Free Web NovelChapter 268: Chapter 2: The Approaching Daoist Scripture Hall Dharma Assembly
He first chatted briefly with Yu Lian to take his mind off the talisman’s might, then leisurely ate breakfast before bringing her to Yu Cheng Taoist’s small courtyard.
"Are you preparing to attend the Daoist Scripture Hall’s assembly?" Yu Cheng asked.
"Yes!" Wang Ping nodded. "Regardless of the outcome this time, I’ll be making a trip to Shangjing City. Master, would you like to come along?"
"Alright. I’ll have Fellow Daoist Wu look after the Daoist Temple."
"Right."
"For this election, the Daoist Scripture Hall has notified all the Fourth and Fifth Seats. Even the Sixth Seats are allowed to observe. I declined the invitation, citing that I was in Death Seclusion. This will be to your advantage," Yu Cheng Taoist said slowly.
"The venue is being provided by the Dragon Palace in Lishui Prefecture. Fellow Daoist Tianshan sent word that over ninety percent of the Fourth and Fifth Seats have arrived, and not a single Sixth Seat is absent. As for the Third Seats, it’s the same as always—they will all appear as illusions. It’s highly likely that none of them will be absent either."
He looked at Wang Ping. "You need to be careful. Your status is different now. Don’t let the provocations of a few clowns get to you. If you want to deal with them, there will be plenty of ways to do so after the vote."
In his master’s eyes, even after advancing to the Third Realm, Wang Ping was perhaps still just a child.
"I’ll be careful."
Wang Ping nodded in agreement. In his master’s presence, he had always been well-behaved when it came to minor matters, and advancing to the Third Realm hadn’t changed that.
Seeing Wang Ping about to get up and leave, Yu Cheng Taoist suddenly looked frail, and said, "Lately, when I meditate, I often think of my master and my eldest senior brother, and of what happened at Baisui Lake. Sometimes, I feel like they’re right beside me, as if they’re calling my name."
Wang Ping’s brow furrowed slightly at his words. He rarely frowned.
"Soon, we’ll be able to resolve the matter with Li Yan."
As Wang Ping gave his assurance, he discreetly activated his Inspiration Realm. The Spiritual Energy around Yu Cheng Taoist’s body was almost the same as an ordinary person’s. But Wang Ping could do nothing, for the more he tried to help, the more he risked accelerating the depletion of the Spirit Veins within his master’s body.
"Good!" As Yu Cheng Taoist replied, a measure of vitality returned to the Spirit Veins within his body.
...
Leaving Yu Cheng Taoist’s courtyard, he flew straight toward Jinhuai Prefecture.
Along the way, Wang Ping mentally prioritized his upcoming trip to Shangjing City. As he was lost in thought, the Heaven-Reaching Talisman in his Primordial Spirit stirred slightly, and he felt a sudden palpitation in his chest, a sensation reminiscent of his mortal days.
He immediately came to a halt. By now, he had already flown past Shang’an Prefecture and had reached the border of Wudao Prefecture.
Everything was eerily quiet. The autumn wind swirled beneath the clouds, and the sunlight falling from the sky seemed just right. Wang Ping found it odd. With a flash, he took Yu Lian and landed atop a mountain peak, where he took out his divination blocks and cast a reading.
The result was a Yang Trigram.
"What’s wrong?"
Yu Lian asked.
Wang Ping shook his head and scanned his surroundings again. Nothing was happening. He calmed his mind, looking up at the sky and then down at the earth, and suppressed the sliver of complacency he’d felt since breaking through to the Third Realm.
"Let’s go!"
As he spoke, he brought Yu Lian with him and submerged them within the Wood Spirit Qi, covering a distance of a hundred li in the blink of an eye.
As he neared Jinhuai Prefecture, he saw Zi Luan ascending from the direction of the Six Heart Sect. They exchanged a look from dozens of li away and, as if by tacit agreement, both flew toward the Daoist Scripture Hall.
They landed on the roof of the Daoist Scripture Hall’s main building at nearly the same moment. Then, with a shared understanding, they descended onto the Celestial Platform of the top floor. The Cultivators on guard nearby saw them and discreetly moved further away.
Just then, a Puppet Bird descended toward Wang Ping.
It was the most common model. Puzzled, Wang Ping retrieved the message from its abdomen and began to read it right in front of Daoist Zi Luan.
The message was from He Jiu. Wang Ping had granted him this authority, but this was the first time He Jiu had ever used it.
It contained only a single sentence: In the past half-month, Daoist Zuo Xuan has used her personal connections to contact several Second Realm Cultivators and has transferred all of them to Ningzhou Road.
