Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 184: Just Take a Look

The Immortal Sect was, after all, the Immortal Sect. No matter how well-traveled Wei Wuwei was, he was still shocked upon first arriving at Yuhuai Mountain.

When one first arrived at Yuhuai, one would see the green gorges, the fragrant medicine gardens, the flowers blooming all over the mountains. It was a fresh and pleasant atmosphere. There were springs all over the valleys, clouds and mist settling on the high peaks. It held the lingering charms of all four seasons, and a wind full of spiritual energy blew from time to time. At night, there were bright stars, and during the day there were colorful clouds. Upon closer inspection, one could see a temple at the peak, buildings and towers that looked to be standing on the clouds around the mountain, pavilions, thatched cottages, and bamboo houses. The solemn and towering buildings were integrated harmoniously with small bridges and flowing water. It was full of the immortal spirit¹ and lingering charm. This was the Yuhuai Sacred Land.

Qiu Feng personally brought Wei Wuwei and Wei Yuansheng to appreciate the scenery of Yuhuai Mountain. He introduced the father and son to the beautiful sights and, without disturbing the cultivation of some of the other Taosts, he also brought them to visit some of the more spiritual and supernatural places to satisfy their curiosity.

During this period of time, they saw cranes flying, and smoke and mist streaming like ribbons, being collected into small bottles in people’s hands. They saw some spiritual children cultivating, and solemn, majestic, and even amiable immortals.

Some people seemed to be out of touch with worldly affairs, while others seemed to live just the same trivial lives as ordinary people.

As the guardian immortal beast of Yuhuai Mountain for the past twenty years, Auntie Crane’s main responsibility was not within the Yuhuai Sacred Land, but rather in the Yunwu Mountain Range outside. Thus, she was unable to accompany Qiu Feng during this whole process. However, seeing how concerned she was, Qiu Feng had already notified the Wei family servants who were waiting outside that they could retreat, making her feel more at ease.

Even though there were still some forbidden areas that they could not visit, this trip to appreciate the scenery still took several days. The main reason was that Qiu Feng did not fly the father and his son most places, but instead they walked on solid ground.

After all, when they would be cultivating and living on Yuhuai Mountain in the future, they wouldn’t always have someone with a flying technique to carry them. They would still have to rely on their own legs for the most part, so it would be better for them to get familiar with the paths.

At this moment, they returned to the bamboo building where Qiu Feng usually lived, and sat on the bamboo benches to rest.

“Yuansheng, remember to try your best not to disturb other immortals. If you get lost or find yourself in a place where you can’t get out, you can shout loudly for Brother Crane Taoist to take you out.”

“Understood, Master!”

Wei Yuansheng had long since lost his previous anxiety. After a few days, and the help of the kind master Qiu Feng, the child had revived his previous vigorous energy.

Qiu Feng reached out and ruffled Xiao Yuansheng’s hair. This was his first disciple after nearly two hundred years of cultivation.

Although those who practiced Taoism were indifferent to many things, their way of thinking could sometimes be very subtle. In the past, Qiu Feng had often helped his senior brothers guide their disciples, but he had never thought of accepting disciples himself.

However, after seeing Wei Yuansheng, he immediately took a liking to this child. In addition, due to his connection to Ji Yuan, he proposed to take him on as his disciple after meeting Wei Wuwei, and asked Wei Yuansheng whether he was willing.

Naturally, the father and son of the Wei family were quite willing, as it was their original intention. If Mr. Ji knew this immortal master, then he must also be a capable person, so they had a closer connection. Besides, Immortal Master Qiu would only have one disciple, Yuansheng, who would definitely be more favored than some immortal masters who had strings of disciples of varying ages.

After Qiu Feng confirmed with Wei Yuansheng, he spoke to Wei Wuwei.

“Mr. Wei, you are Yuansheng’s father, so you should also watch over him often. You can also practice Yuhuai’s basic Qi Training technique. However, in the end, you have been immersed in the world for decades; your spirit is covered in its red dust, and your desires are too heavy. It will be difficult for you to achieve great success.”

“Thank you Immortal Master. It’s a great blessing to be able to accompany my son in his practice again!”

Wei Wuwei sincerely thanked him. After coming here, he realized that, although he was not a disciple of Yuhuai Mountain, he could still cultivate. However, just as Immortal Qiu Feng said, his achievements were indeed limited by his aptitude. But as long as he made a breakthrough, there was still hope for him to go further.

