Lord of the Earth

The moment you cross the seemingly plain door curtain, it seems as if you have crossed the boundary of time and space and stepped into a mysterious realm beyond this world.

Behind the door curtain, there is no longer the hustle and bustle of the mundane shops.

Instead, it suddenly presents a refreshing and fairy-like scene, a "lotus pond" suspended in the sky and surrounded by an endless sea of ​​clouds!
Wow!

The sea of ​​clouds is filled with mist, like a dream, containing the supreme spiritual power between heaven and earth, and emitting a soft and mysterious light. In the center of this sea of ​​clouds, there are huge green lotuses growing.

Each of these green lotuses seems to be carved from the purest jade in the world. Every petal sparkles with crystal clear luster and exudes a faint fragrance.

It is a fairy spirit that is enough to purify the soul and enlighten the wisdom.

Among the vast expanse of green lotuses in Tianchi Lake, the most eye-catching one is the largest and most dazzling green lotus. On top of it lies a middle-aged man whose clothes are in disarray, but whose extraordinary and saintly temperament cannot be concealed.

It is the owner of this place.

Li Bai, the Green Lotus Hermit, was known for his poetry, swordsmanship and drinking ability in the Tang Dynasty.

At this moment, Li Bai was drunk, with his clothes in disarray, sleeping soundly on a lotus leaf.

There are several wine jars scattered beside it. The fine wine in the jars has been used up, leaving only a faint aroma of wine intertwined with the fairy spirit in the air, refreshing the heart and soul. It is definitely a rare good wine!
"Is there a hidden world behind the wine shop?"

When Xia Tian entered this space, he was stunned at first.

But then I felt that this was as it should be.

After all, Li Bai, like Wang Yangming, is one of the top geniuses in Chinese history, and his popularity is no less than that of Zhuge Liang!

Therefore, it is naturally qualified to have a "secret realm" accompanying it, and even possess a "treasure" accompanying it.

For example, the green lotus in front of him with "endless green lotus leaves reaching the sky", Xia Tian felt that it should have a similar effect to the "fragrant white lotus" in his own palace, but the quality is definitely much stronger.

Because, with Li Bai's own luck.

These accompanying "green lotuses" are very likely to be "holy items" or even "divine items"!

"Alas, what a waste of natural resources!"

"My Thousand Day Drunk is enough for an ordinary person to drink for three years, but he ruined it all in one night last time."

Seeing Li Bai sleeping soundly on the green lotus and the wine jars scattered around, the "Wine Saint" Du Kang couldn't help but show a trace of helplessness on his face.

"Fortunately, it can be considered as a drink for wine lovers, so it is not a waste of food."

"What's more, the last time you drank, Mr. Du, you exchanged a lot of poems and calligraphy from Brother Qinglian..."

Cao Xueqin had a smile on his face and said.

"I just feel a little sorry for Qinglian... If he hadn't been heartbroken by the imperial court, he wouldn't have been so decadent! With his talent, if he had spent all this time practicing swordsmanship, he might have already advanced to the seventh level of transcendence..."

After Du Kang nodded, he shook his head again.

Then, he made another skillful move with his hands.

Then a strong wind blew up, blowing off a petal from a blooming white lotus in the distance. The petal fell into the sea of ​​clouds and then turned into a white jade "lotus boat"!
"You two, this way please..."

Afterwards, he and Cao Xueqin called Xia Tian and Wang Yangming, and they boarded the lotus boat together. With a light breeze blowing around them, they crossed the sea of ​​clouds and arrived at the lotus leaf where Li Bai was sleeping!
As you get closer, you can see more clearly that there is a powerful spiritual energy flowing around this human saint, which continuously surges from the veins of the green lotus and pours into his whole body.

This green lotus is so huge that it is more than enough to build a "palace".

Moreover, it has the effect of increasing spiritual practice, and is equally effective even for "saints"!
If everyone could bring a seed back to the Qianxia Dynasty and plant it, I'm afraid everyone would be able to achieve the same effect as the "Linglong Jade" he sleeps on.

"Qinglian, a guest has arrived, why aren't you awake yet?"

Du Kang looked at Li Bai and shouted loudly.

However, the latter seemed to be still immersed in his own dream, turning a deaf ear to the outside world, and sleeping soundly without any response!
"My goodness, is this a true portrayal of a man who refuses to board a ship when the emperor calls him, and claims to be a wine fairy?"

Xia Tian secretly teased in his heart.

"Oh, it looks like I'll have to spend money again."

Du Kang shook his head helplessly, and then put down the jar of seemingly inconspicuous mud-sealed wine.

This jar looks plain and simple, covered with soil.

