Chapter 28: The Small Path of Qingyan Cave

  This night, the wind was blowing gently, and the moon was shining quietly. The little stone slept very soundly. When he opened his eyes again, it was already daylight. After a good sleep, the refreshed little stone carefully looked around his bedroom.

  The room is very large, with few furnishings, making it seem empty and spacious. There is a bed, a table, two chairs, and a tall copper mirror standing there, over a person's height. Apart from these, there are no other objects.

  The bed and table and chairs are made of some kind of wood, deep purple in color, with clear grain and a smooth, fine texture that emits a faint fragrance. The small stone pushed the large bed that could hold four or five people, but it didn't budge. The small stone's push was at least 100-200 kilograms of force, this bed is too heavy! It probably weighs over 1,000-2,000 kilograms. The small stone stuck out its tongue and found a slightly smaller chair to try, and this time it finally moved, but only slightly.

  He looked at the table again and saw several books on it. He flipped through them casually, they were all Taoist classics like "Tao Te Ching" and "Zhuangzi". Looking at the "Tao Te Ching", he read phrases like "The way that can be spoken of is not the eternal Way; the name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The nameless was the origin of heaven and earth, the named was the mother of all things." etc., those abstruse Taoist theories made Little Stone's head ache, he quickly put down the book and walked to the front of a large copper mirror, thinking "I wonder who loves beauty so much that they would put such a big copper mirror here."

  The copper mirror was wiped very clean, with no dust or stains. It was a bit taller than the small stone, and it was framed in a wooden frame made of the same material as the bed and table and chairs. The carvings on the frame were extremely delicate, and it was unclear what kind of flowers or animals they depicted, but each one seemed to come alive. The small stone stroked the mirror with his hand and thought to himself, "I wonder which senior member of our sect left this behind. I don't know how much heart and soul went into carving this frame." His heart skipped a beat as he looked at the table and chairs and saw that they had the same carvings, realizing that it was a set of furniture. The copper mirror seemed to be made of something other than ordinary brass, and it was much clearer than usual. The small stone saw his own reflection in the mirror - a young man with a clear brow and bright eyes, with a hint of elegance between his eyebrows. "I didn't think I looked so handsome!" The small stone felt a bit pleased with himself, and he smiled slightly as he muttered to himself.

  "I didn't expect I'd look quite handsome too!" No sooner had the words left his lips than they were echoed back from the copper mirror, clear as day, in Xiao Shi Tou's voice. The youth inside the mirror was already pale with fright, his face drained of all color.

  "The mirror can talk!" Little Stone shouted in surprise.

  "The mirror can talk" came the same voice from inside the copper mirror again.

  "What kind of ghost mirror is this", Xiaoshi didn't dare to shout loudly, only shouting in his heart. Fortunately, the copper mirror didn't know what he was thinking and remained silent.

  It's too weird! The bronze mirror can actually talk!

  The little stone plucked up its courage, and with a trembling hand, it touched the copper mirror. It was cold and hard, made of copper, not alive. With a steady heart, the copper mirror would speak, this is indeed a rare thing, if you take it to Red Gold Town, hehe, that's really something to show off, a great wind. The fright had just passed, and the little stone began to indulge in fantasies, daydreaming. Thinking back, this copper mirror was so strange, it's better to keep a distance from it, what if the copper mirror comes to life and sucks me in, that would be terrible.

  Just as the little stone was frightened by the copper mirror and cried out loudly, Zhao Wuji also seemed to have just woken up from sleep, lazily saying "What's all the shouting about? You're disturbing my rest!"

  Xiao Shi Tou heard his voice and was overjoyed, then complained, "Big brother, after I arrived at Kongtong Mountain, you didn't care about me. Quickly take a look at this bronze mirror that can talk!"

