Yingtan was originally a small city with a population of more than one million, and its economy was not very developed. It had only two districts, one county and one county-level city under its jurisdiction. But because of Longhu Mountain, it has become a well-known tourist city in the whole country.
Longhu Mountain is 20 kilometers south of the city. Counting from the official settlement of Zhang Sheng, the fourth generation grandson of Zhang Daoling, it has been inherited for 65 generations, and it has gone through more than 2,000 years.
Although the Zhengyi faction did not become the leader of the world's Taoist sects like Quanzhen, it has received countless awards in the past dynasties. In its heyday, there were ten Taoist palaces, 81 Taoist temples, 50 Taoist temples, and 10 Taoist nunnery, just like a small kingdom known as the capital of Taoism.
However, Sanghai was very busy, and most of the palaces and temples had been destroyed long ago, and only Tianshi Mansion was relatively well preserved.
There are actually two sacred places in Longhu Mountain, the Shangqing Palace on the mountain, and the Tianshi Mansion below the mountain. The Shangqing Palace is the ancestral home of the Zhengyi School, which can hold some large-scale pujas and activities. The Tianshi Mansion is only a place for Tianshi Dao to live and worship gods.
In the morning, the station.
After a ten-hour journey, Tan Chongdai did not feel tired. It wasn't the first time he came here, but after many years, seeing the changes in the city and the towering buildings, he couldn't help but feel emotional.
The style of painting here is very different, and the citizens have a very high acceptance of monks, without any fuss. And at a place in front of the station entrance, several Taoist priests were waiting.
One of them, a middle-aged Taoist with glasses and a gentle appearance, approached him, saluted first, and asked, "But the old practitioner of Qionglong Mountain Tan?"
"Exactly."
"This junior is Hao Hongqing, an official of the Heavenly Master's Mansion. We have prepared a car. Please get in the car and wait." The other party introduced himself.
Every Taoist has a Taoist name, which is the name given to his disciples by the master according to the lineage of the sect. Generally, the original surname is reserved, and the characters in the middle must be inherited characters.
This Hao Hongqing is naturally a disciple of Hong's generation.
"Are you still waiting for someone else?"
Tan Chongdai followed him over there, and asked a casual question.
"There is also the practice of Wang Lao of the Xihe Sect, which arrived at a similar time to yours." The other party explained.
"Oh, so it's Wang Ruoxu."
Tan Chongdai nodded and got into the car by himself. This car is an ordinary business car with seven seats and is very spacious. He waited for a while, and saw the door opened again, and a fat Taoist priest with a round belly came out, it was Wang Ruoxu.
Ya has been recruited by the Special Bureau a long time ago, and participating this time is nothing more than an on-site investigation to see the attitudes of various sects and sects. So as soon as he saw Tan Chongdai, he deliberately approached him, and said with a smile, "Oh, I've heard of the old cultivator's name for a long time, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
"You're welcome, I'm the one who has admired your name for a long time."
The old Taoist smiled and cupped his hands. This is true. Fatty Wang is really famous for showing people Fengshui in Shuzhou. The fat man got into the car and stood next to him. He also brought two disciples with him, so he naturally dodged to the back row.
And he saw that the other party was alone, and asked intentionally: "Old cultivator, didn't you bring any disciples?"
"My lineage has withered, and only the old Taoist is left." Tan Chongdai shook his head.
"Don't be pessimistic, it's just that the opportunity has not arrived, and times will surely turn around in the future."
"Heh, let me borrow your good words."
Just as they were talking, they suddenly heard a commotion outside. The two of them opened the window and saw six or seven Taoist priests squeezed in from the station entrance, with one among them. This person also knows him, the host of Xishan Longevity Palace, Zhang Miaoxian.
The origin of this person is quite difficult. He was originally a direct descendant of Tianshi Mansion, but he was suppressed internally, and his superiors stood on the wrong team. The Longevity Palace is the ancestral home of the Jingming Sect, and the Jingming Sect is a positive branch, so going there will be considered exile.
The current Tianshi Zhang, named Zhang Jintong, is the grandson of the previous generation of Tianshi. His real surname is not Zhang, which was changed later.
You must know that the inheritance of the Tianshi Mansion has always been the direct line of the clan, and Zhang Jintong belongs to a foreign relative. His ability to take over the Tianshi Mansion shows the strength of the government's control over the Taoist sect, which is like a crushing existence.
