Chapter Five: The Three Thousand Tomes of the Dao—Reading Toward Enlightenment

Spring was in full bloom. Misty rain veiled the world in a dreamlike haze. Liaochen stood silently before his master’s tombstone for a long time, not uttering a word.

The trees wished for stillness, yet the wind would not cease; a child longed to care for his parent, but the parent was no longer there.

The funeral of Master Xuangang had been a grand affair—after all, he had saved countless lives. Had the vengeful spirit truly become a demon, and slaughtered enough people, who in the world could have stopped it? A hundred miles of living beings might have been plunged into misery.

“For boundless merit,” the county magistrate bestowed a plaque. Yet the man himself was gone. What purpose did merit serve now?

When all the rites were over, Liaochen closed the temple gates and built a humble hut before his master’s grave, making it his home. Each day passed in quiet meditation, sipping plain tea, eating simple meals. He watched flowers bloom and the sun set, read the Yellow Court Scripture when busy, and let the years slip by in tranquil seclusion.

When the moon rose above the branches, Liaochen would lie quietly beneath the great locust tree in front of his thatched hut. The night wind would stir, and blossoms would fall like rain.

He had developed an odd habit: he could not fall asleep unless the Daoist scripture was laid across his face. That night, as he placed the scripture over his face, a beam of moonlight swept across it. Suddenly, a brilliant light emanated from the book’s cover. The scripture became almost transparent, and lines of ancient, elegant script appeared quietly from deep within its pages.

“This aperture is no ordinary one. Nourish qi and saliva arises on its own. Move qi, and stillness is achieved. Focus the mind within. In stillness and movement, self and other are both forgotten; from the dantian, qi is naturally born. In tranquility, heaven and earth reside; sun and moon are in the mouth...”

Liaochen stared in astonishment at the scripture in his hands. So his master hadn’t deceived him after all. Immortal destiny truly was hidden among the three thousand Daoist classics.

He rushed back into the temple, carried all the scriptures out into the moonlight, and found eight alchemical texts: one to refine essence into qi, one to refine qi into spirit, one to refine spirit into emptiness, one to merge emptiness with the Dao. The other four contained methods of alchemy, artifact refinement, a map, and a general treatise on talismans.

“In the heavens, a city of white jade, nine palaces, twelve towers; an immortal pats my head, knotting my hair and granting longevity!” Liaochen laughed aloud. “Master, your disciple will surely find the road to the heavens and make the Xuanzhen Temple flourish!”

Sleepless through the night, Liaochen gathered all his belongings, descended the mountain to purchase necessities, and announced his intention to mourn his master for three years, sealing the mountain and asking not to be disturbed. Relying on his master’s renown for vanquishing the vengeful spirit, the devotees in the town naturally agreed. Liaochen erected a sign at the temple gate: “Mountain sealed for mourning. Do not disturb without cause.”

Once all was prepared, Liaochen closed the mountain gate, took up the Qi Refinement Text, and began his path of cultivation.

What is cultivation? Drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of sun and moon. What is qi refinement? Guiding breath and meditative contemplation, communicating with the five viscera. The three flowers gather at the crown—essence, qi, and spirit; the five energies return to their origin within the five organs.

Thus passed Liaochen’s days: ascending to the summit at dawn to gather the purple qi of the sun, resting in the mountains at night, absorbing the essence of moonlight, cultivating calm and focus, meditating and contemplating.

Until one day, he felt fine streams of energy rising from his dantian, circulating endlessly within. Liaochen knew then that from this moment on, it was no longer a dream.