"You said that the immortals of Xuantian Sect are kind-hearted and have made it possible for the townspeople to have food and clothing without having to work."
"But as long as people live in this world, they will always need money and food."
"Where do you get the money and food you townspeople need to survive?"
The lame old man was stunned and thought about it carefully, but he couldn't figure out the reason.
"Could it be that the immortals of Xuantian Sect created it out of nothing?" Qiao Mu asked again.
"Yes... maybe it was created by the immortals." The lame old man had no doubts.
Anyway, in the eyes of ordinary people, the immortals have great magical powers and can create money and food out of thin air, which is very reasonable.
Ding ding ding.
At this time, melodious bells rang in the town.
A Taoist servant in a Taoist robe walked out of the small building with a large bucket of rice porridge beside him.
"The immortals of Xuantian Sect are distributing porridge... I won't talk nonsense with you anymore." The lame old man was walking in a hurry with the help of a walking stick.
...
Ding ding ding.
The sound of the town's bell spread far away, penetrating the vague mountain fog and reaching the Taoist temple halfway up the mountain.
Emperor Yonghe stood on a hillside not far from Qingyun Temple, looking down at the town below, with a bitter feeling in his heart.
How could he not know where the money and food of the immortal leaders of the Xuantian Sect came from
"The Immortal Sect is hypocritical, all the criticisms are from the court, and I have to bear them all."
"Cooperating with Xuantian Sect this time is actually taking advantage of the situation... But I am not acting rashly without a backup plan." Emperor Yonghe stretched out his hand and pressed a certain place on his waist, feeling a little relieved.
"It all depends on the day we worship God."
Chapter 102: Chiyang Immortal (3k
Ding ding ding.
Amid the melodious sound of bells, Taoist priests in Taoist robes began to distribute rice porridge, serving large bowls of rice porridge to the people who swarmed in from the surrounding areas.
The porridge provided to the townspeople naturally could not be any luxury fish or meat. The rice porridge was just enough to fill people up and not go hungry.
But times are difficult now. It can be said that every time a natural disaster occurs in Nanzhou, there will be famine of varying degrees. A bowl of ordinary rice porridge, at most, may be a meal that saves a life, which will naturally make the civilians grateful.
What's more, the only work the townspeople need to do is to go up the mountain to burn incense and worship the gods.
Compared to hard farming, this kind of work is much easier.
"Don't push, don't push. Everyone has a share. Come one by one..."
The Taoist priest who was distributing porridge shouted, but his brows unconsciously frowned and he subconsciously covered his mouth and nose.
Those who came to receive the rice porridge were basically the lowest-level townspeople who had no other jobs.
The living conditions of the lowest class of townspeople were not very good. It was noon now, and there was a large crowd of people gathered together. The smell made the Taoist servant feel a little nauseous every time.
These people gathered in such a large circle, and the smell of sweat, body odor, and foot odor mixed together, the smell was quite sour and refreshing.
However disgusting it was, the Taoist servant had to endure and complete the task assigned by the sect.
The lame old man also squeezed into the crowd with his crutch.
It's just that he is old and his legs are a little lame. Although he uses a cane, he still walks slowly.
By the time he arrived in front of the porridge shop, most of the large buckets of rice porridge had been used up, and there were two or three circles of people surrounding it.
"Rice porridge... Immortals, please give me some too."
The lame old man shouted.
But the crowd was so crowded that no one cared about this frail old man.
When the crowd gradually dispersed, there was only half a bowl of porridge in his bowl.
"This... is a bit too little, right? Immortals..." The old man thought for a moment and looked eagerly at the Taoist priest who was distributing porridge.
"You think it's not enough?" The strong Taoist servant was a little impatient.
The menial Taoist priests of Xuantian Sect are basically strong and healthy martial artists, or cultivators who have just embarked on the path to immortality.
However, these Taoist servants were internal force warriors themselves, and they were already a little impatient to be asked to do such menial tasks as distributing porridge. When they saw the old man approaching, their faces showed a hint of displeasure.
"Are you a resident of this town? Don't be a foreigner who comes here to eat porridge." The strong servant Taoist frowned and said:
"Do you have a household registration in this town?"
"Yes, yes, yes." When talking about household registration, the lame old man straightened his back a little, looking quite proud.
But when he fumbled in his arms, his face froze at first, and then turned into a wry smile.
"Master, I am old now, and I seem to have forgotten to bring my household registration book..."
"No, I am a resident of this town. I go up the mountain to burn incense and worship the gods every day... I just forgot today."
Although he smiled like this, he was secretly cursing himself for being old and confused.
"I shouldn't have been chatting with those two outsiders. I wasted so much time and almost didn't get the rice porridge this time..." He sighed in his heart.
"... What are you talking about without a household registration?" The Taoist servant had a sullen face and snatched the half bowl of porridge from the lame old man. This action made the old man stunned.
"Brother, this is not appropriate." Another Taoist priest nearby advised.
"This is the rule of the immortal sect and it cannot be broken." The Taoist priest said calmly.
“This…” The lame old man’s face turned pale and blue. This was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
He was unable to catch his breath, his face flushed slightly, his legs felt a little weak, and he just sat down on the side of the road.
"Why are you still blackmailing me?" The Taoist servant's face changed slightly.
The Immortal Sect has to have some dignity. When this old man sat on the ground like this, many people around him looked at him immediately.
The Taoist priest was about to speak, but his face suddenly froze.
A long rainbow fell from the sky and transformed into a middle-aged Taoist priest in a red Taoist robe.
"It's the Immortal Chiyang!"
"How come the Chiyang Immortal, who has a tablet in Qingyun Temple, has come down to earth?"
"The Xuantian Sect immortals who have tablets are real immortals."
