Eight Directions Converge

"Greetings, Benefactor Lu. Greetings, Daoist Qiuyuzi." Guest-Master Monk Wisdom hurried forward and pressed his palms together. Turning to lead the way, he said, "The Temple Master, the Presiding Monk, and several eminent monks are waiting in the central hall of the Scripture Repository Hall at the hilltop."

"Sorry for the trouble, Master." The man was Lu You of the Lu Household. He smiled faintly, cupped his hands in return, and walked on.

Qiuyuzi, the Curly-Bearded Daoist, frowned. "Why didn't Yuanhui and the others come to greet us themselves? Why send you?"

Wisdom was prepared. He answered calmly, "The Temple Master has arrangements to make and fears something might be overlooked, so he dares not leave."

Only then did Qiuyuzi nod.

A voice rang out behind them, clear as a bell and full of laughter. "Little monk, pay no attention to that great beard. He has to find fault with something before he feels comfortable."

Wisdom was not surprised in the slightest to hear her voice.

Lu You said, "Peach Blossom Fairy speaks the truth. That is simply the Daoist's temperament."

"Enough nonsense!" Qiuyuzi snapped. He turned to the Guest-Master Monk. "Lead the way. We need to finish this quickly so we can leave."

Wisdom hurried ahead to guide them.

Once inside the temple, Qiuyuzi narrowed his eyes and glanced toward the hilltop of Rear Mountain. The Peachwood Sword on his back gave a faint tremor.

Wisdom spoke again. "Hot water has been prepared. Benefactor Lu, please bathe and change. After noon..."

"We cannot wait until after noon!" Qiuyuzi narrowed his eyes and grinned, baring stark white teeth. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? There are more than monks up there. A strand of purple qi coils around the summit too. What exactly is Guishan Temple plotting?"

Wisdom's expression changed.

Before the Guest-Master Monk could speak, Qiuyuzi continued, "I don't care what schemes you have. Surely you wouldn't dare plot against Kunlun? I came today to wash the Incense from Young Lu's body. For that, we spared no expense to borrow a wisp of Nine-Dragon Divine Fire. This fire is precious and must not be wasted! Unless it is kindled at midday, it will not reach its full effect. Say no more about anything else!"

Cold sweat ran down Huizhi's face. He pressed his palms together. "This humble monk will report it at once."

"There is no need to report it." An old monk approached slowly. "I shall make the decision. It will be done at midday."

Qiuyuzi was still smiling, but his eyes had turned cold. "You monks have quite some nerve. Are you truly plotting something?"

"You misunderstand, Daoist." The old monk shook his head. "There is a reason for this. It concerns the Prince of Ancheng."

Qiuyuzi frowned and waved a hand. "I have no interest in such matters. No need to tell me. So long as you honor your promise, that is enough."

The old monk said, "Naturally. Benefactor Lu, please go bathe and change. Daoist, come with me to the hilltop first."

Qiuyuzi nodded. "Very well. I'll let the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire out first, before it grows restless from being cooped up. If it starts making trouble later, someone could die!"

The old monk's eyelid twitched. He said nothing.

By then, everything he had seen and heard had reached Temple Master Yuanhui's mind.

Mind-Reading!

This Kunlun Daoist is difficult to deal with. But it may not be a bad thing that he has come and learned about the Prince of Ancheng. With Kunlun as witness, we can avoid a great deal of trouble.

The thought flashed through Temple Master Yuanhui's mind, and he looked ahead.

He stood before a great hall.

It was magnificent, with three front halls—left, center, and right—and a rear hall.

Before it stretched a vast, empty square.

Two figures were approaching at an unhurried pace.

The one in front was Li Duoshou, dressed in black. Just behind him walked a handsome young nobleman in brocade: the Prince of Ancheng.

Unlike Qiuyuzi, who had brought Lu You through the main gate, Li Duoshou and the Prince of Ancheng had entered Guishan Temple through the rear gate. Even counting their personal guards, their party numbered fewer than ten.

Upon arrival, they had been led straight to the hilltop of Rear Mountain.

"Greetings, Temple Master." Li Duoshou stopped before Yuanhui, his gaze passing over him to the hall beyond. "This is the first time I've seen the Scripture Repository Hall from so close."

"Benefactor Li, how do you intend to perform the Legalism rite?" Yuanhui neither stepped aside nor offered to lead them in.

Li Duoshou drew back his gaze and looked at Yuanhui. "I have long heard of the wonders of your Scripture Repository Hall. A statue of the dragon tree holds the rear hall, and Buddha Light runs through the halls from front to back. I have no need of the central hall. I'll borrow a side hall to perform the Sage-Equalizing Method."

Yuanhui narrowed his eyes. "Performing the Sage-Equalizing Method here seems improper."

