**Chapter 23: The Relocation of the Five Elements Sect**
At the main hall of Chihuo Peak, Chixiao sat cross-legged upon the central cushion, his *fuchen* resting beside him, his face etched with solemnity. Before him sat more than a dozen Taoists of the Chi generation—men and women, young and old, arranged in quiet reverence.
It had been over a century since the sect last convened so formally, a memory harking back to Chixiao's ascension as sect leader. On that occasion, the Five Elements Bell tolled six times to mark the succession. This time, however, Chixiao had struck it nine. In the sect's long history, the bell had rung nine times fewer than the fingers on one hand, a rare signal of the gravity of what he was about to declare.
"Today, I have called you here for a single purpose: to proclaim the *Palm Master's True Word*. This is the first time I have invoked this authority as sect leader, and I ask for your patience and support," the old Taoist began, his voice measured and courteous.
The Taoists seated on their cushions nodded in unison, their silence an invitation for Chixiao to proceed.
Seeing their agreement, Chixiao wasted no words. "With the exception of the Xuanzhao branch, all branches of the Five Elements Sect are to relocate."
Though they had braced themselves for something momentous, the announcement of the sect's relocation struck like a thunderclap. Eyes met across the hall, wide with shock and confusion. The more impetuous among them could not hold back. "Sect Leader, this matter…"
"I cannot elaborate. I ask only for your understanding and obedience to the *Palm Master's True Word*. Please make preparations to move as swiftly as possible," Chixiao said, rising to his feet and offering a deep bow to his fellow Taoists.
"This…"
As seasoned cultivators, they mastered their emotions with ease, yet the abruptness of the decree tested their composure. Only a few seemed to grasp some hint of the truth, gazing at Chixiao with thoughtful silence, refraining from protest.
The *Palm Master's True Word* was an inviolable edict within the Five Elements Sect. Each sect leader could wield it thrice, its authority absolute, rooted in the ironclad oath every member swore upon joining: "Absolute obedience to the *Palm Master's True Word*." Three invocations might sound generous, but for leaders whose tenures spanned centuries, it was a scarce privilege.
Suspicion stirred among them, and a blue-robed Taoist, his white hair framing a youthful face, spoke softly. "Senior Brother Sect Leader, if calamity threatens the sect, we may not be extraordinary, but we are bound as one."
All present were adept at divination. After the initial shock, a quick calculation revealed a faint black aura shrouding the sect—a harbinger of disaster. Had Chixiao not acted, their routine divinations might have missed it entirely.
"This calamity arises from me. The Five Elements Sect was entrusted to me by Master Xuanzhao. I have failed to exalt it, and now, having brought this peril upon us, how can I allow the sect to sink with me?" Chixiao's face darkened as he sighed, his words hinting at the cause without unveiling it fully.
The blue-robed Taoist exchanged a grave glance with the Taoist nun beside him, their expressions heavy with unspoken understanding.
He pressed further. "Senior Brother, we will honor your decision, but in this vast world, where can the Five Elements Sect flee to escape this doom?"
It was not fear that drove their question, but recognition of Chixiao's mastery of the *Great Evolution Void Travel Technique*. His foresight surpassed theirs by far. If even he deemed it necessary to preserve the sect's legacy, they had no choice but to follow.
"I have made arrangements. You will understand once you return to your branches," Chixiao replied, offering no further explanation. His reticence stemmed not from distrust, but from strategy—dispersing the branches to separate havens, unknown to one another, would shield them better.
The Taoists exchanged looks, then bowed as one. "We will obey the *Palm Master's True Word*."
Such was the nature of sect meetings: deception was futile, and the sect leader merely charted the course. Thus, the Five Elements Sect always chose the most far-seeing Taoist as its guide.
The *Great Evolution Void Travel Technique* was no trifling art. Those who mastered it had always led their branches. Even if Chixiao's decree seemed sudden, a moment's divination and mutual confirmation would reveal its wisdom—especially with the *Palm Master's True Word* invoked.
This was why the Five Elements Sect endured amidst a world of immortal turmoil, anchoring an entire nation.
