The First Lackey Under The Empress

Swish… Swish…

The summer breeze gently rustled through the lush canopy of the banyan tree, casting dappled shadows on the ground where golden sunlight danced.

After so long, Zhao Du'an thought he would feel nervous upon seeing the old Celestial Master of the Taoist sect again.

But perhaps it was Zhang Yan's gentle demeanor and smiling face that instantly eased his initially apprehensive heart, closing the distance between them and creating the illusion that their last meeting had only been a short time ago.

“I pay my respects to Celestial Master Zhang,” Zhao Du'an said respectfully, bowing with cupped hands.

The Celestial Master, resembling an old man dozing under a tree playing chess in a summer alley in the capital, chuckled and teased:

“Such formality doesn't suit you, my young friend. It's not as if we're meeting for the first time. There's no need to be so restrained. Just treat this as your own home.”

“If you insist…” Zhao Du'an took a deep breath and seemed to transform, striding over casually and plopping down onto the empty bamboo chair.

He then reached for a yellow duck pear from the fruit plate on the table, took a bite, and found it juicy and sweet. His eyes lit up, and he took another bite before mumbling:

“Since you put it that way, Old Zhang, I won't stand on ceremony.”

The great banyan tree, secretly observing from above, was dumbfounded.

How many people in the world could be so presumptuous in front of the Celestial Master? Even the most favored Jin Jian wouldn't dare to act like this, right?

Zhang Yan couldn't help but laugh: “You really don't hold back.”

Crack, crack… Zhao Du'an finished the pear and, still not satisfied, picked up a peach, rolled his eyes, and retorted:

“You weren't so polite when you were freeloading off me.”

The legendary prestige of the old Celestial Master had completely crumbled in his presence.

Zhang Yan lightly coughed, interrupting his talk about "freeloading," and said with a touch of annoyance:

“The city is unstable right now, and a mountain of things are waiting for you. How do you have time to come here and sponge off me?”

Zhao Du'an braced his legs against the ground, rested his elbows on his knees, leaned forward slightly, took a bite of the peach, and then looked up, suspiciously asking:

“Didn't you foresee that I would come? Why ask something you already know? I came here for two reasons. First, to thank you in person for sending Jin Jian and the others to rescue me. Second, I want to ask why.”

Zhang Yan half-reclined, half-sat, folded his hands over his abdomen, and smiled:

“I've never seen anyone come to express their gratitude empty-handed.”

Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows and pointed his chin towards the Shenlong Temple, righteously saying:

“Isn't my destruction of the Shenlong Temple a great gift?”

The Shenlong Temple and the Celestial Master's Mansion had been rivals for many years. The imperial court's suppression of Buddhism was undoubtedly beneficial to the Celestial Master's lineage.

Zhang Yan smiled and shook his head, sighing with emotion:

“If only my disciples were half as clever as you, I wouldn't have to worry about the Celestial Master's Mansion suffering losses in the future. Alright, I'll count it as a gift from you. Now, how do you explain this so-called 'why'?”

Zhao Du'an spat out the peach pit, wiped his fingers with a handkerchief, and said seriously:

“Old Zhang, I've thought about it over and over. Although you freeloaded off me, and I helped Jin Jian and Gongshu Tianyuan, it seems that you've already repaid what you owed me. Yet this time, you took the initiative to send people to save me, even interfering in worldly struggles… I can't understand it.”

Zhang Yan smiled: “Isn't that a good thing?”

“Heh, there's a saying in my hometown: all gifts have their price marked in secret… If I don't understand what you're after by helping me so much, I can't sleep soundly,” Zhao Du'an sighed:

“Let's make it clear first: if you're after my body, forget it. I was born the Emperor's man, and I'll die the Emperor's dead man. I will never defect to your Celestial Master's Mansion.”

Zhang Yan's expression turned strange, and he scrutinized him with a smiling glint in his bright eyes. After a long while, he shook his head and said:

“Didn't you already say the reason? I indeed had the intention of taking you in, so naturally, I didn't want you to die in the dynastic struggles.”

“That's all?” Zhao Du'an was suspicious. Old Zhang went to so much trouble just to take advantage and cherish talent?

“That's all.” The old Celestial Master nodded, his expression natural.

Zhao Du'an looked unconvinced, feeling that this old geezer's motives weren't so simple, but since Old Zhang insisted on cherishing talent, there was really nothing more he could ask.