Li Duoshou answered with a smile that never reached his eyes. "The Prince of Ancheng will stand in for Your Majesty and bathe in Buddha Light. The Buddha Light will turn sacred, enter his flesh, and scour away impurities, drawing out a trace of Fate Pattern. Then, with the dragon vein's True Blood, we will pass it to Your Majesty!"

Yuanhui's expression did not change. "Once the Buddha Light enters his body, can it truly be passed to Your Majesty?"

Li Duoshou's eyes turned icy, and his voice was hard. "When the call is felt, a thousand worlds are but a step away. You need not worry, Master."

The two stared at each other in silence.

After a long while, Yuanhui intoned the Buddha's name and nodded. "Since Benefactor Li has planned for every contingency, this humble monk will not stand in your way. But there is one more matter I must make clear."

"Speak."

"A Daoist of the Kunlun Sect will also perform a Legalism rite here today. Several fellow cultivators have come to observe it, so..." Yuanhui looked at the two men meaningfully. "The right hall of the Scripture Repository Hall cannot be given to you. You must use the left hall."

"What a fine scheme!" Li Duoshou did not mince words. "The Prince of Ancheng tours the realm in the True Dragon's stead, yet you would place practitioners of heterodox paths on equal footing with the dragon? What nerve! I'd say Guishan Temple is harboring thoughts of rebellion!"

"We have indeed handled this poorly. If Your Highness is displeased, perhaps another day..." Yuanhui's expression remained unchanged, but the Prince of Ancheng interrupted him.

"It is no matter. With honored guests from Kunlun here, would I be so lacking in grace?" The Prince of Ancheng walked forward with a smile. "I came to ease my imperial brother's burdens. Hou Andu has grown more overbearing by the day, and the situation at court is tangled beyond measure. We cannot afford further delay."

Yuanhui offered no reply.

The Prince of Ancheng continued, "Please make the arrangements, Master. Mr. Li, we shall perform the Legalism rite as planned. Once it is complete, I would like to meet these esteemed masters. Temple Master, I'll trouble you to introduce us then."

"I will gladly make the introductions, Your Highness." Yuanhui bowed and stepped aside. "Please follow this humble monk."

Before long, the three reached the left hall of the Scripture Repository Hall. Yuanhui bowed and invited the two inside, then left and returned to the central hall.

Four monks sat on cushions deep within the Hall. Each wore a Kasaya, radiated light, and had a halo behind his head.

Yuanhui came before them and pressed his palms together. "Senior Brothers, please lend me your aid. Let us raise the Grand Formation first."

"Amitabha."

"Senior Brother, why are you so tense today?"

Outside Guishan Temple, two figures appeared once more atop the towering ancient tree, as they had on the previous days.

The two Daoists, one short and one tall, sat cross-legged on branches no thicker than a finger.

The young Daoist noticed his Senior Brother's grave expression and could not help asking.

The Young Daoist sighed. "From the aura of Guishan Temple, I can see that its Buddhist qi has grown strong and dense, yet somewhat mottled. Many people from the Buddhist School must have arrived, perhaps even people from Immortal Sects."

His brow was tightly furrowed. A stirring in his heart told him it was a premonition, but he was no good at divination and could only worry in vain.

Suddenly, his expression shifted. He swept his gaze around, puzzlement on his face.

"What is it?" the young Daoist asked, confused.

The Young Daoist said heavily, "A vast Divine Thought swept past us just now!"

The young Daoist grew tense. "Could they have found the Lord's true body already? What do we do?" He stood on the branch, swaying up and down with it.

The Young Daoist shook his head. "That Divine Thought only brushed past, yet it left my heart heavy. It must have belonged to someone at least at the third step of the Divine Path. There cannot be many such beings in Jiankang City. And one who would sweep the Southern Heaven capital so freely might even be Gaozu of the Southern Dynasty..."

"Gaozu of the Southern Dynasty? Even he is watching this place?" The young Daoist's expression changed again. "I heard that after three years on the throne, he traded the True Dragon's Yang Lifespan in the mortal world for authority in the Underworld Office, becoming a god to protect his Dynasty!"

As he finished speaking, light burst from the hilltop of Rear Mountain at Guishan Temple. Waves of Golden Light formed a barrier around the halls!

"They've raised a formation." The Young Daoist narrowed his eyes. "A single Temple Master could never set up a formation of this scale!"

The young Daoist grew more anxious. "We cannot wait. A formation like this may truly concern the Lord! Senior Brother, we must decide now!"

As he spoke, a column of fire shot skyward from the Scripture Repository Hall. A dragon's cry rose, and the faint shape of a fire dragon could be seen winding through the clouds. Then it scattered into nine layers of red light that plunged straight down and vanished.

Had the two not been so close to the temple and able to watch with their own eyes, they could not have seen it so clearly. The Golden Light barrier raised earlier would have blocked their senses.

"Ninefold Samadhi?" the young Daoist cried. "Senior Brother, that is..."

