Chapter 4 Yun Zhong Zi

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  Zhang Zixing turned his head to look, and it was a middle-aged Taoist. The Taoist had a dignified appearance, wearing a green robe with the Eight Trigrams pattern embroidered on it, holding a delicate flower basket in his left hand and a silver silk duster in his right hand.

  Zhang Zixing didn't want to escape in the first place, and seeing that Daoist had an extraordinary temperament, he knew that this world was full of talented people. He hastily paid his respects and intentionally said: "Thank you for your kindness, Daoist, but there are many people here, I'm afraid your two fists can't contend with the crowd, it's better to leave quickly!"

  That Taoist smiled slightly, bowed his head and returned the courtesy: "I am Yun Zhongzi, a Qi-refining master from Zhongnan Mountain. Just now I saw you, sir, being chivalrous and brave, and my heart is full of admiration. I'd like to use a minor technique to help you escape."

  Zhang Zixing was shocked when he heard the name of the Taoist priest. Yun Zhongzi, a famous immortal of the Xuandao Sect, had exceptional mastery over Taoist magic and was the mentor of Lei Zhengzi. With just one wooden sword, "Jù Què", he almost annihilated the fox demon Daji. Even the pillar of the Shang Dynasty, Wen Taishi, fell to his Heavenly Fire Pillar. He also escaped the calamity of Huanghe's Array, Huanyuan Golden Dipper Trimming Three Flowers, and could be considered the Xuandao Sect's first auspicious immortal.

  After the Nuwa Temple incident, the first immortal to lend a helping hand to King Zhou of Shang was surprisingly Yun Zhongzi, an immortal from the Tianyi Sect! If King Zhou had not been bewitched by Daji at that time and burned the wooden sword presented by Yun Zhongzi, it's likely that Daji would have died under the "Giant Gate" and the 600-year foundation of the Shang Dynasty might not have ended. This made Zhang Zixing feel very puzzled - why did Yun Zhongzi present a precious sword to exterminate the fox demon? In order to "slightly prolong the life of Cheng Tang's bloodline", he didn't even mind offending Nuwa! Was there another hidden reason or was it just a bug?

  Yun Zhongzi saw Zhang Zixing stunned there and asked: "Sir, don't you believe in the poor Tao's words?"

  "The Taoist priest's demeanor was extraordinary, and at a glance, he seemed to be a man of great virtue and skill. How could he be joking around at such a critical moment? I have my own way of escaping, and I don't dare trouble the Taoist priest." Zhang Zixing collected his thoughts and made up his mind to first try to win over Yun Zhongzi. He spoke in a respectful tone: "I have always revered men of virtue, and after this matter is settled, I hope the Taoist priest will not refuse my invitation to visit my humble abode, so that I may listen to his teachings."

  Yun Zhongzi saw Zhang Zixing's confident appearance and his humble politeness, so he didn't insist, and nodded slightly.

  By the time he finished speaking, the soldiers had arrived in front of everyone. Chen Zhen pointed at Zhang Zixing and said to the general on horseback: "Sir, it's him!"

  The general glared at Zhang Zixing for a moment, then shouted: "Who are you? You actually harbored the fugitive slave of Fei Lian's household and injured the household's guard! If you don't surrender immediately, you will be beheaded without pardon!"

  Zhang Zixing didn't even glance at the general, but instead gave a signal to one of his attendants. The attendant immediately stepped forward and rebuked, "How dare you be so rude! The King of Long Life is present, yet you still haven't dismounted your horse to apologize!"

  The moment the general heard the four words "Long live the King for a thousand years", he shuddered, looking at Zhang Zixing's attire, although he had some doubts, but the other party's fearless appearance made his hair stand on end - in Mochi City, which ordinary citizen dared to impersonate the third prince of today?

  The naked man was shocked to find that his benefactor was none other than Prince Shouwang, and he was momentarily stunned, unable to speak. Yun Zhongzi raised an eyebrow, gazing deeply at Zhang Zixing without a word.

  The attendants saw General Wu hesitate, and shouted loudly, pulling out a gold token from his side and flashing it in front of General Wu's eyes. General Wu took a closer look and saw the three words "Shouwang Fu" on it, and didn't dare to hesitate any longer. He quickly dismounted his horse and knelt down: "I am Li Wei, the newly appointed deputy general of Mifu County, who has just been transferred from Tongguan Pass. I didn't recognize your esteemed presence, please forgive my offense!"