Their own calculations suggested the sect could weather the storm, but if Chixiao deemed otherwise, they trusted his vision. He saw further, knew more.
Thus, they would safeguard the sect's future.
The Taoists dispersed, leaving Chixiao alone in the hall, his countenance still shadowed by melancholy.
"You're even driving this old man away. You've truly stirred the heavens this time, Chixiao," a weathered voice rasped through the chamber. A stooped figure appeared at the entrance, gazing at him with concern.
"Martial Uncle," Chixiao said, rising swiftly to bow. The newcomer was Xuanheng, the Xuanzhao generation elder who guarded the library.
"Can't you tell even me?" Xuanheng asked, stepping forward. His hunched form straightened, his aged features rejuvenating into those of a sturdy young man.
Chixiao understood—Xuanheng was signaling his vigor, his readiness to aid. Yet this matter could not ensnare the sect.
He shook his head slowly. "If I fail, Martial Uncle, you will learn the reasons in time."
Xuanheng sighed. He knew his martial nephew bore deep insight, yet he had never imagined a day when even the Five Elements Sect could not stand firm.
"Very well. You Chi generation youngsters all hold copies of the library. Tomorrow, I'll take the original and depart for the place you've prepared," Xuanheng said. The library itself was a magical artifact, and he its keeper.
As Xuanheng turned to leave, he began humming a tune once sung by Master Xuanzhao, familiar to Chixiao's ears.
*"In a person's life, how long is their span? Like a sigh between heaven and earth, fleeting and small, yet they find their own freedom. Sorrows and bitterness are all offerings to the Dao. Spring flowers and autumn moons reflect in the morning light. Those who attain the Dao wander in dreams, neither real nor false, hard to discern. Only those who wield swords to hunt immortals—how can they achieve immortality? Better to shatter like jade for the sovereign than to remain whole as an immortal's tile."*
The melody faded as Xuanheng departed. Chixiao stood silent, his gaze lowered, lost in thought.
A sudden premonition jolted him. He raised his hand to divine, his expression faltering.
"Golden Radiance City… could they be planning…" His face paled, and he divined again, urgency mounting.
This time, he could no longer remain still. "How is Qingyun in Golden Radiance?" he cried out.
With a flick of his sleeve, he drew forth a peachwood sword and leaped atop it. Sword and man melded into a rainbow streak, racing beyond the sect's bounds.
---
The rainbow light cleaved the sky, then abruptly slowed. Chixiao materialized, sensing a presence locking onto him.
"Show yourself," he called, his voice ringing clear.
The lock bore no killing intent, leaving him uncertain of the entity's nature—friend or foe. Yet the other did not emerge at his command. As Chixiao focused, a familiar scholarly aura creased his brow.
"Li Xun!" he shouted, doubt threading his tone.
A sigh resounded, and a white-robed scholar rose from the forest below, drifting up to face Chixiao, silent still.
"What is the meaning of this?" Chixiao's face grew stern, a foreboding stirring within.
"Entrusted by another, Li Xun asks you to linger here a moment," the scholar said, his gaze averted.
"Hmph, entrusted by another—or by an immortal?" Chixiao's expression hardened, devoid of warmth for an old friend.
Li Xun lifted his eyes to the heavens. "They offered a price I could not refuse."
Chixiao's face darkened further. "What price? To make you an immortal?"
The question hung unanswered in the stillness. After a long pause, the scholar met the old Taoist's gaze.
"To bring… her back," he said, his voice laced with anguish. Chixiao finally saw the abyss in those eyes, a depth that held Li Xun captive.
"You—" Chixiao faltered, then fury surged, his beard trembling with rage.
Among peers, Li Xun was the last foe Chixiao wished to confront. As a Confucian scholar, Li Xun's spirit was the world's most unyielding. He could infuse his lifespan into his strikes, summoning unknowable forces to trade life for life.
To face Li Xun was to wager who had more years to burn.
Chixiao feared no such battle—his cultivation far outstripped the scholar's, and even in a life-for-life exchange, Li Xun's three years might not match one of his own. Yet to pass through, Li Xun would perish, and Chixiao would bear another wound.
