Chapter 367 Five Thunders Jade Book
It was already evening when Li Yundong and the others returned home. They returned to their rooms to cultivate after dinner. Li Yundong waited until late at night to fly to the roof.
When he reached the rooftop, he saw that Zi Yuan was already waiting for him.
Li Yundong smiled and said, "You're here early. I deliberately came earlier."
Zi Yuan smiled slightly. "Then, should I be like Huang Shigong, telling you to go back first and come back another day?"
Li Yundong knew that Zi Yuan was alluding to someone else. He quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, "No, no. I'm not Zhang Liang who saved the world, and you're not the mysterious Huang Shigong. There's no need to do that."
Zi Yuan smiled. She said, "Let's go back to Mount Longhu." After she finished speaking, she turned into a streak of azure light and flew away like a bolt of lightning.
Li Yundong also flew behind her; both were moving at a very fast speed. Tiannan City was not far from Mount Longhu. About two hours later, they arrived at the range of Mount Longhu.
Li Yundong said to Zi Yuan in midair, "This is the Zhengyi School's domain. Aren't you afraid of being discovered by them?"
Zi Yuan laughed and said, "Longhu Mountain is very large, and the Zhengyi School's domain hasn't expanded beyond a hundred-mile radius. It's unlikely that they would notice us."
Li Yundong laughed. "I was thinking too highly of them, then."
However, Zi Yuan shook her head and said, "Your thought is not undeserving! Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the power of the Zhengyi Sect has been greatly weakened. When they were at their peak, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there were not only magic circles everywhere inside the Shangqing Palace of Mountain Dragon-Tiger, but also the earth-shattering Three-realm Grand Formation in the Taoist master's mansion. Even immortals would be killed and turned into dust if they dared to enter! At that time, all the people in the surrounding area, including men and women, were informers of the Zhengyi School. The Zhengyi School would even know whether a passing fly was male or female, let alone have information of every person."
Li Yundong took a breath of cold air and said, "Was Zhengyi School that powerful back then?"
Zi Yuan sighed and said, "That's right. Their rise came with Zhang Daoling, the master of the Five-Pecks-of-Rice cult which is the predecessor of the Zhengyi School. He practiced cultivation and achieved great success in alchemy while he lived in Mount Longhu. From Zhang Sheng, the fourth generation of the Celestial Master at the end of the Han Dynasty, all the generations of the Celestial Masters lived here. They settled down in Mount Longhu to seek immortality. They sat in the Qing Palace to preach the Tao and lived in the Mansion of the Taoist master to cultivate their character. Until today, they have inherited Taoism for sixty-three generations, guarding the world for more than 1,800 years. Moreover, almost every Taoist priest generation had been appointed by feudal dynasties. Some were first grade officials while some rose to become extremely powerful officials in our country! In our nation's history, there is only one big aristocratic family that can compare with them!"
Li Yundong's heart skipped a beat and blurted out, "Saint Confucius' line?"
Zi Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, there are only two families in the history of Chinese culture that have been passed down from generation to generation. They are known as 'the south Zhang, the north Kong'! Zhang Tianshī is in the south, and Confucius is in the north!"
Although Li Yundong had experienced a lot of friction with the Zhengyi School, he immediately respected the history of the Zhengyi School in his heart after hearing what Zi Yuan said. He was in awe of them. He looked down from the air and saw Mount Longhu under the stars and moonlight.
Li Yundong only saw that the mountain range under his feet stretched for dozens of miles. The mountain range was endless, like a row made with dozens of massive dragons resting. It was as if tigers and dragons were competing for hegemony. In between the mountains, a clear stream flowed from the east. It coursed near the mountains and circumvented the peaks of the range. The lake was white, and the pond was green.
In this quiet mountain forest, one could occasionally hear the sounds of birds and beasts, and sometimes you could even hear the sounds of Taoist priests reciting scriptures.
Li Yundong felt refreshed; and there seemed to be an infinite heroic spirit suddenly being born in his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief, and his breath was long and leisurely, as if he were going to devour the dragon, the tiger and the bull. The Qi he had cultivated for a night was not even comparable to the Qi of Heaven and Earth cultivated by the magnificent rivers and mountains!
"This is indeed a treasure land!" Li Yundong sighed.
Seeing that Li Yundong was staring at Mount Longhu in a daze, she smiled and said, "Now do you know why all the cultivation sects have to be in the mountains? Don't be discouraged. When you have made enough money, Mount Tianlong will naturally return to your hands. By then, you will have your own cultivation mansion."
Li Yundong laughed. "Thank you for your kind words! Let's go down."
Zi Yuan flew down with Li Yundong and landed on Mount Longhu. It was different from looking down from the sky. Zi Yuan took Li Yundong all the way down the mountain, introducing the beautiful scenery of the mountain to him.
Zi Yuan said, "Mount Longhu has 99 peaks and 24 rocks. It contains the softest mountains and rivers, the masculine of the 99 dragons, the red mountain, and the green water. It is full of spirituality. Every time a Celestial Master comes to the world, the dragon and the tiger will appear, and the sky is covered with clouds."
