Chapter 322: The Scholar's Record

Inside a courtyard in the capital.

A scholar surnamed Tang walked back into his room, brimming with excitement. Unable to wait, he spread paper across the table, pondered for a moment, and began to write:

"In the second year of Jingping, the political situation was turbulent, the world was in chaos, and strange, monstrous occurrences frequently appeared in the capital.

"In the summer of that year, demons took advantage of natural disasters to ravage the human world, devouring officials and treating the people like livestock. The commoners fled to the capital to seek aid, but the imperial court was lax and powerless to respond. Only Master Lin of the Gathering Immortals Mansion, Master Fan, Lord Pan, and the three Daoist priests Tao, Wan, and Lei, together with three Daoist priests from the True Zhen Jian Gong, went to Jinping to eliminate the demons.

"The following day, a dragon boat returned to Jinping County, carrying the commoners back. They claimed they had been transformed into the shape of ducks by demonic arts, and were fortunate to be saved by the Daoist priests of the Gathering Immortals Mansion and the True Zhen Jian Gong.

"Several days later, the Master returned riding a stone horse, hanging the head of a giant wolf at the market; it was as large as a peck."

After the scholar surnamed Tang finished writing, he made several edits and deletions.

After a moment of hesitation, he put pen to paper again and added a sentence:

"When the commoners asked if the Star Gazing Palace had eliminated the demons, Master Lin replied that the Star Gazing Palace was lacking in virtue and ability, and had been unable to assist."

The scholar surnamed Tang made another round of revisions.

In the capital today, there is no telling how many scholars like him, who love stories of immortals, ghosts, and monsters, are currently picking up their pens in their rooms to record this strange event.

It is just unclear how many of these accounts will be passed down.

Even if the ordinary commoners cannot write, they have deeply memorized it, waiting only to tell it to their descendants.

And there is no telling how many generations it can be passed down.

……

Lin Jue returned to the courtyard and looked up to see a white egret standing on the crabapple tree.

The white egret preened its feathers and looked down at the stone table.

On the stone table lay a letter.

Lin Jue picked it up, opened it, and saw it was from his junior sister.

The content was simple: one morning after waking up, she discovered the two stone horses were missing. At first, she thought they had gone into the mountains to run and play, but after they didn't return for several days, she guessed that perhaps he had called them to do something. However, not knowing where he had taken them, she wrote this letter and entrusted it to the white egret when she saw it, asking where he had gone.

After reading it, Lin Jue picked up his pen and wrote a reply.

"Thank you for your hard work, fellow Daoist."

Lin Jue poured out a small cup of spiritual liquid and fed it to the white egret: "I must trouble you once more, fellow Daoist, to take my letter back to my junior sister so she need not worry."

The white egret felt very refreshed after drinking the spiritual liquid.

When its beak opened slightly, its eyes half-closed, and it shook its wings and body, one could even faintly discern a sense of happiness.

It then took the letter in its beak, spread its wings, and soared straight into the blue clouds.

Not long after, Master Fan also returned, and what he brought for Lin Jue was a gold medal from the Gathering Immortals Mansion.

"Fellow Daoist Lin."

"This is……"

Lin Jue took the gold medal and examined it carefully.

"I know that upon your return, fellow Daoist, you will certainly be at odds with the Star Gazing Palace. To prevent them from causing trouble, His Majesty came to the mountain to seek me out a few days ago and asked about the demons in Jinping County. I told him the Star Gazing Palace was unable to eliminate the demons, and only you, fellow Daoist, could do so," Master Fan said. "So, the next morning, Wu Lingshi of the Ministry of Rites sent over your gold medal."

"You have gone to great trouble, fellow Daoist."

"It was no trouble. You are the one who has put in the effort, fellow Daoist Lin," Master Fan said. "I only wonder if the ancient books you seek are still in the True Treasure Pavilion."

"It is of no consequence."

