https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-15-The-Overlord-Among-the-Acolytes/12586137/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-17-The-Perks-of-Being-a-Direct-Disciple/12586139/
Chapter 16: The Grand Initiation Ceremony, The True Dragon and Tiger Legacy
Chapter 16: The Grand Initiation Ceremony, The True Dragon and Tiger Legacy
The official date of the grand initiation ceremony was set for the fifteenth day of the first month.
However, the ceremony itself began on the evening of the fourteenth, a day earlier.
Lei Jun had no knowledge of the initiation rituals of the Taoist sect on Blue Star before his transmigration.
But in the Heavenly Master's Mansion of this world, one of the tasks for every Taoist novice in the Taoist Academy was to memorize the entire procedure of the initiation ceremony by heart.
On the evening of the fourteenth, the ceremony proceeded in four steps.
First was the 'Chit Shui Jin Tan', or the purification of the venue with clear, flowing water to wash away dust and expel evil spirits.
Yuan Mo Bai and the other purple-robed elders performed this ritual, enveloping the venue in flowing water that seemed to form an independent barrier, creating a separate realm within the venue.
Second was the 'Zhao Zhen Bai Dou', where they lit the 'Dou' lanterns and paid homage to the stars in the night sky, with the dancing lantern lights echoing the Milky Way above.
Third was the 'Xiu Zhai Qing Shi', where the masters and disciples jointly constructed the altar for the sacrificial offerings, with the central, left, and right curtains setting up the positions of the various Taoist patriarchs.
Lastly, they performed the 'Su Qi Xing Ke', where the high-achieving Taoist priest in charge of the ceremony led the rituals and prayers.
According to Lei Jun's understanding, this was akin to a preview and a form of advance notice.
Only on the fifteenth day of the first month did the official ceremony truly commence.
They offered incense to the ten directions and burned talismans for summoning.
They offered incense to the principal position and chanted incantations.
The sound of the ritual drums and chimes reverberated.
The high-achieving Taoist priest performed the 'Fa Lu Li' ceremony, holding a censer, marking the completion of the final preparations before the sacrificial offerings.
Although Lei Jun and the other junior Taoist novices only needed to follow the procedure, this series of rituals tested their patience.
Fortunately, one of their tasks in the Taoist Academy was to practice and prepare for such occasions.
Once all the preliminary work was completed, the initiation ceremony officially began on the evening of the fifteenth.
At this time, guests who had come to observe the ceremony took their seats around the periphery of the altar, their eyes scrutinizing the new generation of disciples of the Heavenly Master's Mansion.
Among them were powerful cultivators of high realms.
Lei Jun spotted individuals wearing official robes.
In the world he currently inhabited, there was a nominal ruler of the world, the Great Tang Dynasty.
In this world where cultivators roamed, the Tang emperors throughout the generations were also powerful cultivators.
Under the rule of the Great Tang, there had always been numerous aristocratic families, and in recent years, various Taoist sacred sites had risen to prominence.
The relationships between these powers were intricate and complex.
A grand event like the initiation ceremony of the Heavenly Master's Mansion would naturally attract a gathering of distinguished guests.
However, to the junior Taoist novices, those observers felt distant at the moment, as everyone focused their minds and followed the prescribed procedures.
The formal ritual could be broadly divided into three parts: the initial offering, the intermediate offering, and the final offering.
The initial offering involved presenting tea and wine, reciting declarations and burning incantations, and paying respects to the heavens, earth, and the Taoist patriarchs.
The intermediate offering was the core of the ceremony, where the masters and disciples stood in opposition to each other. The high-achieving Taoist priest in charge of the ceremony recited the Ten Precepts, after which the initiating master and the disciples performed the ritual of breaking the silver ring and tearing the document.
The silver ring had a standard size, usually with a diameter of two and a quarter inches, and there were specialized craftsmen who marked them in advance.
The document recorded the names and positions of the Taoist patriarchs throughout the generations, as well as the basic personal information of the disciples.
... All of Lei Jun's other information was true, but since he had crossed over with his physical body and had no place of origin, this part was filled in by Xu Yuanzhen, the master who had brought him back to the sect.
The result was that no one officially questioned it, and Lei Jun himself did not bring it up either.
During the ceremony, Lei Jun, together with Yuan Mo Bai, held a pen and wrote the memorial, paying respect to the heavens, earth, and the Taoist patriarchs, after which they distributed the silver rings and documents.
The ritual signified that after the breaking of the ring and tearing of the document, the initiating master could not hide the truth and present falsehoods, and the disciples could not betray the Taoist path and turn their backs on their masters.
This was known as the "Eternal Pledge of the Undivided Ring" and the "Eternal Oath of the Torn Document."
The final offering involved various concluding procedures, including sending off the deities, returning the officials, restoring the censer, and leaving the venue.
The high-achieving Taoist priest in charge of the ceremony paid homage to the Taoist patriarchs of the past generations and delivered a speech of gratitude and farewell.
After the ceremony concluded, Lei Jun and the other disciples followed their respective masters out of the altar.
