The theft of the Nine Heavens secret technique by Yuan Gong and his punishment to guard the Celestial Scripture at Baiyun Cave in Yunmeng Mountain was widely rumored among the secular world, yet no one has ever dared to disgrace him in front of Yuan Gong's deity statue like this.
As the crowd craned their necks to watch the spectacle, the White Cloud Temple Master stepped forward and said loudly, "Ignore him. The divine cannot be insulted lightly; there will certainly be retribution for his actions!"
The Temple Master's words had barely fallen when the rogue, still cursing, suddenly fell to the ground in pain.
Within moments, the rogue, who was crying out for help due to stomach pain, stopped moving. Everyone gazed at him intently and saw that he was already dead, bleeding from the seven apertures!
The visitors who came to witness the ceremony were all horrified, believing it was Yuan Gong revealing his divine power, punishing the blasphemer.
After this event, the incense offerings at the Temple of Auspiciousness surged, and everyone talked of Yuan Gong's divine might, thus Baiyun Daoist amassed a huge fortune!
However, the rogue's death was not due to Yuan Gong's display of power; Baiyun Daoist had bribed the rogue to perform such a play of insulting the deity. As for why he died, Baiyun Daoist had poisoned the rogue's food and drink beforehand. The rogue, unaware of the poison, thus had his life abruptly ended while cursing the deity.
Upon seeing this, Xu Qing realized some people are born to be inherently wicked!
Even when they grow mentally mature and become adults, they still will not change.
Xu Qing continued reading.
One day, the County Magistrate of Ning County came to the temple to pay homage to Yuan Gong, during which Baiyun Daoist personally accompanied him, and they discussed teachings and doctrines, finding each other quite agreeable.
As he was leaving, the Magistrate left an old map and said, "This map was a gift from Elder Ciyun of Yinghui Temple to my ancestor, who longed for Baiyun Cave that houses the Celestial Scripture. Unfortunately, the terrain of Yunmeng Mountain is treacherous, filled with poisonous miasma, snakes, and insects, and my ancestor spent his life in vain. Now that this place is Yuan Gong's place of worship, it is right that this item returns to its original owner and is preserved by your temple."
Having obtained the map of Baiyun Cave, Baiyun Daoist was deeply moved. He was restless by nature, unable to sit in meditation, incapable of practicing the techniques of Cizhao Temple. If only he could obtain the Celestial Scripture in Baiyun Cave...
With enough worldly wealth accumulated, Baiyun Daoist suddenly felt stirred by the thought of seeking immortality.
Gold and silver, they neither come with birth nor go with death, only immortality allows one to grasp them, enjoying forever.
Baiyun Daoist made up his mind to visit Cizhao Temple again to find Dingguang Abbot, asking him for protective Buddhist charms and Dharma Artifacts.
Dingguang Abbot asked him, "What do you want these items for?"
"Never mind, if you don't lend them, I'll call your brother!"
"..."
Dingguang Abbot had no choice but to comply.
Baiyun Daoist got the protective Dharma Artifacts and charms, and then he took his eldest disciple, following the markings on the map, exploring deep into Yunmeng Mountain.
Bypassing chaotic mountains and deep marshes, traversing ancient vegetation, they wandered for two days before finally finding the stone bridge closest to Baiyun Cave marked on the map.
The stone bridge was more than three zhang long and about one chi wide. Below it was the turbulent, rushing waves and the razor-sharp stone forest rocks akin to blade and axe.
Just looking at it made Baiyun Daoist dread, but the chance of enlightenment was right in front of him. How could he easily give it up?
"Yuankong, you lead the way first, I will protect you."
"..."
As the eldest disciple, Yuankong was still hesitating when he heard Baiyun Daoist continue, "Once we cross the stone bridge and gain enlightenment, you and I, master and disciple, can become Immortals together. Don't you want to live forever?"
The lure of profit emboldens people, let alone the temptation of immortality.
Yuankong hardened his heart, taking three steps as two, reaching the other side of the stone bridge within a breath or two.
Seeing the stone bridge was indeed solid, Baiyun Daoist finally dared to step onto the bridge.
He cherished his life.
After crossing the stone bridge, what met their eyes was a mountain wall, upon which, beneath a layer of moss, the words "Baiyun Cave" were still clearly visible.
However, the Baiyun Cave they found with great effort was at this moment blocked by a peak-sized boulder obstructing the entrance.
Unwilling to give up, Baiyun Daoist and his disciple separated, each circling the mountain wall to see if they could find another entrance.
After about half an hour, Baiyun Daoist returned to the cave entrance only to find his eldest disciple lying there, snoring idly.
Baiyun Daoist was furious, waking the disciple immediately.
Eldest disciple Yuankong opened his eyes, seeing his master's furious countenance, instead of fear, he joyfully exclaimed, "I dreamed of the Immortal in Baiyun Cave!"
"The Immortal accepted me as a disciple, now I am a disciple under the Sage's seat!"
