Chapter 63: Difei Mountain

Qi Xuansu left Xiping Prefecture in Yongzhou after the dream meeting on February 15. Now ten days have passed, and Qi Xuansu has crossed Tianshui Prefecture and entered Qinzhou, which is not far from Zhongzhou.

When he arrived in Qinzhou, he arrived at the core area of ​​Quanzhen Dao, similar to Wuzhou of Zhengyi Dao and Qizhou of Taiping Dao. Difei Mountain is listed with Yunjin Mountain and Penglai Island, and is regarded as one of the three holy places of Taoism.

Difei Mountain, known as the first of the 72 blessed places, is also known as Taiyi Mountain, Difei Mountain, Zhongnan Mountain, Zhounan Mountain, and Nanshan for short. The so-called "blessings like the East Sea, longevity like Nanshan" and "Zhongnan shortcut" come from this. It is located in Qinzhou, south of Xijing.

The beginning of Difei Mountain becoming a famous mountain in Taoism is generally traced back to the time when the Supreme Taoist Ancestor entered the pass to preach scriptures and set up teachings. There is Louguantai in the western section of Zhongnan Mountain. According to legend, Wenshi Daojun first built a grass tower here to observe the stars, so it was named Caolouguan, and later shortened to Louguan. The Supreme Taoist Patriarch built a platform in the south of Louguan to teach the scriptures to the Taoist Lord Wenshi, so the platform was called "Scripture-Saying Platform". Because it was located in Louguan, it was also called Louguan Platform. The "Origin of Louguan" said that "this palace and temple originated from" and "this is where the great religion flourished".

After Louguan, Emperor Wu built Taiyi Palace at the mouth of Dahe Valley in Difei Mountain to worship the Taiyi Mountain God because he heard the Taiyi God's message at night. When the Li Dynasty of the Great Qi Dynasty was established, the Supreme Taoist Patriarch was revered as the Supreme Xuanyuan Emperor. The royal family of Li claimed to be the descendants of the Supreme Taoist Patriarch. Taoism was designated before Confucianism and Buddhism, and Tongdao Temple, Xianyou Temple, and Jintai Temple were built in Difei Mountain.

Since then, immortals such as Mr. Xiyi, Master Chunyang, Master Haichan, and Master Hongmeng have lived in Difei Mountain to practice Taoism. Later, Master Chongyang and his disciples founded and promoted Quanzhen Taoism, and established dozens of temples such as Wanshou Chongyang Palace, Qingliang Mountain, Wangxian Palace, Danyang Temple, Changchun Temple, Taiyi Temple, Sihao Temple, Yuzhen Temple, Jinxian Temple, Kaiyuan Temple, Lingquan Temple, Bailu Temple, Taiyuan Temple, Qili Temple, Huayang Palace, and Taiping Temple.

When Difei Mountain was at its peak, it was known as the ancestral temple of Quanzhen, and was as famous as Yunjin Mountain where the ancestral temple of Zhengyi was located, second only to Kunlun Mountain, which was known as the ancestral temple of Taoism. However, when the Golden Horde army marched south, Xijing fell and the Great Jin Dynasty was destroyed. Difei Mountain, not far from Xijing, could not escape the flames of war. In addition, the rise of the Taoist branch Gezao Dao took the opportunity to attack Difei Mountain. The Quanzhen ancestral temple was destroyed, and Quanzhen Dao also declined from prosperity, no longer as prosperous as it was in the past.

When Emperor Taizu of the Great Wei Dynasty expelled the Golden Tent, Difei Mountain had not recovered its vitality and was desolate. Until the end of the Great Wei Dynasty, Zhang Jingxiu, the 30th generation of the Great Heavenly Master of the Zhengyi Sect, built a hut in Zhongnan Mountain to practice Taoism. He was grateful for the atmosphere of Zhongnan Mountain. After the initial unification of Taoism, he mobilized manpower to repair many palaces and temples in Zhongnan Mountain as one of the three deputy masters of Taoism, intending to make it the center of Taoism. This repair started on the fourth day of April during the Peony Flower Festival and lasted until early September. It took a full five months. Although there were some twists and turns in the middle, it also restored some of the immortal atmosphere of Difei Mountain.

It is difficult for people in later generations to imagine that it was the Heavenly Master who took the initiative to repair the residence of the later Earth Master, and even the Difei Mountain at that time was tacitly owned by the Heavenly Master. As for the geomancer at that time, his roots were not in Difei Mountain, but in Beimang Mountain. He was planning to attack the Great Immortal Mansion of the Heavenly Master. As a result, the Heavenly Master was in seclusion in Difei Mountain and was almost stolen by the geomancer.

However, the biggest change came after Xuansheng came to power. At that time, the Taoist sect was far from being as wealthy as it is today. There were not so many flying boats traveling between various places. Kunlun was far away in the Western Regions, and transportation was inconvenient, so a replacement was needed.

At that time, the most popular places were Penglai Island and Yunjin Mountain, but the two were located in the south and the north, and they had always been at odds. No matter which one was used, it would cause dissatisfaction from the other party. It was difficult to be fair, and the geographical location was not very good. If Penglai Island was chosen, it was too far away from Shuzhou in the Western Regions, and if Yunjin Mountain was chosen, it was too far away from Liaodong and other places.

