This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 195 The Contemporary Imperial Astronomical Bureau

In the small Tai Chi Temple, six people were huddled together in the kitchen, busy with their work. Leng Zhiheng, of course, didn't need to help with cooking or anything, and would occasionally peek out of the kitchen to look at the main hall.

However, since Zhuang Lin had explicitly told them to cook, he didn't dare to sneak into the main hall to eavesdrop.

The five members of the second research group were all incredibly excited and were whispering among themselves in the kitchen.

"Those guys in Group One are damn tight-lipped, they didn't reveal a single thing!"

"Yeah, I felt something was off about them at the last headquarters meeting. They seemed to want to say something but wouldn't, and they acted like they were experts, talking to us in a lecturing tone!"

"Exactly, they probably already knew! I thought it was just because they said the job paid well!"

"But to be fair, the salary is indeed high."

"That's right. I didn't know why before, but now I think I understand! Sigh, blanch the meat and offal, and don't overcook your vegetables either!"

The five of them worked together, with one person chopping vegetables, another cooking rice, and still others adding firewood to the fire and stir-frying dishes. The two large pots connected in parallel in the kitchen were put to good use, and the aroma of the dishes quickly filled the kitchen.

"President Leng, President Leng!"

"what's up?"

Leng Zhiheng looked back into the kitchen. Did the five of them really need his help to cook?

The five of them were busy with their own tasks, but they all looked at him.

"Mr. Leng, is Mr. Liu really practicing immortality while wearing ancient costume?"

"Yes, those old rumors."

The five of them had been holding this question in for a while, and now they finally asked it. They knew that Leng Zhiheng had a good temper, and they probably wouldn't have dared to ask it in front of Liu Lei or other leaders.

Leng Zhiheng also laughed. These rascals are all quite capable at work, and their curiosity is also incredibly high, which is understandable.

"Hehe, you already know, why ask? Isn't it obvious? The boss has already achieved immortality. How do you think I came to Taiji Temple? I was carried here from the sky by the boss and Master Zhuang!"

"What?" "Holy crap!" "Really?"

"Why would I need to lie to you?"

Leng Zhiheng chuckled, finding the group of young people agreeable; they were energetic and dynamic.

"Alright, just stick with the boss. Also, since we didn't hide anything from you today, that's your good fortune. From now on, you don't need to call him General Manager Liu; just call him Boss like we do!"

All five of them had their eyes light up. Although they were not high-ranking figures in the Liu Group, they were clear about one thing: ever since Liu Shih-hao's time, those who could directly call the president or boss were considered to be the boss's true insiders.

As he spoke, Leng Zhiheng looked out into the mountains. He could see his boss riding the wind just now, but he could no longer see him. He just felt that the wind direction in the mountains seemed to be changing a lot.

Inside the ancient hall on the other side, Zhuang Lin and the old Taoist priest Xu Ming had already taken their seats again, and a large pile of books had been placed between the two of them on the futons they were sitting on.

The Taoist canon at Taiji Temple is actually not very large, at least not much beyond the common ones.

The things that truly resonated with Zhuang Lin, the successor of Taiji Temple, were those recorded in handwritten notes and those "oral secrets" spoken of by the old Taoist master Xu Ming.

"Although our temple is small, it has a long history, said to date back to the Song Dynasty. Many of the books here have been destroyed, but we wonder if these few still exist would be of good quality to you?"

Zhuang Lin glanced at the usual classic texts and then browsed through the temple's collection of books with the old Taoist priest Xu Ming.

Those who have been able to pass down their teachings from ancient times to the present, and even maintain them to a certain extent in the Dharma-ending Age, are certainly not simple. However, as Zhuang Lin predicted, the teachings in Taiji Temple cannot be considered true transmissions of cultivation, although they did indeed dabble in immortal cultivation in the past.

Most of these books are actually the experiences of Taoist priests of Taiji Temple throughout the ages. However, the closer to modern times, the more complex the content of the books becomes, while the older ones are often described in concise classical Chinese.

