Poor Taoist Qiu Chuji

Chapter 404 The First Battle of Protection

The guardrails on both sides of the mountain path have long been polished to a shine by countless hands. The mountain path is crowded with people, from the foot of the mountain to the middle of the mountain, densely packed with pedestrians crowding up the mountain.

As for the cable car that goes directly to the mountainside, it has long been forced to suspend operations. After all, there are too many people coming to pay homage to the "immortal" and "guardian deity". In order to grab the cable car's position, there have been several stampede accidents. In order to avoid causing even greater chaos, the tourism development company had no choice but to reluctantly suspend the operation of the cable car.

Of course... those with special access are an exception.

Who doesn't dream of immortality?

Those who have power and money are less likely to believe in so-called 'fate'; everything is either arranged or not yet arranged.

An old woman in a gray-blue gown clutched three sticks of incense and slowly made her way to the top of the mountain, bowing every three steps. She muttered many unintelligible words as she walked. Life had crisscrossed her face, leaving behind too many marks of time.

Perhaps she was too engrossed in the moment, because the old woman's withered fingers inadvertently brushed against the selfie stick of the young man in front of her, and incense ash fell softly onto the shoulder of his cartoon-patterned hoodie.

The young man turned his head and looked at the old woman's devout appearance, and couldn't help but say loudly, "Auntie! Your three steps and one bow is a custom only for worshipping Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. It's not necessary for worshipping Taoist priests or immortals."

The old woman returned a bewildered look.

An older man standing nearby, clearly from Tianjin, couldn't stand the silence and immediately chimed in, "Oh! What's going on here? Can you explain it to me?"

The young man said, "If you kowtow a lot, the Bodhisattva might like you and think you're devout, but the Taoist priest doesn't care and looks down on you. It wouldn't matter if you kowtowed until you broke through the earth."

The middle-aged man said, "Wow! What a temper! What's the origin of your words?"

The young man also got into the conversation and immediately started quoting classical texts.

However, judging from what he said, most of it was just jokes from the internet, so it shouldn't be taken seriously.

As the drone swarm wove a silver spiderweb above the crowd, the propellers shattered the morning mist, and a cry of alarm suddenly erupted twenty meters away.

Ahead, a girl in Hanfu stepped on the toes of an old man behind her while tiptoeing, and her hair ornament got tangled in the string of a little boy's balloon, causing a small commotion... The crowd was still too crowded.

Even the slightest accident could trigger a major disaster.

The little boy gripped the balloon string tightly, howling and pulling hard. The girl in Hanfu, pampered and spoiled, couldn't bear the pain of her hair being pulled out strand by strand and began to lose her composure.

Just as they were about to fall backward, a ray of golden light descended from the clouds above, causing the tangled hair and balloon ropes to untangle themselves. The slightly chaotic crowd instantly felt a sense of tranquility. Even more miraculously, a refreshing mountain breeze blew in, dispelling all the stuffiness on the mountain path.

With the clear air, most of the restlessness and boredom among the crowd also dissipated.

Soon, people began using drones to deliver goods and distribute food and water at various points along the mountain path. At the same time, some temporary tents were set up in open areas to provide temporary restrooms for men and children. The regular restrooms were temporarily allocated to female tourists who had difficulty getting around.

At the mountaintop, Qiu Chuji hung up the phone, cutting off the probing from a 'comrade' and launching a ruthless counterattack.

Qiu Chuji made a great splash, so naturally he became the target of intense scrutiny.

This is inevitable.

These returning transmigrators were not fighting for so-called 'faith,' although the nature of their conflict seemed similar.

What they are gaining is attention, and the retention rate of personal messages after people follow them.

This is similar to some internet memes. Some are popular for a short time and then fade away, but others take root and endure, while also spawning more memes, such as "practicing for two and a half years".

When a flower blooms in the ancestral land, a sea of ​​flowers will spring up throughout the myriad realms.

Expanding 'my' influence in the ancestral land is equivalent to indirectly increasing my personal presence and weight in all the heavens and myriad worlds.

"The current online sentiment is very negative. There are many people trying to stir up trouble by saying that you are using people to refine elixirs, spreading the so-called immortal path, and bestowing immortal fruits. It's like raising fish in a pond; once they're fattened up, you'll catch them and eat them."

A clear, cold female voice sounded behind Qiu Chuji, and then a blurry figure flashed to Qiu Chuji's left side in an instant.

As the fog dissipated, the blurry figure transformed into 'Xiaobai', whom Qiu Chuji recognized.

