Chapter 132 Altar Method
Chapter 132 Altar Method (Please give me a monthly ticket at the end of the month!)
In the stands, the masters of Sanqing Mountain, Gezhao Mountain and Xishan Mountain bowed to each other.
The younger generations below are polite to each other and behave generously, which naturally makes the elders feel proud.
Although Bingfengshan had the intention of seizing the initiative, in other words, it was also daring to be the first. Moreover, it had achieved real results, and the other three companies also expressed their congratulations.
Bing Fengshan's face was full of smiles, but he was also cursing that he would go back and teach his disciples what humility meant.
Everyone on the stage is having a great time, let’s look at the audience below.
Cheng Xinzhan looked at Hao Jiansi.
Hao Jiansi was a second-level Taoist priest from the Ganlin Office of Penglai Division in Shuji Mountain. He was from the same lineage as He Jiyuan, and in terms of seniority, he was He Jiyuan's uncle.
When Cheng Xinzhan was attending lectures at Ganlin Office, his teacher was Taoist Jianping, who was the master of He Jiyuan and the senior brother of Hao Jiansi.
He and Hao Jiansi had met several times while on field duty. He was also a young and talented man, otherwise he would not have been accepted as a closed disciple by the head of Ganlin Police.
Cheng Xinzhan stretched out his hand and said,
"Brother Dao, please go first."
However, Hao Jiansi shook his head and said softly,
"Others may not know, but Xinzhan may not know that my Ganlin Department is responsible for rain, but not for clearing the sky. Drainage and flood relief are the responsibilities of the Qingkong Department. If I go there first, the rain will not stop."
Cheng Xinzhan smiled and nodded. He knew the capabilities of the Ganlin Agency.
Then he bowed to the rest of the people and stepped onto the platform.
The whole audience was watching.
Cheng Xinzhan waited for a while, and the last disciple of the Shenxiao Sect summoned clouds and rain. The rain was drizzling, and the clouds were also gloomy. Not much rain fell, and they did not disperse well.
He didn't want to take advantage of this miserable situation.
Fortunately, the rain that man summoned was light, and today was a warm spring day. Cheng Xinzhan didn't have to wait long before the sky above his head cleared up again.
He faced north and released a long table from the travertine.
The long table was very high, reaching the height between a person's chest and abdomen. The tabletop was charred black, covered with twisted branch patterns. It was a Dharma table made of jujube wood struck by lightning.
He had dug this table out from the ruins of a collapsed Taoist temple in the wilderness of Jinyuan when he was traveling.
There is a circle of deep marks on the table top, and you can tell at a glance that this is the table for enshrining incense burners in front of the statue. The deep marks are the marks left by the base of the incense burner after being placed there for a long time.
The altar is made of jujube wood struck by lightning, and has been worshipped with incense for who knows how many years, so it has become positive, which is why it has remained intact under the ruins of the Taoist temple.
Then, he threw out a scroll, which automatically unfolded and hung in the air on the right side of the table. It was:
"Folding Screen with Standing Figures of the Twenty-Eight Star Gods of Haotian - Fragments - Chapter on the Seven Stars of the White Tiger - Warring States Period Rubbings".
Cheng Xinzhan’s first visualization picture.
Then, he hung a long axis on the left, which was exactly,
"Folding Screen with Standing Figures of the Twenty-Eight Star Gods of Haotian - Fragments - Chapter on the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon - Warring States Period Rubbings".
He bought it from the library after he had money.
Next, there are two scrolls, one in front and one behind. The front one is the picture of the seven stars of Xuanwu, and the back one is the picture of the seven stars of Suzaku.
These two incomplete paintings were not in Sanqing Mountain. He asked Shiyi Niang to find them for him, so that the whole painting was complete.
"Xinzhan is trying to start the altar ritual! Where did he learn this from?"
In the stands, Ying Jingsong asked Zao Wou-Ki.
Zao Wou-Ki shook his head and replied,
"Later, he learned thunder magic in the Five Thunders Academy. He must have been taught by the elders. To be honest, I don't know how much those elders taught Xinzhan.
"I have begged the elders countless times to help train apprentices for the mansion, but they refused, saying they don't know how to teach apprentices. But a few years ago, when I met someone as talented as Xinzhan, they were eager to teach. I heard that the elders even arranged their own shifts!"
Ren Wushi was listening nearby, and his thoughts became more firm.
