Chapter 300: Record Book, Robes, Decree! Finally Broke Through!
“Surprise?” Chen Han asked in astonishment. “Our Chen Clan and the association over there seem to have had no contact, and our Chen Clan is not even in the record.”
Daoist Priest Chen said with a smile, “The association will give the Chen Clan a separate page in the record. Daoist Priest Li, the association president, proposed it, and our sect leader, the Longhu Celestial Master, and the other vice presidents all agreed.”
“A page opened just for us.” Chen Han had not expected to hear such news as soon as the plane landed.
In other words, which lineage the Chen Clan had come from before, and whether they were in the record or not, no longer mattered.
From now on, the Chen Clan would stand as its own lineage, just like Wudang, Longhu Mountain, Ziyun Temple… these places.
Almost at that moment, the game system suitably appeared with a prompt:
【Congratulations. On the eve of attending the Dao discussion conference held by the Immortal Alliance fellow practitioners, you received unexpected news. Because of the Chen Clan’s long-standing contributions in opposing the demonic path, the various sects of the Immortal Alliance will acknowledge the Chen Clan as an independent lineage. The Chen Clan’s status within the Immortal Alliance will be greatly elevated.
However, for a family to stand as its own lineage, relying on merit alone is difficult to convince others. You must display sufficient strength to truly win everyone’s recognition.
Please convince all sects at the Dao discussion conference held by the Immortal Alliance sects!】
When Chen Han saw this, he knew the game system was referring to the Wudang Feng Shui Exchange Conference.
The system really copied things so blatantly it did not even bother to hide the trace.
Since it was a feng shui exchange meeting, with his feng shui ability, making those Daoist sect Daoist Priests acknowledge him would not be difficult.
At worst, for the sake of this task, he could help Wudang repair the Leihuo Lianjinding Feng Shui formation.
Of course, if he could not fix that feng shui formation, then no one else would have any way either.
Daoist Priest Chen naturally did not know what he was thinking. He smiled again and said, “Chen Family Head, I still have not congratulated you yet. The Chen Clan Prodigy achieved such excellent results at the National Games.”
“It was all luck, nothing worth mentioning.” But Chen Han’s face was full of smiles; after all, when clan members made something of themselves and were praised, the family head would naturally feel happy.
Daoist Priest Chen had no way to respond to that.
If Wudang produced such a competitor, they would definitely hold a grand Dharma Assembly.
The Daoist Priest driving had very good driving skills. On one road section, he even did a drift, only to have Daoist Priest Chen smack him hard on the back of the head, after which he behaved himself.
Chen Han saw this and chuckled.
The Daoist Priests of the Daoist sect were indeed in high spirits.
The car soon arrived at the Wudang entrance, but the entrance was not at the foot of the mountain; they still needed to drive inward to reach the foot, where there was a large parking lot.
Or rather, this was not truly Wudang itself, but the parking lot at the foot of the Wudang Scenic Spot, the starting point open to tourists.
In the new era and with tourism economy, the local authorities would naturally develop Wudang as a natural tourist attraction.
But the premise of this development was Wudang’s consent, as well as issues like the merit industry benefit distribution and so on.
The key was that many areas of Wudang were not open to the public. To have enough projects, they had to build new buildings and expand new sections.
So all kinds of buildings below the mountain waist, including at the foot of the mountain, had come about this way.
Daoist Priest Chen and Chen Han naturally could not park in the scenic area section.
The feng shui exchange meeting would be held in Wudang’s internal area.
In this new era, with scenic spots developed, cars could of course drive straight up the mountain.
Wudang’s internal area and the scenic area were closely connected.
The scenic section started from the foot of the mountain, and going up it was further divided into seven major scenic areas: Taiji Lake, Xuanyue Gate, Prince Slope, Nanyan Palace, Golden Summit, Wulong Palace, and Qiongtai.
All the way up, most of Wudang’s internal areas were connected to these scenic spots.
Among them, Wulong Palace was completely closed to the public.
