Turbid World: Martial Arts Master of the Republic of China Era, I Cultivate Immortality!

Not far from Zuowang Temple, in an alley, Zhao Zheng, having alighted from his carriage, watched Er Gou drive away. After Er Gou had gone far away, he silently looked at the rooftops on either side of the alley.

One to say one,

Those two guys are being way too sneaky!

Zhao Zheng thought to himself, although he could be quite cunning at times, that was different because he was a hypocrite!

Justified and confident (JPG).

Seemingly because of Zhao Zheng's gaze, and realizing that there was no point in hiding any longer, a dark figure descended from the rooftops on either side of the alley and appeared in front of Zhao Zheng almost simultaneously.

Two dark figures, namely Wei He and Chen Qing in disguise, silently looked at each other in their similar disguises, feeling that the other was copying them.

However, they never liked to dwell on such meaningless things, and instead looked at Zhao Zheng, who had invited them over that evening.

"This is what you're supposed to help me find."

Zhao Zheng took out two sheets of paper with the illustrations of Luo Siyao's diary on a parchment scroll from his pocket and handed them to Wei He and the other person.

Since he couldn't find Luo Siyao's diary due to bad luck, he decided to find two lucky people to help him find it, such as Wei He and Wei He, who had successfully transformed from snakes into dragons.

Seeing the two of them take the book and diligently write it down, Zhao Zheng thought for a moment and added, "Of course, it might not be like this, but one thing is certain... never mind, just go with your gut feeling!"

"..." x2

Isn't this a bit hasty?

Wei He and the other two women frowned slightly for a moment, then nodded without asking any further questions. They then looked silently at the silver notes that Zhao Zheng handed over.

One hundred silver dollars, as always.

"Take it. I can't let you two help for nothing, especially since I said I have high hopes for you both!"

Zhao Zheng smiled and spoke. Wei He and Chen Qing did not refuse, but quickly took the silver notes and put them away. Then they began to ask Zhao Zheng about the traces and whereabouts of the things he was looking for.

It's a pity that he knew nothing about the whole thing. If Wei He and Zhao Zheng didn't know his personality, they would have thought he was playing a trick on them.

"You have to believe in your luck!"

Zhao Zheng spoke, and the two women nodded. The three of them did not exchange many words before the conversation ended with Wei He saying, "I'm leaving now."

"I'm going back too!"

Chen Qing spoke as well as Wei He, and Zhao Zheng nodded slightly, watching the two disappear from the rooftop as they turned into fleeting black shadows.

"By the way, why don't I have a photo?"

Zhao Zheng was puzzled. He looked at the two portraits on the rooftops on the left and right not far away. The one on the left was Wei He's portrait.

Because of his transformation into a martial artist, the white snake form that Wei He's destiny had given him was no longer the old, half-shedded snake it had been.

Instead, it was a white dragon whose old, white skin had completely shed, revealing new, jade-like scales, with a small, exquisite jade horn growing from its forehead, slender four claws growing from its body, and a faint purple aura swirling around it.

The same was true for Chen Qing; the appearance of his destiny changed from the original black snake to the black dragon.

It fully demonstrates the meaning of "a person is noble and their life is precious, and a person is noble and their life is precious"!

In layman's terms, Wei and He successfully broke through the limitations of their own destiny through hard work, making their destiny better.

Just like the saying goes, "First is fate, second is luck, third is feng shui, fourth is accumulating good deeds, and fifth is studying," in this world today, practicing martial arts and studying in the future are both believed to have the power to defy fate.

Of course, Zhao Zheng felt that the reason why the two women were able to so easily defy fate was also related to the current time.

"I remember my master saying that about nineteen years ago... everything in this world was predetermined..."

Zhao Zheng subconsciously thought that what he meant by everything in the world being predetermined was referring to the time nineteen years ago.

Fate... is very difficult to change!

Thinking about it, Zhao Zheng raised his head and looked towards the starry night sky in the southwest direction, which was not obscured by dark clouds.

"Junior brother, what are you looking at here?"

