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

Good news: It's raining.

Bad news: Only Linbin Town is affected.

It rained for two days and two nights.

Zhang Zhengdao stayed at the Sun residence, enjoying good food and drink for two days and two nights. Incidentally, Hu Yunying and Guo Lanying also stayed at the Sun residence for two days and two nights, eating and drinking for free.

The ponds in Linbin Town are full of water, the rice seedlings in the fields are well-hydrated, and the crops in the fields are growing rapidly.

Everyone had a warm smile on their face, except for those who were hoarding grain.

Sun Zhenjian is doing alright. Although he has some deficit in grain storage, it has rained in Linbin Town. After the rain, there will be a harvest, and with a harvest, taxes can be collected, which is also a great achievement.

It’s not a loss no matter what.

Master Zhang is a skilled immortal who can summon rain, far superior to the monks.

After the rain stopped, Sun Zhenjian personally settled the bill for Zhang Zhengdao.

He received two hundred taels of silver, and Supervisor Sun gave him an extra twenty taels, for a total of 220 taels of silver.

It was packed in a bag, and it was quite heavy.

This is a man's confidence, a man's courage.

Although the people of Linbin Town thanked God when it rained, and then... casually thanked themselves, it didn't matter. For the sake of the money, they were forgiven.

People in ancient times were simply not knowledgeable enough.

They always believed that God was in control of everything in the world.

Hehe, although I really want to tell them honestly that the people are the masters of the country, and the people being the masters is the inevitable trend. The only truth in this world is—

Man can conquer heaven!

They wouldn't understand even if I explained, so forget it and let's go back.

Zhang Zhengdao had breakfast at Sun Zhenjian's house. Amidst the cheers of Sun Zhenjian and the residents of Linbin Town lining the streets to see him off, he bowed to the people around him.

"Thank you all for seeing me off. Even after a thousand miles of seeing you off, we must eventually part ways..."

"We've only gone a dozen or so miles..."

"You used the wrong word," Hu Yunying whispered a reminder from the person next to her.

Zhang Zhengdao: "Heh, I can pass the Taoist ordination exam, what can you pass? You're a complete academic failure..."

Hu Yunying turned her head and spat out a mouthful of blood. "You're not human, I..."

In this world, being cultured is a privilege; you can criticize others without restraint.

Regardless of the outcome of the criticism, you'll always earn the title of a scholar with integrity. This title is prestigious; you'll be respected everywhere. But beyond that, there are no other benefits!

People who practice martial arts...

She was undoubtedly a poor student, something Hu Yunying dared not refute. Facing a top student… even passing the Taoist exam counts, right? She had little confidence in that regard.

Guo Lanying, beaming, carried the several pieces of cured meat, chicken, duck, and fish that the villagers had given her. Full of energy, she ran quickly behind the two men without any effort.

They escorted them all the way to the foot of the mountain, then bowed deeply to the villagers, bid them farewell, and went up the mountain.

There were two conspicuous bags in the crowd.

However, Zhang Zhengdao ignored it. After all, rain in Linbin Town was a strange event, and it was normal for some martial arts practitioners to come and watch. This world naturally has its own martial arts world, its own internal energy, and even the existence of powerful immortals and Buddhas; he just hadn't encountered them yet. After all, they were beings beyond this world and couldn't possibly appear frequently in the mortal realm.

So Zhang Zhengdao was actually quite smug.

Are you scared? Hehe, although I, Daoist Master, can't do anything to gods and Buddhas, I study Daoist arts and cultivate immortal destiny. How can you mortal martial arts people compare to me?

As the three of them went up the mountain one in front and two behind, the people who had come to see them off dispersed.

The important event of praying for rain has now come to a close in Linbin Town.

Everyone goes back to their own homes, each looking for his own mother.

With the worry gone, there are more people on the streets of Linbin Town now.

Sister-in-law Gui's winery.

The raised banners fluttered high, the wind was gentle, and the wine was mellow.

The men in short coats were still standing by the counter, drinking.

But they were very engrossed in the conversation, and some even gestured wildly, imitating Zhang Zhengdao's sword-wielding gesture when he prayed for rain on stage, and shouted, "The wind rises!"

“Clouds gather!”

"Thunder falls!"

"Here comes the rain!"

He spoke with great confidence and imitated the style perfectly, earning cheers and applause from the crowd. This made the old man even more smug, and he boasted, "Back then, I was also chosen by the old abbot of Peach Blossom Temple as one of the best disciples out of ten thousand."

"Then why didn't you become a Taoist priest?" someone asked.

The man took a small sip: "If my parents hadn't been so adamant about not letting me go, fearing the family line would end, I would be the abbot of Peach Blossom Temple. Today, the one praying for rain, standing on that high platform, is me!"

Everyone laughed.

