White Deer Before the Mountain

After the Beginning of Summer, the harmonious yang qi between heaven and earth steadily grew stronger. Yet until the Dragon Boat Festival—the day of ultimate yang—the venomous insects, dragons, and serpents within the Great Marsh would by no means hibernate. On the contrary, tormented by their instincts during this season, they grew increasingly violent and irascible, making the depths of the Jiuzhen Great Marsh ever more perilous... Upon returning to the lake outside Jiaobu Town, Qian Chen continued to ride his Flying Cloud Pouch into the azure skies every day to gather qi, cultivating diligently without pause. Not only did his true qi progress with each passing day, but his tempering of the external qi primordial dan grew increasingly refined. Only after four or five days did the message talisman Qian Chen had given Cui Dan flare to life. The spiritual message talisman transmitted Cui Dan's silent reverent prayers and thoughts directly into Qian Chen's spiritual sense. It turned out that, leaning on the prestige of the Cui clan, Cui Dan had indeed made the acquaintance of quite a few talents from local prominent clans and sects. During this time, he had not forgotten Qian Chen's commission and had been making discreet inquiries all along. Having finally made some headway, he burned the talisman to notify Qian Chen. Naturally, Qian Chen did not dally. Descending from high above, he spent three-quarters of an hour refining the gathered primordial qi before boarding the Flying Cloud Pouch and heading straight for the county yamen... Cui Dan was waiting in the courtyard. Seeing an auspicious cloud descend, he hurried forward and greeted him. "Senior, regarding the matter you asked me to look into, I've finally made some progress... Right now, I have several fellow cultivators from the local major sects here whom I would like to introduce to you... When it comes to matters concerning the Jiuzhen Great Marsh, they are the most familiar with it." Lowering his voice, Cui Dan whispered, "This junior made discreet inquiries, and these sects indeed hold several decent Earth Baleful Yin Veins. However, their locations are inevitably somewhat remote and treacherous... Moreover, this junior did not know what manner of baleful qi Senior requires, which is why I invited them over. If Senior is interested, you may exchange for news of the Earth Baleful Yin Vein you need." Qian Chen smiled slightly. "That is perfectly fine... Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist Cui!" As the two stepped into the inner chamber, Qian Chen saw that the two women who had flown overhead a couple of days ago were both present. Cui Dan stepped forward to make introductions. "These two are true transmission disciples of the Jiuzhen White Deer Sect, Senior Sister Guan Pingxuan and Junior Sister Yan Cai... Senior Sister Guan, this is Senior Qian Chen... Senior's alchemy is extraordinary. I once had the fortune of witnessing the external phenomenon when his pill was completed—transforming baleful qi into auspiciousness, casting a pill that sprouted lingzhi. "Earlier, Senior also aided the villagers of nearby Sanyang Village... The matter Junior Sister Yan inquired about earlier—the deed of throwing a pill to revive a tree—was Senior's doing. The plums that grew on that tree could regenerate flesh and bone, virtually equivalent to spirit medicines of no small grade. Yet that was merely accomplished by Senior tossing a pill at whim, which shows how remarkable he is." Seeing Qian Chen, Junior Sister Yan let out a low gasp. Realizing her breach of etiquette, she bashfully lowered her head. Senior Sister Guan, on the other hand, scrutinized Qian Chen with open composure for a moment before suddenly asking, "Fellow Daoist Qian, you do not appear to possess a Daoist infant body forged of primordial qi, but rather your original mortal flesh?" Beside them, hearing this, Cui Dan frowned and thought to himself, 'I dropped so many hints—why is she still so blind to the situation? Ah! Senior is simply too low-profile! Normally, he only displays a Qi Refining cultivation. Had I not personally seen Senior wield the magical power of a Returned Dan to take down that heterodox fiend of the Mount Mei Sect... I surely would have missed that great opportunity as well.' Qian Chen nodded slightly. "This mortal shell of mine was indeed not fashioned from primordial qi, but inherited from the essence and blood of my parents." Senior Sister Guan seemed to want to caution Cui Dan, asking pointedly, "To be able to associate with the Cui clan of Qinghe, you must also be the scion of a prominent clan, Fellow Daoist Qian. Might you hail from the Qian clan of Wu-Yue, or perhaps a descendant of the Wu-Yue Sword Pavilion branch? "The Qian clan also traces its lineage to antiquity, descending from Pengzu... However, aside from the Wu-Yue branch, other humble households are not listed in the Clan Genealogy. Those who have not inherited the ancient Pengzu orthodox lineage merely adopt the name under false pretenses. The humble Wei clan of this Jiaobu