Chapter 423 The Good Answer
Yan Xian frowned and asked, "Why is this?"

The old man with a long beard said, "The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contending. Good is to benefit all things without contending. The reason why eels are called good is that they do not contend. Because of their gentle temperament, they will not hurt others even if they are caught. The eel you caught has firm meat and is larger than ordinary eels. The larger the eel, the more food it needs to eat. If it wants to get more food, it must compete with other eels, which is contrary to the topic."

"The eel this boy chose is slightly smaller than yours, with less firm and more tender meat. It's obviously not good at swimming around and fighting, which implies goodness. So in terms of the quality of the eel, you win. And in terms of the degree of fit with the topic, this boy is better."

Hearing what the long-bearded old man said, Yan Xian thought of the eel that Xu Qing had chosen. It was indeed like that. Not only was it slightly smaller in size, but even after being caught in the net bag, it did not struggle as much. Its temperament was indeed gentler than the eel he had chosen.

He really didn't expect that he had seen through the question, but he didn't expect that there was such a delicate thought hidden deep in the question.

And Xu Qing, while racing against time, actually had the leisure to consider the deeper meaning of the question, which is really not to be underestimated.

Yan Xian sighed: "You kid, you are really extraordinary, I really can't underestimate you."

Xu Qing smiled and said nothing.

He hasn't even used his full strength yet and he's already surprised. What will he do in the future?
The old man with a long beard walked to the stone wall at the end of the venue and pressed lightly on the wall. Then the mechanism turned, and the stone wall slowly rose, revealing a dark passage.

The old man with a long beard said, "The next seal is at the end of this passage. Please come in."

After saying goodbye to the old man with a long beard, the two men walked towards the depths of the passage.

Not long after they walked, two flames suddenly appeared in front of them. The flames illuminated the surroundings and also reflected a stone door in front of them.

The stone gate is simple and has no decorative carvings, as if it were just two pieces of rock that were simply ground and placed here.

There is only one number marked on the stone gate - "two".

The two of them knew that the second seal was behind the stone gate.

The two men pushed the stone door open with all their might, and before them appeared a venue quite similar to the previous one. All the furnishings were exactly the same, and there was even an old man sitting cross-legged in the middle of the venue.

This made the two of them feel a little dazed.

The old man heard the sound of the stone door opening and looked up at the two of them.

The old man was thin, and his loose robe looked baggy on him, making him look even more skinny.

In addition to his thinness, the old man's eyes left a deep impression on them.

His eyes sparkled with a terrifying aura that made people dare not look directly at him. His thin face had sunken eye sockets and prominent cheekbones, which made his unique eyes even more conspicuous.

The two of them were scanned by this pair of eyes, as if they were seen through by him from head to toe, making them feel quite uncomfortable.

The old man stood up and said, "My name is Changmu, and I am in charge of the second level of the Seven Seals of Mount Tai. You have heard the rules before, so I will not repeat them. If you are willing to participate in the assessment, please come forward. If you are not willing, you can return the same way you came now."

The two men immediately walked up to the old man.

The long-eyed old man nodded and said, "Very good. The second test of the Seven Seals of Mount Tai is titled Ming."

As he spoke, the old man took a pen and paper from the side, wrote down the questions and handed them to the two of them respectively. The black and white words made it clear to the two of them.

"You can use all the ingredients here as you like. There is no limit to the ingredients or cooking methods, but the time limit is one stick of incense. You can pass the level if you can make a dish that satisfies me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the walls around him began to crack, revealing a wide variety of ingredients.

"Now, the test begins." After the old man said this, he sat cross-legged on the ground again, closed his eyes and concentrated.

Unlike the last test, this time the two did not need to race against time, but instead had more time to think.

Unlike the previous question of "goodness", the question of "wisdom" is even more confusing.

"Ming" has multiple meanings. It means bright, clear, and understandable, as well as smart. Which meaning is the one that the test question is really testing?

Yan Xian couldn't help but ask: "Old sir, can you give us some pointers? What does this word 'Ming' refer to? You just gave us a word, but didn't say anything else. You just let us think about it, but we can't figure it out no matter how hard we try."

The old man with long eyes asked, "Do you know where this place is?"

Yan Xian said, "Of course it's Taishan."

"good."

After saying this, the old man with long eyes stopped talking.

No matter how much Yan Xian called out, the old man with long eyes pretended not to hear.

Xu Qing said: "It seems that the key point is on Mount Tai."

Yan Xian scratched his head and said, "But what does Mount Tai have to do with the word 'bright'? Mount Tai is bright? That's not right. Besides, the paths we walked on were all dark and narrow, which has nothing to do with brightness."

Xu Qing was also a little worried.

Mount Tai, is there anything special about Mount Tai?

He suddenly remembered what Master Yuxian had said before he set out.

Mount Tai is the place where emperors performed Fengshan rituals and announced their achievements to heaven and earth.

Mount Tai is closely related to the emperor.

Then this "Ming" probably does not refer to the ordinary "Ming", but the wisdom of the emperor.

Xu Qing told Yan Xian his guess, and Yan Xian's eyes lit up, "You are right. 'Ming' should be taken from this aspect. The 'Ming' in Shengming refers to wisdom, and this 'Ming' means to see things clearly and make accurate judgments, which is..."

The two looked at each other and said at the same time: "Eyesight is related to the eyes."

After Xu Qing finished speaking, he was suddenly startled, looked at the old man with long eyes closed and concentrated, and said: "In fact, the answer has already been told to us."

Yan Xian sighed, "Yes, the most impressive thing about this old gentleman is his eyes. Eyes and vision, in fact, should have been thought of earlier."

Yan Xian looked at Xu Qing and said with a smile: "Is it appropriate to tell me such important information? We are enemies. You don't want the legendary kitchen utensils to fall into my hands, do you?"

Xu Qing said: "In my opinion, even enemies are divided into categories. For some enemies, I will do my best to deal with them and will not give them room to turn the tables. For some enemies, I will hope to compete with them fairly and use my skills to compete with them."

"It seems I am the latter."

Xu Qing nodded. "Although hiding the news can easily lead to victory, it would be boring if victory comes too easily. A fair duel is more interesting, isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)