“So, if you were just curious, then you've already gotten your answer. Zhong Pan has already sent me a message via flying crane about the Hundred Flowers Village incident. They didn't put in too much effort. Since His Majesty has advanced, let's pretend it never happened, and you don't need to feel like you owe anyone any favors,” Zhang Yan surprisingly said easily:

“If there's nothing else, you can go be busy.”

Zhao Du'an was silent for a moment, then pondered: “There's one more thing…”

He reached into his bosom and took out the page of golden scripture: “The chief of the Sutra Depository gave me this. Do you recognize it?”

After hesitating again and again, he felt that it would be prudent to ask Old Zhang about it, as it involved the old bald donkey Xuan Yin, and he had to be cautious.

“The Wordless Golden Scripture, so it's this thing,” Zhang Yan grunted, looking somewhat sentimental: “It's still around, not destroyed by Xuan Yin.”

“You recognize this thing?” Zhao Du'an's spirits lifted: “Why would Xuan Yin want to destroy it?”

His intuition told him that there were secrets to be uncovered within.

Zhang Yan nodded, his tone rather pretentious: “Just some old matters.”

He started the topic but then stopped, refusing to elaborate, acting like he was deliberately trying to whet his appetite.

Zhao Du'an cursed the old geezer for ending the sentence abruptly, but his face suddenly plastered on a brilliant smile. He eagerly stood up, respectfully picked up the teapot, poured Old Zhang a cup, and then personally handed it over with both hands, adopting a kneeling and licking humble posture of "Please, Big Boss, have some tea":

“Since I was little, I've loved listening to stories. Could the Celestial Master reveal a thing or two?”

One second it's "Old Zhang," the next second it's "Celestial Master"… this dog thing who mingles in the imperial court has a black heart through and through… Zhang Yan was amused by his obsequious attitude but still reluctantly took the teacup, took a sip, and reminisced:

“This involves the conflict between the Western Region Buddhist sect and the Central Plains Taoist sect six hundred years ago… Hmm, calculating it, the reason why Xuan Yin was able to create the 'Law God' identity this time, concurrently cultivating 'Heaven's Path,' and deceive the world… is also directly related to this.”

Zhao Du'an's expression slightly changed, and he became serious.

He had always been suspicious about why Xuan Yin could create such a doppelganger as the “Law God.” Zhenbao couldn't even be sure, but Old Zhang seemed to understand the reasons behind it.

“Senior, please explain in detail!” Zhao Du'an urged.

Zhang Yan glanced at him, unhurriedly saying: “Do you know how a Celestial Being ascends to the Human Immortal realm?”

Wait, your topic is getting further and further off track. Don't be such a tease… Zhao Du'an honestly shook his head: “I don't know.”

Zhang Yan sighed with emotion: “I don't know either.”

“…” Zhao Du'an was expressionless, feeling an urge to flip the table.

Zhang Yan chuckled:

“Don't be impatient. How to step into the Human Immortal realm is something that powerful individuals of every dynasty have been searching and exploring for, because the last Human Immortal in legend is too far removed from the present, and didn't leave behind any reproducible path.

Therefore, various schools have proposed many ascension hypotheses. Many years ago, two kinds of conjectures were popular in the Western Region Buddhist sect.”

“Two possible ways to step into the Human Immortal realm?”

Zhao Du'an asked curiously: “What are they?”

Well, although he had only just stepped into the world, it didn't stop him from being interested.

Zhang Yan slowly said:

“The first is to replace the concept of gods. You should know, why do gods exist in this world? It's because there's a vast amount of faith among the people. When enough living beings believe in the existence of a certain god, this power of wish will create the birth of a god.

And the 'Human Immortal Realm,' its power is comparable to that of a god. In other words, perhaps the truth of the Human Immortal is how a human becomes a god.”

A human becoming a god? That's the Human Immortal? Zhao Du'an suddenly thought of the inheritance of the Yu Kingdom's royal family, the “Martial God” inheritance created by the Great Ancestor Emperor. Isn't that a representation of a human becoming a god?

However, Old Xu's “Martial God” inheritance doesn't seem to require the help of the faith and wishes of all living beings.

No… the Martial God inheritance itself doesn't have it, but the identity of the Emperor does… Zhenbao was initially a half-step Celestial Being, but because he was crowned Emperor, his combat power was comparable to a complete Celestial Being… The Fengshan ceremony was also using the imperial position to forcibly impact the realm…

And isn't the concept of “Emperor” a kind of “concept” that countless people under heaven commonly recognize?

