Chapter Six: The History of the Ming Dynasty Steadies the Heart

Cloudrise awoke amid the rosy glow of dawn.

He had drunk heavily the night before, and as he drifted into slumber, the eastern sky was already pale. Yet the fine wine did not harm his body—instead, it nourished his spirit. Though he had not slept a full hour, his mind was remarkably clear.

Opening his eyes, he found himself still in the courtyard, realizing he had fallen asleep slumped over the wine table after his drunken revelry.

He glanced at Feng Jihu, the young Taoist, who was already awake and practicing exercises in the courtyard. His movements were like a crane taking flight or an ape scaling branches. Watching for a while, Cloudrise noticed that these exercises bore a subtle resemblance to the Meridian Stretching Art he had practiced since childhood; they must have originated from the same tradition.

He could hear He Bingkun still sprawled across the table, deep in sleep and snoring like thunder.

Rising, Cloudrise began to practice his own Meridian Stretching Art. Whether it was the abundant spiritual energy on the mountain or a change in his own state of mind, he found that the familiar routine now caused the pure energy within him to grow even stronger and more substantial.

After running through the exercises twice, He Bingkun awoke.

"You're both up early," he remarked.

"We've only just woken," Cloudrise replied.

The three tidied the courtyard together. He Bingkun, eager to hear the teachings at Yingyuan Hall, prepared to leave. This time, Cloudrise finally saw the thunderbird in its full glory:

It was a thunder sparrow, its silver talons gripping a crevice in the rock above the courtyard as it rested with eyes closed. At He Bingkun's call, the bird sprang into the air, whirled around, and spread its wings, which spanned at least ten or twelve feet.

Its feathers were a deep purple, with silver shafts; its beak and eyes were a dark gold, exuding an air of majesty. Yet atop its head stood a row of upright white plumes, bristling comically as if in perpetual alarm.

He Bingkun leapt onto its back in a single bound. The thunder sparrow beat its wings and vanished into the distance in a flash of lightning.

Feng Jihu ceased his exercises, summoned his cloud chariot, and said to Cloudrise, "Today I leave the mountain. This journey may last half a year, perhaps several years. I hope that when I return, you will have achieved much."

Cloudrise saluted. "I wish you a safe journey, and may all your desires be fulfilled."

Feng Jihu departed with a smile.

After they left, Cloudrise first entered the house and carefully examined the bookshelf, checking whether all the books Master Sukong had recommended were present. After a thorough look, he was satisfied they were all there.

"Only a class schedule is missing," he mused.

He stepped out and returned to the place where he had received his clothing the day before. Seeing the old Taoist, he bowed respectfully. "Master, I wish to collect a class schedule and some food for the road. May I receive these here?"

Yao Jianming shook his head and directed him, "Young sir, schedules are issued at the Grand Academy. Matters of cultivation and learning are all managed there—head up toward the mountain's summit. Food and drink are provided by the Grand Kitchen, lower down the slope. Ask along the way and you'll find it. Only daily necessities are to be collected from me."

Cloudrise thanked him and departed with a bow.

He soon found both the Grand Academy and the Grand Kitchen. The class schedule at the Academy was free, which pleased him greatly, but the meals at the Kitchen all required payment. The cheapest wheat cake cost two copper coins, and the convenient fasting pill cost a whole tael. He did not even dare ask about the prices of the other dishes.

Even the wheat cakes were made from spiritual grain, like the fasting pills. Once swallowed, they were converted into pure energy, absorbed completely with no waste—though one cake sufficed for only a single day's sustenance, while a fasting pill could last half a month.

As he had no money, Cloudrise took three wheat cakes on credit, owing six coppers.

Returning to the courtyard with his schedule and cakes, he entered his room and immediately pinned the schedule to the wall. The schedule was written in white characters on dark spiritual paper. The clerk at the Academy explained that this was a simple use of talismanic arts—the spiritual script would change and display the day's lessons as needed.

Scanning it briefly, Cloudrise saw a dazzling array of subjects: cultivation techniques, alchemy, identification of magical artifacts, and care of spiritual herbs. He felt it best to study some basic texts before attending lectures, lest he waste his time for lack of foundational knowledge.

He went to the bookshelf, selected a thick tome titled "A Universal History—Revised Annals of Mount Clear Purity, Bright Dynasty 400th Year Edition."

As the old saying goes, "Study history to gain wisdom; reflect on the past to foresee the future; remember past events as lessons for those to come." He had always loved history, and had read much of the mortal world’s chronicles. He knew the current unified dynasty was called the Bright Dynasty, established over four centuries ago, preceded by the Yuan, and before that, the Song.

Yet the transitions from Song to Yuan and Yuan to Ming had been turbulent, with the Song said to have lasted over a thousand years—so much had become impossible to verify.

He brought the book to his desk, composed himself, and opened to the first page.

