Finding that Celestial Master wasn’t a difficult task.
Cui Xun made inquiries around town, asking if there were any powerful Daoist priests or monks in the vicinity, then eliminated candidates one by one based on age and habits. The Celestial Master who had harmed the entire Niu family village thirty years ago must be over fifty years old. Additionally, such malicious life-extension techniques require profound Daoist skills to succeed. Judging by how skillfully the Celestial Master performed these, his age likely far exceeded fifty years.
As for habits, villagers described the Celestial Master as someone who constantly spoke of righteousness and virtue, frequently urging people to do good deeds. Following this peculiarity made the investigation straightforward.
Eventually, Cui Xun identified a Daoist priest named Lingxu Mountain Man who lived at Purple Cloud Temple. This Lingxu Mountain Man was said to have an otherworldly demeanor—though over a hundred years old, he still maintained youthful features with white hair. Many people in Taoyuan Town were his followers. Upon further inquiry, Cui Xun discovered that Lingxu Mountain Man’s devotees weren’t limited to Taoyuan Town but spread throughout the Great Zhou Empire. Even many officials and nobles in Chang’an deeply believed in him, making Purple Cloud Temple prosperous with a constant stream of devout followers.
Lingxu Mountain Man traveled around the country several times each year. Fortuitously, Cui Xun and his companions had arrived when Lingxu Mountain Man was currently at Purple Cloud Temple.
The teahouse owner who told Cui Xun this information spoke at length, as he too was Lingxu Mountain Man’s follower. He proudly took out a talisman: “This is a spiritual talisman written by the Celestial Master for me. Once burned to ashes and consumed with water, it can extend one’s life and bring lasting fortune.”
Cui Xun glanced at the talisman and saw it contained the teahouse owner’s birth date and time, along with indecipherable patterns drawn in blood. Li Ying, standing nearby, also carefully examined the talisman. Since the teahouse owner couldn’t see her, she reached out to touch the talisman, but as soon as she made contact, she felt as if her entire being was about to be sucked into it. Greatly alarmed, she quickly withdrew her hand and retreated two steps. Cui Xun was also startled and looked concernedly toward Li Ying. Fortunately, the teahouse owner didn’t notice anything unusual; he only saw his talisman inexplicably fall from his hand, floating gently to the ground. He picked it up with surprise: “What happened to this talisman?”
Cui Xun slightly furrowed his brow. This talisman was strange.
After thanking the teahouse owner, he and Li Ying left the teahouse and returned to their lodging.
As soon as they entered their room, Li Ying eagerly spoke: “That wasn’t a talisman for extending life.”
Cui Xun asked, “What was it then?”
“It’s a talisman that traps a person’s soul.”
Li Ying, being a soul herself, had almost been drawn into the talisman just by touching it, so she could say with certainty that once the teahouse owner consumed it, the incantation would permeate his flesh, and his soul would fall under Lingxu Mountain Man’s control. It was as if the Celestial Master could command his soul to leave his body whenever he wished.
Cui Xun said, “Does that mean if he wants him to die at the third watch, the man will die at the third watch?”
Li Ying nodded: “And from what we heard, this talisman wasn’t given to him alone. Who knows how many people have received talismans written by Lingxu Mountain Man, and how many have already burned and swallowed them, placing their lives and deaths in his hands.”
“For him to control so many people’s souls, he must have grand schemes.”
Li Ying thought the same. She frowned and said, “If we don’t eliminate this Lingxu Mountain Man soon, more people will suffer.”
She bit her lip gently, seeming somewhat conflicted, but finally said, “Young Master Seventeen, perhaps you should go to Lingnan first?”
“What about you?”
Li Ying’s face showed shame: “I promised earlier that I would accompany you to Lingnan, but I’m afraid I must break that promise.”
She slowly lowered her head: “Just as you couldn’t ignore the Tianwei Army… I cannot ignore these common people. I… I am a princess of the Great Zhou after all.”
A princess receives the support of all people and must also repay them, fulfilling the duties of a princess—this was the teaching Li Ying had learned since childhood.
Even though she was now only a soul, even though she was just a princess sacrificed by her father, she was still a princess of the Great Zhou.
Her voice gradually became very soft, and her eyes reddened, clearly feeling deeply guilty. She didn’t dare look up at Cui Xun: “If something happened to these people while I accompanied you to Lingnan, I don’t think I could ever be at peace.”
Cui Xun’s voice was very calm: “You want to stay and save them.”
Li Ying kept her head lowered as she nodded slightly: “I’ve always been a person without grand ambitions. My previous wish was to be with my father and mother forever; my current wish is to be with you forever. I don’t want to be a heroine among women like Princess Qingyang, nor do I want to leave my name in history like Princess Pingyuan. I just want to spend eternity with the person I love. I’m just such an unambitious princess of the Great Zhou. But I cannot use my lack of ambition as an excuse to ignore the suffering of the people, nor can I only care about my personal feelings and love while watching countless lives be ruined by this evil Daoist. If I did that, I would be unworthy of my status as a princess and unworthy of the sixteen years of nurturing I received.”
The more she spoke, the lower her head drooped. She ultimately couldn’t fulfill her promise to accompany Cui Xun to Lingnan.
Her hands unconsciously tightened together, her heart deeply troubled by breaking her promise. But then she heard Cui Xun’s soft voice: “Bright Moon Pearl, raise your head and look at me.”
Li Ying dazedly lifted her head to see her reflection in Cui Xun’s ink-black eyes. She gazed at him as he gazed at her, his voice extremely gentle: “Bright Moon Pearl, Princess Qingyang helping her father raise an army and wielding a sword on horseback is indeed heroic, and Princess Pingyuan entering court politics with three generations of prime ministers emerging from her teachings certainly deserves historical recognition. But who says being a heroine or having one’s name recorded in history is the only measure of achievement? You care for the common people despite their suffering, and to me, that makes you an unquestionably worthy princess of the Great Zhou.”
