3 The Way of the Dao Lies in the Heart

When Yu Feng came to he found himself in a room of sorts.The room was not too fancy the kind that could be found in the abode of an hermit who had secluded himself from the affairs of the mortal world.

The light was quite dim but enough for him to see his surroundings and from its radiance he could deduce that he had woken up quite early at the crack of dawn in fact

The room was bare , unadorned save for the carvings of strange creatures and beasts arranged on one side

He had never before seen the objects of the carvings but they seemed to hold a profound mystery in them .

For he was unable to stare at them for too long as he felt a strange pressure that pressed down on him leaving him unable to even breathe it felt as if with any more contact his soul would be sucked away entirely!

Yu Feng shook himself to get rid of the dizziness he felt and looked towards the side opposite to the carving this side had a doorway, open to the elements through which he was able to witness a breathtaking sight.

The hermitage that he was in , for that is what it seemed to be to him was apparently high among a range of mountains as he could see a vista of gigantic loft mountains rising into the distance, the clouds that adorned these like the jewels atop a glorious crown drifted above what from a distance appeared to be a bowl shaped valley a shiny emerald with the multitude of vegetation that seemed to exist within it .

The rising sun climbed high ever so slowly like the Son Of Heaven towards his destined throne and on its way it lit up the world in a riot of colors

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The mesmerizing panorama so formed left him spell bound .Even if Yu Feng considered himself to be someone who had seen almost all that the world had to offer he was forced to conclude he had never seen any other spectacle like the one he had just witnessed for never had he seen so a scene more beautiful , a scene more magnificent , a scene causing a strange resonance right down to his soul.

The mountains , the valley , the clouds and even the sun that he seemed to see daily and had go tired off had acquired a strange ethereal meaning , a primeval attraction that could not be expressed in words , but whose lure went beyond any .

He felt that he had witnessed something life changing and for the first time in a long while his heart and mind was able to settle down and put away the burdens that wore him away incessantly

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So engrossed was he that he did not even notice the arrival of the host of the residence , the very same old man who had saved him back then who had quietly drawn a seat next to him and seated himself without disturbing him.

He watched Yu Feng observing the sun rise for a while with a smile on his face before gently interrupting his train of thought

"Quite enthralling isn't it ! I have lived here for many moons yet never once did I find myself bored being treated to this spectacle every day.

It makes you feel how your concerns, your troubles are nothing more than a trifle's worth! This is a place of healing after all !Different people comprehend different things when they see the sun rise for the first time in accordance with their own Dao

But let me tell you a secret "this he said with a wink "It doesn't matter how many times you see it you always find something new in the time after that

Shows you how vast the Great Dao truly is and how much farther we have to go on our own paths"

He shook his head with a sigh and stared outside into the distance sinking deep into thought

.Yu Feng meanwhile managed to take a closer look at his savior .Although his wrinkled exterior and snow white long hair and beard bespoke of his age there seemed to be a quite aura of dignity and power which could be seen in his steely gaze which seemed that they would have no change whether being in a smile in a joke or at the very next instant show the gaze of a true expert. "A very mystical man indeed"Yu Feng summed inwardly.

"Um" he asked with trepidation for he was not quite sure regarding the temperament of the man beside him .

Experts were said to have strange tempers and often acted willfully especially the stronger ones thus he was not quite sure if his interruption was all right or not even if the expert had saved him once before for if he had a short fuse he would be done for

"Hmm" the old man turned to look at him with a gaze as sharp as a sword that seemed to pierce through the fabric of his very being.

Yu Feng winced in response and hurriedly drew his eyes away .The old man peered at him with a curious glint in his eyes before responding "Forgive me ! How rude of me to treat a guest like this"

The old man got up and went inside another doorway and returned carrying an earthen jar tightly fastened many times over along with two earthen cups which he proceeded to place on a small table kept at the center of the room

With a wave of his hand the table moved on its own accord and settled itself beside Yu Feng leaving him in awe once more regarding his host's marvelous divine abilities of which he had never heard of save in legends .

As even the greatest of the experts he had known were incapable of doing feats like this which the old man proceeded to do as naturally as if he were breathing !

With another flick of his hands the the fastens loosened and the cork unscrewed itself releasing an extremely mesmerizing fragrance into the air , a hint of which was enough to overpower all of Yu Feng's senses giving him the feeling as if he were in a dream .

The old man carefully poured the tea into the two cups without wasting even a little , for tea it was of a rich , golden color , opaque yet transparent at the same time with a heavenly fragrance that gave the feeling as if it were the ambrosia partaken by the gods .

The Old man handed one cup over to Yu Feng and took the other in his hands before taking a careful sip "Before we begin , have some tea first after all the ancients say conversations are best made with some tea .

This tea is known as the Heavenly Golden Tea made from the flowers of the Heavenly Golden Fruit tree which let us just say requires a great deal of effort to get but I think you would agree that ,

that effort has certainly not gone to waste ,No ?"

Yu feng had to agree just the aroma was enough to make him surrender not to mention the taste of the tea which made him feel as if he were in heaven itself .Although he knew nothing about the Heavenly Golden Fruit much less the difficulty of collecting one yet he could sense that it was no simple treasure which left him once more in awe regarding his mysterious savior

The old man sighed once more and waited for about a couple of an incense worth's time sinking deep into thought

By then Yu Feng had drained about half of his cup and was feeling extremely fresh.His mind was running at a rapid pace , clear as a spring in the mountains .

He felt energized like never before and he felt as if he were able to notice many more minute details that he would not been able to normally "Is it due to the effects of the tea? " He Wondered. But he did not have much time to think in that regard for the old man it appeared had been waiting for such effects for occur as on seeing Yu Feng's reactions he began to speak at last

The ancients who walked the path of the great dao had this to say" The path of the great dao is akin to a journey in a vessel over the waters heading into eternity

First comes refinement ,strengthening the muscles,forging the bones and condensing the blood , the viscera are transformed thus the channels opened allowing the vessel the ability to drift along the current .

