Chapter 594: The Immortal Guest in the Heavenly Palace, the Prime Minister's House in Longhu Mountain
In the seventh year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty launched an attack on the Turks and won a great victory.
Li Daoxuan asked to resign from the position of imperial teacher, but the emperor did not agree.
At the beginning of the eighth year of Zhenguan, the old Heavenly Master of Mount Longhu passed away at the age of 149. He left a will that Li Daoxuan should resign from the position of National Master and guard the body for three years without leaving the mountain.
Li Daoxuan again asked to resign from the position of imperial teacher, but the emperor refused again.
From then on, the national teacher Li Daoxuan lived in Longhu Mountain, guarding the spirit of his master, and gradually disappeared from the sight of the world.
However, whenever Emperor Li Shimin encountered important events in the court, he would always send a carrier pigeon to Longhu Mountain to ask Li Daoxuan for his opinion.
Although I don't often get a response, I keep persisting.
At banquets, there was always an empty seat next to Li Shimin. He often drank and sighed, saying that if the imperial teacher were here, he would not reward him so much.
Mount Longhu may seem like a place for spiritual practice, but because of one person, it has invisibly attracted the attention of the whole world.
People at that time called him the immortal guest in the palace of heaven and the prime minister's home in Longhu Mountain.
Like floating clouds and morning dew, pearls flow and jade turn, in the blink of an eye, three years have passed.
At the foot of Longhu Mountain, at Tingfeng Teahouse, many people are taking shelter from the rain.
"It is said that after the immortal Li and the great general Li Jing joined forces to defeat Chi You, they followed the old Heavenly Master's last words and retired to the mountains and forests, never to interfere in worldly affairs again."
"In Longhu Mountain, you can often hear the sound of a phoenix. After every rain, there will be purple clouds all over the sky and morning glow coming from the east. Do you know why?"
The tourists shook their heads, urging the storyteller to stop keeping the story in suspense and to get on with the story.
The storyteller smiled proudly and said, "My cousin is practicing in Longhu Mountain and is an inner sect disciple. He told me that this is because every time it rains, Immortal Li will come out of his thatched cottage in the back mountain and go fishing in Baihe Lake."
"Those purple air and morning glow are all because of Immortal Li coming out of seclusion!"
"My cousin also told me that the son of the contemporary Zhang Tianshi is practicing with the immortal Li. He once went to deliver food to Zhang Tianshi's son. Guess what happened?"
Everyone's curiosity was piqued.
"Tell me, what's wrong?"
"I must have met Immortal Li. Tell me what Immortal Li looks like. Is he as good-looking as the one in the temple?"
"Bah, so superficial. Immortal Li is our Tang Dynasty's imperial master, a master who has attained immortality, with boundless magical powers and awe-inspiring power. What does his appearance mean?"
The storyteller saw that the atmosphere was almost set, so he stopped keeping the audience in suspense and continued, "My cousin really did meet the Immortal Li. He hasn't ascended yet, but he's almost there."
"My cousin said that at the time, Immortal Li was wearing mourning clothes and was sitting by the White Crane Lake fishing. He just lifted the fishing rod and caught a big carp!"
"What's so strange about this?"
"Hey, don't be anxious. The big carp is about ten feet long. The weirdest thing is that the front half of its body has turned into a dragon, with dragon horns, a dragon head and dragon whiskers. It can also speak human language and beg the immortal to spare its life."
"The Immortal Li said that in the seventh year of Wude, a child carrying a night-shining pearl accidentally fell into the river. You were greedy for the night-shining pearl, so you did not save the child. Therefore, even if you cross the Dragon Gate, you are not worthy of being a dragon."
"After saying this, Immortal Li put the big carp into the fish basket. Strangely enough, as soon as the big carp entered the basket, its dragon scales fell off and it turned into a fish again."
"Later, Immortal Li asked my cousin to cook the fish. The soup was like white jade, and the fragrance spread ten miles away. My cousin got a bowl and said that he had never tasted such delicious fish soup in his life!"
