The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

Reaching out, Shi Bai took a fallen leaf that had naturally fallen from the tree. As he examined the leaf in his hand, he spoke calmly.

"The way of the gods is to repel demons and monsters, and to help those adrift in this world. The way of the Buddha is to save all living beings. What need is there to fear the changes of karma? If the way of the gods is destined to decline, then the way of the Buddha may be a good choice."

"But Buddhism and Taoism cultivate the next life. Is the 'me' in the next life still the same person?"

Shaking his head, Toyosatoshi Shinko gave a wry smile.

"Perhaps in essence, I am just a coward."

"In that case, why not try practicing Taoism?"

No sooner had Toyosatomimiko finished speaking than a soft laugh rang out, and a beautiful figure quietly appeared before her.

"!!!"

"........."

Seeing the familiar figure suddenly appear under the tree, Shi Bai's lips twitched slightly before he quickly climbed down the tree trunk and stood in front of Toyosatomimi no Miko.

"...I am Qin Hesheng. May I ask who you are?"

Although the chances of the other party recognizing you are slim, you still have to put on a proper act.

"I know you, the number one Shinto Kagura. If I have the chance, I would like to see your Shinto Kagura, which is said to be able to move mountains and rivers with a single dance. However, I am not here to see you today, so please step aside."

Her gaze lingered on the mask on his face for a moment before Huo Qing'e calmly sat down at the table.

“Prince Shotoku – Toyosatomimi no Miko, let’s make a deal.”

"What deal?"

Using his gaze to signal Qin Hesheng, who was blocking his way, to sit down, Toyosato Miko took a deep breath and asked the beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared in front of him a question.

Since the other party came specifically to find her, she didn't need to hide.

The other party did not look like a monster, and monsters could not possibly come here. After all, there are many Onmyoji, shrine maidens, or powerful monks in Nara Prefecture.

"I am an immortal from the East, who traveled across the ocean to come here. My name is Huo Qing'e."

With a slight frown, Huo Qing'e glanced at Qin Hesheng sitting to the side, temporarily suppressing the strange feeling that arose in her heart when facing him, and spoke directly.

"You want an immortal life, right? Why not choose to believe in Taoism? Taoism doesn't cultivate the afterlife, it only cultivates oneself, worships nature, and achieves immortality by merging with nature... I can teach you Taoist arts."

"Taoism……"

Toyosato Miko had some vague knowledge of this religion, which was introduced to their country along with Buddhism.

However, this religion was too mysterious, and no monks or Taoist priests came to preach to them, so it quickly declined and was not as well-known as Buddhism.

"Taoism emphasizes being close to nature and practicing tranquility and non-action, so it would not waste time on things like proselytizing."

Huo Qing'e calmly answered Feng Congmi's question.

"But the power of Taoism is unparalleled. As long as one cultivates to become an immortal, one can live forever. The power of an immortal is beyond your imagination."

"So, the content of the deal is that you want me to help you promote Taoism in this country?"

Toyosatoshi frowned slightly.

"The conflict between Shintoism and Buddhism in this country is escalating. If we want to promote Taoism nationwide..."

"That's not what the transaction is about, and Taoism cannot be used to govern a country, much less to pacify the world. Because if everyone were to practice Taoist arts, the country would be devoid of productive labor and would perish."

Huo Qing'e shook her head, displaying considerable frankness.

"I only have one transaction."

"I need you to use the power of the entire country to help me find someone."

P.S.: Good morning!

Chapter Thirty-Eight: You Traitorous Disciple!

Shi Bai is now having some doubts about life.

Huo Qing'e had been by his side for about ten years, with a humanoid walking dragon, Hong Meiling, also by her side. But even so, Huo Qing'e's cultivation was still a long way from becoming an immortal.

But only fifteen or sixteen years have passed since Huo Qing'e left him? In such a short time, she has already cultivated herself into an immortal?

So, if I hadn't wasted more than ten years of the other person's time, perhaps the other person would have already become an immortal?

To be honest, he's quite conflicted right now.

He was torn between wondering if there was something wrong with his teaching methods and whether Huo Qing'e would recognize him in his current state, since she had glanced at him several times with suspicion while talking to Feng Congmi.

If he were to be recognized by the other party... he felt he couldn't continue being a teacher.

However, it was obvious that although Huo Qing'e had cultivated to become an immortal, her strength was still completely incomparable to that of a powerful figure like Motara Yinqina. Although Huo Qing'e felt that the silent Qin Hesheng beside her gave her a slightly familiar feeling, she didn't even think about it in that direction...

