I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 568 Changchun's Legacy
The burly man sat by the window, raising his cup to drink.

His amber pupils narrowed into two golden lines when he opened his eyes, the whites of his eyes showing bloodshot veins like those of a mountain forest. His short, needle-like hair stood on end, the ends still bearing the black and yellow stripes of a tiger, and the downy hair on the back of his neck hadn't completely slicked back, rising and falling with his breath like waves of wheat. His nose bridge was steep like a precipice, with three old scars running horizontally across its tip.

His bare chest was bulging with muscles like the gnarled roots of an old tree, and half of his little finger was missing. His imposing figure resembled a god, inspiring awe in ordinary people.

Opposite the burly man, a woman dressed in black and wearing a mask sat upright.

She wore a half-horse-face mask, and her figure was graceful and beautiful. Unlike the burly man who drank heartily, the woman only took small sips each time.

"Lu Xueqi? Could she be the cultivator who ruined our plans in Taicang City?" the horse-faced woman asked.

"It's her." The burly man glared angrily. "If she hadn't ruined my plans back then, I wouldn't be being ridiculed like this now. Now that I know she's in the capital, I'll tear her apart."

"Xuanhu, do not act rashly," the horse-faced woman said coldly.

"You should know that John Lone's matter is important."

"Hmph, you meddlesome horse. I know what to do," the burly man said unhappily. He picked up a jar of wine, opened it, and gulped it down. He finished the jar like a whale, then casually tossed the empty jar aside, letting it smash on the ground with a loud crash.

The waiter serving behind him trembled with fear, not daring to utter a single complaint.

“If you cause trouble and those immortal cultivators see it, even Zunlong won’t be able to protect you. You should know what the situation is like in the city right now; the Three Saints and Four Sects have all come,” the horse-faced woman said with a sneer. “You can do whatever you want without consequence normally, but you’d better behave yourself here.”

"Damn it! You..." The burly man was enraged upon hearing this and reached out to grab the woman's head. However, his large hand stopped an inch further when it reached the woman.

The two men stared at each other for a long time before the burly man calmed down and sat down.

He shrugged helplessly and said to the woman with dissatisfaction, "Don't worry, I know the seriousness of the matter. But after Zunlong's ceremony is completed, you have to let me vent my anger and hand over that woman Lu Xueqi to me to deal with."

"If this succeeds, the Immortal Sect will be nothing more than petty thieves. If you can capture Lu Xueqi, then it's up to you."

"Fine! I'll just have to put up with it for a few days." The burly man said, then turned and yelled at the waiter behind him, "We're out of wine! Bring me some more!"

Upon hearing this, the waiter wiped the cold sweat from his brow and ran away. For a moment, when the burly man erupted in anger, he thought he was going to die.

Leaving aside the matter of the Black Tiger, Jiang Wen traveled across half of the capital to reach the Changchun True Man.

He removed the woman's face and strode toward the altar of the worship society.

The guards of the worship association originally wanted to stop him, but after seeing the token in Jiang Wen's hand, they all bowed their heads in respect.

Upon entering the underground cave, one sees the Changchun Zhenren beneath the Thousand-Handed God statue.

Master Changchun's face grew increasingly aged, his white hair hanging down his head like withered grass. He was emaciated, his body reduced to skin and bones.

Jiang Wen sensed that the life force of the Changchun Master was like a candle flickering in the wind, about to go out.

“You’re about to die,” Jiang Wen said to Changchun Zhenren, standing in front of him.

"Yes, I am about to die," Master Changchun said with a gentle smile.

"Why have you sought me out?"

"Young friend, are you in such a hurry?" Master Changchun asked, pointing to the stone table.

Jiang Wen let out a soft breath, then sat down at the stone table. In the entire cave, only their voices flickered in the firelight.

Jiang Wen looked at Master Changchun: "I can sense that your life fire is severely depleted." Master Changchun acknowledged, but did not seem to care about the matter.

"Since my discussion with you, young friend, I have long since come to terms with things. Inviting you here this time was out of necessity." Master Changchun sighed softly and handed a small blue flag to Jiang Wen.

"Please keep this safe, young friend; it will surely come in handy in the future."

"What is this?" Jiang Wen asked as he took the blue flag.

