Two Realms: Starting with transmitting the Taiping Jing to Zhang Jiao

"Did you know we were coming beforehand?"

Zhang Jiao leaning on his nine-section staff looked somewhat unbelievable.

Zhang Lu nodded: "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have been sent here to wait."

Yi Chuan and Zhang Jiao exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

Just as they were about to go up the mountain, Zhang Lu suddenly reached out and blocked Zhang Jiao's way, looking down at him with a condescending gaze.

"I'm sorry, Master instructed that only the Daoist priest was present."

Although it was strange, Yi Chuan first calmed Zhang Jiao down: "Alright, you wait at the foot of the mountain with Yang Pingzhi's disciples. I'll be right back."

Zhang Jiao pondered for a moment, then finally nodded, snorted coldly, and followed Zhang Lu's disciple to the cool retreat at the foot of the mountain.

Following Zhang Lu up the mountain, they traversed winding paths, clinging to vines and climbing over several streams. Seeing that Yi Chuan was still breathing steadily and not panting or blushing, Zhang Lu's arrogance subsided somewhat.

Zhang Lu was observing Yi Chuan, and Yi Chuan was also looking at this grandson of Zhang Daoling, who would later become the third-generation Celestial Master.

Yi Chuan didn't know much about this third-generation Celestial Master. After all, he had only stayed at Baiyun Temple for three years. He only vaguely remembered that, according to the "Chronicles of the Celestial Master" at Longhu Mountain, this third-generation Celestial Master was the one who truly transformed the Twenty-Four Provinces into the Five Pecks of Rice Sect.

But whenever this part of the story is mentioned, the old abbot in Yi Chuan's memory always has a strange expression on his face. This is the first time in Yi Chuan's memory that the old abbot has shown that kind of expression to the patriarch.

"Where did this stray cat come from?"

After crossing another ravine, Zhang Lu turned around and saw a white cat standing on the other side of the ravine.

The white cat lowered its paw into the stream and then pulled it back, as if it had hesitated for a long time.

It doesn't like water.

Yi Chuan also looked over and met the white cat's gaze. The white cat stiffened for a moment, then looked away with its amber pupils before casually licking its paws.

Yes, the cat didn't follow anyone; it came on its own.

"How could such filth be tolerated in this blessed land of immortals?" Zhang Lu sneered, picked up a stone to scare the white cat away, but was stopped by Yi Chuan.

"It's alright, this is my cat. He came up the mountain with me and won't run away."

So Yi Chuan returned to the other side of the stream, smiled, and bent down.

When the white cat saw Yi Chuan approaching, its pupils narrowed, and it warily ran several meters away.

Seeing Yi Chuan bend down, the white cat sat dignifiedly, tilting its head as if deep in thought. Finally, it ran over with small steps, lightly leaped onto Yi Chuan's shoulder, patted him a little, and comfortably closed its eyes and lay down.

I jumped on the shoulders, not the arms.

Yes, I'm not a domesticated cat.

"The Taoist priest certainly has a fine cat he keeps."

Zhang Lu smiled awkwardly, then gave up and continued leading them up the mountain.

Yi Chuan didn't answer, but looked at the white cat on his shoulder with a wry smile and said softly, "I didn't kidnap you, you came here on your own."

Seeing its snow-white fur, Yi Chuan touched the white cat's nose with his index finger:

"You need a name, so I'll call you Bai Ze."

The white cat's whiskers twitched, its round eyes staring at Yi Chuan without responding or objecting, its tail swaying gently.

With Bai Ze by our side, the road up the mountain was finally less tedious. After walking a few more miles, we finally saw a building that resembled Lu Tangzhi in the distance.

At this moment, several people dressed in government attire walked out of Yangpingzhi. Upon seeing the two, they recognized Zhang Lu, bowed from afar, and walked down the mountain.

Yi Chuan turned his head and looked at the backs of the people on the mountain path, his eyes narrowing.

"Master, your master is waiting for you in the Celestial Master's Quiet Chamber."

After walking for a while, Zhang Lu's legs were already weak and his muscles were numb. He led Yi Chuan to the front and back of the Celestial Master's meditation room, then bowed and took his leave.

