Chapter 21 The Master

Lin Li and the other two recovered from their shock and exchanged glances, each with a hint of surprise in their eyes. Zhao Jianbai was especially taken aback. Although he looked to be in his thirties, he was actually fifty years old. His cultivation was the highest among the three, and his seniority was also a level above the others.

But just now, when facing the young museum curator, he had subconsciously adopted the attitude of dealing with a senior.

Recalling his calm tone when referring to the current Daoist Master of the Taiping Dao, and his actions of interrupting the activation of the ancient talisman, Zhao Jianbai felt even more unable to see through the young man. The latter was like a figure hidden in the clouds, impossible to discern clearly.

While his thoughts were churning, the three had hurried forward to confirm the secret inscriptions on the staff, carefully stowing away the other part of the Nine-Section Staff.

They also notified the local Special Operations Team members to collect the body of the deceased Daoist as soon as possible.

Then, they returned with the Nine-Section Staff. In the area where the battle had taken place, the Taiping Dao members had already been captured and taken away by the Special Operations Team members who had arrived later. At this point, the group split into two: the Weiming Sect members were responsible for handling the Taiping Dao members, while Lin Li, the other two, and Wei Yuan escorted the Nine-Section Staff to the capital.

Wei Yuan also learned that the battle spirit from before was a lingering obsession from the Guangzong battlefield, not a hidden move of the Taiping Dao. The battle spirit's obsession was only briefly awakened by the middle-aged Daoist with a talisman, and it would naturally subside once the talisman's effective time had passed.

An eerie silence filled the car.

Wei Yuan sat in the back with his eyes closed, and Lin Li and the others subconsciously remained quiet, with only the sound of the car.

After a long while, Wei Yuan suddenly spoke, "Daoist Lin, I wonder who that Daoist with the Nine-Section Staff was? He shouldn't be the current Daoist Master of the Taiping Dao, right?"

Lin Li was taken aback, not expecting Wei Yuan to be unaware of the current Daoist Master.

But if he didn't know, why was he so certain that the person he knew was more skilled than the Taiping Daoist Master?

His thoughts stalled, and he subconsciously replied, "No, he's not. But he is a high-ranking member of the Taiping Dao."

"The current Daoist Master obtained the original version of the ancient *Taiping Yaoshu* (Scripture of Great Peace) by chance, and relying on the records within, he seized the opportunity of the spiritual energy resurgence to rise to power. We just didn't expect him to secretly gather disciples on a large scale, turning the *Taiping Yaoshu* into a quick-cultivation evil art."

"The Daoist you captured is named He Taiping."

"He is a high-ranking member within the Taiping Dao."

"The Taiping Daoist Master is being held in check by several elders, which also restrains our sects' seniors. Then, He Taiping was responsible for breaking through the encirclement. The Taiping Dao doesn't have a system of ordination, so he received the title of one of the Thirty-Six Commanders of the ancient Taiping Dao, calling himself White Rider."

"Commander? White Rider..."

Wei Yuan muttered to himself, thinking of the young man in his memories, and said, "He is not worthy of that name."

His voice paused, then continued, "That Taiping Daoist Master has the original *Taiping Yaoshu*?"

Lin Li replied, "Indeed."

"According to legend, it was left behind by the Great Virtuous Teacher Zhang Jiao. Because even the original *Taiping Yaoshu* has many omissions, he is extremely eager for the Nine-Section Staff, believing that the Great Virtuous Teacher's legacy is divided into two parts: one is in the *Taiping Yaoshu*, and the other is in the Nine-Section Staff."

"We speculate that the reason he changed the *Taiping Yaoshu* into a quick-cultivation method and widely taught it was to obtain the Nine-Section Staff, or to prepare for attempting the more profound divine abilities on the *Taiping Yaoshu*."

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "I see."

He thought of the Daoist who traveled and walked in the chaotic world.

He also thought of the Taiping Dao, which spread evil arts and harmed people's lives in this prosperous era.

He silently noted down the name of the Taiping Daoist Master. If Zhang Jiao were still alive, he would definitely personally eliminate these harmful so-called later disciples one by one. Now that Zhang Jiao was gone, and the Thirty-Six Commanders whose names were being misused had long been buried in history, with only their Daoist power transformed into Yellow Turban Warriors.

Then, the task of cleaning up the sect could only be done by him, who was once the weakest.

