Chapter 210: The Dispute over Preaching and Recruiting Disciples
“For five thousand years, white sand accumulated in the middle of the river and slowly formed a reef. The ancestors of each generation waited in vain. It was not until 24 years ago that the reef broke through the river and became a sandbar. It was not until last year that the dragon shape was seen, but it is unknown how many more years it will take for it to be higher than Nanchang City.

“But today, a heavy rain beyond the prediction of the stars and the sky caused a mountain torrent, which completely collapsed the Bailong Mountain that had been washed by the river for many years. Countless white sand and rocks flowed down the river, and were caught by you who came to my Wanshou Palace to ask for the water method of killing the dragon, but suddenly stopped in the middle of the river. You piled them on Longsha Island, making its dragon ridge higher than Nanchang City.”

Master Bao Yuan suppressed his excitement and finished telling the last part of the story.

Inside the Patriarch’s Hall, everyone’s face simultaneously showed excitement and they looked at Cheng Xinzhan with blazing eyes in total silence.

Cheng Xinzhan himself was equally shocked.

“Fellow Daoist Shouren, the ancestor’s prophecy is so accurate. The year, birth, dragon sand, and dragon disaster, all came true. Tell me, should we, his disciples, believe it?”

Dong Shouren remained silent, but in fact, he believed it immediately because the first thing he thought of after hearing the prophecy was the ginseng fruit tree in the sect.

Xinzhan, are you going to inherit the throne of Immortal Zhenyuan?
But what Dong Shouren couldn’t understand was that he had no doubt that Xinzhan could become an earthly immortal, but what about the eight hundred earthly immortals in the prophecy?

Eight hundred earthly immortals in one lifetime, what a grand occasion!
Today is not ancient times!

“Master, how should we interpret these eight hundred earthly immortals? Is it an imaginary number or a real number?”

He asked directly.

The number eight hundred in Taoism belongs to the number of heaven, the broad number, and is also often used as an imaginary number. For example, monks often hear about the three thousand great ways and eight hundred side doors. There are also other sayings such as eight hundred life spans, eight hundred good deeds, eight hundred merits, eight hundred sacred mountains, eight hundred fasts and sacrifices, and so on.

So in Xu Zu’s prophecy, is the number eight hundred an imaginary number or a real number?
Master Bao Yuan swallowed his saliva several times and swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth. This shows that he found it hard to believe what he was about to say. But in the end, he still said it in a very firm tone.

“My ancestor is pragmatic, Longsha responds to prophecies, and Xinzhan is undoubtedly the master of earthly immortals. Then the eight hundred disciples he accepted will naturally be able to achieve the status of earthly immortals!”

Dong Shouren still didn’t quite believe it. Even if Longsha’s prophecy came true and immortals really appeared in the world, there shouldn’t be so many of them.

Master Bao Yuan saw the strange look on Dong Shouren’s face, and then he explained in a very mysterious tone, as if he was trying to persuade Dong Shouren, himself and the Taoist priests of the Jingming Sect present.

“The situation in heaven is chaotic now, and immortals fall from time to time. Perhaps, earthly immortals are the general trend of the future. This world may be the beginning of the heyday of earthly immortals.”

After hearing this, Dong Shouren only felt a sense of reasonable absurdity!
At this time, Master Bao Yuan asked again,
“I wonder how many disciples Xinzhan has now?”

Dong Shouren glanced at Xinzhan and saw that he was still silent in shock.

Cheng Xinzhan was of course restless for a long time, because in addition to the prophecy and the ginseng fruit, there was one thing that only he knew:
My ambition to become an immortal has always been to become an earthly immortal!

Could it be that I really am the one whose prophecy came true, and that there really are eight hundred earthly immortals appearing in this world?

If this is true, then why should the evil cults at home and abroad worry about injustice?

