flstandardbreds Chapter 154 Shao Hua's Journey to the Banquet: Passing Through Taihua, He Climbs to the Western
Chapter 154 Shao Hua's Journey to the Banquet: Passing Through Taihua, He Climbs to the Western
Meanwhile, "Iron Whistle" Le He naturally went back to inform Li Hanxiao and his group, while "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu escorted Guan Sheng and others to Liangshan, which will not be discussed for now.
Once Li Hanxiao and his group crossed the Yellow River, they headed from Hedong Road towards Yongxing Army Road, which put them in Shaanxi Province. After passing through Danzhou, Tongzhou, and Huazhou, they would reach Jingzhao Prefecture.
However, once they set foot on this land, it became the Western Army's headquarters, under their tight control from beginning to end. Operating here required constant vigilance and extreme caution; every step and every action could not tolerate the slightest mistake or transgression.
As Lu Zhishen, a former officer from the Western Army, said, although the Western Army's strength in the Guanzhong region was relatively weak, with most of its main elite troops deployed to the border to defend against foreign enemies, it should not be underestimated. Especially after this military mobilization, even the fierce general Wang Shunchen was transferred to the Guanzhong region. Although the local troops in Guanzhong may not be the strongest, as the saying goes, a weak soldier is a weak soldier, but a weak general makes a weak army. With such a brave general leading the troops, even a group of sheep-like soldiers could unleash a fighting power beyond ordinary people's imagination, at least able to withstand the enemy's attack at critical moments and not collapse at the first contact.
In light of this, Li Hanxiao made a decisive decision to rush to Shaohua Mountain without causing any further trouble along the way. He knew that the current situation was urgent, and only by meeting up with "Divine Strategist" Zhu Wu and others as soon as possible, and understanding in detail the true situation within Jingzhao Prefecture and Wang Shunchen's specific arrangements, could they further discuss subsequent response strategies and action plans.
Originally, after arriving in Huazhou, they should have easily reached Shaohua Mountain, but as soon as they arrived at Tongguan, they found that the local army was strictly checking passing merchants and requiring them to have travel permits.
In ancient times, people needed to carry a "travel permit" when traveling, among which the "pass" was a very important document. The so-called "pass" means a certificate, specifically referring to "a travel permit for crossing passes and fords".
During the Five Dynasties period, the system of passing through a pass was gradually replaced by the official document. In the Song Dynasty, the official document was also called the official certificate, official document, or official transfer document. In addition to retaining the function of a pass, the official document could also be used as a certificate, and its scope of application was more extensive.
Although the Song Dynasty nominally had official regulations, they were not strictly enforced in practice. Cities in the Song Dynasty, including the capital Kaifeng, were highly open and commercialized, with a large floating population. People from all walks of life could freely enter and leave Kaifeng.
So you can go out without this, but if the authorities check on you, you're in big trouble. Not only will you not be able to pass through, but you could also be arrested.
Li Hanxiao and the other Liangshan heroes had no way to obtain travel permits from the government, so they had to take a detour through Tongguan and travel for two days through the mountains to reach the foot of Mount Hua in the west.
Mount Hua was formerly known as "Taihua Mountain," while Shi Jin, the "Nine-Tattooed Dragon," and his companions occupied "Shaohua Mountain." The distance between the two mountains was not far.
Mount Hua is located at the intersection of the Yellow River Delta of Qin, Jin, and Yu provinces, guarding the gateway from the northwest to the Central Plains. It has been the birthplace of Chinese civilization since ancient times. After all, the character "Hua" in "Zhonghua" (中华) and "Huaxia" (华夏) originated from Mount Hua, hence this place is known as the "root of Huaxia".
Mount Hua is also a sacred mountain for worship, where emperors such as Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Empress Wu Zetian, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang once conducted large-scale sacrificial activities.
In addition, Mount Hua is one of the birthplaces of the Quanzhen School of Taoism. The Xixuan Cave on Mount Hua is the "Fourth Grotto-Heaven". The entire mountain has 72 semi-suspended caves and more than 20 Taoist temples. There are Taoist masters such as Chen Tuan, Hao Datong, and He Yuanxi. Taoist myths and legends such as "splitting the mountain to save his mother" and "playing the flute to attract the phoenix" are passed down.
However, Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen School, was probably only two years old when he was born, so the history of the Quanzhen School on Mount Hua had not yet occurred.
However, this doesn't mean there aren't other real people on Mount Hua. For example, there's the Old Ancestor Chen Tuan, and someone who is very closely related to Li Hanxiao, the Third Holy Mother of Mount Hua.
The Taoist temple of this Master Chen Tuan was Mount Hua in the west. He was a living immortal in the Song Dynasty. It is said that after Master Chen Tuan went into seclusion in Mount Hua at the age of 118, people rarely saw him. But one day he observed the celestial phenomena and learned that a noble person was coming to Mount Hua to avoid disaster. This so-called noble person was none other than Zhao Kuangyin, who was still unknown at the time.