On the altar in the square, Cheng Xinzhan took out the candlesticks and incense burner.
There is nothing special about the candlesticks. The candles in the Miao village are indispensable. When it gets dark, every family will light them up. They use candles made from a special kind of tree oil.
The incense burner and the ritual table were found in the ruins of a Taoist temple in Jinyuan.
The incense burner was already in tatters when he first got it, but he later reheated it in the furnace of the weapons hall and melted some fine gold into it. It was now shining brightly in the sun.
The incense burner was placed squarely in the deep groove of the long table, fitting perfectly.
Light up the incense and it smells like the fragrance of Xiangzhang Town.
Then he took out a book and placed it on the table, just behind the incense burner. The title of the book was "Thunderbolt to Shake the Demons".
He then took out three pieces of paper with portraits on them. They were character illustrations he had drawn when he was writing "The Thunderbolt Shakes the Demons".
They are none other than the God of Thunder who holds a scepter, the General of Autumn who holds a golden mirror, and the General of Water Thunder who holds a drumstick.
That’s not all, he took out a bronze water jar.
This bronze water pot is called the Xingyue Liuyu, which he bought from a street stall of a fellow disciple of the Dongtian Dao. It is a magic tool used by a disciple of Chenglu Valley and its grade is not high.
On a clear night, starlight and moonlight fall into a bowl and condense into dewdrops, which can be consumed to sweeten the saliva and strengthen the essence.
But at this time, Cheng Xinzhan used him for other purposes.
He took off the gourd from behind his waist and poured half a bowl of water into it.
Then he bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood into it.
After the blood dripped into the clear water, it did not dissipate, but instead faintly turned into the shape of a dragon.
Pushing the water pot next to the candlestick, the ritual table, the four-sided star map, the incense burner, the candlestick, the painting and calligraphy of the Thunder God, and the water pot all emitted bright light.
The altar ceremony has been completed.
He took out five blank talismans.
This was given to him by the elder of Wu Lei Yuan when he taught him the altar method.
As for why the elders of the Five Thunders Court would teach him the altar method, it was because no one in Ying Yuan Mansion was willing to learn this thing, and it just so happened that Cheng Xinzhan was willing to learn everything and learn everything quickly.
The reason why no one has learned it is because the gods of this world have gradually disappeared. Although the imprints of the gods' laws between heaven and earth are still there, to perform the altar method, the altar master must be able to respond to these imprints of the gods' laws. Performing the altar method is many times more difficult than in ancient times.
He spread out the first blank talisman, took out the talisman pen, and wrote on the spot.
Everyone saw that just as Cheng Yifu put down his pen, a gentle breeze began to rise in the square.
There are many gods who control the wind, including the three great gods Fengbo, Hanxian and Xunlang, and their subordinate wind officials. If it were in ancient times, Cheng Xinzhan would not have to think too much and could directly send a letter to the Ministry of Thunder, and the gods of the Ministry of Thunder would send the order to the Wind Department.
However, there was no Thunder Department in the world at that time. If one wanted to pray for the wind, one had to activate the mark left by the God of Wind in the human world.
Although Cheng Xinzhan practiced wind magic, he had not yet visualized the God of Wind, so this time he invited the Western White Tiger Guardian God, who was also able to control the wind. The "White Tiger Seven Stars" had been in his hands for many years, so he naturally had visualized the White Tiger stars.
He wrote the sacred text with the wind grass, offered it to the talisman, then pointed his finger at the talisman and recited,
"The wind is coming!"
The talisman burned in the sky, and the seven stars in the west flashed across the sky, forming the shape of a tiger.
Everyone vaguely heard a tiger roar.
The tiger's roar turned into the howling of the wind.
Suddenly there was a strong wind.
It is the wind from the tiger.
Cheng Xinzhan's robe was blown all over the place, and the flames of the incense burners on all four sides of the square were blown to flicker.
The pine waves rise all over the mountain.
Inside the Golden Palace, the high officials were talking.
"This is a document burning an proclamation. It is a sincere practice. I never thought that there are still young people who can do this kind of ancient altar ritual."
A majestic and high-pitched voice sounded.
Lu Duxing couldn't help but smile, and replied with a cupped hand.
"Master, this child is very smart and eager to learn. I don't even know where he learned it from."
The deputy leader of the Shenxiao Sect sighed,
"Only this child summoned the real celestial phenomenon. The wind carries moisture. Look, the birds are already returning to their nests after smelling the moisture in the wind. The previous few summoning of the wind was just a formality!"
