Chapter 29 Looking for a Master

The Kunlun Mountain is also known as Kunlun Virtual, China’s first divine mountain, Mountain of All Ancestors, Kunlun Hill or Mountain Yu. This mountain range starts from the eastern part of the Pamir Plateau, runs through Xinjiang and Tibet, and extends to Qinghai. It has a total length of 2,500 kilometers, with an average elevation of 5,500-6,000 meters and a total area of more than 500,000 square kilometers.

The Kunlun Mountain has a prominent position as the ancestor of all mountains in the cultural history of the Chinese nation. The ancients called it the ancestor of the dragon vein of China. The climate here is severely chill. With continuous ice peaks and snow hills, it is the mountain with the most glaciers in China.

The numerous glaciers hover in the valley like jade dragons, and one will be dazzled by the endless ice towers, ice waterfalls, and ice cracks. The rich glaciers and snow have become the source of many rivers.

There are too many legends about this mountain. It is said that Kunlun gave birth to many ancient artifacts. The Kunlun mountain gave birth to the Jade Lake, where the Queen Mother of the West was born. Every time the immortals wanted to gather together, they would come to the Jade Lake of the Queen Mother of the West. There is also another Taoist legend. The Yuxu Palace of the Primeval Lord of Heaven is located here. With so many legends, the Kunlun Mountain is worthy of the name of China’s first divine mountain.

Wang Bugui rushed to the foot of the Kunlun Mountain. He looked at the tourists and quickly followed their route. The Kunlun Mountain Pass was at an altitude of 4,500 meters. There was a monument here. He heard from the tourists that it was a monument to Sonandaje, the numen of the Tibetan antelope, and he was under the monument, overlooking the Kunlun Mountain.

Standing here, Wang Bugui couldn’t help but sigh that China’s first divine mountain was really magnificent. The grand Kunlun Mountain was wrapped in white snow, with continuous peaks, it towered up into the clouds. At the mountain pass, the numerous peaks and valleys of the Kunlun Mountain were like groups of horses wearing silver-gray armors, rolling forward as the wind rose.

After a short stay, he went to the west side of the Kunlun Mountain Pass to find the Yuxu Peak. The terrain here was not easy to walk. It took him almost half an hour to reach the Yuxu Peak. But there was only snow to be found everywhere. How could he find a human?

“Hoo, hoo!” The air here was a bit thin, even Wang Bugui would feel a little tired to run here. He looked around and found that there were even no animals, let alone humans. In desperation, he decided to walk around the Yuxu Peak. After about half an hour, he stopped.

He found that there was really no Yuxu Palace on the Yuxu Peak, and people were all concentrated in the view spots. But he thought that the Senior Yun Jinghong couldn’t be with those people. Since his father had mentioned Yun Jinghong, then the latter must be a master of seclusion. But there were no people here except for the sights. He had to go to ask the tourists. After all, the tourists were familiar with the terrain and could guide him.

“Hello friend, I want to know where the Yuxu Palace is?” Wang Bugui went to a middle-aged man who was taking pictures and asked.

“Ha ha ha, there is really someone looking for the Yuxu Palace!”

“Kid, you have watched a lot of TV series, right?”

“How can there be gods in this world? You are cheated.”

“If you can find the Yuxu Palace, how can it be called the dojo of the Emperor of Heaven?”

…

Unexpectedly, before that middle-aged man spoke, people around had sneered first. They thought that this boy must have watched TV shows a lot, so that he would come here to find gods. Wang Bugui didn’t understand why they laughed at him. He touched his head and stared at them talking about himself.

“Young man, the Yuxu Palace is just a legend. Don’t be too serious! And even if it really exists, it isn’t something that we ordinary people can see. Otherwise, why there is no such a view spot as Yuxu Palace?” That middle-aged man explained to Wang Bugui.

“What? Then is there a Taoist named Yun Jinghong?” Wang Bugui asked the middle-aged man.

