Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

After a rather informal greeting, the two sides found a quiet place and began to talk about serious matters. At this point, the Taoist priest, being an outsider, should have avoided suspicion, but none of the three present mentioned it. By the time he realized it, he had already left with the three of them.

Then, he saw He Baiding and the white-robed Taoist named Jianzi Xianji start talking, while the one dressed in jewelry watched from the side. The three people, with different colors and styles of dress, stood together in a strangely harmonious way. The native Taoist was singled out, and none of the three people present paid any attention to him.

The situation was awkward; leaving was not an option, nor was staying. The three people in front of him were not ordinary people, and their cultivation was probably far superior to his own. He didn't believe that they hadn't noticed him and probably assumed he was following them.

Moreover, he really didn't have a suitable reason to leave. The senior fellow disciple he could use as a reason was probably sleeping soundly in some corner as a beggar. Whether he could find him was one thing, and whether the person would even want to see him was another.

The main reason that prompted him to come here was the inexplicable rumor that "immortals suddenly appeared," which was the group of people in front of him.

Now that people have seen them and can confirm they are not frauds, and they pose no immediate threat to the people, this matter might just end there. However, through his contact with He Baiding, Daoist Shan discovered something: these people all came from elsewhere, to some place he had never heard of, where there were many such extraordinary beings.

Think of the outrageous rumors I've heard before: the white-robed swordsman in the north, Han Xiangzi fighting giants and fairy maidens exorcising demons in the south, the immortal slaying a giant snake in the East Sea, and even a new leader called Asura King emerging in the White Lotus Sect.

If all these rumored people come from the same place, what kind of divine abode could accommodate such powerful beings?

Could it really be some kind of deity descending to earth for a visit? Especially that story of Han Xiangzi fighting the giant—the reference couldn't be clearer. The people described in it are all very distinctive, yet they don't match the three in front of us. I wonder how many more people like this there are... White-robed sword immortals?

The Taoist priest turned his gaze to the person called Sword Immortal Traces. He was dressed in white and had white hair. When this person first appeared, he had been acting silly and diverting attention. Now, looking at him again, it was a long sword behind him, an ancient bronze sword.

Legendary sword immortals are always depicted flying in the sky, slashing downwards with their swords. Many descriptions focus on the swordsman himself, with no mention of his sword. Of course, it's possible that the swordsman's speed was so fast that those below couldn't see them clearly.

The three of them indeed ignored the Taoist priest and followed him without question. They weren't talking about anything shameful; they were just repeating the reason why He Baiding was there.

"You got injured and need medical treatment? Things have been pretty peaceful lately, how come you got injured again?"

"There are no guys who want to do big things, but they keep making small moves, and the bald monk is still charging in despite being injured."

"That involvement..."

"Cat Hair Man looked at him."

Given their relationship, they certainly wouldn't leave a seriously injured person alone. He came over only after confirming that the person wouldn't go into battle injured again.

Having met the person, the next step was naturally for He Baiding to go back and take the World-Illuminating Lamp away. When Liu Qingyuan learned that the Taoist priest and the mad beggar in the city were from the same sect, he even asked about the other's sect.

The elders with high Taoist skills beg on the street, while the younger ones with skills perform magic tricks on the street. This sect is really interesting.

"We...should we be considered part of Laoshan?"

The Taoist priest's answer was unexpected; the Taoist priest from Laoshan was right beside me. But why was it a question?

"Calculate?"

"Because I've basically never been back to Laoshan. Most of my fellow disciples on the mountain are diligent in their ascetic practices. Our branch... is an exception."

Each of them travels far and wide, scattered across the country. Apart from their unique means of communication that ensure they don't fall behind others, meeting face-to-face depends entirely on fate. They themselves are well aware of the uniqueness of their branch.

The older generation is alright, but the younger generation were mostly recruited by chance during their travels. After they finished their apprenticeship, they went off to play on their own. They only knew that their sect came from Laoshan, but they had never been to Laoshan. Their fellow disciples in Laoshan probably didn't even know that they had any fellow disciples.

The Daoist Shan lineage truly embodies the concept of "following fate."

"It's pretty much a matter of fate."

Liu Qingyuan didn't know where the beggar was lying. He had seen the beggar a few times when he came to the city before and asked him some questions, but it was all by chance. He heard from others that the crazy beggar used to stay in one place, but from a certain day onwards, he changed his behavior and started wandering all over the city.

