A master of comedy!

Chapter 121 Heavenly Tribulation
Upon hearing his master's words, Zhou Sheng couldn't help but show a hint of longing in his eyes.

He now finally understood why his master had said that if one could complete all six trials, even if one went to Longhu Mountain, one would be treated as an honored guest and highly respected.

Morning tour to Beihai, Dusk Cangwu...

If it could be done without external force, that would be divine intervention.

"Master, what realm is beyond that?"

"Up still..."

A complex look appeared in Yu Zhensheng's eyes as he gazed at the night outside the window, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"Above that, one must undergo the Heavenly Tribulation, each more perilous than the last. Throughout history, countless brilliant and talented individuals have been reduced to ashes in that Heavenly Tribulation..."

"Legend has it that if one can successfully overcome nine heavenly tribulations, one can achieve perfect merit, attain the Dao of a celestial immortal, and ascend to heaven amidst the clouds. Unfortunately, this is just a legend."

Zhou Sheng could sense that after his breakthrough, his master's attitude towards him had subtly changed. When asked about his future realm, his master no longer gave casual answers but explained things seriously.

He knew that although his master didn't say it, he valued him even more in his heart.

"Master, how many heavenly tribulations did you survive when you were at your peak?"

Yu Zhensheng rolled his eyes at him, annoyed, and said, "Not even once, because I'm afraid of dying."

"The horror of the Heavenly Tribulation is beyond your current imagination. In fact, if you want to achieve immortality by transcending the tribulation, I suggest you give up this idea."

"Perhaps by not undergoing the tribulation, I can live a little longer."

"Alright, forget about heavenly tribulations and such. They're still a long way off for you. I'm telling you so much today because you're about to graduate. If you die in the underworld, at least you'll know the truth."

"Master, can't you have a little faith in me?"

Yu Zhensheng chuckled coldly a few times, then his gaze fell on the ancestral master statue enshrined in the center, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"It's a pity you were born in this era. If it were before Huang Chao, after opening your nasal passages, you would be able to smell the incense in the ancestral master's incense burner, travel to the heavens in your spirit, see the ancestral master in person, and receive his reward."

"The greatest use of the nasal passages is not to sniff randomly like a dog demon, but to smell the fragrance of the gods and communicate with the spirits of the immortals. However, it is no longer needed now."

Yu Zhensheng's expression was slightly downcast.

He felt sorry for his apprentice, but wasn't he also feeling sorry for himself?

Back then, the Yin Opera lineage, protected by its patriarch, was far more powerful than it is now, and there was no curse of not living past thirty.

"By the way, Master, after opening the nasal passages, will I be able to smell incense money?"

Zhou Sheng noticed that his master was in a bad mood, so he quickly changed the subject.

As he spoke, he took out a coin for offering incense; it was warm to the touch and emitted a faint scent of sandalwood from the temple.

"That's right, you can try it and see how it works."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng exerted force between his fingers, crushed the incense coin, and then opened his nostrils to take a deep sniff.

Immediately afterwards, the broken coins transformed into wisps of fragrant mist that wafted over, which were inhaled through the nose and then transformed into streams of heat that flowed into the dantian.

A drop of sweet rain fell silently, but its color was dark and mixed with various colors, like a drop of multicolored oil falling into water.

The magic was extremely complex, mixed with many desires, and when he absorbed it, he seemed to faintly hear prayers in his ears.

"Please bless me so that I may pass the imperial examination this year!"

"This humble woman kowtows and begs the Bodhisattva to grant me a son..."

"Please give me another ten years of life. If I die of illness, how will my children survive?"

……

He suddenly opened his eyes and spent a long time refining the impure magic power, gradually calming down the excitement in his eyes.

“Master, it seems that this incense money cannot be used directly for cultivation.”

"Of course, otherwise do you think you could get so much money from incense offerings?"

Yu Zhensheng sneered, "The power of incense is something mortals cannot benefit from. Even if ghosts and gods cast it into coins, they cannot remove the seven emotions and six desires within it." "We can only use this to temporarily restore our magical power. We must never use it in our regular cultivation, otherwise our magical power will become impure and even our foundation will be affected, making it difficult to make any further progress."

"Only those who possess divine status can use incense money to cultivate themselves; the methods they use are unknown to us."

Zhou Sheng's eyes flickered as he recalled the scene of the Lushan Mountain God absorbing incense money.

It seems that the altar is the key to refining incense money.

At the same time, he was secretly wary that the popularity of incense money might be driven by one or more terrifying forces, perhaps even the ghosts and gods of the underworld.

Ordinary people cast coins with copper, while ghosts and gods cast coins with incense.

Ordinary people mint coins for economic reasons, but what are the purposes of ghosts and gods?
"It's getting late. We've talked a lot today, so take some time to process it yourself."

Yu Zhensheng yawned and prepared to let his apprentice go back to rest.

"Master, I have one last question."

"What's the problem?"

Have you heard of that sacred object once owned by Li Zicheng, the rebel leader?

Upon hearing this question, Yu Zhensheng paused slightly, then gave his disciple a deep look.

"I have heard your grandmaster mention this a few times."

"In the more than 100 years since the founding of the Great Xuan Dynasty, there have been many rebels, but the most powerful one was Li Zicheng, the rebel king."

"Legend has it that he was just an ordinary courier in his early years, but after obtaining a strange object, he began to show his talent, winning every battle. His methods were quite miraculous, and he quickly gained countless followers."

"The Longhua Sect calls it the true dragon descended to earth, the new master of the human world personally chosen by Maitreya Buddha, who spares no effort in assisting it. It is said that all of this is because of that strange object."

"But I don't know what that thing is. Since the death of the rebel king, many people have tried to find it over the years, but none of them have found it."

"Some people say that it was just something Li Zicheng and the Longhua Sect made up to confuse people, like the so-called book hidden in the belly of a fish, which is nothing but a lie."

Zhou Sheng remained silent for a moment, then slowly raised his eyes.

"Master, if I get my hands on that thing, will it cause you trouble?"

"Hahaha!"

Yu Zhensheng shook his head and chuckled, saying, "You brat, haven't you gotten yourself into enough trouble already?"

"The more debts you have, the less you worry; the more lice you have, the less they itch. Rather than being timid and fearful, you might as well make more money."

"Only what you have in your hands is real; as for trouble..."

He paused, his smile fading, and gave his apprentice a meaningful look.

"The best way to avoid trouble is to make yourself... become trouble for others."

……

The next day, early morning.

At the intersection of East Street, Zhou Sheng had already escaped underground and waited quietly for half an hour.

That old Taoist priest was too cunning; one can never be too cautious when dealing with someone like that.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he plans to intercept the deal for the second time today, and at the same time, he has his eye on the dozens of vengeful ghosts raised by the old Taoist priest.

The game of chess at Mount Lu is still waiting for him to solve.

A ghost keeper?
In his eyes, that was his shepherd; he could run away from the monk, but he couldn't run away from the temple.

"Master! Master!"

"Taoist priest, save me! Last night... I really saw a ghost last night!"

……

(End of this chapter)