So the patriarch Chen Tuan transformed into a peach seller, carrying two large baskets of peaches, and waited for him on Mount Hua. At that time, Zhao Kuangyin was hiding everywhere to avoid disaster, and was thirsty, hungry, and exhausted. He saw an old man carrying two large baskets of peaches in the distance, and without thinking, he rushed up, picked up the peaches, and started eating them. Before long, he had eaten most of the peaches.
Seeing Zhao Kuangyin's thirst, the venerable Chen Tuan didn't stop him, but instead watched him eat the peaches with a smile. Unexpectedly, after finishing the peaches, Zhao Kuangyin leaned against the basket and fell into a deep sleep, only waking up when the sun had set. Upon waking, he didn't even say thank you, and tried to leave without paying a single penny.
The old master Chen Tuan stopped him, saying, "It is not the behavior of a gentleman to eat peaches without paying. Now that I see you are down on your luck, I will only charge you one coin."
To everyone's surprise, Zhao Kuangyin was truly destitute and couldn't even afford a single coin. Just as he was feeling awkward, Chen Tuan suggested playing chess, promising to waive the peach fee if Zhao Kuangyin won.
Perhaps Zhao Kuangyin was lucky; he won the first game of chess with ease. Having won the first game, Zhao Kuangyin proposed a second game, this time using his personal dragon-patterned staff as the wager. However, this time he lost very quickly. After the game ended, Chen Tuan, the Old Ancestor, picked up the dragon-patterned staff and headed into the mountains.
Zhao Kuangyin, in a hurry, chased after him, unwilling to give up and wanting to play another game to win back his Panlong Staff. The two continued their chase in this manner, and soon it grew dark. When Zhao Kuangyin finally caught up, an old Taoist priest with an otherworldly air appeared before him. The surroundings were bright with stars and few moons, the mountains were empty and the valleys were quiet, like a fairyland. In a small pavilion in the mountains, a chess game was already set up.
At this moment, the patriarch Chen Tuan spoke leisurely: "Since you've come all this way to gamble on this third game of chess, what will you use as the stake?" Zhao Kuangyin, who was penniless to begin with, blurted out in desperation: "Then I'll gamble Mount Hua on you!"
This was exactly what Chen Tuan wanted to say. After he had Zhao Kuangyin sign a written agreement, he played chess with him. However, Zhao Kuangyin lost after only a few moves.
"Now this Mount Hua belongs to my Taoist school," said Patriarch Chen Tuan. With a breath, Wen Yue flew to the stone wall of the opposite Sanfeng Mountain. Patriarch Chen Tuan generously enlightened Zhao Kuangyin on the important matters of the world and reminded him not to forget the bet made on Mount Hua tonight after establishing his foundation before drifting away.
It can be said that Chen Tuan was a remarkable figure of his time who contributed to the establishment of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, throughout the Song Dynasty, the importance attached to the Huashan Taoist tradition was very high.
As for the other Holy Mother of Mount Hua, Li Hanxiao estimated that according to seniority, he should call her "Aunt." He knew the story of the Lotus Lantern. His master, Erlang Shen, had no choice but to imprison his sister under Mount Hua. However, that was in the Han Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, Liu Chenxiang had already split the mountain to rescue his mother. Now, the Holy Mother of Mount Hua is still a deity of Mount Hua.
Now that they had arrived at the foot of Mount Hua, Li Hanxiao, as a junior, still had to pay his respects. After all, Mount Hua in the west had the palace of the Three Holy Mothers, so he should at least offer incense and pay his respects.
So Li Hanxiao told "White Flower Snake" Yang Chun to go back to Shaohua Mountain first to report that he was safe, while the others followed slowly behind to avoid being searched by the government. During this time, Li Hanxiao suggested that he wanted to go to Huashan Mountain to take a look.
The "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen then asked, "Since Shaohua Mountain is so close, what are you going to do on Huashan Mountain?"
Li Hanxiao told him that he was a disciple of Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun of Guanjiangkou, and that Mount Hua was the location of the temple of his sister, the Third Holy Mother Niangniang, so he had to pay his respects out of both courtesy and reason.
Everyone understood, which is why they had remained silent earlier. After all, they had seen a great deal in the Taihang Mountains, witnessing Erlang Shen's battle with the old nine-tailed fox and hearing Erlang Shen himself say that Li Hanxiao was his disciple.
Actually, they were quite shocked, because while it's true that people in ancient times believed in ghosts and gods, most people would never see a real ghost or god in their entire lives. But they were different; they had actually seen a real one.
Take Emperor Zhao of the capital city of Tokyo, for example. He was a Taoist fanatic who believed himself to be the reincarnation of a deity. He made his title longer than an old woman's foot binding cloth, such as "Master of the Jade Purity Sect, Emperor of the Subtle Taoist Sect".
This Taoist title was given to Emperor Huizong of Song in 1117 AD by a group of Taoist priests. Emperor Huizong, who was so flattered by them that he felt as if he were walking on clouds and having smoke rising from his head, claimed that he was the reincarnation of the Primordial Celestial Venerable. So he gave himself this Taoist title: Yuqing Sect Master, Subtle Taoist Emperor.
