Chapter 6: Retreat

Finally, after nearly two years of delay, Qi Xuansu formally proposed his own program, ideas and slogans.

This means that Qi Xuansu has officially entered the initial stage of competing for the eighth generation of the Great Master.

And the slogan proposed by Qi Xuansu is the longest among the four people: bold innovation, equal mutual assistance, and harmonious development. There are twelve words in total.

This is undoubtedly not conducive to publicity. And this theme is too mediocre.

Mediocrity is not bad. When there is internal unity, mediocrity also means moderation, which can unite the majority. However, at the moment when internal struggles intensify and ideological differences increase, only extremes can gain enough support.

It's either this or that, either black or white.

In this case, mediocrity becomes a disadvantage and becomes a lose-lose situation.

Compared with several other people, such as Zhang Yuelu's "Change the Dao Sect", the word "change" will greatly inspire the enthusiasm of some people who are dissatisfied with the status quo. They believe that change is always good and will naturally support Zhang Yuelu. Li Changge's "Use the sword of Taoism to fight for more for Taoism" is even more inspiring, which is in line with the traditional concept of "a real man holding a three-foot sword to achieve unparalleled achievements". It is not only driven by huge interests, but also means ambition.

At first glance, Qi Xuansu's twelve-character slogan seems to be somewhat repeated or similar to Yao Pei, as if it is a further elaboration of Yao Pei's slogan, which also reflects Qi Xuansu's current situation based on Quanzhen Taoism. But if you look closely, you will find that Qi Xuansu and Yao Pei are still different. The key lies in the four words "equality and mutual assistance".

This will undoubtedly cause dissatisfaction among many Taoists. We are the best in the world, and they have to rely on us. Why are they equal? ​​What kind of mutual assistance is this? It's not that we are giving them alms! How can this be harmonious?

After Chen Jianchou knew this slogan, he also felt that it was too mediocre. If he was not Qi Xuansu's secretary, he would definitely think that Qi Xuansu was an incompetent person.

Chen Jianchou still has deep feelings for Qi Xuansu. They share the same fate. He also hopes that Qi Xuansu can go further, but Qi Xuansu has determined this slogan, and he can't do anything about it.

Many times, Chen Jianchou wanted to give Qi Xuansu advice, but he always felt that Qi Xuansu had some deep meaning, and the two were not at the same level, and he was not important enough, so he shouldn't say such words.

For this reason, Chen Jianchou also talked to his stepmother Xu Jiaorong, and didn't understand why the always courageous Chief Qi would come up with such a mediocre and cautious slogan. Xu Jiaorong didn't talk about it in depth, but just asked Chen Jianchou to go back and think about it carefully.

Qi Xuansu's slogan was certainly not an impulse, nor was it perfunctory, but after careful consideration. He even consulted Donghua Zhenren, Lan Da Zhenren, Jiang Da Zhenren, and Shi Da Zhenren, and finally came up with these twelve words.

In fact, there is a main and secondary in these twelve words. Bold innovation actually corresponds to the first method. However, Qi Xuansu does not have much hope for this. He just mentions it symbolically. Harmonious development is a result rather than a process. The key lies in the four words "equality and mutual assistance" in the middle. With whom are we equal? ​​Naturally, it is Nanyang, Fenglinzhou, the New World and even the West. Equality is the core of Taoism and the difference between Taoism and the Holy Court.

This is a moral archway built by several generations of Taoists. It is the reputation of Taoism and has invisible appeal. Why can Taoism quickly pacify Fenglinzhou? Because many people in Fenglinzhou are inclined to Taoism. Taoism and the Holy Court are equally powerful. After excluding the factor of admiring the strong, why should we choose Taoism? This is the advantage of the moral archway.

Qi Xuansu's slogan is very much in line with the taste of some "old-school elites". These old-school people have a low voice, but they have great energy. Among them, the representatives are Jiang Da Zhenren and Shi Da Zhenren.

Qi Xuansu's strategy is to use slogans and ideas to cater to the upper echelons of Taoism, and to cater to the lower echelons of Taoism through his origin in the Wanxiang Taoist Palace. His origin has become his biggest advantage over the three Taoist masters.

So if you think about it carefully, Qi Xuansu's slogan is still somewhat attractive.

To put it bluntly, the first and second methods have almost no disadvantages except that they are difficult to implement. Everyone is good, civilians do not have to be exploited, and vested interests do not have to cut their flesh and destroy their own moral archways.

The key is how to achieve it.

This is a bit like bragging.

In terms of the difficulty of implementation, Zhang Yuelu is the most down-to-earth. The second is Li Changge.

Speaking of Li Changge, we have to mention Fenglinzhou Daofu. After the end of the Fenglinzhou war, Fenglinzhou Daofu also made a personnel change. The former second deputy palace master Li Tiangang was promoted to the chief deputy palace master, and Li Changge took over as the second deputy palace master.

On the other hand, Yao Pei was sent to the Western Region Daofu as the second deputy palace master. In this way, the two of them, like Zhang Yuelu, are also one of the three pillars of the Dao Mansion.

To put it bluntly, Qingwei Zhenren and Taiping Dao led the Fenglinzhou war, and Li Changge entered the Fenglinzhou Dao Mansion. Donghua Zhenren and Quanzhen Dao led the Western Region war, and Yao Pei entered the Western Region Dao Mansion. There are traces to follow.

