Deep in the mountains, white mist filled the air, creating an atmosphere of peace.
However, with the arrival of an uninvited guest, this peace was soon broken.
Taoist Qingyun stood by the lake, looking at the man in front of him covered in a black cloak, wondering whether he was a long-hidden hermit or a ghost who had just crawled out of hell.
"I want to see the old Taoist priest." said the man.
His voice was hoarse and there was a certain rhythm to his words.
Taoist Qingyun had no intention of leading him, "Many people want to see the old Taoist priest."
"I'm from the north."
"Yujing?"
Taoist Qingyun blinked his eyes and said, "Every year, many people come from Yujing to see the old Taoist priest."
The man paused, then said, "Or I should say, I came from the west."
As he said this, he took out an Bagua mirror and showed it to Taoist Qingyun.
His hands were pale and thin, as if they had not been exposed to the sun for a long time. Now that they were gently exposed to the sun, faint red spots appeared on them.
When Taoist Qingyun saw the Bagua mirror, his expression changed immediately.
"So, the distinguished guest is from Xiandu. I am sorry for being disrespectful."
Xiandu is Mount Zhongnan located in the Qinling Mountains.
The man didn't care about Taoist Qingyun's attitude. He just continued, "I want to see the old Taoist priest."
"The old Heavenly Master must be willing to meet you. After all, there haven't been any guests in Xiandu for decades."
"Because the immortals are not on earth, but in heaven."
The man put his hands into his sleeves and followed Taoist Qingyun forward.
After they walked for a while, they saw an elegant and ancient courtyard where Nangong Baixing was.
He seemed to have anticipated that someone would come, so he had prepared the tea table early. At this time, the tea set had just been scalded with boiling water, giving off a grassy aroma.
The man in black robe tapped his feet lightly, and his whole body seemed to be blown by the wind, floating up and landing lightly in front of Nangong Baixing. He made a sword gesture and raised it high above his head, performing a salute to become a disciple.
"Zhang Yiyuan from Zhongnan Mountain pays homage to the old Heavenly Master!"
"Please take a seat."
Nangong Baixing pointed to the cushion opposite him.
Zhang Yiyuan was not polite either. He nodded to thank him again, then sat down opposite Nangong Baixing and lifted the cloak on his head.
It was an equally pale face, except that it had no wrinkles. It looked like a piece of paper that had just been fished out of water, with almost no pores visible.
As soon as Nangong Baixing saw his face, he was sure that Zhang Yiyuan was indeed from Xiandu, because the Qi Refiners there all had the same expression as him.
He didn't seem to be very old, but people in Xiandu could never judge a person's age by their appearance, because their faces were almost the same, as if they were printed from the same mold.
As soon as Zhang Yiyuan sat down, without waiting for Nangong Baixing to ask any questions, he took out a scroll, put it on the table, and motioned for the old Taoist to take a look.
Scrolls seem too old in this era. Most of the so-called confidential documents that Nangong Baixing has received recently are wrapped in kraft paper and sealed with wax, which is considered rigorous.
There was also a wax seal on the scroll, which was an inverted Bagua. Some changes in the directions allowed people to interpret the location of Xiandu from it.
Nangong Baixing opened the scroll and saw three names written in red ink on the yellowed paper.
尹秀
Ma Xiaoyu
Liu Jierong
When Nangong Baixing saw these three familiar names, he raised his eyebrows and glanced at Zhang Yiyuan.
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Yiyuan said calmly: "These three people, the immortals don't want them to live, please help us, old master."
Nangong Baixing scratched his head, "Xiandu is well-known in the Xuanmen sect. There are many people helping you without you having to say anything."
"Oh?"
Zhang Yiyuan looked at Nangong Baixing and seemed a little impolite.
"So, the old Taoist priest is unwilling to help?"
"I told you, many people will help you, it's enough without me."
Nangong Baixing picked up the teacup and poured the tea into the cup, "Tea, please."
"Thank you."
Zhang Yiyuan put two fingers together and tapped on the table twice, but did not touch the cup of tea.
"Oh, I forgot. The Qi Refiners in Xiandu don't eat hot food. Sorry."
Nangong Baixing rubbed his fingers along the edge of the teacup, and a thin layer of frost formed on the wall of the teacup, causing the steaming hot tea to immediately turn cold.
Zhang Yiyuan nodded in thanks, but still did not take the cup of tea. Instead, he continued to ask him, "When Xiandou needs someone to do something for him, no one will ever refuse.
Do you think that you can reject us as the Great Master of Maoshan?"
"Is Xiandu working for the court now?" Nangong Baixing asked back.
