Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Volume 1, Chapter 2 – Self-Taught the Heavenly Dao in the Eclipse Canon

“300 taels of silver, 250kg of grains, 10kg of fresh meat, 150kg of salted meat and various vegetables, 3 sets of the best quality full-sleeved Daoist robe, hat and belt, 3 sets of shoes and socks respectively, a red copper stove…” [1]

Zhang Yan read the list of goods in his hand. Aside from these things, there were also some daily necessities which were not listed on the list of goods he had received. He was secretly amazed by Min Lou’s deep wealth. Even if he wantonly ate these grains, it would still be enough for him to eat for an entire year. As of now, he could say to have solved the most urgent livelihood needs he had.

As for general common sense, the payment for interpreting Dao manuals nowadays, shouldn’t amount to this much. Even if you were to consult with some Daoist master, he would not be paid as extravagantly as Min Lou had paid Zhang Yan.

However, taking Min Lou’s efforts into account, he painstakingly prepared this to befriend him. Zhang Yan did not hesitate to directly accept and receive it since he had quite a good impression towards him.

Zhang Yan thought for a while, then he wrote something on a piece of paper. He called the temple’s errand boy and gave him instructions to buy other daily necessities from down the mountain.

With everything having been appropriately settled, Zhang Yan closed the door and sat in meditation. Although ‘Oneness Purifying Breath Manual’ was only a basic cultivation method, cultivating the Dao was like sailing a boat against the current. If you were unable to move forward, you either forged a path forcefully or you would be left behind. Through his life experiences, he fully realized that one’s foundation was extremely important, so there was no time to relax for him.

A night pa.s.sed by without any disturbances…

At the beginning of the second day, around 7 to 9 AM, Zhang Yan went back to the Thousand Rock Pavilion like yesterday. Today, it seemed that there was someone waiting for him.

This person was in his early 30s, but he already had a few white hairs on both sides of his temples. He had a slender body with a slightly pale and haggard complexion as his hand was holding a wooden bookcase. When he saw Zhang Yan’s bamboo streamer, he quickly came over and politely greeted, “Is this Junior Brother Zhang Yan?”

Zhang Yan stopped walking as he returned the courtesy and modestly replied in an amiable manner, “Yes, it is.”

“Myself is Zhao Yuan from the Ethics Academic Temple. I heard that Junior Brother Zhang Yan has profound knowledge on the Eclipse Canon, and this one sought you out to seek enlightenment from you.”

Zhao Yuan quickly opened the wooden bookcase and pulled out a very thin manual carefully, as if he was afraid of breaking the manual. He held it with both hands and respectfully spoke to Zhang Yan, “If Junior Brother can remove the shackle of doubts in my heart, I will not forget Junior Brother’s kindness.”

Zhang Yan could see that Zhao Yuan obviously treated the manual as his most precious treasure, as it was placed inside an exquisitely built wooden bookcase. He gently smiled as he leaned on his bamboo streamer and took out a handkerchief from his sleeve. He wiped his hands and carefully received this Dao manual.

Seeing Zhang Yan’s manner, Zhao Yuan’s impression of Zhang Yan was instantly raised to a whole different level.

As Zhang Yan received the manual, he discovered that this manual was only the first volume. When he turned the pages and read the last page, it actually continued to the next volume. It was very obvious that the owner was probably reluctant in letting him read the entire manual. However, this was also reasonable as it was the usual customs. He only smiled and gave the manual back to Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan’s complexion changed as he anxiously spoke: “Junior Brother Zhang Yan, is there something wrong? Or…” His voice turned somewhat awkward as traces of doubt could be seen from his eyes. Was Min Lou actually exaggerating this Zhang Yan’s ability in explaining Dao manuals, as in fact, he wasn’t able to interpret anything at all?

Zhang Yan calmly shook his head, as he smiled and replied, “Senior Brother, it’s not like that, the manual has been completely imprinted in my heart.”

This manual only had several hundreds of words. As his memorizing ability was now significantly improved, coupled with his thorough research on the Eclipse Canon for several years; he was able to completely remember the manual’s content in one glance. Moreover, if he wanted to build his reputation in this line of work, he had to at least show-off and act appropriately as a highly skilled person.

“Oh?” Although Zhao Yuan was really surprised, he couldn’t hide the doubtful expression on his face.

Zhang Yan walked casually toward the pavilion’s sideway and took out his ink pen, ink, and papers from his bamboo basket, and he put them on the stone table. He calmly sat and held the pen to start writing.

He read a moment ago that the t.i.tle was ‘Traversing Through the Eternal River Manual’. This Dao manual was actually only a travel journal written by a certain supreme Daoist, of which it didn’t give him any difficulties at all. It took only a short time for him to finish reading and comprehending this incomplete Dao manual, as he quickly wrote the interpretation.

The ink marks on the papers were not even dried yet when Zhao Yuan impatiently grabbed the several pages of papers in his hand. He immediately read the interpretation with full expectation. His complexion changed greatly the instant he read it. The more he read, the more his complexion turned solemn. After he read over several pages, he took a deep breath and said, “Originally, I didn’t believe it, I didn’t expect that it really could be interpreted this way… I really spent so much time in vain… this book actually has such a wonderful cultivation law. There really is no one amongst my fellow disciples who could comprehend this. I was indeed too ignorant and dim-sighted.”

Zhang Yan, however, was surprised as he said, “Senior Brother, why did you say such things?”

Zhao Yuan’s complexion revealed a bitter and astringent expression as he slowly replied, “Younger Brother, you should also be aware that I and the others outer disciples faced great difficulties in our cultivation path. It’s just that those disciples who came from wealthy families and enrolled to study here, tend to bully disciples with ordinary backgrounds and often did unethical things to obtain some Dao manuals. Junior Brother Zhang, honestly, two days ago when Senior Brother Bian told me to find a half kg of Moon River Sand, so that I can get the rest of the sect’s Dao manuals, how could I… Alas!”

