I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 51 The Difficulty of Seeking the Dao

When I read this sentence in my journal, I felt an indescribable sense of regret.

Jiang She turned over a dozen more pages.

"In the first year of the Chuigong era, forty-one years had passed since I entered the Dao. I look like a middle-aged man. My master has more and more disciples, and I can no longer recognize many of them. When they see me, they call me Fourth Senior Brother. How am I supposed to know which ones they are?"

"Forty-one years have passed, and my master's appearance remains unchanged."

“I asked him about the secret to immortality, but my master said that I was not ready yet and would not teach me.”

"At the foot of Mirror Dust Mountain, there are still people who call us immortals."

"Immortals are not like this."

"It's just a mess!"

……

"Two years of divine favor, forty-eight years of cultivation. Looking in the mirror, my temples are covered in dust. I should be sixty-four years old now. Is it because my cultivation is not deep enough?"

“I’m coughing up blood all night. I’m probably going to die soon. My father died from coughing up blood.”

Why do spiritual practitioners die?

"My master has finally taught me the way to immortality."

"Is incense really that miraculous?"

……

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is! No wonder Master didn't tell me before, it's because of this reason!"

"If you had said this ten years earlier, I would have destroyed these temples!"

"No wonder Master is only passing on the teachings now, because I'm old, hahaha... How ridiculous! I used to think that cultivating the Tao meant riding the wind and plucking the moon, finding joy in life, how laughable!"

"There is only one fortunate thing."

"Finally, I've learned how to turn lead into gold."

"Living up to the expectations of yesteryear."

……

"In the first year of the Shenlong era, I descended the mountain."

"He has been cultivating the Tao for sixty-one years and is seventy-seven years old."

"I was sixteen when I went up the mountain, and I was over seventy when I came down... When I went down the mountain to look for the old house, it turned out to have been sold. I searched for a long time before I found out where the new house was. Just like when my grandmother passed away when I was twenty, I took one look and did not enter."

"My elder brother is already dead. His son has also passed away."

"After all, we are just mortals."

……

"Let's call it the Temple of the Fourth Prince. It's close to Luoyang, so there should be many high-ranking officials and nobles here."

"The City God won't be able to find me."

"The thoughts of mortals are truly filthy. This is the eleventh person to die by my hand. In the end, all they asked for was this little bit."

Am I not dirty too?

……

"I've become what I looked like when I was twenty-four!"

"Master was right...it really works! Haha, there's hope for immortality!"

……

"I demand...immortality!"

The brushstrokes are sharp, almost breaking through the paper.

That concludes this page; there are no more records after this one.

After writing the phrase "desiring longevity," the book "Master Jin Yuan's Notes on Cultivation" was no longer written.

After reading most of the notebook, Jiang She saw a young man bid farewell to his parents and embark on the path of cultivation. He also saw his relatives pass away one by one, and he mastered various skills, such as flying and turning stones into gold, and entered the inner sanctum of cultivation.

He also showed signs of the decline of his divine nature and went astray.

Perhaps, it wasn't the right path from the start.

Look up again.

Only a skeleton remained.

The Taoist priest knelt upright, his skeleton draped in a black Taoist robe with crimson flame patterns that looked as if it were burning.

Jiang She closed the cultivation manual.

The last words of "Fourth Prince" Zhou Ling before his death still echo in my ears.

"I entered the Dao at the age of sixteen. Since I began my cultivation, I have had no regrets in my life except for not attaining the Great Dao of Immortality."

The Taoist priest spent his life cultivating the Tao, fearing life and death, watching his lifespan diminish day by day. Only when he was about to die did he regain his composure.

Seeking the Way is difficult!
Seeking the Way is difficult!
Reading those notes, I felt an overwhelming sense of resentment and regret.

Jiang She read through the eighty-one years of a person's study of Taoism, condensing each year into words and sentences in his notes.

Among them, the curiosity of entering the Taoist path for the first time, the pride of self-proclaimed excellence, the joy of mastering the arts, the difficulty of seeking the Tao, the regret of having no hope of immortality... all sorts of thoughts are mixed together.

