"Wait a moment! Didn’t Young Master Zhou want to compete with me?" Tantai Weiyu suddenly rose to her feet and spoke calmly.
"Compete? How do we compete?" Ning Fan’s eyes shone with surprise. He had never noticed that this woman would have such a strong desire to win.
"Young Master has yet to comment on this wine. I noticed that the Young Master is also very fond of mortal wine. I suppose you must have some unique insights about mortal wine. Before we compete with each other, I would like to hear your comment. If Young Master is willing to share, I will be extremely grateful. If I may be so bold, may I know what wine is to the Young Master?"
Tantai Weiyu suddenly asked an unrelated question. It seems like this woman’s thoughts were always running astray.
"The word ’wine’ stands for the water of the You(酉yǒu) hour1. You(酉yǒu) is the tenth of the twelve Earthly Branches. It is the west direction, the autumn season, the time when the paddies ripen. The liquid fermented from the grain is wine!" Ning Fan quickly replied.
"Those are the definitions from books. I want to hear Young Master’s personal thoughts on it."
"Anything that intoxicates a person is wine. The beauties in the world, wealth, fame, reputation... What isn’t wine if it can intoxicate a person’s heart?" Ning Fan answered with a serious tone this time.
"Well said, Young Master. Anything that intoxicates a person is wine. If that’s what it is, are the innumerable beauties of Young Master Zhou mellow and delicious wines to you?"
"..." Ning Fan did not comment anything after hearing Tantai Weiyu’s words.
"May I know what intoxication is for Young Master?"
"Dying from wine is intoxication. Living through wine is consciousness! In between intoxication and consciousness, it contains the meaning of life and death. I suppose the reason why Mistress Weiyu insists on drinking wine is because you want to comprehend the meaning of life and death with its help!" As Ning Fan spoke, his answer immediately caused the three women there to be astonished.
Qing Chuchu, the palace lord of the Green Bamboo Palace, had never heard of such a profound meaning of wine even though she had spent most of her life brewing wine. It just pointed out the origin of wine.
Lu Zhu who was one of the prodigies of the Zifu Academy emphasized the most on the cultivation of understanding of the Zifu Academy. Just as its name implied, its method of cultivation was similar to schooling which heavily stressed on learning and understanding in order to comprehend the Heavenly Dao and improve their cultivation base.
With such an atmosphere, there were always disciples exchanging views with each other within the Zifu Academy. They rarely competed against each other using their magic power. Instead, they exchanged their views on their comprehensions of Dao.
It would be conducted through debates, playing the qin, chess, calligraphy, painting and other methods. Sometimes, they would adopt a more straightforward method by competing with their spirit sense. After all, one’s intent realm was a direct reflection of one’s original heart. The stronger the comprehension on Dao, the stronger the spirit sense one possessed.
Despite living and cultivating in such an environment, Lu Zhu had never seen a young man who could speak such profound words like Ning Fan.
Moreover, even some of the seniors of the sect did not have such a high comprehension in the Dao like Ning Fan.
It had nothing to do with one’s natural aptitude. It was only related to one’s power of understanding!
Lu Zhu did not know how good Ning Fan’s potential was. His power of understanding, however, was probably extremely profound and deep.
Tantai Weiyu’s face turned red. Well, the point that made her feel embarrassed was also quite odd. Did Ning Fan say anything embarrassing to her that caused her to blush?
As a matter of fact, she was surprised to learn Ning Fan’s power of understanding.
Not only did he perfectly answer her question, he had also elaborated on the true meaning of consciousness which was beyond the meaning of intoxication.
Furthermore, he had even directly pointed out the existence of the great Dao of life and death hidden within drinking wine.
There were three thousand great Dao within wine. What Ning Fan saw was memory and samsara whereas Tantai Weiyu saw the principle of life and death.
"He has actually seen through my Dao..." Tantai Weiyu felt her heart pound. She had never experienced such a feeling before.
She had never felt so astonished by a man.
"I am really thankful the Young Master is willing to share your thoughts. If I succeed in comprehending the Dao of Life and Death, I will certainly give Young Master lavish gifts as thanks in the future." Tantai Weiyu wore a solemn expression and gently nodded at Ning Fan.
"I haven’t finished yet..."
"You still have more to share?" Weiyu asked, surprised.
