Light Dance Jiajing

Shao Yuanjie thought about what Meng'er had asked him to do, and thought it would be a good idea to perform a ritual, so he said happily, "I will obey your order."

The emperor has become more and more superstitious in the past two years and often holds rituals in the palace. The royal family's pomp and circumstance is naturally extraordinary, and the preparations for the altar are particularly elaborate. Shao Yuanjie pretended to calculate the time and decided to hold the ritual on the 29th of next month. The emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue to handle all the expenses and the disbursement of silver.

Shao Yuanjie also wanted to save trouble, so he simply copied the arrangement of the altar built by the great master, only he built it higher and larger. On that day, the emperor led all the civil and military officials to the altar. Everyone saw the high altar towering up. On the next level, five colored flags of red, yellow, blue, black and white were built according to the positions of the five directions. On the second level, there were pavilions and curved steps made of green pines and cypresses. On the third level, there were eighty-one young eunuchs, each wearing a robe, holding a hundred-foot long banner, standing in a square. On the fourth level, there were There were bells, drums, tripods and other items; on the fifth floor was the main altar, with golden boys and jade girls lined up in a row, surrounded by incense and flowers, and a huge candle burning in the center, with statues of the Three Pure Ones and other statues offered on the altar, and blue lions and white elephants, all eager to come to life. Some officials shook their heads and sighed, saying that the imperial palace should be dignified and solemn, but now it was filled with talismans and burning incense, just like a Taoist temple. The emperor was acting so recklessly, it was really absurd, but everyone knew the emperor's temper and no one dared to question him.

Shao Yuanjie was seen wearing a golden crown, a jade belt, a python robe, holding an ivory tablet in his hand, and mumbling a sincere prayer. Then, the flame of a giant candle was seen burning and shooting straight into the sky. After an unknown amount of time, the flame of the giant candle gradually weakened, and then something flashed and fell down. Shao Yuanjie stretched out his hand to catch it, mumbling for a while, and then knelt down to worship. The emperor and his ministers did not know what secrets this man had glimpsed, but they saw Shao Yuanjie already staggering down the high altar. He walked straight to the emperor, bowed and presented a piece of metal ornament to him. The emperor took it and his eyes immediately straightened, his body trembled, and he looked at Shao Yuanjie and asked anxiously: "Where is she? Tell me quickly."

Shao Yuanjie bowed and said, "The fairy is already in heaven. I ask Your Majesty to take care of yourself and not miss her anymore."

The emperor stared blankly at the dazzling "Nan" on the gold medal. Is she already in heaven? Has her Xiaonan really ascended to heaven and no longer have to suffer the pain of mortal life, old age, sickness and death? That's great, but immortals and mortals are on different paths, will he never see her again? He stared at the huge altar, and saw the incense in the furnace rising slowly, lingering and condensing into auspicious clouds. It happened to be the time when the red sun was in the sky, and the misty clouds and smoke reflected into a colorful, red, yellow, blue and white, circling and intertwining, the clouds were soft and the sun was shining. The emperor thought that maybe there was some instruction from the heavens, so he immediately looked up to the sky and bowed. The civil and military officials on the altar also bowed down one after another. After everyone finished kneeling, they saw Shao Yuanjie meditating with his eyes closed. The emperor led a group of civil and military officials but did not dare to disturb him. Shao Yuanjie closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, leaving the emperor and the others in the sun. After a long while, he opened his eyes and said, "I am tired and want to go back to rest. Please grant me permission, Your Majesty."

The emperor immediately ordered his attendants: "Go and carry the brocade sedan chair here, and the Taoist priest can have a rest in the palace. I will ask you for advice later." After the emperor's courtesy, all the ministers thought that Shao Yuanjie was going to be successful. They just didn't know how long his popularity would last. They hoped that he would not be like the previous ones, who lost their lives before the heat of their fame had even worn off.

This Shao Yuanjie was obviously quite beyond everyone's expectations. The emperor summoned him every day for many days. He heard that he was a master of Taoism and that the fairy the emperor loved could only be communicated with through Shao Yuanjie. However, no matter how much the emperor hoped, the fairy did not appreciate it. She only asked Shao Yuanjie to tell him that they had severed their ties in the previous life and he should not miss her anymore.

The emperor did not give up, but Shao Yuanjie's answer was always the same. The emperor began to get impatient, and Shao Yuanjie naturally sensed it, but he had no choice. This was what Meng'er had told him, and she told him that if he wanted to save his life, he should listen to her. Since the gold medal was regarded as a treasure by the emperor, Shao Yuanjie believed in Meng'er and dared not speak carelessly.

Shao Yuanjie kept silent, but the emperor believed that he had real magical powers. The fairy he invited was his Xiaonan. Since he could invite her once, couldn't he summon her again? The emperor didn't give up. He wanted to see her, even if it was just for a quick meeting. However, Shao Yuanjie only told him that the fairy would never come back, and that was all he had to say.

The emperor was lost for several days. He thought of Shao Yuanjie's talk about Taoism. Shao Yuanjie believed in ghosts and gods. He said that since there were incorruptible things in the world, people could naturally achieve immortality. The emperor murmured to himself: "'Tao' is the sum of all the laws of the world, and everything must follow certain laws. So the way of immortality through health preservation must be achieved through certain methods. But what are these methods?" He had traveled through time and space, and believed in these mysterious things even more.

