Chapter 194: Immortal Palace The official road is made of loess and the bark of the trees has been eaten away. Amid the flying dust, a monk in his thirties and a warrior with a bow and sword came over. "The autumn here is more intense than in other places." The monk looked around and sighed. Although he seemed to be expressing his feelings about the autumn scenery, his words were full of pity. "Master, how do you plan to get rid of the Green Sprout God?" The warrior naturally understood what he meant and asked. "Ugh……" The monk shook his head: "I don't know when the Green Sprout God appeared, but judging from the fact that he was able to wipe out the green crops in two counties for a season, his power must be quite high. I guess the famine in Mingxia County many years ago was probably caused by the Green Sprout God. This kind of monster has consumed the devout incense of several counties for several years, and I can't get rid of it with my power."
"Master, can't you ask the Bodhisattva for help?" "No, no." The monk still shook his head. "The affairs of gods and Buddhas are as complicated as the affairs of the human world. I cannot ask for the help of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, just like many people who know that there is a famine here cannot persuade the court to send people to help." "Don't the gods care?" "Maybe the time has not come yet." "Not yet?" "The time has not come yet." The monk repeated, "Perhaps we came to intervene prematurely and made them unhappy." "..." The warrior was silent for a moment, and then he seemed to understand, and he couldn't help but bow and say: "Master Gaoyi." "Amitabha." The monk put his hands together and said, "I am a monk, so I am not afraid of these things. Just don't let it cause trouble for Mr. Pan." "I am just a warrior, all alone, and there is nothing to be afraid of." Warriors are also free and easy. "Thank you, Mr. Pan." "Master, do you have a plan to get rid of the monster?" The warrior heard something from his tone. "Although I consider myself to be quite capable, this evil spirit has its own way of making a living, so it is probably difficult to get rid of it. However, relying on the name of 'Gathering Immortals', I can perhaps scare it or even drive it away from here by telling a few lies, or at least make it dare not cause trouble again. Then I can persuade the local county magistrate to open the granary to release grain, to help the people, and to help them get through this disaster first." The monk explained, "The most urgent task here and now is to help these people who are suffering from famine." "It makes sense." The warrior walked while looking around cautiously and thinking. For this matter, the mage lied, which was a small matter. He casually borrowed the name of Juxian Mansion. Given the chaos of Juxian Mansion, I am afraid that not many people would care. However, the gods in the sky obviously wanted to use this Qingmiao God to show their power. If they intervened in advance, they would probably be blamed. It is not easy to lobby the county magistrate here. However, just when the two of them had walked a short distance into Langfeng County, they suddenly stopped and looked forward.
In front of me, I saw a few houses with servants in black clothes leading mules and horses loaded with food, delivering food to every house, and the people in the houses came out to express their gratitude. In addition to the servants, there seemed to be some servants. They were both stunned and looked at each other. When I went over to ask, I found out that the county magistrate had indeed joined forces with the rich and powerful in the city to open the granaries and distribute grain to help the people. The two couldn't help but be even more surprised. Isn’t it said that the local county magistrate did nothing, and the rice and flour merchants in the city hoarded goods and sold them at high prices? Why is it different from what I heard? Just then, a temple appeared on the horizon ahead. It was the temple of the Green Sprout God. When the two of them went in and took a look, they discovered that the statue of the Green Sprout God in the temple had been knocked over at some point and broken into two pieces. Many flowers were densely growing on it, some of them had wilted, but not yet withered. The warrior poked the statue with the hilt of the sword, and surprisingly the statue had become very brittle, like tofu, and broke into pieces with the slightest touch. "This is……" The two were even more surprised and puzzled. "Master, be careful. I'll go ask." After saying this, the warrior left. After a long time, the warriors returned. When he came back his eyes were wide open, as if he had heard something incredible. "Mage! I'm afraid we have come here in vain!" "Why?" "Just a few days ago, the Qingmiao God was killed by the gods. The gods killed the Qingmiao God in the cave temple at the foot of Langshan Mountain. On that day, the three statues of the Qingmiao God in three temples in Langfeng County and the statues in temples in several other counties were all covered with flowers." "Full of flowers? Which god?" "Qingdi!" "Qingdi? But is he the one in the poem?" "It should be." "This emperor's job is not to exorcise demons! Besides, his incense has long been fading, and this is not his temple. Why would he come here to exorcise demons at this time?" The monk seemed to be talking to himself, but it can be heard that he is a well-educated person. "But this magical power of blooming flowers seems to be the work of the Green Emperor." "Oh yes, the gods also left a few lines of words on the stone wall of the cave temple!" "What word?" "Good and evil, merit and virtue have their own destiny. The evil spirit caused chaos and brought disaster to the area. Now it has been eliminated to warn future generations that they should have a sense of justice when doing things and being a person." The warrior recalled and repeated, "The local county magistrate and the rich people in the city heard that the gods personally came down to the world to eliminate the monster and left such a line of words. They were afraid that their evil deeds would be remembered by the gods, but they also wanted to do some good things and accumulate merits, so they changed their nature." "No wonder..." The monk looked thoughtful and still felt strange, so he continued to ask, "Are there any other rumors?" "Other rumors? Oh, there is one!" The warrior said, "It is said that a few days ago, several immortal masters came here and distributed famine relief pills everywhere. Eating one pill can keep you from getting hungry for a whole day." "Godly master...the famine relief pill..."