Zhang Yiyuan did not answer him, but just asked: "These three people, the immortals want you to get rid of them, can the old Taoist priest help me with this?"
Nangong Baixing touched his chin, feeling quite embarrassed.
"Liu Banxian is a wandering Feng Shui master. Although he is engaged in deceiving people for money, he is not a murderer, nor does he follow any crooked ways, nor does he do things like harming the people or refining ghosts to cast spells. I have no reason to deal with him."
"Liu Banxian did not perform any magic tricks, nor did he practice any evil arts, but what he did was something that was harmful to the world.
But he is indeed not a member of the Taoist sect, so it is not appropriate to ask the old Taoist priest to kill him, as it would dirty the old Taoist priest's hands.
We will find someone to deal with this person."
Zhang Yiyuan took out a red pen from his sleeve, licked his scarlet tongue a few times, moistened the tip of the pen, and then crossed out Liu Banxian's name.
"Ma Xiaoyu."
Nangong Baixing frowned even deeper.
“She is the contemporary Heavenly Master of the Ma Family. Although she calls me the Old Heavenly Master when we meet, to be honest, she is on an equal footing with me in terms of Taoist status.
Although the Ma family also uses a branch of Maoshan magic, they are not under the jurisdiction of the Maoshan sect, and the two sides do not interact with each other on a daily basis.
You also know that the Heavenly Master of the Ma family is decided by within the family. The Ma family only needs to inform the Taoist sect about who will be the Heavenly Master. In recent decades, they haven't even notified anyone.
The Ma family is independent of the Taoist sect. I have no right to dictate to the descendants of the Ma family, let alone enforce justice on behalf of heaven."
"I know."
Zhang Yiyuan scribbled a few more strokes on the scroll to cover up Ma Xiaoyu's name.
"The Ma family has always been troublesome. They cannot be dealt with by a few rules or great principles. There is no need for the old Taoist priest to worry about this. We will ask someone to go and talk to the Ma family."
As if he had expected such a situation, Zhang Yiyuan was very calm and pointed the pen tip at the last name.
"Yin Xiu, he is the world's great enemy, an ambitious man who covets the destiny of Jiuzhou. Please ask the old master to take action against this man." Nangong Baixing was silent for a while, and finally replied: "He is Mao Xiaoming's apprentice, Nan Mao Bei Ma, a true disciple of the Mao family."
"He is also your disciple."
Zhang Yiyuan smiled and said, "Although he has not yet received the certificate of ordination, all his magic skills are inherited from the Maoshan Sect.
Yin Xiu is the descendant of the Tiandao School and an orthodox Maoshan disciple. Since he is a Maoshan disciple, of course the old Tianshi has to take action. "
"How do you want me to manage it? Kill him?"
Nangong Baixing rolled his eyes upwards, his tone full of coldness.
Although Nangong Baixing did nothing, Zhang Yiyuan, who was sitting opposite him, felt goose bumps on his hands and a chill on his back.
"Old Heavenly Master, do you want to reject Xiandu?"
"I didn't mean that."
Nangong Baixing restrained the pressure on him, which made Zhang Yiyuan feel a lot more relaxed.
"But I really don't know why I should take action against Yin Xiu."
He held one hand under his chin and seemed to be in great distress.
"Yin Xiu, although he is not very decent and does not do things that a traditional Taoist priest would do, I don't think he is a bad person."
"A traditional Taoist priest?"
There was a hint of an ambiguous smile on Zhang Yiyuan's lips.
"Old Heavenly Master, do you think that now that the world has changed, the Daoist system should also change with the times?"
"Even the Xiandu, which has existed for a thousand years, can cooperate with the imperial court. What is impossible?"
Nangong Baixing took a sip of tea. The bitterness, fragrance and sweetness of the herbs all surged to the tip of his tongue, making him smack his lips.
"There are very few Taoists who go out to catch demons and monsters nowadays. Our predecessors have already caught all the demons, and there are no more to catch.
When I was young, I often heard my senior brothers say that if all the demons and monsters were eliminated, everyone would be able to live a good life.
But if the monsters are gone, will the world be at peace? I don't think so.
Today's Taoists do not have to deal with demons and monsters, nor are they able to fight against the world. What they have to fight against is themselves, and they have to make themselves walk upright and sit firmly.
This matter was difficult before, and it is even more difficult now.”
Zhang Yiyuan seemed to be thinking about something, and finally reached out and drank the tea in the cup.
His throat didn't swallow, it looked like he was pouring tea through a pipe.
After putting the teacup back on the table, he asked, "Are you saying that the biggest enemy of a Taoist priest today is his own inner demon?"
"if not?"
