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

"I have long heard of the illustrious reputation of Zhang Tianshi of Sichuan and have admired him for a long time. It is my great fortune to be able to see Zhang Tianshi's works."

"While repaying kindness is not the act of a gentleman, failing to repay kindness is equally unacceptable. I cannot allow my personal integrity to jeopardize the practice of the High Priest!"

"Since the High Priest is so kind, it would be impolite of me to refuse!"

After showering Zhang Xiu with flattery and sweet talk, and seeing the bewildered man off, Yi Chuan immediately closed the door, fearing that Zhang Xiu might change his mind.

Yi Chuan's eyes lit up as he looked at the book in his hand.

This was written by the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling himself, and it is a treasure for Taoism in later generations!

Putting everything else aside, once this scroll is sent to the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain in later generations, Yi Chuan can fill in whatever rank and title he wants to be granted.

One of the reasons Liu Yingying gave for refuting Yi Chuan's decision to take over Baiyun Temple that day was that he was not qualified enough, having only been a Taoist for three years and had not yet been ordained.

Even Yi Chuan himself was full of curiosity about this well-known Zhengyi Patriarch Celestial Master in China.

"It was copied on paper, so it shouldn't be the original. Given the style of this era, the original was extremely precious and should have been engraved on bamboo slips."

Yi Chuan often regretted that it was the third year of the Yanxi era of the Han Dynasty. If he had arrived four years earlier, he might have been able to go to Heming Mountain to meet the Ancestral Celestial Master.

Opening the book, the paper was very rough, covered with tiny, obscure characters in clerical script.

Yi Chuan unfolded it on the table and translated it word by word, taking a full half day to barely translate one page.

This page is the table of contents. After carefully reading it, Yi Chuan couldn't help but gasp.

According to the catalog, this book is the "Taiqing Xuanyuanlu" written by Zhang Daoling when he was practicing Taoism at Heming Mountain. It consists of six chapters and covers a wide range of topics, including the functional management of the twenty-four regions and the summary of Taoist calligraphy before the Eastern Han Dynasty by the Celestial Master.

Yi Chuan skipped over the records of those scriptures and rituals, his gaze settling on one of them, "The Method of Six Qi Food Qi".

"This is the true cultivation method passed down from the Celestial Master!"

Yi Chuan suddenly felt his breathing become heavy.

This is the true method of cultivation, different from rituals and scriptures. It allows one to truly embark on the path of cultivation, nourishing oneself with the six qi and drinking the dew, rinsing one's mouth with the pure yang and embracing the morning glow.

If someone in the 21st century came to Yi Chuan with this scripture, Yi Chuan would only think that he had gone mad.

But what he held in his hand was written by Zhang Daoling, the Celestial Master of this era!

Yi Chuan held the scriptures, his heart surging with emotion.

"Can it be repaired?"

"I'm already considered a crippled immortal. What will happen after I fully cultivate?"

After translating the "Six Qi Food Method," Yi Chuan felt his entire body trembling.

Without further hesitation, Yi Chuan closed the door and began to practice breathing exercises according to the scriptures.

According to the "Six Qi Food Qi Method", to practice this method, one must use special herbs to refine the body. If the body is not strong enough, the practice will deplete the body's essence and blood, leading to premature death.

This is also the first stage of the Qi-cultivation method: body tempering.

According to the scriptures, this body tempering process alone must last for more than five years. During this period, one must remain a virgin, not lose one's virginity, and not even have any lewd thoughts.

Looking at the dazzling array of strange and unusual herbal names in the scriptures, Yi Chuan frowned slightly.

"It would take forever to gather all these herbs."

"Since I possess the Dao Fruit of Immortality within me, shouldn't this first step be skipped?"

"If there are any unforeseen circumstances, then stop the repairs."

Having made up his mind, Yi Chuan skipped the "Body Tempering Chapter" and turned to look at the "Qi Induction Chapter" that followed.

"Guiding Qi" means sensing the free-floating spiritual Qi in the world and trying to keep as much of this Qi in the body as possible.

The so-called six qi refer to the six kinds of light and qi between heaven and earth: morning glow, bright sun, flying spring, dew, celestial mystery, and earth yellow.

