A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 215 Left Path, Demonic Path, Immortal Path

The "Red Sand Divine Glue" mine in Yizhou City is located ninety li east of the city, in the Cangshan Mountains.

The Records of Mountains and Rivers states that Cangshan Mountain in Yizhou overlooks the East China Sea. In front of it is the tomb of King Dou, behind it is the pillar of King Qin, and in the middle is a stone chamber, which is said to be the place where An Qisheng and Xu Ze ascended to immortality.

In fact, the common people have no idea where Dou Wang Tomb and Qin Wang Pillar are. This Cangshan Mountain consists of nineteen peaks from north to south. Each peak originally did not have an independent name. The people in the nearby rural villages have lived here for generations, surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, and they are quite at ease.

In recent years, government officials and soldiers have discovered several mineral deposits here and ordered them to be mined. The appearance of Cangshan Mountain has changed immediately.

When Guan Luoyang and his group arrived at the outer edge of Cangshan Mountain, they looked out from a cliff and saw more than a dozen plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky between the distant peaks in broad daylight. Even from such a distance, in addition to the smell of grass and leaves, there was still a faint smell of smoke in their nostrils.

"Does mining require such a large-scale operation?" Guan Luoyang asked, somewhat puzzled.

Gongsun Sheng explained from the side, "The mineral deposits here include three cinnabar mines (one large and two small), several iron mines, and a red crystal mine."

"When mining cinnabar, firewood is covered on the cliffs and mountains and burned. After the mountain walls are scorching hot, cold water is poured on them, causing the rocks to crack and peel off on their own. Then the ore is selected and transported from them."

"After those iron mines were mined, the iron was forged into blocks on the spot, hammered and refined a thousand times to remove impurities. The furnace was kept burning day and night, and the smoke naturally continued to rise."

"The last crystal mine is the most troublesome. After extracting large pieces of crystal, high-quality cinnabar is transported in and smelted in a furnace. This process can produce a kind of purple aura cinnabar that is quite beneficial to both immortal and demonic masters. When practicing cultivation, one can light some purple aura cinnabar in the incense burner or ingest it to generate a purple aura that can dispel delusions and illusions, calm the mind and body, and bring peace and comfort to the body and mind."

Gongsun Sheng swept his whisk, seemingly trying to sweep away the increasingly noticeable smell of smoke in the wind, and said, "But once this Purple Qi Divine Sand is refined, it takes a long time, undergoing nine cycles and nine refinements, and countless furnaces will be wasted. It's not surprising that the smoke never dissipates."

Dai Zong, who had previously inquired about the Cangshan mine, continued, "The Taoist officials in Bianliang City specially built several precious furnaces for the Purple Qi Divine Sand and placed them here. The imperial court also sent the Supreme Immortal Ren Sen, along with a group of Taoist officials and sorcerers, to oversee the furnaces. Furthermore, Yizhou City dispatched a general, Shi Wengong, to recruit brave and strong men from the Zeng family to supervise the mines here."

Gongsun Sheng nodded slightly: "Ren Sen alone is already quite troublesome. Since Shi Wengong is called a general, he must have mastered a high level of demonic magic. In my opinion, we should be more careful when we want to get mercury, so as not to cause more trouble."

Lin Lingsu sneered from the side: "The Heavenly Gang Five Thunder Orthodox Method of Erxian Mountain is the most superior of thunder magic. If you had cultivated it properly, what would be so difficult about opening an altar and killing Ren Sen? I see that your magic power is also somewhat mixed. A few months ago, you were probably still a Taoist official. That's why you are entangled with the imperial court's fortune and cannot cultivate the true teachings of immortality."

Gongsun Sheng lowered his head and said, "I did not heed my master's early admonitions, but now I regret that I did not work hard enough. I have been working diligently every night recently and I will certainly not disgrace my master's posthumous reputation."

Guan Luoyang accompanied them along the way and saw that Lin Lingsu had difficulty walking, yet she still insisted on being sharp-tongued, and everything she said seemed to have a mocking and provocative tone. He really admired Gongsun Sheng's good temper.

After all, eight out of ten of his words were directed at Gongsun Sheng.

However, after hearing it many times, Guan Luoyang began to understand its meaning. Sometimes, when Lin Lingsu scolded Gongsun Sheng, it was as if she was scolding her former self. After all, when it came to Taoists who were deeply entangled with the Song Dynasty court, there seemed to be few who could compare to him, the Golden Gate Hermit and Master Yuanmiao from back then.

