Chapter 301: Holy Crap! The Chen Family Head Wears A Purple Robe?
Seeing the fallen leaves around them float up piece by piece, not only did Daoist Priest Xuan Shi curse, but the other Daoist priests also widened their eyes.
It was as if a special power was pulling those leaves.
Soon, they saw even finer small stones also being pulled up, floating in the air.
After that, an even more shocking scene appeared.
Those floating leaves and small stones actually began to spin, seeming to spiral in a special helix, circling around the building where the Chen Family Head lived.
Even though they were highly respected and well-informed Daoist sect Daoist priests, they had never seen such a scene.
However, this scene came quickly and went quickly. In a moment, everything fell back to the ground.
The surroundings returned to silence at once. Only the fallen leaves on the ground, still arranged in a very orderly pattern, proved what had just happened.
Celestial Master Zhang, Daoist Priest Li, and the others looked at each other and saw the shock in one another’s eyes. The same thought surfaced in their minds.
“Perhaps the legends about that old Daoist priest of the Chen Clan are true.” Celestial Master Zhang could not help sighing softly.
This made the other Daoist priests nod in agreement.
Rumor had it that the old Daoist priest might be more than two hundred years old.
At such an age, far beyond ordinary people, he might indeed have some special method.
For example: qi cultivation.
Qi had always been the orthodox legend of the Daoist sect. Many people, upon entering the Daoist sect, were taught qi cultivation.
Yet no one in the Daoist sect had ever been able to absorb or sense the legendary qi.
Their understanding of qi cultivation had gradually become more about spiritual sensation.
Now they suddenly seemed to realize that the legends might be real.
For a moment, all the Daoist priests turned their eyes in unison to Celestial Master Zhang.
Because the people who had posted that new interpretation of “qi induction into the body” on the encyclopedia were from the Dragon Tiger Lineage.
That encyclopedia entry about “visualizing qi at the heavenly spirit above your head entering and exiting with your breathing, inhaling heaven and earth qi through the heavenly spirit cover, exhaling turbid qi through the soles of the feet” was also uploaded by people of the Dragon Tiger Lineage.
To hell with expelling turbid qi from the soles of the feet.
Clearly, qi cultivation was the ability to pull leaves into floating, spinning patterns, something truly mysterious.
It misled people, and had misled the Daoist sect for more than one hundred years.
Celestial Master Zhang, feeling awkward, wanted to crawl into a hole. “Fellow Daoists, that lineage has long since left here. They went to that island, turned their backs on everyone and on the people. Their words cannot be taken as truth.”
The other Daoist priests really wanted to roll their eyes at him. If that lineage’s words could not be taken seriously, then what about that encyclopedia entry?
Inside the building.
Chen Han opened his eyes, excitement on his face.
He had finally broken through.
This time not only had his true qi increased, but his eight extraordinary meridians had been expanded, the quality of his true qi had greatly improved, and his strength had risen by a large margin.
With the eight extraordinary meridians unblocked and his spiritual meridians opened, true qi entering the spiritual meridians meant he had truly stepped through the gate of cultivation.
Next, as long as he broke through to the Liquid Condensation Stage and obtained a flying sword, he would meet the basic requirements for sword-riding flight and become a true Sword Immortal.
However, during this process he still had to open the meridians to smooth circulation, connecting the three dantians—upper, middle, and lower—forming a great circulation, and temper the quality of his true qi to the extreme.
Before opening the meridians, cultivation focused on the lower dantian, recognized as the mansion of essence and the source of qi.
The middle dantian was the hub of qi, and the upper dantian the dwelling of spirit, crucial for cultivation after the Liquid Condensation Stage.
After that, he would need to use the spiritual meridians to string together the upper, middle, and lower dantians into one, creating the great circulation.
Chen Han took out a primary spirit stone and restarted his cultivation method.
But this time it was no longer the 《Nine Heavens Profound Scripture beginner qi cultivation method》, but the 《Nine Heavens Profound Scripture advanced qi cultivation method》.
With the eight extraordinary meridians opened and the meridians successfully unlocked, he could now cultivate it.
This time, his brows furrowed slightly, as he clearly found that the spiritual energy contained in the primary spirit stone could no longer keep up in quality with his current cultivation.
To raise the quality of true qi, he had to rely on absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones. If the quality of the spiritual energy remained unchanged, he would have to consume far more of it.
Also, because his strength had increased, his absorption speed of spiritual energy was faster. Now the spiritual energy provided by a single primary spirit stone did not last very long.
Next, he switched one intermediate spirit stone from the warehouse and continued cultivating.