  Zhao Wuji knew that with Mingdao and Qingxu here, everything would be fine. So he started practicing the Yin-Yang Harmony Great Method again. Recently, his skills had recovered a bit, and each time he practiced, it lasted longer. He didn't know when Xiaoshi had gone up to Congtong Mountain, but after finishing his practice just now, he woke up to hear Xiaoshi's loud cries.

  Zhao Wuji's heart skipped a beat when he heard Xiaoshi say that the copper mirror could speak, and he carefully examined the copper mirror for a long time. After focusing his mind to investigate, he felt that this copper mirror was not an ordinary product, with a rich and abundant spiritual energy inside, but it seemed to be suppressed by some even more powerful force. He then asked Xiaoshi, "Take a look at what's behind the copper mirror?"

  The copper mirror was very heavy, and Xiao Shi Tou had a hard time turning it over. It turned out that the back of the copper mirror was bulging, about half an inch thick, and the entire mirror was about three inches thick, plus the weight of the frame, no wonder it was so heavy. Xiao Shi Tou found that on the back of the copper mirror, there were densely packed carvings of things that didn't look like words or pictures. He touched it with his hand and exclaimed, "Brother! What is this thing? How can I not feel anything?" It turned out that when he touched it, it was smooth and flat, and he couldn't feel the patterns on it, so he asked Zhao Wuji.

  Zhao Wujin said, "These patterns are ancient characters that have been lost for a long time. Don't move for now, I'll tell you the origin of this copper mirror later." After finishing speaking, Xiaoshi felt a familiar warm energy rising from his dantian to his right palm, and his right hand was still pressed against the back of the copper mirror. He felt the warm energy slowly entering the copper mirror through his palm, knowing that it was Zhao Wujin's Chi Yang true energy, but he didn't know what its purpose was. Could this copper mirror also be a treasure?

  The pure yang energy poured into the copper mirror continuously, and at first, there was no reaction. After a while, Xiaoshi felt that the copper mirror had changed.

  The copper mirror shone, emitting a faint yellow glow. The small stone almost cried out in surprise. He thought to himself, "This copper mirror is truly a treasure, it can talk and emit light, I wonder what else it can do." Just as he was thinking this, the yellow glow suddenly intensified, and the copper mirror shook violently, its right hand being pushed open by a powerful force, causing his palm to ache.

  "Ah yo!" exclaimed Xiaoshi, thinking "The copper mirror is angry, what did you do to it, Zhao?"

  Zhao Wu Jin let out a bitter laugh and said "What can I do about it? Are you alright?"

  The little stone rubbed his palm and said, "It's okay! Big brother Tongjing is very powerful!"

  "Alas! What's the use of being powerful if you're still sealed away? The legendary Heaven-Inspecting Mirror is actually on Mount Kongtong, and it's even being used as a dressing mirror. A divine artifact covered in dust indeed!" He sighed with an air of lamentation.

  "Hao Tian Jian!" shouted Xiaoshi, and then asked "What is it?"

  Zhao Wuji seemed to be in no mood to discuss the Huatian Mirror, and only said "Ask your master about it later! By the way, have you seen Guangyi?" He had been practicing his skills all day yesterday and didn't know anything.

  "Xiao Shi Tou shook his head and said 'Not yet, today is the only day we can meet.' Suddenly, Qing Xū was still quiet, hadn't he woken up yet?"

  Zhao Wujin said, "There's no one else around here except you, your senior brother isn't here!"

  "Little Stone was shocked and said, 'I clearly slept here last night, where did I run off to this early morning?'"

  Zhao Wuji's spirit was low again, and he lazily said "When I woke up, there was only you here. Maybe your master went to find someone else. Alright! I'm going to practice my skills now. This Cuiyun Mountain is also a place where spiritual energy gathers, it would be a waste not to cultivate it! Little Stone! Let's talk again tomorrow!" After that, he didn't make another sound.