"What's wrong, Mage?" "..." The monk didn't say anything, but stood by the roadside with his eyes closed. After a moment, he opened his eyes and made his own judgment: "If the gods who really govern this place are unwilling to take action, how can there be a Green Emperor to exorcise the monster? This is because there is a real master here!" "Master, are you saying that it was man-made?" "It's just my guess." "hiss……" Wu Ren couldn't help but take a breath. When the wizard was still on the road, he had already told him how difficult it was to get rid of the evil god whose statues were spread across several counties in the temples. He also said that he could not get rid of the evil god and could only intimidate him and persuade the county magistrate to temporarily alleviate the famine in the area. Unexpectedly, a master got rid of the evil god the moment he turned around. Moreover, he used a more clever method to make the local county officials and powerful and wealthy people voluntarily open their warehouses to release grain to help the victims. Where did this expert come from? "Whether it is true or not, we will know after we go and visit. If there is such a master, we should naturally visit him." The monk said, "Mr. Pan, this is what you are good at." "give it to me!" The two continued to walk forward. …… The morning sun had just started to shine, and the red and yellow forest was half immersed in the morning mist. The morning light cast shadows on the ground, and the Taoist temple was hidden in the morning mist and colorful forest. Lin Jue was sitting on a cushion in meditation, practicing with a calm mind. The junior sister behind me was playing and talking with the cat and fox. For some reason, perhaps because of his cultivation, Fuyao has grown a tail since he killed the Green Seedling God. Now it has three. But in most cases, it still turns into an ordinary white fox with a tail that is slightly larger than a cat's, so as not to scare people. Only when it is alone with Lin Jue and feels bored, it will turn into its original size and appearance, and then change back after a while. No one knows what it is thinking. "Fuyao is younger than you, and she went to the mountains to practice later than you, but now Fuyao can speak, and you still can't." "Meow~" The colorful cat called softly. When the fox next to him saw this, he also followed suit: "Meow~" "Eh? That's right, Fuyao, since you can speak human language now, why don't you speak human language all the time?" "Hey?" "I'm asking you?"
"..." The fox tilted its head and stared at her with clear eyes. After a moment of contemplation, it said crisply, "You can also learn to bark like a fox. Why don't you learn to bark like a fox?" "what?" The junior sister seemed to be shocked. The fox looked up and imitated her, making another "eh" sound. Lin Jue, who was meditating with his eyes closed under the dead pear tree next to him, had a smile on his face. It seemed that he was not very focused on his practice. At this moment, the fox seemed to hear some noise and turned around to look outside the door. Soon, footsteps were heard outside the door. "Tuk tuk..." In this desolate mountain area, someone is knocking on the door. Lin Jue opened his eyes, and his junior sister also felt confused. She went to open the door and picked up the long sword on the table. "Squeak..." The wooden door has been in disrepair for a long time and makes a sour sound. Standing outside the door were a gray-robed monk and a warrior with a bow and sword. The junior sister first looked at the monk, then at the warrior and the weapon hanging around his waist. A fox and a civet cat appeared behind her, one on the left and one on the right, also staring at the two people outside the door. "Amitabha." The monk chanted a Buddhist name and said with a smile: "My Buddhist name is Yunchan, and I have come to visit you, the master." The warrior also clasped his fists and said, "I am Pan Jing." The junior sister looked at them and saw that the monk had a friendly face, a gentle expression, and even a hint of respect. The warrior was a little confused and did not reach out to touch the weapon, so she felt a little relieved. "you……" "Oh, it's a bit presumptuous of us to come here without telling you the reason." Master Yunchan said, "We came from the capital. We heard that there was an evil god and famine here. We wanted to help, but we didn't expect that the evil god and famine here had been wiped out by masters. We also heard that several gods and masters came nearby. We admired them in our hearts, so we asked around and made some guesses, and finally found this place." As they were talking, Lin Jue also came to the door, and the second and third senior brothers also came out. "Since you are a guest, please come in." Several people welcomed the two men into the Taoist temple. Although the Taoist temple was still somewhat dilapidated and old at this time, it had already been cleaned and tidied up by the junior sister, and there were even brand new stone tables and stone benches in the courtyard, which could barely be used to entertain guests. However, when they entered the Taoist temple, the first thing they saw was the dead tree full of pear blossoms in the courtyard. How can a dead tree bloom? It's already autumn, where are the spring flowers? The two couldn't help but look at each other. The monk smiled slightly, saying everything.