The intermediate spirit stone contained higher-quality spiritual energy and in greater abundance.
This time, the situation improved significantly.
However, as his strength rose and his true qi quality improved, the time a single intermediate spirit stone could last was about the same as a primary spirit stone before.
Chen Han had also noticed the Daoist priests outside the building, so after experimenting with the advanced qi cultivation method, he rose from his seated posture.
He glanced around the room. It was still somewhat messy. Some small objects had obviously been affected by the pull generated during his breakthrough and had fallen to the floor.
He used basic sword control technique. With a wave of his hand, those small objects flew up and landed precisely back in their original positions.
With his strength increased, the sword control technique felt even more effortless.
With this improvement, controlling a sword that was not too heavy should be no problem. Later, when the upper and middle dantians were each connected, his strength would rise another level each time.
When Chen Han walked out of the building, Celestial Master Zhang, Daoist Priest Li, Daoist Priest Xuan Shi, and all the other Daoist priests turned toward him in unison, their gazes filled with curiosity and the desire for knowledge.
So they had been waiting for this Chen Family Head to come out.
“Good morning, Daoist priests.” Chen Han smiled as he greeted them and offered a Daoist salute.
The Daoist priests all returned the salute together.
Daoist Priest Xuan Shi could not help asking, “Chen Family Head, just now, when we passed your residence, we saw fallen leaves being drawn up and floating. It was spectacular. Was it you cultivating qi?”
“Is that so?” Chen Han feigned ignorance with a broad smile. “Daoist priests, in this new era, we must believe in science.”
Believe in science?
After seeing that scene with their own eyes, he still wanted them to believe in science?
In their hearts, these Daoist priests began to feel some resentment toward that Daoist Priest Chen.
Because “believe in science” was his catchphrase, which had spread online and become an internet meme.
If not for that, how would this Chen Family Head have picked it up and even used it better than the original?
Chen Han chuckled. As he walked down the steps, he added, “Daoist priests, every sect has its own fated method. It cannot be forced. It would be better to study feng shui more.”
There was no way he would teach his cultivation methods to outsiders. This was also a reminder, since, relying on the feng shui spirit record stone, he had compiled two feng shui books from which real insights could be drawn.
Perhaps these Daoist priests could indeed use them to develop their own understandings and become feng shui masters.
However, when his words entered their ears, they instead triggered their imagination.
“Chen Family Head means each sect has its own fated method and we should go back and study our own qi cultivation methods?” one Daoist priest blurted out.
Another Daoist priest agreed. “That should be it. After all, the deities we worship differ from place to place, and the intent of the scriptures we cultivate also differs. It is said qi cultivation must be supplemented by scriptural intent, so each sect’s patriarch manifests different divine powers.”
These words won the approval of Celestial Master Zhang, Daoist Priest Li, Daoist Priest Xuan Shi, and the others. They truly intended to go back and carefully study qi cultivation classics and learn more scriptural intent.
After all, Chen Family Head had already given such clear guidance. It was an act of great righteousness.
In ancient times, when sects guarded their teachings jealously, even within the Daoist sect, such things would never be casually passed out.
Chen Han had no idea about their self-directed imaginings. Otherwise, he would definitely have shaken his head and heaved a heavy sigh.
What a mess.
As an internal area within Wudang, Wulong Palace had the purest Daoist cultivation atmosphere. Leaving the guest room area, Chen Han heard chanting.
The Wudang Daoist priests were doing their morning class.
Amid the chanting, wisps of smoke curled upward.
Because so many Daoist priests from the Daoist sect had come for this feng shui exchange meeting, nearly all the purple-robed Daoist priests had arrived. It was a grand event for the Daoist sect.
So Wudang had long arranged an early breakfast and assigned several Daoist priests to guide the guests.
The Wudang breakfast was quite good: light but not greasy, yet not bland.
After breakfast, Xiao Mi’s video call came through. She was still at the women’s Daoist institute, helping a female Daoist priest water flowers.
The Wudang female Daoist priest was quite casual. When Xiao Mi turned the camera toward her, she even greeted the camera.
After a short video chat, Association President Li Daoist Priest, Qingwei Daoist Priest, and the others all arrived. There was still something important today.
One item was that Daoist Priest Li, on behalf of the association, would grant him his record book entry, purple robe, decree, and the vice president certificate.
This process was not just a simple handover. It required a solemn transmission ceremony, ending with the conferral, with roles such as preceptor and transmission master performed by designated Daoist priests.
Of course, the most important witnesses were the mages, all purple-robed Daoist priests, who as （association vice presidents） participated as witnesses.
If this were held within the Chen Clan, they might not even gather enough people for the ceremony.
