Volume 8: Demon Suppression Chapter 19: A thousand trees bloom before the dead tree
Zhulong is a magical beast in ancient legends. It is a thousand miles long and red all over. It is the god of Zhongshan Mountain.
The reason why the Zhulong Palace is named after Zhulong is because their sect was built on the spiritual vein of Zhongshan Mountain.
Although there are no dragons on Zhongshan Mountain today.
In order to seize the spiritual vein of Zhongshan Mountain, the first ancestor of Zhulong Temple, Wang Puxian, set the sky on fire and finally occupied this blessed land by force.
Ten thousand years thereafter, the Candle Dragon Palace was always regarded as the legal cultivation sect second only to the Taiqing Palace, and was also one of the top sects in the world with the greatest potential to be promoted to the Taoist sect.
But is it that easy to become a Taoist master?
Let’s talk about the resistance first. So far, each of the six major sects in the world has its own Taoist sect.
If Faxiu wants to establish a second sect, how could the other five Taoist sects agree?
Doesn't this make the originally equal six-cultivation system give rise to the claim that Dharma cultivation is the strongest?
As the three most powerful schools in the world of cultivation, the magic cultivators, the body cultivators, and the sword cultivators were already much more powerful than the other three schools.
Among the three royal families, body cultivators have always been discriminated against by the other families because of their down-to-earth nature.
After all, other families all wear elegant feathered robes, look so handsome and presentable, but your family is just like warriors. If we don’t discriminate against you, who should we discriminate against?
Sword cultivators are independent-minded and have no intention of competing for fame. Others are unwilling to mess with these killer embryos, so the reputation of sword cultivators is not low, but not the highest.
With this kind of calculation, the Faxiu school of thought has the loudest voice.
A tall tree attracts the wind. Everyone already dislikes you as a cultivator of Dharma, and now you want to create a second Taoist sect?
I strongly disagree.
What is more realistic is that not only the other five Taoist sects are unwilling to see the Candle Dragon Palace promoted, in fact even the Taiqing Palace, which is also a legal practice, is not happy about it.
This is because, if a second sect of legal practice appeared in the world, it would undoubtedly greatly shake the status of their Taiqing Palace as a holy place of legal practice.
In addition, Taiqing Palace focuses on thunder magic, and Zhulong Palace is good at fire magic.
Due to the great power of Taiqing Palace, there has always been a saying that thunder magic is the most respected.
If the Zhulong Palace also becomes a Taoist sect, then which one will come first, thunder magic or fire magic?
It's hard to explain.
Then don't say it.
For Taiqing Palace, the promotion of Zhulong Palace would not only dilute their interests and reputation, but would also bring about a dispute over the orthodoxy. How could they be willing to do that?
Another difference is the region.
The human race has a total of seven domains, and the seven Taoist sects have occupied one domain each. If your Zhulong Palace becomes a Taoist sect, what will happen then?
There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. Who would be willing to share the territory with you? If so, who will be the boss and who will be the second?
Even for the sake of a possible territorial dispute, the seven Taoist sects cannot ignore the Zhulong Palace.
As a result, although the various Taoist sects would not resort to attacking people at their homes, they were inevitably excluded, intentionally or unintentionally.
Patriarch Wang Puxian had been working hard to promote the Candle Dragon Palace to the Taoist sect during his lifetime, and he even cultivated to the Taoist master level.
The realm of the Taoist master is actually divided into nine realms for cultivators.
However, the Taoist master is beyond the ordinary ninth-level cultivators.
The main difference is that a Taoist master must be a cultivator of the ninth realm, but a cultivator of the ninth realm is not necessarily a Taoist master.
Generally speaking, the Dao Master is to the Dharma Cultivator what the "Sword Immortal" is to the Sword Cultivator, and the "Spiritual Lord" is to the Spirit Cultivator...
Unfortunately, even so, Zhulong Palace failed to become a Taoist sect in the end.
After the death of Patriarch Wang Puxian, there has been no new Taoist master-level cultivator in the Candle Dragon Hall, and naturally it is impossible for them to plan for the name of the Taoist Sect.
This is because a Dharma-cultivating sect with a "Taoist Master" may not necessarily become a Taoist sect, but a Dharma-cultivating Taoist sect must have a "Taoist Master".
This is a hard condition.
Passed down to this generation, there are now three great ancestors of the Candle Dragon Hall.
One of them was named Wang Daode.
Among the three contemporary great masters of the Candle Dragon Hall, Master Wang Daode is the most unsuccessful one. He has neither any great achievements nor any amazing cultivation.
Compared with the other two famous ancestors, this ancestor Wang Daode is more like a "homebody", staying in the Candle Dragon Hall all day long.
In addition, he looked sloppy and like an old farmer, who spent all day tending to the citrus trees in the back mountain. This made many disciples of the Candle Dragon Hall complain about him and did not approve of this ancestor.
In addition, Master Wang Daode had no children or disciples in his life.
Therefore, when faced with the rumors spread by the disciples of the sect, there was no one who could speak for him, and his reputation in the Candle Dragon Palace became even lower.
