Dragon's Origin

Chapter 135: Lingxu the Old Daoist (Part 1)

Kneading mud wasn't about Wang Sheng sculpting, but about learning to shape. If he couldn't even manage basic mud shaping, how could he possibly carve the desired shapes with a knife? Wouldn't that be a pipe dream?

This was the most fundamental part, and Wang Sheng understood it, putting in a lot of effort. He started with the simplest regular shapes like squares, circles, and triangles, gradually transitioning to slightly more complex figures.

There were similar steps on Earth, but those were for basic art training. Whether it was artistic carving or lettering, without molds or templates, and without a foundation in art, it would be a nightmare.

In the morning, under the little teacher's instruction, he kneaded mud and shaped it. In the afternoon, Wang Sheng, along with the little teacher, learned calligraphy from an old Daoist in the village. There was no choice, his calligraphy foundation was almost zero, so he had to start from scratch.

Especially since the calligraphy of this world was still in a stage similar to clerical and semi-cursive script, with regular script not yet appearing, practicing became even more difficult.

For the time being, Wang Sheng wasn't at the point of worrying about the font. His big problem now was holding the brush.

The writing brush, apart from slight differences in the hair used compared to Earth, wasn't much different. But the problem was, Wang Sheng's strength was just too great.

He could bend a steel pipe used as a brush holder with just a little force, let alone one made of bamboo. Holding the brush was easy, but moving it according to his will was another matter entirely.

Wang Sheng felt like he was holding a soft, fragile incense stick, using the brush-holding method to write. If he focused on the brush holder, he couldn't control the strokes, and if he focused on the strokes, he couldn't control the brush holder. Often, halfway through writing a character, the brush holder would be crushed to pieces.

After crushing two brush holders in a row, the old Daoist stopped Wang Sheng from using the brush, let alone practicing on precious animal skins, and instead told him to make a small sandbox with a tree branch and control his strength first!

Wang Sheng didn't think the old Daoist was making a fuss, nor did he go against the old Daoist's wishes. He obediently used a tree branch to slowly practice in the small sandbox.

After just a few characters, Wang Sheng realized that his control over his strength was far from enough, and that he hadn't fully utilized his terrifying power.

Wang Sheng could control explosive force without any problem, but he had almost no control over sustained and static force. Fortunately, Wang Sheng had enough patience and mental fortitude, and he didn't care about other people's strange looks or expressions, practicing slowly and familiarizing himself little by little.

No matter what you do, there's never a shortcut. Wang Sheng himself had more experience with his own words. Since his calligraphy fundamentals were so poor, Wang Sheng worked hard to practice. He wasn't afraid of ridicule or failure. Everyone starts from not knowing to knowing. Wang Sheng hadn't even been discouraged when he was called trash, let alone when practicing calligraphy.

To be honest, the old Daoist wasn't specifically responsible for teaching calligraphy. According to the little teacher, the old Daoist was actually very knowledgeable, but he disdained living with those Daoists from the Old Lord Temple, so he found a small mountain village to live in seclusion.

This small village was surrounded by mountains and rivers, with beautiful scenery and simple villagers. The old Daoist couldn't move his feet when he traveled here years ago, and he directly built a small Daoist temple next to the small village and settled down.

The old Daoist wasn't seen doing any work on weekdays. The old Daoist often helped the villagers with medical treatment and the like, and they became familiar with each other. As a result, the children in the village all relied on the old Daoist to teach them to read, and Wang Sheng also benefited.

Wang Sheng knew how to behave. Since he was bothering others, he certainly couldn't come empty-handed. He brought all kinds of delicious food, drinks, and clothes to the little teacher and the old Daoist every few days. After more than ten days, Wang Sheng was as close to them as family.

The old Daoist didn't abstain from meat or vegetables, he ate meat and drank alcohol, enjoying it when he had it, and not demanding it when he didn't. He lived a relaxed and free life, with the demeanor of a hermit.

At first, Wang Sheng buried himself in learning calligraphy, ignoring everything else. It wasn't until everyone was so familiar that they could talk about almost anything that Wang Sheng asked the old Daoist about the identity of the statue in his Daoist temple.

The small Daoist temple might be very irregular, so there was only one statue inside, not the Three Pure Ones that Wang Sheng remembered from Taoism on Earth.

"That, of course, is my Daoist ancestor, the Supreme Old Lord!" The old Daoist was very fond of Wang Sheng, especially when it came to drinking, so he didn't laugh at Wang Sheng's basic question at all, and explained it to Wang Sheng very seriously. Wang Sheng was still practicing calligraphy with him like a child, how much could he expect him to know?

Since Wang Sheng asked, the old Daoist said a little more, also allowing Wang Sheng to understand a little more.

The Taoism of this world is very similar to that of Earth. However, there is no concept of One Qi Transforming into Three Purities, nor is there a Tao Te Ching, but another classic called the Dao Sutra. The central idea is similar, also being the Great Dao is Simple, Governing by Non-Action, and so on.

"Quietness and Non-Action?" When the old Daoist spoke of this, he spat on those Daoists from the Old Lord Temple: "Those guys from the Old Lord Temple are worthy? They have long been lost in the bustling world, what quietness, what non-action!"

Taking advantage of the wine that Wang Sheng offered, the old Daoist cursed those hypocritical guys in his eyes. Then the topic naturally turned to Wang Sheng.

"The power in your body is enough." The old Daoist said this: "There are few in the entire capital city who can compare to your strength. You can now achieve lightness with great weight, a very good cultivation, but it is still a bit lacking. Continue practicing calligraphy, when you can achieve heaviness with light weight, it will be about right."

These few words made Wang Sheng immediately look at this slovenly old Daoist who didn't abide by the precepts in a new light. With this insight, Wang Sheng asked himself that he hadn't shown much strength, but he was able to see so much from the little bit that Wang Sheng showed when practicing calligraphy, which couldn't help but make people admire him.

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Wang Sheng had indeed achieved lightness with great weight. He didn't dare to say anything else, but when the long-legged beauty A'qi assassinated him on the road, Wang Sheng could swing a ten-thousand-pound giant tree as if it were a small stick.

But achieving heaviness with light weight was really difficult. Whether holding a brush or a tree branch, it was actually a lightness, but Wang Sheng couldn't achieve heaviness. He often used too much force, crushing brush holders and tree branches was a common occurrence, still a hundred and eight thousand miles away from heaviness.