The appearance of Taoist Chiyang immediately caused a commotion around him, and many people looked over.
Although the common people all called the people of Xuantian Sect immortals or sages, they also knew that these martial arts Taoists who did odd jobs could not be confused with the Chiyang Taoists who had tablets in Taoist temples.
The Taoist Chiyang pointed at the ground, and an invisible force lifted the lame old man who was sitting on the ground up.
Taoist Chiyang turned around and reprimanded the strong Taoist servant: "I've said it before, distributing porridge is related to the common people. We can't be careless because of the small matter. Isn't it just a bowl of rice porridge?"
"Go get some more, another bowl, one bowl for each person."
Since Taoist Chiyang had spoken, these Taoist servants naturally dared not disobey.
After a while, the Taoist servant came with another bucket of rice porridge, which attracted another crowd of people.
The lame old man also got a big bowl of rice porridge as he wished and walked away happily.
At the same time, he did not forget to bow repeatedly to express his gratitude to Taoist Chiyang.
"The Chiyang Immortal is kindhearted and came down to earth just to give me a bowl of porridge."
"Famine continues. If it weren't for the immortals of Xuantian Sect, I don't know how we would survive in this world now."
Amid the people's continuous admiration and thanks, the Chiyang Immortal simply smiled in response, then soared into the sky once again and quickly disappeared from the people's sight.
He stood on the clouds, looking down at the town. The smile on his face gradually faded and his brows furrowed.
"The servants below don't know how to treat the people well, they need to be punished."
"Those who can become citizens of this town are all excellent believers. Each of them can provide incense and prayer power, so we cannot ignore them casually."
It takes a long time to practice the way of immortality.
Although immortal cultivators have a long lifespan, that is only relative to ordinary people and mortal warriors. There are also many immortal cultivators who die due to the exhaustion of their lifespan.
Therefore, the "incense talismans" that can accelerate practice and the believers who can provide incense and vows become increasingly precious.
Although Taoist Chiyang's tablet was the last, he also knew the benefits of incense and talismans.
“Speaking of which, the sect has set up such a town at the foot of the mountain for believers to live in, which has really increased a lot of incense and prayer power.” Thinking of this, Taoist Chiyang also smiled.
"Senior Brother Chiyang, you seem to be quite knowledgeable about the way of incense and fire. Could you give me some advice?" asked Qingyang, another Taoist priest in the clouds.
Taoist Qingyang is a newly promoted deacon of the sect, and also ranks last among all the Taoist immortals.
"As for the way of burning incense, it actually requires a certain degree of control." Taoist Chiyang smiled and said:
"The Great Yan Dynasty must be chaotic. It won't do without chaos. But it won't do if it's too chaotic either."
"The world is bitter and turbid, the people are in hardship, and their hearts are confused and in pain. That's why more people burn incense and worship gods to seek psychological comfort, providing a steady stream of incense and prayer power."
"If everyone is happy, how many people will still yearn to worship the immortals?"
Taoist Qingyang nodded repeatedly after hearing this, as if he had been enlightened.
"Brother, your opinion is really great."
"But this world is too chaotic, so what's the explanation?"
The Immortal Chiyang smiled and said:
“That makes sense.”
"If war, natural disasters or famine cause a sharp decline in population, then that won't work either."
"That's why there are small towns like Qingming Town, which are specifically designed to shelter believers."
"It seems that the lame old man was born as a refugee. When he was given a bowl of porridge, he wanted to worship the immortal. If there was no famine, I think his piety would be reduced a little."
Taoist Qingyang was also amazed after hearing this:
"I never thought that the way of incense burning has so many details."
Immortal Chiyang smiled and said, "The nine great immortal sects have suppressed the Great Yan Dynasty for forty years. What I just said is actually just the experience and insights gained by the immortal sects in the past forty years."
Taxes in towns and cities ruled by the Great Yan court became increasingly heavy, and the people were suffering, so they burned incense and worshipped the gods.
And places like Qingming Town can shelter believers.
In comparison, the people's resentment will obviously be directed at the Great Yan court, and the Immortal Sect can gain fame at the same time. It can be said to be a win-win situation, winning twice.
The two Taoists Chiyang and Qingyang chatted and laughed, then turned into rainbow light and returned to the sect, quickly disappearing into the clouds.
...
On the table, Wu Qi was placing a thread-bound book on the table.
"The action is imminent, do you want to take a look at this secret method first?"
Qiao Mu took a look and saw the words "The Transformations of Flesh and Blood" written on the cover of the book, which seemed to be something he had already mastered.
"Your flesh and blood are so versatile, but are you still at the stage of makeup and disguise?" Wu Qizheng smiled:
"The magical art of Flesh and Blood Transformation was created by the Martial Saint back then, but it is only a rough version and is not yet perfect. The version that has been circulated in the Wuji Association is also a rough version."
"It was only recently that I gradually perfected my practice. When I reached a high level, I could control my body with my mind and change my shape and appearance."
"... Is this what the Martial Saint meant?" Qiao Mu narrowed his eyes.
"That's what I meant." Wu Qizheng didn't explain further, glanced out the door, and abruptly changed the subject:
"The one who just appeared on the street was the Immortal Chiyang?"
"Red Sun Immortal... I remember this name." Qiao Mu also looked up at the sky, thinking.
When he was burned to death at the gate of Xuantian Temple in Heyang Prefecture, he remembered the name on the tablet at the gate of the Taoist temple before he died.
"Not bad." Wu Qi squinted his eyes:
"According to Envoy Xingxuan's intelligence, Taoist Chiyang and Taoist Qingyang are the immortal cultivators who openly escorted the emperor into Qingyun Temple."
"Since Taoist Chiyang has appeared here, then the Great Yan Emperor may also be nearby?"