The only thing that the disciples of the Candle Dragon Hall don't understand is why, in every annual meeting of the sect, the slovenly Patriarch Wang Daode would sit in the main seat, while the other two famous ancestors would take the second seats?
Could it be that this ancestor is a great master who is hiding his true abilities?
Later, a well-informed disciple found the answer to this question.
This is because this Patriarch Wang Daode is the first leader of the Candle Dragon Hall and the only son of Wang Puxian. He is also the person with the highest seniority in the Candle Dragon Hall today.
However, this news not only failed to change the sect disciples' views on Master Wang Daode, but instead made them look down on him even more.
Patriarch Wang Puxian was a wise man throughout his life. He devoted himself to the promotion of Candle Dragon Palace to the Taoist sect. His cultivation was so high that he was almost a god. Why did he become the son of a tiger father and a dog?
In their view , Wang Daode is the only stain on Master Wang Puxian.
Until recent years, when he was in his twilight years, this most senior ancestor of the Candle Dragon Hall, for some unknown reason, suddenly accepted a cultivator from a remote state in the southern region as his disciple.
It was also because everyone had a lot of opinions about Master Wang Daode that they also disliked the disciples accepted by this master.
Even though this cultivator named Mo Yan, as a direct disciple of Wang Daode, has a very high seniority in the Candle Dragon Palace.
…
Zhulong Hall, back mountain.
The wind is high and the air is fresh.
Mo Yan, dressed in black, went up the mountain.
There was an old Taoist in green clothes on the mountain. He rolled up his sleeves and carefully tended to those citrus trees that had been cared for who knows how many years.
But for some reason, even though the old Taoist has been taking care of them with great care for many years, these citrus trees not only have not grown luxuriantly and produced abundant fruits, but their branches and leaves have even become increasingly shriveled.
"Master." Mo Yan said respectfully to the old Taoist.
The old Taoist seemed to be hard of hearing. He didn't even turn his head and continued to carefully examine the veins on the citrus leaves one by one.
"Master," Mo Yan called out again. Seeing that the old Taoist still didn't answer, he didn't take it seriously and continued, "I have already comprehended the true meaning of the origin of fire and am ready to advance to the realm of refining emptiness. So I came to tell Master that I probably won't be able to visit Master for a while."
"I have been alone in this mountain for thousands of years. I am used to it. Why do I need you to come and see me? It would be best if you don't come." The old Taoist turned his back to Mo Yan and shook his head at the disciple he accepted in his later years. He said nonchalantly, "Did you leave the sect some time ago?"
"Yeah," Mo Yan did not hide it, "I went out with a good friend."
"The one called Lu Qingshan?" The old Taoist had some impression of him.
Mo Yan hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded and said, "Yes."
"How did you meet him? What is your relationship with him?"
Mo Yan paused, organized his words, and then told the whole story of what happened on Jiaolong Island that year.
The old Taoist named Wang Daode, after learning about the bond between his disciple and the sword cultivator named Lu Qingshan, could not help but close his eyes and look thoughtful.
"Okay, I understand," the sloppy old Taoist nodded, and said, as if intentionally or unintentionally, "This boy has great talent and great righteousness. You can get to know him more."
Mo Yan was silent for a moment and did not respond.
"If you have nothing else to do, just leave." The sloppy old Taoist said leisurely.
"Then I will withdraw first." Mo Yan immediately bowed and said goodbye.
"Let's go." The sloppy old Taoist continued to look at his citrus trees.
Mo Yan didn't waste any time and turned around and went down the mountain.
…
Just as Mo Yan turned around and left, another figure floated down.
The visitor was also dressed in flowing green clothes, but compared to the unkempt appearance of the old Taoist, he looked like a god.
This person appeared beside Wang Daode and called out to the slovenly old Taoist, "Uncle."
If others saw this scene, they would definitely find it hard to believe.
Because this immortal Taoist priest who called the sloppy old Taoist "uncle" was none other than Master Zhao Yuding, one of the three great ancestors of the Candle Dragon Hall.
Zhao Yuding stared at Mo Yan's receding back seriously, pondered for a while, and finally asked slowly: "Uncle, you said that the fortune of our Candle Dragon Palace in the next five thousand years depends on this little cultivator from a small island in the southern region. Are you really sure of your chance to take such a gamble?"
In the secular world, it is very common to pin the fortune of a family on one son. But Zhao Yuding was a little skeptical about attributing the fortune of an entire clan to one person. Or rather, he didn't believe it at all.
Wang Daode seemed to have telepathy. He saw through Zhao Yuding's thoughts at a glance. He did not directly refute him, but whispered: "Didn't the 20,000-year destiny of the seven regions of the human race, with countless people, be decided by Xia Daozu alone? How can it be impossible for us, a small Candle Dragon Palace, to have our 5,000-year destiny decided by one person? Can we be greater than the human race?"
Zhao Yuding was speechless for a moment.
"Will the fate he decides be a blessing or a curse?" Zhao Yuding couldn't help but ask again.