At this point, Yuankong's tone suddenly halted, then looked at Baiyun Daoist with an inscrutable expression.
"Master, did you dream of the Sage?"
"..."
Baiyun Daoist was silent for a moment, then suddenly grinned and said, "Of course I dreamed it! The Holy Lady knows that you and I, master and disciple, are sincere in our pursuit of the Dao, and she made an exception to accept us as disciples. Now we are officially brothers, so you shouldn't call me master anymore, it puts me to shame..."
"Then... Senior Brother?"
"Junior Brother!"
Baiyun Daoist held Yuan Kong's arm and asked, "What are your plans next, Junior Brother?"
Yuan Kong smiled and said, "Why ask what you already know, Senior Brother? The Immortal Master Holy Lady asked me to return tomorrow at midnight, at which time she will impart the Immortal Technique of longevity."
"We should naturally return, and come back tomorrow to learn the Dao."
"Indeed, indeed! Look at my muddled mind, it's truly been overwhelmed by this great joy! We must return now and come back to meet with the Immortal Master Holy Lady tomorrow at midnight."
The two returned happily the way they came.
As they reached the stone bridge again, Baiyun Daoist laughed and said, "This time I'll be the Protector along with the Junior Brother, feel free to go forth."
Yuan Kong suspected nothing and stepped forward.
However, as Yuan Kong walked onto the stone bridge, he did not expect a sudden force from behind. He lost his footing and, within an instant, fell off the stone bridge.
On the rocky shoal like an array of knives and spears, there suddenly appeared a splash of crimson.
Baiyun Daoist stood on the stone bridge, sneering, "Just a fool, yet he thought he could stand on equal footing with me, how delusional!"
After killing his first disciple, Baiyun Daoist returned to Baiyun Cave, hoping the Holy Lady would dream of him as well.
But to no avail.
Not ready to give up, Baiyun Daoist came to Baiyun Cave again at midnight the next day.
This time, Baiyun Daoist brought incense candles and offerings, knelt in front of Baiyun Cave, bowed nine times, and spoke exceedingly pleasant words, as if treating the Holy Lady as his own mother.
After the incense candles burned out, Baiyun Daoist suddenly felt drowsy. In a state between waking and dreaming, the old Daoist finally saw the Holy Lady Yuan Kong spoke of.
The Holy Lady turned out to be a wrinkled old woman with white hair!
Though she appeared elderly, her eyes shone like stars, her spirit far more vigorous than an ordinary person's.
In the dream, the Holy Lady spoke bluntly, immediately pointing out Baiyun Daoist's act of killing his disciple, trying to monopolize the Immortal opportunity.
Baiyun Daoist felt joy rather than surprise. This Holy Lady, though inside the cave, knew about the events outside, proving she had true abilities.
Immediately, the Daoist defended himself, saying the disciple was a person of no virtue, lacking knowledge of propriety and hierarchy. How else would he fail to recognize his master upon gaining the Immortal opportunity?
Such a person, joining the Holy Lady's order, would only disgrace the lineage.
But he was different; he was someone who respected customs and hierarchy very much, and greatly honored his elders...
The Holy Lady was silent for a moment, then spoke:
"The Immortal opportunity lies in the word 'compete'. To gain the Dao is owed to this word. You seem more suited to be my disciple than your apprentice..."
After worshiping the Holy Lady in Baiyun Cave, Baiyun Daoist then learned the method of prolonging life by borrowing vitality from the living, also mastering the ritual method for refining the Ghost Head Blood Saber.
Xu Qing watched as the Holy Lady took out a page of the Celestial Scripture impressed on paper, showing it to Baiyun Daoist. On it was recorded the secret technique of the Ghost Head Saber.
"The Celestial Scripture will only reveal its words when the moon is full at midnight. I asked you to come at midnight for this reason..."
Perhaps because Xu Qing was performing the Rescue of Baiyun Daoist during the day, he could not glimpse the Celestial Scripture impressed on the paper.
From his perspective, it looked like just a plain sheet of white paper.
Wait! The Celestial Scripture?
As Xu Qing was about to give up, he suddenly noticed behind the Holy Lady a snippet of Celestial Scripture's symbols engraved on the stone wall, but they appeared only for an instant before being obscured by the Holy Lady.
Xu Qing's mind stirred, and he began to rewind.
Flipping through the Sutra of Salvation, he went back to the moment the Holy Lady revealed a corner of the Celestial Scripture, and Xu Qing decisively paused the lantern show.
This frame of image then appeared crystal clear before Xu Qing's eyes.
Tadpole-like script entered his mind, and Xu Qing felt heavy-headed and light-footed, as if falling upside down from clouds, or like a person submerged, constantly floating upwards.
Breaking through clouds, emerging above the water, Xu Qing suddenly saw before him an old woman with white hair and wrinkles.
That old woman looked at the suddenly appearing Xu Qing, clearly stunned.