Chapter 76: One Sword, Three Purities
Who will flatten ten thousand piles of snow on flat ground, and carve them into this continuous heavenly flower?
The north wind swept past, and the snow on the branches of the ancient trees in the courtyard fell one after another, as if a white curtain was drawn between heaven and earth.
The snow on the ground had been cleared by Zhou Yan before he went out in the morning, and now it had accumulated another three inches.
The horse carriage stopped at the door, and Zhou Yan jumped down to open it, “Two Taoist priests, please.”
“Okay.”
Yuyangzi and Danyangzi entered the courtyard one after another. Zhou Yan quickly took out his money pouch and handed it to the runner, saying quickly, “Buy a jar of ‘Chrysanthemum White’, and also buy wood ear mushrooms, cabbage, tofu, yam, vegetarian meatballs…”
Zhang Wangyue was a meticulous person. He arranged for the runner to come, actually thinking that if Zhou Yan had any errands, he could assign them to him. This runner had a good memory and remembered Zhou Yan’s more than ten kinds of vegetarian dishes without a single mistake.
When he finished speaking, the runner, who was about the same age as Zhou Yan, said, “Understood, Escort Zhou, rest assured, it will be delivered soon.”
The runner was agile. He put on his conical hat, took off, and disappeared.
Danyangzi, who had entered the courtyard, was observing the scene.
An ancient tree and a courtyard well gave the spacious courtyard a detached artistic conception. The north house was the main building, with east and west wing rooms, a typical siheyuan layout.
Under the eaves of the west wing room was a simple weapons rack, with a spear, a straight saber, and a Qinggang sword. In front of the rack were a pair of stone locks weighing twenty jin. As an escort, to have swords, spears, and clubs in the courtyard showed a deep obsession with martial arts.
Wang Chuyi looked at the plum blossom piles in the courtyard and was slightly taken aback.
There were no piles when he visited his young friend before.
He also saw the craftsmanship. The plum blossom piles were several feet higher and much thicker than those used by Jianghu people for martial arts training.
What kind of cultivation technique was the young friend practicing? Wang Chuyi was still puzzled by the mystery of where Zhou Yan’s Quanzhen Swordplay came from, and now a new question arose.
“Taoist Master Ma, Taoist Master Wang, please come inside.”
“Okay!”
The three of them walked through the snow in the courtyard and entered the hall. Zhou Yan lit the charcoal to start the stove, and the aroma of tea filled the clean houses.
When the official tribute spring green arrived, the small yellow flag fluttered on the carrying pole. Its sweet fragrance was not inferior to Yangxian tea, and its careful service to the emperor’s face was evident.
Zhou Yan brewed Yangxian tea. After brewing, the soup was clear, the leaves were uniform, the fragrance was light and elegant, the taste was fresh and mellow, the aftertaste was sweet, and it was refreshing.
Having lived two lives, he was quite particular about drinking tea, unlike ordinary escorts who only saw tea as a way to quench thirst.
Danyangzi Ma Yu could not help but be curious again.
The conduct of the newly recognized young friend was indeed vastly different from that of ordinary escorts, quite like…
Danyangzi thought of ten words.
An escort when going out, a knight-errant when returning.
Wang Chuyi drank his tea and then got to the point, saying, “My senior brother and I have been watching from the long street for a long time and saw that the young friend was using Quanzhen Swordplay with considerable skill. Everyone has their own opportunities, and it is not appropriate to inquire, but it concerns the Quanzhen Sect, so we must ask.”
Zhou Yan also sighed inwardly at the wonder of fate. If Qiu Chuji had come today, this “wonder” would have been absent.
He had rescued Sun Buer, and Qingjing Sanren had taught him Quanzhen Swordplay. The latter was Danyangzi’s wife before she became a nun, and now they were considered Taoist companions.
“To be honest with you two Taoist priests, the Quanzhen Swordplay I practice now was taught to me by Senior Sun Qingjing Sanren.”
…
Tea fragrance filled the houses, snowflakes fluttered outside the window, and the sound of children running and playing in the snow could be heard from afar. When Zhou Yan finished speaking, Wang Chuyi and Ma Yu were both stunned.
“What do you mean?” Danyangzi asked quickly.
Zhou Yan concisely recounted his journey southward while escorting goods, and his encounter with Iron Palm Lotus and Qingjing Sanren in the suburbs of Xiangyang. The two suddenly understood.
Wang Chuyi, in particular, sighed. Given young friend Zhou’s character, regardless of his martial arts skill, he would have acted righteously if he saw his junior sister in danger. However, if he had not taught Zhou Yan the cultivation technique, Zhou Yan’s martial arts would have improved daily, and the rescue in Xiangyang might have been extremely dangerous.
