Chapter 33

"How many Daoist temples are there in this mountain?"

"Five, perhaps more that are hidden. This mountain is so vast, with forests of strange peaks and jagged rocks, that even I have not seen them all. I only deal with two: one is the Xianyuan Temple, also of the Spiritual Arts Sect, and the other is the Nine Dragons Temple of the Alchemy Sect. In recent years, a few Buddhist temples and halls have been added."

"Do Buddhist temples also cultivate here?"

"This mountain is very large with beautiful scenery; not only do we Daoists like it, but monks like it too."

"That makes sense."

Lin Jue nodded, bowed, and took the opportunity to ask: "Then what is the difference between the Alchemy Sect, the Spiritual Arts Sect, and the Talisman Sect?"

"No rush. There are hot springs at the foot of the mountain; we can soak in the hot springs and talk slowly." The old Daoist smiled freely, being very informal, "After walking for several days, even with my cultivation, I'm almost growing lice. The hot springs in the mountain are extremely comfortable; I'll take you there to enjoy them."

The group continued forward.

Gradually arriving at a forest filled with water vapor.

There really were hot springs, and the temperature was just right.

In addition, the spiritual energy here was also very dense, quiet, and deserted.

Not long after—

An old man and a young man sat in the hot spring, while not far away, a young girl sat with her back to them, holding a branch and silently poking holes in the ground for fun.

Few people came here; it was quiet and secluded, with only the sound of flowing spring water and the old Daoist's voice.

"The Alchemy Sect, as the name suggests, is mainly about refining alchemy. This is further divided into external alchemy and internal alchemy. External alchemy uses a copper furnace as a tripod and various rare treasures, gold, silver, rain, and dew as materials to refine pills, which can be said to have inexhaustible wonderful uses. Internal alchemy uses one's own body as a tripod and the spiritual essence of heaven and earth as materials to nourish and cultivate the Golden Core within the body.

"In ancient times, cultivators in the world mainly focused on refining alchemy. This 'refining alchemy' refers to external alchemy, while 'nourishing alchemy' refers to internal alchemy.

"Later, perhaps because they realized the shortcomings of external alchemy, the method of internal alchemy gradually evolved.

"There are countless magic arts in the world, ever-changing, which are actually related to the Alchemy Sect. Later, the path of external alchemy gradually declined, while the path of internal alchemy mostly hid in the deep mountains to cultivate, and the emerging Spiritual Arts Sect became the mainstream.

"Later still, more and more people in the world became gods and ascended to immortality..."

The old Daoist paused here, as if there was something he hadn't said, and then continued:

"Then came the Talisman Sect.

"'Lu' means position or register. 'Fu' means to join or match. The Talisman Sect must have the talisman match the register for it to take effect. Investigating its root, it is borrowing the power of divine beings, not one's own ability."

Lin Jue listened very carefully.

This hot spring was very hot and comfortable to soak in.

Passing on the Dao and clearing up confusion in such a setting was a scene Lin Jue had never imagined before.

But it was extraordinarily comfortable.

Hearing this, Lin Jue was thoughtful, waving the water to scrub the dirt off his body. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young girl sitting with her back to them scratching her head a few times.

Obviously, she was also listening, but was very confused.

It was quiet here, so they could hear clearly without getting close.

Lin Jue thought for a moment and asked for her:

"What does that mean?"

"In layman's terms, the register represents your identity—it could be your identity with a righteous god in heaven, or your identity with a local god, or even a wild or evil god on earth, indicating that they recognize you. Some registers also record your status and which divine beings you can call upon or which abilities you can use. With a register, you can set up an altar and draw talismans. The talisman is like a military tally; with an identity and a military tally, you can mobilize troops and send generals, display various supernatural powers, and even invite divine beings to descend to the mortal realm."

The young girl continued to lower her head and poke the ground for fun.

But at this moment, a sound suddenly came from the forest.

It was a strange and unfamiliar voice, not like a human's.

"You old Daoist are wrong. The reason why cultivators in ancient times switched from refining external alchemy to internal alchemy was actually because rare treasures were becoming increasingly scarce; many pills could no longer be refined, and it was even more impossible to refine a Golden Core."

"Who?"

Lin Jue was suddenly alert, looking toward the source of the voice.

The young girl sitting on the bank was even more startled; she also turned her head to look into the distance, then quietly turned back to look at the two people in the hot spring.

But she only saw rising heat and deep dense forests; in the distance, the mountains and clouds were indistinguishable. Where was there any figure?

