Tip of the Xuan Gate Iceberg

Chapter 22: Tip of the Xuan Gate Iceberg

Upon hearing about the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldiers, Wang Dao Xuan's expression changed drastically.

Li Yan had been observing his expression the entire time and felt completely relieved when he saw that.

He had brought it up directly as a way to test the waters.

Although Wang Dao Xuan had given him a good first impression, he was too down on his luck. If he hadn't even heard of the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldiers, then there was no need to tell him certain things.

"To be honest, I've run into some trouble..."

After confirming that the other party was an expert, Li Yan stopped beating around the bush and directly explained the matter of the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldiers.

Of course, the Jianghu was treacherous, and one should only reveal a fraction of what they know to others. Thus, he had also concealed several important matters.

For example, he only mentioned that the Widow Wang was a local Spirit Medium who had mysteriously disappeared later, without revealing her background, to avoid causing her trouble.

They were hiding from enemies, and he would not repay kindness with evil.

There was also the Yansheng Curse on the plaque.

This matter concerned family grudges and required extreme caution, as the Black Hand might be related to Xuan Gate People.

As for the Substitute Divine Statue, he would never reveal it to anyone.

As for the Olfactory Mystical Power, he told him everything.

Wang Dao Xuan listened carefully. First, he looked confused, then his brow furrowed in thought, and finally, he stared at Li Yan with disbelief in his eyes and said:

"Your destiny must be incredibly strong!"

A strong destiny?

With the Substitute Divine Statue, his destiny was indeed strong enough.

Li Yan quickly bowed with his hands clasped: "I hope the Daoist Priest can enlighten me."

Wang Dao Xuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Never mind. Since you have awakened your Spiritual Power, you are destined to be connected to the Xuan Gate. Moreover, this is not a secret. If you inquire carefully, you will eventually find out. It doesn't hurt to tell you."

"Speaking of Rampaging Soldiers, we must first mention the Xuan Gate's soldiers. Whether it's the Orthodox Xuan Gate, local Dharma Veins, or some Evil Paths, they all raise soldiers when performing rituals."

"There are many types of soldiers, such as the Lu Soldiers of the Orthodox Xuan Gate, the She Ling Soldiers of the City God and Earth God Temples, the Five Directions Five Camps Yin Soldiers of various Dharma Veins, the Five Paths Immortal Soldiers of the Chuma Xian, and the Five Connect Soldiers from folk heretical sacrifices..."

"These soldiers are formless and invisible, and ordinary people can hardly see them. Dharma Masters can use them to search mountains, break into temples, exorcise demons, capture evil spirits, and even take lives..."

"The sources of Rampaging Soldiers are numerous and difficult to explain clearly, but their characteristic is their fierce nature and difficulty in control, yet their power is not small."

"As for Cold Altars, they are formed when some Dharma Vein factions become extinct and have no disciples to inherit their incense offerings, thus becoming Cold Altar Ruined Temples."

"There are many who provide offerings to Rampaging Soldiers, but there is a problem: once the incense offerings are interrupted, they will lose control and attach themselves to wild beasts or people, wandering around searching for blood food."

He said thoughtfully, "In the Guanzhong region, the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect selects fixed times to search mountains and destroy temples, so Cold Altars are rare. These Rampaging Soldiers likely come from the Qinling Mountains."

"Those Cold Altar Rampaging Soldiers are comparable to fierce ghosts. Although you have awakened your Spiritual Power and have guidance on how to break them, surviving means your destiny is absolutely strong!"

Li Yan mused, "Are there many such soldiers in the Xuan Gate?"

Wang Dao Xuan nodded: "The Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect possesses Lu Soldiers, and their numbers are unknown, but there are definitely many. They are considered celestial soldiers and generals. Otherwise, how could they be the chief of the Orthodox Xuan Gate, receiving offerings from the Imperial Court for generations."

"Not to mention the various Dharma Veins. Some have ancient inheritances with hundreds of thousands of Ancestor Soldiers, plus those unknown small folk sects. The total number of soldiers in the world is simply immeasurable..."

Li Yan was deeply shocked and could not calm down for a long time.

A single Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier had almost cost him his life. If there were thousands upon thousands, the scene was horrifying just to think about.

He couldn't help but ask, "The power of the Xuan Gate is so terrifying, wouldn't it be easy to control the world?"

"It's not that easy."

Wang Dao Xuan scoffed and shook his head. "Although there are many soldiers, one needs sufficient Dao Progress to command them. To control millions of soldiers, it requires many High Merit Dharma Masters to perform a grand ritual simultaneously, and sometimes it takes several days to prepare."

"Moreover, the Great Dao has its own balance. Soldiers are not invincible. For example, if you hide in a City God or Earth God Temple with abundant incense offerings, small-scale soldiers cannot enter..."

"There are many methods in the Xuan Gate, and soldiers are just one of them..."

"And all famous mountains and great rivers, blessed grotto-heavens, have innate firm qi gathered there. For example, who would dare to summon soldiers to attack Mount Tai, the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains?"

"Not only would the altar be destroyed, but the soldiers would also turn against you, and you might even alert the gods residing there..."

Li Yan exclaimed, "Are there really gods?"

Wang Dao Xuan nodded: "Naturally. However, they are different from the folk tales and legends. The complexity of it all is something even the High Priests of the Orthodox Sect might not fully understand, let alone a half-baked Daoist like myself?"

A trace of curiosity rose in Li Yan's eyes, "Then... what about immortals?"

