Two Realms: Starting with transmitting the Taiping Jing to Zhang Jiao

Zhang Xiu, being the knowledgeable one, was down below; any random nonsense he spouted would surely be exposed.

"Amitabha! How come other protagonists who transmigrate and become plagiarists can easily swagger around and intimidate everyone with just a few lines? Why is it so difficult for me?"

Yi Chuan looked up at the roof beam with a face full of grief and indignation.

In this way, the message can only be that this era has already existed, but these people are unaware of it. This way, it won't cause trouble for future generations, and it will satisfy these guys at the same time.

Despite all these restrictions, Yi Chuan actually knew of one.

According to Yi Chuan, the Taiping Jing, also known as the Taiping Qingling Shu, had been compiled and edited by the alchemist Yu Ji at this time and was presented to the imperial court.

However, due to the abundance of shamanistic and nonsensical pronouncements, it was criticized by the Eastern Han government as "absurd and unreliable" and kept secret until it began to circulate among the people eight years later when Emperor Ling ascended the throne.

The Way of Peace arose from this.

The Taiping Jing is a voluminous text, most of which have been lost by the 21st century. However, the old abbot of Baiyun Temple loved to organize these ancient scriptures, and Yi Chuan actually memorized the few remaining chapters in three years.

Silently praising himself for his meticulousness, Yi Chuan cleared his throat, preparing to impart his wisdom (and knowledge).

……

A gentle breeze swept through the hall from the three side entrances.

The Chongxu Hall was filled with local gentry and Daoists. Hearing that the immortal was transmitting scriptures, all of Lu Tangzhi's disciples also rushed to the Chongxu Hall.

The Chongxu Hall was soon filled with people, who knelt and bowed around a blue-robed Taoist priest on the central platform.

"This scripture is based on the principles of respecting Heaven and Earth and following the Five Elements, and it also contains techniques for promoting national prosperity and increasing offspring."

This is Yi Chuan's first line of recitation.

He glanced down and saw that the prefect, the magistrate, and Zhang Xiu, the chief priest, all had solemn expressions, and it was clear that they were intimidated.

Then let's continue.

"The term 'inheritance' refers to the fact that our ancestors originally acted in accordance with the will of Heaven, but they made small mistakes without realizing it. Over time, these mistakes accumulated, and later generations unjustly suffered the consequences, passing on the calamities they caused..."

Yi Chuan spoke eloquently, but by this point most of the common people and Daoists could no longer understand him, as the general level of education in the Eastern Han Dynasty was not high. However, the prefect, the magistrate, and Zhang Xiu listened attentively, sometimes frowning and sometimes nodding.

Wensheng's pen had already left behind a trail of afterimages.

At this moment, outside Lutangzhi, a distraught figure slowly appeared at the mountain gate, looking dazed.

"Why, why?"

"Wasn't the plague cured? Why, why are people still dying?"

He muttered to himself; he was the scholar who had just returned from Mianzhu County.

He was already planning to leave.

Let's go to the next place and find the so-called Temple of Heaven.

He had assumed that with Yi Chuan's talismanic water resolving the plague, the people of Mianzhu County at the foot of the mountain would surely live in peace and happiness, with men farming and women weaving.

But when he stood in the middle of Mianzhu County, he still saw dead people.

They starved to death.

It was too late to bury them. The dead were emaciated and skeletal. The officials moved them together like objects and burned them to prevent the corpses from rotting and causing a plague.

Those were living, breathing people, yet they burst into flames like dry tinder, black smoke billowing into the sky, and countless black crows circling overhead.

After walking only a few steps, you can see the constables arresting people. Those skinny men are dragged out of their homes by the constables, dragged into the mud, and tied up in a string to be exiled.

The air was filled with the cries of children, the stench of burning corpses, and the colors of gray, brown, and blood.

He tried to argue with the yamen runner using classical Chinese phrases, but was pushed aside. He was only spared because of his official badge.

The constables told him that this was a normal thing and a rule of the imperial court.

Almost every household kept their doors tightly shut, and the scholar kowtowed repeatedly through the crack in the door to the scriptures he had brought back from Lutangzhi.

The true man said that they were worshipping their own thoughts.

But can wishful thinking really save them?

The scholar didn't know, so he decided to ask the Taoist priest again.

