From a Zhengyi Taoist Child to a Master of All Laws

Chapter 409: Respecting the Way and Valuing Virtue
This is a world where the spiritual energy has been revived after being extinct for many years, and allusions often mean many things.

Li Yang frowned and said nothing. He stood at the entrance of the cave with his eyes closed and sensed it carefully for a long time. After a while, he opened his eyes;
"We are too far away, and I can't sense any life activity. I'll go down and take a look first. You guys stay alert around us."

"Yes!"

Zhang Daoyuan stepped forward, bowed his hands, and made a Tai Chi gesture: "Master, why don't I go down with you? Maybe I can be of some help."

In modern society, there is only one true immortal, Li Yang. His kind of Tao is impossible to find, but he can be honored as an ancestor and is treated with respect in any country.

Li Yang glanced at Zhang Daoyuan strangely and said, "That's fine. Come with me."

After saying that, Li Yang took the lead and jumped into the cave, followed closely by Zhang Daoyuan, holding the Kuanglu mirror in his hand, with the light of the mirror exploring downwards.

The deeper you go, the colder the temperature in the cave becomes. Li Yang's words "black smoke calls to the sky and makes you feel cold, while the chilly air invades your body and makes you shiver" are not without reason.

After going down to the bottom of the cave, the inside is still interconnected and one can barely see things with the help of the light from the Kuanglu mirror.

Zhang Daoyuan kept practicing his Zhou Tian Kung Fu, and only then was he able to dispel the coldness at the bottom of the cave. He looked at the cave that was like a den of ghosts with many connections in all directions, and his expression was extremely solemn: "Could it be that Taoist Miao Fa and Wang Xin accidentally fell into this cave, and that's why there is no news from them at all, and no trace at all?"

"Maybe. Let's continue exploring."

"Alright."

The bright light from the mirror allows every detail in the cave to be seen clearly. It is truly a great treasure.

Li Yang watched Zhang Daoyuan working hard to activate the Kuanglu Mirror and said, "This precious mirror should be an ancient treasure left by the 21st generation Heavenly Master Zhang Bingyi?"

Zhang Daoyuan looked embarrassed when Li Yang revealed the secret of the magic mirror.

Zhang Daoyuan made up the story that Zhang Daoling fought against the Ghost King with this Kuanglu Mirror. This mirror was indeed made by Zhang Bingyi, the 21st Heavenly Master in the Yuan Dynasty, at Mount Longhu.

"During the Yuan Dynasty, spiritual energy was already extremely low, but this Zhang Bingyi barely qualified for the position of Xiantian. He respected Taoism and valued virtue. At the age of ninety, he was named Xuan Zi Ji Zhao Hua Zhen Jun."

"There was also the 46th Heavenly Master Zhang Yuanji, who was violent, greedy and lewd, and was lawless. He changed the book at will, deceived himself and others, and died in depression."

“So the so-called Heavenly Master bloodline is nothing special. If you want to seek the great way, your character is the most important thing.”

Li Yang's words made Zhang Daoyuan break out in a cold sweat.
He naturally knew the story of Zhang Yuanji, the 46th Heavenly Master mentioned by Li Yang. This ancestor was bloodthirsty and lustful. He was reported and exposed in the Ming Dynasty and almost ruined the Zhang family's status as the direct Heavenly Master. Later he was exiled for three years. However, "The Family of Heavenly Masters of Han Dynasty" described Zhang Yuanji's experiences of being imprisoned and exiled during those years as "traveling abroad."

[He left home to travel, climbed famous mountains, and explored the traces of immortals’ old retreats. He returned six years later and went straight to the foot of Longhu Rock, where he built a thatched hut and lived there for three years.]

Outsiders don’t know about these dirty things. Li Yang only found out about them recently when he looked up relevant information about the Zhang family.

"True Lord, what you said is very true." After thinking for a moment, Zhang Daoyuan continued: "True Lord, for this rescue, why don't we split up into two groups and search separately? This way, our chances will be greater."

"That's fine, too."

