Chapter 137: The Immortal’s Relic Cave — Taiyi?

This morning, I glanced through Tencent News and was struck by a prominent photo headline: “West Lake in Hangzhou Swamped with Tourists—Only a Sea of Heads, Not Even the Broken Bridge in Sight.” During the double holiday, there were truly crowds everywhere! At the Broken Bridge scenic spot in Hangzhou’s West Lake area on May 1, visitors stood shoulder to shoulder, one pressing against another. Perhaps those who live amid noise and bustle all day long yearn for a moment of peace and quiet.

Master Jinyun led this unusual group through hidden places in mountain valleys and secluded ravines. Ever since the American sinologist and Buddhist scripture translator Bill Porter published *The Monks of Mount Wutai*, Zhongnan Mountain had become a popular destination for tourists seeking recluses and hermits.

What is the meaning of human existence? Can hermits truly escape the disturbances of the mundane world? Do the realms evoked in the poems of Wang Wei, Wang Chongyang, and Tao Yuanming still exist?

“Mount Taiyi rises near the capital of Heaven,
Its linked peaks stretch to the edge of the sea.
White clouds gather when I look back,
Blue mists vanish when I gaze ahead.
The central peak divides the lands,
Each valley differs in shade and sun.
I wish to lodge where people dwell;
Across the water, I ask a woodcutter.”

“For decades I have dwelt in a wandering hut,
Unkempt and wild-eyed, I walk as though deranged.
Beneath the Crabapple Pavilion stands Master Chongyang;
In a lotus-leaf boat drifts the Immortal Taiyi.
Nothing lies outside this empty shell
That can truly be cast away;
If one can awaken before the next life,
One will understand.
I leave my gate with a smile, unbound by anything—
Clouds rest over West Lake, while the moon hangs in the sky.”

“I have built my hut among human dwellings,
Yet hear no clamor of carts or horses.
You ask how this can be so?
When the heart is distant, the place becomes remote of itself.
I gather chrysanthemums beneath the eastern hedge
And leisurely glimpse the Southern Mountain.
The mountain air is lovely at dusk;
Birds return together to their nests.
Within this lies the true meaning,
But when I try to explain it, I have already forgotten the words.”

Zhongnan Mountain was a supreme sacred ground of cultivation for both Daoism and Buddhism. It truly possessed the advantages of location and natural terrain. At that moment, Master Jinyun led them into a secluded mountain hollow, where they unexpectedly encountered a female practitioner. A yellow shoulder bag hung from her ******, with the words “Diamond Sutra” printed on it. Jiang Ni found this strange and asked, “Why does that person have a shoulder bag bearing the words ‘Diamond Sutra’ hanging from her ******?”

Master Jinyun stepped forward. When the female practitioner saw him, she pressed her palms together in greeting.

“Amitabha. Greetings, Master Jinyun!”

“There is no need for such formality,” Master Jinyun replied.

He then began discussing scriptures and the Dao with her on the spot, and taught her a set of Vajra Six Harmonies Eight Trigrams Hook Fist and Palm techniques. His fists and palms moved with effortless grace, twisting and turning like the sweeping hooks of the Four-Faced Vajra. The structure was ingenious—truly an excellent martial art.

The female practitioner imitated him immediately, overjoyed. The questions that had long troubled her in her study of the Diamond Sutra suddenly became clear, as though a great expanse had opened before her. Her spirit finally entered a state of serene stillness, and she gained a faint glimpse of enlightenment.

Beside Heavenly Lake on Cuihua Mountain, they saw a middle-aged man with a thick beard playing the ancient qin piece “Remembering an Old Friend.” Not far away stood a woman, chanting Tao Yuanming’s “Return to My Fields and Gardens” in harmony with the music. The scene was filled with leisurely contentment.

Master Jinyun exchanged views with them on the joys of the qin, martial arts, calligraphy, and painting.

They then climbed West Peak Mountain. From far away, they heard someone playing the xiao, its notes bright and resonant. Before him yawned a bottomless abyss. Master Jinyun and the others stood quietly and listened until the recluse had finished his piece. They then climbed up to speak with him about his understanding of cultivation and exchange views on the path of spiritual practice. Their conversation was warm and animated.

The recluse also knew of Master Hailian and Master Jinyun. To have the opportunity to discuss scriptures and the Dao, play the qin, and speak of music with such grandmasters filled him with joyful delight.

What does cultivation mean in this world?
Pure, weightless, ethereal—
Amid the vast multitude of beings,
I alone am that “true self.”

Suddenly, the little wooden-carved beauty in He Zhixing’s hand sensed spiritual energy beneath the bottomless abyss. He immediately handed his backpack to Yufang and the others, drew out a medium-sized chisel, and leapt down in a single bound.

He sensed that beneath the cliffs at the bottom of the abyss lay a cavern dwelling. It was hidden within the mountain rock, shielded from the outside by a layer of stone. Unless the obstructing rocks were dug away, no one could discover it or even know that a cave dwelling existed there. Yet He Zhixing sensed that it was probably the ruins of the Immortal Taiyi’s former abode.

Everyone atop West Peak was stunned by He Zhixing’s sudden leap. One after another, they peered down into the abyss where he had disappeared.

Would He Zhixing be able to find the ruins of the immortal’s hidden dwelling?

Less than two minutes later, they saw Master Jinyun leap down after him as well.