But once it was opened, an extremely rich aroma of wine filled every corner of the secret realm like the first ray of sunshine at dawn and a spring breeze!
The aroma of this wine is not only rich, but also carries an indescribable spirituality, as if it can penetrate the soul. Even the green lotuses swaying around it and the lotus flowers trembling gently, these spiritual plants seem to be awakened by the aroma of wine, blooming with a brighter light, and even the flower buds in the pool of green lotus are unfolding!

In an instant, the ground is filled with fragrance!
This whole world seemed to be affected.

A large amount of spiritual power surged like a rushing river, converging towards the wine jar, as if even the heaven and earth were eager to taste this drop of nectar and feel the mystery of heaven and earth and the power for the growth of all things contained therein!
"Don't worry, don't worry!"

Later, Du Kang became skilled in the art and used local materials.

She cuts off a snow-white lotus leaf and skillfully folds it into an exquisite wine bowl, then slowly pours the fine wine in the jar into the bowl.

The aroma of wine and the freshness of lotus leaves interweave to form an indescribable mysterious atmosphere, which contains a lingering flow of the Taoist rhyme of the holy realm, which instantly makes people feel infinite yearning, as if with just a slight sniff, they can glimpse the truth and mystery between heaven and earth!
"If the sky did not love wine, the wine star would not be in the sky. If the earth did not love wine, there would be no wine spring on earth."

The next moment, Li Bai's nose, who was originally sleeping on the green lotus, moved.

Although his eyes were still closed, his body suddenly "rose from the ground" and "flashed" to appear beside Du Kang. He reached out to grab the lotus leaf wine bowl and drank it into his mouth in one gulp!
"Heaven and earth love wine, and loving wine is worthy of heaven. I have heard that pure wine is like saints, and turbid wine is like sages."

While savoring the food and reciting poems, all kinds of strange visions suddenly appeared around him.

There were poetic verses that turned into magnificent Taoist sounds resounding in the sky, and sword energy emanated from his body, like a swimming dragon, stirring up the surging sea of ​​clouds.

"Since the saints have already drunk, why seek immortality? Three cups lead to the great way, and one bowl is in harmony with nature!"

Endless laws and rhymes of the Tao are reflected in it, and the majestic sword energy soars into the sky, making Xia Tian's own sword energy also eager to try!

"Just enjoy the fun of drinking, don't tell those who are sober."

Fortunately, after Li Bai finished his last words, his eyes opened again.

At this moment, the entire secret realm seemed to be suddenly brightened, as if the mind had gradually recovered from a drunken and confused state!

"Well, good wine, huh? It's just that the side dishes that Brother Cao brought are too simple, always just celery... Fortunately, with the nourishment of Brother Cao's writing, there is some literary flavor to savor... Well, who are these two?" Then, he finally noticed Xia Tian and Wang Yangming, and his expression froze.

"Mr. Qinglian! It's only been a year since we last met, have you forgotten me?"

Xia Tian looked at this unruly and bohemian-looking man, with a somewhat helpless expression on his face.

"Oh, are Xia Xiaoyou and Qinglian old acquaintances?"

Du Kang was a little surprised.

"Well, it's you... I remember..."

Li Bai was a little dazed at first, and then seemed to finally remember.

With a wave of his robe, a piece of invitation made of white jade suddenly appeared in the air. It was the "invitation to a great man" given to him by Xia Tian, ​​who was the lord of Baiyujing in the city of human race!
"You are the Lord of Baiyujing, right? You actually found this place? Is it because I forgot to keep the appointment?..."

Then, Li Bai narrowed his eyes slightly.

But his expression didn't show much embarrassment.

Just because next, he waved his hand, and more than ten "invitations" appeared in his hand!
"The main reason was that there were too many people posting messages at the beginning, and it was really hard to choose, so I didn't go..."

Well, that’s a perfectly good reason.

After all, even Xia Tian could imagine how popular the "Exiled Immortal" was, and there were more than one or two lords who were eyeing him.

However, judging from the situation, Li Bai probably hasn’t “agreed” to any of them!
"It seems that it will be difficult to take down Li Bai."

In the minds of most Chinese people, Li Bai is a very handsome and bold figure like a god.

Five-colored horses, furs worth thousands of gold, I'll call my son to go out and exchange them for good wine, so that we can share our eternal sorrows...

According to folk legend, he even received a gold medal from Emperor Xuanzong for "writing poetry under imperial order."

Wherever they go, merchants and hotels all over the world provide them with free food and drinks!

Such a story undoubtedly has the romantic atmosphere of Li Bai.

After all, even if he didn't become a high-ranking official, such treatment was enough for him to live a carefree life without worries about food and drink for the rest of his life, making countless literati in later generations extremely envious!

However, in reality, Li Bai naturally could not have the "gold medal for food and drink". Instead, he was almost sentenced to death by the emperor.