However, for now, Qi Xuansu still has the highest position and is the most likely to be the first to "enter the capital". And Qi Xuansu's extra chief experience is his biggest advantage. Of course, he also has a disadvantage, that is, he does not have a very reliable family backer.

After Qi Xuansu put forward his slogan last, it means that the competition among the four has officially begun.

Qi Xuansu solved this matter, which was considered to be a temporary burden. After the business of 9.1 million Taiping money was completed, Qi Xuansu could finally start the "retreat" matter.

First, Qi Xuansu had to write an application.

That's right, you have to apply for retreat in advance. After all, he holds an important position. Unless it is an emergency like Lan Dazhenren, you have to apply in advance. After approval, you can start retreat. And when applying, in addition to stating the specific reason for retreat, such as healing, breakthrough, consolidation of realm, etc., you must also state the start and end time, and handle the temporary handover. Otherwise, if you can't find someone when something happens, it will be a big sin.

Generally speaking, high-quality Taoists have a retreat vacation ranging from one month to three months every year. Qi Xuansu has never used it, so it is relatively easy to apply.

Qi Xuansu has to write two applications, one for Yao Shu, the head of the house, and one for Lan Dazhen, the head of the house. After both of them approve, you can start to arrange the retreat. During this time, others will not disturb Qi Xuansu. If Qi Xuansu is a Canzhi Zhenren or Pingzhang Dazhenren, and there is no boss above, he will apply to Jinque.

Soon, both Lan Dazhenren and Yao Shu approved Qi Xuansu's application. Qi Xuansu handed over the task, part of it to Xu Jiaorong and part of it to Yao Shu, and then Qi Xuansu borrowed Tongzhen Palace from Zhang Yuelu temporarily.

After Chen Shuhua died, the "Shuntian Sword" and "Eternal Life Stone" were taken back to Yujing by Jiang Dazhenren, but Tongzhen Palace could not be taken away. Finally, Lan Dazhenren made the decision and handed Tongzhen Palace to Lingnan Daofu. Considering that Lin Yuanmiao was the old master of Tongzhen Palace and Zhang Yuelu was the second deputy master of the palace, Tongzhen Palace has always been under the management of Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu naturally would not embarrass Qi Xuansu, and agreed directly, and also appointed Lin Yuanmiao to "guard" Qi Xuansu. After all, Xiao Yin was unreliable, and it would be better to kill her if she was left alone for a month. On the contrary, Lin Yuanmiao was very patient with loneliness. The two of them could also be companions.

Qi Xuansu was ready to start "retreat" in Tongzhen Palace. In fact, he was going to perform a pseudo-ascension here, go to Lingshan Cave Heaven, and place the "Gui Zang Lantern" here, so that when he returned from Lingshan Cave Heaven through the "Gui Zang Lantern", he would still be in Tongzhen Palace, without anyone noticing.

After Zhang Yuelu finished the arrangement, Qi Xuansu took Xiao Yin to Dongdu Prefecture, met Lin Yuanmiao here, and then went to Tongzhen Palace.

This was Qi Xuansu's first time to Tongzhen Palace.

From the outside, Tongzhen Palace was not very big, just the size of a normal single-family palace. It could be held in the "palm" by Jiang Dazhenren with great magical powers, but in fact there was another world inside.

Under the guidance of Lin Yuanmiao, Qi Xuansu and Xiao Yin walked towards the palace gate of Tongzhen Palace on the rolling green waves. The whole palace had a strong Dajin style. The closer they were to Tongzhen Palace, the more Qi Xuansu could truly feel that Tongzhen Palace was almost integrated with the entire sea and closely connected, so it could be hidden among the rolling green waves, and even immortals could hardly find it. Fortunately, Lin Yuanmiao led the way, so he didn't get in.

After entering Tongzhen Palace, Qi Xuansu found that the layout inside was very similar to the Dragon Palace on the Sea of ​​the Queen Mother. It seemed that Lin Lingsu had also entered the Dragon Palace on the Sea in the past and deliberately imitated it.

In this way, the internal space of Tongzhen Palace was countless times larger, and it was similar to a maze.

Fortunately, Lin Yuanmiao was like going home when he arrived here. He led Qi Xuansu through the stereotyped corridor and entered an extremely wide and empty hall. The ground here was paved with green jade, and the dome above was made of human power to create a star map. After so many years, the stars are still changing.

There are twelve giant pillars around to support the dome. Each pillar is as thick as four people hugging together. It is made of gold, forming the meaning of "gold and jade" with the green jade ground.

In the middle of the hall, there is an eight-diagram wheel covering an area of ​​several acres, which can be rotated. Above it is a bronze alchemy furnace engraved with various talismans. The alchemy furnace is three feet high, almost catching up with the iron smelting furnace in the workshop. A cushion was placed in front of the alchemy furnace, and the surrounding smoke was misty and slowly flowing, like a Taoist fairyland.

Lin Yuanmiao introduced: "This is Lin Lingsu's alchemy room, which Chen Shuhua also used. It can also be used for retreat."

"After you officially start retreating, I will stop Tongzhen Palace and stop drifting with the crowd. The specific location is near Lion City, and safety should be guaranteed."

"The alchemy room can also be closed. Xiao Yin and I will wait for you in the area outside the alchemy room."

Qi Xuansu thought about it seriously and nodded: "That's it."