Among them, "Yuqing Jiaozhu" refers to Yuanshi Tianzun, because Yuanshi Tianzun's full name is "Qingxuan Zuqi Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun Miaowu Shangdi".
As for "subtle," it means subtle and mysterious. Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching contains the phrase, "Subtle and mysterious, profound and unfathomable."
Because of this title, Emperor Huizong of Song also had a nickname: "Emperor Daojun".
He's a fake reincarnation of a deity; our own chieftain is the real disciple of the Jade Void Palace, and he's better than him in that respect!
However, his title was much more restrained compared to that of the later Zhu, who was known as the "Great Celestial Immortal of the Purple Extreme Longevity, the Wise and Spiritual Saint, the Supreme Ruler of the Jade Void, the Grand Master of the Five Thunders, the Mysterious Capital Realm, the Emperor of Ten Thousand Years of Longevity"...
Since Li Hanxiao was going, the group suggested that Lu Zhishen and Yang Zhi lead them to Shaohua Mountain first, while Li Hanxiao and Xu Guanzhong would go up Huashan Mountain and then come up afterward, since Shaohua Mountain and Huashan Mountain were very close to each other.
Li Hanxiao went to Mount Hua to pay homage to the Third Holy Mother, while Xu Guanzhong offered to take him to visit the Patriarch Chen Tuan.
After all, Xu Guanzhong knew that he was the one who had helped establish the Song Dynasty, so it would be best for Li Hanxiao to consult him before making any decisions...
Upon arriving at the foot of Mount Hua in the west, the two first inquired with the villagers about the location of the temple of the Third Holy Mother.
The locals of Huashan have great reverence for the Three Holy Mothers. They say that there is a Snow Reflection Palace on Huashan, where the Three Holy Mothers are enshrined. The Three Holy Mothers possess a magical treasure, the Lotus Lantern.
Legend has it that the people living at the foot of Mount Hua were often plagued by miasma, and many people and livestock died every year. It was only after the Third Holy Mother came to Mount Hua and used her Lotus Lantern to dispel the miasma that the people were able to live a normal life.
The Snow Reflection Palace is now located halfway up Mount Hua, and was later expanded into the Temple of the Three Holy Mothers.
Li Hanxiao and Xu Guanzhong immediately went up the mountain and arrived at the Temple of the Three Holy Mothers without much effort.
The two entered the main hall, and Li Hanxiao saw the statue of the Three Holy Mothers enshrined in the center. He found a prayer mat, knelt down, and kowtowed three times.
“Aunt, please accept my three bows. I am a newly accepted disciple of the True Lord Qingyuan Miaodao. I am passing by Baoshan and have come to pay my respects to you.”
Just then, after Li Hanxiao finished kowtowing three times, his three-pointed double-edged sword emitted a peculiar light.
Immediately, the lotus lantern in the statue's hand also emitted a burst of multicolored light.
"The Lotus Lantern!"
Li Hanxiao certainly knew what those lotus-shaped lanterns were. They were the Primordial Lotus Lanterns, also known as Nuwa Lanterns. They were created by Taihao Fuxi tens of thousands of years ago and later given to the Third Holy Mother by the Goddess Nuwa to subdue demons and monsters. They were used for lighting and warding off evil spirits.
Legend has it that when Pangu separated heaven and earth, the goddess Nuwa used the Lotus Lantern to illuminate the primordial chaos and suppress the primordial power, allowing Pangu to successfully create the world. If this is true, then Nuwa's Lotus Lantern should also be a primordial treasure, a divine artifact from the same era as Pangu's axe, one of the most powerful primordial treasures. Even the Taiji Diagram and the Pangu Banner would likely pale in comparison.
"Welcome, Holy Mother of the Three Realms!" With this shout, Xu Guanzhong abruptly looked up at the sky. A dazzling, five-colored light suddenly shone forth, like a brilliant rainbow spanning the heavens. That light came from the legendary Lotus Lantern, radiating a mesmerizing glow.
Xu Guanzhong was startled and instantly realized what this meant—the Holy Mother of the Three Realms had graced us with her presence!
Before this, although Li Hanxiao knelt down and kowtowed, he did not bend his knees.
However, when witnessing the Lotus Lantern radiate such dazzling light, an irresistible sense of majesty and sacredness washes over you.
Xu Guanzhong felt his legs go weak and he involuntarily knelt down. At this moment, he dared not be negligent in the slightest, and lowered his head in fear and trepidation to show his respect and reverence for the Third Holy Mother.
"You call me aunt, which is in accordance with seniority. Are you my second brother's newly accepted disciple?"
A melodious voice rang out, and Li Hanxiao and the other looked up to see a graceful fairy appearing above the Temple of the Three Holy Mothers amidst the swirling fragrance. She stood on auspicious clouds and held a precious lotus lantern. It was none other than the Three Holy Mothers of Mount Hua!
"Your nephew greets your aunt!"
Seeing that the Third Holy Mother didn't seem to mind, Li Han smiled and thought that he should have called her "Aunt" correctly. The Third Holy Mother valued family ties more than seniority!