Chapter 1 Preface
Long ago, the world was divided into nine parts, called the Nine Provinces. The Nine Provinces were vast and splendid. In the south, there were the two provinces of Jing and Yang, which were rich in products and had outstanding people. In the north, there were the two provinces of Yong and Ji, which were barbaric and had fierce folk customs. In the west, there was a province called Liang, and in the east, there were provinces called Qing, Xu, and Yan. Surrounded by the eight provinces, the province called Yu was the most prosperous.
The people of the Nine Provinces were mortals. Above the Nine Provinces, there were lightning and thunder, mountains and seas, which were absolutely beyond the reach of the flesh; there were also strange beasts and ghosts, and where they passed through, there were either colorful clouds or ghosts and wolves howling, which were absolutely beyond the reach of mortals; there were also immortals who could go up to the sky and into the earth, move mountains and seas, which were absolutely beyond the reach of the Nine Provinces. Therefore, the ancestors of the Nine Provinces either climbed high mountains or waded through distant waters to seek what mortals could not do - this is called Tao.
The theory of Tao has a long history. Some people compare it to flying a sword and stepping on the sky, some compare it to entering the sea to capture a dragon, some compare it to overwhelming the mountains and seas, and some compare it to immortality. Later, a Taoist master showed him that Tao is the ultimate of all things. Since then, the trend of practicing Taoism has prevailed in the nine provinces.
Occasionally, a Taoist master would open a forum to preach and answer the doubts of all living beings, saying: The world is divided into three realms, namely heaven, human, and hell. The people of the three realms originally have the same origin, but they reincarnate in the three realms due to different causes and conditions. The heaven is a place of great blessings and virtues. Anyone who reincarnates into the heaven may have done great good deeds, accumulated great virtues, or realized the great way in the previous life, and then enter the heaven to enjoy endless blessings. Hell is a place of suffering and punishment. Once you enter hell, you will suffer endlessly. Anyone who has committed great evil and great treason in the previous life will go to hell to receive endless punishment, so that the fear of suffering will be engraved in their souls, and they will not dare to commit it again in the next life. The human world is between heaven and earth, and there is no need to talk about the suffering and joy in it.
In the Three Realms, there are six paths of spirits - called Heaven, Asura, Human, Animal, Hungry Ghost, and Hell. Heaven and Asura are the first of the six paths, with endless blessings, high in the heavens, and looking down on all living beings. Human is below Heaven and above Hell, with joy, sorrow, suffering and happiness in it. Hungry ghosts and hell are imprisoned in purgatory, at the bottom of all living beings, with endless suffering. The animal path is widespread in the Three Realms, with mortal bodies, immortals and other species, countless.
The current Jiuzhou Daoism is headed by Yuzhou Ziyin Sect, whose founder Lu Ya Zhenren has endless Dao and boundless life. Outside Yuzhou, Beiyong and Ji are the most barren and the most difficult to cultivate. Although they are slightly inferior as a whole, they occasionally have amazing cultivation. The other six states are comparable and have their own strengths. Among them, the southern Jing and Yang states are rich in products and prosperous in the secular world, so there are too many outstanding people to mention. Four out of ten cultivations in the land of Jiuzhou come from here.
This story begins in Jingzhou.
On February 15, 2016, Yan Shiqian started his literary career. I am very grateful that you took the time to read my article! Shiqian is here to pay his respects!