“Then everything about my father and the so-called Master Maoyang you mentioned was actually orchestrated by Zhang Liusun, right? Was it all planned just so… the Emperor could meet my grandmother, leading to your birth?” Bi Zhen asked, her eyes flickering with curiosity.
Mei Qing nodded somewhat gloomily: “Exactly. The so-called Master Maoyang was actually Zhang Liusun possessing the body of A Nu. Although he meticulously planned everything, he miscalculated two things regarding Fan Wentai.”
“First was Fan Wentai’s ambition. Originally a fisherman’s son, Fan had no grand ambitions at all. However, as his cultivation flourished under Zhang’s guidance, and he repeatedly defeated masters from various sects, especially since his ideology gradually aligned with Zhang’s, it was only natural for his character to change. Initially, he remained under Zhang’s control and dared not entertain any improper thoughts.”
“At that time, Fan Wentai, under the identity of Mei Huazhenren (Plum Blossom Immortal), had already taken several disciples and led them in challenging various sects. I believe this was not only a deliberate attempt by Zhang Liusun to test new cultivation methods, but more likely motivated by Zhang’s own interests.”
“At that time, although the Celestial Master Sect was still the leader of Daoism, its reputation had greatly declined compared to before, especially when compared to the glory during Zhang Liusun’s time as head of the Xuanjiao sect. Naturally, Zhang was dissatisfied with seeing the cause he had built single-handedly deteriorate to this state. Moreover, being an ambitious man by nature, even after changing identities, he still sought ways to change the situation, wanting to once again achieve the glory of unifying all Daoist sects under one banner. The actions of the Mei Sect were actually paving the way for his future return.”
“But all his plans had to be realized through Fan Wentai’s identity. This inevitably exposed Fan to the underlying purposes, naturally fueling his growing ambitions.”
“And the second thing Zhang Liusun hadn’t foreseen was related to my mother,” Mei Qing paused, struggling somewhat to continue: “He never expected that Fan Wentai would develop improper desires for my mother.”
“Zhang Liusun wouldn’t allow Fan to ruin his grand plan for cultivating a new body, so conflicts between them began to intensify. You should have heard from Liu Xing about that period when Fan Wentai’s behavior seemed extremely strange. The real reason was due to their constant clashes. When Zhang Liusun entered Fan Wentai’s body to arrange matters, he acted according to his own design; but when Zhang returned to A Nu’s body, Fan would behave completely differently, even addressing Mei Wuduo with the affectionate term ‘Mei Ji’ (Plum Blossom Elder Sister).”
However, at that time, Zhang Liusun was still capable of maintaining control over the situation, so everything proceeded as planned: Master Maoyang entered the Mansion of Prince Xianxian, and Mei Wuduo also drew the Prince’s attention due to a series of unusual incidents. Yet just when everything seemed to have been successfully accomplished, and after Master Maoyang had retired following his success and returned to his mountain hermitage, he discovered that Fan Wentai had become increasingly uncontrollable.
“As time passed and I was born, the conflict between the two men intensified. Looking back now, I suspect that by then Fan Wentai had already ceased to be the obedient cauldron slave he once was. His cultivation had matured, and the Mei Sect had gradually gained strength. The period during which Zhang Liusun, disguised as Master Maoyang, was away gave Fan too much time. By the time my mother sent me away and he died shortly thereafter, the rift between Fan Wentai and Zhang Liusun must have become irreconcilable. Zhang Liusun had no choice but to temporarily halt his plans, return to the mountains, and first address the conflict between them.”
Mei Qing let out a cold chuckle here and said, “Actually, on the surface, it seemed to be a conflict of interests. But I believe that by then, both men had already gradually fallen into confusion. Although they both knew who they were, their thoughts and ideas constantly blended and infiltrated each other. However, due to their mutual distrust and hatred, neither was willing to submit to the other. Privately, I’m sure the inner chaos and confusion must have seriously affected their cultivation, even impacting their mental clarity. Otherwise, Zhang Liusun wouldn’t have abandoned the search for my whereabouts at that time and instead chosen to return to the mountains for cultivation.”
“But what he didn’t expect was that returning to the mountains wouldn’t solve the problem but rather gave Fan Wentai an opportunity to scheme against him.”
“Ever since Wuduo’s death, Fan Wentai had hated Zhang Liusun with every bone in his body. Moreover, although many things were done by Zhang Liusun, they were all carried out under the name of Mei Huazhenren (Plum Blossom Immortal). As long as Fan eliminated Zhang Liusun, he himself would become the sole authentic Mei Huazhenren in the world, free to do as he pleased. Under such circumstances, Fan naturally focused all his thoughts on how to get rid of Zhang Liusun.”
“But although this sounds easy, Fan was constantly under Zhang Liusun’s surveillance, so how could he possibly take action? Moreover, everything Fan had learned came from Zhang Liusun. Although Zhang’s cultivation was limited due to being confined to A Nu’s body, he was still far beyond Fan Wentai’s ability to confront.”
“However, after years of cultivation and influence, Fan improved and came up with an unimaginable method: he had his own disciples kill him!”
