Aoyama

Chapter 379 Utmost Purity and Truth
The grand procession of the phoenix palanquin entered the city through Anding Gate. The empress looked aggressive and ready to accuse the emperor, and the carriages and horses did not stop.

The Imperial Guards followed behind. Qi Zhenzhuo cautiously observed Chen Ji the whole way, wondering what he had done to offend his master. He could only carefully ride forward and say, "Master, I heard that Lord Chen Lizun plans to include you in the family genealogy after the imperial examination, and then go to my Qi family to present betrothal gifts... We'll be family soon, shall we have a drink?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Qi Zhenzhuo felt even more guilty: "Although my sister is a bit unruly, she is good at heart."

Li Xuan gave Qi Zhenzhuo a look, signaling him to stop talking.

He looked at Chen Ji: "You whipped the Director of the Divine Palace today. He might go to His Majesty to complain... How do you plan to deal with it?"

Chen Ji said absentmindedly, "Let him go and report it."

At this moment, the ceremonial guard was at the intersection of Shuntianfu Street and Andingmen Street. Chen Ji was about to turn his horse right with the guard when he suddenly saw a familiar figure from behind.

On the south side of Andingmen Street, a young Taoist priest sat on the back of a blue ox, holding a book in his left hand and a writing brush in his right, writing furiously with his head down.

He paid no heed to the midday hustle and bustle of the street, nor to the passersby and their stares. The young Taoist seemed to be in a study, at his desk, rather than in a noisy marketplace.

The brush in his hand seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of ink; he wrote hundreds of characters in one go without needing to dip it in ink.

The young Taoist priest's hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, and his forehead and nape were covered in sparse hair. His green ox slowly walked down the road, not giving way to oncoming carriages and horses, forcing them to give way.

Remaining and independent.

Upon seeing this man, Chen Ji perked up and said to Li Xuan, "You all follow the entourage; I have to go first."

Li Xuan exclaimed, "Wait, we need to send the imperial carriage and entourage back to the palace first..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ji had already spurred his horse away from the group and chased after the Taoist priest and the blue ox.

……

……

On the long street, a young Taoist priest wrote furiously with a pen in his hand, muttering incantations: "Three drumbeats, and the Buddhist disciple's prayer beads suddenly break..."

Li Changge sighed, "What a convenient method of Zen! No wonder treacherous officials worship Buddha with such fervor; they're borrowing your robe to cover their skulls... No, no, that's too harsh. Those bald guys are going to kill me..."

The young Taoist priest crossed out the sentence with his pen, and the original ink marks on the book disappeared without a trace, leaving the book completely clean.

Just as he was about to rewrite it, he heard someone call out from behind: "Master Zhang Li!"

Zhang Li suddenly turned around and saw Chen Ji riding his horse through the crowd. He immediately patted the blue ox's neck and urged, "Hurry up, hurry up, don't force me to beg you!"

But the ox was stubborn and no amount of urging could help it; it continued to walk slowly.

Hearing the sound of horses' hooves approaching from behind, Zhang Li quickly put on a smiling face and turned around to greet him: "So it's Fellow Daoist Chen Ji, how have you been?"

Chen Ji, sitting on his warhorse, tilted his chin up and said, "Run! Why aren't you running?"

Zhang Li laughed heartily: "Why run? Fellow Daoist Chen Ji and I hit it off immediately. Since we've met, we should share a drink. Why would I run?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Did Daoist Zhang Li ask me before he wrote the Four Dreams of Bianliang?"

Zhang Li secretly calculated in his heart: He wrote the Four Dreams of Bianliang in the City God Temple. When he handed the script to the Performing Arts Department, he asked his junior brother to deliver it. After delivering the script, his junior brother returned to the Huangshan Dao Court. He should not be caught by Chen Ji. The official from the Performing Arts Department also went to Jinling to supervise the rehearsals of the Southern Music Bureau. He should not be caught by Chen Ji either.

Well, there's no evidence.

He looked up, feigning ignorance: "Huh? The Four Dreams of Bianliang? What Four Dreams of Bianliang?"

Seeing that he refused to admit it, Chen Ji was not in a hurry: "I would like to ask Master Zhang Li, the Taoist scriptures say, 'By acting without acting, nothing is left undone.' Does 'acting without acting' mean acting or not acting? If a Taoist practitioner pursues 'non-action,' does he fall into the delusion of 'seeking nothingness'? I am very puzzled by this and plan to go to Yuanjue Temple to ask the Buddhist disciples for guidance."

Zhang Li's expression changed drastically. If this question were posed to the Buddhist sect, they would undoubtedly win countless Taoist temples from the Taoist court: "Let's talk this out! Brother Chen Ji, let's talk this out!"

