After climbing out of the coffin, Wang Chen realized that the place he was in was not a proper Taoist temple. In fact, it was a mortuary — a place where corpses were kept. Usually, the corpses of foreigners and unidentified people would be left in the mortuary and wait for someone to bring them to the grave. Out of the Chinese's belief that the dead should be respected, such mortuary was usually built with donations from rich families in the countryside.
In years without natural disasters, the countryside in China still had a trace of warmth and tenderness.
But these two Taoists, one old and one young, were actually wild Taoists. Taoists in the Great Ming Dynasty enjoyed a high status, but they had to have official documents — diplomas — so they would not end up in this unlucky mortuary.
The old Taoist's living standard was not bad, which could be seen from the fact that the tea he served to Wang Chen was new. But Wang Chen did not have the habit of casually drinking things handed to him in a strange environment. So he put the tea aside with a smile and kept talking to the old Taoist, trying to get some useful information out of him. He did not touch the tea at all.
After chatting for a while, Wang Chen noticed that the old Taoist was a little restless. He thought for a while and then remembered the voices in the granary that he thought were sleep talk. Suddenly, he understood.
The old and the young were preparing to run for their lives!
The old Taoist seemed to have seen through Wang Chen's intention, so he stopped hiding and said with a wry smile, "Young Master, please don't laugh at us! The two of us, alone and widowed, have offended the Shangqing Palace on the nearby Phoenix Mountain. How dare we stay here any longer? I've already prepared to escape with my disciple. After entertaining Young Master, I'll set off right away … I can't delay any longer! "
Wang Chen smiled and asked casually, "You and your disciple are alone, so you're not afraid of the Shangqing Palace. But there's one thing I don't understand, and I hope you can explain it to me." The old Taoist raised his hand and said, "Young Master, please ask!"
Wang Chen went straight to the point. "Daoist Priest, you can leave, but the coffin I'm sleeping in can't. Even if you want to bury me, you have to ask for my permission. But if I take away the coffin, I'm sure you won't be willing to do so. The coffin is here — where can Taoist priest escape to? "
Old Daoist Shigong forced a smile and apologized, "Please forgive me, Young Master. This mysterious coffin naturally belongs to Young Master. When Patriarch Jiu of Mount Mao found the coffin, Young Master was lying inside. To the Shangqing Palace, I can say that this treasure belongs to me. But to the Young Master, I would never dare to say that. "
"But …" Shi Shigong was unwilling to give up. "This is still the patriarch's relic. It is where the lapel of my Lower Mao Mountain lies, and the legacy of my Lower Mao Mountain lineage is tied to this item. Dao techniques and magic power all originated from this treasure. I'm not willing to give up my ancestor's relic just like that! "
Seeing the sincerity in Shi Shigong's words, Wang Chen suddenly felt a little more confident. He had just figured out that the relationship between him and this coffin must never be known by others. The master and disciple who watched him climb out of the coffin were the two people who knew most of his secrets. He could never let them divulge this secret. Fortunately, for the master and disciple, this coffin was also an extremely important secret.
If he killed the master and disciple, Wang Chen would not have the heart to do it. Moreover, from the perspective of power and tactics, he would fall into the lower class.
The best way was, of course, to persuade the master and disciple. Wang Chen immediately said, "That's the decision you can't make, Taoist priest … But I have an immature idea. This' coffin 'naturally belongs to me. But since you came to Mount Mao, you are indeed destined to have it … How about this? What you paid attention to when you came to Mount Mao was probably the 'Dao technique' you comprehended from this coffin. "
"No one knows more about the secret of this coffin than I do!"
"Why don't you tell me the origin of your family's Dao technique and the key points? I'll re-derive the inherited Dao technique of your family, and then you'll get the lost Dao technique, and you won't need this inheritance anymore … Don't tell me you still want to compete with me, your master!" Wang Chen asked in a seemingly joking manner.
"I dare not, I dare not!" Shi Shigong bowed and said, "Young Master, you've done us a great favor by allowing us to comprehend the treasured coffin. How dare I not back down and covet Young Master's treasure! "
But Shi Shigong was a cunning old fox after all. He took the opportunity to make a request. "I came to Mount Mao for the inheritance of Young Master's treasure. Young Master has been half a teacher to us. I think, since Young Master has no prejudice against sects, if you don't mind me coming to Mount Mao, why don't you join us? We'll worship Young Master as our Ancestral Master and be on the same level as Ancestral Master Jiu. Isn't that great? "
"Well …" Wang Chen didn't expect someone to be so shameless as to take advantage of the situation and attach himself to the Ancestral Master!
