Chapter 96: Paper Donkey

"Is it also so chaotic in the sky nowadays?"

The third senior brother asked while staring at the rabbit meat.

"Do you really not know or are you pretending not to know?"

"Junior uncle, you say that! How long have we been cultivating on the mountain? And we are cultivating in seclusion on the mountain all day long. How can we care about these twists and turns of the Talisman Sect?" The third senior brother said, "Of course I really don't know."

"Then this Daoist will tell you—

"Nowadays above the nine heavens, according to what our Spiritual Magic Sect says, it is those four Heavenly Venerables! These four Heavenly Venerables have been standing behind the Lord Tianweng for a long time. There are also two or three ancient gods, who are also true immortals from ancient times, but they almost never participate in the decision-making disputes of the gods after going to heaven. As for other Heavenly Venerables and ancient gods, they are all titles given by the Talisman Sect. They are respectful titles. Not to mention their contributions and merits to the world, just talking about cultivation and magic power, they certainly cannot reach the level of ancient true immortals."

The second junior uncle narrated:

"Under the Heavenly Venerables, there are many Emperor Lords. Similarly, the Talisman Sect values merit and contribution, and uses this to determine divine positions and divine power. But according to what our Spiritual Magic Sect says, there are actually only five who can reach the Great Power Realm.

"One is the Lord Tianweng Yili Shenjun, who has the highest status and governs the three realms and five elements, surpassing the nine heavens, sun, and moon.

"The remaining four correspond exactly to the four famous mountains.

"For example, Mount Qiyun mainly worships Emperor Lord Yu Jian, Mount Mingzhou mainly worships Emperor Lord Zi Xu, Emperor Lord Miaoming of Mount Zhangtong, and Emperor Lord Qinghua of Mount Yue.

"You say—

"Do they want to go further?"

The third senior brother listened and couldn't help but gasp. Even with his personality, he couldn't help but lower his voice and widen his eyes, asking: "Going further refers to... Lord Tianweng or..."

"Who knows?"

"Junior uncle, you don't know either?"

"You are a Daoist who is unlikely to become a 'True Immortal' in this life! Why worry about the affairs of these Emperor Lords and Heavenly Venerables?"

"Junior uncle, are you talking about yourself?"

"You brat..."

The second junior uncle shook his head and waved his hand, asking:

"Is it cooked yet?"

He looked like he couldn't wait.

"Can eat."

Lin Jue took down the two roasted rabbits.

The rabbit meat had been roasted until it was fragrant, the skin was red, thin like a piece of paper, and many neat knife cuts were covered with spices, emitting an alluring fragrance.

Lin Jue tore off a rabbit leg and handed it to the second junior uncle first, then tore off another and handed it to the fox.

"You eat first, you have the greatest merit."

"Woo~"

The fox took it carefully, not afraid of being hot.

The third senior brother had already reached out unceremoniously.

Grabbing the rabbit leg and pulling it, every fiber of the meat could be seen clearly. The burnt fragrance and meat fragrance rushed to his face, drilling straight into his nose, making him unable to care about the heat, and he took a bite. The saliva that filled his mouth unknowingly just happened to cool down the rabbit meat.

"Sizzle..."

A crisp sound could be heard.

The outer shell was indeed crispy, and the meat inside, although roasted very dry, didn't feel dry at all. Instead, it was wrapped in spices and became more fragrant the more it was chewed.

"Junior uncle, the roasted rabbit you ate before should be about the same as what my junior brother roasted, right?"

"..."

"By the way, junior uncle, what did you eat on the mountain before?"

"Isn't it the same? Everyone boils for a month!"

"Tsk tsk! Really good!"

The third senior brother was gnawing on the rabbit leg happily.

The two began to chat about some things that could make many Daoists on the mountain feel thrilling.

"Nowadays, this imperial court favors treacherous sycophants and harms loyal officials. It guards such a huge world, but there is no one to use and no one to manage. It cannot defeat foreign enemies, and it cannot eliminate internal troubles. It enjoys pleasure all day long. From the inside to the outside, from the roots to the top, it has rotted completely. How can it be protected and supported?" The second junior uncle said, "Nowadays, except for the capital, only the area around Jiangnan is considered peaceful. But even so, I encountered a group of mountain bandits robbing the road on the way here."

The area around Jiangnan is where Mount Qiyun and Mount Yishan are located. This place has always been prosperous in commerce and culture and is the money bag of the imperial court.

"These mountain bandits don't even let go of Daoists?"