After checking the timeline, Liu Qingyuan discovered that since the day she appeared, the beggar had started moving around constantly, changing from a fixed location to randomly respawning all over the city.

Hmm, could it be because of him?

Having made everything clear, He Baiding left with the Zhaoshi Mingdeng. Daoist Shan followed, wanting to see what was in the mountains and figure out where these god-like figures came from.

Thinking that He Baiding was leading people back to that so-called "Realm of Openness," Liu Qingyuan wondered if he could follow along and perhaps discover something. Coincidentally, his own elder fellow disciple was homeless and couldn't be found, and Liu Qingyuan, having heard that he was from Laoshan, also wanted to chat with him.

After all, the Taoist priest of Laoshan is such a classic.

"The title 'White-Clad Sword Immortal' sounds cool. Could it have originated from the capital?"

The moment the Taoist priest opened his mouth, he brought up the rumor of the white-robed sword immortal that had been troubling him ever since he discovered the bronze longsword behind Liu Qingyuan. Seeing that this man was approachable and had no airs, he boldly asked directly.

If Liu Qingyuan himself were to say, the few times he drew his sword here were the two most impressive. One was when he captured the Painted Skin, and to prevent the other party from escaping, he directly cleaved a ditch. The other was when he went to the capital to find two illegal transmigrators. In order to leave some stereotypes on them and to create an opportunity for Shou Wanjie to infiltrate his own ranks, he and Jian Feidao staged a "cat and mouse" game in the capital.

The former occurred at night, and besides the victim's family, there was only one wandering Taoist priest, so there was basically no way for the information to spread. The situation in the capital was different; he went there specifically to cause trouble and wanted everyone to know about it.

The title "White-Clad Sword Immortal" could only have originated from the capital. It's just that, whether the people on the ground at the time didn't see their exact appearance clearly or there were some omissions in the oral tradition, it seems that he and Jian Feidao have been merged into one person.

"There are countless sword practitioners in the Daoist sect. If this statement came from the capital, it should be referring to me and Dao Jian Feidao. Was it mainly because... Jian Feidao hadn't returned yet?"

"Whom are you asking?"

Shu Loulong asked in return, "Among the people here, none of them know anything about Jian Feidao. Theoretically, it should be Zhao Shimingdeng, but Zhao Shimingdeng is out treating someone's injuries."

"Alright, Dao Jian has gone astray too."

One by one, they either left immediately or haven't returned yet; he seems to have become a lonely old man.

……

On a roadside in Wuxian County, a small group of people sat together with several jars of wine on the ground. Two of them stood out.

One of them was Jian Feidao. He sat a little further out and didn't participate much in the conversation. The other person had white hair, which was typical of people born with innate abilities. He wore a white coat with a rattan and bamboo woven pattern over it and a small hat of the same material on his head.

Although both are dressed in light colors, Jian Feidao's style is more aloof and has the air of a master, while this one is more simple and approachable. He doesn't have many expensive decorations to show off his status or cultivation, and he doesn't wear boots, but rather a pair of straw sandals woven from the outer skin of straw stalks.

This is Jian Feidao's good friend, the top tour guide (crossed out) Cangmang Xingzhe, Ren Pingsheng.

At this moment, he was taking notes of the stories he had heard in a book, while the jade bamboo staff was placed aside and kept by Jian Feidao.

"So later, you had two City Gods?"

As Ren Pingsheng wrote, he asked questions. Since the purpose was to invite others to travel around this place, or rather, to take a vacation, Ren Pingsheng, who loved to go out and explore scenic spots, was indispensable.

Although he wasn't technically a Daoist master in the strictest sense, and had a nephew in the Confucian school, given Jian Feidao's network of connections, he still had close ties with Daoism. Furthermore, Ren Pingsheng was a professional when it came to traveling.

As for Jian Feidao, he had been traveling around with his friends and had not returned to the realm of enlightenment.

When they arrived, they heard that the City God Temple here was quite special, so they went to take a look and found that there were two City God Temples, each enshrining two different City Gods. It was truly unusual to have two City Gods in the same place. Ren Pingsheng felt that there must be a story behind it, so he immediately took some wine and went to ask people, wanting to hear the story.

Traveling to mountains and rivers is not just about seeing the scenery, but also about the culture, history, stories, and interesting anecdotes.

There was originally only one City God in this area, and the custom of holding a festival on the City God's birthday had always been maintained. Later, a new magistrate took office. This new magistrate was upright and resolute. When he learned that the festival cost the people a lot of money and resources every year, he not only scolded him in anger, but also carried the City God's statue to the bustling market and beat the City God with twenty strokes of the cane. As a result, the custom of the festival was abolished.

