I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

#528 - rule

Listening to the words of the Great自在天魔, a thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind. He recalled a saying from his previous life: 'Establish a life for the people, establish a heart for the world. Continue the lost learning for past sages, and bring peace to the world.' The so-called Great Dao is probably like this, and one must steadfastly walk down it, constantly practicing it, and eventually hope to see the legendary true nature.

However, this is not Zhang Chen's Dao. In his opinion, the learning of sages is too illusory. Benevolence, righteousness, morality, propriety, justice, and shame are the Dao of sages. Zhang Chen knows that he does not have the mindset of a sage, nor can he use the standards of a sage to demand himself.

If a person lives like a sage, it would be too tiring.

"So, what kind of rules should I establish and steadfastly follow?" Zhang Chen fell into deep thought.

The principles spoken by the Great自在天魔 are the highest Dao, but even those with extraordinary talent would need ten or dozens of years of comprehension to clarify their minds and see their nature. Zhang Chen cannot wait that long.

"So, what is my Dao? I am not a Confucian, so I don't need to abide by Confucian rules. I am not a Legalist, so naturally I don't need to abide by Legalist rules. I am not one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, so I cannot follow the rules of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Those rules are too old and too pedantic, and they are no less than chains on my body." Zhang Chen constantly questioned his own heart.

The so-called clarifying one's mind and seeing one's nature is actually a principle of conduct, a set of standards for being a person.

"Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, morality, justice, and shame are too false and empty for me. What rules should I abide by?" Countless thoughts flashed through Zhang Chen's mind.

Zhang Chen thought for a whole night, and still did not understand by the time dawn arrived. However, after a night of questioning his heart, he did gain some insights and understanding.

The donkey cart was still moving slowly. From time to time, they encountered some refugees fleeing for their lives. Those refugees walked through the yellow sand with bitter faces, dragging their families with them, gradually gathering into a team again.

When the yellow sand on the ground sprouted green again, and the entire barren land was covered with green grass, a series of shrill screams came. Zhang Chen looked in the direction of the sound and saw a dozen strong men holding steel knives, surrounding a family of five and carrying out a massacre, torturing and killing the unarmed men, women, old, and young.

"Judging by their skills, they seem to be retired soldiers from the army, with some shadows of the Northern Territory army. They should be the defeated army of the Pingbian Prince's Mansion, who took the opportunity to escape from the battlefield after being defeated or washed away by the flood. Look at the steel knife in that strong man's hand, it is clearly a standard weapon of the Pingbian Prince's Mansion," Cheng Yu said, although he was young, he was knowledgeable.

At this time, the dozen strong men holding steel knives were teasing a family of five. The man knelt on the ground, constantly kowtowing and begging for mercy, but he was kicked to the ground by one of the strong men, and then another strong man went to pull the girl from the five people. Seeing this, the strong man roared, "I'll fight you!"

He pulled out a pickaxe handle from the side, wanting to rush up and fight, but the next moment he was stabbed through the heart by a steel knife.

"Dad!!!"

"Husband!!!"

"My son!!!"

A series of shrill screams rang out, making those who heard it shed tears.

"The old ones are all taken care of. This girl can be played with for a few days," the leading man sneered.

As his words fell, his subordinates grinned hideously, holding steel knives and approaching the family. Just then, a drop of blood drilled out from the ground and entered the body of the dead man. The next moment, the man suddenly opened his eyes, turned into a blood shadow, and pounced on the man opposite him.

A massacre without suspense was quelled in just a moment, leaving only a pile of corpses.

"Dad! Are you okay?" The girl looked at the man standing in the green grassland, a look of ecstasy on her face, but also a bit of fear.

After looking at the girl, the Blood God Child turned into a drop of blood and left, drilling into the mud and sand without a trace. The man's body softened and fell to the ground, losing his life.

"Dad!" The girl let out a shrill roar, and quickly threw herself on the corpse, wailing.

The crying in the distance was intermittent, and the surrounding refugees looked at all this with numb faces, but Zhang Chen stared blankly at the scene in front of him, his whole body as if electrocuted, lost in thought.

"I probably know the path I will take in the future! I also know how to clarify my mind and see my nature," Zhang Chen said thoughtfully, sitting in the donkey cart.

"You really understood?" The Great自在天魔 asked curiously from the side.

