"Looks like this flood disaster has passed with a scare but no real danger?" Lu Zheng rubbed his chin and said.

"What else do you want, you can't really be hoping for a scene of corpses everywhere, right." Liu Qingyan said speechlessly.

"I'm just wondering who won and who lost between those experts?" Shen Ying asked curiously.

"You're an Incense and Candle God, aren't you? Just go ask the City God, problem solved." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Shen Ying couldn't help rolling her eyes. "At that level of battle, you sure the City God System would know anything? And even if it did, why would it tell a mere Earth God of Peach Blossom Plain like me?"

Everyone burst out laughing, then Lu Zheng said, "Let's go home, go home. I'll cook a big feast tonight!"

…

For a full month and a half, Lu Zheng didn't travel back to the modern world at all. Only after returning home, sending the girls from Five Beauties Manor, Du Yueyao, and Wang Xiaowan back to their homes, did he take the three girls and cross over to Blue Star.

The moment they crossed and appeared in the living room at home, they saw Lin Wan lying on the sofa, bored, watching TV. She was wearing a little camisole top, her pair of fair, long legs curled up together, outlining a graceful curve from waist to hips.

With Golden Centipede Spirit Spleen Wine in hand, Lu Zheng let loose for real, playing four "rounds" in the night, staying awake till dawn.

…

Since he'd just gotten back, it wouldn't be convenient to disappear right away, so early the next morning Lu Zheng sent Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying back to Tonglin County, then headed up Shaotong Mountain.

"Elder Yuting! Senior Brother!"

Lu Zheng arrived at White Cloud Temple and saw Daoist Yuting and Yuan Jing, who were both recuperating from their injuries. "Where's Master?"

"A dozen days ago, Master received a formal letter from White Cloud Mountain and was ordered to return to the mountain. He told me to act in his stead as Temple Master of White Cloud Temple on Shaotong Mountain." Yuan Jing was a bit dumbfounded as well. "I've no idea what's going on either."

"Ah? Really? Heh, well, I'm not too clear on it either. Maybe they saw Master's Dao Practice had improved and called him back to the mountain gate to pass on some profound Secret Technique." Lu Zheng forced an awkward laugh, dodged the question, then immediately shifted the topic. "Elder Yuting, what exactly happened with you?"

Daoist Yuting waved his hand. "I was chasing a Demon when I ran into an even stronger Demon and ended up getting trapped in a Secret Realm. I was barely holding on with an Illusion Technique. If Ming Zhang hadn't gotten there in time, I don't think I'd have made it out."

Lu Zheng nodded in understanding. "A Secret Realm? No wonder."

Otherwise, Daoist Yuting wouldn't have had no escape route and still managed to persist for a while. "But Master and you are really close. The moment you were in danger on your side, Master had a sudden premonition on his."

Daoist Yuting couldn't help nodding with a smile. "Guess I didn't waste forty years being friends with him."

Lu Zheng nodded, confirmed that Daoist Yuting was fine and that Daoist Mingzhang had returned to the mountain, and felt relieved. After chatting with the two of them for a bit, he saw Yuan Jing get called away to interpret a divination slip for someone.

Speaking of which, the past few years hadn't gone to waste for Yuan Jing either. Ever since he'd been rattled by that incident at Jiming Temple back then, his cultivation had been advancing by leaps and bounds. In just a few years, aside from learning Qi Refining Technique, he'd mastered the full set of methods for Praying for Blessings, Opening the Altar, interpreting divination lots, and Soul Sending.

So even though Daoist Mingzhang had left in a hurry, all the various affairs of the temple were smoothly taken over by Yuan Jing, without the slightest hitch.

Lu Zheng brewed tea for Daoist Yuting. After the two of them played a few hands of Go, they saw Yuan Jing hastily return.

"All done?"

"All done." Yuan Jing nodded, beaming with joy. "It was Landlord Li San from Li Family Town. Very generous. For a single White Cloud Talisman, he donated ten thousand coins' worth of Magical Gold. The rest were all ordinary lots, so I asked Uncle-Master Ming Jun to handle those."

