Chapter 47: The Corpse Transmits the Law

  Mo Wen felt a slight sense of doubt, he knew that shou yi was the clothing worn by the dead when they were buried, but he couldn't understand why someone wearing shou yi would make Ye Xiang so fearful.

  "Who comes here at this late hour and what is your intention?" Mo asked in a loud voice.

  The man in yellow standing at the gate of the hall did not respond when he heard this, but only slightly turned his head to stare straight at him.

  Mo Wen glanced sideways at the yellow-clad man standing by the temple gate. He was an ordinary-looking person, a common sight on the streets and alleys, with nothing unusual about him from head to toe, except that his face was somewhat pale due to the cold weather.

  "They're all out. A zombie has appeared in the hall." Just as Mo Xiang was sizing up the newcomer, Ye Xiao Yao shouted from beside him.

  Don't ask, but the sound of his footsteps made him frown and look towards the night wanderer. He had also heard some rumors about zombies among the people, according to which zombies have stiff limbs and move with their feet together, but this person was acting normally, only because he wore a suit of mourning clothes did they shout and yell, it's not right, losing the demeanor of a Taoist.

  Everyone had already heard the commotion and started to get up, after Ye Xiang's shout, everyone arrived quickly, even the crippled Daoist who was guarding the door brought a young Daoist along.

  The man in yellow stood still at the gate of the hall, unmoving as people came one after another to surround him.

  "Remain calm and composed in the face of events, and you can become a great vessel." The man in yellow robes nodded at Mo Wen, although his words were laced with praise, his expression remained completely neutral.

  The man in yellow robes spoke, and everyone present was moved. The tone of his speech suggested that he was likely the Supreme Elder who had come to impart the secrets of the talismans to the crowd. What shocked Mo Wen the most was that he noticed a detail - at this time it was extremely cold, and everyone's breath was visible in the air, but when this man spoke, there was no mist in front of his mouth and nose, which meant that he didn't need to breathe. Not needing to breathe and wearing mourning clothes, he was naturally a dead person.

  "Have all seven Upper Clarity Disciples arrived?" The crowd was stunned, and the man in yellow robes looked around at everyone before speaking again.

  "Boundless Heaven Venerable, I am Tian Zhui Zi, dare to ask who is your honorable self?" Mo Wen's face turned red as he bowed his head and body. Earlier, he wasn't flustered because he was oblivious to the fact that the newcomer was actually a dead person, not someone who could be described as 'unfazed by events, with composure and poise'. At this moment, he felt a chill run down his spine, his scalp numb.

  "When a person dies, their Taoist title disappears. The deceased no longer has a Taoist title. This time I have returned from the dead to fulfill the divine decree of our ancestor, and have come to teach you all the method of talismans." The man in yellow clothes said with a shake of his head.

  "Tian Shu Zi respectfully welcomes his seniors." Without asking for formal courtesy, this person is strange but understands the rules of the Taoist sect. The Taoist name is recycled unless it's a flying immortal who can keep their name forever. Others will have their names reused after death. This person understands this point, no doubt proving he is from the Taoist sect.

  The others, seeing Mo ask for leave, also bowed their heads and reported their Taoist names.

  "You all withdraw." The man in yellow robes waved his hand at the crippled Taoist priest who was standing by, his manner arrogant and overbearing.

  The lame Taoist hastily bowed and retreated, taking the little Taoist boy far away.

  The man in yellow stood at the gate of the hall and looked around at the crowd again. Everyone he saw lowered their eyebrows, which was a courtesy that Daoist priests should have. If they looked directly at their superiors, it would be impolite; if they bowed their heads, they would lose their dignity.

  "Follow me into the hall, we'll start immediately." The man in yellow robes withdrew his gaze and turned to enter the East Hall, and the crowd hastily followed.

  Mo Wen didn't ask about the Dao number, as he was the first among the seven to enter the hall. After entering the hall, he found that on the ritual platform in the northeast of the Eastern Hall, there was an additional long object. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a black stone coffin, nine feet long and half a foot wide. The entire coffin was pitch-black, with no patterns or decorations on its body. It was estimated to weigh no less than several hundred kilograms. This person's footsteps had been very heavy earlier, probably because he was carrying this heavy coffin.

