Strange Stories

Chapter 549: Three Years of Kneeling
"Brother Jiang has been conferred the title of Yuan Jun, why do you still dress so plainly?" asked the junior sister.

"Can't Yuanjun dress plainly?"

"I saw the statues of gods in the Taoist temples. They were all magnificent, wearing golden helmets and silver armor, feathered robes, or colorful clothes."

"That's the world's imagination of gods. But there are indeed many gods who will deliberately cater to the world's imagination, or unconsciously transform into the world's imagination through the power of incense and wishes. Other gods wear whatever they want in private, except when they are on official business or appear in front of the world."

The three of them walked slowly along the mountain, talking as they walked.

A fox followed obediently behind, seemingly calmer. Another civet cat looked around for a high place to jump onto, then looked into the distance vigilantly and sniffed around.

"What about when there is official business or when you need to manifest yourself in the world?"

"That's just like what you said. The God of War wears armor when he goes to war, and wears divine robes when he goes to the temple. Other gods wear gorgeous clothes and feathered robes, and those with official positions wear official robes. If they want to appear in front of the world, most of them have to be close to the image in the minds of the world."

"Then what are you wearing?"

The junior sister seemed very curious about this.

"call……"

A breeze blew by, and colorful divine light suddenly appeared around him, even so bright that it was dazzling.

The brothers and sisters all looked at it in surprise.

In the divine light, Taoist Master Jiang, who had been dressed in plain clothes, was now wearing a divine robe with red, green and gold as the main colors. The pendants on her body were just right, and her belt was fluttering in the wind behind her. With the pure blue sky on the top of the mountain without a trace of clouds as the background, coupled with her cold expression and dazzling divine light, it seemed as if she was about to take off with the wind and fly away.

In an instant, the divine light dimmed.

Yuan Jun also turned back into a Taoist priest, dressed in simple and elegant clothes, holding a whisk, and asked her:

"how?"

“It’s completely different from now.”

"I have many sets of clothes like this, and each one is different. People in different regions have different aesthetic tastes, and they also change with the times, so it's quite troublesome." Master Jiang said, "I still like this one."

"Um……"

The little apprentice sister thought about it and rolled her eyes: "Don't immortals need to change their own clothes?"

"Some want it, some don't. Some don't want it but are willing to put it on slowly, and the same goes for dressing and putting on makeup." Taoist Jiang said, "Each immortal has his own personality and preferences."

"I see."

A few people slowly walked to the top of the mountain, enjoying the breeze and the scenery.

Before I knew it, half a day had passed.

"I want to go back."

Taoist Priest Jiang bowed to them.

"Fellow Daoist, walk slowly."

"Daoyou often come!"

"..."

Taoist Jiang still didn't say anything more. He immediately turned into a ray of divine light and flew into the sky.

But after flying a few feet, she stopped again and looked down at the two people below:

"Now that the world has been settled, and I have been conferred the title of Yuanjun, it will be much more convenient for me to visit you two Taoist friends in the future. Although I don't have the power of Yuanjun yet, with the incense from the south and Qinzhou, I think it won't take long. If you two Taoist friends need anything, you can tell me. There are some things that my Emperor will be willing to help you two Taoist friends, and there are other things that I will help you two Taoist friends with."

"nature."

"must!"

Taoist Priest Jiang withdrew his gaze and did not respond.

The divine light disappeared into the sky in an instant.

The two of them were still looking at the sky.

The position of a god is more like an official position, not the practice of a Taoist or immortal. Therefore, the power of a god is more uncertain and delayed than that of a Taoist or immortal.

Gods come from incense and offerings, and the gods' divine power also comes from incense and offerings. Yuanjun is a position, which does not mean that one who is conferred the title of Yuanjun will immediately possess Yuanjun's divine power.

It is possible that this position is an honorific position, with only a title but no incense, so it can only be used for listening. Even if it is not an honorific position, after being conferred, it will take many years of incense offerings to slowly accumulate divine power.

Many emperors and ancient gods only have nominal positions.

But that’s not the case with Master Jiang.

Not only that, but because she has personally come to the human world, she has accumulated a great reputation and her incense is still very popular.

"Senior brother, it seems like Brother Jiang has seen through you." The younger sister said.

"It's you."

"It's you!"

"I didn't mean to hide it, so it was you."

"So it's you!"

"..."

The brothers and sisters slowly walked down the mountain.

They did not doubt what Master Jiang said.

Even in the deduction of the old Tianweng, until the end, Daoist Jiang was still their good friend, and he was still in the sky to provide them with convenient assistance as a god. Part of this was due to the need for Emperor Yujian to find an opportunity to fight against the Purple Emperor, and the other part was not in line with the interests of Emperor Yujian. "Now that I think about it carefully, there are many things wrong in the illusion." The little sister said as she walked, "After all, it was our confrontation with Jiutian, the old Tianweng was once Jiutian's Tianweng, and Brother Jiang was a Yuanjun of Jiutian. Since Brother had realized halfway through, Brother should have deliberately avoided involving Daoist Jiang when he was not sure about the old Tianweng's intentions, right?"

"Junior sister has become smarter."

"It's a pity that I'm still not as good as my senior brother..."

The two of them walked one in front and one behind, turning into a gentle breeze that blew through the mountains and forests.

