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

Chapter 309 "Selling Out His Brother for Glory"

According to He Yu, this array cultivator named Tang Yu was an honest and simple cultivator who devoted himself to studying arrays. He was not old, only a little over two hundred years old, and judging from his cultivation level, he could be called a genius.

If it weren't for He Yu's incident, which led the two of them to accidentally enter this world, Tang Yu would probably have already broken through to the Nascent Soul or Body Integration stages, and even the Void Transformation stage might not be out of the question.

In general, He Yu felt somewhat guilty towards Tang Yu, which was why he insisted on dissolving his body so that Tang Yu could take care of him afterward.

However, He Yu had been asleep for many years and was not found by Zhang Chengdao until he was awakened. There was no record of Tang Yu in the historical books. What exactly happened must have made He Yu very concerned.

Therefore, upon hearing about the situation in Yunnan, even if it was just a rumor about Tang Yu, He Yu was very eager to follow up and acted in a very urgent manner.

Unfortunately, in the end it was all for nothing, and we didn't gain anything.

“Don’t worry too much. At least you checked that person’s aura and it wasn’t Tang Yu. Maybe, as you said, someone else really did wander in by mistake.” Zhang Chengdao comforted He Yu, “Besides, look, it’s not just you and Tang Yu who entered this world. I also accidentally entered it. Doesn’t that mean there’s a big problem with this world?”

He Yu nodded: "That's right. The world barrier of this world is very weak. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for just Tang Yu and me to sneak in."

Zhang Chengdao continued, following He Yu's words, "Since you were able to sneak in, maybe others can too, so it may not necessarily be Tang Yu."

He Yu sighed and continued, "Alas, I wish it were related to Tang Yu, so that at least I could know what happened to him. As it is now, with no sign of him alive or dead, I feel uneasy."

As they talked, they soon arrived at the front of Tangguan City.

It only takes a blink of an eye to emerge from the Yellow Springs Road, so the soldiers guarding the gate of Tangguan City were startled by the sudden appearance of two figures—especially since one of them had white hair and a youthful face, while the other was dressed in what was clearly ancient imperial attire, making them look extremely eerie.

Zhang Chengdao smiled kindly at the soldiers, but what he said was even more frightening: "Please inform them that Zhang Chengdao, the sect leader of the White Stone Immortal Sect, and He Yu, the King of Qin, the Lord of the Underworld, have come to pay their respects."

"scare!?"

"install!?"

The two were so shocked that their mouths were agape, wide enough to fit the stone balls inside the stone lions at the entrance. They stood there stunned for a long time before one of them finally reacted. He first bowed to the two of them, then took a few steps backward toward Tangguan City, and finally staggered into Tangguan City as if his butt had been burned.

Seeing his colleague run off so quickly, the other man, bound by duty, had to stay at the door. His eyes, however, were filled with terror as he looked at Zhang Chengdao and He Yu. He stammered, "You, you, what are you? Bai, the White Stone Immortal? Lord of the Underworld? Are you kidding me?"

If it were just the White Stone Immortal alone, there might be no fear, only surprise. But the problem is that the term "Lord of the Underworld" is really quite frightening.

As mentioned earlier, this martial arts cultivation world possesses extraordinary power, albeit in the form of less abstract true qi, which is enough to create a greater class divide. This allows martial artists to replace the worship of superiors and fabricated immortals and gods by ordinary people in worlds without extraordinary beings. However, this does not mean that this world lacks the concepts of the underworld and "King Yama."

Although there is no concept of "reincarnation," the "underworld" still exists in the strange tales found in the streets and alleys.

The term "King Yama" is indeed not yet widespread. It only circulates in a small number of regions where Buddhism is prevalent, such as the Zhou Kingdom and the Da Changhe Kingdom. In most places, the most widely accepted name is "Lord of the Underworld," who is the highest "god" in charge of death.

The term "府君" (Fu Jun) is an honorific title for officials such as prefects, governors, and military governors. In ancient times, it was also used to address feudal lords.

The term "Lord of the Underworld" means the "King" who governs the underworld.

Of course, in some places, people prefer to use local dialect terms such as "Tu Bo" or "Di Xia Zhu".

These are all fantasies about the underworld, and are actually considered by the common people to be legends and stories. They have not yet formed a more systematic belief system, so there is no such thing as a "Temple of the Lord of the Underworld" or an "Underground Temple".

Among these, there are indeed "Tubo Temples," but some of these "Tubo Temples" also have the characteristics of mountain god worship, leaning more towards local guardian deities, somewhat like "land gods," and also holding authority over the underworld. They are not recognized or widely circulated by most people, and are completely incomparable to the Qin King belief.

In short, even if it's not a mainstream folk custom, most people know what the "Lord of the Underworld" is, so it's no wonder that the guards were trembling with fear.

If the god of death suddenly appeared before you, wouldn't you be afraid? However, the gatekeeper's legs didn't tremble for long before Tang Zhongfu ran out, his forehead covered in sweat, followed by his usual trusted confidant, Chief Secretary Cui.

Even from a distance, Tang Zhongfu began to shout, "The two immortal sages have condescended to come here; this humble commoner has failed to greet them properly, and is truly guilty! Truly guilty!"

Zhang Chengdao frowned and waved his hand, saying, "There's no need for that. We came here to inform you that although we didn't catch the person who impersonated the White God and caused trouble, we did seriously injure him. He probably won't be able to do anything for the time being."

