Sword from the Immortal Mountain

Chapter 69: Anger and Humiliation
There are many thunderstorms in summer.

When I went out in the morning, the weather was fine, but after noon, dark clouds rolled in from the sky, and soon they piled up. Then there was a loud thunder, and raindrops as big as beans fell down.

Taoist Yun Cheng doesn't mind rain, but he hates thunder.

Thunder in all four seasons, whether in spring or summer, would cause a kind of shock to Shinto monks, making them feel uncomfortable and affecting the magic they had learned, making it difficult to perform.

Perhaps, only those practitioners who specialize in Xuanmen thunder magic will like thunder and lightning.

It is said that those Xuanmen orthodox methods are the inheritance of the immortal way, but now, due to certain reasons, they have become weak and have long since fallen into decline.

What followed was the rise of incense and Shintoism, as well as a variety of evil sorcery.

Whether it is divine magic or evil magic, there are no high requirements for a person's aptitude. The main thing is to visualize and worship ghosts and gods, and it is possible to obtain the blessing of the power of ghosts and gods, and thus obtain all kinds of extraordinary powers.

Inviting gods, using a planchette, going out to perform rituals, and using witchcraft to cast spells...

This is true.

The prosperity of Shinto led to the prevalence of monsters and demons everywhere.

They appeared one after another, competing for incense and offerings, and even usurped the orthodox positions of gods and replaced them, such as mountain gods, river gods, community gods, etc.

I heard that in some more chaotic places, even the City God and the Kitchen God have had their skins replaced and their hearts ripped out, transforming into brutal and vicious evil beings that suck the marrow out of people's bones.

It is God and it is also the devil, with the same face but two different looks.

In comparison, Genshui County is considered peaceful.

On the one hand, the county officials were fairly decent;

On the other hand, due to the existence of Yunshan Temple, the five internal organs gods suppressed the development of other ghosts and gods and maintained the basic order.

However, in recent years, this order has been constantly challenged and disrupted.

The most typical situation today is the "invasion" of the Ghost Cult.

The Ghost Spirit Cult belongs to the "left path".

Although unorthodox methods are often discussed together, there are actually huge differences between them and they are not the same thing.

Compared with the unorthodox methods and ways of doing things, the unorthodox techniques have almost no bottom line and they will do anything to achieve their goals.

So they develop quickly, like a flood, spreading all at once.

Taoist Yun Cheng was quite worried about this, and he went to see Magistrate Song and the wealthy families in the county. He wanted to rely on the power of the government and unite everyone to drive out the Ghost Cult.

But the effect is not good.

Since the Ghost Spirit Cult held a Shinto license and had someone behind it, the county government could do nothing;
As for the wealthy and powerful families, they were either deceived or attracted by the magic of the Ghost Cult and ignored Yun Cheng's reminders and warnings.

Some even thought that Yunshanguan was not as skilled as others and could not defeat the Ghost Spirit Cult, so they came to them for help.

But in such a Shinto dispute, the gentry and local tyrants would never intervene and take sides. If you offend the vicious Ghost Spirit Sect, you will end up in a miserable situation, and neither the government office nor Yunshan Temple can protect you.

The abbot of Yunshan Temple has long claimed to the public that he was in seclusion and practicing hard, but rumors have long been circulating that something went wrong with his practice and that he might not live long.

If the abbot really died, the huge Yunshan Temple would become a coveted piece of fat meat.

Taoist Yun Cheng denied all these claims.

But it is undeniable that the true body of the master of the temple has not appeared in front of people for a long time.

The last time his sedan chair went to Chenze Township, it caused some speculation and response, but it quickly disappeared.

During the New Year period, the rumors became more intense, and some even said that the master of the temple was about to die.

There is no smoke without fire. Some of the rumors came from the mouths of some Taoists affiliated with Yunshan Temple. They took private jobs to make quick money and were affected by the Chu Hong incident. After the incident was exposed, they were expelled from Yuncheng and driven out of Yunshan.

So he held a grudge and went outside, constantly speaking ill of Yunshan Temple. Yunshan Temple looked at the beautiful scenery, but in fact it was facing a lot of troubles.