It was the hour of You (5-7 PM), the sun was setting in the west, and the evening glow was bright yellow, which was the Qi of the "Flying Spring" described in the scriptures.

Yi Chuan sat facing west, his tongue touching the roof of his mouth, visualizing white vapor gushing into his lungs like a spring.

At first, he couldn't grasp the key point, but after a while, Yi Chuan sensed a cool and chilling aura entering from the top of his head. It was inexplicably drawn around his body and then slowly settled in his lungs.

"That simple?"

Yi Chuan found it unbelievable. According to the scriptures, a person who has achieved the Great Perfection of Body Tempering needs at least a month of arduous meditation to first guide Qi into their body.

Having tasted the marrow, Yi Chuan's aura became increasingly ethereal, and he even faintly felt that the exhaustion from sweating yesterday was slowly recovering.

As midnight approached and the sunset faded, a crescent moon emerged from the sea of ​​clouds, and Yi Chuan slowly opened his eyes.

He opened his mouth and exhaled a puff of white vapor, which actually knocked over the candles on the table two meters away.

"Even if we don't find that Dao Fruit, this journey will still have been worthwhile!"

"In this era, at least I have some ability to protect myself!"

Yi Chuan's eyes gleamed, and he felt a sense of peace and joy in his heart.

"It is said that when Zhang Daoling, the Celestial Master, was cultivating Taoism at Heming Mountain, he wrote the Taiqing Xuanyuan Lu, which consisted of 24 chapters. By the 21st century, the original book had been mostly lost, and even Longhu Mountain had few chapters remaining."

"Zhang Xiu only has six of these works in this era. The remaining eighteen should be scattered in various places in Sichuan or in Heming Mountain. I wonder if he will be lucky enough to collect the remaining eighteen works."

Yi Chuan held the book tightly, having made up his mind.

Just then, Zhang Xiu's voice suddenly came from outside the door, pleading.

"Master, more disaster victims from Mianzhu County have brought this to Lutangzhi. We beseech you to use your divine powers once again to avert this calamity!"

Zhang Xiu's voice was hesitant, as if he felt that his actions were presumptuous, and he remained silent for a long time.

"They're here." Yi Chuan put away the scriptures and immediately pushed open the door to go out.

"Chief Zhang, let's go."

Zhang Xiu thought he would have to say a lot more, but Yi Chuan just smiled faintly and then walked towards the square without looking back.

"This person seems a little different..."

One of Zhang Xiu's disciples whispered to Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu gave the disciple a single glance, and the disciple immediately fell silent.

Zhang Xiu quickly caught up with Yi Chuan, watching Yi Chuan's back with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

Compared to during the day, Yi Chuan was indeed somewhat different now, seemingly possessing something new, a quality that Zhang Xiu was very familiar with.

Zhang Xiu frowned, deep in thought, and then his eyes suddenly widened.

He remembered; it was something he had seen on his master, Zhang Daoling…

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

In a quiet room in the southwest corner, the scholar tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

The pustules and blood blisters on my body have completely subsided, but my body is still severely depleted and I feel weak and powerless.

"The rice porridge is thin, and the entire Lutang Mountain has long been stripped bare of its roots and bark by starving people. What medicinal herbs could possibly be found?"

"Why can a bowl of talismanic water cure the plague?"

There weren't many things he couldn't understand in his life, so he suffered from insomnia.

There was a lot of noise outside, it seemed to be the Taoist priest setting up an altar and making talismans again.

The scholar tossed and turned, but finally forced himself to get up and dress.

He opened the door and found that the second round of altar opening had already ended. The disaster victims who had drunk the talisman water returned to the charitable shelter one after another under the guidance of Lu Tangzhi's disciples. He did not see Yi Chuan among the refugees.

The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits.

"Or do 'immortals' really exist in this world?"

With his doubts still unresolved, the scholar nearly went mad and went straight to Chongxian Hall behind Lutangzhi, knocking on Yi Chuan's door.

The door opened, and the candles were still burning, but strangely, the scholar searched around but couldn't find Yi Chuan anywhere.