Chapter 717: The Six Eras
In 500 years, the world had undergone significant changes—from clothing and manners to moral and ethical standards. Everything had transformed, including architectural styles.
Qi Xuansu said, “After the Golden Horde entered the Central Plains, they established their capital in what was then called Yanjing Prefecture. At the time, Yanjing Prefecture was not yet known as the Imperial Capital. In that sense, the current Imperial Capital was built atop the Golden Horde’s capital. So it’s not strange that there would be an underground palace left behind by them here.”
Zhang Yuelu walked into the hall and said, “At first, I thought this underground palace might be related to the Shamanistic Sect, which is the traditional national religion of the Golden Horde. But I soon realized that wasn’t the case. There’s no trace of Shamanic influence here. On the contrary, there are very distinct marks of the Quanzhen Sect.”
As she spoke, Zhang Yuelu pointed to a few places. These patterns and inscriptions were completely unrelated to the Eternal Heaven that the Shamanistic Sect worshiped. Instead, these markings were unmistakably familiar to Daoists.
The Shamanistic Sect was the traditional state religion because its standing in the Golden Horde was unshakable. However, the Golden Horde had another national religion that changed according to the times.
Qi Xuansu examined the markings carefully for a moment and remarked, “These traces seem odd. They don’t quite match the current form of the Quanzhen Sect.”
“That’s not surprising,” Zhang Yuelu replied. “Today’s Quanzhen Sect is what the Holy Xuan left us with after refining and removing its dross. In other words, much of the unfit content was erased by the Holy Xuan. What we see here belongs to the Quanzhen Sect of 500 years ago.”
Being from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, Qi Xuansu was well-versed in Daoist history. He immediately said, “The Quanzhen Sect from 500 years ago...do you think this was left behind by the Changchun lineage?"
The Daoist Order had flourished twice in history. The first time was when the First Emperor lost his imperial rule, the White Emperor seized control of the realm and embraced the Huang-Lao teachings. Huang was the Heavenly Emperor, and Lao was the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. Thus, Daoism flourished and came to hold power in the Imperial Court. Later, Emperor Wu ascended the throne and strongly favored Confucianism. A struggle between the Daoist Order and the Confucian School followed, in which the former was utterly defeated. This marked the beginning of nearly a thousand years of Confucian dominance.
It was not until the Li royal family founded the Qi Dynasty that they embraced Daoism again, because the Primordial Daoist Ancestor also bore the same last name. The Li royal family honored him as their forefather, calling him the Primordial Patriarch and the Primordial Xuanyuan Emperor, making Daoism the state religion.
By the end of the Jin dynasty, the Daoist Order had entered one of its most decadent and corrupt phases. Influenced by the Buddhist Sect, Daoists obsessed over divine powers and supernatural feats, making all kinds of outlandish claims and inventing new deities from thin air. Yet they could not out-boast nor out-fantasize the Buddhists. It was during this time that True Lord Taiyang perished, completely crushed by the Vairocana.