Black Myth: Starting from the Destined One
Chapter 226 - 183: Mount Longhu Orthodox Celestial Master Sect!_2

Chapter 226: Chapter 183: Mount Longhu Orthodox Celestial Master Sect!_2

He followed the other cultivators through the main halls of Moyun Temple and arrived at a vast square.

In the center of the square was a Yinyang Eight Trigrams, and in front stood six unoccupied chairs. Li Ping’an thought for a moment and concluded that these six chairs were surely meant for representatives from the Four Great Cultivation Sects of the world: Flame Cloud Sect, Qingyun Sect, Heavenly Mist Sect, and Immeasurable Sect.

As for the other two empty chairs, Li Ping’an still couldn’t figure out who else was worthy to sit there.

On both the left and right sides of the square, many more chairs were placed, each with a placard bearing the name of a Sect. On the right side, the third chair from the back had a placard that read "Mount Longhu."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Once the foremost Taoist sect under heaven, now it has fallen to the third last position. If this continues, Mount Longhu might not even qualify to sit here anymore!"

Li Ping’an looked at the seat reserved for the Mount Longhu cultivators and couldn’t help feeling emotional.

Since he had become a cultivator, he had gained some knowledge about traditional Taoist sects, especially the once leading Taoist sect under heaven, Mount Longhu Orthodox Zhengyi Master Sect!

The so-called Mount Longhu Orthodox Zhengyi Tao signifies "orthodoxy to govern evil, unity to rule all", hence the Zhengyi Tao is also known as Zhengyi Sect, founded by Zhang Daoling in the late Eastern Han Dynasty along with his creation of the "Zhengyi Alliance Force", thus Zhengyi Tao is also called Celestial Master Tao.

Mount Longhu, a cultivation site of the Zhengyi Taoist Cultivators, is one of the seventy-two blessed lands of Taoism, most suitable for cultivator practice.

After Zhang Daoling achieved great accomplishment in cultivation and alchemy at Mount Longhu, it became the ancestral ground of Taoism’s Orthodox Celestial Master Sect. Starting from the fourth Celestial Master of the late Han Dynasty, Zhang Sheng, successive Celestial Masters have resided there, guarding Mount Longhu to seek immortals and techniques, performing teachings in the Pure Palace, cultivating themselves in the Celestial Master’s residence, and continuing the Taoist succession to this day.

Whenever dynasties changed, the Mount Longhu Celestial Master was revered and enfeoffed by successive dynasties, elevated to the first rank, setting him among the highest of ministers, creating the twin great families of "South Zhang North Kong (Confucius)."

The cultivation methods and Taoist succession of Mount Longhu Zhengyi Sect are distinct from other traditional Taoist sects.

Take, for instance, the comparison of the All-True Sect with Zhengyi Sect. All-True Sect is a blend of Taoism and the Buddhist Community, emphasizing both internal and external alchemy in cultivation methods. Internal alchemy refers to the cultivation of essence, energy, and mind, which is the primary cultivation technique of the All-True Sect; external alchemy involves using lead, mercury, and medicinal substances to create a consumable alchemy pill.

Because All-True Sect Taoists mainly cultivate internal alchemy, the All-True Sect forbids non-lay disciples from consuming meat.

Initially, all All-True Sect Taoists were monastic, adopting five basic rules from the Buddhist Community: first, they cannot marry; second, they cannot eat meat; third, they must always wear Taoist attire; fourth, they must keep their hair tied up and have clean-shaven faces; fifth, all true persons of the Dao must reside in temples and are not allowed to leave at will.

Currently, the cultivation practices of the Four Great Noble Paths are broadly based on the rules of the All-True Sect, of course, if disciples wish to marry, they must resign as lay disciples, but exceptions can be made within the sect for those with exceptionally high cultivation talents.

Previously, when Li Ping’an was at Five Fingers Mountain, he inadvertently received Zixia. Zixia had proposed marrying Li Ping’an, with the Sect Leader of Qingyun Sect presiding, which meant Zixia had to change from a direct disciple to a lay disciple. However, the Sect Leader of Qingyun Sect quite favored Zixia, speculated that even if Zixia married Li Ping’an, she would still remain within the sect.

In contrast, the Mount Longhu Zhengyi Sect focused primarily on activities involving summoning spirits and exorcising ghosts and praying for blessings while averting disasters.

Their cultivators traditionally were non-monastic Taoists, meaning all Zhengyi Taoist Sect cultivators could marry, have children, live a family life, consume meat, besides performing scriptural recitation, meditation, and ritual duties in the temple, they could wear lay clothing, keep their hair in common styles, commonly known as "Household Taoists".