Because there was not a single person of the Chen Clan who was properly recorded in the registers.
Strictly speaking, a Daoist sect heritage family like the Chen Clan, which had lost its roots and was no longer in the registers, was almost dispensable.
But the Chen Clan’s reputation was too great, and the upcoming feng shui exchange meeting could not proceed without the Chen Family Head.
Bluntly put, the Chen Clan could live without the association, but now the association seemingly could not live without the Chen Clan.
So granting these things to the Chen Clan was not about numbers, but about recognition.
With that in mind, anything that could be adjusted was adjusted. The required roles were filled by the Daoist priests attending the feng shui exchange meeting.
This led to one result: Chen Han’s ceremony was even more grand than the ceremonies for previous purple-robed Daoist priests, at an unprecedented scale.
After all, this was a conferral of the purple robe itself. In the past, when Daoist priests invited purple-robed priests, they came only as observers. Their own participants were not purple-robed level. Since they had only just been granted purple robes, it was not their place to confer them.
Now, look at this: those serving as preceptors, transmission masters, and other functional roles for Chen Family Head’s ceremony were themselves purple-robed Daoist priests.
Those acting as scripture masters were Daoist Priest Xuan Shi, Daoist Priest Chen, and other well-known Daoist sect Daoist priests.
One could almost say this was the Daoist sect elevating a Daoist sovereign.
However, once Chen Han received the record book entry, purple robe, decree, and association vice president certificate, the ceremony entered its final phase. The Daoist priests ended with scripture chanting, and that was all.
But Chen Han stared in surprise at the game prompts appearing in his mind.
【Congratulations, you have obtained an exclusive family record book. You may register family members, grant them Dharma names, and clarify orthodox identity, report to the Heavenly Lord, and use the incense altar to activate the record. Register 10 orthodox clan members to receive 1 family gift pack.】
【Congratulations, you have obtained a purple robe Daoist robe, symbol of a high-level mage, now with registration authority, report to the Heavenly Lord, use the incense altar, perform purple robe consecration, and use it together with the decree. You may gain attributes: solemnity +2, dignity +】
【Congratulations, you have obtained a decree, proof of Daoist sect orthodoxy and divine inheritance, report to the Heavenly Lord, use the incense altar, and obtain 1 Heavenly Lord decree method.】
【Congratulations, you have obtained an official certificate, making you an officially appointed Daoist sect mage. Report to the Heavenly Lord, use the incense altar, and unlock Daoist sect position rank registers.】
Chen Han stared in surprise at these four game prompts. They all belonged to game module 2, so they all required reporting to the Heavenly Lord to activate their attributes.
If they belonged to game module 1, they would directly grant cultivation methods or magic treasures.
Do not be fooled by how these four items now were no different from those held by other purple-robed Daoist priests. Once he returned to the Chen Clan, reported to the Heavenly Lord, and with incense on the altar unceasing, once they were activated, they would become four very different things.
The first, the record book, was simple. Completing its condition would grant a family gift pack, likely another item that could be used by the clan.
For example, the 《Tai Xu Chasing Wind Leg》 was something clan members could use.
As for the purple robe Daoist robe, it was similar to the Ancestor Master’s Taoist robe from before, though the attributes were the opposite extreme. Wearing the purple robe marked one as a mage, generally used for more important rituals.
So attributes of solemnity +2 and dignity +2 were quite fitting.
More importantly, this robe had the function of working together with the decree.
According to legend, the decree was bestowed by the gods worshipped, requiring an orthodox mage to activate. How to prove orthodoxy? The ritual robe was the proof. The purple robe Daoist robe, once its attributes were activated by the Heavenly Lord, could hardly be denied as a ritual robe.
What he cared about most, however, was the decree. From the remark information, he knew this could become the legendary decree, with the method being, naturally, recognition by the Heavenly Lord.
That would amount to the Heavenly Lord bestowing a decree method.
If the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation could command sun, moon, and stars, then once this decree was bestowed, could he decide day or night at will?
Of course, that was only wishful thinking. This flimsy decree could not bear such a level of decree method, and more importantly, he did not have that qualification.
To put it bluntly, he was not worthy.
What it actually did would only be clear once he returned to the Chen Clan.
As for this association vice president certificate turning into an official appointed certificate:
Here, “official” did not mean modern officialdom, nor the emperor and imperial dynasty of old. It referred to the heavens, to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation.
It meant reporting to the main god worshipped, receiving seven ranks and seven grades for different functions.
This was different from the current Daoist sect’s various grades, which were self-proclaimed.
For example, “first rank: must be thoroughly familiar with such-and-such scripture; second rank: must master such-and-such scripture,” and so on.
