The Qingyun Mountain range is towering, the tiger crouches in the Central Plains, and there is a large river "Hongchuan" in the shade of the mountain. The sunny side is the stronghold "Heyang City", which controls the throat of the world, with a very important geographical location.
Qingyun Mountain stretches for hundreds of miles, with peaks rising and falling, the highest having seven peaks, towering into the clouds. On ordinary days, only white clouds can be seen surrounding the mountain waist, without recognizing the true appearance of the mountain top. The forest on Qingyun Mountain is dense, with flying waterfalls and strange rocks, precious birds and rare animals are everywhere, the scenery is deep and steep, famous all over the world.
Its just more famous, but its a Xianmen sect on this mountain - Qingyunmen.
The Qingyun sect has a long history, with over 2,000 years since its founding. It is one of the two major orthodox and evil paths in the world today. According to legend, the founder of the sect was originally a wandering fortune teller who had been down on his luck for half his life and was unable to achieve his ambitions. At the age of 49, he traveled extensively throughout the country and passed by Qingyun Mountain, where he immediately recognized its unique spiritual energy and decided to settle there. He lived off the land, practiced meditation and internal alchemy, and soon discovered a mysterious ancient scroll in a hidden cave deep within the mountain. The scroll contained various powerful techniques and spells that were difficult to understand but had infinite uses and enormous power.
The master obtained this rare encounter, and devoted himself to practice. Suddenly twenty years passed, with some small achievements, he emerged, experiencing several storms on the Jianghu road. Although unable to dominate the world alone, he became a hero in his own right. He then established his sect on Qingyun Mountain, naming it: Qingyun. As this ancient volume was close to Daoism, he dressed as a Daoist and called himself "Qingyunzi". Later generations of disciples often respectfully referred to him as "Qingyun Zhenren".
Qingyunzi lived to be 367 years old, and before his death, he had accepted ten disciples. On his deathbed, he instructed them: "I have spent my whole life studying and teaching, and all of it has been about physiognomy, especially the physiognomy of wind and water. This Qingyun Mountain is a rare spiritual place in the world, and since our Qingyun sect occupies this mountain, we will surely prosper in the future. You must not give it up! Remember, remember!"
At that time, the ten disciples nodded in unison, deeply believing without a doubt. Only then did Qingyunzi disappear suddenly. Unexpectedly, over the next hundred years, it was unclear whether it was the will of heaven playing tricks on people or simply that Qingyunzis divination skills were not precise. The Qingyun Sect not only failed to flourish but instead declined day by day.
Among the ten disciples, two died young, four were killed in a duel of revenge, one was disabled, and one went missing, leaving only two lines. After fifty years, a disaster occurred within a hundred miles of Qingyun Mountain, causing unprecedented earthquakes, landslides, and floods, killing countless people, and another line was extinguished. The remaining lone descendant had limited talent and poor skills, no longer like the glory days of Qingyunzi. Instead, due to that ancient scroll, they attracted external enemies who fought for it, leading to several bloody battles. If not for the few powerful forbidden spells left by Qingyunzi, Qingyundian might have been destroyed.
This situation lasted for a full 400 years, and the Qingyun Gate was in a state of decline, almost to the point of being described as "barely holding on". In the end, it was even bullied to its own doorstep. Among the seven peaks of Qingyun, except for the main peak Tongtian Peak, the other six were occupied by foreign enemies, including bandits and robbers who used them as a base to plunder and wreak havoc everywhere. Many people who didnt know the situation misunderstood that the Qingyun Gate had fallen to such a state. Although the Qingyun disciples were numerous and made excuses, they had the intention of killing the enemy but lacked the power to do so, which was truly pitiful. To this day, thinking back on it, those were indeed the most miserable days for the Qingyun lineage.
It wasnt until 1,300 years ago that things began to change.
It seems that the fortune-telling skills of Qingyunzi have finally come true, or perhaps heaven has grown tired and no longer teases the Qingyun Gate. At this time, an extraordinary figure emerged from the eleventh generation of Qingyun Gates successors - Qingye Dao Ren. Originally surnamed Ye, Qingye was a poor scholar who possessed exceptional intelligence but failed to pass the imperial examination multiple times. Later, through a series of fortunate events, he became the disciple of Wu Fangzi, the tenth master of Qingyun Gate, at just twenty-two years old.
After entering the Qingye, he mastered all the swordsmanship and Taoist methods passed down by Wu Fangzi in just one year, standing out among his peers. Another year later, even Wu Fangzi could only barely hold a draw with him relying on his deep cultivation. Wu Fangzi was both shocked and delighted, and decisively took out the ancient scroll passed down from his ancestors, handing it over to Qingye for self-study. Qingye then went into seclusion in the "Fantasy Moon Cave" behind Tongtian Peak, where he remained for thirteen years before finally breaking through.
It is said that when he broke through, it was a full moon night. That night, the cold moon hung high, and the entire Qingyun Mountain Tongtian Peak was like daylight. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and behind the mountain, there was a dragons roar, shaking the sound of hundreds of miles, and those who heard it changed color. Later, a light purple auspicious light burst into the sky, with a loud noise, the Fantasy Moon Cave opened suddenly, Qingye Xuzi turned white, with a smile on his face, his body had a clear light, and he walked out slowly, The crowd was shocked, thinking that he had become an immortal.
Later, Qing Ye formally left home, using his original surname Ye and taking the "Qing" character from Qingyun, hence the name Qing Ye. On that day, he bid farewell to his teacher Wu Fangzi with a smile, saying: "Master, please wait for a moment, I will go out to attend to some matters and return in one day."
