Dream King

Chapter 62

After Mo Mo removed the wooden board, Shi Lan was shocked when she saw the man's face. She covered her mouth, which was wide open in surprise. A few seconds later, she grabbed Mo Mo's arms tightly and said excitedly, "Brother, you saved my brother! Is it true?" However, after seeing Yu Ziqi's condition, she quickly calmed down and asked, "What happened to my brother?"

“We arrived too late. He has already been turned into a drug by Yun Zhongjun, but his willpower is strong and he has not completely lost consciousness. There is still hope.”

"Do you know?" Shi Lan looked at Mo Mo with anticipation.

Just then, Yu Ziqi, whose eyes were vacant, suddenly said in a hoarse voice, "What he said is true, Xiao Yu, but I can't hold on for much longer either."

"Don't worry, with me here, even if you really die, I can revive you. By the way, just in case, if you really die, I have several sets of materials to make a body, including thousand-year-old spiritual lotus root, thousand-year-old spiritual bamboo, ice jade, and hibiscus tree branches. Which one do you want?" Mo Mo asked seriously.

Shi Lan "..."

Yu Ziqi: "..." I just want my own body back, is that okay?

"Well, it's just in case. We might not even need it, and it's best if we don't. These materials are enough for me to make a few bottles of candy."

Shi Lan "..."

Yu Ziqi "..."

Three days later, Mo Mo put away the dozen or so elixirs of immortality in the alchemy furnace. These were made using the recipe from the Bull Demon King in the Magic Phone, but Mo Mo made some slight modifications, since he didn't have the time to collect so many elixir.

Afterwards, Mo Mo continued to refine a large batch of pills suitable for the Moon Goddess and the others. He only stopped when he had almost used up all the usable medicinal materials on the Mirage. After all, although he had many spiritual herbs and immortal roots, he had very few low-grade herbs or spiritual plants. He was powerless to refine pills suitable for the Moon Goddess and the others, but there were so many here. It would be a disservice to his conscience not to use them.

Moreover, Mo Mo also discovered several spiritual herbs that, although not of high grade, were exceptionally peculiar. Among them, a blood ginseng was particularly precious. This blood ginseng had a very peculiar growing environment. It did not need spiritual energy, but only a massive amount of essence blood, and it could only grow in places filled with malevolent energy. Mo Mo estimated that this blood ginseng must have been picked from some battlefield.

After looting the pharmacy on the mirage, Mo Mo returned to his room. Once back in his room, Shi Lan told him some unexpected news: Fu Su had invited him to participate in a contest against the Confucianists.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 135 Little Sage Village

"A duel? It seems Qin Shi Huang is preparing to make a move, but it's time to leave." Mo Mo thought to himself.

"Let's pack up and get ready to disembark!"

Upon hearing Mo Mo's words, Shi Lan was overjoyed, but then felt a pang of disappointment. She was overjoyed because her brother had been rescued and leaving the mirage meant she was safe. She was disappointed because after disembarking, she would no longer be Mo Mo's maid and would no longer be able to spend her days with him.

Actually, there wasn't much to pack. After packing a change of clothes, Mo Mo and the others prepared to leave. However, to Mo Mo's surprise, the maids actually wanted to get off the ship with them.

Just then, several guardians of the Yin Yang School suddenly appeared in front of Mo Mo and his group. Mo Mo thought that his abduction of Yan Fei had been discovered. After asking, he learned that Fu Su had also invited them.

Afterwards, the group left the mirage. However, since there was still one day before the competition, Mo Mo and Shi Lan returned to Haiyue Xiaozhu at Fusu's request.

The next morning, Mo Mo and Fu Su set off from Haiyue Xiaozhu and headed together to Xiaoshengxianzhuang, a Confucian village.

The group arrived at Xiaoshengxianzhuang by carriage, and then, to show respect, Fusu decided to walk all the way to Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

Upon arriving at the gate of Xiaoshengxianzhuang, Mo Mo discovered that the scene was even grander than in the original drama, with Mo Mo and his companions being greeted with the rites befitting an emperor rather than a feudal lord.

