"The Azure Sky is dead; the Yellow Sky must rise! When the year is Jiazi, there will be great prosperity under heaven!"
This was a famous quote etched into the history of Celestial Xia. It stood alongside other legendary sayings like, "Are kings and nobles destined by birth?", "When autumn arrives on the eighth of September, after my flowers bloom, all others shall perish," and "A stone man with one eye will stir the Yellow River and cause the world to rebel."
Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion had ultimately failed—serving merely as a stepping stone for the likes of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian—later generations never viewed the Taiping Dao as a villainous faction when looking back in awe at those ambitious warlords and famous generals recorded in history.
Or rather, throughout history, no peasant uprising that rebelled against a corrupt system or foreign invasion was ever considered a villainous force, regardless of whether they succeeded or failed.
***
After their meeting at the Cyan Cloud Temple, Gu Zhao went to find the others. He had Taoist Fang De and Taoist Wu Zhi take Taoist Fa Ben back to Yangcheng, while Zhang Chengguang and Zhang Mingcheng were to return to Cang City first to handle some family matters.
Although Zhang Chengguang’s wife had already passed away and Zhang Mingcheng didn’t have a girlfriend, Zhang Chengguang still had his son and daughter-in-law, and Zhang Mingcheng still had his parents.
"Dad! Mom!"
Zhang Mingcheng pushed open the door to his home. He saw his mother, Zhu Xuan, doing aerobics in the living room, while his father, Zhang Zhixue, admired his wife’s movements while on a call with a subordinate from his company.
Seeing Zhang Chengguang and Zhang Mingcheng return together, Zhu Xuan stopped her workout. Zhang Zhixue gave a perfunctory reply and hung up the phone.
"Why are you two back so early?" Zhang Zhixue asked curiously. "Were there no patients at the hospital today?"
"We might be doctors, but who hopes for more sick people?" Zhu Xuan quickly interrupted her husband. "It’s rare for Xiao Ming and Dad to come back this early. You two should get some proper rest. I’ll go make dinner."
"Xuan, don’t bother cooking. Let’s just order some takeout," Zhang Chengguang said, waving his hand. He looked at Zhang Mingcheng. "Order something nice, and have a few drinks with your dad."
"Got it!" Zhang Mingcheng nodded, then took out his phone to order the food.
Zhu Xuan and Zhang Zhixue exchanged bewildered glances, completely caught off guard.
"Wait, Dad, it’s not even a holiday. Why are we drinking?" Zhang Zhixue’s heart skipped a beat as he asked cautiously. "Did something happen?"
When it came to alcohol, a little drink was pleasant, but too much harmed the body. Zhang Chengguang was a master of traditional Chinese medicine and always reminded his son to drink less. Because Zhang Zhixue was a businessman with countless social engagements, drinking was unavoidable. Thus, the old man often prescribed anti-hangover medicine for him. Unless it was a holiday, they never drank alcohol at home.
So, with Zhang Chengguang and Zhang Mingcheng suddenly coming home early, ordering a feast, and even suggesting they drink, Zhang Zhixue couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dread.
He wondered if someone had fallen terminally ill. But that didn’t make sense. His father was a master physician, and his son had achieved great success in his medical studies. Their family had healthy genes, so it was impossible for them to have contracted any major illness.
Zhu Xuan, always understanding and considerate, chimed in. "Did you treat a patient from a poor family background?"
But as soon as she said it, she realized she was wrong. The excitement on the faces of the grandfather and grandson was impossible to hide. "Did something happy happen?" she corrected herself.
Zhang Zhixue noticed it too and instinctively picked up his phone. "Did Sakura Paste suffer another disaster?"
He remembered that the last time the old man had been this happy was when a massive earthquake in Sakura Paste had collapsed a nuclear power plant. However, Sakura Paste’s subsequent handling of the situation had caused the old man to curse at them relentlessly for a solid half-year.
"No," Zhang Chengguang chuckled.
"Then what is it?" Zhu Xuan thought for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up. "Xiao Ming is in love!"
Zhang Mingcheng’s hand trembled, nearly flinging his phone across the room. "No, I’m not!"
Zhu Xuan stared at him. "Are you sure?"
"I’m absolutely sure!" Zhang Mingcheng replied firmly.
Zhu Xuan nodded. "That’s good then. Li Hongxia introduced me to a newly arrived girl from her bureau. She has a good family background and is very pretty. I’ll send you her contact info later. Chat with her properly, and it would be best if you asked her out this weekend."
Zhang Mingcheng was speechless.
"I’m not meeting her!" he refused decisively.
He had to be joking. He had just obtained a Thunder Seed, learned the truth about the so-called Grotto Heaven Blessed Land, and established contact with several young people from the Daluo Palace. He had even heard that Fang Zhanqing of the Shangqing Sect had married a Snow Maiden.
Over in the Otherworld, there were delicate and gorgeous Female Ghosts, as well as pure yet enchanting Banshees. That was exactly the place for young men of the Taoist Sect like him to display their masculine prowess. How could he possibly marry an ordinary mortal woman in the modern world?
The youth from the Celestial Master’s Mansion, the Pure Yang Sect, the Shangqing Sect, and the Spiritual Treasure Sect were all preparing to find their significant others in the Otherworld. As the representative figure of the new generation of the Taiping Dao, how could he fall behind?
However, Zhang Mingcheng’s resolute refusal left Zhu Xuan completely baffled. She remembered that her son hadn’t been opposed to blind dates in the past and had even met with a few women. Why was he refusing so decisively this time without even being willing to chat?
Zhu Xuan couldn’t help but look at Zhang Chengguang. "Dad, what exactly happened?"
Zhang Chengguang smiled without saying a word. He pulled two mahogany bracelets from his pocket and handed them to Zhu Xuan and Zhang Zhixue. "These are Golden Gang Bracelets. Take one each and wear it close to your body. Do not take it off unless you’re taking a shower."
Zhang Zhixue knew his goods. After taking the bracelet and examining it, he couldn’t help but ask, "Is this Purple Sandalwood? Dad, where did you get these?"
Zhu Xuan noticed the Runes carved into the beads. "Is it from Taoist Fa Ben?"
"No," Zhang Chengguang shook his head, then smiled warmly. "Xiao Ming and I will be leaving for a period of time. It’s still uncertain exactly when we’ll be back."
Zhang Zhixue grew even more bewildered.
His father had spent his entire life milling around Cang City; the farthest he had ever traveled was to Yandu. His son, despite being able to settle down in Yandu, had deliberately chosen to return to Cang City. Why were these two homebodies, who treated Cang City as their absolute sanctuary, suddenly wanting to leave?
Zhang Zhixue’s expression turned solemn. "Dad, what exactly is going on?"
Seeing their grave expressions, Zhang Chengguang burst into a hearty laugh before turning to Zhang Mingcheng. "You tell them!"
Zhang Mingcheng had already finished ordering dinner. Putting down his phone, he beamed and said, "Dad, do you know why I didn’t want to stay in Yandu?"
"Because you’re homesick," Zhang Zhixue replied.
"Because you can’t bear to leave your mother!" Zhu Xuan chimed in immediately.
"Uh... you’re both right." Zhang Mingcheng nodded. "But the main reason is that the atmosphere in Yandu is poor. It’s not suitable for my cultivation."
"Cultivation?" Zhang Zhixue and his wife were once again stunned in confusion.
Zhu Xuan was completely in the dark, but Zhang Zhixue suddenly realized something. He couldn’t help but ask, "The Taiping Scripture?"
Zhang Mingcheng grinned. A Talisman materialized in his hand. With a gentle flick, it spontaneously ignited without any wind, transforming into a spark of light that instantly struck the space between Zhang Zhixue’s eyebrows.
Zhang Zhixue was startled, but immediately felt a wave of clarity wash over his mind. It was as if his brain had been cleansed by pure spring water, making his entire being feel incredibly lucid.
"This is..." Zhang Zhixue stared at the two of them in utter disbelief.
Zhu Xuan’s eyes widened drastically as she cried out in shock, "That anomaly earlier with the yellow sky and cyan clouds... was that because of you two?"
"Spot on!" Zhang Mingcheng formed a Seal Technique with his hands and declared with absolute solemnity, "The Azure Sky is dead; the Yellow Sky must rise! When the year is Jiazi, there will be great prosperity under heaven!"