However, Taoist Yun Cheng knew his master's personality. He hated these mundane affairs the most. Besides, there were indeed problems with his cultivation, so it was not appropriate to disturb him.

Therefore, Yun Cheng did not tell many things in front of his master and only reported some situations about the Ghost Spirit Cult.

As the eldest disciple and the abbot of the Taoist temple, what is the point if I cannot share the worries of my master?
He had long wanted to find the people from the Ghost Spirit Cult to see if they could resolve the conflicts between them through peace talks.

At the very least, we should make the other party behave better and abide by the rules.

Now, there is a new Supreme Guest in the Taoist temple. Although his origin is mysterious and his whereabouts are unknown, it can be seen from the master's attitude that he must be a capable person.

Otherwise, given the master's temperament, even if he invited a guest to serve him, he would definitely not add the word "Taishang" to it.

How could a person who could gain the respect of the master be an ordinary person?
Therefore, when Yun Cheng heard that Chen Jin was also going to get involved in the Ghost Spirit Cult's affairs, he felt happy. He took the opportunity to do this and resolve the Ghost Spirit Cult's affairs.

But after coming down the mountain, I walked in the countryside and then went into the county town to investigate. I found that the atmosphere was not right. Many families were actually worshiping statues of ghosts and gods.

The Five Internal Organs Religion is called a "religion", but its form has always been loose, and there is no unified and strict doctrine. It will not actively preach and recruit believers.

Only those who practiced the "Five Internal Organs Divine Law" were considered members of the sect.

But the Ghost Spirit Cult's approach is obviously different. They collect offerings from every household.

Is it okay to keep going like this?
Taoist Yun Cheng felt angry.

But what made him even more angry was that when he entered Genshui County and came to the gate of the Zhao family's mansion, the doorman informed him and let him in. The master of the Zhao family who met him seemed enthusiastic, but soon said that he might send his youngest son Zhao Tianci to Beijing to study in the Imperial Academy, so he wanted Taoist Yuncheng to take the initiative to cancel his status as a "registered disciple."

Yun Cheng sneered when he heard it.

With Zhao Tianci's personality, how could he be willing to enter the Imperial College?

Even if you are planning to be a donor, it won't be so sudden.

You know, it has only been a few days since he accepted Zhao Tianci as his registered disciple?
In fact, before accepting it, Yun Cheng only agreed after the Zhao family begged him several times.

This is because the master once said that it is fine to do business while performing rituals for wealthy families, but one should not have too deep dealings, especially with those powerful families.

It is easy to get confused and cause and effect are difficult to understand.

But in order to win over the camp and fight against the Ghost Cult together, Yun Cheng finally agreed to accept Zhao Tianci.

A registered disciple is also considered a disciple.

If Zhao Tianci can endure hardship and loneliness, the Taoist will still teach him his magic.

However, I didn't expect that after this visit, the Zhao family changed their mind and wanted to dissolve the official relationship between the two families.

For the Taoist, this not only makes him angry, but also makes him feel humiliated.

He sneered: "In that case, have you made your decision?"

Master Zhao coughed dryly and said, "The last time Tianci went up the mountain to worship a master, he said that he was angry when he saw a girl whose origins he didn't know worshipped the master of the temple as his master. Immortal Yuncheng, if this matter gets out, my Zhao family will lose face and almost become a joke."

Hearing about the master, Taoist Yun Cheng stood up suddenly and said loudly: "Don't say that. Since the young master doesn't want to recognize me as his master, then forget it."

He left with the Taoist boy.

In the hall, Butler Zhao came out and asked in a low voice, "Master, do you want me to catch up with him?"

Mr. Zhao drank his tea leisurely, "No need. The Ghost Spirit Cult has already agreed to perform a ritual for Tianci and refine a scapegoat. In that case, why bother holding on to Yunshan Temple? Besides, no matter what choice we make, the Ghost Spirit Cult or Yunshan Temple, they dare not really do anything."

The imperial concubine is favored and is a member of the royal family. She is already high and mighty. In the county, who is she afraid of?

(End of this chapter)