Li Ying murmured, “Am I… truly worthy?”
Cui Xun nodded: “You live up to your title.”
“But I… can no longer accompany you to Lingnan…”
Cui Xun smiled slightly: “No, you can still accompany me to Lingnan.”
Li Ying was stunned, and Cui Xun said, “Because I also plan to stay and help you save these people.”
Li Ying was astonished: “But you’re in a hurry to get to Lingnan. Helping me wouldn’t delay you?”
“Not helping would cause a delay,” Cui Xun said. “Niu Family Village is on the necessary path to Mount Wanhe. Lingxu Mountain Man has set up a formation at Niu Family Village that prevents me from ascending the mountain. If I don’t break this evil technique, I can only detour around the mountain to Gongzhou City, wasting time in vain. But if I break the technique, I can reach my destination within a day. So not helping would cause a delay.”
Li Ying hesitated briefly: “Will it not cause any delay?”
Cui Xun shook his head: “It won’t.”
Seeing his confidence, Li Ying finally set her mind at ease. She smiled and said, “Good. Then after we rescue these people, we’ll go to Lingnan together.”
Cui Xun looked at her, the corners of his mouth curving upward: “Mm.”
While Cui Xun and Li Ying were conferring, Lingxu Mountain Man, who had been meditating at Purple Cloud Temple, slowly opened his eyes.
Lingxu Mountain Man had white hair and beard, appearing kind-faced and otherworldly. He murmured, “Zhang Silang’s talisman… moved?”
A disciple attending him cautiously asked, “Master, did someone touch the talisman?”
Lingxu Mountain Man shook his head: “Not someone, a ghost.”
“A ghost?”
Lingxu Mountain Man closed his eyes again to sense the talisman’s aura. After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes with undisguised shock: “It’s her.”
The disciple asked, “Master, who is it?”
But Lingxu Mountain Man merely repeated “It’s her” four times before his expression changed. He murmured, “If it’s her, then heaven is helping me.”
The disciple didn’t understand: “Master, who exactly is this ghost?”
Lingxu Mountain Man’s face showed delight: “You don’t need to know who she is. Just know that she is a ghost who can help me transcend life and death.”
The disciple was greatly confused, and Lingxu Mountain Man laughed: “Have you ever seen a ghost who receives offerings from forty thousand Buddhist temples? Have you ever seen a ghost for whom all the monks in the country chant the rebirth mantra? This ghost’s benefit is more useful than ten thousand Zhang Silangs.”
The disciple couldn’t help asking, “Master, what kind of ghost has such great ability?”
Lingxu Mountain Man thought back to the Cold Food Festival thirty years ago, seeing her on a swing—truly a radiance that moved the world. Even though he had long cut off emotions and desires, thinking about it now still made his heart race. He said, “She is the most brilliant pearl of the Great Zhou.”
The disciple was dumbfounded. Lingxu Mountain Man remembered something else and sighed: “And my most outstanding disciple also fell because of this pearl. Otherwise, with him around, where would there be room for fools like you?”
The disciple stammered after being scolded: “Master, this disciple will go help you capture this ghost to assist you in transcending life and death.”
“You?” Lingxu Mountain Man laughed and shook his head: “I will meet her myself.”
However, before Lingxu Mountain Man could meet Li Ying, Cui Xun decided to investigate Purple Cloud Temple first.
Purple Cloud Temple was nestled among mountains, surrounded by pine and cypress trees. Cloud patterns and cranes were carved everywhere, symbolizing the unity of heaven and humans. At first glance, it seemed to be just a prosperous Daoist temple where devout followers sincerely knelt in worship at the Three Pure Ones Hall. Cui Xun also entered the hall and knelt. He was generous, giving a whole ingot of gold as an offering, making the young Daoist acolyte speechless. Cui Xun took the opportunity to ask the young Daoist if he could meet Lingxu Mountain Man. The young Daoist replied, “My master is preaching at the Cloud Marsh Altar today. If the patron wishes to listen, I can take you there.”
Cui Xun naturally said he wanted to listen, so the young Daoist led him to the Cloud Marsh Altar. Located at the back of Purple Cloud Temple, it was a large venue that could accommodate ten thousand people. When Cui Xun arrived, many followers were already sitting cross-legged on the ground listening to the sermon. Cui Xun also spotted the teahouse owner, who was listening to Lingxu Mountain Man’s preaching with a fascinated expression. Cui Xun found a place to sit among the followers and looked up at Lingxu Mountain Man, who wore a gray Daoist robe embroidered with cranes and auspicious clouds. He appeared to be in his forties, kind-faced, and his preaching was essentially about encouraging people to do good deeds. Cui Xun had no interest in this. He looked around and suddenly noticed a lamp hanging in the corner of the altar.
This lamp wasn’t the common lantern style of the time but a bronze lamp carved with strange symbols and patterns. These symbols and patterns looked somewhat familiar…
On the platform, Lingxu Mountain Man was preaching about the three obstacles: demon obstacles, karmic obstacles, and disaster obstacles. In Daoism, these three obstacles give rise to ten evils, the source of all suffering. Only by breaking through these three obstacles can one truly attain the Dao.
But how many mortals in the world can overcome these three obstacles?
As Lingxu Mountain Man spoke of this, Cui Xun also remembered why the symbols and patterns on the bronze lamp looked familiar. These symbols and patterns were identical to those on the soul-binding talisman that Lingxu Mountain Man had given to the teahouse owner.