Chen Ji sat lazily on his horse and asked slowly, "Who wrote the Four Dreams of Bianliang?"

Zhang Li hurriedly replied, "I wrote it!"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Wouldn't it have been better to admit it earlier? Your Daoist court used me to suppress the reputation of Buddhism, to the point that Buddhism regards me as an enemy. How do you plan to settle this matter?"

Zhang Li sighed: "What does Fellow Daoist Chen Ji want?"

Chen Ji seemed to have already thought it through: "The three leaves you helped me evade capture, and one Feather-Growing Pill."

Zhang Li's eyes widened: "Fellow Daoist, the Life-Giving Pill is the most precious treasure of my Dao Court. How could I give it to you? No one in the world with any sense of shame would ask me for the Life-Giving Pill."

Chen Ji was easily persuaded: "Then five leaves."

Zhang Li shook his head vigorously: "No, no, I still have a great use for the blinding leaf. This thing is even harder to refine than pills. My junior brother can only refine one a year, and I had to snatch two from several people."

Chen Ji remained calm and composed: "What is written in the booklet in Daoist Zhang Li's hand? May I take a look?"

Zhang Li suddenly slammed the booklet shut and laughed awkwardly: "Haha, the booklet contains only some trivial matters of my Huangshan Taoist Temple, which are not worth telling outsiders."

Chen Ji said casually, "Master Zhang Li wouldn't have turned my second debate with the Buddhist disciple into a new story, would he?"

Zhang Li's expression froze: "How is that possible?"

Chen Ji said "Oh," and then said, "That's good. Otherwise, once your story is published, I'll become a lay Buddhist who doesn't shave his head."

Zhang Li was speechless. He gritted his teeth and took out a wooden box from his sleeve.

The box was opened, and inside lay six elm leaves, their surfaces as clear as jade, gleaming in the sunlight.

He reached out to pick up a leaf, but before he could, Chen Ji bent down and snatched the box away: "Thank you, Daoist Master."

Zhang Li exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, my leaf!"

Chen Ji closed the box, stuffed it into his robes, and asked, "Leaves? What leaves?"

Zhang Li tucked a scroll into his robes and stuck a brush into his disheveled hair, saying leisurely, "Fellow Daoist Chen Ji has probably been eyeing this leaf for a long time; it's very useful. But you've forgotten that to use this leaf, you need to dip a rat-tail brush in my blood and write my Daoist incantation on it, otherwise it won't work. If you want me to write this incantation, you'll need to do me two favors."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "What kind of help is it? Tell me, Daoist Zhang Li?"

One rode an ox, the other a horse; one wore a Taoist robe, the other armor, attracting the attention of passersby. Yet, neither of them seemed to care about the stares of others.

Zhang Li crossed his legs and sat sideways on the back of the green ox, facing Chen Ji: "Firstly, I was already on my way back to Huangshan Daoting when a junior brother sent me news at breakneck speed that the Myriad Gods' Descent Path of Huangshan Daoting had been leaked and was causing a bloodbath in the martial world. I had no choice but to return to the capital."

Chen Ji was surprised and suspicious: "The Daoist sect's cultivation methods have been leaked. Could it be that there is a traitor among its disciples?"

Zhang Li shook his head: "No, those of us in the Huangshan Daoist Temple who cultivate 'The Descent of Ten Thousand Gods' have been either by my side or by my master's side lately. There is no opportunity or motive for leaking the secret. Perhaps someone in the martial arts world dug up graves and found this path in some senior's cave, and deliberately leaked it out."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ji subconsciously thought of Corpse Dog, the zodiac animal that specializes in finding cultivation paths for inner cultivators.

Could it be the work of the inner minister who leaked the secrets of the Daoist temple?

He asked calmly, "Why are so many people in the Huangshan Taoist Temple practicing the same path?"

Zhang Li laughed heartily, “Fellow Daoist Chen Ji, you may not know this, but our Daoist Court is divided into Daoists and Dao Protectors. Those who are naturally gifted become Daoists, like my exceptionally talented junior brother Yanchi, who cultivates the Daoist Court's Celestial Phenomena Technique. The rest, like myself, can only become Dao Protectors, cultivating the same path and guarding the mountain gate.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Daoist Zhang Li, you're just telling me all the secrets of the Daoist Court like this?"

Zhang Li waved his hand dismissively: "When have you ever seen Lu Yang, the abbot of the Martial Temple, conceal his cultivation path? How could our prestigious sects hide their secrets like petty thieves in the martial world?"

Chen Ji became even more curious: "Then who among these myriad gods is cultivating?"

