The Daoist Temple Was Even More Extraordinary Than Expected

Chen Du picked up another stone box.

Sure enough, the black and white dots were often buried together, in keeping with the principle of yin and yang giving rise to and accompanying each other. He did not know whether there was something about these suppressive seals he had yet to learn, requiring two things to be sealed at once, or whether it was simply some original custom, rule, or the founding patriarch's obsessive-compulsive disorder.

He opened it to find a bronze bell and a jade tablet inside.

The bronze bell was about the size of his palm and delicately made. Like the sword, it did not look particularly special.

Chen Du picked up the jade tablet.

[Given to me by a friend. I treasured it dearly and played with it day and night. Unable to bear seeing it lost or ruined, I sealed it away here.]

Another gift from a friend?

Holding the bell, Chen Du looked at the little figure. "Have you seen this bell before?"

"I seem to remember it. It was a little trinket the immortal used to keep in his study. It was quite ordinary in itself, but after spending so long with the immortal, it absorbed some immortal qi and became spiritually wondrous."

The little figure leaned closer for a careful look. The bell was taller than the little figure.

"Whenever the immortal took up his brush, whether to write or paint, he had to be completely at ease, with his mind unburdened. So before he picked up his brush, he would brew tea, burn incense, and ring the bell to cast aside distracting thoughts. After a long time, the bell gained the effect of calming people's minds and clearing away distracting thoughts."

"Really?"

Ding! Chen Du shook the bell.

Its sound was crisp without being piercing and echoed endlessly through the room.

For a moment, Chen Du really did feel all his distracting thoughts vanish and his worries fall away. He was astonished.

Could an ordinary object really gain such spiritual properties just by spending a long time with an immortal?

It did fit the immortals he had read about in ancient books.

"What book did you eat to attain a physical form back then?"

"I... I ate..."

The little figure's face turned bright red. After a long while, the little figure finally said, "I ate the immortal's journal."

"His journal?"

That seemed to mean a diary.

That patriarch kept a diary too? A single diary entry had been enough for a bookworm to attain the Dao and take physical form? Chen Du had thought it would be some classic concerning the Great Dao.

It was too hard to imagine.

This Daoist temple was even more extraordinary than he had thought.

Chen Du marveled at it for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"What did it say?"

"I don't remember," the little figure answered honestly. "I only remember that it had lots of instances of the word 'immortal' in it. By the third one I ate, I really did attain the Dao and take physical form."

"Then what book did you eat that got you punished by the patriarch?"

"..."

"Hmm?"

"...It was... it was also the immortal's journal."

"?"

Chen Du was dumbfounded. He pointed at the little figure. "And you said you hadn't read my diary!"

"Please believe me, immortal master, I really haven't read it."

The little figure turned pale with fright, even forgetting to eat the pancake.

"Ding..."

The bell rang, and sure enough, it worked wonders.

"I didn't expect you to come in handy so soon, or to be used here." Chen Du's mind calmed again. Then he asked the little figure, "Who do you mean by 'immortal'?"

"An immortal adept, someone who has succeeded in cultivating the Dao."

"I see."

In ancient times, people had limited access to information and knowledge, and there was a tendency to flatter others. They were also often in awe of strange and wondrous things, so they frequently used honorifics when addressing people.

Take fox immortals, for example. Almost none of them had actually become immortals. Or take bookworms, which lived on books. Rumor had it that if one ate three instances of the word "immortal" in a book in succession, it could attain the Dao and become immortal. Leaving aside whether that was possible, even if a real transformation occurred, at most it would have attained the Dao and taken physical form, yet some people of the time would already call it an immortal.

Likewise, divine lords and celestial venerables were everywhere among the gods. Any adept who had succeeded in cultivating the Dao might be respectfully called an "immortal." Even he himself could be called an immortal master.

That tendency still existed today and had become part of the culture of society.

As for whether the patriarch who had sealed away the Door God and the little figure one after the other, and whose diary alone could allow a bookworm to attain the Dao and take physical form, was truly an immortal, Chen Du really could not say for certain.