Wulong Palace was located deep in Wudang’s back mountain, the most completely preserved ancient architectural complex of Wudang, and also the site of this feng shui exchange meeting.
In addition, some areas of Zixiao Palace, some areas of Nanyan Palace, several floors of Wuyun Pavilion at Prince Slope, the nunnery at Zixiao Palace, and many ancient buildings at the mountaintop that connected with Wulong Palace were basically not open to the public.
Yet some parts of those belonged to the scenic area, so they were intricately connected.
Because of the feng shui formation, the famous sightseeing spot, the Refining Golden Summit, was now also closed to the public.
On the way up the mountain, looking at the lush, verdant trees covering the slopes, Chen Han suddenly made a surprising discovery.
He saw three types of ancient trees standing at three positions: ginkgo, yellow pine, and elm.
The key was the positions. Viewed according to the overall mountain contours of Wudang, those three locations seemed to correspond to the seven luminaries positions.
Earlier, he had read in the Feng Shui Spirit Record Stone’s 《Beginner Feng Shui》 book about feng shui patterns of the type “star positions using ancient tree qi to draw the force of the earth meridians.”
Simply put, when ancient trees appeared in star-governed positions, the feng shui would definitely not be simple.
So now these ancient trees might be related to a feng shui pattern; judging from the situation, Wudang did not seem aware of it.
One ancient tree even had many tourists gathered around taking photos.
With so many people’s presence impacting the star position, if it were an active feng shui pattern, it should have shown a reaction long ago. That meant that even if it had been a feng shui pattern, the pattern was already broken.
This confirmed that Wudang did not know, and also showed that Wudang truly had a deep foundation.
Or rather, that former Patriarch Sanfeng truly had been someone remarkable, at least proficient in feng shui ability.
The car soon stopped at a mountaintop parking lot, still within the scenic range; further up was the true internal area.
From there they had to walk.
When Chen Han and Xiao Mi got out of the car, they could still see tourists coming and going in the scenic area.
“Chen Family Head, Lay Buddhist Xiao Mi, this way please.” Daoist Priest Chen invited the two toward the stairs leading to the internal area, unaware that in a car in the parking lot, someone had already aimed a camera at them.
A crew-cut man said in surprise, “Is that the Chen Family Head?”
The assistant beside him nodded. “That is indeed him. Their Chen Clan Prodigy just broke records and won the championship in Hong Kong. Wasn’t he in Hong Kong? Someone even filmed him there.”
Zhang Ke rubbed his crew cut and said, “Since yesterday, so many highly respected purple-robed Daoist Priests from the Daoist sect have personally brought people here, and even this Chen Family Head rushed over from Hong Kong. It must be as I guessed: Wudang is planning something big.”
He was a blogger who explained Daoist topics, and he often came to Wudang to read some Daoist scriptures and shoot Wudang-related videos.
Sometimes he also served as a tour guide, leading tourists around Wudang.
So he had a certain understanding of the Daoist sect and of Wudang.
When he saw the first purple-robed Daoist Priest appear yesterday, he already sensed something was off.
You had to know that there were only a bit more than 20 purple-robed Daoist Priests in the entire Daoist sect right now, all of them the most highly respected Daoist Priests of various Daoist holy lands.
Now almost half of them were coming here; if that were normal, it would be strange.
The assistant said, “Those Daoist Priests are all going into Wudang’s internal area. Right now entry is forbidden. Even registered believers and lay Buddhists are not allowed. We cannot get in.”
Zhang Ke quickly said, “There is always a method that can overcome difficulties. Having spent so many years at Wudang, I can’t have done that for nothing.”
…
Compared to the scenic section, Wudang’s internal area was obviously more beautiful, with the majestic aura of famous mountains and rivers, and the air was also better than down in the scenic area.
It was indeed a Daoist holy land of famous mountains and rivers. Although overall air quality was still far inferior to that of the Chen Clan, the Chen Clan relied on the game system, while Wudang relied on itself.
