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

Yi Chuan met Zhang Xiu, who had rushed back to Yangping Mountain.

Compared to nineteen years ago, the dark-faced man who used to act like a ghost in Lutangzhi now has a stubble beard and more than half of his hair is white.

Upon seeing Yi Chuan in the crowd, he was first taken aback, then his expression became quite interesting.

After the funeral, Zhang Xiu knocked on Yi Chuan's door with a pot of wine.

"Nineteen years have passed, and I never imagined that the real person would still be the same in appearance and voice. His cultivation is indeed astonishing."

Zhang Xiu shook his head, a sigh on his face.

That night, the dark-faced man got completely drunk.

"Back then, I didn't know that my senior brother's meeting with the Master was to imprison him on the mountain, and I couldn't break this formation either."

"I have seen Zhang Jiao in recent years. At that time, he was preaching in Youzhou and was carrying a nine-section staff."

"I feel like he's becoming more and more like you."

"Nineteen years ago, the True Man descended upon Lutangzhi, and since then, believers have been coming to Lutangzhi in an endless stream. They could no longer survive, so I had no choice but to take them all in..."

As he was talking, the dark-faced man suddenly burst into tears without warning.

"From now on, no senior brother will harshly reprimand me for drinking anymore..."

Yi Chuan listened calmly, watching Zhang Xiu gradually cry like a child.

After a long while, Yi Chuan spoke.

"Beware of Zhang Lu of Yizhou."

This was Yi Chuan's final piece of advice as a friend.

In the biography of the Celestial Masters that he recited, the third Celestial Master was Zhang Lu, not Zhang Xiu.

However, in the will left by Zhang Heng during the day, Zhang Xiu was designated as the Twenty-Fourth Master of Justice, which is the only discrepancy between this and the history that Yi Chuan knew.

He wasn't good at history and couldn't remember Zhang Xiu at all during this period of history, nor did he know his fate. Out of their friendship, he offered a reminder.

"I see."

With blurry, drunken eyes, Zhang Xiu mumbled a reply.

It wasn't until dawn that Zhang Xiu woke up from his drunken stupor, took his leave, and departed.

Bai Ze, who had been freezing outside all night, walked in, glanced at the mess inside with disgust, and jumped onto Yi Chuan.

"Why haven't I seen you come down the mountain these past few days?"

Pointing a finger at Bai Ze's head, Bai Ze made gurgling sounds in his throat, and it was unclear what he was saying.

After Zhang Xiu returned to Lutangzhi, the once-great Yangpingzhi became a mere shell of its former self.

With Zhang Heng's passing and the absence of Zhang Lu and Zhang Xiu, the entire Yangping region collapsed and its followers scattered. Within a month, no disciples could be seen on the mountain anymore.

They could leave, but Yi Chuan could not, as Zhang Heng had said, the formation remained.

A man and a cat spent five years in the mountains cultivating their spiritual practice.

The once prosperous and bustling Yangpingzhi was now overgrown with grass, which had even reached into the houses. Bai Ze walked through it, but could not see any cats, only the swaying weeds.

Bai Ze was too foolish. For the past five years, Yi Chuan could only occasionally visit the clay statue in Chongxu Hall to talk to it.

Without disciples, Yi Chuan became self-sufficient, cultivating millet in a field in the mountains over five years.

On a whim, he used his own sweat to water the millet. After five years of cultivation, the millet seemed to have undergone some kind of mutation. In any case, judging from Bai Ze's increasingly rounded appearance, Yi Chuan's mutation should be positive.

During these five years, Yi Chuan tried to descend the mountain more than once, but each time he felt as if his body was about to split open, and eventually fainted halfway down the mountain, where he was carried back to Yangpingzhi by Bai Ze.

Bai Ze hadn't left the mountain for five years, which moved Yi Chuan somewhat.

Although each attempt ended in failure, Yi Chuan was pleasantly surprised to find himself getting closer and closer to the mountain gate.

Sensing the ball of light within his body that had swelled to the size of an egg, Yi Chuan felt depressed.

"Just a little bit more, only a little bit left!"

Unable to descend the mountain, and with one field not enough for Bai Ze's increasingly rounded physique, Yi Chuan thought of clearing another field on the back mountain of Yangping. However, upon arriving at the back mountain, the originally lazy Bai Ze suddenly opened its eyes, arched its back, its fur bristled, and made gurgling noises.

Yi Chuan wanted to ask what was going on, but Bai Ze had already run away like lightning without turning his head.

Yang Pingzhi chased Bai Ze all the way to the overgrown weeds before finally pinning him down. Bai Ze's beard trembled, and his eyes still darted around in fear.

Seeing Bai Ze's strange behavior, Yi Chuan frowned slightly, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

According to Zhang Heng, the Yangping land-cultivation formation existed before Zhang Daoling entered Shu, at least before the Qin Dynasty.

Before the Qin Dynasty, I had not yet appeared, so for whom was this formation set up?

What was that thing that was originally imprisoned? Did it escape? Or is it still imprisoned somewhere in the mountains...?

As he thought about it, Yi Chuan couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Yi Chuan wanted to take Bai Ze to the back mountain, but Bai Ze kept running around in Lu Tangzhi Zhong and refused to go. So Yi Chuan went to the back mountain by himself a few times, but found nothing.

With no other option, Yi Chuan could only find a place in the front of the mountain and cultivate another field.

He didn't know from which day it started, but even though his cultivation was suppressed, he could still see the towering flames of the town below the mountain from his perspective.

