Chapter 358: A Sharp Argument

Duan Rong walked slowly in a valley.

This valley was like a huge crack, stretching for twenty or thirty miles, and there were steep cliffs at the ends of all four sides.

In the valley, there were towering trees, and from time to time, there were the sounds of cranes and monkeys.

This was the place for the third assessment.

And the third assessment was to explore and find the Taiyi Order in this cracked valley.

The Taiyi Order was the sect token of the Taiyi Sect.

Outer disciples obeyed the sect's orders and patrolled the world with it, with the power of life and death on the spot.

Although Duan Rong was walking alone in the dense forest, his steps were very leisurely, and his expression was not nervous at all.

Because this third assessment prohibited mutual killing.

In other words, all the registered disciples, in this cracked valley, needed to rely on their own abilities to explore and find a Taiyi Order, then they would pass the assessment and advance to outer disciples.

But even if they could not find it through exploration, they could not rob the tokens in the hands of their fellow disciples, otherwise they would be killed on the spot!

Duan Rong knew very well that this rule was not just a casual talk. He had just entered the valley and walked a short distance when a divine sense swept over him.

Once killing occurred, the consequences could be imagined.

At this time, Duan Rong was alone, because every person who participated in the assessment was put into the valley from different positions. Duan Rong did not know where Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan and others were at this time.

However, he was not anxious. First, killing was prohibited in this valley, so their safety was guaranteed. Second, it was said that the passing rate of this third assessment was more than 80%. If this ratio was true, Duan Rong believed that Xiao Yu and others would definitely pass.

Duan Rong was walking, and suddenly there was a rustling sound of footsteps not far ahead, and then a figure walked out. Duan Rong looked up and saw that it was a fellow disciple he did not know. The man also looked at Duan Rong coldly and walked to the other side.

Duan Rong walked out of the dense forest along his original direction and came to a rocky beach.

Here, the bluestone is jagged, and it seems to be a barren hill.

On the top of the hill, there seems to be an abandoned Taoist temple, with a dilapidated gate and collapsed buildings. And there are many black spots moving on the abandoned area.

Duan Rong's eyes moved, that is obviously a chance point. There must be Taiyi Ling in the abandoned Taoist temple.

Duan Rong walked quickly towards the abandoned Taoist temple.

As he approached the abandoned Taoist temple, he suddenly saw a bluestone standing not far away, with stone characters engraved on the bluestone, the ruins of the nameless temple.

Duan Rong walked to the gate of the temple, but saw a man standing above the gate. The man was thin and stood with his back to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong looked up and saw a waist badge hanging around the man's waist. This man was not a registered disciple participating in the assessment, but a supervisor of the Internal History Department.

The man stood there, obviously looking at the people in the Taoist temple, searching in the collapsed buildings and the dilapidated square.

Duan Rong stepped into the gate.

As soon as he entered the square, there were dead branches and withered grass everywhere.

Before Duan Rong could take a closer look, he saw a big butt sticking up high in the collapsed building. The man had put his head into the gap of the fallen beam and was looking inside.

Duan Rong smiled slightly when he saw the butt. He didn't know how many times he had kicked that butt. It was Ximen Kankan.

Duan Rong walked over and said with a smile: "Aren't you afraid of being stuck?"

Ximen Kankan knew it was Duan Rong when he heard the voice. He wanted to get out, but the gap was a little small, so he slowly moved his big head out.

Ximen Kankan's head came out, and there was still a spider web on his head that was like a dust strip. He punched Duan Rong and said: "As soon as we met, you cursed me for being stuck, right?"

Duan Rong said: "Don't make a move. It's forbidden to attack inside."

Duan Rong said, and pointed at the figure above the gate of the Taoist temple with his chin.

Ximen Kankan turned his head and found that the man was looking at this side.

"I just touched you once, and that's an attack?" Ximen Kankan said in a very unconvinced tone.

Duan Rong snorted coldly and said, "If you dare to touch me again, I will lie on the ground and roll over."

"Okay. You are so cruel." Ximen Kankan said, "Who wants to touch you?"

After that, the two began to search in this abandoned Taoist temple.

This place is on the top of the hillside and is quite eye-catching, so there are still many people coming here.

Duan Rong found that not only was there a person with a waist badge standing on the gate of the Taoist temple, but there was also a person with a waist badge standing next to the ruins of the collapsed building.

He and Ximen Kankan searched around, but still found nothing.

Ximen Kankan wondered, "Where is this Taiyi Order hidden? Do I have to dig three feet into the ground?"