After all, who could have imagined that their teacher would become even more beautiful than themselves?

No one can resist the temptation of immortality, and Toyosatomimi no Miko is no exception. So when Huo Qing'e proposed the terms of the deal, Toyosatomimi no Miko agreed to the request without much consideration.

—A request to help the other party find clues about a certain existence.

The name of the being that Huo Qing'e sought was Chunhu.

When Shi Bai suddenly heard the name come out of Huo Qing'e's mouth, he was obviously stunned and almost wondered if he was hallucinating.

However… putting aside why Chunhu appeared again, the specific question now is… why did Huo Qing'e know about Chunhu's existence? Did the two of them encounter each other before?

Shi Bai was utterly baffled by this.

Originally, under his intervention, Heng'e and Hou Yi should have lived a happy life together. But Heng'e suddenly disappeared mysteriously, which is one thing, but Chunhu should have no reason to reappear.

However, if Huo Chun'e had encountered Chunhu before, then everything makes sense. After all, Chunhu's purification ability is capable of giving birth to the power of gods. With her help, it would be quite easy for Huo Chun'e to become an immortal in such a short time.

The Purification ability possessed by Chunhu is, simply put, the power of a god—the pure power of things before they are named. Once something is named, this divinity disappears. Chunhu has always maintained this pure aspect and can bestow this power upon other things; this power is almost the power that gives birth to a god.

The gods here don't refer to acquired gods who need faith to survive, but rather innate gods like Eirin Yagokoro and the others!

After thinking it over and over but still not figuring it out, Shi Bai decided in his heart that once this matter was over, he would set out to find Chunhu and find out the truth.

but……

Shi Bai glanced almost imperceptibly at Huo Qing'e.

...I thought you came looking for me...I'm finally relieved...Also, it seems it wasn't that I was a bad teacher, but rather that you were using a Pure Fox cheat...

(I, Huo Qing'e, didn't use any cheat codes!!)

..................................................................

To be honest, Huo Qing'e wasn't in a hurry to find her teacher, because she knew very well that no one in the world could do anything to her teacher.

Furthermore, now that she has cultivated herself into an immortal, she is no longer troubled by the short lifespan of humans, so she will always be able to find them. Besides, her teacher promised her that he would take the time to come back and visit them in the future.

I'm sure my teacher would be quite surprised to see me, given that I've cultivated myself into an immortal in such a short time.

However, there were some things she felt she had to investigate thoroughly.

Although the mysterious being who called himself Pure Fox helped her become an immortal in the shortest amount of time, she still couldn't figure out whether he was friend or foe.

Although Chunhu told her a lot about her teacher, she could clearly sense that there was much more that the other party was hiding from her.

The more she interacted with the other person, the deeper the shock became, and the more questions she had.

The moment she attained immortality, the other party never appeared before her again, nor did he leave behind even a single word.

Why did she help me? What was the relationship between her and my teacher—friend or foe? And what exactly was Chunhu planning?

Huo Qing'e felt it was essential to figure these things out before her teacher returned.

In reality, the time it took her to cultivate into an immortal was much shorter than someone had expected, because she had already cultivated into an immortal ten years ago, which made her feel even more the terror of the power possessed by Chunhu.

In other words, she has been searching for Chunhu for ten years.

Over the past decade, she and Hong Meiling have traveled to every corner of China, but they have not only failed to find any trace of their teacher, but also have found absolutely no clues about Chunhu.

After sending Xiao Hong Meiling back to Penglai, she traveled alone across the ocean to this place to continue searching for Chunhu all over the world. At the same time, she would return to Penglai every year to see if her teacher had come back.

The reason she didn't bring Xiao Hong Meiling along was because she was unfamiliar with this strange land, and the power of the immortals was not invincible. There were also monsters stronger than her in this world, and she didn't want to cause the other person to get hurt because of her personal matters.

The reason she wanted to spread Taoism on this land was simply because of a little dissatisfaction in her heart. After all, in the eyes of this Taoist fanatic, neither Buddhism nor Taoism could compare to Taoism. If Taoism were actively promoted, what would Buddhism have to do with it?

The problem is that Taoism's attitude is basically take it or leave it, believe it or not, learn it or not...

Because of what she had seen and heard in the past month or two in this unfamiliar land, Huo Qing'e couldn't help but recall a joke that her teacher had once told her.

The Taoist priest said earnestly, "We must believe in science. There is no such thing as cultivating immortality. We cannot be superstitious."

After saying this, the Taoist priest flew away on his sword... flew away! Gone!!! Gone!!!

