Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 99 A problem with the temple? Then demolish it! [Thanks to Little Yellow Chicken for the patronage reward]

Did I see the Stone Fairy at night? Did Wang Lingguan leave his work unfinished?
It was already evening, Zhou Yi said:

"I'll pack my things and head to your village now. I should arrive around dark. Let's talk when we meet."

Since it's related to the Stone Fairy, we need to get deeply involved to see if it's her lingering spirit or if there's something else going on in Sanlizhuang Village.

Zhou Yi ate dinner in a hurry, and after the sun went down, he changed into a black Taoist robe, slung a cloth bag embroidered with the Tai Chi symbol over his shoulder, packed his compass and other items, and drove down the mountain to Sanlizhuang in Xiuchuan County.

When he passed by the highway project site, he saw that there were several small stalls selling braised food at the entrance, and the project staff in white shirts were gathered in twos and threes in front of the stalls, choosing what to eat.

Some people were carrying chilled beer they bought from town, looking like they were going to have a couple of drinks.

To be fair, there are advantages to having the project headquarters located in the town. At the very least, it can boost consumption and increase the income of the town's residents.

Upon arriving in the county town, Zhou Yi turned right onto the North Ring Road, followed the newly built outer ring road to the West Ring Road, and then entered the county town along the main road.

When you are almost at the center of the county town, turn south and walk through the high-rise residential area. You will then arrive at a village in the city with a strong sense of life.

There's an archway at the village entrance with the words "Sanlizhuang" written on it, giving it an antique feel. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was some kind of ancient cultural village.

The outside and inside of the village seem like two different worlds. Outside, there are clean and spacious streets and well-arranged modern residential areas; inside, there are crooked roads, and the residents on both sides of the road are racking their brains to expand outwards, so that the whole street is jagged and looks like a large sawtooth.

Following the navigation, Zhou Yi arrived at the village activity center and met Du Chunyi, the village head, who was waiting there.

Normally, the village head shouldn't be involved in this kind of thing, but recently there have been rumors that Sanlizhuang is going to be demolished. There were already rumors circulating in the village, and now someone is saying that when Shi Xiangu burned to death at home, the villagers didn't help her, and she wants to kill all the villagers to take revenge.

Such comments became more and more frequent, forcing Du Chunyi to take them seriously. He inquired about Feng Shui masters and ended up contacting Mao Cong, who promptly secured a business deal for Zhou Yi.

After meeting, Du Chunyi handed over an envelope as a prepayment.

After Zhou Yi accepted the gift, he began to inquire about the location and time of Shi Xiangu's appearance.

A villager, holding a tablet, pulled up a map of the entire village and pointed to a red dot on it, saying:
"It was right around here. Several people saw it and swore they weren't seeing things."

Zhou Yi pointed to the small red dot on the map and asked:
"This is where?"

"The house of the Stone Fairy is now a ruin. The village originally planned to clear it out, but now there are rumors and no one in the village dares to touch it, for fear of being entangled by the Stone Fairy."

Zhou Yi took out his compass and said:

"Take me to see it."

After saying that, he took the compass and began to test the energy field in the vicinity. The layout of the village was too complicated and the feng shui was chaotic. Before he even took a step, he detected several anomalies in the vicinity.

These abnormalities are generally precursors to the formation of evil spirits. They may not have any immediate impact, but after one or two years, they may develop into the most basic form of evil spirits, bringing misfortune and affecting physical health.

Du Chunyi talked about the demolition as he walked:
"If all goes well, there will be no Sanlizhuang Village next year, only Sanlizhuang Community. The county plans to demolish the whole place and build a shopping mall, and then move the People's Hospital here, making it more convenient to see a doctor in the future."

The current People's Hospital is rather cramped, with a small courtyard and only a few dozen parking spaces. It can't even accommodate the cars of medical staff, and conflicts often arise over parking.

If the space were moved out, the congestion on the main street of the county town would be greatly reduced.

As they walked and chatted, Zhou Yi noticed many unusual things along the way, but he didn't see any ghosts or evil spirits, and there wasn't even a trace of the Stone Fairy's soul.

The backlash from the curse was very powerful. In addition, Zhou Yi had invited Wang Lingguan to protect him at the time, so Shi Xiangu was most likely already dead. It was impossible to let her stay in Sanlizhuang and act like a tyrant.

Arriving at the entrance of the alley where Shi Xiangu lived, Zhou Yi noticed the earth god temple occupying half of the intersection:
"Why is this temple being built on the road?"

Du Chunyi said:
“The village’s land temple was too dilapidated, so Shi Xiangu paid for a new one herself, which occupied the public road. We told her several times, but she never changed it.”

Another villager who had followed said:
"Last time there was a fire, it was this temple that blocked the fire trucks. If they could have gotten in, Shi Xiangu's house wouldn't have been burned to ruins."

Zhou Yi shook his head as he listened. Occupying public land might seem like taking advantage of the neighbors, but it actually blocked his own path to survival... The Buddhist saying that every bite and sip is preordained is indeed true.

Just as he was about to step into the alley, he looked down and realized that the compass needle was pointing straight at the Earth God Temple. After he moved the position, the needle moved with him, but the target remained unchanged: the Earth God Temple.

Holy crap, is there something dirty here?
Zhou Yi looked at Du Chunyi and asked:
"Does any of you have the key to this earth god temple?"

Du Chunyi looked at the villager, then opened the Sanlizhuang Village Committee's work group and asked, before saying:

“This temple is usually managed by the Stone Fairy. She would bring people in to burn incense on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. She always had the key, but now it is probably lost.”