“Whether it’s a blessing or a curse, apart from the group of mysterious old monsters in Tianji Temple, how can ordinary people like us spy on the secrets of heaven?” Wang Daode said calmly: “The only thing I can do is to try my best.”
Zhao Yuding seemed to have thought of something, and took another close look at the sloppy old Taoist's face. Suddenly his expression changed, "Uncle, you start to practice that..."
Wang Daode nodded calmly.
"Is it worth it...?" Zhao Yuding squeezed out a few words from his throat with difficulty.
The sloppy old Taoist said calmly: "He is our lucky seed. Since I have bet the future 5,000 years of my Candle Dragon Palace's luck on him, how can I expect to win a lot without making a bet?"
"Back then, Master Wang Puxian was a genius, but he couldn't make our Zhulong Palace go any further. Do you believe he can do it?" Zhao Yuding sounded like a sulking child, with dissatisfaction and complaints in his tone.
"I believe it." Those were the only two words the old Taoist said.
"What's his basis? Is it just his ability to refine strange fire?" Zhao Yuding was unwilling, "Isn't he afraid that this is a road of no return?"
In fact, he had never taken seriously what his uncle had said earlier, that Mo Yan was related to the fortune of the Candle Dragon Palace.
This is really a big statement.
Although the Candle Dragon Palace is not as powerful as the Taiqing Palace and has become increasingly weak in recent years, it is still a top sect that dominates the Zhongshan spiritual vein, has hundreds of thousands of disciples, and is the leader in fire magic in the world.
In a Candle Dragon Palace like this, the energy could actually be controlled by Mo Yan alone?
It's just child's play!
He couldn't take it seriously.
But now, he has to pay more attention to it.
Because Wang Daode has actually begun to make a desperate attempt, drawing on Zhongshan's Qi and... to refine the Eternal Fire for Mo Yan.
He has to take it seriously.
"Whether it's the right path or a wrong path," Wang Daode whispered, as if to comfort Zhao Yuding or himself, "You have to try it out before you know."
"This Candle Dragon Palace is the foundation laid by my uncle's father, the Taoist sect, and also the last wish of Patriarch Wang Puxian. Since my uncle is preparing to take a gamble, I, as an 'outsider', naturally cannot say anything. Never mind!" Zhao Yuding smiled bitterly, flicked his sleeves, and left with a heavy heart, carrying a little anger.
After Zhao Yuding left, the sloppy old Taoist stopped where he was and remained motionless, lost in thought for a long time. Finally, he turned his gaze towards the citrus trees he had been tending to.
It can be seen that under the originally shriveled leaves of the tree, countless fresh new buds have grown.
Although it is not very obvious and not very lush, it is pleasingly green and full of vitality.
"Old trees are sprouting new buds," the old Taoist said with sadness in his eyes, "Father... I am an unfilial son. I have taken care of these citrus trees for my whole life, but I don't know if they will ever bear fruit."
At this moment, scenes from his childhood seemed to flash before his eyes.
"Dad, why don't these citrus trees bear fruit?"
"Dad, please play with me."
"Dad, I have been working hard on my studies recently and have already reached the fifth level. The elders are all praising me. Can you accompany me today?"
"Dad, why do you spend all your time with these citrus trees and have no time to spend with me? Am I your son, or are these citrus trees your sons?"
In the twilight, the sloppy old Taoist figure looked depressed, with disheveled hair and beard.
When he was a child, he was always dissatisfied with his father because he had no time to accompany him, but his father always had time to take care of these citrus trees.
At that time, he wished he could secretly cut down these citrus trees.
Until the day his father passed away, the Taoist master Zhulong, who was almost a god in the eyes of the world, just held his hand, sighed leisurely, and said, "Dad is sorry for you."
Then, there was no other explanation.
It was also after that day that he found out that the citrus trees his father cared about were planted on the energy meridians of the Candle Dragon Palace.
When the Candle Dragon rises, the trees flourish.
When the Candle Dragon wanes, the tree withers.
The day when the old tree bears fruit is the day when Zhulong becomes the Taoist master.
From then on, he began to take care of these citrus trees, which his father had devoted most of his life to, day after day, just like his father.
But after his father passed away, no matter how carefully he took care of the trees, the condition of these citrus trees continued to deteriorate.
The leaves of the citrus trees began to shrivel one by one, and until a few years ago, it seemed as if they had contracted some incurable disease and were almost dying.
He sat in front of the citrus tree for several years without sleep and was exhausted.
Until that day, when the young man named Mo Yan joined the sect, a new bud suddenly sprouted from under the withered old leaves on one of the citrus trees.
"Why does he do that?" Wang Daode repeated Zhao Yuding's question and said to himself, "I don't know either... After all, it's hard to predict the future."
"But now I seem to know a little bit." Wang Daode carefully stroked the newly grown sprouts, as if they were his most precious treasure.
"Lu Qingshan," Wang Daode muttered the name, looked at the new buds on the tree, and murmured, "Is it him...?"
Mo Yan had only gone out with this sword cultivator named Lu Qingshan, and it was already...
Thousands of ships pass by the sunken boat, and thousands of trees bloom in front of the dead tree.
