Chapter 53

Yue Qing said to Fayuan, "The materials for forging the sword have been prepared by me and my senior sister. As for the formula for forging the sword...” Yue Qing paused here and glanced at Xu Feiniang, seeing her slightly shake her head, he then changed his words, “My senior sister and I have also found it. This time we are going to open the Tian Gong Furnace, not only to forge the Taiyi Yin-Yang Sword, but also the Two Poles Circle, the Red Sun Ring, and the Aurora Sword. Moreover, I have already promised to give a set of the Eight Yang Lu Xian Dao to four Taoist friends from Wudang."

"The Taiyi Tian Gong Furnace!" Fayuan dropped his teacup to the ground, "That furnace was only opened three hundred years ago when our master condensed the Hunyuan True Qi, and he specially invited the Great Master Kongle from the Kunlun Sect, the Venerable Xinming from the Wudang Sect, and the True Man Jile from Mount Qingcheng to assist. They forged many magical treasures for us disciples. Your Shuang Fei Xing Sword was forged at that time, I remember there were three in total, and one was taken by True Man Jile, who said he would give it to the younger generation as a reward. That furnace is extraordinary, how can we manage it with just a few of us? Even if we invite all the fellow disciples scattered in various places, we might still be powerless."

Yue Qing said, "If we lack people, we can find more. Besides, we don't need to open all sixty-four orifices like our master did back then. We only need to open the central Yin-Yang Hall and the surrounding Eight Trigram Halls. We don't need to open the Taiji Central Hub, which saves us a super expert to manage the center. I thought that my senior sister and I could manage the Yin-Yang Hall, and I would trouble you, Senior Brother, to go to the Kunlun Sect to invite the Zen Master Zhifei and others to manage the four main gates. We have already talked with the four friends from Wudang and invited them to manage the four extraordinary gates. We are not forging super magical treasures like the Hunyuan One Qi Ball, so this level of expertise should be enough. I only have two concerns: one is that our enemies might come to cause trouble when they know we are opening the furnace to forge treasures, especially those from the Emei Sect. The second is our fellow disciples, some of whom might come to take advantage of the situation, like the one from Mount Yunmeng."

Hearing him mention the Venerable Master Sikong Zhan, Fayuan shuddered, "What should we do? Should I go to western Yunnan again and invite the Venerable Master Dulong and the Venerable Master Li Huo from the Huashan Sect? Oh! I remember that Zen Master Xiaoyue is in seclusion at the Dianxi Arrow Furnace. If we could invite him..."

Yue Qing waved his hand, "This time we are forging swords to reform the rules and announce new laws and regulations. If anyone disobeys, they will either leave Wutai or be executed with the newly forged Taiyi Yin-Yang Sword! Therefore, we must not invite anyone from the demonic sects, as they are mostly profit-driven and unrighteous, and might take advantage of the situation. As for the Huashan Sect... although our two sects have been friendly for hundreds of years, they are also in a state of chaos and corruption. It's best not to involve them for now. I think we can invite three Taoist friends from the Maoshan Sect, two from Laoshan, and two from Taishan. With all of us working together and planning well in advance, I believe there won't be any problems."

Fayuan shook his head worriedly, "None of us can withstand Sikong Zhan."

Xu Feiniang said, "We can go to Wudang Mountain and invite the Venerable Halfside and Linglingzi to sit in and oversee."

Fayuan looked hesitant, "The Wudang Sect is now keeping a low profile and claims not to interfere in the disputes between the righteous and the demonic. The Venerable Halfside may not come..."

Yue Qing pondered, "Our sect has a mix of good and bad. After our master passed away, the discipline was completely lost, and the disciples became even more rampant and evil. It's understandable that others look down on us. When the time comes, as long as my senior sister explains the situation to her, considering the years of friendship, and the fact that we only need her to help oversee to prevent any ill-intentioned actions, I believe she won't refuse."

Xu Feiniang agreed, "I have talked with Zhuge Ying and others. The Venerable Halfside once mentioned our situation, saying that since the departure of the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor, none of the disciples have been worthy. The situation has been deteriorating. Privately, she has advised her disciples to avoid us, saying that the Wutai Sect is full of self-destructive individuals. If they do not repent and reform, and continue to associate with the demonic sects, they will surely bring about their own destruction."

Yue Qing nodded and smiled, "That's the truth. It's indeed the Venerable Halfside's character, and those are her exact words."