Zhou Yi tested the compass through the door again, then took out a talisman to ward off evil and stuck it on the door.

Just as they were about to ask Du Chunyi to call a locksmith, the talisman on the door suddenly burst into flames, startling Du Chunyi and the villagers who had come with him.

It seems the Stone Fairy has some schemes planned within the Earth God Temple… Zhou Yi calmly took out the coin sword from his cloth bag, and obliquely wedged it into the crack in the door. The temple door shook slightly, then fell silent, and the compass needle returned to normal. Zhou Yi said:

"Village chief, call a locksmith to open this lock. There's something evil in this temple."

He touched the money sword; it was slightly hot to the touch, indicating that the evil spirit inside was quite powerful, at least a step stronger than the Thai evil spirit possessing Nan Nan.

To be honest, this thing is actually quite effective at keeping warm in the dead of winter. My grandpa's friend who relies on evil spirits for warmth is quite the genius!

There are several locksmiths in the village, but when they heard that they were going to open the small temple built by the Stone Fairy, they immediately backed out. There have been rumors circulating these past few days, and no one wants to be associated with a dead person.

Zhou Yi said with a smile:

"The people in your village are quite cautious. Here, give me an axe, and I'll tear this door down."

The Stone Fairy is dead. The small temple that is encroaching on the road should be restored to its original state, or even demolished. The signal from the evil spirits is so strong that there is no need to keep it.

Du Chunyi opened a nearby fire cabinet and took out a fire axe:

"Master Zhou, it's so late at night, why don't we do it tomorrow?"

Zhou Yi took the fire axe into his hands, and his blood began to surge:
"During the day, the evil spirits might hide, so it's better at night. You guys stay away, I'll break down the door!"

He took out a stack of talismans from his bag and began sticking them on the doors and windows, even stuffing one into the mouths of the two stone lions at the temple entrance.

After all the preparations were completed, Zhou Yi grabbed the fire axe with both hands, swung it around, and chopped it forward. The thick wooden door trembled and kicked up a lot of dust.

Du Chunyi was startled:
"Goodness gracious, you monk are quite energetic."

Zhou Yi swung his axe again and smashed it against the door:

"How can a monk smash the heads of demons and monsters without good health?"

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that they were in the village, and the village chief wasn't there, Zhou Yi would have used lightning strikes to retaliate as soon as the talisman started burning.

How dare this little evil spirit burn the Taoist priest's talismans! It's asking for trouble!
If it were daytime, Zhou Yi might not be so violent, but now it's night, and he's wearing a black Taoist robe, so his behavior is noticeably more bloodthirsty.

He swung his axe, chopping again and again at the temple gate:
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

At the same time, in the Taiji Palace of the Great Tang Zhenguan World, on the city tower of Chengtian Gate, several shirtless imperial guards were hammering a piece of wood.

Several pits were dug on the city wall, and a piece of wood as thick as a waist was planted in each pit. A U-shaped notch was carved out at the top of the wood, with a hole on each side.

Once the trees were completely planted, several soldiers carried a wooden pole that was more than ten meters long and thicker than a bowl.

One end of the wooden pole was suspended by an oversized remote-controlled searchlight brought by Wu Zetian, while the other end was reinforced with several iron bars.

Everyone carried the long log, carefully placed it into the slot of the stake, and then inserted a wooden pin as thick as an arm, thus fixing the long log to the stake.

Then they moved the stones they had prepared in advance to weigh down the end of the long pole, and the long pole with the searchlight hanging from it extended diagonally out of the city gate.

Li Shimin watched this scene with great interest, took out the remote control for the searchlight from his pocket, pressed it lightly, and the searchlight immediately emitted a bright light like daytime.

The Imperial Guards and Feathered Forest Army inside and outside the city gate had never seen such a miracle before. They all knelt on one knee in awe and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

Li Shimin looked up at the searchlight and exclaimed in admiration:
"The study of natural phenomena has actually led to the discovery of this object! Now, the people and soldiers of our Great Tang Dynasty have a goal to strive for!"

As long as the books bestowed by the immortals contain this knowledge, with the wisdom of the Tang people, they will surely be able to create such divine objects by studying them generation after generation.

Crown Prince Li Zhi and Prince Wu Li Ke, who were by his side, spoke auspicious words of divine blessing upon the Tang Dynasty, praising their father's civil and military achievements. Li Ke even urged his father to compose a poem on the spot, but Li Shimin refused.
"Ke'er, are you prepared to hunt for the rest of your life?"

These words left Prince Li Ke of Wu somewhat bewildered. He hadn't done anything to anger his father recently, so why did he seem to be giving him a dressing down again?

Adhering to the principle of apologizing before anything else, he bowed and saluted, but before he could remember to apologize, Li Shimin spoke first:

"South of Jiaozhi, near the equator, there is a plain with hundreds of millions of acres of fertile land, later known as the Mekong River Plain. Here, it is summer all year round, and rice can be harvested three times a year... Would Ke'er be interested in going there to be king?"

Li Ke's words of apology were already on the tip of his tongue, but he almost threw his back out at his father's words:
"Father, are you sending your son to expand the borders?"

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I caught a cold today and was planning to update twice, but a reader named [Little Yellow Chicken] gave me a patronage award today, so even with an IV drip, I had to add an extra chapter to express my gratitude… Brothers, what are your requirements for update times? Midnight? Noon? One update in the morning and one in the evening? Which update method do you all think is better?
(End of this chapter)