Chapter 255: Transmitting the Art

About a li east of Hun Tian Peak lies the main summit of Long Mountain.

This mountain rises roughly a thousand zhang high; the winding mountain path resembles a gray-green ribbon, and amidst the swirling mists, one can see temples and a complex of buildings stretching from the mountainside to the peak.

This is the seat of the Great Long Gate.

Monk Dou Yue stepped onto the ascent; his steps were slow, yet his speed was great, covering dozens of zhang with a single leap, and before long, he had reached the rear mountain.

Before the cliff stood a small stone temple.

When Monk Dou Yue arrived, he saw faint mist drifting above the temple; centered on the small temple, not a trace of snow remained within a hundred zhang, as if evaporated by the scorching sun.

"Master."

Before the door, Monk Dou Yue bowed slightly; after waiting quite some time, a voice came from within:

"Oh, it's Xiao Yue. Come in."

The old man's forgetfulness had grown even worse.

Hearing his own master call his name, Monk Dou Yue felt a slight tightening in his heart; this was a sign that he was about to be forgotten entirely.

In the courtyard, Long Xi Xiang pushed open the stone door; wisps of smoke drifted out from within the temple, and through the crack in the door, numerous spirit tablets could be seen arranged on the altar.

"Your injury..."

Monk Dou Yue hesitated; in his eyes, Long Xi Xiang, who had just emerged, looked far younger than before his seclusion, his features so childish they resembled a toddler's.

"That traitor's Wu Gong was inferior to mine; this is an old wound."

Long Xi Xiang touched his gleaming bald head, then pulled a thick stack of letters from his robes; ignoring everyone around him, he began flipping through them, muttering occasionally:

"Qin Shixian assassinated the king and attacked the throne? Qin Shixian, oh, the current master of the Star-Picking Tower? The most mysterious Grand Master of the Shenbangda Sect..."

"Zhen Wu Wang... Wan Wan Zhuliu has obtained another Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing? The Black Turtle Armor? That old fellow's fortune is overwhelming."

"Shen Qi Sheng has pledged allegiance to the imperial court? Qin Shixian is suspected to have arrived at the Hengshan Dao? Senior Brother led the hall masters down the mountain..."

The stack of letters was thick, and Long Xi Xiang read them very slowly.

Monk Dou Yue bowed and waited, listening to his mutterings, and could not help but feel some worry; this forgetfulness was growing ever greater.

"The Azure Dragon Shadow appears? Li Yuan?"

After a long while, Long Xi Xiang raised his head, his face showing both admiration and surprise: "Is this Li Yuan from an outer sect? To actually cause the Azure Dragon Shadow to appear, he has a very strong affinity with our Great Long Gate!"

"..."

Monk Dou Yue raised his head, his mouth twitching.

Long Xi Xiang did not notice; the letters put him in a very good mood: "This is your generation's..."

"Master, the one from our generation who caused the Azure Dragon Shadow to appear was Long Long Xinglie, your junior disciple; when he was taken in by Senior Uncle, you even gifted a supreme-grade famous artifact. Have you forgotten that too?"

Monk Dou Yue could not hold back: "Wasn't Li Yuan a disciple you personally took in Huizhou after splitting your True Qi?"

"Is that so?"

Long Xi Xiang paused slightly, then smiled: "I wondered who had such insight; it turns out it was old me. Hmm, excellent, very good!"

"..."

Monk Dou Yue silently drew a Juan Sect from his sleeve: "This booklet lists the major and minor events of the past forty or fifty years. You should read it first."

Although he would forget it upon reading, it was better than not reading at all.

Monk Dou Yue went inside to fetch a reclining chair; Long Xi Xiang lay down comfortably, slowly flipping through the book, and instructed him to go find Li Yuan.

"Disciples have already sent someone to search for him."

Monk Dou Yue attended to him on the side, pouring tea and water, and also recounted the events of recent years, from the grand to the small, in great detail.

"Hmm..."

Long Xi Xiang asked questions while flipping through the book, nodding at times and frowning at others.