Continuing upward, Chen Han was brought into Wulong Palace.
This place was closed to the public. Daoist Priests from other Daoist sites who had already arrived at Wudang were also arranged to stay here.
So Chen Han would also be arranged to live here.
As for Xiao Mi, a Daoist nun led her to stay at the nuns’ quarters.
Only Daoist nuns lived there.
When Chen Han followed Daoist Priest Chen inside, three Daoist Priests were chatting. When they saw him, they all looked over.
Some of them knew him, such as Daoist Priest Xuan Shi, who immediately came up to greet him. “Chen Family Head, you are here too.”
“Daoist Priest Xuan Shi, we meet again.” Chen Han responded with a smile.
He then greeted the other two Daoist Priests.
“Everyone, I have to arrange accommodations for the Chen Family Head first,” Daoist Priest Chen reminded them, then led Chen Han into a building, arranging a separate place with a large balcony just for him.
After Chen Han settled in, Daoist Priest Chen received a telephone call and then said, “Chen Family Head, the Daoist Association President, Daoist Priest Li, has arrived. He has brought your record entry, your purple robe, and decree, and your vice president certificate, and would like to meet you today.”
“Tomorrow, Daoist Priest Li will formally grant you the entry in the record, as well as the purple robe, decree, and vice president certificate, and our sect leader and the Longhu Celestial Master and the other purple-robed Daoist Priests will serve as witnesses.”
“Once you don the purple robe, we will burn incense together and open the feng shui exchange meeting. What do you think?”
Chen Han smiled and said, “Daoist Priest Chen, since I have come to Wudang, I will naturally follow your arrangements. Since Daoist Priest Li wishes to meet, then let us meet.”
Although the Daoist Association did not have much binding power over the various Daoist sites, and the Daoist Priests holding positions there rarely went to the association at all,
for example, the Wudang sect leader was one of the vice presidents, but basically did not bother with association affairs,
matters such as record entries and purple robe registration and issuance were, in this new era, the dedicated function of the association.
There were currently just over 20 purple-robed Daoist Priests officially recorded and recognized by both the Daoist sect and the association.
As for why there were hundreds wearing purple robes on Douyin, that was because the Daoist sect was easygoing. As long as they did not insult the Daoist sect, the association could not be bothered to interfere.
On the contrary, there had been someone meddlesome who posted online about a highly respected old Daoist Priest playing on his mobile phone, and he himself ended up looking like a clown.
The decree was also an important symbol of a modern purple-robed Daoist Priest.
A decree was an important magical artifact within Daoism. Only Daoist Priests who had obtained the corresponding religious qualifications and “authority” would be granted a decree, so they could perform the corresponding religious functions.
In ancient times, many purple-robed Daoists at Daoist temples did not necessarily qualify to receive a decree. In modern times, there were few purple-robed Daoists, so decrees were uniformly granted.
Of course, modern decrees were merely one symbol of identity, uniformly issued by the association and entirely different from ancient decrees.
In ancient legends, a decree’s role was immense. Only the deities enshrined could bestow them, and their functions were largely related to the divine office of the enshrined deity.
The “authority” in religious qualification and authority did not mean secular political power, but the authority granted by the deity to use that deity’s functional power.
It was divine authority.
For example, the Heavenly Lord of Universal Salvation of the Thunder Sounds of the Nine Heavens would bestow the Five Thunder Command Token, three inches long and two inches nine fen wide, rounded above like heaven and square below like earth.
The front of the token usually bore the four characters “Five Thunder Command,” while the back bore thunder command talismanic script, with the names of the twenty-eight lunar mansions around the four sides.
A Daoist Priest holding such a decree could command thunder, drive away evil, and suppress demons.
Another example was the Lord Lao’s command token, rounded above and square below, symbolizing heaven as round and earth as square, with a relief sculpture of the Supreme Lord Lao riding the green ox on the front, and at the top of the back the star chart of the Three Terraces, and below that the secret titles of the Great Emperor of the Purple Tenuity.