Wang Dao Xuan sighed, "Immortality is all vanity, and the path to immortality is also remote. Although there are legends of immortals, most are only heard of by name and never seen. I dare not speak presumptuously."

Li Yan then asked, "After cultivating, can one fly through the sky and dive underground, pluck stars and chase the moon? Or extend one's lifespan by hundreds of years?"

Wang Dao Xuan was a bit speechless. "Even the chief of the Orthodox Sect doesn't have such abilities. When it's time to die, they will meet the Dao Ancestor just like anyone else."

He felt a bit thirsty and picked up the cold tea beside him to drink.

Li Yan was silent for a moment. Although disappointed, he still asked, "Daoist Wang, I have awakened my Spiritual Power. Can you introduce me so I can join the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect?"

Pfft!

Wang Dao Xuan spat out his tea, coughed for a long time, and then shook his head. "Your destiny is strong, but you can't expect only good things."

"Anyone who cultivates in the Xuan Gate needs to preserve their spirit and visualize. The older one gets, the more cluttered their thoughts become, making it harder to get started. That's why both orthodox sects and dharma lineages mostly recruit children for training."

"Some folk dharma lineages that perform rituals for others will try to take in children who occasionally awaken spiritual powers. As for the orthodox Xuan Gate, they have their own unique processes and never lack disciples."

Speaking, he let out a wry smile, "There are quite a few who awaken later in life, like this humble Daoist. I refused to accept my fate, so I forced my way into the Xuan Gate. Ten years drained my family's fortune, and I went from being Shopkeeper Wang to Wang Lao Nian."

"After finally getting in through great hardship, even though I call myself Dao Xuan, in the hearts of my peers, I'm still a joke, not worthy of polite company."

"If you want to resolve your trouble, it's also manageable. I know the local City God Temple's priest, who can perform a ritual for you to seal your Yang Six Roots spiritual powers. At least you'll be able to live as an ordinary person, free from the scrutiny of evil entities."

"If you truly want to go to the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect, that's fine too. But they will also seal your spiritual powers, making you a Daoist who burns incense and sweeps the floor, reciting the Yellow Court daily. That's also a way to enter the Dao and leave the red dust."

Li Yan was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, "I, do not wish to accept my fate!"

"Not accepting your fate is good."

Wang Dao Xuan stroked his beard and said, "If everyone in the world accepted their fate, how could the mortal world flow and dynasties change? The Human Path would also lead to a dead end."

"I also have the method of preserving the spirit. Although it's not from the orthodox Xuan Gate, it's a tradition passed down through a thousand-year-old dharma lineage. If you can succeed in preserving your spirit, you'll be able to freely control your spiritual powers and even learn some simple techniques."

Li Yan felt grateful and quickly asked, "How much does your method cost, Daoist Priest?"

He could tell that although Wang Dao Xuan was down on his luck, he had righteous intentions and treated people sincerely. He likely wouldn't use a fake method to scam him for money.

"How much does it cost?"

Wang Dao Xuan sighed, "Back then, I spent all my family's fortune and begged people everywhere. I couldn't find a true method, and instead, I was repeatedly tricked and deceived. When I was disheartened, I met a dying wandering Daoist who bestowed the true method upon me, only asking that the incense lineage continue."

"How could I possibly charge for this continuation of the incense lineage? Furthermore, whether this is a blessing or a curse for you is yet unknown. If you find it difficult to preserve your spirit and are targeted by evil entities, wouldn't that harm you?"

"I wouldn't dare to accept money for something like this."

Saying this, he got up and took a booklet from the bookshelf behind him. "This is a secret manuscript. I've copied several copies and verified them carefully, so there are no errors. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask, and I will tell you truthfully."

Li Yan still found it hard to believe, "Daoist Priest, aren't you afraid I'm a bad person and will do evil deeds after learning this technique?"

Wang Dao Xuan chuckled, "You are also a person of the Jianghu. If you only learned some ordinary martial arts, you could still kill people, but would you dare to kill indiscriminately?"

"Within the Xuan Gate, there are also rules. The Enforcement Hall of the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect is not to be trifled with. People in the Xuan Gate must also abide by the laws of the Great Xuan Dynasty."

Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He took the booklet and saw the words True Scripture of the Western Xuan Cave of Darkness written on it in large characters. Upon opening it, he saw densely packed text: The way of preserving the spirit is not to associate with the unworthy, to avoid worldly affairs in a secluded chamber, to ascend to the heavens with one's spirit, to focus the mind and visualize, to maintain subtlety and emptiness, to calm the soul and stabilize the form, then all harm will not injure, all ghosts will flee, and a thousand demons will not dare to approach...

He felt dizzy reading it, so he put it away for now and said, "I have another important matter to discuss with you today, Daoist Priest. Do you remember Sha LiFei?"

"Sha LiFei?"

Wang Dao Xuan was confused and frowned, trying hard to recall.

He really was bragging!

Li Yan had expected this and described him, "A bald guy, with a face full of flesh, a full beard, who likes to brag and talk nonsense..."

"Oh!"

Wang Dao Xuan suddenly realized, "I remember now. A few years ago, this humble Daoist met Layman Sha once, and we had a pleasant conversation."

"I remember it was a spring day, and he invited me for drinks at the Drunken Flower Pavilion in Chang'an. He even called for a lot of girls. Then, while I was drunk, he secretly ran off by himself."

"I almost got beaten up. Fortunately, there was a haunting in that brothel, and they performed a ritual to exorcise the evil. That settled the debt..."

"What, is Layman Sha coming to repay the money?"