I changed the world.

15000 wish points will be deducted. (This wish appeared earlier in the story of Zhe Bifeng's series of events; I wonder if any readers noticed?)

With the power of the wishing book, Zhang Jing successfully found a sealed underground palace beneath the Celestial Master's Mansion. This palace was likely built by a Celestial Master as a precaution, containing a secret passage leading to a dense forest outside the mansion, with an equally well-hidden exit. Presumably, for a large family, this was a means of preparing for unforeseen circumstances; in case of an emergency, the Celestial Master and his family could escape through the secret passage.

It is conceivable that such an underground palace and secret passage must be an extremely confidential place. Zhang Jing even found some skeletons sealed inside the underground palace. Judging from their clothing, he guessed that they might be the corpses of the craftsmen who built the underground palace. It seems that even the famous Celestial Masters clan has some unspeakable dark history.

However, just as he wished in his wishing book, this underground palace was clearly long forgotten, belonging to a place where even the current Celestial Master no longer understood its existence.

This is understandable. Few people know about these secret passages to begin with. If something happens to those who know about them over the centuries and they don't have time to hand them over, then the secret becomes a permanent secret, sinking into the dust of history along with those who knew it...

Now, it was Zhang Jing who, with the help of the wishing book, rediscovered this underground palace from the dust of history. Of course, the palace is no longer the same as it once was; Zhang Jing has made some modifications. Now, it awaits Zhang Sicheng and his son to reopen it…

The lake in the back garden is called Bagua Lake. It is an artificial lake named for its shape resembling the Bagua (eight trigrams) when it was excavated.

Zhang Sicheng led Zhang Lianchuan along the lake shore at a brisk pace. Since Zhe Bifeng returned, Zhang Sicheng's energy and spirit have become much stronger. His previous frail and elderly appearance, where he needed help to walk even a short distance, is no longer present. Even now, walking briskly, he shows no signs of being out of breath.

The father and son walked one after the other for nearly fifteen minutes. Finally, Zhang Sicheng stopped in front of a stone carving of a tortoise carrying a stele.

This ancient and weathered tortoise-shaped stele is so distinctive that even those unfamiliar with artifice can immediately recognize it as an antiquity. It is said that this stele was erected here when the Celestial Master's Mansion was first built, and it is inscribed with the shapes of the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams. Whenever distinguished guests visit the mansion, they are usually told that the 33rd Celestial Master, Zhang Jingting, created the lake based on the shapes of the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams, hence the stele erected beside the lake, adding a touch of mystery to this artificial lake.

Neither Zhang Sicheng nor Zhang Lianchuan, who had lived here for over a decade, had ever considered the tortoise-carrying-the-stele statue to be anything special. In fact, both father and son had climbed the tortoise when they were young…

Zhang Sicheng first slowly examined the bixi, a creature that seemed strangely familiar yet now appeared somewhat unfamiliar. He then carefully looked around to make sure no one was watching before reaching his hand into the bixi's mouth...

Chapter 685 With Strength to Uproot Mountains!

Sure enough, he felt a hole in the throat of the bixi. Zhang Sicheng quickly withdrew his hand, took out the jade pendant he had obtained from the fox spirit from his inner pocket, and touched the hole again. At the bottom of the hole, he felt a groove that seemed to fit the jade pendant perfectly, so he pressed the jade pendant in...

Immediately, a mist began to rise around the lake, and within a few breaths, the gray mist had already begun to rise around the lake.

“Father, look there…” In the misty air, Zhang Lianchuan stared wide-eyed at his surroundings. Soon, he pointed to a statue of a strongman not far away.

The statue is similar in age to the Bixi statue by the lake, and it is said that both were left over from the construction of the Celestial Master's Mansion. The statue depicts a warrior with a prominent chest and protruding belly. There are two statues, each over three meters tall, standing opposite each other. Some say they are guardian deities, while others say they are celestial spirits. The most common explanation was that they were used to protect the Celestial Master's Mansion.

At that moment, to the astonishment of the father and son, the two statues suddenly came to life. The moss, soil, and other erosion caused by the passage of time peeled away from them. The two statues moved their limbs, their movements initially stiff, but then becoming more agile. They bowed towards Zhang Sicheng's location. Then, the two stone warriors, through the hazy mist, walked to a nearby artificial hill. Each of the two "figures" gripped one end of the hill, and a dull thud was heard. The father and son felt the ground beneath their feet tremble.