  The little stone was helpless, Zhao Wuji wanted to practice his skills and he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't even mention the matter of telling himself about Huāntiān Jiàn. He could only put away the bedding and go out to find Qīng Xū. When closing the door, he looked at the copper mirror again, no, Huāntiān Jiàn was gone. It stood there, no different from an ordinary copper mirror. He shook his head and walked out.

  After Xiaoshi left, after a while, the empty room appeared with a faint yellow mist again. Huangtianjian gently shook it off, and the yellow mist gradually disappeared without any further movement.

  The little stone searched for Qingxu in Songfeng Guan but couldn't find his shadow, so he had to give up and wash the remaining pots and pans from yesterday. After waiting for a while, Qingxu still hadn't returned, making him anxious. He thought to himself, "What is Big Brother Master doing? Where did he run off to? He promised to take me to see Master, what time is it now?" He couldn't bear it anymore and walked out of Songfeng Guan, coming outside.

  Today the weather is really good, this Mingyue Peak although not high but also has two or three hundred feet high. It belongs to the mountain peaks in front of Kongtong Mountain with relatively high terrain. A small stone stands on the cliff and looks down, and the Pingliang City in the distance is all in sight. It's also a panoramic view of Pingcheng! And along the sides of various mountain roads below, many buildings have been built, because they are too far away to see clearly, probably some temples and Taoist temples. I remembered the Muxin Taoist I met yesterday, just at the Baiyun Temple at the foot of the mountain, don't know which one it is.

  Looking to the right, I saw Qingming Peak standing tall beside me. From here, Qingming Peak is exceptionally clear, with clouds and mist surrounding the mountain peak, even the small birds flying at half-mountain waist can be seen clearly.

  "What is that!" Xiaoshi said to himself. It turned out that in the middle of Qingming Peak, there was a place without trees, leaving a large empty space, and it seemed that there were words carved on it. Because a cloud happened to be covering it, he couldn't see very clearly. As soon as Xiaoshi finished speaking, the heavens did a good deed, and a mountain wind blew by, slowly moving away the fog, revealing the true face of Lushan.

  "Kong Que!" Xiaoshi said. Indeed, there were words engraved on the top, which was a pair of crimson "Kong Que" characters. The two characters had strong and powerful brushstrokes, with an aura that seemed to burst out of the wall. From where he stood, it was clear that the characters must be enormous, and yet the place was a steep cliff, with no sky above or earth below - who could have engraved words on top?!

  Xiao Shi's eyes widened in shock! At this moment, he heard someone behind him say, "That is the foundation of our sect, written by Da Fang Zu Shi himself!" It was Qing Xu's voice.

  The little stone turned around and saw Qingxu and a tall, white-haired Taoist standing behind him.

  The little stone was startled and thought, "It's Master who has come." Looking closely at the person, although he had a head of white hair, his face was rosy and smooth, without a single wrinkle. His features were extraordinary, with long eyebrows and refined eyes, making it impossible to guess his age. He truly had a divine aura, with an air of immortality about him.

  Qingxu saw through Xiaoshi's thoughts and smiled, saying "Xiaoshi, come and pay your respects to Master Guangwen."

  It turned out to be Master Guangwen. Xiaoshi had heard Qingxu mention that he had two masters, one named Guangwen and the other Guangjian. He quickly went forward, knelt down on the ground, knocked his head on the ground and said "Disciple Qiao Xiashi greets Master Guangwen".

  The Taoist priest received three bows from him and smiled, saying "Alright, get up!" With a wave of his large sleeve, he brought the small stone with him.

  The small stone felt a gentle force lift its body up, and it stood up involuntarily.

  "Little brother, today is the first time you're meeting Master Uncle, so it's only proper to show such respect. In the future, there's no need to bow your head when we meet again; Master and the other uncles find it troublesome."

  Hearing this, Ha Ha laughed and said "As a monk, these worldly etiquettes can be avoided if possible!" His voice was extremely loud and echoed far away in the surroundings.

