A master of comedy!

"Hey!"

"what!"

Early in the morning, a child's innocent shouts rang out in the courtyard, where a small figure was practicing marksmanship with a white waxwood staff in hand.

Despite its short stature, it wields the ash tree with great skill, causing the surrounding fallen leaves to flutter and dance like dragons in flight.

This is Hongxian practicing her skills.

After her physical body was reshaped, although she was still small, her stone body possessed immense strength and innate magical power, like a piece of naturally formed jade.

Yu Zhensheng had a keen eye and had long seen the potential of her body. Therefore, in addition to teaching Zhou Sheng, he had been rigorously training her these past few days.

After practicing for a long time, Xiao Hongxian plopped down on the ground, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and asked in confusion, "Master, why can the eldest brother just stand there in a daze?"

Yu Zhensheng glanced at the figure not far away, holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, standing quietly in the morning sun, motionless with his eyes closed as if asleep, and couldn't help but nod.

"Your junior brother is practicing his martial arts."

"You call this practicing martial arts?"

Little Red Thread wanted to jump up and hit her master's knee, and said indignantly, "Master, I'm just clumsy, not stupid."

Yu Zhensheng: "..."

Jinse floated out of the room carrying her guqin. Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but smile and say, "It's different. You're cultivating your body, while your eldest is cultivating his spirit."

"If you don't believe me, try ramming Ye Long into him."

Hongxian's eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up, wielding the white waxwood pole, whipping up a leaf dragon before crashing into Zhou Sheng.

The dragon shape, composed of countless broken leaves, looked powerful and domineering, but when it reached three zhang in front of Zhou Sheng, it seemed to have crashed into a mountain of knives and shattered with a bang.

Under the morning sun, a statue of Guan Yu, about ten feet tall, vaguely appeared behind Zhou Sheng. It had a two-foot-long beard, a face like a red date, and phoenix eyes that were not open, but its invisible sharpness was captivating.

Hongxian couldn't help but open her mouth wide.

The Dharma form appeared only for a moment before disappearing, seemingly not yet fully developed, but it was already quite rudimentary.

Yu Zhensheng stroked his beard and smiled, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

Guan Gong's image is his specialty. With Guan Sheng Di Jun's image protecting him, he can slay demons and monsters without fail. If he cultivates it to the highest level, he will be like the Great Emperor of Subduing Demons descending to the mortal world to eliminate demons. Wherever the Azure Dragon goes, it can open mountains and cut through seas.

Back then, the brothers in Zhao's troupe each had their own unique skills. The sixth brother's zombie kung fu was known as the best in physical form, while his Guan Gong image was known as the best in primordial spirit.

The greatest test for those who wish to cultivate this method is their primordial spirit.

The unity of actor and actor is only the foundation; one must go further and become one with the illusory Guan Yu, reaching the state where God is me and I am God.

Zhou Sheng had an exceptional talent for Yin Opera, having reached the point of perfect harmony between actor and actor at a young age, but he never taught this unique skill of performing Dharma Imagery.

It wasn't that he was keeping something from his disciple, but rather that he was worried his disciple's spirit wasn't strong enough and that he might go astray and forget himself.

During his trip to the underworld, his disciple drank the "Awakening Soup," which greatly enhanced his spiritual energy. Only then did he pass on this unique skill to him.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Sheng slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sometimes filled with arrogance and disdain, and sometimes with a return to clarity. It took him about ten breaths to calm down completely.

He exhaled a long breath, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

After leaving the Temple of the God of Play, he focused on his cultivation and spent fourteen days finally mastering the art of Guan Gong's image. Although it was only in its initial stages, it was already quite powerful.

"Jinse, thank you."

He looked at Jinse with heartfelt gratitude.

The reason he was able to master the skill so quickly was not only due to his own talent and his master's teachings, but also mainly because of Jinse's zither music.

Getting into character means immersing oneself in the role. And music has a remarkable effect in this regard.

These days, Jinse often plays music from Guan Gong opera for him, and the music almost never stops from dawn to dusk.

It was only amidst that exquisite zither music that Zhou Sheng's Guan Gong performance made rapid progress.

"Boss Long's voice is so pleasant to listen to, I've also learned a lot from it."

Jinse always had a calm and unassuming appearance, but her eyes were pure and sincere, expressing her true feelings.

"Alright, you two stop flattering each other. Today is July 30th, the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. I heard that the Reclining Buddha Temple in the north of the city is giving away free Seven Treasures Porridge, which tastes quite good. Would you like to go and try it together?"

Yu Zhensheng was overjoyed to see that his disciple had mastered the Dharma Form technique. For once, he did not urge him to continue his cultivation, but instead wanted to give everyone a break.

Everyone naturally didn't object and went to the Reclining Buddha Temple in high spirits. Hongxian, in particular, heard that there was free porridge and actually carried a large vat on his back. He was only reluctantly put it down after Yuzhensheng knocked on it a few times.

The Wofo Temple is the largest temple in Xunyang City. It has a good reputation because it provides free porridge on the birthdays of Buddha and Bodhisattva.

The temple houses a jade reclining Buddha, crafted by a famous artist from the Wei and Jin dynasties, which is said to be extremely efficacious.

However, when Zhou Sheng was worshipping Buddha, he discovered that although the reclining Buddha had a faint spiritual light, which was a sign of the gathering of incense offerings, no divine spirits had descended.

The Seven Treasures Porridge tasted good, and Zhou Sheng drank two bowls, feeling a warm feeling in his stomach.

I heard that a high-ranking monk would chant sutras a hundred times while the porridge was being cooked, thus blessing it with Buddhist power and warding off evil spirits and diseases. Now it seems that it does have some effect.

For ordinary people, drinking porridge can increase their yang energy. But if a ghost were to drink porridge, it would be like swallowing raging fire, burning their internal organs.

Snapped!
With a crisp sound, the porcelain bowl containing the Seven Treasures Porridge fell to the ground and shattered into pieces, spilling the milky white porridge all over the floor.

A handsome young monk lay on the ground clutching his stomach, letting out screams of agony.

The next moment, black smoke appeared on his face, and his fingers drew scorch marks on the ground.

The onlookers were terrified and quickly dodged and fled.

"I can't...fall down..."

The little monk, his face contorted in extreme pain, was almost reduced to charcoal, yet he still struggled to kneel towards the temple.

The voice was intermittent, yet filled with devotion.

"May Buddha... bless you..."

"The abbot and the others... are still waiting for me..."

When Zhou Sheng and the others arrived, all they saw was a pile of charred ashes and the remaining yin energy.

He was all too familiar with this yin energy; only ghosts possessed such a pure and cold aura.

This means that the monk drinking porridge was a ghost.

But strangely, how could a ghost enter a Buddhist temple in broad daylight? If it weren't for drinking this bowl of Seven Treasures Porridge, no one would have even noticed that a ghost had entered the temple.

"Boss, there seems to be something in here?"

Hongxian, with her sharp eyes, spotted a white corner amidst the ashes. She reached out, picked it up, blew off the dust, and discovered it was actually a…a play invitation?
"Huh? It's for you, boss!"

Zhou Sheng was taken aback upon hearing this. Could this monk be a messenger?
He took the invitation; unlike the Queen Mother's invitation, it wasn't ornately decorated or sealed with wax. It was just a very simple piece of paper, yet it was imbued with a strong Buddhist blessing.

"Qingzhou Yaofo Temple cordially awaits Boss Long's arrival. After the performance, you may choose any of the temple's treasures."

The person who signed the document was named—Master Ghost. (End of Chapter)