I built the Jade Capital with the Netherworld

Chapter 116: This isn’t your true appearance in the painting, right?
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Wujiu stretched out his hand and pointed at the air. Like a dragonfly touching the water, ripples appeared in the air, transforming into a dimensional corridor. Then he made an inviting gesture:
"please!"

Yuan Mochan showed some curiosity on his face and stepped in.

Lu Wujiu followed closely behind.

The moment you step into the corridor, it’s like opening the door to the world.

In an instant, the sky and the earth changed their appearance. Looking around, you can see rows of high walls, layer upon layer, extending to the end of the sight. Big cities are nested in small cities, like countless nested counties, with a unique regular beauty.

But it's even more ridiculous!

Because in reality, there is no similar reference at all.

Yuan Mochan was so shocked that he asked, "Is this the world of Daoist friend?"

Lu Wujiu smiled and said, "How do you feel?"

Yuan Mochan said in disbelief, "This is something I've never heard of or seen before. May I ask, fellow Taoist, what kind of painting is this and who created it?"

"This is a secret scroll of Buddhism. It's normal that you don't recognize it."

As Lu Wujiu spoke, Buddha's light emanated from his body.

Yuan Mochan blinked his eyes and finally understood... No wonder he found it so strange, it turned out to be something from the Buddhist sect in China.

"Daoyou's following is truly astonishing! If you hadn't taken the initiative to demonstrate, no one would have guessed that the old guest official, the Grand Marshal of the Liuren Army, was actually a Buddhist!"

"Compared to my background, my fellow Taoist's background in the Immortal Court is even more amazing!"

"Hahaha……"

Yuan Mochan laughed heartily, then waved his hand. Ink extended from his sleeves and transformed into a cushion, a table, a Boshan stove, and fragrant tea. He then sat down casually, feeling deeply moved.

"Fellow Daoist, you are so kind! I am nothing but a New Year picture painted by an unknown artist. Fortunately, thanks to the devout offerings of incense from the peasants, I have been able to awaken from my ignorance and become a guardian deity."

Lu Wujiu sat down, but when Yuan Mochan mentioned the past, he suddenly looked dazed and his thoughts wandered.

"My poor peasant had a limited lifespan. He died at the age of forty, exhausted from all his hard work. I couldn't bear to part with him, so I absorbed his soul into the scroll... Hahaha, when the old man first saw me, he thought he had entered the fairyland and become an immortal. When he saw me, he kowtowed to me, hahaha... That was the first time I was treated like an immortal. I decided to go all out and make him a swineherd."

Lu Wujiu raised his eyebrows: "Pigher?"

Yuan Mochan clapped his thigh and laughed: "That's right. At that time, I asked him, what kind of official do you want to be, the God of Wealth? The God of Land? Or the Kitchen God... But he didn't want to be anything else, he wanted to be a pig farmer, just because he saw that other pig farmers could get more offal when they slaughtered pigs during festivals, hahahaha..."

Lu Wujiu smiled and said, "Not greedy and not confused, the old man can be said to be wise but foolish!"

Yuan Mochan's smile faded. "Indeed, after he became a swineherd, he often came to me to discuss the ways of governing the world. Although he had many foolish and rustic views, his pure heart was particularly evident. Later, when he grew old, he asked me to resign. I refused twice, but the third time I still let him retire and return home. After only one year, his spirit dissipated."

"I was so weak and powerless back then that I could only do my best to compensate his foolish and clueless grandson and give him a chance to become an immortal. Today, my Nine Heavens Palace has finally taken on some of the air of an immortal, and I've also gathered the methods of ghost cultivation. Sadly, the people of the past have vanished into thin air, leaving only the words of the immortal palace in vain."

Lu Wujiu suddenly thought of Judge Zhou and Zhou Zhong, and sighed in sympathy: "Fellow Daoist, I am deeply saddened."