To some extent, the “Emperor” himself is a kind of “god,” so as long as one is crowned Emperor, one can obtain some kind of cultivation enhancement…

For example, after Zhenbao advanced, he seemed to have a certain degree of control over something similar to the monarch's "oral constitution" and "words become law" effect…

“Thought of it?” Zhang Yan smiled when he saw Zhao Du'an suddenly spacing out:

“It seems you've realized the reason why the Emperor possesses great power.”

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath:

“So, the Emperor is a god in a certain sense, but the concept of the Emperor can be inherited by different people. The method the Buddhist sect thought of is similar to this, allowing cultivators to replace the concept of gods?”

Zhang Yan smiled and nodded, acting like a promising child: “Yes. However, this idea wasn't created by the Buddhist sect. Earlier on, the Central Plains Taoist sect already had this idea.”

Zhao Du'an frowned: “But how can this be done? Gods aren't like 'imperial positions' that anyone can just sit on…”

Zhang Yan smiled:

“Is it difficult? It is indeed difficult. But it's not entirely impossible. As long as you first use a long enough time to make enough living beings recognize a living cultivator as a god, it might work.”

Let the people of the world recognize a living person as a god?

Zhao Du'an was stunned, and mentally complained:

What kind of incense becomes god path?

Immediately, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind:

“The Dharma Kings of the Western Regions… I remember, in the Western Regions, they have been constantly claiming since the earliest times that the Dharma King is the reincarnation of a god…”

Zhang Yan nodded and sighed:

“Yes, that's a kind of attempt, and it did produce results. The current Dharma King of the Western Regions hasn't stepped into the Celestial Being realm, but he relies on this method similar to the Emperor's imperial position to have the ability to confront Xuan Yin. However… limitations also exist. Once the Dharma King leaves the Western Regions, his cultivation will plummet.

Especially in the past few hundred years, the Shenlong Temple has modified the statements in the Buddhist scriptures, changing the origin of the Dharma King from the incarnation of a god to the earliest disciple of the World Honored One in the human world…

Therefore, it's already not easy for the Dharma King to maintain his current state, but he can't go any further, and no one knows whether this method can really lead to Human Immortal.”

So that's how it is… No wonder the Eastern and Western Buddhist sects have always wanted to merge… Could there also be this reason? Zhao Du'an suddenly understood.

Immediately, he frowned: “So, this first plan ultimately failed, because the conditions to achieve it are too harsh. What about the second one?”

Zhang Yan said indifferently:

“The second method is ‘Unity of Heaven and Man.’ That is, the true gods are merely a concept, without ‘personality.’ If we give the gods a personality, perhaps we can secularize the lofty gods, thereby allowing them to be controlled by cultivators. As long as one can completely control a god and merge it with oneself, one might become a Human Immortal.”

Ah, this… this idea is completely the opposite of the previous one.

One is shaping a person into a god, stealing the 'divine position,' and the other is demoting a god to a person… Humans controlling gods… Well, the realm below Human Immortal is called 'Heaven-Man,' which sounds somewhat logical…

Zhao Du'an asked curiously, "Then how do you personify a god? Secularize them?"

Zhang Yan smiled and said:

"Sculptures will do. For example, the World Honored One of Buddhism originally had no face; he was the embodiment of the concept of 'wisdom.' But as long as people artificially create an 'image' for the World Honored One, and then, over hundreds of years, make everyone in the world recognize that the 'World Honored One' looks like that statue, then…"

Zhao Du'an was shocked. In his mind, he recalled the scene of facing the enormous statue of the World Honored One in the Shenlong Temple not long ago.

At that time, he felt that something was wrong. Now that he was awakened, he suddenly realized:

The eyebrows and temperament of the World Honored One statue in the hall were somewhat similar to the old bald donkey Xuan Yin!

Immediately, he realized that there seemed to be no statue of 'Heavenly Dao' in the Tianshi Mansion.

In this world, there is no concept of statues like 'Daoist Trinity'.

Zhao Du'an swallowed: "So, this method…"

Zhang Yan said lightly: "Naturally, it didn't succeed."

Indeed, Buddhism has been creating god statues for so many years, but none of the Heavenly-Human Realm cultivators have stepped into the 'Human Immortal' realm… This shows that this path is not feasible.

Zhao Du'an frowned: "Old Zhang… Senior, weren't you going to talk about the old events of six hundred years ago? So, what does it have to do with what you're saying now?"

He felt that they were digressing!