Daoist Ming Jun had come to Tonglin County back then as Daoist Mingzhang's deputy. But his talent was limited; after cultivating for decades, he'd only reached a Hundred Years of Dao Practice. He could perform simple rites and deal with ordinary Little Ghosts, but when it came to a real hard fight, he was no good.

"The mountain gate only called Master back? They didn't say they would send anyone else?" Lu Zheng couldn't help asking.

"They did. They sent Senior Brother Yuan Xing and Junior Brother Yuan Fu, but the two of them are currently traveling at the foot of the mountain doing disaster relief." Yuan Jing said. "They're also taking the chance to familiarize themselves with the local customs and geography of Tonglin County and Yizhou Prefecture."

"How's their Dao Practice?" Lu Zheng asked.

"Not as good as mine!" Yuan Jing replied proudly.

As a disciple taken by Daoist Mingzhang in Tonglin County's branch temple, whose talent and strength were almost on par with the Direct Lineage disciples of White Cloud Mountain, and with the mountain gate even sending Subjective Disciples to assist him, Yuan Jing certainly had reason to be proud.

In just a few years, Yuan Jing had gone from the Hundred Years of Dao Practice he had back then to over two hundred, nearly three hundred years of Dao Practice now. His progress could hardly be called slow.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Monk Guangyue in a long time either."

Thinking about comparisons, Lu Zheng remembered Guangyue, who had fought side by side with him back then. "He used to drop by the county from time to time to hang out and spar, but I haven't seen him at all this year. Is he really that busy?"

"Jiming Temple has been thriving in recent years. Him managing to spare any time to come before was already pretty good. This year the Incense has been unending; we can barely get any business from Pingtan County anymore. I'd say he just can't get away." Yuan Jing said with a hint of complaint. "But during the recent flood, I ran into him while traveling in Yizhou. I even teamed up with him to take out a Ghost that was using the chaos to make trouble." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Lu Zheng blinked, rubbing his chin, feeling more and more out of touch with the grassroots. "We've known each other a while after all. When I get some free time, I'll go to Pingtan County and visit him."

The main reason was that he'd recently received a volume of Buddhist Dharma gifted by Zen Master Dejie. Since he wasn't part of the Buddhist Sect, he'd decided to ask Monk Guangyue about the value of that Buddhist Scripture.

…

After saying his farewells to Daoist Yuting and Guangyue, and stopping by the main hall to greet Daoist Ming Jun, Lu Zheng finally descended the mountain, returned to Tonglin County, and found Chu Jin waiting for him at home.

"Lord Chu?" Lu Zheng's eyes flickered. "You're hurt?"

"Just a scratch." Chu Jin waved his hand, unconcerned, then took out two porcelain bottles from the pouch at his waist and placed them on the table.

"These are…"

"For capturing Rongdong River alive and providing us with information on Divine Monarch Xuan Ruo." Chu Jin smiled. "These are Elixirs sent from above. One bottle of 'Three Elements Rejuvenation Pill,' and one bottle of 'Reishi Divine Pill.' One aids Qi Refining, the other aids Refining Spirit. You can use both."

Lu Zheng's eyes flashed. "You set a trap for Divine Monarch Xuan Ruo?"

Chu Jin nodded, then sighed. "Divine Monarch Xuan Ruo truly lives up to his name as a major figure of the Southern Border. Even when besieged four-on-one, he still managed to escape the pursuit and get away unharmed."

"However…"

At this point, Chu Jin spoke again with a slightly proud sigh. "In the end, he still took a strike from the Spiritual Martial King and was gravely injured.

According to the Spiritual Martial King, he won't be able to leave Great Abyss Marsh for the next hundred years. If he does, we won't even have to lift a finger—his enemies in the Southern Border will come knocking on his door."

"The Spiritual Martial King?" Lu Zheng didn't recognize the name.

Chu Jin nodded. "That's the Emperor Lingwu, the third Emperor Jing of Great Jing. After his death, he entered the Imperial Temple and enjoys the incense offerings of the entire realm."