Mysterious mirror hanging high

"Do immortals and mortals live together here? What's the situation with those two Qi-cultivating monks?" Yuanji asked puzzledly.

Gongsun Shangyi smiled and said, "This is the [Immortal Officer of the Solar Terms] assigned to the mortal realm. He is in charge of the seasonal agricultural work and ensures good weather and good harvests in the mortal realm."

"The Xuan Ce Sect's territory isn't too large right now, and there aren't too many mortal dynasties, so it's common to see cultivators appearing in various capitals. We've become accustomed to it."

"Most of these cultivators are immortal officials sent by Xuan Ce to improve people's livelihood, and a small number are independent cultivators without any sect or school."

Just as Gongsun Shangyi finished speaking, a white-haired old monk was suddenly seen on the street in the distance, fleeing in panic towards the restaurant.

This old monk's cultivation level is only the second level of Qi training, and he probably can't even fly for a long time. Now he just sticks a [Light Body Talisman] on his body, which makes his feet move quickly.

Behind this old monk, a group of government officials in flying fish uniforms were chasing him. None of these officials had any spiritual power and were actually mortals. Judging from their skills, they had not achieved any achievements in ordinary martial arts and were just second- or third-rate fighters.

However, each of these officers had a pair of puppet wings on their backs. With the help of these wings, they could glide continuously at low altitudes. Their speed was no less than that of the Qi-cultivating monk who used the [Light Body Talisman].

"[Immortal Capture Division] is doing business! All outsiders, get out of the way!" The leading officer was a middle-aged man with a square face. His voice was like a bell, and he kept shouting:

"Frak, you had an argument with a shop owner on North Street. It was a trivial matter, but you ended up beating and killing the entire shop owner and his six employees. You committed such a serious crime, and you still think you can get away with it?"

The old Qigong cultivator cursed loudly, "I'm a dignified Qigong cultivator, someone who has drawn Qi into my body and reached the path of immortality. How can I be guilty of beating and killing a few mortals? Besides, it was those people who were rude and offensive first... For a mortal to be disrespectful to a cultivator, killing with a single spell is the least of my worries!"

"Boss, it seems he is a monk from outside the area!" an officer said with a smile.

"Stop talking nonsense and get moving!"

The leading officer grasped a short jade stick hanging from his waist. One end of the stick was hollow, just like the gun barrel of Jing Yu's previous life, while the other end was inlaid with a spirit stone, which was now emitting a faint light.

Several officers pointed the mouth of the jade short stick at the back of the old monk who was practicing Qigong, and the spirit stone at the end of the stick suddenly shone brightly!

boom!

Several light bullets spurted out from the mouth of the short stick. Some of them missed the target and made deep pits on the bluestone road surface. Two of them hit the old monk's legs. With a wail, the Qigong monk's legs were instantly blown into a bloody mess and he fell to the ground.

The leading officer activated his puppet wings and glided over quickly. He took out a few golden needles from the treasure bag at his waist and pierced several acupuncture points around the spine and back of the head of the Qigong cultivator, sealing the magic power in his body. Then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Jing Yu in the restaurant could see clearly that the spiritual bullets fired by the short jade stick were quite powerful, almost comparable to the attack techniques of a cultivator at the fourth or fifth level of Qi training!

At this time, several young officers caught up. One of them looked at the boy, who was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with a smile on his face. He held the green jade staff in his hand and couldn't let it go. "Boss, this [Green Jade Staff] given by the immortal sect is really useful. We mortals can also control monks with it!"

The leading officer gave the man a vicious kick and cursed, "Didn't I tell you this magical weapon can't be used continuously? And you fired two spiritual bullets in a row! The immortal sect only issues a limited quota of spiritual stones each year. Do you know how many days' worth of food this would cost you? Do you really think we [the Immortal Capture Division] are some kind of tycoon?"

Then he kicked the old cultivator lying on the ground and muttered, "I don't know where this wild cultivator came from. He doesn't even know the rules of Xuan Ce Immortal Sect..."

He then called on his servants to carry the old monk, whose cultivation had been sealed, back to the nearby [Immortal Capture Office] government office.

The three Jindan Zhenren in the restaurant watched this scene in silence. It was Yuanji who broke the silence first and exclaimed in admiration, "Amazing!"

"Could it be that every mortal realm has such a [Immortal Catcher]?"

Gongsun Shangyi smiled and said, "Right now, each state only has one or two teams, but it will gradually be extended to the prefecture and county levels."

Jing Yu was worried and said, "Fellow Daoist Gongsun, the difference between immortals and mortals is almost a consensus in the entire world of immortal cultivation. Maintaining order in this way may be a good thing for ordinary people, but aren't you afraid that hostile sects will seize the opportunity to accuse you of establishing a new immortal dynasty?"

"Establish a new dynasty?"

Gongsun Shangyi shook his head: "It's still very different."

"The Immortal Dynasty uses laws to govern the world's cultivators, strives to unify the five seas and four continents, and uses the power of the world to support the royal family... But our Xuan Ce Sect doesn't impose so many restrictions on cultivators. We simply ask them not to harass mortals. The two sides live in peace. Isn't this, in a sense, the difference between immortals and mortals?"

"In the final analysis, whether it's the current immortal cultivation sect or the former Shending Immortal Dynasty, in their eyes, mortals are not considered human beings."

Gongsun Shangyi said enthusiastically, "But in reality, there are many things that mortals can do. The Sect Master has developed many magical instruments and talismans that can be activated without the need for mana. Even mortals can deeply participate in the cultivation industry. This is a force that cannot be ignored. Perhaps, just like the previous [Method of Improving Spiritual Plants], it can once again rewrite the underlying rules of the cultivation world!"

"Yun Xuance is right. All cultivators in the world, whether they are good or evil, are motivated by profit. It is unrealistic to expect them to treat mortals well based on their moral standards. The only way to make them value mortals is to make them 'useful'!" Jing Yu thought silently.

After hearing Gongsun Shangyi's words, Yuanji couldn't help but admire him: "It's rare for the Sect Master to have such a high level of cultivation. He's only one step away from becoming a Nascent Soul True Lord, yet he still cares about mortals..."

Jing Yu sighed inwardly upon hearing this. He knew that Yun Xuance was a mortal born into a family of immortal cultivators in his previous life. He was probably treated coldly by his clan members and knew the pain of the difference between immortals and mortals.

It’s just rare that I can seek immortality in this life, but I still remember being a mortal!

He had seen many cultivators who, once their spiritual roots were detected and they had the fate of becoming immortals, would immediately cut ties with their mortal relatives. The better ones would ignore them and call it "severing worldly ties", while the worse ones would even kill and refine them outright, seeing them as a burden.

Gongsun Shangyi laughed and said, "Doesn't Buddhism emphasize the equality of all beings? Isn't that also the case with the Futu Immortal Continent?"

But Yuanji shook his head:

"If all beings are truly born equal, why should Buddhism emphasize this?"