One of them, trying to undermine the idea, said, "Taoist priests on Peach Blossom Mountain can marry and have children."

The man's face turned red, and the veins on his forehead bulged out.

What does it mean for a monk to sever worldly ties?

"What kind of Taoist priests should abstain from the five pungent vegetables and four forbidden foods?"

"Lust is a knife hanging over one's head."

……

The men in short coats burst into laughter. The shop was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"Old Qin, why don't you come up the mountain to pay your respects?"

The eunuch, who was sitting slowly drinking in the shop, looked at the old man in white across the table who was drinking and eating peanuts.

"Hehe, I'll go after you leave!"

"What do you mean?"

“You have a grudge against the Taoist priest, but I don’t. So… you understand!”

The dead eunuch wasn't annoyed, and smiled slightly: "When I first heard about praying for rain, I thought it was just a formality. After waiting for a few days, if it rained, it was naturally effective; if it didn't rain, it was because Heaven didn't want to send rain. This kind of trick has been going on for years, so praying for rain is just a last resort to cover up one's face and shirk responsibility... I never expected..."

"I never expected that!"

The old man in white robes laughed, "In the past, we thought that the Four Wonders were unparalleled in the world. We thought that no one in the world could be stronger than us, and that we had reached the pinnacle. Haha... Now it seems that was just the talk of a frog in a well, how ridiculous."

The dead eunuch Hai Tianfu laughed, "I'm not trying to mock myself, but rather it has opened a door for me!"

"Yes!"

The old man in the white robe also sighed.

Indeed, a door has been opened, a gateway to immortality.

This isn't an ordinary person praying for rain; this is clearly a celestial being casting a spell.

Ordinary people couldn't see it clearly; they only thought that the Taoist priest Zhang Zhengdao had colluded with the gods in heaven. The gods received the news, took pity on all living beings, and then sent down sweet dew.

Who would have thought that this compassionate immortal was actually the Taoist priest who prayed for rain!

The world may be foolish, but the four masters of the martial arts world are wise.

The wind rises, the clouds gather, thunder roars, and the rain falls...

Haha, how could ordinary people understand the mysteries within?

Only grandmasters of the Four Absolutes can barely grasp a trace of the mysteries of energy in the world, but they are unable to transform it into their own.

However, this process of praying for rain is clearly a manifestation of the power of heaven and earth being manipulated by people as if it were their own arm.

To put it bluntly.

I told you to come, so you have to come; I told you to do something, so you have to do it.

"I need your help, brother!"

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

"Say!"

"If I catch the eye of an immortal and obtain the methods of cultivation, could I...?"

"Don't--"

The old man in white robes immediately stopped him.

"Having read so many storytelling performances and heard so many legends, it is said that the teachings should not be passed on to those who are not worthy of the knowledge. If the Daoist master does not agree, how can I lightly pass on the immortal techniques to others? Let this matter not be mentioned again!"

The dead eunuch Hai Tianfu was a little angry.

But I endured it...

If immortal opportunities were so easy to obtain, how come there are no immortal traces in this world, only legends?

"Furthermore... the Taoist priest has secluded himself in a small town, presumably to cultivate his mind and refine his spirit. We need not let those Jianghu people and Jianghu affairs disturb the immortal. If your good-for-nothing little prince has any other thoughts, be careful, I will take his head."

As he said this, his eyes narrowed, his expression resolute.

Hai Tianfu sighed.

"After all, I have some affection for the young prince's father, the old prince..."

"that is you!"

The old man in white robes snorted.

"Who the hell is stopping me from seeking immortality? I'll kill him! Not to mention the young prince, even the princes and the emperor in the capital are no match for me."

This is what I said...

But the eunuch Hai Tianfu dared not refute him. After all, the Four Absolutes were not only invincible in the martial arts world, but also unrivaled in the imperial court.

Storming into the palace and taking the heads of one or two emperors would be an easy task, if not a piece of cake.

Reaching the level of the Four Absolutes basically makes one a lawless outlaw.

At this moment, a customer dressed in a long gown suddenly appeared from among the short-clothed crowd outside. He was thin and dressed in tattered clothes, tapping the counter lightly with his fingers to keep a rhythm.

The song goes: "Immortals are originally mortals who have cultivated themselves, wholeheartedly seeking immortality and casting aside the mortal world. Oh dear... they display their true supernatural powers, leaving behind a beautiful name for posterity... Oh dear, oh dear... leaving behind a beautiful name for posterity..."

The distillery owner, Sister-in-law Gui, quickly came out.

"Scholar Kan, what are you singing again? Stop singing, stop singing! Nobody wants your daughter anymore, and you still have the mind to drink..."

Scholar Kan ignored him and continued singing to himself: "Fellow parents and foolish children, grudges from a past life, hatred in this one, oh dear..."

The sound seemed desolate, its echo lingering long afterward...