SWDnovel Chapter 87 Old man, don't panic, I am the legitimate Celestial Master!
Chapter 87 Old man, don't panic, I am the legitimate Celestial Master!
Chapter 87 Old man, don't panic, I am the legitimate Celestial Master! (Second update, 5800 words)
Lu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then bowed again and said, "Disciple Lu Yuan greets Senior Uncle."
Upon hearing this, a hint of satisfaction finally appeared on the usually impassive face of Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable.
He gave a soft "hmm" before slowly saying, "Song Yan has already told you about the list, right?"
Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately nodded.
"Senior brother has already explained, senior uncle."
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable's gaze fell upon him, carrying a hint of scrutiny.
"so----"
"Are you still going?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Yuan straightened his back and spoke each word with resounding force.
"Of course I'll go, I absolutely must go!"
"Man can conquer nature!"
Pfft!
Lu Yuan: "?"
What the hell is going on?!
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly organizing his thoughts, but ultimately let out a sigh.
"Since you call me 'Master Uncle,' I can't just ignore you."
"I've prepared a few people for you to keep you company; it's better than you having to take care of two little rascals."
Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao, who were innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire, were left bewildered.
Who do you call Little Nose Ga!
After a moment of surprise, Lu Yuan immediately bowed and refused decisively.
"Uncle-Master, there's no need."
Ok?
Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Venerable Crane Patrol slightly raised his eyelids, a genuine hint of doubt flashing in his deep eyes.
Why?
"Does he really want to go and die?"
But soon, as if he had figured something out, his tone softened.
"Or are you worried that if you bring people from Tianlong Temple, your merits will be taken away when the merit book is written at the Celestial Master Ceremony?"
""
"If you're worried about this, it's unnecessary."
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable waved his hand, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"I assure you, when the merit book is written, not a single name of my Tianlong Temple will be on it."
"This immense merit belongs entirely to your True Dragon Temple, entirely to you, Lu Yuan!"
Lu Yuan shook his head, his expression extremely serious.
"That's not the reason."
Now, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable was truly puzzled, and his brows furrowed.
"Then why is that?"
Lu Yuan bowed again, clasping his hands in a gesture of respect, and spoke each word with utmost clarity.
"My master doesn't like you, nor does he like Tianlong Temple."
"If I were to lead the people of Tianlong Temple to break those evil-nurturing grounds, my master would likely not be pleased with the title of 'Celestial Venerable' obtained in that way."
"I want to get the title of 'Celestial Venerable' for my master, just to make him happy. I have no other desires."
"If he's unhappy about receiving the title because of this, then it's better not to have it at all."
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*
Lu Yuan: "????"
no! !
Where did that noise come from?!
Finally, a long, complex sigh escaped.
The Celestial Crane Sage spoke softly, "Crane Yin—has found a fine disciple—"
"Alright, go ahead. Just remember, never be reckless."
Then Crane Celestial Venerable shook his head slightly and said, "For us masters, we don't ask for anything from you. We only hope that you can be safe and sound. That's more important than anything else."
Lu Yuan felt a warmth in his heart and solemnly bowed with his hands clasped.
"Your disciple will remember your master's teachings."
"This disciple will naturally not act recklessly, after all, I will have to take care of that old man in his old age in the future."
Finally, Lu Yuan and the other two paid their respects to the Crane-Patrolling Celestial Venerable and left the courtyard.
Song Yan had already led the three magnificent horses to the door.
These past few days have been well taken care of; the horses have been groomed, gained weight, and are full of energy.
Lu Yuan and the other two mounted their horses. He looked down at Song Yan and bowed slightly.
"Senior brother, farewell. See you at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony!"
Having said that, he flicked his whip.
The three men, riding three horses, vanished in a cloud of dust, heading north!
Heading straight for the third place to nurture evil spirits!
These third and fourth places for nurturing evil spirits are the very places the old man casually crossed off on the map.
According to the old man's thinking, what powerful things could possibly be around Fengtian City?
He didn't believe his apprentice's ideas could be so unlucky as to just happen to come across something he'd overlooked.
