Many temples are located in Qingcheng Mountain.
Such as the father-in-law view, Laojun Pavilion, Shangqing Palace, Yuqing Palace and so on.
And not far from Qingcheng Mountain, there is a city called Qingcheng County, which belongs to Shuzhou Prefecture.
Qingcheng County is not a large city, as it is home to many talented people and has a population of around 200,000.
Because the city has a large population, by mid-morning the streets were filled with merchants and traders, as well as hawkers and laborers, who came and went in a continuous stream, creating an atmosphere of bustling prosperity.
"Steamed buns, freshly baked steamed buns."
"Divination of character analysis, ensuring your safety."
"Walk by don't miss, come a pair of cheap cloth shoes?"
On both sides of the street, a group of vendors shouted.
There are many different business environments along the border between the Tang Dynasty and Qin Empire during the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty set up the "Market Official" position to manage market transactions due to the flourishing "roadside stalls economy". When merchants and vendors set up their stalls to do business, they had to place their stalls in designated areas according to the corresponding category of goods, maintaining safety and order.
And here, the Market Official of Qingcheng County is now encountering an utterly perplexing situation.
A wealthy aristocrat led three hunting dogs to roam the market, scaring everyone else, including vendors and passersby, with their intimidating presence.
The Market Official was negotiating with the rich young man, "Wang Sanlang, please put a leash on your hunting dogs to prevent them from injuring others."
Wang Sanlang replied nonchalantly, "My dogs won't bite anyone, so you can rest assured."
Ancient people were more considerate when it came to keeping dogs. From the Han Dynasty onwards, many rulers and their dogs were equipped with leashes when they went out, in case they might cause harm to others and lead to legal trouble.
It is evident that Wang Sanlang falls into the category of those lacking "cultivation".
As they were talking, one of the hunting dogs saw a woman with a child in her arms passing by and suddenly started barking loudly.
The other two dogs saw this and immediately gathered around, continuing to bark.
The woman was terrified and turned pale, while the child cried out in fear.
Wang Sanlang not only failed to call back his dogs but was also laughing heartily on the side.
The Market Official was outraged and repeatedly scolded Wang Sanlang, but the court did not have a clear policy that required leashes, so he could only condemn him morally and couldn't actually punish him.
Passersby also criticized him one by one.
Wang Sanlang was criticized and had no choice but to call back his dogs reluctantly.
The woman quickly walked away from here, carrying the crying child.
After the woman and the child had left, Wang Sanlang let out a growl, "I've said it all along, my dogs don't bite, you have nothing to be afraid of."
Just as Wang Sanlang finished speaking, a group of people suddenly ran in all directions.
“Oh my god!”
"Trouble!"
"A large beast has entered the city!"
The crowd was so scared that they were about to cry and scream.
The Market Official and Wang Sanlang, among others, turned their heads curiously to look in the direction.
It's not until you look that it's better.
When they looked, everyone was so scared that they almost wet their pants.
There, a patchwork bug the size of a calf was galloping towards them.
This big bug moved incredibly fast. Just a moment ago it was a good 100 meters away, and the next moment it was right in front of Wang Sanlang's face.
Wang Sanlang was so scared that his whole body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. The three dogs that had just been boasting and showing off were now tail between their legs, trembling in fear and unable to make a sound.
The Market Official nearly ran away in a panic.
Fortunately, a man and a child were chasing from behind.
"Monster!" the Daoist rushed up and grabbed the bug by the neck, giving it a scolding, "Come out with me. Who let you run around?!"
The patchwork bug spoke in a pitiful voice, "Master, I just wanted to eat some meat quickly. I didn't mean to scare the crowd."
When the officials and Wang Sanlang saw the Daoist step forward, they finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that this was a spirit beast owned by an immortal. It would not harm people.
Chen Yun scolded the beast for a while, then bowed to the surrounding people and apologized, "I'm truly sorry to all the villagers. I didn't watch over this monster and scared everyone. Please forgive me."
"No harm, no harm."
"Please be sure to take care of the spirit beast, Elder."