That's roughly the attitude of Taoism.

Anyway, these kinds of things are all about first impressions. She just happened to be passing by and found Feng Cong Er Shenzi pleasing to the eye, so it was only natural for her to want to teach him Taoist arts.

As for the so-called terms of the deal... she had no hope at all, and only brought it up to put the other party at ease.

After all, if Pure Fox were really that easy to find, then she wouldn't have searched for a full ten years without finding any clues.

It must be said that during the years she followed Shi Bai, Huo Qing'e didn't learn anything else, but she did learn a lot about his attitude of following his heart and not being elated by external gains or saddened by personal losses.

After confirming that she had officially accepted Feng Congmi as her disciple, Huo Qing'e turned to look at Qin Hesheng beside her with a slightly pleased expression.

"How about it? Do you also want to learn Taoist arts from me? I can teach you Taoist arts in the same way. All you need to do is show me the Kagura music that can move mountains and rivers with a single dance."

Shi Bai: "..."

Huo Qing'e's conditions for him were quite simple: he had to dance for her regularly... This was absolutely outrageous!

...You rebellious student!! I have no student like you who disrespects their teacher!!!

Seeing the expectant look on one of his students' faces, Shi Bai suddenly felt very fortunate that he was wearing a mask, otherwise he felt that he might have spat out a mouthful of blood.

...Never mind, ignorance is no excuse...and the other party probably isn't guilty either...

He had just thought of this, and before he could reply, Huo Qing'e spoke up as if she had suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, I heard that Qin Hesheng, who is known as the 'Number One Person in the Divine Path,' also has an unparalleled appearance. So, in order to avoid being harassed, he usually wears a mask when he meets people. Is that true?"

Everyone has a gossipy nature, and Huo Qing'e, this immortal, is no exception, after all, she can now be said to be completely famous.

Shi Bai: "..."

Hmm... I've decided. When I get back, I'm going to give this unfilial son a ton of homework every day.

Like the model train driver who drives at a constant speed and is never late. The conscientious contractors with clear division of labor and perfect teamwork. The crazy pool manager who fills and drains the pool at the same time. The perverted old farmer who puts hens and rabbits in the same cage. The arrogant little Ming who leaves early but deliberately slows down, waiting for his older brother to catch up… All these things, after being modified, will be added to the other side!! Let you, this unfilial disciple, know the pain of being dominated by mathematics! Aaaaaaaahh ...

"That's right. Qin Hesheng is so handsome that he is often pursued and proposed to by people who mistake him for a girl. He has been troubled by this, which is why he chose to wear a mask."

Just as the person with a dark and extremely vengeful mind had finished preparing his words, as if he had long wanted to confide in someone, Toyosato Miko impatiently stabbed him several times.

"........."

Looking at the two people in front of him who were chatting happily about his embarrassing past, Shi Bai couldn't help but fall into a long silence.

Hmm... If my true identity as this persona is ever exposed, I'll have to find a way to take care of both the divine child and my unworthy student beforehand... Since I can't solve the problem, I'll just have to find the person who created it... Let's do it, all the way!!!

..............................................................................

Because of this chance encounter on a spring afternoon and Huo Qing'e's sudden impulse, Toyotomi no Mikoto ultimately stepped into the exceptionally aloof and cold world of Taoism.

In terms of aptitude alone, Toyosatomimi no Miko is many times stronger than Huo Qing'e, so she is quite fast in mastering Taoist arts.

Based on the principle of sharing good things that they had been taught since childhood, Mononobe no Futsu and Soga no Tokiko also began to learn Taoist arts together. Huo Qing'e was indifferent to this, after all, teaching one person is teaching, teaching three people is teaching, so she just considered it as spreading Taoism.

Although Shi Bai was forced to start learning Taoist arts by being pulled together by the other three, he was quite perfunctory in his approach.

As time went by, the popular belief that he was the number one deity showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, it became more and more prevalent over time.

Regardless of the motives of those behind this, someone seemed quite pleased with the outcome.

Under such circumstances, time flies forward rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, the summer heat arrives.

"Not bad, your cooking skills have reached one percent of my teacher's level."

In a cool courtyard surrounded by green bamboo, Huo Qing'e generously gave Qin Hesheng, whose face was dark with anger, a thumbs-up on her face, her expression full of praise.

"If you keep working hard, maybe one day you will be able to reach one-tenth of my teacher's level, which is already quite remarkable."

"Huh? This level is only one percent?"

"Yes, I agree. I think Qin Hesheng's cooking is already super delicious."