Chapter 551: There is Separation in the Mortal World

During these few years, the struggle between imperial power and divine power in the mortal world continued.

In the hearts of the mortal people, the Emperor had the majesty of the Imperial Court, and the gods also had the faith of the divine Dao. One ruled the mortal world and controlled the incense, and the other resided in the Nine Heavens with boundless divine power.

Although both sides exercised restraint, they each had their own methods.

Fortunately, Lord Luo was tough after all, and did not retreat at all.

Celestial Master Nan was also very upright. It is said that he once personally entered the Purple Firmament Palace, first scolded the True Person of the Purple Firmament Palace, and then rushed into the divine hall and pointed at the nose of the divine statue to rebuke it. The two sides reached a short-term balance.

In the external war, they beat the Great Zu into steady retreat.

The vast territory of the Western Regions had been lost for hundreds of years, and now it had returned to the control of the Central Plains dynasty.

Internally, they balanced the north and south, vigorously promoted the imperial examination, developed the economy, benefited the people, and encouraged childbirth.

Under the governance of this old Emperor, the mortal world was truly gradually entering a golden age, and even the prosperity of the capital exceeded that of the end of the previous dynasty. In just a few decades, it was almost comparable to the peak period of the previous dynasty.

At the same time, the commerce of Huizhou and Jiangnan also developed.

Yangzhou was located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, by the Grand Canal, and relying on prosperous commerce, it became the second largest city besides the capital.

It just so happened that this was a water town in Jiangnan, with a pleasant climate, and everything seemed very gentle. In addition, it was far from the center of the Emperor and the Imperial Court. Besides prosperity, there were not so many rules and regulations and the imperial aura that captured people's souls. In terms of economy and openness, it was faintly even better than the capital. Even because this was the dojo of Emperor Yu Jian, the number of demons and ghosts was far greater than in the capital, and there were countless related stories and legends.

Many officials, scholars, and poets were willing to come here.

With the golden age atmosphere of today, I don't know how many poets left poems here, and Yangzhou also became a place name that appeared frequently in poetry.

It was also very close to Huizhou.

First Third Third Shixiong was refining pills here.

At this time, in Yangzhou city, at a small stall on the roadside, a group of Daoists were sitting and eating noodles.

They were all clear soup noodles, the soup base was so clear that one could see the bottom at a glance, with a little soy sauce color, sprinkled with a few green onion flowers, and a piece of green vegetable. One could taste a little soy sauce flavor, but there was no other taste, very light.

"First Third Third Shixiong, have you found the place?"

"Found it long ago," First Third Third Shixiong said. "The rent here is really expensive."

"You are about to become an immortal, yet you are still worried about these things," Lin Jue said with a smile. "Isn't it also returning the wealth of the mortal world to the mortal world in another way?"

"Junior Third Shixiong's words are reasonable," First Third Third Shixiong nodded. "Junior Junior Third Shixiong's words are always better to listen to than Old Three's."

"Indeed."

Xiao Xiao Shimei also nodded.

There were several disciples beside them, all focusing on eating noodles. Some ate with relish, while others frowned because of the blandness.

Even Xian Zhu was holding noodles and eating them.

People on the roadside often cast glances at them.

It was really because in this day and age, most pedestrians on the street were gray and black, with dust and mud on their clothes, and wind and frost on their faces. Even high-ranking officials often didn't have fair skin. It was normal for cultivators to have clean and tidy clothes, but their complexions were fair, as if they had never been tanned, which was really rare.

Especially since there was a female Daoist among them, always walking at the end, with a round face and big eyes. Her eyes were unbelievably big and unbelievably beautiful, like a demon.

There was also a white fox and a colored civet.

This combination was truly strange.

But this was Yangzhou, where there were all kinds of strange things and strange people.

"Let's go. I asked Fellow Daoist Jiang, and through her, I asked Emperor Yu Jian. Emperor Yu Jian said that First Third Third Shixiong, your character is unparalleled and your merit is immeasurable, so he agreed to let you refine pills here and will also provide you with protection," Lin Jue said, wiping his mouth and standing up. "When the time comes, let Fuyao breathe out a breath every so often to cover up the commotion here."

As soon as the stall owner saw him stand up, he immediately leaned over, wiping his hands while staring eagerly at Lin Jue.

Lin Jue turned around and reached out, first pointing at Xiao Xiao Shimei, then turning half a circle to point at First Third Third Shixiong:

"He's paying."

"I'll pay!"

Ji Yin immediately stood out and counted the money from his bosom.

Because First Third Third Shixiong had taken in four new disciples, someone had to teach them. In addition, although Fuqiu Temple was not a big temple, it was much bigger than a small Daoist temple like Red Leaf Temple, so someone had to guard it. Therefore, this time, Ji Yang, as the new generation First Third Third Shixiong, stayed on Fuqiu Mountain, and Ji Yin accompanied Master out to learn the method of Golden Core refining. Next time Second Third Third Shixiong refines pills, he will switch with Ji Yang to learn.

"Got it! Thank you, Daoist!"

"Thank you, stall owner, for your hospitality..."

The group walked majestically along the streets and alleys, looking back as they walked, watching the prosperity of the big Jiangnan city, talking and laughing.

But just after walking through a main street, Lin Jue suddenly felt something and stopped to look in the other direction.

He saw an old monk walking over, followed by several people wearing monk robes, Daoist robes, or ordinary cloth clothes, and also accompanied by two officials and several martial artists.

The old monk's eyebrows and eyes were quite familiar.