Lin Li and the others also fell silent. After a while, Lin Li couldn't help but ask, "Curator Wei, you said you've met the strongest Daoist in the world who cultivates the Taiping Dao?"

Wei Yuan said, "Yes."

"However, he didn't have any great ambitions. He only hoped to treat illnesses and save people, and then save some money to open a Daoist temple, and then take in a few disciples to pass on his Daoist arts and medical skills."

Lin Li was surprised, seemingly not expecting a Daoist with extremely high cultivation to have such a simple wish.

"Then he must have succeeded."

Wei Yuan was silent for a moment, then replied, "No."

"He failed."

The three Daoists were shocked. He Yangwen asked curiously, "Then where is that senior now?"

Where?

Wei Yuan's thoughts paused slightly, thinking of the young Daoist with baby fat on his cheeks and two dimples when he smiled, thinking of the young Daoist who rarely smiled but was still gentle and firm, thinking of his warm palm that had once rested on the top of his head.

Lin Li saw the young museum curator's eyes narrow slightly, dark and lightless.

It was a feeling of dazedness, as if he had suddenly realized some kind of reality.

It was like the emptiness after waking up from a great dream.

After a long while, he finally seemed to wake up from his dream and replied, "He's dead..."

........................

Beizhili was the area directly under the jurisdiction of the capital city, very close to the capital.

The vehicles escorting the Nine-Section Staff drove onto the highway, and Wei Yuan also learned how they planned to restore the Nine-Section Staff. In fact, similar to this, the weapons and magical treasures that once belonged to the strongest cultivators of a certain era in Shenzhou possessed extremely strong spirituality. By putting the broken parts of the Nine-Section Staff together, it would naturally recover.

They would visit a senior with many collections.

By borrowing his formation and some of his treasures, they could shorten the recovery process.

And minimize the dissipation of spirituality during this process.

The capital was the place where the fortune and dragon vein of the entire Shenzhou gathered. When Wei Yuan and the others arrived at that place, Wei Yuan was surprised to find that it was actually a museum. It could be considered the same line of work. When they went inside, several Daoists came out.

However, they were surrounded by wisps of faint fortune.

Wei Yuan was slightly surprised.

And these Daoists seemed to know Lin Li and the others, and were also slightly stunned. They barely greeted each other, cold and distant, and then left. The leading Daoist raised his eyes and glanced at the crowd, only slightly surprised by Wei Yuan, who was wearing a black *pankou* (knot button) jacket and carrying a *qin* (zither) case on his back.

His thoughts paused slightly, not remembering that there was such a young man among the ordained Daoists of the Zhengyi Dao and Quanzhen Dao.

He didn't pay much attention to it, just remembered his face, and then left.

Wei Yuan sensed the subtle relationship between the two sides. After that group of Daoists left, he asked, "Who were those people..."

He Yangwen of the Shenxiao Sect said with a complicated expression, "They are Daoists who follow the path of supporting the dragon court."

"Cultivators who use the fortune of Shenzhou for cultivation, clinging to the dragon scales."

Wei Yuan was surprised and thought of the Weiming Sect's Daoist records, naturally asking, "Is it right to consider one who violates the Daoist precepts by coming into contact with the dragon vein's fortune a true Daoist?"

This time, Lin Li and the other two were surprised and weird. A hearty laugh came from inside the museum, "Daoist precepts forbid contact with fortune? Where did you get this antique idea? Hahaha, are you talking about the precepts from who knows how many years ago? Nowadays, who still says that?"

An energetic old man walked out of the inner hall.

Lin Li and the others greeted him.

Wei Yuan also cupped his fists slightly in greeting.

The old man was the senior they had come to visit this time. It was said that the collection here would make all the Daoist and Chan Buddhist monks in Shenzhou jealous, but for some reason, no one dared to covet these treasures.

The old man waved his hand, saw that Wei Yuan looked young, and couldn't help but tease, "You're the Curator Wei they were talking about?"

"So young, how come you still follow those ancient precepts? You're more like an old fogey than I am."

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "I just happened to see it in the Daoist canon."

The old man couldn't help but laugh, "Then you must have seen the ancient Daoist canon from the Han Dynasty. At that time, cultivating by coming into contact with the dragon vein's fortune was really courting death. Later, more and more people cultivated by borrowing fortune. Didn't a certain Qing Ci Grand Scholar appear during the Song Dynasty, taking the Quanzhen shortcut?" (This is a reference to individuals in the Song Dynasty who gained favor and high office by writing flattering poems and prose for the Emperor.)