"We were scared, but it's fine. Just make sure it doesn't really hurt anyone."
Everyone was quite polite and didn't press for any accountability.
Yeah, they were afraid to pursue accountability, after all, the person involved was a Daoist.
Instead, Wang Sanlang, who was so scared he almost wet his pants, was quite dissatisfied. He brushed the dust off his clothes and grumbled, "Why not put a leash on the spirit beast when bringing it down? It really frightened me."
Chen Yun had no time to speak.
Zhang Jiwen coldly snorted, "My tiger doesn't bite people. Why are you afraid?"
Wang Sanlang: "..."
The words he had just said to others were now being used against him by Zhang Jiwen, which was incredibly embarrassing.
"Ha ha."
"You only allow Wang Sanlang not to leash his hunting dogs and scare people, but you don't let others, like the Daoist elder, not leash his spirit beast and scare this brute?"
"Deserved! Elder, it's good that you don't leash your spirit beast. It scared this fellow to death!"
The onlookers watching the scene couldn't help but burst into laughter.
While everyone was laughing, the patchwork tiger licked its tongue and looked at Chen Yun, "Master, I think these three hunting dogs are quite tasty. You can ask this young man to buy them for me, and let me have a nice meal?"
Wang Sanlang jumped in surprise and waved his hands frantically, shouting loudly, "My dogs are not for sale! Not for sale!"
After saying that, he ran away like the wind, dragging his three hunting dogs with him.
The crowd laughed even harder.
The Market Official dared not really interfere with Chen Yun, so he stepped forward with a smiling apology and said, "Elder, it's really inappropriate for your spirit beast not to be on a leash..."
Chen Yun understood the other party and said, "I'll buy a leash right away."
A vendor next to him immediately rushed out and handed over a set of leashes, "Elder, it's not about buying or not. Just put the leash on your spirit beast right away. I give you this rope as a gift. Just please don't let it scare me."
Chen Yun quickly took out a few coins and handed them over, then put the leash on his mount.
Maybe because they saw the tiger being leashed, some people became more courageous and followed nearby to watch.
Chen Yun and Zhang Jiwen didn't care about what the ordinary people were doing. They just led the tiger through the streets to look for a shop.
He also bought some caramels on a stick and some toys for Zhang Jiwen occasionally.
This time, Chen Yun went down the mountain not just to play with Zhang Jiwen, but also to find a woodworker to make some statues and altars for worshiping the gods.
He got two chickens for his mount to eat.
After that, Chen Yun and Zhang Jiwen arrived at the carpenter's shop.
Chen Yun was in negotiations with the carpenter, "... two wooden statues of gods, a wooden plate with the names of 300 people inscribed on it. All the names are written on this sheet of paper. Please make sure not to engrave the names wrongly."
The carpenter, forty-something with gray beard, kept glancing at the big beast outside and swallowed hard, "Of course, of course. Master Daoist, when do you need it? If it's urgent, I'll start working immediately. I'll try to finish the carving by the end of today."
To worship the gods and their soldiers, there must be wooden statues of them. After the wooden statues are finished, they need to be blessed and then daily offerings and incense need to be made.
The offerings are quite simple, but the incense cannot be ordinary incense. "Jiangzhenxiang" (a type of sandalwood) must be used for the offering of incense.
Jiangzhenxiang is incense made from the resin of a red fruit and yellow sandalwood. Even in Chen Yun's past life, this kind of incense was very precious and expensive because it is only produced in the South Sea.
The distance between Qingcheng and the South Sea is quite far, so the price is naturally even more expensive.
According to Chen Yun's knowledge, the price of jiangzhenxiang is now comparable to that of sinkenxiang.
How much does a few ounces of sinkenxiang cost?
That's one hundred taels of gold!
The jiangzhenxiang is the same, famously said to be "a piece for ten thousand money."
If jiangzhenxiang is used to make incense, it will be even more expensive. For example, 20 grams of incense with 72 sticks will cost around one hundred taels of gold.
