Plundering the Dao of the Immortal Journey

Ying Prefecture

Spring had just begun and it drizzled slightly. From time to time, the wind would blow, which caused the temperature to decline rapidly.

A single oxcart rushed through the rain. The driver of the cart wore his wool raincoat and a conical hat. Bells hung from the necks of the ox as they moved along.

Pei Zi Yun felt rather uneasy for some unexplained reason. When he raised the curtains, he saw that it was raining and small drops of rain had fell onto the trees. As the wind blew, the leaves shook, and these drops of water fell to the ground.

"Could it be that someone is plotting to harm me?" Pei Zi Yun frowned, my cultivation level isn’t high enough. Although I have a premonition, I am unable to tell what the reason is, or where it’s coming from. I need to gather more information in order to make an accurate judgement."

Just as he was thinking, the driver pulled the oxcart to a halt, "Young Master, we’ve arrived at Fu Mansion."

Pei Zi Yun snapped out of his thoughts and threw a string of coins to the driver before he left the cart. The rain pelted his umbrella as he tugged on the bronze door handle and let himself in.

The room was warm and comfortable. A jug of tea sat atop the table.

On the right were several paintings of mountains and lakes, on the left were several books. This room had a very cultured and refined feel to it.

Pei Zi Yun used a little fan to gently fan the flames by the furnace as Yu Yun Jun and High Scholar Fu walked in. They looked at the pot of tea which was over the stove and could smell the decadent aroma.

Pei Zi Yun looked up and saw High Scholar Fu watching him and thus extended his hand, "Master, High Scholar Fu, have some tea. I brought this back from the Crown Prince’s Palace and is considered premium tea. Please, have a taste."

"Oh, premium tea? Sect Leader’s trip to the capital city must have been worth it then. I would love to try it." High Scholar Fu added, he watched the as the tea boiled.

Pei Zi Yun stood up and took several cups, "Please, have some."

High Scholar Fu took a sip and felt that it was slightly bitter and yet there was a lingering sweetness. After allowing the taste of the tea to settle, he said, "It’s indeed a good cup of tea."

Yu Yun Jun nodded her head in approval, "Indeed, there’s a certain complexity to this cup of tea, with many different flavors."

Pei Zi Yun took a sip before he placed the cup aside. He looked at the both of them and asked, "How have your days been?"

Yu Yun Jun and High Scholar Fu looked at each other before Yu Yun Jun spoke, "As soon as you left for the capital city, the situation became tenser. Ji Bei Hou and Holy Jail Sect have been making suspicious movements. However, a month later, everything died down. It was as if they received some sort of news. Since you were in the capital city, Dao arts wouldn’t work there. Our attempts at trying to contact you were rebuffed by the Imperial Qi. We were very suspicious."

"Soon after, we received word that the Crown Prince’s position was becoming stable. The Governor even sent someone over and told us that everything was going well. It’s already been a month, and thus the soldiers guarding our sect were due to return. However, the magistrate ordered the soldiers to stay for a while longer. Now, the domain around our sect seem rather safe and secure. There were several shady Daoists lingering around and prying, but even they had disappeared." Yu Yun Jun told him everything, her expression was one of calmness.

"Now that I finally feel at ease, I would like to start training the younger disciples, and show them the way. Our Sect has also started swelling with new recruits. Our other monasteries for the outer circle has also stabilized considerably. Incense burning has increase by a great deal."

"Although some disciples mood and general feelings have yet to recover, it will eventually." As she spoke, she took a sip of tea. She smiled as well.

"At this point, nothing special happened? Or has there been any movement within Dark Altar Sect?" Pei Zi Yun frowned and asked, hoping to get to the bottom of the issue.

Yu Yun Jun pondered for several moments before replying, "No. It’s possible that with your support, the Crown Prince’s authority and might has increased drastically. We’ve heard of some small movements within Dark Altar Sect, but it’s all completely stopped."

Pei Zi Yun picked up the lid of the cup and hesitated. The spontaneous promptings of premonitions weren’t something that every Daoist had. It was something that only sprang up when the danger was real.

Everyone within the room fell into silence, and the only sound that could be heard were of High Scholar Fu sipping his tea. The room was warm due to the heating elements.

