The disgraced immortal had never suffered such a humiliation. His physical body had been destroyed, and his opponent, also a Huangting realm cultivator, had annihilated him at the very first encounter!
His primordial spirit fled into a mountain temple. Inside this temple, the Earth God was enjoying offerings when a strong gust of wind blew. The fruits and vegetables before the Earth God vanished, and his true form was blasted out of the clay statue within the temple!
The disgraced immortal transformed into a gust of wind, casually pilfered a few fruits and vegetables from the Earth God, and also took his offering statue. A voice echoed from afar across heaven and earth:
"Old Earth God, I'm borrowing your clay body for a bit!"
The Earth God chased him to the temple entrance, stamping his feet and cursing incessantly.
What kind of ghost dared to rob the Earth God's temple? This was outrageous!
The disgraced immortal, carrying the Earth God's statue, then proceeded to another mountain gate temple. Upon landing, he possessed the statue. In an instant, the clay body moved as if alive. It could not withstand water, but fire, gold, or chopping could not harm it.
The Xuanmiao Temple was a place of flourishing incense for the Quanzhen Dao sect in Gusu. Compared to their declining ancestral home in the north, the incense here was still quite vigorous.
"Which mountain and land's Earth God are you?"
A disciple emerged from the Daoist temple to greet him. Seeing the clay divine being descend here, he came forward to question him.
The disgraced immortal's eyes immediately widened, and the clay body flared with three feet of anger:
"You little brats, you don't recognize this old man!"
The disciples were startled: "Uncle-Master Luo Po!"
"Luo Po, Luo Po! I call myself the Disgraced Immortal, but today, your Uncle-Master is truly disgraced!"
The clay divine being flew into the main hall of the Xuanmiao Temple and settled in the Miluo Treasure Pavilion. This pavilion was built during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Ming.
With flying eaves and upturned corners, it soared into the sky. The deities enshrined within were the Emperor of Ten Thousand Dynasties on the upper level, flanked by the Twenty-Eight Mansions; and the Emperor of Ten Thousand Earths on the lower level, flanked by the Sixty Jiazi spirits. Red light surged from the palace, dazzlingly bright.
This palace was in the earthly realm, invisible to mortals.
At this moment, many Daoists were lecturing scriptures. Upon seeing the clay divine being enter, the foremost master stopped lecturing. He smiled and pointed at the clay divine being at the entrance, saying, "Luo Po Immortal, why have you changed into another appearance to return home?"
The surrounding people, realizing this clay divine being was indeed the Disgraced Immortal, burst into laughter. An elder said, "Luo Po Immortal, you must have been bothering those talented scholars and beautiful ladies again. They are a match made in heaven, but you are unkempt and your clothes are dirty. Though your cultivation is high, they are mere mortals. Who would follow you up the mountain for spiritual cultivation!"
"Immortality is good, but Quanzhen practitioners do not engage with women; they are truly ascetics with no worldly attachments. You insist on breaking up couples, which is a deed that damages virtue. It's best to do it less!"
The disgraced immortal immediately jumped up: "I haven't bothered those people today... no, I haven't succeeded in bothering them yet!"
"My physical body was destroyed, so I borrowed the Earth God's clay statue..."
"Borrowing, isn't your borrowing just stealing? You went again..."
Before the Daoist in the center of the palace could finish speaking, a piece of vegetable leaf fell from behind the clay divine being.
"You went to steal the Earth God's food again!"
The disgraced immortal grabbed the leaf and stuffed it into the clay statue's mouth, then angrily recounted the day's events to everyone.
The whole story, this and that!
"I am also Huangting, and that Daoist in black is also Huangting. He even remade his physical body, yet he destroyed mine at the first encounter! He said he was the Lord of the Directorate of Daoism, in charge of all Daoist affairs in the world. I've never heard of such an official position! Did the Directorate of Daoism have an owner before? Wasn't it always managed by Celestial Master Zhang!"
