Chapter 633: Employment Successful

In the dawn light, the first rays of day appeared.

Behind the faint mist, a purple-bearded white dragon darted through, its breath rumbling like low thunder, slowly sweeping across the entire Jianyang Prefecture.

Dispensing clouds and rain is the responsibility of the Immortal Court, with specific immortals assigned to the task.

Rather than dispensing rain, the white dragon was more like moving water, transporting water from elsewhere to this prefecture.

If a common wild demon performed this act, or even caused a disaster, it would inevitably be struck down by the Immortal Court, but since it now acted on the orders of the Divine Dynasty, though against regulations, no one would usually interfere.

"Do not stand there dazed!"

Before the Earth God's temple, the old man threw out his staff; the wooden cane flew into the air and tapped the white dragon's forehead, neither too hard nor too soft.

"Ouch."

Prince Ziyang cried out in pain and sheepishly withdrew his searching gaze.

With Shen Zongzhu having gone off with that monk and vanished without a trace, combined with the Earth God's earlier words, he had no mind to dispense rain now, only waiting for an opportunity to sneak away.

"Do not forget you still have tasks to perform." The Earth God gripped his staff again, reminding him with deep meaning, then withdrew his gaze and walked toward the temple, supported by the two old attendants.

"After all, they are fellow Daoists who came together; how could one rest easy for even a short while?" The old attendant shook his head, offering an explanation on his behalf.

The Earth God is a very special post, receiving a salary from the Immortal Court yet likely never ascending to the Immortal Court in a lifetime; instead, contact with the Divine Dynasty is closer, and daily duties mostly involve serving the Divine Dynasty while also shouldering supervisory responsibilities.

But the current Human Emperor is a person of great determination; during his reign, the entire Shenzhou land was, by force, considered peaceful and stable.

Recently, the imperial court has developed the intention to subdue idle wild immortals and recruit talented people from across the land for its use.

Among these, dispensing clouds and rain counts as a very important task... although they do not know exactly why it is important; after all, while this matter involves the livelihood of the people, it is the Immortal Court's responsibility, and spending such great effort to recruit a large batch of Rain-Prayer Envoys seems only able to help make up for deficiencies when the Immortal Court is negligent.

But since the imperial court values it, they do not mind recruiting talent for them to fill the quotas.

This white dragon only needs to stay obediently, and it will have a promising future.

As for that Dao Realm loose immortal, he looks down on such a salary and cannot lower his status, so there is no pressure; they only hope his fate is tough enough not to fall into muddy waters just after descending the mountain for training.

The Earth God of Jianyang Prefecture, who rarely advanced to the Eighth Rank, possessed immense experience and rarely made wrong judgments.

For instance, this struggle between the Puti Sect envoys, in his view, was a mud pit so filthy it could not be filthier, a situation with ten deaths and no life.

These two had neither violated the Heavenly Rules nor touched the laws of the Divine Dynasty; it was purely a family matter.

Even if he wanted to report it, he could find no channel.

Even he, an Earth God, dared not get involved in this matter, yet that young man agreed so readily... either he was a fool, or a calamity star born with a killing fate; regardless of which, he had no mood to meddle in others' affairs.

As long as the people of Jianyang Prefecture remained safe and sound, the darkness in this place, no matter how many cultivator corpses were buried there, had nothing to do with the Divine Dynasty; just pretend not to see it.

"He will get used to it eventually; the two of them are not on the same path, so what 'fellow Daoists'? It is better to part ways here."

"If both of them die, there will not even be a person to return to that remote place to deliver a message."

Sighing slightly, the Earth God of Jianyang Prefecture stepped into the temple; people from such small places almost always carry the heavy expectations of their hometown's living beings, and he had grown somewhat accustomed to it.

However, before his second foot could step out, his eyes flickered, and he slowly turned his head to look back.

Boom—

The white dragon transformed into a streak of light and landed, revealing a human form, staring at the distance with a face full of joy: "Earth God, they are back!"

Upon hearing this, the two old attendants exchanged glances and quickly lowered their heads, coughing dryly a few times.

The Earth God's face turned red; fortunately, he was already born dark-skinned, so it was not very noticeable.

His gaze tightened slightly as he looked in that direction.

Immediately, he saw the two walking together ahead, and behind them, the partner from the Purple Cloud Sect with a face full of panic.

The expressions of the latter two clearly indicated something had gone wrong.

But all four returned completely intact, without even a single scratch on their bodies, and their auras had not changed.

As far as he knew, this Envoy Zhikong was stronger than that Envoy Lingguang, but in other aspects, he was far inferior, absolutely not reaching the level of crushing dominance.

Then look at Envoy Zhikong's attitude toward that young man.