There's no way around it. As the number one incense in Taoism, and in this world that is a realm of Taoist mythology, the incense made from jiangzhenxiang is bound to be expensive.
They paid the deposit.
Chen Yun, accompanied by Zhang Jiwen and his mount, arrived at the shop selling incense.
As he was about to enter, he smelled a familiar scent of perfume, and couldn't help but sniff his nose and look around.
Zhang Jiwen hadn't noticed anything yet, eating a piece of candy on a stick and mumbling, "Brother, what are you looking at?"
Chen Yun winked and said, "It seems I've met an old acquaintance."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of Master He Xian Gu's voice came from his ear, "Little Junior Monk, your nose is too keen. I just arrived here and you immediately sensed it."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun was taken aback.
Indeed, this is a market, and there are at least several hundred people coming and going in the vicinity.
How could he be so accurate in distinguishing the scent of Master He Xian Gu's perfume from among hundreds of people?
In addition, Chen Yun found that his sight and perception seemed to have improved greatly.
For instance, now there was a slovenly man dressed in rags about five hundred meters away, and he could clearly see the leaves in his hair.
Moreover, as long as Chen Yun settled his mind, he could seemingly hear the content clearly even in the midst of loud noise nearby.
Compared to when he first noticed the change in his physical body at the Taoist temple, it seems that his abilities and sense of perception have improved several times over.
"It's not just my physical body, but my spirit as well."
In the past, Chen Yun had to intentionally perceive to sense the flow of air and steam. Now, even without deliberate probing, he could still sense the direction of the wind and where there was dense steam.
These are all things he wasn't aware of before.
Chen Yun had a vague understanding that as his physical body and spirit grew stronger, his own senses and abilities were also increasing. It should be related to qi as well.
Or perhaps it's the combination of the three that allows for his overall growth.
But these things are growing day by day, with small increments that go unnoticed in everyday life.
Just then, hearing what Master He Xian Gu said, he recalled the situation before and immediately knew the difference after comparing.
These thoughts flashed through his mind.
Chen Yun quickly turned around and saw a plainly dressed woman in a yellow long dress with a smiling face looking at him. He knew it must be Master He Xian Gu and bowed and kowtowed, saying, "I have seen the true person."
Zhang Jiwen heard this and immediately realized that the woman standing opposite was a true immortal. He quickly wiped his mouth and bowed and kowtowed, saying, "Zhang Jiwen from Tian Sheng Sect on Dragon Hill has seen the true person."
The tiger did the same.
"Please rise." Master He Xian Gu walked up and said, "Little Junior Monk, this time I came to Qingcheng Mountain to take you to meet the True Person of the East Pole. When do you think is a good time for us to leave?"
This matter had been mentioned by Master Zhongli Quan before, and Chen Yun was naturally aware of it. After thinking for a moment, he said, "My teacher has been teaching me some techniques lately. How about we wait until I finish learning them before we go?"
Master He Xian Gu nodded, "Very good."
Shortly after that, Chen Yun had a few more casual conversations with Master He Xian Gu before entering the shop to buy jiangzhenxiang.
After finishing what needed to be done, he spent the whole day playing with Zhang Jiwen and Master He Xian Gu in the county town. By evening, he went to the carpenter's shop to pick up the statues and altars, and then returned to the mountain.
Just thinking about going to learn about the cultivation of the physical body from the True Person of the East Pole, Chen Yun's heart was filled with excitement.
Once he completes his studies in this area, he will be truly ready to graduate.
By then, he will be one of the key figures in the line of propagation of the Taoist temple, which is a form of recognition.
Moreover, Chen Yun had another expectation, that after learning from the True Person of the East Pole, he would further refine his own techniques and try to integrate his Dan, physical body, and spiritual realm to form his own Dao.
Although the inner spirit art also has methods for cultivating the physical body and spirit realm, Chen Yun has not yet enlightened in "The Song of Breaking Confusion and following the Right Path". His current Dao only reached the stage of refining essence into qi, and it is not yet truly complete.
If he really could create a new Daoist cultivation system, he would certainly be a master.
(The end of this chapter)