Those were self-styled, self-entertaining systems formed later.
The true seven ranks and seven grades, each rank a step, all required reporting to the main god and receiving rank. Each rank granted its corresponding credential register.
For instance, the legends recorded in the Daoist sect books related to the Chen Clan: upon first entering the seventh rank, one was granted the seventh-rank register. At that level, one obtained the ability to request （heavenly soldiers） under the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation to assist.
After all, when a Daoist priest went out to fight zombies, they could request heavenly soldiers to aid them in slaying zombies.
Likewise, the legendary methods of inviting gods worked on the same principle, simply appearing differently.
Those who could invite gods certainly had ranks; the higher the rank, the stronger the gods they could invite.
In the modern Daoist sect, all of this naturally belonged to legend.
And now, the association’s vice president certificate was somehow connected to this?
He really wanted to ask the game system if it could get any more abstract.
The ceremony ended quickly. Daoist Priest Li smiled and said, “Chen Family Head, you are now a mage officially recorded by our association. You can be found on our official website.”
At this moment, the other Daoist priests also came over, greeting and congratulating Chen Han.
After some conversation, Qingwei Daoist Priest said, “Everyone, the timing today is excellent. We still need to conduct the feng shui exchange meeting ceremony. How about we let Chen Family Head return and change into his ritual robe?”
“That’s how it should be.” Daoist Priest Li smiled.
“Indeed, do not forget the serious matter,” Celestial Master Zhang agreed.
Chen Han smiled, took the four items back to his residence, as the feng shui exchange meeting counted as a formal Daoist sect dharma assembly, and the ritual naturally needed to be formal.
The mage had to wear the ritual robe.
That meant he had to put on the purple robe and, together with the other Daoist priests, offer incense and prayers, open the altar, and report to the patriarchs and deities.
As the guest followed the host, the incense here was naturally for Patriarch Sanfeng and Emperor Zhenwu. The Wudang Daoist priests needed to worship, while the visiting guests only needed to perform Daoist salutes and offer three sticks of incense.
Chen Han set down the four items and picked up the purple robe Daoist robe to change into it, thinking about game module 3 that had been hinted at before.
Now modules 1 and 2 were basically clear. He was truly curious about 3, but after one earlier prompt there had been no further movement.
After changing into the purple robe, he stood before the mirror. Over this period, he had let his hair grow. Now it reached his ears. Though it could not yet be coiled up, he could at least tie a small strand at the back.
In Wulong Palace, the sound of a bell rang out.
The Wudang Daoist priests understood this signaled an important ceremony, so they all headed to the main hall. Ordinary Daoist clerics did not know the details, only that many highly respected Daoist priests had come, and that it must be related.
Those who knew the inside story were already a bit impatient, knowing this meant the feng shui exchange meeting was about to begin.
Some of them had already come into contact with those two feng shui books and knew that their sect leader wanted to repair the Leihuo Lianjinding Feng Shui Formation. Naturally, they were eager.
On a small path, two men sweating heavily as they climbed also heard the bell.
Zhang Ke （chapter 298）, who had long been frequenting Wudang and filming explanatory videos about the Daoist sect and Wudang, naturally knew what this bell meant.
“I knew something big was happening at Wudang,” Zhang Ke said, hastily urging his assistant to speed up. Soon they entered Wulong Palace.
After mixing around Wudang for so long, he knew some of the paths and small routes. The young Daoist priest guarding the path below was his buddy.
He had paid that buddy’s phone bills more than once.
Entering a certain area of Wulong Palace, they were stunned to see the many Daoist priests gathered in the square.
Although they had already heard yesterday that some purple-robed Daoist priests were coming, seeing them today, the number of purple-robed Daoist priests looked like all of them had come.
Besides the purple robes, there were green robe Daoist robes, worn by well-known Daoist priests and elders of various Daoist temples.
The last time Wudang was this lively was when Sanfeng…
No, even when Patriarch Sanfeng returned from demon subjugation or on his birthday, it probably was not this lively.
At such a sight, Zhang Ke immediately took out his mobile phone to film. His followers were all people interested in Daoist sect knowledge and events.
This grand scene was more than enough to attract them.
Unfortunately, Wudang Daoist priests were watching the area inside, so he could not enter and had no way of knowing exactly what those Daoist priests were gathering for.
“Boss, is that the Chen Family Head?” the assistant suddenly pointed.
Zhang Ke looked over. It was indeed the Chen Family Head.
Very soon, he noticed something unbelievable. “Damn… the purple robe…”
The Chen Family Head was in a purple robe?
…