Although he was equally gentle before going, that was because Envoy Zhikong possessed both virtue and conduct, being humble and polite to everyone; now, he was clearly treating that young man as a close friend, even carrying a trace of gratitude.

"..."

The Earth God of Jianyang Prefecture walked to the outside of the temple and looked again at the black-robed youth.

His expression gradually became complex.

If he was not a fool, then he was a calamity star born with a killing fate.

He trusted his nose; the trace of blood scent carried by this young man would be difficult to wash away even with Immortal Elixir.

Such an existence, if paired with corresponding strength...

"Is the task finished?" The Earth God raised his eyes slightly.

"Replying to Earth God, it is finished." Monk Zhikong nodded, pressed his palms together, and said: "Thanks to the help of Shen Xianyou, otherwise this monk would have almost caused a great disaster."

Upon hearing this, Prince Ziyang finally let out a long breath; he had almost been scared by that old Earth God. He had said so himself: how could a figure capable of killing methods, daring to commit the act of slaying an immortal, and returning Hongze to peace, possibly fall in a Jianyang Prefecture?

Now, not only did he withdraw unscathed, but even Envoy Master Zhikong praised him endlessly.

"Earth God, I told you, my elder brother is skilled at slaying demons and eliminating evil; you should hurry and find him a task. If you miss this village, there will be no such temple." He turned around and spoke flattering words to the Earth God again.

Compared to Prince Ziyang, the two old attendants were so frightened by Envoy Zhikong's words that their faces changed color.

Thanks to Shen Xianyou?

They knew this group had not gone to deal with some demon; the opponent was another Envoy of the Puti Sect, and even if he made a mistake, there were likely several fellow disciples or elders who cared about him.

This loose immortal senior, fresh out of the gate, went straight to offend the Three Teachings?!

Such boldness is truly something no small temple dares to accept; it is better to pass quickly!

However, they were still somewhat curious: what role could a Dao Realm cultivator who had not yet reached Taiyi Zhenxian play in the Envoy struggle?

"A task..."

The Earth God looked deeply at Shen Yi, gripped his staff tightly, and said: "Trouble you, Xianyou, to step inside the temple for a conversation."

He had seen people with strength and heavy killing intent, but those were all disciples of great sects with clear backgrounds; even if they caused trouble, at least one could find their master or elders to punish them or demand compensation.

But this young man is different.

If I'm not mistaken, you're also from Hongze.

If this young man surnamed Shen truly possesses the ability to participate in the Pilgrim's Duel, then in Hongze's remote backwater, even Lingyun Shiren couldn't control him, nor could he afford to compensate for anything.

It's less about finding him a post, and more about placing some constraints on him.

"Huh…"

The Earth God reached into his chest, stroking the cold tablet, gradually making up his mind.

Since you're skilled at slaying demons, then go.

He turned to wait for Shen Yi to enter the temple, then gently closed the temple door.

"…"

Shen Yi watched the Earth God's actions in silence, saying nothing.

He had indeed noticed the man's expression was unusual.

But even ignoring the Puti Sect Pilgrim still standing at the door, if anything seemed amiss, he likely wouldn't stand idly by.

The Earth God is only eighth-rank, his strength equivalent to the Dao Realm; even if a fight broke out, Shen Yi wasn't truly afraid—and if worst came to worst, he still had the Bima Wen watching over him in the Immortal Court.

"This, please help me deliver it to the White Dragon."

The Earth God first pulled out an iron tablet, on which gold-hooked iron strokes bore the characters "Pray for Rain."

He briefly explained: "Beyond the imperial court's Six Ministries, the Emperor has newly established a seventh ministry, comprising eight bureaus—Pray for Rain Bureau is one of them."

Here, the Earth God stared directly into Shen Yi's eyes, seeking to discern something, but after a moment, found nothing, and sighed: "Indeed, I've managed Jianyang Prefecture for many years alongside the Prefect, hoping only for peace here—I don't trust people like you."

"Since you've returned alive, this lowly eighth-rank immortal can hardly control you."

"But someone else can."

The Earth God's expression grew far more serious, and at last he pulled out another iron tablet: "Beyond the eight bureaus, there is in fact a ninth bureau—only the Prefect of Jianyang Prefecture knows of it, and only one tablet was ever issued."

"Today, I give it to you."

He pressed the tablet into Shen Yi's palm.

The pattern on the tablet was bizarre—like a single character had been written, then slashed through by a deep blade cut, shattering it into fragments, yet resembling wild, nascent sprouts with an odd kind of beauty.

"What bureau?" Shen Yi lowered his gaze to the tablet.

Hearing this, the Earth God smiled, subtly turning his gaze away.

"Zhan Yao Si."

(End of Chapter)