In truth, there had been many “studying companions” like Wei Wuwei in the history of Yuhuai Mountain, but few of them had truly mastered the way of cultivation.

The reason why Wei Wuwei was able to do this was, firstly, due to Ji Yuan’s favor, and secondly, because Wei Wuwei’s own destiny had become vague. Generally speaking, when a mortal was accepted into an immortal sect, his destiny would blur. Conversely, those with a vague destiny were generally unusual. This gave Wei Wuwei an opportunity.

“Master, when are you going to visit Mr. Ji?”

Wei Yuansheng asked again curiously.

“Since I have already made sure you and your father are settled, I will leave for Ning’an County soon. If you hadn’t been well-settled, and Mr. Ji asked how Xiao Yuansheng was doing, I wouldn’t have the courage to answer!”

Qiu Feng answered his question in this matter, still thinking about their first encounter.

“By the way, your brothers and sisters under your Senior Uncle in the sect also met Mr. Ji before. Your Senior Sister Yiyi left a very good impression on Mr. Ji, like you did. You can go build a closer relationship with her.”

“Oh… By the way, Master, when can I go down the mountain to see my mother?”

Qiu Feng was also amused by his disciple again; he wanted to leave so soon after having gone up the mountain.

“At least wait until you have laid a solid foundation for your cultivation. Although Yuhuai Mountain is not isolated from the world, you must also understand the saying of there being no time in the mountains. Sooner or later, your mother will grow old and die. You may grow to become indifferent to your Wei family.”

“No, no, no!”

Wei Yuansheng shook his head like a rattle.

“Perhaps I will become indifferent to the Wei family in the future, but I will always think of my mother and my wet nurse. I will go to see them when they are sick, and I will take care of them in their old age, and see them to the end of their lives. And Xiao Cui, too!”

Qiu Feng looked down at his disciple. The child’s eyes were clear, and he definitely didn’t look as if he had too many worldly desires.

“That’s fine, but if people with a shallow foundation in Taoism grow too deeply involved in the secular world, it’s easy for them to lose themselves!”

This was intended as a very common teaching remark, but Wei Yuansheng puffed up his cheeks, frowned, and retorted.

“Mr. Ji told me a lot about his views on cultivation that day, and he agreed with what I just said!”

“Oh? What is Mr. Ji’s opinion?”

Although Qiu Feng’s voice was calm, it had already aroused a great interest in his heart. Or perhaps he was merely thinking of how to teach his disciple.

Wei Wuwei was a little anxious. Although Immortal Qiu Feng had a good temper, how could his son talk back to his immortal master? If he were in his place, he would have used more pleasant words.

Wei Yuansheng was not afraid at all. He clearly understood that his master would not blame him, so he continued to answer without any pressure:

“Mr. Ji said that if one loses themselves in the secular world because of filial piety, then it can be only said that they are not suitable to cultivate immortality. It would be better for them to roll around in the mortal world. How can you break through the mortal world if you don’t enter it? How can you defeat the temptation if you are afraid of it? There are no unfilial immortals in this world!”

On the surface, Qiu Feng’s expression didn’t change much. Seeing how his disciple was paraphrasing Ji Yuan’s words like a little adult, he was somewhat shaken in his heart.

Although these few sentences were easy to understand, these mere few words could already “knock on the gate of the heart,” and even “touch upon the calamity of the heart.”² The most important piece was that from Wei Yuansheng’s clear, childlike eyes, Qiu Feng could see that he thoroughly understood what he was saying.

‘My disciple will achieve great success in the future! ’

“The truth is so simple. Mr. Ji said it well! But I still say that you must first lay a good foundation.”

“Oh…”

. . .

After several rounds of quiet discussions within Yuhuai Mountain, it was finally decided to let Qiu Feng, who already had an old connection with the mysterious Mr. Ji, visit the man alone.

Regardless of who the other party was or how long he had spent in the mortal world, he was most likely a Taoist Immortal. When he sent the letter to Qiu Feng by way of the paper crane, although he did not state that he was only looking for him, they still did not dare offend him by sending too many people.

After all, the temper of cultivators at that level was sometimes difficult to predict, and their perspectives on many things might not be the same as those of ordinary people. It was very likely different from even other immortal cultivators.

Qiu Feng didn’t feel too much pressure. From their previous encounter and the comments of his disciples, he still some understanding of Mr. Ji’s character.

