The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 291 Zoroastrian High Priest

Last time, we talked about Xiao Ziyi and Yuehua chatting about gossip, and ended up talking about Earth Sect Master Tao Xuan coming to Dunhuang to predict Xiao Ziyi's fortune. So what did this Earth Sect master come to the Western Regions for? Let's read on.

Li Yi left the City Lord's Mansion and went to the west gate of the inner city just to find Tao Xuan Zhenren. It was unknown whether he was in a hurry to find his uncle or his Taoist partner Shan Yiling. Anyway, he hurried to the alley that Ximen Xiao Daxia mentioned, but he didn't see any fortune-telling stalls, let alone a stall!

With a look of loss on his face, Li Yi walked into the alley and opened his spiritual sense to try to find the message left by his master. When he sat down next to a small tree to rest after his search failed, he looked down and saw the sunlight shining through the leaves on the ground, which looked like a few words. Li Yi changed his position to make way for the light and shadow, and then he could see clearly that it was the words "Ten miles west of the city".

Without saying a word, he left the city and came to the agreed place. He saw a dead tree. Li Yi mobilized his spiritual power and injected it into it. On the dead branch, a peach blossom bloomed. It was delicate but not weak, pink but not coquettish. Li Yi picked the peach blossom, twisted it in his palm, closed his eyes and felt the spiritual charm on it.

Petals flew from Li Yi's spiritual platform, slowly forming a human shape. After solidifying, it was exactly the appearance of Tao Xuan Zhenren. Li Yi stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Disciple Li Yi greets Uncle Master. May I ask if you are here for Zoroastrianism?"

Tao Xuan said unhappily: "Why did it take you so long to find the spiritual charm I left behind!"

Li Yi scratched his head and said awkwardly, "There are too many things to do after taking over Dunhuang. I just killed the Zoroastrian priest Shen Muyi, so I came to look for my uncle."

Tao Xuan nodded and said, "It's time for someone to deal with this Zoroastrianism. That Lu Sheng relied on the protection of Empress Tai'an to do all kinds of evil things. This time, the Heavenly Dao sent you to Tianshan to gather the power of the three religions to eradicate his Zoroastrianism, just like you did in Nanliang."

"I understand. To be honest, my Buddhist master, the Laughing Lion Arhat, was severely injured by Lu Sheng and was forced to reincarnate and cultivate again. The Zoroastrians also killed many monks and burned many temples in Dunhuang, so the Buddhist sect has agreed to help."

"Well, what are your plans for Confucianism?"

"My idea is to incorporate the Western Regions into the territory of our Wei Kingdom, and then transfer Confucianists and Taoists from the Central Plains to various places to teach and spread the Dharma. Although this is the slowest way to achieve results, it is also the most lasting. So I suggest that Buddhism lead the way first, and then Confucianism and Taoism move in."

"Well, this method is feasible. Then what do you think our Taoist sect should do?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "Since Master is here, he will naturally deal with Lu Sheng."

Tao Xuan waved his hand and said, "I am no match for Lu Sheng. Let the Buddhist sect deal with that guy."

"Is that high priest so powerful? How come he can't even deal with my uncle? Who is he?"

Tao Xuan stroked his beard and said, "That's a long story. You know Xu Fu, right?"

Li Yi nodded and said, "Of course I know. The First Emperor sent Xu Fu out to sea to find the immortal island and seek the elixir of life."

"In fact, the First Emperor sent two people to search for the elixir of life. Xu Fu went east to the sea to find the immortal island, while Lu Sheng went west to find the immortal mountain."

Li Yi was surprised and asked, "Huh? This is the first time I've heard of him. Why is there no record of him in history books?"

Tao Xuan shook his head and smiled, "All the information related to him was erased by the First Emperor, but there are two things that only the name was hidden, but they are actually related to him."

"What two things?"

"The one who destroyed Qin was Hu. Have you heard of this?"

Li Yi said, "Of course I have heard of it. This sentence is true. The Qin Dynasty was indeed destroyed by the Hu people. Hiss, Master, do you mean that this sentence was said by Lu Sheng?"

Tao Xuan nodded and said, "Yes, it was Lu Sheng who told the First Emperor this prophecy, and many of the Hu people who overthrew the Qin Dynasty were his disciples, so it is not an exaggeration to say that he was the one who caused the demise of the Qin Dynasty."

