A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

Flags fluttering in the wind.

Hair blown into a mess.

A face with a chilly feel.

……

got windy!

"The wind is picking up!"

Someone shouted something, as if a drop of cool water had been poured into a boiling oil pan, and the entire rain-praying square immediately erupted in excitement.

The Taoist priest said...

The Taoist priest said, "The wind is rising," and then the wind came!

"The wind rises—" A bright young man shouted, mimicking Zhang Zhengdao, and was immediately embraced by his excited companions, his tears covering him.

The wind is rising; that's hope!

Sun Zhenjian was shocked!

The villagers were astonished!

They originally had little hope. The grand welcome for Zhang Zhengdao was merely a pretext to use him as a scapegoat if the drought continued in the future.

But... can you really summon rain?

The villagers were dumbfounded.

Sun Zhenjian was also numb.

The gentry were also dumbfounded.

Which one of them didn't hoard grain during this severe drought? If it really rains, all that grain will be stuck in their hands, and they'll have nowhere to turn to complain!

"hehe--"

An elderly village official let out two howls, trying to laugh and express his false support, but he couldn't laugh; his laughter was more like crying.

Sun Zhenjian clenched his fist. "Don't rush, the wind has only just started to pick up."

The elders and gentry of the village: Don't rush, this is just the beginning!

Once Zhang Zhengdao and the others had calmed down a bit, they proceeded to the second stage. They had to stay calm; otherwise, how could they possibly watch their own performance?

The rain-praying rituals I used on Earth were effective; at least there was wind, wasn't there? As long as it worked, that's fine.

If it doesn't rain, then we can only say that some of the local gentry and elders here do not respect the Dao Ancestor, and that the Dao Ancestor is unwilling to help, so we can shirk our responsibility.

There are a million ways to get out of this mess.

Putting aside the fact that I failed to pray for rain, don't those present bear any responsibility?

The second step begins.

Guo Lanying struck the gong with a "clang," and then Hu Yunying began to play the flute. Zhang Zhengdao started chanting Taoist scriptures on the stage. He just chanted casually, but he wanted to make the scene lively and prolong the time. Otherwise, if it rained so easily, people would think praying for rain was so easy.

The town supervisor and everyone else might suspect that two hundred taels of silver was too much.

There might even be more than twenty taels left.

Zhang Zhengdao muttered incantations, and then provoked the great god again.

After jumping for a while, sweat beaded on his forehead, and then he shouted, "Stop!"

The talisman was lit and then dissolved into the water.

The tip of the peach wood sword suddenly pointed towards the sky, and another Taoist decree rang out: "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands—clouds gather!"

Suddenly the sky darkened, as if dark clouds were pressing down on the city.

The sky is about to collapse!

Suddenly, the bright sunshine was covered by dark clouds. It became pitch black, as if day had turned into night. The howling wind further blinded everyone.

"Clouds are rising! It's going to rain!"

Despite the weather, the people's jubilant mood was undeniable. With dark clouds overhead, rain was highly likely, a conclusion most people could draw.

The village elders, gentry, and Sun, the town supervisor, mourned as if they had lost their parents.

dejected.

If you're such a powerful Taoist priest, what are you doing hiding in Peach Blossom Mountain?

Ah, if only the monks were here.

For the first time, these people felt a deep longing for the monks who had prayed for rain in vain. Although they were fond of freeloading and had never contributed anything to Linbin Town, they were still… useful!

"It's over!" A gentryman slapped his thigh, on the verge of tears.

"Not yet, not even close. There are only clouds. Maybe the clouds will clear up someday!"

At this time, a positive self-talk would be their greatest comfort.

"Taoist Master, please accept our bow!" The crowd suddenly knelt down, ignoring the dark clouds overhead and the fierce wind blowing in their faces. The banners fluttering in the wind seemed to be a testament to their clear conscience.

Zhang Zhengdao didn't speak, but made a gesture to get up.

The crowd readily agreed and stood up.