Dong Shouren thought Xinzhan was just shocked that he was going to become the master of eight hundred earthly immortals, but he never guessed that he was actually thinking about eliminating the demonic troubles, so he opened his mouth to answer for him.

“At present, Xinzhan, the main branch of Meizhi Mountain, has not accepted any disciples. However, after the head of the sect negotiated with Juqu Mountain, Xinzhan was allowed to open a new branch of Lixue Mountain in the sect, teach the Huangting Sutra, and spread the method of storing the spirit. He has already accepted two registered disciples.”

When Master Bao Yuan heard this, he became anxious. Eight hundred places for earthly immortals sounded like a lot, but how many cultivators were there in the world? If it was said that one could achieve the status of earthly immortal with certainty, who would not want this place?
It would be too little if all the 800 places were given to Baoyuan Zhenren of the Jingming Sect. If Xinzhan had accepted disciples to inherit his own lineage, that would have been fine, but how come the first two places were taken away by Juqushan!
“Fellow Daoist Shouren, we can also talk. We can also allow Xinzhan to teach the Pure Bright Dao in Sanqing Mountain!”

Master Bao Yuan grabbed Dong Shouren’s hand and said earnestly,
“Our two families have been friendly for six thousand years, and we are both in the same territory of Yuzhang. In terms of closeness, aren’t they more intimate than Qu Shan?
“Our two families should become close friends. Please be sure to tell Hehe Zhenren that it would be best if you build another mountain in your sect so that Xinzhan can concentrate on teaching the Pure Bright Dao. Our Wanshou Palace can pay for the cost of moving the Lingshan Mountain and opening the Daoist temple.

“In addition, we are also going to build another palace in Sanyuan Mountain. I hope Xinzhan can come and preach from time to time. The Wanfa Sutra Master of Sanqing Mountain is the chief sutra master of my Wanshou Palace!”

At this moment, Master Baoyuan felt that the only good thing about Juqu Mountain was that it had opened up a way for the teachings to be passed down outside the sect together with Sanqing Mountain, and his own Wanshou Palace could just follow suit.

Dong Shouren nodded slightly. He would naturally report today’s events in detail to the headmaster, but he believed that the headmaster would certainly not refuse such a good thing.

In addition, I have to discuss with the headmaster when I return. I must find a reason to let Xinzhan recruit more disciples. If we follow the rules of Meiji Mountain, when can we gather the number of 800? We can’t let Juqu Mountain and Wanshou Palace take all the benefits of these 800 disciples, while Sanqing Mountain only gets a small part. That is definitely not possible.

Thinking of this, Dong Shouren suddenly felt a sense of urgency in his heart, and he asked another very critical question:

“Master, when do you think these eight hundred earthly immortals will have the opportunity to become immortals?”

Master Bao Yuan thought about it and replied,
“As for the specific time of becoming an immortal, the prophecy is vague, but according to my understanding, the disciples accepted by the earth master should obey their master’s orders and kill the dragons and water monsters that harm the human world. After completing their merits, they will naturally achieve the status of earth immortals.”

At this time, Master Bao Yuan looked at Dong Shouren again and asked,

“Fellow Daoist, where is the dragon and water monster that is causing harm to the human world now?”

“The Southern Demon Cult and the Overseas Demon Cult.”

Cheng Xinzhan replied.

Master Bao Yuan clapped his hands and said loudly,

“Yes, the Earth Immortal Master has issued an order. Naturally, the time to destroy the Southern Demon Sect and the Overseas Demon Sect is the chance for the Earth Immortal to become an immortal!”

Everyone seemed to be thinking about something and no one spoke for a long time.

“Master, what about seeking the true scriptures today?”

After a long while, Dong Shouren broke the silence and changed the subject with a smile. The matter of Longsha’s prophecy was too big and all parties needed to digest it quietly for a while. It would be impossible to discuss it clearly today.

“All the books in Wanshou Palace are at your disposal!”

Master Bao Yuan said loudly.

