Chapter 716: Records, Robe Presentation, Decree! Finally Broke Through! (Part 2)

A man with a crew cut exclaimed, “Isn’t that the Patriarch Chen?”

The assistant beside him nodded, “Indeed it’s him. Their Chen Family prodigy just set a record and won a championship over at Xiangjiang. Isn’t he in Xiangjiang? Someone even captured a video of him there.”

Zhang Ke touched his own crew cut and said, “Since yesterday, so many prestigious Purple Robe Daoists from the Taoist Sect have personally brought people here. Even this Patriarch Chen has rushed over from Xiangjiang. It must be as I’ve speculated, Wudang is about to have a major event.”

He is a blogger who explains Taoist teachings and often comes to Wudang to read some Taoist Scriptures and shoot videos related to Wudang.

Sometimes, he also acts as a tour guide, bringing some tourists to visit Wudang.

Therefore, he has a certain understanding of the Taoist sect and Wudang.

He felt something was amiss the moment he saw the first Purple Robe Daoist appear yesterday.

One should know that there are only about 20 such Purple Robe Daoists in the entire Taoist Sect, and they are all the most prestigious Daoists at various sacred sites of the sect.

Now, almost more than half of them are here; if this were normal, then something must be wrong.

The assistant beside him said, “Those Daoists have all gone into the inner part of Wudang, which is currently closed off, even registered disciples and lay believers cannot enter, we can’t get in.”

Zhang Ke hurriedly said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Having spent so many years around Wudang, it shouldn’t be for nothing.”

…

The inner area of Wudang is obviously more picturesque compared to the scenic part, imbued with the grandeur of renowned mountains, and the air is also better than the scenic area below.

Truly worthy of being a sacred site of the Taoist Sect, though the overall air quality is still significantly inferior to that of the Chen Family, but the Chen Family relies on their gaming system, while Wudang relies on itself.

All the way up, Chen Han was brought into the Five Dragon Palace.

This place is closed to the public, and other Daoists from the Taoist sect who have arrived at Wudang are also arranged to stay here.

Therefore, Chen Han was also arranged to stay here.

As for Xiaomi, she was taken by a Kun Dao to the Kun Dao Palace to stay there.

All the residents there are Kun Dao.

When Chen Han came in with Daoist Chen, three or two Daoists were already conversing and they all turned to look at him when he entered.

Among them, someone recognized him, for instance, Daoist Xuan Shi, who promptly greeted him, “Patriarch Chen, you have arrived as well.”

“Daoist Xuan Shi, we meet again.” Chen Han responded with a smile.

Then he exchanged greetings with the other two Daoists.

“Everyone, I need to first arrange accommodation for Patriarch Chen.” Daoist Chen reminded, and then led Chen Han into a building, arranging a separate place with a large balcony for him.

Only after Chen Han settled in, did Daoist Chen receive a phone call, after which he said, “Patriarch Chen, Io, Daoist Li, the president of the Daoist Association, has arrived and has brought your record, along with your Purple Robe and Decree, and the Vice President certificate, he’d like to meet you today.”

“Tomorrow, Daoist Li will grant your record, as well as the Purple Robe and Decree, and the Vice President certificate, and our Sect Leader and the Celestial Master Dragon and Tiger along with these Purple Robe Daoists will serve as witnesses.”

“Once you put on your Purple Robe, it will be a good occasion for incense burning to commence the Feng Shui exchange meeting, what do you think?”

Chen Han smiled and said, “Daoist Chen, since I’ve come to Wudang, I shall adhere to local customs. Since Daoist Li wants to meet, then let’s meet.”

The Daoist Association, although it doesn’t have much binding power over the various parts of the Taoist sect, and the Daoists holding positions in various areas rarely visit the association.

For instance, the Wudang Sect Leader is one of the vice presidents, yet he doesn’t concern himself with association matters at all.

However, regarding the recording of members, distribution of Purple Robes, and other matters, these fall under the specific functions of the association in this new era.

Currently, the Purple Robe Daoists who are registered in the records and acknowledged by both the Taoist Sect and the association number just over 20.

As for why there are hundreds of people wearing Purple Robes in Tiao Yin, that’s because the Taoist Sect is informal and as long as they don’t bring disrepute to the sect, the association doesn’t bother to intervene.

On the contrary, some people meddled too much, posting online about a prestigious old Daoist playing with his phone, only to end up making a fool of themselves.

The Decree has also become an important symbol of the modern Purple Robe Daoist.

The Decree is a significant Magical Artifact in Taoism, awarded only to Daoists who have obtained the relevant religious qualifications and ‘powers’ to exercise corresponding religious functions.

In ancient times, not all Purple Robe Daoists in a Daoist Temple would be eligible for a Decree, but in modern times, since there are few Purple Robe Daoists, the Decrees have been granted uniformly.

Of course, the modern Decree is merely one of the symbols of identity, uniformly issued by the association, and entirely different from the ancient Decrees.

If we were in ancient legends, the Decree would have had a much larger function, granted only by honored deities, and its functions would likely have a lot to do with the roles of the honored deities.

The power in religious qualifications and power is not the power of secular status, but the power granted by the deity to use the deity’s capabilities.

This is referred to as divine power.

For instance, the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunder Sound Celestial Venerable would grant the Five Thunders Token, measuring three inches in length, two inches and nine points in width, round on top like the heavens, and square on the bottom like the earth.

The front of the token is usually inscribed with the characters “Five Thunders Token”, while the back has thunder command runes, and the names of the twenty-eight constellations are written along the four sides.

With this Decree, a Daoist can summon thunder to drive off evil.

Similarly, the Venerable Lord Token is shaped with a round top and a square bottom, signifying the round heavens and the square earth. The front is engraved with a bas-relief of the Tai Shang Laojun sitting astride the Cyan Ox. The back is topped with the Three Stars Map, below which is the secret name of Emperor Ziwei.

Holding this Decree allows the bearer to dispatch heavenly soldiers and generals and to heal and dispel evil.

And the Celestial Emperor Token, the front has an image of the Celestial Emperor carrying the sun on his left hand and holding a sword with his right hand, beneath which are the secret names of the Primordial Yang God, Iron Master God, and Profound Origin God, followed by the secret names of the Jade Emperor, Celestial Emperor, and Ziwei.