Li Yundong laughed and said, "I just don't know why the Zhengyi School has declined while being in such a treasure land."
Zi Yuan sighed and said, "During the period of the Republic of China (1912-1949), the warlords were in a tangled fight. After that, there was a war between the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party, including the Anti-Japanese War. Mount Longhu was also affected, and many Taoist temples were destroyed. After the founding of the Republic of China, only the gate-roofed buildings, the noon gate, the bell tower, the Durable pavilion, and the Dongyin Courtyard were left. During the Great Culture Revolution, the remaining buildings were completely destroyed. The cultivation sects of the Taoist supreme were also affected. You can imagine what kind of impact the other sects had to endure!"
Zi Yuan suddenly smiled and said, "Now the country has released all restraints on the cultivation world. The Zhengyi sects can't wait to restore their former glory. Therefore, the first thing they have to do is to gather all the branches that were scattered in the past. Then, they will unify the cultivation world to rule the rest of the world!"
Li Yundong smiled and said, "So, they approached you, but they bumped into me. We have a feud with the Zhengyi School."
Zi Yuan nodded slightly, and the wind blew under their feet. Before long, they arrived at a side peak of Mount Longhu. Zi Yuan walked toward the door of the Taoist temple. She looked up and saw two dazzling seals on the door.
Zi Yuan smiled faintly, then raised her hand. The seals began to rise even though there was no wind. Soon they fell to the ground.
Zi Yuan gently opened the door and spoke to Li Yundong with a gentle voice, "Let's go, let's head to the Sutra Depository."
Li Yundong nodded and followed her to enter the temple. Along the way, Li Yundong saw that the temple was in a mess, as if the Red Guards had just passed by.
Zi Yuan said indifferently, "Since the Great Culture Revolution, our Linggong Sect has never suffered such a catastrophe. I didn't expect that today's catastrophe would come from a sister sect. What a pity."
Li Yundong saw all this. He smiled and comforted her, "It doesn't matter. We will get these things back sooner or later."
Zi Yuan looked at Li Yundong, offered a noncommittal smile and continued to lead the way.
Li Yundong followed Zi Yuan through a cave house and then a lotus pond. Finally, they reached a stone cave. Zi Yuan turned to Li Yundong and said, "Wait a moment."
Li Yundong nodded. He saw that one hand was grabbing his sleeve, and the other hand was flying up and down on a smooth side of the wall, as if she were drawing some talismans. After a while, a golden rune appeared on the smooth side of the wall, and then it became brighter and brighter. Then it disappeared. A crack appeared on the wall after a while, then a shelf popped up, carrying a jade plate.
Zi Yuan took out the jade plate. After a while, the shelf receded automatically. There was no sign of any mechanism on the wall.
Li Yundong said, "It's so amazing. Are all your things hidden in the wall?"
Zi Yuan explained with a smile, "Every sect has a particular treasure location. The treasure location of our Spiritual Palace is inside the wall of the cave house. The wall is filled with invisible magic formations and talismans. If someone wants to force his way in, it will only cause the self-destruction of all the collections found inside. Only by knowing the correct opening method can a person take out what he wants."
Li Yundong laughed and said, "It's really amazing."
Zi Yuan solemnly presented the jade plate in her hands to Li Yundong, but when he reached out to receive it, she withdrew her hands and said with a serious expression, "Li Yundong, before you learn the thunder magic, you must promise me that you will never use it to do evil! Otherwise, even if the heavens don't punish you, I will!"
Li Yundong's face was dead serious. He said word for word, "Don't worry, I, Li Yundong, will never do those evil things. May lightning strike me down if I violate this oath!"
A smile appeared on Zi Yuan's face as she lightly placed the jade plate in Li Yundong's hands. "I trust you, otherwise I wouldn't have given you this Five Thunder Jade Book. I was just passing it on to you according to the rules."
Li Yundong observed the jade plate in his hand. It was entirely green; there was a line of words engraved with golden characters at the very center. The rest of the words were dark green; there were also vermillion patterns at the edge of the jade plate, like a formation.
Li Yundong asked, "Is this the Five Thunders Jade Book? Why is it a jade plate?"
Zi Yuan smiled and said, "It can only be a book if it's made of paper? This is a magical item passed down to me by my master. It's engraved with the Five Thunders Spell of the Shenxiao Sect. I haven't learned it myself; you can take a look at it yourself. With your cultivation, you'll be able to achieve twice the results with half the effort."
Li Yundong nodded in agreement and lowered his head to look at the jade plate. He saw a few large words written on the first line. It read: "Thunder, the cardinal of heaven and earth. Thunder was the command of heaven, and its power was the greatest. Everything in the three realms and the nine earths was overseen by thunder!''
Even though these few characters were simple, there was a powerful and imposing aura emanating from them, which could rouse one's attention and invigorate the spirit!
Zi Yuan stared at Li Yundong intently as she said in earnest, "Li Yundong, from ancient times to the present, any cultivator who is able to cultivate the Five Thunder Spell can become a great cultivator who can leave his mark in history. From now on, the magic you cultivate will surpass the five elements and surpass all living things!"