The opening page listed the contents:

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

The page turned.

Cheng Tang Overthrows the Xia

Qin Unifies the Warring States

Heavenly Han Triumphs over Chu

The Three Families Yield to Jin

North and South Divide

Sui’s Short Reign, Tang’s Long Glory

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

The Two Songs Yield to Yuan

The Radiance of Sun and Moon

It was the first time Cloudrise realized so many dynasties had risen and fallen before the Song.

He turned to the First Era: the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. This section was brief and vague, recounting only a few familiar legends: Fuxi creating the trigrams, Shennong tasting herbs, the Yellow Emperor casting the tripod. The compilers guessed that these eight rulers reigned for a total of five to eight thousand years.

He read on to the Second Era: Cheng Tang overthrows the Xia.

It recounted how Emperor Yu gained fame for controlling the floods and established the Xia Dynasty. Yu ended the era of abdication practiced by the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and pioneered hereditary rule. Unlike the previous era, Xia kings seemed to have mortal lifespans, and the throne changed hands every few decades.

Seventeen kings ruled Xia for four hundred seventy years, ending with the tyrant Jie, whose misrule led to his overthrow by Tang’s ancestor.

After founding the Shang, which lasted five centuries, the reigning king was called Emperor Xin, son of Shou. The book stated that during his reign, he was a sage within, a king without, and the nation reached unprecedented power. Yet a great vassal, the Lord of the West, rebelled and established the rival Western Zhou, so that the Shang before this was called Eastern Shang.

The two states vied for supremacy for fifty years, and the chronicle recorded that in this mortal war, many ancient gods took part—the gods of heaven and earth battled, turning the world upside down. The book noted: "At the height of the conflict, a sage appeared and reforged earth, water, wind, and fire."

Ultimately, the gods of the human world prevailed, and from then on, the seasons and weather were no longer subject to the will of the heavenly gods. This was the last clear record of the Three Pure Ones manifesting in the world, and the final great calamity.

Shang emerged victorious, and the king enfeoffed many lords and ancient gods, unifying the land. Thereafter, the Shang endured for another fifteen hundred years, known as the Imperial Shang.

At the end of Shang, the central authority weakened and regional powers rose. The lords rebelled, plunging the world into chaos—the Warring States era.

The Warring States were ended by Qin, whose First Emperor unified the world and sought to break the tradition that the human king could not attain immortality. He pursued the secret of eternal life, striving to establish an immortal dynasty.

But this angered the immortals. After a fierce contest of magical arts, the First Emperor died at Shachiu in the lands of Yan and Zhao, and the Qin Dynasty perished with his son.

This war also stripped the human king of the right to enfeoff new gods; from then on, there were only immortals and ancient gods, and no new deities arose.

This immortal conflict was called the First Calamity of the Immortals.

After Qin’s fall, the lords rose again. The Han ultimately triumphed over Chu and founded the Han Dynasty, known as the Western Han. It lasted eight hundred years, but in its final days was racked by turmoil. Later, Emperor Guangwu restored the dynasty, founding the Eastern Han, which endured another twelve hundred years and was known as the Heavenly Han.

The book recounted that in the early Eastern Han, Patriarch Zhang Daoling of the Celestial Masters came to a sacred mountain in Yuzhang to refine elixirs. When his alchemy succeeded, tigers and dragons appeared, and the mountain was renamed Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

At the end of the Han, the realm was split three ways, but soon unified under the Western Jin. Though the Jin restored unity, internal strife was constant and emperors degenerate; within fifty years, the state was already facing collapse. At that time, Patriarch Zhongzu revived the dynasty, swept away corruption from south to north, and extended the dynasty’s life for another nine hundred years: the Eastern Jin.

The chronicle noted that at the start of the Eastern Jin, Patriarch Ge Hong founded the sect of the Three Pure Ones on this very mountain and was later honored as Immortal Elder by the emperor.

At the end of the Eastern Jin, the country fragmented; the North and South stood in rivalry, then unified under Sui. But the Sui relied on military might, and its two emperors ruled harshly, so the dynasty fell within two generations.

Tang Gaozu, rising from Jin’s territory, overthrew Sui and declared the Tang. During the reign of the second Tang emperor, Taizong, the eight schools of Buddhism flourished, the monk Tripitaka journeyed west to spread the Dharma, and the Sixth Patriarch Huineng taught realization of one’s nature and instant enlightenment, greatly advancing Chan Buddhism, which overshadowed the Taoist schools.

The struggle between eastern and western Buddhist orthodoxy grew fierce; the destruction of temples and shrines became common, directly sparking the Second Calamity of the Immortals.

After this, the chronicles stated, no Golden Immortal ever appeared again.

The Tang was ruled by Gaozu, Taizong, Gaozong, the Sage Emperor, and Xuanzong. The realm reached unprecedented size and prosperity—this was the High Tang.