In mid-June, Ji Province was already in its hottest summer season.

The fragrance of the jujube tree in Ju’an Pavilion had long since faded, but there were quite a few fruits in the branches, just enough to make up for those that had been previously lost. Dozens of small reddish jujubes were still growing, bringing the total number of fruits to ninety-nine.

On this day, Ji Yuan continued to read “Nine Heavens,³ Sixteen Games” in the courtyard. The chessboard on the stone table was the same one that had been gifted to him by Yin Zhaoxian. The black and white chess pieces were arranged to form a game described in the book.

Ji Yuan was following the chess moves in the book, reconstructing a game that had been said to have taken place between two great chess masters. He was thinking about it from the perspective of one of the players, including the reasoning behind when and where the black and white pieces had made their moves.

Qiu Feng had already crossed the street and walked to the door of Ju’an Pavilion, but before he could knock on the door, the paper crane in the brocade bag in his sleeve “came back to life.” It crawled out of his bag, spread its wings, and flapped rapidly, flying into the courtyard.

At the table, Ji Yuan raised his head and smiled, reaching out to catch the paper crane. This paper crane was quite special. He had put a lot of techniques into it, and its spiritual essence was now a little too high.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

There was a knock on the courtyard door, and Ji Yuan said softly, “Please come in.”

Qiu Feng took a deep breath, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked in. He looked at the jujube tree in the courtyard, and then at the person playing chess under the tree. Just like in the past, it appeared as if he were just a mere ordinary mortal.

“Qiu Feng from Xiaozhu⁴ Pavilion of Yuhuai Mountain greets Mr. Ji, as an invited visitor!”

He bowed respectfully as he spoke, like a younger generation greeting an elder.

Ji Yuan seemed to be engrossed in the chessboard and didn’t notice him. It was only when he heard the voice that he looked up at him, put down the bamboo slip and the white chess piece in his hand, and stood up to return the greeting.

“Mr. Qiu, there’s no need to be so polite. You and I have a destined connection. If you don’t mind, please feel free to come sit down at the stone table.”

Qiu Feng accepted the greeting, nodded, and walked forward to sit down in front of the stone table. Ji Yuan took a cup from the tea tray beside the table and placed it in front of him, then personally poured him a cup of tea.

“This is good tea. It’s this year’s pre-rain tea from Chunhui Prefecture.”

“Thank you!”

Qiu Feng picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The taste was naturally inferior to Yuhai Mountain’s Spiritual Tea, but it was not bad either. His gaze fell on the chessboard atop the table.

“Mr. Ji, are you a skilled chess player?”

“Haha, I didn’t have much interest in it before, but circumstances forced me to study it. Now I like it.”

Although he was curious, Qiu Feng didn’t dare ask too much. After watching Ji Yuan reconstruct a couple moves from the chess game, he went straight to the point.

“Mr. Ji, you invited me here. Why? Does it have something to do with the rumors of Tianji Pavilion?”

At this moment, Ji Yuan picked up another chess piece and placed it in the position indicated by the bamboo slip on the table, thus forcing back the black pieces’ attack through “hand talk.”⁵

“Mr. Qiu, there’s no need to guess. I cannot predict whether the rumor is true or not, but it had a big impact regardless. A few years ago, an evil spirit of the True Demon rank appeared. I happened to run into him, and teamed up with the Old Dragon to force him to swear to leave Dazhen and never return.”

Ji Yuan held the black piece in his hand, looked up at Qiu Feng, and asked a tentative question.

“But I actually invited you over because I have a shameless request this time.”

‘It really was you!’ Qiu Feng thought to himself, then he replied.

“Mr. Ji, please share your request!”

“Well, I have been studying the Edict technique. I heard from the Old Dragon that there is a true mountain decree in Yuhuai Mountain… What would be the conditions for me to be able to view it?”

1. T/n: The immortal ~vibes~
2. Referring to: something that can touch someone deeply; something that can throw one’s heart in disarray/illuminates a source of potential emotional and mental pitfalls
3. 九天 (jiǔtiān): 9th heaven/highest of the heavens, often symbolizes vastness, transcendence, and supreme knowledge
4. Small Bamboo Pavilion
5. 手谈 (shǒu tán): Hand Talk is a term in Go that refers to silent communication between players through their moves. Go is rooted in intuition & strategy, so experienced players can “converse” through their game piece placements. It’s a little like improv dance, but on a more intricate/strategic level