Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 304 The Mastermind (Part 2)

When the three arrived in Da Changhe Kingdom, only a day had passed.

But in just one day, Tang Zhongfu delivered the latest news: the second prince of Da Changhe Kingdom had also died.

"In this Great Changhe Kingdom, are there any other members of the royal family?"

Zhang Chengdao genuinely didn't want to expand the "territory" of the White Stone Immortal Sect any further. He already had to painstakingly reorganize the area left behind by the Later Zhou Kingdom, and adding another ethnic minority settlement would be too much work.
When Tang Zhongfu saw such a white-haired, youthful-looking immortal for the first time, he held his breath for a while before coming to his senses. He then hurriedly and respectfully replied, "There are no adult males left... but there is still a princess who is fleeing eastward with the remaining eight thousand elite imperial guards. It is said that she plans to enter the Southern Chu Kingdom through Jiannan Road to seek help."

Zhang Chengdao had seen the map before he arrived, so he had some understanding of the administrative divisions of the Great Changhe Kingdom. He asked, "Is this Jiannan Circuit?"

Tang Zhongfu hesitated before replying, "Indeed, I'm just hesitating about whether to let her in. After all, once we take in the Princess, the Bai tribe will turn their attention to Jiannan Circuit..."

"Take them in, treat them to good food and drink. With Immortal Bai Shi here, what are you afraid of from the Bai tribe?"

The one who suddenly spoke up was Tang Chi, the head of the Tang Clan. This shrewd old man in his sixties immediately saw through Zhang Chengdao's thoughts and said with a smile, "As long as the Dong family still has people, that's fine. That Princess is also a remarkable person. Our Great Changhe Kingdom doesn't have the Central Plains people's habit of looking down on women. When the time comes, we can let the Princess ascend the throne and govern the Great Changhe Kingdom, right? The most urgent matter is dealing with this 'Three Altar God' matter. Forgive my bluntness, but this 'Three Altar God' may not be the same 'Three Altar God' as before. It might be something impersonating it!"

He Yu nodded: "What Sect Leader Tang said is very true. The most urgent task is to find out where the 'Three Altars God' is hiding."

Every cultivator must have a place to hide, unless they disintegrate like him, leaving only a soul.

Even if it is just a soul, it still needs a place to reside, such as a clay statue in a temple.

If all the clay statues in the Qin King Temple were destroyed, then no matter how powerful He Yu was, he would be severely weakened and reduced to an ordinary wandering ghost, only able to reside in ordinary places with abundant yin energy.

If they are found by then, they will be completely finished.

For cultivators who still retain their physical bodies, they are even more hesitant to act rashly. They often have a safer place to hide. Since the spiritual energy in this world is so thin that it is difficult to open up a small cave world, they can't even open up a small cave world to hide in.

Tang Xiaoyu had only been practicing the immortal path for a short time and didn't know much about common knowledge. Hearing He Yu's words, she asked curiously, "None of us have ever seen that thing before, how are we going to find it?"

He Yu said in a deep voice, "As long as he is in this world, we will definitely be able to find him!"

As he spoke, he turned to Tang Zhongfu and Tang Chi beside him and asked, "Do you have a shrine for worshipping the 'Three Altars Gods'? It would be best if you had the shrine with the stone slab you received during your worship!"

Tang Zhongfu hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, it's in the Three Altars Temple in Yizhou City, but it's still over four hundred li from here..."

"It's alright, we'll arrive in no time by taking the Yellow Springs Road to the Underworld!"

As He Yu spoke, his spiritual energy suddenly burst forth, forming a huge vortex of spiritual energy. Then, the surroundings darkened considerably, and the surrounding scenery distorted, looking eerie and ghostly.

Then, everyone felt dizzy and disoriented. The world suddenly reversed, and the original Tangjiabao appeared above them. The entire Yuzhou was also upside down in the sky. Under their feet was a reddish-brown dirt road. The surrounding area was desolate, with a faint gray mist floating around, making it impossible to see anything.