But she (he)? is not the real Xiaobai, but the 'Legend of the White Snake' story that is about to ascend to the Great Luo.

She was also a returning traveler this time, but she was not one of the other three Golden Immortals that Qiu Chuji had sensed before.

According to her previous statement, she is closer to becoming a great Bhikkhu Chuji. All she needs to do is stir up a wave of nostalgia for the Legend of the White Snake in her ancestral land. She doesn't even need to find a so-called divine position for herself to prove herself.

The reason they came to find Qiu Chuji was entirely because they had a relationship that could barely be considered a master-disciple bond.

Now, it is time to repay the debt of karma.

From this perspective, this seems to be part of the Old Man of the South Pole's plan.

'Xiaobai' can be considered his helper or protector.

"Say it! No need to pay attention!" Qiu Chuji didn't care.

As long as the influence spreads, the momentum is huge, and it generates buzz, it doesn't matter whether it's a good reputation or a bad reputation.

Because what he wants is not so-called 'faith'. Whether people believe in him or not is not important, but whether they know him and spread his message is very important.

Erlang Shen's reputation wasn't good for a time; in some older versions of the story of "Chenxiang Saving His Mother," he wasn't portrayed as a good person.

He has also made things difficult for Nezha and Sun Wukong, making him a typical villain in mythology.

Its reputation gradually turned around later.

From this perspective, it seems easier to spread one's reputation by becoming a well-known killing machine or demon.

However, this would cross a line, since the foundation for dissemination still requires people.

If the overall population of the ancestral land decreases too much, it will ultimately affect the benefits of everyone.

"You may not care about this news, but you will definitely be interested in another one."

“Some people have also taken the opportunity to claim the title of ‘Guardian Angel’ and are willing to accept public supervision to teach the art of health, wellness and even longevity from scratch, step by step, rather than trying to reach the sky in one step. This is more open, transparent and beneficial to the public,” said ‘Xiaobai’.

Qiu Chuji's expression immediately changed.

He doesn't care about his reputation; as long as it gets out, that's enough.

But he would never allow anyone to dig up the roots of his power.

The world is vast, and it may be able to accommodate two or even more 'guardians,' but this capacity will become blurred over time.

Until one day, the truth is confused, or even misattributed.

Qiu Chuji would never go through all that trouble to benefit someone else.

"Who is it?" Qiu Chuji asked this question while his primordial spirit had already swept out. He wasn't worried about running into the other three Golden Immortals, or other hidden experts of the same level.

Because the position of 'guardian deity' has a 'flaw', it currently only addresses people's survival issues and has no relation to destruction.

Even if someone of the same level sees through some of his future plans, it's better to directly vie for those popular god positions than to compete with him on a 'half-finished product'.

Those who resort to such opportunistic tactics are likely to be ambitious but lack sufficient confidence.

"Found it!" Before 'Little White' could answer, Qiu Chuji had already created several thought clones, tearing through space and heading straight for South Korea.

A 'battle of the gods' soon broke out in the skies over South Korea.

The sky was ablaze with color, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and the thunderous roar lasted for half an hour in a breathtaking manner.

Then, a hairless, scaleless, black and white dragon fell from the sky, its blood splattering across the river, but its head had already been removed.

The few South Koreans who had returned home fell silent as they looked at the half-destroyed dragon corpse that had sunk to the bottom of the river.

This is the best among them, comparable to the great immortal 'Wu Zhi Jun'. Just a few days ago, he was drinking with them with great ambition, planning to take over South Korea's huge and complex religious system and bring all those influential religious groups scattered overseas under his command to serve as his henchmen in expanding his influence.

Unexpectedly, the plan was never implemented before the proponent died.

Those returning from South Korea were unsure whether to feel sorrow or joy.

Less than ten minutes after the battle ended, Qiu Chuji revealed the temporarily sealed dragon head on various social media platforms, making it look like a work of art rather than a bloody and terrifying fresh dragon head.

Qiu Chuji then commented that the item could be exhibited in some museums, and no additional ticket fees would be charged.

South Korean netizens, upon receiving the news, were enraged and began launching a frenzied attack on Qiu Chuji.

They called him the most vicious executioner of the new century, a devil from the darkest hell, and the culprit who wreaked havoc on the world.

These slanders from South Korean netizens indirectly boosted Qiu Chuji's reputation in China and even in East Asia.

Within the 'returning home' circle, Qiu Chuji was even more infamous.

After all, this is the early stage of the struggle for the divine throne, and it is quite normal for people to collide with it.