Looking at the old Daoist again—

The old Daoist was still sitting in the hot spring, smiling happily, with no intention of investigating who the voice came from.

And the voice continued:

"You old Daoist are not one of those Daoists of the Talisman Sect who worship gods, and you have no possibility of being ranked among the immortals in the future, so why be so timid in your speech? Why not just say that the ultimate goal of cultivators of the Alchemy Sect and the Spiritual Arts Sect is to cultivate into ancient free immortals, or to live in ease and comfort in the world for a hundred years, while the Talisman Sect is just an appendage of the current incense-worshiping divine path?"

"Hehehe..."

The old Daoist listened happily, smiling without saying a word.

"Who is speaking?"

Lin Jue couldn't help but ask him, thinking he knew them.

"I don't know, I don't recognize them. However, this is Mount Yishan, and few people have come here for thousands of years, so it's normal for there to be more spirits and monsters. Heh, this one must have lived longer than us; what he said might also make sense."

The old Daoist just said with a happy smile.

"So that's how it is..." Lin Jue was thoughtful, "But I have encountered a few too many spirits and monsters on my way here."

"Don't be too surprised. People have their own fate, and besides, the world is in chaos now, so there are naturally more spirits and monsters than a few years ago. Once you have encountered a demon or ghost, either your Yang energy and blood energy are temporarily weak, or you have become stained with the aura of a monster. If you walk on night roads or mountain paths again, if there are demons or ghosts halfway, they will naturally be more willing to come find you."

"Is that so."

"The old Daoist is not entirely right either." The voice in the dense forest sounded again, "It is naturally not an ordinary thing for a mortal to see mountain spirits and wild ghosts for no reason, but if you go to the place of mountain spirits and wild ghosts and see spirits and ghosts, isn't it like going to someone's house and seeing people? What is there to be surprised about?"

"That also makes sense." The old Daoist soaked in the hot spring, nodded in agreement, and looked at Lin Jue again, "See, it's quite good to encounter such spirits and monsters by chance."

"..."

Lin Jue looked at his expression and seemed to realize something.

After that, the voice did not sound again.

After the two finished soaking in the hot spring, they wanted to call the young girl, but she didn't know if she was shy or afraid that if she left their sight, she would encounter spirits and monsters, so she was unwilling no matter what.

So they continued on their way.

Gradually, they were getting closer and closer to that scissor-like mountain and the Fuqiu Peak next to it, so close that their complete shapes could no longer be seen.

Pushing aside the reeds, there was a narrow mountain path.

The old Daoist walked in front.

The young girl walked in the middle.

Lin Jue followed at the end.

Crossing a bridge over the stream made only of a tree trunk, they gradually went up along the small path.

The old Daoist walked slowly while telling them, his voice as usual, as if he were sitting indoors speaking calmly, completely unaffected by the steep mountain road:

"As the saying goes, 'Under the vast heaven, all is the King's land.' This is actually wrong.

"In fact, only places with roads are under the jurisdiction of the government, and only those are the King's land. The smaller the road, the worse the human court's ability to govern. The vast deep mountains and wilderness areas beyond that are not considered 'King's land.'

"By the same token, only places with roads and houses belong to humans, and only places where people gather belong to the human world. Other places belong to spirits and monsters, and to local gods.

"Spirits and monsters generally do not harm people during the day, but deep mountains and old forests, especially places where sunlight cannot reach, are also considered twilight even during the day, belonging to the boundary between Yin and Yang. If ordinary people accidentally enter them, it is best not to leave the sunlight.

"Mount Yishan is remote, with deep forests and heavy fog, and often has spirits and monsters. However, you don't need to worry. Mount Yishan also has a Mountain God, and the Mountain God of Mount Yishan is extraordinary, much more powerful than the Mountain Lord we saw the day before yesterday, and more powerful than the vast majority of Mountain Gods in the world. If you see him, you must be sufficiently respectful.

"This mountain is under his jurisdiction, and with the Daoist temple, our Fuqiu Temple is also famous among the spirits and monsters in the mountain, and has a reputation with the Mountain God of Mount Yishan. As long as you don't do anything against your conscience, the spirits and monsters of this mountain won't easily make things difficult for you. Even if you encounter them, just be respectful and polite, and say you are disciples of Fuqiu Temple, and most will let you leave."

Lin Jue silently hurried on his way while listening, feeling as if he were walking from the human world into a different place.

Suddenly, he heard someone singing in the mountain:

"This mountain has hot springs, which can wash away the dust of the world... This mountain has immortal herbs, which can be eaten to never grow old... This mountain has divine pills, which can be obtained to transcend the dust of the world..."