"At the last martial arts gathering of the various Dao, which family took the first place?"

Long Xi Xiang asked; although he could not remember most events of recent years, he would mostly not forget things from over forty years ago.

The martial arts gathering of the various Dao was a grand event among the five Wudadao Sects, held once every thirty years, serving both to exchange knowledge and to mediate Jianghu grievances.

This martial arts gathering can be traced back as far as

two thousand years; in the last thousand years, the Great Yun imperial court was also added.

"It was Brother Zhongli Wang Luan of San Mei Cave. Twenty-seven years ago, on Zuo Wang Peak of Yan Shan Dao, he won first place with his single move 'Great Sun Golden Form'. I had not yet undergone blood replacement back then and was no match for him."

Monk Dou Yue paused slightly and added: "At that time, Junior Brother Long's Wu Gong was not yet formed, so he was also no match for him."

"Great Sun Golden Form? No wonder; this form is not inferior to Senior Brother's 'Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon Form'. It is normal that you were no match."

Long Xi Xiang closed the Juan Sect:

"My 'Long Xiang Heliu' is also not inferior to the Great Sun Golden Form. Be diligent, and in the future, go and reclaim the honor yourself."

"Disciple remembers."

Monk Dou Yue opened his mouth but gave up on explaining that he had already cultivated Long Xiang Heliu over ten years ago, and that Brother Zhongli Wang Luan had already comprehended Yin and Yang, achieving the Chengjiu Sect realm.

"Hmm, you said Long..."

"Long Long Xinglie, Senior Uncle's disciple, the current Dao Zi. His path toward perfecting blood replacement is more stable than mine. If not for waiting for the martial arts gathering of the various Dao in three years, he could already attempt the union of body and spirit."

"Not yet sixty years old, yet possessing the foundation of a Chengjiu Sect. Hmm, not inferior to my own in those days; he is certainly qualified to be a Dao Zi."

Long Xi Xiang nodded and asked about his junior disciple, whom he had no memory of:

"Where is Li Yuan?"

"Junior Brother Li's talent is excellent, but I estimate it is still somewhat inferior to Junior Brother Long's. Moreover, he is only twenty..."

Monk Dou Yue put away the Juan Sect, his expression unchanged:

"With this nearly forty-year gap, the sect is unlikely to experience turmoil over succession; this is a good thing."

"Hmm."

Long Xi Xiang agreed heartily and gave his orders:

"Xiao Yue, go inside and fetch the secret manual of the 'Jin Guang Longhu Hun Tian Hammer'. Li... does this junior brother of yours specialize in hammer techniques?"

"Yes, Junior Brother Li hails from the Divine Weapon Valley."

Monk Dou Yue felt somewhat weary; he had already said similar words three times in such a short while. After offering one explanation, he walked into the room.

"This incense is far too flourishing!"

Li Yuan walked along the mountain path into the Great Dragon Gate, feeling that the incense at the main peak of the Dragon Gate was far more intense than at the Hun Tian Hall, growing even denser the higher he climbed toward the summit.

He passed by temple after temple, and from time to time he could sense incense burners; starting from the third tier, there were plenty of fourth and fifth-tier ones, and he had already spotted several clusters of sixth-tier incense.

"Junior Uncle Li, what are you looking at?"

Yu Shan Xuan Feng, who was leading the way, noticed him glancing left and right from time to time and could not help but feel curious; he followed Li Yuan's line of sight, scanning left and right, but saw nothing unusual.

"Just looking around."

Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and forced himself not to look.

The two quickened their pace, and before long, they arrived outside a small temple on the cliff edge; inside the courtyard, Long Xi Xiang's voice came:

"Come in."

Yu Shan Xuan Feng looked on eagerly; he also very much wanted to enter, but upon seeing through the crack in the door the towering, wall-like massive figure of Monk Dou Yue, he immediately shrank back.

"Master, Senior Brother."

Pushing the door open and entering, Li Yuan bowed deeply; his peripheral vision swept over his own cheap master, who had rosy lips and white teeth and looked even younger than himself, and he was truly somewhat surprised in his heart.

