Chapter 14: Seeking Books

A cloud of crimson red, like a ball of fire, drifted lazily out from Mount Shouyin.

This cloud flew in a wobbly, erratic manner—now left, now right, now rising toward the sky, now sinking downward. Fortunately, there were so many clouds here that no one noticed it for the moment.

Luckily, it soon stabilized and began to descend slowly, first passing through the Sea of Milk, then the Sea of Neon, weaving its way among the mountains.

At the head of the cloud, Cheng Yunqi held a yellow talisman paper in his hand. On this talisman were drawn Cloud Scripts; in the center of a pattern of auspicious clouds formed by layers of these scripts was a string of purple dots, connected in the shape of the Big Dipper. Cheng Yunqi's thumb rested on the handle of the Dipper, and as he rubbed his thumb, the fire-cloud floated along with it, which was very convenient.

This cloud-controlling talisman had been specially gifted to Cheng Yunqi by Daoist Jixuan after she learned that he had not yet mastered Qi circulation. One must know that even selling this thing individually would cost quite a bit of money!

He followed the route he had taken when he arrived, passing Mount Xianwan, Mount Dawan, and Du Juan Valley, returning to Mount Xiaowan.

There were many ferry landings on Mount Xiaowan. This time, he did not dock at the Shaoyang Ferry closest to his residence, but went directly to the Lanting Ferry near the summit.

Landing at the ferry, he rolled up the talisman paper, and the cloud beneath his feet dissipated, turning into a wisp of red thread that climbed onto his left chest, forming a simple yet spirited crimson coiled dragon pattern.

He had renamed this fire-cloud "Dragon Carriage."

He headed all the way to the Wan Shougong Academy at the mountain peak.

Cheng Yunqi had not been at Mount Xiaowan for long, but the library in the Wan Shougong Academy was the place he visited most often, and he was already extremely familiar with it.

He had come this time because of what Master Sukong Yu had said yesterday about building a temple in his mind.

He had thought about it seriously; if one is to do something, one must do it well, especially since Master Sukong Yu had emphasized yesterday that this concerned the condensation of intent and the opening of the heart-mansion.

And the most important aspects of building a Daoist temple are the architectural style and the statues of the deities enshrined in the halls.

First, the architectural style of Daoist temples has a history of tens of thousands of years, differing among various schools and sects, with generations of master craftsmen innovating, making it too complex to describe. But with so many buildings placed here, there are always traces to follow. If one reads more and observes more, one can clarify the underlying structure, especially the styles and applications of basic units like beams, columns, bracket sets, bricks, tiles, and lacquer. The rest is merely a matter of aesthetic attainment and time.

Learning is never a difficult task.

Second, the statues of the deities to be enshrined—this was somewhat tricky for him.

Cheng Yunqi had always held a sense of awe regarding gods and ghosts. Although he had barely managed to step into the sect, this world remained unfamiliar to him.

Cheng Yunqi did not know if there were the illustrations he wanted in this library. He also did not know if he could focus his intent on the illustrations.

With thoughts flying through his mind, Cheng Yunqi had already walked into the library.

The library of the Daoist Academy is shaped like the character "Hui," with a square pond in the center; thus, the library is named the Square Pond Library.

After entering the library door, the index was on a screen wall two people tall. He stepped forward, looked at the tiny regular script, and began to search carefully.

Soon, he found his target for this trip. After knowing the general location, he began to weave through the "Hui"-shaped building.

First, he came to a spot and stood still. Looking at the bookshelves several people tall in front of him, he began to search again, locking his gaze onto several locations one after another, then using a ladder to take down the classics from the shelves one by one.

They were:

"Architectural Standards for Daoist Temples"

"Decree on the Construction of Deities for the Southern School"

"Shi Family Construction Regulations"

"Garden Governance of the Ten Directions Forest"

"Blessed Lands and Cave Heavens of Temples"

"Records of Great Halls and Small Niches"

"Yongle Encyclopedia: Specifications of Daoist Temples Through the Ages"

"Viewing Mount Wudang"

"Appreciation of Gold and Stone"

"Study of Carpentry"

"Tracing the Origins of Lacquer and Color." He held these books and first placed them at the borrowing desk, registering them with the jade pendant at his waist.