  Chen Di, who was initially proud of himself, heard that his opponent was actually Shou Wang. Thinking that he had almost killed this thousand-year-old lord, his legs went weak and he involuntarily knelt down, his body trembling nonstop.

  "Tongguan?" Zhang Zixing still remembered that in the book, Huang Feihu escaped from Wuguan and was almost killed by Chen Tong with a fire dragon sign at Tongguan. He asked: "Is the current general of Tongguan Chen Tong?"

  "Exactly! Thousand years of clarity!" Chen Tong had made a mistake in the army and was almost beheaded by Deputy General Huang Feihu, but was recently transferred to Tongguan. Li Wei saw that he spoke correctly, so how could he still have any doubts? In his heart, he secretly cursed Chen for being treacherous, and quickly spoke out to clear himself: "Just now, this general was momentarily unaware and mistakenly listened to this person's false accusations, almost offending Thousand Years, truly deserving of death!"

  Zhang Zixing sighed secretly: What kind of false accusation is this? In the end, it's still power that reigns supreme, and whoever has the bigger fist is right. Considering Yun Zhongzi was present, he didn't put on airs again, comforted Li Wei a few words, and shouted at Chen Jie: "This palace doesn't bother to make things difficult for you lowly people either, you go back and tell Fei Lian about what happened today, just say that these two slaves are wanted by this palace, if there's any disagreement, let him come to Shouwang Fu in person."

  Chen's sweat dripped down his back, he didn't dare respond, and only kept kowtowing incessantly, like pounding garlic.

  Zhang Zixing ordered his followers to find the imperial physician to come to Shouwang Fu to treat the girl, and sincerely invited Yun Zhongzi to be a guest at Shouwang Fu. Yun Zhongzi did not decline, and was led by Zhang Zixing all the way to Shouwang Fu. The naked man seemed to be in a dream, silently following behind, but in his mind there was a voice shouting: The benefactor is actually Shouwang Qiansui! The dignified Shouwang Qiansui was injured and bleeding to save me, a humble slave! And even summoned the imperial physician to treat my little sister! I'm afraid that even if I were to jump into boiling water or be torn apart, it would still be difficult to repay this kindness...

  Back at Shouwang Fu, after settling the siblings, Zhang Zixing invited Yun Zhongzi to the study and offered him fragrant tea and fruit.

  Yun Zhongzi was seeing tea for the first time, and after taking a light sip, he felt it was mellow and refreshing, invigorating his mind and spirit. He couldn't help but praise it, asking: "Your Highness, what is this?"

  Zhang Zixing knew that tea culture only began to flourish in the Tang Dynasty, and people of the Shang Dynasty did not know the efficacy of tea leaves. He explained: "This is a rare treasure, also known as Xian Cha, which was researched and produced by Xiao Wang using ancient methods. Since Daozhang likes it, I will send some over later, please accept it with a smile."

  Actually, these tea leaves were discovered by Zhang Zixing in the wild when he had nothing to do in the suburbs of Mo County, and only slightly processed. He deliberately made it sound so mysterious. Yun Zhongzi didn't know this, and his evaluation of Shou Wang increased a few more points. He smiled and said: "I'm just a mountain man, how dare I deserve such treatment from Your Highness? Your Highness's heroic act in the market just now is really admirable. It's me who almost made an unnecessary move..."

  "Master Dao is too modest, if I had known Master Dao was here, even Little Wang wouldn't have dared to show off!" Zhang Zixing heard that Yun Zhongzi had a good impression of him and his eyes lit up as he chatted with Yun Zhongzi.

  Yun Zhongzi originally only wanted to say a few polite words, but after chatting for a while, he discovered that this Shou Wang was extremely knowledgeable, knowing everything about the heavens and the earth, and many things that even this immortal had never heard of before. Zhang Zixing threw in his favorite topics on one side, and on the other side, he asked questions related to the "Rankings of the Gods" and immortals in a roundabout way.

  What slightly reassured him was that, judging from Yun Zhongzi's tone, the Three Schools seemed to have not signed and sealed the "Seal of the Gods" yet. Although Zhang Zixing wouldn't naively think that just because he came to this world, the "Seal of the Gods" would cease to exist, but at least it meant he still had time to develop and change something. As for the matters of immortal cultivation, Yun Zhongzi's words were too abstruse and mysterious, what with talk of cultivating truth and immortality, golden elixirs and primordial spirits, sounding like he understood yet didn't understand.