However, when he returned to Lutangzhi, he found the entire Lutangzhi deserted, and even the gatekeepers were gone.

The scholar searched through many houses and finally heard chanting coming from the Chongxu Hall in the center.

The moment the scholar stepped into Chongxu Hall, the clear blue sky instantly changed, and thick clouds gathered.

He had just entered the Chongxu Hall when he saw the Taoist priest surrounded by a crowd on the high platform in the middle.

He saw the prefect, the county magistrate, and a hall full of local gentry and commoners.

"Those who inherit are those who act in accordance with the will of Heaven, but make small mistakes without realizing it. Over time, these mistakes accumulate, and later generations are unjustly punished for them, suffering calamities in succession... Those who bear the burden are those whom the ancestors have wronged in their lifetime."

The Taoist's voice came from the high platform, and he understood it. This was the theory of karmic retribution, which meant that the merits and demerits of ancestors would affect future generations.

"The sins of our ancestors have affected their descendants; what have we done wrong?"

The scholar's stubborn voice rang out in Chongxu Hall.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a scholar with disheveled clothes and loose hair.

The prefect frowned and was about to order his men to throw the beggar-like scholar out when Yi Chuan, standing on the high platform, spoke up in response.

"The virtues of our ancestors bring blessings to their descendants; how fortunate are we, their children!"

The scholar paused for a moment, but continued, "Do people bear burdens, and do things also bear burdens?"

Yi Chuan nodded: "The one who receives comes first, the one who receives comes later; cause comes first, effect comes later. Every action has its consequences!"

The two exchanged questions and answers in the main hall, their wits clashing. Upon hearing that the scholar was capable, the prefect no longer tried to drive him away.

"What if our ancestors have already fulfilled their obligations?"

Yi Chuan said, "Future generations will bear the consequences themselves."

The scholar paused, and this time he paused for a long time.

His eyes caught sight of the jewels adorning the prefect's body.

He remembered the people who had just burned like dry tinder.

He recalled the officials who had sent him to search for the Temple of Heaven, each one adorned in brocade and satin, and with potbellies.

He seemed to know the answer to his question...

Then he raised his head, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"What if... the burdens of a dynasty have been exhausted?"

boom!

The entire Lutang government suddenly fell silent, and the prefect, magistrate, and local gentry all stood up abruptly.

The scholar holding the pen dared not write anymore, and looked at each other in bewilderment before finally turning to the prefect.

They knew that if they continued writing this, they would be remembered in history in another way.

All eyes in the hall were focused on the blue-robed Taoist on the high platform, hoping he would speak and refute these treasonous words.

"Destroying ancestral temples and clans, leading to the change of dynasties."

With a calm and even tone, these were the eight words Yi Chuan used to answer the scholar.

The instant Yi Chuan spoke, outside Lu Tangzhi, the dark clouds in the sky rapidly contracted and spread.

It was as black as lead ink, as if the whole world had been angered.

What is the name of this sutra?

"Peace, peace throughout the land."

Having obtained the answer he wanted, the scholar bowed and strode out of Chongxu Hall amidst the astonished crowd.

The scholar looked up at the sky, when a ferocious thunderbolt roared from the clouds, illuminating his face and almost tearing through the entire sky.

"It's going to rain..." he suddenly thought.

After the scholar left, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Many people still didn't understand what had just happened, and just stared at the prefect who had been all smiles just moments before, now with a gloomy face that looked like it was about to drip water.

This eerie silence lasted for a long time.

"Let this scripture be passed on to this point."

Yi Chuan looked at Wen Sheng, who was covered in cold sweat, and knew that they dared not write any more.

But that's just how Chinese characters are—profound and complex, and everyone will have their own interpretation and understanding of them.

The "responsibility" he just discussed with the scholar is just like that; you can also call it "cause and effect." You can use it to help the country and bring peace to the people, or you can use it to stir up trouble.

Before the prefect and magistrate could react, Yi Chuan came out of Chongxu Hall.

I glanced at the dark sky and didn't pay any attention.

Just as he was about to descend the mountain, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck, which Yi Chuan narrowly avoided. Before he could react, another blindingly bright bolt of lightning struck.

"Coming for me?"

Yi Chuan's expression changed, and he finally realized that something was wrong.