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

Zhang Zhengdao patted the tortoise's head and said, "In a world I once lived in, there were four legendary divine beasts: the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise. The Black Tortoise, in particular, was a combination of a tortoise and a snake, called the Tortoise-Snake..."

The turtle let him touch its head, not daring to move.

"So...where's the snake?"

Is it possible that I am part of the Black Tortoise he spoke of? But the tortoise dared not utter a sound. And what about the snake?

"The snake...where's the snake?"

The turtle looked at Zhang Zhengdao with feigned confusion.

It decided to play dumb. The dumber it pretended to be, the longer it might live. It already had a lifespan of tens of thousands of years, and it couldn't afford to be killed here; that would be a wrongful death.

"We were both abandoned by the same woman, so what kind of place did she go to? Was it some celestial realm beyond the nine heavens?"

Zhang Zhengdao was very curious, but also a little scared.

He is the only immortal in this world, but that might not be the case in the immortal realm.

Even if he was very powerful in the Immortal Realm... He thought of that monkey again. No matter how powerful the monkey was, it was still suppressed by those people in the Immortal Realm.

Even becoming a Buddha is a predetermined fate.

Breaking the barrier is easy; even Lu Xiaohua could do it, so there's no reason I couldn't. But what would happen once I got there? Would I end up like that monkey?

A person contemplates life in the original location of Qixian Lake.

Because of the departure of Qixian Lake, a huge sinkhole was formed in this place, much like a natural sinkhole. However, a large amount of water then gushed out from underground and quickly filled the sinkhole.

However, the water quality is no longer the same as that of Qixian Lake.

It's just ordinary groundwater in this world.

Zhang Zhengdao picked up the gourd again, took a swig of wine, and turned to look at the tortoise: "Want some wine?"

The tortoise looked at Zhang Zheng cautiously: "Is...is it okay?"

"Drink if you want!"

As Zhang Zhengdao spoke, he took out a basin, placed it on the ground, and poured some wine into it from the wine gourd.

The tortoise leaned its head closer, took a sip, smacked its lips, exclaimed "Ah!", and sighed, "It's been so many years since I've had a drink; I've almost forgotten what alcohol tastes like."

"This is wine I got from Sister Gui's winery. It tastes very good. At that time, my wife... that fairy who ran away, was also helping out at the winery, so I went there and got a lot of wine. How does it taste?"

Turtle: "It tastes good, but unfortunately... it's not as good as the wine I used to drink. Although I've forgotten what the wine tasted like before, I can still tell that the wine back then was really good."

Zhang Zhengdao agreed, saying, "Yes, when you're in a good mood while drinking, the wine tastes good. If you're in a bad mood while drinking, the wine doesn't taste good."

The tortoise nodded: "I'm in a bad mood right now. I missed my chance to go back, and I guess I'll never be able to."

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Not necessarily. If I want to go beyond the Nine Heavens, I will definitely take you with me."

The turtle's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Do you think I can go beyond the Nine Heavens?"

The tortoise immediately laughed: "Of course you can. With your magical power, Immortal, you can go not only to the Nine Heavens, but also to the Chaos Universe. It's just a pity... I don't know where the Chaos Universe is. I've only heard about it."

"Come on, have a bite first!"

"I think this wine is a bit weak..."

……

After drinking, he became more talkative, and as he talked more, Zhang Zhengdao learned more about the world above the Nine Heavens.

In reality, it's no different from the rest of the world.

However, the boundaries between the mortal realm, the celestial realm, and the underworld are not so strict. Humans can become immortals, and immortals can descend to the mortal realm; mortals who die go to the underworld. There are dragon palaces in the four seas, and celestial beings and Buddhas in the heavens…

The so-called "ascending to the Ninth Heaven" does not mean directly ascending to the Immortal Realm, but rather entering another dimension. This is the conclusion Zhang Zhengdao drew based on the tortoise's description.

Ultimately, it's just another realm beyond realms.

In scientific terms, it could just be another planet in the universe.

It's just that immortals, mortals, and ghosts coexist, and the boundaries aren't as clear as in this world. This world is more like a world where immortals and ghosts have been destroyed.

"Old Zhang, let me tell you, fairies are women too... They're easy to win over. Your wife... Madam, is from the heavens above, the daughter of God, the only one... She's got quite the status... So many gods would kill to marry her, hehe... Too bad you got the best deal in the end..."

The turtle got drunk and its tongue got tied in knots.

Zhang Zhengdao: "Fairy...so what if she's a fairy? I still slept with her...I never thought I could sleep with a fairy...Let me tell you, I used to be a shut-in, I never thought I'd become a Taoist priest one day..."

"A shut-in... what is that?"

"Hehe, it's just a type of man who likes to stay at home..."

