Chapter 486: Chapter 345: Dongyue Temple, Marshal Meng!
“Xu Yang, what’s wrong with you?”
Xu Zhiyuan noticed Xu Yang’s unusual behavior and asked.
Xu Yang shook his head and said, “Grandpa, I’m fine…”
That was not a lie.
There was nothing wrong with Xu Yang’s body, but the moment he stepped onto Mount Tai, a strange emotion inexplicably flashed in his heart. He couldn’t describe this feeling, and even he was at a loss for words.
Was it a sense of peace?
Feeling tranquil?
Even more strangely, there was an inexplicable familiarity.
However, Xu Yang had never been to Mount Tai before.
He was sure of this.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yang calmed down and put that emotion aside. Taking a careful look at the Dao Palace in front of him, he asked doubtfully, “Grandpa, I checked online before coming here, and Dai Temple is the largest architectural complex on Mount Tai, with a long history dating back to the Han Dynasty. It’s the place where emperors held their worship ceremonies for Mount Tai’s deity…”
“When we arrived, I saw the Dai Temple at the foot of the mountain. Why is there another Dai Temple on the top of the mountain?”
Wang Wei, Yu Yuanqing, and Chen Fengyuan, the three disciples, also looked at Xu Zhiyuan curiously, their faces filled with curiosity.
Dai Temple is at the foot of Mount Tai.
It’s one of the attractions in Mount Tai Scenic Area, the starting point for climbing Mount Tai, and the place where emperors held worship ceremonies for Mount Tai’s deity… All of this is written in Baidu Encyclopedia, and Mount Tai Scenic Area has always advertised it as such.
In other words…
This is common knowledge!
Moreover, the scale of this “Dai Temple” on the mountain is incomparable to the one at the foot of the mountain.
The “Dai Temple” at the foot of the mountain has dozens of connected Daoist palaces, even more magnificent than their Wanshou Palace, while the “Dai Temple” on the mountain has only five or six Daoist palaces, small in scale, looking ancient and desolate, and very quiet.
Xu Zhiyuan smiled and said, “The one below is Dai Temple, and so is the one up here… I don’t know the exact reason, but I do know when the Dai Temple was first built, it was this one on the mountain.”
Outside the gate of Dai Temple, there’s a huge “square”.
The square was paved with bluestone, and moss grew in some places.
In the center of the square, there was a stone tablet with the words “Supreme of the Five Peaks” written on it.
This title was indeed well-deserved.
Mount Tai, after all, is considered the first among the five sacred mountains.
Passing through the square, a line of four people and one ghost walked to the gate. Just when the gate was about to close, a 13- or 14-year-old little Daoist opened it and walked out. When he looked up and saw Xu Zhiyuan, he asked timidly, “Are you City God Xu?”
“Oh?”
Xu Zhiyuan said, “Do you know me?”
The little Daoist shook his head.
Xu Zhiyuan laughed, “Then your master must have known I was coming and asked you to pick me up, right?”
The little Daoist nodded and shook his head, “My master said yesterday that City God Xu might come in the next few days, but he didn’t know when you would arrive… I saw that although you have Yin energy, you don’t seem like a fierce ghost, and you don’t have the cold and chilling aura of a ghost. So, I guessed!”
“Interesting!”
Xu Zhiyuan touched the little Daoist’s head and said, “When I called Daoist Taixu a while ago, he boasted about taking you as his closed-door disciple, saying that you have exceptional talent for cultivating Daoism and possess the innate ability to see Yin and Yang… It seems that it’s you.”
Born with Yin and Yang eyes?
Hearing this, Xu Yang’s eyes flickered, and he secretly opened his “Heavenly Eye” to look at the little Daoist, finding mysterious rays of light flickering in his eyes.
“Huh?”
Xu Yang suddenly exclaimed in surprise as he “saw” that inside the little Daoist’s body, there seemed to be an extremely powerful “divine light” nurturing. The “divine light” appeared to be sleeping but was remarkably dazzling, causing some pain in Xu Yang’s eyes as he couldn’t see it clearly.
“City God Xu graces us with his presence, and I, a young Daoist, have been remiss in greeting him. Please forgive me.”
Just then, laughter came from within the Daoist Temple, followed by an old man in Daoist robes walking out, looking at Xu Zhiyuan and smiling, “City God Xu, aren’t you busy with official duties? How come you have time to visit our Dai Temple today?”
His words were, of course, a tease.
However, from this, one could also see that this “Supreme Sage Taixu” indeed had a good relationship with the old man.
“This must be Celestial Master Xu, right?”
Supreme Sage Taixu looked at Xu Yang and immediately bowed, “Old Daoist pays respect to Celestial Master Xu. I was unable to attend Celestial Master Xu’s inauguration ceremony as I was in a critical moment of my retreat, please forgive me.”
In terms of status, Xu Yang, as the Celestial Master of Daoism, was indeed higher than Supreme Sage Taixu.
Xu Yang hurriedly returned the salute, “Elder Taixu, don’t be like this. You are my elder, how can I accept your salute?”
After some pleasantries,
Supreme Sage Taixu looked at Wang Wei, Yu Yuanqing, and Chen Fengyuan behind Xu Yang, and praised them for a few sentences.