The three leaders of the Confucian school, Fu Nian, Yan Lu, and Zhang Liang, stood respectfully behind an old man, and there stood Xunzi.

Xunzi, whose given name was Kuang and courtesy name was Qing, was a famous thinker, writer, and politician in the late Warring States period. He was also another great Confucian scholar after Confucius and Mencius, and the teacher of two famous Legalist figures, Li Si and Han Fei.

He was an elderly man with an air of otherworldly wisdom and refined demeanor. He was the senior martial uncle of Fu Nian, the current head of the Confucian school, and the most senior and accomplished elder in the Confucian tradition.

He was proficient in Go and loved flowers and plants, but he had a strange temper and was very strict. Even Fu Nian, the leader of the sect, and Yan Lu, who was cautious and gentle, would sometimes be scolded by him. On the contrary, he greatly admired Zhang Liang, who always did not follow the rules.

In fact, Xunzi did not like the Qin Dynasty. Otherwise, he would not have disliked Li Si and would have liked Zhang Liang quite a bit. Given his status and power, it was impossible for him not to know that Zhang Liang was a staunch anti-Qin figure.

Xunzi chatted casually with Fusu for a few moments before walking towards Momo.

Upon approaching Mo Mo, Xunzi smiled and said, "This must be the Immortal Master. Judging from your otherworldly demeanor, you must be a celestial being. You wouldn't make things difficult for these juniors, would you?"

Looking at Xunzi's smiling face, Mo Mo couldn't help but mutter to himself, "He really is an old fox. He's trying to use words to discourage me from making a move!"

However, Mo Mo had no intention of intervening. He was only there to watch the spectacle, as it was a classic scene from Qin's Moon. So he replied, "Xunzi, rest assured, I'm just here to watch the show and won't interfere in your affairs. But you should also mind your own business and not accidentally drag the entire Confucian school down with you." "Immortal Master, you flatter me. The Confucian school has always been law-abiding and has always followed the lead of the Great Qin. We dare not do anything out of line. This old man's health is failing, and I cannot stand for long. Please, Immortal Master!" Clearly, Xunzi did not want to get too entangled with Mo Mo, because he found Mo Mo's cultivation to be unfathomable, and he did not want to expose his own strength and arouse the suspicion of the Great Qin leader.

However, he had clearly miscalculated, because he had always looked down on his disciple Li Si, whom he refused to acknowledge, and had already set his sights on them. It was only a matter of time before he took action against the Confucianists, and they were destined to be unable to escape this calamity.

After entering Xiaoshengxianzhuang, Xunzi disappeared, and the competition officially began after everyone arrived at the reception hall of Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

The first round was a debate, and Gongsun Linglong, the current heir of the famous school of eloquence, naturally took the stage. On her first day, she easily defeated six Confucian disciples in a row. In the seventh round, Confucian disciple Zicong took the stage, but he was also unable to refute Gongsun Linglong's fallacy of "a white horse is not a horse," so he changed his approach.

Zi Cong said, “Sir, your reasoning seems reasonable, but it is actually absurd. The so-called argument that a white horse is not a horse may sound irrefutable, but many unchanging facts in the world will not change because of the outcome of a debate. Even if the School of Names says with certainty that a white horse is not a horse, the horse will not disappear from the world because of this debate. This is the great principle of the universe, which is the goal of Confucianism.”

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Linglong burst into laughter upon hearing this. Zi Cong was puzzled, so Gongsun Linglong smiled and said, "I laugh at the Confucianists who always talk about Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher, and who respect the ancients and value the virtuous, but they have actually forgotten their own ancestors."

Zi Cong was even more puzzled, while Zhang Liang and the others beside him changed their expressions upon seeing this, because they knew that Zi Cong had already lost.

Sure enough, Gongsun Linglong invoked Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, and said, "Back then, when the King of Chu went hunting, he lost a precious bow. His attendants wanted to go and look for it, but the King of Chu said, 'If a Chu person loses it, a Chu person will find it. Why bother looking for it?' Did this really happen?"