Leaving aside the popular deities, even relatively unpopular but influential ones are coveted, and similar deities have been exposed in various countries.

Some people even secretly cause trouble.

Even if there is no corresponding returning person who needs a certain part of the divine position, they will temporarily fabricate a person to compete with others... in order to confuse the public and divert some of the public's attention.

Everyone's thoughts were clear: even if they hadn't gained an advantage, no one else should get ahead.

After all, winning hearts and minds is not about conquering territory step by step, but more like a snowball effect. Taking the lead at one step will lead you to take the lead at every step until you occupy the core.

Just like Iron Man was originally just a second-tier hero in Marvel, but after Iron Man opened up the world for Marvel, Iron Man gradually became the core in the world of movies, TV series, comics and so on.

The principle is the same!

This time, Qiu Chuji, due to the competition for the divine position, acted ruthlessly, tearing apart the surface of peace and restraint and cruelly revealing the bloody side of the situation.

After a brief silence, many returning residents expressed their dissatisfaction with Qiu Chuji's 'overbearing' attitude and wanted to unite to attack him.

······
In Pengcheng, at the Penguin Building, Qiu Chuji once again sought out Ma Liancheng.

In the quiet tea room, only the faint sound of a guqin from next door drifted in, while the wafting aroma of tea could not dispel the gradually tense atmosphere.

"You want me to help you spread your name and make you an enemy of all the gods?" Ma Liancheng looked at Qiu Chuji with a dark face, as if he couldn't understand how this person had the nerve to come to his door and make demands without paying any price.

"You've made your point very clearly, there seems to be nothing more to explain!" Qiu Chuji countered.

Ma Liancheng said, "If I help you, it's the same as publicly endorsing you. Nobody's a fool. Even if I portray you as the worst person, I'll still be labeled as someone who goes along with you. Those who target you might not be able to do anything to you, but how am I supposed to conduct myself? And what good would that do me?"

"Your ambition is great, but your strength is insufficient, so you used the Internet God as a transition, planning to directly tamper with some key information nodes in the later stages and steal other people's business results... Am I right?" Qiu Chuji's words revealed Ma Liancheng's hidden thoughts.

Ma Liancheng was shocked and spilled the teacup in his hand onto the table.

"The benefit I'm giving you is that I won't expose you!" Qiu Chuji said.

Ma Liancheng immediately flew into a rage: "Qiu Chuji... are you bullying me?"

"Yes! I bullied you!"

"What do you intend to do?" Qiu Chuji was very arrogant, showing no regard for Ma Liancheng whatsoever.

Ma Liancheng suddenly stood up, unable to restrain himself... He reached out and formed a hand seal, and a bloody light enveloped Qiu Chuji.

However, before the blood-red light could fully condense, it suddenly dissipated erratically, causing Ma Liancheng to suffer a backlash.

At that moment, Qiu Chuji suddenly lunged forward, and the Jade Void Bell appeared in his hand. It swayed above Ma Liancheng's head and emitted a clear chime.

Ma Liancheng's figure swayed, creating two overlapping images.

Qiu Chuji manipulated the five elements at his fingertips, creating a small, temporarily constructed world.

The small world descended, pulling out a superimposed image of Ma Liancheng and stuffing it into the small world.

Meanwhile, Ma Liancheng's remaining figure rapidly lost his aura, and in an instant, he was no different from an ordinary person. However, the expression on his face was excited, and his gaze towards Qiu Chuji was filled with deep gratitude.

"Thank you!"

"When did you find out?" Ma Liancheng asked.

Then he quickly added, "Actually, my name isn't Ma Liancheng, but Sun Yubai. You can call me Xiao Sun."

"At the beginning!" Qiu Chuji did not mention Nezha's reminder again.

Since Ma Liancheng initially chose to become the relatively safe "God of the Internet," it means that he has a rather conservative side. It is unreasonable for such a person to actively test or even spy on a "big shot" like Qiu Chuji.

In their ancestral land, they shared a common identity: time travelers returning home.

However, stripping away this facade, Qiu Chuji is a powerful Golden Immortal, while Sun Yubai (Ma Liancheng) is an 'ordinary' immortal who barely reaches the threshold of becoming a Great Immortal. The difference between the two is immeasurable.

On what basis did he test Qiu Chuji?
Based on the 'system' parasitizing him, Qiu Chuji knew his true intentions without much thought.

What appears to be a provocation is actually an attempt to demonstrate one's value and then use Qiu Chuji to extricate him from his predicament.

(End of this chapter)