The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Seeing their changing expressions, Pan Yun put down the Three Treasures Cauldron and glanced at the two of them with a speechless expression: "Put away your nonsense thoughts. I have truly ascended to heaven. I have come down to the mortal realm out of great compassion to see you."

Lin Jingle and Zhang Ziwang looked incredulous; they had never heard of an immortal who had ascended to the upper realm returning.

Moreover, her current disheveled appearance and silent arrival hardly suggested she was in a state of triumph.

Surely it couldn't be... "In just seven years, you've caused a huge disaster in the Upper Realm and had to flee back to the Ming Dynasty?"

Pan Yun: ...

She defended herself expressionlessly: "You're overthinking it. Seven years have passed here, but only seven days have passed where I am."

Zhang Ziwang asked suspiciously, "Then why did you come back?"

Pan Yun didn't hide anything: "To pick someone up."

Given Wang Cong's character, once he arrives in the other world, he will definitely bring something back, so there's nothing to hide.

Lin Jingle, who was in charge of the Criminal Law Hall and was also Zhang Liuzhen's confidant, immediately asked, "After you ascended to heaven, there was no news of Zhang Li and Tao Ji. Did you take them with you?"

"uh-huh."

Lin Jingle and Zhang Ziwang stared at her, mouth agape, speechless.

If this were true, it would be a case of "when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven" (a Chinese idiom meaning that one person's success in achieving enlightenment brings benefits to their entire family and friends).
The two of them were so jealous that their eyes turned red.

Lin Jingle managed to remain calm and asked, "You came back to pick someone up, so why did you come to Longhu Mountain?"

Zhang Ziwang asked with a hint of anticipation, "Have you come to receive the Celestial Master?"

Pan Jun asked speechlessly, "I wouldn't mind bringing him along, but can he come with me? Have you raised a new successor?"

The two remained silent.

Zhang Liuzhen was unwilling to get married.

Since he took office, he has looked like he's on the verge of death every year, but he just won't die.

The elders proposed marriages to him more than once, including to nobles, powerful officials, and even princesses from the imperial family. If the emperor had a suitable daughter, they would have certainly tried to find a princess for him.

It's not like the Zhang family hasn't married princesses before.

but!

Every time a marriage proposal was made, Zhang Liuzhen would fall seriously ill and be bedridden, looking as if she would die at any moment.

Two-thirds of the people who were originally interested in leaving suddenly ran away.

There are many heartless parents, but few are so heartless as to completely disregard their daughter's happiness and head straight for widowhood.

The remaining third were attracted by Zhang's power, wealth, and cultivation resources.

Ever since Pan Yun broke the ice and allowed cultivators to openly reveal themselves and share their cultivation techniques, people have become enthusiastic about cultivating immortality.

Who doesn't have a few people in their family who want to live forever?
The parents of this third of the family didn't mind Zhang Liuzhen's death at all, as long as their daughters could marry into the Zhang family and leave behind a son or daughter to inherit the family before Zhang Liuzhen died.

Deep down, they might even be happy that Zhang Liuzhen is in this body.

The thought of a powerful relative seizing power is exciting.

They can't be the maternal relatives of the Ming Dynasty, but being the maternal relatives of the Zhang family is not bad either.

Even though Zhang Liuzhen was lying in bed coughing so hard his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest, he still managed to get up and adopt three sons for himself.

Everyone: ...

Now, most of the parents have backed down, leaving only a few scattered individuals.

But seeing how unseemly the other person was eating, Zhang Liuzhen disregarded their feelings and directly refused.

This cycle of conflicting emotions caused Zhang Liuzhen to fall seriously ill whenever she was asked to marry, leaving her alone to this day.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts in teaching his three adopted sons, they simply lacked the necessary skills.

He is lacking in both cultivation and worldly abilities.

The Zhang family harbors a secret among its high-ranking members: the patriarch's fate is intertwined with that of the Ming Dynasty. Given their weak fortunes, if they were to inherit the position of patriarch, they would likely not survive more than three days.

Therefore, the heirs were ambitious, but dared not reach out, for fear of death.

Lin Jingle took Pan Yun to see Zhang Liuzhen: "The Elders' Council still wants him to get married, no matter who it is, as long as he can have children."

"The conditions are really low."

Lin Jingle smiled bitterly: "They were driven to desperation. In the past twenty years, none of the children born into the Zhang family have had outstanding talents. They even..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "They even asked about Zhang Li and Tao Ji, both of whom are exceptionally talented..."

"Didn't they expel my senior sister from the sect?"

Lin Jingle said, "Since he inherited the position of family head, all past grudges have long been wiped clean. Including you, Longhu Mountain and Sanqing Mountain have also long since put aside their past grievances..."

"So they feel that everything from the past no longer exists?"

Lin Jingle: "...If you keep talking like that, I'll call Zhang Ziwang over and have him show you the way."

“Alright, I’ll shut up,” Pan Jun said. “You don’t need to tell me about such mundane matters. I’ve already ascended to immortality and don’t care about worldly affairs.”

Lin Jingle scoffed, "If you have nothing to do with worldly affairs, what are you doing here?"

"Can't you guess why I'm here? The demonic aura of the Cliff of Contemplation is almost reaching the sky."

Lin Jingyue's forehead veins throbbed; was that really why she came?

Lin Jingle finally fell silent and led her straight into Fanxi Courtyard.

"He's injured."

Zhang Liuzhen's internal injuries left him pale and looked like he was about to die.

Perhaps it was because he had pretended so many times over the years that the elders assumed it was the same as the previous times.

But Lin Jingle knew it was different.

“He is depleted of energy and blood. If you don’t come, he won’t last much longer.”

Pan Jun glanced at him once and then placed her hand on his dantian. A wisp of immortal power entered his body, quickly circulated once, and returned to his dantian, instantly transforming into primordial energy and shrinking there.

Zhang Liuzhen's face flushed, and she suddenly opened her eyes.

Pan Yun withdrew his hand: "You should be glad that your fate is tied to that of the Ming Dynasty and that you haven't been recorded in the underworld. Otherwise, even if I were a celestial being, I wouldn't be able to save you."

Zhang Liuzhen stared at her blankly for a long time, then closed her eyes and murmured, "Why did I dream about you? It was terrifying."

Pan Yun: ...

She reached out and tried to pull at her eyelids: "What do you mean?"

Lin Jingle quickly stopped her and woke Zhang Liuzhen at the same time: "Daoist Master, the Imperial Preceptor has returned."

It took Zhang Liuzhen a quarter of an hour to accept the fact that Pan Yun had returned from the mortal realm.

After all, he had personally witnessed her ascend to the upper realm.

Lin Jingle and Zhang Ziwang would suspect her of fabrication, so they quickly accepted Pan Yun's return, but he could not.

Soon, Yin Song and the other two woke up and climbed out of the Three Treasures Cauldron before silently arriving at Fanxi Courtyard.

With a complicated expression, Zhang Liuzhen led them up the Cliff of Contemplation: "Since your ascension, there have been strange occurrences in various places. At first, we thought that you had broken the restriction, and that this world had regained the qualification for ascension. But later we discovered that the restriction may have been opened, but not only for humans, but for all living beings in this world."

He said, "Your senior brother..."

Zhang Liuzhen paused and continued, "Master Wang left behind the words, 'Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs,' meaning that humans and all things are the same in the eyes of Heaven. Then he hid deep in the Sanqing Mountains and never came out again."

After speaking, Zhang Liuzhen glanced at Yin Song and his two disciples.

The three kept their eyes straight ahead, as if the matter had nothing to do with them. (End of Chapter)