Zhang Li turned to look at him, his tone becoming serious: "Including myself, there are eleven people in total. If you include my master and his disciple, there are twelve people in total."

Chen Ji was startled and suddenly gripped the reins tightly: "Has the cultivation method of the Huangshan Daoist Master been leaked?"

strangeness.

I had previously heard that Shitu Zi was one of the Grandmasters of the Divine Path Realm in Ning Dynasty. With so many people cultivating the same path, how did he manage to reach the Divine Path Realm?
This doesn't make sense. What secret does this official route hold?
Moreover, the secrets of the Daoist sect leader have been leaked, which is a huge scandal. Who could have done this?
If this is the Inner Minister... what exactly does this Inner Minister want to do?
Chen Ji looked at Zhang Li in disbelief: "Such an important cultivation method has been leaked, and Daoist Zhang Li still has the mind to write a storybook?"

Zhang Li shrugged: "What else can we do? There's no use in being anxious. I turned back halfway because I wanted the imperial court to help the Huangshan Dao Court investigate this matter."

Helpless, Chen Ji went to the imperial court through the Huangshan Daoist Temple. The court would probably hand it over to the Secret Service, but if the Secret Service was indeed behind it, then there would be no solution.

Given the unreliability of this Taoist priest Zhang Li, the Huangshan Taoist Temple is likely to suffer in silence.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked, "And the second thing?"

Zhang Li pointed to the sky: "When my junior brother came to find me, he also told me something. He said that someone from heaven appeared to Master in a dream and said that the Supreme Ruthless Jade Tablet in East Kunlun was lost. This jade tablet contains the Supreme Ruthless Chapter, which is the supreme path of our Daoist Temple."

Chen Ji felt that Zhang Li's few words were about to burn his brain out.

He had been in this world for several months, and the secrets of the Forty-Nine Heavens he had heard were not as important as these few sentences. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether Zhang Li was telling the truth or joking.

How could the secrets of the Forty-Nine Heavens be heard so easily?

Chen Ji was puzzled: "If it was lost in the heavens, it should be looked for in the heavens. What's the point of looking for it in the mortal world?"

Zhang Li said meaningfully, "This thing is useless in the Forty-Nine Heavens. The person who took it must be going to use it in the mortal world. So what I'm looking for is not the jade tablet, but the person who cultivates it."

Chen Ji tentatively asked, "Is this method very powerful?"

Zhang Li smiled and said, "If you sever your seven emotions and six desires in the morning, you can ascend to the forty-ninth heaven in the evening, achieve enlightenment in a single day, and be liberated after six thousand years. Isn't that amazing?"

“Impressive,” Chen Ji frowned, “but how are we supposed to find them in this vast sea of ​​people?”

Zhang Li was also somewhat troubled: "This path requires a person of utmost purity and who has severed all true emotions to cultivate it. We can only start from here. However, those who cultivate this path progress extremely quickly, and I imagine they will soon break free of their inhibitions on their own."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "How do you sever the seven emotions and six desires? Can anyone who cultivates this path ascend to immortality?"

Zhang Li stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Of course not. If one is just an ordinary person, even if one cuts off the seven emotions and six desires, one cannot become an immortal. That is why we need to find the most passionate, genuine, pure, and true people in the world. The stronger the emotions, the stronger they are to be cut off. However, joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire must be cut off one by one. The most abundant ones are also the most difficult to cut off."

Chen Ji pondered, "This method can help people sever their emotions and nature, so wouldn't it be extremely suitable for Buddhist practitioners to cultivate the state of selflessness?"

Zhang Li chuckled: "What are you thinking? This path can only transform the seven emotions you've severed into a realm. As for the seven emotions, you have to sever them yourself. If you can't sever them, you can't cultivate."

Chen Ji frowned: "If a person cuts off all seven emotions and six desires, wouldn't all that's left be a shell? What else would be left?"

Zhang Li, sitting on the back of the blue ox, turned to look at him and said earnestly, "To be selfless and impartial, one must be without emotion or desire. Only selfless and unselfish fairness remains. Fellow Daoist Chen Ji, the gods in heaven cannot come down. They can only choose their own pawns to do things. There are not many gods who can take this jade tablet from East Kunlun. We do not know what He wants to do. Now that our Dao Court's great cause is not yet completed, we cannot tolerate such a big change. Therefore, we must find it back."

Zhang Li suddenly said meaningfully, "Fellow Daoist, I don't know who has obtained this path now. If someone close to you gets their hands on it, don't give them the chance to sever their seven emotions. If you find any clues, you can come to the City God Temple in Chongnanfang to find me. I'm leaving now."

Having said that, he rode his blue ox into the crowd and gradually headed south.

(End of this chapter)