Everyone drooled after hearing this, and they all sighed that his cousin was so lucky, because the fish soup was made from half of a dragon carp, and drinking it must have many benefits.
At this time, someone suddenly said, "It is said that in May this year, there was indeed a carp in the Yellow River that tried to transform into a dragon. Many people witnessed it with their own eyes. The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady in the hibernation dragon also rushed there and was about to take action, but the carp suddenly disappeared!"
When everyone heard this, they gasped and were shocked.
They didn't necessarily believe everything the storyteller said at first, but when they compared the two with the rumor, they found that they matched perfectly without any flaws.
It seems that the carp that tried to transform into a dragon did not disappear suddenly, but... was caught by Immortal Li!
Being in the mountains, fishing all over the world.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but feel their scalps tingling, and they became even more in awe of the Immortal Li who was practicing in seclusion in Longhu Mountain.
Just at this time, the clouds disappeared and the rain stopped, and the weather cleared up.
The rosy glow appeared in the sky, and purple clouds enveloped Longhu Mountain, stretching for dozens of miles, making the place look like a fairyland on earth.
…
Behind the mountain, Baihe Lake.
The lake is clear and blue, with rippling water, like an exquisite jade mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white sun, and the graceful white cranes.
According to legend, it was here that the old Taoist priest met a crane when he was young. The crane took him to a fairy cave and inherited the wordless heavenly book.
Later, the old Taoist priest’s favorite thing to do was to go fishing by the lake.
Times have changed, things have changed, and people have changed, but Baihe Lake is still as beautiful and charming as ever, with the sound of cranes singing.
A figure was sitting by the lake fishing.
He wore a conical hat, white clothes, white shoes and white socks, held a bamboo pole in his hand, and sat cross-legged. No one knew how long it had been.
The white crane flew to his side fearlessly and rubbed its head against his clothes affectionately.
A bird landed on his hat and combed its feathers with its beak.
Willow trees provide shade, the breeze brings coolness, the crabapples are fragrant, and from afar, the figure fishing seems to be one with the entire world.
"Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, the Tao follows nature..."
A tender child's voice sounded.
On the big rock next to him stood a little Taoist boy with a handsome face. He was the son of the contemporary Zhang Tianshi and the only descendant of Tianshi after Zhang Qianyang, Zhang Weiyang.
But at this moment, the little Taoist priest, who had been pampered and spoiled since childhood, was sitting in a horse stance on a stone under the scorching sun, with an incense burner placed underneath him.
Even though he was sweating profusely, he still had to recite the Taoist scriptures, and if he made a mistake in a word, he would have to add an incense stick.
Finally, little Wei Yang finished reciting the whole passage and said with a sad face, "Big Brother, can I have a rest?"
The bamboo hat was slightly lifted, revealing a handsome, white face like jade.
The red mark between the eyebrows adds a lot of Taoist charm.
It is none other than the world-famous mountain master, the immortal Li Daoxuan of Mount Longhu.
Compared with three years ago, his appearance has hardly changed, but his temperament has become more simple and natural, returning to nature.
Like an old man in a straw raincoat between heaven and earth.
"Go ahead, but be careful not to damage the lotus in the lake."
The gentle voice sounded, as clear as a jade bell, making people's hearts subconsciously become calm and peaceful, as if the dust had been shaken off.
"Oh, big brother is so nice!"
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
Little Wei Yang was so happy that he danced with joy. He immediately undressed and jumped into the Baihe Lake naked, splashing water everywhere.
Despite his young age, he was already quite good at swimming and even dived into the lake and didn't come out for a long time.
Li Daoxuan was not in a hurry at all. He continued fishing quietly, not afraid that the fish would be scared away.
After a while, the lake water churned and a white dragon flew out from it. It was ten feet long, with scales as crystal clear as jade and horns as beautiful as coral. It carried little Wei Yang into the air.
The air was filled with mist and the sunset glowed. From time to time, among the clouds, you could see a glittering dragon's tail passing by and faintly hear the cheers of children.