"Although this path of supporting the dragon court has always been disliked by orthodox true cultivators."

"But by borrowing fortune and imitating the cultivation path of the Earth Gods, the cultivation level rises rapidly."

"This lineage has really produced a few people who are said to have powerful magic power, not inferior to the Celestial Masters. But I won't say too much. The old Daoist of the Zhengyi Dao has already told me about the matter. Come, come, where's the Nine-Section Staff? Take it out and let me see."

Lin Li took out the treasure as instructed.

The old man walked to the back hall holding the Nine-Section Staff, and then told them to wait first. The Nine-Section Staff was not severely damaged, and it would naturally recover in less than a day. However, he stated that this object had experienced too many things in the past, and its spirituality was no longer what it once was. Even if it was restored to its original complete state, it could only be used as a collectible and not as a magical treasure.

........................

Wei Yuan stayed in the residence arranged by the Special Operations Team.

He waited silently, still drawing talismans, practicing swordsmanship, and breathing and circulating qi every day.

He briefly suppressed the merits he had obtained from capturing the Taiping Dao, not using them.

Three days later.

Lin Li, who had changed from her Daoist robe into ordinary clothes, looked like a fashionable and beautiful girl, not a true Daoist of the Shangqing Sect. She lazily sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding a computer and watching dramas.

The Lin family's old master, who stayed in the capital, had profound Daoist skills, extensive knowledge, and a dignified demeanor.

But one thing he had was a fondness for his granddaughter.

Therefore, the Lin family patriarch, who had once lectured her master by grabbing his ear, directly turned a blind eye to Lin Li's behavior, which would have been reprimanded by her master in the Daoist sect. On the contrary, he would sometimes watch things that young people liked with Lin Li.

The old master's attitude of letting her do whatever she liked sometimes made Lin Li feel a little embarrassed. When the old man brought over a plate of fruit, she coughed twice, had a pang of conscience, and silently closed the video, pretending to be thinking seriously. Then, when the old man sat down, she seriously asked:

"Grandpa, I have a question that I've been thinking about for several days but can't figure out."

The old man laughed and didn't expose her pretense, handling a situation where she was trying to appease the elders. He just smiled and said, "What question? Tell me and let me hear it."

Lin Li thought for a moment and said:

"Grandpa, you've read through the Daoist canon and know a lot, but do you know if there was a Daoist among the Taiping Dao monks who could be considered the strongest, whose cultivation surpassed an era, but only hoped to open a Daoist temple to treat illnesses and save people, and who, despite having heaven-shattering cultivation, couldn't even fulfill such a simple wish and had already passed away?"

The old man was surprised, not expecting there to really be a question.

After thinking about it, he could only shake his head and say, "I don't know..."

Lin Li also stuffed a piece of apple cut into the shape of a rabbit into her mouth and smiled:

"Right, after thinking about it later, how could there be..."

But the old man smiled again, "But if you talk about it, there really is one who fits."

"Who?"

"The Great Virtuous Teacher, Zhang Jiao."

Lin Li's movements froze.

Who?!!

She subconsciously wanted to refute how it was possible, it was too absurd.

But suddenly, she thought of the museum curator's dazed expression when he saw the Nine-Section Staff, thought of the Yellow Turban Warriors that had taken initiative to protect him, thought of the ancient talisman that was stopped from activating, thought of his dreamlike and恍惚的(huǎnghū de - absent-minded) three words, "He's dead," thought of when the young museum curator had carried a sword case and smiled with certainty:

"I've only ever met the strongest Daoist in the world who cultivates the Taiping Dao..."

Lin Li suddenly found herself unable to refute.

................

Inside the quiet room.

Wei Yuan reached out his hand.

The complete Nine-Section Staff was placed in the box.

His palm slowly grasped the Nine-Section Staff, and the secret inscriptions on the Nine-Section Staff began to light up. The past buried in history reappeared before his eyes.

ps: Today's first update... Three thousand six hundred words, completing the third day of the schedule, four days away from a week, I hope to finish the second update as soon as possible, sigh.

Thanks to the Alliance Leader of Little Erii Who Likes to Read Books, thank you very much~