Everyone nodded.
Indeed, the spring swallows in the sky sensed the wet wind and hurried back to their nests with mud in their mouths. These beautiful elves didn't know what was going on today, why the rain came several times intermittently today, especially the first few times, when it came suddenly and soaked them thoroughly. Fortunately, this time, the wind informed them in advance.
At this moment, Cheng Xinzhan began to write the second talisman. He had never visualized the gods of Yunsi before, so this time he invited the Eastern Azure Dragon God Meng Zhang.
After visualizing the White Tiger stars, he went to the Xiaowanshan library and found the "Qinglong Qixing Chapter" and visualized the Qinglong stars. In addition, after returning to the mountain from the Rotten Peach Mountain, Hongmuling and Qinglong Cave sent him gifts of thanks. Among them, the gift from Qinglong Cave included the Eastern Qinglong Star Map. At that time, he studied it seriously in order to practice the art of walking on the steps.
He wrote the prayer in Yunli script, offered it to the talisman, pointed his finger at the talisman, and recited,
"The clouds rise!"
The talisman burned in the sky, and the seven stars in the east flashed across the sky, forming the shape of a dragon.
With a dragon's roar, clouds appear, which is exactly what happens when clouds follow the dragon.
In an instant, the sky became dark, dark clouds swept in, covering the sky and the sun, as if night had arrived in an instant.
Dark clouds hang over the mountains.
The third talisman was written in thunder seal script, and was intended to invite the god of thunder.
The portrait of the God of Thunder who can subdue demons with might was flashing with lightning, and along with the talisman, the portraits of the General of Autumn Official of Divine Thunder and the General of Xia Official of Water Thunder also went up to the sky.
He pointed his finger and ordered,
"Lightning! Thunder!"
The talisman and the portrait began to burn.
In the dark clouds, the shadows of General Qiuguan of Shenlei and General Xiaguan of Shuilei flashed by. General Qiuguan of Shenlei held a mirror, and an infinite amount of bright light burst out from the mirror, which was lightning. General Xiaguan of Shuilei beat the drum, and the drum surface vibrated and rumbled, which was thunder.
It was like a fire beast descending from the sky, or the purple snake leaving the Dou Palace, with lightning and thunder.
There were dark clouds and purple lightning, and the wind was howling, as if the sky was falling.
Be it the Longhu Mountain disciples who took the lead, or the Shenxiao Sect disciples who followed closely behind, their expressions changed when they saw this commotion.
Some people even suspected that the weather had changed and it was going to rain suddenly, and this person just happened to catch it?
However, no word came out of the Golden Palace, so it was useless for them to speculate. So now they could only hope that it would be best if the rain from this kid from Sanqing Mountain would be so heavy that it couldn't be stopped. No matter how loud the noise was, he would still lose.
As for not being able to summon rain, no one thinks so anymore.
The fourth talisman is to invite the Dragon King.
Before putting pen to paper, he dipped the talisman pen into the water jar, used the blood that carried the dragon's might as ink, and used the dragon seal to write the words of praise to the Dragon God.
He held high the talisman and recited,
“Rain is coming!”
The talisman burned in the air, and the fireworks turned into a dragon, flying through the dark clouds.
After a few dragon roars, heavy rain began to fall.
As the saying goes: The Milky Way is pouring down from the sky, white waves are surging on the top of the mountain, as powerful as the sky and as fast as the sea.
The wind and rain avoided Cheng Xinzhan on their own. He looked at the rain curtain and counted in his mind.
Time passed slowly, and heavy rain poured down, splashing countless jasmine flowers on the tiles of the square on the top of the mountain.
One inch;
Two inches;
Three inches;
Three inches and forty points.
He raised the fifth talisman. There was no need to guess who he was inviting. It was naturally the star official of Yang Lord Pleiades.
The talisman was not afraid of wind and rain, and burned golden flames in the air.
He shouted loudly.
“The rain has stopped!”
The heavy rain suddenly stopped.
The last drop of rain fell to the ground, and the number was exactly three inches and forty-eight points.
At this moment, the lightning continued, the thunder continued, the wind continued to blow, and the dark clouds were like the sea, waiting for Cheng Xinzhan's order.
Cheng Xinzhan threw a bright talisman into the clouds and ordered,
"The wind stops! The clouds disperse! The thunder subsides! All gods retreat!"
