Chapter 549: Lively Yunshan Temple

Unlike ordinary slow-moving white clouds, the Dharma Cloud, using an escape technique, transformed into a streak of white light that darted between heaven and earth. It created a sensation of incredible speed, particularly for Sun Yaya, an ordinary person experiencing flight for the very first time.

Ji Yuan simply stood on the cloud, gazing into the distance, while Sun Yaya's eyes darted constantly between the mountains and rivers below and the vast sky above. The world's breathtaking beauty was almost too much for her to take in.

‘No trace of an immortal to be found, coming and going, soaring through the nine heavens—this is truly an immortal in the clouds!’

Her initial apprehension about heights gradually faded, replaced by excitement and intense anticipation. It wasn't until half an hour later that Sun Yaya finally settled down. She glanced at Ji Yuan beside her, whose eyes were slightly closed, as if in a dream or perhaps deep in meditation.

At that moment, Ji Yuan opened his eyes and looked at the now quiet Sun Yaya.

“What do you want to ask?”

Sun Yaya smiled.

“Sir, are there many immortals in this world?”

Ji Yuan replied without hesitation.

“The kind of immortals you're thinking of, while not exceedingly numerous, aren't exactly few either. They cultivate in their respective immortal dojos, scattered across the various corners of the world, which makes them difficult to encounter.”

Sun Yaya caught the nuance in Ji Yuan’s words and pressed him further.

“What about the immortals you acknowledge, sir? Are there many of them?”

Ji Yuan glanced at her, then looked back at the distant sky.

“Very few.”

“Oh, sir, we're heading to Yunshan in Bingzhou, aren't we? Is it a well-known immortal mountain? Is its immortal dojo also called Yunshan, or does it have a different name?”

Ji Yuan smiled and answered truthfully.

“Yunshan Temple atop Mount Yunshan—both are utterly unknown, not even recognized by those within the immortal path.”

Sun Yaya's eyes lit up at this, not for a moment finding Ji Yuan's description of 'unknown' to be a negative thing.

“So, they’re like ‘hermits’ in the immortal path?”

“Why do you think that?” Ji Yuan asked, half-curious, while Sun Yaya's eyes and mouth curved into crescent shapes as she smiled.

“Because it feels very much like you, sir. Your name isn't prominent, and no one knows your true background, yet you are a true master…”

After pausing here, Sun Yaya continued.

“Sir, the texts taught at Yunshan Temple, are they impressive?”

There was no need for Ji Yuan to be modest about this question. He answered with a smile.

“Absolutely outstanding!”

Sun Yaya offered a knowing smile. Though she wasn't sure of Ji Yuan's exact standing among immortals, she always trusted his judgment implicitly.

It was not yet noon when Mount Yunshan began to appear on the horizon. Sun Yaya gazed out; the vast lands of Bingzhou were mostly plains, dotted with only small hills. Yet, in the distance, Mount Yunshan stood out, truly unique.

At Yunshan Temple, it was no longer just the two Daoists, Master Qingsong and his disciple Qingyuan. In recent years, several more children had been taken in.

Almost ten years had passed since Ji Yuan left the first part of the 'Heaven and Earth Marvelous Methods' at Yunshan Temple. Throughout these ten years, Master Qingsong and Qingyuan had remained diligent in their cultivation and had not forgotten to organize appropriate Daoist texts. After the initial years of consolidating their practices, they steadily found their rhythm, and Yunshan Temple flourished.

Nonetheless, Master Qingsong would still occasionally venture out to tell fortunes, either setting up a stall or simply wandering to see if he might encounter any interesting faces. It was during these excursions that he gradually took in several children into Yunshan Temple.

When Ji Yuan arrived by cloud with Sun Yaya, Qin Zizhou was already waiting atop Yanxia Peak. Spotting Ji Yuan and a woman approaching on a white cloud from a distance, he immediately stood on a large rock at the summit and bowed in greeting.

“Master Ji, long time no see!”

Ji Yuan also bowed in return from atop the cloud.

“Lord Qin!”

Sun Yaya, quick-witted, bowed immediately after Ji Yuan.

“This junior, Sun Yaya, greets Lord Qin!”

Qin Zizhou stroked his beard and nodded. After Ji Yuan and Sun Yaya landed on the peak, he thoroughly assessed the latter.

“What a bright and graceful young girl.”

“Lord Qin, you flatter me. It is Master Ji who teaches well.”

Sun Yaya's words were merely a humble response, but they clearly surprised Qin Zizhou. He looked at Ji Yuan, then back at Sun Yaya.

“Are you Master Ji’s disciple?”

“Yaya is still far from being a disciple. Sir has only taught me how to write...” Sun Yaya initially wanted to immediately confirm, but she glanced at Ji Yuan and chose not to commit to a definitive answer. Her words, however, were quite clever, and she subtly watched Ji Yuan's reaction as she spoke.

Ji Yuan offered no definite reply, looking towards Yunshan Temple as he spoke.

“Yunshan Temple seems to have gained quite a bit more vitality!”

Qin Zizhou nodded with a smile.

“Indeed, it couldn't remain deserted forever. It should at least resemble a Daoist lineage. Right, let's head down and talk. Master Ji, after you!”

“Lord Qin, after you!”

The two began their descent, and Sun Yaya, sticking out her tongue, quickly followed. On the way down, Qin Zizhou began to recount to Ji Yuan how the four new children had come to live at Yunshan Temple.

The first one he spoke of, and the most interesting, had apparently been coaxed onto the mountain by Master Qingsong through a combination of persuasion and even a little deception.

It was said that several years prior, by chance, Master Qingsong encountered a child in a market somewhere in Bingzhou. The more he observed the child, the more he felt the child had great potential and an excellent disposition. He secretly watched the child for half a month, and thereafter, whenever he descended the mountain, he would seek out the child—sometimes feigning a chance encounter, other times observing discreetly. It took him about two years to finally decide to take the child as a disciple.

