Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 102 Huangshan Pine Spirit

Chapter 102 The Spirit of Huangshan Pine

The sudden phoenix cry caused the faces of the various noble families who had been mocking Ye Ru to change, and their sarcastic smiles gradually turned into blank stares.

"No way, he can actually recite the name of the divine bird phoenix and regard it as his own bird and beast."

The phoenix carried Ye Ru past Kong Hexuan, leaving the latter stunned, and then murmured something.

The phoenix is ​​the king of birds in ancient legends, no wonder all the birds and beasts of the group were extremely listless, like subjects seeing their king.

"Damn it, this can't be! How could he summon a phoenix!"

Han Lu looked at Ye Ru, who had instantly covered a hundred feet and turned into a red dot, and a deep shock appeared on his face. Then he cursed angrily.

I originally thought I could be the first to reach the summit of Huangshan, but in the end I ended up shooting myself in the foot.

Not only Han Lu and his group, but everyone in the entire Zhong Sheng family was horrified as they stared at the red dot.

"As expected of the top five scholars, you truly live up to your reputation. Today, I, Dong Qi, humbly admit defeat."

Dong Qi stepped on Da Peng and laughed loudly, which made everyone else look strange.

"I never thought that my prestigious family would be inferior to others, but I am completely convinced."

Kong Hexuan sighed helplessly. In front of this person, there was indeed nothing to compare, and nothing that could be compared.

With a flap of its wings, the phoenix unleashed a series of hurricanes. Ye Ru clasped his hands in a fist salute to Kong Hexuan and the others, and proclaimed in a loud voice:

"Farewell, everyone. I shall take my leave now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the phoenix soared into the heavens.

As Ye Ru watched the crowd gradually shrink, a surge of pride welled up in his heart. Confucius, who once climbed Mount Dongshan and found Lu small, and Mount Tai and found the whole world small, could not have achieved anything more.

"I, Ye Ru, hereby swear that I will never underestimate a young man's potential, for even a carp can eventually leap over the dragon gate!"

The shouts echoed in the sky, lingering for a long time, making the faces of the students who had previously mocked Ye Ru burn with embarrassment.

call out!

Above Bright Summit, a phoenix flew and finally carried Ye Ru to the ground. Ye Ru looked around and saw that the place was full of strange pines and rocks, and the sky was shrouded in clouds and mist, making Ye Ru feel as if he were in the sea.

Layer upon layer of mountains, frost-covered rocks, and strange formations, resembling a traditional Chinese ink painting.

"Indeed, the saying 'After visiting the Five Sacred Mountains, one need not see any other mountains; after visiting Huangshan, one need not see any other of the Five Sacred Mountains' is quite true."

Ye Ru exclaimed in admiration, "This mountain truly lives up to its reputation."

"What a fine saying, 'After visiting the Five Sacred Mountains, one need not see any other mountains; after visiting Huangshan, one need not see any of the Five Sacred Mountains.' The first half of the saying means that after visiting the Five Sacred Mountains, one will no longer consider any other mountains in the world, because no other mountain can compare to the Five Sacred Mountains. The second half means that after visiting Huangshan, one will not even consider the Five Sacred Mountains. This sentence uses the technique of contrast to show that Huangshan is the number one mountain in the world. You young man, you are quite arrogant."

"Who?"

As Ye Ru was focused, an aged voice drifted over, jolting him back to his senses as he looked around.

"I am the guardian spirit of the pine tree."

The aged voice came from a pine tree in the distance, causing Ye Ru to widen his eyes in surprise.

"The Welcoming Pine?"

Ye Ru looked at the pine tree, which was none other than the wondrous pine, one of the Four Wonders, the Welcoming Pine.

"Welcoming Pine? That's a good name. If the Qin Emperor were still alive, and heard that you were so disrespectful to the Fengchan Terrace, he would probably have your head chopped off."

The pine tree swayed, finally revealing its aged face on its trunk, and laughed.

"Greetings, sir. I was ignorant of etiquette and apologize."

Ye Ru was startled and immediately realized that this was a divine pine tree. He then quickly clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.