Lin Jue was not worried about this.

The Daoists of the Star Gazing Palace have lived in luxury for too long and possess little ability; it is unlikely they know what he is looking for.

Moreover, he himself knows the Art of Wood Escape and could have entered the True Treasure Pavilion at any time; the only reason he hadn't was that he wanted to enter in a dignified manner.

The reason for that remained the same—

He did not want to give the gods any grounds to attack him.

The scripture pavilions of the Gathering Immortals Mansion were enclosed within the Star Gazing Palace; aside from the fact that the Daoists there might possess some skill, the more important purpose was to have the gods help keep watch.

It is possible that there really are gods guarding them.

If Lin Jue's ambitions were small, it wouldn't matter, but he aims for the attainment of truth and the Dao; he seeks the immortal path of longevity. Yet in this day and age, the Heavenly Lord pantheon is corrupt and degenerate, and the Star Gazing Palace is the same—he is almost certain to walk a path different from theirs.

Fortunately, gods are gods after all, and they are bound by moral laws even more strictly than mortals. Above the Heavenly Lord, there is still the Heavenly Venerable; regardless of the reason, the gods cannot act as they please openly.

Doing so would shake the very foundation of the gods.

Therefore, what he must do is try his best not to leave them any overt handle to use against him.

Otherwise, before he attains the truth and the Dao, there is no guarantee they won't trip him up.

Now that he has obtained the gold medal in a dignified manner, those scripture pavilions do not belong to the Star Gazing Palace, but to the Gathering Immortals Mansion. Furthermore, Lin Jue had previously found that book through Lord Pan, confirming that the True Treasure Pavilion contains several commentaries by immortal sages on the "Yin-Yang Scripture." If the Daoists of the Star Gazing Palace were to take the books and hide them without authorization, they would be the ones in the wrong.

"However, to avoid trouble, I shall go now."

Lin Jue did not wish to delay. He said this to Master Fan, took the gold medal, and immediately walked out.

Master Fan did not reply, but followed him with quick steps.

About two quarters of an hour later—

Lin Jue, who had just swaggered past the entrance of the Star Gazing Palace riding a stone horse and hanging a wolf's head, had actually returned.

The Daoists of the Star Gazing Palace rarely encountered dissatisfaction in their lives; at this moment, most of them had livid faces, looking at him with gloom.

Lin Jue, on the other hand, was all smiles.

Seeing them like this even made him feel more cheerful.

"Why are you fellow Daoists looking at me like that?" Lin Jue said to them with a smile. "Have you encountered something unpleasant?"

"What are you doing at our Star Gazing Palace, fellow Daoist?"

"You misunderstand, fellow Daoist. I am not here for the Star Gazing Palace, but for the scripture pavilion of the Gathering Immortals Mansion," Lin Jue said, taking out the gold medal. "You wouldn't stop me from entering, would you?"

The Daoist did not speak, but silently stepped aside to clear a path for him. "Haha! Many thanks!"

In his happiness, in a trance, even the "Encouraging Joy" technique, which he had never fully comprehended, showed signs of progress.

Lin Jue strode into the Star Gazing Palace.

He passed through several courtyards and walked to the courtyard adjacent to the offices of the Gathering Immortals Mansion, where several pavilions appeared before him.

Lin Jue did not hesitate; he showed the gold medal and went straight to the True Treasure Pavilion.

"Creak……"

The wooden door was pushed open, and a smell of dust wafted out.

Inside, a divine light flashed faintly, but it vanished in an instant.

Lin Jue paid it no mind and immediately began his search.

He had previously asked Lord Pan to help him look, so he knew the approximate location and headed straight there.

His gaze swept over them one by one, looking very carefully.

=9+Book_Bar

Lin Jue saw some books that interested him, and some might even be related to magical arts and supernatural powers, but his goal at this moment was not those, so he did not look further.

"Found it."

Lin Jue picked up three books in succession.

