The Tao Te Ching, together with the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic and the Yi Jin Jing, is known as one of the "Three Great Ancient Classics" and is hailed as the "King of Classics".

The *Tao Te Ching* is the work of the sage Lao Tzu, who expounded his understanding of the Way of Heaven, thereby guiding humanity. The *Tao Te Ching* has profoundly influenced the philosophy, science, politics, and religion of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, playing an immeasurable role in shaping national character. It has guided countless practitioners of Taoism throughout history to tirelessly explore its mysteries, seek the origins of human civilization, and delve into the profound wisdom of antiquity.

Duobao murmured to himself, "The Way of Heaven benefits without harming; the Way of the Sage acts without contending." Laozi didn't disturb him, putting away the Taiji Diagram and closing his eyes, as if he too were immersed in his own Great Dao...

Yes, the way of Heaven benefits all things without causing harm; the way of the sage brings blessings to all people without seeking credit.

Duobao sighed, and with a flash, he flew into the Tai Chi diagram...

Meanwhile, on Penglai Island, several disciples under Xuan Tian were also listening to the Dao.

“Those who cultivate the Way observe the Way of Heaven and act in accordance with it. To perfect the Way of Heaven, one must first perfect the Way of Humanity. If the Way of Humanity is incomplete, the Way of Heaven is far away. Human nature is human nature; the human heart is the mechanism. Establish the Way of Heaven to define humanity, and cultivate the Way of Heaven with the human heart.”

"The cultivator's body is one with the creation of heaven and earth, with the celestial mystery and earthly yellow as the furnace, the six qi of the Great Void as the essence, and the body and mind as the medicine and fire. Heaven and earth, yin and yang, are the mechanism. Without understanding the principles of heaven and earth, one cannot enter the gate of the Great Dao. The Dao is inherently without intention; do not seek it with intention. Desiring it will not bring you results; not seeking it will bring you results. The Great Dao begins with the mind and will; when the mind is unified, all things can be accomplished; with a firm will, nothing is difficult in the world. The cultivator sees through worldly affairs but is not heartless; he establishes his true will and sets his mind on it. The mystery within is beyond words."

"The Way cannot be seen, but the mind understands it. The mind cannot be measured, but the Way is upheld. People often lose the Way, not because the Way loses people. People often have disordered minds, not because the mind has disordered people."

"The Great Dao is formless. It gives birth to Heaven and Earth. The Great Dao is without emotion. It governs the sun and moon. The Great Dao is nameless. It nurtures all things. I do not know its name, so I call it Dao. The Dao has both purity and turbidity, movement and stillness. Heaven is pure, Earth is turbid; Heaven moves, Earth is still."

"Men are pure, women are impure. Men are active, women are still. From the root to the branches, all things are born. Purity is the source of impurity. Activity is the foundation of stillness. If people can always be pure and still, heaven and earth will all return to them. The human spirit loves purity, but the mind disturbs it. The human heart loves stillness, but desires pull it away. If one can always restrain desires, the heart will naturally be still."

"Clear your mind and your spirit will naturally be pure. The six desires will not arise, and the three poisons will be eliminated. The reason you cannot achieve this is because your mind is not clear and your desires are not restrained. Those who can restrain them should inwardly observe their mind; the mind has no mind. Outwardly observe their form; the form has no form. Observe things from afar; things have no things. Once you understand these three, you will only see emptiness. Observing emptiness, you will also see emptiness. Emptiness has nothing to be emptied. Since what is emptied is gone, even nothingness is gone. Since nothingness is gone, you will be serenely and eternally still. Since stillness has nothing to be still, how can desires arise? Since desires do not arise, this is true stillness. True stillness responds to things. True stillness attains its nature. Constantly responding and constantly still, it is constantly pure and still. With such purity and stillness, you gradually enter the true path. Having entered the true path, this is called attaining the Way. Although it is called attaining the Way, in reality there is nothing attained. It is for the sake of transforming sentient beings that this is called attaining the Way. Those who can understand this can transmit the sacred Way."

At this point, Xuan Tian stopped speaking. He glanced at his four disciples below and noticed that Cang Jie's brows were deeply furrowed. He sighed inwardly, "Cang Jie's personality is still too stubborn." But he said nothing more and ordered the disciples to leave, leaving Cang Jie alone in a daze.

Eight Jade Plums and Golden Linzi

Since Xuan Tian's last sermon, Cang Jie had remained motionless in the main hall. A month passed in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, Cang Jie opened his eyes and laughed loudly: "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I understand now. Cultivating the Tao is cultivating the mind. The mind of Heaven is the mind of the human heart. Good and evil exist in a single thought. Good is evil, and evil is good."

Hearing Cangjie's laughter, Xuantian smiled with satisfaction. Cangjie was too stubborn, perhaps even obstinate, with a "never give up until you hit a wall" mentality. This kind of personality might be a good thing, or it might be a bad thing. Those who cultivate the Tao are inherently defying the heavens, and cultivating the Tao requires perseverance and willpower; otherwise, how can one say that cultivation transcends time?

Cangjie's perseverance was commendable; his pursuit of the Dao surpassed everything else, which led to his great achievements. However, Cangjie's stubbornness caused his progress in the Dao to stagnate.

Last time, we talked about how Cangjie borrowed Lu Ya's Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife to slay the evil corpse, but that was somewhat of a clever trick. Cangjie himself was too fixated on good and evil. In his view, good was good and evil was evil, with no room for ambiguity, just like a rigid, inflexible person who couldn't tolerate even a speck of dust. But how can cultivators speak of good and evil? Cultivators are prone to fighting to the death; cave dwellings, spiritual herbs, face—anything useful can cause them to fight. This is precisely what Cangjie couldn't get past; his obsession was too strong.

Those who cultivate the Tao should not take these things too seriously. There is no right or wrong in them. At most, one can only say that one is in accordance with the will of Heaven and has a clear conscience.

Although Cangjie used the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife to slay the evil corpse, his stubbornness still remained. If this continued, not to mention whether Cangjie would suffer calamity in the future, even if he did not suffer calamity, his cultivation would probably stagnate, and he would become a mere Chaos Immortal.

Now, Cangjie finally comprehended from the Dao taught by Xuantian that good and evil are one, and that one should act in accordance with one's conscience. He finally broke free from the suppression of his Dao cultivation by his obsessions, and in one fell swoop, he improved his Dao cultivation to the point that he could almost sever his good corpse.

After Cangjie finished laughing, he remembered that he was still in the Capital Palace. He quickly knelt down and said, "This disciple was reckless. Please forgive me, Master."

Xuan Tian smiled and said, "It's alright, it's good that you understand." This understanding had two meanings: one was the strict system of Penglai Island, and the other was that Cangjie could understand his own true nature.

"Fine," he waved his hand, dismissing Cangjie.

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