Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 1: Re-Ming Sect Leader
It is the seventh day of the tenth month in the four hundred and twenty year of Qianfeng in the reign of the Immortal David. Today is the day when the emperor celebrates his 1000th birthday. The sky is peaceful and the earth is level, and everything is going well.

At dawn that day, on a mountain road in the Jackdaw Mountains, a fat man was driving a donkey cart slowly.

There were several baskets of coal-like goods neatly arranged on the top of the cart, with some sundries piled up in the corners. The small frame was filled to the brim.

At first glance, he looked like a traveling merchant, a common sight in the countryside around here.

This mountain path has always been rugged and difficult to travel. Snow falls on Jackdaw Mountain in September, and the snow on the road is already as thick as an ordinary person's ankles. In the past, only some herbalists and desperate bandits walked on this path.

It's strange to say, at this time of year even experienced merchants riding mules and horses couldn't go through here, but this old donkey pulling a cart of goods could walk on flat ground.

Looking closer, I saw that the old donkey's fur was as bright gold, dazzling under the sunlight. Its four golden hooves stepped on the thick snow, but there was no trace of snow or mud on them.

Look at the man sitting on the donkey cart. He is not very tall, about six feet tall, with a broad face, a heavy chin, big ears facing toward his chest, and a rough and unruly air.

Even though he was in the deep mountains with chilly wind and white snow, he was only wearing a short grey cloth shirt, and his two strong arms were exposed, which were three points whiter than the snow.

There was nothing valuable on him.

The only accessory is a jade ring on the thumb of her right hand, which is gray and white, simple and unpretentious. There is also a palm-sized black-glazed gourd hanging around her waist.

"Hiya", the old donkey stopped and let out a breath of white air. It turned out that the pass ahead had been blocked by several huge landslide rocks, making it impossible to pass through.

This old donkey was quite human-like and even knew to turn his neck and shake his head to signal the man.

The man frowned, raised the small cowhide whip in his hand over his head and whipped the donkey hard. The inch thick snow on the old donkey's back exploded.

The old donkey screamed in pain, its two front legs went limp, and it immediately knelt on the ground. Tears glistened in its eyes, and it looked particularly pitiful.

The man's face turned pale, and he knew what was going on: "This evil man who loves to eat people is really good at pretending."

Then he shouted sternly, "Make way, go!" and raised the whip in his hand, and there was another crisp sound.

The old donkey was obviously extremely frightened. He stood up quickly, trembling. It looked like even the golden hairs on his body stood up in pain.

"Whew!" The old donkey stood up and his veins suddenly tensed up and his breath swelled like a drum. Then he opened his mouth and spurted out a golden light as thick as a chopstick, which hit a huge rock two meters long and wide in front of the road.

I saw the huge rock explode with a loud bang, dust and smoke rising, and rocks flying everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, the huge rock was completely shattered by the golden light spit out by the old donkey.

After the attack, the old donkey's golden hair dimmed. It was obvious that this golden magic spell was not something he could use casually.

"Come again!" A sharp light flashed in the man's eyes. He didn't allow the old donkey to rest and pretended to hit him.

The old donkey was so scared that he vomited out three more gusts of black wind. The black wind was extremely smelly and mixed with bursts of sinister energy. It swirled around and picked up huge rocks and threw them into the valley more than ten feet away.

As the spell was cast, the old donkey's golden hair became increasingly dim, and it was feared that its origin had been damaged. The huge rocks at the pass were cleared away in this way.

"Don't pretend to be lazy in front of me. You didn't act like this when you asked for food at Xiliu Village a few days ago. Get up, or you'll be whipped if you don't."

"Go!" The man sitting on the bicycle frame watched the scene coldly, swung the whip, and there were a few more crisp sounds, and red plum blossoms splashed on the snow on the roadside.

The old donkey didn't even dare to neigh at this time. He just hung his head and pulled the carriage along the mountain path.

It would take an ordinary merchant group half a day to walk up the mountain road, but this man drove his donkey cart out easily in a short time, stopped outside a teaching pavilion beside the official road, and looked at the almanac on the black jade display board for a long time.

"Damn it, has it already been fifteen years?" He muttered to himself with a frustrated look on his fat face. Then he let out a long breath and drove towards the outskirts of the city.

The old donkey murmured "Neigh" a few times, then actually let out a long sigh and took heavy steps. The donkey and the cart drew a long stroke in the snow picture.

The seventh day of October is the birthday of the current Emperor David, and is also the most important festival of the Davidic Dynasty, the "Longevity Festival". The so-called longevity festival is a time for both the immortals and the common people to enjoy themselves.

At this time of year, a grand lantern festival is held in Pingrong County, which is closest to the Jackdaw Mountains where the sect is located.

During the ten days, there were endless plays to watch, endless riddles to guess, dwarfs who could coil themselves into snakes and spit fire, and Youdao Quanzhen who could fold paper and turn it into swallows. It was so lively that there was almost no difference between day and night.

If the master were still alive, on October 17th of this year, the county magistrate would bring a group of assistant officials and a bunch of gentry to the Aries Temple on the outskirts of Pingrong City to pray and make wishes.

In order to ask the elders of the sect stationed in the temple to give everyone talismans, water and elixirs as a token of favor.

But now, Kang Dabao was rubbing the jade ring of the headmaster on his right thumb. Alas, his master was gone and his uncles had also dispersed.

He had driven his donkey cart to the front of Baiyang Temple. There were brilliant golden characters on the plaque on the door and the middle door was wide open.

This is a rare spectacle within a hundred miles. Just from the outside you can see the interlaced brackets, the lifelike ridge beasts, and the roof covered with green tiles that look like scales.

The red-painted gate is about three meters high, with a pair of couplets on both sides, made of ebony and inlaid with large gold-engraved characters.

The first couplet reads: "Establishing a religion and creating a sect, purple clouds came from the east for 30,000 miles." The second couplet reads: "Writing books and spreading the teachings, the first passage through the Hanguan Pass contained 5,000 words." It is clear that the incense has been prosperous for more than a hundred years, but who would have thought that only a dozen years had passed, and even on the day of the Wanshou Festival, there were very few pilgrims.

Kang Dabao looked up again and into the distance, and vaguely saw smoke rising from the Old Mother Temple on the other side of the city. Decades ago, it seemed that it was just a wild temple?

Never mind, the winner takes all, there is nothing to be confused about.

He turned around and looked at the ridge beasts on the roof of the Baiyang Temple, but he had no intention of going in. After all, this was just an ordinary Taoist temple set up by the Chongming Sect.

When the master was alive, there was only an uncle who was over 70 years old and had not yet broken through the second level of Qi training to look after him, and he was asked to guide the ordinary people.

Ever since the sect began to run into financial difficulties fifteen years ago and could no longer afford the annual salary of five spirit stones, this uncle-master happily asked to return to his hometown to enjoy the company of his grandchildren.

When the Chongming Sect was at its most prosperous two hundred years ago, nine of the thirteen counties under the jurisdiction of Yunjiao Prefecture had monasteries and temples to enshrine the successive leaders of the Chongming Sect.

Believers from various counties were grateful for the protection of the Chongming Sect. In various temples, incense was burned day and night and green lamps were never extinguished.

Now there is only this one left, and it won’t be long before people forget about it.

"How come the founder of the sect, Zhang Zushi, is only at the foundation-building stage? Wouldn't it be better if he could form a golden elixir? In that case, there is no way an old man like him, a scum at the seventh level of Qi training, could become the head of the sect.

How can I, a useless person with mixed spiritual roots, who is thirty-three years old and has been stuck at the fourth level of Qi training for eight years, wear this jade ring of the headmaster?"

Just as Kang Dabao was thinking about this, an old man in hemp clothes came out with two Taoist children with red lips and white teeth, carrying candied fruits. Behind them were two rows of disciples in Taoist attire, who bowed respectfully: "Disciple He Muxian greets the headmaster."

Kang Dabao took a quick look and realized that he had seen this old man before.

Fifteen years ago, when he succeeded as the headmaster, he came to meet the emperor with his uncle-master. He had the impression that he was the abbot of this place, responsible for handling the mundane affairs that his uncle-master was unwilling to handle.

The He family is a big family in the Chongming Sect. Among the six deceased leaders, three were named He. Well, they are the three who managed the sect to decline.

Kang Dabao's master was also from the He family, and this old man seemed to be from the same clan as his master.

But the old man did not have immortal roots, so he could not join the sect and ended up with the job of guarding the temple.

Kang Dabao smiled and returned the greeting while sitting on the donkey cart, jokingly saying, "It's been a few years since we last met. I'm surprised you still recognized me in this attire, Old He."

"There is a portrait of the master in the temple, and disciples bring their followers to worship it every morning and evening." He Muxian stepped aside and pointed at the people behind him.

Those Taoist disciples were extremely excited to be able to face Kang Dabao, the sect's headmaster.

Kang Dabao nodded, and he could understand these worldly disciples.

There is a difference between immortals and mortals. Even if the Chongming Sect is in decline, Kang Dabao, the cultivator who serves as the sect leader, is undoubtedly the one they look up to.

"Old He, you look a lot fatter. That's a good thing. No vulgar people have been bothering you in recent years, so you can have some free time."

"The Hemu Dao is rampant and lawless, and it will not last long. Since the master took the throne, there have been signs of revival. The disciples will not be idle for long."

He Muxian is nearly 80 years old, but his voice is as loud as a bell and his back is straight.

His eyes were bright and his demeanor did not show signs of old age. He looked three times sharper than Kang Dabao.

“Fifteen years ago, the old man fought with the leader of the Hemu Dao, the Black Shoe Taoist, but was defeated in just half an incense stick of time, so he simply gave Pingrong County to the Hemu Dao.

Now I heard that he is almost at the foundation stage, it's really terrifying. Me? I still want to live a few more years. "

Kang Dabao thought to himself, and glanced at the pile of miscellaneous items on his donkey cart, how on earth did you, old man, see the sign of revival?
"However, Baiyang Temple has been prosperous for more than a hundred years. What's wrong with letting the Old Mother Temple of Hemu Dao be prosperous for a few more years? Let's ask the headmaster to enter the temple first. I have prepared fine wine and delicious food. I dare to invite the headmaster to come."

He Muxian noticed something was wrong with Kang Dabao and interrupted the conversation.

"No, there has never been a leader of Chongming Sect who drove a donkey cart into Baiyang Temple, and he was so disheveled."

I came here just on a whim. When I went in, all I saw were the golden statues of the Taoist founder and the six deceased leaders of the Chongming Sect, which are enshrined in Taoist temples all over the world. There was nothing interesting to see.

Anyway, I will have it in a few decades.

Kang Dabao shook his head, said something polite, then turned the donkey cart around and left.

He Muxian hurriedly took two boys and a group of disciples to bow and see him off, and they kept silent until the sound of donkey hooves hitting the ground gradually faded away.

The moment He Muxian raised his head, he saw something fall to the ground. He went forward to pick it up and saw that it was a strip of meat with fur on it.

Looking more closely, he remembered that there seemed to be nothing between the hind legs of the donkey that Kang Dabao was driving when it came. How could he not know what it was?

At this time, everyone could no longer see Kang Dabao driving the donkey cart, but only heard his voice coming from afar:
"Old He is old, so it is not suitable for him to take a lot of supplements. You can share the food with all the disciples. The sect is in financial difficulties, so we can use this as a New Year gift. Hehe, the medicine is quite powerful, so all disciples should take it according to their ability.
　I have been entertaining myself for many years. If you don't like it, please don't criticize me, haha

　　
　
(End of this chapter)