Zhengyi Tao does not strictly require residency in Taoist temples for cultivation; thus, many Zhengyi Taoists exist as scattered individuals, with talisman cultivation as their main focus. Zhengyi Taoists have a more lenient code concerning diet, with temple residing Taoists often practicing vegetarianism, while scattered living Taoists usually only fast three days before and after rituals.

Therefore, the entire sect of Mount Longhu Zhengyi Taoist Sect compared to other sects is looser and more free, with its own cultivators focusing energy on matters between men and women and trivial matters of life, which might be why the Mount Longhu Zhengyi Taoist Sect has gradually deteriorated.

However, Li Ping’an knew that the decline of a great sect into a minor unrecognized faction wasn’t just for these reasons—after all, Mount Longhu is the sacred site of Zhang Daoling, one of the Four Great Celestial Masters of the Heaven in the "Black Myth: Destined One" world. Thus, Li Ping’an couldn’t figure out the exact reason for the decline of the Mount Longhu Zhengyi Taoist Sect.

But it was also fortunate that the Mount Longhu Zhengyi Taoist Sect had deteriorated, otherwise Li Ping’an wouldn’t have been able to sneak in so easily under the name of Mount Longhu.

Li Ping’an observed carefully for a while and noticed that the positions at the back, which were reserved for the lesser sects, were partly filled. Some sects, apparently deeming attendance shameful, didn’t send any representatives to the Grand Ritual of the Heavenly Master.

In the chairs designated for the cultivators of Mount Longhu, no one had sat for half the day, and there weren’t any disciples standing behind them. Li Ping’an figured that Mount Longhu too feared losing face by sending an unimpressive delegate, thus sparing him from competition.

Impersonating a cultivator from Mount Longhu, he boldly took a seat, acting as if he were a Celestial Master from Mount Longhu himself, quite pleased with his own audacity. However, the cultivators passing by his position cast contemptuous glances at him, which Li Ping’an did not mind in the slightest—being able to enter was an advantage in itself.

After the time it took to eat a meal, except for the six chairs at the very front, the remaining chairs were largely occupied, meaning most sects had sent disciples to the Grand Ritual of the Heavenly Master. Yet, three or four sect seats remained empty.

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Li Ping’an noticed that so far, no cultivator from Mount Longhu had come to challenge his seat, so he decided that since he was already benefiting from Mount Longhu’s reputation, he might as well continue posing as their cultivator until the end, especially since he was wearing a mask. Even if he ended up embarrassed, any disgrace would be Mount Longhu’s, not his.

Suddenly, an elderly Taoist in a purple robe, who must be the Observatory Master of Moyun Temple, led four Taoist boys to the side of the six empty chairs. He scanned the entire venue and noted that besides the four great sects that had yet to show themselves, all other various Taoist sects had arrived.

"Cangsong, go call the registration Taoist boy!"

"Yes, Master."

The boy left and soon brought the Taoist boy responsible for registration at the entrance of Moyun Temple.

"Qing Bai, have all the various sects from within and beyond the Great Tang borders of the Southern Continent arrived?"

"Master, allow me to check."

After flipping through the registration ledger, Qing Bai the Taoist boy respectfully replied:

"Master, apart from Yellow Wind Valley, Qixuan Sect, Sunset Sect, and Southern Sea Hermitage, everyone else from the various sects has registered."

"What? That’s not right."

The Observatory Master of Moyun Temple said in surprise:

"Mount Longhu has not sent anyone for thirty years, and this time they suddenly have sent someone? Could it be a mistake in your registration?"

"The disciple was careful with the registration, how could I dare to make such a mistake?"

Qing Bai the Taoist boy pointed disdainfully at Li Ping’an, who was brazenly seated in the chair designated for Mount Longhu’s cultivator:

"Look, the disciple sent by Mount Longhu this year is that strange person wearing a mask, too afraid to show his true face!"

"Hmph! Mount Longhu has really gone downhill. If they feel embarrassed, they should either not come at all or show themselves openly. Now look, a Mount Longhu cultivator wearing a mask to attend the Grand Ritual of the Heavenly Master is indeed an unnecessary and ridiculous act."

"Isn’t that so... Master, this cultivator from Mount Longhu is quite laughable; not only did he..."

Qing Bai the Taoist boy then recounted Li Ping’an’s earlier impersonations as a cultivator from Qingyun Sect and Kunlun Sect.