The immortal is beside me

Chapter 43: Yuan Tiangang, a Demon of His Generation
Yizhou, the headquarters of the Chinese Astronomical Observation and Inspection Institute.

Compared with the modern Environmental Sanitation Bureau and Super Research Institute, Tianji Institute has no office buildings or laboratory benches. There are only low houses with green tiles and red walls scattered in the huge campus. The tallest building is no more than five stories high. It is surrounded by bamboo forests and ponds, presenting a natural scenery.

If you just look at the appearance, it doesn't look like an official organization at all, but rather like a resort with a retro style.

A breeze blew by, and at the innermost part of the park, the bamboo leaves in front of the window of the low house swayed slightly. Through the window, you could see a tea room with simple decoration inside.

Several members of the Tianji Academy sat on the ground, like students attending a lecture. In the center of them lay a chessboard, with two figures seated on either side, intently engaged in a game.

Sitting on the left is a middle-aged man named Luo Mingxian, who is also the current chief executive of the Tianji Academy in China.

If the Chinese supernatural world is compared to a court, then this position is equivalent to the Shangshu, a person whose stomping of the foot can make people within 800 miles tremble.

But now he sat in front of the chessboard, without any airs of a big shot. Instead, he had a frown on his face and was sweating profusely, like a candidate struggling hard in an examination room.

The Yishu School emphasizes observation and calculation, which coincides with the Dao of Go. Therefore, most Yishu practitioners choose to play chess as a daily practice, whether it is chess, go, or even Western checkers.

For them, this is basically equivalent to the sword fighting of ordinary cultivators. It is the foundation that starts from the first day of cultivation and accompanies the entire cultivation career.

With a click, a piece fell. Luo Mingxian, who was sitting in front of the chessboard, had his eyebrows twitched. He stared at the chessboard with wide eyes. After a while, he sat back in his original position dejectedly and sighed.

"Knight five moves forward to seven, there's nowhere to escape, I've finally made a mistake."

He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and looked at the figure across the chessboard. "I've been concentrating on enlightenment for seven months. I thought I could hold my own against you this time, but I didn't expect to see any progress, and I'm actually regressing. I hope Master Tian can give me some guidance."

Opposite him was a Taoist holding a folding fan, wearing a green Taoist robe and a simple bun, looking elegant and simple.

If you look at him from behind, the Taoist's hair is mostly white, and he looks very old; but if you turn to the front, you will find that he looks no more than thirty years old, and is clearly a young, fair-faced scholar.

Yuan Tiangang, known as the "genius of his generation", is a divine fortune teller whose name resounds throughout both the immortal and mortal worlds, and he is recognized as the number one in the field of Yishu.

Shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he joined the Tianji Academy and taught the Yishu to all. Currently, there are only a few thousand Yishu practitioners in China, and more than half of them are his disciples, including Luo Mingxian.

"The essence of Yi lies in the three words 'Heaven, Earth, and Man'."

Yuan Tiangang smiled slightly, picked up the chess pieces on the table, and spoke leisurely.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the members of Tianji Academy sitting on both sides immediately straightened up and listened attentively.

As the "Heavenly Master" of the Yishu world, Yuan Tiangang's lectures were worth a thousand gold coins. The opportunity to listen to an immortal's teachings was rare, and everyone in the room pricked up their ears, afraid to miss a single word.

"Thousands of years ago, the art of Yi was known in the human world as physiognomy. Observing the physical features of a person is called physiognomy; observing the feng shui and fortune is called physiognomy; observing the celestial phenomena and energy is called physiognomy. All three are indispensable."

"As the saying goes, 'Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles.' You've studied the I Ching for more than ten years, and you should have mastered its principles. If you want to go further, there's no other way but to travel the world and study the world to gain knowledge."

"When I first began studying Yi, I traveled with my good friend Li Chunfeng. We spent hundreds of years roaming the human world, reading people's faces and understanding the myriad aspects of life. Only then could we grasp the connection between heaven, earth, and humanity. This is the essence of Yi, and we must never be impatient."

The sound spread throughout the room, and all the disciples lowered their heads. Suddenly, someone asked a question while they were lost in thought.