The emperor walked to Shao Yuanjie's residence while thinking. He waved away his followers and walked into the inner room. Shao Yuanjie was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. The emperor did not disturb him. He pulled a chair over and sat by the window. He looked through the window frame and his mind flew to that person again. Where was she?

"Your Majesty has arrived, but I have not yet received you respectfully. Please forgive me." Shao Yuanjie said as he got down from the ground.

The emperor waved his hand, "No thanks, I just came here for nothing. I saw that the Taoist priest was meditating like he was sleeping, but I wonder if it is possible to calm down while meditating for a long time?"

Shao Yuanjie said: "The teachings of Taoism make people focus their minds and move in harmony with the invisible. I am ashamed that I have not yet grasped the essence of it. I can only practice meditation every day to improve myself."

The emperor said, "Master, you are too modest. I once asked you if you have the way to become an immortal. I wonder how much you have understood?"

Shao Yuanjie was silent for a while and said, "Qigong, fasting, sex, taking herbal medicines, etc. are all inferior. Their effect is just to gain longevity. Only refining the golden elixir is the right way to become immortal. The longer the golden elixir is burned, the more wonderful it will change. It is like gold in fire, which will not be destroyed even if it is refined a hundred times. It will not rot if it is buried for a lifetime. When the golden elixir enters the body, it is using the immortal power to strengthen the flesh. It is below the small elixir, but still far superior to the ones above the herbs."

The emperor's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked him, "Can you make the golden elixir?"

Shao Yuanjie said solemnly: "It is not easy to refine the golden elixir. First, the elixir should be prepared in a famous mountain, because the inhabitants of famous mountains are all righteous gods or earthly immortals, while small mountains are not dominated by righteous gods. Most of them are wood and stone spirits, thousand-year-old objects, and blood-eating ghosts. These people are all evil, and do not want to bring blessings to people, but can bring disasters, or can ruin people's medicine; second, since the elixir is refined for your majesty, your majesty must sincerely fast for a hundred days, bathe in five spices, and then worship the gods devoutly to seek their blessings; third, your majesty is the master of the world, and you cannot sever your ties with the secular world like an outsider like me. However, the body is the home of the spirit. If the body is tired, the spirit will be scattered, and if the qi is exhausted, the life will end. You must try to stay away from complicated things and ignorant secular people, and you must not let those who do not believe in the Tao know about it and slander the magic medicine, otherwise the medicine will not be successful."

The emperor nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Within a few days, he handed over the government affairs to a group of ministers, and shut himself in to practice self-cultivation. At the same time, he opened up a forbidden area in the palace and converted it into a place to worship gods. On the day of completion, the emperor began to fast, bathe, and then performed many complicated rituals to worship the gods.

Seeing that the emperor was becoming more and more absurd in his indifference to state affairs, a group of court officials wrote to the emperor to impeach Shao Yuanjie, saying that his words were almost ridiculous and that he held a sacrifice in the inner court, which was particularly unfavorable to the political system. The emperor was furious and imprisoned the minister who wrote the letter to the emperor and sent him to the border. For a time, the court was in turmoil, and more and more people dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out. The entire court seemed to be in a state of impending storm. The emperor was the supreme ruler of the world, and who could hide his every move from others? This time it was no longer a small fight, and he seemed to be going all the way on the road of cultivating immortals. Even in the market, there was a lot of discussion. Meng'er heard about it later, and she only regretted that she should not have let Shao Yuanjie come before the emperor. She wanted to use him to pass on the message to the emperor to give up the idea, but she did not expect that this person was also quite ambitious. It was too late to regret it now. Shao Yuanjie's behavior might be related to the White Lotus Sect. Meng'er's heart ached again when she thought of this.

Later, the emperor conferred Shao Yuanjie the title of "True and Sincere True Man", commanding Chaotian, Xianling and Lingji Palaces, and leading Taoism. He was given one jade, one gold, one silver and one elephant seal. He ordered the construction of a True Man's Palace in the west of the city, and gave him an annual salary of 100 dan, 40 school lieutenants to clean the house, and 30 hectares of farmland, exempting him from rent and taxes.

In order to pray to the immortals, the emperor ordered several New Year's Day festivals to be held in the Qin'an Hall, with the Minister of Rites Xia Yan as the supervisor of the altar, and the assistant ministers Zhan Ruoshui and Gu Dingchen as the welcoming and guiding officials. Civil and military officials took turns to offer incense every day, and for several days in a row, the emperor ignored court affairs and completed the sacrificial ceremony with great ceremony.

Later, according to Shao Yuanjie's instructions, he sent eunuchs to the mountains of Guixi to supervise the construction of Xianyuan Palace. When Xianyuan Palace was completed, the emperor held a farewell banquet and asked Shao Yuanjie, "Master, when will we meet again after this departure?" Shao Yuanjie pretended to count with his fingers and replied happily, "Your Majesty, you will be blessed with good fortune and a long life. Your wish will come true. I, a humble minister, will come to pay homage to your majesty more than once or twice." After saying that, he raised his whisk and left.

Shao Yuanjie had just set out on his journey when a seemingly dull little Taoist boy beside him came to him with a flash of eyes and said softly, "Master, you shouldn't be away for too long. The Emperor trusts you very much, and if you are away for too long, he may forget you."

Shao Yuanjie glanced at him and said, "I have my own ideas."

The little Taoist boy stepped aside obediently, seemingly respectful, like a disciple's son or grandson. But they both knew in their hearts that this Taoist boy was just placed by the White Lotus Sect by his side to monitor him.