Zhang Yan glanced at him, as if feeling that the young man was too impatient:

"Although this latter method has not succeeded, it is not entirely without hope. About six hundred years ago, the Dharma King [Ksitigarbha] of the Western Regions Buddhism proposed a guess: the reason why this latter method failed is because it lacked a key element, namely, 'The World Honored One' is not complete."

"Incomplete? What do you mean?" Zhao Du'an asked strangely.

Zhang Yan didn't answer, just shook his empty teacup.

"…"

Zhao Du'an hurriedly stuck out his butt, acting as a younger brother, and filled it for him.

The Old Celestial Master nodded in satisfaction and said:

"The World Honored One, the god, originally refers to 'wisdom,' and 'wisdom' can only be possessed by living beings. Between heaven and earth, the most 'wise' are naturally humans, and humans are inherently personified.

Buddhism establishes god statues, burns incense, and worships Buddha, only to further secularize them. If one wants to achieve 'Unity of Heaven and Man,' it is not enough to have only the 'human' part; one must also supplement the 'heaven' part."

A flash of inspiration flashed in Zhao Du'an's mind, and he blurted out:

"Heavenly Dao? The main god of Taoism, 'Heavenly Dao,' refers to the laws of heaven and earth, which happens to correspond to 'heaven'? So, if you want to be promoted to Human Immortal, it is not enough to only cultivate 'World Honored One'; you must also cultivate 'Heavenly Dao' to achieve the Unity of Heaven and Man and impact the Human Immortal realm?"

Zhang Yan slowly nodded:

"This guess was only proposed by that Dharma King Ksitigarbha. As for whether it is feasible, no one can confirm it."

Isn't this just like synthesizing cards? Two one-star cards synthesize a two-star card… Zhao Du'an complained weakly.

Zhang Yan continued:

"At that time, six hundred years ago, the Central Plains was in turmoil with wars. The previous dynasty was overthrown, and the new dynasty had not yet been established. In order to verify his guess, Dharma King Ksitigarbha, who was in the Western Regions, secretly did a major thing: taking advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains, he secretly hunted down Taoist sorcerers in the Jianghu."

Ah? Zhao Du'an was stunned when he heard this: "Hunting down Taoist sorcerers?!"

Zhang Yan nodded with a painful expression, sighing endlessly:

"Yes, it was a chaotic world at that time, which made it convenient for him to take action. Dharma King Ksitigarbha mainly cultivated the World Honored One and dared not easily change to cultivate the Heavenly Dao, otherwise he would have problems himself… Heh, you will understand this later. After reaching the Heavenly-Human Realm, you can only mainly cultivate one god.

Therefore, he captured Taoist sorcerers and tried his guess with special methods.

Initially, this matter did not attract much attention, because wars were common, and disappearances or deaths were commonplace. However, as more and more sorcerers disappeared, and their identities became higher and higher, this matter finally attracted the attention of various Taoist sects in the world…

After finding out the cause, the Central Plains Taoist sect was furious. The major sects, which were scattered and swept the snow in front of their own doors, abandoned their previous suspicions and joined hands to seek revenge, and began to hunt down and destroy Buddhism in reverse…

The Celestial Master of my Tianshi Mansion at that time went down the mountain because of this, and joined forces with some Jianghu sorcerer experts at that time to jointly kill into the Western Regions, beheading Dharma King Ksitigarbha, and also forcing Buddhism to completely give up this attempt.

However, the losses were also extremely heavy. This incident happened in the Tian Shou year, so it is called 'Tian Shou Destroying Buddhism.'"

Tian Shou Destroying Buddhism? Zhao Du'an was stunned. This was history he had never known.

At least it has not been seen in the existing public history books… Yes, this matter is not the official history of the world, but a dispute that only exists in the cultivation world… Perhaps because all parties are unwilling to mention it, it is rarely seen on paper.

And six hundred years ago… it was also the time when Emperor Taizu of the Yu Kingdom, Old Xu, rose up, conquered the world, and established the Yu Kingdom.

It was also… the era in which Pei Niannu, the number one female sorcerer at that time, lived…

Zhao Du'an was suddenly stunned.

Because he suddenly remembered that in the "Six Chapters Sutra," Pei Niannu appeared in a dilapidated ancient temple.

And in the battle of Baihua Village, facing the Buddhist monks such as the Little Monk Tianhai, Pei Niannu seemed extremely angry, killing people without any mercy.

