Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 37 Inheritance

Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Inheritance

Because of my mother’s disapproval, I almost missed out on lunch.

Mom had already entered a rage mode, and to avoid an unlucky encounter with her, Shen Siyuan didn’t dare linger at home after lunch. He mounted his father’s motorbike and headed straight for Tingfeng Temple.

However, the motorbike couldn’t make it up Little Fengling, so Shen Siyuan parked under the nearest tree shade. If he didn’t stay in the shade, he’d probably return to a blistering hot seat.

He picked up the shovel from the back of the bike, slung it over his shoulder, and pushed through the weeds toward Little Fengling.

From afar, he could see the old Taoist waiting at the entrance.

"Taoist, have you been waiting long?" Shen Siyuan approached.

"Not at all, I’ve just arrived too," said the old Taoist with a smile.

Under the afternoon sunshine, with his large sleeves fluttering, he looked even more like an ethereal being.

"Where’s my granduncle? Didn’t he come with you?" Shen Siyuan looked around the area.

The old Taoist started leading Shen Siyuan up the mountain while slowly speaking, "He left last night."

"Left?"

Shen Siyuan had some understanding of where he might have gone.

The old Taoist didn’t talk much about Yu Youcai.

Instead, he began talking about his residence at Tingfeng Temple.

"Tingfeng Temple was founded by Xuan Yuanzi, who was originally from Dragon Gate Sect. Daoist Xuan Yuan studied Confucianism when he was young and fell seriously ill three times before he was twenty, almost losing his life. It was through his illness that he gained enlightenment, and thus longed for..."

"Later, Xuan Yuanzi spent a month in meditation at the Tingfeng Temple on Dragon and Tiger Mountain and finally achieved some enlightenment, hence he established Tingfeng Temple here..."

"Eh... Did he achieve enlightenment on Zhengyi Sect’s territory?"

"Haha, don’t mind these details, whether it’s Dragon Gate Sect or Zhengyi Sect, although their philosophies are different, they are all Taoists, walking on the path of cultivation, in search of the essence of Tao..."

As they conversed, the old Taoist led Shen Siyuan to a huge Bodhi Tree.

It wasn’t just the Buddhist who planted Bodhi Trees in Qionghai, where there’s an abundance of them. So, it wasn’t strange for a Taoist Temple to have a Bodhi Tree in front.

Behind the Bodhi Tree, there was a pile of broken walls and ruins. This was the old Taoist’s Tingfeng Temple. Judging from the scale, the temple wasn’t large, but apart from the main hall, it seemed like everything else had collapsed, and weeds and brambles grew wildly through the cracks in the bricks and stones.

The old Taoist stood behind Shen Siyuan and saw him surveying the ruins, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

"Though our Tingfeng Temple isn’t some renowned site, it has hundreds of years of heritage. I didn’t expect to see the temple destroyed and the legacy ended in my hands..."

"It’s not your fault. Within this century, a great figure has ushered in an unprecedented golden age for Huaxia, during this time when divine ways are obscured and Human Dao Flourishing. How many temples have managed to preserve themselves?" Shen Siyuan spoke to comfort him.

Although he hadn’t lived through that era, he understood from snippets in books that it was part of the torrential flow of history, relentlessly rolling forward, crushing all the demons and evil spirits under its weight.

"Let’s not talk about this anymore." The old Taoist pointed towards the side hall.

"There is a well there, walk ten steps east from the well, and you’ll find a stone slab. Lift the slab and dig down..."

Shen Siyuan treaded through the overgrowth, and using the shovel, cleared the thorns to enter the ruins. His eyes caught the statue of The Three Pure Ones in the main hall. After a moment of thought, he laid down his shovel and bowed several times before the damaged statue.

The old Taoist, following behind Shen Siyuan, revealed an expression of approval upon witnessing this.

Once he finished paying his respects, Shen Siyuan picked up the shovel again and went to the location mentioned by the old Taoist.

He found an old well with a railing full of rope marks, looking inside, the well’s walls had already collapsed.

Shen Siyuan walked ten steps east from the well, which led him in the direction of the side hall, and the path was laid with bluestone slabs.

"Is it here?" Shen Siyuan stamped his foot and asked.

"Yes, right here," said the old Taoist.