"If I wish to leave, can a scholar stop me?" Chixiao narrowed his eyes, unwilling to dally.
"My sword aims not at an old friend, but at the Five Elements Sect," Li Xun sighed, his tone resigned.
"You!" Chixiao's anger rendered him speechless.
Victory was assured, yet subduing Li Xun would take time. To depart without resolving this left the risk that Li Xun might fulfill his threat.
Beyond Chixiao himself, even Xuanheng, newly stepped into the Dao realm, could not withstand Li Xun.
The mark of the Dao realm was the wielding of *reverse Yuan*, its structure opposing *Yuan*. When they clashed, they unleashed light and fearsome energy, annihilating one another. Thus, the gulf between those below and within the Dao realm was vast as the heavens.
Li Xun, a Confucian scholar of Dao-realm caliber, was invincible to those beneath it. Even within the realm, a slight disparity in strength was an unbridgeable chasm.
Chixiao stood mere steps ahead of Li Xun, yet the scholar held no hope of triumph, even should he exhaust his life. Why, then, would he sacrifice himself to delay Chixiao, if only for a moment? Was reviving the dead truly worth such a cost?
Even immortals could not undo death. Li Xun knew this, yet he stood here, staking his life on a fleeting chance.
The resolve to die radiated from him, a sharp aura Chixiao could sense across the meters between them, unwavering and resolute.
Yet Qingyun embodied Chixiao's lifelong design. Even if it meant slaying Li Xun, he would not falter.
"Is love truly worth more than humanity?" Chixiao asked, each word cold and deliberate.
Li Xun's gaze dropped, a weight seeming to choke his throat, leaving him mute. He offered no defense.
"Then I can only send my 'old friend' on his way."
原始中文文本
赤火峰,主峰大殿.
赤霄盤坐殿內中央蒲團,拂塵擺放身側,面容肅穆.在他前方坐著十多位赤字輩道人,有男有女,有老有少.
距離上一回,門內如此鄭重聚集諸脈議事,已經是百多年前,赤霄即位五行觀掌門的時候了.當時的傳位大典,在五行鐘上敲了六響,而這次赤霄竟然敲了九響.自創觀以來,五行鐘九響的次數,就未曾超過一掌,可見赤霄即將宣布的事情有多重要.
「貧道今日召集諸位前來,僅有一事,便是宣告掌門真言.此乃貧道任掌門以來,初次行使掌門真言,還請諸位同門多多擔待.」老道士先是客氣地說出了此次議事的開場白.
其餘坐於蒲團上的道人紛紛點頭,安靜等待赤霄後話.
見殿內所有同門都頷首表態,赤霄也不再多說嘮叨,立刻就宣布道:「五行觀除玄昭一脈,其餘諸脈皆行遷移之事.」
雖然早有預期會是重要的事情,卻沒想到竟是關係門派遷徙的大事,道人們互相對視,都從對方眼裡看見了震驚,詫異,性急者更是忍不住直接發問:「掌門,此事⋯⋯」
「赤霄不能詳說,還請諸位同門能夠理解,並遵循掌門真言,盡快準備搬遷.」老道士起身,向其他人一揖到底.
「這⋯⋯」
都是修道有成的修行者,自然都能夠控制好情緒,只是這件事太過於突然,讓他們無法立刻接受,只有寥寥數位道人彷彿知道了些什麼,若有所思看著赤霄,沒有出聲質疑.
掌門真言是五行觀不可違背的律令,每一任掌門都可以行使三次,其在五行觀門人中具有很大的約束力,因為每位門人在進入門派時,其中一條鐵則便是「絕對服從掌門真言」.
三次聽上去很多,但相較於五行觀歷任掌門數百年的任期來說,其實並不算什麼.
雖然對事態有所猜測,一名鶴髮童顏的藍袍道人還是輕聲道:「掌門師兄,若門派將有劫難,吾等雖非出類拔萃,但總歸是一根繩上的螞蚱.」
五行觀諸道皆能卜會算,道人們在驚訝過後,略為推演便看見了五行觀上初現的黑氣,此乃應劫之兆,若不是因為赤霄此舉,眾道人平時卜算必然會將其錯漏.
