Chapter 518 — The First Primordial Spirit Council

There were other masters in the Grand Academy who had long since made their names, most of whom had gone to the provinces to serve as officials. That Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon was also at the Grand Academy was beyond Shen Mu's expectations.

After Xing'an ran amok in the Little Leiyin Temple, the Little Tathagata could not withstand a single bow from the god Kuiwu, and his soul scattered from him; following the Little Tathagata's instructions, Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon had led the monks of the Little Leiyin Temple toward the Great Tingming Temple, meeting with many trials along the way. When they reached the Great Tingming Temple, the arrival of so many demon monks and demon priests naturally threw the whole temple into an uproar.

Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon, as a disciple of the Little Tathagata, was of the same generation as Lord Huo; the two, man and demon, debated the Dharma atop the Golden Peak of Mount Sumeru, with countless monks gathered below. Zhankong spoke little, but his words were like pearls; a sentence of his held only three or five characters, yet every one of them shook the heart and set men thinking, leaving the eminent monks of great Mount Sumeru speechless and unable to argue.

The debate lasted three days, and the monks were beaten back, until a Jingping general with a stubbled face came up the mountain, climbed to the Golden Peak, stripped off his armor, called himself the monk Chenghuai, and debated the Dharma with Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon for several days, salvaging a shred of face. The monk Chenghuai also spoke little; what he discussed was the livelihood and customs of the people, citing no scriptures, quoting not a line of the Dharma of the Great Tingming Temple, yet his words carried deep meaning, so that men felt that what he spoke was the Dharma indeed, a dazzling display of many hues.

That contest of words shook the world. Lord Huo praised the two for their unhindered eloquence, and so accepted the demon-race Buddhist sutras that Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon presented, acknowledged the demon monks and demon priests of the Little Leiyin Temple, and the two houses were made one.

This was a great event in Jingping as well, spreading through the holy lands and the academies, known as the Discourse on the Way at the Golden Peak, a famous affair and a fine tale of the times. Of course, Shen Mu had been fleeing Xing'an's pursuit at the time and could not go to Mount Sumeru to witness it; whether it was as the tales told, there was no knowing. This time Lord Huo had brought Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon, the monk Chenghuai and a host of monks, which was a sensation in itself, and with Daoist Master Lin Xuan of the Daoist sect bringing a great many Daoists to exchange ideas, it was truly a grand occasion.

When the clamor had subsided, the company seated themselves before the Grand Academy Hall, and Shen Mu brought up the matter of studying; all were astonished.

Pei Wujiu had thought he was merely being polite, and never expected that he truly meant to study. Pei Wujiu at once summoned the divine-power adepts of the various halls of the Grand Academy, who set forth their own insights before the hall, while the Daoists and monks of the Daoist sect and the Great Tingming Temple came forward as well to speak of what they had gained; for a time divine powers and arts never seen before emerged one after another, and even Shen Mu could not help but marvel, praising the wondrous ideas of these adepts. Two days later Ling Yuxiu and Ling Yushu came to the capital to report on their duties, heard of the matter as well, and came to the Grand Academy to take part in the Reform Discourses.

A few days after that the younger generation of the other Four Great Academies arrived too: the scholars of the Heavenly Sacred Academy led by Si Yunxiang, the scholars of the Jiangling Academy following Shen Feiyue, who was a disciple of the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, the Imperial Preceptor being the Director of the Jiangling Academy. Yuyuan Chuyu brought the scholars of the Yong River Academy; as for the Grand Libationer of the Lan River Academy, it was Bashan, for the Lan River was the farthest, and a man of great talent and virtue was needed to build the academy up, so the Emperor had appointed Bashan Grand Libationer.

With the young masters of the Four Great Academies gathered at the Grand Academy, the clamor only grew; and then, some days later, Wang Muran, Mu Qingdai and Long Yu of the Little Jade Capital arrived as well. Before Wang Muran and the others could take their seats, a voice was heard laughing: "I heard the Sect Master had come to the Grand Academy and hurried over, yet still I am late!

" Shen Mu hastily rose to greet him, laughing, "Brother Xu, well met since we parted at the Little Leiyin Temple? " Xu Shenghua came with Jing Yan and said, "I have had no word of you for a long while, Sect Master; only when I saw that you were well did my heart rest easy.

" When the company had seated themselves, the Grand Academy was a scene of uncommon clamor: adepts of every school discoursed on the Dharma, on the Way, on cultivation, on the primordial spirit, with wondrous ideas of every kind, until even Emperor Yanfeng and the officials of the court were stirred and came to listen.

Shen Mu, Ling Yuxiu, Si Yunxiang, Daoist Master Lin Xuan, Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon, Chenghuai, Xu Shenghua, Wang Muran and the others were invited onto the platform, each to expound his own divine arts of the Way, and the clash of differing minds and notions left those who heard them spellbound.

Each of them had his own attainments in the primordial spirit, and blending the wondrous ideas of all, they sparked no small number of new notions besides. "I have an idea!

" Shen Mu said suddenly, laughing. "Jingping grows ever larger, spread from the south of the sky to the north, and folk find it hard to keep in touch; but the primordial spirit is swift, and in a moment can travel ten thousand li. If our primordial spirits could be linked, would we not save all the time spent on the road?

" His proposal won the approval of many of the young at once; each brought his wits to bear, seeking to link the primordial spirits of different people, and offering ideas of every kind.

Emperor Yanfeng and the Duke of Wei exchanged glances.

The Duke of Wei said, "A moment ago they spoke sensibly; now they have begun to talk nonsense. The primordial spirit travels too fast; in the blink of an eye it has gone ten thousand li, and it would be hard indeed to gather them together, and the primordial spirit is hard to control besides, so a man does not know where he has gone.

How are such difficulties to be solved? " Emperor Yanfeng laughed.

"Let us watch a while. " After a moment the Duke of Wei and the others were staring wide-eyed, dumbstruck. Before the Grand Academy Hall, what the company now discussed was precisely how to resolve the matter of the primordial spirit being unable to be drawn along; methods and techniques were improvised by them on the spot, astonishing even the older generation, the Duke of Wei and Emperor Yanfeng among them.

Shen Mu, for his part, was sorting through all their ideas, and after a long while at last created a new cultivation method built upon the Primordial Spirit Guide.

He passed the method to the company; they took it up eagerly, and straightway set about remodeling the Grand Academy Hall, inscribing talismans and seals throughout it. "My friends, go you each a thousand li to east, south, west and north; let us hold a Primordial Spirit Council! " Shen Mu said, elated.

The thousands upon thousands of scholars in the Grand Academy burst into an uproar and scattered far away, leaving the Academy half empty in an instant; only the Emperor and his civil and military officials remained before the Grand Academy Hall, gazing again and again into the emptied hall.