Visitors from the Xuanfeng Kingdom

Chapter 26

In the imperial court hall of Feihuang City, the capital of the Xuanfeng Kingdom, Feng Xiaoyan, the current emperor of the Xuanfeng Kingdom, was seated majestically on the imperial throne. Below him, civil and military officials were lined up in attendance.

In the middle of the court hall, a man had a temperament that was distinctly at odds with those around him. He was kneeling halfway down, his expression tense.

"Your Majesty, I am Zhang Lin, the township leader of Huangrang Township. I am here to report to Your Majesty that there was once an epidemic outbreak in the area under my jurisdiction. However, there is a deity named the Taoist Lord Mimeng Wangqing who bestowed blessings and eliminated the epidemic, thus receiving the incense offerings from several villages. I feel that this is a heretical cult that poisons people's minds, and I am filled with great unease. That's why I have come to report this matter to Your Majesty," said Zhang Lin.

Zhang Lin, the son of Zhang Zhiping, only learned that there had actually been an epidemic outbreak in the area under his jurisdiction when he went back to Mingguan Post to visit his father.

Moreover, there was this so-called Taoist Lord Mimeng Wangqing who cured diseases with talisman water.

Zhang Lin naturally didn't believe this. There were no such things as ghosts and gods in this world. As someone who had studied a great deal of books and served as the township leader, he certainly wouldn't be deceived like those villagers.

It was just too coincidental that the epidemic occurred in this area, and at the same time, the Taoist Lord Mimeng Wangqing appeared.

In his opinion, this so-called Taoist Lord Mimeng Wangqing must have used some kind of poisoning method. The villagers thought an epidemic had come, and then he took out the antidote and pretended it was talisman water.

To spread his own influence, using such means was truly extremely vicious in Zhang Lin's view. But there was nothing he could do since the other party had already gained momentum, and he could only come directly to the imperial city to report this matter to the emperor.

Feng Xiaoyan's expression remained unchanged. Zhang Lin had already presented a memorial to him earlier, explaining the whole story.

The other party believed that this was someone pretending to be a god and playing tricks, using this to amass the people's wealth and brainwash the people, which was a heretical cult.

However, as the emperor, his vision was naturally beyond that of Zhang Lin, the township leader.

Most likely, it was someone who had obtained the inheritance of the Incense Path and was carrying out cultivation.

"I understand. This wild deity of unknown origin indeed disrupts the state. In this case, I will issue an imperial decree to order the prefect of Chenlan County to exterminate it. You have made a meritorious report, so I will reward you with a hundred pieces of gold, and you will be promoted to the position of county magistrate after your term of office expires," said Feng Xiaoyan.

"Your Majesty is wise and brilliant!" 

Zhang Lin bowed deeply. Why did he bypass his superiors and come directly to the imperial city to report? Wasn't it to gain greater benefits?

This promised position of county magistrate was a transformative promotion for someone like him who had risen from the grassroots.

After the court session ended, Feng Xiaoyan went to the imperial study and found a book about Incense Path cultivators.

"If it were a righteous cultivator, it would be fine. Even if it were an evil cultivator who harms people's lives, I could turn a blind eye. But it just so happens that it's an Incense Path cultivator."

In the book, the description of Incense Path cultivators was that they were the root cause of a country's destruction.

Once Incense Path cultivators develop, in the end, the people of a country will only know the deity and not the emperor.

If the belief in the Incense Path were really to spread throughout a country, then his Xuanfeng Kingdom would be finished.

Although the Xuanfeng Kingdom was outside the Tianxing Domain and not considered part of the cultivation world, the Feng family, which ruled over the country, actually originated from a cultivation family in the Tianxing Domain.

Those without cultivation talent were sent down to the mortal world, and their bloodlines spread far and wide. This was the wisdom of the family.

In Feng Xiaoyan's view, the Incense Path cultivator who suddenly emerged in Huangrang Township was nothing more than a Qi Refining cultivator at most. It would be extremely easy to send the county soldiers to exterminate him.

"Hmph, one should really think about why there are no Incense Path cultivators in the surrounding countries. The areas around the Tianxing Domain all have their respective masters!"

Feng Xiaoyan sneered, finding the audacity of that reckless Incense Path cultivator laughable.

In Tieniu Town, inside Qisheng Temple, there was the young cultivator whom Feng Xiaoyan had ridiculed.

Li Changmeng had his eyes tightly closed, but his mind had actually traveled to another place.

"Is this the temple in Xihe Village? This incense statue is truly mysterious. Even though it's such a long distance away, I can still project my mind here."

Through the Spirit-Descending Spell, he was able to freely project his mind to the location where there was an incense statue.

At this moment, when Li Changmeng looked, it turned out that his father and elder brother were right below.

Li Manqiu and Li Changxing each held three sticks of incense, kneeling on the futons, and offering their devout prayers.

"Please bless my son to learn the skills of the immortals, to live a carefree life and achieve immortality."

"I beseech the Taoist Lord to bless my younger brother Li Changmeng and let him become an immortal like the old immortals."

The two of them prayed sincerely, and their wishes combined with the blue smoke of the incense, turning into the power of incense wishes, which was absorbed by the incense statue.

Li Changmeng didn't expect that his father and elder brother were still thinking about him.

However, it was now somewhat inconvenient for him to meet them.

"Order-Accepting and Blessing-Granting Spell, Soul-Settling and Guiding Spell!"

Through the incense statue, Li Changmeng cast the spells, and the movements of the two of them as they offered their prayers came to a sudden halt.

They seemed to have received the blessings!

The two of them looked at each other, and shock was evident in each other's eyes. Just as they were praying, an ethereal voice had sounded in their ears.

"Live without pain in life, and enter a dreamland after death!"

After that, they felt an unusual sensation in their bodies, as if they had undergone a complete transformation.

Li Manqiu's white hair turned black again, and Li Changxing felt as if his whole body was filled with strength.

After the shock, their eyes became even more filled with fervor.

The Taoist Lord had bestowed blessings. He must have heard their prayers for their son/younger brother.

The two of them hurriedly knelt down to pay their respects again, and this even caught the attention of Sun Er, who was serving as the Spiritual Official Mimeng in Xihe Village.

After learning the entire sequence of events, Sun Er also realized that these two people from the Li family were favored by the Taoist Lord. He immediately asked if they were willing to become Followers.

The two of them naturally agreed. Becoming Followers of Mimeng meant working for the temple, and they could also receive a share of the incense money.

Most importantly, the faith in the Taoist Lord didn't interfere with the lives of the believers. On the contrary, the current status of being a Follower was highly sought after. It was very likely that Li Changxing would soon be able to marry into a good family.

Through the incense statue, Li Changmeng witnessed all of this and was very satisfied with this arrangement.

He had said before that he would take care of his family, and now he had, in a way, fulfilled that promise.

Next, he just needed to focus on developing the Ancient Immortal Sect and cultivating his spells.

"Spiritual Boy! Zhao Wenzhuo requests an audience with the Spiritual Boy!"

Just as he retracted the Spirit-Descending Spell, Li Changmeng heard the commotion in the temple. It was Zhao Wenzhuo, the town mayor, and Zhang Zhiping, the village elder of Mingguan Post.

They seemed so flustered. Could something have happened?

Filled with curiosity, Li Changmeng came out to find out what was going on.

As soon as he came out, before he could even open his mouth to ask, he saw Zhang Zhiping in a state of great distress, with tears and snot streaming down his face:

"Spiritual Boy, I am guilty. My son showed disrespect to the Taoist Lord and even went to the imperial city and tried to make the emperor do something unfavorable to the Taoist Lord."

Zhao Wenzhuo added from the side, "The son of Elder Zhang, Zhang Lin, the township leader of Huangrang Township, reported the deeds of the Taoist Lord to the emperor. Now I've received news that the emperor has ordered the prefect of Chenlan County to lead troops to exterminate the Spiritual Boy!"

After hearing what the two of them said, Li Changmeng roughly understood that he had been regarded as one of those heretical cult members who brought harm to the country and the people.

However, looking at it, Zhang Zhiping didn't side with his son at all. Instead, he came to deliver the message, which really did seem a bit like he had been brainwashed.

But was it his fault? After the villagers in the countryside witnessed his abilities, they had completely and unwaveringly believed in the Taoist Lord Mimeng Wangqing.

Coupled with the subsequent events such as the talisman water and the manifestation of the deity's power.

In the hearts of these villagers and townspeople, the Taoist Lord Mimeng Wangqing was a supreme deity with great magical power, who could make them live without pain and, after death, enter the dreamland where all their wishes could be fulfilled as described in the legends.

Given all this, the Taoist Lord Mimeng Wangqing was their highest source of sustenance. Whoever came to destroy this belief was their enemy, even if it was their own biological son!