But on second thought, this was really the best of both worlds. Wang Chen didn't care about a title anyway. Moreover, if he joined Mount Mao, his seniority would be much higher than that old Taoist, so it was only natural that he could see the Dao techniques of Mount Mao!
Wang Chen was really curious about Dao techniques, as if he had a kitten in his stomach. If he became a senior Ancestral Master, it would be completely in line with his wishes. In this way, he could legitimately subdue these two Taoists who knew his biggest secret, and he could also have a title to explore the world of Dao techniques.
Seeing that Wang Chen had no objection, Shi Shigong bowed again and said, "If Young Master is willing to join Mount Mao, the position of Sect Master will naturally be yours. Although Mount Mao is down and out, we still have many Dharma branches that are spread outside, and we have relations with several unorthodox sects and dozens of heterodox sects in several provinces in the southeast. If Young Master can revive the Thirteen Corpse Sects, Six Ghosts Sects, and 29 Miscellaneous Sects of Taoism of Mount Mao, and make the Dharma branches that are scattered outside submit to us, Young Master can just raise his arm and call for followers to gather. Then, Lower Mao will be reestablished as the leader of the three southeastern provinces and the first heterodox sect in the Great Ming Dynasty!"
"At that time, the Young Ancestral Master's kindness to me was greater than the sky and the earth. Shi Shigong will die for him! "
Hearing this, Wang Chen was moved. Although the heterodox sects didn't sound so good, Mount Mao was once the first heterodox sect in the Great Ming Dynasty, so its ancestors must have been rich, which would be of great help to him.
In fact, Shi Shigong really wanted to move Wang Chen with this. So what if they were immortals? Immortals also needed disciples and apprentices to serve them. Didn't immortals need to be worshiped?
Wang Chen sat upright and said, "This is the best of both worlds. If you sincerely regard me as your Ancestral Master, I will naturally treat you sincerely. But if you just want to find a cover and use me as a puppet … You should give up on this idea as soon as possible!"
"Of course, I sincerely invite you!" Shi Shigong pushed Wang Chen's seat and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Grand-Disciple, please Dharma Idol of Ancestral Master to welcome Young Ancestral Master into our Maoshan Dharma branch. Young Ancestral Master, please regard my Ancestral Master Jiu as your Senior Brother! "
Wang Chen knew that between him and Duke Jiu, who was the Senior Brother, this was an official dispute of Mount Mao. Although he didn't care, he still had to fight for it. Immediately, he said with a straight face, "Duke Jiu obtained my treasure, comprehended the Dao, and established the Maoshan branch. Technically speaking, he and I are half a master. Now that I'm making friends with him, how can I allow him to take a higher position than me?"
Shi Shigong kowtowed and said, "Young Ancestral Master has taught me the Dao, but in the Maoshan branch, the laws and rules are all set by Ancestral Master Jiu. Jiu is the most virtuous person in the branch. Previously, Young Ancestral Master took Ancestral Master Jiu as his disciple, just like Ancestral Master Lu and Immortal Zhongli Quan. Now that we invite Young Ancestral Master to join Mount Mao, how can we dare to regard him as Ancestral Granduncle in front of Ancestral Master Jiu?"
"Young Ancestral Master, please regard Ancestral Master Jiu as your Senior Brother!"
Wang Chen didn't care about these things, but he knew that it was extremely difficult for people to place him in front of the real Ancestral Master. Forcing it would inevitably cause people to go against each other. Why did they have to do this?
Therefore, he casually said a few words and agreed to it.
After receiving his permission, Shi Shigong immediately invited Ancestral Master Jiu's Dharma image and opened the sect hall. After reporting to the Ancestral Master, he took a red pen and added Wang Chen's Dharma name after Ancestral Master Jiu's name in the Maoshan branch book, calling him Immortal Weisheng.
"Disciple Changgong pays respect to Young Ancestral Master!" Shi Shigong and his disciple respectfully kowtowed to Wang Chen. From then on, Wang Weisheng, a citizen of China in the 21st century, a grass-roots civil servant with a master's degree who could feed his family, became the Young Ancestral Master of Mount Mao, the first heterodox sect of the Great Ming Dynasty, and took charge of the Maoshan branch.
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