"What the hell? That Shenmu Yi told me before that Zoroastrianism never had any intention of getting involved in the Central Plains. It turns out he lied to me!"

Tao Xuan waved his hand and said, "That's not the case. Zoroastrianism really has no intention of spreading its religion in the Central Plains, but this is also a helpless choice. After all, the Confucianism and Taoism in the Central Plains are too powerful. Even the Taoists and Buddhists cannot compete with them, let alone a small Zoroastrianism."

Li Yi shook his head and smiled, "Those scholars are two-faced, saying one thing and doing another. They are really hard to deal with. Hey, Uncle Master, what's the other thing?"

"Burning books and burying scholars."

"Ah! I see. The books that were burned were related to Lu Sheng, and the people buried alive were also the alchemists related to him, right?"

Tao Xuan explained: "The book burning was not limited to books related to Lu Sheng. The First Emperor also burned historical collections, biographies, and books on alchemy. However, the people who were buried alive were indeed Lu Sheng's family members and disciples."

"Oh, it seems that this guy really angered the First Emperor, otherwise he would not have used the punishment of killing nine generations of his clan. I wonder how much you know about this Lu Sheng, Master, can you tell me about it, so that I can know what kind of person he is."

Tao Xuan nodded, and then told Li Yi the story of Lu Sheng:

As mentioned before, the First Emperor sent two groups of people to seek the elixir, one group was Xu Fu going out to sea, and the other group was Lu Sheng going up the mountain. Xu Fu failed in his first two voyages, of course he had his reasons, but the First Emperor helped him solve the problem, and as a result, he never came back on his third voyage.

But Lu Sheng was different. Not only did he come back, but he actually found the god! The god that Lu Sheng found was none other than the Mother of the Earth, Tai'an Niangniang.

It is said that Lu Sheng and his group traveled westward and visited many high mountains. After going through untold hardships, they arrived at Tianchi Lake in Tianshan Mountains. Of the more than 300 people in the team, only Lu Sheng was left.

Lu Sheng looked at the mirror-like water of Tianchi Lake, bowed his head devoutly, and then began to pray to the gods. Just as he was reciting the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's edict to seek immortals, huge waves suddenly surged on the originally calm water surface, and a huge black dog came over on the waves. When it came to the shore, it was seen that one of its eyes was blue and the other was orange-yellow. It was more than ten feet tall and more than thirty feet long. Lu Sheng was so scared that he collapsed to the ground.

The giant dog actually spoke human language: "Were you sent by the Human Emperor to find the Immortal?"

Although Lu Sheng was terrified, he pretended to be calm. He mistook the big black dog for a god. After kneeling three times and knocking nine times, he said, "Lu Sheng pays respect to the God!"

“God? Hahaha, I am not a God! I am just a servant of Empress Tai’an! Empress Tai’an is the true God of heaven and earth!”

"May I ask the divine envoy if this junior has the opportunity to pay respect to the Empress Tai'an?"

The giant dog looked up at the sky and said, "Well, that depends on whether you have the blessing! If you can finish the 800-mile Yellow Spring Road, cross the Wangchuan River, and reach Houtu Cave, I will take you to see Queen Tai'an."

Just as Lu Sheng was about to kneel down and pay his respects, a stream of water gushed out from the Tianchi Lake, pulling him in. When he woke up, he had arrived at the Yellow Spring Road, which was dark and covered with gravel.

Now that he had obtained the chance to become an immortal, Lu Sheng became more determined. Although he did not know the direction, he relied on his powerful mental strength to reach the banks of the Wangchuan River.

He looked at the turbulent black water in front of him with a bewildered face, not knowing how to cross the river. Of course, Lu Sheng had some cultivation skills, and he could barely be considered a Confucianist and Taoist practitioner, because at that time, Confucianism and Taoism had not yet formed the scale they are today. Confucianism and Taoism only rose during the reign of Emperor Wu of Qin, and the development of Taoism had always been slow.

Lu Sheng was a famous alchemist at that time, and was called a Confucian scholar. The word "Confucian" has been explained before. It does not only refer to Confucianism, but also to monks who can communicate with heaven. The Three Sages Confucius and Mencius integrated various schools of thought to establish Confucianism and Taoism, and their ultimate goal was to understand destiny and benefit the people.