Such books were made of paper, bamboo slips, or leather, but they were all ordinary books, devoid of divine intent. They could be bought or borrowed; borrowing cost nothing, and compensation was only required if they were damaged.

Cheng Yunqi had a photographic memory, so he naturally chose to borrow them to avoid wasting money.

Storing the books temporarily at the borrowing desk, he returned to the library to search again in the vast sea of books.

He went up to the second floor, where paper books and bamboo slips were fewer, and leather scrolls, silk, jade slips, and gold foil became more common.

After wandering for a long time, Cheng Yunqi came to a row of cabinets. These were mostly picture albums and scrolls, mostly made of silk and gold foil, emitting a faint glow and looking very sacred.

He scanned them one by one, and the titles were:

"Complete Collection of Deities of the Three Teachings—Fragment—Copy"

"Illustrated Guide to the Mountains and Seas of the Primordial Era—Fragment—Copy"

"Illustrated Book of the Star Lords of the Di Jun Heavenly Court—Fragment—Copy"

"Illustrated Book of the Star Lords of the Haotian Heavenly Court—Fragment—Copy"

=9+Book_Bar

"Map of Mountains and Rivers and the State—Fragment—Copy"

"Gods on the List—Fragment—Copy"

"The Eight Departments of Orthodox Gods—Fragment—Copy"

"Famous Demons Through the Ages—Fragment—Copy"

"Classic of Baize—Fragment—Copy"

"Map of Erlang Searching the Mountains—Fragment—Copy"

"Travels to the West—Fragment—Copy"

"Ascension Map of the Eight Great True Persons of the Tang and Song Dynasties—Copy"

Cheng Yunqi laughed dumbfoundedly. Why were they all fragments and copies?

These things could not be flipped through at will; they all carried divine intent. Once opened, the divine intent would slowly dissipate, so one had to pay to buy them.

These picture scrolls were not cheap. Take the thickest one, "Complete Collection of Deities of the Three Teachings"—even as a fragment and an unknown copy, it still cost fifteen gold, and the others cost at least one gold.

Cheng Yunqi's purse was shy.

He had originally wanted to take more books for reference, just like with the temple construction, so he would feel more confident. But as it stood, the choices for the main deity of the temple in his mind were not many.

He searched even more meticulously.

After a long time, his eyes lit up. He took a fancy to a scroll. The scroll was sealed with a paper strip, and on the strip was clearly written:

"Screen of the Standing Statues of the Twenty-Eight Constellation Star Lords of Haotian—Fragment—Bai Hu Seven Constellations Chapter—Warring States Rubbing."

Cheng Yunqi was no longer ignorant. He knew that the Haotian Heavenly Court had twenty-eight constellations, which were the Daoist sites of twenty-eight Star Lords. These twenty-eight Star Lords were all demons who had attained the Way, and they combined the Five Elements and Yin-Yang, making them truly suitable for visualization as inner-landscape deities. However, these Star Lords had attained the Way during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, so the timing was a bit distant.

But the twenty-eight constellations were divided into the positions of the Four Symbols. The Bai Hu Seven Constellations completely possessed the dual nature of Sun and Moon and the Yin-Yang Five Elements of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, giving him many choices. Such a rubbing that was complete within a fragment cost only one hundred and fifty taels of silver. Cheng Yunqi felt it was more cost-effective than other fragments.

He did not hesitate too much, picked up the scroll directly, and continued to search in this area while holding it.

However, Cheng Yunqi never found anything more suitable, so he settled on the "Bai Hu Seven Constellations Chapter."

At the borrowing desk, Cheng Yunqi watched helplessly as the Daoist managing the library took out a small sword and cut his gold. One and a half taels of gold were gone, just as deftly as Daoist Jixuan's movements earlier. Cheng Yunqi thought to himself that he must learn this trick.

He calculated that the Wan Shougong Academy had bestowed a total of five gold, and half of it was gone just for cloud-setting and buying books. Adding the forty taels of silver spent on drinking with the people from the two streets last night, this money was spent too quickly!

The new book is presented; I hope everyone will leave more messages and comments.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 15 =====