Chapter 2702: Utilization

Elder Chang Sheng followed the young Taoist priest to the side hall in the middle courtyard of Changyun Temple. This was the reception hall, specifically used to entertain abbots and supervisors from other temples, or believers who had made huge contributions to the temple.

After settling Elder Chang Sheng there, the young Taoist priest ran off to report.

In Changyun Temple, most of the people who stayed in the front courtyard for a long time were junior Taoist priests, which was why they were assigned to maintain order for tourists and believers, clean, maintain statues, and organize offerings.

Therefore, if a young Taoist priest wanted to report news to the supervisor, it had to be passed up layer by layer, and the number of layers was even more than the young Taoist priest had imagined.

Twenty minutes later, an old man in a Taoist robe ran over in a hurry, surrounded by a crowd, both happy and surprised.

He rushed to the door of the reception hall, took one look at Elder Chang Sheng, and stood there as if frozen, unable to move.

This person was the current supervisor of Changyun Temple, Qingxu Sanren.

"Qingxu" was the Taoist name given to him by the master who adopted him. Since he was a child, his master had used this as a nickname, and after he succeeded to the position of supervisor, he added "Sanren" to it.

Elder Chang Sheng looked at him, stroked his long beard gently, and asked with a smile, "Qingxu, do you still recognize me?"

Qingxu Sanren was shocked beyond measure, tears even welled up in his wrinkled eyes, and he choked, "Uncle Master Changqing... is it really you?!"

Elder Chang Sheng nodded gently, "It is me."

Qingxu Sanren was extremely excited, looked at him, and muttered, "Uncle Master Changqing, you... you look even younger than Qingxu today. Could it be... could it be that you have truly found the way to immortality?"

As soon as Qingxu Sanren said this, the several senior Taoist priests around him were all shocked!

These people were all core members of Changyun Temple, and they had all heard Qingxu Sanren tell stories about Changqing Zhenren.

Qingxu Sanren had told them that the last time he saw Changqing Zhenren was in the late 1950s.

Now, nearly seventy years later, he hadn't expected that the Changqing Zhenren before his eyes would look even younger than Qingxu Sanren.

In their view, Changqing Zhenren had truly found the legendary way to immortality.

Taoist disciples are different from martial artists; martial artists enter the Tao through martial arts, but there are many ways to enter the Tao in Taoism.

In Taoism, there are those who enter through martial arts; the Quanzhen Sect often mentioned in martial arts novels is a classic example of this.

But besides that, there are many ways to enter the Tao, such as through alchemy, talismans, divination, or even the Qimen Dunjia.

For hundreds of years, the Taoists of Changyun Temple have entered the Tao through alchemy. However, because their cultivation and alchemy skills were not refined enough, they hadn't produced any true talents for so many years.

Elder Chang Sheng joined Changyun Temple at the end of the 19th century. Until the 1940s, he had spent more than half a century in Changyun Temple, practicing alchemy from dawn till dusk, having walked through the gates of hell countless times just to test the pills, yet he had never truly mastered spiritual energy.

It was then that, heartbroken, he decided to leave Changyun Temple to seek another way.

Later, by chance, he joined the Master's organization and, with the Master's guidance and help, mastered spiritual energy.

Over the years, he had returned to China several times under different identities, but he had never come to Changyun Temple.

The reason he didn't come to Changyun Temple was that Elder Chang Sheng didn't want the disciples of Changyun Temple to know that he had found the way to immortality.

In his view, he had gone through untold hardships to finally enter the Tao, and this secret must never be known to anyone who knew him, including those at Changyun Temple.

And today, the reason he chose to come to Changyun Temple was that he had been unable to find Lin Wan'er's whereabouts for these past few days.

The Master had been urging him to go to Jin Ling. He could delay for three or five days, but not for three or five months. Given the Master's temper, he would give him an ultimatum in at most two or three days, so he had to find some helpers to help him search for Lin Wan'er's whereabouts within China.

And he had never cultivated his own forces in the Master's organization all these years, so the only people he could use were the Taoists of Changyun Temple.

At this moment, seeing Qingxu Sanren looking at him with expectation, waiting for his answer, Elder Chang Sheng smiled calmly and said to him, "Qingxu, this is not the place to talk. Is the secret chamber in the back courtyard still there? If it is, let's move there and talk in detail!"

Qingxu Sanren quickly said, "It is, it is! Please follow me, Uncle Master Changqing!"

The elderly Qingxu Sanren led the way diligently, bringing Elder Chang Sheng to the secret underground chamber in the back courtyard.

His other senior brothers wanted to go along, but Elder Chang Sheng chose to be mysterious at this time.

He said to Qingxu Sanren, "Qingxu, the matter you and I are going to discuss is of great importance. To be cautious, let's talk alone first."

How could Qingxu Sanren dare to disobey? He quickly nodded, "Okay, Uncle Master!"

Then, he left the others outside the secret chamber and entered with Elder Chang Sheng.

Inside the chamber, before Elder Chang Sheng could stand still, Qingxu Sanren, who was leading the way, suddenly turned around, knelt on both knees, and said respectfully, "Uncle Master Changqing, Qingxu didn't expect to see you again in this lifetime! Please accept your disciple's kowtow!"

Elder Chang Sheng reached out to help him up and said with a smile, "Although you are not my direct disciple, you were raised by my junior brother and studied under him, so in my eyes, you are the same as my own disciple."