Zhang Yan suddenly understood. Whether it was the Profound Virtue Temple or Ethics Academic Temple, or Great Tranquility Temple, all three temples only had a few dozen inner disciples. They solely focused on their cultivation, and as for daily ch.o.r.es, they were all given to their servants. However, although they were only servants, n.o.body could look down on them as they were also usually listed as a novice disciples. After their inner disciple masters studied the Dao Manuals, they usually recorded it onto some ma.n.u.scripts. These servants secretly copied the ma.n.u.scripts and then cultivated it themselves, then sold it to other disciples or traded it to the rich and powerful families for a large amount of wealth.

However, these copied ma.n.u.scripts were also divided into various grades and ranks. If the buyer was not truly wealthy and powerful, they would not give any face to ordinary buyers and might even send a worthless ma.n.u.script.

The Dao Manuals that circulated between the Three Great Schools mostly originated from these ma.n.u.scripts.

Zhao Yuan originally came from a merchant family, which could also be considered as a rich family. However, compared to those that were of the n.o.bility and the aristocrats, he was far too poor compared to them.

The manual that had been interpreted by Zhang Yan indeed originated from these “grand servants” [2]. These servants originally had a lot of power, because they had connections with the inner disciples. Trivial ordinary disciples often became their object of trickery and bullying, since ordinary disciples wouldn’t dare to provoke those untouchable true disciples.

It seemed that Zhao Yuan also experienced this. He heard that some inner disciples were seeking to find Five Elements Divine Sand and were willing to trade it with several genuine Dao Manuals. He then contacted Senior Brother Bian, a cruel-hearted inner disciple’s servant, for it. Not only did he exchange 0.5kg of Moon River Sand for it, he also sent a vast amount of wealth in order to obtain the precious ma.n.u.scripts.

Zhao Yuan originally thought that this Dao Manual contained an immortal cultivation method, so he didn’t hurry back to study it. But he then found that the Dao Manual unexpectedly only contained traveling journal records; which was even more worthless than the basic breathing technique. He was greatly disappointed, as regret shrouded his heart. For fear that he mistakenly misunderstood the manual, he spent a vast amount of his wealth on travelling to consult this matter with several others disciples, one after another. Still, the conclusion didn’t change. When he was in deep despair, he heard from Min Lou that Zhang Yan’s attainment on the Eclipse Canon was very profound. He who heard this, was like a critically ill patient, eager to find a miraculous doctor, as he hurriedly took his incomplete manual to ask for enlightenment from Zhang Yan.

“I have been studying in this temple for almost six years, and if this time was also another failure, that meant I’m not destined to enter the world of the Dao. I had planned to go back home and continue my family’s business.”

Zhao Yuan was now 38 years old, and it would be difficult for him to attain more advancement in his cultivation. The knot in his heart made him disheartened, and he thought of abandoning this path of life. The more he read the incomplete manual, the more regret dwelled in his heart; which even gave him the urge to rip the manual apart.

Listening to his bitter words, Zhang Yan’s eyes flashed as he suddenly grabbed Zhao Yuan’s sleeve and said, “Senior Brother, please wait.”

Zhao Yuan was stunned.

Zhang Yan straightly looked at Zhao Yuan’s eyes as he whispered, “If Senior Brother really trusts me, could you please let me read the final volume?”

Zhao Yuan seemed hesitated as he heard this, and slowly replied, “Junior Brother, what’s the meaning of this?”

Zhang Yan sincerely spoke, “Excuse me for speaking frankly, the Eclipse Canon has stated that everything is a unified whole as it s.h.i.+nes upon the back and front, if it’s separated then we would barely comprehend the meaning. I realized that this manual really has profound contents, perhaps…”

“Oh?” Zhao Yuan’s eye turned wide and looked at Zhang Yan. He also understood the meaning behind Zhang Yan’s words as his body unconsciously trembled, “It’s difficult…”

Zhang Yan only smiled and said, “Humans can only do their best and leave all else to fate.”

Zhao Yuan gritted his teeth as he stood up and stomped his feet. He then said, “Good, I’ll let Junior Brother read it.” He originally had already given up hope. However, Zhang Yan’s words gave him a strand of hope again. He did have doubts and felt uncertain, but can he really give up that easily?

Looking at the anxious Zhao Yuan, Zhang Yan calmly stood as he recited the manual, “In ancient times, there was a region known as Yongjun (Eternal Region), also known as Chuande (River of Virtue). The terrain was high and grand like a Gao Long (Great Dragon). Eight rivers converged together as it concealed each other like a Wo Hu (Crouching Tiger) waiting for its prey. Looking to the South Eastern Island, as if it were a Qian Long (Hidden Dragon) facing the beach, and if you wanted to enter the North Sea…” These several sentences increasingly piqued his intuition that there really were profound meanings behind it. He also thought that the manuals were just records of a travel journal. Zhao Yuan said that he was perhaps not destined to walk on this path. However, he suddenly remembered that the sect’s ancestor had always been fiddling with deceitful mystery. Of which, really made his suspicion get more intense, that it was only to hide the true meanings. Maybe there really was profound law that hadn’t been discovered in these mysterious words.

Less than an hour later, Zhao Yuan breathed heavily as he took out another manual without saying anything, and put it in Zhang Yan’s hand.

Zhang Yan nodded and quickly sat down to read the manual at a moderate pace. Zhao Yuan anxiously observed his actions but couldn’t find anything, since Zhang Yan’s expression was very calm.