The Celestial Master Mansion was home to several Celestial Masters, and in order of seniority, Celestial Master Qingxu ranked first.
That Celestial Master Qingxu stood at their head was due, first, to his origins in the Hunyuan Cult, which naturally placed him half a generation above the other six sects.
Second, Celestial Master Qingxu possessed exquisite cultivation and a tranquil, unassuming nature, having been publicly lauded by the Emperor as bearing the true bearing of jade, possessing profound Dao and exalted virtue, and miraculously comprehending the divine workings of heaven.
For Zhou Wuji's commendation, Celestial Master Qingxu had issued the decree in person—an honor far exceeding normal protocol, and a clear sign of how much the Celestial Master Mansion valued Zhou Wuji.
Zhichong personally presented the Rank Seven Tianshu Token to Zhou Wuji. The token gleamed blue-gold, round on the outside with a square hole within. The front was engraved with "Tianshu Demon Subduer" and his Daoist name, "Wuji," while the back bore the inscription, "All Dharmas Return to the Dao."
"This token is forged from stellar gold essence of very high grade, specially cast by the Celestial Master Mansion to reward your great merit. Celestial Master Qingxu even personally blessed it with talismans."
Zhichong greatly admired Zhou Wuji's appearance and demeanor. Furthermore, with Zhou Wuji having performed such a great service, Zhichong's manner was exceedingly gentle and warm.
Zhou Wuji accepted the Tianshu Token with both hands. Upon touching it, a faint chill spread through his hands, followed immediately by a refreshing coolness washing over his whole body.
With the crowd gathered in the great hall, the sun blazing outside, and candles and ritual offering incense burning, the hall had grown rather stifling.
The blue-gold Tianshu Token clearly possessed the wondrous ability to calm the spirit and clear the mind, effortlessly expelling the summer heat and restlessness, leaving one feeling refreshed and serene from within.
"My thanks to Celestial Master Qingxu, and my thanks to Senior Zhichong. For such trifling merit to receive such a great reward, this junior is truly humbled."
Zhou Wuji offered a few polite words. Zhichong of the Celestial Master Mansion was quite different from Zhihua; this man was an envoy of the Celestial Master Mansion, with a temperament visibly steady and placid.
When dealing with such a figure, one still had to abide by etiquette and observe hierarchy—the more humble one appeared, the better.
Zhichong encouraged him earnestly, "From now on, cultivate diligently, slay demons, exorcise evils, and defend our righteous Dao. Do not disappoint the Celestial Master's high hopes..."
Zhihe and Zhishan looked on with smiles from the side. With their shrewdness and depth, no matter what they thought inside, not a hint would show on their faces.
Daoist Yiding lacked that polish. Being habitually austere, his expression was somewhat stern and cold at this moment.
Beside him, Daoist Yigong's round face bore a somewhat complicated expression. Having followed his master, Zhihe, to the Lower Court, he had assumed the post of chief steward.
The chief steward was the Lower Court's grand manager; matters of money, grain, medicinal pills, magic implements, and all such things fell under his charge.
The abbot was the head of the Lower Court, but the actual administrative authority lay in the hands of the Hall Master and the chief steward.
The Hall Master oversaw matters related to Daoist cultivation, while the chief steward managed money and personnel—in fact, his power was even greater than the Hall Master's.
Yigong knew about Yang Tieying beating someone at Bixing Hall a few days ago.
He also knew his subordinates had deliberately made things difficult for others and thus ended up getting beaten.
His subordinates were accustomed to shortchanging, skimming, and extorting, and looking down on the Tianshu lineage had led to this incident.
Originally, Yigong had not cared. A trivial matter: even if his subordinates were foolish, Zhou Wuji's disciple beating people was equally lacking in propriety.
If he did not pursue it, would Zhou Wuji dare make an issue of it with him?
Seeing Zhou Wuji receive the Celestial Master Mansion's conferral and commendation today, however, Yigong felt a sinking premonition.
The honors and commendation did not change Zhou Wuji's status as a seventh-rank Daoist, but they caught the Celestial Master's eye.
If trouble truly erupted in the future, Zhou Wuji might lose face, but they would suffer far worse.
Daoist Yigong sighed inwardly. What kind of mess was this? He had never intended to be the villain, yet now he had to take the fall for his subordinates' blunders.
His eyes darted around, and he made up his mind: right after this, he would take his people to apologize and make amends.