Many people were unaware of the reason, but one night later, Qing Ye returned with his sword, and the six peaks outside of Qing Yun Mountain had already beheaded all the enemies. Qing Yes Taoist skills were strong, and his methods were ruthless, making him famous throughout the world in a short time, and the reputation of Qing Yun Gate was greatly enhanced.
Another year passed, and Wu Fangzi was about to pass on the position of leader to Qingye. He himself went into seclusion, no longer managing the trivial matters of the sect. After Qingye took power, he worked diligently to govern, greatly supporting his fellow disciples, strictly selecting successors, and adding to this the mysterious and unpredictable aura he had gained from that ancient, nameless scroll. From then on, the Qingyun Sect flourished, becoming a pillar of the righteous path within fifty years, and by two hundred years later, it was already leading the various branches of the righteous path.
Qingye Zhenren lived to be 750 years old before passing away. Throughout his life, he was strict in accepting disciples and only accepted seven people. He then divided the Seven Peaks of Qingyun into seven parts and had each of the seven lines inherit the incense fire. Among them, Changmen resided at the main peak Tongtian Peaks Qingyun Temple, which is the center of this sect.
Up to now, the Qingyun Gate has nearly a thousand disciples, with many masters and a reputation that is renowned. Alongside "Tianyin Temple" and "Fengxiang Valley", it is considered one of the three major sects of the current era. The leader, Daoxuan Zhenren, has achieved great things and entered sainthood, making him an extraordinary figure in this world.
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At the foot of Qingyun Mountain, fifty miles northwest of the big city "Heyang", there is a small village called "Cao Miao Village". More than 40 households live here, with simple folk customs. Many villagers make a living by collecting firewood in the mountains and exchanging it for silver at the Qingyun Gate. Every day, villagers often see disciples of Qingyun coming and going, with an air of mystery, and they worship Qingyun as if it were a Taoist immortal family. Qingyun has always taken care of the surrounding people, and is quite good to the villagers here.
The sky was gloomy and overcast, with dark clouds hanging low, making people feel suffocated.
From Caomiao Village, the towering Qingyun Mountain rises straight into the sky, with strange peaks and rocks, shrouded in a hint of eeriness.
However, the villagers have lived here for generations and have seen such scenes countless times, so they are not surprised at all, let alone ignorant children.
"You little stinker, where are you running to?" A shout with a hint of laughter came from the mouth of a half-grown child, who looked around ten years old, with clear and bright eyes, leading four or five other boys and girls in pursuit of another child ahead. The child in front was two years younger than him and slightly shorter, but at this moment his face was full of smiles as he ran forward with all his might, occasionally turning back to make a face.
"Zhang Xiaofan, stop right there!" The kid behind him shouted loudly.
That kid named Zhang Xiaofan in the front let out a "hiss" and said while running: "Do you think Im an idiot?!" As he spoke, he ran even faster.
As they ran, the children gradually approached a dilapidated thatched temple at the eastern end of the village. From the outside, this small thatched temple was in disrepair and had withstood countless storms and rains over the years.
Zhang Xiaofan rushed in first, but unexpectedly, he wasnt careful and was slapped by the door panel. With a thud, he fell to the ground. The several children behind him were overjoyed and rushed up together, pressing him under their bodies. The clear and handsome boy had a triumphant look on his face and laughed: "I caught you, now you have nothing to say!"
Who would have thought that Zhang Xiaofan rolled his eyes and said, "No, no, you secretly calculated me, how can I calculate?"
The boy was taken aback and asked in surprise: "When did I secretly calculate you?"
"Fine, Lin Jingyu, you dare say this door plank wasnt put here by you?"
"Thats impossible!" exclaimed Lin Jingyu loudly.
Zhang Xiaofan pursed his lips, tilted his head, and put on a resolute expression of not surrendering or yielding. Lin Jingyus anger rose from the bottom of his heart, one hand grasped Zhang Xiaofans neck, and he furiously said: "We agreed that whoever gets caught would admit defeat, do you concede?"
Zhang Xiaofan didnt care either way.
Lin Jingyus face turned bright red, his hands clenched into fists, and he shouted loudly: "Do you obey or not?"
Zhang Xiaofans trachea was choked by him, his breathing gradually became difficult, and his face slowly turned red, but he was young and had a very stubborn temperament, and he didnt make a sound.
Lin Jingyus anger grew, his grip tightening, as he repeated: "Do you admit defeat? Do you admit defeat? Do you admit defeat?"
At this time, the other children saw that something was wrong and quietly retreated, leaving only these two ignorant children. For the sake of their argument, they each stuck to their own biased views and continued like this.
Just as a great calamity was about to break out, suddenly a Buddhist chant was heard from the depths of the thatched hut. Someone said: "Amitabha Buddha, stop at once."
A bony palm suddenly appeared, stretching out two fingers to tap Lin Jingyus hands. Lin Jingyu was shocked as if struck by lightning, his whole body trembling violently, and his hands naturally loosened.
Zhang Xiaofan panted heavily, apparently having been choked badly. The two of them stood there in a daze, and when they came to their senses, they thought back to the scene just now and exchanged a glance, both becoming increasingly frightened.
Lin Jingyu said dazedly: "Xiao Fan, I owe you an apology. I dont know how..."
Zhang Xiaofan shook his head, his breathing gradually stabilizing. "Nothings wrong. Hmm, who are you?"
A group of children followed his gaze and saw an old monk standing in the temple, with wrinkles all over his face, wearing a worn-out kasaya, and looking dirty from head to toe. However, he was holding a string of jade rosary beads that were crystal clear and radiant, emitting a faint blue light. What was strange was that among the dozen or so uniform-sized, smooth, and transparent green jade rosary beads, there was one bead that was neither jade nor stone, but a deep purple color, dull and without luster.