Zi Cong, having thoroughly studied Confucian classics, naturally knew this, so he nodded in agreement and said, "Our patriarch truly deserves to be called a grandmaster. After learning about this matter, he believed that we should broaden our horizons and recognize that all people are equal, without distinguishing between people from Chu or other countries. Therefore, he told the King of Chu that it was enough to say that what people lose is what people gain, and there was no need to mention the people of Chu."

After speaking, Zi Cong suddenly seemed to realize something, his expression darkening. He knew he had lost. Sure enough, Gongsun Linglong continued, "If the people of Chu were the same as people, why would Confucius have corrected the King of Chu? Obviously, he believed that the people of Chu and people were two different things, which is why he corrected the King of Chu, right? Since Confucius believed that the people of Chu were not people, doesn't that coincide with my idea that 'a white horse is not a horse'?"

Zi Cong sighed and sat back down in his seat. Just then, Zi Ming, the chosen one of this world, Tian Ming, finally stepped into the fray. Faced with Gongsun Linglong's fallacy that "a white horse is not a horse," he completely agreed.

Just as Gongsun Linglong was proudly introducing the Snow-Treading Steed, Tianming approached it while praising it, then slapped its rump, startling it away. Gongsun Linglong cried out, "My horse!!"

Tianming said he would definitely find her horse, but when Momo saw what Tianming brought back, she almost spat out her tea. Tianming wasn't leading a horse that had run out to tread the snow, but a small donkey. It was no longer a white horse; the species had changed.

The room was stunned when they saw the skinny little donkey. Even Zhang Liang stared wide-eyed, because this was not what he had prepared. He had prepared a black and skinny old horse for Tianming. Although it was small, it was still a horse. But what Tianming was holding was a little donkey. It really was a little donkey, only a little over a meter tall.

After handing the reins to Gongsun Linglong, Tianming said, "Auntie, I've found your Ta Xue."

Gongsun Linglong was shocked and furious: "Absurd! This is clearly a newborn donkey, yet you're trying to trick me into thinking this is Ta Xue."

Tianming looked surprised when he heard Gongsun Linglong's words and said, "What do you mean by a newborn donkey? This is my family heirloom. Its name is Taren. From today onwards, it will be your family heirloom."

Gongsun Linglong: "That's utter nonsense. The white horse and the donkey are obvious. Can't you see that?"

Tianming asked in confusion, "That's really strange. According to your Gongsun family, isn't this just 'Treading Snow'?"

Gongsun Linglong retorted angrily, "Nonsense!"

Tianming explained earnestly, "Listen to this, according to your logic, a horse is not the same as a white horse, so a white horse is not the same as a horse, right?"

Gongsun Linglong: "So what if it is?"

Upon hearing Gongsun Linglong's answer, Tianming happily said, "That's right! Look, this 'Snow Treading' is your family heirloom, and this 'Treading People' is our family heirloom. In other words, 'Snow Treading' is equivalent to a family heirloom, and 'Treading People' is also equivalent to a family heirloom."

Upon hearing Tianming's words, Gongsun Linglong shouted anxiously, "Nonsense! You're talking nonsense!"

Tianming ignored Gongsun Linglong and continued, "A family heirloom is a family heirloom, so stepping on snow is the same as stepping on people."

After Tianming finished speaking, Gongsun Linglong uttered "you" several times in a row. Finally, the mask in her hand fell limply to the ground. Gongsun Linglong was defeated!

Gongsun Linglong was defeated by Tianming, causing Fusu's people to suffer an initial setback. However, Fusu was not worried at all, because he not only brought the Six Sword Slaves, but also invited a trump card, namely Xiaomeng from Tianzong.

Xiaomeng is the head of the Taoist Tianzong sect. She wields the famous sword Qiuli and cultivates the highest Taoist mental cultivation method. She is in harmony with the light and the dust, and is so clear that she seems to exist. She has no distinction between "dislike" and "like". She does not agree with others who take life and death too seriously. She took over the position of sect leader at the young age of eighteen.