Difei Mountain was just located in the middle of the world, between Penglai Island and Yunjin Mountain, becoming a suitable compromise. So Xuansheng elevated Difei Mountain to the status of "Deputy Capital" of Taoism, mobilized a lot of manpower and material resources, renovated Difei Mountain for the second time, and rebuilt the dilapidated Wanshou Chongyang Palace.

The second renovation was far better than the first, and finally made Difei Mountain look brand new, and a new formation was added. At that time, it was a critical period for the struggle between Confucianism and Taoism. In order to highlight the status of the deputy capital, the formation made Wanshou Chongyang Palace clearly visible. After entering Difei Mountain, no matter where you are or what direction you are in, you can look up and see Wanshou Chongyang Palace on the top of the mountain. The palaces are majestic and stacked, with a feeling of Mount Tai pressing down on your head. People standing under it feel insignificant. If you don't know the way and can't enter Wanshou Chongyang Palace, then Wanshou Chongyang Palace will always be out of reach.

Ordinary people were all impressed by this scene. To this day, there are still believers and pilgrims who come to Difei Mountain for pilgrimage from thousands of miles away.

For a period of time afterwards, Difei Mountain Wanshou Chongyang Palace became the residence of the great master.

It was not until the world was settled and Xuansheng returned to Kunlun Zixiao Palace that Difei Mountain was taken over by the geomancer.

Today, although Difei Mountain is no longer the deputy capital of Taoism, it still has a respected status.

If possible, Qi Xuansu actually wanted to go to Difei Mountain and get a taste of the fairy air of the first blessed land.

But it is unlikely now. If he had the identity of Taoism, it would be fine. Unfortunately, he not only has no identity of Taoism, but also a member of Qingping Society.

Qi Xuansu could only pass by the foot of Difei Mountain. Looking up, he saw that the Wanshou Chongyang Palace on the top of the mountain was like a fairy palace floating in the clouds, surrounded by clouds and mist, appearing and disappearing from time to time. Standing at the foot of the mountain, he felt extremely small, which made people fascinated.

To be fair, Yunjin Mountain, whose earth veins were interrupted by Xuansheng, is completely different from Difei Mountain. Yunjin Mountain gives people a feeling of danger, strangeness and weirdness. To put it bluntly, it was created by man. It was first destroyed by Xuansheng, and then restored by Zhengyi Dao for two hundred years. In order to warn future generations, many wreckage and ruins were preserved. It is no longer the original appearance. Difei Mountain, however, has been completely renovated and shoulders the task of demonstrating the power of Taoism. It is to shock people. So in terms of perception alone, Yunjin Mountain is not as good as Difei Mountain.

It is no wonder that Qi Xuansu wants to go to Difei Mountain to see it.

As for the legendary Penglai Island, it can be described in two words: mysterious.

It is isolated overseas and can be accessed by ships. The entire island is shrouded in formations, and ordinary ships and flying boats are difficult to reach. To use an ancient poem, that is, "only in this sea, the fog is so deep that I don't know where it is."

Ordinary Taiping Dao disciples and other Taoists can only reach Fangzhang Island and Yingzhou Island, which are also three immortal islands, but it is difficult to board Penglai Island.

Qi Xuansu could not climb the mountain, but he could pass through the territory of Difei Mountain from the bottom of the mountain. It was probably because it was in the core area of ​​Quanzhen Dao, and the defense was very lax. This was reasonable. After all, it was under the feet of the Earth Master. Not to mention the Earth Master himself, there were at least a handful of real people, big and small, and countless other Taoists and spiritual officials. Which secret society dared to make trouble here? I'm afraid it's not because they think their lives are too long. Even if the ancient immortal came in person, it would not be good.

Qi Xuansu walked from here, which was somewhat dark under the lamp. It was not beyond Qi Xuansu's expectations. There was no obstacle along the way. He could see many Quanzhen Dao Taoists, but none of these Taoists were interested in paying attention to a passerby. There were also teams of spiritual officials, whose main responsibility was to patrol and prevent private fights, rather than check passersby.

Qi Xuansu passed through the territory of Difei Mountain unimpeded. It must be said that Qi Xuansu was bold and careful.

However, this made Feng Bo, who was tracking Qi Xuansu, suffer.

Logically speaking, Feng Bo should have caught up with Qi Xuansu long ago, but he met an enemy on the way. As the saying goes, enemies are particularly jealous when they meet. The two had a fight, but in the end, neither of them could do anything to the other. When Feng Bo got away, Qi Xuansu had already left Tianshui Prefecture and entered Qinzhou.

Feng Bo was unwilling to let Qi Xuansu go, so he chased him again, but he was only one step away and watched Qi Xuansu enter the territory of Difei Mountain.

Qi Xuansu, a congenital person, could enter the territory of Difei Mountain with a swagger. As long as he didn't climb the mountain, there would be no problem. But Feng Bo, a celestial being, couldn't do that. He didn't have the corresponding Quanzhen Dao token, and it was very likely that he would trigger the formation of Difei Mountain and immediately fall into a situation of being besieged by Quanzhen Dao.

Feng Bo didn't dare to take risks, so he could only go around a big circle and bypass Difei Mountain. It would take a lot of time to go back and forth.

Qi Xuansu accidentally escaped Feng Bo's pursuit twice in a row. He didn't know it at all and went straight to Xijing Prefecture.