"And when did the imperial hounds become so powerful! I can understand if the divine generals guarding various regions have high cultivation; after all, they are local overlords. Did the imperial Directorate of Daoism come from heaven? The Great Ming has been weakening these years. Apart from Celestial Master Zhang holding the fort, where else in the Ming court are there Huangting realm figures among the Heaven-Obeying Divine Generals!"
"I couldn't defeat him and felt incredibly stifled. I implore my senior brother to uphold justice for me! He even spared my life and told me to register my name at the local Daoist Affairs Office after remaking my body! I am a recluse who has left the world; how can I leave my true name in the imperial records? To have my name recorded in the mortal world would defile my soul!"
The disgraced immortal hoped that one of the lecturing Daoists would stand up for him. The Daoist's gaze sharpened, and he said to the disgraced immortal:
"He wore black, traveled by boat, came from the north, is young and promising, and remade his physical body?"
The disgraced immortal quickly replied: "That's right! That brat should still be on the Grand Canal! I'll take my senior brother to fight him!"
"No!"
The Daoist waved his hand and looked at the disgraced immortal: "Luo Po, Luo Po, this time you've encountered a great figure."
"Tiger-Eyed Chan Master of the Yellow Heaven Cult, this is a great demon!"
After saying this, he told the disgraced immortal what had happened recently. The disgraced immortal's eyes widened: "Is that true?"
"Tiger-Eyed Chan Master killed several great cultivators? His daughter burned down the Forbidden City?! My heavens, is he mad! It's not that there are no experts in the imperial palace, but national prestige is not fake. How did she manage to burn it?"
"It is said that she exploited a loophole, using a special divine position to achieve it. It cannot be replicated."
The Daoist straightened his body: "The founding Daoist of the Quanzhen ancestral temple, Qiu Hong, is dead. This matter caused a great stir. Now that Tiger-Eyed Chan Master has come to our territory, we cannot let him go."
"However, he has a move that ignores defensive barriers and directly takes a person's life. Any protective magical artifacts or spells seem ineffective. The wish of the founding Daoist recorded the terror of this move. Two righteous Nascent Soul realm Daoist friends were silently annihilated by this move."
"Although the move is powerful, fortunately, it cannot be cast instantly. The key is to strike a decisive blow during that period, lock his soul, and prevent him from casting spells."
The disgraced immortal's clay eyes rolled, and he said to the Daoist: "There's a way. There are a few people around him. I'll go and capture that scholar and the little fox spirit. He will definitely come directly to our Xuanmiao Temple. Then, we'll invite the gentleman into the urn, trap the tiger in the jar, and beat the dog behind closed doors..."
The Daoist frowned: "We are a reputable sect. If you go and capture people randomly and then force him here, Tiger-Eyed Chan Master is no benevolent being; he is one of the great demons of the world. Aren't you afraid he will go on a killing spree?"
"I have no clear understanding of his background. It is even more inadvisable to lure him in rashly. You are not allowed to capture anyone. I will personally meet him and test his foundation. It seems he is not afraid of the Huangting realm..."
"Our Quanzhen Dao, in the entire south, has a passable incense. I will invite a few fellow Daoists, not under the name Nanyangzi, but under the name Xuanmiao Temple, and mobilize all the Quanzhen sects in the south to block him together. You help me keep an eye on him, see where he is going, and inform me at any time!"
The Daoist flew out, performed a遁术 (escape technique), and vanished in an instant.
The disgraced immortal scratched his ears and cheeks, dropping mud: "Such a good escape technique, disappearing and reappearing instantly, yet he won't teach me. So stingy!"
However, as he was laughing, he turned around and found that another person had appeared in this earthly realm.
The grand and brilliant red light shone down, appearing particularly strange on the straw-cloaked man.
The Daoists in the palace all noticed this person's appearance and asked in confusion: "Who are you, and how did you get in?"
People who were not from Xuanmiao Temple, or who had not received an invitation, were not allowed to enter here.