He still had plenty of questions, so he took the opportunity to ask a few more.

"Were there cultivation realms in ancient times?"

"May I ask what you mean by realms, immortal master?"

"Like officials at court, with the nine-rank system. The ninth rank is the lowest and the first is the highest. What is the stage called when you first start cultivating, and what is it called afterward, until you finally attain the Dao and become immortal?"

"I've never heard of that, nor have I eaten anything about it in books."

The little figure seemed a little puzzled and thought it over before speaking.

"But in my humble opinion, even in high antiquity, before the Qin dynasty, when the spiritual qi of heaven and earth was so abundant and qi refiners appeared one after another, cultivators were still very few compared with the population under heaven.

"So they had no opportunity to meet regularly, let alone compare and verify their progress with one another and establish such ranks.

"Later, when Daoism flourished, Daoists often exchanged ideas and blended their practices, and such divisions appeared. For instance, the Elixir Cauldron School spoke of Refining Jing into Qi, Refining Qi into Shen, Refining Shen and Returning to Emptiness, and Returning to Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao. The Talisman School had different registers and offices, distinguished by Daoist robes of different colors, and spoke of high-ranking ritual masters."

Chen Du nodded at that.

"That makes sense."

For so-called realms and ranks to emerge, certain conditions did indeed have to be met. At the very least, there had to be enough people to make establishing them necessary. Beyond that, there had to be a demand for ranks, reasonably distinct and clear stages, and a certain capacity for information to circulate. For most of ancient history, cultivators had been relatively scarce, so those conditions had not been met.

Even now, not every profession had a clear ranking system.

At the same time, the ranking systems currently used across professions generally followed a pattern: the clearer the stages and the wider their reach, the stricter the hierarchy and the more widely accepted it was.

For example, higher-ranking officials really did receive better treatment, so everyone readily accepted their ranks. Some professions, on the other hand, had skill-rating systems with room for underhanded dealings in the assessments, and people of lower rank were often far more capable than those of higher rank. Such systems did not mean much.

But Chen Du had noticed another piece of information.

"From what you just said, did this Daoist temple not belong to Daoism in ancient times either?"

"Of course not! Earth Sage Temple inherited a tradition from high antiquity. What we cultivate is an ancient method of refining qi to become immortal, improved from generation to generation. Does the immortal master not know that Buddhism only arrived in the Western Han, and Daoism only appeared in the Eastern Han? The idea of becoming immortal already existed along the coasts of Yan and Qi in the Warring States period. It was called the 'Way of the Immortal Masters' then. Later, Qin Shi Huang even sent Xu Fu across the sea to seek immortals. Celestial Master Zhang hadn't been born yet, so how could there have been Daoism?"

Chen Du knew this. That was why, for a long time afterward, people who cultivated immortality and sought longevity were called fangshi, while the term "Daoist priest" did not yet exist. At the time, the word "immortal" did not belong to Daoism either.

"Now I know what kinds of books you've been eating."

"They wouldn't let me eat the useful ones."

The little figure spread both hands and sat down, apparently growing less afraid.

"Returning to what the immortal master said earlier, I've given it some thought. The immortal path to longevity has no clearly defined 'realms,' but it does have fairly distinct stages of cultivation.

"For example, Chen Tuan once said: 'In the immortal path of antiquity, all things are interconnected. Nourish life and refine the body, and the body produces jing. Use jing as fire, gather the fire and refine qi. Use qi as water, gather the water into a sea. Once one's magic power is full, nourish the primordial spirit. In time, return to oneself and return to one's true nature, and only then attain spiritual clarity. Become one with the Dao, and thus become immortal.'

"This describes four stages.

"A few days ago, I, ahem, overheard the immortal master's conversation. Apparently, this era is vastly different. If the immortal master needs cultivation ranks, why not establish some yourself? The immortal master walks at the very forefront of all under heaven. Won't matters of cultivation in the world be yours to decide in the future?"