He knew that the emperors of the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties considered Mount Tai to be the highest among all mountains, the "Number One Mountain Under Heaven." Therefore, human emperors should go to the highest Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the Heavenly Emperor in order to be considered to have received the mandate of Heaven.

Therefore, they built an earthen altar on Mount Tai to worship Heaven and report the merits of Heaven, which was called "Feng"; and they set up a field on Liangfu or other small hills at the foot of Mount Tai to worship Earth and report the merits of Earth, which was called "Chan".

This is the Fengshan ceremony.

This was the highest ceremony for ancient emperors, and it was only when a dynasty changed, the country changed hands, or after a long period of chaos, and the world was at peace, that the emperor could perform the Fengshan ceremony to report to heaven and earth the great achievement of restoring order to the world, and at the same time express his acceptance of the mandate of heaven to govern the world.

By the Qin and Han dynasties, the Fengshan ceremony had become a grand ceremony for emperors. Both Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han "ascended to the heavens to report and descended to the earth to perform the Fengshan ceremony" to commemorate their achievements. Emperor Wu of Han alone visited Mount Tai eight times.

His words were also offensive to the emperors of the ten kingdoms.

"It's alright. You are a true gentleman, far superior to some of the petty people below."

The welcoming pine tree smiled gently, appearing exceptionally kind.

"Brother Ye Ru."

At this moment, Kong Hexuan also arrived. All the members of the Zhongsheng Family walked on the ground again before flying over.

This is to show respect for Ye Ru Huanfeng.

"Hoohoo."

Han Lu and the others also flew up from the foot of the mountain and finally stood on Bright Summit, looking at Ye Ru with fierce aura.

"Brother Ye, I am truly impressed by your spirit today. That saying, 'Never underestimate a young man's potential,' will henceforth be engraved on my desk as a warning."

Dong Qi was full of frustration, then laughed.

"Yes, yes, and there's also the saying 'the carp eventually leaps over the dragon gate.' I must say, we are short-sighted and far inferior to Brother Ye."

Meng Qingyang exclaimed in admiration.

Ye Ru's actions were all beyond their reach.

“You are teachable, you are not beyond saving.”

Shou Songling nodded.

"Is this a pine spirit?"

Han Lu was startled when he saw the pine tree, and then exclaimed in surprise.

All things have a spirit. He had seen this Huangshan pine spirit in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. This pine is located to the left of Yuping Tower in Huangshan, above Wenshu Cave. It grew from a broken rock, leaning against the Green Lion Stone. It is said to live for eight hundred years, which is spring, and eight hundred years, which is autumn.

Although this statement is an exaggeration, it is likely that it would take a hundred years or so for someone to cultivate themselves into a demon.

"They don't know proper etiquette."

Song Ling seemed unhappy, but after pondering for a moment, he said, "This mountain is not as famous as the Five Sacred Mountains, and few literati have come to visit it. I have been here for eight hundred years and have not left a single poem or essay here. Although I have read the books of sages, I have no ability to write poetry. I wonder if you could lend me a hand and help Huangshan gain some literary fame."

Everyone looked around, and Li Chi immediately spoke up:

"Although Brother Han is a member of the Legalist school, his poetry is renowned throughout the world. Why not have Brother Han compose a poem for this mountain, firstly to pay homage to the magnificence of Huangshan, and secondly to pay homage to the spirit of the pine trees?"

Upon hearing this, a look of enjoyment flashed across Han Lu's face, and he then clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"Since Brother Li Chi speaks highly of me, I can only compose a poem to comfort the spirits of heaven and earth."

"Brother Li Chi is being somewhat obsequious. Everyone knows that your Li family respects the Han family as its master. Today, it is the students' presence that makes this possible. How can we let Brother Han Lu stand out from the crowd?"

Meng Qingyang curled his lip, seemingly making a veiled criticism.

"Why don't we do it together? Whoever has the better poetry and prose, let their poetry and prose be engraved on this mountain."

While everyone remained silent, Ye Ru made a suggestion that caught everyone's attention.