The white dragon is naturally Xiaobai. Now that he has transformed into a dragon, he is about to pass the tribulation and become a Yang God.
As for Xiaotian, it has always been restless, so Li Daoxuan sent it to Changle. That girl has done a lot recently, which makes people look at her with admiration.
Gazing at the gradually calming lake, Li Daoxuan’s thoughts seemed to go back to three years ago.
That night, he used Zi Wei Dou Shu to deduce the whereabouts of his master. He was not afraid of getting injured and finally saw clearly that his master's sudden corpse transformation was related to the Heavenly Palace!
Afterwards, he practiced asceticism in Mount Longhu in the name of keeping vigil. Of course, he was not completely indifferent to worldly affairs. Occasionally, he would kill a few demons in the name of fishing to relieve his boredom, which was quite interesting.
During these three years, he lived in a hut and only did three things: reading, fishing, and teaching young Wei Yang to practice.
Yes, there is no practice.
Because he discovered that when he reached the late stage of Yangshen, the accumulation of magic power was no longer of much significance. If he wanted to become an immortal, the most important thing was his state of mind.
He was undoubtedly somewhat biased in his studies. Relying on his Tiandun sword ability, he was not afraid of his inner demons, so he always practiced his magical powers, but he didn't realize that his state of mind was gradually declining.
The Tiandun sword intent can only keep him clear-headed, but cannot directly improve his spiritual cultivation.
Therefore, the thing Li Daoxuan did most in the past three years was reading.
In addition to the Taoist classics in Longhu Mountain, the theories of various schools of thought collected in the imperial palace, and the ancient books treasured by the Maoshan, Longmen, Laoshan and other sects, all were sent to Longhu Mountain with a transfer order from Li Shimin.
Of course, Li Daoxuan only read Taoist classics and did not dabble in the cultivation techniques of other sects.
After three years of hard study, his heart was completely calm. He watched the flowers bloom and fall, and the clouds roll and unfold, without a trace of impetuousness.
And it was when he was comprehending the essence of Taoism and immersed in reading that he inadvertently discovered that his cultivation had actually improved, and even his practice of various supernatural powers had deepened.
This improvement is not as drastic as before, but it is like a spring breeze that moistens everything silently. It is completed little by little in a subtle way and continues.
Now, he is only a thin layer of window paper away from becoming an immortal, which can be broken at any time.
The word "immortality" is already within reach.
Maybe when I ascend to heaven, I can go to the Heavenly Palace to check it out. Chi You hurt the beings in the Heavenly Palace back then, so I guess they won’t be able to recover so quickly.
Maybe this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Just as he was thinking, a phoenix cry suddenly sounded in the sky, and a phoenix flapped its wings and flew through the clouds, with shining feathers, gorgeous and noble, and something in its mouth.
The phoenix circled above Li Daoxuan's head for a moment, and then opened its beak.
Two things floated into Li Daoxuan's hands, one was a scroll and the other was a food box. When he opened them, there was nectar cake and a letter inside.
"Personally from our Master, Li Daoxuan."
The delicate small regular script is like bright peach blossoms, soft and beautiful with a hint of playfulness.
I touched it and found the letter was very thick, with at least ten sheets of paper in it.
Li Daoxuan smiled slightly. Changle would write a letter to him every month. Calculating her age, she was already seventeen years old, but she still had a childishness in her heart.
The phoenix turned into a strand of hair and slowly floated away. This was the magical power of turning hair into something else. It was obvious that Changle's cultivation had made great progress.
After opening the letter, the first sentence made Li Daoxuan look strange.
"Master, I'm so angry, you must help me. I just joined Zhelong and got the mask of Lady of the Nine Heavens. I finally met a carp that wanted to turn into a dragon, but before I could make a move, the fish disappeared!"
"Someone must have secretly rescued the demon fish. I wanted to calculate, but I found that the other party's destiny was chaotic and I couldn't figure it out at all. Master, please help me calculate who it is. I will never let him go!"
