Chapter 10

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The abbot was the master of the Daoist temple. In the Great Jing Dynasty, he could also be directly called a Daoist Master.

Become the abbot of Longqi Temple?

Jiang Changsheng hesitated and did not answer immediately. It was impossible for him not to have thought about it. He believed that he was the strongest in Longqi Temple, and no one was more qualified than him. However, he did not expect to face this matter so soon.

The Longqi Temple was not an aristocratic organization. There was no infighting, and the disciples had pure hearts and few desires. Naturally, there was no need for the Daoist Master to test the disciples.

Jiang Changsheng answered, “Of course I am willing to work for the Daoist temple. However, I am still young and I am afraid I can’t take up the position. Eldest Senior Sister is more suitable than me. Besides, why did Master ask this? You can continue as a Daoist Master for many years.”

Daoist Master Qingxu raised his right hand and his sleeves fell, revealing his wrist that was covered with black blood vessels. It was as if black worms had crawled all over his skin and were still wriggling. It was a horrifying scene.

Jiang Changsheng frowned.

Daoist Master Qingxu calmly said, “This poison is the evilest poison of the demonic sects. Even the aura of a true dragon cannot eliminate it. I will live for at most five years. I will give you another five years, and you have to be prepared to assume the responsibility of an abbot. As for your eldest senior sister, she is a woman with outstanding looks and is Qiuhe’s biological sister. If she were to become an abbot, she would definitely bring about disaster.”

Jiang Changsheng felt that it made sense. Longqi Temple was located in the center of power of the Great Jing Dynasty, and high-ranking officials and nobles often came to visit. A beautiful abbot would indeed cause a lot of trouble.

Five years…

Five years later, he would only be twenty-one years old. That was too early!

Even though Jiang Changsheng did not refuse to be an abbot, he did not want to be too busy so early in his life. His main focus was on cultivation.

“Is there really no cure?” Jiang Changsheng frowned and asked.

Daoist Master Qingxu shook his head and laughed. “Nothing is absolute. It’s just that there’s no antidote yet. Changsheng, you have to take it as a warning and avoid provoking the fiend sects. Be it good or bad, those who defy the heavens will always bring bad luck to the people around them.”

Jiang Changsheng continued to ask, “Why do you say that? What’s the special background of the fiend sects?”

Those who defied the natural order…

Could it be a rebel?

Daoist Master Qingxu shook his head and said no more.

Jiang Changsheng hesitated for a moment before he continued to ask, “Master, do you know my background? It seems like someone wants to kill me. The previous disaster…”

“Don’t think too much about it. It has nothing to do with you. It’s just that someone wants to get rid of Longqi Temple,” Daoist Master Qingxu interrupted.

Jiang Changsheng frowned again.

It was not easy for him to have the chance to ask, so he would not give up.

Daoist Master Qingxu had a good relationship with Emperor Jiang Yuan, so he had to test him!

“Why does His Majesty take special care of me? I heard from Chen Li that he wanted to recommend me to participate in the martial arts examination just because I met him once. He even asked the Fourth Prince to find me to practice martial arts. The way His Majesty looked at me last time…”

Jiang Changsheng did not continue because Daoist Master Qingxu was staring at him intently. His gaze was exceptionally unfamiliar. He had never seen Daoist Master Qingxu reveal such an expression.

In an instant, Jiang Changsheng was ready to fight.

He dared to ask because his confidence came from his strength!

If Daoist Master Qingxu were to save him, it would also be part of his conspiracy. At most, he would escape from the capital and come back when he was invincible.

Daoist Master Qingxu faintly said, “Changsheng, I don’t know who you learned it from, but I believe there must be an expert guiding you behind the scenes. An expert that even I could not detect. His strength is unimaginable and I’m afraid he’s a peerless expert above the Spiritual Sense Realm. However, I advise you to be careful and not trust others easily. That’s right, your background is indeed not simple. It’s not worth your time to explore. It’s dangerous and cruel.”

