Chapter 515: Nine Heavens Inclination

During the southern expedition, a general was struck dead by thunder; such news spread very quickly.

In the middle of the night, those trembling military advisors and deputy generals sent several fast horses to deliver the letter to the commander's tent.

The commander was awakened in the middle of the night and was immediately shocked and angry.

What he was angry about was naturally not the immortal bringing down thunder to strike people.

The Imperial army itself left their posts without authorization in the middle of the night, which already violated military orders, not to mention looting the people and even killing and committing arson; it was simply heinous. Being struck dead by a virtuous immortal was something no one could dispute in terms of morality. Even if it spread to Qinzhou and the capital, the common people would give a thumbs up upon hearing it.

Moreover, that True Person Lin was a high-level expert followed by the current Emperor, and this commander had once ridden a horse, following this True Person, fighting yaoguai in the valley, and had seen his demeanor with his own eyes.

He couldn't and didn't dare to blame or vent his anger on this True Person.

He could only blame the General for ignoring military orders, being blinded by copper coins, being driven by greed, and cursed the dog thief in the commander's tent, even wanting to whip the General's corpse and hold the General's advisors and strategists accountable together.

At the same time, he quickly called military advisors and strategists to discuss, sending new generals and personal guards overnight to receive and appease the General's troops, while writing orders, sending fast horses to several routes of troops, ordering all generals under his command to take it as a warning, restrain themselves and their subordinates, and sending fast horses back to the capital to report to the Imperial court.

When dawn broke in the morning, several nearby routes of troops all knew about this matter.

Other generals either cheered or were immediately shocked.

This would undoubtedly affect the Imperial court's southern expedition.

Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Cousin-in-law, and Lin's new generation of successors, five people in total, Lin Jue left five immortal fruits for them.

Ordinarily, they had no talent for Daoist cultivation and were not Daoist practitioners. Ji Xianren fruits like the original pill fruits were a bit too wasteful for them. The medicinal effect of this kind of immortal fruit was mainly to increase Daoist practice and help with cultivation. However, now that Lin Jue had achieved the truth and attained the Dao, immortal fruits were no longer so precious to immortals. He himself would treat them as fruit to satisfy cravings and entertain guests, so he naturally wanted to share such good things with his relatives.

This also gave Lin Jue a reminder—

Things like "visiting other True Persons to seek immortal fruit seeds to plant" had to be put on the agenda sooner. He remembered that some immortal fruits were very suitable for mortals to eat, having the effect of prolonging life and strengthening the body.

And while Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, and Cousin-in-law were staring at a plate of five fragrant immortal fruits, in the Wang family mansion in Heng Village, after the old man woke up, he also found that he was holding a new talisman paper in his hand, and the words of the immortal from last night echoed in his mind:

"This is a Chen Niu talisman, a spiritual official beside a great sage in ancient times, which I accidentally found. Before, its soul was incomplete, but later I supplemented it. However, it had nowhere to go, so it became my spiritual official.

"Burning the talisman paper can summon my spiritual official. Besides being able to find me through it, you can also send me letters through it.

"If you see the yaoguai from the ancestral hall again, send my regards."

"..."

Old and confused, he was dazed for a moment, unable to tell whether last night was a dream or if the immortal had truly come here.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

In the old Wang mansion in Heng Village, and at the door of the new Lin house in Shu Village, knocking sounds were heard almost at the same time. The villagers outside were either still terrified or full of wonder, continuing to ask them about what happened last night, as if they were asking the head of the Wang family in Heng Village and the Lin family in Shu Village to find out who the immortal who brought down thunder last night was.

Morning mist shrouded the land of Huizhou, with withered trees and scattered households, all with white walls and black tiles, accompanied by peach blossoms, and a red sun rising in the distance.

The Third Third Shixiong and Xiao Xiao Shimei had already ridden the clouds to Langtou Mountain.

Thunderclouds rolled, and although they were majestic and swift, the movement was not small.

"Third Third Shixiong's cloud is too majestic; the Mountain God has already come out to welcome us." The Xiao Xiao Shimei pointed downward with her whisk, her expression solemn, her wording tactful.

Calling it majestic was actually noisy; saying the Mountain God came out to welcome them was actually the Mountain God hearing the thunderclouds above in this sunny day, knowing it was extraordinary, so he came out of his cave to look up.

The fox also climbed on the edge of the cloud, looking down.

On the top of the mountain, which was unclear whether it looked like a wolf's head or a mallet, amidst the gravel and ancient pines, there was a figure looking up, and many macaques were also startled, climbing on trees to look at the sky.

"Ying wu!"

It was precisely the Mountain God of Langtou Mountain.

"Not right..."

Lin Jue frowned, staring downward.

"What's not right?"

"The Mountain God has already been appointed as Mountain God, and usually lives in the Mountain God Temple, right? Last time we came, he lived in the temple. Why has he returned to live on the mountain, and instead, the Mountain God Temple is nowhere to be seen?" Lin Jue asked suspiciously.

"That's right!"

The Xiao Xiao Shimei was startled.

Thinking carefully, she was already at this age, and was already someone's master, yet she was still not as clever and sharp as Third Third Shixiong, so she was startled again, almost breaking into a cold sweat.

And at this moment, the fox had already found the temple.

"Look!"

The fox raised its claw, pointing to a certain place down the mountain.

Between the lush vegetation, one could faintly see a piece of ruins, the size of a small temple, which was where the Mountain God Temple was in his memory back then.

"..."

Lin Jue frowned, slowly lowering the cloud.

He also took out the last immortal fruit in his hand.

After descending halfway, he walked to the edge of the cloud so the Mountain God could see him. When he descended to one or two *zhang* from the ground, he was already bowing to the Mountain God.

And seeing it was them, the Mountain God breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yesterday I suddenly had some thoughts, so I returned to my hometown to visit relatives, and today I passed by here on my way back to Fuqiu Peak. Thinking of the Mountain God, I came to visit." Lin Jue said, "I didn't inform you beforehand; please forgive me for the intrusion."

"So it is True Person Lin and Her Highness Fuyao!"

The Mountain God looked at the Daoist on the thunderclouds. Even though this was the second time he had seen him since he achieved the truth and attained the Dao, he still felt some emotion—

When they first met on the mountain, this was just a young scholar who broke into the Mountain Lord's banquet. He gifted him wine to drink, and after drinking, he explained the scriptures and meanings for them. At that time, he actually had no Daoist practice. The second time they met, he was just a little Daoist, intercepted and killed by bear yaoguai and rat yaoguai, and he had to go to resolve the siege. In the blink of an eye, many years had passed, and now the world was full of his rumors, and he had already achieved the truth and attained the Dao, becoming the famous immortal of this world.

"I brought an immortal fruit planted in my own mountain to gift to you, Mountain God; please taste it." Lin Jue still referred to himself as "the humble one" and also respectfully addressed him, respectfully and politely handing over the immortal fruit in his hand.

"True Person is too polite!"

"I dare not accept the title of True Person. Mountain God is our old friend and has also done me a favor. If you can call me Fellow Daoist, I will be very satisfied."

The thunderclouds had already descended to the top of the mountain, and the clouds and mist spread along the silky green grass on the mountain, condensing into crystals on the pine branches. Tiny electric snakes twisted, startling many macaques to flee in all directions, then stopping and turning to look. Seeing the clouds and mist rapidly dissipate and disappear, and seeing their own Mountain Lord talking to him, they turned their bodies back and looked at each other.

And because that fruit emitted a strange fragrance, they all stopped here, looking at them while poking their heads to look at the immortal fruit.

Lin Jue and the Xiao Xiao Shimei looked at this Mountain God.

More than twenty years of incense offerings had left indelible traces on him. The burly man who originally had a wild boar's head could no longer be seen, replaced by a middle-aged man with a relatively square face and a relatively strong physique, also wearing the robes of a divine being.

"What happened to the Mountain God? Why did the temple collapse?"

"I am no longer the Mountain God; you don't need to call me Mountain God." The Mountain God held the immortal fruit and said with a sigh.

"Why?"

"Naturally, I was dismissed by the new Tianweng—oh, it's called Zi Di. Anyway, I was dismissed by the heavens." The Mountain God sighed, feeling very aggrieved, "Even my temple was pushed down by a divine being."

"Hmm?" Lin Jue frowned, "What's going on?"

"These divine beings!"

The Mountain God gritted his teeth, then relaxed, saying helplessly:

"They said I was drinking heavily all day, damaging the dignity of a divine being! They also said that back then, a City God in Cuiwei County was dismissed because of heavy drinking, leading to plague ghosts mixing into Cuiwei County, and the whole city of people were infected with the plague, and finally he was beheaded by a Daoist! But heaven and earth can testify, although I love wine, I don't drink all day. I cherish it very much, drinking at most a few sips every day. I only drink freely once every ten years. Don't the Nine Heavens divine beings drink more diligently than me?"

Lin Jue turned his head upon hearing this, and looked at the Xiao Xiao Shimei.

Even the fox tilted its head.

They were familiar with the matter of the Cuiwei County City God and the plague.

Coming back to his senses, he felt that the interaction between him and the Xiao Xiao Shimei was exactly the same as the two disciples under his sect now.

Before he could speak, the Mountain God said again:

"They also said that when I was brewing wine, I stole peaches and apricots planted by the people at the foot of the mountain.

"But heaven and earth can testify! In these years, there has been conscription in the south and the grabbing of men in the north, and wars have arisen. That family at the foot of the mountain has long been empty. I don't know if they went to be bandits or went to the battlefield. Even the houses have collapsed, and I don't know how deep the wild grass inside has grown. Aren't fruit trees without people wild fruits? When the fruit is ripe, if you don't pick it, won't it just become food for birds or rot on the ground?

"Moreover, it's right at the foot of the mountain!

"I didn't steal or rob; what crime is there?"

Lin Jue listened and also showed a thoughtful expression.

A divine being being dismissed for heavy drinking sounds reasonable at first glance, but in fact, it makes no sense.

Not to mention whether this Mountain God in front of him was as heavy a drinker as that Cuiwei City God, even the divine beings in the Nine Heavens had various banquets, such as immortal fruit banquets and nectar banquets. Those divine beings who were originally immortals were mostly fond of drinking, and were usually carefree. If this Mountain God didn't neglect his duties because of heavy drinking, dismissing him was truly unreasonable.

Stealing peaches and apricots from the people is relatively hard to say.

However, if it was really as the Mountain God said, Lin Jue thought carefully and found it difficult to pick out big problems.

It belonged to the kind of thing that could be picked up and put down.

Before he could say anything, the Mountain God had already spoken:

"But it's because I am a yaoguai!"

That's right, Zi Di ascended the throne, and the Nine Heavens' strictness toward yaoguai had begun to manifest a little.

It's the end of the month again. If you don't vote for the monthly ticket, it will expire. If there is nowhere to vote, vote for Jasmine.

Bowing and exposing the chest!

It is the end of the month again; if you don't cast your monthly votes now, they will expire. If you have nowhere else to cast them, give them to Jasmine.

Bowing until my chest is exposed!