Tang Zhongfu was overjoyed: "Thank you both, immortals! With this, the people of the Great Changhe Kingdom can finally live in peace!"

Zhang Chengdao nodded: "Yes, we still need to investigate to resolve this matter completely, so we won't stay any longer. If there's anything urgent, just have Xiaoyu send me a message."

After saying that, without waiting for Tang Zhongfu to say anything more, he and He Yu once again walked into the Yellow Springs Road of the Underworld.

Tang Zhongfu had intended to invite the two to rest in Tangguan City for a while, but before he could even utter the words "Please, two immortals, enter my residence," the two figures before him became distorted and blurred, and then vanished.

Tang Zhongfu had no choice but to remain bowing and wait for a while before wiping his sweat and straightening up.

Chief Secretary Cui had no concept of the existence of "White Stone Immortal" or "Lord of the Underworld," only vaguely knowing that they seemed to be immortals, but he didn't quite understand how powerful they were, what their status was, or how different they were from ordinary people. Therefore, unlike Tang Zhongfu, he wasn't disappointed. Instead, after learning that the fake White God was gone, he actively inquired about state affairs: "Lord, what about the Princess..."

Tang Zhongfu pondered for a moment and said, "Write a letter saying that our Jiannan Road supports the Princess's ascension to the throne as the Queen of Da Changhe Kingdom, but Jiannan Road wants to break away from Da Changhe Kingdom and become an independent city... Isn't Tang Shuping still unmarried? I'll talk to my grandmaster and ask Tang Shuping to marry, cough, marry into the Princess's family. In this way, the Tang family and the Dong family will become in-laws, and naturally we will have a reason to help the Princess fight back against the Gao family of the Bai tribe!"

Tang Zhongfu's words were so loaded with information that they left Chief Secretary Cui breathless. After a long while, he finally picked up on the least important matter and said hesitantly, "My lord, Jiannan Circuit is not small. It's impossible for it to be a 'city' on its own!"

Tang Zhongfu glanced sideways at Cui Changshi, but said nothing.

That's a really stupid question.

Whether Jiannan Road has only one city or not, given the current situation, if Tang Zhongfu, representing the Tang Clan, agrees to help Princess Dong, then even if he says that Jiannan Road only has one village, the princess will have to nod in agreement!

Cui Chang knew, of course, that what he was saying was pointless, but what he found even more unacceptable was that his own lord was planning to "sell out" his own younger brother!

However, this was not only a political matter for Jiannan Circuit, but also a private matter for the Tang family. Chief Secretary Cui could not say anything, so he kept his mouth shut and said nothing more.

Tang Zhongfu originally had two brothers. His elder brother, Tang Bodang, was his half-brother and not very close to him. He spent most of his time traveling the martial arts world and rarely returned to the Tang Clan. His younger brother, Tang Shuping, was Tang Zhongfu's biological brother and had a very good relationship with him.

However, Tang Shuping was an oddball. He was obsessed with eating and drinking from a young age and was indifferent to women. All day long, apart from being dragged by the elders and leaders of the sect to practice martial arts, he would go around getting all sorts of food. The key thing was that the food he ate was very strange, such as tofu mixed with houttuynia cordata, green mangoes and papayas soaked in wine lees and vinegar...

Most of the Tang Clan disciples couldn't stomach the food he prepared, but he himself enjoyed it immensely. He even wrote several books specifically documenting his research on these foods, demonstrating his profound knowledge in this area to the point that it was almost a "discipline" in itself!

Although he is abstract in his actions and has unusual hobbies, Tang Shuping is actually a high-quality bachelor. Not only is he handsome and has an extraordinary temperament, but he is also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting because he is very interested in the culture of the Central Plains. He also likes to read all kinds of ancient books. If he were in a culturally backward region like Sichuan, he could easily be described as "knowledgeable in ancient and modern times". There are quite a few girls who like him.

Years ago, because Tang Shuping's cultivation was too poor, he was even kidnapped by a girl and almost raped by her, which made him even more averse to women.

In addition, he has been obsessed with these strange things and has never married. Now, he is already twenty-six years old. If it were any other man, his children would be old enough to run errands!
Now, considering that the Tang Clan wants to lead Jiannan Dao to independence and also needs a legitimate name from the Great Changhe Kingdom, Tang Zhongfu thought of his usually carefree younger brother.

After wandering around for over twenty years, shouldn't it be time to make some contributions to the Tang family?

Besides, although Princess Dong is a bit older, ten years older than Tang Shuping, she is the future queen of the Great Changhe Kingdom. So what if she is a bit older? Serving the queen is not a disservice to her good-for-nothing younger brother.
The female ruler is at least a sixth-rank martial artist, while Tang Shuping is only an eighth-rank. It's already good enough that she doesn't look down on him!

Besides, the Tang family doesn't need Tang Shuping to carry on the family line, so what's wrong with him marrying into the family?
Tang Zhongfu, feeling perfectly justified, gave Cui Changshi a few more instructions, then flicked his sleeves and walked enthusiastically towards the backyard of Tangguan City.

He planned to discuss this matter with his grandmaster and ancestors, hoping to make Tang Shuping look as clean and beautiful as possible so that she could be sent to the future queen of the Great Changhe Kingdom's bed, thus making Tang Shuping more pleasing and strengthening the relationship between the Dong family and the Tang family.

(End of this chapter)