A voice rang out from the alley entrance; it was Xiang Yu, who had just returned from helping out at the soup kitchen in the south of the city.

"Look at the stars!"

"Uh, where did this come from...wait, there really are stars...wait, how come the five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) are all together?"

Xiang Yu stared blankly at the southwest horizon. Zhao Zheng didn't speak, but simply turned away and said.

"Let's go..."

"Oh, okay, right, junior brother, it's a good thing I went early tonight. If I had gone any later, those people wouldn't have survived..."

"What's wrong?"

"The house collapsed because of the rain..."

"oh."

"???"

No, you just said "oh"!

You should at least praise me... Bah, why are you so cold-hearted! Xiang Yu stared wide-eyed at Zhao Zheng.

Having vaguely sensed Xiang Yu's emotions through the unlocked version of the Changming Guanyin Mind Technique, Zhao Zheng silently spoke to himself.

"Senior brother, you've worked hard. Senior brother, you have mercy..."

"Hehe, not bad, not bad, just saved three lives..." Xiang Yu said with a smile, like a child who had been praised.

As he spoke, he looked up at the sky with some concern at the light autumn rain that had started to fall again, and sighed, "I wonder when this rain will stop. What about those houses in the south of the city..."

"It should be soon, it shouldn't rain tomorrow... Oh right, senior brother, come on, let's go to the paper craft shop to order something..."

"Oh? Okay!"

…………

The next day,

August 6th, 6:00 AM

The courtyard of Zuowang Temple.

"???"

"What's wrong?"

"..."

Shouldn't I be asking you that question?

Master Tianyi looked somewhat bewildered at the paper figure brought back from outside the gate that resembled Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, but upon closer inspection, it didn't look like him at all; instead, it looked like a paper figure of a great general.

"Oh, well, today is the birthday of the Four Heavenly Kings' prince, so I prepared a gift for him!"

Zhao Zheng began to explain, raising an eyebrow and holding up the reasonably sized paper figure in his hand, saying, "Look, this is General Li Jing, the Pharmacist of the Tang Dynasty, which I specially prepared for Prince Nezha!"

The Ren family had invited Prince Nezha, who had so effectively helped them defeat Vaisravana, so he had to show his appreciation. That was the gesture he had come up with last night.

"..."

Master Tianyi stared blankly, but he roughly understood why this paper figure resembled both the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and not.

Furthermore, he felt that Zhao Zheng didn't need to emphasize the words when referring to the Tang Dynasty general Li Jing, also known as Li Yaoshi, and he understood that.

Master Tianyi looked at Zhao Zheng, who was taking the paper figure of Pharmacist Li to the corner to burn in the treasure furnace, opened his mouth, and then turned around and went to the kitchen to start cooking.

He didn't mean anything by it; he just felt that the saying "out of sight, out of mind" was quite true. Anyway, he felt much better when he couldn't see Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng stuffed the paper effigy of the pharmacist into the Evolution Treasure Furnace, threw in a ignition talisman, lit it, and said, "Honoring the Great God of the Three Altars and the Sea Assembly!"

Although today is the birthday of the Four Heavenly Kings' prince, he should have shouted "Homage to Prince Nataka Kuvala" instead.

However, given that he was only giving a paper figure of Li Yaoshi, and that it was inappropriate to give a paper figure of Li Yaoshi to the son of Vaishravana, he changed his address.

Oh right, I almost forgot to mention!

Prince Nezha Juvara ≈ Nezha the Third Prince!

What he said that day was not only that Li Jing had created a pseudonym called Vaishravana in Buddhism, but also that Nezha, the Third Prince, had created a pseudonym in Buddhism.

As Li Yaoshi's paper figure burst into flames and turned to ashes in the blink of an eye, Zhao Zheng, sensing something, activated the Maoshan Divine Invocation Technique.

Ignoring the fact that Li Jing's favorability rating towards him had surged from -100 to -200, Zhao Zheng looked at the newly appeared line of text.

