Chapter 33

Wudang's eighty-one peaks converge towards the grand summit, their beauty and grace reaching the pinnacle. However, the grand summit of the glazed roof has shown strange phenomena. On the Little Lotus Peak, Song Zhiming found that his second senior brother, Chen Yao, who was in charge of the moral and ethical rules, his fourth senior brother, Yu Xingrui, and his fifth senior brother, Wang Xiaoping, had all gathered behind him, looking together with their youngest brother, Hong Xixiang, towards the location of the hanging immortal coffin. They saw the madman riding a bull rush to the Turtle Carrying Stele, leap onto it, stand on top, and move his fingers in a dazzling manner. Despite the youngest brother always forgetting his age, his numerology skills were profound, and he was thoroughly familiar with the four classics of the I Ching, integrating them and excelling in divination, surpassing his senior brothers by a wide margin. Even the previous generation's headmaster, who predicted the rise of Xuanwu for five hundred years, admitted that he was far outshone by the younger generation.

Hong Xixiang's forehead was sweating, and he sat down on the stele.

A group of senior brothers became tense. Yu Xingrui, standing below the Turtle Carrying Stele, asked cautiously, "Is there a change?"

Hong Xixiang wiped his sweat and smiled mischievously, "The heavenly evolution is without error. It's just that this thunderstorm is less intense than I predicted, not enough to scare the sneaky characters from Longhu Mountain."

Yu Xingrui and the others felt relieved, exchanging smiles. The headmaster had cultivated the Great Yellow Court and had already announced it. Naturally, their archrivals from Longhu Mountain would send people to investigate, suspecting that Wudang was just putting on a show. The eldest brother secretly emerged from seclusion and hid on Yellow Court Peak, and the few people from Longhu Mountain probably didn't take it seriously, viewing Wudang as putting on a show. Thus, there were rumors in the martial world that Wang Chonglou's cultivation of the Great Yellow Court was just a reputation-seeking gimmick. The youngest brother, feeling indignant, chose this day, a rare True Wu Subduing Evil Day for Wudang, when thunder would strike and heavy rain would pour.

The Great Yellow Court, in simple terms, involves cultivating a great elixir in the body, like a turtle drawing qi to the spiritual root, resonating with heaven and earth. A Daoist who achieves this is called a True Person, derived from the ancient saying in the Great Yellow Court Scripture, "Immortal Daoists are not divine; they accumulate essence and qi to become true." Only those who have cultivated the Great Yellow Court can be called True Persons. It's not the same as the common misuse of the term "True Person" for any Daoist. The struggle between Buddhism and Daoism has lasted for centuries, but they share one common point: they are recluses who cultivate transcendental methods and do not emphasize martial prowess. Thus, even when Longhu Mountain produced a universally recognized master, Qi Xuanzhen, who was at the peak of his reputation, he only dealt with demons and did not compete with Wang Xianzhi for fame. A few years ago, when Wang Chonglou severed a river with a single finger, he was included in the list of the top ten martial experts, which Longhu Mountain found extremely contemptible, openly and secretly saying many harsh words, even having young Daoist children recite a song mocking the Wudang headmaster.

Wang Chonglou, however, did not argue or speak, and after saving drowning civilians, he went up the mountain to cultivate the Yellow Court.

Yu Xingrui laughed and asked, "Youngest brother, how much of the Great Yellow Court can this prince achieve?"

Hong Xixiang sighed, "About five or six out of ten, I think."

Yu Xingrui was shocked, "Doesn't that mean his internal strength is the best in Wudang?"

Hong Xixiang shook his head, "He needs a considerable amount of time to assimilate it."

Chen Yao said helplessly, "In recent days, Wudang has spent a lot of effort expanding Xu Fengnian's meridians and acupoints, using countless medicinal pills, like digging a deep pond in his body. The headmaster's internal strength is like the waterfall on Hanging Immortal Peak, surging down to fill the pond. Absorbing half of it is already a great fortune. This is good, as the eldest brother can still retain half of the Great Yellow Court."

Hong Xixiang still shook his head, "Not necessarily."

Chen Yao was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Hong Xixiang revealed a secret that the headmaster, Wang Chonglou, had told him before entering seclusion, "The headmaster cultivated the Great Yellow Court according to the acupoints in the prince's body. No matter how much the prince can ultimately accept, the eldest brother's entire Great Yellow Court will be completely dispersed, not a drop left."

Yu Xingrui's face turned pale, muttering, "What can we do, what can we do?"

Chen Yao smiled bitterly, "Why does the headmaster do this? Even if Wudang is declining, we don't need to fear that Grand Marshal so much."

Wang Xiaoping glanced at the sky and turned to leave.

