CH 11

“（Spells/Scriptures）Heaven, earth, and water’s three emperors from pre-heaven’s chaotic Qi came~

Blessed by the God of Catastrophe, they achieved immeasurable merit’s acclaim……

Bestowing bliss, pardoning wrongs, unraveling confusion with grace,

The deities saved mortals’ race~

Ruling the universe, the three emperors’ merits cover the three realms with might,

Their compassion and benevolence shine bright……”

（Original text:唯三圣人～乃一太极～普受浩劫家命～鼎膺无量品褒～…….赐福解厄，普济存亡，道冠诸天，恩覃三界，大悲大愿，大圣大慈…….）

The chanting of scriptures with ups and downs echoed continuously in the spacious cave, and all six disciples of Qingfeng Temple, including Li Huowang, were sitting on cushions and following their master to recite morning prayers.

There were no scriptures in front of everyone, so Li Huowang could only vaguely follow his fellow disciples during the morning prayers. 

While reciting, he looked up and fixed his gaze on Dan Yang Tzu, who was sitting at the front. The anger in his eyes surfaced briefly but was quickly suppressed.

Li Huowang hated this disgusting guy so much that he wished he could eat his flesh and strip off his skin, but he knew that he was currently too weak and not Dan Yang Tzu’s match. 

The opponent was very powerful, so he couldn’t act rashly. His main priority now was to endure and look for opportunities.

This may be extremely difficult and perhaps Dan Yang Tzu will discover and kill him in a brutal way. However, Li Huowang doesn’t care, he just wants revenge!

When he saw Dan Yang Tzu slightly tilt his body, Li Huowang’s gaze quickly moved upwards, crossing three incense pillars, and saw three statues placed inside the hollow rock wall ahead.

Three immortals with different appearances, wearing yellow Taoist robes and holding horsetail whisks, gazed at the tiny mortals below with indifferent eyes. 

They didn’t look like typical immortals at all, but rather had common appearances. If it weren’t for their Taoist robes, they would have looked like three ordinary people.

Li Huowang didn’t know who these three statues were, but he deeply memorized their appearances in his mind. 

At this moment, the chanting began to slow down, and after the last section of the scripture was recited, a young Taoist beside him struck the red drum three times heavily, signaling the end of the morning class.

All the disciples stood up with Dan Yang Tzu and held their hands up above their heads, pinching the thumb of their left hand with their right hand while placing the other four fingers on top of the right thumb, and bowed to the statues.

After finishing the ritual, Dan Yang Tzu turned slowly and looked at his disciples behind him. When he saw Li Huowang, who was wearing a Taoist robe, standing calmly at the end of the crowd, he nodded in satisfaction.

“Xuan Yuan, Xuan Yang has just entered our sect and there are definitely many things he doesn’t understand. As his senior brother, teach him,” said Dan Yang Tzu.

“Yes, Master.” A middle-aged man with a round face and slightly plump expression saluted Dan Yang Tzu.

“Okay, it’s past the hour of the Rabbit. There’s nothing left to do. Let’s all go eat,” said Dan Yang Tzu as he put his hands behind his back and walked towards the nearby cave entrance.

A gloomy young man wearing a headscarf followed him out.

“That’s Senior Brother Zheng Kun. Since Senior Brothers Zheng Kan and Zheng Zhen defected, he’s been the only closed-door disciple of our master. If you meet him in the future, remember to show respect. He’s not as easy-going as our master,” Xuan Yuan explained to Li Huowang as he walked over to him.

Li Huowang nodded and said, “Thank you, Senior Brother Xuan Yuan, for explaining his background. Does he also have the same magical powers as our master?”

Li Huowang didn’t know much else, but he knew that Dan Yang Tzu had the ability to manipulate objects with one hand and possessed an incredible strength that could lift several hundred kilograms of stone.

However, what Li Huowang feared the most was that Dan Yang Tzu seemed to know everything that happened inside the cave, whether it was him calling Dan Yang Tzu a “fart” or his previous failure to agree to escape with the others.

If he really wanted to deal with Dan Yang Tzu, he had to figure out this aspect first.

“He is a closed-door disciple. How would I know what he has learned from our master?” Li Huowang sensed the jealousy in Xuan Yuan’s words.

“A single person’s strength is too weak. Should I find other allies within Qingfeng Temple?” Li Huowang had a thought in his mind, but it immediately died out.

Those who had rebellious thoughts were probably eaten by the Black Ganoderma in the last round. Now, even those who are left, if they don’t worship Dan Yang Tzu, they are likely to be cowardly and timid.

“Let’s go. We’ll talk as we walk,” said Xuan Yuan as he turned around and led Li Huowang towards the kitchen.”I know what you’re thinking. Don’t think about our master’s path to becoming immortal. It has to be passed down from above, and you are the last one.”

“Just focus on your work. If our master tells you to do something, just do it. When the time comes for seniority to be respected, it will naturally be your turn,” said Xuan Yuan.

By this time, they had arrived at the dining cave, where other senior brothers who had arrived early were already drinking their porridge. Among them, Li Huowang recognized three people. Two Taoist swordsmen with long swords were named Chang Ming and Chang Ren, and there was also Xuan Yin, whom Li Huowang had met before. In addition to Xuan Yuan and himself, all five registered disciples of Qingfeng Temple were now gathered here.

“The rule of Qingfeng Temple is to eat silently and sleep without speaking. After we finish our meal, I’ll teach you something else,” said Xuan Yuan as he sat down and began drinking his porridge.

Li Huowang sat down and picked up a black pottery bowl, taking a sip while silently observing the behavior of the other senior brothers.

These people looked different from each other, with no one particularly outstanding or ugly. But when sitting together in their Taoist robes, Li Huowang felt something strange.

It wasn’t until he saw Xuan Yin holding his nose and forcefully blowing his nose towards the ground, while the other two senior brothers frowned, that Li Huowang finally realized that their temperament was different.

Some of them had more scholarly airs, while others had large joints in their limbs, suggesting they did rough manual labor.

“Where did Dan Yang Tzu find these five disciples? Did they use to be medicinal herbs like me?” 

The other senior disciples put down their empty bowls without looking at the newly arrived junior disciple Xuan Yang, and walked quickly toward the door.

After finishing their meal, Xuan Yuan continued to take a walk inside Qingfeng Temple with Li Huowang. 

From him, Li learned that the five registered disciples were responsible for different areas within the temple. Some were in charge of managing the Taoist children,some responsible for purchasing supplies outside the temple, and others in charge of raising the Black Ganoderma. Even several senior disciples had to take on multiple roles.

Originally, they weren’t this busy, but after a group of people died, their responsibilities had to be distributed among the remaining disciples. 

Li Huowang’s responsibilities were obvious, as he was in charge of everything related to the materials room. Everything the disciples did was to assist their master achieve immortality.

After wandering around all day, Li Huowang finally gained a detailed understanding of the entire Taoist temple from Xuan Yuan. He firmly remembered these things in his heart. 

This was no longer an illusion that he could left at any time. Whether he could kill Dan Yang Tzu or not, this information might come in handy.

After spending a day together, the relationship between Xuan Yuan and Li Huowang improved quite a bit. The two were walking back from the Zhengyi Hall.

“Junior Brother Xuan Yang, there’s really no need to be so nervous. Your work won’t be that busy, and Master doesn’t refine pills every day.”

“Oh? Please enlighten me, Senior Brother Xuan Yuan.”

“The refining of pills is closely related to celestial phenomena and timing. Some medicinal pills can only exert their maximum effect at fixed times. For example, today and tomorrow are not suitable for pill refining, but the midnight of the day after tomorrow is an excellent time.”