Along the way, people from the Sili Commandant would occasionally come up the mountain. Yi Chuan sensed them and avoided them from a distance, not wanting to have any contact with them.

But secretly observing their panicked and disheveled expressions, Yi Chuan could imagine the chaos that had ensued down the mountain.

"The year is Jiazi... Has this moment finally arrived?"

After the Commandant of Sili left, Yi Chuan stood at the mountain gate, his body radiating aura, and the mountain wind blew his blue Taoist robe.

After thinking for a long time, he stepped down the stone steps again.

-----------------

Jizhou, the governor's office.

Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, was already completely drunk. Through his drunken, hazy eyes, he looked at the Taoist priest sitting upright at the banquet.

"Now that the plague in Ji Province has been brought under control, it is all thanks to your virtuous teacher's generous use of supernatural powers to save people with talismans. This governor respectfully offers a cup of wine to your virtuous teacher."

After saying this, Wang Fen drank the wine in one gulp, drawing cheers from the audience.

They all looked at the Taoist priest in hemp robes holding a wooden staff at the banquet with their own thoughts, as people kept coming forward with wine cups to offer him a toast.

Compared to nineteen years ago, the Taoist's back had become hunched, and his once spirited and youthful face was now dark and weathered from years of travel. His coarse linen Taoist robe looked out of place at the dinner table.

But which official wouldn't like such a Taoist priest? He's capable, yet holds no official position; the people he saves are all considered achievements in his career.

"I heard that the sage now has hundreds of thousands of disciples. Even if Zhang Tianshi of Sichuan were alive, he might not have such a large following."

Wang Fen once again approached the Master with her wine glass, but was stopped by a young man in a Taoist robe standing next to the Master.

"I'm sorry, my teacher isn't good at drinking, so I'll drink in his place."

"Virtuous teacher" is an abbreviation for "great and virtuous teacher," and only those who are close to the teacher can address him in this way.

The young man wore a warm smile, but Wang Fen's face suddenly showed displeasure.

He remembered this young man; his name seemed to be Zhao Hong, and he had always been by the wise teacher's side.

As the governor of a prefecture, this teacher's actions were extremely disrespectful.

He squinted at Zhao Hong. Normally, he would have broken the legs of this scoundrel and sent him to the army.

"I am currently fasting and cannot drink alcohol. Please forgive me, Governor."

The wise teacher, who had been keeping his eyes closed, finally spoke. He opened his eyes, smiled, looked at Wang Fen, and bowed.

"Oh, Master, you are fasting. May I ask what the purpose is?"

Wang Fen's words immediately piqued the curiosity of the officials present.

"Nature is a very important thing."

The wise teacher smiled, glanced at the officials present, and tapped the nine-section staff in his hand with his right knuckles.

Those at the table were all powerful figures from the state; officials below the rank of prefect were not allowed to join in, so naturally, few people paid attention to what the wise teacher was talking about.

The table was once again filled with the clinking of glasses, and the greasy-faced officials spoke eloquently about the worries of the imperial relatives and eunuchs in the court, each one gritting their teeth, their loyalty evident in their words.

Just like nineteen years ago, the Taoist priest surrounded by officials still seemed a little awkward and couldn't get a word in edgewise.

When asked about his views on current national affairs, he would only shyly say one sentence:

"Our great Han dynasty has a long reign, thanks to the tireless efforts of all of you loyal ministers. As long as we overcome the current difficulties, the day of its revival will surely be just around the corner."

Everyone was overjoyed and toasted the Taoist priest.

The Taoist recognized it as a type of wine called "Zhou" (酎), which is said to be "made in the first month and aged in the eighth month." One cup of it is equivalent to a month's worth of food for an ordinary family.

So the Taoist closed his eyes and gently tapped his nine-section staff with his fingers.

Soon, soon.

Halfway through the banquet, a loud noise suddenly came from in front of the governor's mansion.

Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, a yamen runner suddenly tumbled in, his face as pale as paper.

"A letter from Luoyang: The sorcerer Zhang Jiao of the Taiping sect is plotting a rebellion, using Ma Yuanyi as an inside agent to attack Luoyang. Fortunately, Tang Zhou leaked the information, and Ma Yuanyi has now been torn apart by chariots. Refugees from all over are attacking cities and plundering counties, and they have already arrived!!"

The entire governor's mansion fell into a deathly silence.

The bailiff, terrified, had barely finished shouting when he was kicked to the ground by the drunken, bleary-eyed prefect, Wang Fen.

"You audacious brat, how dare you slander the Great Master Taiping! The Great Master Taiping is currently a guest at his residence, with hundreds of thousands of followers, including disciples of princes and nobles. He is extremely distinguished and powerful. How could he possibly conspire with those peasant vagrants to rebel?"

After cursing a few times, still not satisfied, Wang Fen picked up a chair and threw it at the yamen runners. The officials at the banquet were initially startled, but then they burst out laughing.

Indeed, throughout history, only lowly scoundrels would rebel. How could someone of their status and worth stoop to participate in such a thing?

Governor Wang Fen thought so too, but when he turned around, he saw his wise teacher standing up.

And the gaze of a wise teacher.

Cold, indifferent, and tinged with sadness.

A gust of cold wind instantly sobered him up considerably.

At that moment, flames suddenly shot into the sky outside the governor's mansion. The blazing, surging flames seemed to burn across the entire sky of the Han Dynasty.