"Then I'm also... a homebody..."

"Bullshit...bullshit, you're a turtle..."

……

The man and the tortoise drank alcohol and started talking nonsense, neither of them trying to control their drinking. Anyway, one of them had his wife run away, and the other had been abandoned by his owner...

While they were drinking, they lay sprawled on the ground, Zhang Zhengdao snoring and the turtle turning its belly up.

The black-armored horse looks at the white dragon horse.

"Big brother, should we turn back into our original form? I think we look really ugly as horses," said the black-armored horse.

The white dragon horse glanced at it and said, "Brother, do you think the pangolin's rat-like appearance is good-looking?"

Black Armor Horse exclaimed in surprise: "Brother, you didn't know that 'Ox-Head and Horse-Face' are insults?"

"Snapped!"

The white dragon horse flicked its tail and hit the black armored horse in the face.

"You're giving me face, and you still dare to argue. Am I the boss, or are you the boss?"

Black Armor Horse said aggrievedly, "Once I take in that black-shelled tortoise, I'll be the big brother too... You'll be the big brother's big brother..." He quickly added at the end.

He then looked at Zhang Zhengdao and the tortoise: "They're drunk, what are we going to do?"

"What to do? Just wait!"

The white dragon horse simply climbed down and found a comfortable position to lie down.

The black-armored horse also lay down, finding a comfortable position.

Time flows slowly.

The people in the Taoist temple wait for the abbot and his wife to return every day.

From the blooming of a hundred flowers in spring, to the lotus blossoms filling the pond in summer, from the falling yellow leaves and the bleak autumn wind in autumn, to the snow-covered landscape and jade-like trees in winter.

I originally thought he would be back in a month or so at most. But now it's been a whole year.

As the autumn wind grew colder day by day, Guo Lanying sat on the threshold of the courtyard, looking in the direction of Qixian Lake, and sighed, saying, "Master still owes me ten taels of silver."

This was ten taels of silver that Guo Lanying lent Zhang Zhengdao when he lost money during the Huashan Sword Tournament. I never expected that Guo Lanying would still remember it.

Hu Yunying didn't speak, but wrote a line in her notebook: August 17th, frost, suitable for breaking ground and burial.

When winter came that year and the wind grew stronger day by day, Guo Lanying stood on the steps in the courtyard, looking in the direction of Qixian Lake, and sighed, saying, "Master still owes me ten taels of silver!"

Hu Yunying still didn't speak to her, but just sat to the side, writing another line in her notebook: "The 27th of the 11th lunar month, the 8th day of the third nine-day period, is auspicious for cleaning and offering sacrifices."

During the Lunar New Year that year, the Taoist temple was deserted. Even though a sumptuous feast was prepared, no one was in the mood to eat, except for that little mouse that kept eating.

The following spring, Guo Lanying sat on the threshold of the courtyard again, looking in the direction of Qixian Lake. She turned to Hu Yunying and said, "Master, the master still owes me ten taels of silver!"

Hu Yunying retorted angrily, "Then go ask him for it!"

Guo Lanying sighed, "I wanted to ask him for it too, but he won't come back. Could it be that the master really isn't coming back?"

The moment those words were spoken, everyone in the courtyard was stunned.

No one ever thought about what would happen if Zhang Zhengdao didn't come back.

Qingyangzi coughed lightly.

Everyone looked over at him.

At this moment, the eldest brother was the backbone of everyone.

"Master is an immortal!"

Zhu Jingyan said, "Precisely because they are immortals, we should look at things from the perspective of immortals. Perhaps they have gone up to the Nine Heavens and become officials in the Heavenly Court?"

Qingyangzi nodded: "The most important thing now is that the Taoist temple cannot be without a master for even a day..."

Hu Yunying: "I was the first one to follow the master."

Guo Lanying: "I was among the first to follow the master."

There's really no doubt about that.

Qingyangzi said, "It's not like Master isn't coming back. I'm just temporarily taking over. We'll continue living as usual. Master is an immortal. Even if everyone else in the world is gone, Master will still be here. But... during Master's absence, someone has to maintain the temple's daily expenses and affairs."

There's nothing wrong with that.

Everyone agreed and said in unison, "We are willing to follow Senior Brother's orders."

Elder Xiaoyaozi said, "In that case, let Qingyangzi take over temporarily, and we'll discuss it again when the abbot returns."

Qingyangzi nodded, confirming the matter, and then announced: "Everyone, disperse. Starting tomorrow, we will continue with the daily morning meeting as usual, where everyone will report on their cultivation progress."

The crowd dispersed.

"Please stay a moment, ladies!"

Hu Yunying stopped.

Guo Lanying pointed to herself in surprise and asked Qingyangzi, "What did you just call me?"

"Auntie!"

"Ai--"