Chapter Fifty: Fire Token

  The crowd heard and poured into the hall, standing in their respective positions east and west.

  "With a joint effort of seven people, the coffin lid was lifted." Zhao Zhenren's voice came from the northern side of the altar.

  At this time, it was high noon, and the sunlight could shine into half of the main hall. The bright light weakened the gloominess of the black stone coffin. Everyone walked to the side of the coffin, reached out to grab the lid, which weighed over 200 pounds. Seven people each shared a weight of about 30 pounds, so it wasn't difficult to lift. However, after lifting the lid, everyone almost let go because inside the coffin was not a decaying corpse, but a young Taoist wearing a high-ranking Taoist robe and a three-pure-gold crown on his head. He was about 26 or 27 years old, tall and slender, with a handsome face and a smile, looking calm and serene.

  "This is what I left behind a hundred years ago." Zhao Zhen's voice came again from three steps to the right.

  "The true man's magic reaches the sky, leaving his immortal body for a hundred years. We are waiting in vain." At this point, Ye Xiangyang and others put the coffin lid aside.

  "A hundred years? This corpse has been undecayed for ten thousand years, hahaha!" The laughter of Zhao Zhen echoed in the hall.

  Zhao Zhenren suddenly burst out laughing, and the crowd listened in shock. Although Zhao Zhenren was laughing wildly, the laughter contained not triumph but a chilling coldness and a bone-piercing coolness.

  At the moment when everyone was stunned, the corpse in the coffin suddenly stretched out its right hand from the coffin. Everyone saw this and did not panic, because all seven of them noticed that the sleeve mouth of the Taoist robe was higher than the dead hand, that is to say, it was Zhao Zhen's soul that lifted his own corpse's right hand.

  "In life, a single misstep led to great error. In death, my spirit was trapped, unable to escape the body. My limbs were twisted and immobile, tormented for centuries in the dark underground without respite. If not for the mercy of our ancestors, I would have been forever trapped." As he spoke, the corpse's right arm slowly dropped down, revealing that its bones had become dislocated and severely twisted, with all five fingernails having fallen off, showing the unimaginable suffering Zhao Zhenren endured in this stone coffin.

  "A mediocre person, even if evil, is not enough to bring about great disaster. You seven have all practiced the Supreme Clarity secret techniques, and after mastering them, you will possess the power to move mountains and fill seas, and the ability to control the clouds and rain. The imperial court and government offices in the mortal world will naturally be unable to do anything to you. At that time, your actions will only be bound by your own heart's intentions. If you have good thoughts and are measured in your killings and punishments, but if you act wrongly and make mistakes, you will forever fall into a sea of suffering. I am the one who has gone before you as a warning, and you must not follow in my footsteps." Zhao Zhenren put down the corpse's right hand and once again exhorted them.

  "We will remember the true person's teachings today." Without asking, the others followed suit and bowed their heads to receive the lesson. It was only then that everyone realized that Zhao Zhenren had brought the stone coffin to demonstrate with his own body, warning people not to be evil, as people always believe what they see before they listen, and no matter how severe the warnings are, they cannot compare to the examples set before their eyes.

  "Nowadays, evil spirits are rampant and wars are breaking out everywhere. This is a great opportunity for you to accumulate virtues and cultivate your practice. If you achieve great success, you can live as long as heaven and earth, and roam freely in the world. Even if you only achieve small success, you can still attain spiritual immortality, govern mountains and rivers, and have a definite position. You must cherish this opportunity and not waste time or squander your youth."

  Everyone nodded in agreement, Zhao Zhenren's words made everyone more cautious about using spells and incantations, and also gave rise to a hidden sense of pride in their hearts. Although at this time everyone's Taoist skills were lowly, as long as they diligently cultivated themselves, they would definitely be able to borrow the power of the universe to move mountains and shake peaks in the future.

  "The Heavenly Wolf's divine spirit is extraordinary, and one must attain spiritual harmony with it to wield it. Tianzhuanzi left behind a legacy; you people take care of the corpse outside the temple." Zhao Zhenren's voice echoed through the air once more.