At the same time, the old monk raised his eyes and saw him, was slightly stunned, and then bowed to him with folded hands from afar.

"It's Dharma Master Yun Chan."

The Xiao Xiao Shimei's voice came from beside him.

"Yes," Lin Jue turned to First Third Third Shixiong and said, "We have met an old friend, so please let First Third Third Shixiong go a step ahead. After we catch up with our old friend, we will come to find Third Third Shixiong."

"Good..."

First Third Third Shixiong also glanced in that direction and left with Ji Yin.

Lin Jue and the Xiao Xiao Shimei's disciples followed by their side.

"Amitabha..."

The old monk walked slowly, his expression calm. The monks, Daoists, strange people, and two officials beside him were all very curious, while the several martial artists were very vigilant.

"I didn't expect to meet here..." The old monk paused, his gaze easily capturing the curiosity of the people around him, so he just smiled and said, "Meet a Daoist."

"We didn't expect to meet the Dharma Master here either," Lin Jue bowed to him. "How did the Dharma Master come here?"

"Sigh, it's all for the official business of the Gathering Immortal Mansion. In the past, the Gathering Immortal Mansion was only in the capital, and official business was only within Qinzhou. If small demons and ghosts caused trouble elsewhere, there was no need for the Gathering Immortal Mansion, as local high people and Daoists could eliminate them. If big demons and ghosts caused trouble, with the abilities of the Gathering Immortal Mansion of the previous dynasty, it was useless to go, and it was just a wasted long journey," Dharma Master Yun Chan said leisurely. "However, the current dynasty is different. The Gathering Immortal Mansion is valued, and its atmosphere and abilities are not what they were in the previous dynasty. Now that Jiangnan commerce is prosperous, the Gathering Immortal Mansion naturally has to come to Jiangnan, so this poor monk was sent here to be responsible for the affairs of the Gathering Immortal Mansion in Jiangnan."

The monks, Daoists, strange people, officials, and martial artists beside Dharma Master Yun Chan were even more surprised.

At first, they didn't know the identity of this group of Daoists, so they thought they were juniors or friends' juniors who knew Dharma Master Yun Chan. When they met, they bowed calmly, and the other party not only had no respect for Dharma Master Yun Chan, who was elderly and a Junior Minister of the Gathering Immortal Mansion, but instead acted like peers meeting and catching up.

You must know that the power of the Gathering Immortal Mansion is very high today, and its jurisdiction is very wide. As the second-in-command of the Gathering Immortal Mansion, a highly respected Buddhist high person, Dharma Master Yun Chan is enough to make any local high official and clan tycoon respectful wherever he goes, whether by status or virtue.

Someone lowered their eyes and caught a glimpse of the white fox at Lin Jue's feet.

However, since the end of the previous dynasty, many Daoists have had the custom of keeping white foxes, and this trend reached its peak in the early years of the current dynasty. Until now, in the Gathering Immortal Mansion or the mortal world, many Daoists like to bring a white fox to show the trend, and some say they are high people.

This is not surprising.

Some people have thought in that direction, but when they saw that there were so many of them, they felt it didn't look like it.

Lin Jue listened to Dharma Master Yun Chan's narration while looking at his already white beard. What appeared in his heart was the heavy snow in Langfeng County back then, or that small temple of the Green Seed God. At that time, he was still a young monk who brought a martial artist, almost alone from the capital, without any helpers, without any reinforcements, wanting to deal with the Green Seed God for the local people.

Dharma Master Yun Chan's Dao practice is not high. The Gathering Immortal Mansion, like the Nine Heavens gods, does not rely purely on Dao practice to determine official positions. Dharma Master Yun Chan relies on virtue, wisdom, experience, and other abilities.

He has also never eaten the Yuanqiu fruit, and now he is very old.

It seems he probably won't live for many more years.

Lin Jue thought of Master's old friend back then.

That old monk whom Master traveled thousands of miles to meet in his later years, and whom he waited for to come before he passed away.

At that time, the old monk left them an address, saying that they could find him if they went there, but Lin Jue never had the opportunity to visit him, and felt there was no need to go specifically. Thinking about it now, I'm afraid the old man has already passed away.

I didn't feel anything when I was young, but thinking about it carefully now, there is still some regret.

"Where is the Dharma Master's protector?"

Lin Jue asked, but he had already forgotten the name of the martial artist who followed Dharma Master Yun Chan back then.

"Lord Pan? When he was young, in order to protect me and eliminate demons, he suffered too many injuries. Although back then in Leopard Forest, the divine general gave many medicinal pills, he ate two, and cured some, but after all, he was old, and he had overdrawn too much when he was young, so he passed away two years ago."

"My condolences..."

Lin Jue also remembered that the martial artist was also surnamed Pan, named Pan Jing.

"Since we have neither become immortals nor Buddhas, birth, old age, sickness, and death are common things in the mortal world. There is nothing to be surprised or mournful about," Dharma Master Yun Chan said with a smile.

The people around him were more and more novel, and gradually some people opened their eyes wide.

On the contrary, Lin Jue's disciples were quiet and patient, silently waiting for Master to catch up with his old friend.

The two sides chatted on the street for a long time.

There was no way, it was really impossible to stop.

After a long time, the two sides said goodbye to each other.

"You have waited a long time."

Lin Jue said to the several disciples with a smile.

The disciples waited quietly just because they were sensible, but they were still young, and young people are always like this, not believing that there is separation in the mortal world. How could they know that this short moment might be the last time Master and this old friend meet in their lives? ===== CHAPTER 552 =====