  The crowd that followed also saw the stone coffin on the platform, and they were puzzled. This person came in the dead of night, his actions were suspicious, and he was using a corpse to revive a soul. All this had already made everyone full of doubts and secretly terrified. They hadn't expected him to bring a stone coffin as well, what did he plan to do with it?

  Those seniors who passed on the art previously, although they had different personalities, did not exceed human norms. But this person is a dead man, why did the ancestor send a ghost to borrow a corpse to pass on the skills?

  "Do you know what's inside this coffin?" The man in yellow walked up to the platform and pointed at the black stone coffin.

  Everyone shook their heads upon hearing this, although each had their own speculations, they didn't dare speak recklessly.

  "This black coffin is my hundred-year-old dwelling," the man in yellow walked forward and stroked the coffin, "The heavenly wolf hair brush I used when I was alive is also inside. After you learn the incantation, the heavenly wolf hair brush will see the light of day again and follow a new master."

  Mo Wen and Ah Jiu exchanged a glance, the yellow-robed man's words meant that this coffin contained his own corpse, but why did he bring it here? Moreover, what was this "Tian Lang" he spoke of?

  "The Fu Talisman is a secret technique of the Taoist school, not worth thousands of gold, and difficult to obtain even after knocking on doors for ten thousand times. You seven people have a deep fortune, and are able to cultivate this technique. You must focus your mind and concentrate your spirit, and study it diligently." The man in yellow clothes said.

  Everyone heard and responded in unison: "It is indeed."

  "The Taoist Three Purities, Upper Purity, Jade Purity, and Supreme Purity. Among the Three Purities, I specialize in the Upper Purity's most refined talismanic techniques. Talismans and spells are interdependent, with spells using spiritual energy to borrow from the universe, while talismans use spirit paper to summon yin and yang. Spells can be learned from others, but I only teach the method of drawing talismans." The man in yellow robes said.

  Everyone stood upright and listened attentively. These respected elders who came to impart their skills had no unnecessary words, and as soon as they arrived, they immediately began to impart their skills.

  "The level of the talisman is the same as that of the Taoist's spiritual energy, and the level of the paper used for the talisman is also different due to differences in spiritual cultivation. The paper can be divided into five colors: yellow, red, blue, purple, and gold. Yellow talismans move the energy of ten steps, calming the mind and stabilizing the home. Red talismans move the energy of one mile, subduing ghosts and demons. Blue talismans move the energy of ten miles, suppressing evil spirits. Purple talismans gather the energy of a hundred miles, reversing fate and summoning heavenly soldiers to descend upon the world. Golden talismans have an aura that extends for a thousand miles, shaking heaven and earth; when a golden talisman is released, even immortals must retreat." The man in yellow robes spoke with great arrogance.

  Before this, Mo didn't know that talismans were divided into five different grades and had no idea that high-grade talismans possessed such astonishing power.

  "Yu Hengzi, what do you have to say?" Just as Mo asked, the yellow-robed man shouted amidst the hundred-mile wind.

  "The junior has nothing to say." Ba Li Kuang Feng said with a wave of his hand.

  "I was ten years old when I entered the Tao, and fifteen years old when I received the art. At your age, you should already be able to drive out spirits and demons. If it weren't for the fact that I had to use the Golden Seal to curse the people back then, I would have already achieved enlightenment by now. Today, I've come at the behest of our ancestor's divine decree to teach you the method of talismans to make up for past mistakes. And yet, you dare to look down on me?" The man in yellow robes said in a low voice.

  "Elder brother, calm down, junior brother absolutely didn't mean it." Baili Fengyi heard this and continuously shook his head.

  "Authentic transmission of the Tao, our ancestors' chosen art is revered and esteemed, none are not exceptional. We who have received this blessing dare not secretly harbor doubts." Mo didn't ask about his close relationship with Bai Li Kuang Feng, seeing him in trouble, he hastily spoke up to help.

  The man in yellow had a good impression of Mo Wen and, upon hearing this, no longer scolded Bai Li Kuang Feng. He raised his head, put his hands behind his back, and continued to lecture.