Jiang Changsheng frowned when he heard that. He did not refute Daoist Master Qingxu. It was fine to fabricate a backer, but Daoist Master Qingxu’s words made him think of more possibilities.

“Today, I will tell you the current realm of martial arts. From the lowest to the highest, it is divided into Third-rate, Second-rate, First-rate, True Essence, and Spiritual Sense. Someone in the Spiritual Sense Realm is regarded as a top expert in ordinary martial arts world, but that is not the case. There are higher realms above that, and as far as I know, there is the Heavenly Arrival Realm. The current His Majesty does not seem to have any skills, but he has the luck of the Emperor. Once he unleashes the true dragon’s aura, he is comparable to an expert in the Spiritual Sense Realm. Most importantly, there is a Heavenly Arrival Realm martial artist in the palace, and that person is the true pillar of the Great Jing Dynasty.”

Daoist Master Qingxu’s tone was unfathomable, and no one could tell his emotions.

Third-rate, Second-rate, First-rate, True Essence, Spiritual Sense, and Heaven Arrival!

Jiang Changsheng’s frown deepened. The Ghost-Eyed Evil King was an expert at the Spiritual Sense Realm. Before he broke through to the fourth level of the Dao Technique, he could easily kill the Ghost-Eyed Evil King. This meant that at that time, he was at least invincible at the Spiritual Sense Realm. Now, his strength had greatly improved and should be comparable to a Heaven Arrival Realm expert.

This was only his guess and he did not dare to gamble. He could only live for one lifetime and had no chance to reincarnate, so he had to be careful.

Daoist Master Qingxu spoke again. “Saving you has already brought about a huge disaster for the Longqi Temple. I originally wanted to hide it, but since you have the intention to investigate, I can only tell you that there are only two paths for you to live. The first is for me to send you to the holy land of the martial arts world, but you will still not be able to escape the pursuit of your enemies. The second is for me to protect you for another five years. Within these five years, you have to grow as much as possible. After that, use the name of the Longqi Temple to rope in your connections and fight against that great aristocrat. The existence of the Longqi Temple was established by the Emperor when he founded the country and announced it to the world. Unless the Longqi Temple commits treason, even His Majesty cannot uproot the Longqi Temple.”

“Great Jing, faith is the foundation of the country. From the Emperor to the common people, faith is the most important.”

“Alright, you may leave.”

Jiang Changsheng did not ask further. He cupped his hands, bowed, and left.

After he turned around, his expression turned cold.

Haha.

A great aristocrat.

Jiang Changsheng understood what Daoist Master Qingxu meant. At the same time, he felt fortunate and fearful. Fortunately, he was not rash when he met Jiang Yuan.

In the quiet courtyard, Daoist Master Qingxu stared at the old tree in front of him. The mottled autumn leaves slowly fell onto the grass pile below without stirring up any dust.

“Alas, a family and a country in trouble…”

…

The day after he finished chatting with Daoist Master Qingxu, Jiang Changsheng moved out and found a courtyard to stay in. As the Second Senior Brother, he naturally had the qualifications. Meng Qiushuang, who was in charge of power, did not even ask much and directly agreed.

Qing Ku was reluctant, but Jiang Changsheng agreed that he could visit him at any time in the future. Only then did he smile.

The reason why Jiang Changsheng stayed alone was because he did not want to be disturbed and wanted to just cultivate in peace.

The Heaven Arrival state expert in the palace had become his imaginary enemy. He had to become as strong as possible.

Regarding the poison that Daoist Master Qingxu had been inflicted with, he would also think of ways to try and detoxify it. After all, he had already mastered the Spring and Autumn Medical Manual, but he was still unable to detoxify the poison for the time being. He would have to wait for a year or two first. If he did not encounter any danger in the past two years, it meant that Daoist Master Qingxu was really good to him.

Jiang Changsheng’s move did not cause any surprise among the disciples. Instead, they felt that it was only right for him to move out.

Having the Second Senior Brother living in their courtyard made them feel uneasy.

After staying alone, Jiang Changsheng did not even ring the bell and handed over the responsibility to other disciples. He was now the Second Senior Brother, so other than Meng Qiushuang, no one dared to reject his orders.

