A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

Long dormant in the abyss, its hidden scales concealed, it now stirs up turbulent waves, eager to test its strength. A thunderbolt splits the clouds, revealing a jade horn, and it soars straight to the heavens with lightning.

This is a poem written by a famous swordsman a few years later, recalling the scene when he was fortunate enough to witness the Chilong transform into a golden dragon in the raging waves of the sea.

"Golden Dragon—"

Someone shouted at the sky.

Amidst the myriad rays of rosy light, a golden dragon with gleaming horns and golden armor soared through the clouds.

The dark clouds had long since dispersed, and the golden dragon soared in the sky, letting out a loud, deep, and imposing roar towards the large ship.

Everyone fell silent, restraining themselves and remaining still.

Then they saw the golden dragon rushing towards the large ship.

Everyone was terrified, fearing that the golden dragon might suddenly attack, whether it stirred up waves or a gale, something they would be unable to resist.

However, after circling the large ship three times, the golden dragon plunged into the sea.

Then, with a twist of its body, it plunged into the deep sea.

The dragon head bobbed up and down on the sea before finally disappearing into the ocean.

The sea calmed down, the sun shone down, and the sky cleared. It seemed that the towering waves, the dark clouds, and the lightning that had struck the sky before were all just a dream.

Everyone seemed to wake from a dream, still shaken.

The boat owner kowtowed several times on the deck, then stood up and burst into wild laughter.

"My prayers worked! Sure enough, the Dragon King appeared to me! He heard my prayers! Haha... Distinguished guests, thank goodness it was me!"

The boat owner's smug demeanor drew disdain from everyone.

prayer?

Weren't we all praying together?

Why is it that your prayers worked? How shameless!

However, after the crisis, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and raised their glasses in a toast. Some even went over to Zhang Zhengdao on the stern deck to clink glasses with him.

In the days that followed, the sea seemed to be calm and peaceful.

After drifting on the sea for more than half a month, the boat owner suggested that it was time to go back.

Because they couldn't find Crane Cloud Mountain at all—the so-called sacred mountain was nowhere to be seen in the vast ocean—they discussed it and concluded that Crane Cloud Mountain was probably just a legend, and many wanted to give up.

For someone who has never been on a ship before, the cramped and noisy environment at sea, and the fact that they have to live there for so many days, is simply unbearable.

As a result, the vast majority of people wanted to go back, including the three grandmasters.

Moreover, some people have already begun to develop sepsis.

So everyone decided to turn the boat around first thing tomorrow morning and return to the dock in the small seaside town.

Like most seekers of immortality, they returned empty-handed.

This outcome will cause the currently popular game of "Seeking Immortals" to gradually lose its appeal.

"Finally, we're back."

Two martial arts practitioners sat on the aft deck next to Zhang Zhengdao, each carrying a flask of wine. There wasn't much wine left; it was likely that after this round, there wouldn't be any more, so they drank it very carefully.

One only drinks a sip after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and only half a sip at a time.

"Seeking immortality, seeking immortality—the ancients have dreamt of becoming immortals for thousands of years, yet they have never encountered a single immortal. Perhaps our time has not yet come!"

Another one added, "But we saw a dragon!"

"Yes, we even saw a dragon."

Although I returned without finding an immortal, I did see a dragon. Moreover, I witnessed the entire process of a Chi dragon transforming into a golden dragon—a thrilling and exciting experience I can boast about for the rest of my life.

"Hey, Taoist priest..."

One of the men, who looked like a scholar and was sitting cross-legged on the deck with his sword across his lap, spoke to Zhang Zhengdao.

Zhang Zhengdao was looking at the sea. At this moment, the sun was setting, and it looked as if the entire sea was holding up a huge orange-red ball. The waves of the sea were sparkling and glistening, making everyone's faces glow.

"Call me?" Zhang Zhengdao pointed to his nose.

"Yes! Greetings, Daoist Master!"

The scholar cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Zhengdao and smiled.

"You're very polite!"

"Master, you are a practitioner of Taoism. I would like to ask you a question about immortals, but I don't know..."

"Ask anything!"

The scholar immediately said, "Master, I don't know if the stories of immortals are true or false. Do you believe in them or not? If you believe, why are there so few traces of immortals on the high seas? If you don't believe, why did you follow them out to sea in search of immortality?"

This is what I asked...

Zhang Zhengdao looked at the scholar and smiled: "Are you asking yourself these two questions, and then, unable to find the answers, you want me to enlighten you? Is that it, or is it not?"

The scholar laughed heartily: "Yes, yes, the Taoist priest sees through people's hearts; he is truly a man of the Tao."

Zhang Zhengdao nodded: "Of course there are true immortals in this world. Haven't you heard of the virtuous Peach Blossom Immortal Zhang Zhengdao of Peach Blossom Temple on Peach Blossom Mountain?"

The scholar sighed, "I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but the rumors seem too fantastical. It just doesn't seem real. Besides, shouldn't immortals live in seclusion on celestial mountains? How could they have time to deal with worldly affairs and enter the mortal realm?"

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Should immortals sever all ties with the mortal world?"