The later generations of Taiji Temple believe that the ancient texts are obscure and require more comprehension. In reality, it is because as the spiritual energy becomes increasingly scarce, it is becoming more and more difficult for the later generations of Taiji Temple Taoists to obtain the same feelings as the ancient masters.

The feelings themselves are different, so it's natural that it's difficult to understand the books left by the ancient masters.

As the saying goes, "You can't talk about ice with a summer insect." Even if you've seen some descriptions, you can never touch or feel the real ice.

It didn't take Zhuang Lin long to turn the pages; just over half an hour later, he put down the last book in his hand, looked at the expectant old Taoist priest Xu Ming, and shook his head with a sigh.

"It's a pity, a real pity that the ancient book is so badly damaged, and the later parts are ambiguous. What a pity, what a pity indeed!"

In Wangxian Temple, the old Taoist priest of that time preserved the battle formation book very well, or rather, that battle formation book itself was carefully copied during the process of inheritance.

Zhuang Lin expressed his regret because Taiji Temple had not been able to preserve all the ancient texts. Many of the old documents were incomplete or damaged, and some had even decayed and been destroyed long ago.

As for the more complete ones that follow, as Zhuang Lin said, they are ambiguous.

Although the Taoists at Tai Chi Temple have continued their practice, it must be said that it was the Dharma-ending Age and the depletion of spiritual energy that saved them.

If this is not the case, and the Taoist priest of Taiji Temple were to actually practice the cultivation method according to his current understanding, the more advanced his cultivation would be, the more severe the backlash would be.

It's no wonder that during the transitional period between generations, many Taoist priests at Tai Chi Temple died unnatural deaths or were born too young, which indirectly led to the loss of many secret techniques.

However, if the spiritual energy is not lost, the path ahead will not become increasingly skewed; it's a very contradictory reality.

And then there's that period of history.

Although this world is different from when Zhuang Lin came, it is clear that the ambitions of the Eastern Sea still exist, and they once attempted to launch an invasion of the Great Yan.

However, unlike the difficult resistance in Zhuang Lin's hometown, although this place also suffered severe losses due to the World War, its fundamental vitality is still intact.

Back then, almost all the Taoist priests from Taiji Temple went to fight. When they returned, Taiji Temple was mostly destroyed, and many books were lost.
-
After much thought, putting everything else aside, what Zhuang Lin knew was that now that Taiji Temple had reintroduced Taoist cultivation, they would definitely not practice blindly according to the old Taoist priest's own understanding, otherwise, it would really cause a big problem.

Master Xu Ming waited on the side, and when he saw Zhuang Lin sighing repeatedly, he was extremely nervous.

Seeing the old Taoist priest's expression, Zhuang Lin smiled and comforted him.

"Although you lack spiritual energy and have not fully followed the known methods of cultivation, your mental states have been cultivated to a state of perfect harmony, like the Tai Chi symbol. However, there is still a certain degree of connection between you and the true nature of cultivation. Let me consider how to enable you to seamlessly transition to the profound mysteries of cultivation."

"Yes, disciple will heed the teachings of the immortal master!"

He dared not easily accept the title of disciple, but since the matter involved the transmission of knowledge, he had to uphold the principles of a disciple. Xu Ming waited respectfully for what was to come.

"Heh, you already have a master, so I won't be your master. However, calling you Immortal Master would be too formal. If you're willing, you can just call me Master, and that will be your teacher who imparts knowledge and instructs you!"

"Yes, disciple will follow Master's teachings!"

Having said that, the old Taoist priest excitedly agreed. There were few times in the world that could make his emotions rise and fall so dramatically, and today was definitely the first day of that.

Master, Master, we can be considered master and disciple in name and in reality. For Xu Ming, that's already very satisfying!
At this moment, Zhuang Lin was muttering the oral secrets of Taiji Temple. At least this secret of "not being passed on to six ears" seemed to have remained unchanged since ancient times.

"Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, each in their proper place in Heaven and Earth, with the Qilin guarding the center. Upper Light, Middle Qi, and Lower Essence, each in their respective positions in Heaven, Earth, and Man, the Three Flowers gather at the Divine Platform."

These words are actually quite interesting. Even Zhuang Lin felt a slight ripple in his mind, as if the lake of his heart was rippling. However, this oral tradition alone is not enough. It is a pity that the Taiji Temple's teachings have not been fully passed down.

But then Master Xu Ming seemed to suddenly remember something.

“Master, I just remembered something. The main hall of Taiji Temple wasn’t this one back then. There are still some things under the collapsed site!”

"Oh?"

"Please come with me!"

Xu Ming immediately stood up, then led Zhuang Lin out of the main hall and quickly walked towards a red brick building on one side. This red brick building was obviously built later; one side was the bedroom of the Taoist priests of Taiji Temple, and the other side was used to store miscellaneous items.

Xu Ming led Zhuang Lin into the storage room, where he quickly moved things around, clearing out boxes and other odds and ends.

"Master, let me sweep the ground!"

The ground looked mostly muddy. Xu Ming found a small shovel, scooped up a patch of soil, and revealed the stone slab underneath.

Good heavens, what was originally paved underneath were bluestones, but because the mortar was too thick, it looked like a muddy ground.

Zhuang Lin smiled and said.

"Let me do it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuang Lin flicked his sleeve.

"Woo woo hoo"

A gentle breeze rose from inside the house, instantly swirling up the dirt and dust on the ground before it quickly fell back outside.

In a short while, the ground was cleared, revealing the original bluestone floor, and in that corner, half a body could be seen.

To be precise, it is a carving of half a human body on the left side. The body is quite large, with some obscure lines and patterns. The heart is not fully visible; what you see are a bird's wing and flame patterns.
Upon seeing the pattern, Zhuang Lin's heart skipped a beat.

"I'll demolish this brick house first, and then have someone rebuild it for you!"

Before Xu Ming could even reply, Zhuang Lin pointed forward with his right hand.

"Boom——"

With a deafening roar, the entire corner of the red brick house seemed to tremble violently. Then, light flashed in the middle of each brick, and in the next moment, they all flew out.

In the blink of an eye, a two-meter-wide space was cleared out of this corner, the brick wall vanished, and the roof was on the verge of collapse.

But Zhuang Lin couldn't care less about anything else; he was staring intently at the pattern on the ground.

This is a person sitting in a Taoist cross-legged posture, with a body shape like an ordinary person, seemingly reflecting the inner world.

Within the heart, the Vermilion Bird stands amidst the fire; within the liver, the Azure Dragon coils amidst the forests; within the spleen, the Qilin lies soundly amidst the mountains; within the lungs, the White Tiger roars amidst the wind; within the kidneys, the Black Tortoise hides amidst the waves; and each of the Five Sacred Mountains is represented by a point on the true form map.
Combined with the various patterns, a profound feeling arose in Zhuang Lin's heart, perhaps just like how outsiders viewed the innate diagram he left behind!
"This is... Five Elements Refining Form!"

The commotion drew all six people from the kitchen out to look, while Liu Hongyu, who was floating in the wind, also looked in that direction and then struck out the last array base in his hand.

With a flash of light in Liu Hongyu's hand, the stone pillar disappeared into a certain spot in the mountain, connecting with all the previous array nodes. The aura surrounding the Taiji Temple vanished in a flash.
In modern times, the capital of the Great Yan Dynasty, the headquarters of the Imperial Observatory is located in an ancient building that dates back to the imperial era, which was also the location of the Imperial Observatory at that time.

Today, it has become the office space for the civil servants of the Imperial Observatory. After all, the work of the Imperial Observatory is quite special, and it would be better if it had a bit of an ancient feel.

