“Those who know themselves have eternal joy. The dharma realm is boundless and limitless. From here to the eastern part of the snowy region, there is a place where heavenly thunder naturally resounds (referring to Lhato). There, wish-fulfilling beings (referring to yaks) adorn the beautiful pastures. The skillful one—father is Dunzhu, the wise one—mother is Luoga, born in the year of the Jile construction site. The far-reaching white conch sound is wondrously incomparable. All call him Karmapa, protected by the venerable Donyongba (referring to the Situ Rinpoche), with impartial compassion extending in all directions. Regardless of distance, he becomes the protector of all sentient beings. The Buddha’s dharma that benefits sentient beings, like sunlight, will shine forever…”
This was the deathbed testament of the sixteenth Karmapa of Tibetan Buddhism. His reincarnated tulku was found based on such a testament. As a Northwesterner, one would know at least a little about reincarnated tulkus, so Yun Ye wasn’t particularly averse to resurrection from death. However, when it came to Yuan Shoucheng, it was extremely bizarre, especially this time with a great banquet for the realm’s elite—what did he want to do?
“This humble Daoist was born here and grew up here. I would never dare harbor ill intentions toward this land. Today’s Great Tang has too heavy a heart for profit and gain. Especially after His Majesty lowered commercial taxes, our Great Tang can be said to have everyone being merchants. People laugh at poverty but not at prostitution. Everyone determines superiority and inferiority by the amount of gold and silver in their homes. Everywhere, people take pride in being meat-eaters. This is a sign of the collapse of ritual and music. Duke Chu, my grand master’s teacher was born in response to this moment precisely to save all beings under heaven from their lost path.”
“And then, like you, engage in no production, just burn incense and pray to let everyone enter heaven? If you have the ability, let all the people of the Great Tang eat their fill without farming, without trading, without working—that would be real skill! Back then, His Majesty expended great effort to make the Daoist and Buddhist communities start paying taxes, which is how we have today’s prosperous Great Tang. Are you actually trying to go against heaven?”
Yun Ye’s voice began to become sharp. The reason Li Chunfeng came to find him was to make him shut up. The reason he could become an honored guest of the Immortal Palace was mostly due to this.
Now the academy held sway over the thoughts of people throughout the realm. If the Daoist community wanted to do such a great undertaking, they first had to pass through the academy’s gate. As long as the academy spoke out in opposition, the elite of the Great Tang would view such a feast as a joke. The Daoist community could only deceive ignorant men and women, never gaining respectability.
“Duke Chu, your understanding of the Daoist community is too one-sided. Over these years we have also been constantly improving, constantly seeking our own way forward. Grand Dharma Master Xihua, Cheng Xuanying, has traveled throughout the East Sea with callused hands and feet, establishing a great vow to explain Daoist teachings to the sea people. Although you cut off his tongue, he still had no fear whatsoever. At the ends of the earth and corners of the sea, there are Daoist maxims he carved with a chisel everywhere. The practice of offering people to the sea god has completely disappeared.”
“The Dengxian Temple that venerates the remains of naval officers and soldiers has now become the foremost Daoist temple along the East Sea coast, with incense burning year-round without cease. The heroic spirits receive blood offerings, the war dead are honored, and those who fight have peace of mind. Every year, the incense money received at Dengxian Temple—the Daoist community hasn’t dared take a single penny. It’s all converted into medicinal herbs and returned to the common people of the East Sea.”
“Now not a single person in the Daoist community idles about. We perform rituals to comfort the dead, practice medicine to heal the common people. The ascetics in the mountains and wilds also till their own fields. Looking around, my Daoist community already possesses the ability to lead all forces beyond the secular world throughout the realm. Duke Chu, why do you make such harsh demands on my Daoist community?”
Li Chunfeng was an excellent persuader. Every single matter, every single thing he spoke of struck at the softest places in Yun Ye’s heart. Whether it was that tongueless Cheng Xuanying or the only Daoist temple in the world that tugged at Yun Ye’s heartstrings, the deep affection within, accumulated over time, had settled into the most important part of his feelings.
“The Daoist community doing this is already very good. Why are you still not satisfied? Educating and transforming the realm is the responsibility of the imperial clan and scholars. Your doctrines carry obvious bias. Just the principle of tranquil non-action alone is a great enemy of this vast human world!”
The human world needs progress, not complacent stagnation. We must constantly explore the world, discover the world, and ultimately become our own gods. People in the mortal world cannot hastily categorize things they cannot explain into the ranks of divine spirits. What we must do is see the true face of things and return the truth to the mortal world. After we penetrate our own world, the next target of conquest will be the vast seas and the sky above our heads.
“Just yesterday, I rode in the world’s first vehicle that could run on its own without borrowing the power of livestock, wind, or water flow. And a few years ago, we already discovered that humans can fly into the sky by their own power. The sky is no longer solely the domain of birds and divine spirits—humans can also fly!”
“This is our first step toward the stars and seas. After this there will be a second step, a third step. As humanity constantly advances toward the sky, the divine spirits standing in your Daoist temples will ultimately all be proven illusory, because humans will fly up through the ninety-nine layers of heaven to personally visit the immortals. When humanity’s footsteps reach beyond the heavens and discover there is no heavenly palace, how will you conduct yourselves?”
This was the first time Yun Ye had told another person his views on humanity’s ultimate fate. Since he had already taken the first step, there was no need to stop.
“Right now I only have a noble title to my name and have no binding power over you whatsoever. If you want to hold some banquet, then hold it. If you can persuade the academy to agree with your views, then go persuade them. I won’t support it, nor will I oppose it. After all, I cannot decide the joys, sorrows, and feelings for all people under heaven. In the end, this world belongs to them.”
