My Master Knows It All

387: Chapter 161 Discussing Dao Does Not Require Over Seriousness_5 387: Chapter 161 Discussing Dao Does Not Require Over Seriousness_5 Even if they had all been immersed in the melody just now, so much so that they hardly noticed whether the heron had taken flight, it no longer mattered.

Their Thousand Caves Door was one of the top ten Immortal Sects, and if they lost, they lost.

They would admit it.

But now, they had already lost three matches in a row.

Elder Huan Kong’s face was filled with utter despair.

He simply couldn’t understand how Cao Zhen, the Peak Master of the Hundred Peaks Sect ranked last, could be skilled in both painting and musical rhythm.

What else was he capable of?

It seemed he was also adept at…

Poetry…

Elder Huan Kong’s gaze suddenly fell on several Cave Masters amidst the crowd.

The Cave Masters and Disciples of the Rhythmic Cave had come together, but here, the number of Cave Masters and Disciples from the Poetry Grotto was by no means less than those from the Rhythmic Cave.

After all, many people would mention “poetry and songs” together when it came to poetry, and singing is also a form of musical rhythm.

And the scholars who loved poetry also liked musical rhythm.

Therefore, at this moment, quite a few Cave Masters and Disciples from the Poetry Grotto had arrived.

Cao Zhen, he had said before that he was also skilled in poetry.

He didn’t believe that Cao Zhen was so powerful in both painting and musical rhythm, reaching such an exalted level that he could also be that strong in poetry!

Just Cao Zhen, calling the heron a wild duck, that coarse expression, he didn’t believe that Cao Zhen had much understanding of poetry.

Thinking about this, he strode up to Cao Zhen and said, “Peak Master Cao is truly a dazzling talent.

Oh yes, you said you were good at poetry.

It just so happens that here we have several Cave Masters from the Poetry Grotto.

Why don’t we discuss our respective arts right here?”

After speaking, he didn’t wait for Cao Zhen to refuse or agree but quickly looked aside to a scholarly middle-aged man holding a paper fan, “Master Pan Cave, what do you think?”

Master Pan Cave nodded slightly and gestured to the side, “Dao Companion, since you have come to our Thousand Caves Door to discuss the Dao, we naturally wish to exchange ideas with this Dao Companion.”

He had personally witnessed their Thousand Caves Door lose in the musical rhythm discussion to a member of the Hundred Peaks Sect, so he clearly understood what Elder Huan Kong meant.

Having just lost, they definitely wanted to win a match back.

He gestured around and continued, “Peak Master Cao, this place is so beautiful.

Why don’t we take this scenery as inspiration and compose a poem?

Naturally, poetry also takes time.

In the Guardian Immortal Imperial Dynasty, there is a rumor that the Hall Master of the Poetry Palace once composed a poem in nine steps.

Why don’t we follow the example of that Hall Master and compose a poem within nine steps, taking this scenery as the theme?”

“Here?” Cao Zhen couldn’t help but laugh.

Were it any other theme, he might need to think it over, uncertain of what poem to compose in nine steps.

But to write a poem about the scenery before him?

Was there a need to ponder?

This was simply an easy question.

Cao Zhen looked at the setting sun which was beginning to descend in the distance, pointed at the lake in front of him, and towards where the water met the distant horizon, and said directly, “The sinking sun and the solitary heron fly together, the autumn water far-reaching as the sky in one color.”

His words fell, and silence enveloped the surroundings!

“The sinking sun and the solitary heron fly together?”

“The autumn water far-reaching as the sky in one color?”

One by one, the Disciples from the Poetry Grotto were spellbound, continuously savoring these two lines.

And around them, even though they were Disciples of the Rhythmic Cave and other specialties who did not primarily study poetry, they too could perceive the boundless implications of those brief lines, especially the scene before their eyes, which corresponded perfectly to this sentence.

Many Cave Masters even began to appreciate it.

“The sunset, the solitary heron, the autumn water, and the vast sky—these four images sketch a picture of serene transcendence, exquisitely beautiful.”

“The ‘sinking sun’ and ‘solitary heron’ in the former phrase contrast with the ‘autumn water’ and ‘vast sky’ in the latter.

What’s more profound is that within each phrase, the elements also pair off, creating harmony within the line itself.

The sinking sun pairs with the solitary heron, the autumn water with the vast sky.”

“In fact, the masterstroke is the tableau, harmonious and enchanting, the first phrase animated with the gliding sun and heron, while the latter phrase is tranquil with water and sky creating a unity.

One dynamic, one static, the motion enhancing the calm…”

“Under the setting sun, the twilight is flamboyantly dazzling, and the heron’s feathers are dark.

With the backlighting, the heron nearly becomes a silhouette, and the twilight cannot possibly cover half the sky…”

“The solitary heron is flying while the clouds and mists are falling…”

One Cave Master after another could not help but express their admiration.

Hearing these Cave Masters’ praises, Cao Zhen simply wanted to say, “Thank you all.” Repeating those classic lines of poetry was no problem for him, but articulating precisely what was so beautiful about them—that, he could not improvise.

Fortunately, these Cave Masters, with their genuine talent and learning, provided the answers for him.

By the lakeside, Master Liao Cave gazed towards the distant horizon and murmured to herself, “The sinking sun and the solitary heron, the sinking sun and the solitary heron…

flying together…”

The next moment, her body abruptly soared into the sky, a vast and limitless aura spreading from her to the surroundings as if to cover the earth, to fill the entire horizon…

“Enlightenment!”

“Master Liao Cave has had another enlightenment!”

Cao Zhen looked at the enlightened Master Liao Cave, completely speechless.

What was going on?

How had Master Liao Cave experienced enlightenment once more?

Was it just a casual remark from him that triggered her enlightenment?

What kind of talent was this?

He couldn’t help feeling like he had been shortchanged.

After you’ve finished your enlightenment, are you going to offer yet another ‘nothing can repay your generosity’?

This time, however, Master Liao Cave’s enlightenment was much quicker than the last.

In just a moment, she descended back to the ground, looked at Cao Zhen once more with a bowed gesture, and sincerely thanked him, “Thank you, Peak Master Cao, for the grace of enlightenment…”