Chapter Forty-Four: Mao Zhenren

  I always thought that the three corpses carrying coffins wouldn't be so simple to wait for the yin energy to dissipate, but until now there is still no movement. From last night to today's dawn, the sky has brightened, but the yin energy hasn't retreated yet. Looking over here, the water in the pool is still dark and murky, but the only good thing is that it can be seen more than a meter deep now. What kind of thick yin energy has gathered here? It's already been half a night and it still hasn't dissipated. At this moment, looking over, the trees on both sides of the drainage ditch have all withered and died, and even collapsed to the ground, a scene of complete desolation.

  In my heart, I don't know why, but I always feel like something is not quite right. Although I can't say what it is, the only suspicion is that San Shi Gang's coffin was too quiet, quietly to an unnatural degree. Even if he was struck by thunder that night and injured, he should still have been able to come out and deal with us with ease.

  The master also looked a bit dazed, staring blankly as the yin energy rushed out, seemingly lost in thought. He must have felt that something was off, but at this point, we were powerless to do anything. Fortunately, the sky had cooled down, and the yang energy rose, causing the yin energy to become somewhat dimmer. Perhaps it would quietly dissipate on its own. As long as the yin energy remained minor, the three corpses carrying coffins wouldn't be able to continue their cultivation and wouldn't become a threat. We could deal with them later.

  After an unknown period of time, the sun finally rose, casting a reddish glow over the world. The entire world looked refreshed and rejuvenated. Even the residential area looked more vibrant than before, no longer dull and lifeless. Suddenly, someone's stomach growled loudly, and only then did everyone realize they were hungry. However, nobody moved because going out would require walking through the sewage ditch. But who dared to do that in this situation? That would be suicidal.

  The sky brightened, and the residential area also seemed to have a hint of life. Finally, someone came out from inside the building, which was one of the few households that had not been seen before. Seeing these people, Master Shi's face suddenly changed, and he hastily looked at Zhang Jianchen: "Quickly, get all the residents here, no one can go to the drainage ditch, or there will be loss of life——"

  Zhang Jianchen was stunned, hastily nodded, and didn't dare to delay any further. He and Zhang Jianhua and Sun Chuanming quickly rushed off in both directions, blocking people who were about to go out. They could still hear Zhang Jianchen shouting loudly: "I am a public security officer, something has happened here, no one can leave, please do not cross this line, this is my work permit——"

  As for Zhang Jianhua and Sun Chuanming on the west side, they were even more ruthless and effective than Zhang Jianchen. The two of them swept past me and my master with an air of obedience, standing there like fierce gods, their faces carved with dragons and tigers, their expressions ferocious: "Everyone, stop for my teacher! Whoever dares to cross this line, I'll chop him up! Come on, if you've got guts, try it!"

  The crowd was frightened, and the dozen or so people standing there did not dare to cross the line. Some begged Sun Chuanming, but no one wanted to provoke these thugs. On the other hand, Zhang Jianchen's side had a problem - someone ignored him, even scolding and wanting to pass by. Fortunately, Zhang Jianchen was quick-witted: "Look over there, those people are dead, it's poisonous there, whoever goes past will die."

  The threat of death far exceeds the two words "police". Look at the anomaly on both sides of the drain, and indeed no one dares to approach, only asking what's going on there. Zhang Jianchen didn't say anything, but someone was in a hurry to go to work. Since they couldn't leave from this side, some smart people thought of climbing over the wall to get out. After leaving the neighborhood, it would dissipate into thin air and wouldn't have much impact. Except for feeling a bit chilly, passersby might feel their body weaken slightly, and those with weak bodies might fall ill, but there was no major harm.

  As time passed, everything didn't decrease much, which made the master's face very difficult to look at, and he couldn't help but curse. Let alone the three corpses carrying coffins, even if such a strong yin energy bursts out, it's unknown how many people will die. Even if it is declared and dispersed, I'm afraid that the yin energy is too heavy, which will make the surrounding residents seriously ill.

  Just as he was indulging in wild thoughts, he suddenly heard a loud shout and saw the peach wood sword flying towards him. It landed squarely on the Seven Stars Walking Holes Array, causing it to shatter with a deafening crash. The moment the peach wood sword fell, the array lost its balance and was destroyed. As the dark energy dissipated, there was another loud explosion, and in the original position of the Seven Stars Walking Holes Array, a massive crater suddenly appeared. Dust and debris flew everywhere, and faintly, it seemed as though someone's shadowy figure was amidst the chaos.

  "Cough, cough..." A fit of coughing, as the dust dispersed, gradually revealed a person. This person's age was indistinguishable, for he was already very old, with wrinkles all over his face, sporting a goatee, yet he was thin and frail, so much so that one feared a gust of wind would blow him away. He wore a worn-out yellow Daoist robe, with a flat, mixed-element hat on his head, from which a hairpin protruded, though it could only be described as a yellow Daoist robe in name, for it was extremely dirty.

  I remember my master telling me that under the sky, only Maoshan Taoist priests wear yellow Dao robes with the surname Huang, because ordinary Dao robes are usually cyan-colored. Cyan represents Qinglong, which symbolizes the east and the birth of energy, belonging to the wood element in the five elements. The color also indicates that the Daoist is a descendant and successor of Donghuadijun, the founder of Taoism. A distinctive feature of Daoists is their hairstyle, often wearing a flat Hunyuan hat or Nanhuashan scarf, with a wooden hairpin or jade hairpin holding up their bun.