This is even younger than those formed by true qi; what kind of supreme divine art is this?

"Li Yuan."

Long Xi Xiang sized up the youth before him and could not help but frown slightly.

Around twenty years old, wearing a close-fitting Taoist robe, with a spirit-snake belt buckled at his waist, inner armor beneath his outer robe, bone rings on both hands, and boots on his feet—were they all Zhong Shang Pin?

"This disciple is here."

Li Yuan sighed; hearing that voice alone, he knew his cheap master had forgotten him again.

However, after entering the courtyard, his thoughts immediately became somewhat distracted, and he barely restrained himself from looking at the small temple behind Long Xi Xiang.

In his peripheral vision, this small temple radiated brilliant Jin Guang—not one beam, but three—and was filled with extremely dense incense energy.

Seventh-tier

incense, and not just a single wisp...

"Hmm, although I am slightly forgetful, since you have received the Patriarch's approval, it is enough to enter my sect."

Long Xi Xiang reached out and took out three thick booklets:

"These are the first half of the Jin Guang Longhu Hun Tian Hammer Method, covering striking techniques, breathing methods, stance cultivation, and visualization methods..."

"Thank you, Master, for transmitting the arts."

Li Yuan received the thick secret manual with both hands.

"As for the second half of the Jin Guang Longhu Hun Tian Hammer, you may ask your senior brother for it once your hammer technique is fully mastered; if there is anything you do not understand, hmm, if you do not mind the trouble, you may come and ask me."

Long Xi Xiang yawned; in such a short while, he already felt that the person before him was somewhat unfamiliar.

"If there is anything you do not understand, come and find me."

Seeing confusion flash across his face, Monk Dou Yue quickly took over the conversation.

"Hmm, you may also find your senior brother."

Long Xi Xiang stood up, accepted Li Yuan's bow, and then turned toward the small temple:

"Whether there is a master-disciple banquet or not makes no difference; it can be postponed, but the Patriarch must be worshipped first!"

"Yes!"

Li Yuan followed him into the temple.

This temple was very small; inside there was only one incense burner flashing with Jin Guang, three purple-wood large tables, and dozens of spirit tablets arranged from high to low.

￠〇

In front of every spirit tablet was a fist-sized incense burner; oil lamps burned inside the room, illuminating the murals on the walls, which had already become somewhat faded.

Li Yuan took a glance; it was a painting of a monk riding a dragon. He had seen an introduction to it in the library; this depicted the deeds of Long Yin Chan Shi subduing the flood dragon in years past, painted by later-generation disciples.

"Offer incense."

Following Long Xi Xiang's arrangement, Li Yuan offered incense one by one.

"The spirit tablets enshrined in this temple are those of all our Patriarchs from the Great Dragon Gate over the past two thousand years; according to the rules, one must come to offer incense and wipe the spirit tablets every month."

Long Xi Xiang introduced them one by one, and before long, incense burned before all the spirit tablets.

"This disciple will remember."

Li Yuan imitated the actions, but his attention never left Long Xi Xiang; with his mind highly concentrated and at close range, he finally faintly sensed the fluctuations of the Yang Sheng Lu.

After the two offered incense, wisps of smoke, barely perceptible, drifted and settled upon the spirit tablets; subsequently, most of the incense vanished, leaving only a few sparse wisps clinging to the incense burners.

"The incense is enshrining the Yang Sheng Lu!"

Li Yuan had long suspected this; seeing it now did not surprise him. A thought flashed through his mind, yet his gaze never left the dozens of incense burners, large and small, and his heart beat faster.

The incense in this small temple was far more flourishing than in the main hall of the Hun Tian Hall; especially the largest one before the table, which, although of the sixth tier, already shimmered with Longhu Longhu Dandan Jin Guang within its radiance.

This is seventh-tier incense, and it is not thin; it is at least enough for him to fuse three seventh-tier divine weapons!

The question is, how to get it into hand?

Will trading the old for the new work?