The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 71 The Devil is One Foot Higher (Subscribe)
When Wang Wen brought Xu Ergou back to the city, he saw black smoke all over the city like smog, and ashes floating in the sky like light snow.

Countless civilians, their hands and faces blackened, wandered through the ashes like the walking dead. Low sobs and chest-beating wails echoed through the haze.

"How miserable!"

Xu Ergou looked away with a sympathetic look, and whispered in a daze, "The family business accumulated by generations was all gone overnight..."

He was born and raised in Yangzhou, so when he saw such a scene, he naturally felt the same way.

To be honest, this guy just looks a little fierce, but he has a decent heart...

"Don't think too much, bro."

Wang Wen glanced at him and, in a rare soft and gentle voice, consoled him: "As the old saying goes: 'You wear pants that fit your butt.' You're not Guanyin Bodhisattva. You're just a pathetic, weak soldier with no real skills. Let's not take all the responsibility on ourselves. You don't have that much brain!"

He has no psychological barriers. This result is the best result he has ever gotten by risking his life.

He feels at ease!
"I know, our brothers have all tried their best and fulfilled their duties..."

Xu Ergou scratched his head vigorously, his eyes dim as he whispered, "It's just that, if I don't see these things, it's not a big deal, but once I see them, my heart is blocked...Brother, do you think if we can get rid of those White Lotus sect monsters sooner, can we avoid this disaster?"

"Maybe, maybe not..."

Wang Wen had really thought about this: "We are smart, and those evil people in the White Lotus Sect are not stupid. They will not watch us come to their door and raid their lair."

"If it's really like what you said, and we find them in advance, they might release the evil spirit in advance and die with us..."

"If that were the case, who knows how many people would die in this city."

"Brother, this is the best result we can get."

Xu Ergou thought about it and felt that what he said made sense. He nodded heavily in self-consolation: "Brother, you are right. This is the best result we can strive for!"

Wang Wen didn't want to argue with him on this issue, so he changed the subject and asked, "By the way, how's things going at home?"

Xu Ergou glanced at him and said, "Don't you know how far the gang is from the government office? They're all gone! The Sanhe Gang's gang is farther away, and that place didn't catch fire. I think they'll have to stay there first."

"Grass!"

Wang Wen was speechless and said, "What about the government office? It's not close to the government office, right?"

Xu Ergou: "It's also on fire, but I heard it's only half burned..."

Wang Wen's eyes lit up, and just as he was about to speak, Xu Ergou said with a gloating smile, "You guessed it right, it's the back half that was burned."

Wang Wen: "What the hell? What about Lichunyuan? Is there a fire over there?"

Xu Ergou: "What are you dreaming of? Don't you know how densely packed the houses are in Caoshi? That's the cleanest burnt area in the city."

Wang Wen: "Fuck you!"

The two brothers talked as they walked through the vast area of ​​smoky and burning ruins and returned to the Dusi Tianjian Yamen.

The situation inside the government office was exactly as Xu Ergou had described. The parade ground, the main hall, and the government office in the front were still there, and the official residence in the back was still smoking...

Not long after, Wang Wen saw Taoist Ji Liang talking with Zhao Zhiling and others in the lobby.

It had been who knows how long since the old Taoist priest had washed. His robe was dirty and shiny black, his hair and beard were a mess, and his face was covered in red and black patches.

If he hadn't been sitting in the upper right chair, Wang Wen would have almost failed to recognize him.

"Erhu is here."

As soon as Wang Wen stepped into the lobby, Zhao Zhiling, who was standing above him, waved at him with a friendly expression: "Hurry up and take a seat. We've been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."

Wang Wen perfunctorily cupped his fists in his honor. He glanced at the pale and clean-shaven monk Shou'an, who sat to his left, and then, with a look of shock on his face, cupped his fists towards the Taoist priest Ji Liang and said, "Master, it's only been half a month. How did you become like this?"

"That's a long story!"

The old Taoist priest smiled wryly, smoothing down his unkempt beard. Then, with undisguised approval and satisfaction, he nodded at him and said, "I've just heard from Lord Zhao and Lord Cheng about your recent actions... You've done very well. I wasn't wrong about you!"

Wang Wen puffed out his chest and said, "Of course not! Lord Zhao has already sent the document promoting me to Shaoqiu official back to the capital!"

"Master, take a look..."

Zhao Zhiling pointed at Wang Wen with a helpless look on his face and said to Ji Liang, "I told you that this guy would come back and criticize me if I said three wrong things, but you still refused to believe me. I haven't said a single word yet!"

The old Taoist stroked his beard, smiled, and nodded, saying, "I think Your Excellency should be delighted to have such a lucky general."

Zhao Zhiling almost rolled his eyes: "As long as he doesn't squeeze me, I'll be thankful!"

"laugh……"

Cheng Xian almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

Li Heng tried to hold back, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching...