“What?” Bi Zhen exclaimed in surprise. “Are you saying that the plot by Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen to assassinate Fan Wentai was actually orchestrated… by Fan Wentai himself?”
“Exactly. But what he wanted to kill was actually Zhang Liusun who was possessing his body. This sounds truly incredible,” Mei Qing nodded. “Moreover, he didn’t directly command them but used various means of coercion and temptation.”
Bi Zhen shook her head: “That’s insane. Who would have thought someone would plot to have himself murdered?”
“Hehe, indeed. The world is full of strange phenomena. I suppose Fan Wentai must have devoted considerable thought to this scheme, needing to incite greed and murderous intent among his disciples while simultaneously finding ways to keep Zhang Liusun from realizing his intentions. The cauldron was certainly intentionally revealed to his disciples, and there might have been other tactics involved as well. Eventually, he succeeded. His disciples used the Celestial Master to create misunderstandings, leading to a confrontation between the two men. Fan Wentai foresaw exactly what would happen, but Zhang Liusun remained completely oblivious. Although he never intended to fight to the death, Zhang probably wanted to test just how skilled the current Celestial Master was in his cultivation abilities. He never anticipated that at the crucial moment, Fan Wentai would suddenly extract his own Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit) from his original body and retreat into A Nu’s vacant body, which had been vacated by Zhang Liusun. Consequently, Zhang Liusun found himself locked inside Fan Wentai’s body, trapped by the formation arranged by Shao Yuanjie, Tao Zhongwen, and others.”
“Fan Wentai took over A Nu’s body and returned to the cave dwelling, only to be surprised to find that the cauldron he had previously hidden was already gone. He assumed it was taken by Shao and Tao, so he pursued them all the way back to the capital, but still couldn’t find any trace of the cauldron. Unwilling to give up, Fan Wentai seized the opportunity of an audience to abandon A Nu’s body and took over the body of Marquis Guo Xun, thus going into hiding. Shao Yuanjie, severely wounded in the ambush, soon died and ascended as a disembodied immortal. Soon after, Duan Chaoyong also entered the capital and coincidentally encountered the impostor Guo Xun, Fan Wentai. At that time, Duan had already placed the cauldron in Yongping. Guo Xun didn’t realize the cauldron was stolen by Duan and instead wanted to cultivate him as an ally, which is why he recommended him to the imperial court.”
After listening, Bi Zhen said somewhat unhappily: “Actually, Marquis Guo was a very good person. No wonder he later became increasingly arrogant and solitary in character. It turns out… he had already been harmed by Fan Wentai long before.”
Mei Qing sighed: “Fan Wentai, born into poverty from a young age and used by Zhang Liusun as a cauldron slave, later emerged as the Plum Blossom Immortal. In reality, he was no different from a puppet. Though outwardly glorious, he was inwardly humble, and his actions inevitably became extreme. Look at his methods—all centered around conspiracy, even worse than Zhang Liusun’s tactics back then.”
Bi Zhen nodded and asked again: “Then what happened later? How did that inkstone come into play?”
Mei Qing sighed: “Fan Wentai, Tao Zhongwen, and others never expected that the Zhang Liusun trapped inside Fan Wentai’s body had not actually died. Both his physical body and spiritual essence were severely injured, though. After escaping, Zhang Liusun’s mind was even more confused, and he had forgotten many Daoist techniques. In fact, I suspect that Fan Wentai indeed mastered some unique secret methods, gaining many advantages during their fusion. Otherwise, it would be hard to imagine Zhang Liusun repeatedly suffering setbacks in his struggle against Fan Wentai.”
“In any case, with fragmented memories, Zhang Liusun wanted to repair his body and recover his Daoist techniques. He recalled that in his earliest memories, after annihilating the Shenxiao Sect, he had seized their Thunder Magic scriptures. He kept copies for himself and presented the originals as gifts into the imperial palace, where they were stored in the palace treasury. Although he had forgotten these techniques, he still remembered the location of the treasure vault where they were stored.”
“The imperial palace of our dynasty was expanded upon the foundation of the previous Yuan Dynasty palace. Although the front halls were mostly newly built, the underground treasure vault in the rear palace still followed the original design. Although Zhang Liusun knew the location and orientation, in his current state, he was unable to break into the palace to retrieve the Daoist scriptures. With no choice, he had to take an alternative route, abandoning cultivation methods and instead recruiting a group of tomb robbers and thieves to dig a tunnel and retrieve the two chests of Daoist scriptures.”
“However, he overlooked one point: the body he was inhabiting was once Fan Wentai’s. He never imagined that Fan Wentai was also in the capital, now serving as a Duke. When Fan Wentai discovered that Zhang Liusun was still alive, after his initial shock, he didn’t act personally but instead leaked the information to Tao and Duan.”
“As a result, Zhang Liusun walked right into a trap, where he could not escape the Heavenly Fire Formation.”
“Fortunately, heaven never completely closes the door on someone. At the final moment, Zhang Liusun finally discovered something in that treasure vault that could temporarily house his spirit.”
“It was an inkstone—an inkstone presented as tribute from Duanzhou, known as the Seven Star Inkstone.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage