Chapter 257: The Path to Ju Xian Fu

"Daoist Friend Lin, Daoist Friend Liu, so it is you." Daoist Qingxuan walked over with a big laugh. "I thought it was more Daoist friends invited by Guanxing Palace to debate the Dao with us."

"I have heard of it," Lin Jue asked curiously. "What do they debate when Guanxing Palace asks you to debate the Dao?"

"Nothing more than some annotations of Daoist scriptures, the world of the divine path, right and wrong, etiquette and law, rights and wrongs. Sigh, there's nothing worth saying." Daoist Qingxuan said, then turned to the young Daoist beside him. "Junior Third Shixiong, go and invite Xiao Xiao Shimei Jiang out. Tell her that Daoist friends from Floating Hill Temple have come to visit. Oh, right, we'll wait for her in the tea room in the back courtyard."

After saying this, he made a gesture of invitation to the three people and one fox, leading them to the tea room in the back courtyard.

Not long after, Daoist Jiang also arrived.

Lin Jue still remembered that her real name was Jiang Zhaoren, and she had a very deep relationship with Lord Yi Li. She used the pseudonym Jiang Ning and was now practicing at the Profound Heaven Temple on Mount Qiyun.

Seeing her again, her appearance had hardly changed. Her skin was as white as if she were wearing heavy makeup. When the noon sun shone on it, it was as if it were glowing, and it was shrouded in the hazy blue smoke of the tea room, giving a feeling of not knowing whether it was a dream or reality. Her expression remained as light and calm as ever, even when seeing old friends.

"Daoist Friend Lin, Daoist Friend Liu, we meet again."

"Yes, long time no see."

"I heard that Daoist Yunhe has passed away."

"Life and death have their numbers, prosperity and decay have their degrees. My master had long since let go of it. He was not someone who liked to argue about length and shortness."

"I will brew tea for you."

Daoist Jiang didn't make much small talk, just sat cross-legged, took out numerous tea sets and tea leaves, and seemingly handed the task of talking to Daoist Qingxuan.

"The two high-ranking people who eliminated the Long Wang in Runze County are the two Daoist friends, right?" Daoist Qingxuan said.

"How did Daoist Third Shixiong know?"

"The deeds of the two Daoist friends have spread far and wide. Two Daoists, a man and a woman, bringing a white fox—who else could it be? I knew as soon as I heard it that it must be the three Daoist friends." Daoist Qingxuan exclaimed, "But what I didn't expect is that in just a few years, the three Daoist friends could eliminate a yaoguai king."

The fox beside him listened and felt a bit proud.

Lin Jue laughed: "What kind of yaoguai king is that Long Wang?"

"Eh! Although he is not a yaoguai who has attained the truth like the Corpse Tiger King, he is still a great yaoguai who rules one side," Daoist Qingxuan said. "How many Daoists who practice spiritual arts in the world today have this ability?"

After saying this, he turned to look at Daoist Jiang Ning:

"Xiao Xiao Shimei Jiang, you tell me, on the other side of the capital, do the Daoist friends on Yushan have this ability?"

"Fighting alone, they definitely can't. If more go, it's possible. If they take the ancient magical artifacts in the temple, it's also possible," Daoist Jiang lowered her head to take out the tea leaves, put them into the tea grinder, and ground them back and forth attentively without raising her head, but answered truthfully. "It's just that they don't have this heart and courage."

Daoist Qingxuan was a bit embarrassed.

Originally, he wanted his Xiao Xiao Shimei Jiang to agree with his statement and say that the Daoist friends on Yushan didn't have this ability either, so as to flatter his old friends, but he didn't expect this junior sister to be so unyielding.

"We also used strategies, coupled with the help of Lord Luo beside us and many heroes, otherwise we wouldn't have this ability either," Lin Jue also said truthfully.

"Oh? Strategies? Lord Luo?"

"It's like this..."

Lin Jue was also in a relaxed mood, so he stroked the fox's fur beside him and told them the story simply.

"So that's it! So the Daoist friend used such a wonderful strategy! Admirable! Admirable!" Daoist Qingxuan exclaimed, then looked at Luo Seng beside him. "Lord Luo beside the Daoist, having such ability and being able to call so many heroes of the world at once, could it be Luo Seng, the County Commandant of Changning County in the capital?"

"It is I."

Luo Seng was very straightforward and took off his face-covering cloth.

"It really is Lord Luo! It is fate that the two Daoist friends could meet Lord Luo. It was destined that the Long Wang would have this calamity!" Daoist Qingxuan was still surprised.

"The Long Wang has been causing trouble here for so long. Does no one in the whole capital, or any god, care?" Lin Jue asked.

"Daoist friend, you don't know. This matter is complicated. Some are unwilling to care, and some cannot care. Take us, for example. We have the heart to use the Long Wang to increase the faith and prestige of our Emperor and True Lord, but alas, alas, our being able to come here is already the result of many battles between heaven and earth, and we can only take root in this capital first," Daoist Qingxuan said, but didn't say much more, instead changing the subject. "But having said that, although the Long Wang is a fairly large yaoguai king, he mostly causes trouble once every ten years, and he does it secretly. If we talk about harm, alas, it's actually small."

"Hmm..."

Lin Jue nodded and didn't ask much more.

At this time, Daoist Jiang beside him had already started brewing tea. The green tea powder met the boiling mountain spring water and immediately gave off the fragrance of tea, which melted into the scent of blue smoke in the temple. The light shining obliquely from the hole window behind was full of water vapor and smoke.

I imagine this is good tea.

I imagine there are not many guests who can make her grind, sift, and brew tea herself.

But when Lin Jue talked to this point, he suddenly found something wrong—

Back on Floating Hill Peak, when Daoist Qingxuan, Daoist Jiang, and that Junior Third Shixiong Ma came to the mountain to visit and say goodbye, it was the Third Third Third Shixiong who was the most fierce about visiting them in the capital in the future. But at this time, they were not surprised or confused at all as to why only the two of them, the senior brother and junior sister, were here, and why the Third Third Third Shixiong hadn't come.

"Originally, the two of us and our Third Third Third Shixiong were supposed to come to the capital together, but we accidentally got separated from the Third Third Third Shixiong on the way, because at that time we had agreed to come..."

Lin Jue's sentence, "May I ask, Daoist Third Shixiong, has my Third Third Third Shixiong already been here?" hadn't been asked yet, when he saw Daoist Jiang glance at Daoist Qingxuan. Daoist Qingxuan patted his head, and Lin Jue immediately stopped his words and looked at him seriously.

He saw Daoist Qingxuan patting his head and saying:

"Look at me. I don't know if I've been busy and dizzy lately, or if I was too happy to see the two Daoist friends, but I actually forgot about this!"

Lin Jue cast his gaze at his junior sister.

His junior sister also looked at him at almost the same time.

Both of them realized one thing—

The Third Third Third Shixiong had already been here.

"Daoist Friend Miaolin has indeed visited. He also said that he accidentally got separated from you. He also said that he went to the temple outside the city and inferred that you should not have come here yet," Daoist Qingxuan said. "Daoist Friend Miaolin specially instructed me that before telling you, I must first ask if you have been looking for him. If you were delayed in coming to the capital because you were looking for him, tell you that he is fine. If you just went to other places to play, don't tell you anything, so that you would worry about him."

"That's something he would do."

Lin Jue nodded, knowing that the Third Third Third Shixiong was indeed fine, and his expression calmed down.

He was no longer worried in his heart, and he also understood why Daoist Jiang had to look at Daoist Qingxuan just now. Most likely, she wanted to see if Daoist Qingxuan would do as the Third Third Third Shixiong instructed.

"When was that?" his junior sister asked.

"About three months ago."

"Three months ago..." his junior sister thought for a while. At that time, she and her senior brother were on their way to the Western Regions to chase the rat demon. Then she hurriedly asked, "Then where is the Third Third Third Shixiong now?"

"I don't know either."

"Did he say anything about that night when we separated?"

"He didn't elaborate."

Daoist Qingxuan couldn't help but shake his head:

"But at that time he said that a female ghost was chasing him, and it seemed a bit urgent. He only stayed with us for one night and left the next day. We wanted to keep him for a few more days but couldn't. And he also said that he would come to the capital to find you in the future."

"A female ghost..."

His junior sister couldn't help but look at her senior brother—

The Third Third Third Shixiong is not very good at dealing with ghosts...

Her senior brother had a calm expression.

His junior sister also calmed down.

Thinking carefully, it was not hard to hear from Daoist Qingxuan's words that the Third Third Third Shixiong should be fine. As long as she was in the capital, there would always be a day to meet again.

"What should I put in the tea?"

"Just plums and sugar."

"Hmm..."

The tea leaves were fragrant, and several cups were poured out one by one.

The first cup of tea, Daoist Jiang held with both hands and handed it to Lin Jue first, followed by his junior sister, the fox, and Luo Seng. It could be seen that she didn't care about humans or yaoguai, children or adults, only about closeness.

"Many thanks."

Lin Jue took a sniff and could smell the rich and fresh tea fragrance. Because it was tea powder, there was also a hint of green plum fragrance. Taking a small sip, it was also a sour and sweet tea taste.

After that, it was small talk and reminiscing.

After reminiscing, they talked about the capital and the Ju Xian Fu.

Daoist Qingxuan said to them:

"I don't know if Lord Luo has told the Daoist friends, but the cultivators in the capital are generally divided into three factions:

"One is Guanxing Palace, which is the ancestral court of the world's Fulu Sect. Its fame is not as good as our four major famous mountains, but its status is higher than the four major famous mountains. It mainly worships the Heavenly Grandfather and relies on the imperial court. Speaking of which, all Daoists in this dynasty, whether they are Fulu Sect, Lingfa Sect, or Danding Sect, all the gold certificates issued are issued by Guanxing Palace. All newly built orthodox temples must also have their nod.

"The second is Ju Xian Fu, which is the collection of strange people and scholars by the imperial court. Each dynasty has different ones.

"The third is Yushan, about twenty or thirty miles away from the capital. There is a Yushan White Pure Palace on it, where immortals once lived. It also practices spiritual arts, which is about the same as the temples on Mount Yishan.

"In the hundred-mile great mountains of Maple Mountain, there are actually some hermits and yaoguai, but most of them don't ask about world affairs, and they don't even interact with each other. I'm afraid that the change of dynasties won't affect them. Plus, there are very few of them, so no one counts them among them."

Lin Jue nodded as he listened and asked him: "In Daoist Third Shixiong Qingxuan's view, how is the Ju Xian Fu now?"

"The Ju Xian Fu of this dynasty has never been as imposing as when the Yu Dynasty was first built, daring to compete with gods and yaoguai kings, but it is not as declining as the previous dynasty, only able to perform some tricks for the emperor. But now, the Ju Xian Fu is the same as the imperial court and the army..."

Daoist Qingxuan thought for a while before saying, but when he got to the end, he just smiled and didn't finish, then continued:

"However, even if there are many swindlers in the Ju Xian Fu, there are still many people with real skills. Even if there are many people who deceive the world and steal names, there is no lack of people who sincerely want to eliminate demons and harm for the people. For such people, Xiao Xiao Shimei Jiang and I have always respected them. I imagine Lord Luo also knows."

Luo Seng was silent on the side, just nodding.

"Could it be that Daoist Friend Lin wants to go to the Ju Xian Fu?" Daoist Qingxuan asked.

"I heard that the Ju Xian Fu hides many ancient books and classics left over from the time of the Yu Dynasty prime minister. I want to go and see them," Lin Jue said truthfully. "Maybe it will give me some inspiration."

"That is indeed true, and it is indeed the reason why many famous cultivators go to the Ju Xian Fu," Daoist Qingxuan nodded and said. "It's just that we don't know much about these spiritual arts and magical arts."

"Many thanks, Daoist Third Shixiong."

Lin Jue thanked him.

Daoist Jiang on the other side heard this and spoke:

"We have taken root here for several years and have also dealt with the Ju Xian Fu. Although the Ju Xian Fu is nominally only for the emperor to share worries, in fact, most things are affiliated with the Ministry of Rites. Now the imperial court is corrupt. If the Daoist friend wants to enter the Ju Xian Fu, even if you find someone from the Ju Xian Fu, or report the name of the Floating Hill Temple on Floating Hill Peak of Mount Yishan, I'm afraid you will have to spend some silver and do some shady deals.

"If the Daoist friend really wants to enter, I can write an introduction letter for the Daoist friend in my private name.

"With the letter, you will definitely be able to enter the Ju Xian Fu."

Lin Jue thought for a while and agreed:

"Then many thanks."

"Since we are old friends, there is no need to be polite," Daoist Jiang said. "Besides, my life and Daoist Third Shixiong Qingxuan's life were once saved by you and your fox."

As she said this, she lowered her head to add tea for him. ===== CHAPTER 258 =====