"Sir, take a look at this, also found in the tomb," I pulled out a small cloth bag and took something out from it. "Yesterday when I was tidying up the bones, I found something special about this person's rib bone. The front half is bone, and the back half is this, like jade. The shape is the same as the rib bone. If you don't look carefully, you can't really tell. So, I took it off."
"Was it broken off? Hmph, let me see!" he said, taking the piece of jade and examining it carefully. The object was crystal clear, round and radiant. It was obviously a high-quality ancient jade, with dense patterns resembling writing, but too small to see clearly.
"This is called bone jade. In ancient times, some sects would inscribe their secrets onto jade with special symbols, then use secret techniques to place them inside the body of the sect leader. Some would place them in the muscles, some between the intestines, but this method of attaching them to bones is quite rare. It seems that this fellow had quite a background," explained Old Li.
"So, this contains secret teachings? Haha, I'm going to become a great hero! Hehe!" I exclaimed, making a heroic gesture.
"Don't be ridiculous. There are very few people in the world who would recognize the characters on this. Go find someone to teach you. Keep it, you might be able to sell it for a good price."
"What? You don't recognize it either!" I looked at Old Li in surprise.
"Do you think I'm a deity who knows everything? These symbols are the passwords of someone else's sect. How would I know?"
My excitement from earlier turned into disappointment in an instant. I looked at Big Brother's Heavenly Thorn Sword, then back at the bone jade in my hand, sighing helplessly.
"Oh, by the way, who exactly are you, and how do you know so much? Didn't you say you were going to teach us these things? When will you start? You can't back out now," both of us looked at Old Li with curiosity.
"When I speak, of course, I mean it. I got up so early this morning just to wait for you two to come and apprentice. I had already calculated that you would come at this time," he chuckled. "But, don't tell anyone about us, understand?"
"Yes, we swear we won't tell anyone!" we both put away our joking expressions and became serious.
"Good, now is the right time. Let's go inside and perform the ceremony to formally accept you as my disciples," he said, and the three of us went into the house one after another.
It turns out that this Old Li is no ordinary person. He is a descendant of the Taiping Sect. The Taiping Sect was founded during the Southern Dynasty period by the Daoist master Lu Jingxiu. At that time, Daoism was mainly divided into three major sects: the Five Dou Mi Dao, the Shang Qing Sect, and the Taiping Sect.
The Five Dou Mi Dao, also known as the Celestial Master Dao, was founded by Zhang Ling. Because those who joined the sect had to contribute five dou of rice, it was called "Five Dou Mi Dao" (Five Dou Rice Dao). This sect mainly focused on the cultivation of talismans and spells, using various talismans to help people ward off disasters, illnesses, and pray for blessings. It was very popular at the time and dominated the Daoist scene.
The Shang Qing Sect was established by Tao Hongjing, based on the "Shang Qing Da Zhen Jing" as its main scripture. In the early stages, it focused on the arts of nourishing life and alchemy. Later, Ge Hong incorporated the Ling Bao Jing and the San Huang Jing into the study, forming a unique and mysterious sect. Because the sect was located in Maoshan, it was also known as the Maoshan Sect.
The Taiping Sect originated from the Taiping Dao founded by Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the later Han and Three Kingdoms period. However, due to the failure of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Taiping Dao was brutally suppressed by the Cao clan, leading to its disintegration. Only a small part of it continued to operate secretly among the people. During the Southern Dynasty, the Daoist master Lu Jingxiu stumbled upon the "Tai Ping Qing Ling Book" in Guangzong. This book was the foundation of the Taiping Dao established by Zhang Jiao, also known as the "Tai Ping Jing". It is divided into ten volumes, each with seventeen chapters, totaling one hundred and seventy chapters. The book is based on the theory of the Five Elements, with each volume covering different content. It especially focuses on the study of the laws of the universe's evolution and the balance of the Five Elements' formations, which is extremely profound. Lu Jingxiu cherished this book and couldn't bear to see it lost, so he established the Taiping Sect.
Because the Taiping Dao had a certain mass base, after the establishment of the Taiping Sect, it developed very smoothly and quickly became a major sect at that time. However, with rapid rise came great pressure on the traditional sects of the Celestial Master Dao and Maoshan Sect. In terms of Daoist arts, the knowledge contained in the "Tai Ping Qing Ling Book" far surpassed that of the Celestial Master and Maoshan sects, making it difficult for them to compete directly with the Taiping Sect. In order to maintain their prestige in Daoism, the two sects united to suppress the Taiping Sect and spread rumors, claiming that Lu Jingxiu's establishment of the Taiping Sect had ulterior motives.