If you go head-to-head with someone tough, you'll lose your life.
So it seems, barring any unforeseen circumstances—
Hey!
And indeed, nothing unexpected happened!
Accompanied by wind and snow, and neighbored by ghosts and demons.
It's already the twelfth day since I came here.
Lu Yuan and his two companions fought their way from the third place of nurturing evil spirits to the ninth place.
They encountered many dangerous and bizarre events along the way, but all of them ended without any real danger.
Lu Yuandao's skills became increasingly profound, and Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan also became much more composed after being initially loud and boisterous.
At this moment, there are only six days left until the opening of the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony.
Lu Yuan planned to do one last thing before going back.
Let's round it up and take down this tenth place of nurturing evil spirits too.
After attending the opening ceremony of the Luotian Grand Ritual, I'll go back to work and keep working until the Celestial Master Ceremony begins!
Inside a dilapidated temple, the three packed their belongings.
Xu Erxiao looked at the map and muttered to himself.
"Brother Lu, the next place is called Daqingshan Village."
Lu Yuangang nodded, but before he could speak, Wang Chengan suddenly exclaimed "Misunderstanding!" and looked up, blinking.
"Daqingshan Village?"
"Brother Lu, I seem to remember that the official notice we saw in Cheng Guo Town yesterday mentioned a place where bandits were active. Isn't that Da Qingshan?"
Listening to Wang Cheng'an's words, Lu Yuan blinked and thought about it carefully.
He slapped his thigh sharply.
"Hey, you know what, it actually seems to be true!"
Yesterday, I passed through Chengguo Town, and the notices on the bulletin board at the town gate were written clearly in black and white.
Recently, passing caravans and ordinary people have been avoiding Daqingshan Mountain.
If we put it that way...
Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, then decisively took out the Nourishing Evil Diagram again and glanced at it.
"Alright, let's skip this for now and take a detour to the eleventh place for nurturing evil spirits."
Since the authorities have already issued a statement saying that bandits are causing trouble, there's no need to go looking for trouble.
Once we've finished dealing with everything down there, the government should have already wiped out the bandits over there. It won't be too late to come back then.
If by the time he finishes cleaning up all the places, the banditry in Daqingshan is still not quelled, then he might as well not go.
Anyway, it won't make a difference if one or two more come along.
Having made up his mind, Lu Yuan pointed to another point on the map and said directly, "Change course! Go to Wujiagouzi!"
Meanwhile, in the cave of the bandit gathering hall on Daqingniu Mountain.
The old man sat sprawled on the tiger-skin chair, his face flushed, letting out loud burps.
"Burp—what lousy liquor!"
"It's nowhere near as good as what my apprentice got from his wife's house!!"
"belch!"
He casually placed one foot on the stone table in front of him, which was covered with large pieces of meat and peanuts.
He was picking his teeth with one hand and holding a large wine bowl in the other.
Below, the group of fierce-looking bandits fell silent, not daring to even breathe.
And the leader of this band of bandits was "Wang Daba La," who could stop the children from crying throughout the entire Daqingshan region.
He was all smiles as he carefully poured wine for the old man using a wine jar.
"Hehe—Sir, you're right—"
"I—how could I possibly compare to your apprentice and his wife?"
The old man was either drunk or simply didn't hear clearly.
Upon hearing this, he suddenly lifted his foot, which was resting on the stone table, and kicked Wang Dabala directly in the stomach.
With a "bang," Wang Daba was kicked so hard that he fell flat on his face, and the wine jar in his hand flew out and landed on the ground.
"Pah!!"
The old man spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground and cursed groggily.
"You still want to compete with my apprentice?"
"You're a piece of trash!!"
"Wang Daba La, Wang Daba La! You're getting more and more useless!"
"Your grandpa was a famous philanthropist back in the day, and look what you've done—you've become a damn bandit!"
Wang Daba, who had been kicked to the ground, showed none of the fierceness he had shown in public.
He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the dust on his clothes, grabbed another jar of wine, and poured it for the old man while grinning obsequiously.