But in Xuanzong’s later years, he grew dim and power-hungry, favoring foreign generals, and the nation fell into civil strife. Rebel forces attacked the capital; Xuanzong fled to Shu, and the dynasty teetered on the verge of ruin.

At that time, Xuanzong’s youngest son, Daojun Martial Emperor, raised an army in Shu, traversed the lost ancient roads, crossed the Bashan and Qinling, and, with divine troops, retook the capital. The book claimed that his success was due to the full support of the Taoist powers of Shu.

Thereafter, the Tang was restored and flourished for an astonishing two thousand six hundred years, a reign unparalleled in history, known as the Everlasting Tang. During this time, Taoism eclipsed Buddhism, and the Taoist sects of Shu became so powerful that even Dragon-Tiger Mountain was overshadowed—they were called the Western Taoist Capital. The now-famous Mount Emei, Mount Qingcheng, Qingyang Palace, and Crane Cry Mountain all rose to prominence during this era.

But even the Everlasting Tang ended. In its last days, warlords carved up the land, and chaos reigned—it was said that the throne passed from house to house, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Afterward, the Founder of Song unified the land—the Northern Song lasted one hundred seventy years, but grew weary, its borders shrinking and the emperor fleeing. Then the Restorer of Song, while in exile, reestablished greatness and extended the dynasty for another fifteen hundred years: the Restored Song.

During the Two Songs, Taoism thrived. Master Wang Wenqing founded the Divine Firmament Sect on Blade-Peak Mountain in Yuzhang, establishing a new orthodox tradition for cultivators.

At the end of Song, northern nomads swept south, scouring mountains and seas, and founded the Great Yuan. The Yuan ruled for a hundred years, but the people were full of resentment. Then the Founder of Ming raised an army, swept the land, drove the invaders to the northern sea, and unified the heartland—the Radiance of Sun and Moon.

Now, the Ming has ruled for over four centuries. The world is at peace and flourishing.

Finishing the book, Cloudrise exhaled deeply and closed the volume. Hunger gnawed at him, and he instinctively reached for a cake on the desk—only to find nothing. Looking up, he saw the cakes were gone, and at some point, a lamp had been lit on the table.

The lamp was exquisite, its shade milky white like stone. The base was shaped like a standing white crane: one foot planted, toes splayed; the other raised, toes curled. The crane’s wings were folded, its neck elegantly arched, its head bowed to grasp a long-necked bottle in its beak. Inside the bottle shone clear lamp oil, and the flame hovered just above the opening.

The lamp’s light was bright yet gentle, casting a white glow as if the full moon itself had been plucked and set upon his desk. Only then did Cloudrise realize that it was already deep into the night.

He rose and walked to the window. Moonlight poured in, mingling with the lamplight; gazing at the ancient, ever-shining moon, his mind still churned with the epic tides of history.

On reflection, it seemed that every rise and fall of a dynasty revealed faint traces of the mountain sects’ influence—subtle and elusive, always just out of sight. Even his own sect’s founder seemed entangled with the founding of the Eastern Jin, but such connections were always veiled and never spoken openly.

Even now, the Bright Dynasty’s royal house showed special reverence for Wudang Mountain and for Master Sanfeng, bestowing ever-lengthening titles.

Those who became deeply enmeshed in dynastic struggles—the battles of gods in the Shang and Zhou, the immortal wars of Qin, the Buddhist-Taoist strife of Tang—all vanished without a trace, one after another. The most recent example was the Daojun Emperor, who led Taoist troops out of Shu to seize the realm. Yet the book remarked that after he left Shu, rain fell there for half a year, one immortal mountain withered, and once the Taoist soldiers entered the heartland, they were never heard from again.

The deeper he pondered, the more chilling it became.

Cloudrise resolved that, when walking the mortal world in the future, he must be cautious of those in power, avoid worldly entanglements, and steer clear of tangled karma.

Yet—his mother’s surname was Zhu...

"Cloudrise!"

A voice broke his reverie. Turning, he saw the door open and He Bingkun standing in the courtyard.

He watched as He Bingkun opened his mouth and inhaled a wisp of chill mist, suffused with lunar radiance, from midair. He grinned, "You’re finally awake! Do you know how long you've been like this?"

Cloudrise was puzzled. "From morning till night, wasn’t it?"

He Bingkun shook his head. "No, it's the evening of the third day now."

Cloudrise was astonished. Could so much time have passed?

"If you hadn't awakened soon, I would have had to call you myself. To linger too long like this can harm your spirit."

Cloudrise nodded.

"Since you love books, take the lamp on the desk. The method to refine it is written on the slip beneath—try it after you begin nourishing yourself with spiritual energy."

Cloudrise hesitated. "Brother, I cannot accept such a gift without merit."

"What merit? What reward? Just take it—it's worth little, consider it a welcome gift."

Cloudrise accepted it and bowed in thanks.