Thinking again of the fragmentary records he had read about the historical figure Pei Niannu, the book wrote that she lifted her mask, paid a great price, and fought fiercely with a strong enemy…

Connecting all the clues…

So, Pei Niannu was a participant in the "Tian Shou Destroying Buddhism" six hundred years ago? Old Xu knew her and even painted her in the murals.

…

A breeze came slowly.

The banyan tree in the small courtyard rustled.

Zhao Du'an straightened out his thoughts in his mind, his face looking ugly:

"So, Xuan Yin picked up the set of guesses of Dharma King Ksitigarbha six hundred years ago?"

Speaking of this, he didn't understand why Xuan Yin had the vest of a "Dharma King"?

Isn't this the practice of the idea of "Unity of Heaven and Man"?

It's just that Xuan Yin's method is a step further than that of Dharma King Ksitigarbha, using the method of incarnation to cultivate the Heavenly Dao, thereby merging the two into one.

However, Zhao Du'an doubted that Xuan Yin's attempt was not successful either, otherwise he would not have had to risk losing the cost of the incarnation of "Dharma King" and jump out to provoke the Eight Kings dispute…

At the same time, he also completely understood why there would be a long-lasting "battle of Dharma" between the Tianshi Mansion and the Shenlong Temple.

In the final analysis, it is a continuation of the hatred of that year.

"However, the Buddhist branch of Shenlong Temple is different from the branch in the Western Regions back then." Zhao Du'an suddenly asked.

Zhang Yan nodded:

"Indeed, it's different. About a thousand years ago, Traveler Maya came from west to east to spread Buddhism. After four hundred years, there was some Buddhist soil in the Central Plains.

Later, it was also about six hundred years ago that a group of monks in the Western Regions, because they opposed the behavior of Dharma King Ksitigarbha, were hunted down by Ksitigarbha's men, so they fled eastward, and finally took root here and established the Shenlong Temple.

The group of monks who fled extremely admired Maya and regarded him as the source of the Shenlong Temple.

In the Shenlong Temple, the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion lineage is the inheritance of the group of monks who fled that year, which is clearly distinct from the other halls controlled by Xuan Yin."

After a pause, the Old Celestial Master cast his gaze on the Wordless Golden Sutra and said meaningfully:

"Speaking of which, the Buddhism advocated by Traveler Maya back then has some common ground with the set of Zen doctrines you proposed at the Dharma debate meeting.

Heh, precisely because Maya's set of Buddhism violates the set of precepts and practices that Shenlong Temple now regards as orthodox, Maya's scriptures are shelved, and this golden scripture must not be liked by Xuan Yin."

Everything is solved… There is so much history behind this… Zhao Du'an was slightly distracted. He squeezed the Wordless Golden Sutra and said:

"Then what is the use of this thing?"

Zhang Yan said leisurely:

"It is said that this is a scripture left by Traveler Maya that can observe one's original heart. Everyone sees different content when they look at it.

Well, it's not that you can see the content at any time; it also depends on the timing and opportunity… Take it with you with peace of mind. Since the chief seat of the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion gave it to you, maybe he got inspiration from this golden scripture…"

Zhao Du'an didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"Old Zhang, you are a Celestial Master. Can't you see through something left by a Maya?"

Zhang Yan gave him a deep look:

"What kind of simple person do you think Maya is? Do you know that he and Emperor Taizu, the founding emperor of the Yu Kingdom, both entered the depths of the Mubei Forest? And obtained some kind of unknown opportunity?

And in history, as far as this old man knows, the first Celestial Master of my Tianshi Mansion, the founding ancestor of Qingshan… By the way, Dharma King Ksitigarbha also went in. His idea of 'Unity of Heaven and Man' is very likely related to that place."

After a pause, the Old Celestial Master added slowly:

"And this old man, Xuan Yin, Wu Xiankui… Although their cultivation is already in the first echelon of the current era, they still have no way to step into that forest."

What?

Zhao Du'an was stunned.

He only knew that Old Xu had entered the Mubei Forest when he was young, and Zhen Bao was tight-lipped about that place and never set foot in it.

But it was the first time he knew these secrets.

Zhang Yan smiled. He blew on his teacup and suddenly said casually:

"It is said that everyone who has entered there will undergo great changes, and many knowledge will be added to their minds. Heh…"

The Old Celestial Master glanced at him meaningfully and said:

"If it weren't for the fact that you kid is too young and your resume doesn't have a record of going to the north, otherwise, just based on the strange things in your head, this old man would have even suspected that you had been to that place.

Well… You haven't been there, have you?"

— —

ps: These chapters add a bit of historical depth and bury some hooks