  Baili Kuangfeng looked at Mo Wen with a fierce gaze, and Mo Wen nodded to him slightly, using his eyes to signal him to listen carefully.

  The man in yellow robes was a newcomer, but it wasn't hard to get a general sense of his temperament from his words and actions. Although he possessed the body of a middle-aged man, he had probably died at a relatively young age, likely in his thirties or forties. He had mastered the Qinglian mantra at a very young age, which suggested that he was naturally arrogant. This could be inferred from how he referred to himself as "this seat" when he was angry. Furthermore, listening to his words revealed that he had committed great mistakes in his past life, and this time he came to impart his skills in order to make up for them. Under the influence of such a mindset, it was no wonder that he was prone to being sensitive and quick-tempered.

  "Daoist talismans are usually written with wolf hair brushes, but since wolf hair comes from animal bodies, it is inevitably impure and difficult to communicate with the divine. Therefore, we do not use them. Writing talismans usually uses pure bamboo pens, all schools of Supreme Clarity use this method."

  The pigments used for writing talismans can be divided into three types. The first is carbon ink, which is used by beginners. The second is cinnabar, which is used for talismans that communicate with the divine and must be mixed with heavenly water. Cinnabar used to subdue evil spirits is mixed with water from a place that has never seen sunlight. For ordinary talisman drawing, cinnabar is sufficient. If you want to strengthen the power of the talisman, you can use your own blood to draw it, but this is no different from betting with your life. Unless you have a surefire way to win, do not attempt it.

  When drawing talismans, there is also a heavenly rule, and it is advisable to choose the hour of Hai or Zi. This time is when yang disappears and yin grows, and yin and yang intersect, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is the strongest. Next, Wu, Mao, and You hours are also possible, while other hours have insufficient spiritual energy for drawing talismans.

  The materials used to carry the talismans are mostly paper, peach wood, cypress, jujube wood, bluestone, earth bricks, hemp cloth, and silk. Different materials for carrying talismans have different usage methods: wooden talismans are nailed up, stone talismans are buried, paper talismans are worn on the body. Except for paper talismans, other talismans only have a protective effect but no attacking power. To subdue evil spirits and demons, only paper talismans can be used. Talismans can be divided into five grades according to their power: gold, purple, blue, red, and yellow. According to their usage, they can be divided into five categories: heaven, earth, human, ghost, and god. There are 28 paths of the Big Dipper, 36 paths of the Heavenly Gate, and 72 paths of the Earthly Cleaver. Below these, there are over a thousand miscellaneous talismans...

  The man in yellow robes spoke eloquently, his words all being the essence of talismans and incantations. Everyone listened with rapt attention, not daring to be careless for a moment. This person's temperament was impatient and difficult to get along with, making it extremely hard to ask him to repeat an explanation. Fortunately, although what he said was complex, it wasn't difficult to understand; he spoke from his own experience of drawing talismans, rather than reciting scriptures or set phrases. Drawing talismans and performing rituals were originally complementary practices, and the man in yellow robes also knew how to perform rituals. However, he omitted the true words and finger techniques required for the rituals, only teaching incantations, with the aim of letting everyone learn to specialize in them.

  The content of the talisman is similar to that of the mantra. To be precise, the talisman refers to the paper talisman, while the mantra refers to the true words. The principle of their effectiveness is roughly the same, both using text or language to resonate with the corresponding heavenly spirits or gods and asking for their use. However, the talisman is more formal than the mantra. If separated individually, the power of the talisman is greater than that of the mantra, but the talisman also has its shortcomings. The content written on the talisman paper is limited, and often multiple talismans need to be used together, while the mantra is a series of connected sentences, making it more convenient to use. In addition, the two are usually used in conjunction with each other, meaning that there should also be 136 corresponding true words and finger gestures.

  Everyone got up at the third watch and stood in the East Hall to listen, until the fifth watch when the yellow-robed man finally stopped, waved his hand and dismissed the crowd. "Come here every day at the first watch and leave at the fifth watch."

  Everyone heard this and bowed their heads in gratitude, then turned around and left the hall...