Chapter 174： Shuyunguan

Master Zhao's words made Pei Anzhu's heart tremble.

She was very keenly aware that Master Zhao's few words might contain the truth about the decline of Xuanmen in this world and the neglect of Shuyun Temple.

And this is exactly what she wants to explore.

Before Pei Anzhu settled in Yuncheng, she had been in Shuyun Temple, read all the ancient books in the temple, and thought about why she came to this strange world.

Everything in the world has a cause and effect. She once thought that if God allowed her to do this, it was because he hoped that she could revive Xuanmen.

She chose to let nature take its course, follow her heart, and embarked on this path.

Unexpectedly, Master Zhao, who obviously knew the inside story, would appear in front of her so soon.

But even though she was eager to know the truth, she did not ask any urgent questions. She just said calmly:

“It turns out you are an insider. No wonder I couldn’t hide the things I made up casually from you.”

Master Zhao did not see the embarrassment of being exposed by himself on Pei Anzhu's face. His face looked a little strange for a moment. He paused and asked:

“Do you also know the old things about Shuyunguan?”

Pei Anzhu said calmly:

"Of course I know. In fact, what I said just now is half true and half false, because I did come from Shuyunguan. I was self-taught by reading Shuyunguan's classics."

“I was adopted and raised by Master Changhe of Shuyunguan Temple, but I have never officially studied under Shuyunguan, and I am not a registered disciple of Shuyunguan. In this way, I cannot be regarded as a member of Shuyunguan.”

“It’s not surprising that I can avoid being cursed and learn a skill.”

The lies that can really confuse people's hearts are always 70% true and 30% false. Only half truth and half falsehood can make it difficult for people to distinguish between falsehood and reality.

Pei Anzhu knows this well.

It is true that she was born in Shuyunguan, it is true that she was adopted and raised by an old Taoist priest, and it is also true that she never learned the skills from a teacher or put her name on it.

These are all things that can be found on the surface, and they are also the information that Officer Du and others can learn when they conduct private investigations.

So Pei Anzhu didn't feel guilty at all when he said these words.

Master Zhao looked at Officer Du on the side and judged from the expression on his face that Pei Anzhu was telling the truth, so he said:

“I see, then I was right as I said before. We have learned from the same school several generations ago. Now that Xuanmen is in decline, you and I should support each other and revive Xuanmen.”

"You have a higher level of cultivation than me. Today, my skills are inferior to others, but if you let me go, from now on, I will only follow your lead."

Hearing this, Pei Anzhu raised his eyebrows, with a suspicious expression on his face:

“You have never reported yourself to the sect, nor have you mentioned the names of the generations of masters and ancestors above you. Now I only know that your surname is Zhao. How do I know if you are from the same sect as mine?”

"Even if you are asking for mercy, you should be polite and explain your identity. Maybe you heard about Shu Yunguan's old stories from somewhere, and then you used the banner of Shu Yunguan to deceive outside?"

Master Zhao saw that Pei Anzhu's attitude had softened, so he thought he had hope in begging for mercy and asked:

“Then what should I do so that you can trust me?”

"Tell me what you know about Shu Yunguan honestly and word for word, and I will compare it one by one with the inheritance I have received." Pei Anzhu said, "Anything that doesn't match up and Inexplicable…”

“What if the information you know is untrue?” Master Zhao asked.

After hearing this, Pei Anzhu smiled lightly:

“Ever since I became sensible, scriptures and runes have been my enlightenment reading materials, and the historical records of Shu Yunguan throughout the ages have been my popular science reading materials. Even the handwritten notes left by past Buddhist temple masters, which are the temple masters’ diaries, have been read by me as extracurricular books. "

"If there is anything that really doesn't match what you said, it can only be because the records in the book are biased. As long as it's not completely inconsistent or cannot be explained, I'd be willing to give you a chance."

Hearing this, Master Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, history is too long, and no matter how it is recorded in books, it is always subject to the subjective influence of the people who recorded it at the time, and the perspective of looking at the problem will inevitably be different.

It would be too unjust if Pei Anzhu was judged as lying and impersonating just for this reason.

Thousands of thoughts flashed through Master Zhao’s mind:

He did not doubt Pei Anzhu's words. Except for the orthodox inheritance of Shu Yunguan, she could not have such a powerful cultivation at such a young age.

Now, his skills are inferior to others and he has become a defeated general.

Since the other party is determined to let him go, presumably as long as he tells what he knows and waits for her to be sure that he is not lying, then she may be able to let him go for the sake of being a student in the same school.

Thinking of this, Master Zhao said:

“In that case, let me start with the origin of Shuyunguan...”

As he spoke, he was organizing his thoughts and seemed to be considering where to start.

While Pei Anzhu and Master Zhao were going back and forth to test each other and dig holes, Officer Du remained silent. He regarded himself as an outsider listening to the story.

It wasn't until Master Zhao got to the point that he sat upright and checked the audio and video equipment at hand. After making sure it was intact, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Understanding the secrets of the Metaphysics Sect will help them handle affairs in the Foreign Adjustment Bureau. He listened very carefully—

According to Master Zhao, Shuyunguan was founded about a thousand years ago.

The founder of Shuyunguan is a man, known to the public as Shu Yun Zhenren. He looks about thirty years old. When he appeared, he was wearing white clothes and white robes, holding a fly whisk in his hand, and looked like a fairy.