Of course, Zhang Miaoxian's strength should not be underestimated. He once served as the vice president of the Taoist Association and has a wide network of contacts.
When he came over, he was very imposing, Hao Hongqing murmured in his heart, but he had to be received well. Ya got into a car alone, and my disciple got into another car. Instead, the two cars started first and drove away.
"..."
Tan Chongdai watched silently, while Wang Ruoxu's eyes flickered, wondering what he was thinking.
…
Tianshi Mansion is located in Shangqing Town, two miles away from Shangqing Palace. It faces Pipa Peak in the south and faces Luxi River at the gate. It covers an area of more than 30,000 square meters.
There is a pair of couplets holding pillars on the gate of the mansion, which read: The Immortal Guest in the Qilin Hall, the Prime Minister's Home in Longhu Mountain.
What is the status, it is clear.
But said that a group of people got out of the car, entered the gate of the mansion, passed the lobby, and when they looked up, they saw a pair of bells and drum towers standing firmly in the west and east, and a Jade Emperor Hall stood in front of them. The Jade Emperor is enshrined in the hall, and there are twelve heavenly monarchs such as Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao on both sides.
After entering three gates, you will arrive at the private residence of Tianshi Mansion. It consists of three halls, the front is the hall, the middle is the living room, and the back is the inner house and the guest house. There are three god statues in the hall, which are Zhang Daoling, the first ancestor, and two high-ranking disciples, the king and Zhao Sheng.
"Everyone rest here first, my host is making arrangements in the palace, and I won't be back until later."
Hao Hongqing led everyone into the guest room, explained them one by one, and then left.
Tomorrow will be the official ceremony to pass the Dharma. They came early and there are not many people. When Zhang Miaoxian entered the guest house, he closed the door, acting as if strangers should not come near him.
Tan Chongdai rested for a while, with nothing else to do, and talked to Wang Ruoxu again. After chatting for a while, the courtyard slowly became lively, and the heads of various factions arrived one after another, and they visited each other again.
To be honest, this group of people can't see each other at all, and it is rare to have a large-scale event gathering, so we must contact them.
From this, we can see the different levels. Great sects like the Qingwei School and the Jingming School are naturally majestic when they appear. There were more than five disciples accompanying him alone, and the presiding officer was also admired by all the stars, sycophant and flattering, even more sly than the world.
And small sects like the Baotian faction and the Iron Crown faction are almost ignored by no one. They either hold together to keep warm, or ignore each other.
In the evening, Zhang Jintong unexpectedly didn't show up, but everyone didn't care. Participating in the Fa conference was just a pretext, and the real purpose was to see what kind of medicine Longhushan sold.
The next day, morning.
Tan Chongdai changed into a blue Deluo, and after breakfast, he went to Shangqing Palace with everyone. Deluo is a kind of Taoist robe, similar to the daily gown, except that the sleeves are wider, and it is a dress that is only worn when participating in activities.
A total of 72 lay Buddhists participated in the transmission this time, waiting in front of the main hall, buzzing and whispering. There are also many tourist groups who specially bring tourists to watch the ceremony and take pictures beside them. There are even media reporters who are shooting with cameras.
Everyone is not surprised, the Chuandu Fahui has long lost its solemnity, and has become commercial and entertaining.
Under the guidance of Tianshi Taoist disciples, this group of people entered the Chuandu Hall. The space inside was extremely spacious, with a statue of Zhang Daoling enshrined in the center, surrounded by wooden fences on three sides, and there were seats for viewing the ceremony at the back.
Not long after, Taoist music sounded on the scene, and then the three masters entered. One is wearing yellow, one is wearing green, and the other is wearing purple. It is Zhang Jintong who wears the purple cassock. This person is about sixty years old, not tall, with a withered complexion, not the slightest bit of virtuous appearance, but seems to be overworked and depressed, and his life will not last long.
The so-called transmission means that the master imparts the way of saving the world to the disciples, so the disciples must worship the three masters (supervising teacher, teaching teacher, recommending teacher).
These three positions are usually held by high-gong Taoist priests in the temple, but this time, Zhang Jintong personally served as the teacher for some reason.
I saw the three people holding Ruyi in their arms, first worshiped the Taoist ancestor, and all the laymen entered the hall with wat boards, and then worshiped the three masters.
At this point, the Fa Conference officially began. Those three people were in front, and the disciples lined up neatly behind, kneeling together to worship and visit the shrine.
