Chapter 19 Guess

Wei Yuan stared at the two large characters on his phone screen, his thoughts momentarily blank. The heaviness in his heart was interrupted, and for a moment, he felt a sense of bewilderment, wondering where he was, why he was asking the witch Nujiao, and what he was doing.

Wei Yuan couldn't help but complain in his heart.

What exactly has the witch Nujiao been watching in modern society?

The solemn atmosphere was completely broken.

However, her answer also confirmed a conclusion, which was that the effects of the undying flower were not limited to a single instance.

From Yuan of the ancient tribe to the present him, there had been at least several instances where his true spirit wandered back to the human world, reincarnating as a person by chance. One of those times, he had been a child destined to die in a year of famine.

Then he met Zhang Jiao, who had come down from the mountains after completing his studies, and his life was saved.

Wei Yuan suddenly remembered that Nujiao had once said that some cherished ancient objects were imbued with the thoughts and emotions of those around them. These were unconscious emanations of the soul, and touching these objects would trigger memories of the past.

This could not explain why the nine-section staff held memories of his past life.

A single touch could not have left such a deep mark.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion was that 'he' had met Zhang Jiao more than once, and 'he' had frequently touched the nine-section staff. This also led to the presence of his soul's emanations on the staff. Thus, it could be inferred that the child was likely the first, truly meaningful Yellow Turban follower by Zhang Jiao's side.

The phone buzzed.

Wei Yuan paused in his thoughts, looking at Nujiao's message on his phone, which was a smiling emoji.

"Guess!"

Wei Yuan's brow twitched, and he replied:

"You guess if I'll guess or not."

Witch Nujiao:

"You guess if I'll guess whether you'll guess or not."

Wei Yuan: "…………"

Great Yu, please come and take care of your wife.

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, saying, "Let's not get caught in an infinite loop here."

The witch Nujiao laughed and then casually called, slowly asking:

"So, what did you come into contact with? Something from which era? And who did you remember?"

Wei Yuan briefly explained what had happened earlier. The witch Nujiao pondered and said, "Zhang Jiao… his nine-section staff was once the most powerful Daoist magical artifact of that era. Although young, he rose out of nowhere, and his cultivation was unparalleled, making him the number one true cultivator in the human world at that time."

Wei Yuan was surprised: "The number one true cultivator?"

The witch Nujiao said, "With a single call, millions followed. In the years of the Qin and Han dynasties, he inherited the afterglow of the Age of Gods."

"He was a natural genius. Without true cultivation methods, how could he have shaken the foundation of the great Han Dynasty?"

"I only remember that after he raised his army, the Celestial Masters Sect also rose in rebellion in Ba-Shu, led by Zhang Xiu."

"But at that time, Zhang Jiao's threat caused the Han Dynasty to completely ignore the Celestial Masters Sect. At the time, there was a general named Dong Zhuo, who was also a famous general, in his prime, fighting back and forth, but his martial aura could not conquer the city defended by Zhang Jiao. It was a general named Huangfu Song who took over the responsibility and went north."

"He was the only one in the world at that time who could be considered his opponent."

"But then, Zhang Jiao died of illness."

Wei Yuan frowned and said, "...The number one true cultivator in Shenzhou, died of illness?"

He knew that Zhang Jiao had died of illness in the year of the uprising.

But the number one true cultivator in Shenzhou, even someone who had the qualifications to compete for that title, dying young from illness was very abnormal.

The witch Nujiao paused and said with a smile:

"Yes, but this matter is just something I, as an outsider, shouldn't comment on. You can go and find out the truth for yourself. As for whether Zhang Jiao was the number one true cultivator, at least that's how we saw it… Perhaps there were others with great Daoist abilities at that time, but looking at it from later generations, forget it… no need to mention it further."

"Do you know who is the most common type of guardian deity in later Daoist sects?"

Wei Yuan frowned in confusion.

The witch Nujiao said:

"Zhang Jiao's forte was summoning wind and rain, flying sand and stones, and scattering beans to form soldiers. These were later classified as the Heavenly Dipper Methods. Borrowing wind, creating mist, praying for sunshine, praying for rain, talisman water, medicine, and divine power were classified as the Earthly Fiend Methods. Although he died young, in the legends and records of later Daoist sects, even in the fictional Investiture of the Gods, the various golden immortals and celestial lords often summoned the Yellow Turban Warriors."

Wei Yuan murmured: "Yellow Turban Warriors…"

The witch Nujiao explained in detail: "You should know that the so-called Heavenly Court in modern Shenzhou is just a talisman system created by generations of true cultivators. When disciples set up altars and perform rituals, they can summon heavenly soldiers and generals. These heavenly soldiers and generals are both real and illusory."