Then, he led Xu Zhiyuan and Xu Yang into the Dai Temple.
The Dai Temple on the mountain was not as bustling as the one at the foot of the mountain, but it was quieter. The layout of the Dao Palace inside was similar to that of ordinary Daoist temples, except for the common Daoist temple worshipping Ancestral Master and Laozi, there was also a “Heavenly Reward Palace”.
This “Heavenly Reward” actually means “Heavenly Gift,” and it enshrines Emperor Dongyue.
This is quite normal.
After all, the other name of “Dai Temple” is “Dongyue Temple”.
There were not many disciples in the Dai Temple, totaling only eighteen people, including the little Taoist priest just now.
Among these eighteen, three were disciples of Supreme Sage Taixu.
The eldest disciple was about fifty years old, with early Divine Transcendence Realm cultivation, the second disciple was about forty years old, and although he had not yet advanced to the Divine Transcendence Realm, he was at the peak of the Entering Dao Realm, and from the aura he emitted, he was only a step away from entering the Divine Transcendence Realm.
The third disciple was the little Daoist just now.
The remaining fifteen were apprentices of the eldest and second disciple of Supreme Sage Taixu. Among these people, the youngest was sixteen years old.
Xu Yang found it amusing to see the group of people calling the little Daoist “Junior Uncle” while the little Daoist seemed somewhat bashful and reluctant to accept the title.
They entered the Dao Palace.
Supreme Sage Taixu ordered his disciples to prepare a vegetarian meal and left the little Daoist to make tea for Xu Zhiyuan and Xu Yang.
It’s worth mentioning that the little Daoist did not use a stove to heat the water, but… an electric kettle!
During this time, Xu Yang noticed the little Daoist sneaking out a Huawei smartphone and placing an order for vegetables on an online shopping app.
Apparently,
Although the Dai Temple is located on the top of Mount Tai and seems isolated from the world, it is not disconnected from society.
Here, they have electricity, internet, and even washing machines, TVs, and refrigerators in the disciples’ “dormitory”.
Soon,
The tea was brewed.
The little Daoist stepped forward to pour the tea, and Xu Zhiyuan asked for his name. The little Daoist replied, “To answer City God, my family name is Meng, and my given name is Mingshan.”
Xu Zhiyuan continued, “That’s your secular name. Didn’t your master give you a Daoist title?”
The little Daoist replied, “My master said that I don’t need a Daoist title.”
“Oh?”
Xu Zhiyuan muttered “Meng Mingshan” a few times, then his eyes shifted toward Supreme Sage Taixu, giving him an inquiring look.
Supreme Sage Taixu stroked his beard and nodded slightly.
Xu Yang was confused and glanced at the little Daoist…
Meng Mingshan…
He felt familiar with this name but couldn’t recall where he had heard it before.
Combining this with the “divine light” in the little Daoist’s body, Xu Yang surmised that the boy might be the reincarnation of some important figure.
He lowered his voice and asked Yu Yuanqing, “Yu Yuanqing, have you ever heard of the name Meng Mingshan?”
Yu Yuanqing was well-versed in various Daoist scriptures, and was the most learned among Xishan Wanshou Palace. After thinking about it, he said, “In mythology, Meng Mingshan is a benevolent deity in the underworld. He is known as Marshal Meng, one of the Ten Grand Guardians before Emperor Dongyue, and his status in the underworld is comparable to the Ten Halls of Yama.”
After a pause, Yu Yuanqing added, “As for Marshal Meng, there is an allusion recorded in the Daoist Collection. It is said that although Marshal Meng is a prison officer, he is naturally kind-hearted, benevolent, filial, and compassionate. He saw that the ghosts in the underworld weremissing their families in the cold winter, so he made an agreement with the prison ghosts to release them on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, allowing them to return to the human world to visit their families and return on the first day of the new year.”
“The numerous prison ghosts were deeply moved and returned to the underworld as agreed. Since then, this has become the rule in the underworld, similar to the opening of the Ghost Gate on Lunar July 15th.”
My goodness!
One of the Ten Grand Guardians before Emperor Dongyue…
Underworld prison officer Marshal Meng!
With a status equivalent to that of the Ten Halls of Yama… this is an incredible figure!
This boy may very well be the reincarnation of Marshal Meng.
Xu Yang glanced at the little Daoist and saw that he had started playing games on his phone after pouring the tea!
He immediately asked, “Little brother, what are you playing… huh? King of Glory? I can play that game too. My Luban is awesome… Come on, let the Celestial Master help you rank up for free.”
Meng Mingshan was very reluctant, but due to Xu Yang’s “Celestial Master” status, he had no choice but to hand over the phone.
20 minutes later.
The crystal exploded.
Xu Yang awkwardly said, “It’s not my fault — the internet here in Mount Tai is a bit laggy… Come on, let’s play another game!”
20 minutes later again.
Xu Yang complained, “What kind of teammates are these? Is it the weekend? Are all the kids on vacation?”
“Xu… Celestial Master Xu.”
Meng Mingshan timidly said, “Should I… go charge my phone first?”