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When the emperor heard the rumors, he was deeply worried that the history of the Yellow Turban Rebellion would repeat itself, so he implemented a series of policies to restrict the development of the Taiping Sect. Eventually, under the interference of the government, the Taiping Sect gradually declined. Lu Jingxiu, forced by reality, formulated a rule: the Taiping Sect would accept disciples once every sixty years, with a maximum of five disciples per person. The method of accepting disciples was also special, with the master personally seeking out worthy individuals from the people to be disciples.
Later, there was a folk legend that every sixty years, an immortal would descend to pass on the celestial scriptures to the chosen ones. The recipient of the scriptures would be able to understand ancient knowledge and use various esoteric techniques. In fact, this was referring to the way the Taiping Sect passed on its teachings.
In the thirty-sixth year of the Qianyuan era, wars were raging everywhere. Old Li was fifteen years old that year and fell ill on the road during a famine. He was saved by a Daoist, who discovered his intelligence and took him as a disciple. Old Li also had a senior brother, but they separated after their master's death, and they hadn't been in contact for over thirty years.
After the war ended, Old Li traveled around, helping people everywhere. During the peaceful period, Daoist activities were seen as superstition and suppressed by the authorities. Old Li had no choice but to live in seclusion in Longgu Mountain. During his ten years of seclusion, he used the three techniques of Qimen, Taiyi, and
Liuren to predict that the next generation of disciples would come from the foot of Longgu Mountain. He searched all the surrounding villages and towns to find the successors, and finally found the two of us, Iron Pillar and me, in Shuangpai Village. He observed us secretly and taught us some martial arts to cultivate our basic qualities.
After ten years of observation and cultivation, the two of us didn't disappoint Old Li. We not only had excellent physical qualities and high intelligence but also impeccable character and courage. Old Li didn't know how to start teaching us the Taoist arts until the appearance of the Ghost Grabbing Hand gave him a good opportunity. This led to us breaking the formation together, convincing us, and thus truly beginning to learn the Taoist arts.
According to our different characteristics, Old Li taught us different Taoist arts. Iron Pillar's birth chart had the "Kuigang" divine omen, indicating a robust physique and abundant energy, making him most suitable for learning spells and magic. So, Old Li had Iron Pillar start with drawing symbols and memorizing incantations. As for me, my birth chart carried the "Huagai" sign, indicating intelligence and wisdom, and a high level of comprehension, making me suitable for learning esoteric formations and numerical arts. Thus, Old Li had me start with learning the Qimen Dunjia from the Three Styles, memorizing the meanings of the five elements of the stems and branches, and the significance of the eight gods, eight gates, and nine stars. He also gave me a four-layered compass to enhance my memory.
In addition, to strengthen our physical qualities, Old Li had us start practicing the Embryonic Breathing Technique. We were required to breathe through the nose and exhale through the mouth, with minimal exhalation, and the exhalation should be silent, even to the point where our own ears couldn't hear it. We had to keep the breath on the nose and mouth without moving, and try to prolong the time from exhalation to inhalation. At the beginning, we silently counted to ten, then exhaled slightly. Gradually, we practiced until we could count to a thousand or longer. Finally, we reached the point where we could breathe without making any sound, as if we were in the womb. That was when we mastered the technique of Embryonic Breathing.
From then on, the two of us devoted ourselves to learning the Taoist arts wholeheartedly. Iron Pillar practiced drawing symbols every day under the pretext of learning calligraphy. Drawing symbols not only required precise timing but also proper stroke order. Each stroke had to start and end in a different place. Furthermore, it had to be accompanied by the recitation of incantations. Therefore, it required a lot of practice to become proficient.
Meanwhile, whenever I had free time, I would immerse myself in studying the significance of the stems and branches of the five elements. This was quite mentally taxing. The Qimen Dunjia technique involved the rotation of the stems and branches, eight gates, eight gods, and nine stars in a "Luoshu Jiugong grid", creating different formations according to the changes of time, totaling one thousand and eighty formations. Each symbol in the formation had its own complex meaning, representing all things in the world, and could be used to predict various events through calculations within the formation.
Seeing their son, who used to be lively and active, suddenly become so focused on studying, especially seeing Iron Pillar start practicing calligraphy, our parents couldn't be happier. They spared no effort in providing various brushes and papers for their son.
In this way, with our inherent intelligence and under Old Li's guidance, we made rapid progress. At the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, not only were the flying dragons and fireworks extremely spectacular, but Iron Pillar also personally inscribed prayer symbols on each sky lantern. As long as the thirty-six dragons covered a household, they would be safe and auspicious for the year.