【……哪咤三太子对你的好感度+500（400+100），殷夫人对你的好感度-100（+100），金咤太子对你的好感度-100（+100），木咤太子对你的好感度-100（+100）……】

[...Taiyi Zhenren's favorability towards you -1 (+2), Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun's favorability towards you +2, Dangmo Tianzun's favorability towards you +2, Yuanshi Tianzun's favorability towards you +2...]

"???"

Why does it have one negative and one positive?

Zhao Zheng was puzzled, but he was even more puzzled as to why the three great gods, Taiyi Jiuku Jiunan Tianzun, Dangmo Tianzun, and Yuanshi Tianzun, suddenly appeared and increased his favorability towards him by 2.

He could understand Taiyi Zhenren, after all, he was the master of Nezha, the Third Prince. The bond between master and disciple was strong enough to break even metal.

Bah! To be honest, Zhao Zheng could understand why Taiyi Zhenren's favorability towards him increased after the wind blew by.

But he couldn't understand why Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, Dangmo Tianzun, and Yuanshi Tianzun suddenly gained more favor.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Zheng understood, but his expression turned somewhat strange as he thought, "Good heavens, it was all the same person!"

He said this because it was clearly recorded in Volume One of the Taoist scriptures, "The Complete Collection of the Search for Gods of the Three Teachings," which he had memorized.

"The Demon-Subduing True Warrior is an incarnation of the Primordial Beginning, a separate entity of Taiji. During the reign of the Upper Three Sovereigns, he descended as the Primordial True Man; during the reign of the Middle Three Sovereigns, he descended as the Primordial True Man; during the reign of the Lower Three Sovereigns, he descended as the Primordial True Man; and during the reign of the Yellow Emperor, he descended as the Great Emperor of the Mysterious

Yuanshi Tianzun ≈ Dangmo Tianzun

Yuanshi Tianzun ≈ Taiyi Zhenren.

As for how Taiyi Zhenren is equivalent to Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, it's simple, and it's all because of one sentence: the Jade Emperor's True Scripture records, "With sincere devotion, I respectfully invite the Qian Yuan Grotto Heaven to respond to my cries and save Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun."

As is widely known, the Taoist temple of Taiyi Zhenren is located in Jinguang Cave on Qianyuan Mountain, which is both Qianyuan Cave and Qianyuan Mountain.

If the two things are unrelated, Zhao Zheng decided to have Zhao Zheng write his name backwards. Thinking of this, his mood became even more peculiar.

"Could all the gods in heaven be the same person?"

After thinking about it, Zhao Zheng felt that it was unlikely. As for the reason, well, it was his intuition; his intuition told him it wouldn't happen.

"But... the relationships between these gods are really messy!"

Zhao Zheng watched with a strange feeling as the favorability ratings of the immortals and gods who should have shown him -100 began to turn positive.

"Huh!"

Zhao Zheng let out a soft "hmm" as he looked at the two new states that were slowly forming on the Life's Many Faces panel.

[Status: Rising from the mud, yet remaining unstained]

[Description: Under the personal blessing of Prince Natsaguvara, your resistance to spells such as soul-capturing and plague has been greatly increased... You will not be contaminated by any impurities...]

[Note: Congratulations, you don't need to take a shower anymore]

I don't need to take a shower anymore!

However, Your Highness, aren't you being a bit too forceful? I was calling out the title of the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, is it really okay for you to directly use the title of Prince Nazakuvara to bless me?

Zhao Zheng mentally complained, then looked at the second state, only to find that the strange look on his face deepened.

[Status: Pure and untainted]

[Description: Under the personal blessing of Nezha, when the enemy uses tower-type magical artifacts to attack you (including but not limited to those whose names contain the characters for "tower," "Li," or "Jing," or whose martial arts techniques contain the characters for "tower," "Li," or "Jing," etc.), your attacks will have additional attack effects...]

[Note: Not suitable for evaluation]

"..."

One to say one,

The Crown Prince truly lives up to his name; he's incredibly strong-willed!

Zhao Zheng clicked his tongue in amazement, then obediently bowed again and burned the other princes' gifts as well.

Although Zhao Zheng was very curious about what special effects his attacks would have, now was not the time to dwell on that.

There are more important things to do now.

That is—dry rice!