  The two of them chatted, feeling quite congenial. Zhang Zixing thought the timing was ripe and suddenly kowtowed to Yun Zhongzi, his face showing sincerity: "Since meeting you, Junior King and Daozhang, I feel like we've known each other for a long time, and I greatly admire your profound knowledge and learning. Please don't think me foolish, but I'd like to ask you to accept me as your disciple, so I can constantly listen to your teachings."

  This was Zhang Zixing's well-thought-out decision. Encountering Yun Zhongzi was a rare opportunity, and he couldn't let it slip away. Although the Xuan teachings were not as powerful as the Jie teachings, the Yuanshi Tianzun was not necessarily weaker than his junior brother, Tongtian Jiao's master. However, this Yuanshi Tianzun, who was famous for his thick skin, was not simple. His strongest treasure was that thick face of his, which often disregarded his identity and personally took action to oppress the Jie teachings' younger generation. And it was clear that Dazhang Laozi was his accomplice. In the Yellow River formation, Sanxiangong used the Hunyuan Golden Cauldron to capture all twelve golden immortals of the Xuan teachings. He then joined forces with Laozi to destroy Sanxiangong; in the Zhuxian formation and Wanshen formation, the two even colluded with the Western external sect's Zhunti and Jieyin to deal with their junior brother, Tongtian Jiao's master. No matter how many or strong the people of the Jie teachings were, there was only one person at the level of a teaching master, and the others' strength levels differed too greatly, making it impossible for them to compare. Their eventual downfall was not surprising. Therefore, before the "Ranking of the Gods" was established, clinging to the Xuan teachings' leg might not be a bad idea after all. It could disrupt the future situation, change one's fate, and even stir up trouble, causing the immortals to kill each other, allowing him to reap the benefits.

  Yun Zhongzi did not expect Shou Wang to make such a decision, and thought that he was really sincere in his pursuit of the Tao. He couldn't help but hesitate: "On that day at the Jade Void Palace, the disciples had discussed the matter of intercepting the momentum of the great teachings. The venerable teacher said that the national fortune of Yin Shang was declining day by day, and the future trend would shift to the west, and the prosperity of our sect should also be among them. Therefore, for now, it is not necessary to contend with the Intercept Sect, only need to hide one's light and nurture one's nature, and cultivate quietly. This Shou Wang, although intelligent and courteous, with extremely high innate talent, is a rare candidate for discipleship, but his identity is too special, and in the future, he may become the master of Yin Shang. If I were to accept this disciple with such an illustrious identity, not only would it go against the intentions of my venerable teacher, but also inevitably lead to trouble in the future..."

  Yun Zhongzi's concerns are not unreasonable. Setting aside the disputes between the two religions, the position of Emperor has been vacant for a long time, and all three sons of Emperor Yi have the qualifications to become the crown prince. If Shou Wang succeeds in his power struggle, he will inherit the throne and obtain the true transmission of his Taoist skills, then it is not impossible that he will gain immortality or even live forever. Think about it, if a king who does not die appears in the world at that time, wouldn't it go against the way of heaven and humanity?

  Looking at Shou Wang's "earnest" eyes, Yun Zhongzi couldn't bear to refuse and hesitated: "Your Highness is a thousand gold body, tied to the country, and the realm of transcending the world with cultivators is contradictory. Unless Your Highness is willing to put down all worldly affairs, you can enter my Tongtian Gate."

  Zhang Zixing understood Yun Zhongzi's meaning, which was to give up his identity as the Longevity King and focus on cultivation. He refused to comply, having joined the Xuanmen sect with ulterior motives. Even if he followed Yun Zhongzi's words now, abandoning worldly affairs and joining the Yu Xu Gate, it was uncertain whether he could ensure his survival in the future - during the war of sealing the gods, except for a few people from the third generation of the Xuanmen sect who achieved enlightenment with their physical bodies, the rest were all cannon fodder. Why bother making an extra move?

  Zhang Zixing slowly got up and sighed: "If so, Xiaowang and Daozhang are probably not destined to be master and apprentice."

  This answer was originally in Yun Zhongzi's expectation, so he didn't show a surprised look, but secretly regretted.