There are probably three procedures to pass the degree, saying the precepts, making the vow, and issuing the degree. For a while, there was the sound of chanting sutras in the hall, and the atmosphere was solemn. The heads of the various factions watched from the side, with solemn expressions and different hearts.
About an hour later, Zhang Jintong issued the ultimatum to all lay Buddhists, and the Dharma meeting ended. While they were taking a group photo outside, another disciple came over and led everyone to a room in the backyard.
The style here is different, it is full of modern equipment, there is a meeting room in the innermost part, a long oval table, and a huge display screen.
Zhang Miaoxian was the one walking in the front. He was about to go in, but was stopped by the gatekeeper and said, "Please show your name card."
"You don't recognize me?" he wondered.
"Please show your name card!" The disciple repeated.
"It's been registered before, why do you need a name card?"
"This meeting is very important and must not be neglected, please forgive me."
"you… "
Zhang Miaoxian suddenly became angry, this was his territory, but he was forced into the Longevity Palace, who can be so happy? He didn't come here very smoothly this time. Looking at it now, he thought it was deliberately making things difficult.
"Okay, then I'll go!"
He didn't know how to practice, otherwise he wouldn't be too hotheaded to get involved in politics, so he snorted coldly, shook his sleeves and turned around.
"Please show your name card!"
The disciple didn't take it seriously, and said directly to the second person.
"Oh, wait a minute."
This man was over sixty years old and very talkative. He smiled and took out the invitation card and Taoist certificate. After the disciple saw it, he suddenly raised his voice: "Master Wu Songbai of the Maoshan School of the Shangqing Dynasty has arrived!"
Um
Wu Songbai was taken aback. Isn't this too formal? Before he could think about it, he stepped into the room and found a chair to sit on.
Followed by the third person, an old man in his eighties, the disciple still said: "Xue Ming, the leader of Zhengyi Qingwei Sect, has arrived!"
The old man also went in and sat down next to Wu Songbai. They looked at each other, feeling weird. In the past, there were famous brands, tea, venue waiters, and photography and video cameras for meetings. There is no fart this time, it is so clean.
"Lingbao sent Taoist Li Jingxiu to arrive!"
"Shenxiao Qionglong Mountain sent Taoist Tan Chongdai to arrive!"
"Qingwei Zhengyi sent Taoist Xu Yangsheng to arrive!"
"this… "
When everyone looked at it, they couldn't help but feel a very strange feeling. They all neatly adjusted their clothes and hats, and they were all a bit solemn.
"Liu Zu Lingbao sent Chen Xing as the Taoist leader!"
"Master Huang Huiguang from the Jingminglu Mountain School has arrived!"
"Wang Ruoxu, head of the Sazuxi River Sect, has arrived!"
It is said that there are countless branches of the sect, which are chaotic and miscellaneous. The general title is that the main sect comes first, and the branches follow. For example, Qingwei Zhengyi School, the front is the main sect, and the back is the branch.
Another example is the Liuzu Lingbao Sect, which means that a certain descendant of the Lingbao Sect surnamed Liu went to preach elsewhere, but he didn't want to establish his own sect, so he used the name of the main sect and became the Liuzu Lingbao Sect.
Here one by one rolls the roll, and one by one goes in and takes a seat. Zhang Miaoxian could hear clearly from outside. Although he lost his temper, he didn't dare to really leave. Seeing that he was about to make trouble!
So he was very embarrassed, he didn't want to leave, he didn't want to go in, he was hesitating when he suddenly felt someone pat him on the shoulder. He turned his head and saw Zhang Jintong standing behind him, saying hoarsely, "Let's go!"
With that said, the other party stepped forward.
"..."
Zhang Miaoxian frowned and finally followed in.
"Master Zhang Miaoxian of Lingbao Jingming Sect has arrived!"
With the last person in place, the disciple gave a deep salute, closed the door carefully and retreated.
"..."
The atmosphere in the venue was subtle and silent. Zhang Jintong sat in the first seat with a blank expression on his face.
After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth: "Ninety years ago, Taoists from all over the world gathered at Baiyun Temple in the capital to compile the "Zhuzhen Sect General Book", which included a total of 62 sects, which were regarded as orthodox Taoism. These six Among the twelve families, Quanzhen accounted for thirty-eight, and Zhengyi accounted for twenty-four. I don’t want to think that ninety years later, Longhushan sent out letters of invitation, but only found seventeen. Tianshan School, Ziji Palace Zhengji School, The Dajiang Sect and the Xiangu Sect are probably already extinct..."