The Compendium of Materia Medica was Li Shizhen's life's work, but it was also limited by the limitations of his era.
But Xu Xian would not be like this. Although he was definitely not as good as a professional doctor in terms of medical practice, he was confident that he understood the structure of the human body better than any doctor in this era.
These things were enough to subvert the medical science of this era.
Bai Suzhen looked at the man in front of her. She did not have the slightest bit of childishness. Instead, she had a lofty feeling of changing the world.
She actually believed his big words, "If I write this book, I won't need any other medical books!"
She suddenly asked, "Hanwen, you are also a cultivator, right?"
Xu Xian was stunned and said, "I guess so!" Although his original intention of cultivating was to make a living.
"Everyone has to rely on themselves to cultivate their Dao. If you want to ask me, you might as well ask yourself, is this your Dao?"
Xu Xian could not help but ask himself, "What is Dao?"
In fact, he was just an ordinary person who had learned some magic. Although he had some strength, he did not dare to have any arrogant heart and call himself a cultivator!
But in fact, there was!
There was from the beginning. He did not care about his life and jumped into the ice-cold lake to fight with scoundrels.
No matter how ordinary he was usually, at least at that moment, he was not ordinary. Was that also a kind of Dao?
Then why did he hesitate now?
He obviously had more power and did not need to worry about his life and future anymore, but he did not have the original feeling.
Wealth and a comfortable life, had that bit of scholarly loyalty been obliterated instead?
Of course, he was not a sage who worried about the world first, but if there was a chance to save countless people, could he just ignore it?
If he did not do it, he was not a man!
Even if he was laughed at, even if he was misunderstood, what was there to be afraid of?
As long as his heart was still there, no matter what the result was, he could not regret it!
This was the so-called meaning of a cultivator!
If "Dao" was understood literally, wasn't it the road?
You could choose the road to the same goal and decide the road you want to take.
The road was always paved and built by people.
Who would have thought that immortality could really be achieved? However, after generations of hard work, after thousands of years, the Gods and Buddhas of the Heavens came into existence.
Faced with a seemingly impossible task, the predecessors were still able to put in so much effort and finally achieve something.
I have so many advantages, but I'm running away because of fate?
Afraid of following the arrangements of fate and being teased by fate, he wanted to ask, what was fate?
What was Heaven's will?
What is favorable and what is unfavorable?
Some people say that those who obey the Heavenly Dao are immortals. Only by obeying the Heavenly Dao can one live forever.
Some people say that those who defy the heavens to become immortals are originally stealing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to defy the will of heaven.
However, Xu Xian suddenly understood that the so-called immortals, the so-called Buddhas, and the so-called humans had always been doing the same thing — going with the flow and going against it.
Yu the Great had to dredge the river and follow the flow of water. Was this considered smooth?
If he did not go his way and forcefully blocked it, he would have been killed like his father. There would be no need for King Yu to set up the cauldron.
However, Yu the Great's ultimate goal was to control the flood and resist the natural disaster. Was this considered rebellious?
If it was not rebellious, what was the point of going with the flow?
It was the same for cultivation. Only by following the flow of nature and absorbing essence and Qi could one resist the erosion of life by time. Only then could one live forever, become an immortal, and go against the Heavenly Dao.
"Going with the flow" was originally for the sake of going against. If one wanted to go against the flow, one had to go with the flow.
If one only knew how to go against the flow and only knew how to say nonsense like "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent" and scold "Damned Heaven, Damned Heaven" all day long, as if it could show that one was different from others. However, in the end, one would just be a self-righteous madman and a ridiculous joke.
If one only knew how to go with the flow, he would just be a mortal who went with the flow. Every day, when talking about fate, Dao and luck, he would only hang the two words "Heavenly Dao" on his lips and be careful not to make a mistake. When he was defeated and died, he would still sigh, "Heaven wants me dead!" Then let me ask you, where is your dignity as a human?
Buddha comprehended the Dharma under the Bodhi tree. He took seven steps on the red lotus and said, "In the heavens and on the earth, I am the only one!" Those who hated it would say such arrogant words. Those who loved it would say that this was the spirit of Buddha.
But they didn't know, did that "I" really refer to himself?
One had to know that at that time, he wasn't some Buddha or even a monk. He was just an ordinary cultivator, just a human!
That "I" referred to people, to all living beings in the heavens and on the earth, and to every living being in this world.
Thinking about this boundless world, although the sea was deep and the earth was wide, between the sea and the mulberry fields, they were just useless dead things. They couldn't change anything for their own existence or disappearance.
Only the lowly and insignificant living beings, in this short moment between life and death, would work hard and fight for their own lives.
If they weren't "I am the only one, the only one", then what was "I am the only one, the only one"? If they didn't have the ambition and courage to be the only one, how could they fight for their own freedom in this dead universe, under this blank Heavenly Dao, and in this short life?
If they didn't, then what was the difference between them and a rock by the river?
I reincarnated into this world not for going with the flow, nor for going against the flow, but for my own Dao, to fight for it, to work hard.