Yuan Mochan waved his hand: "It's okay, it's all in the past. But fellow Taoist, how did you become an immortal in the painting?"

Lu Wujiu said, "It's similar to my fellow Daoist. However, as a Buddhist secret scroll, many people studied and prayed for it, and thus, while ignorant, they awakened their spiritual wisdom and entered the Xuanmen sect by chance." Yuan Mochan nodded and said, "Since my fellow Daoist is a guest official of Lao Lu, have you met Li You, the former abbot of Lao Lu?"

Lu Wujiu asked calmly, "Do you know Li You, fellow Daoist?"

Yuan Mochan nodded and said, "He's the grandson of the pig farmer! I once gave him a book called 'Sishu Keyi Lu'. Have you ever seen it, fellow Taoist?"

Lu Wujiu's heart trembled, and many things that he couldn't understand suddenly became clear to him at this moment.

Li You, in order to be in charge of the secretarial ceremonies, has been planning for thirty years!
How many thirty years are there in a person’s life?
In other words, Li You, who is in his prime, did not practice the righteous way of Taoism that has long been proven by countless people, but instead invested all his family wealth and energy in Sishu Keyi. Why was he so sure that Sishu Keyi would succeed?
In the past, Lu Wujiu thought that the investment year after year had eventually become a bottomless pit and the sunk costs were too high, so he kept insisting.

Now I know that Li You has seen the fairy in the painting!
Lu Wujiu asked, "So, my fate as an immortal stems from you, fellow Taoist?"

"To be precise, your fate as an immortal began with Li You! We agreed that he would be the Lord of the Underworld and I would be the Emperor of the Immortal Court. Now, my Immortal Court is beginning to take shape, but he has died. How sad and lamentable!"

Yuan Mochan paused and said meaningfully, "So... this isn't the original appearance of your scroll, right?"

After hearing the words "Lord of the Underworld," Lu Wujiu finally confirmed that Yuan Mochan was not lying to him. He couldn't help but let out a sigh and said, "Did you come here today to show your divine power? Is it for revenge?"

Yuan Mochan said, "If I wanted revenge, why would I wait until today?"

Lu Wujiu asked back: "Oh, then why is that, fellow Daoist?"

Yuan Mochan shook his head and said, "The way of yin and yang is one going forward and the other going backward. The way of heaven and earth is one rising and one falling. I have come here to complete the Taoist tradition. My position as the Earth Official of the Immortal Court has always been vacant. I hope that fellow Taoist will quickly join the ranks of immortals and achieve the great Dao."

As he spoke, he reached into his sleeve, pulled out a scroll of imperial edict, shook it gently, and unfolded it in front of Lu Wujiu.

A brush emerged from the scroll and floated in the vacant position of the Earth Official. Lu Wujiu looked at Yuan Mochan, who smiled and made a "please" gesture.

Lu Wujiu glanced at him and said with a bow, "Although my fate as an immortal was due to my fellow Taoist, I am too lazy by nature to bear this official certificate!"

Yuan Mochan's smile froze.

"Fellow Daoist, since you are a fairy in the book and have reached the second level, you should know that you have entered my painting world. This letter of appointment is not an invitation, but a title!"

"What if I don't accept it?"

"Hahaha……"

Yuan Mochan seemed to have heard a huge joke. He raised his head and laughed silently, pointing at the maze city in the distance and said, "Look, is this still the world in your book?"

When Lu Wujiu looked, he saw an empty skyline, and suddenly, glazed folds appeared on it. The white jade Jing Tower grew windingly from the void. In an instant, the eaves of the guard tower broke through the edge of the illusion, and it was a nine-story palace hanging upside down in the sky.

It looks like a mirage!

In just a moment, the fairy palace descended, and in the white clouds, there seemed to be a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, surrounding the mandala pure land like a trapped beast.

Yuan Mochan made a gesture of invitation and said again:
"Fellow Daoist, please sign your name. Some things are too extreme to be good for you or me."

(End of this chapter)