The wooden door opened, and Yi Chuan stepped inside. A white-haired old Taoist priest with a deeply lined face was sitting on a futon, smiling at him.

The moment Yi Chuan saw the old Taoist priest, Bai Ze on his shoulder suddenly arched its back in response, its fur standing on end, as if it were about to run away.

Yi Chuan pressed him down and calmly looked at Zhang Heng: "It's alright, it's alright, Master will not bully the younger generation."

"Hahaha, I've long heard that there's a cat demon in a small temple in Pengzhou, but it's thanks to the existence of the cat demon that the plague didn't break out in Pengzhou."

Zhang Heng chuckled and pointed to the prayer mat opposite him, gesturing for Yi Chuan to sit down.

As people age, they become more like demons. Seeing that Master Jun had seen through Bai Ze's background in a single sentence, Yi Chuan felt even more apprehensive.

"Is Junior Brother Zhang Xiu doing well over with Lu Tangzhi?"

Amidst the rising smoke, Zhang Heng's wrinkles trembled as he spoke with a smile.

Seeing that Yi Chuan did not answer, Zhang Heng smiled self-deprecatingly: "That should be very good. Among Father's disciples, he is the one with the highest aptitude. Otherwise, he would not have passed on the most difficult method of cultivation in the Taiqing Xuanyun Record, the Six Qi Food Qi Method, to him."

"Unfortunately, he was lazy by nature and went to the Deer Hall to recuperate, leaving me with the position of Master."

"It's been four years. Since my father passed away, he hasn't come back to visit his senior brother even once..."

The Zhang Heng of this era is unlike the historical Celestial Master who sighed and rambled on; he is more like an old man from the countryside complaining about everyday matters.

"I wonder what the purpose of the letter that Master sent to Lutang Mountain a month ago was."

Yi Chuan, unwilling to engage in further pleasantries and pretense, went straight to the point and asked the question.

Zhang Heng paused for a moment, then shook his head, giving Yi Chuan an unexpected answer: "Actually, I don't know what that means either."

"Even Master doesn't know?" Yi Chuan narrowed his eyes. He had considered countless possibilities, but he never expected the Celestial Master to answer in this way.

"That was left behind by my father before he passed away."

Zhang Heng glanced at Yi Chuan with his cloudy eyes: "He left behind a will stating that after his ascension, a true cultivator of destiny will appear!"

"This cultivation carries on the thousand-year-old fortune of our Taoist sect, and is the turning point for the prosperity of our Taoist sect!"

Yi Chuan narrowed his eyes: "Does Master mean that the Heavenly Mandate True Cultivator mentioned in Zhang Tianshi's last testament is me?"

Zhang Heng smiled and said with certainty, "The person who appeared at my Yangping Mountain today after sending that letter is a true cultivator of destiny."

At this moment, Zhang Heng's aura surged wildly, and the rambling old farmer seemed to have vanished, replaced by a lofty deity.

As soon as Zhang Heng finished speaking, the energy of the entire Yangping Mountain suddenly changed. In Yi Chuan's perception, it felt as if the entire mountain was pressing down on him, overwhelming him and suppressing the light energy within his body until it dimmed.

Bai Ze was already furious, hunching over and looking at Zhang Heng, wanting to pounce and bite him, but his eyes were filled with more fear.

Looking at the still amiable white-bearded old Taoist priest before him, Yi Chuan suddenly smiled, even though his cultivation of Qi was suppressed.

He had never laughed so happily.

The Celestial Master before us seems to have miscalculated something, something very important...

……

As dusk fell, Zhang Jiao, who was waiting impatiently at the foot of Yangping Mountain, was about to go up the mountain when he bumped into Zhang Lu, who had just escorted Yi Chuan up.

Zhang Lu bowed respectfully and said, "That Taoist priest just now gained a lot from his lecture with Master and has decided to stay on Yangping Mountain to cultivate in seclusion. He may come down the mountain at any time, so you don't need to wait for him."

Zhang Jiao frowned, wanting to ask more, but seeing Zhang Lu's indifferent expression, he had no choice but to give up.

Presumably, Yi Chuan wouldn't suffer a loss given his abilities, so the disheveled Zhang Jiao nodded and descended the mountain, leaning on his nine-section staff.