"Your Majesty, it seems that we were sent out by the immortal inside?"
The guard approached the old emperor and spoke carefully.
"I can see that."
The old emperor looked around and found that none of the immortal masters from the Heavenly Master's Office seemed to have come out. Except for the National Master, the three people who had been accompanying Ji Yuan and the old beggar in the hall were also still in the hall. He turned his gaze and found Qiao Yong standing beside him with a nervous look on his face.
The old emperor had a kind look on his face.
"Qiao Aiqing, tell me how you met the two immortals. Did they say anything special? Come, prepare the tables and chairs, refreshments, Qiao Aiqing and I want to have a long talk here."
Qiao Yong was flattered and said "Yes, Your Majesty" repeatedly. After the attendants had set up the tables and chairs, he sat down with the emperor and began to recount in detail his previous encounter with Ji Yuan and the old beggar.
Just as he was talking about closing the stall after selling the vegetables, the old emperor interrupted him with a look of astonishment on his face.
"What? Minister Qiao has fallen to the point where he has to sell vegetables to make a living. Is there a traitor in the court who dares to persecute him? I was just sympathizing with your hard work overseas for many years and letting you rest at home for a while. I am still waiting for you to continue to work hard for the country in the future. How can you be so miserable?"
No matter whether the emperor really didn't know or was pretending to be ignorant, Qiao Yong, as a commoner, didn't dare to take advantage of the fact that he knew an immortal and used a feather as a token of authority. He remained cautious and was grateful for the emperor's concern.
"Your Majesty is so concerned, I am terrified! No one has harmed me, but I feel guilty towards my former subordinates. I know they are not doing well, so I have spent all my wealth and property to help them. Of course, everything is fine at home, we have enough to eat and warm clothes, and selling vegetables can be considered as a way to cultivate our sentiments, to cultivate our sentiments..."
The old emperor did not look pleased when he heard this, but instead looked serious.
"I feel ashamed of my brothers, Lord Qiao, please tell me in detail how you feel ashamed. I remember that our dynasty has provided a lot of relief funds. Could it be that someone has embezzled it?"
There was a hint of ferocity on his face as he glanced at the guard beside him. The latter felt a chill in his heart and immediately understood what the emperor meant, and immediately saluted with his fists.
"Your Majesty and Lord Qiao, please wait for a moment. I will go check it out right away!"
After saying this, the guard slowly retreated, then used his Qinggong skills to leave quickly. He didn't know whether someone really embezzled money or if it was the emperor's instruction from the beginning. But no matter what, from this moment on, someone must have embezzled money to cause Qiao Yong's old subordinates to suffer. No matter how wrong he was, the emperor could not be wrong.
Seeing the guards go away, the old emperor sighed and looked at Qiao Yong with a kind expression again.
"Hey, Qiao Aiqing, you've worked hard. Come on, continue talking, and speak slowly!"
"Yes, yes, I accept your order..."
How could Qiao Yong dare to say no? He sat up straight and explained in detail.
On a tree in the courtyard, a paper crane kept staring at the emperor and Qiao Yong, and also looked in the direction where the guards left.
…
In the main hall of the Heavenly Master's Office, the Imperial Master and other monks from the Heavenly Master's Office saw Ji Yuan send the Emperor and others away with a wave of his sleeves, but they did not dare to say anything more, let alone mention the crime of disrespect.
For people with great supernatural powers like the man in green and the old beggar in front of them, there are almost no taboos. No matter whether you are a secular noble or an emperor, or a demon or a monster, it has no effect on them.
"I heard from Master Qiao a long time ago that Mr. Ji wanted to see me for something. I wonder what instructions you two immortals have for me today?"
Men Yutong did not mention a word about Ji Yuan's promise to contact Xianxia Island for them. He only talked about Ji Yuan and the old beggar's request, even though he knew very well that the old emperor should be more concerned about the immortal's promise.
"Haha, Imperial Master, don't be so reserved. To tell you the truth, the reason why Mr. Lu and I went to war was just to seek justice for Qiao Yong's small piece of land. I owe him that. As for why I came to you."
When Ji Yuan said this, the old beggar also pricked up his ears. He had been asking Ji Yuan before, but the latter was always mysterious. It was time for him to tell him now, and he couldn't chase him away, right
Ji Yuan thought for a moment before speaking.
"The Imperial Master gave Qiao Yong a jade pendant that can distinguish between good and evil. I wonder if the Imperial Master still remembers it?"
Men Yutong nodded.
"Of course I remember. That is the Xiezhi pendant. Its main function is to warn the fleet of treasure ships. It can alert them in advance so that they can prepare early in case of disaster and leave quickly in case of good luck."
"Um."
Ji Yuan nodded, thinking about it in his mind.
In fact, in this world there are all kinds of animals that have become monsters, all kinds of bizarre monsters, as well as dragons, phoenixes, and gods. It is normal to have other mythical beasts, but so far, except for dragons and phoenixes, Ji Yuan has not been able to accurately understand what mythical beasts there are. Even for dragons and phoenixes, there are actually more dragons than phoenixes.
The Xiezhi is a very representative mythical beast, and it is also something that Ji Yuan clearly heard from others at this moment, and it has almost the same meaning as the mythical beast in his memory of his previous life.
"Then, how did the Imperial Master obtain this kind of magical instrument? Or, in other words, has the Imperial Master ever heard of the Xiezhi beast?"
"Xiezhi?"
The old beggar muttered to himself on the side. It was the first time he heard the name of this beast. It seemed to be a monster with a very important background, otherwise Ji Yuan would not be so concerned about it.