Fortunately, besides being a chatterbox and having an annoying tone, Lin Lingsu also has the advantage of being very knowledgeable. If someone gives him a starting point, he can talk about a whole lot on his own.

During this period, Guan Luoyang didn't need to ask much indirectly; he simply inquired about the cultivation situation in this world directly from Lin Lingsu.

There are countless schools of cultivation in the world today, and countless extraordinary people throughout history have formed their own sects. However, in general, they can still be divided into three major categories: the path of immortality, the path of demons, and unorthodox paths.

The path of immortality is said to have originated with the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, while the path of demons is said to have originated with Chiyou and Jiang Shang.

Although the latter's title includes the word "demon," Chi You was later also known as one of the Three Ancestors, and Jiang Shang was a figure like the first ancestor of military strategists and a sage. Therefore, the demonic path is also known as the military path, and it is also the orthodox method for cultivators in the world.

The origin of immortal cultivation is based on the concept that "wood is superior to flesh, stone is superior to wood, and metal is superior to stone," which involves collecting the life-giving energy from things that promote longevity, allowing the mortal body to gradually transform.

The so-called things that grant immortality can be summarized as "gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, mercury, oil, carbon, and rare substances." The last word, "rare," encompasses the most diverse range of items, referring to various rare jade, crystal, rare medicines, and fossils.

In the cultivation of immortality, one must first cultivate the nine orifices. The nine orifices of a person are connected to the inside and outside of the body. Ordinary people have weak nine orifices. Let alone swallowing gold and chewing iron, biting lead and drinking mercury, even eating too much meat at once can cause various diseases. They can eat but cannot excrete. Such people naturally cannot enter the threshold of cultivation.

Therefore, one should start with milder herbal remedies made from wood, stone, and flowers to cultivate the nine orifices. Only after reaching a certain level can one gradually improve by ingesting stone powder and cinnabar, eventually reaching a point where one can leisurely eat gold raw and drink wine with purple copper. From these longevity-enhancing substances, one can refine the purest primordial energy and make it one's own. When the primordial energy in the body is abundant, it transforms into jade liquid. After the jade liquid undergoes nine cycles, one can refine an indestructible golden elixir.

The biggest difference between the demonic path and the immortal path is that the demonic path doesn't care about purity. After cultivating the demonic path and nourishing the nine orifices, those who cultivate the demonic path start with the most common coal, eating whatever is available, allowing impurities to fill their limbs and bones.

When one's physical body becomes heavy and turbid, and one's spirit becomes stubborn and unyielding, the turbid energy cannot be gathered into a golden elixir. Instead, it can only be allowed to merge into various parts of the body, eventually forging a battle body that is both godlike and demonic.

The demonic path, with its cultivation method, saves many purification steps and is much easier to cultivate than the immortal path. Therefore, it was once widely circulated among soldiers and generals. From the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, demonic practitioners were the most numerous in the world.

Unfortunately, after the Warring States period, the Qin Dynasty, which unified China, soon fell into war again. Then came the Chu-Han Contention and the suppression of rebellions in the early Han Dynasty. The world was constantly at war. By the time Emperor Gaozu of Han was in his later years, many old mines in the world were nearly exhausted. Soldiers and generals lacked resources when they were training, so they were even bullied by foreign tribes. Even wise rulers like Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing could not restore the old order.

Thus, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the path of immortality became isolated, the path of demons declined, and the golden age of unorthodox and heretical practices arrived!

Unorthodox practices, originating from witchcraft, are deeply intertwined with local customs. Unlike the pursuit of truth in the immortal path or the pragmatism of the demonic path, unorthodox practices cultivate illusory power. They begin with deception and trickery, collecting people's seven emotions, six desires, and mental thoughts, gradually refining the false into the real, and possessing the magical power to influence reality.

This type of cultivation method, which indulges in desires, can easily lead to a loss of self. Moreover, once one's prestige is damaged, people's hearts are scattered, and one's magical power may even regress. Therefore, it has always been despised by both the immortal and demonic paths.

However, Emperor Wu of Han heavily relied on people such as Dong Zhongshu, Dongfang Shuo, and Zhu Fuyan to change customs and traditions, and to exclusively promote Confucianism, so that the vassal states and the millions of people under heaven had a common understanding.

Then, using this shared understanding as a medium, unorthodox methods were pushed to their extreme, forming the art of imperial fortune.