Don't lose your heart, don't forget your nature. Otherwise, what's the difference between success and failure?
Even if the fields were barren and there wasn't enough food to fill their stomachs, as long as they didn't go against their original beliefs, they wouldn't have any regrets.
As long as they could live up to their conscience and act according to their heart, they wouldn't be afraid of people's words and fate.
As long as the Dao exists, even if there were thousands of people, they would still go forward!
Even if there was a day when they really walked into the nest of fate, they could only fight with all their might.
If they were afraid from the beginning and ran away.
How could they be called human!
In the heavens and on the earth, they were the only one.
The Great Dao was boundless, and the only question was the heart!
Bai Suzhen watched from the side. She saw Xu Xian frown at first, as if he was full of doubts.
Then, he became excited, as if he was fighting with God.
Then, his face was full of emotion, like a warrior about to go to the battlefield.
Finally, as if he thought of something, he suddenly put his palms together, like an old monk in meditation, and a smile of understanding gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Bai Suzhen looked at Xu Xian's state and couldn't help but think of the word "enlightenment" in her mind, but she didn't know how much her words had touched Xu Xian.
The choice that Xu Xian had to make was not just to write a book, but to make a choice, to choose whether to walk on the original path of fate.
Moreover, he had calculated that if he wanted to write this book seriously, it would at least take more than a year. How many years in life could be wasted?
And at this moment, in Xu Xian's divine soul, there was also a drastic change. The light of the main star of the sun was no longer radiating, but strangely converging. It was not radiating light, nor was it burning fire, but like water flowing on Xu Xian's body, forming a layer of water film that covered him.
This reminded Bai Suzhen of the time when she shed her snake skin, but it was completely different. The layer of water film did not seem to be impurities that were to be removed, but more like purification extracted from Xu Xian's body.
If one had to say what it looked like, it would be like the layer of gold paint on the Buddha statue in the temple, and it was constantly thickening, the color was also constantly intensifying, as if it was about to form a golden Xu Xian.
Xu Xian still put his palms together, his eyes closed, and his face serene.
The golden Xu Xian's expression was changing, sometimes angry, sometimes happy, sometimes calm, and sometimes ferocious.
It was just floating on the face of the real Xu Xian, as if to express some kind of thought.
The hands of the golden virtual image danced, but Xu Xian only put his palms together. That dancing golden arm seemed to be restricted by Xu Xian's real arm, unable to make any movements that were too out of line. In the end, it only moved its fingers, forming a seal: Seal of the Motionless Bright King.
The moment the seal was formed, the golden virtual image suddenly opened its eyes. A golden light shone from its eyes, like two suns, making it impossible for people to look at it directly. However, Xu Xian, who was in the water membrane, still had her eyes closed.
At the same time, the golden virtual image suddenly opened its mouth and shouted, "Appear!" This shout, if seen by mortals, was just that Xu Xian suddenly opened his mouth, but no sound came out, but to Bai Suzhen, it was like a thunderclap, shaking the entire house.
The real Xu Xian in the golden water membrane pursed his lips. At some point in time, the smile on his face had already disappeared, and he became solemn and respectful.
It took a long time to say, but in fact, it was only a moment. Xu Xian used the golden virtual image to once again use the Motionless Bright King Seal and the Nine Secret Words Incantation.
At that moment, with Xu Xian's golden eyes as the source, a layer of golden waves surged on the virtual image. Strangely, wherever the waves rolled, the virtual image underwent earth-shaking changes. If it was originally like a layer of flowing liquid that was barely condensed, now it was like a solidified solid, although it was still translucent.
The virtual image's expression was the same as Xu Xian's, just as solemn.
Only its eyes were still closed.
Bai Suzhen originally thought that the virtual image was the Yang Spirit coming out of the body, and was worried. At this moment, she couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise: "Golden Body Sculpting!"
The core pursuit of Buddhism was to condense Sarira and sculpt the Golden Body.
This was just like the Taoist's Jindan and Yang Spirit, and the demon's Neidan, which could be regarded as the fundamental thing of a cultivator.
If he didn't have these things, cultivating would be for naught.
If one could tell the Buddhist disciple's Fruit Position from the titles of Arhat and Bodhisattva, then the size of the Golden Body could often tell the Buddhist disciple's magical power.
The Fruit Position was actually just a title, and even a position in Buddhism.
There were many people who were called "Buddha" in the Western Paradise, but many of them were just people who wrote Buddhist scriptures and made great contributions to the management of the Buddhist Kingdom.
It was true that they had played a great role in the spread of Buddhism.
However, not everyone was suitable for cultivation.
And the world-famous Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Guanyin were both Bodhisattvas. Although their Fruit Positions were not the highest, they were first-class figures in Buddhism.
And Fahai was not even an Arhat, but he was given a golden alms bowl by the Buddha himself. It could be imagined how powerful his magical power was.
If the Golden Body was revealed, it would probably not be comparable to an ordinary Arhat.