At this point, they weren't anticipating it anymore; they were thinking about when the rain would come, not whether it would come at all. In their minds, this rain was nothing more than a trivial matter in the face of the almost divine Master Zhang.

Zhang Zhengdao continued his prayer, mimicking the motions of a gourd.

The crowd below fell silent, watching Zhang Zhengdao's prayer from the stage. It was as if every action he took represented the will of God, God's majesty over humanity.

Lingzhou!

On the roof of the Chamber of Commerce building.

An old man in a long white robe, with white hair and a long beard, stood with his hands behind his back, watching the clouds that suddenly gathered in the distant sky. The clouds looked very close, but in reality, they were very far away.

Standing beside them was a pale-faced old eunuch with a gloomy expression.

Both of them looked at the clouds in the sky with serious expressions.

"In the direction of Linbin Town!"

The old eunuch Hai Tianfu spoke to the old man in white robes.

The old man in white remained silent for a long time.

If what the old eunuch Hai Tianfu said is true, then the strange phenomenon in Linbin Town is not a natural occurrence, nor is it that it's going to rain in Lingzhou City, but rather in Linbin Town itself.

There was only that one piece of land.

Because the dark clouds gathered over there, and even the sky was blue.

It caused the sky and earth to change color and the clouds to gather.

What a Taoist priest!

"I gonna go see!"

The old man in white robes spoke softly, then lightly touched the ground with his toes and slowly disappeared into the sky. He landed some distance away, touched the rooftop again, and vanished into the distance once more.

"Wait for me!"

The old eunuch Hai Tianfu also leaped into the air, his entire body like a large bird, his robes filled with air, floating in the air as if blown away by the wind, and disappearing into the distance.

The two of them headed towards Linbin Town, one after the other.

With their skill and speed, they could reach Linbin Town in two hours if they went all out.

After traveling for a while, a voice that seemed to be an imperial edict suddenly came from the sky.

"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands—Thunderbolt!"

The sound seemed to come from the clouds.

Back when the old eunuch was at Peach Blossom Temple, he was so shocked by this sound that it seemed to fall from the clouds that he lost all will to resist.

Now that sound has reappeared, descending from the clouds once again.

This time, however, the sound did not land on him.

As the imperial decree was issued, a bright white light suddenly shone from the distant dark clouds, stinging his eyes. The white-robed elder who had been traveling ahead suddenly fell from the sky and then ran wildly across the ground.

It had to fall; the silver snakes were already dancing wildly in the air, accompanied by a huge "boom."

Lightning struck—

Indeed, following the imperial decree, lightning struck.

The white-robed elder was utterly shocked. He had no will to resist the power of that single lightning strike. If it had landed on him, he would have been obliterated.

Such terrifying power!

"Old Qin, watch out for lightning!"

The old eunuch shouted loudly from behind.

"I know, be careful too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, bolts of lightning and thunder rumbled, creating a scene reminiscent of gods and Buddhas descending to earth to subdue demons.

"hide--"

They both headed towards a roadside tea stall without prior arrangement.

Then another imperial edict was heard, faintly and indistinctly descending from the clouds and amidst the lightning and thunder.

"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands—rain!"

It's raining!

It was as if they were issuing a command to the heavens and earth.

The azure sky seemed to have been torn in half.

"pat"

A very slight sound, then something cool and wet hit the tip of my nose, scattering into countless tiny droplets that splashed up, trickled down, and into my mouth…

It's raining!

The person who was hit shouted with joy, jumped very high, and shouted again, as if to tell everyone this amazing news.

Immediately, cries of "It's raining!" echoed through the sky.

The sound was carried away by the wind, but then it came out again in unison, lingering on and on.

Then, large raindrops began to pelt down from the sky, hitting the hearts of the people of Linbin Town and filling them with joy. Ignoring the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, they all knelt on the ground and bowed to the heavens again and again.

Zhang Zhengdao: ? ? ?

Damn it, I prayed for the rain, what's the point of you worshipping heaven?