"Oh my goodness, calm down—"
"Isn't this—due to the pressures of life, our family has fallen on hard times—"
Wang Dabala couldn't help but complain again.
"It's true that my grandfather was a great philanthropist; his philanthropy was genuine!"
"But he was only kind to outsiders and didn't care about his family at all. In the end, he didn't leave me much money."
He got angrier and angrier as he talked.
"He has a good reputation outside, but we're really struggling to find food at home!"
Listening to Wang Daba's complaints, the old man let out another burp.
He picked up the wine that Wang Daba had just filled and gulped it down in one go, then mumbled incoherently.
"Your grandfather is a loose hand."
"I advised him back then not to be so generous to outsiders, but to at least take care of his family."
Upon hearing this, Wang Daba felt even more aggrieved and quickly went over to continue pouring wine.
"Hey~ Who says it isn't!"
"If he had left me even a little more money, I wouldn't have ended up doing this deadly job!"
Wang Daba poured a full glass of wine, but the old man refused to drink it.
He slammed the rough porcelain wine bowl on the stone table with a bang, hiccuping repeatedly, and stood up unsteadily.
"Alright, I'm not drinking anymore."
"If you keep drinking, there'll never be a way back."
Upon seeing this, Wang Dabala quickly got up to help him.
"Oh my god, this is nothing! What's the rush?"
"If you're drunk, why don't you stay here for the night?"
"You saved my life from the clutches of the King of Hell back then, and I've never had a chance to properly repay your kindness~"
Before he could finish speaking, the old man suddenly turned around, his drunken eyes wide open.
"You're thanking me for killing two fewer people!"
"Saving you, you little brat, will only bring me endless trouble!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Dabala straightened up and patted his chest to guarantee it.
"Master!"
"Don't worry about that, we brothers have rules: we only rob money, we don't kill!"
The old man raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down with a strange expression.
"Really not dangerous?"
Under the old man's gaze, Wang Dabala suddenly felt a little guilty, lowered his voice, and awkwardly rubbed his hands.
"Well—there are always some fools who insist on resisting, and there's nothing we can do about it."
The old man snorted coldly, ignored the matter, and swayed as he walked out of the cave.
"I can't stay any longer. If I don't go back now, it will be too late to draw talismans for my apprentice's wife."
The old man was calculating the time in his mind.
It's been fourteen days since we left, and it will take two days to get back. We'll be able to renew Gu Qingwan's talisman on the sixteenth day.
He had already explored the tenth location, Daqingshan.
Thinking about it, his precious disciple would at most reach the tenth level before having to go back to participate in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony.
The old man planned to return to Zhenlong Temple first to give Gu Qingwan fifteen days of talismans and a "Qingci Qiqing" (a type of prayer).
Then they strolled back and cleaned up the remaining few.
Wang Daba followed behind, pondering something rather strange.
What kind of apprentice's wife is this?
Why do I need to draw talismans?
Of course, Wang Daba didn't dare to ask.
The old man in front stumbled again, reeking of alcohol as he spoke.
"I reckon my apprentice will be here with two disciples from Zhenlong Temple in the next day or two."
"If my apprentice were here and even a single hair were missing—"
Before the old man could finish speaking, Wang Daba was so frightened that his soul almost flew out of his body, and his voice instantly rose.
"Oh my god!"
"My goodness, what did you say?!"
"Even if I had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, I wouldn't dare do that!"
"Besides, aren't we all family? When my brothers come, I promise I'll treat them to the best food and drink!"
Upon hearing this, the old man scoffed dismissively.
"Who says I'm family with a bandit like you!"
Wang Daba was taken aback, then quickly smiled apologetically, "Yes, yes, I misspoke, I'll slap myself."
Before he could finish speaking, the old man added, swaying unsteadily.
"Also, the White Deer Chamber of Commerce is also my apprentice's wife's family."
"If this caravan passes through here, don't be foolish enough to rob it!"
These words made Wang Daba's head buzz.
? ?
Isn't the president of the Bailu Chamber of Commerce Zhao Qiao'er, that great beauty from Fengtian City?