One was "Original Meaning of Yin-Yang," the basis for the Lesser Yin-Yang Method; one was "Yin-Yang Commentary," also a basis for another Lesser Yin-Yang Method; and one was "Great Commentary on Yin-Yang," which was the basis for the Great Yin-Yang Method.

Lin Jue immediately picked them up.

"Hoo……"

Lin Jue blew away some dust.

The paper of the books looked quite unusual, but he couldn't say what it was; he simply opened them.

The first sentence read:

"Heaven gives birth to five qi, Earth bears yin and yang, day and night alternate, the four seasons cycle; all are the Dao of yin and yang……"

Lin Jue was very familiar with this sentence.

It was the content of the Yin-Yang Scripture.

And following this was the sage's interpretation of this "Scripture" from his own perspective.

However, Lin Jue discovered one point—

Compared to the "Five Elements Commentary" that Wan Xinrong had given him, this "Great Commentary on Yin-Yang," while also discussing the application of the Yin-Yang Dao, was much more obscure and far less straightforward.

A person with talent and a foundation in cultivation could almost comprehend the Five Elements Spiritual Method after reading the "Five Elements Commentary," but if one read this "Great Commentary on Yin-Yang," it would be very difficult to derive the Great Yin-Yang Method from it.

Lin Jue even read a page and found that the profundity here far exceeded the "Original Meaning of Yin-Yang," and many explanations were completely contradictory to it, making one feel it was whimsical and mysterious. It only gave him the feeling that "even if one had the ancient book, it would be difficult to comprehend the principles of the Great Yin-Yang Method based on this 'Great Commentary on Yin-Yang' and thereby activate the page in the ancient book."

"No wonder……"

No wonder the Great Yin-Yang Method is so scarce.

Even if Daoists in the world came to this True Treasure Pavilion, perhaps the majority would not know of the Great Yin-Yang Method, and of the remaining minority, the majority would not know that the Great Yin-Yang Method comes from this "Great Commentary on Yin-Yang." Even if they knew, it would be very difficult to comprehend the mysterious Great Yin-Yang Method from this book alone.

Fortunately, Lin Jue knew.

Fortunately, his talent was also extraordinary.

Fortunately, he still had the ancient book.

And he even had another aid—

Lin Jue thought for a moment, then with a solemn expression, took out his cloth bag and opened it.

At that very instant, he felt inexplicably that a pair of eyes was staring at him. He turned his head to look, but could see nothing.

"Sure enough, there is a god guarding it……"

It was likely just a minor god with meager divine power.

Lin Jue felt at ease and didn't care, because he hadn't taken out the bag to take the book away, but to reach inside, grope for a moment, and carefully take out a scroll.

The scroll was nameless, with handwritten characters.

Because it used ordinary paper, after several years of wind and frost, it had become somewhat aged.

Lin Jue cherished it exceptionally and opened it with extreme care.

This was not only because the book recorded the mistakes a certain old Daoist had made himself, as well as his insights and guesses about the Great Yin-Yang Method based on those mistakes, but also because it was left to him by his master.

After opening it, it was filled with tiny characters.

Lin Jue placed the two books together to read.

After reading just a few pages, he looked back and only then discovered that Master Fan was still standing by his side.

"Have you found what you were looking for, fellow Daoist?"

"I have. Many thanks for accompanying me, fellow Daoist. However, I fear I must stay here for a while, so I will not return with you," Lin Jue said. "Please return and tell Lord Luo not to worry. If you have time, fellow Daoist, please send me some food."

"Very well."

Master Fan agreed and then departed.

Lin Jue simply took this "Great Commentary on Yin-Yang" and the scroll left by his master to the window to continue reading and comparing them.

He became so engrossed that he lost track of time.

That evening, Master Fan brought him a meal and even brought him tea.

The following days were the same.

Sometimes he also brought him some news.

(End of chapter)