"Who says not! They don't even let go of Daoists!" The second junior uncle pulled his pitch-black Daoist robe, "This poor Daoist was still wearing a Daoist robe!"

"And then?"

"Originally wanted to send them all back to heaven and earth, but my heart softened, and I only slaughtered half."

The junior sister kept casting glances at him.

Bones were gradually thrown on the ground.

However, the rabbit's bones were originally small. After roasting for so long, except for the leg bones and head bones, other places had long been roasted crispy. Whether it was the Daoist or the fox, they almost chewed the bones and swallowed them.

"In short, it is now that among the four famous mountains, some are willing to protect this imperial court, and some are not. To put it bluntly, what Daoists are free and easy, indifferent to fame and wealth, hahaha, free and easy refers to the Spiritual Magic Sect, indifferent to fame and wealth refers to those who refine pills in the mountains. But the most in this world are these Daoists of the Talisman Sect. The people who come and go in the Daoist temples are mostly high-ranking officials and nobles. Even the gods they worship are fighting for incense and Daoist venues."

This second junior uncle looked old, but his spirit was too different from his own master.

How did they get along on the mountain back then?

Lin Jue couldn't help thinking.

At this time, the rabbit meat had been eaten up, leaving a little bit. The second junior uncle was embarrassed to grab it with them, so he flicked his sleeves, reached into his bosom, looked at Lin Jue and the junior sister, and said:

"Although it's the first time we meet, and I don't know if there will be any fate in the future, but after eating such a good meal of meat from you, and you called me junior uncle, I am embarrassed not to show anything."

"I have a heart to teach you a useful magic art, but this Great Offering doesn't have many days left, and I can't teach it, so I have to give you something, which will be useful for walking in the pugilistic world in the future."

Hearing this, both of them raised their heads and looked at him.

The second junior uncle reached out from his bosom.

In his hand were two paper pieces in the shape of donkeys.

"Obtained in the north before, originally wanted to exchange for some things at this Great Offering, but they were all rotten things. Probably the good ones were exchanged last year! So I give them to you!"

"Paper Donkey Technique?"

The third senior brother stared at his hand.

"Good boy, have some insight!" The second junior uncle said, grinning, "Rest assured, it came very properly!"

"This..."

The junior sister looked at Lin Jue.

Lin Jue didn't hesitate, and had no psychological burden, reaching out and taking it: "Then thank you, junior uncle!"

"Thank you, junior uncle!"

The junior sister also hurriedly followed and took it.

"Paper donkeys are convenient. I have put effort into this paper donkey. Although it is still afraid of fire, it is not afraid of water. It won't be broken if it gets some rain. Don't get caught in heavy rain, and don't fall into the river and soak for a long time. If it gets wet, dry it quickly. Inject magic power and say 'Donkey manifest' and it can come out. Use it with care."

The second junior uncle explained a lot of trivial things.

"Second junior uncle, what about mine?"

"..."

The second junior uncle aimed at him, wiped his mouth, looked at the sky in the distance getting dark, and stood up directly, walking out, leaving only one sentence:

"Gone!"

Lin Jue and the junior sister stood up at the same time.

"Junior uncle, walk slowly."

But he saw that figure as if the wind was born under his feet, and in the night shadows and twilight, he soon disappeared.

The third senior brother then came back to his senses, showing envy and looking at them: "With this thing, it will be much more convenient to walk in the world from now on."

Lin Jue took the paper piece and checked it carefully.

He could vaguely feel it was made of paper, but the paper of this era was not thin, and this paper was thicker and stronger, like a donkey-shaped card, about the size of a palm.

"Donkey manifest."

Lin Jue said, and threw it.

"Poof..."

A burst of white smoke appeared.

There was a light-colored gray donkey on the ground, with a moderate size.

"Donkey manifest."

Another sound, a loud explosion.

Two light-colored gray donkeys on the ground.

The donkey senior brother beside him was stunned.

The fox also raised its head and stared straight at it, its eyes flickering constantly, looking at this one, then at that one, shaking its head back and forth like this.

"This kind of paper donkey and paper horse technique is somewhat similar to our carving beans into soldiers, but there are also some differences. It can be said to be much rarer than carving beans into soldiers." The third senior brother simply lay down on the spot, with both the coolness of the autumn wind and the warmth of the campfire, and said to them.

"How to say?"

"Actually, our Daoist temple also has this magic art, but you know, why doesn't our Daoist temple have paper donkeys?"

"Why?"

