Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 57: The Complete Lineage of Quanzhen Taoism, Together Creating a Patriarch

Hearing Hong Yin's eager words, Zhou Meng felt a chill run down his spine as he looked into Hong Yin's eyes, which seemed to be burning with fire.

"Junior brother, what are you doing now?"

A few days ago, this junior brother Hongyin proposed a grand plan to borrow power from heaven to create an Emperor Real Person, which almost scared Zhou Meng out of his wits.

Now, this seemingly mad junior brother appears to have come up with another insane idea, which made Zhou Meng gasp twice.

He shook the kerosene lamp in his hand, using its dim light to calm himself.

"Your previous plan was crazy enough; even your senior brother was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Wudang's Golden Elixir refines life force, while Feng Hou Qi Men uses the Great Circulation to temper one's own microcosm, thus pushing life force to an extremely high level."

"By drawing upon the water, fire, thunder, and lightning of heaven and earth, and borrowing the creation of heaven and earth, life and nature merge to form an immortal golden elixir."

"If one has a great opportunity, this golden elixir can completely reproduce the power of creation, recreating the earth, fire, water, and wind within the body, and reshaping the universe."

At this point, Zhou Meng's expression turned serious. "Senior brother, I don't know if you've been spending too much time in the inner world of Feng Hou Qi Men to come up with such a crazy and novel idea."

"I've been in seclusion for the past two months researching the feasibility of your method. Hey, you're a fucking genius!"

At this point, Zhou Meng couldn't help but swear. He put the kerosene lamp in his hand down at his feet and paced around the stone platform.

"The Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain brings together the right time, place, and people; it might just be able to help you create a patriarch."

His short figure cast a long shadow in the firelight, which swayed back and forth in front of the stone platform, making Hong Yin laugh out loud.

"Hahaha......"

"I told you my voice is good! Not bad at all!"

"Stop laughing. Tell me your new ideas and let your senior brother see what brilliant plan you've come up with this time."

Zhou Meng stood in front of the stone platform with his hands behind his back. He looked up at Hong Yin and said irritably, "You heartless bunch! Do you think it's easy for me to support Wudang for decades? You can't stop causing trouble."

Upon hearing this, Hong Yin stopped laughing. His dark, lifeless eyes stared at Zhou Meng below the stage. "I want my senior brother to drag the entire Quanzhen sect into a high-stakes gamble!"

Zhou Meng frowned, his mind racing. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow, pointed at the frenzied Hong Yin on the stone platform, and shouted, "You're completely insane!"

He guessed Hong Yin's idea; this crazy junior brother had indeed come up with an even crazier idea.

He wanted to involve the entire Quanzhen lineage in the scheme, using half of the Taoist sect's accumulated resources to nurture a Quanzhen patriarch.

"Am I crazy? Of course I'm crazy, but right now I feel perfectly lucid!"

Hong Yin sat cross-legged on the stone platform, thoroughly amused by Zhou Meng's shocked expression. His gaunt face tilted back as he roared, "That's a Grandmaster, a Pure Yang Emperor! I refuse to believe they won't be tempted!"

"I'm certainly tempted, but the traditions and heritage of each family are no trivial matter!"

"snort!"

Hong Yin snorted coldly, then lowered his head to look at Zhou Meng again. "Let me ask you, who was the last person clearly recorded as having ascended to immortality, and how many years ago was that?"

"It's my Wudang Sect's founder, Zhang Sanfeng, who lived six hundred years ago!"

Hong Yin's voice, echoing through the cave, asked and answered itself, "I'll ask you again, how has the world of supernatural beings fared these past years? And how has the entire Daoist sect fared?"

Just as Zhou Meng moved his lips, unsure how to answer, Wang Ye, whom he had kicked aside, moved slightly and mumbled something as if he were about to wake up.

"Hmm..."

"Thump!"

Zhou Meng's expression changed, and he flashed to Wang Ye's side, kicking him on the back of the head, causing the still unconscious Wang Ye to fall into a deep sleep again.

"Look, look, this is the young talent of Wudang, another inheritor of Feng Hou Qi Men."

"But look at you, how does your great-grand-disciple compare to that young man from the Lü family?"

"That Wang kid is just a spoiled brat who started out in his career! He's soft-hearted, fine, but he's also lazy and good-for-nothing."

As she spoke, Hong Yin spat at Wang Ye, who was lying on the ground, with a look of disgust on her face.

"Though the Tao does nothing, there is nothing it does not do!"

"This kid seems quiet and unambitious, but that's only because his life is stable enough. He's not greedy either, but is that enough?"

"Going with the flow can avoid the calamities of scheming, while going against the tide can bring about great merit. He is not a seeker of the Tao, but merely a cultivator of the Tao."

"Besides, this kid is only pretending to be innocent now. Wait until he faces trouble later, then you'll see if he's really innocent!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Meng quietly lowered his head, frowning in deep thought, and did not respond.

As she spoke, Hong Yin lowered her head, frowned, and said, "For the past few decades, although I have been confined to the inner realm and have not been free, I am not exactly aware of the changes in the outside world."

"But even by looking at this young Wang, I can get a glimpse of the whole picture and understand a thing or two."

"While that might sound like a bias towards the past, senior brother, don't you think the world of supernatural beings has become increasingly mundane and uninteresting over the years?"

"How many of those younger generations are truly outstanding? Are there as many as we were back then?"

"Speak up, senior brother!"

Hong Yin straightened up and shouted angrily at Zhou Meng, "Peace under heaven is the wish of all people. If my fellow disciples who sacrificed their lives in Wudang could know this in the afterlife, they would be very happy."

"But is this enough? I, Hongyin, am unwilling to see the Wudang lineage decline day by day, nor am I willing to see the incense of the Taoist sect burn out now!"

"Junior brother, you're too attached to appearances!"

Zhou Meng finally raised his head. "When will you be freed from this obsession that has bound you throughout your life?"

Zhou Meng's words did not make Hong Yin reflect; instead, he became even more frantic. "I am not free; I would rather stay this crazy."

"Yes! I, Hongyin, have been persistent all my life, but my life has been like trying to catch the moon's reflection in the water, without any good outcome."

"But I'm happy to!"

He suddenly turned his head and looked resolutely at Zhou Meng, "Senior brother, I admit I've gone mad, I've been greedy, I've been angry, and I've been deluded!"

"The Taoist priest is entangled in three poisons and cannot extricate himself, but he has no regrets."

"Senior brother, your method doesn't require much from you. You just need to inform all the leaders of Quanzhen Sect and see if they dare to gamble."

"Hehe, after all, the inheritance is in their hands. Whether they give it to us or not is their business. We'll just open a betting pool and see if these senior brothers, junior brothers, senior uncles and senior aunts are willing to participate."

Hong Yin whispered to Zhou Meng, his smile growing even wider.

Zhou Meng remained silent, his hands behind his back, his long shadow swaying gently in the cave as the lights flickered.

The cave was completely silent, with only the rhythmic breathing of Wang Ye as he slept soundly.

Zhou Meng turned to look at Wang Ye, his expression calm, but his mind was racing with a myriad of thoughts.

"Fine, I'll join the gamble too!"