Does Zhao Qiao'er need to draw a talisman?
Is this referring to the same person?
Wang Dabala's mind was a complete mess, but he didn't dare to delay and immediately agreed.
"Of course, of course, don't worry!"
The old man took a few more steps forward, then stopped as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, if I don't want to do this kind of work in the future, it would be best if I could live a peaceful and stable life."
"If things don't go smoothly, then go find my other apprentice's wife's family; her brother is the head of the Fengtian City Security Corps!"
"Your achievements, rather than benefiting outsiders, should be given to my apprentice's wife's family!"
Wang Daba La: "???"
Holy crap!
Just how many disciples and wives does this old sage have?
No!
The key question is—are all these incredibly important figures the wives of the same apprentice?
Wang Dabala's gaze unconsciously drifted into the distance, his face filled with shock, and he exclaimed sincerely.
The old man's apprentice's kidneys are fucking amazing!
The words are divided into two parts.
Lu Yuan, who was good at kidney health, did not go to Daqingshan.
Instead, they bypassed Daqingshan and headed straight for the eleventh place for nurturing evil spirits, Wujiagouzi.
The journey was much longer than expected.
As the three men and one horseman descended the mountain path, the daylight was being rapidly swallowed by the dark mountain ridge.
Biting cold.
"Brother Lu, according to the 'Notes on Taoist Temples in Northeast China,' there should be a mountain god temple built during the Qianlong era up ahead, where we can stay overnight."
Xu Erxiao shivered as he flipped through a yellowed handwritten booklet.
Lu Yuan squinted, looked at the village shrouded in the gray-blue twilight ahead, and shook his head.
"It probably collapsed long ago."
His tone was flat.
"This village has lost all its vitality, not even a trace of human life."
The temple's incense offerings rely on the donations and maintenance from the surrounding villagers.
Once the village falls into ruin, the temple becomes a resting place for wandering ghosts, collapsing faster than anything else.
Lu Yuan didn't say anything more, and lightly traced a line on his left palm with his right index finger.
Earth Qi Gua.
When the fingertips touched the northwest Qian position, a sticky, cold, stagnant sensation came over them.
Further examination of the southwest Kun position reveals an "empty" sign.
When Yin and Yang fail to interact, the earth's veins are severed.
Lu Yuan frowned slightly.
This place is still some distance from the true place for nurturing evil spirits.
We haven't reached the place for nurturing evil spirits yet.
Has the evil influence already leaked out to this point?
It shouldn't be that bad.
"Let's go down and take a look."
He gave the reins a sharp shake, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"And get something to eat while you're at it."
The three spurred their horses down the mountain, and as soon as they entered the village, an indescribable sense of eeriness washed over them.
It's too quiet.
It was as quiet as a tomb.
The wind howled through the withered fence, making a mournful "whoosh" sound, the only noise in Mangniu Village.
In an ordinary mountain village, the barking of dogs would soon erupt as soon as a stranger approached.
But here, the stray dogs tied up outside the walls of several houses only lazily raised their eyelids.
He squeezed out a few low "oohs" from his throat, then lowered his head again, his eyes unfocused, as if he had lost his soul.
Looking at this scene, Lu Yuan frowned slightly.
"Dogs have eyes that see the dark; these dogs have probably seen too much." I'm too lazy to bark anymore.
Lu Yuan didn't say anything, he just sniffed it lightly.
A faint, strange smell lingered in the air.
It smelled like the sweet, rotten odor emanating from an old, damp coffin, mixed with the acrid bitterness of burning herbs.
This looks like something's up!
"Put on a Taoist robe."
Lu Yuan gave the instructions in a low voice.
Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao immediately understood, took out Taoist robes from their work boxes, and neatly put them on over their leather jackets.
Lu Yuan stepped forward and knocked on the door of the first house.
With a creak, the door opened a crack.
A murky, wary eye stared intently at them through the crack in the door.
Upon seeing the Taoist robes worn by the three, the wariness in his eyes turned into numb disappointment, and he shook his head. *Bang!*
The door was slammed shut.