"There is an ancient saying, 'Those who consume qi do not die.' Generations of initiated cultivators command the Heavenly Court's troops. After their deaths, the talismans are burned, and their souls and true spirits return to the universe, but their Daoist abilities do not return to nothingness as they did in the pre-Qin era."

"Instead, relying on this initiation, they fly to the so-called Heavenly Court, transforming into their former appearance, providing assistance to later generations. It's just a pity that they have no self-awareness, only a pure energy."

"Therefore, the ritual of casting spells cannot have errors. Otherwise, those unconscious so-called heavenly generals won't recognize you as their descendant and will only act according to the rules. Using spells without initiation will result in either no response or punishment."

Wei Yuan pondered for a long time.

Nujiao said, "Actually, there's no need to look at the sayings of one school or sect, nor do you need to pay attention to the records of past dynasties. After all, Zhang Jiao himself was not liked by those princes and nobles. But… the fact that the Yellow Turban Warrior method has become one of the higher-ranking guardian deities in later Daoist sects, even praised in fictional works."

"It's enough to see how Zhang Jiao is viewed by later generations."

"Beside the Yellow Turbans, golden rings gleam, and sunlight sprays forth rosy light; amidst embroidered jackets, iron armor glistens with frosty moonlight."

"They often protect the Dharma before the altar, and they descend to the world to subdue demons."

"Yuan, since you have the karma to find the information about the true spirit, why not go and take a look, search for it? True Daoist cultivation refines the spirit to return to emptiness, and the soul is the spirit. If you can allow the past true spirit that remains in the world to merge with yourself, it will naturally benefit your own Daoist cultivation."

Nujiao rarely gave such a solemn and gentle instruction.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.

……………………

Zhang Jiao's nine-section staff, even just a part of it, had to be sealed in a metal box with talismans to prevent its aura from leaking out. As for luring out the modern Taiping Dao, the sooner the better.

The group set off that very day.

In addition to the three true cultivators from other sects who were escorting the nine-section staff, the Wei Ming Sect also sent six disciples to accompany Wei Yuan, making a total of ten people, to send the artifact to the capital. Initially, they used modern transportation such as high-speed rail. Only when they arrived in Beizhili did they get off.

They transferred to three cars, heading to the capital from a remote location.

The reason for not taking public transportation here and avoiding crowded places was to prevent those Taiping Dao practitioners who had taken shortcuts and cultivated evil methods from taking action rashly, harming ordinary people.

Wei Yuan and the true cultivators sat in the middle car.

Since yesterday, after he had lost himself while looking at the nine-section staff, He Yangwen and the other two had been faintly wary and guarded against him, as if they were convinced that he had seen the nine-section staff and suspected that he was a member of the Taiping Dao, protecting the nine-section staff tightly and not allowing him to be alone with it.

This also prevented Wei Yuan from touching the nine-section staff to see if he could see past experiences.

He now basically knew the Wei Ming Sect's plan. They were using the nine-section staff as bait, while the Daoists with truly profound abilities were lurking not far away. This was a straight-hook fishing method that even the museum's water ghost wouldn't use, but the Taiping Dao would most likely take the bait.

Then he thought that the nine-section staff was not complete now.

If he could completely restore the nine-section staff, would he be able to see a more complete memory picture?

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "The nine-section staff is damaged. Where is the remaining part?"

Lin Li was surprised and replied, "After the Great Virtuous Teacher died of illness, the nine-section staff was no longer held by anyone. No one knows when it was broken into two pieces. The remaining part should have been obtained by those evil Daoist cultivators along with the handwritten copy of the Taiping Essentials. That's why they must want to obtain this remaining part."

In the hands of the Taiping Dao cultivators…

Wei Yuan was thoughtful.

Lin Li looked at the young curator sitting in the back seat, meditating with his eyes closed, through the rearview mirror.

She recalled the change in expression that flashed across the museum curator's face when he saw the nine-section staff earlier.

After a long time, she let out a breath.

Some time after the vehicles entered Guangzong.

When the driver was slightly relaxed due to the long and tedious driving, Wei Yuan felt the Eight-Sided Han Sword in the sword box behind him humming softly. A sense of killing permeated his back, making his expression stern. He said in a low voice, "They're here."

As soon as he finished speaking.

A bolt of white lightning suddenly struck from a distance.

It was extremely fast, directly smashing the large rocks and trees beside the road ahead, blocking the way. The SUV in front slammed on the brakes, and the remaining two cars followed closely behind. The true cultivators all reacted instantly, each holding talismans in their hands.

Wei Yuan raised his hand to stroke his sword, hesitated over Zhang Daoling's Dharma Sword, and chose the Eight-Sided Han Sword.

The sword blade hummed long and low.

ps: Thank you, thank you Mu Yi Feng for the great reward, thank you~