The Last Taoist Volume 2: Green City

  In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, in Chengdu, Sichuan, the scorching sun outside was burning the earth and smoke was rising from it. Inside a traditional Sichuan restaurant sat four strange people:

  A middle-aged fat man with a pair of beady eyes, wearing a straw hat, his small eyes kept darting back and forth at the table full of steaming red dishes, his mouth constantly smacking, panting heavily, drooling...

  Wearing a camouflage short-sleeved shirt, with a crew cut, he was smiling at the fat man in front of him. At first glance, it was clear that his muscles had been honed through actual experience, not just from working out in a gym. His dark, sun-kissed complexion seemed to gleam as he played with a jade ring on his finger...

  A tall and slender girl with a blue sporty pants and white vest, looking at the full table of dishes shaking her head in dismay...

  A man in a long white robe, wearing black cloth shoes with a square head, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, young but majestic, dignified and elegant, every move has the demeanor of a nobleman, already having the appearance of a refined and elegant gentleman.

  The pungent flavor of chili filled peoples nostrils, while drinking and sipping, the young man opposite joked: "Brother Wang, if you cant eat spicy food, dont pretend to be a hero, or your butt will hurt tomorrow!"

  "What do you know, kid? Your dad is better at enjoying himself. Who goes to Sichuan and doesnt eat spicy food? Can you even call yourself a Sichuan visitor if you dont eat spicy food?" Saying that, he raised his wine cup towards the man in the white long shirt in front of him, but was met with whispers from the girl beside him: "He clearly knows I cant eat spicy food, yet he orders such a table full of it. Brother Wang is really selfish!"

  The man in the long shirt smiled and said: "Old Wang, ask the boss to bring some non-spicy dishes too, so as not to starve those two. We have to go up the mountain early tomorrow."

  That little girl listened and laughed: "Its still best for Wen Bin brother, Chaozi, dont you think? Hehe!"

  "Wen Bin, thats only natural for you, haha! Wen Bin can subdue demons, but he cant subdue this little demoness of yours!" The young man in camouflage emphasized the "little demoness" on purpose.

  "Who are you calling Little Witch? Who are you calling Little Witch? Youre a dead soldier!" "Im talking about you, Little Witch, Little Witch!"

  That girl was furious and got up to chase him. The young man stood up and ran around in circles inside the restaurant, with the girl behind him chasing after him...

  This group of people is the four who are conducting this cultural relic survey. He Lao is old and has recently lost his wife, so he didnt get approval to come, but his son He Yi Chao followed along instead. The one wearing camouflage clothes is that guy with glasses, the chubby one, naturally being Old Wang, the leader of this archaeological expedition.

  The man in the long shirt is naturally Cha Wenbin, the technical consultant for this general survey. Its worth mentioning that little demon girl He Yichao shouted about: Leng Yiran, the daughter of Leng Jihong, director of the Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

  She may have a cold name, but shes actually a wild and crazy girl. As a newly assigned university student, she grew up in the same courtyard as He Yi Chao. When they were young, their teacher would often follow behind He Yi Chao to get into mischief, and she was even more unruly than the average boy. This personality earned her the nickname "Little Devil Girl". On this trip, she tagged along with them for some experience. Initially, she wasnt supposed to come, but when she heard they were going to Sichuan, she thought about sightseeing and having fun, so she begged her father until he finally agreed. Before they left, He Yi Chao repeatedly instructed Zha Wen Bin to take good care of his daughter, and if necessary, he could even hit her!

  On the second day, Qingcheng Mountain, Cha Wenbin looked at the Jianfu Palace under the Zhangren Peak of "hanging cliffs and steep walls for hundreds of feet", surrounded by five peaks, ancient trees were lush, connected to the rock belly, overlooking the clear stream, secluded and inhabited, praised a sentence: "What a wonderful human purple mansion! Not disappointing the sentence Qingcheng is the most secluded under the sky!" On the other side, the little demon girl Leng Yiran was busy asking He Yi Chao to take various poses for her photos, playing happily, thinking that this trip out to practice wasnt just about touring and having fun, haha, it seems that archaeology isnt as dull as they said.

  Old Wang gazed at the 394-character couplet in front of him, known as the "Qingcheng One Absolute", and naturally recited Lu Yous famous poem: "Golden characters on the golden gate, giant bamboo forests gather in the blue clouds. The rocky ridge is like a heavenly divide, thousands of pillars stand in its midst. Wen Bin, how do you think the feng shui is here?"

  Cha Wenbin smiled and said: "Qingcheng Mountain, surrounded by thirty-six peaks, look at the main peak Lao Xiao Ding, straight into the clouds, exactly matching my Taoist thirty-six grotto heavens, thirty-six heavy skies, majestic momentum, fairy gas surrounds, really a mortal paradise, Taoist purple mansion, no wonder Zhang Tian Shi will choose this place, indeed worthy of the reputation of the fifth grotto heaven, feng shui is extremely good, extremely good!"