When he flew back to the attic in the mountains, he saw Wan Gong already waiting there, and he had something to say to him.

"Master! Here comes a monster, a rabbit. It says it has received the teachings of the immortal and admires the immortal. It wants to worship the immortal as its master!"

"rabbit……"

"Exactly!"

Wan Xinrong thought he didn't know, so he explained in detail:
“It was originally a spirit from Fengshan Mountain, living nearby. When the Immortal Master first came here and preached to us, it followed other spirits here to listen!
"It often hides in the forest, watching Xu Yi and Pu Mei chopping wood and fetching water in the mountains, watching us cooking and washing clothes, and also watching Xu Yi and Pu Mei practicing and practicing magic in the mountains. Maybe this monster has good talent and has gradually awakened from its ignorance, and probably gained something.

"Later, the Immortal planted trees on the mountain. When the immortal trees matured, they exhaled spiritual mist and emitted a strange fragrance. A demon wanted to steal them while we were sleeping or when the Immortal was out. Almost every time, it used various methods to remind us. At first, it threw stones and branches, and later it would inform us, and sometimes even block us. So we also recognized it, and we were a little embarrassed to drive it away, and we didn't know whether we should drive it away, so today we came to ask the Immortal.

"If it disturbs the real person, I will chase it away!

"..."

Wan Xinrong followed Lin Jue as he spoke, and slowly walked with him to the attic balcony.

Lin Jue held the railing and looked down.

Sure enough, there was a gray rabbit, kneeling among the stones below.

Lin Jue remembered that in the illusion, he had asked Wan Gong to persuade it to leave, but it did not listen and instead knelt here for three years.

That was because the rabbit had a connection with him, had listened to Lin Jue's preaching, and had done something in return, so it had a good character, so Lin Jue was unwilling to drive it away rudely. But if he accepted it as a disciple, he would be worried about the Purple Emperor who hated demons and monsters, and he was also worried that if he opened this door, all the monsters in the mountains who had heard his preaching would come over, and how would he be able to distinguish and accept them?
So I just ignored it.

It was not until three years of wind, rain, scorching summers, cold winters, sun, frost and snow that I was finally moved.

But this is not too difficult.

Because apart from the top of the mountain, the area below the cliff is the closest to Lin Jue's practice. The fairy air here is the most intense, but there are fairy trees planted on the top of the mountain, and other monsters are never allowed to enter without permission. Except for a few birds that can fly to the top of the cliff to live and get some of the fairy air, the cliff is the best place.

Moreover, when Wan Gong and others practiced magic, and when Xu Yipumei came back from outside, they all passed through here.

Therefore, as long as you are not afraid of the pain of kneeling for a long time, and are not afraid of wind, rain, sun, frost and snow, and only want to seek the truth and learn, even if you cannot become a disciple in the end, it will be beneficial to be here.

Although it was an illusion, such thoughts and decisions were indeed something that Lin Jue could make, and were indeed made by Lin Jue himself.

However, now he already knows that this rabbit demon will indeed kneel in the mountains for three years. He is also certain that the Purple Emperor will indeed eliminate demons regardless of good or evil. So what should he choose?

"Xianzhu..."

Lin Jue muttered to himself.

That was the name he gave to the rabbit demon.

"what?"

Wan Xinrong didn't understand, he was just confused.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Lin Jue said, "Just let it kneel here."

"it is good."

Wan Xinrong then left.

Lin Jue found a cushion and sat down cross-legged.

In the illusion, he has mastered the "breaking and resuming", "dispersing and gathering" and "taking life and giving longevity" to a high level, and through this he has comprehended the way of life and death, extinction and reincarnation of all things in the world, so that he can realize his own method of immortality. Now he wants to see how much of his perceptions in the illusion are true and how much is false.

The sky darkened, and the stars and the moon rose, spinning in the sky.

The fog was heavy on the cold night, soaking the rabbit demon's fur.

As the morning sun rose, the rays of light dyed the mist red and shone through the treetops into the maple forest.

Xu Yi and Pu Mei were wearing long swords, riding paper donkeys, and swinging bells. They turned their heads as they walked, looking in surprise at the rabbit demon kneeling on the rubble, and even stopped to ask a few questions.

But he was in a hurry to go out and subdue the demon, so he left.

Unexpectedly, when I returned to the mountain in the evening, the rabbit demon was still there.

They stopped and had a long talk with him, and often looked up at the attic shrouded in clouds and mist at the highest point of the cliff.

"Master is in retreat..."

"Why are you still here? You fell asleep last night, and Senior Sister Fuyao sniffed at you for a long time. You really don't know the danger!"

"Go back. When Master comes out of seclusion, I will plead for you with him. I will never lie to you."

"Come here! Dandelions! You said you loved eating them!"

"Stand up and move around. Master is in retreat anyway, so he can't see. If you don't say anything, and I don't say anything, who says that gods know everything?"

"A handful of straw..."

As time went by, I almost got used to it.

In and out, the sun rises and sets, the seasons change, the stars and the moon rotate, so many people come to seek the immortal, come and go, the mountain fog is like the tide hitting the shore, only the rabbit's heart is as hard as iron, like a reef in the tide.

(End of this chapter)