Holding this decree, one could dispatch heavenly troops and generals and heal illness and dispel evil.
There was also the Heavenly Emperor’s decree, whose front depicted the Heavenly Emperor holding the sun in his left hand and a sword in his right, with the sacred names of the Yuanyang God, Iron Master God, and Xuanyuan God beneath, and further down the sacred titles of the Jade Emperor, Heavenly Emperor, and Purple Tenuity.
When such a decree was placed in a Daoist temple, no evil or demon would dare enter.
Naturally, all this was just legend.
The decrees of modern purple-robed Daoist Priests were all uniformly produced by the association, and when conditions allowed, factory mass production was also possible.
After Daoist Priest Chen took his leave, Chen Han checked the room. The layout was very good, in keeping with Daoist simplicity. Most importantly, the outer terrace faced the Wudang forests, very poetic in mood.
A wooden tea table had also been prepared in the room.
The way of tea was also a discipline within the Daoist sect.
Shortly after he sat down, he received a video from Xiao Mi. She had already changed into Daoist plain clothes and was introducing the place arranged for her.
After chatting for a while, Chen Han took out a Primary Spirit Stone and began cultivating with the 《Nine Heavens Profound Scripture Basic Qi Cultivation Method》.
The last section of the Du meridian was now ready to be broken through at any time. After he left Wudang this time, he would definitely break through to the spiritual meridian.
It was not until the afternoon that he received another call from Daoist Priest Chen about the arranged meeting with Association President Daoist Priest Li.
He also asked Daoist Priest Chen to bring them over; since they wanted to meet, then they should meet.
Daoist Priest Li also came from the Quanzhen tradition, but now spent most of his time on association matters.
Although the association’s binding power over the Daoist sect was not strong, his contributions to the Daoist sect were considerable. For example, when it came to certain Daoist affairs, or fighting for benefits with the higher-ups, he was the one who negotiated and strove for them.
He also continuously promoted the development of the Daoist sect abroad.
So although the purple-robed Daoist Priests from various places normally did not meddle in affairs, they all respected him to some degree.
Moreover, the Chen Clan’s ancient buildings were all related to the Daoist sect, with many carvings bearing Daoist symbols. Originating from the Daoist sect was the Chen Clan’s root.
Now re-entering the record with their own lineage page was also greatly beneficial to the Chen Clan.
Previously, because they were not in the record, only the family head of the Chen Clan could hold a Daoist name; for example, at present he alone in the entire Chen Clan had the “Daxuan” Daoist name.
Within the Daoist sect as a whole, that gave them almost no presence, yet the Chen Clan was now very famous, resulting in a top-heavy imbalance.
Now that the Chen Clan could formally enter the Daoist record, later his uncle and the others could formally take Daoist names and be registered in a generation.
That would be different for the Chen Clan.
In ancient times, this would be becoming orthodox.
Sometimes those two words, “orthodox lineage,” were extremely important.
So, in the future, there would doubtless be more interaction with the association. Since the purple-robed Daoist Priests all respected this man, he would naturally follow suit and respect him for his contributions to the Daoist sect.
Thinking this, he took out a tube of Premium Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea and began brewing it at the wooden tea table.
Before long, Daoist Priest Chen brought Daoist Priest Li over, along with two elderly Daoist Priests.
Upon entering, Daoist Priest Chen naturally introduced them. “Chen Family Head, this is Daoist Priest Li, and this is our Wudang sect leader, Qingwei Daoist Priest, and this is Celestial Master Zhang from Longhu Mountain.”
Chen Han nodded and gave them a Daoist salute. “Greetings, Daoist Priests.”
The three returned the salute. “Chen Family Head, sorry to disturb you.”
“Please sit, the four of you. I have just brewed a pot of tea. Let us taste it together.” Chen Han invited the four to sit, picked up the brewed Premium Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea, and poured a cup for each.
As soon as Daoist Priest Chen entered, he smelled the tea fragrance and knew what tea it was. He picked up a cup and drank. “When it comes to tea, the Chen Clan’s Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea is still the best.”