The Imperial Master first bowed towards Ji Yuan and the old beggar, then reached into the sleeve of his right arm and took out a scroll from the items inside, which looked like it had either words or paintings on it.
"Master, please look!"
As he spoke, Men Yutong approached Ji Yuan and the old beggar, and slowly unfolded the one-foot-long scroll in his hand, revealing a painting.
The painting shows a majestic and powerful beast with thick black fur all over its body, bright eyes, a big horn on its forehead, thick limbs and sharp claws like hooks, a short tail, a thick body, a big mouth and long teeth.
"Roar… "
This portrait of the strange beast was forbidden when it was just unfolded, but it came to life after it was fully unfolded, roaring towards the outside of the portrait, swaying its body left and right, as if trying to rush out of the portrait, and even brought a pressure that could not be ignored.
"Roar… "
The old beggar and Ji Yuan stood up again, the latter because he was slightly excited, while the former was inspired by the aura of the strange beast in the portrait.
"What kind of monster is this? Why have I, an old beggar, never seen it before? What is this? Does Mr. Ji know?"
At this moment, the National Master held the scroll tightly in both arms, with magical power flowing through his body, as if this picture could not be simply opened. Ji Yuan had already walked a few steps closer and stood in front of the portrait, and answered with squinted eyes.
"This is Xiezhi, also known as Xiezhi. It understands human speech and human nature. It is an ancient mythical beast that can distinguish right from wrong."
Originally, Men Yutong thought that Ji Yuan was just curious about the jade pendant he saw on the sea. Now that the old beggar asked, he wanted to answer for Ji Yuan, but after hearing what Ji Yuan said, he immediately realized that this immortal knew more about the beast in the painting than he thought. At least, even Men Yutong didn't know the nickname Xieqi.
"Ancient mythical beast? Xiezhi?"
The old beggar looked solemn.
"Mr. Ji, could you elaborate?"
Ji Yuan shook his head.
"I only know a little bit about it, so I should ask the Imperial Master first. The Imperial Master only has this painting?"
Men Yutong nodded.
"There is only this one painting, but it will look different at different times, and it will also react when spiritual energy and magic power enter it."
As he spoke, Men Yutong had already channeled spiritual energy into the portrait. The next moment, the color of the portrait seemed to become richer, and the beast in the painting became more vivid.
"Roar... I am Xiezhi, who dares to disturb me here? I am Xiezhi, who dares to disturb me here? Roar..."
"Well, most of the time, it only knows these two sentences."
Men Yutong explained to Ji Yuan and the old beggar, and they both seemed to be thinking about something. Ji Yuan first narrowed his eyes, then he opened his Dharma eyes and used all his Dharma power to focus on them. He stretched out his right hand, and a golden-red feather appeared in his hand.
When the feather appeared, Ji Yuan had already begun to absorb a trace of spiritual energy into his body. Faintly, a terrifying demonic aura rose up, but this demonic aura only existed at the level of consciousness and ordinary people could not perceive it at all.
But the old beggar frowned and looked at the feather. There was nothing there when he looked closely, so why did he feel a slight palpitation just now
Ji Yuan couldn't help but look at the old beggar again. Judging from his reaction, the old beggar's Taoism was indeed a little stronger than Ju Yuanzi's.
"Xiezhi, do you recognize this?"
Ji Yuan spoke calmly and held the feather in front of the portrait, but the mythical beast in the portrait was still the same one as before.
Originally Ji Yuan planned to put the feather away, but suddenly he thought of something and saw the jade passage opposite.
"Teacher, please transfer more mana and spiritual energy."
"yes!"
Men Yutong was, after all, a cultivator of the true person level. As soon as he had a thought, magical light flowed all over his body, and an endless supply of magical power, carrying spiritual energy, flowed into the painting.
A moment later, black smoke began to emerge from the body of the ferocious Xiezhi in the scroll.
"Roar... I am Xiezhi, who dares to..."
The sentence suddenly paused, and then the mythical beast in the portrait made a movement that had never appeared before, and its eyes stared at the feather in Ji Yuan's hand with a very purposeful look.
"Huh..."
A hoarse and terrifying roar came from the scroll. The national teacher felt that the scroll had become much heavier and hotter, and streams of black smoke almost overflowed from the scroll.
"Huh..."
The voice was deeper, but the sense of oppression it brought was even greater.
“Sizzle…”
Green smoke came out of Men Yutong's hands, and the scroll in his hands felt like a branding iron. However, he could hold a real branding iron, but he could hardly hold this scroll. His arms began to tremble slightly.
"Sure enough, there is a reaction!"
Ji Yuan said to the old beggar.
"Thank you, Mr. Lu, for taking over from the National Master and bringing spiritual energy to the painting."
"Um!"
The old beggar took the painting from Men Yutong without saying a word. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the imperial master could no longer hold on, and when it was in his hands, the painting immediately became much more stable.
"Let me see what's going on!"
As they spoke, the old beggar nodded to each other and then increased the amount of spiritual energy he transferred into the feather, making the entire scroll almost filled with spiritual light. Ji Yuan on the side also did the same thing and transferred more spiritual energy into the feather.
Crash...
A puff of smoke burst out from the painting and condensed into a ball of illusory black flame, while a illusory golden-red fire burst out from the feather in Ji Yuan's hand. The two fires collided with each other, stirring up a strong evil wind.
“Woo… Woo…”
There was a howling wind in the main hall, and several immortal masters could hardly stand, but it was not because the wind was too strong, but because they were too scared.
Demonic energy! The most terrifying demonic energy!
The old beggar looked at the scroll and Ji Yuan's feather in his hands with horror, then looked at Ji Yuan who had a serious expression on his face.