Town claims Pengzu as their ancestor; in our eyes, that is nothing more than a laughingstock!" "The Qian clan of Wu-Yue leads the Sword Pavilion and shares leadership of the Wu-Yue Sword Pavilion's headmaster branch with the Wu clan of Yanling. Naturally, they are orthodox," Qian Chen replied with a smile. "However, my surname Qian has no such grand origins; I merely come from ordinary commoner stock." "Oh!" Senior Sister Guan gave a faint nod. "The Central Lands undergo vast changes across epochs, and the common people scatter. Who knows how much noble blood has drifted down to the wilderness folk and common wretches... It is only natural not to come from a prominent clan." Cui Dan hastily smoothed things over. "Beginning with the Taishang Dao Master, who arose from obscurity and was once a rural cowherd, the Daoist orthodoxy takes disciples and passes down its legacy based solely on disposition and natural talent, irrespective of high or humble birth... It is evident that talk of prominent clans cannot be applied universally." "Junior Brother Cui..." Guan Pingxuan cut him off. "The Dao Ancestor hailed from the Ying surname of the ancient Three Sovereigns' clans. Though he once served as a cowherd, the green ox he tended was the incarnation of the Azure Dragon of the East. Moreover, he was graced by the innate, indestructible spiritual radiance that manifested the Great Dao. From this, one can see how noble his bloodline was and how extraordinary his origins were... "From birth, the Dao Ancestor bore white hair and white brows like an old man, manifesting innate wonders... How could he possibly have been a nameless nobody? "Though he wandered the wilderness, in his youth he already had the Azure Dragon transformed into an ox as his steed. As he grew a little older, the innate spiritual light threw itself into his embrace... Reincarnating through eighty-one lifetimes into the noble bloodlines of prominent clans, and braving ten thousand tribulations, only then did he purge countless demons, witches, and ghosts to attain the Dao and be revered as the Dao Ancestor." This was the first time Qian Chen had ever heard this version of Taishang's origins. It was embellished with many new details, such as the Azure Dragon transforming into an ox. In the legends of Louguan Dao, the green ox was a beast that gained the fortune to transform into an Azure Dragon only after following the Dao Ancestor; today, it was a divine sovereign of the heavenly realms and a Great Sage of the Demon Clan. Now, hearing this reversed version where the Azure Dragon had supposedly transformed into an ox first to keep the Dao Ancestor company... As for the white hair and white eyebrows, Qian Chen suspected that Taishang had simply been role-playing... As for the innate spiritual light that was the 'manifestation of the Great Dao'—Qian Chen felt a slight twinge of embarrassment. His head was filled with a hodgepodge of bizarre notions: beyond orthodox Daoist canons and treasures left behind by ancient sages, there were also concepts from novels and movies. Seeing how deeply poisoned the Taishang Dao Ancestor seemed to have been by it all, he must have been corrupted at an early age before his worldview had even formed. Attaining the revered status of Dao Ancestor was mostly due to Taishang's own formidable brilliance... It had very little to do with this 'Great Dao' of his. Furthermore, Qian Chen could personally testify that he had definitely not thrown himself into anyone's embrace! Hearing others recount the story of himself and Taishang right before his ears, Qian Chen felt a rather peculiar sensation... Meanwhile, Guan Pingxuan continued, "Today, both the Li clan of Zhaojun and the Li clan of Longxi are descendants of the Dao Ancestor. Within the Daoist orthodoxy, Taishang Dao embraces quietude and non-action, while Lingbao Dao journeyed far across the seas; their immortal traces are ethereal and difficult to ascertain. Yet Yuanshi Dao leads the Daoist orthodoxy, and Zhengyi Dao is the very branch through which Yuanshi Dao monitors the spirits and ghosts of the world and oversees the Three Mountains, standing as the true orthodox seat. Generation after generation, the Zhang clan has commanded the Zhengyi Dragon Tiger Mysterious Altar, aided by scions of the Yan, Yang, Lu, Ren, and other prominent clans... Within the Daoist Academy, whether among the inner or outer court, the vast majority are children of our prominent clans... How can you say disciples are accepted based solely on disposition and natural talent?" The smile on Cui Dan's face was growing hard to maintain. He found it utterly baffling—was he the scion of an established clan, or was this Senior Sister Guan the one from a true prominent clan? This White Deer Sect had been founded by the Yuanshen True Immortal, White Deer Perfected One. White Deer Perfected One was originally a wandering cultivator, and in the beginning, the White Deer Sect also enrolled disciples broadly. But with White Deer Perfected One's ascension, the subsequent Yuanshen Perfected Ones enjoyed long lifespans. As