“Oh, so this child was the first to come up the mountain?”

Hearing Ji Yuan's question, Qin Zizhou chuckled irrepressibly.

“Don't rush, Master, I haven't finished yet. Qi Xuan wanted to take this child as a disciple, but his desire didn't guarantee the family would agree to send him up the mountain. Especially the child's parents; they saw Daoists as bad omens. The child was only seven, and when a Daoist proposed taking him to the mountain for cultivation, his parents naturally refused. Moreover, they had personally witnessed this Daoist being beaten after telling fortunes...”

Ji Yuan smiled upon hearing this, and Sun Yaya, walking behind, covered her mouth with her hand. She knew Master Qingsong must be a great master, but the way Old Mr. Qin told the story was simply too amusing. She had certainly never heard of an immortal being beaten by a mortal before.

“And then?”

“Haha, well, through relentless persistence and wearing them down, he made the parents understand that Daoists can indeed marry and have children, and that learning Daoism is another valuable skill. What's more, the child was already happily calling him 'Master, Master,' so the parents reluctantly agreed.”

Ji Yuan clicked his tongue in wonder. Was this truly the first time in the world that someone from the immortal path had to go to such lengths as Master Qingsong to accept a disciple?

“From beginning to end, Master Qingsong never displayed any immortal Dao methods?”

Qin Zizhou said with a slight smile.

“He didn't dare to reveal his full abilities easily, though he did display some minor techniques. Otherwise, the parents would still not have agreed. But they certainly didn't consider Qi Xuan an immortal; at most, they saw him as a sorcerer who could avert disaster and tell fortunes.”

The other three children, however, had a somewhat more tragic fate. In the same year the first child was taken in, a significant abduction case (an ancient term for kidnapping) occurred in Shuishulou Prefecture, Bingzhou. The presiding official was the prefect of Shuishulou, a student of Yin Zhaoxian, one of the current assisting chancellors. After a fair trial, ten individuals were sentenced to dismemberment after decapitation for the crime of abduction.

After the criminals were dealt with, thirty to forty children were left behind. Although every effort was made to return them to their original families, most, despite confessions from the culprits, could not have their families located.

Thus, Master Qingsong, who happened to be nearby, used his divination skills to help the authorities locate the children's homes. However, three children still had no relatives who could be found, and so Master Qingsong took them up the mountain with him.

Having finished recounting the stories of the four new disciples at Yunshan Temple, the trio, including Ji Yuan, had arrived outside the temple. There, they were met by Qi Wen, who was carrying water buckets and preparing to descend the mountain for water.

Seeing Ji Yuan and the others arrive, Qi Wen was visibly stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.

“Master Ji, you’ve arrived? And this is?”

“This junior is Sun Yaya. I have merely studied calligraphy with Master Ji for a few years.”

Seeing Sun Yaya bow formally, Qi Wen quickly set down his carrying pole and returned the bow.

“I am Qi Wen, my Daoist name is Qingyuan.”

After saying this, Qi Wen quickly turned to Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou, bowing respectfully to them as elders. As he ushered Ji Yuan and the others into the courtyard, he turned back and shouted into Yunshan Temple.

“Master, Master Ji is here!”

Qi Xuan was in a corner of the Yunshan Temple courtyard, teaching several children and two gray ferrets Daoist health-preserving boxing. Hearing the shout, he looked towards the courtyard gate, his face immediately brightening with joy. He quickly said to the children beside him,

“Quick, quick, come with me to meet Master Ji! He's the Great Master in the portrait!”

As soon as Ji Yuan entered, he saw Master Qingsong jogging towards him, leading four children and accompanied by two small gray ferrets. Upon reaching him, everyone, human and ferret alike, bowed to Ji Yuan.

“Greetings, Master Ji!”

“We greet Master Ji!”

“We greet Great Master Ji!”

“Squeak!”

Their voices weren't entirely synchronized, nor were their titles uniform, but it was a lively and heartwarming sight.

Indeed, with four more children and the two gray ferrets now acting very much like disciples, the entire Yunshan Temple was more vibrant than ever. The youthful, beautiful, knowledgeable, and charming Sun Yaya quickly bonded with the temple's children within two days. She even joined them in viewing the two exceptionally vivid portraits hanging at the back of the main hall.

Only then did Sun Yaya realize that Master Ji was also known as "Great Master" here, and Old Master Qin was referred to as a "Divine Lord"—both titles sounding incredibly formidable.

As it happened, these children had been studying Daoist lessons and health-preserving boxing for three years, and like Sun Yaya, they were about to see the 'Heaven and Earth Marvelous Methods' for the very first time.

On the third night, Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou observed the stars and moon together from the summit of Yanxia Peak.

Qin Zizhou sipped a cup of jujube flower honey tea, looked up at the bright moon, and spoke softly.

“Master Ji, I am not, after all, a true World-Roaming God. The two parts of the 'Heaven and Earth Marvelous Methods,' combined with the 'Marvelous Transformation Heavenly Book'—a celestial text on artifact crafting that also delves into the principles of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements—these are all creations that capture the essence of heaven and earth. Yunshan Temple's foundation is already sufficiently deep; it cannot bear any more.”

Ji Yuan set down his teacup, nodded, and replied,

“That is indeed true. Furthermore, it's not appropriate for us to interfere too much with Yunshan Temple's affairs, lest the Daoists become overly reliant.”

“Precisely, that was my exact intention. In the past two years, aside from Qingsong occasionally seeking clarification for his doubts, I have made fewer appearances, mostly wandering in spirit, seeking stars and absorbing spiritual energy from all directions.”