Nangong Baixing poured another cup of tea for Zhang Yiyuan.
“Those who want to get rich, stand out from the crowd, or escape from the world and become immortals, as long as they have the idea, they have to work hard to achieve it. However, they often fail to figure it out, and in the end they can only rush around in a muddleheaded and blind manner, hurting themselves and others.
Yin Xiu, he also makes trouble and rushes around, and the messes he makes are bigger and bigger, but I thought he was a person who could think clearly.
Not only can he help himself to understand things, but his actions can also help other people to understand some things.
You said that what he did was right or wrong, I don't know. Maybe he did do something wrong, but even if he did something wrong, how wrong could he be?
Was he responsible for the turmoil in the north? Or was he responsible for the decline of Kyushu?
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't do it, so I can't think of any reason why I should take action against him."
Zhang Yiyuan did not comment, but emphasized: "Maybe the past was none of his business, but now, he has become the biggest hidden danger.
He is collecting the Dragon Emperor's sons from the Nine Provinces. If he gathers them all and takes the dragon veins of the Nine Provinces into his possession, the immortal city that has existed for a thousand years will lose its spiritual energy and fall into the mortal world."
"I see."
Nangong Baixing couldn't help but laugh, "No wonder the immortals are cooperating with the imperial court, it turns out you are worried about this, afraid that Yin Xiu will really gather all the dragon veins and affect your immortality.
Guests, no one has ascended to heaven for more than 200 years. The way to heaven has been lost. Do you think you will be the lucky one who finds a ticket to leave in the end?"
Zhang Yiyuan's face darkened. "So, old master, you actually knew his plan a long time ago."
"He never hid anything from me, and I never gave him any advice. We just drank tea and chatted."
"Ok."
Zhang Yiyuan said no more and took out a wooden box made of rosewood from his pocket.
This wooden box is ordinary, without any extra patterns or decorations.
Just as Zhang Yiyuan was about to push open the lid, Nangong Baixing reached out to stop him and sighed.
“I didn’t expect that Xiandu would also deploy the Heavenly Master’s Staff. My master said that as long as one of the Heavenly Master’s Staff and Heavenly Master’s Sword is used, one can command the Taoist sects of the world.
The Heavenly Master's Sword was originally in the Imperial Observatory, but later... its whereabouts were unknown.
The Heavenly Master's Staff has been kept in Xiandu and has not been seen in the past hundred years. I never thought I would have the honor of seeing it now."
Zhang Yiyuan did not answer, but stood up with the box in his hands and said loudly: "Nangong Baixing, Xiandu has something to ask of you. Are you willing to do your best as a disciple of the Taoist school and serve Xiandu?"
"The Heavenly Master issues orders and commands all directions. No sect in the world dares to disobey."
Nangong Baixing stood up, with one hand hanging straight down to the ground, and the other hand placed on his arm in the orchid gesture.
"Disciple Nangong Baixing is willing to devote all his heart and soul to Xiandu, even until his death!"
Zhang Yiyuan didn't feel very happy that Nangong Baixing surrendered to him.
Because he knew that the authority that made the Maoshan Grand Master obey did not come from himself, but from the Master's Scepter in his hand.
And only this time, Nangong Baixing will obey him because of Taoism and legal principles, and there will never be a next time.
If Nangong Baixing was an ordinary Taoist priest, or even just the leader of a small Taoist sect, he could ignore the Heavenly Master's Scepter.
However, he is the Heavenly Master of Maoshan and represents the Maoshan Sect, so he must acknowledge all the history, abide by all the traditions, and must also respect the Heavenly Master's Scepter from Xiandu.
This is Nangong Baixing's responsibility and also the rules that bind him.
"Bring me Yin Xiu's head within three days." Zhang Yiyuan said in a deep voice.
Nangong Baixing didn't respond, but just stretched out a finger.
"one day?"
"It will take at least a month," he replied.
"Nangong Baixing, do you want to bargain with me in front of the Heavenly Master's Scepter?" Zhang Yiyuan called him by his name.
"Guest, you know that times have changed. My respect for the Heavenly Master's Staff does not necessarily mean that I will respect all your orders."
Nangong Baixing said seriously, "One month. I will give Yin Xiu one month to prepare and let him think it through. Then I will take action and complete Xiandu's instructions."
Nangong Baixing's tone was calm, but it revealed a sense of authority and oppression that belonged to the Maoshan Heavenly Master, which no one could question.
Even though Zhang Yiyuan was holding the Heavenly Master's Staff, he didn't have the confidence to question him at this moment.
So he took a step back, holding the Heavenly Master's Staff, and bowed deeply to Nangong Baixing. (End of this chapter)