Hong Xixiang, without turning his head, said softly, "Little Wang brother, don't go to Yellow Court Peak to trouble the Longhu Mountain Daoists. It will affect your pure sword heart. Don't kill those who shouldn't be killed. Once you break this rule, the heart demon will entangle the Sword of Shen Tu, overshadowing the immortal sword intent. In this life, you will drift further and further away from the sword path, the more you try, the further you will go."

Wang Xiaoping paused, but with no lingering thoughts, he still carried the Sword of Shen Tu and left gracefully.

In the Xixiang Pool, the prince, who was picking smooth pebbles from the deep pond to use as chess pieces, slowly bent down to search, moving slightly slower than on land but otherwise without any difference. The pond was a thousand feet deep, colder than the bottom of the lake in the mansion, but he had unconsciously learned the old man's breath-holding technique while practicing the saber, thinking it was just a water skill. Unbeknownst to him, this peculiar breath-holding technique was similar to the Daoist practice of returning to the original state. Despite Xu Fengnian's still weak internal strength, he had found the right path, a significant difference. A distant observer cannot compare to a climber, and a climber who cannot find the path cannot compare to one who has found it. As for the thousands of paths up the mountain, which one to take and how far to go, depends on destiny, opportunity, and personal effort.

Xu Fengnian picked up more than ten smooth pebbles and did not rush to the surface. Observing the scenery at the bottom of the pond was also interesting, though the deep and green water made the scenes above and below blurry.

Xu Fengnian was unaware of the lightning and thunder at the top of Wudang Mountain, only feeling the waterfall's water flow becoming stronger, and the bottom of the pond becoming increasingly cold and unbearable.

Reaching the edge of the giant rock rooted at the bottom of the pond, Xu Fengnian pushed off with his feet and dashed towards the surface with his prize.

Above the Xixiang Pool, a white waterfall cascaded down like Guanyin pouring from a bottle.

The Wudang headmaster, Wang Chonglou, landed on the giant rock, knelt down, and looked towards the bottom of the pond, smiling slightly.

He closed his eyes.

He breathed in and out gently.

Steam rose from the water surface.

This old Daoist, one of the three major Daoist sects' headmasters, had a life without much turmoil. Born into poverty, he was sent to the mountain at twelve to avoid starvation. Apart from the morning and evening rituals, he worked in the Tai Xu Palace, sweeping the floor, lighting incense, and ringing the bell, day after day, year after year. At that time, his master, Chen Yingning, had not yet become the Wudang headmaster but had over twenty disciples. Wang Chonglou's talent was average, but he was diligent in reading scriptures, even holding a book while sweeping the floor. He would read by moonlight when he couldn't sleep at night, becoming a bookworm in the eyes of his fellow disciples. He was only qualified to shake the divination sticks for visitors at twenty-four and only achieved a small success in Daoism at forty. When the previous headmaster, Chen Yingning, passed away and handed Wudang to Wang Chonglou, the world was shocked. Even Longhu Mountain had not heard much about this middle-aged Daoist. Unexpectedly, most of this generation's Daoists were astonishingly talented in their youth but stopped progressing in old age, except for the unassuming Wang Chonglou, who gradually achieved great Dao and soared to new heights. The feat of severing a river with a single finger was just a small example of his unwavering strength in old age.

A piece of firewood was swept away by Wang Chonglou's sleeves.

His Daoist robe fluttered.

He managed to divert the waterfall, which was falling with great force.

The waterfall tilted like a bridge.

The "Cantong Qi" surpasses the Daoist classic "Heshang Gong's Commentary on Laozi" by proposing the "Five Viscera Contain Spirits" and first mentions the "Three Parts, Eight Scenarios, and Twenty-Four Spirits."

The old immortal breathed deeply, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state, his spirit full, as described in the scriptures, glowing like a Daoist immortal.

Wang Chonglou silently recited, "Five-colored clouds fill the evening mist, closing my eyes, I see them within, realizing my body is a cave of heaven, the Yellow Court is a blessed land..."

"Yellow robe, purple belt, dragon and tiger insignia, long spirit, and life depend on the Great Mystery, three calls, and the qi flows freely."

"The world loves grains and flavors, but I alone consume the yin and yang qi of the universe."

"Two water kings face the disciples, making them live long and high in the nine heavens..."

With each sentence, a golden qi emerged from the old Daoist's mouth, swirling in the air.

Ultimately, eighty-one golden qi strands entwined with the main waterfall, plunging into the deep pond.

Xu Fengnian, halfway to the surface, felt something was wrong with the pond. It first became colder, then suddenly hot, a mix of cold and heat. He accelerated, but the most terrifying thing was seeing a water column rushing towards him from the sky. Xu Fengnian gritted his teeth and tried to swim against the current, but he could not break through the water dragon and the strangely golden surface. No matter how hard he tried, it was like a thousand-pound lid covering the surface, impossible to lift. Xu Fengnian's consciousness gradually faded, but he still clutched the smooth pebb