Wang Wen looked at Zhao Zhiling, who was acting like a spoiled brat after getting the upper hand. The words that were about to come out of his mouth were swallowed back by him.

How clever is he?
Can't you tell that the atmosphere in the lobby this time is very different from before?
In the past, this group of people were quite kind to him, but that kindness was full of politeness and calculation.

To put it bluntly, this group of people never treated Wang Wen as one of their own.

But now, this group of people were not as polite to him as before, but this impoliteness revealed a sense of harmony and casualness.

It seems like they are starting to treat Wang Wen as their own...

Of course, he didn't want to put his warm face on someone else's cold butt, but everyone worked together and saw each other every day. If the relationship became too stiff, it would be frustrating for him.

So, he just pretended not to see Zhao Zhiling's smug look...

"Master Ji, can we talk about business first?"

He sat down on his chair, his eyes once again casually sweeping over the smiling monk Shou'an. "I have a lot to do. If there's nothing important to do, I'll leave first."

Cheng Xian slapped him on the shoulder vigorously, expressing his dissatisfaction with him: "If you hadn't interrupted us, we would have almost reached a conclusion..."

Wang Wen ignored him.

"Then let's get down to business first."

Taoist Priest Ji Liang took a deep breath and gathered himself together. “I rushed back to Yangzhou overnight for two matters.” “The first is the evil spirit in the government office. You all have already dealt with that matter, so let’s not discuss it for now.”

"The second thing is to ask for help from the masters on behalf of Maoshan..."

Wang Wen subconsciously glanced around and saw that everyone's reaction was indifferent. He knew that they had already discussed it before he came.

As expected, Taoist Ji Liang continued, "Erhu, you still don't know. The White Lotus Sect has set up the 'Ten Perfect Heaven-Mending Formation' on Mount Huangshan to replace the underworld with the 'True Vacuum Homeland' in their doctrine..."

"Please wait a moment!"

Wang Wen triggered the key words and immediately became extremely alert: "'Ten Perfect Heaven-Mending Formation'? Huangshan? Zhenkong's hometown? The underworld? How did these completely unrelated things come together?"

The other people in the hall also cast puzzled glances, and it was obvious that they hadn't figured it out yet.

Taoist Ji Liang pondered for a moment and then said, "Have you ever heard of the Lord of Mount Tai?"

When the people in the hall heard this, some were confused, some seemed to understand, and some seemed to be lost in thought...

Finally, Zhao Zhiling spoke up, "Master, are you talking about the legendary Taishan God who commands the Five Mountains and controls the underworld?"

Wang Wen suddenly raised his eyes and thought, "Is this really the Lord of Mount Tai from the myth?"

"Master Zhao is well-informed and knowledgeable. I admire him greatly!"

Taoist Ji Liang first praised Zhao Zhiling, then nodded affirmatively and said, "The Lord of Mount Tai is one of the oldest gods recorded in the many classics of Taoism. He is the Emperor of Mount Tai in Heaven, the God of Mount Tai, and the ruler of the underworld. According to legends passed down by the elders, his Taoist temple is located at the foot of Mount Tai..."

"The White Lotus Sect wishes to emulate the Lord of Mount Tai, who used Mount Tai to govern the Netherworld. They intend to use Mount Huang as their monastery, transform the Ten Prefectures of Jiangnan into the Ten Palaces of the Netherworld, and develop a True Vacuum Homeland to replace the Netherworld."

Wang Wen understood at first, but when Taoist Ji Liang summarized it, he was confused again and waved his hands to stop. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. If the White Lotus Sect wants to emulate the Lord of Mount Tai, then they should set up their formation on Mount Tai. Why did they go to Mount Huang? And the ten cities in Jiangnan you mentioned, aren't you referring to those altars? Are the evil spirits in the government office trained in the manner of the Ten Kings of Hell?"

"Fuck, is this such a big deal?"

He was shocked.

"Erhu is truly gifted and clever. He can draw inferences about other situations from just a few words."

Taoist Ji Liang stroked his beard and nodded approvingly, saying, "The 'Ten Halls of Hell' I'm referring to are the ten altars set up by the White Lotus Cult in various prefectures across Jiangnan. The evil spirits enshrined at these ten altars, if you insist on saying they're trying to replace the Ten Halls of Hell, that's a bit of a compliment. However, based on the clues I've gathered so far at Maoshan, the offerings at these altars are at least at the same level as those to the City God."

"As for why it's Huangshan and not Mount Tai..."

He suddenly smiled with some contempt: "Didn't I already say that Mount Tai is the Taoist temple of the Lord of Mount Tai? Even if those White Lotus Sect demons had two more courages, they would never dare to desecrate Mount Tai in the slightest!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute..."

Wang Wen waved his hands again and again, his features almost scrunched up. "Why am I getting more and more confused the more I listen? The White Lotus Sect dared to use someone else's body to evolve the underworld, and they're still afraid of desecrating Mount Tai? So desecrating the Taishan Lord's temple is more serious than robbing him of his kingdom? This doesn't make sense!"