Qingwei Daoist Priest and Celestial Master Zhang had naturally already tasted the Premium Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea. Previously, when people from the temple went to the Chen Clan for a feng shui exchange, they not only brought back two feng shui books, but also the Premium Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea gifted by the Chen Clan.
They already knew how extraordinary this tea was.
Daoist Priest Li, however, had never drunk it before. Seeing Daoist Priest Chen speak so highly of it, he also raised a cup and drank, then looked surprised.
This tea was indeed excellent.
After two cups of tea, they chatted for a while about Daoist sect matters.
Daoist Priest Li then stated his purpose. “Chen Family Head, aside from bringing your record entry, purple robe, and decree for tomorrow, there are two matters I would like to ask your help with.”
Chen Han had already guessed they had come with a purpose, and he smiled. “Please, Daoist Priest Li, go ahead.”
Daoist Priest Li smiled. “First, let me congratulate you. The two Chen Clan Prodigies achieved excellent results at the National Games. The first matter is related to this.”
“After entering the record, the Chen Clan will be an orthodox Daoist lineage, and the Chen Clan Prodigies will also be prodigies of our Daoist sect. At that time, their Daoist names will be in the record. I hope you can help arrange their Daoist registration.”
“At the beginning of next month, our Daoist sect will hold an activity and Dharma Assembly. We would like to invite the two Daoist prodigies to participate and lend us their support. The influence of our Daoist sect is still far too weak right now.”
Hearing this, Qingwei Daoist Priest helped make the point. “In today’s society, inviting us old fellows to attend does not have nearly as much impact as having two young people.”
Chen Han smiled, now more or less understanding their aim. He did not refuse. “Daoist Priest Li, the Chen Clan agrees. We will arrange their record entries beforehand.”
With the Chen Clan opening its own lineage page, clan members would naturally enter the record one after another. Only after being recorded would they be eligible to train in martial arts and learn certain Chen Clan teachings, such as the feng shui ornaments his uncle was studying.
And it would be impossible to enter all clan members into the record at once.
The first batch would certainly be only his uncle, Uncle Dagou, Uncle Shuisheng, the three hall masters, plus Aunt-Grandmother, and the junior sister.
After that, the three prodigies could be recorded.
Then gradually, it would open up further.
So, Chen Dao and Chen Linlin were indeed people of the Daoist sect. For such a manageable matter, having them make a trip was no issue.
The Daoist sect was native-born, but its influence was less than one-fifth that of the Buddhist sect.
The main reason was that the Buddhist sect had ties with many celebrities, including best actor big shots; with their promotional support, the effect was tremendous.
As for other aspects, better left unsaid, as that would cause disputes.
Having Chen Dao, Chen Linlin, or Chen Dalong stand on stage, at least, would draw more people to follow and be willing to understand the Daoist sect.
Over time, its influence would grow.
“Thank you, Chen Family Head, for fulfilling this.” Daoist Priest Li expressed his thanks, then brought up the second matter. “The second matter concerns the feng shui books you compiled.”
“Everyone in the Daoist sect is now studying the feng shui books, but due to weak basic scientific knowledge, progress has been difficult.”
“You know we have Daoist academies with systematic teaching. I would like to include your books in the curriculum.”
“Of course, only the Basic Feng Shui parts, and that book would be taught in three sections. This would greatly benefit the future development of the Daoist sect and help increase its influence.”
Chen Han thought for just a moment and said, “I am sure you have already discussed this with Qingwei Daoist Priest and Celestial Master Zhang. Since I shared the books with everyone, everyone naturally has the right to handle them.”
This matter in fact had no downside.
Basic Feng Shui itself was relatively simple; even without the feng shui book, a lot could be explained just with geography and meteorology scientific knowledge.
Such fundamental knowledge, with so many palace temples in the Daoist sect, would inevitably spread out over time. Better to go with the flow.
The key was that he had written the feng shui book, which would further increase his reputation.