’Little Qianqian also seems to have recently contacted two Fake Pill Demon Race members with Second Realm Cultivation and has secretly traveled with them to Ningzhou Road,’ Yu Lian communicated to Wang Ping in his Spirit Sea after reading the message.
"Is it something important?" Zi Luan asked, puzzled.
"No, just a minor thing." Wang Ping suddenly seemed to guess something. He turned to Zi Luan and asked, "Has there been any news of Wulang recently?"
"I haven’t heard anything. However, given your current status, Fellow Daoist, it’s not really appropriate for you to move against him anymore." There was a hint of admonishment in Zi Luan’s tone.
A faint smile touched Wang Ping’s lips as he handed the message to Zi Luan.
Zi Luan took it, puzzled, and read it over. His brow twitched slightly. "If they’re going to hunt down Wulang, then we really must pretend we don’t know." After a moment, he sighed, "Zuo Xuan is a clever woman. It seems I’ve overlooked her."
He looked at Wang Ping’s worried expression and laughed. "Ah, you. Still so sentimental. You’ll have plenty more to worry about in the future. Once this world descends into chaos, all sorts of characters will make their debut. Are you really going to handle everything personally then?"
Wang Ping’s expression turned neutral. He gazed in the direction of Ningzhou Prefecture, taking out two Copper Coins to fiddle with. "I only regret that I can’t be the one to solve this problem myself."
Zi Luan burst out laughing. After a triumphant chuckle, he said, "Wulang is probably even more frustrated than you are. He’d likely prefer to die at your hands rather than be mobbed by a bunch of nobodies!"
...
「Lishui Prefecture, Central Island.」
The core of the Dragon Palace’s Central City was formed by three major waterways and six grand avenues, each over sixty feet wide, that encircled the Dragon Palace. From the sky, the layout resembled an Eight Trigrams Array.
「South of the city.」 fгeewebnovёl.com
Near Rainbow Port stood a thousand-year-old banyan tree, and beside it, a palace constructed from massive stones. The gate alone was sixty feet high. Inside was a vast, sunken pit, surrounded by colossal walls of seamlessly joined megaliths that seemed to have been divinely crafted, stretching straight to the heavens. The roof above was perforated with openings at regular intervals, allowing sunlight to pour into the enormous palace.
Legend had it that this was where the Dragon Monarch had once achieved enlightenment, and the great pit in the ground was the impression left from when he slept in his True Dragon form.
Normally, the area was heavily guarded, and ordinary people could not get anywhere near it. Recently, however, it was teeming with people, especially local residents, who filled nearly every inch of space outside the cordoned-off boundaries.
「The morning of the third day of the ninth month.」
The Sixth Seat members of the Daoist Scripture Hall, who had arrived on Central Island months in advance, now eagerly gathered outside the palace. Under the envious gazes of the local residents, they passed through layers of security checks and walked toward the palace gates.
Two hours later, the Fifth Seat members also began to arrive in small groups. They seemed more alert than the Sixth Seats who had come before them, their expressions holding more caution. A large number of them even wore masks of various designs.
Feng Miao was at the rear of the group. She was dressed in the Daoist Robe of the True Yang Sect. Having spent twenty years in Lishui Prefecture, she had made many friends, and a crowd now gathered around her. Most of them wore the official Daoist Robes of the Daoist Scripture Hall.
Suddenly, Feng Miao spotted a familiar figure up ahead. She quickly excused herself from her friends, hurried forward a few steps, and called out, "Fellow Daoist Liu!"
The person ahead of her was Liu Shuang, flanked by young Daoists from the Pingdong Sect and the Three Flames Temple.
"Elder!"
Liu Shuang showed her utmost respect.
Feng Miao smiled. "There’s no need to be so formal. Just call me Fellow Daoist."
Just as Liu Shuang was about to reply, another voice called out, "Fellow Daoist Liu!" This time, it was an Entry-level Disciple from the Single Saber Sect.
Then, a succession of people came over to greet her, all of them Fifth Seats from Nanlin Road.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty people had gathered around Liu Shuang. She was a gregarious and eloquent person herself, with an excellent reputation on Nanlin Road. After greeting everyone, she introduced Feng Miao, adding a special note at the end:
"Elder Feng is a good friend my master made back in his Qi Cultivation days."
In an instant, Feng Miao was met with a flood of goodwill, making her feel as if she had returned to the time just after her own promotion. It also made her slightly uneasy.
But just then, a discordant voice cut in, "Senior Sister Feng, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place!"
Feng Miao frowned at the sound of his voice. She looked over and saw a man in the Daoist Robe of the True Yang Sect. He wore the short beard popular among cultivators and had a righteous-looking face, perfectly matching a mortal’s idealized image of a Daoist.