"It's a woodcutter."

The old Daoist informed them.

Lin Jue looked up in the direction of the sound, only to see deep clouds and mist, strange peaks and rocks appearing, and ancient pines bathing in the mist; it truly looked like an immortal's dwelling.

He couldn't help but stop and look back.

Unknowingly, he had climbed very high. The path he had come from was almost invisible between the dense forest and the clouds, and even the hot spring he had soaked in before could only be seen as a mass of water vapor rising from the ground into clouds, and the appearance of the hot spring itself could no longer be seen. As for the spirit that had interrupted earlier, Lin Jue still didn't know what it was.

Until a corner of the palace temple appeared in the mountain forest, slanting upward, with Fuqiu Peak behind it.

"We're almost there."

Lin Jue followed him forward, hearing some flute music, ethereal and otherworldly, coming from the treetops, and smelling the faint scent of incense, which made him feel at ease.

The gate of the Daoist temple soon appeared before them.

It was a faded vermilion gate with a cat lying lazily at the entrance. The plaque above the door read "Fuqiu Temple," and the two sides had a couplet:

Obtain the clear energy of mountains and waters;

Gather the spiritual resonance of heaven and earth.

The old Daoist walked in front, stepped over the cat, and gave it a push.

"Creak..."

The wooden door slowly opened, revealing a scent of incense.

The old Daoist had already walked in first.

Lin Jue stopped outside and looked to the left, where several plots of land had been cultivated, growing vegetables, and further back were donkey sheds, pig pens, and chicken and duck cages, keeping poultry and livestock. There were paths leading up the mountain on both sides, seemingly paved with bluestone slabs and steps.

Footsteps stopped in front.

Lin Jue withdrew his gaze, seeing that the young girl had discovered he hadn't entered, so she stopped and turned back, looking at him silently. He smiled, carefully stepped over the cat at the door, and followed.

The Daoist temple was not very large, but not small either. Including the ceremonial gate, it had three courtyards and two palaces in the front and back: the Tianweng Hall, which worshiped Tianweng, the Divine Mother, and many gods in heaven; and the Banshan Hall, which worshiped the Banshan Ancestor and some gods that only existed in ancient myths and legends, indicating that this was a Daoist temple relatively more inclined toward self-cultivation.

On both sides were guest halls for pilgrims, rooms for Daoists, as well as a dining hall, kitchen, a building for storing scriptures, a utility room, and so on.

Lin Jue hadn't walked far when he saw a middle-aged Daoist coming out carrying a hoe.

"Master, you're back? Who are these two?"

"These are my newly accepted disciples, your little junior brother and little junior sister. Stop working in the fields and go tidy up rooms for them to live in first."

"I've already tidied up one room, but didn't you say you were only taking one disciple? Why did you take two?"

"It's all fate. Tidy up another one."

"Okay."

"This is my eldest disciple, your eldest senior brother, named Lu Wu. Before you, I had a total of seven disciples; I'll introduce them all to you tonight." The old Daoist said with a smile, "Don't worry, my disciples are all very easy to get along with, and the Daoist temple is usually leisurely with nothing to do, so you can play with them."

"Hello, Third Third Shixiong."

Lin Jue hurriedly bowed to the middle-aged Daoist.

"Hello, Third Third Shixiong!"

The young girl also followed suit.

"Hello to you both."

The middle-aged Daoist carried the hoe, wore straw sandals, and had his trouser legs rolled up. He looked to be in his thirties and didn't look old at all, but his expression was exceptionally gentle, and with this attire, it made people feel he shouldn't be young.

After greeting the two, he walked back.

Lin Jue watched him with wide eyes.

The old Daoist led the two further inside.

"When night comes, after paying respects to the ancestors and formally holding the master-disciple ceremony, you two will officially be considered my disciples and their junior brother and sister."

"Shouldn't we choose an auspicious day?"

"An auspicious day doesn't have to be in the heavens. Today I accept disciples, and you enter my sect; that is the auspicious day."

"Oh..."

Lin Jue couldn't help but turn his head and look around.

The flute music from the buildings in the temple became clearer, seemingly very close. Outside the scent of incense in the air, there were also medicinal and wine fragrances, all of which were pleasant to smell. Cats and dogs lay sleeping in the courtyard as if no one were there, and there was even a clouded leopard napping on the ground in the inner courtyard. Just by Lin Jue standing in the courtyard, cats came over to look at him, smell him, or rub against him.

Yet he didn't know what kind of place this was.