“These are battle flags,” said Master Changchun. “Zunlong summoned the Venerables of the Divine Assembly to the capital for this Spirit Summoning Ceremony. However, he used the discussion of Dao as a cover to conceal the purpose of the ceremony.”

"I visited several altars of the God-Worshipping Society a few days ago, and they all used children as sacrifices." Jiang Wen thought of the horrific scenes at those altars and felt no goodwill towards the God-Worshipping Society. If this weren't the capital, he would have already eliminated these beasts. "Such an outrageous act, doesn't this Dragon King fear divine retribution?"

“Zunlong no longer cares,” Master Changchun said with a bitter smile. “If he truly cared about the lives of ordinary people, he wouldn’t have sent Chi Yao to Suzhou to kill so many people. It’s just that I listened to him and remained blind for half my life.”

"Are there no righteous sects willing to deal with these matters? In such a vast world, how can such evil ways be allowed to run rampant?" Jiang Wen asked again.

"Since the Three Calamities and Six Tribulations are approaching, most of the immortal sects have already moved into their respective Sumeru Realms, or are cultivating in the Sumeru Realm. They neither care about nor want to care about human affairs. With the calamities approaching, they can only protect themselves. The worship of gods has only harmed some children, which is not worth mentioning to them," said Master Changchun.

"Are they truly the righteous path?" Jiang Wen was astonished, utterly perplexed. Back in the time of Tai Cang, the various immortal sects were merely outsiders. If it weren't for their covenant to protect humanity and all living beings, Jiang Wenji would never have allowed the mandate of heaven to protect the immortal sects. And now, the immortal sects have become like this.

"What righteous path and evil path? They're nothing but cowards who cling to life," sighed Master Changchun, shaking his head. "Many years ago, when the Three Calamities struck the world, the cultivators of the Hundred Schools of Immortals slaughtered countless ordinary people to survive. The twenty-four states of the Great Qian were almost turned into a ghost town, with mountains of bones and rivers of blood. If it weren't for the birth of the Sage Langhuan, who ignited her life-giving fire to resist the Three Calamities, the Great Qian would probably have ceased to exist. Later, when the Sages of the Immortal Schools saw that the Mandate of Heaven was waning and that foreign races from outside the Great Qian were about to invade, they made an alliance that forbade harming mortals, which led to the current situation."

“Without a sage in the world, peace is hard to come by. There are too many lives in the capital, and no one cares too much. Besides, the emperor now wants to win people over with human virtue and fortune, so naturally no one will care about the worship of gods.”

There was a sense of helplessness and powerlessness in Changchun Zhenren's words.

Even though he was a Daoist master, he could hardly change anything in the face of this overwhelming trend.

Moreover, he was one of the Thirteen Venerables of the God Worship Society. Even if he did not directly harm innocent people, he indirectly stained the blood of countless children.

"I am not afraid of dying, but I am worried that my disciple will be left helpless." Master Changchun beckoned into the cave, and a girl in a small Taoist robe walked out timidly.

"Yu Xuan, come here."

"Master..." The little girl ran over and threw herself into Changchun Zhenren's arms, looking at him with teary eyes. "Master, please don't go."

"Master isn't leaving; he just has things to do," Master Changchun patted Li Yuxuan's head and laughed. "You haven't seen this brother in a long time, have you?"

Hearing this, Li Yuxuan looked at Jiang Wen, blinked her big eyes and nodded: "It's Brother Jiang. I haven't seen Brother Jiang for a long time."

"Sweetie, brother will take you to eat something delicious." Jiang Wen rubbed Li Yuxuan's cheek and smiled.

Hearing this, Li Yuxuan was overjoyed and quickly ran to Jiang Wen, looking at him expectantly. The two chatted, creating a rather warm atmosphere.

Seeing the intimate interaction between Jiang Wen and Li Yuxuan, Master Changchun showed a look of satisfaction on his old face.

He called Li Yuxuan back, then pointed at Jiang Wen and said, "I'm going on a long trip. Why don't you go with your brother Jiang for now?"

Li Yuxuan glanced at Changchun Zhenren, then at Jiang Wen, and finally nodded with a pout.

“Yu Xuan, listen to your master.”

(End of this chapter)