Of all things under heaven, eating is the most important. Seeing that Master Tianyi had already heated up the food and placed it on the stone table, Zhao Zheng went to the sink to wash his hands.

After washing his hands, Zhao Zheng went to the stone table. Daoist Tianyi, who was already seated, glanced at the still-smoking incense burner and reminded him with a helpless expression, "It's best to do this kind of thing less often..."

Although immortals generally don't hold mortals' mistakes against them, when they do, it's no small matter.

For a specific example, you can refer to the story in Journey to the West about the chickens finishing the rice, the dogs licking up the noodles, and the fire burning through the lock in Fengxian County.

Moreover, Zhao Zheng is a Taoist priest who has entered the ranks of immortals, and his every word and deed will be recorded in the Heavenly Archives.

"Um?"

Thinking of this, Daoist Tianyi suddenly paused, considering that Zhao Zheng's rank was something that could only be obtained by triggering certain events. He began to wonder whether Zhao Zheng could be considered a Daoist who had entered the ranks of immortals.

While Master Tianyi was pondering, Xiang Yu, who had rushed back from the soup kitchen without doing his morning prayers, was not.

Xiang Yu chuckled and said, "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early," then quickly washed his hands, went to the stone table, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat breakfast.

Snapped--

Adhering to the principle of rules, Master Tianyi grunted and then used his chopsticks to knock Xiang Yu's chopsticks away.

Xiang Yu winced in pain, clutching his hand, and forced an awkward, sheepish smile as he looked at Daoist Tianyi: "Hehehe..."

"Senior brother, here you go!"

Zhao Zheng handed the chopsticks he had caught to Xiang Yu, his gaze lingering on his own fingers, which, even though he had deliberately squeezed the chopsticks, were completely free of any oil stains. He then looked at Xiang Yu with satisfaction.

"good!"

"???" x2

"Huh? How did you know that I was blessed by Nezha the Third Prince with a state of impervious filth?" Zhao Zheng asked with a surprised look.

"???" x2

No, did we speak?

Master Tianyi and Xiang Yu looked bewildered. After a while, Zhao Zheng explained the two blessings they had received.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu slapped his thigh in regret, lamenting, "If only I had become Li Jing and burned him as a sacrifice for Nezha!"

To be honest,

I'm afraid you'll be the one who gets burned!

Seeing Xiang Yu's face suddenly turn dark, Daoist Tianyi rolled his eyes. Thinking of Zhao Zheng's words about bestowing blessings on pagodas, he looked at Xiang Yu with a strange expression.

"Go, use the Jade Emperor Demon-Suppressing Tower you've cultivated to lend a hand to your junior brother!" He said, looking at Zhao Zhengdao.

"The Jade Emperor Demon-Suppressing Tower's body isn't a physical constitution, but rather a form of external martial arts from the Twenty-Four Orthodox Methods of Maoshan. Your senior brother knows the Twenty-Four Orthodox Methods of Maoshan..."

"I see!"

Zhao Zheng nodded in understanding, after all, Xiang Yu was the head priest of the main altar who had lived on Maoshan Mountain with Master Tianyi since childhood.

Master Tianyi breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you understand... This method emphasizes transforming the physical body into a demon-suppressing pagoda, with bones and blood forming the foundation of the pagoda. Only those with a pure and innocent heart can cultivate it. After mastering it, one can possess the same indestructible and demon-resistant power as the Taoist Golden Body Technique..."

Seemingly fearing Zhao Zheng might overthink things, Daoist Tianyi added, "The Daoist Golden Body Technique, when cultivated to its ultimate level, is no less powerful than the Jade Emperor Demon-Suppressing Pagoda Body... Well, cultivating the Demon-Suppressing Body doesn't require any brainpower!"

"???"

I suspect you're insulting me.

But I don't have any evidence!

Xiang Yu stared wide-eyed at Daoist Tianyi, but quickly got up and left the stone bench under Daoist Tianyi's gaze.

"Come on, junior brother!"