In the blink of an eye.

The heavy snow finally arrived, and the cold snow covered the capital.

“The righteous and the evil have gathered at Mount Yang, and a peerless war was about to begin. Unexpectedly, a person came out from Mount Yang and self-proclaimed to the called Emperor Yang Zhao. His strength was terrifying to the extreme. Even when the righteous and evil joined hands, he was knocked down the mountain alone and his name shook the world.”

“Even though it’s the martial arts world, how can you call yourself an emperor? When His Majesty learned of this, he was furious and ordered the Silver-armored Leopard Light Cavalry to encircle and suppress Huiyang Mountain. Three thousand Silver-armored Leopard Light Cavalry were elites of the Great Jing Dynasty, and there were more than a thousand casualties. In the end, Emperor Yang Zhao even escaped. Right now, Emperor Yang Zhao’s bounty is hanging in every corner of the world.”

Chen Li spoke rhythmically with a wine glass in his hand, as if he was a storyteller. Jiang Changsheng listened with relish.

In the new year, Chen Li aged faster than time. More and more gray hair appeared on his temples, and his eyes were filled with fatigue.

Every time he came to Longqi Temple, other than bringing gifts, Chen Li would tell Jiang Changsheng about the martial arts world and the court. Sometimes, he would also explain his frustration.

After Jiang Changsheng heard about the influential figures in the world, he asked curiously, “Is His Majesty still obsessed with alchemy?”

When Chen Li heard that, he angrily said, “That’s right, he’s simply muddle-headed!”

Jiang Changsheng was frightened. Even though he had outstanding senses and knew that there was no one outside the building, Chen Li’s boldness was not a good thing. It was easy to attract a fatal disaster. He really did not want to live a wandering life.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Brother Chen, you have to pay more attention to your words and actions. Perhaps your predicament is related to your words and actions.”

Jiang Changsheng said with sincerity. Chen Li immediately sobered up, but he was still furious.

Chen Li gritted his teeth and said, “His Majesty places great importance on the Demonic Priest. Since the Demonic Priest is close to the Second Prince, he will sooner or later be in danger of seizing the throne. At that time…”

When Jiang Changsheng heard that, he understood what was going on.

The position of the fake prince was unstable.

Could it be Jiang Yuan’s idea that the Demonic Priest was close to the Second Prince?

Chen Li raised his cup and gulped it down. He wiped his mouth and exhaled a long breath. “Changsheng, I’ll take my leave first. There’s a snake egg in that small box. This snake egg was born from a demon snake and is extremely spiritual. If it can be nurtured and passed down for generations, it can become a mountain guardian spirit beast in the future.”

He got up, put on his raincoat, and left with his sword.

Looking at his bent back, Jiang Changsheng could not bear to see him like this and said, “Brother Chen, if you encounter any trouble, you can tell me. I will help if I can.”

Chen Li stopped at the door and chuckled. “Stinky brat, when I really need your help, my Chen family will definitely be at the end of its rope. At that time, I won’t be stingy with my words. Cultivate well.”

He pushed the door open and gently closed it.

Jiang Changsheng was silent. It seemed like the vortex in the capital was getting more and more chaotic.

The Emperor was obsessed with the pursuit of longevity. In the history of China in his previous life, this symbolized was a bad start and might even usher in the collapse of a dynasty.

The Great Jing Dynasty could not be the Qin Dynasty in another world, right?

Jiang Changsheng stood up and walked to the table. He lifted the cloth on the small box and opened it. Inside was a white egg larger than a goose egg. He reached out and touched it. It was scorching hot in the cold winter. He could even sense a faint strange energy inside.

A descendant of a demon beast?

Jiang Changsheng was interested. It was not bad to raise pets.

From his current understanding, even though there were demons in this world, there were very few of them. At the very least, they were not enough to overthrow the human dynasty. There were no immortals or gods in this world. As for the Immortal Cultivators, most of them were bewitching demons and swindlers. They were often forced out of their true forms by the martial artists.