The scholar retorted, "Isn't that so?"

Zhang Zhengdao laughed heartily: "The so-called legends about immortals and their ways of life are nothing but figments of people's imaginations. No one has ever actually lived with an immortal, so how could they know so much?"

The scholar seemed to understand and nodded, "What the Taoist priest said makes sense." After bowing to Zhang Zhengdao in thanks, he turned to the person next to him and started talking about the Mount Hua Sword Tournament.

These are all anecdotes from the martial arts world that have been told repeatedly.

The next morning, the boat owner prepared to turn the boat around and return to the dock.

We've been out here for so many days. If we don't go back soon, many of us won't make it back. Sepsis can be fatal. Plus, many of us are at our breaking point.

Before they could even turn the boat around, they heard the cry of a crane in the sky.

Everyone was taken aback and looked up at the sky.

A giant crane was flying in the sky, and what was even more surprising was that there was a person riding on the back of the crane.

With white hair and a youthful face, a Taoist robe fluttering in the wind, a whisk in hand, and a long sword strapped to his back, what a divine being he is!

"God!"

Suddenly someone knelt down and bowed deeply, shouting loudly, "Luo Qingshu, the 23rd generation senior disciple of the Diancang Sect, pays respects to the immortal. I hope the immortal will have mercy and guide me into the sect."

Damn it, someone beat me to it.

Immediately, the deck of the immortal-seeking ship was filled with kneeling people, all kowtowing, shouting in unison, announcing their names and sects, and begging the immortals to take them in.

The old Taoist priest riding the crane initially seemed to be searching for something in the sky.

Suddenly startled by a commotion below, I looked down and saw a group of people kneeling on the deck of a large ship, bowing and worshipping me. I found it quite amusing.

"For mortals to seek immortality is like trying to catch fish by climbing a tree; it is impossible, impossible! Although you have gone through countless hardships, you are still mortals and cannot cultivate to become immortals or attain the Dao. Go away, go away!"

The scholar who spoke with Zhang Zhengdao last night said, "Immortals are mistaken. What is an immortal, and what is a mortal? Are immortals born that way? Immortals are those who cultivate themselves. The character for immortal is composed of the radical for 'person.' In ancient seal script, the character for immortal signifies a person ascending to heaven. Ancient Taoist texts also mention people becoming immortals on mountains. Even in my Great Xia Dynasty, people became immortals by the mountains. Doesn't all of this demonstrate that immortals are those who cultivate themselves? What do you mean mortals cannot become immortals?"

The old man riding on the crane was speechless. He had been rebuked and was at a loss for words, not knowing how to refute it.

The scholar continued, “Immortal, we mortals sincerely worship at the immortal realm. Why not show us the way, so that we too may have a path to immortality? Even if we encounter further hardships, we will not back down.”

The crowd cried out in unison, "We beg the immortals to have mercy on us!"

The old Taoist priest riding the crane never expected to encounter such a thing while going out.

Suddenly, a change occurred at sea. A lightning bolt that seemed to have ripped through the sky, a sight rarely seen in thousands of years, appeared. The lightning, like a divine punishment, shocked the entire Crane Cloud Mountain.

This lightning bolt split the sky in two, the distance of which was unknown.

So the cult leader sent this senior elder out to take a look. He wandered around for several days, and his biggest discovery was the dozens of people on this big ship.

What I didn't expect was that these people actually wanted me to take them to Heyun Mountain.

Ha ha!

These are just a bunch of fools who dream of finding immortality.

The leader has been around for so many years, yet he hasn't become an immortal. If becoming an immortal were so easy, the Divine Fire Sect would have produced countless immortals long ago. With its unique geographical environment, he's no ordinary mortal.

So the old Taoist said, “You little brat, how dare you speak of immortality? You all turn back at once. If you do not obey my orders, I will use the power of an immortal to overturn the waves of the heavens and drown this boat of mortals with delusions.”

The scholar angrily exclaimed, "How unjust the immortals are!"

The old Taoist priest riding the crane retorted, "I'm just being unfair, so what?"

Damn it, this is utterly unreasonable.

The scholar was about to unleash his curses when a crane cried out, and suddenly the crane rose into the sky, soaring straight up and disappearing into the horizon. Everyone was stunned and utterly disappointed.

The scholar sighed, "It's all about timing and fate."

Suddenly, the seawater seemed to boil, startling everyone and making them fear that they had encountered some unpredictable event caused by the power of nature.

"hold head high--"

Suddenly, a gigantic golden dragon emerged from the waves, just ten zhang away from the large ship. The ship was so close to the golden dragon, its enormous head facing the vessel.

Everyone was so frightened that they all knelt down.

At this moment, a Taoist priest leaped up and landed right on the dragon's back, shouting, "You show-off beast, why don't you carry me away!"

The golden dragon suddenly leaped out of the water, carrying the Taoist priest, and soared into the sky, chasing after the Taoist priest riding the crane.

Everyone was stunned.

The scholar stared in disbelief for a long time, then exclaimed with wild joy, "This is the real immortal! He even drank with me last night!"