Zhang Yan and Elder Qi exchanged a few more words in private, agreeing to send flying books back and forth in the coming days, and then Zhang Yan took his leave.
Just as he was leaving the Mingcang Sect’s mountain gate, he rembered sothing. He imdiately shifted his Gang Wind and flew toward the Lower Court of Cangwu Mountain.
Although the outside world was already in chaos, the number of people seeking the Dao by entering the mountains had not decreased but rather increased, especially among the children of princes and officials.
They claid to be "cultivating," but in reality, most were seeking refuge. After all, the Xuann of Mingcang Sect is a great sect, and even though the Demon Tribulation had begun, under its mountain gate, they could always feel at ease.
At this ti, it was exactly the ti of the dragon, and in Cangwu Mountain, many disciples were ditating and reciting scriptures on the Thousand People Rock. Suddenly, clouds and winds surged in the sky, and they vaguely saw a graceful Daoist soaring through the clouds, heading toward Dangyun Peak, prompting a series of exclamations.
A disciple nad Cao Gu stood up excitedly and said, "Could that be the Divine Skill of Flying and Escaping? I wonder which senior brother in the court has mastered this Dharma technique. I must visit them soday, and if it can be passed down to , I would willingly offer ten thousand taels of gold."
In the early years of the Da Wei Dynasty, there were many loose cultivators from the wild mountains who served it. Though they relied on magic artifacts for flight and escape, to the Wei Dynasty’s nobles, who couldn’t tell the difference between the five grains, they couldn’t distinguish the high from the low.
However, in recent decades, due to the Demon Tribulation, every loose cultivator lived in fear, afraid of being targeted by Demon Sect disciples, who would capture them to absorb their essence and divine souls. Thus, they hid away, and with many Xuann sects sealing their mountains to avoid tribulation, the sight of cultivators soaring through the sky had beco rare.
At this mont, soone who appeared to be a manager glanced at him and sneered, "I advise you to stop dreaming like this. The newcor must be the dean of our Three Daoist Temples. Even my master may not be able to et him, let alone you, a re mortal!"
Cao Gu was originally of the Wei Kingdom’s royal family, but being looked down upon like this, he could only sulk in silence, not daring to retort at all.
In the Three Daoist Temples, everyone knows that you mustn’t offend the managers around the Lower Court disciples, or else you’ll be driven down the mountain in a few days.
Many have been on the mountain for over a decade, only knowing Ma Shouxiang as the temple master of Shanyuan Temple, but unaware that there is another dean of the Three Daoist Temples, and they all ca up to inquire about him from the manager.
Seeing the crowd pleasing him, the manager felt quite pleased as they surrounded him. He raised his hand in the direction of the mountain gate and said, "Let inform you, this dean is a great cultivator from the Upper Court of our Mingcang Sect."
"A cultivator from the Upper Court?" The crowd exclaid in astonishnt again.
The Lower Court of Mingcang Sect may still be connected to the mortal world, but the Upper Court cultivators are almost isolated from it.
These disciples only heard of it but had never seen it, only knowing that beyond Cangwu Mountain is a vast ocean and marsh comparable to the East Sea, filled with immortal islands and spirit lands, where the residents are all Xuann Feathered Warriors who can fly and escape, and live eternally.
The temple master of Shanyuan Temple, Ma Shouxiang, was cultivating in the temple when a child reported, saying that a tunneling light ca from the direction of the mountain gate and landed on the summit of Dangyun Peak. He guessed that it was Dean Zhang Yan who had arrived, so he hastily changed his robe and crown, tidied up, and rushed to the back mountain.
Wang Caiwei, having followed Zhang Yan’s instructions throughout the year, was cultivating in the Lower Court. She sensed her teacher’s arrival and hurried to pay her respects.
When the two arrived at the back mountain, they saw Zhang Yan standing with his hands behind his back on the peak, looking at the surging sea of clouds below. They quickly approached to pay their respects.
Ma Shouxiang bowed and said, "Welco, Dean."
Wang Caiwei knelt down to perform a grand salutation.
Zhang Yan turned around and smiled, "No need for formalities, rise."
Only then did the two of them stand up.
Zhang Yan said, "Master Ma, I’ve been absent for a long ti, and I didn’t expect the Lower Court to be so prosperous."
Ma Shouxiang shook his head with a wry smile, "Dean, you may not be aware, but these disciples, rather than coming to cultivate, are mostly here to escape disaster and tribulation, and it has been especially so lately."
Zhang Yan sighed, "With the Demon Tribulation upon us, everything is in chaos. Even our Xuann disciples can barely protect themselves, let alone those in the mortal world. You don’t need to drive them away; let them be."
Ma Shouxiang bowed and said, "The dean has a benevolent heart. Cangwu Mountain has eighteen peaks and thirty-six streams, and even if a thousand more people live here, it won’t be a problem."
Zhang Yan had little interest in mundane matters, and after softly asking a couple more questions, he then turned to Wang Caiwei and asked, "Caiwei, my disciple, I instructed you to keep an eye on Han Zuocheng and investigate his background. Have you found anything?"
Wang Caiwei knelt respectfully and said, "Honored teacher, this disciple has lived up to your expectations and has already investigated. This person is indeed from the Han Clan. Decades ago, the city was ravaged by defeated soldiers, causing trouble, and the Han clan also suffered. Only his father, Han Xiao, survived by hiding in the mountains, nearly being killed by bandits. Coincidentally, a fox spirit passing by, noticing his father’s handso appearance and scholarly deanor, saved him. The two beca husband and wife and had a son and a daughter."
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