  The other six people heard the sound and retreated with their heads bowed, turned around and left the hall. Ah Jiu was the last to leave, and when he went out, he closed the doors of the hall on both sides.

  After the crowd left the hall, a wooden box floated out of the stone coffin. This wooden box was previously hidden in the corpse's left sleeve, very small and exquisite, only half a foot long and three inches wide, with a dark and lusterless sheen all over it.

  A wooden box emerged from the stone coffin and opened in mid-air, revealing a whole piece of wood carved with intricate patterns. Inside, there was a inkstone, a red sandalwood round box, a stack of talismans that had faded but not decayed, and a red symbol brush that looked no different from ordinary writing brushes.

  "The more divine the object, the less extraordinary it is. What's inside the box is that heavenly wolf hair brush. These objects were used by me when I was alive, and I'll give them to you as well." Zhao Zhenren said as he took out a stack of talismans and moved the wooden box towards Mo Wen. "Although the Heavenly Wolf Hair Brush is extraordinary, it's still an inanimate object and doesn't require spiritual connection. When using it, simply mix the morning dew that hasn't seen sunlight with cinnabar, and the brush will be powerful enough on its own, no need to add blood to aid its power."

  "Thank you, Master Zhao, for the precious gift. I will treasure and use it carefully." Mo didn't ask any questions as he took over the wooden box and expressed his gratitude. Master Zhao was a thoughtful and far-sighted person who had not told anyone else the truth beforehand. This move was naturally to avoid his fellow disciples from coveting and snatching it away.

  "It's all done, quickly draw a fire talisman and send me on my way." Zhao Zhenren's voice came from within the coffin. At the same time, a stack of talismans floated down, among which several still showed some purple color after a hundred years.

  Mo Wen walked to the stone coffin and bent down to look, only to see that the corpse inside had already opened its eyes, with a painful expression on its face.

  The Huo Fu was the Xing Su Da Fu, and at this time it should not be drawn. However, since Zhao Zhenren had spoken, he naturally let him write with the Tian Lang Hao brush. Everyone's wooden table had symbol paper on it. Mo Xun quickly stepped forward, opened the cinnabar copper box, and found that the remaining cinnabar inside still had a wet aura. He hastily arranged the symbol paper, picked up the Tian Lang Hao, and as soon as he held it in his hand, he immediately felt that the Tian Lang Hao was greatly different from ordinary brushes. Although the pen holder had bamboo nodes, it was not an ordinary bamboo, and it felt extremely heavy in his hand.

  "Dare to ask the true person, how to take and abandon east, west, south and north?" Mo asked after picking up his pen, the twenty-eight star mansions corresponded to the stars in the sky one by one, and there were four kinds of fire talismans, Mo couldn't even do it at will.

  "Tiger." Zhao Zhen's voice came from the stone coffin.

  "Tiger?!" Mo Wen was shocked and amazed, the stars are divided into four directions: east, south, west, and north. Each direction is further divided into seven attributes: sun, moon, gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. The tiger belongs to the eastern fire, which is a major disaster. At this time, the sun is at its peak, and the fire energy is even stronger. If applied to humans, it would lead to destruction of body and soul.

  Mo Wen was shocked, but there was no sound coming from the coffin. He could only pick up his brush and draw a symbol, then stamp it with his seal.

  The talisman was drawn well. Without asking, Mo asked the token to come to the stone coffin. Zhao Zhenren looked at him for a moment and then closed his eyes, reciting "Fusheng Wuliang Tianzun".

  "Boundless Heaven Venerable." Mo Xun moved the Fire Token above the stone coffin, closed his eyes and let go.

  Different grades of talismans have different powers, and the lowest grade is yellow paper, so there is only a half-foot flame in this coffin, which is blue and has no high temperature.

  "The remaining spiritual crystal belongs to you, it will aid your cultivation." Zhao Zhenren couldn't help but speak out in a low voice from within the coffin.