Then comes manifestation when the internal becomes the external and the master is able to guide his vessel.

The mind enlightens and the dao congeals .The heart is alight by heavenly fire from whence the tribulation comes and a mortal becomes an innate (xiantian) "

Accordingly the realms of cultivation have long since been divided into the following stages

Body Refinement divided into the five stages of Strengthening muscle, Forging Bone, Condensing Blood,Inner Transformation and Channel Opening

After all the channels are opened and a cultivator is able to manifest the spiritual energy of the heavens he attains the Manifestation stage

Then on solidifying the spiritual energy and on opening the spirit sea He attains the Congealing Realm

On subduing his heart he achieves the peak of mortality ,the Heavenly Fire stage eventually if his will is strong enough he may be able to defy the heavens and surpass his mortality to attain the Xiantian stage "

"You must be aware of this If I am not wrong?"

Yu Feng nodded although he wasn't sure why this great master would begin by stating the most common of verses that almost everybody who set foot upon the path of the Great Dao learnt but he drank in every word that the old man said for he felt there was a certain profundity that might exist in his words although he wasn't able to pinpoint the same

"Have you ever wondered " He continued "About realms beyond Xiantian? Is surpassing the limits of mortality alone the best that we can do?"

Although his tone was as soft as before yet each word was enough to shock Yu Feng to the core.

Never had he , nay never had anyone in the various schools , sects and the myriad of influences scattered about like stars in the night sky in the vast Dongfang Continent had stopped to think about that .

To them Xiantian was but a legend which seemed as distant as the stars themselves as for the realms above what a joke ?

The Great Dao in their hands Yu Feng had been made to painfully realize was nothing more than a tool for those in power in order to maintain their own sovereignty and certainly not an end in itself

The old man continued without paying any attention to Yu Feng's own astonishment "To answer my own question , There certainly are and many of them in fact.

The higher you reach the lower you find yourself to truly be like the proverbial frog in the well .Thus the belief that one has reached the 'end' is the greatest delusion of all !

There is always something more to find provided your hearts and minds are open enough

The Great dao takes many forms and intersperses with each aspect of our lives .

Thus necessitating the existence of paths such as that of the Martial or the Dao of Alchemy and so on

Those who chose to abandon these paths in the favor of practice the cultivation arts alone often find themselves stuck neck deep in the quicksand . Just like it is impossible to steer a boat without any oars or sails so to these paths are necessary if one wishes to go further in he path of the Great Dao

These various Daos have their own stages as well though they often refer to the stages of comprehension that one may attain in them. Since accomplishment is more often related to comprehension and not strength of the base per se

It is said that in the hands of a true expert of the Dao A blade of grass is sufficient to uproot the stars themselves

There is indeed some truth to it as progressing further in these paths leads to an increasing grasping of the world's principles something which may not be so easily attained in the orthodox path

Yet what is most important of all is not the Cultivation method that you chose to practice or having heaving defying attainments in the Martial Dao or even having a rapid increase in cultivation or a great unrivaled strength but the Heart!

The Heart of the Dao! Unless you have subjugated your heart it is impossible for you to progress higher in the stage of the Great Dao!

The Way of the Dao Lies in the Heart summarizes this quite succinctly I believe

If your heart is strong enough perhaps scaling the heavens is no mere pipe dream.Conversely being susceptible to your demons would only close off the path ahead of you

And what a path it is ! Filled with myriad wonders and the infinitude of possibility! The achievement of all your desires is but the beginning , the true benefits are unfathomable though naturally achieving them comes with a higher risk.

Lad! If you want to destroy the demons in your heart they can be done only in your hands through the tool that is the Great Dao! Yet progress in this very Dao itself shall be hindered unless you remove them completely !

Quite contradictory ,No? But then that is the way life is There are no absolutes often to the contrary necessitating the existence of opposites

Those who use terms such as fate and destiny are the greatest hypocrites in this world !

All detriments in this world stem from a lack of a person's ability ! Do you have it in you to become one of the strong ?

Each word was like a bolt of lightning that struck against Yu Feng's heart . Yet Although he acknowledged the truth of the elder's words he could do nothing save smile ruefully about it

His channels had already been shattered , his blood essence had been sucked away eroding his vitality and cutting off the path of the Great Dao from him forever

If it were not for this why would he have been so suicidal as to go alone into the Great Forest of Disasters all by himself in the first place ?

Yu feng had quite an optimistic personality but even so he was forced to recognize the fact that there was no future left for him at all and rather than becoming a pawn or an object of ridicule in the hands of others he decided to seek his end in his own terms while preserving the last vestiges of his dignity

"Esteemed elder surely with your acute eyesight you would have been able to see my condition.With my body being as it is the path of the Great Dao to me is now as distant as the very heavens themselves .Thu even if were I wish to take my fate into my own hands here is no possibility of it at all!" Yu Feng said with quite melancholy

The old man burst into loud guffaws as if he had heard an another joke again."Lad! The Heavens are no more distant than you and I! Be it the first or the Seventh! It is the mortals with their idiosyncrasies who distance themselves from them !

It is indeed true that the path of the mortal is shattered for you . But who said that it was the only way? When there are many paths far better and easier than the Mortal Path why stick to it then ? Dost thou continue to stay mortal whilst thou can be Eternal?

Saying this the old man reached forward in a sudden movement and pressed his fingertips against Yu Feng's brows . Yu Feng felt a powerful force passing through it wreathing his body in constant waves of pain before his consciousness faded with the huge amounts of pain and he passed out.