「此事,因貧道而起.五行觀為貧道由玄昭師尊手上接過,未將其發揚光大也罷,今日赤霄惹來了禍事,又怎麼能拖累了五行觀?」赤霄面色有些陰鬱,嘆了口氣還是隱約道出其中因由.
藍袍道人與身旁的道姑互看一眼,兩人眼中都有些凝重.
他再次向赤霄問:「師兄已有決斷,吾等自然尊崇,可這天下如此,五行觀又能到何處去避過此劫?」
此並非道人們怕事,而是因為赤霄精通大衍空行訣,他在推演一道的成就絕非其他道人可比,若連赤霄都認為此劫需留下火種,那麼五行觀諸道自然只能遵循他的決定.
「貧道已有安排,各位同門回返諸脈後便知.」赤霄不願在此多做透露,並非是怕這群道人裡會出奸細,而是他將諸脈分別派往不同的地域,若彼此之間不知,保護性自然更大.
幾名道人互相看了看,最後還是一齊對著赤霄拱手道:「謹遵掌門真言.」
道人們之間的議事便是如此,誰都很難完全欺騙過其他人,掌門只是一個方向,所以五行觀都會選擇一位夠看得最遠的道士來擔任掌門.
大衍空行訣的難以成就,並非浪得虛名.
門內修成大衍空行訣的道者,一直都是諸脈的領頭人,即使是他人起初看來很突兀的決定,彼此掐指算過,互相印證後,也會發現其中緣故,更別說赤霄這次還搬出掌門真言了.
這便是五行觀屹立於世間,在這個群仙動亂的時代能夠穩住一國的關鍵原因.
雖然在他們掐算裡,此劫以五行觀之能並不難渡,但赤霄說不行,那就是不行,畢竟赤霄能夠看得更遠,也知道得更多.
那麼,便開始留下火種罷.
群道紛紛散去,只留下赤霄在殿內,面色依舊有些抑鬱.
「連老夫也得趕走,赤霄你這回可是捅了天.」滄桑的嗓音在殿內響起,佝僂的身影不知何時站在殿門處,有些擔憂地看著赤霄.
「師叔.」老道士連忙起身行禮,來者正是守護藏書閣的玄字輩長老──玄珩.
「和老夫也不能說嗎?」玄珩一步一步走近,佝僂的身型逐漸挺直,面容與皮膚也變得年輕,直到赤霄面前時,已經是一名面容堅毅,身材壯實的青年.
赤霄知道,玄珩只是在告訴自己,他還老當益壯,能夠助自己一臂之力.但這件事,可真不能拖累了五行觀.
他緩緩地搖頭,向已經化為青年外貌的玄珩說道:「若是赤霄失敗,師叔自然會清楚箇中原由.」
玄珩嘆了口氣,他知道自己這名師侄胸有溝壑,卻沒想過竟然會有連五行觀都不能應對的一天.
「那好罷,藏書閣的備份你們幾個赤字輩的小子都有,明日老夫便會將其本體收起,帶往你安排的地方.」藏書閣本來就是一件法寶,而此代執掌者便是玄珩.
玄珩轉身離去,步伐依舊緩慢,只從口中慢慢哼起了一首歌謠,那是玄昭當年所唱,赤霄對此同樣耳熟能詳.
「人之一世,壽算幾何?猶如天地一嘆,渺小短暫,卻自得逍遙.傷悲愁苦,皆奉於道.春花秋月,映入晨曦.吾道得生者,徜徉於幻夢,非真非假,難辨其實.唯有仗劍尋仙者,又豈有長生不滅?寧為君玉碎,不作仙瓦全.」
歌聲逐漸遠去,老道士默然,垂下了目光,不知心中所思.
就在此時,赤霄心血來潮,神色微愣,抬起手掐指卜算.
「金煌城,難道祂們想⋯⋯」他臉色一變,又想起了什麼,連忙又掐指算了起來.
這次,他再也坐不住,驚呼道:「青雲怎麼會在金煌?」
伸手從袖中拋出一把桃木劍,老道士縱身一躍,跳上懸空的劍身,劍與人隨即化為一道虹芒朝觀外而去.