Then, to their astonishment, the massive artificial mountain, which was three or four meters high and weighed at least ten tons, was lifted off the ground and carried on the backs of two strongmen!

This is truly a feat of immense strength!

At this moment, both Zhang Sicheng and Zhang Lianchuan had the same thought: so many secrets were hidden within the Celestial Master's Mansion... They wondered how they had been so blind to believe that their ancestors had made their fortune by deceiving people...

Indeed, deep down, the father and son truly believed this. To outsiders, the mysterious and unpredictable Celestial Master's Mansion of Danding Mountain, the first family in Jiangnan with a two-thousand-year history, was, in the eyes of those truly at the core, completely devoid of secrets. All that remained was the pale facade shrouded in layers of complex rituals and mysterious pronouncements.

But now they understand that there is no such thing as luck in passing down a tradition for two thousand years! If it weren't for its genuine skills, it would have long since disappeared into the annals of history!

All because seeing is believing!

"Celestial Master, please move forward..." A deep voice rang out. A strongman, with one hand supporting the artificial mountain he was carrying on his shoulder, gestured with the other hand for him to proceed. Only then did Zhang Sicheng notice that, right next to the strongman's feet, beneath the artificial mountain that had been uprooted, was the entrance to a passage!

Zhang Sicheng turned and glanced at his son, then nodded to him: "You stay here and guard this place, and don't let anyone get close."

Zhang Lianchuan was filled with curiosity at this moment. He actually wanted to say, "I also want to go in and take a look..."

However, under the weight of his authority, he dared not do so, and obediently replied, "I understand, Father. Please be careful on your journey."

Zhang Sicheng nodded in satisfaction and stepped forward. When he arrived at the entrance of the passage, he subconsciously glanced at the two strongmen beside him who were in a mountain-carrying posture, as well as the heavy artificial mountain that was being carried on their shoulders and was now hanging above his head. He felt a little uneasy.

If either of these two fails to hold on properly, I, the current Celestial Master, might immediately ascend to immortality...

However, at this moment, he couldn't say much. He simply adopted a composed and dignified demeanor and walked towards the passage.

This passage was previously completely hidden under the artificial hill. It was a downward-sloping passageway that extended towards the bottom of the Bagua Lake. This explains why the Celestial Master's Mansion had undergone several renovations in modern times without discovering this mysterious place. During the previous renovations, the Bagua Lake was not re-excavated; at most, the surrounding vegetation was simply modified.

Zhang Sicheng took out a flashlight, held it in his hand, turned on the light, and walked straight into the depths of the passage. The passage was deep, but not high, only about a head taller than him when he stood up. The walls were made of stone slabs, which showed signs of age, were dark and gloomy, and some places were stained with water.

The stone slabs are carved with various patterns of cranes, clouds, children, fairies, Tai Chi symbols, Bagua diagrams, and other symbols with esoteric religious significance.

Zhang Sicheng followed the stone path forward and downward. After walking several dozen meters, he felt the dampness becoming increasingly intense. Zhang Sicheng guessed that he had probably reached the bottom of Bagua Lake. After walking a considerable distance, Zhang Sicheng saw that the passageway ahead began to open up. Soon, a square stone chamber appeared in the passageway ahead. The chamber was not large, about four meters square, with passageways connecting both ends, resembling the Chinese character "中" (zhong).

Inside the stone chamber stood a stele. Zhang Sicheng shone his flashlight on the stele and saw a line of words written on it: "Those who are not direct descendants of the Celestial Master and enter this place shall die."

Seeing this, Zhang Sicheng became even more cautious, slowed his pace, and continued walking inside...

After walking a distance further, Zhang Sicheng saw a stone wall in front of him. The stone wall was entirely made of bricks and decorated in the style of a palace. The eaves extended forward, and the roof was complete with purlins and beams. The flying rafters protruded forward, and there were even thick wooden pillars. The entire structure protruded forward, as if a building was embedded in this brick wall.

Several thick wooden pillars have stood underground for countless years without decaying. Between these pillars, in the center of the stone wall, is a lifelike, enormous stone door. The door opens to the ground and is decorated with copper nails and pull rings.

On either side of the stone gate are painted two guardian deities, their faces grim, fully armored and staring ahead.

Are those... door gods?

When Zhang Sicheng first saw the two painted deities, he subconsciously thought they were two door gods, since the custom of pasting door gods was quite common in Dazhao. However, he quickly realized that these two deities were not simply painted on the wall, but seemed to be some kind of real existence!