A slightly unhappy Xiang Yu looked at Zhao Zheng expressionlessly. As the Jade Emperor Demon Suppression Tower Body Technique was activated, his muscles and bones suddenly tensed up, and his figure seemed to suddenly grow three feet taller, his shoulders and back being stretched and straightened like the eaves of a tower.

Xiang Yu's spine stood straight like a tower pillar, and in an instant, he transformed into a majestic and solemn figure, his aura as heavy as a mountain, full of awe-inspiring majesty.

Zhao Zheng saw Xiang Yu's unhappy face instantly become full of majesty, and an aura of authority without anger followed.

As Xiang Yu's aura changed, his double pupils appeared. Just as the double pupils were revealed, a golden but blurry divine talisman instantly appeared between Xiang Yu's eyebrows.

When the talisman appeared, golden lines, as if they were alive, spread down its Ren and Du meridians at an unpredictable speed.

In the blink of an eye, they formed shackles that seemed to be made of talismans, deeply imprinting themselves on Xiang Yu's exposed skin.

As Zhao Zheng examined it closely, he saw one after another ancient and simple Daoist characters, exuding the power to suppress demons, emerging from the gaps in the shackles.

A series of metallic clanging sounds, like chains being dragged, rang out between the flickering lights. At the same time, a phantom image of a sixteen-foot-tall tower appeared behind Xiang Yu, though illusory, yet clear.

The crimson portal at the base of the nine-story black phantom tower burst open with a bang, unleashing a terrifying divine power that made all demons bow down and evil spirits dare not look directly at it.

"Although the Jade Emperor Demon-Suppressing Tower is also a form of external martial arts training, its external martial arts training is passive, relying on the eight characters 'Jade Emperor Edict, Acting on Behalf of Heaven'..."

"...This method is an external martial arts technique, but it is also a method for suppressing demons...Suppressing demons refers to suppressing both internal and external demons, and this method not only suppresses, but also subdues them!"

Master Tianyi spoke up at the right moment, and Xiang Yu, whose body seemed to have grown several inches taller and become three times more robust, spoke to Zhao Zheng, who was three meters away from him.

"Junior brother, please forgive me!"

boom--

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Yu threw a punch, the force of which tore through the air, producing a terrifying sonic boom that was deliberately weakened.

As the fist tore through the air, a powerful aura of Jade Emperor suppressing demons and punishing on behalf of Heaven was unleashed.

Almost simultaneously, a monstrous hoof, surrounded by chains and radiating a surging demonic aura, emerged from the gate of the black tower sixteen feet tall behind Xiang Yu.

And a tiger claw, also wrapped in chains and surrounded by demonic energy, came to Xiang Yu's fist in a empowering manner, making the aura on Xiang Yu's fist appear once again.

This is what Master Tianyi meant by "suppressing external demons" and "capturing external demons." After demons enter the tower, all their magical abilities and supernatural powers will be captured by the tower master, or rather, driven by Xiang Yu.

After all, the Jade Emperor Demon Suppression Tower is about the Jade Emperor's radiance, suppressing demons and stabilizing the territory. It is a method of external cultivation, but it is also a method of suppressing demons!

My status is shining!

Zhao Zheng looked at the "Clean and Untainted" state that suddenly lit up, his body shone with golden light, and as he circulated his magic power, he threw a punch.

boom--

It was a punch that tore through the air, a punch that made a sharp sound, and at the same time the punch was thrown, Nezha's blessing erupted.

As Zhao Zheng threw his fist, Master Tianyi saw a figure appear behind Zhao Zheng. The figure was none other than Nezha, the third prince with four heads and eight arms.

As soon as the divine figure of Nezha appeared, the phantom of the Fire-Tipped Spear, carrying the distorted air of the Burning Evil True Fire, pierced straight at Xiang Yu's waist.

The phantom of the Hun Tian Ling followed Xiang Yu like a crimson python, wrapping around his body. The phantom of the Qian Kun Quan spun through the air and smashed into the phantom of the Demon Suppression Tower behind Xiang Yu, while the golden brick smashed straight into Xiang Yu's forehead!

"Is this an attack effect?"

You're probably not targeting anyone who plays Tower of Trials, are you?