The Young Daoist's face darkened. He forced the words through clenched teeth. "The Qingwei Sect's Nine-Dragon Divine Fire!" Then he steeled himself. "Come! We shall pay the temple a visit too!"

Layer upon layer of firelight illuminated the Hall.

Inside the right hall of the Scripture Repository Hall, a fire dragon flew and roared. Heat rolled outward, and white vapor billowed up.

Scarlet Dragon vanished into the Mist Aura.

Qiuyuzi sat cross-legged at the center, forming a Sword Art with one hand and holding a fragment of jade in the other. His Peachwood Sword lay before him, with a Bronze Lamp in front of it. The lamp had no wick.

Firelight leaped and reflected in Qiuyuzi's eyes, branding itself there. A thought turned in his mind and brought a stab of pain. He drove the thought out through his seven orifices, where it became a flame that fell beside him and danced endlessly at his feet.

Gradually, the Daoist's mind grew clear and empty, free of self and others.

Suddenly, the fire dragon swung its head and charged at him!

Scarlet Light spread in waves. Heat surged, and fire fell like a bolt of silk, swallowing the Daoist whole.

At that moment, lines of Sanskrit appeared on the surrounding walls, flashing with Golden Light. The characters flew free one after another, linked together into chains of Brahma Script, and bound the fire dragon!

Qiuyuzi's hair and beard curled in the heat. His eyes flew wide as he thrust out a finger. The Peachwood Sword rose into the air, tore through the Red Light, and cut down a spark of spirit light, which fell into the bronze lamp.

In an instant, the red glow vanished from the hall, and the scorching heat receded.

Crack, crack, crack!

A layer of white frost spread across the Hall.

Hum!

A tiny flame kindled in the ancient bronze lamp.

"I had long heard of the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire. Seeing it today, I find its reputation well deserved. It burns more than mortal things—it can set a person's thoughts aflame. Any ghost that came here would be destroyed at first sight."

The old Presiding Monk stood outside the hall doors and pressed his palms together toward the hall.

A faint Golden Light covered both him and the doors.

"Since coming to Jiankang, I've had to feed it Primordial Vital Energy and True Blood to keep it from going out. This Divine Fire also has a taste for jade. It consumes no small amount of gold and silver." Qiuyuzi rose from the floor. The Peachwood Sword flew back and sheathed itself. He glanced at the sky outside. "Let Young Lu in. The hour is nearly here."

"Benefactor Lu is already waiting outside." With that, the old monk swept his sleeve, and the Golden Light vanished from both him and the hall doors. He then stepped aside.

Dressed in white, Lu You strolled in with an easy smile and a graceful bearing. He cupped his hands toward Yuanhui, then entered the hall.

At the sight of him, Qiuyuzi said, "Still as dashing as ever, lad. When the Divine Fire washes your body, it'll be like having your flesh carved away. Be careful."

"Only by enduring torment can one's convictions be revealed. I, Lu You, would also like to see whether my resolve to seek the Dao is as firm as I believe." Without breaking stride, Lu You came straight to Qiuyuzi and sat down cross-legged.

"Good! Then I'll see just how firm that resolve of yours is." Qiuyuzi laughed and pointed at the ancient bronze lamp. "I'm holding the Divine Fire in check. At midday, I'll release it. Whether you're true gold will be clear then. Don't disappoint me!"

Lu You only smiled. His expression grew serene as he gazed at the flame and fell still.

He had entered meditation.

Worthy of a Reincarnated Immortal. The right hall of the Scripture Repository Hall is steeped in Buddha Light and Human Thought. Without an established Dao Foundation, anyone who quiets their mind here is beset by countless thoughts. Yet Benefactor Lu is wholly unaffected, his mind as still as water!

Watching from outside, the old monk inexplicably thought of the one in the Secluded Courtyard at Mid-Slope. Those reincarnated this time truly are exceptional. But Lu You has won the favor of both the Celestial Masters Dao and the Kunlun Sect. Now the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire will wash and temper his body, while a Kunlun adept of Longevity personally oversees and guides the rite. What extraordinary fortune. It is something the Lord cannot match.

Then his gaze shifted. He noticed a red cord around Lu You's neck, sensed it faintly, and understood.

So a Magical Artifact is protecting him too. No wonder he looks so at ease.

As he thought this, his heart suddenly jolted. The old monk glanced toward the left hall, then looked back and pressed his palms together toward the hall. "Benefactor Lu has arrived. This humble monk will take his leave." He turned and departed.

"Heh!" Qiuyuzi watched the monk go. "What a lively day. That fellow in the left hall must have grand designs. The Southern Dynasty Dragon Vein stirred just now. I fear Guishan Temple has been tricked. They've mounted a tiger and cannot get off!"

The sun drew near its zenith.

A long installment of nearly four thousand characters. It should have been split in two, but I left it whole to keep the story flowing—and because I couldn't be bothered to divide it. Dear readers, please vote and help spread the word. Many thanks!