After making the promise, Master Baoyuan said, “When you return to the sect, please ask Master Hehe for his time. I will pay you a visit and discuss some things with him in detail.”

Dong Shouren understood and nodded in agreement.

There are too many things that need to be discussed here. The most critical one is naturally the allocation of the 800 places. Of course, Xinzhan must be present when discussing this matter.

In addition, there are some things that are not easy to discuss publicly, and Xinzhan is not convenient to be present. For example, how should those who already have a master switch to Master Chengdi? There are even great cultivators in the fourth realm or even the fifth realm who are interested in this. At that time, how will the seniority be calculated…

Master Bao Yuan was also very moved at this moment. Why was such an immortal born in Sanqing Mountain? If he was born in Wanshou Palace, how could others take advantage of him?
However, Master Baoyuan did not know that Master Chengchu of Juqu Mountain had once had the same feeling as him.

—-

Two days later, the pilgrimage procession from Mount Sanqing left Mount Sanyuan with a full load, and the jade sedan chair inside was shining brightly.

Seeing this scene, naturally some are happy while others are sad.

The people of Haoran League were naturally happy when they saw this. The solid alliance formed by Sanqing Mountain, Juqu Mountain and Sanyuan Mountain was a great thing for the development of Haoran League. The benefits of the alliance were not only reflected in eliminating demons and defending the way of righteousness, but also in daily preaching and exchanging goods for elixirs, which were much more convenient with the help of the major alliances.

The people of Zhengyi League were naturally unhappy when they saw this. These three families had a lot of say in the Eastern Taoism, and their relationship was too close, which was naturally not good for Longhu Mountain’s leadership position. Moreover, in recent years, it was obvious that the people of Haoran League were becoming more and more disrespectful to Longhu Mountain.

However, regardless of what others thought, many high-ranking monks from Wanshou Palace personally went out to see them off and escorted the Sanqingshan ceremonial team across the Ganjiang River, making both the host and the guests very happy.

The people living near Nanchang naturally had no way of guessing the immortals’ thoughts. They were even more surprised that a bright white mountain suddenly appeared in the middle of the river. They called it Bailong Mountain.

Five thousand years later, Bailong Mountain was moved from southern Jiangxi to northern Jiangxi by the river. Apart from the change in location, nothing else seems to have changed.

Bailong Mountain is very close to Poyang Lake at this moment. If the Dragon Mother still has a spirit, then she would be able to overlook Poyang Lake from here. However, things and people have changed. The big lake and Bailong Mountain are still there, but the Poyang Dragon Palace has long disappeared in the dust of history.

For a long time afterwards, the two idioms “stopping to watch the water” and “raising sand and building a mountain” were widely circulated in Nanchang to describe the compassion and infinite power of gods.

—-

When Dong Shouren and Cheng Xinzhan returned to Sanqing Mountain, they naturally went to Sanqing Palace first to tell Ji Hehe the news.

In order to prevent the news from leaking out and causing a huge uproar, Dong Shouren didn’t even dare to explain the matter through his soul, and had to make it clear in person.

After hearing about Longsha’s prophecy, Ji Hehe was also very shocked, and called over several great monks of the fourth realm in the mountain.

After hearing this, these great monks also remained silent for a long time, with a gleam in their eyes.

This time, these people were probably three times more shocked than the last time they saw the ginseng fruit with their own eyes.

After all, when the ginseng fruit is planted and it blooms and bears fruit, everyone here will probably have become a pile of dry bones, but the prophecy of the eight hundred earthly immortals is here! The master of the eight hundred earthly immortals is right in front of us!

This kind of prophecy is very common in the spiritual world. Some have come true, while some have not.

However, it is generally believed in the cultivation world that prophecies are the great secrets of heaven, and those that have not come true are just the result of the prophet not knowing the destiny and speaking nonsense. As long as the cultivator is at a high level and has insight into the secrets of heaven, the prophecies he makes will definitely come true.