The third senior brother smiled and explained to him:

"Paper donkeys and paper horses are the same as our carving beans into soldiers. Although they are made of paper, if you want them to walk and carry things like donkeys and horses, and listen to people, you have to use a little remnant soul. And it can only be a remnant soul. It can be said that one more paper donkey in the world is one less real donkey.

"However, remnant souls are mostly transformed by the obsessions of living beings.

"Animals are stupid and hard to develop obsessions, so they are naturally hard to become remnant souls, so they are rare and hard to find. Even if you meet them, they cannot be compatible with human thoughts and character, and it is difficult for you to actively attract them. Therefore, the magic art of paper donkeys and paper horses has a mandatory and restrictive effect on remnant souls, and animal remnant souls are also easier to restrict. This point is different from the method of bean soldiers.

"But after all, it is rare and hard to find...

"Maybe only after many years, when the donkey senior brother returns to the west but is unwilling to leave, can our Daoist temple have a paper donkey."

Lin Jue and the other both revealed a look of sudden realization.

Thinking about it this way, it is indeed very precious.

"Third Shixiong brother, I can leave this paper donkey to the Daoist temple." The junior sister said.

"Leave it to the Daoist temple for what? Second junior uncle gave it to you, so you keep it! Doesn't your action put the donkey senior brother in a useless place?"

"Oh..."

The junior sister clutched the paper donkey, her eyes flickering. Obviously, in her whole life before going up the mountain, she had rarely met someone who was so good to her after knowing her for a short time, so she felt it was very unreal.

Subconsciously looked at the little senior brother.

Perhaps I am also basking in the light of my senior brother?

Yet I only heard this senior brother ask: "Do all the uncles give such valuable gifts when they meet for the first time?"

"It depends on how wealthy the uncles are and what they have on hand at the time. Most uncles are very carefree and don't stand on ceremony; they give whatever they have, depending on your luck."

"Then may I ask, Third Third Third Shixiong... where do the other six uncles live?"

"You..."

Third Third Third Shixiong, who was enjoying the moon, could not help but turn his head to look at him.

Xiao Xiao Shimei also stared at him sternly.

In the blink of an eye, nine days passed.

This Great Offering could be considered concluded.

It was not until the second day after the Great Offering ended that Lin Jue and Xiao Xiao Shimei entered the Yanxia Temple to visit, and it was Daoist Qingxuan who came to find them and take them there.

At this moment, they were walking through the Yanxia Temple.

"Everyone is saying that yesterday, True Person Lingqing almost left in a huff; is it true or false?" Lin Jue was somewhat familiar with Daoist Qingxuan and knew he had an upright nature, so he asked curiously.

"Fellow Daoist, Buddhism has the tradition of debating scriptures, and Daoism has the tradition of discussing the Dao. Some differences are normal; why listen to rumors?"

"That is true."

"When will you be leaving, Fellow Daoist?"

"The Great Offering has already ended. My senior brother said we will set off down the mountain early tomorrow morning," Lin Jue said.

"Was the Great Offering lively?"

"I gained a lot of insight and learned a great deal."

"That is good," Daoist Qingxuan said. "Otherwise, this trip would have been in vain."

"What about you all?"

"We still have to wait a few more days."

"Then we will be leaving first."

"Take care on your journey."

"Naturally."

As Lin Jue walked and chatted, he suddenly passed a great hall. A glance from the corner of his eye caught a divine statue inside—

It was also wearing armor inside, but it was fine-scaled armor, with a colorful divine robe draped over the outside. It was about a zhang tall, and amidst the flickering candlelight and curling blue smoke, it appeared exceptionally solemn, reminding him of that Lord Yi Li.

Lin Jue could not help but stop his footsteps.

He saw couplets in front of the great hall:

Green tiles protect the wind and clouds, opening a separate cave dwelling;

Red clouds hang over the sun and moon, approaching the beautiful divine heights.

"Which deity is this?"

"This one is Lord Fuchi, a True Lord and battle general under the command of Emperor Zi Xu. Beside him are his two generals, Xuanri and Xuanyue. Recently, during the Mingzhou Mountain Great Offering, it is Lord Fuchi and his divine generals who have been protecting Mingzhou Mountain from being invaded by yaoguai, ghosts, and evil outsiders," Daoist Qingxuan said with a smile. "If you are interested, you can go offer incense and form a good connection."

"Next time!"

Lin Jue shook his head.

As expected, his status is similar to that of Lord Yi Li.

He then walked out of the Daoist temple and slowly headed down.