As a man who aspires to help the country, Li Bai was never satisfied with just writing poetry. What he really hoped for was to have the opportunity to fight on the battlefield and write his own immortal chapter with the sword in his hand!

"I would like to draw the sword at my waist to kill Lou Lan... I will have the courage to destroy the evil spirits with one battle!"

The literati of the Tang Dynasty were not as spineless as those of the Song Dynasty.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, everyone was eager to make achievements on the frontier.

Li Bai, the same goes!
In the eleventh year of the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai received a letter from the military counselor of An Lushan's shogunate, inviting him to travel to the north and have a "meeting."

At this time, there were already various rumors among the people that "there would be a rebellion in the North". If they accepted the invitation and got involved in the rebellion, they would be in great danger!

However, Li Bai was brave after all.

Do you think you can't get a tiger cub without risking it?
It just so happens that I want to establish achievements. If there is really rebellion, I can just report it to the court and eliminate the disaster for the Tang Dynasty. Wouldn't that be an immortal contribution to the country and the people?

So, he went to Youzhou, pretended to be friendly with An Lushan's forces while searching for evidence. Then he hurried back to Beijing to report to the court. However, he did not expect that the court did not take it seriously at all. Some officials even advised him to focus on writing poetry and not to meddle in other people's affairs!

Later, the An-Shi Rebellion broke out, the people suffered, Xuanzong was in a state of embarrassment, and even the capital was lost...

Li Bai, who was devoted to serving his country, happened to meet Yongwang Li Lin, who was gathering troops to quell a rebellion and sent people to invite him to serve as his aide.

So, with the hope that he could help the world and save the country and the people from blood and fire, he happily took up the official position.

However, he did not expect that the Crown Prince Li Heng would proclaim himself emperor before the rebellion was put down. He was worried that Prince Yong would threaten his position after successfully suppressing the rebellion.

He directly declared that Prince Yong was "conspiring for treason" and sent troops to kill Prince Yong. As his staff member, Li Bai was charged with "joining the rebellion" and imprisoned...

Later, he was exiled to Yelangzhong by the imperial court, but was "pardoned" because of a severe drought in Guanzhong and barely saved his life. He was so happy that he wrote the eternal masterpiece "Early Departure from Baidi City" to express his joyful mood.

Logically speaking, Li Bai, who had saved his life, should have completely given up the idea of ​​"joining the army to serve the country."

Unexpectedly, even after experiencing so many things, Li Bai, who was over 60 years old, still "remained true to his original intention."

Not long after, he heard that Li Guangbi, the deputy marshal of the army, had gone to Linhuai and was preparing to recapture Suiyang, Henan. He set out again and vowed to follow the example of the "cannibalistic governor Zhang Xun" in the defense of Suiyang and die for his country, and sacrifice his blood for the country!
However, this time, there was no luck.

The banished immortals have become mortals and will ultimately be subject to the limits of their lifespans by heaven and earth.

Although he was determined to never forget his original aspiration, Li Bai fell seriously ill on the way to the military camp, and had to return. He went to his uncle Li Yangbing, the county magistrate, and died after composing the "Song on the Road", ending the wandering life of this "fallen immortal"!
Recalling the time when this banished immortal left Shu.

He believed that his talent was enough to help him rise to the top, and in "To Li Yong" he compared himself to the great roc, showing how ambitious he was!
"One day the great roc rises with the wind; it soars up to ninety thousand miles... Xuanfu is still afraid of the younger generation, a real man should not look down on the young!"

However, this great roc was ultimately unable to fly out of the constraints of the times and into a world of its own.

"The great roc flew and shook the eight descendants, then collapsed in the sky without any more strength. The remaining wind stirred the world for eternity, and it wandered around Fusang and hung its sleeves on the stone. If future generations get this and pass it on, who will shed tears for Confucius after his death?"

The great roc spreads its wings and flies high. In an instant it can fly across the vast expanse of space and to the end of heaven and earth.

Unfortunately, when Dapeng flew halfway into the air, his "wings" got caught on the Fusang tree and all his strength was used up.

Even so, the remaining wind power can still inspire people for thousands of years!
If future generations obtain the remains of Dapeng, they will probably pass this story on.

Unfortunately, Confucius is no longer with us. Who else can cry for my premature death?

"So, in order to recruit Li Bai, poetry, wine, and swords... these three things are just difficult conditions set by this human genius because he is annoyed by the 'coveting' of various lords."

"This scholar who spent his days drinking wine must have had 'psychological problems' just like Zhao Yun and Wen Tianxiang..."

Xia Tian was very determined.

As long as we can help this "Mr. Qinglian", who seems to be open-minded and bold all his life but actually has eternal regrets in his heart, to resolve the thorn in his heart!
Naturally, this outstanding person was included in the collection. (End of this chapter)