"Tianshi, according to historical records, the Li Chunfeng who traveled with you passed away during the Tang Dynasty, but you have survived to this day. So, did Li Chunfeng fail to touch the origin?"

"You're wrong." Yuan Tiangang shook his head. "Back then, Li Chunfeng's cultivation was on par with mine. His early death wasn't due to a lack of cultivation. Quite the opposite. It was because he went too far in the art of Yi and took a step he shouldn't have taken."

Luo Mingxian on the side was silent, and glanced slightly at the cabinet on the side.

On the large cabinet sat a single, thread-like, ancient book that looked quite old. On the cover were traces of regular script, spelling out three Chinese characters.

"In the beginning, Li Chunfeng and I traveled the mortal world together, comprehending the art of Yi. Over the course of several hundred years, we achieved some success. During the Tang Dynasty, he and I both achieved breakthroughs in the realm of communication between heaven and man. From this, we also discovered the method of reaching the core of the Heavenly Dao and peeking into the great fortunes of the mortal world."

"We also realized something else—the laws of nature will not allow anyone to touch their essence. Anyone who crosses the line will surely pay a heavy price."

"I know this very well, and therefore I always restrain myself and guard my heart. My deductions only stop at observing the surface energy, and I never take another step forward."

"But unlike me, Li Chunfeng's pursuit of the Great Dao is almost obsessive. Although I have advised him many times, I know that he has never given up trying to peek into the secrets of heaven."

"He ultimately couldn't resist the temptation. One night, he gathered the celestial phenomena and the terrestrial energy, and performed an unprecedented deduction. He saw the general trend of the world at a glance and predicted that the Tang Dynasty would undergo a major transformation in its 70th year. This is the saying, 'The emperor will pass through three generations, and Wu will replace Li Xing.'"

"For a practitioner of Yi Shu, this was an unprecedented deduction, and it was also the deduction that cost him his life."

Yuan Tiangang shook his head slightly. "The moment he touched upon the Heavenly Secret, he suffered a massive backlash, robbing him of hundreds of years of his lifespan. This backlash stemmed from the laws of nature, and there's no cure. At the time, both he and I were only at the Golden Core stage. This price was enough to destroy his vitality overnight, and just a few days later, he passed away."

“This is what I want to teach you.”

He looked at the disciples in front of him, and his tone became more serious: "The way of Yishu can only be observed, not peeped."

"At any time, touching the secrets of heaven is a forbidden path that defies the will of heaven. At the very least, it will ruin your cultivation, and at worst, it will harm your body and shorten your lifespan. Therefore, never attempt to defy the will of heaven. No one can afford the price of violating the laws of heaven."

After the words fell, the room fell into silence for a moment. After a while, the disciples slowly lowered their bodies.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Tianshi. We will learn from you."

Today's teaching ended here. Everyone stood up and walked out of the tea room. Only Luo Mingxian, the current chief disciple, continued to sit at the table.

"Tianshi, you are still emphasizing taboos."

Yuan Tiangang would repeat these words almost every time he taught him, and he was tired of hearing them. As the chief disciple, he often followed him around and had heard similar words at least a dozen times.

"It's not the words that count, it's the effect that counts. Anyone who practices Yishu must always be sober and self-reflective." Yuan Tiangang glanced at him, "The same goes for you."

"I will naturally remember the teachings of the Heavenly Master."

Luo Mingxian nodded slightly, then suddenly changed the subject: "However, regarding this heavenly secret taboo, there is one thing I have always been puzzled about. I don't know if I should ask."

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "Just say it."

"According to what you said, Heavenly Master, the price of prying into the secrets of Heaven is enormous. That is why the genius Li Chunfeng died because of this. Therefore, we can only watch, not spy."

"In that case."

He raised his head and his eyes fell on the white hair on Yuan Tiangang's forehead.

"Master, why did you break the rules a hundred years ago?"

A breeze blew through the window, swaying the bamboo shadows in the sunlight. There was no anger in Yuan Tiangang's eyes; instead, a slight smile appeared at his words.

“This is for.”

He reached out and picked up a chess piece in front of him, looking at it with some nostalgia.

"Looking for another old friend of mine."

(End of this chapter)