"There is not only the Dao of Life and Death within wine, but also the Dao of Truth and Falsehood. Genuinely getting intoxicated while pretending to be sober or faking to be drunk while being truly conscious. Someone who leads a befuddled life as if he’s drunk and entranced is not truly intoxicated. Instead, they are conscious but they just act like they are in the state of intoxication... It’s just a pretense, a parallelism. They might appear to be intoxicated but they actually aren’t and the underlying principle in this situation is the Dao of Truth and Falsehood. If Mistress Weiyu successfully comprehends the Dao of Life and Death, you will be able to understand what is true and false. In the future, it won’t be difficult for you to attain the True Immortal Realm."
"Truth... and falsehood!" Tantai Weiyu was deeply convinced.
It would still be acceptable and reasonable if the person who gave such a profound advice to her was an immortal emperor. However, the person whom she was listening to was just a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.
The level of understanding of this particular Divine Transformation Realm cultivator was hardly comparable.
The power of understanding one possesses had nothing to with natural aptitude or intelligence. Instead, it was a cultivator’s understanding towards the great Dao and it was only related to one’s character. After all, the Heavenly Dao always reflected one’s heart.
The greatest asset that Ning Fan had was probably not his Yin Yang Transformation but his will to defy the heavens.
He was not smart in the first place. He was just an ordinary person. However, because of him being ordinary, he was able to get closer to the great Dao since the great Dao was simple and ordinary.
Tantai Weiyu had no idea of what to say next. If she attains the True Immortal Realm one day, the thing she would be the most thankful for would definitely be Ning Fan’s advice.
She pondered for a while and then reached her hand out to her storage pouch, as if she had decided to take out something and give it to Ning Fan in order to express her gratitude.
But before she could take it out, Ning Fan continued speaking.
"Other than the Dao of Truth and Falsehood, there is still a deeper and more profound principle behind wine. Do you still want to hear it?"
"Yes! If Young Master is willing to lower yourself to teach me without sparing any detail, I am willing to repay your generosity. Mm. If anyone dares to disrespect Sister Suqiu when she ascends to the academy in the future, I will certainly help Young Master stand up for her and protect her!" Weiyu promised with an earnest tone.
Ning Fan nodded his head. He was obviously very satisfied with Weiyu’s assurance. His eyes then shone with seriousness and continued speaking.
"Above the principle of life and death, I saw the principle of truth and falsehood. On top of that principle, I saw the principle of karma. Being intoxicated is the effect of drinking whereas drinking is the cause of intoxication. Being sober is the effect of not drinking whereas not drinking is the reason why one can stay sober. Generally speaking, the karma in this world is something just like this. However, one will not be drunk every time they drink and not every cause can manifest the appropriate effect... For example, even if a woman glances back at her beloved everyday without fail for five hundred years in her previous life, it may not necessarily stir up his pity and affection. Even if she turns into a stone bridge and waits by the riverside for one thousand years, it may not necessarily be able to wait for his arrival. If Mistress Weiyu is able to see through karma someday, it won’t be surprising for you to become an immortal emperor."
"Karma... Not being able to stir up his pity and affection even if a woman glances back at her beloved for five hundred years consecutively..." A feeling of sorrow suddenly filled her heart. It seemed like Tantai Weiyu had a sad past...
Indeed. How would a woman adopt the hobby of drinking if she did not have any stories to tell?
"Try guessing what I saw above the principle of karma..."
Ning Fan let out a faint sigh. Originally, he had no intention to continue sharing what he knew. However, when he noticed Tantai Weiyu’s depressed expression, he suddenly changed his mind and continued speaking, trying to divert her attention and diminish her sadness.
"What else could there be above the principle of karma?" Weiyu asked with an astonished expression. She felt that the maxim of such depth and profoundness was too much for her to understand.
"Being drunk as if you are living in a dream... Drinking is the cause of drunkenness while getting drunk is where the dream starts. Dreaming is the reason why you awaken and awakening is why one drinks again. If you look at it in reverse, you will find the effect... When you can clearly see cause and effect, it means that you have understood karma. When you are able to clearly see karma and identify which is which, then you have thoroughly seen through karma. Above the principle of karma is samsara. All things in this world are part of samsara. Nothing can escape from it. I am not your tree and you are not my fruit. There are some feelings that can’t be explained clearly in one’s entire life. Everything is just like the righteous and the devil paths."
As Ning Fan finished speaking, he cupped his fists and walked out of the bamboo house.