After Gongsun Linglong's defeat, the Six Sword Slaves entered the fray. The Six Sword Slaves were a unified entity, yet each acted independently; they were flamboyant in personality, but also absolutely obedient. Each of them wielded an ancient famous sword, namely Zhengang, Duanshui, Luanshen, Zhuanpomiehun, and Wangliang, with Zhengang as their leader.

The Confucian school dared not be negligent and sent out its second-in-command, Yan Lu. Chu Nan Gong commented on Yan Lu as follows: "A gentleman is without contention, conceals his brilliance without form, and sits in oblivion without intention. These three qualities appear in one person at the same time, perfectly in harmony, which is truly rare. This allowed Yan Lu to enter a state of absolute nothingness."

Just as Chu Nan Gong commented, a gentleman is without contention, embodies formlessness, and sits in oblivion without intention. When Yan Lu wields the Han Guang technique, he has never won, but he has never lost either. He is an unparalleled master of draws. Even when fighting against his senior brother Fu Nian, he has never been defeated. In the end, this master of draws left the six sword slaves, who are of one body, speechless. No matter how they attacked, they could not break through Yan Lu's defense, and Yan Lu rarely took the initiative to attack. In the end, the two sides ended in a draw.

Just then, a woman in her late teens, with a cool and aloof expression, extraordinary appearance, wearing a long blue dress, and holding an object that resembled both a sword and a whisk, walked in with graceful steps.

Thank you to ミ久未心痛╮ for the donation, and thank you everyone for your monthly tickets and recommendations; I thought I'd get no monthly tickets this month, but I woke up this morning to find that you cast two votes at once, which is so comforting! However, I can't write anything today, but I'll try to update three chapters early tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 136 The Exquisite Dream of Dawn

Her skin is like autumn water, her bones like white jade; her form is graceful as a startled swan, elegant as a swimming dragon; her glory shines like autumn chrysanthemums, her splendor like spring pines; she seems like light clouds veiling the moon, drifting like swirling snow in a flowing wind. From afar, she shines like the rising sun at dawn; up close, she is dazzling like a lotus emerging from clear water.

The gist is that this person is graceful and delicate, like a startled wild goose taking flight; their body is strong and supple, like a dragon frolicking in the air; their face is bright and radiant, like chrysanthemums blooming in autumn; their youthful beauty is as lush and vibrant as pine trees in spring; their movements are ethereal, like thin clouds gently veiling the moon; their image is fleeting, like snowflakes swirling in the wind; from afar, they appear bright and white, like the rising sun in the morning glow; up close, they are dazzling and radiant, like a lotus flower standing gracefully in a clear pond.

This is Cao Zhi's description of the Goddess of the Luo River in "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River," used to describe a beautiful woman with a perfect figure and appearance. However, Xiaomeng, who is walking gracefully at this moment, is no less beautiful than her. Coupled with her unique temperament, she makes everyone in the hall stare in amazement.

Fortunately, everyone in the hall had excellent mental fortitude and quickly regained their composure. Except for Mo Mo, everyone else respectfully bowed to Xiao Meng as a junior. There was nothing they could do; although she was young, her seniority was exceptionally high, placing her directly in the same generation as their senior uncle.

Actually, this situation is quite normal. Nowadays, many people, even though they are not old, have a very high seniority if they are ranked by generation. The famous writer Lu Xun once described in an article that in his hometown, there were even people in their sixties or seventies who called a seven or eight-year-old child "uncle".

Mo Mo's situation wasn't quite as extreme, but he still had several nephews who were older than him (in terms of real-world age). While he was still studying hard and didn't have a girlfriend, other people's children were already old enough to run errands. And his eldest brother was even older than his father.

After bowing, Fusu respectfully said to Xiaomeng, "I entrust the rest to you, Master Xiaomeng."

Xiaomeng nodded, and Fu Nian, the head of the Confucian school, finally stood up, bowed to Xiaomeng, and said, "Master Xiaomeng, please."

