Chapter 76: The Divine Generals, Different Again Tao Tie decided to keep the appointment. After contacting Instructor Huang. He immediately put the matter aside and taught Du Bo Xingyiquan seriously. Although Xingyiquan is only of the upper yellow grade, it played a big role in last night's battle and is worth learning. The "hum" and "ha" sounds of the soul and spirit were enough to control the eighty-seventh son of the sixth-grade ghost for two breaths, which was clear evidence. It would be best if we could push it to the level of (perfection, progress: 100%) without taking up too much time and energy. Half an hour passed quickly as I concentrated on teaching and learning. After Du Bo calmed down, he immediately took on the role of butler, accompanying Master Tao to entertain Chu Mingtu who came to visit. "Hello, Mr. Tao."
Chu Mingtu held a small box in his hand. He greeted him first, then opened the box to reveal something inside. "This is a gift from my brothers and me. I hope you will accept it, Mr. Tao." This thing is as long as a palm and two fingers wide, with a sharp front end, blades on both sides, and no sheath at the tail end. It is exactly a flying sword. Tao Tie took a quick look, and his [Knowledge of Everything] was triggered, instantly understanding the whole situation. He asked, "Where did you get a Xuan-level top-grade flying sword?" Before accepting the affiliation with the business run by Chu Mingtu and his brothers, Tao Tie obtained the consent of Huang Jiaoshi, who had been confirmed to be the first chief of the Immortal God Department of Liuxian County. I also did some preliminary research myself. Tao Tie knew that Chu Mingtu's business was booming and had the ability to attract a lot of money, making it a goose that laid golden eggs. Originally, this business was registered under the name of a teacher in the county literature department. But the teacher was suddenly transferred to Yizhou in the Inner Nine Provinces some time ago, and Chu Mingtu just thought about changing his allegiance. It was precisely because of his clean family background that Tao Tie was willing to accept the affiliation. This innocence refers to the fact that even if the business done by this company in the past involved magical instruments, it could not reach the level of the top-grade Xuan-level flying swords! Now, it was really unusual that Chu Mingtu came to give a gift with such a flying sword without even saying hello in advance. Either Chu Mingtu disguised himself well and avoided Tao Tie's background check; Either... Tao Tie didn't think too much of the worst, but just looked calmly into Chu Mingtu's eyes, waiting for an answer. Chu Mingtu met Tao Tie's gaze, smiled bitterly, and then said frankly: "Mr. Tao, although it is said that we have contributed a collective gift, in fact, we have only contributed an insignificant amount of gold and silver. This flying sword is a treasure passed down from a brother's ancestor." "Ancestral heritage?" Tao Tie frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "To be able to pass down a Xuan-level top-grade flying sword, your brother's ancestors must have produced a sword cultivator of at least the fifth rank. Why…" When the question reached the end, Tao Tie stopped talking and did not finish his words. "Why did you end up in this situation?" Chu Mingtu continued with Tao Tie's words, "My brother's family fell into poverty because of a strange thing."
"Something strange?" Tao Tie repeated the word, thinking, and then asked, "What's strange? Tell me in detail." "I can't tell you." Chu Mingtu shook his head with a firm attitude, and then explained, "It's not that I don't speak out because I treat Mr. Tao as an outsider, but I really can't speak out." After a pause, Chu Mingtu changed his wording and said in a more serious tone: "To be precise, almost everyone who knows about this strange incident only knows it in their hearts and cannot express it in words." "I understand." Tao Tie nodded, suddenly realizing what was going on, and asked, "So, why are you giving me this flying sword now?" Without waiting for Chu Mingtu to answer, Tao Tie said, "It can't be because I was awarded the position of ninth-rank inspector this morning, and it can't be because I killed a sixth-rank lower ghost with my eighth-rank upper cultivation, right?" "Congratulations, Mr. Tao." Chu Mingtu, who had his own information channels, had obviously known about these two things for a long time. He immediately followed the topic, congratulated him, and said some auspicious words, "Mr. Tao is awesome!" Tao Tie had a blank expression on his face, and his heart was calm. He took the initiative to talk about those two things, not like a fisherman who would show off after catching a big fish and parade around the streets with the fish in his arms, saying to everyone he met, "How did you know this was the fish I caught?" It's about eliminating some of the guesswork. Or to put it more darkly, he was testing Chu Mingtu. Mr. Qiu and Instructor Huang have both given specific reminders, so how could Tao Tie not be careful? Chu Mingtu observed the expressions of the people, but he didn't notice anything, so he didn't panic. He changed his tone smoothly and said sincerely: "I discussed with a few brothers and decided to present this flying sword together. Firstly, I found that Mr. Tao did not have a sword today, and I guessed that it might have been damaged in the battle last night. Secondly, something strange has happened in my brother's family recently, and if possible, I would like to ask Mr. Tao to take a look." After listening to Chu Mingtu's words without hiding anything or hesitating, Tao Tie was quite satisfied. As I said, the most important thing between people is sincerity. If Chu Mingtu and his brothers had planned to get Tao Tie to accept the flying sword first and then tell him about the "strange thing", then this newly established affiliation relationship would end here. Tao Tie is indeed short of money, and it is foreseeable that as his expenses increase and become larger, he will be short of money for a long time to come. But it doesn't mean that Tao Tie can be played as a fool just to make money. Chu Mingtu's attitude and performance are very good. It was so good that Tao Tie started to think, considering whether he should intervene in the "strange things" that were happening to Chu Mingtu's family, whose ancestor had a sword cultivator of at least the fifth rank, but whose family later fell into poverty. [Magic weapon: Ziwu Yuanyang Sword] [Grade: Xuan-level upper grade] [Information fragment 1: As you can see, this is a flying sword;] [Information fragment 2: Not seen by you, this is also the key;]
[Information fragment three: This key points to a secret inheritance hidden in a specific group of extraterritorial demons;] [Information fragment 4: Taotie is mumbling, "Quick! Quick! Quick! What are you waiting for? Let's eat!"] If nothing unexpected happens, the "strange things" that have been plaguing that brother's family originated from that secret inheritance. The so-called secret method in the Dayong Dynasty refers to the "Taotie Visualization Method" and other skills that are passed down in a secret and rather evil way. It is easy to pick up things related to the secret inheritance, but it is somewhat difficult to find a way to open the inheritance. And it’s all about fate. It is often not enough to just have the affinity with the secret method; one must also have enough destiny and luck to be able to withstand the cause and effect that comes with the secret method. But is something like cause and effect so easy to memorize? Taking a deep breath, Tao Tie used the derived characteristic of the Purifying Heart Mantra [Purifying Heart] to pour a basin of cold water on himself and said, "You go back first. I need to think about it." "Thank you, Mr. Tao. Sorry to bother you." Upon hearing this, Chu Mingtu immediately thanked and apologized without saying a word, then took a few steps back before turning around and leaving. The small box containing the flying sword was naturally kept by Chu Mingtu. There is a little trick hidden in this. Test whether Tao Tie really considers what he said or just does it perfunctorily. This little thought was harmless and Tao Tie did not take it as an offense. After taking a few glances at the flying sword in the small box and putting it into the storage bag, Tao Tie left the courtyard and returned to his own cave. I performed the daily evening lessons devoutly, and there was still quite a while left until the beginning of the hour of Hai (21:00), but not enough time to collect herbs and refine my Qi. Tao Tie simply took out the official document and jade slip given by Ke Chenghuang and opened the official document to read it first. The content was very simple. It stipulated that before a certain deadline, Tao Tie could go to the City God of Liuxian County at any time to collect 150 ghost soldiers. The only special thing was that these 150 ghost soldiers were all of the rank below the ninth rank! This is of course the best. It really proves the saying: when called, they come; when they come, they can fight. However, this also brought a burden, causing Tao Tiexin to have two problems. The burden is that it is not easy to train soldiers and horses. Training soldiers and horses of the lower ninth grade requires more nectar and incense. What a huge expense. Two questions, The first is where did the City God of Liuxian County get so many ninth-rank lower ghost soldiers that could be allocated at will? Secondly, Ke Youqiu was so generous in giving, it was possible that Instructor Huang gave him a hard blow out of habit, or it was more likely that there was something wrong with the source of these ghost soldiers! Holding the thin document, Tao Tie's face was calm, his thoughts were in turmoil, one idea after another emerged, one guess after another came into being. "There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain." After a moment, Tao Tie suppressed his distracting thoughts and decided to use [Knowing All Things] to take a good look at the group of ghost soldiers allocated by Ke Youqiu and determine their source. If there is no problem, then accept it as is. If there is a problem, and it’s a big problem… reject it first and come back to it later.