Because, just as he approached the stone gate, the faces of the two guardian generals, each taller than a person, turned strangely, and all four eyes simultaneously looked in Zhang Sicheng's direction...

Fortunately, Zhang Sicheng was prepared. If an ordinary person had seen such a scene in the dark passageway, they would probably have been so frightened that they would have suffered a cardiac arrest on the spot!

Chapter 686 Underground Palace

"Who goes there?!" one of the painted deities on the wall suddenly opened his mouth and said in a deep, muffled voice.

Zhang Sicheng composed himself, cupped his hands, and said, "I am the 63rd generation direct descendant of the Celestial Master, and the current Celestial Master, Zhang Sicheng."

Upon hearing this, the divine general's eyes suddenly lit up. He scanned Zhang Sicheng from head to toe, then nodded and cupped his hands, saying, "So you are the current Celestial Master!"

Immediately afterwards, it and the other deity made a pushing motion towards the door.

But the "false door" that was originally located between the two painted deities, which seemed to be just carved on the brick wall, suddenly began to shake. Then, with a rumbling sound, it actually turned from the illusion into reality and opened, revealing a dark doorway.

"Celestial Master, please..." the deity said again, making a "please" gesture.

"Thank you for your trouble." Zhang Sicheng politely bowed to the two generals again before cautiously walking towards the dark "door".

Zhang Sicheng could clearly sense that the "door" in front of him was not a real physical door. This was evident from the feeling he had passed through a barrier like waves when he entered it. He didn't know what kind of magic it was, but Zhang Sicheng guessed that if he were not a member of the Zhang family, the situation would be completely different, and it would be impossible for him to enter this place so easily.

By this point, he had no doubt that all of this had been arranged by his ancestors long ago, and that the tradition had been "interrupted" in his generation due to his father's sudden death. Just by looking at the brick and stone structures around him that had been weathered by the passage of time, he could tell that it was all there. Although Zhang Sicheng did not understand the extraordinary, he still had considerable knowledge of antiques due to his family's scholarly tradition. He could tell at a glance whether something was an antique or not.

After passing through a doorway resembling ripples in the water, the interior was plunged into darkness. Just as Zhang Sicheng was about to turn on his flashlight again, he suddenly heard a soft "whoosh" sound. Immediately afterward, lamps were lit one after another. Only then did he realize that he was in a spacious basement. Surprisingly, the air around him didn't feel stuffy. Along the surrounding walls, there were oil lamp stands that had been built beforehand, one at a time. Due to some mechanism, these oil lamps spontaneously combusted after he entered, one after another, and soon the entire basement was brightly lit.

Later, Zhang Sicheng discovered that the walls of the basement were meticulously painted with bright colors.

Despite the passage of time, the colors of these murals remain vivid. Zhang Sicheng only glanced at them before he understood that several of the murals depicted the life of the Celestial Master.

Zhang Sicheng had actually seen many similar murals, after all, the status of the Celestial Master was highly revered not only by the Dan Ding Mountain lineage but also by other branches of the Xuanmen. However, unlike the widely circulated version, the first painting on this mural did not depict the Celestial Master's journey to encounter immortals and receive a heavenly book. Instead, it showed a young man in feathered robes kneeling to bid farewell to an elderly man in feathered robes sitting cross-legged amidst a palace in the misty clouds.

The second mural depicts the young man descending from the clouds to a village.

The murals that followed gradually aligned with Zhang Sicheng's impressions of the Celestial Master: spreading talismanic water, educating the masses, subduing demons and monsters, and establishing the Daoist lineage...

Therefore, Zhang Sicheng was able to confirm that the young man depicted in the first painting was his ancestor, the Celestial Master Zhang Xuantong.

After his trip to Zhe Bifeng, Zhang Sicheng understood that the true history and what the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) propagated were quite different. He remembered what Uncle Gu had once told him, and now, in these murals, he was once again confirming those words...

He had great ambitions from a young age, yearned for otherworldly learning, traveled far and wide, and eventually caught the eye of an immortal who bestowed upon him a celestial book...

Such stories might be satisfying to the ignorant, but in reality, there's no such thing as a coincidence or such good luck...

As you can see, throughout history, those who seek immortality are as numerous as carp crossing a river, while those who encounter immortality are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Everything was preordained. The Celestial Master was not some lucky person who was "ambitious from a young age," "lucky," or "favored by immortals." Rather, he came from the great immortal sect of Penglai, carrying a heavy responsibility for his sect. He was a contingency plan laid out for the calamity of heaven and earth a thousand years later.