The most famous prophecy in the history of the spiritual world is naturally the one left by the Yellow Emperor when he ascended to heaven on a dragon: “When the sky is filled with murderous intent, the stars will move and change their positions. When the earth is filled with murderous intent, dragons and snakes will rise from the land. When people are filled with murderous intent, heaven and earth will be reversed.” It accurately predicted the war between humans and gods during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

The most recent prophecy that came true was the prophecy left by Sanfeng Zhenren when he ascended to heaven: “Heaven’s Mandate ascends to the throne, Zhenwu will rise.” Not long after that, Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty took the throne in obedience to heaven, and then Zhenwu temples were built all over the country.

What kind of person is Master Xu Xun? Before he ascended to heaven, he was worshipped as a living celestial master, the founder of the Jingming Sect, and the true immortal known as the founder of the Zongdao Sect! Even though the prophecy he left behind when he ascended to heaven was so horrifying, it was hard not to believe it!

After several Xuans silently digested the prophecy, they looked Cheng Xinzhan up and down.

Well, they were afraid that they would not give him the true scriptures, so they made many arrangements to beg him, and even gave him the title of Master of the All-Dharma Scriptures to save face. The Jingming Sect was better, and immediately gave him the title of Master of Earthly Immortals after meeting him. This kid is really a treasure wherever he goes.

Cheng Xinzhan felt uncomfortable being stared at by everyone, so he said,

“Xu Zu is not a saint, and the prophecy is not necessarily true…”

“Shut up!”

Ji Hehe immediately stopped Cheng Xinzhan and said solemnly,
“You are the one who fulfilled the prophecy. Anyone can say this, but you can’t. Not only can you not say it, don’t even think about it from now on!”

The other elders nodded as if it was natural, and advised Cheng Xinzhan not to think nonsense. Everyone present knew about the ginseng fruit, and they thought the same as Dong Shouren, could this child have the source of magic with Zhenyuan Daxian?
Facing the earnest gazes of the elders, Cheng Xinzhan had no choice but to agree.

Cheng Xinzhan didn’t know that these great monks were hiding from him and talking with their souls. They reached a consensus in just a moment:
Since Master Xu really said this prophecy, even if it was false, Sanqing Mountain would make it true for him! As long as Xinzhan had a disciple who was an earthly immortal, then naturally thousands of people would come to join him!
Now that this matter has been clarified, the next natural step is to discuss Cheng Xinzhan’s acceptance of disciples.

Xinzhan is now the direct descendant of Meizhi Mountain. According to the ancestral rules of Meizhi Mountain, he cannot accept disciples now. However, the Lixue Mountain lineage has accepted two disciples, and they seem to have good qualifications.

Now Sanyuan Mountain wants to follow the example of Juqu Mountain and invite Sanqing Mountain to establish another branch with Cheng Xinzhan as the mountain master. They also say they are willing to donate money to build a sacred mountain and a Taoist temple. This makes Sanqing Mountain look shabby. Even if they really want to build a new mountain, it will be their own mountain. How can they ask outsiders to pay for it? Besides, there is an empty Yunzhong Mountain next to Lixue Mountain in the sect.

But after a few masters thought about it, they realized that it was inappropriate to do so.

Xinzhan taught the Yin-Yang Dao at Meizhi Mountain and taught the method of preserving the spirit at Lixue Mountain. If he opens another mountain to teach the Jingming Dao, then this will become a routine. How will Xinzhan be able to recruit disciples and preach in the future?

If Xinzhan wants to teach thunder magic and sword magic, does he have to open two more mountains, or serve as the master of both Shuji Mountain and Toujian Mountain?
This is impossible.

Xinzhan is a person who hopes to master all the Dharmas in one person. It would be bad if things like accepting disciples and passing on the Dharma were too separate.

This is really a problem.

(End of this chapter)