There was no real grudge between them anyway; it was merely that Daoist Yiding disliked Zhou Wuji, and that was Yiding's business.
Even his master had said nothing, so why should he play the villain?
Right now, Zhou Wuji was only a seventh rank, but to be valued by the Celestial Master, possess talent, and wield formidable methods meant he was bound to rise in the future.
As the saying went: better to cross a white-haired elder than slight a rising youth!
Yigong was slick and worldly by nature; he saw nothing wrong with trimming his sails to the wind...
Watching from the side, Wu'ai, Wuhe, and the others could hardly suppress the envy and jealousy on their faces.
A commendation from a Celestial Master was something they had only heard of; this was their first time seeing one in person.
That blue-gold Tianshu Token was clearly a formidable magic implement, making the crowd green with envy.
The commendation ceremony was brief. Zhihe led Zhichong and Zhishan to a side hall to chat. Normally there would have been no place for Zhou Wuji, but Zhichong invited him along.
Zhou Wuji hung the Tianshu Token over his chest. As the old men sat chatting, he, as a junior of low standing, could only remain standing.
Fortunately, Zhichong had a very favorable impression of Zhou Wuji, and drew him in to inquire about some details regarding the Five Dragons Gang.
Zhihe and Zhishan listened from the side, learning many details they had not known before.
For instance, Zhou Wuji had urged Zhang Shiheng to capture people on Old Dragon Island, but Zhang Shiheng had refused to listen, causing the deaths of nearly ten thousand women, children, and elderly.
Zhiyuan had written all of this down in clear detail, and many people had been present at the time and knew of it.
Hearing Zhou Wuji's account, Zhichong also sighed. "Zhang Shiheng was stubborn and conceited. His demotion and reassignment this time are his own doing. It is only a pity for the innocent folk on Old Dragon Island..."
With that, he turned to Zhihe and asked, "I heard something has also happened in Yunming County?"
Zhihe nodded slightly. "A kiln for firing coarse pottery in Wu Family Village collapsed, and a malevolent spirit cloaked in blazing red flames emerged from underground, killing dozens of people.
"I went to inspect it myself. A pit dozens of zhang deep had collapsed into the earth, with crisscrossing tunnels below, and the earthly fiend qi there is fiercely intense.
"I searched for two days without finding the spirit, so I could only leave men to keep watch for now..."
The malevolent spirit hid deep underground, and the dense earthly fiend qi disrupted spells. Though Zhihe possessed myriad arts, he had no way to dig the creature out from subterranean depths.
This was akin to a natural disaster and not his fault, so he spoke without any guilt.
Zhichong said solemnly, "In recent years, the earth veins have churned, and all manner of demons, ghosts, and monsters have surfaced. No province or prefecture enjoys peace.
"A millennium ago, the ancestral founder of the Daoist sects said that every five hundred years, a shift in the earth veins must occur. This is the natural order of heaven and earth."
Zhichong paused there, for what followed touched upon the rise and fall of dynasties—words not to be uttered lightly.
Instead, he said, "The Lower Court guards Yunyang and protects millions of common folk. You must proceed with utmost caution..."
"Senior Brother speaks absolute truth..." Zhihe assented repeatedly. Nowadays, demons ran rampant across the realm and chaos reigned everywhere. Their responsibility was immense, and they had to stay vigilant at all times.
Just look at Zhiyuan: conscientious and hardworking for decades, yet a single misstep had forced him to return to the Upper Court to retire.
"Since I am here, I will pay a visit to Wu Family Village." As an envoy of the Celestial Master Mansion, Zhichong already had the duty of inspecting various regions on this journey; bestowing the commendation upon Zhou Wuji had merely been on the way...
Happening upon another incident in Yunyang Prefecture, Zhichong naturally wanted to see the situation for himself.
Upon returning to the Celestial Master Mansion, he would also have an answer should the Celestial Master ask.
"Very well. Senior Brother has traveled far through wind and dust. Rest today, and tomorrow I shall accompany you there..."
Zhihe did not stop Zhichong, but since the other had arrived at the Lower Court, he still needed to host a reception feast.
Zhichong nodded. "Good, let it be arranged so."
When these seniors gathered to drink, they naturally would not bring a junior like Zhou Wuji along.
When Zhou Wuji returned to his stone cottage, he saw Martial Uncle Yiping, Yang Tieying, and Shangxing waiting for him in the main hall.
Seeing Zhou Wuji enter, Martial Uncle Yiping hurried forward and, without waiting for Zhou Wuji to speak, grabbed the Tianshu Token hanging over his chest to inspect it.