Duan Rong also frowned slightly. In fact, if he used his spiritual sense to explore, he could find it in an instant. But using the soul technique here is almost blatantly telling others that he has practiced the Taizang Sutra.

Duan Rong said: "Let's retreat. I think this place is reserved for people who are well versed in the secret mechanisms."

"Brother Duan, what you said is very much in line with my heart!"

Duan Rong turned his head and saw Liu Shushan coming over from behind him with a smile.

Ximen Kankan also looked at Liu Shushan, who was as thin as a monkey but had a smile on his face.

"However, in addition to Brother Duan's opinion, I have another discovery." Liu Shushan changed the subject.

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan both looked at Liu Shushan with curiosity.

Liu Shushan said: "This place looks messy, but in fact, the layout hides the science of geomancy and strangeness. If someone who is proficient in this way, just take a look and you will know where the token is hidden. If you don't start with this way, you are just a headless fly bumping around, how can you find it?"

Hearing this, Ximen Kankan rolled his eyes at Liu Shushan. He was like a headless fly, wasn't that talking about him and Duan Rong?

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Brother Liu is indeed well-informed. I wonder if Brother Liu can tell where the barrier is?"

Liu Shushan smiled shyly and said, "I am also an outsider. He is just a friend from my hometown who is proficient in this art. We have been in contact and have learned some of the basics. I just look like him, and I don't know where the barrier is."

Ximen Kankan mocked, "You monkey, you talk beautifully, but it's useless."

Liu Shushan was not angry when Ximen Kankan called him a monkey. In his hometown, several familiar friends around him all called him that. At this time, he actually felt a little bit of intimacy.

Seeing that Liu Shushan had a good temper, Ximen Kankan had some good feelings for him.

Soon, the three of them started chatting, and they left the abandoned Taoist temple while chatting.

Since they had searched around but had no clue, it was obvious that, as Liu Shushan said, this opportunity point was reserved for people who were proficient in geomancy and strangeness, so why should they waste their time here?

Going over the top of the slope and going down, there was a deep pool at the bottom of the slope. There was a bluestone standing by the pool, and the bluestone was engraved with four characters, "Ji Feng Bian Dao".

Under the bluestone, there was a cushion, and on the cushion sat a person with white hair and a childlike face.

The old man's eyes swept over the crowd of onlookers like lightning.

There were quite a few people here, and this was obviously another opportunity point.

Not far in front of the old man with white hair and Taoist robes, between two pine trees, there was a rope hanging, and on the rope was a wooden board. On the board, there was a cursive script with elegant fonts: "The sect says: "If you know without thinking, you will fall into the second head; if you know by thinking, you will fall into the third hand". May I ask, how can you get the first opportunity?

The crowd watching frowned as they looked at the words on the wooden board, but no one dared to answer.

Although Liu Shushan was a smart man and was always quite conceited about his knowledge, he was speechless when he saw the question on the wooden board.

Ximen Kankan scratched his head, he couldn't understand it at all. What does it mean to know without thinking and to know by thinking?

Duan Rong stood beside Ximen Kankan, but his heart moved slightly.

In the past few months, he has almost read through the Taoist Canon in the Sutra Canon Institute, and at least three Taoist books have mentioned this question. However, those yellow books covered with dust have obviously not been turned over for many years.

Duan Rong tilted his head slightly and looked at the man with white hair and Taoist robes again, and the four words "Jifengbiandao" on the big bluestone beside him.

He already understood in his heart that the opportunity point here is to test people's knowledge of the Taoist Canon, and judging from the question, it is very unpopular and remote.

Although he had only passed two opportunity points, Duan Rong had basically understood the idea of ​​the third test. The sect obviously required that the outer disciples, in addition to cultivation, also have certain additional skills.

However, most of these outer disciples were children of aristocratic families in the secular world, and they were generally proficient in all six arts.

No mistakes, one sentence, one post, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar!

Even so, if you only look at these two opportunity points, the requirements are still very high, and you can't pass the test with just a little knowledge.

According to this standard, how can you pass more than 80%? I'm afraid that 100% is a bit uncertain.

Duan Rong expected that there should be simpler opportunity points further down.

However, since he knew this problem, why should he miss the opportunity in front of him?

Let's get a Taiyi Order first.

Duan Rong suddenly stepped forward.

The crowd that was originally whispering immediately quieted down.

They all looked at Duan Rong who walked out of the crowd.