  On the other side, Yi Ran had finished taking pictures and heard them discussing the feng shui here. She chimed in and asked, "Whats this about thirty-six?" He Yichao saw that Xiao Mo was going to pester Cha Wenbin again, so he laughed and scolded, "You understand nothing! Daoism emphasizes every single digit; how could a little demon like you comprehend the subtleties within?"

  Wen Bin is not idle and irritable, presumably todays mood is also good, according to the explanation: "Taoism has a saying of thirty-six heavens, Taoist teachings divide heaven into thirty layers, among which there are twenty-eight lower layers, and eight more layers are added above the Xiu Le Tian: among them, four Brahma heavens, four layers, three Qing heavens, four layers, one layer of Da Luo Heaven. This Da Luo Heaven is the highest layer."

  Lao Wang also became interested and asked: "What about the twenty-eighth floor ahead?"

  Zha Wenbin glanced at the three people who were listening with great interest: "Alright, Ill tell you about the 36 heavens of Taoism. The Taoists divide these 36 heavens into six realms:"

  The first heaven has six layers of sky, namely Tai Huang Huang Zeng Tian, Tai Ming Yu Wan Tian, Qing Ming He Tong Tian, Xuan Tai Ping Yu Tian, Yuan Ming Wen Ju Tian, and Qi Yue Mo Yi Tian.

  The second realm has eighteen heavens, which are: Wu Yue Heng Tian, Taiji Meng Yi Tian, Chi Ming He Yang Tian, Xuan Ming Gong Hua Tian, Yao Ming Zong, Zhu Luo Huang Jia Tian, Xu Ming Tang Yao Tian, Guan Ming Duan Jing Tian, Xuan Ming Gong Qing Tian, Tai Han Ji Yao Tian, Yuan Zai Kong Sheng Tian, Tai An Huang Ya Tian, Xian Ding Ji Feng Tian, Shi Huang Xiao Mang Tian, Tai Huang Weng Chong Tian, Wu Si Jiang You Tian, Shang Pi Ruan Le Tian, and Wu Ji Tang Shi Tian.

  The third realm has four layers of heaven, namely Hao Ting Xiao Du Tian, Yuan Tong Yuan Dong Tian, Han Chong Miao Cheng Tian, and Xiu Le Jin Shang Tian.

  The fourth realm is the four Brahmalokas mentioned earlier: ābhāsvara, ?ubhak?tsna, B?hatphala and Asita.

  The Fifth Realm is the Three Pure Heavens: Jade Purity Heaven, Supreme Purity Heaven, and Grand Purity Heaven.

  "This is the highest realm, which is the Sixth Realm of Mahāloka! Wow, its so complicated. Wen Bin brother, what realm are you in?" The little demon girl listened coldly and asked eagerly.

  "I? Hehe, dont know, lets go and take a look inside." Zha Wenbin ignored the troublesome little demoness and led the way inside. The three people behind him followed suit, leaving only the little demoness who was still counting on her fingers, looking up at the sky and thinking about how to divide it into six layers, thirty-six levels...

  This Qingcheng Mountain has excellent air quality, and naturally there are many people. Incense guests come in a continuous stream, tourists throng like a weaving loom. Inside the temple, several Taoist priests dressed up to explain fortunes to tourists. Wang Wenbin went forward with great interest to listen for a while. Looking at the middle-aged woman who heard that she would soon encounter good luck, after putting down her donation money, she had an expression of joy beyond expectation. He couldnt help but shake his head: "I didnt think that this famous Taoist mountain would also be tainted by worldly things, and they would play tricks like this. Never mind, Old Wang, lets just consider ourselves tourists today. This Qingcheng Mountain is still Qingcheng Mountain, its just that the Taoism here is probably not what were looking for."

  Old Wang gulped down several big mouthfuls of water, presumably today he was really hot: "Now everywhere is the same, using the banner left by ancestors to make a profit, where can you still find someone who truly cultivates the Tao? This is also the significance of the top-level inspection this time, hoping that we can still dig up some traces left by our ancestors."

  "Lets go, well take a look upstairs. These palaces have been developed into scenic areas and are crowded with people. If there were any clues, they would have been discovered long ago." With that, he led the way to the front, heading towards the highest peak of Qingcheng Mountain: Laojun Peak.

  Zha Wenbin said as he walked: "I heard that theres a Laojun Pavilion at the top of the mountain, since were here, we should go up and pay our respects. Can you girls keep up?" He Yichao naturally didnt have any issues, Xiaomo (little demon) shrugged her shoulders and slapped her long legs to indicate she was fine, but only Old Wang was already sweating profusely...

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