Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 356 The Art of Talismans: Reaching the Hearings of Heaven and Aligning with the Will of Heav

Lu Qian strolled within the area covered by the Qimen formation. At this moment, he was relaxed and at ease, without forcibly externalizing the strain and discomfort of the Feng Hou Qimen formation.

As he took a step with ease, Lu Qian's figure did not disappear from the spot. He simply took three feet forward. But in that instant, he seemed to have traversed the entire land of the mountains and rivers, and the space and time of this land were filled with the image of the talisman above his head.

"The art of talismans lies in communicating with the heavens, that is, reaching the ears of the heavens."

Instead of answering the question directly, Lü Qian began to explain the talisman on his own.

"According to ancient tradition, talismans are formed from heavenly books and written with cloud patterns. They are the power of heaven and earth and the laws of ghosts and gods. Records are books and registers, which are the function of people to record gods and ghosts."

"For an ordinary person to draw a talisman is a complicated process, requiring the right time, place, and people. A single talisman is a ritual in itself."

"If it's a ritual, then who is it for, and who is it intended for?"

"world!"

Lu Qian pointed to the vast world outside the Qimen formation, but then smiled and pointed to his own ancestral aperture and spiritual platform.

"The reason why the Tongtian Lu was called a miraculous skill back then was that, in your view, this technique did not require setting up an altar, performing the steps of the Big Dipper, or even using cinnabar and talisman paper. It could draw a talisman with considerable power with a wave of the hand."

"Actually, you are all wrong. Even Grandpa Lu Jin is wrong, and ridiculously wrong."

Limited by the traditions of the Lu family and the Sanyi Sect, Lu Jin had no interest in inheriting other families' traditions, and the Sanyi Sect's research on talismans was not deep.

Lu Qian recalled that after he comprehended the "Huang Ting Jing", he had secretly asked the old Celestial Master if Lu Jin's Five Thunder Talisman and Divine Speed ​​Talisman were indeed taught to him by the old Celestial Master and originated from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Although the Tongtian Talisman can draw talismans at will, talismans like the Five Thunder Talisman cannot be easily used by Lu Jin simply by drawing the outer shell. However, if it was taught by the Old Celestial Master, then this can be explained.

Even so, Lu Jin was merely "borrowing" the method and did not truly grasp the essence and nature of talismans.

After verifying his conjecture, Lü Qian once asked the old master why he didn't reveal the secrets of the talisman technique to Lu Jin. The old master just smiled and shook his head, saying it wasn't necessary.

As the saying goes, drawing talismans without knowing the trick will only invite laughter from ghosts and gods; drawing talismans with the trick will startle ghosts and gods.

The essence of talismans lies in borrowing the power of heaven and earth to command spirits and deities. A single talisman can connect heaven and earth, reaching the ears of the gods above and the nine netherworlds below. However, this is only an external method for ordinary people.

For the talisman school, they not only discovered its external applications, but also explored the "method of internal application".

It was only after obtaining the "Huang Ting Jing" that Lü Qian understood the meaning of the eight characters "internal alchemy to form the elixir, external application as the method".

During the Wei, Jin, Tang and Song dynasties, internal alchemy gradually became the mainstream, with various schools such as alchemy and talisman making their own innovations. The so-called "external alchemy" was improved by various masters during this period and was no longer a simple witchcraft involving swallowing gold and refining mercury, burning lead and burning medicine.

What practitioners pursue is the path to longevity and natural eternity that does not rely on external things. If talismans are simply "borrowing the power of heaven and earth to control ghosts and gods," then they are not worth studying and practicing by the patriarchs.

However, most people treat the externalization of talismans as an end and a means, and ignore the "meaning" of drawing talismans.

"The human body is a microcosm," which is the universally acknowledged foundation of various schools of thought, and the essence of talismans lies in commanding heaven and earth.

So what will happen when these two meet?

Externally, it commands Heaven and Earth as its laws; internally, it commands the entire universe as its essence!

Drawing talismans is also a form of "spiritual practice," a path to heaven that goes from the inside out and takes care of both life and death!