Then, the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Thunder God and the Dragon King disappeared one by one.
The sky is clear and the sun is shining, and the spring swallows are leaving their nests again.
On the flat-topped mountain, there was total silence, save for the chirping of spring swallows.
Everyone was watching the sky.
Man can call the wind and summon the rain, and man can conquer nature!
Isn’t this the meaning of spiritual practice?
“Pah-Pah-Pah-”
The sound of applause came from the Golden Palace.
All of a sudden, the guests in the stands woke up as if from a dream. They stood up one after another, clapping and cheering like thunder, which lasted for a long time.
Cheng Xinzhan put away all the instruments, bowed to all directions, then walked down the altar, preparing to go to the Sanqingshan seat on the stands.
Hao Jiansi suddenly laughed loudly, and instead of going up to the altar, he followed Cheng Xinzhan and prepared to go back!
"This fellow Taoist!"
A Taoist priest from Gezhao Mountain called out to Hao Jiansi and asked,
"Why don't you compete anymore, fellow Taoist?"
Hao Jiansi said without even turning his head,
"I can't use my thunder magic, but I can see the wonderful Dharma ahead."
The Taoists from Gezhao Mountain and Xishan were stunned when they heard this, and then they all laughed.
"It is not allowed. Well said! It is not allowed!"
Immediately afterwards, none of the remaining Taoists went up to the altar again and they all left.
Since no one else was going to go on stage, the young Taoist priest announced the rankings of the performances of praying for rain and clear skies.
"The Taoist priest of Mount Sanqing summoned rain and cleared the sky. His orders were carried out, and the rain amounted to three inches and forty-eight points, which is the first place!
"The Taoist priest of Bingfeng Mountain, ordered the rain to come, ordered the sky to clear up slowly, and the rain amounted to four inches and fifty-five points, which is the second place!
"The Taoist priest from Mount Longhu, ordered the rain to come and ordered the clear sky to last for a long time. The rain amounted to eight inches and seventeen points, which is the third place!
"After the meeting, the above three people can enter the Fengyin Hall of the Heavenly Master's Mansion to observe the "Yangping Zhidu Gongyin" left by the ancestor Heavenly Master!"
Everyone saw clearly the performance of praying for rain and clear skies, and no one had any objection.
Cheng Xinzhan returned to the stands, hearing the praise of his elders and the compliments of his fellow students.
This is already the third charter of the Dharma Assembly, and the next one is the fourth charter.
Fighting.
In previous years, this was the most lively event and the place was already in an uproar. However, this year, Cheng Xinzhan's prayer for rain or shine was too grand and many people took a long time to come back to their senses. Even after the little Taoist priest announced the start of the fourth event, the square was still silent.
The auspicious signs happened again and again, and everyone slowly came to their senses.
The young Taoist priest also raised his voice and introduced the rules of fighting.
The fight is conducted in a ring system, with attacking and defending, divided into two rounds, level one and level two. Anyone who wants to participate can just come to the square and watch from the ring. The winner stays, the loser is eliminated, and newcomers will take over.
The first three people in the first and second realms can enter the Seal Hall to view the seal.
As a result, many people began to leave, and Sanqing Mountain was almost empty. Apart from the teachers, only Fang Weimin and Cheng Xinzhan were left.
Fang Weimin didn't like fighting and was only interested in refining pills, so it was normal for him not to go on. But why didn't Xinzhan go on either?
The teachers asked Cheng Xinzhan.
At this time, the people in the audience also discovered that Cheng Xinzhan was not there, neither in the crowd of the first realm nor in the crowd of the second realm.
What's going on? Aren't they both masters of talismans and swords? Why don't they come and fight?
Everyone looked over there.
Facing the teacher's question, Cheng Xinzhan answered truthfully. He whispered,
"Since I have won the first place in the prayer for rain and sunshine, I am already satisfied to be able to enter the Fengyin Hall of the Heavenly Master's Mansion to see the seal. The top three in the martial arts competition can also enter the Fengyin Hall to see the seal. Why should I take up this spot? It is better to give it to others."
After hearing this, several division commanders looked at each other in bewilderment.
It sounds like he wants to give up the opportunity to view the seal, which is a sign of humility. But when the kid said this, it was clear that he was certain that he would be in the top three if he went on to compete. It seemed like he was quite arrogant.
(End of this chapter)