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan didn’t waste any more words. First, he used the shovel to pry open the stone slab and moved it aside, then began to dig downward.

However—

Several hours later, Shen Siyuan, drenched in sweat, couldn’t help but raise his head and ask the old Taoist standing outside the pit, "Taoist, how deep did you bury it? How much longer do we have to dig?"

"Almost there, almost there. If it wasn’t buried deep enough, wouldn’t others just dig it up easily?" the old Taoist said with a chuckle.

Shen Siyuan felt helpless, "Since you first said it was almost there, I’ve been digging for almost another hour."

"You see, isn’t this it?" the old Taoist suddenly exclaimed.

Shen Siyuan hastily followed his gaze and saw something black jutting out of the soil.

He eagerly shoveled away the dirt around it, and once it was clear, it turned out to be a soy-colored wine jar.

Lifting the jar out of the pit, he couldn’t wait to open it but discovered that the opening was not only sealed with a lid but also wrapped in deerskin paper, and additionally, there was a thick layer of wax on it.

"No need for all that trouble, just break the jar open," the old Taoist said.

"Isn’t this jar an antique?"

"It’s just something ordinary for holding wine. Where’s it an antique?"

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan didn’t hesitate and smashed the jar with the shovel, revealing everything inside.

Shen Siyuan glanced and found a small booklet, a damaged jade seal, a jade token about the length of a finger, and an iron chain. An iron chain?

Shen Siyuan first picked up the jade seal to inspect it as it held extraordinary significance in ancient times.

Unfortunately, the jade seal was severely damaged, and only seven characters remained readable: [Imperial Order, Respectfully Compiled, Seal and Govern the Mountains]. The rest was broken beyond recognition.

"You can actually understand the words on it?"

The old Taoist was surprised to hear Shen Siyuan muttering the words. This was the Cloud Seal script, which was difficult for most people to recognize.

Shen Siyuan didn’t bother to explain; it wasn’t him who recognized them but the Jiuyou Demon Lord, as the cultural heritage of the Great Wilderness shared many similarities with that of Huaxia. Shen Siyuan even speculated that there might be some connection between the two worlds, which could also explain why the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had carried the residual soul of the Jiuyou Demon Lord into this realm.

Siyuan then picked up the jade token, which also had a few characters on it.

[Red Water River Order]

There were some water patterns around it.

Shen Siyuan set it aside and picked up the booklet next to it.

It bore the title [Embrace the Wind and Sleep], but these characters were no longer in Cloud Seal script.

"This is a relic of our Tingfeng Temple’s legacy, now bestowed upon you. If you can gain insight from it, I hope you, Taoist, can help pass it on. If not, the legacy of Tingfeng Temple ends here, as fate decrees," the old Taoist solemnly said, bowing deeply to Shen Siyuan.

"Don’t worry, Taoist," replied Shen Siyuan nonchalantly.

Shen Siyuan opened [Embrace the Wind and Sleep]. The introduction discussed wind and clouds, followed by some practice diagrams. Each diagram had red arrows indicating the movement of Qi, along with detailed annotations at every point.

At a glance, the movements resembled Tai Chi, cradling something intangible in the arms, focused in contemplation.

This was probably the origin of [Embrace the Wind and Sleep]. However, considering the introduction, Shen Siyuan thought that [Wind Cloud] might be a more fitting name.

The cultivation method outlined here was quite exquisite, and entering the practice wasn’t difficult. What was hard was the total absence of spiritual energy these days, leaving no entry point and ultimately reducing it to a Tai Chi-like fitness routine.

"Given this, I entrust it to you, young friend. I hope your cultivation progresses and you can uncover the secrets of the universe... haha..."

While browsing [Embrace the Wind and Sleep], Shen Siyuan knew something was off when he heard this, turned around, and saw the lower half of the old Taoist had already dissipated into the air. However, the old man’s face showed a smile, free from fear or panic, calmly accepting his fate.

"Taoist..."

Shen Siyuan instinctively thought to summon the Ten Thousand Soul Banner to capture and prevent the old Taoist from dissipating.

But he was too late; the old Taoist faded away into the air.

It turned out his wish was not ascension to immortality, but the hope that the legacy of Tingfeng Temple would continue.

PS: Asking for your monthly ticket, for your follow-up reading, thank you very much~