  "Where is your ancestral home, Tianzhui will send you back to your hometown." Mo didn't dare to look directly at the situation in the coffin, turned his head and wept. The two had no master-disciple relationship, and they had only known each other for half a month, but Zhao Zhenren treated him with great kindness, like an elder brother. If he did not repay this kindness, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

  "...Nangong County of Hanchuan..." The words stopped here and did not continue again.

  Mo Wen waited for a moment, but there was no sound coming from the coffin. After a long sigh, he wiped away his tears and walked to the door, opening it. At this time, the six people were all waiting in the courtyard, and the matter of cleaning up the corpse had already been taken care of by the lame Taoist.

  "Let's send off Zhao Zhenren on his journey to immortality." Mo Xun said to everyone.

  Everyone heard the words and stepped into the hall quickly. At this time, the spark in the coffin had not been extinguished yet. Everyone sat around the coffin and recited the sutra of liberation together. In fact, Zhao Zhenren's soul had already disappeared and could no longer be liberated. What everyone did was just to show their respect.

  After half an incense stick, the flames in the coffin went out. Only then did everyone stand up straight after reciting the scriptures for crossing calamities nine times.

  In the Taoist community, there are fellow disciples who ride cranes. The rest of the Taoists will not be overly sad and will not shed tears. This is one of the five destinations for a Taoist, once gone, they're gone.

  "Why did Zhao Zhenren want to be cremated?" After everyone stood up, Ah Jiu was the first to speak. Daoists attach great importance to leaving a whole body behind, and it is extremely rare for them to have cremations.

  "Zhao Zhenren's bones are dislocated, and to relieve his suffering, he can only be cremated." Liu Shaoying added.

  Mo Wen didn't ask any questions, but instead turned his head to glance at Liu Shaoqian before walking towards the stone coffin. As he lowered his head, he found that Zhao Zhenren had left behind very few remains. In the center of the stone coffin lay several pale red crystals scattered about. These crystals were round and translucent, varying in size, with the larger ones being as big as a pigeon's egg and the smaller ones being as small as soybeans. He picked them up one by one, finding a total of six crystals.

  The Lingjing of Taoist and the Sharira of Buddhist have some similarities, both are formed by the condensation of spiritual energy. However, in Taoism, people do not cremate after death, so there are few remaining Lingjing. In addition, Taoists are more skilled in practicing Qigong, and their spiritual energy is concentrated in the Dantian (lower abdomen). If they were to be cremated, the Lingjing formed by the condensation of spiritual energy would be concentrated in the abdominal cavity. On the other hand, Buddhism was introduced from Western regions and did not emphasize the practice of Qigong. As a result, the spiritual energy obtained through meditation is dispersed throughout the body. During cremation, the spiritual energy seeps into the bones and blood, leaving behind Sharira that are shaped like bones and blood, rather than rounded and pure spiritual crystal stones.

  "Zhoa Zhenren left behind six Lingjing, I have obtained the Tianlang Hao, and the Lingjing should be distributed to you fellow disciples." Mo Xiong placed the Lingjing on the altar, and everyone took one according to their order, then bowed their heads in gratitude.

  Don't ask about returning to the house to fetch the package, carefully wrapping up Zhao Zhenren's remains and storing them away. When Zhao Zhenren was on his deathbed, he only mentioned a general region, and it will be extremely difficult to find it later. However, no matter how difficult it is, we must send his remains back to their hometown. The Taoist priest retains the secular surname and constantly abandons the ancestral clan, returning from where they came.

  The task of sweeping didn't require everyone's personal attention, so the lame Taoist led the Taoist children to take over and complete it. Although he felt a pang in his heart, Mo asked him to calmly show off the newly acquired Tianlang treasure to everyone. The crowd wasn't too curious about it, they just took a look and that was it.

  The time left for everyone to calm down was limited. The next morning, the old Taoist who taught everyone magic walked slowly...

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