"There’s no news…" Pei Zi Yun suppressed his anxiety and frowned before continuing, "Give the magistrate another 300 taels of silver. Only by doing so will we be able to maintain a good relationship continually."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

"Since I’ve received the premonition, which didn’t bode well and the fate of the sect is joined to my own personal fate, we should strengthen our defense." Pei Zi Yun thought to himself. After all, being stronger defensively couldn’t ever be something bad.

Thinking this way, Pei Zi Yun then spoke, "Arrange for more frequent patrols. If anything, out of the ordinary happens, report it immediately. Make use of the communication talisman. Although we’ve borrowed the reputation of the Crown Prince, it might not protect us forever. It’s good to have our own defenses. In doing so, we negate the chance for any sect or anyone to strike against us."

"Oh right, as per our last communication, have you checked up on the materials which I’ve asked?" Pei Zi Yun asked. It wasn’t good to use the Crown Prince to check up on this matter, in case it got leaked and attracted attention.

"Yes." Yu Yun Jun replied as she took out a notebook and handed it over, "This is the information I’ve collated over a variety of sources, and is very thorough."

Pei Zi Yun received it and took a look. He noted that the writings were very proper and the calligraphy of it was excellent.

Du Zi Nong

His father was a minister of rites and his family was a very highly celebrated one. His family had a history of producing Palace Scholars. When he was seven he started reading, and became an Elementary Scholar at the age of 17. At the age of 24, became a High Scholar. He only managed to become a Palace Scholar when he reached the age of 35. Soon after he became the advisor to Han Lin Academy.

That same year, he made several changes to the way the nation’s history archives were compiled. He then revamped the system before eventually rising up to work for the ministry of rites.

That same year, he ascended in ranks probably because someone in that old position was punished and transferred out.

He was a high-flying scholar who was favored by the Emperor. There were many instances where rebel soldiers rose up, and he took up arms to deal with them. At last, they were overcome by a stronger rebel army of 30,000 men.

The siege lasted for five days and five nights, until they eventually caved in and were taken as prisoners. When he met with the rebel leader, he refused to kneel and had his kneecaps broken as a result. He then scolded the rebel leader, and had his tongue cut off. Even in his last moments, he spat blood in the face of the rebel leader.

That wasn’t all. The rebel leader’s hatred for him was so intense that he sent men after his family and killed them all. It’s possible that he had several surviving relatives, but their location remained unknown.

This man was a true martyr. It’s just that he had excavated the latent dragon and killed it, thus suffered the retribution. His entire family line was wiped out. What ensued was several decades of chaos within the world. When Pei Zi Yun finished reading this, he sighed.

The Daoist within his dream was Zhang Jing Dao, and was of the seventh rank. He had been the recipient of an Imperial Tutor once. However, he suffered a tragic end by being struck by lightning. Likewise, he had excavated the latent dragon and killed it. The current dynasty awarded him with a title after hearing that he alone was the reason for the end of the previous dynasty.

There were several more words written below that said that he had three disciples. Every last one of them were victims of retribution as well. All of them died tragically. Pei Zi Yun put down the notebook and thought to himself, "This is truly terrifying!"

There was still supernatural forces within this world. Pitting yourself against such forces would ensure that a person had a bitter end.

"Right, this person also gave the imperial tutor the map of the dragon veins. Maybe the Immortal Dragon Veins can be found." With this direction, Pei Zi Yun realized that he could do something about it and locate the map.

All of a sudden, he felt the communication talisman within his robes heat up. He pointed a finger at it and a bright ray of light burst forth. The shadow of Ye Su’er could be seen. Ye Su’er spoke nervously to Pei Zi Yun, "Brother Pei, something’s happening to True Element Sect. The magistrate of our prefecture wishes to raid our monastery."

"The magistrate wishes to raid your monastery?" Pei Zi Yun paused in shock. True Element Sect was his ally, and he couldn’t leave them to suffer on their own. This came at such an abrupt time, which caused Pei Zi Yun to suspect something fishy.

"What was his reason for doing so?"

Ye Su’er then replied, "He said that the monastery had been stained by the guilty misdemeanor of the female Daoists. The reason for this happened last year. An Elementary Scholar called Xiao Ming came to our monastery to seek refuge for the night. He was refined and well educated. After his overnight stay, something happened."