Clearly, the next match is a duel between the two of them, and this will be the key to the outcome of this match. If Fu Nian wins, the Confucian school wins; if Xiao Meng wins, it will be a draw, and they will have to fight again. However, if they continue, it will be quite disadvantageous for the Confucian school, because Fu Su's side still has the Yin Yang School's Da Si Ming and Xing Hun, while the Confucian school only has Zhang Liang left.

Xiaomeng believed that directly fighting Fu Nian was bullying the weak, while Fu Nian also believed that it was disrespectful to elders. So the two went to the lotus pond outside the courtyard and fought with their internal strength.

The two stood on the covered bridge, controlling the water in the lotus pond with their internal energy. Xiaomeng directly condensed the water into the character "Dao," while Fu Nian condensed it into the character "Li." The two were evenly matched. Just then, Fu Nian's character "Li" suddenly collapsed, slowly forming a lotus flower, which then bloomed. Xiaomeng was not to be outdone, and she also condensed the water into lotus flowers, and several of them bloomed at the same time.

Just as Fu Nian was about to exert his strength again, his eyes suddenly narrowed, he dissipated the internal energy in his hands, and directly admitted defeat, because he had received Xunzi's warning that someone had infiltrated the Sutra Pavilion.

Xiaomeng sensed something was amiss and knew that Fu Nian hadn't used his full strength. However, since Fu Nian had already conceded defeat, she couldn't question him. Fu Su also announced that the competition ended in a draw, which surprised everyone. After all, he was currently in the lead, so why did the competition suddenly stop? However, Fu Su was the host, and since he had made the decision, they couldn't interfere.

After the competition, Fu Nian, the leader of the Confucian school, led Mo Mo and the others on a tour of Xiaoshengxianzhuang. After lunch, Fu Su took Mo Mo and the others away. However, to Mo Mo's surprise, Xiao Meng also wanted to stay at Haiyue Xiaozhu. This surprised Mo Mo, and when Xiao Meng came to his door, he finally understood why.

As soon as she entered, Xiaomeng asked Mo Mo, "What is the Dao?"

Mo Mo: "..." This script is wrong! Shouldn't we exchange pleasantries when we come in? Why is he asking me what the Dao is as soon as he walks in?

However, after thinking about Xiaomeng's almost detached and indifferent personality, regarding all things as worthless, Mo Mo felt it was somewhat reasonable. So he replied, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao..." He recited Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching in a long and eloquent manner, and finally concluded, "This is the Tao."

Xiaomeng: "..."

Mo Mo: "Does the master believe that this is not the Dao?"

Xiaomeng: "..."

Mo Mo: "..." "Then what does the master think the Dao is?" Mo Mo was at a loss.

“This is indeed the Dao, but that is the ancestor’s description of the Dao. What I want to ask is your understanding of the Dao.” Xiaomeng remained calm and composed.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The path I walk is my own Tao," Mo Mo said to Xiao Meng with a smile.

"The path beneath your feet? Is that my path?" Xiaomeng frowned.

"There are three thousand Great Paths, each of which can prove the Great Path. Everyone has their own Path. Some are passionate and sincere, while others are ruthless and heartless. But in the end, they will all arrive at the same destination. Whether one is passionate or heartless, it is all just to pursue the Great Path. But I want to ask you a question: Why do you cultivate the Path?"

Xiaomeng fell into deep thought upon hearing Mo Mo's words. She sat on Mo Mo's bed and began to meditate, entering a state of complete absorption, leaving Mo Mo aside.

Mo Mo was speechless as he watched Xiao Meng sit down on his bed as if she didn't exist. Shi Lan, who was standing next to him, was completely stunned. This was a man's room, and Xiao Meng was an unmarried girl. Was it really okay for her to sit on Mo Mo's bed like that?

Shaking his head, Mo Mo pulled Shi Lan away. Judging from Xiao Meng's condition, it would be impossible for the matter to end in less than half a day, and it was very likely to be delayed for ten days or half a month.