  However, Taoist robes are not only blue-green in color, but also yellow and purple. Generally, the head of a Taoist temple will wear yellow, and on holidays and festivals, ordinary Taoists can also wear yellow or purple robes, but those who have not received the precepts cannot wear them. The Maoshan sect is an exception, they only wear apricot-yellow Taoist robes when performing rituals.

  When it comes to Taoist priests, the rules are actually quite strict. According to the norms and conventions, wearing a certain crown or hairpin must be matched with a specific headgear, and there are certain rules to follow. There are different types of Taoist crowns, such as the Moon Crown, Five Peaks Crown, Lotus Crown, and Three Platforms Crown, made of wood or jade, and their usage is very particular. A Taoist priest must first complete his apprenticeship before he can wear a crown after the coronation ceremony, with wearing the Moon Crown being the most common practice. Wearing Taoist robes also follows certain conventions, with specific rules governing which robe should be paired with which crown or hairpin. Taoist priests wear bright and colorful robes, adorned with shiny crowns and headscarves, and wear white socks and cloud-shaped shoes or green shoes, which is far removed from modern tastes. The attire of a Taoist priest truly gives off an otherworldly and ethereal feel.

  The Taoist's utensils also have many regulations, and the Xian Pen and Gui are formally issued when receiving precepts. The Xian Pen has iron, wood, and lacquer ones. Iron is used for picking herbs in the mountains and can be used as a pot; wooden and lacquered ones are used in the vegetarian hall of the forest. The Gui is a piece of red cloth, one and a half meters long, eighty centimeters wide, with about ten centimeters wide black edges on all sides.

  However, this person was obviously a very orthodox Taoist, with his attire fully revealing the essence of Taoism, only that he looked a bit disheveled. He was indeed holding a jade alms bowl in his hand, but there was no ethereal or otherworldly feeling about him, making him look more like a beggar. This left people speechless. But when Master saw this person, he couldn't help but be shocked, to the point of exclaiming: "Mao Zhenren——"

  The master obviously knew this person, and later I heard that he was the great master of Maoshan, with a transcendent identity, even the head of Maoshan saw him as a senior. This true man in Maoshan is a high-ranking family member, and the reason for this can be traced back to the history of Maoshan. The source of Maoshan Taoism dates back to ancient times when Emperor Zhuanxu's descendant, Gaoxinshi, cultivated himself on Jiuku Mountain, Fulong Cave, nearly 5,000 years ago. During the Zhou Dynasty, Guo Si from Yan State cultivated Tao at Yuqiu Temple and was later conferred as Taiwei Baoguang True Man. Before Qin, Li Ming True Man cultivated Tao at Gulan Dan Institute, where the Danjing still exists today. In the Han Dynasty, three brothers of the Maoshan family, Mao Ying, Mao Gu, and Mao Zhong, cultivated Tao and did good deeds at the foot of Jiuku Mountain. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ge Hong from Maoshan cultivated himself on Baopu Peak and wrote "Baopuzi", an important work on Taoist religious philosophy and original chemical alchemy. Ge Hong was a master of Daoist theory since Han and Wei dynasties, later known as the Dan Ding sect.

  By the second year of Xingning in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Yang Xi, Xu Miao, and Xu Lingji pretended to be instructed by Tian Shi Dao Girl Jiuzhu Wei Huacun and other immortals to create the "Shangqing Dadong Zhenjing". In Maoshan, a new sect of Taoism was established - Shangqing Sect. During the Southern Dynasty Qi Liang, Tao Hongjing lived in seclusion on Maoshan for over 40 years, collecting Yang Xi and Xu Miao's handwriting and other sects' key methods, compiling "Zhenji", summarizing Shangqing techniques "Dengzhen Secret Tricks", and editing "True Spirit Position Industry Map". This made the teachings, doctrines, and divine genealogy of the Shangqing Sect more complete. Tao Hongjing was the main inheritor of the Shangqing Sect, also known as Maoshan Sect or Maoshan School because it took Maoshan as its ancestral mountain. Maoshan Taoism worships the three brothers of the Mao family as ancestors, respects Wei Huacun as the first-generation Tai Shi, and Yang Xi as the first-generation Xuan Shi.

  Now that it's been said, everyone may know why this Mao Zhenren is so exceptional and why he is one generation higher than anyone he meets in Maoshan. Indeed, this person is a descendant of the ancestral surname passed down by the founder of Maoshan Daozong, naturally holding a transcendent position within the sect. However, due to the passage of time, the authenticity of this surname can no longer be verified.

  But then the old man coughed a few times, straightened up his body, and made an effort to put on an air of detachment from worldly affairs. With his hands clasped behind his back, he raised his head slightly and said in a deep voice: "This is the Seven Stars Walking Array, are you a little kid from the Quanzhen Sect?"

  "Junior, I am Miao Chunyi of the Quanzhen School." The master's face rarely showed a respectful expression, but upon seeing Mao Zhenren, he was filled with reverence and even slightly tense. This Mao Zhenren wasn't supposed to have already become one with the divine, so how did he reappear? The master vaguely remembered meeting this Mao Zhenren at his own coming-of-age ceremony, where he looked exactly the same. Unbelievably, after more than a century had passed, Mao Zhenren still hadn't changed in appearance - still old, still ugly, yet undeniably an extraordinary figure among all the Daoist sects. Even the master's own master didn't know how old Mao Zhenren was.

  That knows Mao Zhenren doesn't care about the master's politeness, instead his face sinks, pointing at the master's nose and spits: "You little brat don't understand anything, you're courting disaster, do you know that? Luckily I arrived in time, otherwise things would have been messed up by you guys, and you'd still be smug about it, humph——"