This is truly “Worldly affairs turn like a wheel, and the way of heaven has never failed the good.”
Danyangzi Ma Yu stood up and bowed, “Thank you, young friend, for rescuing Qingjing Sanren.”
Zhou Yan quickly returned the bow, “Your reverence flatters me. Compared to Taoist Wang’s life-saving grace and the virtue of teaching me, what I have done is insignificant. Moreover, it is our duty to draw our swords when we see injustice.”
“Even so, you were escorting goods. If you were not careful and provoked the Iron Palm Sect, wouldn’t it implicate innocent people?”
“Where righteousness lies, one does not yield to power, nor consider personal gain.”
“A fine speech of a gentleman’s courage,” Wang Chuyi exclaimed.
Hearing Zhou Yan say this, Ma Yu liked his character even more. He no longer insisted on thanking Zhou Yan for rescuing his Taoist companion and instead asked, “If that’s the case, according to the time, you have been practicing Quanzhen Swordplay for less than a hundred days, how can you have the skill of several years?”
“Senior Sun said, ‘The sword is an understanding of nature, expressed through meditation, which is enlightenment of the sword. If the true meaning is understood, the sword style becomes alive; otherwise, it is dead.’ I see Quanzhen Swordplay as ancient, simple, and heavy, like carrying a mountain on one’s back, each move a mountain and river. I also thought of what Huainanzi said, ‘When spread horizontally, it permeates the Four Seas; when applied, it is infinite and has no beginning or end.’ This inspired me to comprehend the sword on the Taihang Mountain Peak, gaining its sword intent, and thus achieving some small success.”
Danyangzi didn’t know what to say. The “Sword Enlightenment Chapter” that his Taoist companion told the young friend was taught to her by himself, yet his Taoist companion had not reached this realm, while the young friend had already taken the first step.
Wang Chuyi asked, “Does young friend Zhou also have a deep understanding of Huainanzi?”
“It was mainly to better understand the true meaning of Quanzhen Swordplay, so I read many Daoist canons, but many of them did not capture the essence.”
“Tell us what you think?”
The opportunity to seek advice from the Two Immortals of Quanzhen again was extremely rare. External cultivation techniques were easy to understand, but internal cultivation methods were extremely obscure, and a single misinterpretation could lead to qi deviation.
“Lead and mercury must be carefully collected. What does this mean?” Zhou Yan asked.
Ma Yu answered casually, “Lead is heavy and sinks, symbolizing kidney water; mercury is fluid, representing heart fire. ‘Lead and mercury must be carefully collected’ means that one must solidify kidney water and calm heart fire, and cultivate stillness to achieve success.”
Zhou Yan felt ashamed, thinking that what he had in mind was the elements lead and mercury, and alchemy.
“What do ‘Golden Duke’ and ‘Wood Mother’ mean?”
Ma Yu smiled, “Golden Duke refers to the essence and energy of the human body, while Wood Mother refers to the spirit and mind.”
…
In this rhythm, Zhou Yan continuously sought advice, and the Two Immortals of Quanzhen, either Danyangzi or Yuyangzi, would explain or answer. Many Quanzhen cultivation methods and obscure terms that Zhou Yan only partially understood from other Daoist canons were clarified by the two.
When they were engrossed in conversation, Danyangzi said, “Young friend, come with me to the courtyard.”
Zhou Yan did not know his intention and followed Ma Yu out of the room. He saw Danyangzi take the Qinggang sword from under the eaves of the west wing, walk into the courtyard, stand in the wind and snow, and say, “This sword technique, combined with the Quanzhen Internal Energy you cultivate, will complement each other. Watch closely, young friend.”
As Danyangzi finished speaking, he began to wield his long sword. In a moment, he thrust eighteen swords, each one splitting into three. When he thrust, it was only one move, but with a flick of his wrist, the sword technique split into three.
Zhou Yan watched this and suddenly remembered the advanced martial art of the Quanzhen Sect mentioned in the Divine Condor Jianghu, “One Sword, Three Purities.”
Danyangzi teaching him this advanced sword technique was both a thank you for rescuing Sun Buer and a result of his temperament.
After this thought, Zhou Yan held his breath and concentrated, memorizing it.
Thanks to the generous rewards from “Confucian Scholar Cultivator,” “Chang Ye Weiyang,” “Lang Xingyu,” “San Can,” and “Flower in the Mist,” I am deeply grateful.
