From a Zhengyi Taoist Child to a Master of All Laws

Chapter 415: Zhang Family Fighting, Two Sects Unite
Qi Qiansu hesitated: "Daoyou, what do you mean?"

Li Yang turned his head and looked at Qi Qiansu steadily:
"The mainland Tianshi only has 63 generations. I guess the Zhang family of the time also knows that their luck has run out, so they found another way and went to Treasure Island. Two places have flourished. Now, two innate masters, Zhang Fazhen and Zhang Daoyuan, have been born in Treasure Island, and there are no less than 20 masters of awakening spirits."

In fact, this lineup can be called a family of Heavenly Masters. Up to now, with the development of China, there are less than three hundred experts in Qi Ling cultivation officially recorded. Twenty Qi Lings are from the same lineage, plus two innate ones. This is already much higher than the configuration of the upper six of the thirty-six Taoist academies.

In comparison, there were only two or three cats in the Tianshi Mansion on the mainland. After the two of them had been in Weiyu Academy for a few days, they sensed that among all the Zhang family members summoned back by Zhang Miaofa, including Zhang Miaofa and Zhang Miaocheng, there were only twelve people with awakened spiritual cultivation.

The gap is huge. According to the best-of-three system set by both sides, Zhang Fazhen, who is at the innate level, will definitely win one game. Zhang Miaofa must win the other two games in order to gain the right to speak after the unification of Tianshi Dao.

Qi Qiansu nodded: "This is also the reason why I came here to witness it. Now the merger of Zhengyi and Yidao seems to have a bright future. After the merger, the thirty or so Qilings are almost the first sect in China, but the future is already precarious and difficult to predict."

These words were originally confidential, and looking at China, I guess I can only discuss them with Li Yang.

Qi Qianshu paused and continued, "The Tianshi Dao of Baodao is very powerful. If Zhang Fazhen wins, if he insists on restoring the ancient Tianshi system, it will inevitably go against the current policy of the entire Chinese nation. If he is not careful, he will be doomed."

"If Zhang Miaofa wins on the mainland, how can he suppress the ambitious Zhang Fazhen and the twenty or so awakened spirits he brought with him? The future of Zhengyi Sect is still unpredictable."

Qi Qiansu is the leader of the Taoist Alliance, and his focus is on the influence of the Zhang family on the entire China. Li Yang is different. He comes purely to watch the show.

He raised a teacup and gestured to the worried Qi Qiansu from a distance, "Qi Daoyou, don't worry. Water and fire are in harmony, and water and fire are not in harmony. The Ji Ji hexagram is water on top and fire on the bottom, while the Wei Ji hexagram is fire on top and water on the bottom. When the yin is at its extreme, the yang is born, and when the yang is at its extreme, the yin is born.

The 64th hexagram, Water and Fire, is a reversal of yin and yang, with the lines in the wrong position. Although water and fire are not useful to each other, Kan and Li are each at peace. Since the hexagram shows this, there may be a glimmer of hope in the desperate situation. "

"However, how to find this ray of hope depends on the decision made by Zhang Miaofa on the mainland..."
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On January 5th, the fight between the two sides came as expected.

The two groups were dressed neatly and divided into two lines. They first offered sacrifices to their ancestors in the Tianshi Ancestral Temple, and then went to the Tianshi Hall to worship the three Tianshi statues.

The Heavenly Master Hall was filled with the smoke of incense. Sitting in the middle with a sword in hand was the founder of the Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling. Sitting on the east and west were Zhang Jixian, the 30th Heavenly Master described in "Water Margin", and Zhang Yuchu, the 43rd Heavenly Master who compiled "Daoist Canon" during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty.

The two statues standing in front of the Patriarch holding swords and seals are his disciples Wang Chang and Zhao Sheng.
The Tianshi Mansion had long been closed to tourists. Zhang Fazhen paid homage to all the successive Tianshis in the Tianshi Ancestral Temple and Tianshi Hall, and he could not hide his excitement.

Ever since the incident that happened before Jiazi, his branch has never returned to Longhu Mountain to worship their ancestors. Now that they have visited the ancestral temple, they have recognized their ancestors and the unification of the two branches has become a foregone conclusion.