Looking further ahead and behind the dirt road, it seemed endless, with no end in sight.

Not to mention Tang Zhongfu and Tang Chi, even Tang Xiaoyu was visiting the "Yin Realm" for the first time. She was infected by the ghostly and yin energy of this place and felt a little trembling.

However, Tang Xiaoyu had some cultivation, so she quickly adapted to the aura of the Underworld and asked in a low voice, "I heard that the 'Underworld' was newly established by Master and you, King Qin. Does it even cover the Great Changhe Kingdom?"

Zhang Chengdao had been cramming on knowledge about the underworld these past few days, and upon hearing this, he immediately replied with a smile: "Hehehe, the 'underworld' is a world attached to heaven and earth, and it is the counterpart to the mortal world. The mortal world is as vast as the underworld is, and there is nothing it cannot reach. It is not just the Great Changhe Kingdom, but also the Southern Chu Kingdom, the Northern Xiao Kingdom, and even the Western Jinsha Kingdom, all of which have corresponding places in the underworld. There is no such thing as 'covering' them."

Tang Xiaoyu's eyes widened: "I see, so that means that after everyone dies, they all come under the Qin King's control?"

Zhang Chengdao and several of his close disciples have mentioned that the King of Qin is the "King Yama" of the underworld. This statement is not only to make it easier for He Yu to manage the underworld in the future, but also to indirectly increase the "authority" of the "King of Qin" belief, so that it can receive more incense offerings.

Tang Xiaoyu asked this question precisely because she knew some inside information but not all the details.

Zhang Chengdao replied again: "That's true, but the land of Jinsha Kingdom is too far away, and the spiritual energy hasn't reached there. So when people there die, it's difficult for them to become 'ghosts'. Even if Fellow Daoist He wanted to manage it, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to do so!"

He Yu was finally able to let Tang Xiaoyu's sudden thought interrupt his vexation. He came back to his senses and said to Zhang Chengdao, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, please don't say that. Right now, I'm really short-handed. I can barely manage the White Stone Mountain area. How can I possibly care about the Golden Sand Kingdom!"

Zhang Chengdao laughed and said, "Hahaha, it was only a matter of time..."

Led by He Yu, the group walked along the Yellow Springs Road for only a short while before the scenery above them changed, transforming into a very prosperous city – Yizhou City.

"arrive."

After the scenery above changed, He Yu stopped walking.

He spoke softly, releasing his magic once more. The world reversed, the surrounding light brightened, and in a flash, they were at the gates of Yizhou City. The sudden appearance of the five startled the soldiers guarding the city.

Fortunately, the soldiers guarding the city recognized Tang Zhongfu. Without pondering why their military governor had suddenly appeared, they quickly and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

"No need to be polite."

Upon arriving in Yizhou City, they were essentially at Tang Zhongfu's headquarters. He waved to the gatekeeper, casually said something, and then quickly took a few steps to lead the way, saying, "Esteemed immortals and seniors, please follow me. The Three Altars Temple is located in the west of Yizhou City, not far from here!"

The group followed Tang Zhongfu and indeed, after walking for less than half an incense stick's time, they saw the temple in the distance.

The Three Altars Gods are very influential in the Yunnan-Yunnan region, but in the Sichuan-Chongqing region, they are not as influential as the Qin King worship. Therefore, the Three Altars Gods temples are not very large, even smaller than the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple in the "novice village" of the "Immortal Destiny Assembly" that Zhang Chengdao created at the foot of Baishi Mountain.

The temple keeper was an elderly woman. When she saw the five people hurrying towards her, she revealed a set of yellowed teeth, squinted her eyes, and bowed very respectfully to Tang Zhongfu: "Greetings, Lord Tang."

Tang Zhongfu nodded casually, then introduced He Yu, Zhang Chengdao and the others with a somewhat nervous expression: "These are our own people. All of you immortals are welcome to inspect these three altars and temples to see if there is anything amiss."

"Yes, something is definitely not right."