Ordinary sorcerers and charlatans could only fool a village or town, but Emperor Wu of Han unified the hearts and minds of the people through reason, which was a hundred times greater in scope.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were exceptionally talented, winning every battle. The higher their reputation, the stronger their fighting power. They swept away the shadow of foreign tribes that shrouded the borders of the Han Dynasty, creating the confidence that one Han could defeat five barbarian tribes. In addition to their own military strategy and talent, this also reflected the characteristics of the imperial dynasty's fortune-telling.

Emperor Wu of Han was a ruler who ruled with absolute authority, and his decrees were obeyed without question. He also relied heavily on the art of destiny.

The imperial court was governed by strict laws and regulations. The power brought by the imperial dynasty's fortune was inseparable from official positions. Once the emperor removed someone from their post, this power was immediately stripped away. It was easier to control than the immortal or demonic paths, and the emperor's authority reached an unprecedented peak.

No emperor in later dynasties could resist the allure of power, so from the Han Dynasty through the Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang Dynasties to the present day, the art of imperial fortune has been preserved.

After the founding of the Song Dynasty and the ascension of Emperor Taizong, maintaining the dynasty's fortune became a top priority, and the veneration of Confucianism far surpassed that of the past.

However, the excessive praise for Confucian scholars and civil officials inevitably led to the neglect and devaluation of military generals. Many soldiers had to be tattooed with characters before joining the army, making them no different from criminals, and even the common people looked down on them.

When the people's hearts are not with the soldiers and generals, the power that the soldiers and generals can gain from the dynasty's fortune is becoming less and less. Even if there are famous generals for a time, they cannot resist such a declining trend.

When Lin Lingsu got to this point, Gongsun Sheng brought up the current emperor again.

After Emperor Tianming ascended the throne, he disregarded the objections of his ministers and insisted on his own way. He vigorously promoted demonic methods in the army and even obtained a secret method for prospecting mineral veins from somewhere. He sent people to tour the country and the prospecting was surprisingly accurate. He then mined the minerals on a large scale and supplied them to the soldiers for cultivation. For the past ten years, it can be said that the era of demonic methods has been... or rather, the revival of military methods.

In the Song Dynasty army today, everyone has practiced some military skills.

The Cangshan mines are guarded by Shi Wengong and eight hundred elite soldiers, which is much more dangerous than the Daoist officials like Ren Sen. No wonder Gongsun Sheng first declared that he should act with caution.

"I'll go check out the smaller cinnabar mine first. Maybe they have some stock, which we can then steal directly."

Gongsun Sheng observed for a moment, then pointed in a direction and said, "Brother Dai Zong, you stay here to take care of Master Yuanmiao. Brother Guan, will you stay here, or come with me to take a look?"

Although their time together was short, Gongsun Sheng already knew that Guan Luoyang was quite curious about everything, which is why he asked this question.

Guan Luoyang indeed said, "I'll go take a look too."

The two of them set off immediately, crossing the valley and depression. When they approached the place where the black smoke was rising, they saw tree stumps all over the mountains.

The nineteen peaks of Cangshan should have been covered with forests, but the closer you get to those mines, the more barren they become. All the vegetation has been cut down and used as firewood. After several storms, the soil has slowly eroded from the rocks, leaving the stones mottled.

Guan Luoyang thought to himself: No wonder the smoke was so thick. Besides the fact that a lot of things were being burned, it was probably because the firewood hadn't been dried in time and was all wet wood that was thrown into the fire.

"Once you cross that hillside, you'll reach a guarded area."

Gongsun Sheng whispered a reminder, then formed an invisibility spell with his hands, and his figure turned transparent and disappeared.

A faint crackling of electricity emanated from Guan Luoyang's body as he walked over with an air of nonchalance.

Gongsun Sheng, who was still invisible, was about to say something when he suddenly forgot where Guan Luoyang was. When he looked again after calming down, Guan Luoyang was clearly still there, walking slowly.

"This..." Gongsun Sheng racked his brains but couldn't think of any school of magic that was so strange.

Guan Luoyang's spiritual magnetic field permeated the outside world, subtly influencing the minds of others. Even if others saw him, they would think that he did not exist at all.

Even someone with Gongsun Sheng's cultivation level couldn't completely avoid this effect. With just a blink of an eye, he would briefly lose sight of Guan Luoyang and only be able to "see" him again after a while. Naturally, the strong young men and women who were responsible for guarding the area with shovels and rakes were even less able to resist.