The banners in the hall of the Heavenly Master Hall are arranged in four directions: the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermillion Bird, and the Black Tortoise. They are embroidered with the titles bestowed by the three Heavenly Masters: "Tai Xuan Shang Xiang Zheng Yi Zhen Jun", "Xu Jing Yuan Tong Shou Wu Zhen Jun", and "Zheng Yi Si Jiao Dao He Wu Wei Chan Zu Guang Fan Da Zhen Ren".
There are three golden plaques on the crossbeam supported by the main pillar in the center of the Tianshi Hall. The middle one reads "Dao Qi Kongtong", the east one reads "Xian Pai Ming Yi", and the west one reads "Na Jia Zhou Cheng".
After paying respects to the three Heavenly Masters, Zhang Fazhen and a group of the Zhang family elders from Baodao walked out of the hall. Seeing the golden plaque described by the elders of the clan appearing before their eyes, they couldn't help but burst into tears. After completing a set of ancestral recognition procedures, how could the same clan commit suicide in front of the statues of the ancestors of all generations? After leaving the Heavenly Master Hall, Zhang Fazhen and Zhang Miaofa went straight to the west. The venue for the battle between the two sides was the "Temple of All Laws" on the west side of the Heavenly Master's Mansion in Longhu Mountain.

The Wanfa Zongtan was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. It is the place where successive heavenly masters worshipped gods and performed rituals in accordance with imperial orders.

"The Essentials of Taoism" records: "Taoism originally had four major altars. The Longhu Mountain Tianshi Sect was the Zhengyi Xuantan, the Maoshan Sanmao Zhenjun Sect was the Shangqing Fatan, the Gezhao Mountain Gexianweng Sect was the Lingbao Xuantan, and the Xishan Xu Jingyang Sect was the Jingming Fatan. Later, the talismans of the three mountains were all taken back to the Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion, and the Zhengyi Xuantan was changed to the 'Wanfa Zongtan'."

This is the highest altar of the Zhengyi Taoist sect, and is said to be the gathering place of all gods. There are 138 bronze statues of the Three Pure Ones and Four Imperials, the Three Officials and Five Elders, the Northern and Southern Dippers, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals, etc., bestowed by Emperor Jiajing, enshrined in the altar, which is a symbol of the Zhang family's control over Taoist affairs in the world.

The reason they chose to fight here was that both sides wanted heaven and earth to witness the unity of the Zhang family.

The two groups finally gathered in the main hall of the Wanfa Sect Altar. The main hall was decorated with red walls and green tiles, and the space inside was extremely large. It was named Sanqing Hall.

When the two witnesses Li Yang and Qi Qiansu arrived at the scene, they saw many Taoists meditating and regulating their breathing inside the Sanqing Hall. Outside the Sanqing Hall, bells and drums were ringing, incense, flowers, candles, banners and canopies were lit, as well as people ringing golden bells and striking jade plates. From afar, it sounded like celestial music. Several dozen Taoists came to greet the two.

Neither Li Yang nor Qi Qiansu had any intention of occupying the home court. Li Yang was purely there to watch the fun, while Qi Qiansu knew that it was useless for him to intervene at this point, so it was better for him to just sit back and watch.

Wang Xin, Yan Fu and Yang Xinwu naturally did not receive any welcome treatment. They knew that today was a big Taoist event, so they quietly mingled with the Zhang family members who were paying their respects outside the hall.

After a simple ceremony, a twelve-meter-square area was cleared in the Sanqing Hall, with a Tai Chi pattern engraved below, and the two groups of people stood on the left and right respectively.

Li Yang carefully observed the people on both sides. Zhang Fazhen from Taiwan looked confident of victory and seemed eager to try.

On the other hand, everyone on the mainland Zhang Miaofa's side was on high alert, with frowns on their faces. Only the leader Zhang Miaofa seemed relatively calm.

Originally, Zhang Fazhen's power was not so terrifying. He had been suppressed by Zhang Daoyuan in Taiwan. But after Zhang Daoyuan's death, Zhang Fazhen took the opportunity to gain the support of the elders of Zhang Daoyuan's faction. After annexing Zhang Daoyuan's power, he had more than 20 powerful awakening masters today, making the Zhengyi sect on the mainland feel like they were facing a formidable enemy.

The two sides did not talk any more. The fight was presided over by an elder from each side of the Qi Ling clan. Both sides were familiar with the fight process. The two elders first read out the process and precautions, and burned incense to inform heaven and earth.

After the leaders of both sides and Li Yang, who was sitting in the main seat, and Qi Qiansu gave the signal, the fight officially began.

(End of this chapter)