781: Chapter 777: The Past of Taoist Wu Chen 781: Chapter 777: The Past of Taoist Wu Chen Just now, everything Ye Tian said to Master Zhang, Yun Xinyan had overheard, and even she found it unbelievable!
In the past, Ye Tian was never one to flatter or kowtow to power.
So why was it that for this Master Zhang, Ye Tian showed such deep respect?
Yun Xinyan even felt a bit jealous…
“Not at all, Mr.
Ye, you exaggerate!
How can I be considered an enlightened master?
In fact, my cultivation level is quite shallow and hardly worth mentioning!”
Although Master Zhang loved to put on airs, whenever someone truly revered him this much, he would still make a perfunctory effort to defer, especially with a tough character like Ye Tian.
He feared that a slight slip of the tongue could lead to his immediate demise, so he had to be very careful with his words!
“Don’t be modest, Master Zhang, The cultivation technique you taught me a few days ago…
after I practiced it, I immediately felt refreshed and immensely invigorated!
So, the title ‘Enlightened Master’ is definitely deserved by you – absolutely and undoubtedly!”
Ye Tian held Master Zhang in the highest regard, which made Master Zhang put down his guard and begin to feel buoyant…
“Mr.
Ye, if you really say so, well, it is indeed not incorrect!
I truly am quite remarkable!
Across the heavens, in things like bone-touching fortune-telling, character divination, or fate transferring, there is probably no one more skilled than me!”
Master Zhang began to talk big, and this was exactly what Ye Tian was aiming for!
Ye Tian hurriedly asked, “Master Zhang, I wanted to ask about the cultivation technique for enhancing yang energy that you passed on to me—is it a complete technique?
Who did it originate from?”
Master Zhang immediately answered, “Mr.
Ye, please rest assured, when I teach a cultivation technique, I always disclose it fully, so the technique I taught you is definitely complete!
As for the origin of the technique, I am not very clear about it since it was my master who taught it to me, and he never told me its origin.”
Ye Tian then said, “So, Master Zhang, who was your master?
Could you perhaps introduce him to me?
I’ve always wanted to pay my respects to such a venerably learned elder!”
Master Zhang immediately sighed and said, “Unfortunately, my master has already passed away.
If that was not the case, neither my senior brother nor I would have ventured out; my brother entered the Old Jun’s temple, and I became a wandering Taoist.”
“He has passed away?”
Ye Tian’s heart sank a bit.
If Master Zhang’s teacher had died, then no one might now know the origin of the cultivation technique he was practicing.
However, Ye Tian did not give up; any clue was worth pursuing!
“Master Zhang, did your master only accept you and your senior brother as his disciples?”
Ye Tian asked again, and Master Zhang immediately nodded and said, “Yes, my master was natured to be detached and did not like having too many disciples, so from start to finish, he only took my senior brother and me, teaching us everything he knew!”
“What a great master!”
Ye Tian expressed his agreement, then thought for a moment and asked, “Master Zhang, your senior brother is the Taoist Wu Chen, who resides in Old Jun’s temple, right?”
“Yes!
The very Taoist Wu Chen.
My senior brother and I had been separated for more than a decade, only to reunite today.
Therefore, I stayed a bit longer at Old Jun’s temple.”
Upon mentioning his senior brother, Master Zhang was also filled with emotion.
Ye Tian then asked, “So, Master Zhang, do you know how Taoist Wu Chen lost his sight?
Did it happen after your master died?”
“No!” Master Zhang immediately shook his head, and said, “Actually, how my brother’s eyes became damaged is also unclear to me!
When we were younger, both of us were brothers, and his eyes were intact.
But one day, our master passed on the ‘Art of Peering into the World’ to him!”
“The Art of Peeping?
A skill for spying?”
Ye Tian was somewhat taken aback; the more he heard, the more it seemed like a dubious art!
Master Zhang explained, “Not ‘The Art of Peeping’, but ‘The Art of Peering into the World’.
Our master told us it was an art that allowed one to glimpse the essence of the world.
So, it required extra care during practice!
Both my brother and I were extremely cautious practicing this art.
My brother had a brilliant aptitude and he progressed faster than I did in the Art of Peering into the World.
In just three months, he could tell fortunes and determine good or ill luck, while I still couldn’t even predict what I’d have for my next meal!”
“Our master told me that the Art of Peering into the World demanded high natural talent, so haste did not bring success.
Under our master’s guidance, I was not so anxious!”
“On the other hand, my brother’s progress was astonishing!
Our master once told me that my brother’s ‘Art of Peering into the World’ had even surpassed him!
And at that time, my brother had been practicing the art for only two years!”
“Surpassed the master in just two years!?”
Master Zhang’s words left Ye Tian equally astounded; it seemed that Taoist Wu Chen was indeed profoundly skilled!