虹光劃破天際,卻忽然慢了下來.赤霄顯化出身形,一股氣息鎖定了他.
「出來罷.」赤霄朗聲說道.
這種不帶殺氣的鎖定,讓他摸不准來者是敵是友.對方卻沒有因為他的話而現身,隨著赤霄凝神感應,熟悉的書生氣息讓他不自覺皺起了眉頭.
「李珣!」赤霄驚疑不定地喊出那個名字.
一聲歎息響起,白衣儒生的身形從下方樹林裡升起,緩緩停在赤霄面前,卻仍不言不語.
「這是什麼意思?」老道士面色嚴峻,心裡隱約有了不好的猜測.
「受人所託,李珣請道友在此稍待片刻.」李珣偏開目光.
「哼,是受人所託,還是受仙所託?」老道士臉色愈發肅然,絲毫沒有見到老友的喜悅.
李珣抬起頭望向天際,說道:「祂們開出小生無法拒絕的價碼.」
赤霄臉色陰沉,沉聲問:「什麼價碼?讓你成仙?」
此話問出,彼此間一陣沉默.良久後,儒生才看向老道士.
「讓⋯⋯她歸來.」他語氣中蘊藏著一絲痛苦.赤霄終於看清楚了那對幽深的眼眸,如同深潭,將李珣困在其中.
「你──」愣了片刻,反應過來的赤霄氣得吹鬍子瞪眼.
要說同境中人,老道士最不想面對的對手,那肯定是李珣.李珣修儒,其書生意氣卻是世間最為剛烈,能夠將自身壽命融入其中,引動冥冥中不可知的力量,以命換命.
可以說,和李珣打一場,等於是在比誰命長.
雖然,赤霄並不畏懼與李珣交手,畢竟他的修為遠勝李珣,就算命換命也得看多少換多少,李珣的三年都不一定能換來赤霄的一年壽命.但這樣也表示,如果赤霄想要由此地經過,李珣必死.
而赤霄,也必然再度受傷.
「貧道想走,書生豈能留得住?」赤霄瞇起雙眼,不想與之多做糾纏.
「小生的劍,並不指向老友,而是對著五行觀.」李珣再度嘆了口氣,無賴地說道.
「你!」赤霄也再次被他氣得說不出話來.
雖然有必勝的把握,但赤霄要拿下李珣依舊不是一時半刻的事情.而如果老道士不管不顧地離開,他不能把握李珣會不會說到做到.
五行觀除了他之外,即使玄珩也只是剛踏入道境,又有誰能擋得住李珣?
修道者踏入道境的標誌,便是能使用逆元.逆元的結構與元相反,兩者相觸會在瞬間放出光與恐怖的能量,並使元湮滅抵銷.因此,未入道境與道境存在,是天與地的差距.
而面前的李珣,乃儒生中修為與道境相對應者,此非道境不可敵.甚至在同一個境界中,低上那麼一丁點實力,都是鴻溝般的差距.
赤霄不過多走李珣幾步,卻是李珣即使耗光壽命也沒有一線勝機的對手.
兩人對此都很清楚,只要兩人必須分出勝負,李珣必死,即使仙用天外隕石相助,也無法改變結果.那麼,他為何要捨命來抵擋自己,那怕只是拖延片刻?挽回一個已死之人,真有這麼重要?
但即使是仙,又何能逆轉生死?李珣不會不清楚,卻仍然為了一絲希望而前來以命相搏.
他身上的死意強烈,即使相隔數丈,赤霄也能感受到那股視死如歸的決然,縈繞在他鋒銳的氣勢中,讓老道士看出這份決心.
不過,青雲同樣是他畢生算計之所在,即使⋯⋯要殺死李珣,老道士也在所不惜.
「愛人,真比人族重要?」最後一次,赤霄一字一頓,森冷問道.
李珣目光低垂,彷彿喉間壓著巨物,讓他喉頭艱澀滾動,卻說不出話來,沒有多做解釋.
「那貧道,便只能為『老友』送行了.」