Although Wei Yuan had no concept of Immortal Silver, he could read the room and tell that the lesson fee must be exorbitant. Since the Daoist was willing to teach for free, Wei Yuan immediately bowed respectfully, then stood quietly and waited.
"Don't be so formal. Sit down." The Daoist smiled warmly. He felt even more fond of this child, who came from humble means yet was so well-read and polite. But then he thought it over and sighed inwardly. He's a good kid now, but in a few years, Azure Hall will probably lead him astray.
Sitting bolt upright, the Daoist began, "Three thousand seven hundred years ago, our founding patriarch rose from humble beginnings. He chanced upon a cultivation method and thus set foot on the Immortal Path. Once his Dao Foundation had taken shape, he established Taichu Palace. Back then, Taichu Palace was nothing more than a Boundary Stone, two thatched huts, and a stretch of land. Afterward, the patriarch opened up the northern region, slaying demons and vanquishing monsters with sword stroke after sword stroke, driving out evil spirits. Little by little, he carved out a beautiful and fertile land in the deadly wilderness, saving countless lives and rendering a great service to heaven and earth. His cultivation then advanced as if by divine intervention. Three hundred years later, he achieved Return to One and at last ascended to the pinnacle."
"After the patriarch had mastered the Dao, he took twelve disciples in succession. Three of them were born in response to the times, each blessed with their own fortune, and they embarked on the Immortal Path at an early age. Once those three forebears had fully mastered the Dao, they led many of the palace's younger disciples and gathered like-minded cultivators. They resolutely marched north, fighting bloody battles for years until they wrested vast tracts of land from the foreign tribes. That was how Yunzhou came to be. Later generations called this great war 'Three Immortals Stabilize Yunzhou.' It was the greatest event in the mortal world at the time."
"But the foreign tribes were savage, and the fighting was brutal. Less than three years after the war ended, two of the three immortals had fallen one after the other. The surviving Immortal Lord Luofu also spent most of his time in seclusion and rarely appeared in public, remaining the pillar that steadied Taichu Palace. But even so, a century later, Immortal Lord Luofu still ascended to immortality and departed this world. After his ascension, his body became a towering mountain peak, which remains one of Taichu Palace's sacred grounds to this day."
"After the three immortals passed away, Taichu Palace flourished more and more. Later generations established one View for each of the three immortals' lineages, while other lineages that reached Return to One were each made into a Hall. That was how Taichu Palace's original Three Views and Seven Halls came to be. After that, more and more of our disciples were born in response to the times, gifted beyond their years and surpassing their predecessors. They opened up new Dao Paths from nothing, and five more Halls were added over time. That is how we came to have the Three Views and Twelve Halls we have today. The master of Azure Hall, where you are now, is True Monarch Xuan Yue. His mastery of the Dao is divine, and he also serves as the master of Water Moon Hall—unique among all the Hall masters."
At this point, the Daoist paused and took a sip of tea.
Wei Yuan asked, "I've read that cultivation is about longevity and serenity. Why, then, did those three immortals fight and battle after attaining mastery, until they fell one after another? What was the reason?"
The Daoist grew solemn. "Mortals and immortals are not separated by some great divide. Which immortal did not start out as a mortal? Since ancient times, our human race has been weak, surrounded by foreign tribes. Every year, they invade our territory to plunder, burn, and slaughter. Some even eat humans or use them as sacrificial offerings! We cultivate the Dao and attain great divine powers and mighty strength—but what for? Is it only so we can live forever and enjoy peace and freedom? There are people like that, perhaps even many, but our forebears at Taichu Palace were certainly not among them! From the founding patriarch and the three immortals down to this very day, our cultivators have pursued divine powers and mighty strength so that they can expand our borders, shape the world, and win more land where our human race can multiply and thrive!"
The Daoist continued, "I haven't told you what happened to the founding patriarch afterward. Can you guess where he is now?"
Wei Yuan naturally had no idea.
The Daoist pointed at the ground. "Right here! The land beneath our feet, this mountain where the sect gates hang suspended in the blue—the whole place was formed from the patriarch's body after he fell."
Wei Yuan was stunned. As far as he could see, the mountain gate stretched for hundreds of miles, and he still couldn't see where it ended. Could all of this really have formed from the patriarch's body?