At this point, her face started to turn red as she became incensed, "He then said that Xiao Ming behaved inappropriately here, and thus died as a result of excessive sexual activities when he returned. His wife reported this matter to the magistrate, and thus the magistrate decided to send someone to raid our monastery. He even said that we were in cahoots with bandits. They’ve even captured many of our outer circle disciples who don’t know any fighting arts or Dao arts to defend themselves."

"It was true that this Xiao Ming came to our monastery, but there was no proof that he had any relations with anyone from here. Besides, he only died six months after returning. It’s obvious that he died of his own causes. What has this got to do with us?"

"What’s most outrageous is that they actually linked the rebel Han Qing Feng to us. They said that Han Qing Feng often stayed in our monastery to hide from the authorities. They insisted that we had committed acts of indecency in doing so. Our Sect doesn’t restrict marriage, but from time to time, our disciples might have affinity with other men. When our master checked which girls were present during this point, she realized that there were only seven female Daoists around, of which five were virgins, how could we be suspected of such an offence? It’s clear that someone wishes to attack our reputation, and cause damage to our sect."

"This is what my master told me and I’ve told you everything."

"I understand, I’m coming now." Pei Zi Yun frowned, as his face turned ashen before he spoke, "Looks like someone couldn’t deal directly with Free Cloud Sect and the turned to our ally instead to harm them."

Hearing Pei Zi Yun day this, Yu Yun Jun stood up, "Do you want me to follow you?"

Pei Zi Yun turned silent before he replied, "I’m afraid our enemies are attacking on both fronts. This is just a distraction. Master, inform our Sect to prepare it’s defenses. You should stay here and protect this mansion. If anyone attacks, use the communication amulet and we shall react accordingly."

As soon as Pei Zi Yun finished speaking, he realized that it was drizzling outside. He grabbed his raincoat and a bamboo hat before he boarded the oxcart to make his way to the pier. The rain gradually became heavy, while strong waves crashed against the shore.

Seeing Pei Zi Yun rush over, everyone was stumped. Pei Zi Yun then said, "Has our boat been restocked?"

"Dao Master, it’s only half stocked. We’re working on it now." The captain bowed, "If you have something urgent to attend to, we can set off straight away."

Pei Zi Yun felt rather consoled as he waved his hand, "It’s been hard on you. I wanted to give you several days of rest, but something did indeed crop up. We have to leave immediately. We’re going to An Jie Prefecture."

"When we’re near the destination, you can restock."

"I shall pay you accordingly for your efforts."

"The captain shall be given 5 taels and the few assistants would be given 3 taels. Everyone else would get 2 taels."

"Yes, Young Master."

Soon after Pei Zi Yun gave the order, the men of the boat crew had their morale increased as they hurriedly got to work. The sails were raised as they sailed towards the An Jie Prefecture.

It was still raining at this point. Pei Zi Yun stood on the lower deck, he could hear the sound of the rain against the window. He then saw the cook who was preparing their meals.

Pei Zi Yun looked rather worried as he paced around, deep in thought. "There are definitely people with loose morals within our sect. In fact, there might even be one-night stands going on."

"But Free Cloud Sect is different from True Element Sect. Not only is True Element Sect a single gender sect, they are often encouraged to remain chaste before they open the gates to heaven. If not, it would be hard for the Daoists to break through."

"Their sect does not forbid marriage. It doesn’t matter whether a cultivator was male or female when it came to opening the gates of heavens. The Sect Leader said that there were seven women, and five of them were virgins. Clearly, she wouldn’t lie to me. This doesn\'t make sense."

"In doing this, who was the prefectural magistrate trying to please?"

Pei Zi Yun couldn’t help but laugh, knowing who was behind this matter. After all such authority to maneuver people was very rare. In fact, most people wouldn’t resort to such underhand methods in order to achieve their desired outcome.

Your sect is dirty and tarnished, with many indecent acts going on. That’s why you would assume that every other sect is the same way. Little do you know such raunchy acts are extremely uncommon.

True Element Sect was an all-female sect. After being exposed to such an accusation, they wouldn’t know how to react and thus turned to me for help.

"However, it can be said that True Element Sect has been having peace for too long. Before the opening of the nation, the magistrate office resorted to brutal means to get back at Daoists. And yet the Daoists managed to survive for so long?

"That means there are ways to deal with such unfair and unjustified treatment!"

"And yet True Element Sect has completely forgotten how to react. They’ve really pampered and spoiled themselves like golden cats."