Cheng Xian, also confused, echoed, "Yeah, that doesn't make sense!"

Although Zhao Zhiling and Li Heng didn't say anything, the look in their eyes when they looked at Ji Liang Laodao clearly showed the same meaning.

Among all the people present, only the great monk Shou'an sat on the Diaoyutai with a smile on his face, and never uttered a word.

But when Taoist Ji Liang heard Wang Wen's question, he just looked at the big monk.

Master Shouan still didn't say anything, but just smiled and stretched out his hand to make a "please" gesture.

Taoist Ji Liang hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "Originally, this matter involved a secret from the outside world, but now that things have come to this, there's nothing to hide... What do you all think, do immortals exist in this world?"

Upon hearing this, the four people in the hall all looked thoughtful and hesitant.

They want to say yes, after all, even monsters and demons that only exist in myths and legends are now popping up and committing crimes everywhere. It would be abnormal if there were no gods.

But then they thought, if there are gods in this world... then how can demons and monsters commit crimes everywhere? Do they just not care?
This is very contradictory.

Taoist Ji Liang saw their contradiction and continued, "I can tell you with certainty that in the past, there were gods and immortals in this world, and cultivators like us could ascend to heaven and descend to the underworld. However, for some reason, the gods and immortals left this world, and the connection between heaven, the underworld, and the human world was severed..."

"There are clear records in the handwritten notes of our ancestors in Maoshan. In the past, our ancestors who ascended to the heavens often came down to the mortal world to guide their disciples. At that time, our Maoshan disciples who were out there upholding justice and warding off evil and encountered danger could even fly up to the heavens with a yellow talisman and ask the ancestors who worked in the Thunder Department of the Heavenly Court to send down thunder to save them from trouble!"

Wang Wen instantly grasped the key words again: "Before? How long ago?"

Taoist Ji Liang answered without hesitation: "Three hundred and seventy-one years ago."

Wang Wen was shocked again: "Is it so accurate? Even with decimals and integers?"

Taoist Ji Liang smiled and said, "This time is easy to remember. That year is exactly..."

Zhao Zhiling interjected, "The fourteenth year of the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, the year when the An-Shi Rebellion began?"

Wang Wen turned around in astonishment and asked, "Can you even calculate this?"

Zhao Zhiling suppressed the tactical stroking of his beard in triumph, and with a raised corner of his mouth, he glanced at him with disdain: "Read more when you have time!"

Wang Wen: …

Taoist Ji Liang clapped his hands in admiration, saying, "Your Excellency is indeed worthy of being from the Hanlin Academy... It is indeed the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty, the beginning of the An-Shi Rebellion."

Zhao Zhiling waved his hand to indicate that it was not worth mentioning, but the smile on the corner of his mouth was harder to suppress than AK.

Wang Wen said inwardly, "Fuck!" and said in disbelief, "You're not telling me that the An Lushan Rebellion is related to the gods leaving this world, are you?"

"That's true!"

Taoist Ji Liang nodded solemnly at his incredulous gaze. "The Li family of the Tang Dynasty worshipped the Taoist ancestor as their founding ancestor and established Taoism as the state religion. If the immortals and gods had not withdrawn from this world, how could a mere military governor shake the destiny of the Tang Dynasty?"

Wang Wen was stunned for a long time before he gave the old Taoist a thumbs-up with sincere admiration: "You understand history!"

The old Taoist thought he was really praising himself, and stroking his beard modestly, he said, "If you read more books, you can also be as knowledgeable as this poor Taoist."

Wang Wen couldn't bring himself to complain, so he could only change the subject back on track: "What you're saying is that the White Lotus Sect wanted to emulate the Lord of Mount Tai, but they were afraid of the return of the immortals and their subsequent vengeance, so they didn't dare to establish their presence on Mount Tai and instead went to Mount Huang, right?"

The old Taoist nodded, then added solemnly, "That's more or less what I mean... Mount Tai is the most revered of the Five Sacred Mountains, and Mount Huang is the most revered of the Three. In terms of status, spiritual energy, and even popularity, it's only a hair's breadth behind the Five Sacred Mountains. If no one interferes, the White Lotus Cult might actually be able to resurrect, using their homeland of the Vacuum to transform into the underworld, and control the reincarnation of all the prefectures in Jianghuai."

"Once the matter is settled, even if the imperial court hates the White Lotus Sect to the core and all the civil and military officials want to eliminate them as soon as possible, I'm afraid it will be powerless to reverse the situation!"

"I'm... "

Wang Wen realized it belatedly and complained in his heart: "No wonder he generously gave me 500 Yin De just for knocking over that altar. It turns out that what I knocked over was not the altar, but the banner of rebellion against the king!"

(End of this chapter)