed can be summarized in one word."
"One word? What word?" both of them queried in tandem.
"Silence," Cha-Eun Xiao replied.
"Silence?" The two men exchanged surprised glances.
"Yes, that's correct. Just one word: silence," Cha-Eun Xiao explained further. He took a sip of tea to quench his thirst after sharing the story at length and continued, "After comprehending the contents of all those books, my master realized that, in truth, the methods employed by those dan-making masters were all correct. They were merely different paths leading to the same destination, that's all."
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