He Yu raised his hand and made a grasping motion. A thin, black, smoke-like line emerged from the central altar of the three statues of the Three Altar Gods.

This black line is more like a line of black mist, intermittent and somewhat indistinct, but it is definitely there.

He Yu guided the black thread, winding it around in the air like a ball of yarn, and said, "This aura is somewhat unfamiliar, not quite like that person, but... it has indeed usurped the place and impersonated the White God."

The temple keeper stared at He Yu in shock, then glanced at Tang Zhongfu beside him in disbelief, and stammered, "Lord, what does this gentleman mean by 'impersonating the White God'?"

Tang Zhongfu succinctly explained: "Just as you think, evil spirits have impersonated the White God and instigated the White tribe to rebel, which has plunged the Great Changhe Kingdom into internal strife."

"What...what's going on?! The White God...the White God can be impersonated?!" The temple keeper stammered, "No, this White God shouldn't even exist, right?"

"It is precisely because it does not exist that it can be impersonated."

He Yu continued, "Besides, it's not certain that it will never exist. Given the strength of the Three Altar Gods' faith, once the spiritual energy in the world is fully restored, it won't be long before a 'new Three Altar Gods' truly appears. These are gods born from the wishes of the people, naturally created gods. However, once they are impersonated by evil spirits, over time, the faith in the Three Altar Gods will affect the local people, thus distorting the original faith in the Three Altar Gods, and the 'new Three Altar Gods' will not appear."

The temple keeper was completely bewildered. She was just a local shaman and had no idea about the Taoist knowledge He Yu was talking about. She only vaguely understood that the White God had been possessed by an evil spirit, and that a new White God might not be able to be born in the future. She anxiously asked, "Then, what should we do?"

"Simple, just find this evil spirit!"

He Yu said in a deep voice.

With a slight flick of his finger, the black thread dispersed, flew out of the Three Altars Temple, and stretched southward.

"I'll capture the spiritual essence of this thing left on the altar. It won't be long before he notices it. We have to find him before he does!"

As He Yu spoke, he took the lead in walking out of the Three Altars Temple, once again opening the invisible "gate" of the underworld, and heaven and earth were once again turned upside down.

Everyone knew the importance of the matter and quickly walked out of the Three Altars Temple.

However, Tang Zhongfu, Tang Chi, and Tang Xiaoyu were thrown back into the Three Altars Temple by He Yu as soon as they entered the underworld.

"You should stay here. Fellow Daoist Zhang and I are enough to handle this matter."

He Yu's words still left some room for the three of them to save face, but Zhang Chengdao was much more direct: "Don't cause any more trouble. Find a way to protect the eldest princess of the Great Changhe Kingdom first, and we'll talk about it when we get back!"

After speaking, the two left quickly before Tang Zhongfu and the other two could react, and the door outside the temple, which had been like a water curtain with the sky and earth turned upside down, also disappeared.

He Yu and Zhang Chengdao arrived in haste and left just as quickly. Tang Zhongfu only had time to "experience" walking the road to the underworld. Even after everything disappeared from his sight, he was still savoring what had just happened, and couldn't help but murmur, "So, this...this is what immortals are like..."

Tang Xiaoyu noticed the envy and melancholy in Tang Zhongfu's tone and said directly, "Oh, don't be envious. It's not too late to start cultivating now. Putting aside everything else, even if your aptitude is poor, you can at least reach the Foundation Establishment stage after cultivating for half a lifetime. Living for several hundred years won't be a problem!"

Tang Zhongfu was taken aback: "Me? I can cultivate too?"

"Why would I lie to you! Everyone can cultivate immortality! It's just that everyone's aptitude is different. Some can attain immortality, while others can only reach the foundation stage in their entire lives. But it's not a big problem. Even if you can only reach the foundation stage, you'll still live longer than ordinary people. It's a great gain, so why not cultivate?"

Tang Xiaoyu said, looking completely bewildered.

She still doesn't understand why everyone always thinks ordinary people can't cultivate immortality!
(End of this chapter)