Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

As they approached the Xiu Shen Tang, they bumped into Qiu Rang coming from the other side.

He was carrying a small cloth bag. Upon seeing Cheng Mo and Xia, his eyes lit up, and he immediately waved, "Brother Cheng! Miss Xia! What a coincidence!"

If we're talking about who's closest to Cheng Mo and Xia He in Biyou Village, Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng, those two clowns, are definitely number one, even Ma Xianhong has to take a backseat.

"Good morning," Cheng Mo greeted him with a smile, "Where are you headed?"

"Go to the storeroom and get some materials." Qiu Rang shook the cloth bag. "You're going to see the cult leader, right? He's almost fully recovered, but he's currently engrossed in drawing, so he probably won't start any new experiments anytime soon."

"Are you going to see the cult leader?" Qiu Rang asked.

"Draw a picture?" Cheng Mo raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Qiu Rang scratched his head, "He was probably traumatized by the last experiment. I saw on his blueprints that many parts of the body-cultivating furnace's structure need to be drastically modified. Tsk tsk..."

Xia He counted on her fingers: "After the drawing is finished, we'll have to rebuild the furnace, right? How many days will that take?"

"Hehe, you don't understand." Qiu Rang puffed out his chest, his face full of pride. "For the sect leader, the difficulty lies in drawing the blueprints. Once the blueprints are designed, rebuilding a cultivation furnace will only take two days at most!"

Cheng Mo's expression turned a little strange.

If it were really that simple, why did Ma Xianhong cry after the Body Cultivation Furnace was smashed by that shameless person... well, I think he did cry.

Never mind, it's not important.

He composed himself and said to Qiu Rang, "Let's go take a look. Maybe Brother Ma can find some new inspiration from me."

"Yes, yes, that's true." Qiu Rang nodded repeatedly. "The cult leader's brain, I don't know how it's structured, always manages to come up with the strangest ideas in the strangest places."

As he spoke, he pointed to his head, making an explosion gesture, then waved his hand, "Okay, you guys go first. Old Ding and I will go for a walk in the woods later and see if we can find some wild game. We'll get together again tonight!"

"No problem," Cheng Mo replied.

The two passed each other by.

Once Qiu Rang was out of sight, Xia He puffed out her cheeks and poked Cheng Mo's arm: "Those two guys think you're their cook!"

Cheng Mo said calmly, "They provide the raw materials, and we provide the labor. It's a reasonable allocation, so there's nothing wrong with it."

"Honestly!" Xia He smacked his bottom angrily. "Sometimes you're frighteningly shrewd, but why are you acting like an idiot like this!"

Cheng Mo jumped back, clutching his butt: "Ouch, you're being a pervert!"

"You're the one who's being a pervert!" Xia He kicked him.

Cheng Mo nimbly jumped away, and the two chased each other, running noisily towards the Cultivation Hall.

"Old Ma! We've come to see you!" Cheng Mo shouted as he ran.

……

People from Tongren, Guizhou.

The city was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and all kinds of lanterns were hung on both sides of the stone-paved road. Although it was not a festival, the lively atmosphere was no less than that of the New Year.

Wang Zhenqiu and Xia Liuqing walked through the bustling crowd.

Wang Zhenqiu was dressed the same as always, his blond hair tied in a ponytail, looking left and right.

"Old man Xia," he nudged Xia Liuqing with his elbow, "what's the point of doing this in the middle of no festival or holiday?"

Xia Liuqing, wearing an old baseball cap and with her hands behind her back, strolled slowly: "They're trying to attract tourists. Haven't you noticed there are a lot more people in the city these days?"

He suddenly clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Hey, these people up there are really something. They haven't even cleaned up the child-hunting gangs, and they've put together this lantern festival. I wonder how many girls will be lured away."

Wang Zhenqiu turned to look at him: "Oh, old man Xia, you're quite interested in this kind of thing? Aren't you always known for being 'tough on the cuff'?"

"I was thinking of Jin Feng." Xia Liuqing glared at him. "If she were young, she would definitely be the first target of those child predators."