After taking back the official document, Tao Tie picked up the jade slip, made sure it was alright, and probed his spiritual consciousness into it, and [Knowledge of All Things] was naturally triggered. [Spell: Marshal Zhao's Mixing Technique] [Category: Summoning Gods] [Information fragment 1: I use my life force spirit to summon the spirit of nothingness, and use my own energy to combine with the energy of nothingness, and add the steps, spells, and magic symbols to adjust the mechanism, and it will be in harmony.] [Information fragment 2: If you feel God with your heart, God will not respond; if you feel God without your heart, God will respond as your heart wishes. But if you have no false thoughts, everything will be the same; God is me, and I am God.] [Information fragment three: Subtle vacuum, Lord Zhao of the Divine Sky. He can drive away thunder and lightning, move fire and wind, and no god will not be subdued, and no ghost will dare to attack. The Divine Sky's orders will not be disobeyed. The Divine Tiger bites and all ghosts disappear. Disciple, please summon me, come to Xun Palace quickly.] [Information fragment 4: God of Plague? God of Wealth? God of Thunder? Don’t be greedy, choose one.] After reading the information fragments, I felt awe-inspiring. After receiving the specific training methods in the jade slip, Tao Tie was speechless. Generally speaking, in order to practice this method, one must first bathe, burn incense, fast with a pious heart, then set up an altar, write talismans, make a petition, summon three times, and offer sacrifices, and finally obtain the approval of Marshal Zhao of Xuantan. This is very important! Tao Tie didn't mind the trouble. How many good things are there in the world that are simple and hassle-free? But just as he was trying to comprehend the true meaning of the technique in the jade slip, a sudden enlightenment arose in his mind. Marshal Zhao, agreed! "This……" "The disciples haven't practiced yet." Tao Tie muttered silently, but he also knew that he and Marshal Zhao had a connection from the beginning. When refining the golden toad, the wealth will enter the golden toad and send treasures. Since they have a connection and they are family, of course Marshal Zhao agreed. What made Tao Tie speechless was that he always wanted to take shortcuts in the past, and this time he finally decided not to take any shortcuts, but the result was... call…… After exhaling a breath, Tao Tie didn't think too much about it, but put away the jade slip. Even if Marshal Zhao agreed in advance, that is Marshal Zhao’s business. Tao Tie felt that out of respect, he had to complete the training steps. But there is not enough time now, so we can only leave it for later. He stood up, left his cave, and left the missionary temple. Tao Tie turned into a breeze and went to the Eight Immortals Mountain. When it comes to watching a ceremony, you can't go too late. The ceremony of enthroning the mountain god was held on the mountain top where Tao Tiezeng had received the Dharma from the Eight Immortals, and was presided over by the county magistrate Miao Zongren. There were dozens of guests attending the ceremony, divided into three categories. One category is the local prominent figures of Liuxian County, such as Huang Junshi, the chief of the Immortal God Department, and Ke Youqiu, the City God; One category is the prominent figures in Siming Prefecture and its counties, such as the Yu family and the monks from Jingling Mountain;
One category is some mountain and river gods in nearby areas, such as the Yudai River water god. Mo Daojun leaves early, and there are even more early travelers. Tao Tie arrived early enough, but Instructor Huang was already at the top of the mountain. "here." After seeing Tao Tie, Instructor Huang immediately waved. Tao Tie walked over immediately. There were originally two people standing next to Instructor Huang. One was Li Jianyan, a female county literature teacher whom I had dealt with several times, and the other was a stranger whom I had never seen before. "Good teaching." When he got close, Tao Tie immediately greeted him. "Ah." Huang Junshi responded calmly, then pointed at Li Jianyan and said, "Teacher Li, you have seen it. The last piece of Void Fragment was given to you by her." "Thank you, Mr. Li." Upon hearing this, Tao Tie immediately thanked Li Jianyan and prepared to salute. Li Jianyan acted very quickly, holding up Tao Tie's body with a fake help, but said indifferently: "No need to thank me. That was not a gift, but an apology." This sentence is not fully explained. But Tao Tie understood it in his heart. The apology was simply in reference to the first visit to Wushan Temple. In this case, Tao Tie stood up and did not insist on saluting. Can we forget all grudges by smiling when we meet? Not so much. It's just about letting go of the grudge, only about the matter, not the person. If there is nothing else in the future, we will still be strangers. Huang Junshi pointed to another person and introduced, "You haven't seen this person before, Qiu Wanru, the granddaughter of Mr. Qiu, you..." After a pause, Huang Junshi said, "Just call me Senior Sister." As soon as these words were spoken, Li Jianyan and Qiu Wanru who were nearby, as well as Miao Zongren, Ke Youqiu, the Yu family, the monks of Jingling Mountain, the water god of Yudai River and other mountain and river gods who were farther away, all looked over. Everyone present, including the gods, knew that Huang Junshi and Mr. Qiu were both teachers and friends. I also know that Huang Junshi always treated Mr. Qiu as a teacher.
What does it mean for Tao Tie to call Qiu Wanru, the granddaughter of Mr. Qiu, "Senior Sister" at this moment? This meant that Huang Jun was actually announcing to the people and gods present, as well as the forces behind them, that Tao Tie, who had surpassed his rank and killed the eighty-seventh son of the Lord of Mount Dadong, was not a grassroots person without support. In addition to being a student at the Missionary Academy, he is also the ninth-rank inspector of the Immortal God Department of Liuxian County, and has another identity. He is Huang Junshi’s disciple! Anyone who wants to bully or take advantage of Tao Tie, at least within Siming Prefecture, must think twice. Can you withstand Huang Junshi’s revenge? Tao Tie's eyes turned red with emotion. (End of this chapter)