Dragon's Origin

Seeing Wang Sheng speak so casually, the Abbot was a bit surprised, but recalling how the Old Daoist and Wang Sheng interacted before, he understood. He called out to the Daoist child who was responsible for reciting the Daoist scriptures and had been listening in stunned silence, and the Abbot left the space in the scripture copying building to Wang Sheng and the Old Daoist Ling Xu.

Using various Daoist methods had failed to awaken him, so perhaps some secular methods might work. However, the Daoists in the Old Lord Temple knew the identity of the Old Daoist Ling Xu and treated him with great respect. None were as casual as Wang Sheng.

Orthodox methods didn't work, so perhaps someone like Wang Sheng, with his unorthodox ways, was needed. At least in the eyes of the Abbot, Wang Sheng's teasing and joking tone was unorthodox.

Wang Sheng didn't care whether his methods were considered orthodox or unorthodox by others. As long as they worked, they were good methods.

Not only did he sit and chat casually, but in what could be said to be the most solemn scripture copying building in the Old Lord Temple, Wang Sheng also brought out wine and dishes, trying to tempt the Old Daoist, who violated the precepts by drinking and eating meat, to stir.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Wang Sheng chatted, no matter how much he tried to lure him with wine and dishes, the Old Daoist Ling Xu remained sitting upright, without moving. He breathed once every few minutes, and his heart beat once every few minutes. Judging from his state, he seemed more like an animal hibernating.

This further confirmed Wang Sheng's guess. The Old Daoist must have closed off his six senses, not seeing or hearing anything, which was quite in line with some descriptions in the 'Tao Te Ching'.

It could be said that the Old Daoist was truly fortunate, having already touched the edge of some great Dao. It was just that he had been suffering from a lack of systematic theoretical guidance, which was why he had fallen into what he thought was a demonic obstacle.

It couldn't be entirely said to be a demonic obstacle. It was actually possible that he was entangled in a certain problem that he couldn't solve, and was thus trapped in this state. It was only because the Old Daoist's cultivation was so high. An ordinary person would have died after not eating, drinking, or moving for three months, but the Old Daoist had been like this for half a year and still had vitality.

According to the Abbot, the Old Daoist had been maintaining this posture for more than half a year. If he continued like this, his body would definitely collapse first. But they were helpless and couldn't help but be anxious.

Fortunately, Wang Sheng had just comprehended the words 'Soldier' and 'Fighter' in the Nine Syllable Mantra, which were used to regulate the body. Since the Old Daoist had closed off his six senses and couldn't sense anything, and couldn't maintain or temper his body, Wang Sheng had to put in some effort to help.

Facing the Old Daoist, Wang Sheng used the most standard pronunciation to say 'Soldier' and 'Fighter' dozens of times. This wasn't Wang Sheng trying to destroy the Old Daoist's Dao foundation, but to regulate his body, promote vitality, and, in modern Earth terms, to enhance the Old Daoist's physique and accelerate his metabolism.

At first, the Old Daoist didn't respond, but after dozens of repetitions, Wang Sheng could clearly see that the Old Daoist's face had gained some color.

It worked! The Nine Syllable Mantra was indeed extraordinary. When used on a high-ranking Daoist, it was even more effective.

Since these two were useful, Wang Sheng would naturally not be stingy. Facing the Old Daoist, he recited each of the five words he had comprehended.

"Lin" calms the mind, "Soldier" regulates the body, "Fighter" promotes recovery, "All" senses people's hearts and manipulates people's hearts, "Formation" increases closeness. Wang Sheng continuously used these five words on the Old Daoist.

Seeing the Old Daoist's face slowly return to a normal person's color, although he hadn't woken up yet, his breathing frequency was no longer as infrequent as once every few minutes, and his heartbeat was also slowly accelerating.

Reciting only five words felt a bit inexplicable. Later, Wang Sheng simply recited all nine words together, 'Lin, Soldier, Fighter, All, Formation, Array, Before, Line, March,' reciting the Nine Syllable Mantra completely, over and over again, towards the Old Daoist.

The Abbot, who was listening outside, was completely baffled. He could understand the wine, dishes, stories, and jokes that Wang Sheng and the Old Daoist had said at the beginning, but what did it mean to suddenly recite five words, 'Lin, Soldier, Fighter, All, Formation'? No matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out what the mystery was.

But after all, he was a high-ranking Daoist. Although Wang Sheng wasn't directing the five words at the Abbot, the Abbot could still feel a kind of surging vitality, and at the same time, a kind of calmness of mind, as if he could suddenly enter a state of stillness, which was very wonderful.

To be able to write such fitting楹联 couplets for the Daoist sect, he was indeed no ordinary person. The Abbot thought to himself, but he didn't dare to disturb the inside at all, quietly feeling and experiencing it outside.

By the time Wang Sheng had recited the complete Nine Syllable Mantra, the Abbot's mind seemed to have something opened up, and almost a golden road had appeared before his eyes, but there was always some faint mist blocking the front, making him unable to see the beautiful scenery ahead. That feeling was simply maddening.

Wang Sheng himself didn't feel much, but he had only comprehended five of the Nine Syllable Mantra, and hadn't figured out the clues to the four words 'Array, Before, Line, March'. But this didn't prevent Wang Sheng from maximizing the effectiveness of the five words when reciting the Nine Syllable Mantra.

After reciting for a full half a day, seeing that the Old Daoist had slowly returned to normal breathing and a normal heartbeat, but remained in that posture without waking up, Wang Sheng was truly at a loss.

Suddenly remembering something, after reciting the Nine Syllable Mantra once, Wang Sheng immediately followed with a passage from the beginning of the 'Tao Te Ching' that he had memorized.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of all things. Therefore, constantly without desire, one observes its wonders. Constantly with desire, one observes its boundaries. These two come from the same source but are named differently, both are called the mysterious. Mystery upon mystery, the door to all wonders."

After reciting this beginning, Wang Sheng immediately followed with another recitation of the Nine Syllable Mantra.

The Old Daoist didn't have any reaction, but the Abbot who was listening outside had already entered a mysterious and profound realm, only feeling that he had finally seen the door of the Dao and could get a glimpse of it.

After the Nine Syllable Mantra, Wang Sheng recited the beginning of the 'Tao Te Ching' again, and then the Nine Syllable Mantra again, repeating this over and over, constantly reciting.

He didn't know how many hundreds of times he recited, but the Abbot at the door had already entered a state of stillness, using his heart to feel every word and every sentence that Wang Sheng said.

Finally, after Wang Sheng recited the Nine Syllable Mantra once again, before he could continue reciting the beginning of the 'Tao Te Ching', the Old Daoist suddenly opened his mouth with his eyes closed.

"What a bunch of nonsense? There are actually four inexplicable words in the nine words. You're using half-baked stuff to fool people?" As soon as he opened his mouth, the Old Daoist had a scolding tone, but the excitement and joy in his tone couldn't be concealed no matter how he scolded.