That did make sense.

Chen Du thought it over carefully.

Information circulated quickly in modern times. As spiritual qi revived, cultivation would inevitably receive attention. As long as there were clear, distinct stages, a ranking system was bound to emerge.

Having one would make things more convenient too.

It was worth looking into.

Chen Du nodded, then asked, "Have you eaten any accounts of the revival of spiritual qi in books?"

"Nothing useful. I only know that changes in the heavenly Dao are like the alternating sunshine and rain, the waxing and waning of the moon. The cycles of earthly qi are like seas turning into mulberry fields and back again, and the rise and fall of the tides of spiritual qi are predetermined. This had already happened many times in ancient times. For instance, spiritual qi was abundant in the wilds of high antiquity, grew thin after the Zhou, and only began to revive after the Han. The tide fell again after the Tang, rose slightly during the Song, and then came the Great Ming."

"Why was it so completely depleted this time?"

"Uh... hehe..."

"Then why did spiritual qi clearly begin reviving earliest on this mountain and in this Daoist temple, and why is it most concentrated here?"

"Well..."

The little figure clearly did not know either and could only scratch his head. "This was a place where immortals cultivated in ancient times. It must be an immortal treasure land where the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon converge."

"Why have I been able to see spiritual qi for so long, yet I still haven't heard of anyone down the mountain having the same ability?"

"Well, since the immortal master is the Earth Sage's successor, you must have a measure of destiny. And, yes, the immortal master also cultivates in a treasure land blessed with such spiritual energy and beauty, breathing in spiritual qi with every breath. Naturally, there would be changes. Besides, the world is so vast that even if one or two people happen to be able to see spiritual qi, the immortal master might not necessarily know about them."

The first part was clearly flattery.

But Chen Du agreed with the second part.

If someone suddenly gained the ability to see spiritual qi for no apparent reason, while everyone around them could not, they would most likely have misgivings just as he had at first and choose to hide it.

If the occasional chuunibyou made a great show of announcing it, either no one would believe them or they would be taken for a lunatic.

Chen Du saw that the bookworm's answers were becoming increasingly speculative, with flattery mixed in among the guesses. The bookworm had probably almost run out of things to say, so he stopped asking.

Yunzhi had also returned from shopping.

Chen Du heard her accidentally sound the horn.

Woo! Woo!

An old-fashioned green train whistled as it entered a tunnel. Hardly anyone else could be seen in the carriage. Only a cold-faced girl in jeans sat there, holding her phone and scrolling through Douyin.

If anyone had looked over her shoulder, they would have seen that big data had her preferences completely figured out.

The girl swiped!

A middle-aged master began explaining how life was like cultivation.

He was tricking people into buying courses.

Swipe!

A young, handsome Daoist priest began talking about his troubles studying feng shui at a Daoist temple.

He was tricking people into hiring him to read their feng shui.

Swipe!

A text post on an image said that its author had reached a bottleneck at a certain stage of cultivating Plum Blossom Divination Numerology. Although their readings were very accurate, they took a heavy toll on the author, who wanted to find fellow practitioners to exchange ideas.

They were tricking people into getting their fortunes told.

Swipe!

A pet could understand human speech and could even converse fluently with its owner using buttons that made different sounds when pressed. It seemed to have become a spirit.

So cute.

Little did anyone know that the girl was doing this deliberately.

She was searching on purpose.

Swipe!

A pretty young woman with a nice figure wore a rose-red outdoor jacket and yoga pants, looking ready for the outdoors while showing off her figure. Carrying trekking poles, she followed a narrow concrete path up a mountain.

The video's caption read:

[I just wanted to find a nearby wild mountain I'd never visited for a casual weekend hike. The mountain wasn't very high, so I figured there wouldn't be much to see and I'd just take an easy walk. I never expected the experience to be so extraordinary.]

[The Daoist temple on the mountain...]

An old-fashioned, elegant Daoist temple appeared on the mountain ahead.