“Yun Jinghong? I haven’t heard of him. But you can go to the Yuxu Taoist Temple to ask. It’s located at the foot of this mountain, not far from the foot.” The middle-aged man pointed at the distant foot of the mountain.

“Yuxu Taoist Temple? Perhaps associated with the Yuxu Palace. Thank you, uncle!” Wang Bugui ran away without a shadow after saying thanks.

“This… this kid runs too fast!”

“I guess even cars can’t catch up with him.”

“He said he was looking for the Yuxu Palace. Is it true that there are really cultivators?”

…

Wang Bugui was too excited, forgetting that he couldn’t show his ability in front of ordinary people. His speed led to a discussion of all the tourists behind. He rushed all the way to the Kunlun Taoist Temple the middle-aged man mentioned. It was not as grand as imagined, but an old Taoist temple that looked ordinary. There were not many people visiting and worshipping, even the Taoist priests were poorly few.

After inquiring, he realized that this temple had been destroyed, and now the reconstruction was beyond recognition. Wang Bugui entered it and inquired everywhere. No one knew the person Yun Jinghong. But someone told him that he could go to Jade Lake to have a look. He then set off again to the Jade Lake.

Wang Bugui was too anxious, so he showed his especially fast speed unabashedly, which stunned all tourists. So this day, everyone who came to the Kunlun Mountain heard a legend that there was a young cultivator showing up who went to the Yuxu Peak, the Kunlun Taoist Temple, and the Jade Lake of the Queen Mother of the West, within one day, to seek for Taoism.

“Hoo, hoo… I am exhausted. I can’t find Senior Yun anymore if he’s not here.” Wang Bugui put his hands on his knees and gasped. He ran too far this day and didn’t even have food in the middle of the way. First, he ran to the Kunlun Mountain, then rushed to the Yuxu Palace, then down to the Kunlun Taoist Temple, and finally to the Jade Lake of the Queen Mother of the West.

The modern people call it the Black Sea. It’s the source of the Kunlun River, also the most mysterious and highest lake of the Queen Mother of the West in the legendary. It is said that it may be her first lake. Because according to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, “The Queen Mother of the West lived in the Kunlun Palace, but she also possessed other palaces wherever she went. She didn’t stay in a single mountain all the time.”

The Queen Mother of the West had a total of four lakes. She set the peach festivals feasting the gods at Blacksea Lake. As for the Mengda Lake, it served as where she washed her hair, the Tianshan Lake where she bathed her feet, and the Qinghaihu Lake where she had baths.

The four major lakes all have left beautiful legends to the world. According to the Qinghaihu Lake legend, while the Queen Mother of the West was on her east tour in Aolai of the East Divine State, one day, she rested for a while on the top of a sacred stone at the top of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. The stone was a fragment left when Nvwa was patching the hole of the Heaven, in addition with the spirit that the Queen Mother of the West left when she sat there, the stone, after a long time, gave birth to a stone egg, then a stone monkey was born, who achieved to be the Great Sage Equaling Heaven later.

When he made troubles in the Heavenly Palace, he stole the peaches of the Queen Mother of the West, because he did not know that he was her son. Later, only after he accompanied the Tang Priest to the West Heaven as a convoy, and achieved to bring back the real Buddhist scripture, did he learn that he was the son of the Queen Mother of the West, then he began to show his filial piety here and guard this lake palace of his mother’s.

There are too many legends about the lakes of the Queen Mother of the West, so the four major lakes are regarded as divine places by Taoist believers. Now, the four major lakes are all called after the palace name of their respective position with monuments. However, different from them, Jade Lake was the only one which was named with the Queen Mother of the West with a monument. So, the Taoist priest suggested Wang Bugui come here. The Jade Lake of the Queen Mother of the West was full of aura and auspicious signs. Tourists could relax their bodies and minds, and Taoist cultivators could sense Taoistic ideology here.