Some people have always said that the Confucianism in this book should not be called Confucianism but Wendao. Fenglin will explain it again. The left side of the character Confucianism is a person and the right side is Xu. The top of the character Xu is Yu and the bottom is Er. Er in oracle bone script is the image of a person, a head and four limbs. Later, it gradually evolved into Er. Therefore, the character Xu means a person praying for rain, which means communicating with the heaven. Adding the person on the left, the meaning of Confucianism is a person who can help others communicate with the heaven.

To be chosen by the First Emperor, who dispatched troops and horses to fund him with money to search for the immortals; not only did he travel through mountains and rivers to reach the Tianshan Mountains; he could also walk to the banks of the Wangchuan River in his physical body; this Lu Sheng was naturally no ordinary person. If judged by his current level of cultivation, he would be at least a fourth-rank Confucianist and Taoist.

However, even so, looking at the Wangchuan River in front of him, Lu Sheng could only sigh. At this time, a black dog with white hair on its chest, like a white scarf, came to Lu Sheng, wagging its tail. It was only one person tall and ten feet long. Lu Sheng thought it was the child of the big black dog before, and immediately knelt down to salute.

The big black dog came over, sniffed him, and then said to Lu Sheng in a telepathic voice: "You are actually a living person? This is the first time I have seen a living person come here! You are quite amazing!"

Lu Sheng bowed and said, "Excuse me, senior, are you a servant of Empress Tai'an?"

The big black dog shook his head and said in his heart, "I am not a servant of Queen Tai'an. I am too young and have no qualifications. You smell like my grandfather. Have you ever seen my grandfather?"

"Your grandfather? Is he the one I saw by the Tianchi Lake?"

"Yes, that's right. I look a lot like Grandfather, except for the white hair on my chest. That's why Grandfather kept me by his side. My name is Soul Zhao, what's your name?"

"Junior Lu Sheng, meet Senior Hun Zhao."

"Senior? Hahaha, I'm actually only a few months old, not even older than you!"

"Ah? It's grown this big in just a few months? If it grows up, how big will it be?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely not older than my grandfather. So, what are you doing here?"

"I am here on the orders of the First Emperor to seek immortals and medicine. Before that, I was... um, may I ask what should I call your grandfather?"

"My grandfather's name is Tengu, and he is the last surviving ancient demon god in this world."

"The last ancient demon god? What about the other demon gods?"

"The queen thought they were too noisy or disobedient, so she killed them all. Only my grandfather was favored by the queen and stayed by her side as a servant. Hey, why did my grandfather ask you to come here?"

Lu Sheng's eyes turned and he replied, "Oh, the Heavenly Dog God asked me to wait here, saying that someone would take me across the Forgotten River. I wonder if it was the spirit calling you?"

"That shouldn't be me. I'm not a human! I'm a spirit beast!"

Lu Sheng looked embarrassed and said, "Uh, soul summon, can you cross this river?"

"Of course I can. This place is not far from my home. I go to Huangquan Road to find food. I have to cross it several times a day."

Lu Sheng asked excitedly: "Then can you take me across the river?"

"I can, but what good will it do me?"

"Well, after I pay my respects to Queen Tai'an, can I take you out to eat something good?"

"Good stuff? What good stuff?"

Lu Sheng coaxed the black dog, which was bigger than himself, like coaxing a child. He smiled and said, "Hun Zhao, you must have never left here. There is another world outside the Yellow Spring Road. There are all kinds of delicious food there..."

Finally, the soul carried Lu Sheng across the Wangchuan River and brought him to the residence of the Tai'an Goddess. It was a huge rock with red gold characters on the top of the rock, which were the two characters of Hou Tu. This time, Lu Sheng saw the true form of the Tengu, lying in front of the Hou Tu stone and sleeping like a mountain.

When Hun Zhao saw his grandfather, he ran over with his tail wagging, and barked at Tian Gou. Tian Gou opened his eyes and looked at Hun Zhao, then looked at Lu Sheng who was not far away, and asked Hun Zhao: "Little Hun Zhao, why didn't you eat him? It's rare to see a living person, and he was a snack that Grandpa specially gave to you."

Hearing this, Lu Sheng was panicked. He only saw Hun Zhao wagging his tail and saying something to Tiangou. Tiangou nodded, then looked at Lu Sheng and said, "Since you have arrived here, I will take you to see Empress Tai'an as agreed."