Qingxu Sanren was extremely excited and said respectfully, "Uncle Master Changqing, where have you been all these years? Why haven't you come back to Changyun Temple to take a look?"

Elder Chang Sheng asked back, "Haven't I come back now?"

"Yes..." Qingxu Sanren nodded quickly and asked again, "By the way, Uncle Master Changqing, what have you experienced all these years outside? I wonder if you could tell your disciple, so that I may admire it!"

Elder Chang Sheng laughed, "Seventy years of life experience cannot be told in a few words."

Seeing Qingxu Sanren's disappointed expression, he added, "However, I can tell you that I have indeed found the way to immortality."

Qingxu Sanren became excited again and asked, "Uncle Master Changqing... you... have you mastered spiritual energy?!"

"That's right." Elder Chang Sheng didn't hide it and nodded, "In our cultivation, only by mastering spiritual energy can we be considered to have achieved initial victory; otherwise, it is difficult to escape birth, old age, sickness, and death. Although I have mastered spiritual energy now, it is not true immortality, just a longer lifespan compared to ordinary people."

Qingxu Sanren asked tentatively, "Uncle Master Changqing, you... must be over one hundred and fifty years old, right?"

Elder Chang Sheng nodded and sighed, "I am already one hundred and fifty-six years old this year."

"One hundred and fifty-six years old..." Qingxu Sanren said with longing, "You don't even look fifty-six..."

Elder Chang Sheng said calmly, "This is the gain after mastering spiritual energy. I have lived through the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. If I can live to the 22nd century, I will have no regrets in this life."

Qingxu Sanren paused, bent his knees, and knelt down again, kowtowing heavily, begging, "Uncle Master Changqing, please teach me the way to immortality. If you agree, Qingxu is willing to follow you for the rest of my life, to be at your beck and call, to go through fire and water, without any complaints!"

Qingxu Sanren had been in the Taoist community for over seventy years, and he was currently in the same state as Elder Chang Sheng was when he left Changyun Temple.

He had spent his whole life practicing Taoism and refining pills, but he had never found the door to immortality.

Now that he was over seventy, he had already accepted his fate, but he hadn't expected to see his Uncle Master again here.

Therefore, this reignited his deep desire for immortality.

Elder Chang Sheng looked at him, sighed, and said with utmost sincerity, "Qingxu, after all these years, I returned here because I wanted to find you and the disciples of Changyun Temple, and share what I have gained over the years with you!"

Qingxu Sanren trembled with excitement, looked up at Elder Chang Sheng, and choked, "Uncle Master Changqing... are you... are you really willing to pass on the way to immortality to your disciple?"

Elder Chang Sheng nodded and said, "I have always been thinking about Changyun Temple all these years. Changyun Temple has been very kind to me, so I naturally hope it can prosper forever. And since you were raised by my junior brother, I also hope you can enter the door of immortality like me, and have someone to accompany me on the long road of immortality in the future..."

Qingxu Sanren was extremely excited, kowtowed three times heavily, and said loudly, "Disciple Qingxu is willing to go through fire and water for Uncle Master Changqing!"

Elder Chang Sheng smiled slightly, helped him up, and said with a smile, "I came back this time because I wanted to stay in Changyun Temple in the future. You will follow me into seclusion for five years, and I guarantee you will master the ability to control spiritual energy."

Qingxu Sanren was overjoyed and immediately said, "Disciple Qingxu thanks Uncle Master Changqing for his great kindness!"

Elder Chang Sheng waved his hand and said calmly, "But you can't be anxious now, because I cannot immediately put aside all other matters and return to Changyun Temple for seclusion. You stay in Changyun Temple and wait for me. After I have handled my affairs, I will come back to find you."

Qingxu Sanren asked, "Uncle Master Changqing, may I ask, when will you be able to handle your affairs?"

Elder Chang Sheng was silent for a moment and said, "At the earliest three to five years, at the latest thirty to fifty years. If things don't go smoothly, perhaps even longer."

Qingxu Sanren paused and said in near despair, "Uncle Master Changqing, how can this disciple last thirty or fifty years..."

Elder Chang Sheng sighed helplessly, "Alas, Qingxu, I am also helpless. The reason I was able to master spiritual energy is all thanks to a noble person. All these years, I have stayed by this noble person's side to serve him. Just like the promise you made to me just now, I made the same promise back then, and only then did that noble person pass the mental cultivation method to me. Now he has a matter for me to handle, and until this matter is handled, I must listen to his orders."

Elder Chang Sheng sighed, "Now that noble person wants me to find a woman and a token in her possession in China. If I can find her, I can gain my freedom. If I cannot find her, I must keep searching."

Elder Chang Sheng added, "Oh, by the way, I cannot stay in Yan Jing for long. I will set off south in a day or two. You stay here and wait for my good news."

Qingxu Sanren thought to himself, if he had to wait for decades, or perhaps wait until he died without any news, how could he wait so passively?

So, he said to Elder Chang Sheng, "Uncle Master Changqing, tell me who you are looking for, and this disciple will mobilize all connections, even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will help you find her!"

Thus, he hurriedly said to Changsheng Bo: "Uncle Changqing, tell the disciple what kind of person you are looking for, and the disciple will mobilize all relations, even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will help you find her!"