Heaven-Subduing Scripture

She did not ponder long before the Lady in Green made her decision.

”I have here three divine arts, all fairly suited to you; one is most precious, which this seat shall not name — only let you choose yourself; whether you pick that one depends on your own fortune.”

Li Daoxuan’s eyes lit — three divine arts!

A divine art is the highest order of magic; perfected, it holds the power to reach heaven and pierce earth, to shift stars and change constellations!

Most famed are the Daoist Seventy-Two Earthly-Demon Arts and the Thirty-Six Heavenly-Gang Arts.

”Listen well — this seat shall speak but once.”

”The first divine art is named Dharma-Heaven-Earth; it may cultivate a ten-thousand-zhang dharma-body, upholding the sky and shaking the earth, with the god-power to move mountains and lift ridges; perfected, it may stand beside the heavenly generals of the ancient courts.”

Li Daoxuan’s eyes lit; he thought — you might as well just name the God of Strength outright.

This art is most famous; the likes of Erlang, Sun Wukong, and Nezha, who love battle, basically all know it; its might is no weak thing — a fine choice.

”The second divine art is named the Northern Emperor Thunder-Lord Art — a secret method transmitted by the North-Pole Purple-Wei Great Emperor; it commands the five thunders, might without end. This seat observes your Five-Thunder Talisman is quite profound; this thunder-art may suit you well.”

Li Daoxuan at once felt this one was good too — the Northern Emperor Thunder-Lord Art is a most fierce thunder-righteous method; perfected, perhaps one may comprehend the great divine art of commanding the five thunders!

”The third divine art is named the Great Five-Elements Escape Art — obtained by this seat by chance, left by an ancient Buddha; it is a life-preserving art.”

A life-preserving art!

Hearing these words, a sharp light flashed in Li Daoxuan’s eyes.

In this Tang where demons walk the world, though cultivators have many arts, they still oft find themselves in danger; thus life-preserving arts are exceedingly precious!

His Shrinking-Earth was but a fair art, not the divine art of shrinking earth to an inch; and even that, on the path of self-preservation, should fall short of the Great Five-Elements Escape Art.

This is no travel art but an escape art — earth-escape, for instance, is to merge with the great earth and travel beneath it; fire-escape, to become flame, gathering and scattering without form.

With Li Daoxuan’s temperament, he was much taken with this art; cautious by nature, he likes to hunker down and strike from the shadows — such an art suits him best.

Yet the first two arts were fine too…

Li Daoxuan fell into a tangle for a time; and besides, he could not be sure which of the three was the most precious the Lady had spoken of.

He had a premonition that once he missed this chance, he would lose that most precious art forever.

The Lady in Green teaching in person — such a chance might come but once in a life!

His brows knit; he could not easily choose.

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Damn it — could he not have them all…

The Lady in Green seemed to see his tangle and said nothing, letting him think in quiet.

After some unknowable time, Li Daoxuan at last made his choice.

”Lady, I choose…”

Just as he would speak it, he saw Fairy Que at his side wildly blinking at him.

He paused.

Fairy Que slyly held up three fingers.

Li Daoxuan smiled faintly; those bugs were not given in vain — she was tipping him the answer!

”Lady, I choose the third — the Great Five-Elements Escape Art!”

Li Daoxuan said firm; in truth he had meant to choose this anyway; Fairy Que’s little gesture only made him the surer.

The Lady in Green swept Fairy Que a flat glance.

Fairy Que shrank her neck and laughed. ”Lady, I-I, I’m hungry, I’ll go out and find some bugs, ha!”

So saying she became a skylark and meant to fly off.

But the Lady in Green’s long sleeve swept and gathered her in.

”Break the rule, and first starve three months.”

So saying she looked to Li Daoxuan and said, ”It seems you and this art are indeed fated; very well — this seat shall impart it to you.”

A glint of excitement showed in Li Daoxuan’s eyes — indeed it was this art!

Only the Lady in Green had said the Great Five-Elements Escape Art was left by an ancient Buddha — which Buddha might that be?

”Come, put your ear close.”

Li Daoxuan nodded and walked toward the Lady in Green.

The dharma is not transmitted to six ears; such a precious art and wondrous method all the more must not be heard by others.

The old woman smiled at Li Daoxuan and turned to leave the hall, closing the door behind her.

At once the empty Blue Netherworld Hall held only Li Daoxuan and the Lady in Green.

The closer to the Lady, the stronger the faint fragrance at Li Daoxuan’s nose — breathing it cleared the spirit, as if within an immortal realm.

Because he was so near, Li Daoxuan’s gaze, through the faint clear-light, for the first time fully saw the Lady’s features.

Even with his self-possession, he could not but be struck dumb.

At this moment he suddenly understood the Luo River goddess of Cao Zijian’s ode.

Like light clouds shading the moon; like drifting wind turning the snow.

Before his eyes was plainly a maiden of cloud-tresses and lofty brows, ice-flesh and jade-bone — clear and lovely, peerless in the world, as if the Moon-Palace Chang’e descended to the mortal.

Most striking was the night-blooming-flower mark between her brows, like a lotus-throne in bloom, lending a touch of quiet elegance.

But Li Daoxuan soon came to himself.

For though the Lady in Green was beautiful, her air was too holy, a beauty awe-inspiring and inviolable, that he dared not profane.

”Clear the heart, keep still.”

The Lady in Green parted her red lips and uttered the great-Dao wondrous method — every word a pearl, subtle and profound, and it stirred a heaven-and-earth anomaly.

At once, within the Blue Netherworld Hall, heavenly flowers fell and golden lotuses rose from the ground, dark fragrance filling the room.

And in the eyes of the other ghost-officers, the Blue Netherworld Hall upon Yanfu Mountain was radiating rosy light, as if a rare treasure were about to emerge.

When a wondrous method is passed to the world, it holds its own mystery; heaven and earth are moved and give birth to anomaly!

The old woman keeping watch outside the hall sighed softly. ”Who would have thought the young mistress values him so — to impart even this art. They bear no name of master and disciple, yet already the reality of it; this karma is drawn rather too deep.”

…

After an unknowable time Li Daoxuan woke.

Only now did he understand how mighty this life-preserving art was — the great thousand world, yin-yang and the five elements, all are within it!

Not only self-preservation, but it extends to endless subtle uses!

Perfected, one may even grasp the five-elements great Dao — push mountains to fill seas, mark land into rivers, command water and fire, point ground to become steel!

Li Daoxuan also felt that though this art was left by an ancient Buddha, it ran through both Buddha and Dao, and was most profound in the Daoist arts as well.

Pity the method was too vast and deep; he had only just received it, not yet perfected it, and must still cultivate hard and ponder fine.

He opened his eyes, to meet the Lady in Green’s autumn-water clear-cold gaze.

”This method was created by the Buddha Krakucchanda, and obtained by me by chance; vast and deep, obscure and profound — though this seat has attained the ghost-immortal fruit, I have still not perfected it. You must ponder it well and be diligent without slack.”

The Buddha Krakucchanda!

Li Daoxuan understood — no wonder!

Krakucchanda, in the Investiture of the Gods, was one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, a personal disciple of the Primordial Lord of Heaven, who later entered the Buddhist gate and attained the Buddha fruit, named the Buddha Krakucchanda.

When Krakucchanda was of the Chan Sect he was famed for earth-travel arts; after attaining Buddha he should have gone a hundred feet further, using earth-travel as the lead to comprehend the five-elements great Dao, and created this supreme art!