The Zhang family has been able to survive to this day; surely there must be divine favor behind it...

As someone in a high position, even if he wasn't in officialdom, Zhang Sicheng understood these things very clearly. Just look at the story of "Journey to the West: The Tale of the Monkey King"—any monster without a powerful background, no matter how powerful, would ultimately meet a tragic end, dying without a proper burial.

Besides the murals depicting the Celestial Master, Zhang Sicheng also noticed that many of the later murals described important events and milestones in the Zhang family's history. However, unlike what he remembered, there were many more battle scenes, and the opponents in these battles were mostly strange and bizarre-looking demons.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Sicheng couldn't help but recall the enormous mound of skulls in the forbidden area, and the countless demon heads on the eternal monument.

After examining the surrounding murals and finding nothing else noteworthy, Zhang Sicheng continued forward. Following the lit oil lamps, he found a passageway leading ahead. As he walked along the passageway, he noticed a thin layer of dust covering the ground. It was clear that no one had entered this place for a long time. He stepped on the dust, and faint footprints appeared on the ground.

After walking a short distance forward, you will find yourself in a large circular hall, which is more than ten meters in diameter and has a huge yin-yang symbol carved on the ceiling.

At the entrance of the hall, Zhang Sicheng looked around and noticed some display shelves with books, scrolls, and antique ornaments. Just by looking at the ornaments from a distance, Zhang Sicheng knew that they were all genuine antiques and not fakes made in later generations.

The most striking feature is the stone niche in the center. A futon is placed on the ground in front of the niche, and a stone statue of the Xuan Yuan Da Tian Zun, as tall as a real person, is enshrined on the niche. The Tian Zun's gaze is calm and compassionate, looking down at the front with a gentle gaze.

Chapter 687 Zhang Xuantong, a disciple of Penglai Sect

In front of the statue of the Celestial Venerable, there is a memorial tablet, and in front of the tablet is a black box. The box has an antique style and is also an antique.

With caution in his heart, Zhang Sicheng slowly walked into the stone statue of the Xuan Yuan Great Celestial Venerable. Only when he got close did he realize that the memorial tablet enshrined in front of the statue was actually the memorial tablet of his own ancestral Celestial Master.

It should be said that there are quite a few memorial tablets of the Celestial Master Zhang Xuantong enshrined in Taoist temples and monasteries in various places, but the usual inscription is "Grand Master who inherited the teachings and established the religion, Celestial Master Zhang Xuantong".

"Grand Master of the Establishment of the Teachings" was the title bestowed upon Master Zhang by Emperor Taizong of the Liang Dynasty. The Liang Dynasty revered Taoism and held Master Zhang in high esteem.

However, the memorial tablet that Zhang Sicheng now sees in front of the Great Celestial Venerable statue is completely different from the usual writing style. It reads, "The tablet of Zhang Xuantong, a disciple of Penglai."

Zhang Sicheng immediately recalled the mysterious and powerful sect he had heard about at Zhebi Mountain, and thought to himself that what his uncle had said was indeed true, and that his ancestors had indeed come from the Penglai Immortal Sect.

Not daring to be impolite, Zhang Sicheng first tidied his clothes by the prayer mat in front of the stone niche, then respectfully knelt on the prayer mat, performed the proper etiquette, and after three kneelings and nine kowtows, he stood up again.

Afterwards, Zhang Sicheng respectfully approached the black box. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the black box was made of silver, but it had turned black due to oxidation over the long years.

He steadied himself, silently chanted "May the Heavenly Venerable grant boundless blessings," reached out, lifted the lid of the box, and looked into the silver box...

Inside the box was a cushion, upon which rested an ancient seal made of white jade. The seal had a restrained luster and a dragon-carved knob. Upon seeing it, Zhang Sicheng's heart pounded violently. Somewhat incredulously, he reached out to take the jade seal. The jade seal felt warm and cool to the touch. He couldn't wait to turn it over to examine it. Sure enough, the seal clearly bore the six large characters: "Treasure of the Celestial Master's Altar."

"It really is this thing! I never expected it to be here!!!" Zhang Sicheng murmured, his heart filled with excitement.

There are many legends about the Celestial Master in history, and the most widely circulated one about the Celestial Master's lineage is that the Celestial Master passed down two magical artifacts, a sword and a seal. The sword is called the "Divine Sword for Exorcising Evil and Dispelling Impurity," while the seal is called the "Celestial Master's Treasure for Guarding the Altar."