Chapter 184: Dispute

State Scholar's Residence

At this time, a figure in black clothing was seen from afar looking toward the direction of the Zhang family residence.

At this time, a tall and slender middle-aged man with a stern face calmly gazed toward the direction of the State Scholar's Residence.

"State Scholar Zhang Jian?"

At this time, several people dressed in luxurious blue brocade stood behind him, each with a strange expression, though their eyes glowed with a red light.

They had been lurking nearby for several days, yet had found no opportunity.

This made the middle-aged man rather annoyed.

They were spies from Southern Chu.

Since learning that Zhang Jian possessed the Righteous and Upright Qi, this spy leader had deliberately sought an opportunity, intending to seize the State Scholar who bore this righteous energy and take him to Southern Chu.

Such scholars possessing the Righteous and Upright Qi each hold unique value; if captured and brought to Southern Chu, they would naturally shine there.

However, this group did not notice that, in the distance, a group of Daoists from the Cavern Spirit Observatory had already been lying in wait.

"These people are truly like flies, fixated on Zhang the Compiler, even extending their watch to his family—relentless in their pursuit!"

Several Daoists sighed at this moment.

Since learning that Zhang Jian possessed the Righteous and Upright Qi, the Pure Bright Daoist had dispatched cultivators from the observatory to begin guarding the area around the State Scholar's Residence.

This was not surveillance.

Rather, it was to reduce troubles for Zhang Jian.

Now that Zhang Jian's fame is growing, it is inevitable that some ill-intentioned individuals come to disturb him; the Daoists of the Cavern Spirit Observatory naturally help resolve such matters.

In fact, the Daoists of the Cavern Spirit Observatory are unusually eager in such affairs, and they have been troubled by the lack of opportunity to speak with Zhang Jian.

"Come on, the big fish has already appeared—about time!"

The leading cultivator, at the Divination and Foundation Establishment realm, spoke calmly, and with a wave of his hand, figures with intense qi and blood, blazing like fierce flames, emerged from behind—like tigers descending from the mountain—and surrounded the residence where the Southern Chu spies were hiding.

Soon after, loud cries of battle rang out.

But the shouting quickly faded away.

……

Fengyang Commandery

Inside the Kitchen God Temple, the Red Flower Lady has recently flourished, with constant crowds coming and going.

At the temple gate, the great wishing tree is draped in red silk, adorned with wish plaques left by the common folk.

The temple has been repeatedly expanded during this period.

The Red Flower Lady, following Zhang Jian's teachings, has not built additional temples; aside from this great temple, others are nearly nonexistent.

Instead, she advocates integrating temples into ordinary households.

By merging temples into some commoners' residences, this better aligns with the divine role of the Kitchen God.

After this, the Kitchen God's fate becomes intertwined with that of ordinary believers; having confirmed that the Kitchen God Lady requires no boy or girl as sacrifice, she has become very popular among the local populace.

In the Kitchen God Lady's divine administration, divine light grows ever brighter!

Utilizing abundant incense, the Red Flower Lady has, within a year, condensed two divine power side halls to protect her divine golden body and suppress the divine administration.

At this time, several other divine artifacts are also in the process of being nurtured.

These include the Merit Ledger, the Incense Pool, and auxiliary ritual implements needed by the deities in the divine administration, such as the Fire-Extinguishing Whisk, the Fire-Removing Pearl, and the Soul-Hooking Chain, etc.

Everything is progressing in a favorable direction.

Thriving and prosperous!

As the core, her divine golden body is continually tempered and solidified.

Within the divine administration, two voices are now arguing: "Red Flower, in my view, you are truly a foolish simpleton who has never endured any hardship; if not for Zhang Jian's favor, you would not deserve this divine position at all!"

"If it were me, I might have already reached the fourth rank; unlike you, who has fallen so low, wasting a fine foundation!"

"Yuan Zhao, your methods are useless—you saw this time: if not for the master purging the hidden dangers of the Red Lotus Dao, we would have been utterly wiped out by the court, just like the Fire Worship Sect and the Three Yang Dao!"

"The master said that for us deities, survival is always the primary duty, expansion the second, and only the deity who lasts to the end is the victor!"

The Red Flower Lady's expression at this time is a cold smile.

The Yuan Zhao she refers to is none other than the Lady of the Pacifying the South Marquis, formerly the head of the Red Flower Temple.

Although she has seized the temple's main body, taken over its foundation, and nested like a cuckoo, Yuan Zhao's soul still remains.

The Red Flower Lady is not acting out of mercy or leniency.

Keeping Yuan Zhao's soul is mainly to ensure the vitality of the physical body.

She needs to rely on Yuan Zhao to continually adjust the degree of harmony between herself and this body.

Since she took over this body, the Red Flower Lady has also split into two cultivation paths.

One is pure divine Dao; the other uses Yuan Zhao's body to pursue cultivation.

The existence of the physical body is not merely a backup; at critical moments, it can also serve as a surprise force.

At this time, Yuan Zhao's consciousness is trapped in the depths of her sea of consciousness, making argument inevitable.

"That is not necessarily true—only the strong can survive!"

Yuan Zhao regards this with utter disdain.

The Red Flower Lady cannot be bothered to argue with her.

Her gaze is calm; now the Red Lotus Dao has been successfully preserved, and after its rebirth, it will possess even greater vitality than before.

At this moment, as her divine sense stirred, she perceived the direction of Mount Yang Commandery and, in an instant, sensed that many sources of incense had vanished.

This loss is not merely that of a single household's incense.

But rather, a vast expanse.

She sensed that the souls of believers were weeping in sorrow!

This ominous sign put the Red Flower Lady on alert.

The last time such an omen appeared was when the rebellion erupted in the Xuandu Sect, and many Xuandu Sect followers toppled the temples established by the Red Lotus Dao.

She silently performed the technique, her spirit descending to the Divine Bureau, but after a moment her brow furrowed tightly.

She saw a horrifying and grotesque sight.

In Mount Yang Commandery, a group of ghostly deities had appeared from somewhere, invoking the name of the Kitchen God Lady to slander her reputation everywhere.

These ghostly deities appeared and disappeared unpredictably, and their cultivation was not low.

They impersonated the Kitchen God Lady to indiscriminately harm believers, while also abducting boys and girls, truly causing her considerable losses, and even the incense of the Kitchen God Lady in the Mount Yang Commandery direction, which had been steadily growing, was affected.

"It seems those fire gods are behind this?"

At this moment, the Red Flower Lady's expression was cold and sharp, with a chill in her eyes.

Not long ago, she had received invitations from various fire gods; although they outwardly came only to congratulate her on ascending to divine position, they more or less carried some coercion and inducement, implying she should voluntarily resign from the Kitchen God post and take another divine office instead—naturally, she ended up with nothing but embarrassment.

But before leaving, these fire gods had left behind many harsh words.

It is likely these impostor Kitchen Gods who have appeared are the tricks of those fire gods.

If she cannot handle this matter well, she will inevitably leave herself open to criticism; when the time comes, these fire gods will surely file a complaint against her in the State and Ancestral Gods Dao, and naturally they will be able to intervene!

She does not intend to ask Zhang Jian for help in this matter.

These fire gods think she is a soft persimmon, but that is a grave mistake.

During this period, she has kept Zhang Jian by her side, receiving constant influence day and night, which is certainly not in vain.