Xu Feiniang continued, "The Wudang Sect has separate male and female disciples. The Venerable Halfside has already forbidden the Wudang Seven Women from participating in our conflicts with the Emei Sect. Linglingzi is better; he once received great kindness from our master and cannot force Zhuge Ying and others to sever ties with us. According to Zhuge Ying, his master always sighs when talking about us. Zhuge Ying also said that the Venerable Halfside once told Linglingzi that unless the Wutai Sect produces someone like Linglingzi and the Venerable Xinming, who can reform the rules and revitalize the sect, it will be completely destroyed within twenty years."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Then, a servant came in to report that the banquet was ready.

They moved to the dining table and continued their discussion. Yue Qing explained his ideas to Fayuan, proposing to start by reforming the rules, which Liu Quan strongly supported. Xu Feiniang was indifferent but supported Yue Qing unconditionally because he had killed Zhu Hong to avenge the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor and passed the Tongxuan Zhenjing to Yue Qing, making him his chosen successor. Therefore, whether he followed the orthodox path or completely embraced the demonic path to restore the Northern Demon Sect, Xu Feiniang would support him.

Fayuan, however, was less convinced, thinking Yue Qing was learning from the Emei Sect. Although he frowned repeatedly, he did not directly oppose, "As long as it can revitalize Wutai and restore our former glory, I support it. But the other disciples might not agree."

Yue Qing said, "Senior Brother, you are highly respected in our sect. As long as you help, everything will be easier."

Fayuan, Yue Qing, and Xu Feiniang jointly wrote a letter and sent it to various places using flying swords to gather their scattered fellow disciples back to the mountain.

Fayuan lived in the Manjushri Hall on the East Peak of Wutai Mountain. Besides his three direct disciples, he had only thirty-odd monks who handled cleaning and sweeping. He sent them all to the Central Peak to start cleaning from the mountain gate, through the Yellow Dragon Palace, the Seven Stars Palace, the Xiantian Pavilion, and up to the Yellow Pole Palace. Yue Qing used his magic to bring the clear spring water from the mountain stream to rinse the white jade steps.

Not far from the mountain gate is the Yellow Dragon Palace, which has the largest area among the palaces of the Wutai Sect. It has many buildings that extend for five miles along the mountain. This was the residence of the disciples of Master Tuotuo. In its heyday, it had three thousand disciples studying here. Now, however, it is in ruins, with broken tiles and cracked walls, and overgrown with weeds. Yue Qing told Liu Quan to take some silver and hire villagers to come up the mountain to clean and tidy up, especially the Yellow Dragon Palace, which must be clean and tidy as it will be used to accommodate and entertain guests from other places.

Behind the Yellow Dragon Palace is the Dragon Spring Wall, a smooth, mirror-like cliff about ten meters high with twelve spring outlets at the top, forming a unique spectacle of white dragons hanging on the wall. When the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor opened the Daoist temple on Wutai Mountain and expelled the Buddhist believers, it led to a battle with twelve high-ranking Buddhist monks. The conflict was eventually resolved by the intervention of the True Man Jile from Daoism and the Venerable Zunsheng from Buddhism. The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor used his magic to move mountains and water, altering the feng shui of Wutai Mountain. He left only the Manjushri Hall on the East Peak and destroyed and rebuilt the other Buddhist temples.

This cliff was moved from the South Sea, originally a large reef that had been eroded by the sea for thousands of years, making it as hard as iron and smooth as a mirror, weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor went deep underground and brought up twelve mountain springs to form waterfalls. Master Tuotuo used to give lectures and teachings to hundreds of disciples here, and even Yue Qinbin had come to listen.

Now the mountain springs have dried up, and the stone wall is covered with green moss, hanging vines, and wildflowers, creating a scene of desolation yet serene beauty.

They walked past the White Dragon Wall and arrived at the Seven Stars Palace. This is the main palace on the Central Peak, where Master Tuotuo used to reside. He was the eldest disciple of the Wutai Sect. After the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor failed in the sword duel on Mount Huang and realized his time was short, he called his main disciples and announced that he would pass the Daoist tradition to Master Tuotuo, who would lead the sect after his death. However, less than a month after the ancestor's departure, Master Tuotuo, eager to achieve success, practiced the divine and demonic great method and suffered a mental breakdown, his body burning and dying.

The Seven Stars Palace is grand and majestic, consisting of seven palaces connected together. In front is the Purple North Star Platform, where the Wutai Sect holds large events or deals with external threats. Master Tuotuo would stand on the platform to manage the situation.

Yue Qing told Liu Quan, "This place must be cleaned up especially well. On the eighth day of next month, when all the disciples arrive, we will discuss matters crucial to the survival of the Wutai Sect here. We might even have to take action. Ask Senior Sister Xu to help you activate and reinforce the array formations and restrictions here as much as possible."