Several companies in a row were like this.
An old woman even murmured through the door, her voice trembling, "A Taoist priest?"
"The Taoist priest is useless—let's hurry, it's getting dark, and the road here is difficult to travel—"
Upon seeing this, Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an blinked, then looked at Lu Yuan in the middle and asked, "Brother Lu, shall we go?"
"Let's finish preparing the nurturing site first."
To this, Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "Since you've seen the demons, why not eliminate them?"
"Six days left, that's enough time. Let's stay here tonight!"
After saying that, Lu Yuan flicked the reins and rode his horse forward.
Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao perked up and immediately followed.
The three walked and stopped frequently, until they reached the very end of the village, in front of a solitary mud-brick courtyard.
It was Wang Laohan who opened the door.
He was a man in his early fifties, with a slightly hunched back and deep wrinkles on his face that could trap a mosquito.
But what's most striking is the whites of his eyes, which have an abnormal bluish-yellow tint, with a very faint gray halo around the edge of his pupils.
In Taoist physiognomy, this is called "shadowy eyes".
It is a sign of being constantly exposed to gloomy and gloomy atmosphere, and suffering mental and physical torment.
When Wang Laohan heard that Lu Yuan and his two companions wanted to stay overnight and ask for some food, he asked for some food.
Old Wang looked at the three overly young "young Taoist priests," a hint of pity flashing in his eyes. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "Here's some food for you. There's no place to stay, so don't go out."
After saying this, Wang Laohan was about to turn around and go back into the house to get some dry rations for Lu Yuan and the other two.
"Snap—!"
A thunderclap suddenly rang out, tearing apart the deathly silence of the twilight!
Wang Laohan froze and turned around abruptly.
At this moment, Lu Yuan, who was riding on his horse, turned to the side and looked down at Wang Laohan with a blank expression.
A flash of electricity appeared on his right hand.
Lu Yuan raised his head slightly and said earnestly, "Old man, don't panic, I am a legitimate Celestial Master!"
Old Wang was somewhat taken aback, seemingly not expecting that a legitimate Celestial Master would be so young.
At the same time, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
After a long pause, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice became hoarse, like two pieces of sand rubbing together.
"Come in."
"The west wing is empty—"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan and the other two dismounted. Wang Laohan then added a sentence, his voice extremely low, as if afraid of being overheard by something.
"But even the Taoist priest couldn't help—"
Um? ?
Before Lu Yuan and the other two could react, they heard Wang Laohan walk into the courtyard and say in a low voice, "At night, no matter what you hear, don't leave the house."
"Especially—don't go near the east wing, and don't go to the backyard."
He paused, then added, "Never open the window before the rooster crows."
Lu Yuan and the other two exchanged glances, a smile playing on their lips.
Not allowed to leave the house?
joke.
Guaranteed!
The west wing had clearly been uninhabited for a long time, but it was kept tidy.
The kang mat was new, and the wick of the oil lamp on the table had been trimmed.
Unusually, the window cracks were carefully sealed with yellow mud, leaving only a very narrow ventilation gap.
A faded "Zhong Kui Guardian Image" was pasted on the inside of the door.
However, the eyes in the portrait were charred black by incense smoke, indicating that the person was "blind".
Lu Yuan rubbed his fingers on the windowsill, and his fingertips were covered with a layer of extremely fine grayish-white powder. When he brought his fingers close to his nose, he could smell a faint smell of lime and sulfur.
"It's 'wall-cleaning ash,' made from cinnabar, realgar, lime, and aged mugwort leaves, ground after being stir-fried. It's used to ward off evil spirits."
Lu Yuan said in a low voice, "But the ash was spread too thickly and repeatedly, so this room needs to be cleaned frequently."
Soon, Wang Laohan brought over some dry rations, put them down, and left without saying a word.
The three of them didn't go out to ask. After finishing their dry rations, they closed their eyes and rested inside the house, waiting for nightfall.
The wind grew increasingly fierce.
soon----
At midnight, which is 11 p.m., the first strange thing happened—
>