"Confucianism has three realms, namely establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words. The first realm, establishing virtue, should be understood as moral rules. Set your own rules and goals, for example, the various branches of Confucianism, some cultivate benevolence, some cultivate righteousness, this is the process of setting your own goals and rules. Since there are goals, the second realm is to establish merit, this 'merit' should be understood as practice, constantly using action to verify the rules and goals you once set, and doing things according to this rule. Use practical actions to verify whether the rules you set at the beginning are correct, use action to constantly verify the goal, and examine your own heart. After acting according to your own rules time after time, after repeated verification, after thousands of trials, see if you are unmoved in the repeated verification, then you can clarify your mind and see your nature. After that is establishing words, which is the merit of teaching. This word should not be regarded as writing books and spreading benefits, but should be regarded as influence. Influence the people of the world with one person, after one person has verified that it is correct, then influence the people of the world through your own influence, and use thousands of people to temper your own Dao," Zhang Chen's eyes seemed to have a fire flashing:

"The so-called writing books and establishing biographies is just one kind of establishing words. If you can enter the court, you can be a prince or general, grasp the general trend of the world, and use the people of the world as verification. This process can also be called proving the Dao, and counted as the third step of establishing words."

Establishing words should be understood as influence!

"From setting goals and rules, and then acting according to the goals and rules, constantly examining the changes in your own heart, and verifying whether your rules are accurate, this process is personal cultivation. After that, whether it is writing books and establishing biographies, or preaching to the world, or entering the court as an official to educate one side, all are a process of proving the Dao. The so-called third realm of establishing merit is actually the process of proving the Dao!" The mist in Zhang Chen's heart completely dissipated: "Chen Sanliang has already clarified his mind and seen his nature, he has now begun to teach all beings, and has begun to practice his own Great Dao, Chen Sanliang is this realm."

"In the process of three verifications of establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words, constantly strengthen your own heart, temper your own heart, make your own heart as pure as steel, as unshakable as mountains and rivers, all of which are proving the Dao, constantly cultivating your own heart, and tempering your own heart," Zhang Chen's thoughts in his heart were like a torrential river:

"Only in this way is the correct process of proving the Dao. The establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words mentioned on the Internet in later generations are purely corrupted by people, with too much utilitarianism. The real establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words is a method of clarifying your mind and seeing your nature, not a tool for gaining fame and fortune and becoming a moral model. Its real core is cultivating the heart, cultivating one's own heart, and keeping one's own heart unshakable. From beginning to end, only one's own self is cultivated, not doing these things for the sake of fame and fortune. If you cultivate your own virtue with a utilitarian heart, and let your own virtue influence the people around you, and make yourself a moral model in the eyes of the people around you, and then establish a career to make your own achievements remembered by the world, and finally write books and establish biographies to make yourself pass on for thousands of years, this is the lowest achievement, but a hypocrite."

"The so-called moral model, using one's own morality to influence the people around you, establishing a career, and spreading it to the world, is just a side branch of the process of self-proving the Dao, an attached thing. One is the means and purpose, and the other is self-verification, the two cannot be mentioned in the same breath." Countless thoughts in Zhang Chen's mind erupted like a volcano at this time:

"I have embarked on the Immortal Path, how should I establish rules for myself? And constantly verify it? Correct it?"

"What are my rules?" Zhang Chen kept questioning himself in his heart along the way, until he saw the scene of the massacre in front of him, then he felt something in his heart:

"I probably know my rules! I also know the purpose of my cultivation."

"My Dao is the righteous path, and in the process of repeatedly 'doing righteous deeds', question your own heart, repeatedly verify your own original heart, and repeatedly question your own heart, and finally clarify your mind and see your nature." Zhang Chen understood this principle, and felt comfortable in his heart.

"Many things in this world, someone always has to do them, someone always has to take care of them."

"Within my ability, to take care of injustice, this is probably the meaning of cultivation for us cultivators. If you say to take care of yourself, it is also very good, but after all, it does not conform to my soul that has been influenced by my previous life, the spirit of 'drawing a knife to help when you see injustice on the road', and the genes passed down by countless revolutionary martyrs are engraved in my bones, which is the bloodline that has been influenced by my previous five thousand years. When a person has the ability, he should take care of injustice, and the strong should stand up for the weak." Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with a trace of reminiscence. In his previous life, when the country was overthrown, countless wealthy tycoons could have stood by and watched, even if the country was broken, they could still be high-ranking capitalists, but for the fate of their family and country, they did not hesitate to lose their fortunes and their lives, and had to contribute a force.

"My Dao, I probably know it. Someone should always stand up for the weak in this dog-cao world. In my previous life, that old man swept across the country and opened up a great road for the poor people of the world. I, Zhang Chen, dare not compare with that old man, but I can also do some things within my power. This is the Dao I want to practice, the rules I want to practice!" A gleam of light appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes, and his energy and spirit began to transform wildly at this time:

"Righteous Path! Proving the Dao!"

At this time, Zhang Chen's mana began to agitate, the Wenwu Fire Timing had already begun to operate, the Jade Liquid Returning Pill began to constantly transform, and the whole person's energy and spirit also began to transform.