The person sitting cross-legged on the mat beside the big bluestone also looked up at Duan Rong and asked, "What is the answer to this question?"

This question is really a bit strange, and the onlookers all want to know the answer.

Duan Rong's face was normal, and he answered, "Knowing without thinking, the second one; knowing by thinking, the third one; not thinking and not knowing, the first one."

After Duan Rong answered, there was no sound in the crowd. Everyone looked at the old man sitting on the mat. They didn't understand it very well, so they could only see whether Duan Rong's answer was right or not by the old man's reaction.

The old man looked at Duan Rong, was silent for a while, and suddenly said, "Young people are formidable."

This old man came here to deal with the job.

He is a master in the Sutra Repository, who was transferred here to test these registered disciples. He wanted to come up with a difficult question, and he sent these registered disciples away by hanging it there.

After waiting for time, he will go back to his Sutra Repository after passing this test. But he really didn't expect that someone would answer this question not long after it started. The young people nowadays are so vigorous.

When the registered disciples heard the old man say that the young people are formidable, they immediately understood that Duan Rong's answer was correct.

Liu Shushan glanced at Duan Rong with a bit of astonishment. He didn't expect that Duan Rong not only had a higher spiritual talent than ordinary people, but also had such a deep understanding of these metaphysical Taoist scriptures. "If you don't think and don't know, it is the first opportunity", he was still thinking about what it meant.

A noisy voice began to appear in the crowd, and people were discussing the deep meaning of Duan Rong's answer.

At this time, the old man looked at Duan Rong and said, "Bring your sect cloud certificate and assessment approval slip here."

Duan Rong took it out from his lapel and handed it to the old man. The old man glanced at Duan Rong's name, and then stamped his own name on the assessment approval slip.

This means that this person has obtained a Taiyi Order, so that he will not claim it for others later.

The old man handed Duan Rong a Taiyi Order along with Duan Rong's sect cloud certificate and assessment approval slip.

Duan Rong took it, and a group of people gathered around to watch.

This is the second opportunity point in this direction. These people have not seen anyone obtain Taiyi Order since they came here. Duan Rong is the first person.

The token is only the size of a palm, black in color, and is a wedge-shaped with a pointed bottom. In the center of the token, there are positive characters, Taiyi and two characters!

At this time, the old man suddenly stood up, took down the wooden board, and held it in his hand.

The old man held the wooden board in his left hand and gently brushed the surface of the wooden board with his right hand. In a flick, the words on the wooden board disappeared.

The old man blew gently, and a group of fine wood chips fell from the wooden board.

Duan Rong was surprised. He could not tell what realm the old man was at for a while.

But he knew that whether it was true qi or heaven and earth qi, this kind of wonderful control was already abnormal!

At least, he had reached the realm of great perfection in the realm of true qi, but he could never do it. With one flick, he wiped off all the words on the wooden board, and they were all a thin layer of sawdust.

The martial arts cultivation of the old man in front of him was obviously unfathomable.

The old man picked up a pen and wrote on the blank wooden board for a while, and then hung the board up again.

There was a new question on it.

There were only eight words: Question: All things return to one, where does one return to?

Those who originally surrounded Duan Rong to look at the Taiyi Order now looked up and studied the question on the wooden board. Those who could gather here were all people who had some knowledge of the Taoist Canon. When they saw Duan Rong answer a question correctly and get a Taiyi Order, they were even more eager to try.

At this time, the old man looked at Duan Rong and said, "Boy, you can go now. I warn you, don't mess up my place. Otherwise, I can destroy your qualification for advancement."

Duan Rong bowed to the old man and turned away. He understood what the old man was warning him about.

Ximen Kankan's eyes flashed cunningly, and he said, "This place is too literary, not suitable for men!"

Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan, and Liu Shushan all left here and continued to move forward.

After walking for a distance, Liu Shushan still couldn't help but ask Duan Rong for advice, saying, "May I ask Brother Duan, the new question in the debate. All things return to one, where does one return to? What is the answer?"

Duan Rong smiled slightly and did not answer.

The reason why the old man used very harsh words to warn him was to prevent him from telling the answer to others, so that others would not take advantage of the loophole and go to him to get the Taiyi Order.

Ximen Kankan blinked his eyes and said nothing. In fact, he had this idea before, but the old man's shouting before leaving stopped him from thinking this.

As for the answer to that question, Duan Rong had seen it in several Buddhist scriptures. In fact, it was much simpler than the first question.

The answer is: All things return to one, and one returns to nothing!