“Yes!
My senior brother’s Profound Insight Technique has already surpassed our master!”
Although it was somewhat inappropriate to praise other Daoists excessively in front of clients, since the praise was directed at his own senior brother, Master Zhang didn’t mind.
“However, after my senior brother surpassed our master in the Profound Insight Technique, his entire personality changed dramatically!
He used to be very talkative, but suddenly, he became reticent.
Sometimes when our master tried to have a heart-to-heart with him, he would make an excuse and leave after a few words.”
Then, one day, something shocking happened!
My senior brother, I don’t know what came over him, suddenly blinded himself in both eyes!
Thankfully, my master and I discovered it early, otherwise, my senior brother would have died long ago!”
After my senior brother’s injuries had healed, our master asked him why he had harmed himself.
He told our master that because he saw detestable things, detestable people, and detestable objects, he blinded himself so that he could live a more relaxed and comfortable life from then on.”
“…”
Hearing Master Zhang’s narration, Ye Tian was at a loss for words.
Though Master Zhang didn’t specify, Ye Tian already had a clear understanding in his heart!
That is to say, Daoist Wu Chen had cultivated the Profound Insight Technique, and as it became more and more masterful, he saw things that he shouldn’t have seen.
To ease his mind, he destroyed his own eyes.
What exactly did Daoist Wu Chen see?
At this moment, Ye Tian didn’t want to dig deeper, but since Master Zhang praised his senior brother so highly, Ye Tian took the opportunity to ask, “Master Zhang, from what you said, does that mean your senior brother is much more skilled in divination than you?”
Master Zhang sighed and said, “How can I compare with my senior brother?
In fact, the skills I learned from our master don’t even amount to fifty percent of what he taught, but my senior brother has long surpassed him!
Mr.
Ye, if you have any questions and I can’t solve them, then go find my senior brother, and you won’t be wrong!”
“Pushing business outward like this is indeed rare!”
Ye Tian exclaimed, and although Master Zhang liked to exaggerate, he never deliberately belittled his senior brother.
This means that the feelings between the brothers were quite good.
“Master Zhang, not to hide it from you, my wife and I once went to the Laojun Temple to see your senior brother, but what your senior brother said was rather unpleasant, so my wife and I left indignantly!”
Ye Tian remembered the first time he sought Daoist Wu Chen for divination, particularly the judgment of ‘like a human, but not’ which still lingers in Ye Tian’s mind and cannot be dispelled…
How could a fortune teller be so inconsiderate of a client’s feelings and speak so recklessly?
Master Zhang also sighed and said, “That’s just how my senior brother is!
Since our master passed away, I planned to travel the world with my senior brother, but he preferred to live a quiet, secluded life, so he came to Laojun Temple in Jiangcheng.
However, when I visited him at Laojun Temple, I heard other Daoists say that my senior brother is not good at lying.
He has offended many powerful figures, some of whom even threatened to level Laojun Temple to the ground!”
As a person who reads faces and divines, I also stick to my opinions, but if a client is dissatisfied, I change the subject until they are satisfied; however, my senior brother is different.
His words are often harsh, and he offends people without even realizing it, often causing severe consequences!”
Master Zhang’s description didn’t differ much from Ye Tian’s impression.
It was reasonable that Daoist Wu Chen was not good at speaking and tended to offend people.
But even so, since Daoist Wu Chen was accurate in his divinations, many people still sought him out…
So much so that later, when Master Zhang arrived at Laojun Temple, a Daoist who was both good at divination and skilled in speech naturally became more popular than Daoist Wu Chen!
“Master Zhang, I really appreciate you telling me all this.
I enjoyed our chat today!
If you have nothing else, you may leave on your own accord.
As for the payment, my wife will compensate you in full!”
Having obtained the necessary information from Master Zhang, Ye Tian felt no need to keep Master Zhang any longer and decisively dismissed him.
Master Zhang immediately stood up and said, “If that’s the case, Mr.
Ye, I shall take my leave now.
If you need anything in the future, just let me know!”
With that, Master Zhang left the residence.
Yun Xinyan came over and asked, “Ye Tian, are you thinking of making a trip to Laojun Temple?”
Her question directly hit upon what Ye Tian was thinking!
From the beginning until now, Yun Xinyan had been quietly listening to the conversation between Ye Tian and Master Zhang without interjecting, but she had listened very carefully to the exchange between the two.
Yun Xinyan knew Ye Tian very well.
Seeing how urgently Ye Tian inquired about Daoist Wu Chen from Master Zhang, it was natural that he intended to head straight for Laojun Temple…
“Wife, it’s true that nothing can be hidden from you!
Yes, just as you said, I want to visit Laojun Temple this time because Daoist Wu Chen does have some real skills, and I want to ask him some questions that concern me… Do you want to come with me?”