Chapter 45: The Immortal Descends with Dusty Light

  "Is this Mount Tai?" Jing Liu murmured faintly, as if stunned. Looking at the majestic mountain in front of her, which stretched endlessly in all directions, its grandeur seemed to want to pierce the sky. The clouds only reached the middle of the mountain, and the rocky walls were half-hidden in the mist, with only a few ancient pines revealing their branches through the clouds. Such scenery was unheard of in Fusang, no wonder Jing Liu was so absorbed in it.

  Taking a glance at the rugged mountain road in front of him, he chuckled and said, "There's an old Chinese saying that goes 'looking at mountains can kill a horse.' We're only at the foot of the mountain now, and there's still a long way to go before we reach the top. By the way, why do you want to visit Mount Tai?"

  Jingliu smiled and said: "Because it's not like you can see the whole world just by climbing Mount Tai, I want to take a look and see if we can see our place."

  As the wind blows, it is not surprising that "Confucius climbed Mount Tai and looked down on the world" is a sentence from the Analects. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Japan was enthusiastic about Western learning, and it's not strange that it was transmitted to Fusang. It's just that when it reached Shizurin's mouth, it changed so much.

  Four people passed by Wangmu Pool, Yitianmen and went straight to the top of Yu Huangding. However, just as they walked to Zhongtianmen, Jingliu was already panting and shouting that she couldn't move anymore. Not only her, but also the two guards from the Iketani family were already quite tired. Iketani Hyōe wiped the sweat on his forehead while panting and asked, "Sir, are we almost at the top of the mountain?"

  He thought to himself, "It's strange how these Japanese people are so frail, yet they say: 'Look at the sign that says Zhongtian Gate. The meaning of Zhongtian is that we have already passed halfway through our journey. We won't have to wait long before we reach the top of the mountain.'"

  "Have we only reached halfway after climbing for so long? I'm really unable to move anymore." As he spoke, he gazed at the mountain peak far away in the clouds and let out a faint sigh.

  "We'll rest here for a while and recharge our energy before heading up the mountain, it's not too late." Mount Tai is indeed the most majestic of the Five Sacred Mountains, towering high and proud, with a rich cultural heritage. No wonder countless scholars and poets have left behind their works here over the centuries. In ancient mythology, after Pangu created heaven and earth and died, his limbs and body transformed into the five sacred mountains and rivers, with Mount Tai being the transformation of Pangu's skull. Located at the center of the nine heavens, it is the source of Chinese civilization, which is why emperors throughout history have made pilgrimages to Mount Tai to proclaim their legitimacy as rulers appointed by heaven, truly the Son of Heaven.

  "Feng Gege, don't you feel tired?" Jing Liu asked strangely as he saw Feng standing alone in a daze.

  Shaking her head with a gentle smile, "I'm not tired, such beautiful scenery should be appreciated more."

  "Ah-Yan and Hei are both feeling tired, they're the two most famous guards of the Iida family, and yet Wind brother doesn't feel tired at all. Doesn't that mean Wind brother is even more formidable than them?"

  She smiled and laughed with the wind, but didn't respond, it was just a childish remark from a young girl.

  They sat there for a good half an hour, resting and recalling the strange experiences they had been through in recent days. Before that, Jing Liu had always asked him about his life from childhood to adulthood, but Su Feng had always been evasive, how could he make a naive girl believe those things?

  Next is another long mountain road, this mountain road is steeper and more rugged than the previous one in Zi Jing Shan, sandwiched between two peaks on both sides, as if stepping into the clouds step by step. Even standing at the waist of the mountain and turning back to look, a layer of forest is dyed with a touch of green, a burst of life's spiritual energy comes face to face, accompanied by the unique misty rain gas in the mountains.

  "Let's go, it's getting late." He raised his head and gazed up at the sky, where the sun was already approaching its peak.

  "But I really can't walk anymore." Jing Liu bit her lip and said somewhat embarrassedly: "Or, Brother Feng, could you carry me?"

  Her face turned slightly red with the wind, and she shook her head: "This won't do, men and women should keep a distance."

  Jing Liu hummed and said, "You people from the Central Plains are really troublesome with all these rules. Don't think I don't understand, the Zuo Zhuan also says that a gentleman values others more than himself, puts others first and himself last. Are you not even willing to help me with this small matter?"

  He was left speechless by her words, and unexpectedly she, a foreign woman, had even read the Zuozhuan of China and remembered it so fluently. Jingliu saw that he didn't make a sound anymore, and a hint of complacency appeared on his face. His face slightly red, he said helplessly: "Okay, I'll take you up." As he spoke, he grasped Jingliu's wrist and walked towards the mountain. Although only her wrist was held by him, without any skin contact, Jingliu's face still flushed bright red instantly.

  His heart was also very nervous, previously he had never been so close to a girl. At that time when encountering danger on Luoyun Mountain, his heartbeat seemed not as fast as now, and the originally rugged and magnificent scenery around him was no longer appreciated.

  In fact, La Jingliu didn't use much force at all, but Jingliu surprisingly didn't say she was tired again all the way, even when they reached the steepest eighteen bends and Shengxianfang, she still had a smile on her face. It wasn't until they reached the narrow mountain road that it became really difficult to move forward, so La could only hold onto her back with one hand and carefully pull her up the mountain path.

  "Huh? There's a house over there." Jingliu suddenly exclaimed, pointing at a red-walled and black-tiled temple on the side.

  He turned his head to look back, and saw the Penglai Daoist sect he had met before. It was not surprising to see such a house on the mountain. He didn't walk over, but just looked at the plaque in front of the door, with three large crimson characters "Bixia Temple".

  "Feng Gege, what's written above?" Jing Liu asked, she could speak Chinese but couldn't recognize the characters.

  She smiled faintly and said, "The three characters above are the Temple of Bixia, and Bixia is the honorific title of the goddess of Mount Tai. The full name is Dongyue Taishan Tianxian Yunu Bixia Yuanchun. Legend has it that she was a jade maiden sent by our ancestor Huangdi, and has been admired by people for thousands of years. Wait for me outside, I'll go in to burn an incense stick." As she spoke, she tried to loosen Jingliu's grip on her wrist.

  Although I am a woman from Japan, now that Japan is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, when meeting such a person, it's only natural to pay respects.

  Shizuka and the others nodded in agreement. Kazehaya smiled slightly but didn't say anything, and quietly walked inside. The Taoist temple wasn't very big, roughly the same size as a typical living room. Inside were another Taoist nun and a Taoist priest, who handed each of them three incense sticks upon seeing them enter. They lit the incense, faced the statue of Bixia Yuanjun in the hall, and bowed three times. The Taoist priest on the side lightly struck his ritual instrument and murmured: "Gongde wú liàng."

  As he was about to leave, he gave a small piece of silver to the Taoist priest and nun, which shocked everyone present. However, the Taoist priest only said: "The donor should cultivate his heart towards the Tao, and there will be infinite opportunities for blessings."

  He smiled faintly, not paying attention, and exchanged a Taoist greeting with the Daoist priest before walking out slowly. As they got further away from the Bixia Temple, Jingliu suddenly crept up quietly and whispered in his ear, "Just now when I was bowing, I saw Goddess Bixia smiling at me." Her voice was as soft as a wandering thread, barely audible.

  He couldn't help but ignore the strange feeling in his ears, and with a sudden burst of wind, he suppressed his voice and asked: "Did you really see the statue of Bi Xia Niangniang smiling at you?"

  He chuckled and said, "Yes, really laughed at me, I've never seen such a beautiful smile, so intimate. Your Central Plains are indeed very magical!"

  Calm down and think carefully, recalling every detail from entering the Green Temple to coming out. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall the faces of the Taoist priest and nun. They were originally very clear in my mind, but the more I thought about it, the more vague they became, until even what the Taoist priest did or said became extremely unclear. The only thing I remembered was the last sentence the Taoist priest said: "When there are infinite causes and conditions."

  He sighed silently in his heart, this place is indeed the arrival of Dongyue Emperor's Miao Zhen Dao, and it's true that talented people emerge one after another, not ordinary people can measure. He also pondered secretly, where is the infinite cause and effect that the Taoist priest mentioned?

  "Look, look! I recognize those three words, it's the South Heavenly Gate, right?" Jing Liu's sudden giggles interrupted Su Feng's thoughts, and only then did he realize that they had unknowingly arrived at the summit of Mount Tai - the South Heavenly Gate.

  "Wow, so many clouds, what a beautiful view!" Jing Liu laughed with joy.

  At this moment, they have climbed to a very high place, and it can be said that "all the heavens are under their feet, and the cloud tower is built in the depths of the mountain". The fog at the bottom of the Hanbaiyu archway with the signboard of the South Heaven Gate seems to be really built in the white clouds, and has truly reached the Lingxiao Fairyland built on the ninth heaven. It makes people suddenly dizzy, mistakenly thinking that this is the boundary between immortals and mortals, and as long as they take one step out, they will leave the noisy red dust and enter an eternal realm.

  Before my eyes is a beautiful girl laughing and dancing in the vast expanse of cloud sea, beside my ears is the mountain top's unique crisp breeze, as if it's just beyond reach, stretching out my hand can touch it.

  Suddenly, the sky brightened up in an instant, and the sun, which had been hidden behind the sea of clouds, revealed a corner of itself. Endless golden light burst forth, illuminating the entire mountain peak. Under the sunlight, the sea of clouds surged like waves, with boundless auspicious energy dispersing in all directions. What's more peculiar is that this place was like an empty valley after rain, and a seven-colored rainbow suddenly appeared out of thin air above the sea of clouds, as if it were stretching out from the other side of the clouds and mountains, extending all the way down to the ground.

  At this moment, the temple on the mountain top seemed to respond to it, and suddenly burst out a burst of fairy music. The golden light at the horizon also seemed to be more prosperous with the fairy music, the sea of clouds was floating, as if a fairy was walking slowly from the other side of the sky, about to descend into the world. People were even more excited, feeling as if they were floating, following the wind to the cloud end, and as long as they could step on this rainbow bridge, they could reach the other shore, no longer sinking in the world to suffer. This feeling was like a dream, without any trace, unclear, and inexplicable.

  After a long time, the golden light faded away, and the sea of clouds also returned to calmness. The scenery that was just like being in a fairyland has all disappeared.

  "Feng Gege, is this really the mortal world? Why do I feel so light, as if I'm about to fly?" Jing Liu seemed to be in a daze, her eyes empty and dull, having lost their luster.

  Su Feng suddenly let out a loud roar in her ear, and upon seeing her startled expression, he laughed and said: "Let's go, we haven't reached the summit yet, we still have to keep climbing up. The Jade Emperor Peak is just above."

  Arrived at the South Heavenly Gate, it won't be long before reaching the Jade Emperor Peak, which is not only the summit of Mount Tai, but also where Qin and Han emperors worshipped heaven in ancient times, and where the Orthodox Oneness sect of Taoism is located.

  The rugged mountain path ended at the gate of Miaozhen Dao, a towering Taoist temple stood in front of the four people, overlooking the rise and fall of half the world, far from the dust, it was indeed a place for Taoist purification.

  Su Feng said, "Is it similar to the Taoist temple we saw before? Do we still need to go in?" The golden light at the South Heavenly Gate had faded away earlier, and now it was gradually getting dark. If they were to visit the Miaozhen Taoist Temple again, they might not be able to leave the mountain until nightfall today.

  But Jingliu seemed to have never thought about the issue of time, and seeing Su Feng ask, he still smiled very openly: "Since they are all temples in China, we've seen them all before, why not go in and take a look?"