This ancient circular building has an observatory on top and a huge bronze ancient instrument in the middle, which is said to be called the Xuan Tian Yi, and can be used for astronomical observations and earthquake prediction.

Ancient texts even mention mystical abilities such as the ability to monitor unusual movements of the dragon veins throughout the land, though this was mostly content used to please the imperial power in feudal times.

Nowadays, no one knows how to use the Xuan Tian Yi (a type of astronomical instrument), and it is probably already broken. All people know is that it is a national first-class cultural relic, which adds a sense of mystery and antiquity to this working environment.

Of course, the civil servants working here now also like to call themselves staff of the Imperial Observatory, feeling that it makes them look very sophisticated.

Although times have changed, the Great Yan Dynasty still attaches great importance to the calendar, just as it did in ancient times, and a new one needs to be compiled and approved every year.

As the year draws to a close, the Imperial Observatory still needs to re-verify the calendar.

With the advancement of technology and the assistance of modern astronomy and instruments, some factors that were uncertain in ancient times can now be incorporated, making the calendar more accurate than before.

Furthermore, different calendars were revised according to the different regions of Dayan, not only serving the Central Plains region. This is one of the important foundations for Dayan's abundant agricultural products and its reputation both at home and abroad.

This year, the Imperial Observatory just replaced a lot of new equipment, including desktop computers. Although there is a learning curve, it has undoubtedly greatly improved work efficiency.

"Ugh, I wonder when this year's work report is due!"

"Sigh, don't think about that. What should we have for lunch?" "How about ordering takeout?"

Hey, if you guys order, include me in the order!

Colleagues in one area temporarily put aside their work and, like many other working people, chatted about the problem of lunch.

Just then, everyone in the Imperial Observatory felt a slight tremor, causing them to immediately stop chatting and doing what they were doing.

Then everyone either turned around on their own or followed the gaze of others, all looking at the central Xuan Tian Yi. People on the first, second, and third floors walked to the railing of the corridor outside the office.

"what happened?"

"Is that the movement of the Xuan Tian Yi?"

"I do not know."

People were talking amongst themselves. The elderly and frail director of the Imperial Observatory also came out of his office on the third floor, frowned as he looked at the center, and then asked the people around him.

"What happened just now?"

Before the dean could finish his question, Xuan Tianyi suddenly shuddered again.

"Boom—" "Clang—"

At that moment, the glass cover surrounding the Xuan Tian Yi shattered instantly; apart from the frame, countless pieces of tempered glass fell down.

The staff of the Imperial Observatory all ran away amidst screams of "Ah—" and "Ouch!", fearing they would be hit by shards of glass.

"Gulu Lulu"

The sound continued, drawing the attention of the officials in the Imperial Observatory, who looked towards the center in alarm.

The Xuan Tian Yi was actually moving, and quite fast at that. Its bronze components were constantly rotating, the ring-shaped stars were constantly turning, strange markings were arranged and combined on one side of the bronze artifact, and an arrow began to tremble and point in one direction.
Everyone in the Imperial Observatory stared in disbelief at what was happening, including the head of the Censorate.

However, everything seemed to stop very quickly, even abruptly, leaving everyone at a loss.

Wasn't it broken? How can it move on its own? Why did it stop again? Is it broken again?

The dean stared blankly at the Xuan Tianyi, then looked at the scale runes on the bronze artifact. Because he couldn't see them clearly, he went up to the second floor to get the closest spot.

The symbols and characters were damaged, some were blurred, and some had simply fallen off, possibly because they were no longer in their original form. Even with the dean's mastery of classical Chinese, he could only decipher a small part of the content.

"Spiritual vein? Wood? Direction?"

The dean stared blankly at the scale, and a number of people gradually gathered around him.

"Director, what is this?" "Is the artifact damaged?"

"Dean, what happened to you? Are you hurt?"

"Dean?"

"Ho, ho, ho"

The director of the Imperial Observatory was breathing slightly rapidly, as if he had realized something.

(End of this chapter)