In the history of the major Taoist sects, this real Shu Yun seems to have appeared out of thin air.

No one knows his origins. They only know that he studied under a very mysterious and reclusive sect called Xuanji Sect. But no one knows where the Xuanji Gate is.

At that time, major monastic sects such as Maoshan, Qingcheng, Quanzhen, Zhengyi, and Longhu privately sent people to search for it, but no one found the location of the Xuanji Sect.

At first, some people thought that Master Shu Yun was a hypocrite who was just trying to gain fame. He was pretending to be a non-existent sect and exaggerating his background, but he actually knew nothing about it.

But they were soon slapped in the face.

Because Master Shu Yun took out several books on Xuanmen Taoist cultivation techniques. These techniques were unheard of, but they were extremely exquisite and could not be produced by existing sects at all.

With these skills, everyone believed that Master Shu Yun really came from a hidden sect with profound foundation and long inheritance.

In this way, Master Shu Yun established a firm foothold in Xuanmen and founded his own sect, Shu Yun Guan.

After Shu Yunguan established the sect, he recruited many disciples. Anyone who has qualifications, wisdom and is willing to go up the mountain to practice can be called a disciple of Shu Yunguan.

In this way, Shuyunguan slowly developed and expanded.

Before the establishment of Shuyunguan, the world had a tradition of orthodox Taoism.

It is said that the founder of the first generation of Taoist sect was a disciple of Sanqing sect. He received enlightenment from the founder of Sanqing sect in a dream, enlightened him overnight and founded Taoist sect.

In the process of carrying forward Taoism and flourishing Taoism, the five arts of mountain, medicine, fortune, fortune, and divination were established as the foundation of Taoism, and the four Taoism methods of elixir, talisman, formation, and utensil were opened up.

Sects such as Maoshan, Qingchengshan, Longhushan, Zhengyi Sect, Quanzhen Sect, etc. are all proficient in one or several of these skills.

However, the appearance of Master Shu Yun broke this pattern.

Because what he teaches is different from what other sects teach.

For example, it is also a symbol—

The talismans of other sects have complicated strokes. Before each talisman is drawn, one must bathe and fast. Only by communicating with the aura of heaven and earth in the purest and untainted state can the talisman be completed.

However, Shu Yun's real-life talisman draws simple strokes, almost with the stroke of a brush. It can mobilize the aura of heaven and earth anytime and anywhere, regardless of time and place.

For example, the same formation -

When other sects set up formations, they need to prepare formation materials in advance, either gold, silver, jade, or magic weapons and talismans. They also have to calculate the appropriate positions, which takes a lot of effort to form the formation.

But when Master Shu Yun sets up his formation, he can use materials at will. Stones on the ground, branches on trees, and even flowers and plants that can be seen everywhere on the roadside can become part of his formation.

…

This seemingly similar but completely different Taoist system made Shu Yun Guan stand out among the Taoists and became the leader of Taoism.

Zhenren Shu Yun did not hide his secrets. He chose to exchange knowledge with other sects and held regular exchange conferences so that all parties could learn from each other's strengths.

During that period, metaphysics developed rapidly and Taoism flourished.

But Xuanmen will not always flourish.

When troubled times arose, Xuanmen came out, and Taoist cultivators cared about the common people and helped the world. Master Shu Yun also chose to go out to help the world in troubled times.

But the **** history proves that every troubled time is a good time for demons and ghosts to appear frequently.

Because human life is the least valuable at that stage, monsters and monsters living in seclusion in deep mountains and old forests from all over the country have appeared one after another and attacked human beings. Among them, there are many treacherous monsters with advanced cultivation.

In order to expel the demons, Master Shu Yun chose to sacrifice his body. After handing over Shu Yunguan to his chosen successor, he took the demons and died with him.

All sects suffered great losses in this catastrophe. After the troubled times were settled, Xuanmen entered a period of retreat and decline.

Later on, one generation after another changed, and each generation withered.

With the development of the times, Xuanmen has gradually declined, and many advanced techniques and methods have been lost. By two hundred years ago, the cultivation of Xuanmen as a whole was not even half of what it was in its heyday.

But at that time, war broke out again, and new monsters and monsters also appeared.

And here, the curse mentioned by Master Zhao is also involved.

Two hundred years ago, the then headmaster of Longhu Mountain suddenly suffered from heart palpitations and occasional feelings while in seclusion.

You should know that people’s intuitions and premonitions in Taoism usually represent some unusual signs, which may be hints for the future.

The headmaster of Longhu Mountain felt uneasy, so he calculated the secret, but halfway through the calculation, he vomited blood, suffered a backlash and was seriously injured. All his cultivation was destroyed, and he only had three months left to live.

As soon as this incident came out, all the Xuanmen factions could not sit still.

All the talkers gathered together, trying to figure out what happened, which would cause the dignified Master Longhu to be seriously injured and withered to this point.

Among them, the most proficient in calculation was the master of Shuyun Temple at that time, Qingfeng Zhenren.

He worked **** his cultivation, calculated the secrets of heaven, and came to a conclusion:

War is about to break out in the Dragon Kingdom, and a big monster appears in the southwest. If this monster is allowed to cause trouble to the world, then people will be in trouble and the mountains and rivers will be lost.