"I hear you talking about Jin Feng all the time," Wang Zhenqiu said with a grin, leaning closer. "Why don't you take me to meet this 'teacher's wife'?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Xia Liuqing glared at him. "We're not master and disciple, and even if we were, you can't call me 'master's wife.' Jin Feng... that's a phoenix flying in the sky, something this old toad can't reach."

Wang Zhenqiu chuckled: "You do have some self-awareness."

"How dare you talk like that!" Xia Liuqing raised her hand as if to hit her. "Believe me or not, I'll call your Uncle Cheng back and give you a good talking to!"

"Hehe," Wang Zhenqiu not only wasn't afraid, but puffed out his chest, "I'm really not afraid of him now! Once I collect more incense offerings, I'll just smash him through."

Xia Liuqing glanced at him sideways: "You can't even handle an old man like me now, so what's the point of talking?"

"Things are different now," Wang Zhenqiu winked. "Shall we practice?"

Xia Liuqing stopped and turned to look at him: "Oh, so you've grown wings now?" He suddenly smiled, reached out and patted Wang Zhenqiu's shoulder, "Then you can fly away by yourself."

Wang Zhenqiu was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"Don't you understand?" Xia Liuqing withdrew her hand and continued walking forward. "You should go now."

"No, Old Man Xia," Wang Zhenqiu quickly caught up, "You're really not taking a joke!"

"I'm not joking with you." Xia Liuqing said calmly, "I've taught you everything I needed to. That's all there is to being a court jester. Your life training is already quite good. What you lack is just the method. Now you just need to find the spirit that resonates with you and transform it."

Wang Zhenqiu stared at him suspiciously: "You're not kidding me, are you?"

Xia Liuqing raised her foot and delivered a powerful whip kick: "I'm kidding you!"

Wang Zhenqiu jumped back to dodge, but bumped into a passerby behind him, his movements faltering, and he took a hard hit.

"Ouch!" The passerby stumbled from the impact and turned around to curse, but when he saw that Wang Zhenqiu was handsome and refined, and had just been hit, his face still showed a bit of grievance, his anger dissipated by most, and he even wanted to say a few words in his defense.

But upon seeing the elderly man opposite her, with his white hair and beard, she swallowed back the words she was about to say and coughed dryly, "Young lady, Grandpa is also getting old, so it's best not to upset him..."

Wang Zhenqiu immediately put on a charming smile and winked at the passerby: "Thanks for the reminder, big brother~"

The passerby was so captivated by the smile that he walked away in a daze.

Xia Liuqing pulled Wang Zhenqiu towards a less crowded area: "You, stop trying to seduce people. Learn from Xiao Hemiao, she's born with the ability to seduce people, and she can control it perfectly now."

"That girl is a disgrace," Wang Zhenqiu said, pursing his lips as Xia Liuqing pulled him along. "She's completely bewitched by that stinky Taoist priest."

He paused, then looked at Xia Liuqing seriously: "Old man Xia, are you really letting me go?"

Xia Liuqing ignored his words, released him, and said seriously, "Finally, let me teach you a lesson by borrowing Mr. Mei Lanfang's words."

Wang Zhenqiu stopped joking and listened attentively.

"The moment you put on the facial makeup, you become one with the character." Xia Liuqing's eyes were deep and her voice was low. "At that moment, you are both Mei Lanfang and Yang Guifei. You will feel Mei Lanfang's anxiety and think what Yang Guifei thinks."

He paused, then said, word by word, "You are the god."

Wang Zhenqiu stood there, his brows furrowed, lost in thought.

He had always thought that entertainers stole the faith of gods and used their power to achieve their goals.

Now that I hear what the old man is saying, it's clear that he's stealing the divine persona and taking its place. Only by having that persona can he carry the faith.

In this way, the two fundamental deities cannot be chosen arbitrarily; they must be highly compatible with one's own temperament...

By the time he came to his senses, Xia Liuqing had already quietly left and disappeared without a trace.

Wang Zhenqiu stood there for a while, but he wasn't too disappointed. He had always been very open-minded about the concept of fate.

Just as I was about to turn and leave, I suddenly caught a glimpse of several furtive figures at the street corner. A man was holding the hand of a young woman, whose eyes were unfocused and whose steps were unsteady.

Wang Zhenqiu's eyes lit up.

Hey, I'm in a bad mood, so I'll take it out on you guys!