When people draw talismans, they only see the complicated rituals, but they overlook the truth hidden beneath those complicated rituals.

Each time a talisman is drawn and a talisman is performed, it is a "baptism" of the Daoist heart.

The seventh volume of the Yunji Qiqian, in the section on "Talismans," states: "Use the essence of the Dao to spread on bamboo slips and ink, thus gathering the essence of all things."

When drawing talismans, practitioners calm their minds and recite scriptures. In fact, they are mobilizing their own essence, energy, and spirit to resonate with the essence, energy, and spirit of the external world, so that the ethereal spirits in the world can follow the strokes of the brush and land on the talisman paper.

The so-called "inviting the gods" is just like this: by invoking the gods, one can save both life and health.

In the process of communicating with the essence of heaven and earth time and time again, practitioners, in a state of "purity", welcome the baptism of all the "deities" and laws in the world. In this tempering, their lives constantly communicate with and resonate with heaven and earth.

Over time, the cultivator's own "microcosm" will be perfected by the external macrocosm, and naturally it will be able to rival the universe, even reaching the heavens and the earth!

The Maoshan Shangqing School is one of the three sacred mountains of talismans. The Huangting Scripture is divided into three parts, eight scenes, twenty-four gods, and thirty-six thousand immortals, which encompasses such a complete and vast "universe".

By calming the body and preserving the spirit, and purifying the mind and contemplating thoughts, one can construct an "inner world" where all gods of the Three Realms and Six Paths reside!

The Tongtian Lu (通天箓) discards the cumbersome external rituals in the eyes of outsiders, and can create thousands of talismans with a wave of the hand, but that is just borrowing the law from the outside and losing the true essence.

However, for disciples of the Talisman School, these Eight Extraordinary Skills provide a "path to heaven" that allows them to directly reach the ears of the heavens through their own cultivation and lineage.

The internal application of Feng Hou Qi Men is seventy-two transformations, while its external application is to depict the feudal lords who occupy a region and levy exorbitant taxes.

However, with the "Heavenly Record," a path to heaven that leads to the ears of the emperor, even feudal lords could become "Sons of Heaven"!

The emperor is one who receives his mandate from Heaven.

The character “天” is a large character with an added title.

When the external manifestation of Feng Hou Qi Men receives the path to heaven provided by the Tong Tian Lu, it is like a feudal lord receiving the approval of heaven, wearing a crown, and being crowned "emperor".

As emperor, one commands the entire world, and one's power covers the six directions!

Lu Qian reached out and stroked the last rays of light cast below the horizon. The invisible light in his hand was like a ribbon, light and graceful.

"This is the true meaning of 'I am the direction, I am the fortune.'"

Before he finished speaking, Lü Qian lowered his arm, and the Qimen formation around him slowly shrank. The talismans scattered like stars on the celestial position also turned into streams of light and dispersed into the outside world.

Finally, the Qimen formation that originally covered the entire mountain range shrank back into Lü Qian's palm, becoming the original size of three inches in diameter.

"Grandpa, there's a debt that our Lü family needs to resolve. We owe them a favor."

Looking at the Feng Hou Qi Men Dun Jia scrolling and calculating in his palm, Lü Qian seemed to see a scene in those complex characters.

It was a dark cave connected to the gaping hole in front of Lü Qian, an extremely remote place in the labyrinth of caves and grottoes of the entire mountain range.

A family of three lived in the cave: a simply dressed couple who had taken their daughter to hide there to escape the war outside.

Not far away, outside the cave, was the duel between the Tang Clan and the Bihe Ren. The heavily wounded demon fled the battlefield and wandered into the harmonious atmosphere of a family of three.

With a swing of the demonic blade, a girl lost her father, and the girl, wielding a rusty woodcutter's axe, killed the extremely resentful demon.

With a piece of rusty iron, she ended the time when the demonic sword wreaked havoc, and also avenged a debt owed to the Lü family.

In Lü Qian's palm, the Feng Hou Qi Men continued to evolve, and the girl in the scene grew up and became an old woman with white hair decades later.

"Hideju."