Guan Luoyang walked across the hillside in front of them.

What came into view was a huge valley, piled with rubble everywhere. Many people were squatting on the piles of stones, picking out the cinnabar ore and putting it into baskets.

They carried the rough stones empty-handed, wearing straw sandals and walking on the gravel, carrying full baskets, and walked towards the path on the left side of the mine.

To the right is a vermilion mountain wall, where people are laboriously spreading grass clippings and wood on it, waiting for the next fire to be set on fire.

Next to each group of miners, there were one or two strong young laborers holding sticks, glaring menacingly.

Unlike the miners who were poorly dressed and covered in old wounds and abrasions, these laborers carrying sticks were like the strong young men on guard duty. They were burly, with the kind of plump, oily skin that comes from eating meat regularly, and wore thick-soled cloth shoes or boots.

These people were neither soldiers nor miners; they were likely the Zeng family members that Gongsun Sheng and the others had mentioned, recruited by Shi Wengong to assist in management.

Many of them had a yellow talisman pasted on their chests.

Gongsun Sheng, who was invisible, came to Guan Luoyang's side and said, "The left side of this mine should lead to the storage area."

Guan Luoyang raised his chin: "What's the purpose of those talismans stuck on their chests?"

Gongsun Sheng examined it for a moment and said, "It seems to be a talisman for warding off evil spirits and dispelling dust. It also has a calming effect, mainly to prevent mental confusion and sudden madness. Strange, do people here often have seizures?"

Guan Luoyang remained silent and looked at the miners once more.

They searched for cinnabar ore, dust rising all around them, and they coughed every now and then. Some people gasped for breath and couldn't cough, so they pounded their chests hard, their clenched fists still bearing the marks of cinnabar.

It looks like it's caused by mineral powder, but if you wash their hands, you'll find that the color has seeped deep into their skin.

However, in contrast to the red patches on their palms, their faces mostly appeared bluish-white and bloodless, while their eyes were bloodshot. Sometimes they would stare at a certain spot for a long time with a dull and lifeless gaze, unable to snap out of it. Only after being beaten with sticks would they be startled and continue working, panting heavily.

Guan Luoyang closed his eyes. He could hear the panting of all the miners in the mine, their coughs accompanying their footsteps, sometimes so violent and frequent that they could drown out the footsteps of everyone else.

Cinnabar can be used in medicine, but it is also poisonous, and all the miners here are severely poisoned.

Gongsun Sheng had already infiltrated the warehouse to steal the mercury.

Guan Luoyang left and headed towards other mines where black smoke was rising. The people working at the iron mine were no better off than those at the cinnabar mine.

Gongsun Sheng stole over a hundred catties of mercury, all of which were contained in bamboo tubes, sealed with stoppers. He wrapped many bamboo tubes with a whisk and hung them on his back before leaving the cinnabar mine.

Guan Luoyang reappeared beside him and said, "Isn't it said that the entry threshold for demonic cultivation methods is extremely low, and one can even use mineral powder to practice? Has no one taught it to these miners to make their work easier?"

Gongsun Sheng was taken aback: "They're not soldiers, how could they learn demonic arts? And who has the patience to teach them?"

Guan Luoyang asked, "Who are these miners?"

"Logically speaking, prisoners should be the priority. Most of the prisoners in Yizhou, both young and old, should have died during the mining season in recent years. Few people working in the mines have lived for more than three years."

Gongsun Sheng also turned around and looked at the miners, saying, "These people should be laborers conscripted from the surrounding area. They will only be able to work for about two years. According to the rules I inquired about before, they will be sent back home with their wages when the time comes."

He added, "Since the revival of the demonic path, too many mines have been opened in various places, and there is a real shortage of manpower. I have heard that some prefects and governors have extended the two-year period to three or four years before they can barely mine enough ore to meet the requirements of the imperial court."

"What happens to these miners after they go home?"

Before Gongsun Sheng could answer, Guan Luoyang shook his head, as if he had asked a stupid question.

Let them go home. Who cares about these miners' future? Those who can bring their wages home are already extremely lucky.

Gongsun Sheng hesitated and said, "Brother Guan..."

Guan Luoyang waved his hand and said, "You go and meet up with Lin Lingsu and the others first. I'll walk around a bit more."

"Shi Wengong, I've heard of that name before, and I'm quite curious about it."

Guan Luoyang chuckled and walked away on his own.

(End of this chapter)