they presided over the White Deer Sect, their bloodlines multiplied, gradually giving rise to several cultivation clans. As time wore on, the true transmission disciples of the inner sect became the exclusive domain of these cultivation clans. The occasional lineages passed down through master-disciple lines were either co-opted by the clans or squeezed out by the intermarried, sprawling cultivation clans to the point that they could no longer stay! They had no choice but to depart the sect and become wandering cultivators... Such was the history of most small-to-medium sects. When first established, they embraced an ethos of opening their gates wide. Gradually, as resources were monopolized—especially since cultivators possessed long lives and could shelter their descendants—the clan factions developed at an astonishing rate. They interbred internally until the sect became a mere front controlled by several clans. Aside from Buddhism, the major sects of the Daoist orthodoxy either practiced strict monastic precepts or maintained pure hearts and few desires, governing through non-action and rarely leaving descendants behind; no small number ascended as pure yang bodies... Such orthodoxies were passed down primarily from master to disciple. Elsewhere, even in the demonic sects and shamanic cults, cultivation clans abounded without end. Even if two or three non-clan experts managed to make a name for themselves, they were quickly roped in by the clans. Valuing one's bloodline was human nature to begin with. Once life became long and progeny numerous, even those who had not set out to create a clan gradually evolved into one. In contrast, the true transmission lineages of the Daoist orthodoxy, possessing the prospect of ascension and the sight of longevity, harbored little fondness for leaving behind flesh-and-blood descendants. Even if genuine affection bloomed and two cultivators became Dao companions, they pinned their hopes on ascending together to become an immortal couple... Even if they left offspring behind, they wished for their children to share in that immortality as well. Entangled by such worldly ties, their Dao paths were frequently obstructed. Back when Qian Chen was at Louguan Dao, he knew of a few who had ascended while dragging along their whole families; that truly demanded boundless effort and invited ten times the tribulations... At the very least, secular commandery-prominent clans were centered around the 'family,' whereas major sects possessed strict sectarian rules, watched over by Yuanshen True Immortals, Heavenly Immortals, and even Dao Lords in the upper realms. If a parasitic clan within a sect grew overly dominant, the heavenly realms would bestow magic treasures and orthodox lineages to prop up a disciple with no ties to the clans as sect master, cutting down the clans along the way. Cultivation clans within small and medium sects, however, acted like parasites. Often within a few generations, they seized the nest like cuckoos, turning the sect into private property shared by a few families. Still, it was said that the culture across the seas was somewhat better... Wandering cultivators abounded over there, and lineages were not nearly as fixed as in the Central Lands. In Cui Dan's eyes, cultivation clans like Senior Sister Guan's that attached themselves to the White Deer Sect arose swiftly and vanished just as abruptly... Arising from the mundane world, they would ultimately return to it. Why harbor such rigid clan prejudice? It truly baffled him. Senior Sister Guan continued to question Qian Chen, "Since you are not the scion of a prominent clan, Fellow Daoist, which orthodox lineage do you hail from?" Naturally, Qian Chen could not say he was a 'remnant' of Louguan Dao. He could only state vaguely, "I am merely a wandering cultivator of the jianghu. By chance, I obtained the Daoist scriptures and left-behind treasures of a senior, inheriting the lingering grace of Taishang." "So Fellow Daoist Qian is actually a wandering cultivator?" Senior Sister Guan pointed out. Seeing that Cui Dan showed no reaction, while her own junior sister was secretly tugging at her sleeve, she smiled faintly and pursued the matter no further. Since this scion of the Cui clan was so set in his ways, why should she continue to offend him? It was not as though she had never associated with wandering cultivators before. She would simply treat making this fellow cultivator's acquaintance as a favor to the Cui clan of Qinghe! Thereafter, Senior Sister Guan ceased to be so overbearing, instead displaying a measure of poise and generosity. She took the initiative to ask, "Earlier, Junior Brother Cui mentioned that Fellow Daoist Qian seeks an Earth Baleful Yin Vein to refine spirit pills. Mount White Deer, where our White Deer Sect is situated, is not far from the Great Marsh. Disciples venture deep into the marsh every year to slay demons or gather spirit medicines, so we know a fair bit about the perils and baleful qi within... What kinds of baleful qi do you require, and are there any taboos or specific requirements?"