It stirred up a myriad of emotions, a mix of feelings. Eighty-one years ago.

A sixteen-year-old boy bids farewell to his parents, seeking only the righteous path of immortality, drinking wine in the wind, and roaming freely under the moon.

Eighty-one years later.

Those who stray onto the evil path harm countless people and fail to see the true path.

Only a skeleton remained.

Is it possible to regret it?
Jiang She stood quietly for a while. After a long time, he came to his senses, looked up at the others, and said, "Let's go. I already know the general situation."

Li Bai asked curiously, "What is that booklet?"

"It's his meditation notes."

Li Bai watched as Mr. Jiang read the letter, and after finishing it, he sighed. He was curious about what was in it that could make Mr. Jiang so emotional.

I'll keep it in mind and ask you for advice when I have the chance.

Jiang She stepped out of the door and saw a white bird fly past the steps, and a wisp of smoke rising from beyond the distant green mountains.

The ghost is the one who returns.

……

In the chaotic temple, many worshippers had fled, and two plates of offerings had been stolen. Some worshippers, unaware of why others were crying out in pain and running away, remained in the temple to watch the spectacle.

Forgetting the awe and piety of the previous moment, they pointed at the broken stone statue and muttered to each other.

"Why did this thing suddenly crack?"

"I think it's a bit sinister."

"So, shall we still worship him in the future...? Fourth Prince hasn't blessed me with wealth yet."

"What are you praying for? Fourth Prince can't even protect himself. Let's go. Stop muttering about it. It's a bit creepy..." Her voice trailed off as she was pulled away by her companions.

With Jiang She's departure.

In front of the main hall, within a few steps, the skeleton turned into dust, which was blown away by the wind and scattered on the ground.

A gentle breeze blew slowly outside the hall, gradually carrying the wind away and scattering it.

Behind Jiang She, the worshippers in the temple murmured among themselves.

Where did all this sand come from?

……

"Immortal—"

As Jiang She walked from the main hall to the bottom of the steps, he heard someone shouting behind him.

The City God jogged over; even immortals walk, so he dared not drift past like a ghost or deity, and his pursuit became somewhat clumsy.

"Supreme Immortal!"

Jiang She stopped and looked at him.

Old Deer Mountain God, Li Bai, and Yuan Danqiu also stopped and looked over.

The village boy shrank back, never expecting to see the City God again so soon, and hid behind Yuan Danqiu. It was he who had given directions to the deity for a white steamed bun, which led to the destruction of the Silangjun Temple. He was terrified that the City God would punish him.

Fortunately, the City God didn't blame him, nor did he look in his direction.

He bowed to the deity.

"Reporting to the Immortal, I have done my best to investigate and now I know the truth."

"The Temple of Silangjun was built about twenty years ago. It is a remote place, far from the county and state capitals. Even if there are some shady temples further ahead, they are not significant and are rarely inspected... This is the oversight of the minor deity."

"This 'Fourth Master' is actually named Zhou Ling, and he calls himself Jin Yuan Shangren."

"His master is Daoist Jingchen. I have not yet found out where Jingchen Mountain is. There is no such mountain in Ruzhou or the surrounding areas."

"Twenty years ago, Zhou Ling built a temple on the mountain near Pinglan Village, intending to practice the art of offering incense and strengthen his own foundation... He also instigated the Martial Judge of my City God Temple to protect him."

The City God, dressed in a crimson official robe, looked ashamed as he spoke.

He bowed:
"It is truly my fault for oversight!"

"Today, I will go and invite several city gods and local deities of Ruzhou to join forces and capture this scoundrel!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang She finally spoke.

"No need."

The City God raised his head, not understanding for a moment what the immortal meant. Could it be that he would no longer pursue the matter...? But this lewd cult has harmed countless people, and cannot be let off easily.

Then I saw the person in front of me turn to the side and look at the main hall not far away, and I wondered what he was thinking.

Jiang She spoke calmly.

"He is dead."

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(End of this chapter)