The doubts in the warrior's eyes disappeared and he became respectful. "The Taoist priest is indeed a man of divine means, a kind heart, and great wisdom." The monk walked in and said, as if he had really met a master, with a very humble attitude, "May I have the honor of knowing the names of the Taoist priests?" "I am Yan Xuanyi." "Li Miaolin." "Lin Jue." "Liu Qingyao." Several people reported their names and looked at him with frowns. "Master, why are you here? And how did you find us?" asked the third senior brother. "I am Yunchan, originally practicing in Xuanbi Temple in Jinzhou, and later went to the capital. Now I am staying at Juxian Mansion, often helping the people of the capital to exorcise evil spirits and save the souls of the dead. Some time ago, I heard that there was an evil spirit and famine here, and no one has been concerned for a long time, and there is no god to exorcise the evil spirit, so I came here privately to take a look. Although my magic power is far from enough to get rid of the evil spirit, I still want to do my best. I didn't expect that there are several masters like the Taoist priest here, who have already eliminated the Green Seed God." Master Yunchan faced the group and repeated his previous words in more detail: "I have no other purpose in coming here, except that I admire you all and would like to visit you to show my respect." "This place is very remote." "Although your temple is remote, the Taoist priests who gave away the famine relief pills are all nearby. In addition, this Taoist temple has long been recorded in the county government, so I dare to guess that the masters are here." The monk smiled and said, "It seems that I was not wrong." "The mage is very wise." "It cannot be compared with several Taoist priests." "Since you in Juxian Mansion know that there is an evil god and famine here, and you are all in Qinzhou, why didn't you come earlier and send more people?" asked the third senior brother again. "This……" The monk felt a little embarrassed and sighed helplessly. "Let me answer for the Master." The warrior next to the monk spoke up. "First, most of the people in Juxian Mansion are sorcerers. It has gotten a little better in recent years, but there aren't many with real skills. Few people have the courage to offend an evil god that can cause famine. Second, the area around the capital has not been peaceful recently, and there are many things going on. Finally, the court, like the gods, doesn't want to intervene in the affairs of this place." While listening to their conversation, Lin Jue was thinking about the three words "Juxianfu". The first time he heard this name was when he had just set out to look for immortals and encountered a strange monkey. The warrior named Luo Seng told him about it. It is said that it is a place that attracts strange people from all over the world, Buddhist and Taoist masters, and they eat the emperor's food. "I've heard of this place before. I heard that in the early years of this dynasty, it was a place where many extraordinary people gathered. I didn't expect it to be so degenerate now." The third brother said, "But the master is a pure cultivator. Why would he go to Juxian Mansion instead of staying in those temples in the capital?" "It's not easy to live in the capital." The monk said helplessly, "Besides, not all the people in Juxian Mansion are so bad. There are also people who practice cultivation and cultivate their minds who live here. There are also strange people who have various skills and magic to find their fortune there. I feel more comfortable staying there than in a temple. I can get a generous allowance by doing some work to exorcise demons and evil spirits." "I see." The third brother smiled, "We are going to the capital too. So, Master, how about we go there and have some fun as well?" "Several Taoist priests have great magical powers and are famous masters of the true way. If they go to Juxian Mansion, it will be a glory for Juxian Mansion and a blessing for the people of the capital." The monk said immediately. "It's not easy to enter the Juxian Mansion, but with the abilities of several Taoist priests, it's not difficult. Once you enter the Juxian Mansion, no matter how big the capital is, you will have a place to stay." The warrior also said, "And even if you don't do anything every month, you will still get a stipend." "Isn't that a borer?" "..."
"How many people are supported by Juxian Mansion now?" "There are thousands of extraordinary people." “How many of them have real skills?” "Hard to say." "Tsk..." The third brother was shocked and turned around to look around. Lin Jue and his junior sister could both see what he meant - If this court doesn’t end, who will? (End of this chapter)