Yun Ye thought for a long time before speaking these words. People can only rely on themselves. Using external forces to restrain themselves, they will sooner or later break free from these constraints. Only when they themselves have a clear understanding can they walk their own path well.
Li Chunfeng let out a long breath and performed a one-handed salute, saying: “The vast heaven and earth know no end, the sun and moon cycle endlessly. The heavenly and earthly mechanisms have already fallen into great chaos. This junior once jointly studied and assessed a book with my master and my grand master’s teacher called the ‘Tui Bei Tu’ (Push the Back Diagram). In early years, my grand master’s teacher once deduced the fate of the Li imperial dynasty and the subsequent realm’s fortune. Although we couldn’t glimpse the full picture, observing a leopard through a tube, we could still find some clues.”
“Now it doesn’t work. Before his military dissolution, my grand master’s teacher personally deduced it once more. The result became chaotic and unclear starting from the second hexagram. A blue and white plate with twenty-one fruits collapsed in an instant, with a flying stone from beyond heaven smashing the plate to pieces. Now the second hexagram has become a flying stone. The Daoist community doesn’t understand its meaning. We’ve performed countless divinations and it’s always like this. (The second hexagram originally showed a plate containing twenty-one fruits, representing the Great Tang’s two hundred eighty-nine years and twenty emperors.)”
“My grand master’s teacher forcibly calculated the third hexagram. The original knife-wielding woman changed into a horned young child. Because of this, our ancestor voluntarily underwent military dissolution and returned to heaven. If he hadn’t undergone military dissolution, heaven might have brought calamity upon our Daoist community. Duke Chu, these are secrets our Daoist community never reveals. The ‘Tui Bei Tu’ should originally have been widely circulated in the world, but heavenly secrets are erratic and unpredictable. The Daoist community dares not lightly peek, and can only preserve ourselves. Duke Chu should be cautious. Before my grand master’s teacher died, he once said one phrase: ‘Steering a boat through angry seas!’ This very likely is the fourth hexagram. No one can interpret its meaning.” (The third hexagram was originally a woman wielding a knife, representing Wu’s disruption of Tang. The fourth hexagram was originally a group of monkeys supporting a tree to drive away parrots, representing Zhang Jianzhi successfully driving out the Wu clan.)
Yun Ye laughed and asked: “Push the Back Diagram, Push the Back Diagram—dare I ask what the final diagram means?”
Li Chunfeng laughed heartily: “The way of heaven is vast and rises and falls unpredictably. Dragons and snakes arise on land, killing without certainty. How could this humble Daoist know the fortunes and misfortunes of later generations? Everything is nothing but idle talk. Duke Chu, please just laugh it off.”
After speaking, he prepared to leave. Yun Ye placed both hands on Li Chunfeng’s back and said: “Are you leaving? Or borrowing force?”
Li Chunfeng laughed heartily: “With good wind I borrow strength—please send me up into the azure clouds!”
Yun Ye pushed forcefully with both palms. Li Chunfeng was a martial arts master. Lightly borrowing the force, he darted far away, then left the Yun family with hearty laughter. Old Qian wanted to see him off, but saw Li Chunfeng leap onto the Yun family’s inner wall, step directly onto the rooftop, and vault over walls and ridges, flying away.
Yun Ye watched Li Chunfeng depart in the distance, smiling and shaking his head. The Daoist community after all still had deep foundations. Mystical theories were sometimes so bizarre they couldn’t be explained. The plate of fruits they had divined truly couldn’t be explained as a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.
However, it didn’t matter. No matter how strong their abilities, they couldn’t possibly know the developmental path of future generations more clearly than he did. If there truly was a prophet in this world, it could only be Yun Ye, Yun Buqi.
Thinking of this, Yun Ye smiled bitterly again. The current world had already become a complete mess. If he didn’t take action, quietly observed the winds and clouds of the world, and let all matters develop along their original path, he could naturally play the divine charlatan. Unfortunately, from the moment he entered the imperial court, the history he knew could no longer become capital he could draw upon. From now on, his vision ahead was also blurred.
There was no way to muddle through anymore. It was better to return to the academy and hide his inadequacies.
Li Chunfeng’s persuasion work proceeded with great difficulty. He went to the academy to find Master Yuanzhang. After explaining his purpose, he was driven out by Master Yuanzhang with the reasoning of “respect ghosts and spirits but keep them at a distance.”
When spreading the word among students, he was rendered speechless by their questions, because they wanted Li Chunfeng to produce a real immortal for them to admire. Otherwise, nothing he said would be useful. Li Chunfeng wanted to use the divine miracles on Kunlun Mountain to explain, but was humiliated by the students’ roaring laughter. The academy also had a research institute on Kunlun Mountain and knew things that might be even more than what the Daoist community knew.
Only at this moment did Li Chunfeng remember that the Yun family’s villa in Kunlun always had people stationed there, and those people weren’t Yun family members at all, but rather academy teachers and students.
The arrow was on the string and had to be released. Li Chunfeng could only go find Zhangsun Chong and Dugu Mou. There he received a tremendous welcome, which greatly increased Li Chunfeng’s confidence. The Immortal Banquet would be held as scheduled.
When he heard that the Emperor and Empress would also be honored guests, he was overjoyed. He immediately sent urgent messages overnight to the Kunlun ancestral temple, requesting that the banquet’s specifications be raised without limit, exhausting all Daoist resources to properly handle this great undertaking.