This magistrate was indeed a good official, honest and selfless, but he was too playful. Despite being such a high-ranking official and such a grown man, he still liked to climb onto rooftops to steal bird nests.

More than a year after the incident of beating the City God, the county magistrate fell while climbing the roof of the yamen with a ladder to collect bird nests under the eaves. He broke his thigh and soon died from his injuries.

Whether the City God was behind this person's accidental death was unknown and no one dared to ask. However, after the funeral, many people passing by the City God Temple could hear the magistrate's angry shouting, which sounded like he was arguing with someone.

The shouting went on for several days. After listening to it for a long time, everyone realized that they were shouting at the City God. Thinking that this magistrate was a rare good official, they first offered incense to the City God and pleaded for mercy, then built a shrine to worship the magistrate. In the end, it evolved into two City God temples, one to worship the original City God and the other to worship the later magistrate.

"But won't the two City Gods, who rule in the same place, start fighting?"

Most people worship the county magistrate because he governs well and they are grateful for his kindness. However, Ren Pingsheng and Jian Feidao both know that there really is a City God and a related official system in this world. If the people worship the county magistrate like this, wouldn't that force the original City God to share power?

"Fight, why don't you fight?"

A middle-aged man replied.

“When I was a child, I was playful. I would run to the City God Temple late at night and hear two people arguing and cursing at each other. When I got home and asked, I found out that the two City Gods were arguing again.”

These two City Gods, one who abolished the other's sacrificial rites and the other who might have sabotaged someone's death, have a grudge against each other, clash in personality and preferences, and neither of them seem to have a good temper. If they disagree on governance, one can imagine what kind of verbal battle it would be.

The people of Wu County have been worshipping the two City Gods for so many years that they are used to this. It's just two City Gods arguing, so what if they're arguing? As long as they are willing to take charge and protect the people, that's enough.

"Two city gods are not bad either. At least we haven't had many monsters around here. A distant relative came to visit before, and I heard that a wealthy man in his area got into a fight with a fox. His servants and fox soldiers were quite formidable!"

"A fox fighting a human?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Pingsheng turned to look at Jian Feidao, whose friend had already seen quite a few foxes.

"It should just be an ordinary little demon. If it were a fox demon or fox spirit with some cultivation, it would be impossible for them to fight with mortals."

Jian Feidao used the foxes he knew as examples. Whether it was the fox fairy Xiao Cui or the fox demon Lian Xiang, they all had certain cultivation levels. If they fought with ordinary mortals, even if many people rushed at them, they would not be able to defeat them.

It's strange that a group of fox spirits were fighting a group of ordinary people to a standstill. Were the servants too powerful, or were the foxes too weak?

"Have you two seen a monster?"

At first, Ren Pingsheng and Jian Feidao's white hair and youthful appearance put a lot of pressure on those around them. Moreover, one of them wore a tall crown and a golden and white robe, looking like an immortal, while the other carried a jade bamboo staff, exuding a carefree and otherworldly air, like a hermit master. People would avoid them if they tried to talk to them.

However, after getting to know them, I found that they were both easy to get along with and had good wine. All I had to do was come over and tell a story, and the bolder ones gradually came over.

"I've seen quite a few, but like what this person just said, there aren't many who can fight an ordinary person to a standstill."

As for the native monsters, apart from the fox clan, Jian Feidao has also seen the group from the East Sea, and basically none of them are weak. As for the monsters from the Bitter Realm, their combat power is off the charts.

Because Jian Feidao and Ling Ziling's timelines were out of sync, they never had the chance to know that there's always someone worse off than them, and that a fox spirit had harmed a widow and her children, had her tail cut off by a child in his early teens, and was eventually poisoned to death by a scheme.

Oh right, there's also the one who got drunk and rolled into the moat, almost drowning himself. You can only say that there are really many levels of monsters. The powerful ones can bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded, and the even more powerful ones can move mountains and fill seas. The weak ones are hard to describe. They fight with mortals to a standstill, and are even killed by the monsters.

"Okay, it's decided!"

Ren Pingsheng closed the notebook and made his next decision without Jian Feidao knowing anything.

"...What did the traveler decide?"

"Our next stop is the place where foxes and humans are fighting."

Foxes getting into fights with humans, and not just once, as if they were sworn enemies. There's definitely a story behind this. While it's hard to find good scenery, this kind of place is worth a visit.