The straw-cloaked man's eyes darted around, but he only had one eye. A dry voice emitted laughter: "This humble Daoist is your ancestor..."
"This humble Daoist is He Suoyi."
He Suoyi, the ancestor of Xuanmiao Temple. The other Daoists stood up in surprise, but the next moment...
The disgraced immortal's clay eyes widened!
"He's not alive! No, he's a corpse!"
"Who dares to steal the ancestor's corpse!"
The surrounding Daoists immediately shouted!
"Caw caw!"
The "ancestor's" corpse suddenly opened its mouth. With just one bite, those with low cultivation had their souls immediately leave their bodies and be drawn out to their death!
...
It was a night in Gusu. After staying for a few days, Ji Xiang felt that the disgraced immortal would return, so he agreed to Feng Menglong's request to protect him for a few days. Once everything was settled, they would go their separate ways.
Ji Xiang prepared to go directly to the opponent's lair.
Feng Menglong couldn't help but say, "Daoist, are you planning to go find trouble with him carrying a cannon?"
Ji Xiang replied, "Don't worry, this humble Daoist never kills innocents. I only kill those who deserve to be killed! If he resists, he is a demon; if he doesn't resist, he is a demon with a firm will..."
Unfortunately, the lecherous old ghost was elusive, and despite extensive inquiries, no specific address could be found.
Feng Menglong also asked Ji Xiang to stay, fearing the lecherous old ghost's revenge. He wanted Ji Xiang to stay near the brothel. The woman named Hou seemed to have a very good relationship with Feng Menglong, treating Ji Xiang like a sister-in-law and thanking him for his help during the day.
Ji Xiang also needed Feng Menglong to write novels and help him accumulate wishes, so he naturally agreed. After all, a future Confucian sage with righteous energy was someone he could befriend. This friend had great potential and was helpful to him, so there was no reason not to protect him.
Shun Tian had a curfew, but the south did not. In fact, by the late Ming Dynasty, curfews were lax. Apart from the important frontier towns and Shun Tian Prefecture, most other places no longer had curfews.
At night, the brothels and Gusu were still bustling with activity. Talented scholars and beautiful ladies, famous opera singers, brought joy and pleasure to the world in this ancient city.
However, under the cover of night, it was also a time when ghosts ran rampant. Some ghosts entered cities inhabited by living people and lived alongside them. These ghosts were called "living-bodied ghosts." They had no magical powers and never harmed people. They even worked basic jobs. Some ghosts even squeezed into temples, living by chopping wood for charcoal, which they could then use to warm themselves. Ji Xiang saw many living-bodied ghosts working in the city. At the so-called night market, at least half of the merchants and one-third of the buyers were these ghosts.
Living-bodied ghosts were mentioned in Southern Song dynasty texts. As long as their ghostly nature was not exposed, they would not disappear or die, but would live like living people, perhaps not even knowing they were dead.
"Legend has it that in the Lin'an city of the Song Dynasty, one-tenth of the population were ghosts."
The girls in the brothels could not come out, but the sound of strings traveled far along the streets. Young ladies of good families usually had attendants following them. Jianghu figures also roamed about in the night. In some places, feuds and brawls occurred.
However, when Ji Xiang turned around, many people and ghosts slightly turned their heads. Their expressions were normal, but one of their eyes would gradually bulge out, then roll around, staring at Ji Xiang.
"Ji Xiang... Wherever you go, it will turn into a ghost domain of Yin demons."
"The Myriad Longevity Immortal Palace will not forget you."
"Tonight, it will be your burial time."
Many people muttered to themselves, their eyeballs rolling. When Ji Xiang turned back, everything returned to normal.
...
When Nanyangzi returned to Xuanmiao Temple.
Everything was as usual. The surrounding Daoists had slightly swollen bodies and faced him, bowing respectfully.
And after Nanyangzi entered the palace, those Daoists outside began to grow sharp teeth, and their faces filled with sinister ghostly energy.