Most importantly, the truly critical content was the 《Intermediate Feng Shui》 within the Feng Shui Spirit Record Stone that had not been made public.
The two feng shui books shared with the Daoist sect were not important to him; they were things he would later use for Chen Clan record-entry clan members to study.
After receiving Chen Han’s answer, Daoist Priest Li thanked him again.
With the important matters settled, they shifted back to simple conversation, discussing some Daoist affairs or talking about Daoist scriptures.
It was not until dusk that Chen Han went with the Daoist Priests for a meal. With the Daoist Priests gathered together, they chatted for a long time, and he also became acquainted with most of the Daoist Priests.
When he returned to his quarters that night, he washed up, then again took out a Primary Spirit Stone and cultivated with the 《Nine Heavens Profound Scripture Basic Qi Cultivation Method》.
He cultivated all the way into the latter half of the night, and the surprise finally appeared. He directly guided the true qi gathered in his body to impact the Du meridian, and in one go completely broke it open.
The Eight Extraordinary Meridians were now fully unobstructed. But it was not over, because next he had to take advantage of this momentum to impact the spiritual meridian in one breath; only then would it be a true breakthrough.
In the description of the 《Nine Heavens Profound Scripture Basic Qi Cultivation Method》, once the Ren and Du meridians were both open, all true qi had to gather into the spiritual meridian and move forward in a rotating yin-yang pattern, finally converging at one point to strike the spiritual meridian interface.
The rotating yin-yang pattern was like intertwining yin-yang fish.
Naturally, this did not refer to a flat yin-yang diagram, because yin and yang were not just a flat surface; there were also side views and perspective.
The side rotation pattern was like stars orbiting the earth.
The diagrams we usually see of celestial bodies revolving around the earth are flat, but in reality those bodies spiral in their orbit around the earth.
When Taiji yin-yang theory was formulated, it was based on observing the movements of the stars, which also made sense scientifically.
As for why the rotating yin-yang pattern was used to break through by gathering true qi from the Ren and Du meridians, that involved their distribution trend, spiraling like yin and yang around the spiritual meridian.
So Chen Han began to mobilize all his true qi, running it in a yin-yang spiral pattern, then striking the junction of the two meridians and the spiritual meridian.
This was not achieved in a single attempt. There was a barrier that needed to be battered repeatedly with true qi, until the decisive moment came.
Of course, if he failed before his true qi was exhausted, he would have to wait for the next time after accumulating more true qi.
Time passed, and the night quickly went by. By the time the next morning arrived, Chen Han’s true qi was nearly exhausted. At that moment, he seemed to hear something shatter inside his body.
Through inner vision, he saw that the junction of the Ren and Du meridians and the spiritual meridian was about to break through.
The aura around his body also began to change, as if two special forces of attraction were rapidly expanding around him.
The Daoist Priests usually had morning classes and tended to rise early.
Daoist Priest Xuan Shi got up early, intending to go to the Wulong Palace guest hall to recite the morning class.
Many other Daoist Priests did the same. Celestial Master Zhang, Daoist Priest Li, and the others all came out together and headed there.
When they reached the building where the Chen Family Head was staying, they unconsciously waited.
“Chen Family Head should be coming out soon. Let us go together,” Daoist Priest Li suggested, and the other Daoist Priests agreed.
This showed that the Chen Family Head held weight in their hearts. Just for the feng shui books alone, they all owed him a favor.
“Huh? What is going on?” Celestial Master Zhang suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the leaves on the ground.
Daoist Priest Xuan Shi, Daoist Priest Li, and the others looked in surprise and saw the leaves all around trembling violently.
The key point was that there was no wind, which was very strange.
In the next moment, an astonishing scene appeared before all the Daoist Priests: the leaves seemed to be pulled by some force and floated up into the air.
“Immeasurable Heavenly Lord!” Daoist Priest Xuan Shi blurted out.
……
Finally, the breakthrough succeeded. Everyone, remember to vote with your monthly tickets. Thank you all!