  Qingxu saw that Xiaoshi was a bit nervous and said, "Xiaoshi, Master Shu has come today for two reasons: one is to meet you and the other is to give you a registration certificate."

  "Enroll?" Xiaoshi was taken aback and didn't understand what it meant.

  "Which means you'll be enrolled in our sect's register, and once you're on it, you'll officially become a disciple of our sect!"

  Guang Wen also said "That's right! If you don't register your name with me, even if your master accepts you as a disciple, you still won't be a member of our sect!"

  Xiao Shi Tou understood and Qing Xū said "Shī Shū! Let's go to the Three Pure Halls!"

  Guang Wen nodded, Qing Xū led the way in front, and the three of them entered Songfeng Temple.

  The three purities hall enshrines the three revered gods of Taoism: Yuqing Yuan Shi Tian Zun, Shang Qing Ling Bao Tian Zun and Tai Qing Dao De Tian Zun. The three revered gods are dignified in appearance and majestic in demeanor.

  Guang Wen first lit three sticks of incense and kowtowed. Then Qing Xu also came forward to offer incense and pay respects, followed by Xiao Shi Tou's turn to offer incense. After that, Qing Xu reminded him to kowtow nine times to show great respect.

  After the ceremony was over, Guang Wen suddenly pulled out a thick book from somewhere, with a brush in his right hand. This brush was much larger than ordinary brushes, its body made of jade stone rather than bamboo, two feet long and almost an inch thick, with a bright green transparent color that seemed to have something flowing inside. The tip of the brush was as big as a baby's fist, and it was unclear what kind of hair it was made of, but it was red in color.

  He heard one side flipping through the thick book, saying "It's been a long time since I wrote my name on it, let me take a look!" After much difficulty, he finally flipped to a page and said "Found it, it's here. Guangxian is the first disciple Qingxu, the second disciple Qinghua, the third disciple is here...I think what should be called" He didn't know what he was thinking about, after a while, he said "Right, it's called Qingyan, Yan as in rock". After finishing speaking, without even dipping his pen in ink, he used that big brush to write a few words on the book.

  After finishing writing, he took another look and closed the book, as if he had accomplished a great task. His face relaxed a lot. He said to Qingxu and Xiaoshi, "Alright, I've remembered it. You both know now, right?"

  The little stone watched him for half a day, then said these incomprehensible words, really very confusing. But he clearly heard Xū Dào say "Thank you, Master Uncle, for granting me a name and entering the register! Little Brother still doesn't thank Master Uncle!"

  The small stone unexpectedly thanked Guangwen, who then said in a serious tone, "Qingyan, since you've entered the Cangyun Sect, you must understand our sect's rules. Qingxu, recite the rules to Qingyan!"

  "Qingyan! I am Qingyan!" Xiaoshi finally understood that Guangwen Shibo had already given himself a Taoist name and registered it earlier. This ceremony was so simple! From now on, I will be called Qingyan. As for the rules recited by Qingxu Nian, not a single sentence was heard.

  Having finished reciting the rules of the sect, Qing Xuan didn't care whether Xiaoshi had listened or not and said "Alright, I have nothing more to do here." After that, he waved his hand and left.

  Qingxu and the dazed little stone saw Guangwen off at Songfeng Temple. Just as they were about to leave, Guangwen waved his large sleeve and said "No need to see me off" before transforming into a green light and flying away with a whoosh.

  Qingxu looked at Xiaoshi who was still in a daze and said, "Younger brother, I have something to tell you!"

  "Master brother, what's up?" Xiaoshi replied absent-mindedly.

  "Master has gone into seclusion!"

  The little stone still didn't understand and just followed along saying "Shifu is in closed meditation!"

  "What! Master has gone into seclusion!" Xiaoshi woke up, understanding what Qingxu said, and was shocked awake like a thunderclap! He shouted loudly.

  What a huge noise! Master has gone into seclusion! What am I supposed to do now?!

  What's going on here?!