The Daoist spoke slowly. "When the patriarch reached the pinnacle of cultivation, he was three hundred and thirty years old. Back then, this land where we stand was still within the territory of the Wu Yu Tribe. It was full of fiery pits and caverns, strange trees and poisonous plants covered the earth, and the air was thick with deadly miasma. An ordinary person would die within half a day of entering. The Wu Yu Tribe used humans as sacrificial offerings and was immensely powerful—far beyond what our human race could contend with at the time. At each grand sacrifice, they captured hundreds of thousands of people to offer to heaven and earth. After mastering the Dao, the patriarch went west alone and battled the Wu Yu Tribe's three Heavenly Witches for months. Facing all three by himself, he still managed to slay the First Heavenly Witch and gravely wound the other two. The battle forced the Wu Yu Tribe to retreat eight thousand li, and they did not dare to invade again for thirty years."
"After returning, the patriarch sat down to pass away beside the Boundary Stone he himself had erected. He lived to the age of three hundred and thirty-one."
"After the patriarch fell, his body became a treasure land, utterly transforming this place and turning a deadly wasteland into an Immortal Mountain paradise. The land formed from his body covered a total of nine hundred and ten li. Nurtured by this precious ground, another seven thousand li of deadly wilderness nearby gradually became fit for our human race to live in. That was the origin of Ningzhou's first four commanderies. Three days from now, when you join the sect, the statue of the patriarch you'll pay your respects to will stand on that very first Boundary Stone."
Wei Yuan listened, barely daring to breathe. He had never imagined that Taichu Palace's forebears had been so fiercely resolute. This was nothing like the tales of the Immortal Path he had imagined.
A figure flashed into the courtyard. Zhang Sheng appeared and placed a small pouch on the table. "The lesson fee is all in here."
The Daoist put away the silver pouch. "What took you so long? I just told him the story of how the patriarch founded the palace, as well as the deeds of the three immortals. If you hadn't come back, I'd have finished my tea."
Zhang Sheng smiled. "The lesson fee is so expensive. It's not every day you get a free teacher like him. How could he not tell you a little more?"
The Daoist didn't linger. After collecting the lesson fee, he left the small courtyard.
Only after the Daoist had gone could Wei Yuan look around the courtyard.
The courtyard was small. The main room served as both bedroom and study. One side room was a cultivation chamber, while the other was empty and could be put to whatever use he needed later. There was a modest kitchen in one corner, fully equipped. The palace had a central dining hall where new disciples could eat, so this kitchen was really meant for preparing special spiritual foods and medicinal dishes.
The supplies issued to new disciples were laid out on the desk in the main room: three sets of clothes that could calm the mind, sharpen the eyes, and repel all dust; a booklet of Taichu Palace's rules; a booklet of instructions for new disciples; an identity jade token; a bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills; and three pieces of Immortal Silver.
Wei Yuan had never seen Immortal Silver before, so he picked one up curiously to examine it. The silver was milky white all the way through and warm to the touch. Each piece was about the length of his little finger and as thin as an incense stick. Immortal Silver was very different from the mortal silver Wei Yuan had seen before—and much heavier. The three slender pieces amounted to thirty taels, which was also Wei Yuan's monthly allowance for his first three months as a new disciple.
Immortal Silver was refined from silver, gold, mica, star sand, and other materials, then nurtured with Dao Power for six months before it was ready. It was widely used to make magical artifacts and formations, making it the most versatile material. By Taichu Palace's standards, one tael of Immortal Silver could be exchanged for a hundred taels of mortal silver. But within Taichu Palace, gold and silver from the mortal world were of little use.
From then on, Wei Yuan would have to pay for all his daily needs at Taichu Palace, using this Immortal Silver. But compared with the lesson fee, a new disciple's monthly allowance was pitifully small. Even if Wei Yuan ate and drank nothing, one month's allowance would only be enough for a single lesson. So the lesson fee would surely have to be subsidized by a teacher or the Hall.
The entire valley was where new disciples lived, while Zhang Sheng had a cave dwelling of his own. After going over a few things Wei Yuan needed to keep in mind, Zhang Sheng told him to read the sect rules and the instructions for new disciples on his own. He would return after dinner to formally teach him the Dao. Having been away from the sect for seven years, Zhang Sheng had a pile of his own affairs to deal with.
After Zhang Sheng left, Wei Yuan took out the two booklets and read them carefully.
For the past three years, Wei Yuan had studied hard every day and had long since mastered the art of concentration. He sat there for the entire afternoon, and by the time he finished both books, dusk was drawing near.
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