After saying that, the two separated. Li Yang continued walking forward. This cave seemed to have a different charm. It was connected in all directions and was connected to the underground caves of the mountain. After walking for hundreds of meters, he still could not see the end.

Li Yang frowned. The spiritual energy in this cave was very violent. It was not a good place.

After walking for a long time, he carved a mark and turned a corner. When he was walking back, he suddenly saw Zhang Daoyuan, who had just left, lying on the ground. He was breathing weakly, his robe was soaked with blood, and his clothes were covered with mud. After checking Zhang Daoyuan's whole body, he saw a wound the size of a human head on his back. The flesh and blood stuck to the broken robe, which looked very scary, as if he was attacked from behind by some terrifying monster.

After a wisp of spiritual energy passed over, Zhang Daoyuan slowly woke up.

"Master, go and rescue Taoist Miaofa and the others. I just heard their voices, but before I could get close, I was ambushed by a dark shadow. I barely managed to get here!"

"Which position?"

"I've marked it. You can follow my tracking charm to find it!"

Li Yang frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Daoyuan with a strange expression; "That's good."

"Since you are so seriously injured, why don't you rest here and wait for me to come back."

"But, Master, there are great dangers ahead. I am worried..."

Li Yang smiled calmly: "Don't worry, for me, the danger no longer comes from the earth."

After saying that, Li Yang sent another stream of spiritual energy to Zhang Daoyuan and then floated away following the flying talisman.

Zhang Daoyuan was still lying on the ground with a weak look on his face, but he kept staring at the direction where Li Yang left, his eyes were like knives, and his face was full of anxiety.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... one minute, two minutes, three minutes...

Zhang Daoyuan didn't know how much time had passed, he just felt like the days were passing by like years.
"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud noise like a landslide and a crack of the ground was heard from the deep cave ahead, and a large cloud of smoke rose up.
After the loud noise stopped, Zhang Daoyuan waited for a long time. When Li Yang did not come back, he changed his previous depressed state and got up from the ground with an extremely ferocious look on his face:

"This dragon-imprisoning formation can even imprison dragons, so are you afraid it can't imprison you?"

The loud noise below also attracted the attention from above. Zhang Miaocheng, who arrived late, looked at the billowing smoke and dust in the cave below and thought to himself that it was not good.

The disciples of the Taoist temple rescued for a long time, and after throwing down the rope, only one disciple came back with the dying Zhang Daoyuan.
"Master, Master is trapped down there! I am not very skilled in martial arts and I dare not follow you. I don't want you to accidentally trigger the formation and get trapped underground. Please contact the Geological Bureau for rescue!"

Zhang Daocheng vomited a mouthful of blood, his face turned pale, and he fainted after he finished speaking.

In this situation, even if Zhang Miaocheng had any questions, he had no idea where to ask them, as several disciples of the Baodao Jing generation had already surrounded him and left to heal his wounds.

After Zhang Daoyuan was escorted away, Zhang Miaocheng led the Suzhou Taoist disciples around the dusty cave, frowning:
"Contact the Geological Bureau... It's impossible for a normal geological collapse to trap the True Lord. There must be something dangerous underneath. Prepare good news. If the True Lord is still trapped tomorrow, call Alliance Leader Qi and Master Chi of Baiyun Taoist Academy!"

Just as Zhang Miaocheng finished his words, there was another loud noise of landslides and earthquakes coming from the north of the Huanghuai region, as if the gods and ghosts were angry and the generals in heaven were swinging their hammers.

The noise was felt over a wide area, and was felt in many areas including Suzhou and Nanjing.

Zhang Miaocheng steadied himself, and suddenly felt something was wrong.
Not long after, when Suzhou Taoist Temple was still trying to rescue the trapped Li Yang, the Taoist disciples who were sent to gather information came back at full speed to report:

"Reporting to Taoist Master Miaocheng, a mountain called Funiushan in Xuzhou suddenly collapsed just now, and broken rocks flowed down, and the entire mountain collapsed directly down ten meters!"

(End of this chapter)