"Tsk, tsk, this must weigh half a jin! Truly worthy of being forged from stellar gold essence. It's at least a Rank Six magic implement, perhaps even Rank Five..."
Daoist Yiping was not skilled at appraising magic implements, but he had heard of stellar gold essence: essence refined from fallen stars was extraordinarily precious and uniquely harmonized with the Arctic Sect's star power.
Cultivators of the Arctic Sect all dreamed of possessing a magic implement forged from stellar gold essence.
It was Daoist Yiping's first time seeing one as well. Holding the blue-gold Tianshu Token, he clicked his tongue in admiration, utterly enchanted.
Seeing the old man so enamored, Zhou Wuji simply took it off and handed it over so he could examine it to his heart's content.
Daoist Yiping tried activating the Tianshu Token with his true qi, muttering, "With this Tianshu Token, breathing and cycling true qi improves by ten to twenty percent. Accumulated over time, this is more useful than medicinal pills."
Though Yang Tieying and Shangxing looked on with envy, neither had the nerve to step forward and touch it carelessly.
Yang Tieying looked at the delicate wooden box on the table and said, "Master, this box hasn't been opened yet..."
He had accompanied his master to the commendation ceremony just now. The ceremony had been simple, but he had watched the venerable expert from the Celestial Master Mansion praise his master, bring a decree of commendation from the Celestial Master, and bestow gifts from the mansion.
Carrying the box back, Yang Tieying had been dying of curiosity to open it, yet lacked the daring.
Zhou Wuji understood the youth's curiosity well. He went over and opened the box. Inside lay a deep-blue Daoist robe, two woven sashes, and two hair ribbons.
Zhou Wuji lifted the Daoist robe, and the fabric flowed down like water, crisp and smooth in its drape, combining the substantial feel of cotton with the fine smoothness of satin.
The robe was a deep blue like the night sky, dotted all over with tiny golden star patterns.
Zhou Wuji had seen Master Zhihua's ceremonial robe, which was indeed magnificently ornate. While the robe before him did not gleam so brilliantly, in its understated depth lay an air of graceful elegance.
He had to admit, the Celestial Master Mansion possessed fine taste. More importantly, it was a dharma robe containing the Northern Culmen Heavenly Dipper Divine Talisman within.
He could not discern its exact rank, but judging by the sense of true qi, it was at least Rank Six, perhaps even Rank Five.
He slipped it on to try it. The robe was loose and broad, but fortunately his tall, slender frame filled it out, the flowing garment lending him an even more ethereal and dashing air.
Daoist Yiping's old eyes lit up as well. Stepping forward, he turned the robe inside out without hesitation, clicking his tongue in marvel. "Look at these stitches, look at these woven talismans—this is clearly the Nine-Thread Interweaving Method. Truly exquisite. Tsk, tsk..."
The old Daoist said to Zhou Wuji, "The Celestial Master Mansion was truly generous this time. Both the dharma robe and the Tianshu Token are magic implements perfectly suited to you, at least Rank Six."
Zhou Wuji was also somewhat surprised. Although these two magic implements were not exceptionally high in rank, they were remarkably specialized and rare.
Moreover, they matched his magical cultivation so seamlessly, showing that the Celestial Master Mansion had put real thought into them.
Lastly was the White Jade Horsetail Whisk. A common implement among Daoists, it turned out to be a magic implement as well.
The handle was carved of white jade, while the bristles were snow-white and lustrous, inscribed within with the talismanic runes for three spells: Dust Expelling, Heat Repelling, and Cold Dispelling.
Such low-grade Daoist spells merely whipped up a light breeze—distinguished only by whether the breeze was warm, cool, or neutral.
They were somewhat useful but not particularly important, so Zhou Wuji had never bothered learning them.
At his level of cultivation, breathing and circulating true qi naturally formed an invisible barrier impervious to water, fire, and dust. Such minor spells held negligible value.
Even so, Zhou Wuji was quite pleased. Carrying a whisk when out and about suited his identity perfectly and was still of some use.
Daoist Yiping said, "Even the cost to forge these three magic implements exceeds a thousand gold.
"What is rarer still is that they are commendation gifts from the Celestial Master Mansion, an immense honor."
As the old Daoist spoke, he grew somewhat emotional. "If Senior Brother's spirit in heaven can see you achieve such things, he will surely rest in peace..."
Chapter 128