Yuan Mo Bai smiled and waved at Wang Guiyuan, who had been standing by his side.
Wang Guiyuan also smiled and held a set of Taoist robes and a Taoist artifact box, which he handed to Lei Jun.
With the ceremony over, the master and his two disciples returned together to their residence in the mansion.
And so, Lei Jun bid farewell to his glorious days as a Daoist apprentice.
From now on, he could move out of the Daoist apprentice courtyard at the foot of the mountain and reside in the main residence of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, located halfway up the main peak, to focus on his cultivation.
The main residence was filled with abundant spiritual energy, and as a sacred place for cultivation, it was naturally far superior to the apprentice courtyard below.
A cluster of Daoist palaces were built along the mountainside, with numerous independent courtyards on the outskirts.
Lei Jun chose a courtyard near Yuan Mo Bai's residence, and his fellow disciple, Wang Guiyuan, became his neighbor.
When they had some free time, they could return to the apprentice courtyard to move their belongings.
For now, Lei Jun changed his attire first. He replaced his gray robe with an apricot-yellow Daoist robe and donned a dark black Daoist crown, marking his transition from an apprentice to an official Daoist.
He recalled that during the grand initiation ceremony, some of the direct disciples of the Heavenly Master's Mansion wore deep red Daoist robes.
That represented the second major milestone after initiation—the bestowal of the Register.
Now, having transitioned from an apprentice to a Daoist, Lei Jun could start looking forward to the higher-level bestowal ceremony.
After changing his clothes, Lei Jun left the small courtyard and met up with Wang Guiyuan. Together, they headed toward their master, Yuan Mo Bai's residence.
"Your generation will be known as the 'Zhong' generation," Yuan Mo Bai said with a gentle smile. "Usually, the Daoist name is formed by combining a character from the disciple's original name.
However, during today's ceremony, when I submitted the tablet to pay respects to the heavens, the earth, and the ancestral masters, I felt a connection to the clouds, and so I chose the character 'Yun' (cloud) to form your Daoist name, Zhongyun.
May you, Zhongyun, soon achieve greatness in the Three Caverns of Yunzuan."
"Thank you, Master, for bestowing upon me my Daoist name," Lei Jun said, his expression unchanged, though his mind was racing.
'Zhongyun'—heavy clouds that conceal one's thoughts... Is Master teasing me?
Taking it a step further, Lei Zhongyun—Lei, hidden within the clouds, biding his time, and no one knows when he will strike with thunderous force... Lei Jun stopped his train of thoughts, feeling that he might be overthinking things and that his master was simply being thoughtful.
In this world, the rules of the Longhushan Heavenly Master's Mansion dictated that believers who had a connection with the Three Jewels could enter the mountain, but they would only be considered apprentices.
Only after undergoing the initiation ceremony could they be called Daoists and officially become direct disciples of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, with their own lineage, Daoist name, and the bestowment of a cultivation technique and magical artifacts.
Lei Jun opened the artifact box and saw a few items inside.
First was the initiation certificate, which indicated his identity and lineage.
Next was the first volume of the Zhengfa Zhenyi Dadao Jing, the cultivation technique for official disciples of the Heavenly Master's Mansion and the orthodox true transmission of the Daoist Talisman Sect.
Lastly, there was the initiation artifact.
"Master..." Lei Jun looked at the short rod inside the box, which was about a foot and a half long, black in color with a faint golden light, thick at one end and thin at the other.
He grasped the thinner end, which fit perfectly in his hand, and took out the short rod.
"I noticed that the other disciples' artifacts are things like talismans, rulers, or swords. What about ours?" Lei Jun asked as he subconsciously waved the rod around.
It felt quite handy.
"This is a golden bamboo shoot that your master came across in the Purple Bamboo Forest of the Upper Clarity Thunder Palace Cave many years ago," Wang Guiyuan explained. "After harvesting it, Master combined it with various other rare treasures and refined it over a long period. It possesses many wondrous properties. Master spent a lot of time and effort selecting the most suitable artifact for you, and in the end, he decided on this golden bamboo shoot."
Yuan Mo Bai smiled and nodded.
Lei Jun switched the direction of the short rod, holding it by the thicker end, and examined it again.
"So, it originally looked like a bamboo shoot?"
"There is only one of its kind in this world, a bamboo shoot that your master nurtured and refined with his profound spiritual powers over the years," Wang Guiyuan corrected.
Yuan Mo Bai's smile remained unchanged.
Lei Jun looked at the short rod in his hand.
Could this be the four-star opportunity that the Astrologer (Qianyun) mentioned?
He switched back to holding the thinner end with one hand and waved the short rod through the air a couple of times before putting it away.
"Thank you, Master, for bestowing upon me this artifact."
Yuan Mo Bai said, "Today's grand ceremony has already delayed our schedule. Tomorrow, Zhongyun, you will move into your new residence, and the day after tomorrow, I will impart the cultivation technique to both of you."
He looked at Lei Jun and said, "You should start preparing for your Foundation Establishment."
(End of Chapter)
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